Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
When the producers started auditions for the film “Backbeat,” they saw more than 100 actors for the role of the “forgotten Beatle” Stuart Sutcliffe, at least 50 actresses for the part of his German girlfriend Astrid Kirchherr and dozens of other actor-musicians for the other members of the Fab Five. But when it came time to cast the role of 19-year-old John Lennon, they saw only one actor – Ian Hart.
The Last of the Mohicans is as much a love story as it is a tale of how the West was won — by some people, that is, the poor Mohicans not being among them. Set in 1757, during the American colonial wars between the English and French settlers of North America, the movie stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Hawkeye, a frontiersman who agrees to escort Clara (Madeleine Stowe) and her sister to the fort where their British-officer father awaits them.
When an actor plays his role so well that his buddy’s mom refuses to speak to him, he knows he has done his job. “After the screening of `Juice,’ my mother couldn’t even look at Tupac (Shakur, who plays Bishop), much less speak to him,” said Khalil Kain, whose character, Raheem, has a tragic falling out with his friend Bishop. “Even though that’s an irrational feeling, I certainly understand it. Certain scenes between Bishop and Raheem were intense even for me, and I knew how everything was going to turn out.”
In Hollywood, where every other person claims to be an actor, singer, model or screenwriter, actor Woody Harrelson doesn’t raise too many eyebrows when he jams with his group Manly Moondog and the Three Kool Kats. But when the “Cheers” star takes his 10-piece band out on the road, he attracts a crowd that’s made up of music lovers as well as a strong contingent of curiosity seekers who want to know if “the boy can really sing.”
There’s a scene in Spike Lee’s new film, “Jungle Fever,” that hit a little too close to home for Wesley Snipes. The lovers portrayed by him and co-star Annabella Sciorra are engaged in a playful embrace that a police officer mistakes as a black man raping a white woman. Snipes’ character gets a gun put to his head.
Rap sensations D. J. Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince are famous for hits such as “Parents Just Don’t Understand” and “I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson.” But fans will see another side of them when the duo sings an unusual version of “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” on a Disney special.
“I’ve had people tell me I’ve got to be more focused with my career,” says Billy Wirth. “But that’s bull. I don’t want to be just one thing. I do what I want to do because I like it. And as long as I’ve got food on the table, my rent paid and a little spending money, that’s all I need right now.”
Without Jude Law, “Music From Another Room” would be just another so-so film with an improbable plot. But in his role as an artist who believes it is his fate to be with a certain woman, the English actor is so charismatic and convincing that the moviegoer is simply charmed by his presence.
Shot in black and white, “Foreign Land” is an evocative Portuguese film about a country in turmoil. It’s also a thrilling character study in which the striking stars display more sensual, onscreen chemistry than Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in “Titanic.”
Maggie Han has a leg up on other actresses in Hollywood. While she waits for suitable acting roles, she doesn’t have to wait on tables to supplement her income. The Korean actress-model is the spokeswoman for L’eggs Shear Elegance pantyhose. “It’s nice to have that to fall back on,” Han said in a telephone interview from her Westwood, Calif., apartment.