Lantana Us-bound In A Thicket Of Excitement
Sun Herald
Sunday November 25, 2001
THREE weeks before its official American release, hit Australian movie Lantana is starting to generate considerable Academy Awards buzz, with star Anthony LaPaglia being tipped as a dark horse Best Actor hope by a US entertainment magazine.
``It's pretty amazing," said producer Jan Chapman of the prediction by Entertainment Weekly.
The movie is being released in the US on December 14, in time for the Oscar deadline, but Chapman was trying not to get too carried away by the Academy Awards talk.
``I try not to go there," she said. ``But it's very exciting and our American distributors are very positive about the film."
The woman behind movies The Piano, Holy Smoke, Walk The Talk and Love Serenade, said early US screenings indicated the moving, relationships-based drama would work with American audiences, even though they were more used to our quirky comedies.
``The trick is to get the film in front of audiences, because there are so many movies screened in America," she said. ``But I'm convinced that once people see it, that emotional connection will happen."
LaPaglia and US co-star Barbara Hershey have been doing the bulk of pre-release publicity, but the surprise has been double AFI award winner Kerry Armstrong.
``Our distributors weren't going to take Kerry to the States because she wasn't known there but, when they did, the press embraced her and adored her and now they're saying she's the next big thing," Chapman said.
DIRECTOR Baz Luhrmann and his costume designer wife Catherine Martin are creating some exclusive artwork for the official opening of hot new Sydney bar ArtHouse.
Luhrmann and Martin will add to the scribblings of about 1,200 invited guests including musos Iva Davies, Christine Anu and Kirk Pengilly, actor Alex Dimitriades and TV folk Katrina Warren and Tamin Sursok who have all been asked to put something creative on the back of their invites.
The celebrity art paintings, drawings, poems, photos, (very) short stories will then be joined to create a giant collage which will be auctioned later, with all proceeds going to the Australian Red Cross.
Buzz is quickly spreading about ArtHouse, in the 170-year-old former School of Arts building on Pitt Street. A $14million fit-out over three levels includes four bars, a restaurant and, naturally, special ceiling fixtures for those all-important trapeze acts.
Redford keeping an eye on heart-throb co-star Pitt
HOLLYWOOD hunk Brad Pitt doesn't only have two years of therapy to thank for overcoming a personal crisis that almost caused him to ``crash and burn".
He should also send a bottle of wine to Robert Redford, his co-star in the new thriller Spy Game, which premiered in the US last week. After Redford directed Pitt in his breakthrough movie A River Runs Through It, Pitt was immediately anointed the successor to Redford's throne.
Redford, 64, told me last week that not only had he kept in touch with Pitt, 35, but that he had given him some sage advice about how to handle the Hollywood star trip.
``I think Brad is aware of the dangers of it and we've talked about it," Redford said.
``We've avoided any discussion about comparisons between us because it's just not relevant he's Brad and I'm me. I've got 30 years on him. But I can help with some advice."
THE INQUISITION
JASON BIGGS
Jason Biggs, 22, will be known forever as the guy who made love to an apple pie in the hit teen comedy American Pie. He's back in cinemas on December 6.
Did you receive a massive pay rise for American Pie 2? We didn't come as cheap as we did in the first one, that's for sure. We got bigger trailers.
Have you had time to buy some cars and houses then? Actually, I'm still living with the same people and I'm still driving the same car I had before American Pie.
What did you think when you read the scene requiring you to superglue your hand to a sensitive bit of your anatomy? I had no qualms about that, especially after doing the pie scene. I no longer have inhibitions after doing that.
How important is it to be in a stable relationship with your girlfriend, Shannan? Very important. I've heard guys say: ``Man, how can you have a girlfriend right now? You can get any girl you want." I'll be honest, I have options, just because I'm in a movie. But it's superficial.
You're doing the Broadway version of The Graduate next year with Kathleen Turner. What has she told you about that infamous nude scene? When she was doing it in London, there'd be old ladies sitting right down the front and they'd just whisper: ``She looks a little different than I thought."
WATCH OUT FOR ...
* Melbourne band CrashPalace and New Zealand's Zed, who have both been included on the red-hot local soundtrack to the teen movie sequel American Pie 2.
* Bardot member Belinda Chapple (left), who has taken the logical step from skimpy lingerie shots in FHM magazine to a full monty performance in Black+White, out this week.
PUMP UP THE VOLUME: Can't get enough of that new year's partying? Then hit the New Year's Day cultural festival, a dance gala at The Domain. Tickets $69. Phone 02 9266 4800.
© 2001 Sun Herald