Courteney Cox’s New Role: Director!
Life goes on for Courteney Cox.
With the recently cancelled Dirt now history, Cox has gone behind the camera to direct The Monday Before Thanksgiving, a short for Glamour magazine’s Reel Moments film series, according to her hubby David Arquette.
“It’s amazing,” Arquette told me of his wife’s work last night at the premiere of his new short, The Butler’s in Love. “It’s family-related and involves a story that’s close to her heart.”
Cox follows in the footsteps of her best friend, Jennifer Aniston, who made her directorial debut at Reel Moments two years ago with Room 10, a drama costarring Robin Wright Penn and Kris Kristofferson. (Reps for Cox and Glamour declined to comment; an official announcement is expected sometime next month.)
As for David’s movie, it’s the first flick produced by the French Absinthe brand Le Tourment Vert’s new production company. The Butler’s in Love is based on a painting by artist Mark Stock that hangs in Bix, the San Francisco restaurant where Arquette and Cox held their rehearsal dinner the night before their wedding.
The work shows a butler holding up a glass with a lipstick stain and bottle of absinthe on a side table. “We didn’t have any absinthe at our wedding,” Arquette said with a laugh. “But I never forgot about the painting. I think of the romance behind it.”
The movie is also in 3-D, which explains the wacky plastic green glasses everyone was wearing in the theater, including Arquette and Cox’s adorable four-year-old daughter, Coco.
“You have to give them back,” Arquette said of the glasses. “It’s all about recycling.”
Also helping Arquette celebrate the premiere were siblings Patricia, Rosanna, Alexis and Richmond, Butler costars Elizabeth Berkley and Jennifer Siebel and 30 Rock’s Jack McBrayer.
Donny and Marie do Star Wars
When I first came across this video on my web travels, I thought it was part of that infamous Star Wars Holiday Special that aired in the 70s and hasn’t been seen on television since (I think George Lucas is trying to forget it even exists). However, this is actually from Donny & Marie, and it’s just as surreal, if not more. Long before she was dancing with other stars, Marie played Princess Leia to Donny’s Luke Skywalker. Kris Kristofferson plays Han Solo (and looks like he’d rather be someplace else), the voice of Darth Vader is Thurl Ravenscroft (Tony the Tiger!), and General Harkin is played by…Paul Lynde!
The most incredible part though is Redd Foxx, who hovers above and gives little bits of wisdom. The 70s were a very screwed up time. I also don’t think that Donny & Marie would get very far if they tried out for American Idol. I used to watch this show though.
(Note, the first video after the jump is completely out of ;sync. Believe me, it wouldn’t be any better if the sound and video were together.)
Jennifer Aniston Tries Out Director’s Chair
Jennifer Aniston Tries Out Director’s Chair
She’s certainly easy on the eyes whenever she appears on the big (or little) screen. But Jennifer Aniston is trying her eye at directing, trading time in front of the camera for a new perspective behind the scenes.
The Hollywood Reporter says that the Friends star will be debuting her short film at a festival in California a few weeks from now. Her project “Room 10″ sounds like it just may have some serious promise, too.
She managed to get Robin Wright Penn and Kris Kristofferson to star in the romantic drama, which will open at the 2007 Palm Springs Festival of Short Films beginning August 23rd.
According to the Hollywood reporter, “Room 10 is set in the emergency room of a hospital, and focuses on the true story of a nurse who discovers deeper meaning in her life after treating a dying patient.”
After it premieres, we’ll be sure to bring you the news on how Jen’s “Room 10″ fares. In the meantime,
Marcia Cross Biography
Marcia Cross (born March 25, 1962 in Marlborough, Massachusetts) is an American actress. She graduated from Juilliard and earned a master’s degree in psychology at Antioch University in Los Angeles. In 2005 she was nominated for her first Emmy for her work on Desperate Housewives. In December of 2005, Cross garnered her second consecutive nomination for the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy Series.
Prior to her role on Desperate Housewives, Cross starred as Dr. Linda Abbott on Warner Bros.’ critically-acclaimed series, Everwood. She is also well known for her portrayal of the mentally unbalanced Dr. Kimberly Shaw on Melrose Place, which she played from 1992 to 1997. Kimberly was, and remains, a firm fan favorite - providing many of the show’s most memorable moments, in her plans to kill many of the characters on the show. One Melrose website’s poll on most popular characters on the show listed Cross’ Kimberly Shaw second only to Heather Locklear’s Amanda Woodard but the series’ producers were curiously slow in promoting Cross to full-fledged cast member status in the opening credits, an honor she did not receive until her third season in the role despite having as much screen time as any series regular.
On stage Cross performed in La Ronde at the Williamstown Theater Festival, in Twelfth Night, or What You Will at the Hartford Stage Company, and in The Two Gentlemen of Verona at the Old Globe in San Diego.
Her first television job was on the daytime drama The Edge of Night. Leaving New York to try her luck in Los Angeles, Cross was soon landing roles in television movies such as The Last Days of Frank and Jessie James, co-starring with Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson. Later, in 1986, she went on to portray Kate Sanders on the ABC daytime drama, One Life to Live. She played the role until 1987.
Her most notable soap role on Melrose Place began when she was hired for one episode. The producers were so impressed, they kept asking her back for additional appearances, eventually bringing her character back from the dead to continue on the hit show.
Cross also guest-starred on such series as Seinfeld, where she played Jerry’s dermatologist girlfriend (or as Jerry preferred, “Dr. Sitarides: Pimple Popper M.D.”), and Cheers, where she portrayed Susan Howe, the younger sister to Kirstie Alley’s character, Rebecca Howe. She has also appeared on the comedies Boy Meets World, Ally McBeal, Spin City, It’s Garry Shandling’s Show and King of Queens. Her dramatic roles include appearances on CSI, Profiler and Touched by an Angel, and her film credits include Living in Fear, Always Say Good-bye, Dancing in September and Bad Influence.
In early 2005, the Internet and tabloids swirled with rumors that Cross was gay and in a long-term relationship with another woman, and planning to come out of the closet. Cross actually appeared on television show The View to deny the reports, but stated that she was just very supportive of the gay community. In August 2005, Cross’s publicist also told the American celebrity newsmagazine Us Weekly that Cross had accepted the proposal of Tom Mahoney, a stockbroker whom she had been dating for six months, and that the couple were engaged to be married. No date has been set for their wedding and it will be the first marriage for both.