“Mom & Movie Star: Gwyneth Paltrow Balances Both Titles - The Ledger” plus 1 more |
| Mom & Movie Star: Gwyneth Paltrow Balances Both Titles - The Ledger Posted: 07 Jan 2011 02:02 AM PST Published: Friday, January 7, 2011 at 12:01 a.m. Gwyneth Paltrow is the kind of well-mannered celebrity who never -- even in her gregarious 20s -- raised eyebrows by wearing her skirts too short, swaying boozily on a bar top or kissing a man who wasn't her own. So it is with relish that the actress, now 38 and the kind of conscientious mother of two who coordinates play dates from 5,000 miles away, does all that misbehaving and more as a country star in "Country Strong," which opens in theaters today. "My life is all responsibility," says Paltrow, shrugging into a hooded sweatshirt and kicking off her 3-inch heels after a performance to promote the film at Yahoo in Santa Monica. "An amazing thing about playing Kelly was this abandon that she had. I envied it in a way. I'm so organized and sometimes you feel like the responsibility you put on yourself is just gonna choke you. It was wonderful to play someone who, to everyone's detriment, just didn't have a care in the world." Paltrow's Kelly Canter is a train wreck with platinum records -- think Britney Spears a decade from now, plus some twang and minus the intervention. Pulled out of rehab prematurely by her husband-manager (played by country star Tim McGraw), Kelly attempts a comeback. But things get complicated when she takes a shine to a smoldering young man with a guitar (Garrett Hedlund of "Tron: Legacy") and faces some fresh-faced competition (Leighton Meester of "Gossip Girl"). Although she's best known lately for playing Iron Man's hyper-capable secretary Pepper Potts, this is Paltrow's first major lead performance in seven years, since she became mother to Apple, now 6, and Moses, 4. It took a role that would require her to sing, dance, rage, weep and access her inner bad girl to lure the actress out of the life of protected domesticity she leads in London with her children and her husband, Coldplay vocalist Chris Martin. "I've always been home and I want to raise my kids myself and you can't be starring in three movies a year. You know, it just doesn't work," says Paltrow, who moved her family to Nashville for the five-week "Country Strong" shoot. "I went for a week by myself, 'cause I thought there's no way I can get into this character with my toddlers running around. You come home from playing drunk and sobbing and you're like, 'Hey, let's make a painting!' They're just two different worlds." Writer-director Shana Feste said she cast the cosmopolitan Oscar winner as her fallen country star because of the actress's willingness to enter Kelly's turbulent reality. "I heard the love in her voice and I knew she wasn't gonna judge this character," says Feste. "Kelly does a lot of very bad things." Among the worst is decking McGraw in a drunken tantrum, a scene Paltrow found excruciating to shoot. After multiple takes faking the punch, Feste and the actors agreed to try one for real. "Tim started being very combative with her and egging her on," Feste says. "She ended up whacking him and she started crying afterward." The take was a keeper, but Paltrow was shaken. "I'd never hit anyone in my life, and I didn't like it at all," she says. Compared to its emotional rigors, the role's musical demands were more straightforward. Paltrow, who had sung in the movies "Duets" and "Infamous," took guitar lessons while her children were in school. She watched Loretta Lynn videos and consulted famous friends such as Beyonce and McGraw's wife, Faith Hill, on everything from exuding magnetism to holding a microphone. (Curiously, Paltrow doesn't mention getting pointers from her musician husband, though he did write a song for the soundtrack.) Once she arrived in Nashville, Paltrow took in shows at famed country venues such as the Ryman Auditorium and the Station Inn. By the time she first performed on set, in an intimate scene in which she and Hedlund co-write a song in rehab, the music was the least of Paltrow's worries. "I always think, 'Well, she did it' -- Debbie Reynolds or Judy Garland,'" Paltrow says. "People do it. So I think if they can do it, I can give it the college try." Singing for a crew and enthusiastic extras is one thing. It's quite another to do what Paltrow did in November to promote the film: performing at the Country Music Association Awards in Nashville, strumming a six-string and harmonizing with Vince Gill in front of the industry's elite and a live TV audience. "Why would you put yourself in that scenario?" Paltrow asks. "Two weeks beforehand, I really thought I had lost my mind." In the days before the show, the actress stayed in Hill and McGraw's Nashville guest house and got some counsel. "Tim was like, 'You've got no choice now. Man up.' And Faith said, "'Try to have fun. Enjoy it.'" Though visibly nervous, Paltrow delivered a capable performance that night, one she calls "one of the most exhilarating, surreal, challenging moments in my life." She followed it up with more singing on a sweeps-week episode of "Glee." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| LG Electronics' 'Cinema 3D' Technology Creates Movie Theater Experience at Home - Earthtimes Posted: 05 Jan 2011 08:02 AM PST LAS VEGAS, Jan. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- LG Electronics introduced its next generation 3D technology, Cinema 3D, today at the International Consumer Electronics Show (Booth #8205). With Cinema 3D, consumers can recreate the 3D movie theater viewing experience in their home with lightweight eyewear, crisp, bright images and wide-angle viewing. Each Cinema 3D HDTV is bundled with four pairs of lightweight, highly affordable 3D glasses. Similar to the 3D glasses used in theaters, the Cinema 3D polarized glasses do not have a battery and never need charging. Since the glasses do not need to sync with an emitter, viewers can watch from nearly any angle in the room, even lying down in front of the TV. The low cost of the glasses also makes it easier to buy as many pairs as needed to host family and friends for a sporting event or 3D movie night. "Research shows that consumers enjoy the Cinema 3D viewing experience three to one*," said Jay Vandebree, senior vice president, LG Electronics USA. "We're introducing a simple 3D solution that allows consumers to enjoy 3D without barriers. Affordable glasses allow for group viewing, eliminate the worry of losing or breaking glasses and never need charging, while wide angle viewing allows consumers to enjoy movies and sports from virtually anywhere in the room." CINEMA 3D TV uses a similar 3D technology employed in cinemas. The Film Patterned Retarder (FPR) optimizes the separation of images for the left and right eye, which are then filtered through the glasses to give viewers a better 3D effect with minimal cross-talk. LG's 3D Light Boost, a thin film covering the screen, creates bright, crisp 3D images for a superior 3D viewing experience by counteracting any dimness that can occur with 3D content. The INFINIA LW6500 and LW5600 series feature the Cinema 3D technology in screen sizes ranging from 47 inches to 65 inches. For more information and product images, please visit LG's online press kit at www.lgnewsroom.com/CES2011. * Designs, features and specifications subject to change without notice. * Internet connection & subscriptions required and sold separately. * Versus LG's active 3D technology. Based on internal research. * For a small percentage of the population, the viewing of stereoscopic 3D video may cause discomfort such as dizziness or nausea. If you experience any of these symptoms, discontinue using the 3D functionality and contact your health care provider. 3D glasses required and sold separately. About LG Electronics, Inc. LG Electronics, Inc. (KSE: 066570.KS) is a global leader and technology innovator in consumer electronics, mobile communications and home appliances, employing more than 80,000 people working in over 115 operations around the world. With 2009 global sales of 55.5 trillion Korean won (USD 43.4 billion), LG comprises four business units -- Home Entertainment, Mobile Communications, Home Appliance, and Air Conditioning & Energy Solutions. LG is one of the world's leading producers of flat panel TVs, audio and video products, mobile handsets, air conditioners and washing machines. LG has signed a long-term agreement to become both a Global Partner and a Technology Partner of Formula 1?. As part of this top-level association, LG acquires exclusive designations and marketing rights as the official consumer electronics, mobile phone and data processor of this global sporting event. For more information, please visit www.lg.com. About LG Electronics USA LG Electronics USA, Inc., based in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., is the North American subsidiary of LG Electronics, Inc., a global force and technology leader in consumer electronics, home appliances and mobile communications. In the United States, LG Electronics sells a range of stylish and innovative home entertainment products, mobile phones, home appliances, commercial displays, air conditioning systems and solar energy solutions, all under LG's "Life's Good" marketing theme. For more information, please visit www.lg.com. SOURCE LG Electronics USA, Inc. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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