The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Palin biopic now showing in cinema not so near you Posted: 15 Jul 2011 10:41 PM PDT ORANGE, California, July 16 — "The Undefeated", a flattering documentary about Sarah Palin's rise in American politics, opened in a handful of US cinemas yesterday, drawing die-hard fans of the Tea Party favourite from far away. Distributors put the film in just 10 AMC cinemas nationwide, mostly in reliably conservative markets such as Dallas, Texas, and Orange County in southern California. But if it does well this weekend, it will expand to new and not-so-conservative markets.  Sarah Palin greets supporters as she arrives for the premiere of "The Undefeated" in Pella, Iowa, June 28, 2011. — Reuters pic Fundraising tallies for Palin suggest she needs the help. Her primary fundraising committee brought in a paltry US$1.6 million (RM4.8 million) in the first half of 2011, a fraction of the US$18.25 million Republican front-runner Mitt Romney's presidential committee collected in the second quarter alone. "Run, Sarah, run!" shouted Californian Sherman Roodzant, 64, as the final credits rolled on the 1.10pm showing in a half-filled cinema in Orange. Roodzant drove 240km to watch it, and said it was worth every kilometre. "It was awesome," Roodzant said. "It showed her life story and showed what a great American she is and what a great potential leader she is. It made me feel stronger toward her." That kind of fervour is exactly what distributors are banking on. They saw it at the premiere last month in a small town in conservative-leaning Iowa. "I couldn't believe the crowd reaction" in Iowa, said Trevor Drinkwater, CEO of ARC Entertainment, which is handling the film's distribution. "It is a biased crowd, but still." 'Gives her gravitas' Documentaries, however, are notoriously difficult to market, and there is particularly stiff competition this weekend. The final "Harry Potter" installment is opening in a staggering 4,375 US and Canadian cinemas and should break box-office records. Filmmaker Stephen Bannon based the documentary on Palin's memoir "Going Rogue" and uses her readings from that book to narrate a good part of the film. It takes moviegoers from her political infancy as mayor of the Alaskan town of Wasilla to her governorship in Alaska, where she took on Big Oil. Then one day, Palin gets a call from Republican presidential candidate John McCain asking her to be his running mate in 2008. The film takes aim at the wave of criticism Palin faced once the "outsider" arrived on the national political stage. To illustrate the attacks, Bannon shows a pride of lions feasting on a zebra. Towards the end of the film, which features Palin making speeches to the emerging Tea Party movement, the audience in Orange began to clap. Business owner Robert Benson drove 90 minutes to watch what he called "a terrific film" that "gives her some gravitas". "I didn't realise how accomplished she was as governor of Alaska," said Benson, who said he would like to see Palin run for the presidency. But Benson acknowledged it was "bizarre" to watch a film like this in a commercial movie cinema. "I am amazed it is in 10 theaters," said Benson. "I am amazed that AMC did it. I think, to their credit, it is probably going to work out well for them." Gay Meador, 62, said she was "shocked and ashamed" that the Orange AMC cinema was the only place where "The Undefeated" was showing in her area, let alone California. She will recommend it to friends, and not only ones who are Palin supporters. "There is a midnight showing . . . You can sneak out in the middle of the night so the neighbours don't know where you went," said Meador. — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Carla Bruni confirms pregnant, won’t reveal gender Posted: 15 Jul 2011 06:49 PM PDT  The bump is clear in this July 9, 2011, file photo as Carla Bruni and President Sarkozy board a boat at the president's retreat in Fort de Bregancon. — Reuters pic Rumours have swirled for months, starting with a story in gossip magazine Closer in April and followed by near-obsessive coverage of Bruni's baby bump, but yesterday's interview with regional daily Nice Matin was the first official confirmation the presidential couple are expecting their first child. Bruni is said to be due to give birth in the autumn, around the time President Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to announce he will run for a second term in next year's election. Bruni, a singer-songwriter and former model, declined to say whether her baby was a boy or a girl. "There are some things that one has to keep secret," she said. Asked why she had been so discreet, Bruni, 43, said: "First in order to protect myself, to avoid having to expose my personal life. It's a great joy for me, but one that is fairly banal after all. "People have other problems and it would be out of place to talk about it too much," she added. Photographed by Nice Matin, Bruni appears relaxed and maternal in a flowing pink gown, lounging on a floral-patterned sofa and strolling through the gardens of Fort de Bregancon, the president's retreat in the south of France. Shots of Bruni taken in May at the G8 summit in Deauville, showing her wearing a black dress with a prominent bump, garnered intense coverage and nearly overshadowed an otherwise protocol-heavy gathering of world leaders. Yesterday's interview, the day after the Bastille Day national holiday when many French people are relaxing at vacation homes, had the feel of a well-staged press event, coming on the heels of a photo spread in Paris Match magazine featuring the presidential couple lazing in swimwear at the beach. With Sarkozy labouring under weak poll ratings nine months from the election, Bruni's pregnancy appears to be a stroke of good fortune that could win sympathy points with some voters. Sarkozy and his former wife, Cecilia, divorced shortly after he was elected in 2007. He has since accustomed the French public to following episodes of his private life as they are played out in gossip magazines.  Carla Bruni and President Sarkozy go to the beach at Fort de Bregancon. — Reuters pic |
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