BAM’s college football favorites Bedlam ’09 edition
OSU running back Keith Toston (5) scores a touchdown during last week’s victory over Colorado at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater. (Photo by Sarah Phipps/The Oklahoman)
It’s a big rivalry weekend in college football, and here in Oklahoma, that means it’s Bedlam.
My 9-2 Oklahoma State Cowboys are taking on the 6-5 University of Oklahoma Sooners at 11:30 a.m. today in Norman. The game will air on Fox Sports Net.
The Cowboys are ranked No. 11 in the Associated Press football poll and No. 12 in the Bowl Championships Series standings. A win for my alma mater means a shot a really choice bowl game, maybe even a BCS bowl. Cowboy fans also are hoping to see quarterback Zac Robinson back under center after he missed last Thursday’s Colorado game after taking a big hit at the end of the previous week’s Texas Tech game.
For the Sooners, a win would add to a 29-game home winning streak and end a surprisingly treacherous season on a victorious note.
Both teams have lost key players, and Bedlam always seems to be a well-named affair, so this should be a great game. And I’m going to be rooting hard for my Cowboys!
The defending national champion Florida Gators, the traditional team of the McDonnell side of my family, will try to stay undefeated as they take on in-state rivals the Florida Seminoles at home in Gainesville. The game kicks off at 2:30 p.m. and will air on CBS.
-BAM
What to do in Oklahoma on Nov. 28, 2009
The Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre continues its 2009-10 season with a production of the comedy “A Tuna Christmas.” The second part of Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard’s “ Tuna Trilogy,” “A Tuna Christmas” centers on the town’s annual competition for the best outdoor lighting display.
Today’s featured event:
See Oklahoma City Repertory Theater stage the popular two-man show “A Tuna Christmas” at 4 and 8 p.m. today at Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N Walker. Performances continue through Dec. 13.
For more information, call 848-3761 or go to www.cityrep.com.
For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
-BAM
Friday Featured Track for Nov. 27, 2009
Andy Williams (Associated Press photo)
The song that has been on my mind the most this week:
- “It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year,” by Andy Williams, from 1963′s “The Andy Williams Christmas Album.”
This holiday favorite, written by Edward Pola and George Wyle, is always on my mind around this time of year, and not just because of Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was the song playing in the hospital room when my son Gabe was born on Nov. 28, 2006. Gabe celebrates his third birthday Saturday. Happy birthday, big boy!
Nearly 50 years after Williams recorded it, this bouncy standard remains a holiday favorite. Earlier this week, it was ranked No. 11 on ASCAP’s top 25 most-performed holiday songs of the decade.
But to me, it will always be Gabe’s song.
-BAM
Tulsa artist offering Bedlam scavenger hunt Saturday in Norman
Duane Fernandez
Tulsa artist Duane Fernandez created this jewelry box featuring a portrait of OU football coach Bob Stoops, which will be hidden during Saturday’s Bedlam game in Norman.
Tulsa artist Duane Fernandez is continuing his international art scavenger hunt project “SEEK” Saturday in Norman during the Bedlam football game.
The project involves hiding an artwork, along with an expensive jewelry piece from Spexton jewelers, somewhere on the University of Oklahoma campus. There will be clues to the prize’s whereabouts on www.duanefernandez.com, as well as on his Twitter account, www.twitter.com/duanefernandez.
For this particular outing, the hidden art piece is a jewelry box featuring Fernandez’s custom painting of University of Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops. The Bedlam game between OU and the Oklahoma State University Cowboys kicks off at 11:30 a.m. Saturday in Norman.
For his “SEEK” project, Fernandez, who has an art studio in downtown Tulsa called the Left Field Project, will be hiding 23 wooden jewelry boxes around the world in the next year. Each wooden jewelry box is hand-painted by Fernandez and features a portrait of an international icon. Among the celebrities featured on his boxes are Elton John, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith, The Dave Matthews Band, Willie Nelson, Britney Spears and Taylor Swift.
Each box will contain a handmade bracelet/cuff made specifically for this project by Spexton jewelers. Each box also will contain a questionnaire; Fernandez will ask each person that finds a box to take part in a “random and unique experience.” Left Field Project will publish the experience in a limited-edition magazine once the project is complete.
In addition, each box will have a personal message for the lucky individual who happens to track it down.
The purpose of the project is to have fun, be creative and find art. The random nature of the project will unite a group of people from around the world who otherwise would never have met, according to a news release.
-BAM
National Cowboy Museum’s “Small Works, Great Wonders” on view through Sunday
Oklahoma painter Linda Tuma Robertson received the Cynthia Post Buyers’ Choice Award for her oil painting “Frosty Cimarron” at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum’s “Small Works, Great Wonders” Winter Art Sale. Remaining art from the show is available for view and purchase through Sunday. (Photo by Chris Landsberger/The Oklahoman Archives)
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum played host to more than 100 artists at the fourth annual “Small Works, Great Wonders” Winter Art Sale on Nov. 19. The event included 245 Western paintings and sculptures by some of the finest contemporary Western artists in the nation. With a festive holiday atmosphere and high-caliber Western art, the one-night art sale generated more than $400,000, according to a news release.
The event attracts beginning and veteran art collectors at a relaxed, yet exciting, show. “Small Works, Great Wonders” kicked off in 2006, when the museum organized the inaugural sale designed to send art buyers home with purchases in hand and give new collectors an opportunity to start a Western collection with works that are smaller in size and price.
The small works of art created by nationally acclaimed artists went on display Nov. 5. Artists selected for the sale included many from the ranks of the museum’s annual Prix de West Invitational Art Exhibition and Sale, along with other invited painters and sculptors.
Buyers selected the works of art they wanted to purchase and awaited the fixed-price sale to come to a conclusion. A percentage of the sales from the yearly event benefits the nonprofit museum.
The small-size works bring a lower price than typically found in larger, higher-profile pieces, and the “Small Works” event serves as a fairly relaxed training atmosphere for the fixed-price sales process used at Prix de West. Two potential buyer names were drawn from those buyers who submitted ballots for a work, and the first name drawn had 30 minutes to complete his or her purchase before it went to the second name on the list. After 50 minutes from the start of the sale, unsold art was made available for purchase by anyone attending the event.
The 2009 sale marked the first Cynthia Post “Small Works, Great Wonders” Buyers’ Choice Award, given to the artist who created the most popular work of art at the sale as voted by ballot book purchasers. The cash award, named in memory of the museum’s assistant director of development, was given to Linda Tuma Robertson for her oil painting “Frosty Cimarron.” In addition, the museum also was able to purchase a “Small Works” piece to add to its permanent collection. The work selected was Thomas Quinn’s watercolor, “Antelope Consideration.”
At the conclusion of the sale, 100 pieces remained available for purchase. These works are on display and available for purchase through Sunday. Additional castings of certain sculptures also are available.
For more information, go to www.nationalcowboymuseum.org.
-BAM
Weekend Warmup for Nov. 27-29, 2009
Willie Nelson (Associated Press photo)
It may be the weekend after Thanksgiving, but there are still many activities planned around the state. For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
- NORMAN and THACKERVILLE — Hear country legend Willie Nelson at 8 tonight at Riverwind Casino, 1544 W State Highway 9. Information: 322-6464 or www.riverwind.com. Or catch Nelson in concert at 8 p.m. Saturday at WinStar World Casino in Thackerville. Information: www.winstarworldcasino.com.
- Bring food or money to donate to the Regional Food Bank at Oklahoma City singer-songwriter Graham Colton’s benefit concert at 8 tonight at Farmers Public Market, 311 S Klein. The show also will feature Christopher Wray and The City Lives. Information: www.grahamcolton.com or www.regionalfoodbank.org.
- See Oklahoma City Repertory Theater stage the popular two-man show “A Tuna Christmas” at 8 tonight, 4 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Civic Center, 201 N Walker. Information: 848-3761 or www.cityrep.com.
Oklahoma City’s Thabo Sefolosha (2) goes up for a shot during a recent Thunder game at the Ford Center. (Photo by Sarah Phipps/The Oklahoman Archives)
- Watch the Oklahoma City Thunder take on the Milwaukee Bucks at 7 tonight or the Houston Rockets at 6 p.m. Sunday at the Ford Center, 100 W Reno. Information: (800) 745-3000 or www.thunder.nba.com.
- TULSA — Listen to Jason Boland & the Stragglers with Randy Crouch at 8:30 tonight at Cain’s Ballroom, 423 N Main. Doors open at 7 p.m. Information: (918) 584-2306 or www.cainsballroom.com.
- Hear The Rocketboys with The City Lives, Somerset West and Coney Island at 7 p.m. Saturday at The Conservatory, 8911 N Western. Information: www.conservatoryokc.com.
The Sooner Theatre production of “Peter Pan” features Nicole Arnone as Tiger Lily; Aubrey Adams as Peter Pan; Don Taylor as Captain Hook and James Briggs as Smee. (Photo by Doug Hoke/The Oklahoman)
- NORMAN – See the Sooner Theatre production of “Peter Pan” at 8 p.m. today and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the theatre, 101 E Main Street. The production continues through Dec. 13. Information: www.soonertheatre.org.
- View and buy artwork leftover from the fourth annual “Small Works Great Wonders” Winter Art Sale through Sunday at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63. Information: www.nationalcowboymuseum.org.
- GUTHRIE – Watch “A Territorial Christmas Carol: An Oklahoma Tradition” at 8 p.m. today and Saturday at the Pollard Theatre, 120 W Harrison. Adapted by Oklahoma playwright Stephen P. Scott, this version of Charles Dickens’ classic tale of redemption and brotherly love is set in the days of the Oklahoma Land Run. Performances continue through Dec. 23. Information: www.thepollard.org.
From left, Christopher Curtis, Terry Veal and Brett Young star in Carpenter Square Theatre’s production of “Tom, Dick & Harry.”
- See the Carpenter Square Theatre production of the screwball comedy “Tom, Dick & Harry” at 8 p.m. today and Saturday at Stage Center, 400 W Sheridan. Performances continue through Dec. 19. Information: www.carpentersquare.com.
- Take in the Devon Ice Rink, Chesapeake Snow Tubing at the Brick, Wimgo Holidays on the Canal and more during the opening weekend of Downtown in December. Downtown Oklahoma City’s annual winter celebration officially kicks off at 5:30 p.m. today with the lighting of the SandRidge Christmas Tree just north of Kerr Park at 123 Robert S Kerr Ave. Information: www.downtownindecember.com.
- NORMAN – Listen to Travis Linville at 10:30 tonight at The Deli, 309 White Street. Information: www.thedeli.us.
-BAM
Q&A: The wolf pack from “Twilight: New Moon”
From left, Alex Meraz as Paul, Chaske Spencer as Sam, Bronson Pelletier as Jared and Kiowa Gordon as Embry are the Quileute wolf pack in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”
I’m wrapping up “New Moon” Week: The Sequel, my second week of daily coverage of the blockbuster film “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” today.
In the second film based on Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling book series, the supernatural love triangle between human Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) really starts to develop.
Last week, I brought you features on Lautner, Pattinson and Stewart I wrote after attending the massive “New Moon” press day at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles. This week, I’ve brought you Q&As with the three leads in the film, as well as some of the filmmakers.
Today, I’m featuring a Q&A with four members of the movie’s werewolf pack, taken from the L.A. press conference, in which they fielded questions from several entertainment journalists, including yours truly.
Oklahoma-born Chaske Spencer, who plays Sam, Bronson Pelletier, who plays Jared, Kiowa Gordon, who plays Embry, and Alex Meraz, who plays Paul, chatted about a variety topics, including coping with the cold, filming shirtless scenes and bonding like brothers. (The Q&A has been slightly edited for clarity and length.)
Q: Was there a wolf boot camp for this or do your abs just naturally look great?
Spencer: No, they made us work out. It was an hour of training, they got us a trainer. We went in, it was a guy who helped out on 300. They threw us into the training for maybe an hour and ten minutes, and it was a lot of circuit training and muscle confusion. We also ate a lot. We ate six meals a day, three protein shakes a day.
Meraz: And thanks to Chaske, we also ate a lot of apple pie.
Spencer: Yes. Dessert, too. Yeah, I was a bad influence.
Pelletier: We did strength training, conditioning, weight training, lots of cardio. It was pretty intense.
Meraz: It was definitely crucial to the bonding, too. That’s really what helped out with building the chemistry on set and even during filming, I think it really helped out a lot. We had a blast. We supported each other, we even made fun of each other – you know, like who could do the most push-ups or whatever. It really helped out with our characterizations.
Spencer: I think the chemistry, you’ll see it on the screen. We all get along, and that’s really cool and surprising, because in some films you just don’t get along with the other people, but this time around, they picked the right people.
Meraz: I love you, man! I love you, Dad!
Pelletier: Definitely like a band of brothers, that’s for sure.
Q: You guys have no trouble looking great with your shirts off in the rain and around the breakfast table. Will you talk about both of those scenes?
Spencer: The rain was pretty hard. At one point, we all huddled up together to use our bodies to keep warm. It was definitely pretty cold. We all got through it, you know.
Meraz: I think Bronson had the best explanation of it. He said we had a cutting-glass business.
Spencer: Our nipples were rock hard.
Pelletier: Yeah, definitely. And on top of it, there was the fake rain, too. It wasn’t warmed-up rain either, mind you. It was cold rain coming on top of us, blankets of rain, too. It was pretty wild.
Q: The breakfast table scene is really interesting because that’s the aftermath of the big explosion, so how about that?
Spencer: For me, you get to see all their characters. Their characters come alive. You see Paul’s character, Bronson’s, all of them come alive and they get dialog – plus, you know, I’ve got a kissing scene with Tinsel Korey, which was pretty good to do.
Meraz: To speak more on that, it’s the first time you actually see them more as humans. You see the relationship, that we’re brothers. Before then, it’s a little more ominous, there’s more foreshadowing, you see the scene before where I try to kill Bella. So that’s the first time you see the friskiness, the playfulness, which I think really helps out.
Pelletier: It shows definitely the camaraderie of us all, you know.
Spencer: The sense of humor. That’s where you really see the chemistry.
Q: Did you have to keep up all that training going into “Eclipse”? Were you not allowed any downtime between the movies? How hard was that to maintain?
Meraz: We had about four months … and it’s hard.
Spencer: It’s hard to keep that up, because it’s a lot of diet. It’s tough.
Pelletier: Mainly dieting, it’s really important.
Q: And you talk about bonding – did you guys hang out as a pack?
Spencer: Yeah.
Pelletier: Oh, of course! I love hanging out with these guys.
Spencer: The film schedule, it’s so big. There’s a ton of cast members, so we don’t get to hang out with all the cast members, so we just ended up hanging out with each other. It was good company.
Oklahoma-born actor Chaske Spencer becomes leader of the pack in “Twilight: New Moon”
From left, Alex Meraz plays Paul, Kiowa Gordon plays Embry and Chaske Spencer plays Sam in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
“Twilight” saga new phase for actor
State native Chaske Spencer plays Quileute Indian, werewolf in latest chapter of paranormal saga
LOS ANGELES — For Chaske Spencer, playing a werewolf in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” was more than a chance to appear in one of the biggest movies of the year.
The film offered the opportunity to embody American Indians in a positive, modern-day fashion.
“We try to represent well, because “We’re very fortunate to be here and to represent our people in a contemporary way, and a lot of responsibility does come with that,” Spencer said in a press conference at the Four Seasons Hotel ballroom, where he was surrounded by fellow Native American actors Alex Meraz, Kiowa Gordon and Bronson Pelletier.
“We’re getting offers as well for roles that are non-specific for Natives — some guy that doesn’t have to be Native. We’re very fortunate and blessed for that.”
For Spencer, 34, his first major role as an actor was playing the title character in an off-Broadway production of “Dracula.” The Oklahoma-born thespian finds himself at the other end of the supernatural spectrum in “New Moon” as Sam Uley, a Quileute Indian who becomes first of his generation to tap his people’s genetic ability to transform into werewolves. Their job is to protect the tribe from vampires, and Sam becomes leader of the pack.
“No one wants this. It just happens, this is what we’re dealt. When the Cullens came around, that’s when we started phasing. My character, he was the first one to phase, so my relationship to these guys, I’m sort of the big brother, the mentor, the father figure to help them,” Spencer said. “We are like a band of brothers, like a rock band, and suddenly Jacob starts to phase, and …he has some choices to make and he has to join us. we surround him and tell him it’s not that bad.”
In “New Moon,” the second film based on Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling book series, human heroine Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) is devastated when her vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) leaves over concerns for her safety. Bella takes comfort in her friendship with her Quileute pal Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), but her life again gets supernaturally strange when Jacob turns into a werewolf.
The sequel took in a monstrous $140.7 million when it debuted last weekend, giving it the third-biggest opening weekend on the all-time domestic box-office list.
The movie is the most high-profile project yet for Spencer, whose previous credits include the drama “Skins,” the TV movie “DreamKeeper” and Steve Spielberg’s television epic “Into the West.”
Born in Tahlequah, the Lakota Sioux actor grew up on reservations in Montana and Idaho. As a child he dreamed of becoming a photographer but eventually moved to New York City to pursue acting. After doing some theater work, he was discovered by TV and film casting director Rene Haynes, who cast American Indian actors to play the “New Moon” werewolves.
Pelletier, who plays Jared, is Cree-Metis; Gordon, who plays Embry Call, is Hualapai; and Meraz, who plays Paul, is Purepecha. In a 2008 interview, Lautner said his heritage is French, German and Dutch, with some Potawatomi and Ottawa ancestry on his mother’s side.
Spencer relished seeing so many American Indian actors gathered for a contemporary film, rather than the usual “leather and feather” period epics. Although they turn into werewolves, the Quileutes aren’t demonized in the Meyer’s “Twilight” universe.
“We come from a different angle, being Native. We have a different outlook on life,” he said. “We like Stephenie’s writing and she’s represented pretty well.”
Along with watching the first “Twilight” film, he and his fellow werewolf actors researched the Quileute culture. It doesn’t include lycanthropy myths, but according to legend, the tribe is descended from wolves who changed into men.
The actors also went through a wolf boot camp of rigorous workouts and strict dieting. Spencer emerged as the true alpha of the group, even if he helped them break their protein-heavy diet with desserts. As they endured several shirtless scenes in 30-degree weather and icy rain, the wolf pack bonded like a true band of brothers. They’re even considering matching tattoos.
“I think the chemistry, you’ll see it on the screen,” Spencer said. “We all get along, and that’s really cool.”
-BAM
Movie studios bearing cinematic gifts during holiday film season
“Avatar”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
New movies bring old stars, newcomers to screen
The turkey may be leftovers by now, but film fans should be giving thanks.
The movie studios have packed their shiny cinematic sleighs with many promising gifts this holiday season, from James Cameron’s long-awaited sci-fi adventure “Avatar” to Disney’s return to hand-drawn fairytales “The Princess and the Frog.”
Also, Robert Downey Jr. becomes “Sherlock Holmes,” filmmaker and former Python Terry Gilliam captures the late Heath Ledger’s final performance in “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” and director Wes Anderson transforms George Clooney into one “Fantastic Mr. Fox.”
Here is a list for cinemaphiles to check twice of movies opening in Oklahoma City this season. But remember, those naughty studios sometimes change their release dates, so check movie listings before heading to the theater.
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
Opened Wednesday
Writer-director Wes Anderson (“The Darjeeling Limited”) adapts Roald Dahl’s book “Fantastic Mr. Fox” into a stop-motion animated film with the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Adrien Brody and Owen Wilson.
The film version of Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “The Road” features Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee as a father and son traveling through a post-apocalyptic America.
Asian stars Rain and Rick Yune face off as skilled killers who were once allies in the undoubtedly action-packed “Ninja Assassin.”
Two bachelor pals (John Travolta and Robin Williams) are forced to care for 7-year-old twins in the comedy “Old Dogs,” from director Walt Becker (“Wild Hogs”).
The MacManus brothers (Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus) return to their vigilante ways when their beloved priest is killed in the sequel “Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day.”
“Everybody’s Fine”
Dec. 4
In “Everybody’s Fine,” Robert De Niro plays a widower who takes an impromptu Christmastime trek to reconnect with his adult children (Sam Rockwell, Kate Beckinsale, Drew Barrymore).
A supposedly full-proof armored car robbery goes awry in “Armored,” starring Columbus Short, Laurence Fishburne, Matt Dillon and Jean Reno.
After surviving a prison-of-war camp in Afghanistan, a solider (Tobey Maguire) returns home to find his wife (Natalie Portman), who assumed she was a widow, has taken comfort in a relationship with his ex-con brother (Jake Gyllenhaal) in “Brothers.” Helmed by Oscar nominee Jim Sheridan, it is a remake of writer-director Susanne Biers’ highly regarded 2004 Danish film.
In the horror comedy “Transylmania,” a group of college students decide to study abroad in Transylvania, where they encounter vampires.
“The Princess and the Frog”
Dec. 11
Disney gets back to its hand-drawn animation roots in adapting the classic tale “The Princess and the Frog.” Set in New Orleans during the Jazz Age, the film features the Mouse House’s first black princess, Tiana (voice of Anika Noni Rose)
Clint Eastwood (“Gran Torino”) directs the fact-based, post-apartheid story “Invictus,” about South African president Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) partnering with the country’s rugby team captain Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon) to unite their nation through the power of sport.
“Did You Hear About the Morgans?”
Dec. 18
Writer-director James Cameron’s (“Titanic”) return to feature film, “Avatar” follows a band of humans into the future as they battle the indigenous population of a far-off planet using genetically engineered avatars. The film uses a special 3-D process Cameron has been developing for years and marks the grand opening of Oklahoma City’s first IMAX screen at AMC Quail Springs 24.
An estranged New York couple (Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker) are put in the witness protection program and relocated to rural Wyoming after they witness a murder in “Did You Hear About the Morgans?”
“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel”
Dec. 23
Alvin, Simon and Theodore (voices of Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney) meet their match in the all-girl singing rodent group The Chipettes (voices of Anna Faris, Christina Applegate and Amy Poehler) in “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.”
“Sherlock Holmes”
Dec. 25
Robert Downey Jr. plays the world’s most famous detective and Jude Law his loyal counterpart Dr. Watson in director Guy Ritchie’s (“Snatch”) take on “Sherlock Holmes.”
“The Young Victoria” offers a dramatized look at the tumultuous early years of Queen Victoria’s (Emily Blunt) rule and her long relationship with Prince Albert (Rupert Friend).
In “Nine,” Rob Marshall (“Chicago”) directs Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz, Nicole Kidman and Sophia Loren in a musical based on Federico Fellini’s film “8 ½.”
Directed and co-written by Jason Reitman (“Juno”), “Up in the Air” stars George Clooney as a corporate-downsizing consultant whose beloved frequent-flier lifestyle is grounded, keeping him from seeing a fellow traveler (Vera Farmiga) who might be the woman of his dreams.
Meryl Streep stars as a divorcee who is romanced by her remarried ex-husband (Alec Baldwin) and the architect remodeling her kitchen (Steve Martin) in “It’s Complicated.”
Director Peter Jackson (“The Lord of the Rings”) adapts Alice Sebold’s best-selling novel “The Lovely Bones,” about a murdered girl (Saoirse Ronan) who watches her family and killer from heaven.
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”
Jan. 8
Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill star in the near-future horror tale “Daybreakers,” about a plague that transforms most of mankind into vampires.
Oscar winner Penelope Cruz again teams with Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar (“Volver”) for “Broken Embraces,” a noirish tale of a movie director (Lluís Homar) who loses his sight and his love (Cruz) in an accident.
Teenager Nick Twisp (Michael Cera) gets into all sorts of trouble on his quest to lose his virginity to the precocious Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday) in “Youth in Revolt,” based on C.D. Payne’s novel.
Fashion designer-turned-filmmaker Tom Ford makes his directorial debut with “A Single Man,” a drama starring Colin Firth, Julianne Moore and Matthew Goode.
“Brazil” filmmaker (and former Monty Python troupe member) Terry Gilliam directs the late Heath Ledger in his final last role in “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,” a colorful fantasy also starring Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Ferrell, Christopher Plummer and Tom Waits.
“Crazy Heart”
Also for the holidays
These films are slated to open in Oklahoma City during the holiday season, but exact release dates have yet to be announced:
Writer-director Jared Hess (“Napoleon Dynamite”) returns to Utah for his latest film, “Gentlemen Broncos,” about a teenager (Michael Angarano) who attends a fantasy writers convention and finds his ideas have been stolen by a well-known novelist.
A broken-down country singer (Jeff Bridges) tries to find redemption with the help of a journalist (Maggie Gyllenhaal) in “Crazy Heart.”
-BAM
New Christmas CDs get the holidays ringing
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
State celebs spice Christmas CDs
Comedians Rodney Carrington and Kathy Griffin, groups REO Speedwagon and Sugarland and singers Andrea Bocelli and Sting are among the array of recording artists ringing in the holidays this year with seasonal CDs.
Rodney Carrington, who lives in Tulsa, gets surprisingly serious with “Make It Christmas,” which blends classics such as “Winter Wonderland” with new material like the touching military tribute “Camouflage and Christmas Lights.” But the musically inclined comic spikes the album with a bit of his cheeky humor with “The Presents Under the Tree (Better Be for Me).”
Newcastle singer-songwriter Kylie Morgan, 14, is releasing her album “Christmas with Kylie Morgan” Monday on local label Land Run Records. All proceeds from the rollicking seven-song collection will benefit the American Cancer Society. She plans to release her first non-holiday record next year.
Chockie native Reba McEntire makes a stellar duet partner for Andrea Bocelli on his rendition of “Blue Christmas,” one of the traditional favorites on the Italian tenor’s “My Christmas.” His first holiday album features collaborations with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Mary J. Blige and the Muppets, too.
Sugarland, the country duo of Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush, also offers their first holiday album, “Gold and Green,” which includes their own Christmas creations like Little Wood Guitar” and “Maybe Baby (New Year’s Day),” alongside old favorites “Holly Jolly Christmas” and “Silent Night.”
With “If on a Winter’s Night …,” Sting pays tribute to his favorite season with an enigmatically lovely collection of carols, lullabies and original compositions.
“Mannheim Steamroller Christmas — 25th Anniversary Collection” provides a two-CD retrospective in honor of Steamroller founder Chip Davis and his holiday mainstay’s silver anniversary.
Power ballad pros REO Speedwagon put a spirited rock twist on “Deck the Halls,” “Little Drummer Boy,” “The First Noel” and more on “Not So Silent Night.”
Bob Clark’s cinematic classic “A Christmas Story” debuted in theaters in 1983, but Carl Zittrer and Paul Zaza’s memorable, previously unreleased score finally makes its way onto CD this year as “A Christmas Story: Music from the Motion Picture.”
Singer-songwriter Neil Diamond delivers originals such as the title track, traditionals like “Joy to the World” and even Adam Sandler’s “The Chanukah Song” on “A Cherry, Cherry Christmas.”
Kathy Griffin roasts Maya Angelou, Justin Timberlake, T.I. and other celebs over her holiday fire with her new comedy album “Suckin’ It for the Holidays,” the rare Christmas CD to earn an explicit content warning.
Blue-eyed soul crooner Michael McDonald celebrates “This Christmas” with an amalgamation of old and new seasonal songs, while The Irish Tenors blend their voices for their “Christmas” album.
Country-pop novelty singer Ray Stevens serves up his first seasonal CD in more than a decade with “Ray Stevens Christmas” and re-releases his twisted 1997 album “Ray Stevens Christmas Through a Different Window.”
The remastered version of the 1963 album “A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector” provides the chance to celebrate with Darlene Love, The Ronettes and The Crystals. The re-release is intended to mark Love’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nomination; just try to ignore the tawdry taint of Spector’s murder conviction earlier this year.
British songbird Connie Talbot, 9, makes “Holiday Magic,” with her Christmas album, with a portion of the sales supporting the Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots 2009 campaign, for which she is ambassador.
Nashville songwriting group The Song Trust, which includes country duo Joey+Rory, enlists youngsters to warble a mix of new and venerable holiday tunes on “Merry Kidsmas.” Part of the proceeds benefit the United Service Organization.
Richie McDonald, former lead singer of country group Lonestar, launches his solo career with the holiday offering “If Every Day Could Be Christmas.”
Contemporary acoustic guitarist Billy McLaughlin and his ensemble SimpleGifts rejoice in “A Small Town Christmas,” with mellow renditions of “Carol of the Bells,” “I Saw Three Ships” and other carols.
John Cowan, who was lead vocalist of New Grass Revival, puts his roots-music touch on “What Child Is This,” God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” and “Go Tell It on the Mountain” for his record “Comfort & Joy.”
Jazz pianist Chris Dawson shows off his fleet fingers on “Stridin’ Through Christmas,” which interprets classics like “Jingle Bells,” “Let It Snow” and “Jolly Old St. Nicholas.”
And even lawyers should have the chance at a merry Christmas. New York litigator/singer/songwriter Lawrence Savell, performing as The LawTunes, files his latest holiday music-comedy novelty CD, “Season’s Briefings.”
-BAM
