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Alice In Wonderland (2010)

Anne Hathaway received a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for her work in Jonathan Demme’s 2008 drama “Rachel Getting Married.” Her performance in that film also brought her Golden Globe®, Screen Actors Guild Award and Independent Spirit Award nominations, as well as a number of critics groups awards for Best Actress. She was most recently seen in the Garry Marshall-directed romantic comedy “Valentine’s Day,” in which she joined an all-star ensemble cast. She also stars with Jake Gyllenhaal in Edward Zwick’s drama “Love and Other Drugs,” due out later this year. Hathaway made an auspicious feature film debut in the starring role of Garry Marshall’s hit comedy “The Princess Diaries,” and reprised her role in “The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.”

She has more recently earned widespread acclaim for her work in the hit comedy “Get Smart,” opposite Steve Carell; “Becoming Jane,” in which she starred as Jane Austen; the smash hit “The Devil Wears Prada,” with Meryl Streep; and Ang Lee’s award-winning drama “Brokeback Mountain,” with Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger, for which she shared in a SAG Award® nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

Hathaway currently stars as the White Queen in Tim Burton’s epic 3D fantasy adventure “ALICE IN WONDERLAND.”

Q: Is this an adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s books?

A: This is “Alice in Wonderland” 10 years later. The story isn’t the same. And in re-reading the book in preparation for the film, I noticed that a lot of it is Alice trying to figure out who she isn’t by process of elimination. She knows that she isn’t all the things that people are saying that she is, and so, by going through all of them, she gets a better idea of what she is. And in the Tim Burton “ALICE IN WONDERLAND,” Alice is trying to name who she is without using the process of elimination in a similar way. There’s a great line in it, where someone says, “You seem like Alice, but you’ve lost your muchness.” That’s my favorite line. So I think if the book is about Alice exploring her imagination, this one is about Alice finding her soul.

Q: Why have his books been enjoyed for generations?

A: In my opinion, what makes a great book is something that is universally specific. I didn’t read the “Alice” books when I was a child. I read them when I was in college. I was really into Nabokov, and apparently, he was really into Lewis Carroll, so I thought it was a good idea. So I read it from the perspective of a young woman becoming a woman-and I really related to it, the idea that you’re never the right size, that you could drink something to make you feel smaller, or eat something to make you feel bigger.

I remember that it just appealed to me because I understood it. On the surface, it’s kind of light and fantastical, but it actually does play into a lot of deep, psychological fears we have-inadequacies that we feel we have, insecurities, the way we relate to the world around us. And in Wonderland, the world is hyper-emotional. It doesn’t make sense. People don’t make logical, emotional sense, and people feel things very, very grandly, and it’s just full of contrarians. So then, you have this young girl-who’s quite sensible, especially for a young girl-navigating her way through it.

Sometimes, you feel like you’re the supporting cast of characters, the Wonderland crew, and then other times, you feel like you’re Alice. Like I said, when something is that universally specific-universal enough that it’s just a great, entertaining story, but specific enough that you can find yourself in it and relate to it at different points in your life-I think that could possibly explain why people keep going back to it.

Q: Why are Carroll’s characters such great fodder for film?

A: One of the reasons why Lewis Carroll’s characters work so well in cinema is because they’re wildly imaginative and there’s no one way to interpret them. Because Lewis Carroll played around with words and concepts, and because the characters appeal to the imagination, I feel there are as many interpretations as there are imaginations in the world. It depends on what your take is.

Q: And why are the characters also great for a Tim Burton movie?

A: One of the reasons why “ALICE IN WONDERLAND” and Tim are such a great match is because nothing is exactly as it seems in Wonderland. Nothing is entirely good or entirely bad. There’s a mixture of life and texture and intention, and I think that’s something with which Tim is really comfortable. And if you look throughout his filmography, nothing is ever what it appears to be or should be. So, I think in that sense, living in the questions, the ambiguity, but also the specificity of the world-these are things in which Tim excels as filmmaker. I believe the filmmaker and the subject matter complement each other really beautifully in this film.

Q: Describe the character you play.

A: I play the White Queen. When I was trying to work her out, I kept saying to myself, ‘She is a punk-rock, vegan pacifist.’ So I listened to a lot of Blondie, I watched a lot of Greta Garbo movies, and I looked at a lot of the artwork of Dan Flavin. Then a little bit of Norma Desmond got thrown in there, too. And she just kind of emerged.

And I really like her. When I first came onboard the project, Tim talked a lot about the relationship between the sisters, and that really opened the character up to me a lot. She comes from the same gene pool as the Red Queen.

She really likes the dark side, but she’s so scared of going too far into it that she’s made everything appear very light and happy. But she’s living in that place out of fear that she won’t be able to control herself. There’s a lot to play around in. It was awesome. I had so much fun.

Q: Why did you want to be in this film and play this role?

A: I’m just going to be a gushy fan for a second. I love Tim Burton-he’s one of my all-time favorite filmmakers. For as long as he’s been making films, I’ve been going to them opening weekend. And I watch them again and again on DVD. I love his aesthetic.

I love his ability to pace as a filmmaker, his comfort with things that are kind of odd-he also finds a way to ground them. I think it’s very unusual to find a filmmaker who isn’t trying to be different for the sake of being different, to show you something you’ve never seen, but is actually yearning to stretch the limits of his imagination.

So everything Tim does comes from a very pure place. And I think that’s why his movies, in spite of the sometimes off-beat subject matter, have such heart. I love that. “Alice” itself is such a classic, amazing story, and it has been told so many times-but when I heard the combination Tim Burton/”ALICE IN WONDERLAND,” I knew it was going to be a very specific, very wonderful adventure.

I love my character. I love that she seems to be the voice of reason-you’d think that she would be the good queen. But she didn’t have to be. I really had a lot of fun playing around with this idea, that what’s good in Wonderland is not necessarily good in the real world.

Q: Describe what she does with her hands, and the way that she walks.

A: That was absolutely derivative from the costume because, [costume designer] Colleen Atwood, who’s just such a genius, made this dress that has so much detail to it, that’s so complex, but it doesn’t look at all heavy.

It looks like if you didn’t attach a weight to it, that it would float up into the air and spin around. And I noticed the way the dress moved when I was in it. It was never my intention to create a perfect light.

I just wanted her to arrive in certain places, and in my head I just thought, the way she walks, she occasionally bumps into things and doesn’t know how she got there. And she’s a little dopey and kind of ditzy, but at the same time, very clued in. And so, the walk just happened.

I took very, very fast footsteps, and I noticed the more languid I could make my arms, the more it looked like I was gliding. And that’s when the Norma Desmond thing happened. I remember being really nervous about the first take. And I did it and Tim smiled, so it was nice.

That’s the feeling on set. ‘Show me your imagination. Show me how far you can take this.’ And I always had absolute trust that if it went too far, Tim would pull it back. He actually has a story in his head that he wants to tell. So usually what would happen, it would be some kind of combination of straightforward story and imaginary weirdness. And it was just nice the way it all fit together.

Q: What’s going on with the White Queen when we first meet her?

A: The White Queen has had her crown taken from her, and she’s basically powerless to stop her sister’s reign of tyranny. Her sister is the Red Queen. And so, she is waiting.

She’s basically taken a vow of non-violence that she cannot break, and she’s waiting for her champion to arrive to help her reclaim her throne-the citizens of Underland would like to see that happen. They want to see her restored to power, because she’s kind.

Q: What is the relationship between the White Queen and the Red Queen?

A: The relationship between the White Queen and the Red Queen is not good. They are sisters, but I don’t think it was ever particularly good. I just think that my character would never admit that she doesn’t like her sister. I think she tries to make excuses for her.

She tries to find little things to love about her, but she really doesn’t that much. I think, from her perspective, if the Red Queen were just a bit nicer to her-allow the possibility that they could be friends, allow the room for love-that she would be willing to give over to it. But the Red Queen just rubs her the wrong way. They’re not buddies-they’re just related.

Q: Who plays the Red Queen?

A: Helena Bonham Carter, in addition to being one of the most brilliant women I’ve ever had the pleasure to talk to, is so much fun as the Red Queen. She has so much energy that she gives to it.

And her characterization is so lovely and demanding, not child-like but childish, and selfish and impossible to please. Then, at other times, she’s really vulnerable and sad, because this person is going to be lonely forever, because she’s just so darn selfish.

She’s endlessly entertaining in the role. Her look and the dedication that it takes-three, four hours to get into that hair and makeup.

Q: Talk about the actor who plays The Mad Hatter.

A: The actor who plays the Mad Hatter, Johnny Depp-I have so much fun watching him in all of his movies as an audience member, so to actually get to watch him perform live is such a treat.

He’s so inventive-and he’s kind, just a very kind, warm man. But to actually watch him in his element, in his zone, just acting, it’s a thrill. I want him to do theater so that everyone else can get in on it.

He’s very powerful. I just felt very privileged to get to watch him.

Q: What does Mia Wasikowska bring to her role?

A: Mia Wasikowska is an absolute delight of a young woman. She’s so playful and natural and down-to-earth-but she also has this ethereal quality to her, she feels timeless. What she brings to Alice is very, very difficult to pull off. Every time I do a scene with her, I’m just amazed at what she’s doing with it and that a young actress can bring so much gravity to this world.

It’s somewhat eerie, the way she’s able to communicate feeling and where Alice is at that moment. It was lovely to work with her, just to get to observe that.

Q: What is your impression about how this film is being made?

A: I took a very Zen approach to filmmaking on this one. It sounds silly, but I had no idea what was going on. I walked in and it was like being in a neon-green terrarium–green on all sides, and tons of empty space.

Tim knew what was going on-he was the one that is in control of it. All I needed to do was hit my mark and say my lines, and wait for Tim to tell me that we’re ready to move on. And that was my approach to it. I didn’t put any other pressure on myself. I just showed up and acted.

Q: What are you wearing in this movie?

A: I’m wearing a dress designed by Colleen Atwood. It’s grand and the most fragile dress I’ve ever worn in my life. I love it so much. It’s beautiful.

If you ever had a dream of being any kind of fairy princess, this is the dress you would wear. I love the idea that it’s this idealized, fairy-tale Queen, but it is in a Tim Burton movie, so there’s darkness mixed up with it as well.

Q: What do audiences have to look forward to with this film?

A: Because the world of this film begins and ends in the imagination of Tim Burton, you’re not seeing a movie that’s been shot on locations that you’ve seen a million times. Because this world has no rules, you’re seeing so many different and separate brushstrokes and colors and characterizations somehow getting combined through Tim.

And what I think you’re getting is an absolute exploration of the imagination. I think that’s the essence of the book, and I think that’s the spirit Tim’s brought to the film. Everybody on the film was so clever, so creative, so imaginative-and I think that’s what the film is about-how can we tell a story that honors the imagination in the most imaginative way humanly possible? And that’s such a fantastic idea.

What Is it?

The WD TV Media Player is a little box you plug into your TV, that plays anything on your portable hardrive to your TV, and I mean anything… mp4’s, MKV’s, DivX, Mpegs, WMA’s, etc.

So maybe you backed up all your DVD’s onto your storage device but don’t want to burn DVD’s? Just plug your drive into the WD Media Player and voila! It finds everything on your drive and you select what to play.

It even plays your BluRay files! Did I mention your MKV files? All your pictures, music.. it will read it and play it.

This little unit comes with a remote as well, and hooks up in seconds.

Why should I buy it?

It’s Tiny! This thing just hides on your shelf! If you are even considering the Apple TV, don’t! This is more than half the price and there is no compatibility issues at all.

What’s bad about it?

The remote is just a little small, that is the only negative thing about this amazing unit.

You’ll Like It If

If you need to play all those files on your drive, the WD Media Player is perfect!

The Verdict

Best product I have purchased this year to watch all my movies and downloads!

Celebrity Yachts

So here is a neat little collection of celebrity boats/yachts that I’ve tried to keep current. I especially like Tiger Woods’ Yacht named ‘Privacy’.

[View with PicLens]

I know this list is subjective, you won’t agree with them all, but these are my favorite films around Halloween. Coming up with a list about scary movies isn’t easy, because I do not scare easily. Consider most ’scary films’ have little more substance than that old internet gag where you stare at a picture until some dead bitch comes screaming into the frame.

Hence why a lot of popular films missed my list, they didn’t scare me at any point in my life. These films affected me for various reasons, maybe because I was too young when I watched them, perhaps it was some other screwed up reason.

Here is my list of the top 20 Horror films you can watch this Halloween, or whenever you need a good scare.

#20 Army of Darknes

One of the most popular horror comedies of all time, this classic almost destroyed the careers of all involved as it never even broke even at the theaters. A man is accidentally transported to 1300 A.D., where he must battle an army of the dead and retrieve the Necronomicon so he can return home.

Top 20 Because

Kicking ass on the dead with chainsaws and fists has never been this fun.

# 19 An American Werewolf in London

Two American tourists in England are attacked by a werewolf that none of the locals will admit exists.

Top 20 Because :

Wicked nudity, blood and gore and wonderful suspense.

#18 The Omen

Gregory Peck learns that his little prick of a son his really the Antichrist.

Top 20 Because :

Maybe its because I was 7 years old the first time I saw this film, but the music, the murder and the mayhem that Damien unleashes on his inner circle, is of the ‘You’ll shit your pants’ nature. I am still uneasy about people named ‘Damien’ to this day.

# 17 Halloween

When I say ‘Halloween’ , I mean the 1978 version, not the piece of shit movies Rob Zombie is mass producing. The original version still holds up till this day, and an enormously breasted Jamie Lee Curtis makes her first real motion picture appearance.

Top 20 Because

The movie delivered us Michael Myers and that creepy mask that looks very similar to a young William Shatner.

#16 Friday The 13th Part 2

Mrs. Voorhees is dead, and Camp Crystal Lake is shut down, but a camp next to the infamous place is stalked by an unknown assailant. Yeah that’s right, its Jason Voorhees , bitches, and he’s got mommy issues. Jason takes out his hatred on teenage girls, jocks, and shitheads with bad 80’s haircuts.

Top 20 Because

Part 2 made my list because its the first time we get to meet the troubled young lad Jason, and see his his silly little temper in action. Jason kicks ass in ways never seen before on film and forces his way into one of the most iconic killing mofo’s on the fricken planet. Throw in the insane amount of titties and idiotic douchebags, and you’ll be rooting for Jason, rather than then the innocent little turds trespassing on JV’s turf.

#15 Dawn Of The Dead

A nurse, a policeman, a young married couple, a salesman, and other survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies, take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall.

Top 20 Because

I enjoyed this remake, and the much better special effects than the original offered. I’m still a fan of the 1978 George Romero classic, but the 2004 version was just… better. Nothing would be more awesome than sitting on the mall roof with guns, plucking off the retarded zombies as they got to do in this film.

#14 Shaun Of The Dead

A man decides to turn his moribund life around by winning back his ex-girlfriend, reconciling his relationship with his mother, and dealing with an entire community that has returned from the dead to eat the living.

Top 20 Because

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are downright hilarious, as is this entire film. I needed to lighten up my Halloween collection with something a little different, and Shaun Of The Dead is perect for this. I know its not a scary movie, but it belongs as a ‘must see’ every Halloween.

#13 The Shining

A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil and spiritual presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from the past and of the future.

Top 20 Because

Creepy foreshadowing, a fucked up Jack Nicholson and nowhere to run make this classic a hit every year. Heeeeeeeeeeeres Johnny!

#12 A Nightmare On Elm Street

Wes Craven’s iconic masterpiece about a sweet young man named Freddy Krueger who is forced to torture, murder and dismember the children on Elm Street in their sleep, all because he was picked on by the local adults.

Top 20 Because

You have to ask? No explanation necessary. Freddy Krueger FTW!

#11 Saw

With a dead body laying between them, two men wake up in the secure lair of a serial killer who’s been nicknamed “Jigsaw” by the police because of his unusual calling card.

Top 20 Because

The imagination of the film was a breath of fresh air, and the torture just downright disturbing. This fella ‘Jigsaw’ is as fucked up as Freddy Kreuger.

#10 Evil Dead

Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons. The film is sick, violent and disturbing. I loved it.

Top 20 Because

The tree rape and pencil stabbing scenes are the tits.

#9 Arachnophobia

Jeff Daniels is forced to kick ass on a South American spider who accidentally travels to a small community in a coffin. Problem is, the spider has laid its offspring and the little bastards are taking over the entire community.

Top 20 Because

I hate spiders and that one memorable shower scene ….

#8 Amityville Horror

Based on a true story, the show has a ton of memorable moments and situations to scare the hell out of you this Halloween. A family is terrorized by demonic forces after moving into a home that was the site of a grisly mass-murder.

Top 20 Because

Bleeding walls, scary voices and based on a true story. If a mysterious voice ever tells me to get the fuck out of the house, there wouldn’t be a movie to write about.

#7 Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Loosely based on the life of that silly goose Ed Gein, who felt compelled to keep his dead mother around for years after the fact. Mr. Gein also enjoyed chopping up dead bodies he dug up from the local graveyard and he had sex with them, and also made interesting furniture and clothing from their bodies.

Top 20 Because

The dude is awesome with a chainsaw, plus he can fuck you up with a right hook or a kick to the chest. Old Leatherface can dish out the business like few others can, and he’s a disgusting piece of shit to look at. He looks like a taller version of Jim Norton.

#6 The Exorcist

Seems this film always makes the top 10, but with good reason. Its still a creepy and freaky movie and the effects still hold up. Is it the lighting? The music? Is Linda Blair still bangable when posessed? Ding ding ding, its all of the above.

Top 20 Because

Young Regan spins her head 360 fucking degrees and calls Father Merrin a ‘cunt’, while spitting green vomit all over the place. Not only does this princess look like my lovely ex-girlfriend, but she talks like her too! This film holds up to this day. Baby come back!

#5 Alien

How can anyone deny putting ‘Alien’ on this list? Trapped on a spaceship with nowhere to run, Sigourney Weaver takes the defensive on an attacking Alien.

Top 20 Because

Graphic, violent and ahead of its time, Alien is full of suspense and rock-hard Sigourney Weaver nipples plus is scary as all heck.

#4 REC

“REC” turns on a young TV reporter and her cameraman who cover the night shift at the local fire station. This movie is wickedly clever and scary, unlike its piece of shit American version called Quarantine.

Top 20 Because

Freaky as hell. Do not watch Quarantine and judge this movie, REC is the real deal unlike the remade US version.

#3 The Thing

I had the displeasure of watching this movie when I was only 11 years old, and it screwed me up for years. Back in the early 80’s, parents never screened the videos brought home from the store, which is why I got to see so much, so early on in my youth. Watching The Thing at such an early age was wrong, because even after I saw it in my 30’s it still scared me. Yeah, I’m a little bitch, ok?

Top 20 Because

Because John Carpenter knows how to scare the shit out of you the right way.

#2 Night of the Living Dead

Hilarity and fun begin when a few strangers get trapped in an old farmhouse, because the living dead have surrounded the area. This classic movie was king of its day, and still holds up even today. Sure, the zombies are corny, but this is the film that started it all so lets give it the respect it deserves.

Top 20 Because

Back in 1968, this production and the effects were awesome. If you look closely enough, you’ll see a ton of boobies on the female zombies roaming the area. Hey, the lead black character never gets killed in this film, how about that?

#1 Poltergeist

Poltergeist is the shit when it comes to horror movies, I have no idea why it doesn’t make it on more lists. It has all the elements it takes to be a super scary movie, and the effects were king of its day. The ending was creepy as hell, and it made every home-owner wonder just what the hell was buried underneath their house.

Top 20 Because

Its fucking Poltergeist, it wins no matter what.

Just missed the cut

Christine, Cujo,Hellraiser, Deliverance, Psycho, Silence Of The Lambs, The Vanishing, Carrie