Rachel Miner
Actress Rachel Miner landed her first huge break in the late 1980s, when Woody Allen tapped the then nine-year-old actress to evoke a young Mia Farrow in the thoughtful, fantasy-themed seriocomedy Ali...
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BirthDate BirthPlace |
07/28/1980
New York, NY |
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Awards 2012: Producers Guild Award Nominations Announced
January 03, 2012 9:16am ESTThe 2012 Producer's Guild of America Awards are approaching, celebrating both Theatrical Motion Pictures and Long-Form Television with a new batch of nominees that the PGA has just released. Many of the films are no surprise—crossovers with the upcoming Golden Globes nominees abound. For theatrical motion picture include The Artist, The Descendants and Midnight in Paris; nominees for animated theatrical motion picture include Rango and The Adventures of Tintin. The television nominees also offer some unsurprising names, including Mildred Pierce, Downton Abbey, Parks and Recreation, Boardwalk Empire,Game of Thrones, Mad Men and The Colbert Report. FILM Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures THE ARTIST Producer: Thomas Langmann BRIDESMAIDS Producers: Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, Clayton Townsend THE DESCENDANTS Producers: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Producers: Ceán Chaffin, Scott Rudin THE HELP Producers: Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, Brunson Green HUGO Producers: Graham King, Martin Scorsese THE IDES OF MARCH Producers: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Brian Oliver MIDNIGHT IN PARIS Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum MONEYBALL Producers: Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz, Brad Pitt WAR HORSE Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg The Producers Guild of America Producer of the Year Award in Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN Producers: Peter Jackson, Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg CARS 2 Producer: Denise Ream KUNG FU PANDA 2 Producer: Melissa Cobb PUSS IN BOOTS Producers: Joe M. Aguilar, Latifa Ouaou RANGO Producers: John B. Carls, Gore Verbinski The Producers Guild of America Producer of the Year Award in Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures BEATS, RHYMES & LIFE: THE TRAVELS OF A TRIBE CALLED QUEST Producers: Michael Rapaport, Edward Parks (*additional producers eligibility pending arbitration completion) BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK Producer: Philip Gefter PROJECT NIM Producer: Simon Chinn SENNA Producer: James Gay-Rees THE UNION Producers: Cameron Crowe, Michelle Panek TELEVISION The David L. Wolper Producer of the Year Award in Long-Form Television (Movies of the Week and Miniseries) CINEMA VERITE (HBO) Producers: Zanne Devine, Karyn McCarthy DOWNTON ABBEY (Masterpiece) (PBS) Producers: Julian Fellowes, Nigel Marchant, Gareth Neame THE KENNEDYS (ReelzChannel) Producers: Jon Cassar, Jonathan Koch, Stephen Kronish, Steve Michaels, Michael Prupas, Jamie Paul Rock, Joel Surnow MILDRED PIERCE (HBO) Producers: Todd Haynes, Pamela Koffler, Ilene S. Landress, Christine Vachon TOO BIG TO FAIL (HBO) Producers: Carol Fenelon, Jeffrey Levine, Paula Weinstein The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy: 30 ROCK (NBC) Producers: Robert Carlock, Tina Fey, Marci Klein, Jerry Kupfer, Lorne Michaels, David Miner, Jeff Richmond, John Riggi, Don Scardino THE BIG BANG THEORY (CBS) Producers: Chuck Lorre, Steve Molaro, Faye Oshima, Bill Prady GLEE (FOX) Producers: Ian Brennan, Dante Di Loreto, Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy, Kenneth Silverstein MODERN FAMILY (ABC) Producers: Paul Corrigan, Abraham Higginbotham, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Morton, Jeffrey Richman, Dan O’Shannon, Brad Walsh, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker PARKS AND RECREATION (NBC) Producers: Greg Daniels, Dan Goor, Howard Klein, Amy Poehler, Morgan Sackett, Michael Schur The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama BOARDWALK EMPIRE (HBO) Producers: Eugene Kelly, Howard Korder, Stephen Levinson, Martin Scorsese, Rudd Simmons, Tim Van Patten, Terence Winter DEXTER (Showtime) Producers: Sara Colleton, John Goldwyn, Chip Johannessen, Robert Lloyd Lewis GAME OF THRONES (HBO) Producers: David Benioff, Frank Doelger, Mark Huffam, Carolyn Strauss, D.B. Weiss THE GOOD WIFE (CBS) Producers: Brooke Kennedy, Michelle King, Robert King, Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, David W. Zucker MAD MEN (AMC) Producers: Jonathan Abrahams, Scott Hornbacher, Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Blake McCormick, Dwayne Shattuck, Dahvi Waller, Matthew Weiner The Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television THE COLBERT REPORT (Comedy Central) Producers: Meredith Bennett, Stephen T. Colbert, Richard Dahm, Tanya Michnevich Bracco, Tom Purcell, Jon Stewart (*additional producers eligibility pending arbitration completion) THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW (Syndicated) Producers: Mary Connelly, Ellen DeGeneres, Melissa Geiger Schrift, Ed Glavin, Andy Lassner, Kevin A. Leman II, Jonathan Norman, Derek Westervelt REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER (HBO) Producers: Scott Carter, Sheila Griffiths, Marc Gurvitz, Dean Johnsen, Bill Maher, Billy Martin SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (NBC) Producers: Ken Aymong, Steve Higgins, Erik Kenward, Lorne Michaels, John Mulaney THE 64TH ANNUAL TONY AWARDS (CBS) Producers: Ricky Kirshner, Glenn Weiss The Award for Outstanding Producer of Competition Television THE AMAZING RACE (CBS) Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer, Elise Doganieri, Jonathan Littman, Bertram van Munster, Mark Vertullo AMERICAN IDOL (FOX) Producers: Charles Boyd, Cecile Frot-Coutaz, Simon Fuller, Patrick Lynn, Nigel Lythgoe, Megan Michaels, Ken Warwick DANCING WITH THE STARS (ABC) Producers: Ashley Edens Shaffer, Conrad Green, Joe Sungkur, Rob Wade PROJECT RUNWAY (Lifetime) Producers: Jane Cha Cutler, Desiree Gruber, Tim Gunn, Heidi Klum, Jonathan Murray, Sara Rea, Colleen Sands TOP CHEF (Bravo) Producers: Daniel Cutforth, Casey Kriley, Jane Lipsitz, Dan Murphy, Nan Strait The Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television: 30 FOR 30 (ESPN) Producers: John Dahl, Connor Schell, Bill Simmons AMERICAN MASTERS (PBS) Producers: Susan Lacy, Julie Sacks ANTHONY BOURDAIN: NO RESERVATIONS (Travel Channel) Producers: Christopher Collins, Julie Lei, Lydia Tenaglia, Tom Vitale DEADLIEST CATCH (Discovery Channel) Producers: Thom Beers, Jeff Conroy, John Gray, Sheila McCormack, Ethan Prochnik, Bill Pruitt, Matt Renner UNDERCOVER BOSS (CBS) Producers: Chris Carlson, Susan Hoenig, Eli Holzman, Sandi Johnson, Stephen Lambert, Allison Schermerhorn News Programs* ANDERSON COOPER 360º (CNN) BBC WORLD NEWS AMERICA (BBC) NBC NEWS WITH BRIAN WILLIAMS (NBC) THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW (MSNBC) 60 MINUTES (CBS) Sports Programs* MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (ESPN) REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL (HBO) SPORTS CENTER (ESPN) 30 FOR 30 (ESPN) 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP (ABC / ESPN / ESPN2) U.S. OPEN TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP (CBS / ESPN2 / Tennis Channel) Children’s Programs* DORA THE EXPLORER (Nickelodeon) iCARLY (Nickelodeon) PHINEAS AND FERB (Disney Channel) SESAME STREET (PBS) SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS (Nickelodeon) Web Series* ASK A NINJA (blip.tv) THE GUILD (WatchTheGuild.com) PARKS AND RECREATION PRESENTS: "APRIL AND ANDY'S ROAD TRIP" (NBC.com) 30 ROCK PRESENTS JACK DONAGHY, EXECUTIVE SUPERHERO (NBC.com) WEB THERAPY (LStudio.com) *These programs were not vetted for producer eligibility this year but winners in these categories will be announced at the official ceremony on January 21st. Source: Producer's Guild
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Happy 30th birthday Macaulay Culkin
August 26, 2010 5:00am ESTThat's right, the world's first million dollar child star, Macaulay Culkin, hits the big 3-0 today (26Aug10). It seems like yesterday since the beloved blond boy wonder was creating mayhem in the first two Home Alones, and fronting films like Richie Rich and Getting Even with Dad - but, no, sorry 80s kids; Home Alone hit the big screen 20 years ago! He might have retired at 14, back in 1995, but Mack's still one of the most iconic movie figures of the last century - and we can't wait for him to make his comeback. In honour of Macaulay Culkin's 30th, here's 10 things you might not have known about the Home Alone kid: - he made his first stage appearance on Broadway at the age of four. - he also appeared in the New York City Ballet's The Nutcracker when he was five. - Culkin studied at the prestigious School of American Ballet. - he was the first actor Home Alone director Chris Columbus saw as he was casting for his hit film, but the filmmaker reportedly checked out another 200 potential child stars before realising Culkin was his Kevin McCallister. - the first Home Alone movie grossed more than $285 million (£190 million) in the U.S. alone. - he married actress Rachel Miner in 1998. The union lasted two years. Culkin has been dating actress Mila Kunis since 2002. - he is godfather to Michael Jackson's son Prince Michael and daughter Paris. - he became the first child actor to ever receive $1 million dollars (£666,667) for one film - 1991's My Girl. - his role in Born on the Fourth of July was cut by director Oliver Stone. - his aunt is actress Bonnie Bedelia.
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Tooth & Nail Review
November 16, 2007 3:28am ESTThe human race doesn't see it coming. It isn't a comet a war a virus nuclear bombs or terrorism that brings us down. It's simply running out of gas on Aug. 12 2012. Suddenly the world becomes divided between the hunted and the hunters. In this case the young people are known as Foragers and they've holed themselves up in a large empty hospital while outside hang the Rovers ready to cook them up. The Rovers are run by brutal renegades with names like Jackal (Michael Madsen) Viper (Michael Kelly) and Mongrel (Vinnie Jones) and when the Foragers take in a newcomer Neon (Rachel Miner) a band of Rovers are hot on her tail. They stalk the young meat holed up in the hospital and shout "We can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way but by sunrise we'll be gnawing on your bones." Comforting. When a frightened Miner as Neon talks about how the Rovers are going to "to cook one of us” every night she does it with a straight face. She's the post-apocalyptic Gretel of the fairytale Hansel & Gretel and they have to figure out how to outsmart the witch--or in this case the posse of cannibals--outside their door. There’s lots of full-throttle screaming and the actors get to wear cool Viking outfits and suits of armor. Madsen is typically over-the-top in the vicious role but no one would dare tone him down not even Quentin Tarantino. Director/writer Mark Young makes a stand-out cannibal film. Cannibals wearing war paint and other battle accoutrements brandishing large knives and scythes while some of them walk around with half-eaten skulls it’s all quite effective. These characters are killing machines who can talk back which makes them even more frightening. Young balances the camp and horror perfectly so ultimately Tooth & Nail is a good scare.
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Haven Review
September 22, 2006 6:19am ESTHaven is one of those purposely nonlinear films in which multiple stories cross at "random" times and locations only to wind up being inextricably connected to each other in the end (thanks a lot Quentin Tarantino). In this case the two main arcs belong to shady businessman Carl (Bill Paxton) and his teenage daughter Pippa (Agnes Bruckner) and to laid-back fisherman Shy (Bloom) and his secret love Andrea (Zoe Saldana). Carl and Pippa flee to Grand Cayman from Miami when the Feds find out about his deal with cynical British businessman Allen (Stephen Dillane) while Shy has spent his whole life on the island getting by just fine until he falls for the boss's daughter and incurs her family's wrath. Their stories collide on one hot fateful night when tensions stretch to their breaking point and it becomes virtually impossible to tell who's out to get who--and why. Most of the film's characters are fairly one-dimensional but you can't really blame the cast--defiant Daddy's girl slick island shyster gun-toting gangsta crooked businessman poor fisherman with a heart of gold and so on. But because of that--and the fact few of the actors end up getting significant screen time due to the movie's fractured storytelling style--not many of the performances are all that memorable. Anthony Mackie (who also impressed in Half Nelson) does a good job seething with rage and resentment as Andrea's older brother Hammer and Saldana has her moments as a good girl brought down by heartbreak but everyone else seems to be in it more for the island location than the chance to stretch their acting muscles. As for Bloom he continues to prove that while he's good at "earnest" and "vulnerable " while "complex" and "tough" elude him. Making a movie like this work is no small challenge but unfortunately it's one that director Frank E. Flowers doesn't rise to meet. He juggles the interconnected stories awkwardly--after following Carl and Pippa for the first 30 minutes or so the film abruptly abandons them to switch over to Shy with no real explanation on where the other two have gone. It's only much later that the timeline and plot start to become clear but by then the characters' motivations and double-crosses have gotten so muddled that it's difficult to care all that much about how everything fits together. It's one thing to make an audience think a little. Memento and The Usual Suspects are fine examples of head-scratchers that reward you for giving your brain cells a workout. But it's quite another to confuse them with unnecessarily complicated details that don't end up making a difference in the end.
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The Black Dahlia Review
September 18, 2006 8:25am ESTA fictional fever-dream mystery crafted loosely from the notorious still-unsolved 1947 murder of wayward wannabe starlet Elizabeth Short (Mia Kirshner) the tale teams two rising L.A. police detectives whose bone-crunching boxing bout give them political juice—Mr. Ice cool young Dwight “Bucky” Bleichert (Josh Hartnett) and Mr. Fire hotheaded veteran Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart). Both men become embroiled in and obsessed with the sick horrific crime even as Dwight falls hard for Lee’s victimized world-weary live-in love Kay Lake (Scarlett Johansson)—with Lee’s unspoken approval: he’s too busy spiraling downward into a psychotic fixation with solving the murder having previously lost his sister to foul play. But Dwight’s also led astray by the more carnal temptations of voracious Madeline Sprague (Hilary Swank) the daughter of a bizarre high-society family with her own shadowy connections to the Dahlia. Sordid subplots abound simmering and swirling as in death the Black Dahlia threatens to suck everyone into an ever-widening abyss. Not entirely an epic of miscasting the film nevertheless falls short finding performers to essay Ellroy’s compelling cast: Hartnett demonstrates more depth here than in most previous efforts but comes fathoms short of the necessary mix of drive and angst to suit the complex role. Although she physically conveys a maturity beyond her years Johansson shows none of the wounded wisdom of the novel’s Kay—her seductive ethereal air would with an ebony dye job have served her far better as the Dahlia herself a cipher who becomes in the eyes of those obsessed with her whatever they dream her to be. Conversely Kirshner delivers in that elusive spectral role but the been-around-the-block-one-too-many times faded glint in her eyes would have made her a much more involving Kay. Eckhart has the spit and polish of a political-minded cop down pat but lacks the self-destructive inner fire that fuels the façade. Swank is mostly delightful by degrees—many of her choices are intriguing occasionally outrageous and give her femme fatale needed dimensions but others are overindulged. There are certainly macabre grand guignol moments in the story that make it more akin to Sunset Boulevard than its more obvious comparison Ellroy’s own L.A. Confidential but De Palma—never known for his subtlety—handles them with such an overt determined campiness any wry irony is wrung from them. The result is more of a parody—indeed an unflattering caricature—than a modern commentary on classic noir style. Add in his ceaseless camera-swooping swipes from Hitchcock and his ongoing fixation with meaningless gore—ham-fisted homages and hemorrhaging hemoglobin to ape Ellroy’s alliterative gossip-rag riffs—that distract from the intensity of the source material and all that remains is a bloody shame.
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Macaulay Culkin and Mila Kunis Plan a Wedding
January 11, 2006 11:52am ESTHome Alone star Macaulay Culkin and his longtime girlfriend Mila Kunis are reportedly shopping for an engagement ring after deciding to wed. The couple, who started dating in 2002, were spotted checking out rings at a number of Beverly Hills jewelers on Jan. 4, according to publication In Touch, and friends claim they're planning to wed this year. A source says, "Mila's looking for a ring that's unique and may even opt for a ruby instead of a diamond." Culkin, 25, was previously married to actress Rachel Miner, but the union lasted just two years. They divorced in 2000. Article Copyright World Entertainment News Network All Rights Reserved.
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North Country Review
October 21, 2005 2:03pm ESTSet in 1984 Josey Aimes (Charlize Theron) returns to her ice-cold hometown in Northern Minnesota after fleeing from an abusive husband. In order to care for her two young kids she needs a job--and for most of the townsfolk including her distant dad (Richard Jenkins) that means working in the local iron mines. Problem is not too many women work there and those who do are subjected to continual harassment by their male coworkers. Josey lands a job anyway and starts to get her fair share of sexual innuendos. One day her former high-school sweetheart also a mine employee takes it way too far with her. Although met with strong resistance of course a lawsuit ensues that results in a groundbreaking decision for women’s rights in the workplace. Ah what an Oscar can do for a career. It wasn't that long ago Theron wouldn’t even have been considered for such a dramatic role. But with deserved recognition she gets to strut her stuff in North Country. She's no Monster but she's no supermodel either--and while it's impossible to erase her beauty its glare has been reduced. A second-consecutive Oscar win? Maybe not but a nomination wouldn't be out of the place. Co-star Frances McDormand might also be in line for a nod of her own. She plays Glory a woman who gets Josey the job and encourages her to fight the good fight something that seems visceral for McDormand. Woody Harrelson is also solid as Josey's attorney though his Midwest-stoner drawl gets in the way of the northern accent he's supposed to be selling. New Zealand director Niki Caro mightily impressed us with Whale Rider a poignant mixture of grief and vigor and with North Country she continues to impress. As more an observer than anything else Caro lets the true story tell itself--of what happened in this small town with its frigid denizens and sexist behavior. And the film is definitely a period piece á la Norma Rae in that it's from a specific period albeit a recent one and pertains to a specific region. But it's kind of slow going. There’s a lot of weeping and dramatic speeches. Still Caro makes up for it by including several Bob Dylan songs who rarely grants the use of his songs in films. Perhaps he felt a certain a kinship to this film since it takes place in the desolate cold Northern Minnesota where he comes from--and so resents.
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News, Sept.3: Cameron Diaz Breaks Nose in Hawaii, Actors To Test for "Batman" Role, Johnny Depp Slams U.S., More...
September 03, 2003 12:52pm ESTTop Story: Charlie's Angels star Cameron Diaz, who was seen Tuesday sporting two tiny bandage strips on the bridge of her nose, said she broke her nose Saturday during a surfing accident off Waikiki Beach in Hawaii. "I'm fine," Diaz told The Associated Press. "But I'm just totally bummed out because I can't go surfing any more." The nautical mishap happened on her first day of her two-week Hawaiian vacation, also her 31st birthday. Diaz said she was surfing with her older sister and a couple of friends when she wiped out and hit someone else's board--with her face. Her sister, Chimene, told the AP it could have been worse had the board not been made of foam. According to the 2004 edition of the Guinness World Records, Diaz, who earned $42.2 million in 2001, has replaced Julia Roberts as Hollywood's highest paid actress. Actors To Test for Batman Role Holy razor's edge, this is going to be a close shave! Over the next three days, some of Hollywood's hottest young actors will congregate at Warner Bros. to test for the role of the Caped Crusader in the next Batman film. According to The Hollywood Reporter, actors Jake Gyllenhaal, Christian Bale, Joshua Jackson, Cillian Murphy, Henry Cavill and Eion Bailey are all expected to test for the part. The Batman film, to be directed by English filmmaker Christopher Nolan (Memento), is scheduled to start shooting in February. Johnny Depp Loves Freedom Fries Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl star Johnny Depp, who lives in the south of France with his wife, French model/actress Vanessa Paradis, and their two children, told the German news magazine Stern that the United States is "a stupid, aggressive puppy" and he would not live there until the political climate changed. According to Reuters, Depp, 41, also slammed George W. Bush's administration for its criticism of French opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq, adding: ""I was ecstatic they re-named 'French fries' as 'Freedom fries.' Grown men and women in positions of power in the U.S. government showing themselves as idiots." Limo Owner Sues Rapper 50 Cent The owner of a limousine service in Mobile, Ala., has sued rapper 50 Cent, claiming he suffered bruised ribs, fear and emotional distress after some of the star's security guards hijacked his vehicle following a March 13 concert at the University of South Alabama's Mitchell Center, the AP reports. Johnny Bonner alleges that when he tried to take a different route back to the hotel after a crowd of fans surrounded 50 Cent's motorcade, the security men attacked him, threw him in the rear seat of the GMC Yukon and drove "recklessly" back to the hotel. He seeks unspecified damages from 50 Cent, the three unidentified security men and unidentified parties responsible for hiring and supervising the men. Macaulay Culkin Happy Where He Is Former Home Alone child star Macaulay Culkin says he has no regrets about rising to fame at such a young age. Culkin, now 23, tells Barbara Walters in an interview with airing Friday at 10 p.m. EDT on ABC's 20/20 that he wouldn't trade any of his experiences for anything in the world. "I'm very happy with who I am, and where I've ended up and I wouldn't change one thing," he said. "Because if you change one thing in the past, everything else is different." Culkin, who married actress Rachel Miner in 1998 when both were just 17 but separated two years later, also denied he plans to marry his girlfriend, actress Mila Kunis from the Fox's That '70s Show. Culkin stars as New York club kid Michael Alig in the upcoming biopic Party Monster. Universal Re-Releases Scarface Universal Pictures is re-releasing Al Pacino's Scarface this month for a 20th anniversary run in theaters in New York; Los Angeles; Boston; Chicago; Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Detroit; Dallas; Miami and San Francisco, Reuters reports. Jack Foley, president of distribution for Universal's specialty film label Focus Features, said the new prints have been copied from restored film and will feature a new digital soundtrack to boost the audience experience. The film's re-release comes in advance of a new DVD version of Scarface. Gone With the Wind's Rand Brook Dies Actor Rand Brooks, who played Scarlett O'Hara's first husband, Charles, in Gone With the Wind died of cancer Monday at his home in Santa Ynez, Calif., with his wife, Hermaine, at his bedside, the AP reports. He was 84. In the 1940s and '50s, Brooks became known as sidekick Lucky Jenkins in the Hopalong Cassidy movies and Cpl. Randy Boone in the TV series Rin Tin Tin. After he left show business, Brooks ran an ambulance service that eventually became the largest private ambulance provider in Los Angeles County. He sold the company in 1994 and retired to the Santa Ynez Valley, where he bred champion Andalusian horses.
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"Sopranos" actor Robert Iler arrested
April 02, 2002 8:38am ESTRobert Iler, who plays the son of Tony Soprano on the HBO series The Sopranos, was arrested early Wednesday with three other youths in New York and charged with two counts of second-degree robbery and one count of marijuana possession. The 16-year-old actor was arrested after the police reportedly saw Iler and his friends robbing two teens of $40 in Manhattan's Upper East Side, The Associated Press said. According to police records, Iler was released after posting $2,500 bail. He pleaded not guilty to the charges. Michael Cournede, 19, and Alban Selimaj, 16, pleaded innocent to two counts of second-degree robbery. The fourth suspect, 15, will face charges in Family Court because of his age. Iler didn't threaten anyone or hear anyone ask for money, Steven Mintz, Iler's lawyer, said. "He only learned what had happened much later when he was picked up," Mintz told AP. In a statement following his arrest, Iler said he felt embarrassed about the incident and was sorry for the difficulty it caused his family and friends. He also maintained his innocence, claiming he would never rob anyone. Iler's mother, Helen, told AP that this was the first time her son had been in trouble and that he is not like the troublemaker he plays in The Sopranos. Iler could face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison if convicted on the top count of robbery. A hearing is set for Monday. Despite Iler's arrest, HBO spokeswoman Tobe Becker said that the cable network is looking forward to Iler returning to The Sopranos when production resumes in the fall. Iler began acting at 6 years old, when he appeared in a Pizza Hut commercial. He made his first film, The Tic Code, at 10 years old. Iler's mother told reporters that it was the first and last time her son would ever get into trouble. Stardom causes problems for some teens Child actors have a reputation for screwing up their lives. Former child actors who have survived a Hollywood upbringing are often praised just for being normal. What happens to child actors that leads them too often to a life of crime and drugs? Paul Petersen, who played Jeff on The Donna Reed Show, said he thinks that child actors are more vulnerable because of their parents. They quickly learn that approval is a simple matter of liking what their parents like. "Seeking approval is a key feature of being a child along with fearing abandonment and the fear of falling … and children are very quick to pick up the vibes," Petersen said in a statement on a Web site for the nonprofit organization A Minor Consideration. Petersen started A Minor Consideration to help and support child actors. Children often feel trapped and have a hard time explaining to their parents that they do not want to continue in show business, he said. "The profile of this family is familiar," he said. "Undereducated, often a single-parent home with a crushing debt load, and parents willing to sacrifice their careers for their child." Petersen calls this the old lottery thinking: "You give me a dollar, and I'll give you 56 cents." If found guilty, Iler will join an unpopular but large club of troubled Hollywood teens. In May, 18-year-old Brad Renfro was charged with underage drinking after police pulled him and a friend over after the driver reportedly failed to signal when changing lanes. Renfro was already on probation from an incident last year in which he and a friend tried to steal a 45-foot yacht in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., during the filming of the upcoming Bully. The duo however, failed to untie the boat's dockline and ended up causing $175,000 worth of damages to the vessel. Witnesses held the two until police arrived. In 1998, Renfro was arrested for drug possession. The actor has appeared in 12 films. Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin also made headlines as a child. The third of seven kids, Culkin had a bitter ongoing feud with his father, Kit Culkin, who managed his career. At 14, he no longer wanted to act and told his family and representatives that he just wanted to go to school and make friends. He later told Barbara Walters on an interview with 20/20 that the four years he spent in Hollywood with his father were all work and no play and often felt discouraged by the situation. Culkin married Rachel Miner when he was 17, but the two announced their separation in early 2000. Actress Drew Barrymore also is known for having led a wild and rebellious life. Made famous by her role in Steven Spielberg's E.T. The Extra Terrestrial at 7 years old, Barrymore was drinking and abusing drugs at an age when most girls are still playing with dolls. Coming from a Hollywood-bred family, Barrymore soon gained a reputation for being a promiscuous wild child. Though she has since overcome her addictions, she will always be remembered as "the little girl lost" who, at 14, was in drug rehab. No television show spawned as many troubled child actors as did the sitcom Different Strokes, which ran on NBC from 1978 to 1986. Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges and Dana Plato, who starred on the series during its eight-year run, all took a delinquent turn for the worst. Coleman was taken into custody in 1999 after police at a sobriety checkpoint reportedly noticed an expired license plate and discovered he was wanted on an outstanding warrant. He had reportedly failed to pay a $400 fine for disturbing the peace. That stemmed from a 1998 incident in which Coleman attacked a 205-pound female bus driver in a Los Angeles store. Coleman admitted punching the woman in the face. Coleman's sentence included a year's probation and anger-management sessions. Bridges earned a bad reputation for numerous arrests from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. He had been arrested on drug and assault charges and, in 1989, was acquitted of attempted murder. He is now clean and sober. Plato's rap sheet included arrests for forging Valium prescriptions and robbing a Las Vegas video store with a toy gun. She underwent drug rehabilitation but eventually died of an overdose in May 1999. Her death was later ruled a suicide because of the high level of drugs in her body and a history of suicidal tendencies. The day before her death, Plato had appeared on The Howard Stern Show, defending her sobriety. Hollywood.com writer Erika Gimenes contributed to this story
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In the Bedroom Review
March 01, 2002 6:52am ESTDr. Matt Fowler (Tom Wilkinson) and his wife Ruth (Sissy Spacek) are throwing a summer barbecue at which their lone prodigy Frank (Nick Stahl) is proudly showing off his summer romance. Ruth vehemently disapproves: Natalie (Marisa Tomei) is an older single mother of two who is not quite divorced from the dark abusive Richard Strout (William Mapother) whose family runs their town of Camden Maine. For Frank Natalie is someone to keep the pipes greased before he heads off to study architecture at graduate school in the fall. Maybe. Frank is thinking of getting serious with Natalie and ditching school if Natalie would have him but there's that not quite ex-husband to deal with. The not quite ex-husband ends up killing Frank (this is supposed to be a plot twist but is the only action in the first two hours of the movie) which leads to much soul searching for Matt and Ruth--the raison d'etre of the movie. With all due respect to Spacek who's been receiving a lot of Oscar buzz for her turn it's really Tom Wilkinson (The Full Monty Wilde The Patriot) who gives the most outstanding astonishing performance in this film. Matt's stilted missteps at each and every turn are so human so real you empathize with the pain he's feeling while you cringe at his every inappropriate action. An Academy win for Wilkinson seems more than merited though likely won't happen. Marisa Tomei is as good as she's ever been in the role of Frank's lover Natalie. The emotional tug-of-war in her relationship with Nick is clear on her face and the distress of never getting Ruth's approval is deafening. Spacek has a hard time claiming even the second-best performance of the film but she is compelling as Ruth the kind-hearted high school teacher who's become more closed and unforgiving than she ever imagined. You can see Spacek shutting down as her world crumbles around her. William Mapother and Nick Stahl do fine jobs with their (relatively) limited characters especially Mapother who is sufficiently creepy and desperate as Natalie's husband. An actor turned director Todd Field wastes the fine performances in his debut film. Field seemingly likes to impart significance in the mundane moments of real life which works only sporadically. Field's direction is similar to Matt's reaction to his son's death: all of his actions seem stiff and mannered and when he does do something appropriate it's a complete accident. Worse Field leaves no room for character development only letting the characters descend further and further into despair ultimately turning the film into an art house Death Wish. (With apologies to Charles Bronson.) Given the supposed strength of the Maine proletariat it would have nice to see Matt and Ruth Fowler struggle against their evil inclinations before giving in so completely. Under Field's helming the film flounders at inopportune moments rendering the story utterly meaningless.
