I can always appreciate an actress who chooses roles for a reason other than their ability to perform at the box office. Zooey Deschanel is that kind of girl (as in, my kind of girl.) Her bit part in Almost Famous led to several other projects that were both bigger and smaller, from indie projects to major motion pictures. It's almost like she cares about the craft or something!

Seriously though, my own love for her aside, Zooey is a talented actress who went from playing a small town Gothic sales clerk in The Good Girl to a narcissistic singing Santa's helper in Elf. From there she was a depressed actress (Winter Passing), a creative teacher (Bridge to Terabithia), and, oddly enough, Sarah Jessica Parker's roommate in Failure to Launch (which I couldn't bring myself to see, but I'm sure she was as good as you could be in such a train wreck of a film.)

This summer, Zooey stars alongside Mark Wahlberg in M. Night Shyamalan's thriller, The Happening. She plays Alma, Marky Mark's wife who is somewhat aloof and charming in an otherwise quite upsetting film about apocalyptic violent suicide.

I must admit, she was one of the main reasons I went to see the film. She has a great track record so far (I forgive her misstep in Failure to Launch) so I gave her the benefit of the doubt. As to not ruin it for those who have yet to see the film, I will say that at least Zooey's big eyes are wide and intense a lot and she doesn't have any intimate scenes with Mark or any other males (because suicide isn't sexy and neither are dudes.) … continue reading

It doesn't always go well when actors decide to sing or singers decide to act — well, the latter is often just fine, but the former can be disastrous. (I've mentioned my Lisa Whelchel album before ... it's seriously awful!) But in the cases of Scarlett Johansson and Zooey Deschanel, the swapping of scripts for songs might turn out to be just fine.

Oops, I guess I've made it look like they're singing duets or something. No; these are separate albums. Too bad — they could have called their first release ScarZo Sings!

Deschanel's first collaboration with indie fave M. Ward, under the name She & Him, was released this week. Zooey has a musical past — she plays the banjo — and the reviews are mostly positive so far. Says BlogCritics.org, "I wouldn't have thought it possible, but Deschanel sounds as cute as she looks."

Zooey wrote nine of the songs on the album. You can stream all of Volume One from the Merge Records site. My favorite so far is "Sweet Darlin'." … continue reading

I have mixed feelings about M. Night Shyamalan. I loved The Sixth Sense — and no, I didn't figure it out before the end. Unbreakable was interesting, as was Signs. Then things started going downhill. The Village — meh. Lady in the Water — awful. But I'll give The Happening a try for one simple reason: Zooey Deschanel.

Deschanel stars with Mark Wahlberg in this "paranoia thriller about a family on the run from an apocalyptic threat to humanity." I guess "paranoia thriller" is a new genre. Or a description of my first date with a woman. The trailer is creepy, to say the least. … continue reading

As a lover of The Wizard of Oz , not to mention a fan of the name Dorothy, I've been following news about the story's “bold reimagining” in the miniseries Tin Man with some interest. The six-hour Sci Fi Channel event premieres Sunday and will run two hours each night until its conclusion Tuesday. Still, as much as I enjoy all things Oz, I'm not sure if I'm going to watch.

For starters, it's six hours. In six hours I could watch half a season of 30 Rock. I'm just saying, priorities. And then there is the “bold reimagining” stuff. Labeling an adaptation as such practically screams, “We've really screwed with this story you love, so please don't hate us. M'kay?” Or maybe I'm just being sensitive. But parallel universes, holographic time loops and Richard Dreyfuss? This is a very new road. … continue reading

Over the summer, Dorothy Snarker brought us details about the Sci Fi Channel's upcoming Oz miniseries, Tin Man (make that O.Z. miniseries — in this update, it's the "Outer Zone"). I was not alone in being torn between my adoration of star Zooey Deschanel and my reluctance to see yet another mucked-up remake, but with a decent teaser and the added bonus of Alan Cumming, Deschanel was in the lead.

A couple of months later and there's now an extended trailer (after the jump), cast interviews and a behind-the-scenes video, so not only are a few questions answered (the Tin Man is indeed trapped in a tin shell before D.G. and company help him out; the wizard is behind a curtain — of drugs), but we can all make a more informed decision about whether or not it will be worth our time. (Thanks to Buzzsugar.com for the tip.) … continue reading

Who here likes The Wizard of Oz? Clearly, not me. I mean, it’s not like I've taken a name or an affinity for red shoes or a fear of tornadoes (What? I grew up in the Midwest) from the iconic movie musical or anything. So when I heard that the Sci Fi Channel was going to "boldly reimagine" the classic story, I wasn’t sure if I should click my heels or summon the winged monkeys.

Based on L. Frank Baum’s novel, Tin Man is been described as a “sometimes psychedelic, often twisted and always bizarre take” on the Emerald City adventures. The miniseries, set to air in December, stars Zooey Deschanel as DG (aka Dorothy, Miss Gale if you’re nasty), Alan Cumming as Glitch (aka Scarecrow, brain not included), Raoul Trujillo as Raw (aka Cowardly Lion; Raw stands for rawwwr, I guess) and Neal McDonough as Cain (aka Tin Man, though shouldn’t he look more, uh, tinny?).

… continue reading

On Sunday, The New York Times featured an article titled "Glorious Dissolution: Musicians on Film." It considers some forthcoming music biopics, whose subjects include Edith Piaf and Janis Joplin. The Piaf pic, La Vie en Rose (opening Friday in limited release) compares Piaf to her "spiritual double," Billie Holiday. I've never quite made that connection, but it's a fascinating one.

Director Olivier Dahan notes that Piaf and Holiday endured a fragility that was both boon and bane:

“I don’t believe that to be a great artist you have to be tormented,” Mr. Dahan said. But, he added, the very qualities that help musicians as artists may also render them vulnerable. “Maybe there is something about being fragile,” he said. “And to be fragile is to also be very receptive. You can’t be a great artist and not be fragile, so when you are fragile everything kind of hits you, the good and the bad for sure.”

That rings true, even if it does also make me frown. It's no fun when you know the person's going to self-destruct at the end. But thanks to some of the weird casting choices for upcoming biopics, the self-destruction is the least of my worries: … continue reading

Both Reese Witherspoon and Zooey Deschanel have been tapped to star in some new high-profile flicks.

Oscar winner Witherspoon (looking seriously scrawny in the recent pic below) will star in the remake of the 1939 Claudette Colbert comedy Midnight. The IMDB summary describes the plot for the original thusly: "An American gold-digger finds herself penniless in Paris. But when impersonating a baroness, she finds several ways to make money. If only she can avoid stepping into the same trap she always does--falling in love with a poor man."

I know, I know. Try to contain yourselves! Just what we've all been demanding, another movie about a woman trying to marry well. What will they think of next?

The remake will be written by Michael Arndt (another Oscar winner, for penning Little Miss Sunshine). … continue reading

by Dorothy Snarker

In this month's issue of Jane magazine, stars from the Sundance Film Festival (uh, wasn't that in January?) answered the question "What‘s your crime?" for a photo shoot. These true confessions came in the form of mug shots spelling out these so-called crimes. The spread yielded nary a felony (OK, Paul Rudd's answer raises an eyebrow ... ), but there were plenty of admissions of bad behavior and nasty habits.

My favorite: Mandy Moore pleading guilty to her crimes against our eardrums as the "Singer of 'Candy.'"

(Click "read more" to see more celebrity infamy.) … continue reading