Jumping off the tallest building in the world

Yes, that is Tom Cruise in the picture above, running along the side of the world's tallest building. This story happened in November, so it's not exactly hot off the press, but I was so amazed at the stunt that I had to post it.

The story and more pictures are here: Tom Cruise dangles from the world's tallest building as he performs a death-defying stunt for new Mission: Impossible movie



A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists. — Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard

Movie: Knight and Day

I just saw the trailer for the Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz movie Knight and Day that is coming out next year. Wow! Looks like a funny movie! And starring two of my favorite stars!

You can catch the trailer on the movie's web site: Knight and Day

A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists. — Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard

Just saw Valkyrie

I just saw Valkyrie. It's out on DVD.

What a great movie. Not only does it star Tom Cruise, but has a host of brilliant British actors including Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Terence Stamp and more. You can see a full list of everyone here: Valkyrie (IMDB).

I love historical dramas, especially when they are based on actual events. One of the best things about Valkyrie is that it shows us there was a German Resistance against Hitler, something that I had never heard of before this movie was made.

And it shows just how close they came to success. If they had succeeded the war would have ended almost a year earlier and without all the bloodshed and destruction of the last 9 months. I have tremendous admiration for the brave men and women who gave their lives trying to bring down an evil tyrant.

A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists. — Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard

Valkyrie out soon on DVD

The Tom Cruise movie Valkyrie is out on DVD and Blu-Ray on May 19th.

Add it to your calendar! Here is a "making of video".



A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists. — Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard

Struck, The Film: lastest achievements

Struck, The Film team, just had some awesome achievements:

I just got an update mail from them:

• Struck won Best Comedy Short at Breckenridge Festival of Film in Colorado in June and just won Best Short at the Long Island Film Festival. It now has a total of 5 wins and has been selected to a total of 26 film festivals.

• From the 15 festivals Struck has screened at so far the team has been contacted by some 10 other festivals inviting them to participate.  They are continuing to travel to as many of the festivals as we can, meeting and networking with other filmmakers and industry professionals.

• In August, Struck is screening at LA Shorts Fest, Palm Springs International, and California Next Gen (Sacramento). As well, it will be screened on opening night at the Rhode Island International Film Festival which is usually the best screening time.  

• Three of those festivals, LA Shorts, Rhode Island and Palm Springs, are Academy Qualifying, meaning if Struck wins at those festivals it is taken under consideration for an Oscar nomination! 

• The feature length script for Struck has been completed and is in its final wrap-up stages to create a final draft. Yippee!

I had the incredible luck of catching this film during the ten days it was available at YouTube to be seen and voted complete, during Cannes Short Films Festival in late May this year.  I saw it over twenty times!  It only lasts nine minutes but they are the best crafted nine minutes I've seen in many many many years.  

The highly emotional performances (Bodhi Elfman's was by far my favorite), the aesthetics that the film's young director Taron Lexton keeps pampering us with, the magical script...  all these elements combined make a true jewel, a recipe for success, a piece of unbelievable quality of communication....  

In case you missed it, you can still see a trailer (yes, even a nine minutes short film has its own trailer) at Struck's website.  There you can also get more information (as the all-star cast of the film) and updates.

A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists. — Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard

Struck - the Movie

At last you can see the movie, Struck. It's funny and heartwarming. See how many stars you can spot. It's full of 'em!



A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists. — Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard

Struck - the Movie

Yesterday in researching what to write about the beautiful Jennifer Aspen I came across a movie she just starred in called "Struck". I went to the web site and found this hilarious video: Struck - Behind The Scenes. It's a hoot, with the stars of the show camping it up to the max. If you've seen any "Making Of" movies about digital effects and those little green balls they stick onto the actors, then you'll really appreciate the bit about the tennis balls with the smiley faces.

The movie Struck was directed by Taron Lexton, whose films have won more than a dozen awards and who, in June last year, was presented with the "United Nations Award of Excellence" for his work in the field of human rights. In winning the award, he joins such luminaries as Mikhail Gorbachev, Arthur Miller and Stephen Hawking. Taron is the youngest person ever to receive this award. You can read more about it here: United Nations Honors TXL Films.

A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists. - Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard

Interview with John Travolta and the other Members of Hairspray

Great video of interviews with the cast members: Hairspray: Big Hair, Big Cast. John Travolta, Christopher Walken, Michelle Pfeiffer, Queen Latifah and Nikki Blonsky.

News on the Tom Cruise movie "Valkyrie"

The World War II movie "Valkyrie" that will star Tom Cruise is still in pre-production, but just look at the cast they are building: Tom Wilkinson, Carice van Houten and Kenneth Branagh are all confirmed and, according to IMDB, Bill Nighy and Stephen Fry are in negotiations. Those are brilliant actors, every one of them.

The movie is about an assassination plot against Hitler and although we know it failed, with a cast like that the movie won't!