SUMMER
HIGHLIGHTS
The life and Death of Peter Sellers
Pitch From The Goon Show to Being There, the strange. weird and Superstitious times of the finest British comedy character actor ever. Stars Geoffrey Rush. Charlize Theron. Emin Watson. John Lithgow. Miriam Margolye ‘. Lowdown Based on Roger Lewis' book of the same name. Stephen Hopkins' film was originally made for HBO. But what should have been a run-of-the-mill small screen biopic: turns cut to be one of the most tantalising films of the year. The Life and Death of Peter Sellers is fascinating for many reasons. most noticeably for having Hopkins in the director's chair. This is the man who gave the world Such humdrum Hollywood fare as Lost in Space. Blown Away. Predator 2 and Dangerous Game. Yes. he was a Tinseltown hack for rent until he worked on 24. Working within the real time framework of that show. it seems that this 46-year-old filmmaker decided to reinvent himself. The Life and Death of Peter Sellers is his first project since then and is a stunning piece of work. Christopher Markus' screenplay (unbelievably, his first) employs a series of (Charlie) Kaufmanesque tricks to expand on the notion that Sellers was an empty vessel into which he pOured other pCOple's characters. With superb cameos from Stephen Fry (as Sellers' spiritual advisor Maurice Woodruff) and Stanley Tucci (as Stanley Kubrick) the film ultimately belongs to Geoffrey Rush. whose portrayal of Sellers dictates both the film's absurd rhythm and guirky singularity of this remarkable film.
In the cinemas Late summer.
Fahrenheit 9/ll
Pitch Michael Moore takes on Bush and does more damage than John Kerry ever will.
Stars Michael Moore. George W Bush.
Lowdown lf Michael Moore wasn't already a hate figure for the Republican right for Roger (‘4 Me. his anti-corporate tirade. and his anti-gun volley in Bowling for Columbine. then the MOOre-baiters wrll be in heckle pins over this frenzied assault on George W Bush and his post-f 1 September foreign and domestic policies. Riffing its title from the Ray Bradbury sci-fr novel l‘the temperature where freedom burns'). the Palme d'Or wrnner nearly didn't make
it to our screens till next year. after Disney refused to distribute such a contentious project in an election year. Thank the Lord then. for Miramax. which has served its country well by taking it on. The recent US premiere of Moore's film attracted the likes of Drew Barrymore. Sharon Stone. Leonardo DiCaprio, Matthew Perry. Garry Shandling. Sharon Osbourne. Jack Black and Billy Crystal. So. what did they all show up for? Quite simply. a scathing attack on Bush's first 90 days in office and his response to al anda assaults. If you thought the president's brain was Just a little bit missing. wait till you see this.
In the cinemas E) July.
Stepford Wives
Pitch A brave new world of suburban femachines.
Stars Nicole Kidman. Bette Midler. Lowdown Frank 07 directs a remake of the weird satire based on the 1972 novel by the arch literary conspiracist Ira Rosemary's Baby Levin. Kidman plays an urban mother who relocates with her brood to a postcard-perfect Connecticut commuter town and discovers a soul-free. faceless universe. The 2004 Stepford wife is a servant. sex doll and apple pie-making factory. Despite opening in the US on the day of Bonnie Reagan's funeral. Paramount stood firm and refused to move the film's debut appearance.
In the cinemas 30 July.
,g 7/!
A tale of Two Sisters Pitch Two young sisters return borne to daddy after spending time in a mental institution. only to be faced by a cruel stepmother. an interfering ghost and a whole lot of weird memory. Stars Kap-su Kim. Jung-ah Yum. Su- ieong Lllll. Geun-yeong Mun. Lowdown A real gem from Korea. this psychological horror thriller treads a steady line between Bing-style atmospherics and the ominous suggestibility of Me Boeg's Don't Look Now. It also happens to be genuinely scary despite its sun—bleached. bucolic setting. Writer director Ji-woon Kim clearly set out to make something more insidious. malign but oddly childlike than his previous mowes (noticeably the excellent cod wrestling movie The Foul King). Without a doubt one of the finest. most considered horror films you Wl” see this year (With the possible exception of the forthcoming Sit/itchb/ade Bornance». A Tale of Two Sisters resonates with a love of the great MB James.
In the cinemas M August.
./‘~2 Jan S Jul ‘.~’-’.)t).1 THE LIST 23