Showing posts with label Ashley Judd. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ashley Judd. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

So, we're all agreed? Five months from now, we all see Reese Witherspoon in "Water for Elephants" at the theater? YES!



Water for Elephants film trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiNVZLwHbLc

Monday afternoon's Los Angeles Times books blog, Jacket Copy, subtitled "Books, authors and all things bookish," had a very interesting piece by Carolyn Kellogg titled An early look at 'Water for Elephants' interviewing author Sara Gruen about her book-turned-film that is generating so much positive buzz and excitement five months before its U.S. release on April 15th.

One of the most important things you need to know about this film is that it's Reese Witherspoon in a very good film, not a frothy banal one, so you know she's going to take it up a notch and be sensational. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000702/

To me, she's always at her best in productions that feel and look intelligent and positively oozes context, and this looks to be such a film, as savvy entertainment folks I know and trust implicitly on the Left Coast have been urging me to buy the book ever since she was signed to star in it, something that I've resisted thus far.
And I hear the script's dialogue is great.

But I must say, the trailer, which I saw again today for about the fourth time in a week, looks so damn good that I may well have to change that status quo situation before too long.


As I've commented before, in my opinion, Reese Witherspoon is one of a handful of actors and actresses on the scene today whom I believe the majority of American and European film audiences actually root for oftentimes, despite the actual quality of the films they're appearing in, and if the truth were known, they'd actually prefer to see her in more high-minded films -even if that meant less films by her- simply because it drives them crazy to see her in forgettable or frothy fare where she has to play less than, well, the Reese we love, in films that leave no lasting impression except for a few scenes here and there.

The sorts of films where when she's out promoting them on TV talk shows like David Letterman's, they actually cringe inside, despite how much they like HER.
In fact, I should know, I'm one of those such people myself.



Reese Witherspoon on CBS-TV's The Late Show with David Letterman in November 2010 promoting her film, "How Do You Know"

http://www.cbs.com/late_night/late_show/video/?pid=rrQVumXofQNKpTvyZXJUKyyjg8zQ5Tte
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1341188/

I feel the same way about certain other film actors, one of whom as many of you know, famously, is
Ashley Judd. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000171/

Ashley Judd on cover of Condé Nast Traveler, September 2005, only one of my favorite photos of her.

Everyone who knows me very well knows that I've adored Ashley from the very beginning of her show business career, yet I'm still waiting for her creative follow-up to Ruby in Paradise that leaves me dazzled the way that film did, though she's been good in supporting roles.


Ruby in Paradise
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108000/

Ashley's talent is so very obvious to me, and has been since 1993, but it needs to come out in something of quality and high-mindedness that I can respect.
Rather selfishly, I guess, I need to have that faith of mine in her reaffirmed on the big screen in a starring role.

I guess that's more my problem than her's, but some of Ashley's films, well, to be honest, I've just plain avoided them for the same reason that I've avoided seeing Reese in a film as a ghostly presence in a San Francisco apt. , i.e. 2005's Just Like Heaven co-starring Mark Ruffalo.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0425123/

Sorry, I don't want to see
Reese or Ashley as a plucky ghost or wife-done-wrong at a movie theater, or have to see her do fare that seems more like it's designed to appease grandmothers with their daughter and teen grand-daughter in tow over the Christmas holidays at the Mall cinema megaplex.

For me, that's "A Bridge Too Far..."


My own belief is that film audiences have such highly positive feelings towards Reese Witherspoon, esp. in the Midwest and the Plains, that they almost instinctively want her to be in a film they can honestly highly recommend to their friends, rather than for them to have to hem-and-haw when asked afterwards whether they really liked it or not.
They want to be affirming about Reese because they like her so much already.
That's not really such a bad thing -or place to be in your career- now that you think about it.

------

Los Angeles Times
Jacket Copy blog,

An early look at 'Water for Elephants'

by Carolyn Kellogg
December 20, 2010 | 1:12 pm

Sara Gruen's bestselling "Water for Elephants," a love triangle set in a 1930s circus, is coming to the big screen. Although it's not due in theaters until mid-April, the trailer is already out. Though there's nothing wrong with watching it on a computer, it looks really fantastic projected in a movie theater (at least it did at the ArcLight, where I saw it this past weekend).

The film stars Reese Witherspoon as a circus starlet, Robert Pattinson (famous for appearing in another literary adaptation) as the young veterinarian taken by her, and Christoph Waltz as her husband.


Read the rest of the post at:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/12/water-for-elephants.html

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Ashley Judd, Jody Demling & Eric Crawford on Calipari hire at UK, its effect on recruiting, and on UK-Louisville rivalry

After the shellacking we took last year on national TV, I only
hope that by the time IU plays UK in December on CBS-TV,
that we will have a team that will be both competitive and
exciting.

If the beautiful and beguiling Phi Beta Kappa Ashley says
"thumbs up" for Coach Calipari at UK, then that's good
enough for me!



--------------------------------
Louisville Courier-Journal recruiting writer and blogger Jody
Demling tells us what John Calipari's move to Lexington
means for recruits committed to both UK and Memphis.



--------------------------------
Louisville Courier-Journal sports columnist Eric Crawford on
the effect of the Calipari hire on the UK-Louisville rivalry.


ASHLEY JUDD IN SOUTH AFRICA
Ashley Judd in South Africa
Conde Nast Traveler,
September 2005
Ashley Judd's Big Mission (And New Best Friend)


ASHLEY JUDD

Ashley Judd
GLAMOUR, August 2006;
EXCLUSIVE! Ashley Judd -Her perfect life was a lie: "I needed help."

ASHLEY JUDD

Ashley Judd
REDBOOK, November 2007
Ashley Judd -How her painful breakdown deepened her faith

THE ENIGMA OF ASHLEY JUDD

The Enigma of Ashley Judd
Beautiful and beguiling, thoughtful and talented, Ashley is THE thinking-man's Phi Beta Kappa 'parallel universe' wife, the Wildcat yang to my Hoosier-by-choice ying.
South Beach Hoosier wants SO badly for Ashley's enormous potential in Victor Nuñez's wonderful 1993 film, "Ruby in Paradise," to be fully realized and appreciated.
Soon!

Though I like Kate Bosworth as an actress, is there anyone who saw "Superman Returns" who doesn't agree that casting Ashley as Lois Lane would've made that a MUCH more nuanced film, and given the audience a reason to think it was at all logical for Clark/Superman to STILL be in love with her, even after his return and finding her married and with a kid?

Backstory on this great photo from 1998-99, LONG one of my favorites, at the UK Ice Hockey team's website

To be honest, my favorite magazine cover of Ashley's when she was on the cover of Kentucky Monthly magazine from November of 1998, wearing that classic UK blue Wildcats jersey.

It was phenomenal, as you can get a hint of below, and was sent to me at home in Arlington from a good friend who not only knew how much I liked Ashley, but who was, herself,
also a Kappa Kappa Gamma like Ashley, albeit from IU and not UK!

11.1998


The 1979 NCAA title game between Michigan State and Indiana State will be shown on CBS College Sports, DirecTV Chanel 613 on Sunday from 6-8 p.m, 10 p.m.-Midnight and on Monday from 9-11 a.m. and 1-3 p.m..

That same network will be liberally airing some of their thirty-minute Hardwood Heavens programs over the weekend with some episodes of particular note to me and some of the folks who come over to this site and to South Beach Hoosier frequently.

Louisville's Freedom Hall on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. and Monday night at midnight

UK's Rupp Arena on Sunday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. and Monday night at 11 p.m.

IU's Assembly Hall on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m., which directly follows the UK segment.


Finally, before the NCAA national semifinals start later in the day, don't pass up the chance to see the Big City Classic from The Meadowlands, featuring some of the traditional lacrosse powers.

UVA's #1 ranked lacrosse team play UNC on Saturday in the first game from Noon-2 p.m. on ESPNU.

I caught last weekend's seven-overtime victory over Maryland in Charlottesville and it was epic.

I got exhausted just watching it, and even noticed that ESPNU botched the replay of the game later -when I was taping it for my nieces- by putting some of the overtimes out of sequence.

The second game featuring Syracuse and Princeton gets under way around 2 p.m., though there'll probably be a break between the games.

It'll be interesting to see if the #1 Cavaliers can keep their energy levels up throughout this game, which won't be repeated on ESPNU, since I double-checked.

U of I's Assembly Hall on Saturday morning at 11:30 a.m. and Saturday at midnight