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CNN Live Today

Film Openings

Aired January 09, 2004 - 10:36   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: This is "Big Fish." It's a comedy about a father's stall tales and a son who must find the truth about his father's life.
"Big Fish" along with "Chasing Liberty" and "Girl With A Pearl Earring" are just a few of the movies opening across the country at the box office this weekend. "People" magazine movie critic Leah Rozen predicts at least one of those flicks could turn into a huge hit with movie fans. She's with us live from New York. Leah, good morning, good to see you.

LEAH ROZEN, "PEOPLE": Thank you. Good morning.

KAGAN: Let's go fishing first and talk the "Big Fish." This must have been out in limited release because I saw it a couple of weeks ago here in Atlanta.

ROZEN: Exactly, it sort of opened in major cities prior to the new year just before Christmas, really for Oscar consideration. I mean movies have to open before being nominated, so they wanted to get it out there, they wanted exactly what they got which is basically pretty good critical reaction. It has been performing well in some of the big cities where it's been playing. And it goes wide this weekend, it opens nationwide in almost 3,000 theaters.

I really like this film. It's directed by Tim Burton who of course did "Batman." Is kind of known for these weird, really quirky films.

But this is both Tim Burton's imaginative vision, and yet it's a very accessible story in that a son trying to sort of reconcile with the father as the father is gravely ill. It's really about how much can we ever know about our parents, and sort of understanding that they are going to die and be things we still don't know.

KAGAN: Albert Finney was excellent in this movie.

ROZEN: Albert Finney's in it, Ewan McGregor is in it, Danny De Vito, who you see right there is in it, Billy Crudup plays the son, Albert Finney is the father -- he's dying. And then Ewan McGregor plays him in the younger scene.

And it keeps going back and forth between showing you the tall tales as the father is telling them and then the present day scene of the father and son trying to reconcile.

KAGAN: What about a movie that's skewing a little bit younger? "Chasing Liberty." Mandy Moore.

ROZEN: Well, you know, the 14-year-old girl in you, Darrell (sic), may like this, but the rest of us are going to be bored.

It just falls flat. This is Mandy Moore trying to be Audrey Hepburn in "Roman Holiday." She play is the president's daughter who sort of escapes her Secret Service handlers runs off with this charming Brit who, of course, unbeknownst to her is really a Secret Service guy.

But it just sort of falls flat. The jokes don't really go anywhere. Mandy Moore -- is how to put this nicely -- maybe a slightly better actress than Brittany Murphy.

(CROSSTALK)

KAGAN: Let's move on to a young actress who is the hot real deal, Scarlet Johansson. She is in "Lost in Translation" but she's also coming out in this movie "Girl With A Pearl Earring." This is, I think, the one we're going to be watching for many years to come.

ROZEN: She is the it girl of the moment. She's staring in these sort of art house hits. This is of course the best selling novel by Tracy Chevalier.

She plays the servant girl who inspires Vermeer, the famous artist, to do one of his best known portraits, "Girl With A Pearl Earring." And you sort of see their relationship, how she learns about art, how he's inspired by her beauty, how his wife doesn't approve.

But this film, it's a little slow glowing. I think folks who read the novel are going to love the movie. But I think a number of us are going to go this is kind of like watching a painting dry.

(CROSSTALK)

ROZEN: It is however absolutely beautiful looking. My line is this is the most beautiful film ever shot in Luxembourg.

KAGAN: OK. I don't know how much competition there is for that.

I have been seeing a lot of movies getting ready for the Golden Globes and the Oscars. And just to throw this out there, I the one movie, if anybody goes to the movies, "In America."

ROZEN: "In America"'s just -- what a wonderful film. It's just this lovely, lovely film about a family that has come from Ireland to a real bad neighborhood in New York and what happens to them.

KAGAN: That's my little tip of the day. Just had to put my two cents in there. Leah, thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired January 9, 2004 - 10:36   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: This is "Big Fish." It's a comedy about a father's stall tales and a son who must find the truth about his father's life.
"Big Fish" along with "Chasing Liberty" and "Girl With A Pearl Earring" are just a few of the movies opening across the country at the box office this weekend. "People" magazine movie critic Leah Rozen predicts at least one of those flicks could turn into a huge hit with movie fans. She's with us live from New York. Leah, good morning, good to see you.

LEAH ROZEN, "PEOPLE": Thank you. Good morning.

KAGAN: Let's go fishing first and talk the "Big Fish." This must have been out in limited release because I saw it a couple of weeks ago here in Atlanta.

ROZEN: Exactly, it sort of opened in major cities prior to the new year just before Christmas, really for Oscar consideration. I mean movies have to open before being nominated, so they wanted to get it out there, they wanted exactly what they got which is basically pretty good critical reaction. It has been performing well in some of the big cities where it's been playing. And it goes wide this weekend, it opens nationwide in almost 3,000 theaters.

I really like this film. It's directed by Tim Burton who of course did "Batman." Is kind of known for these weird, really quirky films.

But this is both Tim Burton's imaginative vision, and yet it's a very accessible story in that a son trying to sort of reconcile with the father as the father is gravely ill. It's really about how much can we ever know about our parents, and sort of understanding that they are going to die and be things we still don't know.

KAGAN: Albert Finney was excellent in this movie.

ROZEN: Albert Finney's in it, Ewan McGregor is in it, Danny De Vito, who you see right there is in it, Billy Crudup plays the son, Albert Finney is the father -- he's dying. And then Ewan McGregor plays him in the younger scene.

And it keeps going back and forth between showing you the tall tales as the father is telling them and then the present day scene of the father and son trying to reconcile.

KAGAN: What about a movie that's skewing a little bit younger? "Chasing Liberty." Mandy Moore.

ROZEN: Well, you know, the 14-year-old girl in you, Darrell (sic), may like this, but the rest of us are going to be bored.

It just falls flat. This is Mandy Moore trying to be Audrey Hepburn in "Roman Holiday." She play is the president's daughter who sort of escapes her Secret Service handlers runs off with this charming Brit who, of course, unbeknownst to her is really a Secret Service guy.

But it just sort of falls flat. The jokes don't really go anywhere. Mandy Moore -- is how to put this nicely -- maybe a slightly better actress than Brittany Murphy.

(CROSSTALK)

KAGAN: Let's move on to a young actress who is the hot real deal, Scarlet Johansson. She is in "Lost in Translation" but she's also coming out in this movie "Girl With A Pearl Earring." This is, I think, the one we're going to be watching for many years to come.

ROZEN: She is the it girl of the moment. She's staring in these sort of art house hits. This is of course the best selling novel by Tracy Chevalier.

She plays the servant girl who inspires Vermeer, the famous artist, to do one of his best known portraits, "Girl With A Pearl Earring." And you sort of see their relationship, how she learns about art, how he's inspired by her beauty, how his wife doesn't approve.

But this film, it's a little slow glowing. I think folks who read the novel are going to love the movie. But I think a number of us are going to go this is kind of like watching a painting dry.

(CROSSTALK)

ROZEN: It is however absolutely beautiful looking. My line is this is the most beautiful film ever shot in Luxembourg.

KAGAN: OK. I don't know how much competition there is for that.

I have been seeing a lot of movies getting ready for the Golden Globes and the Oscars. And just to throw this out there, I the one movie, if anybody goes to the movies, "In America."

ROZEN: "In America"'s just -- what a wonderful film. It's just this lovely, lovely film about a family that has come from Ireland to a real bad neighborhood in New York and what happens to them.

KAGAN: That's my little tip of the day. Just had to put my two cents in there. Leah, thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com