Forbes has released their ”Entertainment All-Stars Special Issue” in which they named Vince Vaughn the number one actor for bringing in money at the box office. Of course, Julia Roberts was right up there — at number three, in fact — bringing in just $25,000 less than number two, Tobey Maguire. (If only she’d been in one more movie in the last year!)

I pretty much figured Roberts and Jennifer Aniston would be included, but was surprised to see Naomi Watts cracking the number five slot. According to Forbes magazine’s complicated algebraic formula they use to quantify this top ten list, Watts raked in more dough than George Clooney, Matt Damon and Ben Stiller. Go on, girl! … continue reading

Lancôme, Chanel, Estée Lauder ... sacrebleu! With so many French words floating around the makeup counters these days, aren’t you glad that we have the familiar faces of celebrities to help sort them out? Thanks to them, I can easily distinguish Trésor de Lancôme from Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle by simply asking myself, “Do I want to smell like Kate Winslet or Keira Knightley today?” Everyday it’s a toss up.

Lately it has become more chic for celebrities to promote their own brand of stink, rather than promote a designer perfume (e.g., Celine Dion, J. Lo, Britney). But now some new pitch women have been added to high-end fragrances’ ad campaigns and thank goodness for that — it’s reassuring to know that our old favorite smells still have star power.

Recently, it was announced that Nicole Kidman, who was the face of Chanel No. 5, had been replaced by the adorable French actress Audrey Tautou, who will always be Amélie to me despite her other successful films (Dirty Pretty Things, Happenstance, The Da Vinci Code). Tautou will become the Chanel spokesmodel in early 2009, with a debut commercial helmed by her Amélie director, Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Déjà vu! Chanel's tribute to great directors and their actors began with Nicole Kidman working on her ad campaign with Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrmann. … continue reading

Today marks the opening of Funny Games, writer-director Michael Haneke’s English-language remake of his own 1997 German-language film. I’d never seen the original, and I was quite hesitant about checking out the updated version — as much as I love horror movies, I’m really not into overly explicit violence and watching people suffer. Given that, going to watch a movie about a bourgeois family brutalized as a pair of psychopaths keep them captive in their summer home is something on my "to do" list that falls ... oh, somewhere between “scrub the floor” and “punch yourself in the face.” Earlier this week, though, I caught a screening. The “You really need to see it” urgings I received from a few trusted sources got me thinking about it, but in the end what got me to the theater was the fact that Funny Games stars Naomi Watts.

I’ll readily admit it — Watts is like kryptonite for me. My roommate is a film journalist and just this week had the opportunity to interview Naomi on the Funny Games press junket. While I was all cool as a cucumber on the outside with my “Wow, you’re so lucky I’m so jealous tell me if she’s really pretty I wonder how tall she is man you are soooo lucky,” on the inside I was ... well, let’s just say that I briefly considered buying some chloroform and a wig that looks like my roommate’s hair and going to the press conference in her stead. What? I didn’t DO it, sheesh. And I would have, like, done all the dishes for a week to make up for it. C’mon, man, it’s Naomi Watts!

I’ll see anything she’s in, just to see her. She’s displayed remarkable range in her career, and I honestly believe she’s one of the greatest working actresses today. Oh, and some people might kind of find her maybe a little bit attractive. … continue reading

On Mondays, I find it easier to look at pretty pictures than put together sentences. So here are some movie posters for your visual pleasure. (You could also call this a preview of 2008, which isn't looking great so far ...)

1. Hellboy II, starring Selma Blair:

I didn't see Hellboy, and even if I had, I probably wouldn't feel compelled to see the sequel. But Selma is mesmerizing in this poster. So I might reconsider. Her eyes, they follow me everywhere!

2. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (the poster was just released today): … continue reading

For reasons that have been lovingly discussed already, I've been looking forward to Elizabeth: The Golden Age. But for me, Cate Blanchett wasn't the only attraction; I've also been anxious to see Australian actress Abbie Cornish in action as she takes on her highest profile project yet. Some of you may know her from one film that she showed up in — or more accurately, disappeared in — the lesbian-themed The Monkey's Mask.

The last time I was in Australia, I caught part of Somersault, the coming-of-age film that won Cornish acting awards and international notice. I sort of remember Cornish playing a sixteen-year-old girl on a sexual journey (and that it was not a fun one), but what I most recall is being struck by Cornish's beauty and vulnerability on screen. These are qualities she brings to Elizabeth, in which she plays Bess Throckmorton, Elizabeth's favorite lady-in-waiting. … continue reading

I knew I shouldn't have blogged last week about how watching Naomi Watts in The Ring inflicted sweaty night terrors on me. Alas, the things I know aren't good for me, I sometimes love the more. (As I found out when I fell for that bi-curious straight girl in my dorm, and at work, and at school, and yes, I'm still on the subject of things that cause screaming horror.) So when I tried to sleep this weekend, I paid for that blog with visions of this. What is it about bathroom scenes that get to me?

Actually, I am a fan of horror and suspense. I do better when it's in book form, though, because my own imagination, scary as that can be, doesn't leave behind residual flashes of horror when I close my eyes. Since I'm not going to be able to sleep again tonight anyway, and Ace is still fighting Poltergeist flashbacks herself, I thought it might be interesting to hear about those moments from TV and movies that inspired sleepless nights in all of us. Here are my other nominations for truly scary moments, in order of traumas since childhood.

1. V: the original TV miniseries (1983). And by scary, I don't mean the '80s hair and special effects; this alien-invasion thriller is the Cold War–era ancestor of Independence Day.

… continue reading

That's not to be confused with "fun and games." It's funny in that special way where "side-splitting" is no longer a metaphor for hilarity but possibly a literal part of the script. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here's the scoop: Naomi Watts has joined Tim Roth in a reauthored Hollywood version of Michael Haneke's 1997 thriller, Funny Games.

Watts's other foray into the brutal and the bizarre is the one movie that still gives me occasional nightmares, all these years later. Yeah, The Ring, I'm talking to you. Get out of my head! … continue reading

Have you finished Deathly Hallows yet? Had a good cry? (And if so, for the love of Hagrid, don’t tell me why! Still reading!) How about taking a step back and getting some casting news for Harry Potter film No. 6 instead. Naomi Watts has signed on to play Narcissa Malfoy in the upcoming film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, due out next year.

Narcissa is one nasty piece of work. The wife of Lucius Malfoy and mother of Draco Malfoy (Harry’s Hogwarts nemesis), she is also sister of Bellatrix LeStrange and Andromeda Tonks and the cousin of Sirius Black. Wow, that’s a lot of familial connections; do I need to break out the flow chart? Readers first met Narcissa briefly in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, but her character was left out of the film. … continue reading