The Return of Jezebel James

A new interview with Lauren Ambrose was posted on MeeVee today.

Thanks, Lauren, for doing these. I know you’re probably like me; don’t enjoy basking in the limelight.

-TimK

… T minus 1 day, and counting…

The Return of Jezebel James premiers Friday, March 14.

As we almost reach the premier of The Return of Jezebel James, the articles and reviews keep pouring out. Most reviews are uniform in their opinion of Jezebel James, that it sucks. For example, this reviewer from the Boston Herald says Jezebel James sucks, because it “is not funny. At all.” Meanwhile, this other genius from the Albany, N.Y. Times Union clarifies that it sucks because “the laughs come too fast and too furious; there’s no time for the show to breathe.”

Yeah… If you’re smart, you’re already ignoring the critics. Because the truth about critics is, the world is home to almost 7 billion of them, and they’re all wrong. Just watch The Return of Jezebel James Friday night and figure out for yourself whether you like it enough to keep watching. And if you enjoy the show, let the critics eat their own lunch.

On a more constructive note, here’s a video of Parker Posey spinning pottery and talking about spinning pottery.

And the bit I promised in the headline above, some photos of Parker Posey and Lauren Ambrose hosting storytime at the New York Public Library. JezebelJames.net also has more photos in their gallery.

-TimK

… T minus 3 days, and counting…

The Return of Jezebel James premiers Friday, March 14.

I guess you learn something new every day. Today, I learned in profile article about Lauren Ambrose that “Ambrose” is not Lauren’s family name. Did you know that Lauren Ambrose is Italian?

Ambrose, who was born in Connecticut with the last name D’Ambruoso, grew up in a food-centric household of Italian-Americans. Her father, she said, is a caterer at Amarante’s in New Haven, “a big, Italian, wedding-extravaganza place.” Click to continue »

… T minus 4 days, and counting…

The Return of Jezebel James premiers Friday, March 14.

I’ve been avoiding reviews for The Return of Jezebel James, because I’m fast coming to the conclusion that they’re worthless. The world harbors almost 7 billion critics, and they’re all wrong.

But this review at Jam! Showbiz Television caught me with its hook, “Sister act bit of a stretch.”

It’s just that Posey and Ambrose look about as much like sisters as Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien look like brothers.

Ambrose actually got slightly snippy when we asked her about it. Not outright grumpy — no need to overstate it. But you could hear a level of impatience creeping into her voice.

“I don’t know. Creative licence. Different dads. I don’t know. Milkman. I don’t know,” said Ambrose, who apparently doesn’t know.

Ha! You tell ’em, Lauren! I’ll go you one better. Not only don’t I know, I don’t care. (What did I say before about critics? Yeah, I’m a critic, too. )

-TimK

An interview Lauren Ambrose did with TheRecord.com concludes:

At the moment, however, she is chiefly into mothering and sharpening her comedy chops. One of her primary issues, she admits, is keeping the two separate — which is why she doesn’t mind fans approaching her but would rather that they didn’t know the details of her private life.

Fair enough. This fan, for one, is happy to enjoy her on-screen role, and leave well enough alone. Unfortunately, human nature being human nature… The very fact that Lauren wants to have a private life will make most people that much more desperate to intrude into it. It’s a well-established psychological trigger. (Making something less available makes it more valuable to have.)

I agree with Lauren: “People are really creepy.”

Click here to read the whole article.

Sorry I didn’t post this sooner, but I just found out about it now. Lauren Ambrose will be on The View this morning (Tuesday, December 11, 2007) at 11 AM EST on ABC. (But see local listings.) Not a show I usually watch, but I’ll watch it or record it so I can see her.

She’s talking about her new movie Starting Out in the Evening, currently in release.

-TimK

I’ve been waiting for this independent film, starring Lauren Ambrose, Frank Langella, and Lili Taylor, about a grad student who reinvigorates the hopes and dreams of an old novelist.

The movie premiered at January’s Sundance Film Festival, where critics liked it. It’s based on the 1999 novel by Brian Morton, the story of a New York novelist, Leonard Schiller (Frank Langella). His books were once acclaimed, but now are out of print. He is close to his daughter Ariel (Lili Taylor), but otherwise keeps to himself in a structured, joyless existence… until grad student Heather Wolfe (Lauren Ambrose) decides to write her Master’s thesis on him and his work. In the process, she grows close to him, challenging him to accept that he’s “using his age to mask a deeper conflict.” Then she starts trudging through his life’s scars, including that of his long-deceased wife.

The film is coming to theaters—finally!—starting Friday, November 23.

Here’s the official trailer: Click to continue »

I always think twice before I post articles like this, because I loathe the more detestable practices of the paparazzi. But in this case, the photos are… well, normal. Lauren Ambrose, her husband, and son were apparently out for a walk on the streets of New York, when someone took these shots.

-TimK

From the time I first heard of this film, I wanted to see it. No word yet on when it’s coming to DVD. And all I know of it’s release on the big screen is that we can expect a “limited” release on November 23. So there’s a chance that it might come to the theatre down the street from me, which shows many independent films.

In the meantime, of course, I could read the novel. And here are a number of reviews from the screening of Starting Out in the Evening at the Toronto International Film Festival last week. Click to continue »