Feuding newscasters
“Morning Glory,” a romantic comedy that opens Wednesday, Nov. 10, stars Rachel McAdams as Becky, a local TV producer who is hired by a network morning news program with very low ratings. Becky convinces her network boss (Jeff Goldblum, 58) to let her hire Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford, 68), a legendary “hard news” anchorman. Pomeroy proves to be a handful — he refuses to do “soft stuff,” like celebrity news, and he’s at odds with his former beauty queen co-host (Diane Keaton). She loves doing celeb and fashion stories. The anchors, of course, clash, and Becky’s romance with another producer (Patrick Wilson) suffers as the feuding escalates.
The original script is by Aline Brosh, 43, a Harvard grad who is very “hot” following the box office success of her last two films, “The Devil Wears Prada” and “27 Dresses.” Frankly, I’m really curious whether “Morning Glory” will show that Brosh can really write a witty and critically well-received film or if she is just a sharp “hack.” Her first two original script films were box office and critical duds, and even “Prada” was criticized for de-fanging the original novel by Lauren Weisberger. Many said the director (David Frankel) and outstanding cast carried the film.
“27 Dresses,” from an original screenplay by Brosh, starred Katherine Heigl as a woman who is “always a bridesmaid, never a bride.” Almost all critics panned the flick, with many saying that it seemed to be sewn together from every contemporary romantic comedy cliché. Still, it found an audience and made a lot of money. Two hits in a row means a lot in Hollywood, and Brosh now has a lot of big projects lined up. But the jury’s still out on her talent.
On the other hand, “Conviction,” written by Pamela Gray (who also wrote the acclaimed Jewish-themed film, “A Walk on the Moon”), opened recently to stellar reviews and will be an Oscar contender. Try and catch it. Starring Hilary Swank as a woman dedicated to freeing her wrongly convicted brother, it highlights the role of the Innocence Project, which began at Yeshiva University’s School of Law and is headed two Jewish lawyers.
Due date
Opening in theaters on Friday, Nov. 5 is “Due Date,” a comedy-drama starring Robert Downey Jr. as an expectant first-time father whose wife is five days away from her due date.
Circumstances force him to take a wild car ride home with an aspiring actor (Zach Galifianakis). The director is Todd Phillips, 39, who had a huge hit with “The Hangover,” also co-starring Galifianakis.
Two weeks ago, Phillips said that he had cast Mel Gibson in a small, but important role in the “Hangover” sequel, now filming. Galifianakis publicly objected to Gibson’s casting, on “moral grounds,” and he was joined behind the scenes by others. On Oct. 24, Phillips said he was surprised at the “lack of empathy” for Gibson, but that he would bow to the opposition of the “ ‘Hangover’ family.” He replaced Gibson with Liam Neeson.
The whole controversy took on a surreal character when former boxing champ Mike Tyson, who had a funny extended cameo in the original “Hangover,” told the New York Post that he would work with Gibson: “I’m not going to ever in my life point my finger at anyone. I don’t live in a glass house. None of us do. I work with anybody, as long as they’re respectful.”
So, a convicted rapist (Tyson) is more than willing to work with the anti-Semitic, n-word using, woman-hating Gibson. Puts a whole new spin on Brotherhood Week, doesn’t it?