WATCHMEN

Jeffrey Dean Morgan / Jackie Earle Haley / Carla Gugino / Stephen McHattie / Malin Akerman / Billie Crudup / Mathew Goode / Patrick Wilson / Matt Frewer / Apollonia Vernova /  Leah Gibson / Niall Matter / Darryl Sheelar / Laura Mennell / Robert Wisden / Based upon ‘Watchmen’ by Alan Moore & Dave Gibons / Art Direction Francois Audouy, Helen Javis & James Steuart / Costume Design Michael Wilkinson / Set Design Michael Erickson / Original Music Tyler Bates / Editor William Hoy / Cinematography Larry Fong / Production Wesley Coller & Herb Gains / Adapted Screenplay David Hayter & Alex Tse / Director Zack Snyder

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PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL

Interview: Carla Gugino

Carla Gugino has spent the better part of the last decade playing some of the most complicated and interesting female characters in Hollywood. After early roles in lighthearted fare like Son in Law, she played an appropriately combative counterpart for Michael J. Fox’s deputy Mayor on Spin City before appearing in Wayne Wang’s The Center of the World as a troubled seductress, Robert Rodriguez’ Sin City as a tough-as-nails parole officer, Ridley Scott’s American Gangster as Russell Crowe’s exasperated ex-wife, and most recently in Zack Snyder’s Watchmen as a sexpot superheroine with a pitch-black past. This month, she’s acting in Sebastian Gutierrez’ Women in Trouble, where she plays a porn star coming to terms with the news that she’s pregnant.

Cinematical recently spoke to Gugino at the film’s Los Angeles press day, where in between pointing out some of the bruises she earned while shooting Zack Snyder’s Watchmen follow-up, Sucker Punch, she offered a few insights into her character in Women in Trouble.

Cinematical: What immediately jumped out to me about Elektra is that even though she’s at her own crossroads in Women in Trouble, she seems to have the most certainty of the characters about who she is.

Carla Gugino: It was interesting. I was kind of intrigued by the fact that this woman who was a porn star, which was all have varying ideas about what that means and what that kind of person might be like, [and] I think that’s where Sebastian really kind of deserves the credit, because it was a structural thing, which was she is at the very top given a piece of information that is a wake-up call. It’s a real “uh oh – I’d better take a look at my life, and I’d better look at it really clearly really fast.” So therefore it did seem like all the scenes had this kind of resonance of, yeah, I have to look at what I’ve been doing, and I have a 13-year-old saying to me, “do you have fake boobs?” and sort of having to be like, I have to be accountable for all of these things, and kind of realizing like, oh wow, somebody else might have taken my childhood and done something better with it. Do I still have that chance? It’s not even better like a judgment of someone who is in that profession, but I think for her, I think she definitely has become very famous for something that she isn’t that proud of.

That was a really interesting thing as I was sitting there in the elevator; we were shooting that and that was one of the first scenes I shot. [Actually] we shot the Even Reverse Cowgirls Get the Blues scene and then we shot that, but I was sitting there and I thought, what an interesting thing! Because I reveal myself on an emotional level as an actress a lot; actresses, actors, that is what we do. We have to strip down, and you do it in a fairly private way [when] there are maybe 100 people on set, in this case it was ten people on set because we had such a small crew, and then you give it to the millions of people – you just give it to the world. But this is so interesting for her because she’s physically completely revealing in her profession, but nobody knows anything about those people; you know very little about what they’re like for real. Many porn stars have very faithful relationships they’ve had for many years, they’re very homebodyish people, and it’s a really interesting juxtaposition between their profession and their personal life, but from that I wanted her to be really no-nonsense and to be kind of unadorned, and that’s what I think maybe is what you’re saying, which I’m so appreciative that it came through.

wit2

Cinematical: Did that empathy and understanding of her come from what was on the page, or did you do any research into the private lives of real porn stars?

Gugino: It was kind of both. I think as an actor you end up being more empathetic than most people because you end up getting in the skin of other people so you see it from their perspective. I just finished doing Desire Under the Elms on Broadway a few months ago, and that’s a character that literally has never had love in her entire life – [she] falls in love with her husband’s son, has a child with him, and ultimately kills the child. So Elektra’s a saint! (laughs) I mean, I really had to get into the heads of some people, and you end up understanding where they’re coming from. You end up understanding the nature of humanity and the complexity of it. I’m not a very judgmental person anyway; I never say, “oh, I would never ever do that.” We’re all capable of everything, and life is complicated, and people are trying to do the best they can. But I think that he wrote this character and he wrote all of these characters with multiple levels, [and] I think we are all empathetic of people when we understand them. Which is of course the meaning of empathy, but I think if you are standing outside someone and you cannot see it from their perspective, then there is an innate separation. But even in something like this, with Connie Britton’s character and my character, at first – and I think Connie plays that moment so beautifully too – she’s like, “oh, you’re an actress? What do you do, film, television?” And I’m like “porn,” and she’s like, “oh?” You can see the moment of this is a different woman than I thought she was, and she does it so well, but then very soon she also is like, (whispering) “so are you famous?” You realize we all want pretty much the same thing you know; we all want to be seen for who we are and we want to be loved.

Short of that, everyone goes about it in different ways, but in terms of the question you asked, yes, some of it was from the page, but also I watched this really cool documentary that I had Tivo’d so I’m pretty sure it was on HBO, and it was a bunch of porn stars talking about their profession. Some of them were extremely successful, some of them were just starting out, so I was like this is so fascinating because they’re talking about these things just as if [an ordinary person were saying] “yeah, when I wanted to become a secretary I could only type 20 words a minute, but then I ended up being able to…” and meanwhile they’re saying “I could only take one guy but now I can take three.” Then you also realize, how cool is that, the power of words? It’s just words, but words make people so uncomfortable, and that’s the thing about this movie too, that I love is that there’s nothing really physically explicit. I mean, you see women in lingerie and hopefully they look sexy, and there’s that aspect of things. But the truth is it’s much more of an emotional bareness, and verbally it’s very evocative and provocative. I love that – the simplicity of like, you could do all of these things but mostly people just want to see their neighbor naked. it’s nice because Sebastian loves women but it’s not like, “she’s smart so she can’t be sexy,” or “she’s sexy so she must not be very smart.” It’s like, they can be everything – they can be complicated and everything that we are.

Cinematical: You’ve had some really interesting opportunities to play strong female characters. Whether or not it’s out of a sense of responsibility – because certainly no one asks men if they feel a sense of responsibility to portray men in a flattering way – do you feel a sense in a film like this which is representing so many different kinds of women that you might tend to play up a character’s, say, resilience rather than her vulnerability? Or is vulnerability an inherent part of female strength?

Gugino: I do, actually. I guess I feel like Elektra is super-vulnerable ultimately, but resilient, and I guess that’s the thing. I feel like human beings are really resilient; people have survived just insurmountable things. Did you ever see Steve Jobs’ commencement speech for Harvard? It is one of the most inspiring speeches I’ve ever heard, but one of the things he says is, “all of the pieces connect, but you just don’t know when you’re in it how they’re going to connect. But you will know later, so just trust that they will.” I do think people are resilient, and also, I’ve played some really tragic characters too, but I guess for me, I want you to come out feeling a little hope. I want a shift to have been made. There are characters I’ve played, like inCenter of the World, this Wayne Wang movie, she’s pretty tragic and you don’t ever really get out of that hole with her. But that was also what I needed to serve in that movie, so that’s a woman who’s sort of stripped-down and hasn’t found her way back yet. So it’s not like I feel like they always have to be resilient, but nor am I afraid of vulnerability in those instances.

[But] I think you said it perfectly – they don’t ask men these questions – but the reason they ask women these questions is because there are so few portrayals, [so it's like they're saying] you have a full character here so you really owe it to the women to get everything in there, you know? If I looked at it like I was in any way representing my entire sex, it would be too overwhelming and I wouldn’t know because you’re sort of boxed in. the only thing I can do is be true to the story and the character, and maybe kind of like a little hidden thing I might want to [include] is to go, “you might think there is no way to get out of this situation, but there will be some way.” I think that’s the good thing with Sebastian as well; he has the ability of cutting to the core or the heart of somebody, but he’s innately optimistic.

Cinematical: Is it challenging then to play a character where you know what their trajectory is going to be? Or is it freeing to know that endpoint and in the process of getting them to that you can construct the formative moments in between?

Gugino: It’s funny because I’ve asked writers that question too, and mostly they don’t know where it’s going, or they might have a sense where it’s ending, but then it’s that thing of like, all of a sudden a new character appears and it’s like, “oh, I didn’t know she was coming in.” So I kind of like the beginning, middle and end, because in that I have no idea how certain things are going to manifest, but it does give me a sense of, if I have to get there, if this scene doesn’t deliver what it needs to deliver, I never want to be in a position where you don’t believe how I got there. So laying groundwork, just as a technical thing, it’s actually really helpful. I’ve been a part of movies where there’s a lot of improve; …Center of the World was a film where things were changed by how we shot it. Like after the scene where I came into the hotel room, that scene changed everything so much; they were supposed to have a big sex scene right after that, and they were like, “we would never be having sex right now – that was too intense.” So it’s cool when you can change those things, but you still kind of know somewhat of a sense where you might be going.

by Todd Gilchrist (cinematical.com)

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You know that feeling when you’re doing something you shouldn’t and are on edge about someone catching you in the act? Okay, enough dancing in circles. Have you ever watched porn in the privacy of your own room and are terrified that your mom will walk in and catch you? Of course you have! That’s kind of what Women in Trouble is like. While it’s certainly not pornography, it evokes that same uneasy feeling that you’re watching something that’s so wrong but so right at the same time.

Click here to read more.

Hollywood isn’t particularly interested in strong women characters. Usually, women characters exist solely to service the needs of the male hero; to complete Tom Cruise or to die so Mel Gibson can have his revenge. That’s why it’s always refreshing to see a women’s ensemble film … even if it is from the writer of such mainstream schlock as Gothika and Snakes on a Plane. No, that wasn’t a typo. Snakes on a Plane. But according to writer-director, Sebastian Gutierrez, making the film was an attempt to escape the pigeonhole he had found himself in and to make a movie on his own terms.

It all started out innocently enough, when Gutierrez found a ten page scene he had written years ago that he thought could make a short film out of.  Soon his ambition grew and then he figured that if he could just write nine more segments and shoot each one in a day and he’d end up with a whole movie.  He wrote the script so that each vignette would only require two actors.  This way, he could use actor friends for only a day or two and was able to finish the film in twelve days.

And therein lies the problem. Because of the constraints, there is an over-reliance on dialogue. Almost all the scenes invariably consist of the same thing: one woman confiding her problems to another, a third party who has nothing to do with them, and in most of the cases, a complete stranger. This dilutes the drama, making it more about telling rather than showing. Since character is action, not just expository dialogue, the characters are more like types than full fledged characters. The vignettes don’t act synergistically and are bonded together with utter contrivances. The outrageousness of these contrivances is initially entertaining, but quickly wears thin. The end result is a disappointing mixed bag that feels like a night of one acts or an anthology of short films.

Gutierrez reaches for the camp of Pedro Almodovar but doesn’t have the sensibility to see it through. Hence the clichés – the ditsy porn star, the therapist in need of therapy, the hooker with the heart of gold (literally referenced in the movie) – are never subverted and remain nothing more than clichés. It doesn’t help matters that the scenes are badly lit and blandly staged.

That isn’t to say the film is without its merits. It’s thankfully devoid of the common groan inducing chick flick trappings. There are no scenes of girlfriends singing a classic song into a hairbrush, or notoriously skinny actresses binging on junk food. There is an admirable lack of moral judgment and relaxed attitude toward sexuality. It’s nice to see women portrayed as sexual beings rather than as sexual objects, even if they are parading in their underwear as half the time (Gutierrez is no doubt a boob man). Also of note is Robyn Hitchcock’s fun, energetic score.

It’s hard not to feel bad for Carla Gugino. A fearless actress who is always good even in bad films (See Watchmen), she’s deserving of better material. She gives it all here, but, unfortunately, her story doesn’t go anywhere. Emmanuelle Chriqui of Entourage fame is surprisingly good and deserves more than the girlfriend roles she usually plays. Connie Britton Friday Night Lights gives a neurotic but oddly grounded performance.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did. Hollywood could use its own version of Almodovar or, at the very least, a lighter version of Rodrigo Garcia. The good news is that it showed signs of potential, and since there’s already a sequel in post-production and a third film planned, there are still two more chances.

When you think about it, is there any better way to kick start your weekend than a NSFW conversation about about fake vaginas from the just-released-and-sure-to-be-camptasticaliciously-delightful Women in Trouble that stars Carla Gugino and other women who are also in trouble?

No, I think not.

Un film del 2009, regia di Sebastian Gutierrez, con Carla Gugino / Adrianne Palicki / Connie Britton / Marley Shelton. Prodotto da (92min)

Commedia

In un giorno qualsiaisi le vite di un gruppo di donne si incrociano. Tra di esse vi sono una porno star, una hostess, una psichiatra, una massagiatrice e un paio di telefoniste. Tutte loro hanno qualcosa in comune: si trovano in grossi guai.

Women in Trouble! Intriguing Almodovar-esque title and concept, sort of. Except that the whole thing seems a little off. Check this blurb from the WIT (ha, wit!) website:

From writer/director Sebastian Gutierrez comes a comedy about a serpentine day in the life of ten seemingly disparate women — including a porn star, a flight attendant, a psychiatrist, a masseuse, a bartender, a pair of call girls — all with one thing in common: trouble.

Notice that there’s just one profession in there that isn’t totally the kind of thing only a guy would think of? And who the fuck is Sebastian Gutierrez? The guy who wrote Snakes on a Plane, that’s who. (WIT trailer after the jump.)

Look, we don’t have a problem with a scantily clad Carla Gugino (AMIRITE?), but, uh, a couple of hookers, a porn star, a flight attendant…?

My God, we’re all doomed. One of the characters is named Bambi, for Christ’s sake.

Enjoy some low-rent soft-core titillation that’ll make you feel dirty (not because it’s dirty, but because this is how far we’ve come, Fat America/Mildly Fat Venezuela) below. And then cry for humanity.

Watchmen star Carla Gugino, who played Sally Jupiter and the original Silk Spectre in the movie, is reteaming with director Zack Snyder for his forthcoming fantasy action movie Sucker Punch.

The movie is based on Synder’s own script and centres on girls in a 1960s asylum who lead a dual life in an action-packed alternate reality. Gugino will play a psychiatrist in an asylum—and an alternate-universe dominatrix version of the character. Jena Malone, Abbie Cornish, Emily Browning, Vanessa Hudgens and Jamie Chung also star as the patients who plan their escape via their fantasy world.

Gugino, who is currently promoting Women in Trouble, told reporters that in addition to playing psychiatrist Dr. Gorsky that “In an alternate world, I play Madame Gorsky, who is a dominatrix choreographer/madame in a brothel. I sing and I dance and I’m Polish.”

Many of the same crew from Snyder’s Watchmen return for Sucker Punch, which is also filming in Vancouver, Canada. “I was just so excited to get to go back up and work with everybody again,” Gugino said. “I mean, I’m up there with my whole crew that I know from that, so it’s nice.”

It all certainly sounds interesting. Look out for this when it hits cinemas in 2011.

Mo 11/9: Carla Gugino, Dennis Lehane
Tu 11/10: Adam Arkin, fashion director Nina Garcia
We 11/11: Kenneth Branagh
Th 11/12: Trace Adkins, Paula Marshall, Nick Griffin
Fr 11/13: Harry Connick Jr., Peter Sagal

Lovely Carla Gugino from Watchmen

A pregnant porn star, a couple of call girls, a scorned psychiatrist, a teenage goth, a flight attendant with a crush on a famous passenger… the troubles of this cluster of LA women couldn’t be more different, but on one crazy day feminine compassion will alter all of their lives. Devilish humor, razor-sharp scripting, and a knockout ensemble of talented actresses (including Carla Gugino, Connie Britton, and Marley Shelton) turn ‘Trouble’ into pure pleasure.

I’m not sure how big a part Joseph Gordon-Levitt has in this movie but he’s the reason I’m posting this. Based from the title, the movie is about different women dealing with personal issues and how they are interconnected with each other. There are also guys here.

Starring Carla Gugino, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Garcelle Beauvais, Simon Baker, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Elizabeth Berkley, and Josh Brolin.

Carla Gugino at NIAF Gala

We liked what actress Carla Gugino had to say at the 34th Annual National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) Gala on Saturday upon receiving NIAF’s Special Achievement Award in Entertainment. Carla recounted that when she was growing up, her Italian-American father liked to say that there were two types of people in the world:  “Italians, and those who wanted to be Italian.”  Carla then told the story of how when she arrived in Hollywood as a teenager, producers suggested that she change her last name because it sounded too ethnic.  Carla says she gave it some thought but then quickly remembered her father’s words and decided against becoming Carla Smith.  

Gugino now says her choice to remain true to her Italian-Americas roots, or to the Italian-American “tribe”  as she put it, has been an asset to  her career.  She knew she had made the right decision when she walked on to a movie set one day and saw three chairs awaiting the film’s stars. The chairs were inscribed with the names: Roberto De Niro, Al Pacino, and Carla Gugino.   Ciao America!

Un film del 2009, regia di Zack Snyder, con Carla Gugino / Malin Akerman / Billy Crudup / Patrick Wilson. Prodotto da Universal Pictures (163min)

Azione / Fantascienza / Fantastico / Thriller

Dopo il brutale omicidio di uno dei leggendari Minutemen, eroi mascherati ormai di mezza età, i suoi ex compagni si ritrovano per cercare di fare chiarezza sul caso, sospettando che qualcuno stia mirando al loro annientamento. Mentre proseguono con le indagini, però, scoprono un piano spaventoso su scala ancora più vasta.

Now don’t get me wrong, Powder Blue is a howlingly bad movie experience.  It isn’t so much a movie as a string of individual cinematic train wrecks that have been confused for scenes, and it’s definitely in the lead as the most campalicious movie of 2009.  Well, was.

Dear readers, I give you the new Great Camp Hope of 2009: 

First off, I don’t need to get started about the tag line.  It pretty much speaks for its ridiculous self.  But there’s the pink font that looks like it’s straight-up out of a bad 70s European art house sex farce, and let’s not forget how I feel about Carla Gugino.  I don’t recognize anyone else mentioned in this poster save for Simon Baker, but who cares?  This poster is basically about pretty girls and boobs, which I’m pretty sure was the high concept for Showgirls, so consider my appetite whetted.  

But there’s also the trailer, and…well…it can only be described as some bizarre amalgamation of Showgirls and Magnolia and Almodovar and every women’s dramedy from the past two decades:

Et tu, Powder Blue?  

I can’t tell if this is just a bad trailer or an actually bad movie or an intentionally camp movie or a so-bad-it’s-good movie or the work of TOTAL GENIUS, but whatever the case is: YES.  Those candy colors?  The overwrought moments of sentimentality brought to a fever’s pitch by all the teary-eyed hysterics?  That dialogue?  And of course Carla Gugino as a pregnant porn star?!?  In her busted Kim Zolciak wig?!?!?  Oh, and wait for it. 

Waaait for it.

Still wait for it.

No, really, wait for it.

…

Elizabeth Berkley is in this movie.  You know what news like that is?  Deliciousness.  And I’m talking stripper-pole level deliciousness:

Nomi knows what I’m talking about.

Anyways, I’m pretty sure Women in Trouble is going to be amaaazing, and apparently there’s already a sequel in the can that sees Carla Gugino reprising her role.  Oh, and Malin Akerman’s in it.  As is Alicia Silverstone.  Already the best sequel ever?  

I think so.

Much love to Movieline for turning me onto this hotness, Elektra Luxx for the poster, and Warming Glow for the fabulous Showgirls GIF.

ผู้กำกับ Sebastian Gutierrez หลังจากทำ Rise หรือชื่อไทย ผีกระชาก….คว่ำไม่เป็นท่า ขอกลับมาแก้ตัวอีกครั้งในภาพยนตร์ที่นำเสนอมุมมองการใช้ชีวิตของสาว ๆ ในหลากหลายอาชีพในมุมมองที่ชีวิตเหมือนเรื่องตลก ใน Women in Trouble!!

กับเรื่องราวของสาว ๆ 10 คน ที่ใช้ชีวิตกับปัญหาอันหลากหลายที่พวกเธอจะต้องฝ่าฟันไปให้ได้ อันได้แก่ Cora แอร์โฮสเตรท (Marley Shelton จาก A Perfect Getaway), Maxine McPherson จิตแพทย์ รับบทโดย Sarah Clarke จาก The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Elektra Luxx ดาวโป๊ รับบทโดย Carla Gugino จาก Watchmen , Holly Rocket นางทางโทรศัพท์ รับบทโดย Adrianne Palicki จาก Legion และ Bambic รับบทโดย Emmanuelle Chriqui จาก Saint John of Las Vegas , Darby หมอนวด รับบทโดย Cameron Richardson จาก Alvin and the Chipmunks และ Charlotte วัยรุ่นหญิงใจแตก รับบทโดย Isabella Gutierrez จาก Rise และในปีถัดไปผู้กำกับ Sebastian Gutierrez จะทำภาพยนตร์ภาคแยกของเรื่องนี้กับเรื่องราวของ ดาวโป๊ Elektra Luxx ซึ่งรับบทโดย Carla Gugino กับเรื่องราวชีวิตของเธออย่างละเอียด ซึ่งจะมีกำหนดฉายในปี 2010 นี้ครับ

ในตัวอย่างคุณจะได้ชมแง่มุมต่าง ๆ ของทั้งสาว ๆ ที่ต่างอาชีพ ต่างสถานที่ แต่ทุกคน ๆ จะต้องร่วมเผชิญในสิ่งเดียวกันคือ ปัญหา ที่จะต้องแก้และฟันผ่าอุปสรรคต่างๆ ไปให้ได้ จะมีการฉายจำกัดโรงในอเมริกา 13 พฤศจิกายน 2009 นี้

ชมตัวอย่างแบบ HD ใน APPLE

ขนาดเล็ก / ขนาดกลาง / ขนาดใหญ่

ผู้กำกับ Sebastian Gutierrez หลังจากทำ Rise หรือชื่อไทย ผีกระชาก….คว่ำไม่เป็นท่า ขอกลับมาแก้ตัวอีกครั้งในภาพยนตร์ที่นำเสนอมุมมองการใช้ชีวิตของสาว ๆ ในหลากหลายอาชีพในมุมมองที่ชีวิตเหมือนเรื่องตลก ใน Women in Trouble!!

กับเรื่องราวของสาว ๆ 10 คน ที่ใช้ชีวิตกับปัญหาอันหลากหลายที่พวกเธอจะต้องฝ่าฟันไปให้ได้ อันได้แก่ Cora แอร์โฮสเตรท (Marley Shelton จาก A Perfect Getaway), Maxine McPherson จิตแพทย์ รับบทโดย Sarah Clarke จาก The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Elektra Luxx ดาวโป๊ รับบทโดย Carla Gugino จาก Watchmen , Holly Rocket นางทางโทรศัพท์ รับบทโดย Adrianne Palicki จาก Legion และ Bambic รับบทโดย Emmanuelle Chriqui จาก Saint John of Las Vegas , Darby หมอนวด รับบทโดย Cameron Richardson จาก Alvin and the Chipmunks และ Charlotte วัยรุ่นหญิงใจแตก รับบทโดย Isabella Gutierrez จาก Rise และในปีถัดไปผู้กำกับ Sebastian Gutierrez จะทำภาพยนตร์ภาคแยกของเรื่องนี้กับเรื่องราวของ ดาวโป๊ Elektra Luxx ซึ่งรับบทโดย Carla Gugino กับเรื่องราวชีวิตของเธออย่างละเอียด ซึ่งจะมีกำหนดฉายในปี 2010 นี้ครับ

ในตัวอย่างคุณจะได้ชมแง่มุมต่าง ๆ ของทั้งสาว ๆ ที่ต่างอาชีพ ต่างสถานที่ แต่ทุกคน ๆ จะต้องร่วมเผชิญในสิ่งเดียวกันคือ ปัญหา ที่จะต้องแก้และฟันผ่าอุปสรรคต่างๆ ไปให้ได้ จะมีการฉายจำกัดโรงในอเมริกา 13 พฤศจิกายน 2009 นี้

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ขนาดเล็ก / ขนาดกลาง / ขนาดใหญ่

Los videos glamour & fashion de esta segunda entrega tienen en común la participación de rostros completamente desconocidos para el público en el momento de su filmación. 3 grandes nombres del panorama musical les dieron la posibilidad de darse a conocer y fue para ellos una inmejorable referencia en su curriculum.

Empezamos con el dirigido en 1984 por el director de cine Brian de Palma (Scarface, Los Intocables de Elliot Ness, La Hoguera de las Vanidades), en pleno éxito de Bruce Springsteen con su disco Born In The Usa.  Para uno de sus hits Dancing In The Dark rodó un concierto del Boss subiendo a una chica del público. Esa chica era una jovencísima Courtney Cox que en aquella época comenzaba su carrera como actriz. En los 90 adquirió gran popularidad por el papel de Mónica en la serie de televisión Friends.

Seguimos con el single más vendido de Bon Jovi en toda su carrera. En 1994 el grupo publicó la recopilación de grandes éxitos Cross Road y lanzó como sencillo Always, inédita hasta ese momento. La canción vendió más de 3 millones de copias en todo el mundo. En el video hacen acto de presencia varios actores y actrices que no eran aún muy populares pero que después han tenido una mayor relevancia: Keri Russell, gracias a la serie Felicity se ganó un nombre en el mundillo de la interpretación, a Jack Noseworthy le sucedió con Horizonte Final o U-571, a  Carla Gugino con Spy Kids, y a Jason Wiles con las series Sensación de Vivir,  Sra. Presidenta o Turno de Guardia.

Por último,  si hay un video en la escena española que puso en órbita la carrera de una aspirante a actriz ese fue el de La Fuerza del Destino de Mecano. En 1988 el grupo de los hermanos Cano, Nacho y Jose María, y de Ana Torroja, publicó Descanso Dominical, el disco de su consolidación en el estrellato. Entre las más de 200 candidatas resultó elegida Penélope Cruz que entonces tenía 14 años. Además de ser la pareja de Nacho Cano tras este video, 2 años más tarde se estrenó como co-presentadora del programa  La Quinta Marcha de Tele 5 (ver video), siguiendo después una línea ascendente que le ha llevado hasta la meca de Hollywood.

Because it blindsided my insulated view of the world and expanded my field of sight, The 2009 Freedom Awards got my attention about the fact that large-scale slavery exists as this is being written. Even in the United States. Boom. There it is, right between the eyes. About this notion you might want to read Free the Slaves’ page titled, “Slavery Today.” You could also glance at Free the Slaves’ map. The darkly humorous throwaway line used in jest when talking with your boss about overtime, “Don’t you know they already freed the slaves?,” now has new meaning for me.

Since I’m friends with someone who performed at the event, I expected I’d be attending the The 2009 Freedom Awards ceremonies as an interested audience member instead of media rep. The Freedom Awards were streamed live and you can see some back story at Peggy Callahan’s Huffington Post feature. I surmised that I’d find a well-organized, thoughtful group of people celebrating their successes and tragedies in a cause dear to their hearts, but that I’d come home unaffected. I’ve done more than my share of professional fund raising and I thought my Heart of causes was ’spoken for.’

So like a thorough media rep, I always do homework before I attend anything and I even listened to an NPR interview of Free the Slaves co-founder Kevin Bales. I found his interview to be educated, thoughtful and interesting. I take comfort and pride in being someone who, when they show up for anything, is confident they’ve enlisted into a cause which is all-encompassing and unavoidable.

I saw the list of notables presenting and attending included Ashton Kutcher, Camilla Belle, Carla Gugino, Demi Moore, Isabel Allende, Rickie Byars Beckwith, Tom Shadyac and the Agape International Choir. I’ve talked with celebrities before and always found them to first be people who are interesting or pleasant. But although I knew both celebrities and media alike would attend, I wasn’t expecting to have any life-altering discussions or experiences.

It seems I might have been mistaken. This began to dawn over me as I watched, with the audience, some of the videoed presentations of former slaves who were liberated. They were present. The vids also showed slaves who haven’t been freed. They were often tortured and always threatened before they walked free. Norman Jean Roy, Given Kachepa and many others with beating hearts and soul-lit eyes spoke their truth about what it was like to be enslaved. Here and now, in our life and times. This got my undivided attention and that’s difficult although I’ve overcome most of my blonde DNA.

Think for a moment about that. I don’t have to explain what it would mean because you’ve your own imagination.

Several turnings pointed me toward my options and prospective actions. First, how and what E. Benjamin Skinner said from the stage about his work and his meeting with a 17-year-old woman he couldn’t save. Ben is author of A Crime So Monstrous and a Fellow with the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Ben is clearly impassioned and on a lifelong mission. And if there’s one thing that always gets my attention, it’s someone articulate who knows what they’re talking about who brings their Heart to their work. Then, talking with him a little about his experience and work propped open the door to my soul, so I could actually absorb what had gone on at the The 2009 Freedom Awards.

Next, in thanking Kevin Bales for the evening and talking about Blue Planet Almanac, I asked who else I might touch base with in that moment. He suggested Siddarth Kara. Siddarth is at once intense, brilliant and laser focused on his task at hand, uncovering the economic policies which encourage slavery with the assistance of his book, Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery.

Of all the things I could imagine to make the Earth a better place, abolishing slavery wasn’t even on my radar until last night. Now I have to decide what I can do about it. My thanks to the real heroines and heroes of the evening; all the slaves, freed or not, who have their stories to tell. I hope we’re able to talk as free souls, because last night I couldn’t look all of you in the eye until I make ready.

Isabel Allende, freedom fighter

Because it blindsided my insulated view of the world and expanded my field of sight, The 2009 Freedom Awards got my attention about the fact that large-scale slavery exists as this is being written. Even in the United States. Boom. There it is, right between the eyes. About this notion you might want to read Free the Slaves’ page titled, “Slavery Today.” You could also glance at Free the Slaves’ map. The darkly humorous throwaway line used in jest when talking with your boss about overtime, “Don’t you know they already freed the slaves?,” now has new meaning for me.

Since I’m friends with someone who performed at the event, I expected I’d be attending the The 2009 Freedom Awards ceremonies as an interested audience member instead of media rep. The Freedom Awards were streamed live and you can see some back story at Peggy Callahan’s Huffington Post feature. I surmised that I’d find a well-organized, thoughtful group of people celebrating their successes and tragedies in a cause dear to their hearts, but that I’d come home unaffected. I’ve done more than my share of professional fund raising and I thought my Heart of causes was ’spoken for.’

Carla Gugino at the 2009 Freedom Awards. Picture Kristen Noseda/LE/Splash News Content ©2009

So like a thorough reporter, I always do homework before I attend anything and I even listened to an NPR interview of Free the Slaves co-founder Kevin Bales. I found his interview to be educated, thoughtful and interesting. I take comfort and pride in being someone who, when they show up for anything, is confident they’ve enlisted into a cause which is all-encompassing and unavoidable.

I saw the list of notables presenting and attending included Ashton Kutcher, Camilla Belle, Carla Gugino, Demi Moore, Isabel Allende, Rickie Byars Beckwith, Tom Shadyac and the Agape International Choir. I’ve talked with celebrities before and always found them to first be people who are interesting or pleasant. But although I knew both celebrities and media alike would attend, I wasn’t expecting to have any life-altering discussions or experiences.

It seems I might have been mistaken. This began to dawn over me as I watched, with the audience, some of the videoed presentations of former slaves who were liberated. They were often tortured and always threatened before they walked free. A few were present. The vids also showed slaves who haven’t been freed. Norman Jean Roy, Given Kachepa and many others with beating hearts and soul-lit eyes spoke their truth about what it was like to be enslaved. Here and now, in our life and times. This got my undivided attention and that’s difficult although I’ve overcome most of my blonde DNA.

Think for a moment about that. I don’t have to explain what it would mean because you’ve your own imagination.

E. Benjamin Skinner, author of 'A Crime So Monstrous'

Several turnings pointed me toward my options and prospective actions. First, how and what E. Benjamin Skinner said from the stage about his work and his meeting with a 17-year-old woman he couldn’t save. Ben is author of A Crime So Monstrous and a Fellow with the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Ben is clearly impassioned and on a lifelong mission. And if there’s one thing that always gets my attention, it’s someone articulate who knows what they’re talking about who brings their Heart to their work. Then, talking with him a little about his experience and work propped open the door to my soul, so I could actually absorb what had gone on at the The 2009 Freedom Awards.

Next, in thanking Kevin Bales for the evening and talking about Blue Planet Almanac, I asked who else I might touch base with in that moment. He suggested Siddarth Kara. Siddarth is at once intense, brilliant and laser focused on his task at hand, uncovering the economic policies which encourage slavery with the assistance of his book, Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery.

Of all the things I could imagine to make the Earth a better place, abolishing slavery wasn’t even on my radar until last night. Now I have to decide what I can do about it. My thanks to the real heroines and heroes of the evening; all the slaves, freed or not, who have their stories to tell. I hope we’re able to talk as free souls, because last night I couldn’t look all of you in the eye until I make ready.

In the city that never sleeps, love is always on the mind. Those passions come to life in New York, I Love You – a collaboration of storytelling from some of today’s most imaginative filmmakers and featuring an all-star cast. Together they create a kaleidoscope of the spontaneous, surprising, electrifying human connections that pump the city’s heartbeat. Sexy, funny, haunting and revealing encounters unfold beneath the Manhattan skyline. From Tribeca to Central Park to Brooklyn the story weaves a tale of love as diverse as the very fabric of New York itself