Coverfinal_August08:Cover_Aprilfaris 7/4/08 12:13 PM Page 1 YOUR MOVIE GUIDE FamousAUGUST 2008 VOLUME 9 NUMBER 8 KEVIN COSTNER ENDORSES SWING VOTE FIRST ROCK ON IRON MAN. NOW HE’S RAINN BACK (AND BLACK) WILSON! IN TROPIC THUNDER. HARRISON THE FORD SUMMER OF GOES BACK TO ROBERT WORK DOWNEY PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40708019 JR. SNAPS: MATT DAMON, KIEFER SUTHERLAND, TOM HANKS, PIERCE BROSNAN, CATHERINE ZETA-JONES We believe in emailing the latest Hollywood gossip from your seat. ADD UNLIMITED personal email, IM and Web for just $30/month.* Next Generation BlackBerry® CurveTM HTC Touch DiamondTM BlackBerry® PearlTM 8130 8330 smartphone *Available as an add-on to voice rate plans with a plan rate of $30 or greater on PDA smartphones and BlackBerry smartphones (with BlackBerry Internet Service only). Cannot be combined with any other data plan. TELUS, the TELUS logo and the future is friendly are trademarks of TELUS Corporation. 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In spite of our careful checking, errors infrequently occur and we request that you check this proof for accuracy. TAXI’s liability is limited to replacing or correcting the disc from which this proof was generated. We cannot be responsible for your time, film, proofs, stock, or printing loss due to error. inside_August08_OntSplit:Fcontents 7/3/08 4:31 PM Page 4 Famous InsideAUGUST 2008VOLUME 9•8 regulars EDITOR’S NOTE6 CAUGHT ON FILM8 ENTERTAINMENT IN BRIEF10 SPOTLIGHT14 IN THEATRES16 STYLE40 HOT PLAY42 MUSIC MAKERS43 DVD RELEASES45 HOROSCOPE48 FAMOUS LAST WORDS50 features DRUMMER BOY24 The Rocker stars Rainn Wilson as a heavy metal drummer who schools a teenage band on the fine art of rockin’ out. Lesson one: don’t be afraid to get naked • By Ingrid Randoja cover AND THE WINNER IS...28 story In the comedy Swing Vote, Kevin Costner plays a doofus whose single ballot will decide the outcome of the U.S. Presidential election. Here the amiable actor talks about his real-life relationship with the Bush 36BLACK LIKE ME He soared as Iron Man, and now Robert Downey Jr. looks to cap his comeback by clan, and how he ended up portraying a white actor playing an African-American character in director Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder. taking a dip in the White House Sure, it's risky, but as Downey explains, he's playing an arrogant A-lister who thinks he can do no swimming pool wrong, and that's something this former high-flying actor can relate to • By Jim Slotek • By Marni Weisz CROSSING GUARD32 He may be a megastar, but as Harrison Ford tells us, he’s still just an actor looking for a good role, which is he why he agreed to play a conflicted U.S. Immigration Agent in the ensemble drama Crossing Over 14 32 28 24 GETTY IMAGES BY MARCEL HARTMAN/CONTOUR BY PHOTO COVER • By Bob Strauss 4 FAMOUS AUGUST 2008 editorial_August08:Fcontents 7/3/08 4:19 PM Page 6 EDITOR’S NOTE Famous PUBLISHER SALAH BACHIR EDITOR MARNI WEISZ DEPUTY EDITOR INGRID RANDOJA ART DIRECTOR MATTHEW PICKET ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR ALIZA KLEIN DIRECTOR, PRODUCTION SHEILA GREGORY CONTRIBUTORS SCOTT GARDNER, LIZA HERZ, DAN LIEBMAN, JIM SLOTEK, BOB STRAUSS ADVERTISING SALES FOR FAMOUS, FAMOUS QUÉBEC AND FAMOUS KIDS IS HANDLED BY CINEPLEX MEDIA. HEAD OFFICE 416.539.8800 VICE PRESIDENT ROBERT BROWN (ext. 232) SHADES OF VICE PRESIDENT, SALES BRYAN PRESS (ext. 244) DIRECTOR OF SALES, FAMOUS MAGAZINES LORELEI OEMING (ext. 249) DIRECTOR, NATIONAL SALES JOHN TSIRLIS (ext. 237) DIRECTOR, SALES CINDY FROST (ext. 254) DIRECTOR, SALES ZOLTAN TOTH (ext. 233) BLACK ACCOUNT MANAGERS For a gross-out, over-the-top, even adolescent, comedy, Tropic Thunder JENNA PATERSON (ext. 243) has stirred up some very interesting conversation. Namely, what constitutes blackface in 2008? CORY ATKINS (ext. 257) MICHAEL VAN ZON (ext. 241) The taboo practice of a white actor painting his or her face black to impersonate someone of African VINCENT ALOI (EXT. 235) descent may be the most loaded and offensive image in entertainment. And for good reason. Histori- DIRECTOR, MEDIA OPERATIONS CATHY PROWSE (ext. 223) cally, blackface has propagated and reinforced the worst stereotypes of Africans and African-Americans. BRITISH COLUMBIA 604.904.8622 So when pictures of Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder began to surface, the immediate reaction WESTERN SALES MANAGER DIANE RAJH was, “What the *$%?” ALBERTA 403.266.4412 But Downey’s not playing a black man in the film, he’s playing a white method actor who is so WESTERN SALES MANAGER overconfident in his ability — and right — to play any part that he takes on the role of a black man. ELIZABETH D’ARTOIS Essentially, the movie is making fun of a white actor who has the audacity to play a black man. QUEBEC 514.868.0005 And it’s certainly not the only recent example of a white actor putting on black makeup. DIRECTOR, SALES SOPHIE JODOIN (ext. 222) Saturday Night Live uses white actors to impersonate famous black figures all the time. In addition ACCOUNT MANAGER to his dead-on impressions of Sean Connery and Bill Clinton, Darrell Hammond does a pretty good GENEVIÈVE ROSSIGNOL (ext. 224) SALES COORDINATOR Jesse Jackson. And Fred Armisen — who’s of German, Japanese and Venezuelan descent — is sure ANNIE DESJARDINS (ext. 223) hoping Barack Obama becomes the next American President, because he’s been tapped to play the ATLANTIC CANADA 902.576.3131 black Democrat on the show. ATLANTIC SALES MANAGER JILL HEIGHWAY Downey’s Tropic Thunder co-star Jack Black even had a blackface scene in this past February’s SPECIAL THANKS VÉRONIQUE ALARIE, Be Kind Rewind. Again, it was for a movie within the movie, and seeing Black’s character in an Afro MATHIEU CHANTELOIS, JOAN GRANT, wig engendered discomfort in his on-screen crew, which served to point out how inappropriate it was. ELLIS JACOB, PAT MARSHALL, Ultimately, whether or not even a satire of blackface is offensive is up to the individual. DAN MCGRATH, SUSAN REGINELLI In “Is Downey Bulletproof?” page 36, the actor who many feel can do no wrong gives his take on Famous™magazine is published 12 times a year by Cineplex Entertainment. Subscriptions are the character — calling his belief that he can play a black man a “dysfunction.” $31.50 ($30 + GST) a year in Canada, $45 a year in the U.S. and $55 a year overseas. Single copies are $3. Kevin Costner’s known for the unusual number of baseball movies he’s made (Bull Durham, Back issues are $6. All subscription inquiries, Field of Dreams, For Love of the Game, The Upside of Anger), but the number of political flicks in his back issue requests and letters to the editor should be directed to Famous magazine at 102 Atlantic Ave., filmography is catching up as he adds Swing Vote, to JFK and Thirteen Days. This time, Costner plays Ste. 100, Toronto, ON, M6K 1X9; or 416.539.8800; a man who — through circumstances too strange to explain here — gets to decide who will be the or [email protected] next President of the United States. In “The Whole World in His Hands,” page 28, Costner talks politics Publications Mail Agreement No. 40708019. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: — his own, and those in the movie. Famous magazine, 102 Atlantic Ave., Suite 100, Rainn Wilson’s new comedy, The Rocker, is neither controversial, nor political. It’s just a light, fun, Toronto, ON., M6K 1X9 summer movie about an aging drummer who gets a second chance at rock ’n’ roll stardom as part of 650,000 copies of Famous magazine are distributed through Cineplex Entertainment and Alliance cinemas, a high school band. Read “Heavy Rainn,” page 24, to find out how Wilson got sweaty for the role. HMV and other outlets. Famous magazine is not And on page 32 we have “From Indy to Indie,” our interview with Harrison Ford about his sup- responsible for the return of unsolicited manuscripts, UNIVERSAL PICTURES PRESENTS IN ASSOCIATION WITH RELATIVITY MEDIA A SOMMERS COMPANY / ALPHAVILLE PRODUCTION A ROB COHEN FILM artwork or other materials. No material in this magazine porting part in the upcoming drama Crossing Over, a socially conscious film about immigration that may be reprinted without the express written consent of BRENDAN FRASERJET LI“THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR”MARIA BELLOJOHN HANNAHRUSSELL WONGLIAM CUNNINGHAM will probably make less money than that other movie he released this year. the publisher. © Cineplex Entertainment 2008. MUSIC COSTUME EDITED ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// LUKE FORDISABELLA LEONG AND MICHELLE YEOH BY RANDY EDELMAN DESIGNER SANJA MILKOVIC HAYS BY JOEL NEGRONKELLY MATSUMOTO PRODUCTION DIRECTOR OF EXECUTIVE PRODUCED Marni Weisz, editor DESIGNER NIGEL PHELPS PHOTOGRAPHY SIMON DUGGAN ACS PRODUCERCHRIS BRIGHAM BY SEAN DANIEL JAMES JACKS STEPHEN SOMMERS BOB DUCSAY WRITTEN DIRECTED BY ALFRED GOUGH &MILES MILLAR BY ROB COHEN A UNIVERSAL PICTURE 6 FAMOUS AUGUST 2008 © 2008 UNIVERSAL STUDIOS CANADA MAGAZINE MATERIALS DUE: 3 4C, FULL PAGE BLEED ISSUE DATE: N16093 6/2/08 BLEED: 8" X 11" MTD_CanadianMag_4C_1 TRIM: 7.875" X 10.75" SAFE: 7" X 10" SPCK_AM 6-2-08 11AM snaps_August08:Fcontents 7/3/08 4:54 PM Page 8 snaps_August08:Fcontents 7/3/08 4:55 PM Page 9 SNAPS CATHERINE ZETA-JONESES Time for a puppy break.