Barbarians At The Gates (1993) *** 1/2
Director: Glenn JordanStarring: James Garner, Jonathan Pryce, Peter Riegert, Joanna Cassidy, Fred Dalton Thompson, Leilani Sarelle, Matt Clark
This Emmy-winning made-for-TV movie takes a humorous look at actual events in a big 1980s takeover war. It falls somewhere between a light drama and a comedy, but the seasoned professional acting (particularly lead James Garner) and experienced direction is far above usual TV standards. There is a pretty good story about excess and the battle for big bucks.
James Garner is F. Ross Johnson, who has gone from being a hardworking paperboy in Winnipeg, Canada to a jet setting, big spending CEO in NYC. When Johnson is faced with an expensive project that seems headed for failure, he chooses to deflect shareholder backlash by trying to raise the money to buy the company himself. It might have worked, but when a couple other green sharks get the whiff of possible profit, the bidding war is on. What follows is corporate juggling, scrambling, and general skulduggery in a world where all the numbers have nine zeroes.
Imagine a Wall Street where Gordon Gekko is a charming, nice guy (but greed is still good) and with a comedy slant, and you will have some idea of what to expect here. All in all, this is a pretty fun way to learn the difference between a corporate takeover and a hostile takeover. Admit it. You have always wanted to know.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Barbarians At The Gate
Sunday, November 4, 2007
The Rockford Files DVD news: Announcement for The Rockford Files - Season 5 | TVShowsOnDVD.com
The Rockford Files spent six seasons on the air (not counting the eight post-series telefilms which reunited the majority of the cast), and on DVD we're getting close to the end. This morning Universal has announced the January 15th release of The Rockford Files - Season 5. This package will have 20 episodes (two of them double-length: "Black Mirror" and "Never Send a Boy King to Do a Man's Job") running 1045 minutes. Cost is $39.98 SRP for this 5-disc set (all single-sided). Video and audio is as originally shown: full-frame with English mono. There are also English subtitles present, but no word yet on any extras. Stay tuned and we'll update you with cover art and anything else we get from the studio, just as soon as we can! UPDATE: The studio has quickly provided us with box art for this release:Rockford Files - Season 5 box art Link to this page:http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Rockford-Files-Season-5/8284 All news for this show:http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/shownews/Rockford-Files/3585 More info on this show:The Rockford FilesThe Rockford Files DVD news: Announcement for The Rockford Files - Season 5 | TVShowsOnDVD.com
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Monday, October 8, 2007
Norman's James Garner To Lead State Centennial Parade
Norman's James Garner will lead state Centennial Parade Norman native James Garner will serve as the grand marshal of the Oklahoma Centennial Parade, officials with the Oklahoma Centennial Commission announced this week.
The prarade is scheduled for at 2 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 14 in downtown Oklahoma City.
Presented by Noble Corporation, the parade centers around the theme, “Celebrate Oklahoma! A Unique History. An Extraordinary Future.”
The parade will fill downtown Oklahoma City streets with floats, giant helium-filled balloons of state icons and children's favorite characters, performance groups and marching bands.
“Throughout the years, James Garner has been a wonderful ambassador for our state, not only spreading the word about his home state, but also returning frequently to contribute to Oklahoma projects,” said Lee Allan Smith, chairman of Centennial projects and events. “We are proud to feature this Oklahoma treasure in the parade of a century.”
Best known for his roles in television's Maverick and Rockford Files, Garner was born on April 7, 1928 in Norman.
His father, Weldon Bumgarner, was of European ancestry and his mother, Mildred, was one-half Cherokee. After a brief stint in the Merchant Marines at 16-years-old, Garner moved to Los Angeles to join his father.
After serving in the Army during the Korean War, Garner — who won two purple hearts — decided to try his hand at acting. His first on-camera appearance was with Clint Walker on the TV series Cheyenne. His feature film debut came in Toward the Unknown.
He also gave an acclaimed performance as Marlon Brando's friend in the hit film, Sayonara, which led to his first big break - the starring role in the television series Maverick, which brought him true stardom. He shortened his last name to “Garner,” after a studio miscredited him in a film.
Since then, he has starred in roughly 40 films, including The Children's Hour, The Great Escape, The Americanization of Emily (his personal favorite), Grand Prix, Cash McCall, The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood, The Great Escape, Move Over, The Notebook, Support Your Local Sheriff, The Skin Game, The Thrill of It All, Victor/Victoria. Next up for Garner will be the 2008 release of the animated feature Terra in which he is the voice of the character Doron.
Garner has also received his share of state honors.
In 1986, he was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame and three years later, was named Ambassador of Cultural Arts for the State of Oklahoma. Graner was inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame in March 1990 and received the Western Heritage Award for Lifetime Achievement in Film and Television from the Gene Autry Museum.
In 1995 he received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree at the University of Oklahoma. In April 2006 a statue of Garner depicting him as “Maverick” was created by the noted artist, Shan Gray. A Centennial project, the statue is now a destination for visitors from all over the world.
The Centennial Parade is free and open to the public. For information about the parade route, parking and shuttles, please visit www.okcentennialparade.com.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Sooner Ties Help Bind Family-Friendly Ultimate Gift
Staff Writer
"The Ultimate Gift” has a message for everyone. But the film may find special favor with Oklahomans, as star James Garner and Jim Stovall, author of the original book, both hail from the state.
Garner plays Red Stevens, the benevolent businessman who wants to leave his grandson more than simply money.
Stovall, a fan of "The Rockford Files” and "Maverick,” said Garner's casting was serendipitous, with the movie coming out during Oklahoma's Centennial, and shortly after Garner was honored with a statue in his hometown of Norman.
"When our casting people brought him to me as a selection, I don't think they ever thought about the fact that we were both Oklahomans, but it was such a tremendous thing,” Stovall, of Tulsa, said.
"He has been just everything you would hope he would be,” Stovall said. "He just instantly became Red Stevens to me.”
"The Ultimate Gift” is the story of Red Stevens and his grandson, Jason. When Red dies, he leaves Jason a mysterious inheritance. To receive the inheritance, Jason must complete 12 "gifts,” to learn lessons imparted by Red in his will.
"Since nearly 4 million people have read the book now, it was very important to me to get all 12 of the gifts in there,” Stovall said. "One of the things we did, while the credits are rolling at the end: Each of the gifts, there's a little vignette that plays from the movie showing what the gift was, just so people know it's all really still there.
"But obviously, to have a commercial movie, we had to have a little romance and a little danger.”
At the heart of the romance, and the danger, is Drew Fuller, who was cast as Jason Stevens. Fuller bought into the "Ultimate Gift” message, and in fact, still takes part in special events promoting the book and the message.
Stovall talks to students across the country about "The Ultimate Gift,” which is taught in many curriculums. Fuller recently appeared with Stovall to talk to the students about the message.
"These are people who made this movie over a year ago, but they still believe in what we're doing and they come out and do things with us,” Stovall said.
Also starring in the movie are Brian Dennehy, Lee Meriwether, Bill Cobbs and Abigail Breslin ("Little Miss Sunshine.”)
"Abigail Breslin, who plays little Emily, when we got her to do this film, it was really before ‘Little Miss Sunshine' had hit and earned an Academy Award nomination, and that was a real gift to us,” Stovall said. "Because right now, we probably couldn't afford to get Abby on a film like this, so that was a great opportunity.”
Stovall said Dennehy's portrayal of Texas rancher Gus Caldwell motivated Stovall to add the Gus character into the sequel to "The Ultimate Gift.”
"Gus was not going to appear in the next book, but once I experienced Brian playing Gus, now he's in the new book,” Stovall said.
The next book, called "The Ultimate Life,” is due out in October and follows the continuing adventures of Jason Stevens.
Stovall was diagnosed with a degenerative eye disorder at age 17; by age 29, he lost his sight. He is founder of the Narrative Television Network, which makes movies and television accessible for the nation's 13 million blind and visually impaired people and their families.
"As a blind person myself, my characters are kind of sketchy to me,” Stovall said. "These characters, since I was involved in making the movie, they came to life and were real people to me. So, it was more fun for me to write the next book.”
Sunday, September 2, 2007
A Soft Hearted Maverick
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