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Recently Released In Theaters Reviews
2008 FALL MOVIE PREVIEW Blindness How to Lose Friends & Alienate People Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist Flash of Genius Beverly Hills Chihuahua Forever Strong Eagle Eye Miracle at St. Anna Choke Nights in Rodanthe My Best Friends Girl Lakeview Terrace Battle in Seattle Igor Recently Added Spotlights Clark Gregg Sean Faris Charlize Theron Stuart Townsend Justin Hartley Samuel L. Jackson Patrick Wilson Kerry Washington Meg Ryan Jada Pinkett Smith Eva Mendes Debi Mazar Alan Ball Nicolas Cage Anna Faris |
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 Ben Foster
Spotlight By: Benjamin Lee Click here for another interview with Ben Foster! Reinventing oneself is a talent that all modern actors require in order to sustain a healthy career in Hollywood. At the age of 26, Ben Foster has managed to reinvent himself enough times to suggest his talents will be around for a long while. He first came to notice in the squeaky-clean 2001 teen movie Get Over It opposite Kirsten Dunst. He followed this up by a recurring role as a troubled bisexual artist in the dark HBO series Six Feet Under. Next up was a role as the psychopathic teen villain in the Bruce Willis thriller Hostage. Blockbuster fame soon followed when Ben buffed up and took on the role of Angel in X Men: The Last Stand and now just to make sure he’s not typecast, he takes on a completely different role in the controversial drama Alpha Dog. The film is based on a true story of the kidnapping of a Los Angeles boy by a troubled group of drug-addled youths. Ben Foster stars as the crystal-meth addicted brother of the kidnapped boy, prone to shocking outbursts of violence. It’s a challenging role for Ben although he claims it was one which he garnered a lot of pleasure from. ‘It was actually a really cathartic experience playing Jake’ Ben admits, ‘It was just about letting it go. That’s the genius of Nick (Cassavetes). His direction was you’re a fast car that doesn’t handle well. It’s about not suffering for your work but identifying in yourself some similarities and just letting it all go’. Director Nick Cassavetes, of The Notebook fame, helped Ben to explore the hidden depths of his character. ‘Nick is one of the great actors’ directors working today’ Ben believes, ‘He’s very supportive.’ In order to play a violent crystal meth addict, Ben had to endure a lot of preparation. Firstly he had to use glaucoma drops in his eyes to give him that strung-out look. ‘I’d say they were the least of my concern at that point’ Ben says, ‘It served the physical effect of crystal meth. Just staying in the head of someone on crystal meth was much more demanding. The doctors told me not to go near any light but you’re on a set with lights everywhere! I’d be hiding in the bushes outside between takes. I’m sure it served the performance!’ The role also required a certain level of physicality for Ben. In one scene in particular he explodes in a shocking bout of violence. ‘Part of the preparation was doing mixed martial arts training’ Ben reveals, ‘The character that this was based on was a national Tae Kwon Do champion at age 14 so I had to learn how to kick ass pretty fast. I had a great trainer.’ The preparation also involved developing more of a muscular figure, something Ben found to be a surprising characteristic of other crystal meth addicts. ‘The physicality of it was ... |
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