Autumn FILM SPECIAL Clockwise: Mickey Rourke, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jessica Alba. Previous page: Josh Brolin.
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Greek-Persian fantasy 300: Rise of an Empire. ‘She has so many facets. She’s like an animal. She’s not intellectual. It’s all with her guts. She starts with her body. And she adjusts to how men react.’ Even before release, Green’s appearance caused consternation, with US censors banning a teaser poster featuring the scantily-clad actress for its suggestive nature – specii cally for its ‘curve of under breast and dark nipple / areola circle visible through sheer gown’. Green sighs at the topic. ‘It’s boring. I don’t understand where it comes from really,’ she says.
Rodriguez, meanwhile, simply scoffs: ‘I created that poster myself. It was not meant to be shocking. I was actually following the comic pretty close, and I kept it silhouetted and they felt like it needed more covering up, for public consumption. It i ts the character – when you see the book, when you see the movie, you have to have something that gets your attention. If you tell people “You can’t look at this, it’s not for you, it’s too much”, that’s the i rst thing they want to look at.’
The i rst Sin City i lm has its detractors, with accusations of misogyny made (Dana Leventhal, in Bright Lights Film Journal, claimed the female characters were ‘servants of debased male gratii cation’) and it’s safe to say an unapologetic Rodriguez and Miller haven’t
18 THE LIST 21 Aug–18 Sep 2014
NEW DIRECTION Robert Rodriguez isn’t the only director reviving his fortunes this autumn
ANTON CORBIJN Photographer Corbijn burst onto the i lmmaking scene with his 2007 Ian Curtis biopic Control. 2010’s The American was less attention-grabbing, but hopes remain high for his new espionage drama, A Most Wanted Man (pictured), starring the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. ■ General release from Fri 12 Sep.
ZACH BRAFF Garden State, Braff’s 2004 directorial debut, was an overly sentimental indie drama that struck a chord with its moody Gen-Y audience. Ten years later, his follow up, Wish I Was Here, aims to do much the same. ■ General release from Fri 19 Sep.
DAVID CRONENBERG After staying off the weirdness map for a while, Cronenberg dipped his toe back in with 2012’s Cosmopolis. He’s preparing to take the full plunge with Maps to the Stars, a semi-satire on Hollywood starring Julianne Moore and Robert Pattinson. ■ Limited release from Fri 26 Sep.
TOMMY LEE JONES Like Zach Braff, Jones made his behind-the-camera debut the best part of a decade ago with neo-western The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. He dons the cowboy hat once again for his second effort, The Homesman, a cross- country narrative starring Hilary Swank. ■ General release from Fri 17 Oct.
PETER & BOBBY FARRELLY The Farrelly brothers have been off the boil since 1998’s There’s Something About Mary (or 2000’s Me, Myself & Irene, if you’re feeling kind). Dumb and Dumber To, the sequel to their breakthrough hit, 20 years after the fact, hopes to rekindle some of the old magic. ■ General release from Fri 19 Dec.
toned things down for part two. Take Nancy, the stripper-with-a-heart of gold played by Jessica Alba. She returns in brand new vignette ‘The Fat Loss’ – now left to cope with the suicide of Bruce Willis’ sacrii cial saviour cop. ‘It wasn’t like I was playing the same character as I did nine years ago,’ says Alba. ‘In this one, she’s been corrupted by all of it.’ Nancy goes from ‘sweet and naive’ to ‘cynical, sad, and self-destructive’, suggesting that Sin City: A Dame To Kill For has darkened its doors even more. As for those pesky claims of anti-female bias, Alba waves them away. ‘You don’t usually see in a lot of i lms so many strong characters that are women,’ she argues, ‘[particularly] this genre.’
Still, with the male 18–25 demographic the principal target audience, it’s hard to see if many viewers will care if this Sin City sequel is as politically incorrect as its predecessor. Rodriguez was simply glad to be directing again with the unstoppable force that is Frank Miller. ‘It was like no time had passed and we were on set together again, Frank and I. We had a blast! It was like old times.’ Which, if you’re looking to take another trip to Basin City, is probably what you want to hear.
Sin City: A Dame To Kill For is on general release from Fri 22 Aug. (Niki Boyle)