sharonknolle.com Blog

Original Features for AOL Moviefone

Here are some of the original feature articles I’ve written for AOL Moviefone:

‘Dark Knight Rises’ Conspiracy Theory: Christopher Nolan Is Fooling Us All, August 15, 2011
Director Christopher Nolan is famous for cloaking every aspect of his films in a shroud of secrecy, so why are we seeing so much of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ already? Could it be a huge campaign of misdirection?

5 Infamous Actor-Director Fights, June 27, 2011
Megan Fox and Michael Bay’s war of words is hardly the first time an actor and director have clashed on- or off-set.

Fact-Checking ‘Super 8′ — Rubik’s Cubes? Pee Chees?, June 13, 2011
Were Rubik’s cubes really around in 1979? And would a gas station attendant in a small Ohio town have a Walkman?

Our Favorite Movies: ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’, June 12, 2011
Reflecting on seeing the movie on opening night, 30 years later

Making ‘Footloose’: The Movie’s Unsung Stars on the Prom Scene and (Gasp) Kevin Bacon’s Dance Double, September 22, 2010
Interviews with choreographer, Lynne Taylor-Corbett, dancer Christopher Harrison and Jay Grimes (the partner of Bacon’s dance double, the late Peter Tramm) about making the original ‘Footloose.

Is ‘The Switch’ Accurate? A Sperm Bank and a ‘Choice Mom’ Weigh In, August 19, 2010
Interviews with Scott Brown, director of communications at Cryobank, and Mikki Morrissette, author of “Choosing Single Motherhood: The Thinking Woman’s Guide.”

Casting the BP Oil Spill Movie, June 17, 2010
Casting the key players of the BP Oil Spill Scandal: Michael Sheen would make a perfect Tony Hayward, the CEO of BP.

Interviews for AOL Moviefone

A collection of the actor and director interviews I’ve done for AOL Moviefone
J.J. Abrams (”Super 8″), June 9, 2011
J.J. Abrams (Star Trek 2), May 25, 2011
Vic Armstrong (Stuntman), June 13, 2011
Kevin Bacon (X-Men: First Class), January 19, 2011
Jerry Bruckheimer (G-Force, Prince of Persia), December 15, 2009
Kyle Chandler (”Super 8″), June 7, 2011
Stephen Dorff (Blade, Immortals, Bucky Larson), July 23, 2011
Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman (Invictus, The Eastwood Factor), February 18, 2010
Brendan Fraser (Extraordinary Measures), January 19, 2010
Evan Glodell (Bellflower), August 4, 2011
Tom Hiddleston (Loki in “Thor”), May 4, 2011
January Jones (Unknown, X-Men: First Class), February 15, 2011
Ryan Reynolds (Green Lantern), May 17, 2011
Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes, Robin Hood, Kick-Ass), January 13, 2010

Favorite Ghost Stories: ‘The Uninvited’ (1944)

One of my all-time favorite ghost stories is on TCM right now. It’s not on DVD so I’m happy to watch it again.

It’s a classic ghost story, very atmospheric and moody, about a lonely house overlooking the sea in Cornwall, England. Ray Milland and his sister (Ruth Hussey) are visiting from London and fall in love with the house and decide to buy it. Cue spooky happenings, like a dog who refuses to go upstairs, cold spots and the lingering fragrance of mimosa.

Made me think of my other favorite “ghost story” movies. I’m not a big fan of all the over-the-top CGI of today’s horror movies, but here are some of my favorite ghost movies:

1. The Uninvited (1944)
2. The Haunting. The original, of course. Watched it not too long ago with a roomful of people and several jumped.
3. The Woman in Black: British TV movie, currently being remade with Daniel Radcliffe in the lead). Fantastically spooky Victorian ghost story.
4. The Shining. This just gets better every time I watch it. The building sense of dread is incredible.
5. The Ring. I’ve only seen the American remake and it really got to me. I actually covered the US premiere and was incredibly happy to talk to a live, healthy and very handsome Martin Henderson at the after party.
6. The Sixth Sense. Definitely gave me chills. Still one of the only modern twist movies that actually works.
7. The Others. I liked it, but not quite as much as everyone else, I think. Too many false scares.
8. The Watcher in the Woods. I remember this one as being far scarier than you’d expect for something marketed to kids.

And a few ghost stories that didn’t work for me:
Ghost Story: (1981) It’s been a while, but I remember a very silly ending
Ghost Ship. (2002) Completely dreadful. Another premiere I covered that gave me the occasion to talk to Gabriel Byrne but such a waste of him and the rest of the cast.
Haunted. (1995) Very silly, unsatisfying end. One of those movies you’re sorry you stayed up to watch.
The Lady in White. (1988) I just couldn’t make it very far into this film. It was shot more like a Hallmark commercial than a ghost story and it just didn’t hook me.

Got any suggestions for me? I’d love to hear them!

Mark Strong on Missing Out on ‘No Country’ and Being Mistaken for Stanley Tucci

I recently did an interview for Moviefone with the incredibly delightful ‘Sherlock Holmes’ Mark Strong, who’ll also be in ‘Robin Hood,’ and was memorably evil in ‘Body of Lies’ and ‘Syriana.’

Hey, ‘Sherlock’ … Who’s This Mark Strong Fellow?
….
Here’s what was cut from the article. Enjoy!

I was reading that you nearly got the role of Anton Chirguh that went to Javier Bardem in ‘No Country for Old Men.’ Were you sad not to get that?
I was invited to meet the Coen brothers in New York. Those guys, they’ve directed nearly all my favorite movies. I just really admire the work that they do. If I could work with them, then I could kind of retire happily. And then, bizarrely, the opportunity presented itself. I remember thinking, “Oh, they’re going to see loads of people.” But it transpired that it was down to Javier and myself. I actually got a call where somebody said, “Hold fire, it looks like Javier’s dates might not work,” so for the whole weekend, I thought, “This might actually work out,” and then on Monday I got the call saying they’d gone with Javier. Then I got a lovely letter from the Coens saying, “Sorry, that’s just the way it works out.” They were really honorable about it. It was really just about getting to work with them. The fact that it went on to become this massive success and earn huge Oscars, was something that I kind of wryly smiled at. That was never my intention. You never know how a film’s going to do. I just wanted to work with them.

But it could still happen.
Yeah, I think so. I bumped into Joel at the premiere of ‘Sherlock’ in New York and of course I’ve worked with his wife, Frances McDormand, so it was nice to meet them there and have a chat. I shall bide my time and no doubt something will come along.

Do you ever hear that people think you look like Stanley Tucci?
Yeah! I’ve had not only Stanley Tucci, but Andy Garcia. It’s funny, isn’t it? I actually take that as an enormous compliment because I think it’s a mark of people starting to notice you. I’ve known other actors who suddenly do something that gets them noticed and the first thing that happens on this long journey of becoming a regular in the movies, people try to work out who you’re like. There’s also a football player in London for Manchester United called Dimitar Berbatov who’s Bulgarian. So what they’re identifying, I think, is that kind of Mediterranean, Eastern European thing. I take it as a huge compliment. Stanley Tucci and Andy Garcia are a couple of terrific actors.

Have you ever met either of them?
No, although I was at a premiere of a film and as I was walking down the carpet, I could hear a demented shriek of “Stanley! Stanley!” I kind of ignored it and then I turned and realized that the person screaming it was staring straight at me. As I walked over to see what it was she wanted, I realized on the way over that she thought I was Stanley Tucci and she wanted my autograph. I told her, “I’m not Stanely Tucci.” And she went, “You are!” And I said, “Look, honestly, I’m not. He’s American and I’m English, aren’t I?” And she said, “But you are!” So I signed her book “Stanley Tucci.” It made her happy but I hope he never finds out.

Film noir at the Cinematheque

One of the best things about living in Los Angeles is the access to great films, not just all the latest obscure foreign films, but to older, out-of-print films at the American Cinematheque.

I haven’t been in ages, but last night I didn’t have to work, so I was able to catch a film noir double bill with two James Mason films I’d never even heard of, let alone seen! The first was The Man Between, set in post-war Berlin by director Carol Reed, with Mason as a shady German on whom naive Claire Bloom develops an ill-advised crush. Filmed on location, like Berlin Express or Reed’s much better known film, The Third Man, this isn’t the masterpiece that The Third Man is, but still such an intriguing document of the era and a worthy little noir romance in its own right. The second film was One Way Street, with the always fantastic Dan Duryea as a mobster whose back-alley doc (Mason) decides to relieve him of his latest heist earnings. Not to give anything away, but this year’s noir series poster promises “No Happy Endings!” And both of these remind me of two of my favorite Mason films, Odd Man Out and The Reckless Moment. The series programmer Eddie Muller aptly compared James Mason to Dana Andrews — still the doomed everyman, but with that patina of British charm and wit.

I’m so curious whether the apartment building from One Way Street is a real one or on a lot somewhere. Does it still exist in either case? The building’s two wings frame the only exit to the street, a long walkway in clear view of the upper windows, where anyone could take their enemy out with a single shot — making it a perfect castle-like setting for a paranoid gangster.

Got me thinking that I should revive the Los Angeles film noir guidebook that I started work on when I first moved here in 2000. I have so much research and took lots of photos — it wouldn’t take much to actually write the thing.

RIP Charlton Heston

Charlton Heston, one of the last actors from the golden era of film, died this week. It wasn’t until I was updating my portfolio that I remembered I’d written a bio of him in 2001 for the now-defunct site Mr. Showbiz. I guess there isn’t much to add, except my own personal thoughts on the man.

I know a lot of people don’t consider him the world’s greatest actor and he’s probably more well-known for his NRA affiliation than his films. But dammit (or should I pound the sand and cry, “Damn you all to hell!?”) he was Judah Ben-Hur! Moses! The human in Planet of the Apes! If not for his arguing for it, Orson Welles would only have been his costar and not the director of Touch of Evil. I know, I know, Heston playing a Mexican. Doesn’t fly. Wouldn’t fly today. But I grew up watching his movies — Ben-Hur was my favorite movie when I was around 11 — and even if they weren’t from my era, I loved them.

I just watched Major Dundee for the first time on TCM tonight. It’s one of those films that’s supposed to be a mess and a failure but feels like an overlooked gem now. How can you go wrong with Richard Harris and Chuck squaring off against each other?

I got to meet Heston, briefly, on the red carpet for the Stunt Awards a few years ago. He’d already been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and seemed fairly frail. I took a photo then that I’ll have to try to find and scan. But, thanks to celluloid, we get to remember him the way he was, firm-jawed, defiant, cocky and yes, heroic. He’ll be missed.

Hello world!

Hello and welcome to my blog!

I’m a Hollywood-based writer and lover of all things entertainment-related. Well, nearly all things.. there’s only so much Britney and LiLo anyone can take in a 24-hour period! (Wait, you’re telling me that’s NOT what the Internet is for?)

Anyway, Welcome, Wilkommen, Bienvenue, etc.

My portfolio site is here: sharonknolle.com