Van Helsing
Beckinsale plays the Princess Anna Valerious. Anna teams up with Van Helsing, played by Hugh Jackman, in the hunt for the Count Dracula. By killing Dracula, Anna will not only avenge the death of her ancestors, but will also allow their souls to enter heaven and finally rest in peace.
I just had to jump off a wheel barrel into a crash-mat and I completely got whiplash… It made me really gun-shy actually. But then the next day I was 60 feet upside-down in a tree.
Man on Fire
Washington plays Joyhn W. Creasy in the action thriller Man on Fire, alongside Christopher Walken, Mickey Rourke, and Dakota Fanning. Ex-CIA agent Creasy takes up a new job as the bodyguard for 9-year-old Lupita Ramos in Mexico City. After Lupita is kidnapped, Creasy is torn. He promises to find her and vows to kill anyone who is involved.
When we were working on Man on Fire, Tony Scott sent me a tape about the Iceman, the guy that killed all of those people. Later I saw this footage of a young girl getting shot. She didn’t do anything but drop. It’s morbid fascination, but that’s what I’m looking for.
Vacancy
Beckinsale plays Amy Fox in the horror-suspense film Vacancy. She stars alongside actor Luke Wilson who plays the role of her husband, David Fox. The film chronicles the couple’s horrendous overnight stay at a secluded, low budget motel. What seems to be a quiet room to relax for the evening, turns out to be the setting for a new snuff film directed by murderous filmmakers.
Taking Lives
Jolie plays a top FBI profiler in Taking Lives. Jolie decides to work with Canadian police to catch a serial killer. Jolie happens to fall in love with a mystery man only to find out he is the one doing the killings. She then fakes a pregnancy to lure her killer into her home. Other cast include Ethan Hawke, Oliver Martinez, and Kiefer Sutherland.
With this one, we studied a lot with the FBI and we tried to get into the mind of the serial killers, both the people playing the killers and for the cops studying them. We all had this kind of really dark crash course in what it’s like to think that way and to see real cases. It was quite shocking to see what they’re really like and how they’re not different from us. Sometimes they have wives and kids and nice houses… It’s strange.
The Secret Window
Based on a short story originally published in King’s compilation, Four Past Midnight, The Secret Window (originally titled Secret Window, Secret Garden) is a tale of a writer who is wrongfully accused of stealing another author’s work and attempts to prove his innocents after all the evidence and people with an alibi being to disappear. Directed by David Koepp, the psychological thriller stars Johnny Depp as the young, misunderstood writer.
Cheaper By the Dozen
Martin plays Tom Baker, father of 12 and a football coach at a small college in Midland, Illinois, in this comedy directed by Shawn Levy. Tom is offered the football coach position at his alma mater in Evanston, Illinois and the impending move throws the family into turmoil. At the same time, Tom’s wife Kathy, played by Bonnie Hunt, is about to embark on a tour for the book she wrote about their family, leaving Tom in charge of the household. Co-starring Piper Perabo, Hillary Duff, and Tom Welling.
I played fathers so many times, it’s like being one. I’ve had children of every age. And like I say, I get to do everything but the dirty work. Their parents have to take them home and deal with all that.
Cheaper By the Dozen
Hunt plays Kathy Baker, mother to 12 children, in this comedy directed by Shawn Levy. Kathy writes a book about her family and embarks on a book tour, leaving her husband Tom, played by Steve Martin, in charge of the household. The family is in the midst of a life decision about whether or not Tom will accept a new job as a football coach at his college alma mater. Co-starring Hillary Duff, Piper Perabo, and Tom Welling.
For me, this movie, it was a big deal. There were 12 kids and most of the families in our neighborhood had 10 or 12. We were a small family comparatively. That was typical of a blue-collar neighborhood in the mid-west to have all those kids in the ’60s and ’70s. Like my mom said, after the third one it really made no difference. You all took care of each other.
Cold Mountain
Portman plays Sara in the 2003 war drama Cold Mountain. She joins an all-star cast of actors that features Nicole Kidman, Renée Zellweger, and Jude Law. The film is set during the Civil War, and tells a story about an injured confederate soldier, played by Law, trying to get back home to his family in Cold Mountain, North Carolina. Director Anthony Minghella’s thoughts of Portman:
She reminds me a little of Jodie Foster, because I can see her, as time goes on, wanting to spread her wings beyond acting. Her big brain wants to be fed.
Cheaper By The Dozen
Duff stars in feature film Cheaper By The Dozen. Duff plays one of the 12 Baker children Lorraine who is the third eldest child in the family. Duff’s co-stars include Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt who play Tom and Kate Baker, Lorraine’s parents.
Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt were both really cool. There were 12 kids in the movie so it was never boring and always pretty hectic on set.
Cheaper by the Dozen
Padalecki plays a bully in the film, Cheaper by the Dozen. He meets a few of the Baker children in the parking lot of their new school and makes fun of them for being from the country.
Something’s Gotta Give
Reeves plays Dr. Julian Mercer in this comedy directed by Nancy Meyers. Harry, an aged music industry executive with a fondness for younger women, suffers a heart attack at the home of his latest girlfriend’s mother, Erica. He convalesces at her home and finds himself falling for her with an unexpected rival in the form of his doctor. Co-starring Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Frances McDormand and Amanda Peet.
Some people speak of this film as being age-oriented, but I would say that it’s ageless-oriented, personally. I think that it’s about taking a risk, opening up and somehow it seems so terrifying to open oneself up to another. I think that we see these two beautiful, brave people in this film, Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson, just kind of open up to each other. We get to enjoy it and see it on screen.
Something’s Gotta Give
Nicholson plays Harry Sanborn, an aged music industry executive with a fondness for younger women, in this comedy directed by Nancy Meyers. When Harry suffers a heart attack at the home of his latest girlfriend’s mother, Erica, he convalesces at her home and finds himself falling for her with an unexpected rival in the form of his doctor. Co-starring Diane Keaton, Keanu Reeves, Frances McDormand and Amanda Peet.
One of the common conversations that I have with friends of all ages, once again, particularly mid-life people, is that whatever their situation, if they’re not in it, they all yearn for one more really romantic experience. That exalted, wonderful feeling that you say that you’ll never do again when you’re not in it, but nothing stands in the way of this. That’s what I think that this refers to.
Something’s Gotta Give
Keaton plays Erica Barry in this comedy directed by Nancy Meyers. Harry, an aged music industry executive with a fondness for younger women, suffers a heart attack at the home of his latest girlfriend’s mother, Erica. He convalesces there and finds himself falling for her with an unexpected rival in the form of his doctor. Co-starring Jack Nicholson, Keanu Reeves, Frances McDormand and Amanda Peet.
Well you know, working with Jack is sort of like standing in front of the Grand Canyon. I don’t know, there’s too much going on there and you’re just this little speck on a precipice. He’s like this huge, massive kind of structure. He’s one of the Seven Wonders of the World. That’s the way it feels. It feels like that because I think there’s something about the way Jack uses language.
Timeline
Walker stars in Timeline, science fiction adventure movie, based on the book by Michael Crichton. Walker plays Chris Johnson, who leads a team of present-day archaeologists who are sent back in time to rescue their professor. The majority of the movie then takes place in medieval France during a battle.
There’s nothing cooler than knights and swords and all that stuff. I’m just a big kid. I love the Old West, too, but I really like this stuff.
Elf
Deschanel stars in this Christmas comedy film directed by Jon Favreau. She plays Jovie, a jaded department store clerk who does not feel the Christmas spirit. Her enthusiasm for the holidays is restored when she meets Buddy, a North Pole elf played by Will Ferrell. With James Caan, Mary Steenburgen, and Bob Newhart. On her favorite scene:
It was fun when we were in the department store because there were all these weird toys everywhere – little kid guitars, little stuffed animals, and just weird stuff. We had fun there.
Intolerable Cruelty
Zeta-Jones plays Marylin in the romantic comedy Intolerable Cruelty. After Miles Massey, one of the best lawyers in Los Angeles, prevents his client from forking out his assets to his ex-wife, Marylin Rexroth, she sets out on her campaign for revenge. It’s a battle of the sexes when Marylin puts Miles in the most unpredictable and precarious positions. Co-starring George Clooney. Clooney on working with Zeta-Jones:
The worst thing is that we had to stop. There’s nothing bad about it. We had such a fun time doing this.
Out of Time
Washington plays Chief of Police Matt Lee Whitlock in the crime drama Out of Time. After being set-up with a double homicide, Chief Whitlock must remain one step ahead of his own police force before he becomes a suspect himself. Co-starring Eva Mendes. On his character:
He’s very complex, which is what I thought was interesting. He’s human, stupid, arrogant, a big fish in a small pond, and worse than an adulterer. I see this as very much a film about temptation.
Underworld
Beckinsale plays Selene, a werewolf huntress assigned to hunt and kill the remaining Lycans around the world. After meeting Michael Corvin, played by actor Scott Speedman, she discovers that the Lycans have been hunting him because he holds the key to ending the war between vampires and Lycans. She falls in love with Corvin, but must decide where her loyalties lie.
I feel really lucky that I’ve been able to move around so much and change what I’m doing.
The Cradle of Life
Jolie stars in Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. Croft is on a quest to find a box that was obtained by Alexander the Great, racing against time because she wants to obtain the box before it lands into the hands of Dr. Reiss. Other cast members include Ciaran Hinds and Gerald Butler.
Believe or not, I think it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. For most people, if you had to sit in a corner and think about what makes you sad, and think about what haunts you, and what makes you angry, we could all probably get to that place, but if you had to stand front and center in front of a thousand people, really proud and confident and get them all to follow you out of the room, that’s hard. Do you know what I mean? So there’s this weird feeling that she’s positive and confident all the time that that was very difficult for me.
Vehicle 19
Walker plays Michael Woods in Vehicle 19, an action thriller originally released in South Africa. Woods, a foreign traveler, unknowingly picks up a rental car that will tie him to a web or corrupt local police. He must clear his name, but also stay alive.
