[ellavm]

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Edmont...22/680256.html

article about the man behind the story about MATW

[ellavm]

"I had a conference in Orange County last Sunday and drove up to Millennium Studios in Beverly Hills on Monday morning to see "Mozart." Josh is fabulous! That kind of comment does not come easy for me but it is true. He absolutely captured the spirit of myself at his age. The rest of the cast is very good and will be even better once some final touches are made. I called Josh to thank him for his work and the honor of being played by him, even with a different name. I don't tear up often but did for that call.

Without a change, "Mozart" is the best autism/asperger film ever but it will be that by a wide margin with some more effort. It appears that all involved realize how special it is to have "a little movie with a big heart" come out right. If that means a later release date, it will be worth the wait. Hold on to your hats, Josh-fans: when your hunk plays an asperger's hulk, he will get the nod that is reserved for SERIOUS actors."

[-Katie-]

Oh that article/email thing has me very excited for this movie. Hopefully it will get Josh the recognition he so rightly deserves.

[chadfan]

love the pics

[ellavm]

Found this

: have some email news from one of Mozart's producers that the film is almost finished (less than 2 weeks, that's all) and that they will be submitting it to the Cannes Film Festival, although it's not yet been accepted.

[ellavm]

Some mention of the music from the movie

song off of Son, “The End of Everything Known,” has just been tagged to serve as background music for a new Josh Hartnett film)

Rest of that article

[ellavm]

Hartnett plays Asperger's character well, Cole says

By Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith

Josh Hartnett does an admirable job playing a man afflicted with Asperger's syndrome in his upcoming "Mozart and the Whale.' That's according to castmate Gary Cole, who knows of what he speaks.
"When I was reading it, I had a lot of connection to it because in the last 11 1/2 years, I've dealt with autism and have been involved in autism causes,' notes the actor, whose daughter, Mary, is autistic. (Asperger's is a form of autism.) "I've had a firsthand account of somebody who has autism and what their perceptions are, and that's what this story is about ... It's told more through the eyes of someone with autism as opposed to looking at them through our eyes.'

In fact, he adds, "When our daughter was 4 or 5, we went to see Jerry Newport -- the guy that Josh's character is based on -- speak. He was pretty fascinating, and one thing I remember is that he had a huge parrot sitting on his shoulder the whole time.'

"Mozart and the Whale' depicts the love story of Newport and Mary Meinel, who also has Asperger's. The character she's based on is played by Radha Mitchell.

Cole is turning into a one-man rep company this year. He'll go from playing "West Wing's' Vice President "Bingo Bob' Russell to heading up a strike force of undercover cops in TNT's "Rush' series this summer. He's also playing a real-estate agent in the upcoming "The Ring Two.'

"From what I hear, they're thinking that it actually surpasses the first, scary-wise,' he lets us know.

So what's to become of Bingo Bob and the rest of the Bartlet administration?

"It's all speculation. A lot is up to what the real fate of the show is, as opposed to what the story fate of the show is,' says Cole. "Obviously, it's going to go into next year, and I assume the intention is to keep it going in whatever kind of version it needs to keep going in, but they're keeping it close to the vest.'


TALENT ZONE: Multi-Grammy-winning producer Jimmy "Jam' Harris reports the five finalists revealed tonight from the real-life national talent search contest on the UPN sitcom "Half & Half' turned out to be a real mixed bag. "We ended up with a girl who's a folk/r&b/neo-soul singer, a rap duo, a male singer you could compare to R. Kelly, a ballad/r&b type singing duo and a band more along the lines of Limp Bizkit.'

The contest melded reality TV with sitcom when "Half & Half' regular Rachel True's character, Mona, announced a nationwide talent search for the fictitious Delicious Records label she works for on the show. Harris says an overwhelming 10,000 tapes were received from around the country.

"We'd said it would be great if different parts of the country were represented, and it came down that way,' says Harris. "They all ended being from such places as New York, Chicago, San Francisco and L.A.'

Harris and his partner, Terry Lewis, guest on the special two-part episode airing tonight and Feb. 28 in which America gets to hear and decide who should be the final winner. However, he says, there are no losers in the final five chosen. "I really felt that everybody up here had done a great job, and we got everybody's numbers.'


THE INDUSTRY EYE: Now it's Amber Frey, former girlfriend of convicted murderer Scott Peterson, who is becoming the focus of a television movie. Casting is under way for "Witness: The Amber Frey Story,' with Zev Braun producing and production to begin toward the end of April.

Matt LeBlanc has a behind-the-camera project in the works as one of the executive producers on a soon-to-shoot pilot presentation for Warner Bros. Television. It's for an hourlong drama going under the title "The Prince,' about a pair of brothers of a wealthy family -- the beloved, super-achieving scion of the clan, and his rebellious, sarcastic black sheep little brother who secretly idolizes him. And it's about what happens after the older brother's sudden, unexpected death.


OH-SO-HOT: With the Oscar-nominated "Sideways' boosting her profile, the oh-so-talented Sandra Oh not only has a series on the way -- the forthcoming Touchstone TV "Gray's Anatomy' -- she also will star, beginning in May, in a feature being executive-produced by Wim Wenders, titled "Smells Like Butter.' The actress, who has a long list of stage credits in her native Canada, will play a Korean-American woman who travels to Korea to find a husband. Shooting on the film, being directed by Grace Lee, is to take place in Los Angeles and Seoul, South Korea.

With reports by Stephanie Dubois and Emily Feimster. The Celebrities column appears Monday through Thursday. To view past columns, go to U.dailynews.com and click on Gossip.

http://u.presstelegram.com/Stories/0...722946,00.html

[-Katie-]

Thanks for all the news. This movie looks interesting..it's not something I'm sure I would see in theater but I might.

[ellavm]

your very very welcome

hear today, that Mozart and the Whale has been confirmed for the Palm Beach International Film Festival (14th-21st April). And that the producers are still hoping to be accepted at Cannes (11th-22nd May) and at Tribeca (19th April - 1st May).

source:
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[ellavm]

Full interview

What has been your favourite movie role so far, and why? Laura
This movie I just finished called Mozart And The Whale. I got to play this character who's autistic - he has Asperger's syndrome. It's my favourite because it was really challenging and rewarding. You know, when you get to be a part of a world that you otherwise wouldn't have the chance to learn about, it's rewarding. I spent a lot of time with people who suffer with the syndrome.

How much do you see your role in Mozart And The Whale as a responsibility to a community of under-represented people? Kate
I see it as a huge responsibility, but at the same time I only have a responsibility to the character that I'm playing. You cannot play a syndrome, and anyone who thinks you can is sorely mistaken. You play a character and if you know anything about autism, it's that it's a spectrum disorder and there are as many types of people with autism as there are people without. I just had to be true to the character that I was playing, especially because it's real life. It's based on a true story about a real guy, and I had to make sure that I was diagnosable, you know? I had to make sure I didn't deviate from what is considered Asperger's. But yes, it's a huge responsibility.

What would you say to people who reckon you're trying to pull a Rain Man and bag an Oscar for Mozart And The Whale? Jenny
It's nothing like that. It's written by the same guy who wrote Rain Man, but that's because the guy who it's about wrote to Ron Bass saying how much Rain Man meant to him and how, when he saw it, it changed his life because he didn't know he had autism - he thought he was just eccentric. His life was tearing him apart because he couldn't understand why he couldn't relate to someone and he was angry and feeling like he wasn't going to make it much longer. Then when he saw Rain Man it struck a chord with him and he went to a doctor and got diagnosed. Anyway, if people want to say that I'm doing this just to get some sort of award out of the deal, then that's a very, very... quite a cynical view. I already got out of it everything that I wanted to get out of it and I met some of the coolest people that I know through making that film. So whatever.

[~AppleJacks~]

Look Look he is wearing a hat. albeit not a floppy one, But its still a hat all the same I love those hats of his!!

[ellavm]

yes he does hats very well

[~AppleJacks~]

Ell how in the world to you find this information so quickly? I am kinda jealous. anyway, I am really looking forward to seeing this one, I love movies where the actor has to take on a really difficult role i.e. I am Sam and RainMan, I know that there are others , but thats all I got for now!

[ellavm]

google or yahoo although i haven´t found anything new latley

[ellavm]

the highly anticipated romantic comedy MOZART AND THE WHALE, due out this fall.

ok there isn´t anything else about MATW in this article but i do like that one sentence out in the fall