Jane Heller

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

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Movie Day: “Trumbo”

November 26, 2015

trumbo poster-1

Today was Thanksgiving and the day/night was jammed, but we squeezed in a morning showing of “Trumbo.” Was it worth getting up early? Not really.

The true story of Oscar winning screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, the movie has a fascinating tale to tell but seems to take forever doing it. We meet Trumbo and his family at their lavish ranch outside Hollywood where he’s the toast of the town, turning out scripts that earn him a lot of money and great acclaim within the industry. But we’re talking about the post-World War II Cold War when anyone even suspected of having Communist leanings was in danger of losing everything. Such is the case with Trumbo, a proud Communist who gets called before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and refuses to name names of other Communists in Hollywood. As a result, he’s blacklisted for 13 years – his name removed from his scripts, his only work written under pseudonyms for sympathetic producers, even when his films won Academy Awards (“Roman Holiday,” for example). How he and his family stayed afloat during his purgatory fills the screen for two hours. A lot of it is compelling and some of it feels like a mediocre TV biopic.

Bryan Cranston gives the character everything he has. The real Trumbo was said to be a larger-than-life type and Cranston plays him that way – over-the-top and almost cartoonish. Diane Lane as his wife is given woefully little to do but play his cheerleader and occasional scold. Helen Mirren is terrific as Hedda Hopper, the gossip columnist who’s determined to expose all Communists in Hollywood and make sure they never work again. And John Goodman is blustery fun as the schlock producer who hires Trumbo during his blacklist years.

This is a story that deserves to be known, not only for history’s sake but because it’s very timely in this climate where those who are judged to be “un-American” must be rooted out at all costs. It’s a cautionary tale  with implications beyond Hollywood, in other words – a tale of what can happen when “patriotism” runs amok.

 

Filed Under: Mainly Jane, Movies, Politics Tagged With: Bryan Cranston, Dalton Trumbo, Diane Lane, Hedda Hopper, Helen Mirren, John Goodman, Turbo movie

Movie Day: "Hitchcock"

December 2, 2012

Today’s screening was an another example of low expectations/high reward. I went into “Hitchcock” having read some not-so-hot reviews and figured the movie would be worth seeing just for the performances of Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren, who never disappoint.

It turns out the film itself was the ideal entertainment for a rainy Sunday in Santa Barbara. It doesn’t put the great director on a pedestal, nor does it focus on Hitchcock as the perv director who only lusts after blondes, as the HBO movie did. Instead, it depicts a period in Hitchcock’s life – at age 60 – when he was looking for another project to direct, to prove to Hollywood he wasn’t “over,” and decided on “Psycho,” a horror movie no one wanted him to make.

http://youtu.be/KAORZEw_7ao

We go behind the scenes of the shooting of “Psycho,” the marketing of it, and the demons it brought out in Hitchcock. We also get an up-close story of his long marriage to and partnership with his wife, Alma. As brilliantly played by Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren, these two are people you come to care about. And watching two Oscar winners go at it is always fun. Scarlett Johansson is a pitch-perfect Janet Leigh (even daughter Jamie Lee thought so, according to the movie’s director, who was full of interesting stories during the Q&A and reception) and the actor who plays Tony Perkins is a dead ringer for the real thing.

I really did have a good time at this one.

Filed Under: Mainly Jane, Movies Tagged With: Alfred Hitchcock, Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Hitchcock, Psycho

Now THIS Is A Movie I'd Pay To See

April 6, 2011

I know I’m usually the last one to see “viral sensations,” so this one has probably been making the rounds for awhile. Still, I couldn’t help posting it. I wasn’t able to figure out how to embed it (the people at Funny Or Die Videos make it more difficult than most), but here’s the link. Just click on it and enjoy. If you’re a movie fan, in general, and a fan of the movie “When Harry Met Sally,” in particular, you’ll really get a kick out it.

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/0247468f28/when-harry-met-sally-2-with-billy-crystal-helen-mirren

Filed Under: Humor, Mainly Jane, Movies Tagged With: Billy Crystal, Funny Or Die Videos, Helen Mirren, Meg Ryan, Ron Reiner, When Harry Met Sally

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About Jane Heller

Jane Heller is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Her fourteen breezy, witty novels of romantic comedy and suspense are now entertaining millions of readers around the world, along with her two books of nonfiction.

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