When "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" executive producer John Wirth announced at Comic-Con this year that a major character on his show would die in the upcoming season, star Thomas Dekker thought it was a joke. "I was shocked," Dekker told the Daily News. And though he can't reveal which character will kick the bucket, Dekker promises that audiences will be "shocked at what this specific death signifies in the scope of the 'Terminator.'" "The Sarah Connor Chronicles" picks up where "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" left off, with John Connor (played by Dekker), his mom, Sarah (played by English actress Lena Headey), and a reprogrammed Terminator named Cameron (played by Summer Glau) fighting off their Skynet enemies. In the season two premiere, debuting Monday at 8, Dekker says John goes through some tough times that will inform his behavior throughout the rest of the season. "In the very beginning of episode one, he really goes through some horrible stuff and it … [Read more...] about ‘Sarah Chronicles’ star ‘shocked’ a co-star will be terminated
Chronicle
U.S. hostages’ chronicle critical of Betancourt
BOGOTA — Three Americans held captive by Colombia's leftist rebels for 5½ years published a memoir Thursday full of wrenching survival stories and unkind words about Ingrid Betancourt, the most famous hostage who shared their jungle prisons. The chronicle of the U.S. military contractors' 1,967 days as rebel captives describes their pain and perseverance, mind-numbing boredom in jungle cages, forced marches in chains, close calls under fire and ultimately, a miraculous rescue. But the most provocative revelation of "Out of Captivity" deals with Betancourt, a French-Colombian politician kidnapped a year before they were marched into the gulag they say she dominated. One of the Northrop Grumman employees alleges she was haughty and self-absorbed, stole food and hoarded books, and even put their lives in danger by telling rebel guards they were CIA agents. "I watched her try to take over the camp with an arrogance that was out of control," Keith Stansell said Wednesday. … [Read more...] about U.S. hostages’ chronicle critical of Betancourt
Spinning ‘Spiderwick Chronicles’ for the screen
There's no shortage of ghoulies, goblins and things that go bump in the night in "The Spiderwick Chronicles," the new fantasy film based on Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black's popular children's novels, opening Thursday. The movie's supernatural goings-on take place in a country house where three transplanted New York kids (two of them twins played by Freddie Highmore, with Sarah Bolger as their sis) find a book of fairy lore and critters both cuddly and carnivorous. Director Mark Waters says the best-selling books "were geared toward children but had moments that sent chills down my spine. They were scary, but in a good way ... you want to keep reading, or keep looking at the screen." Waters ("Mean Girls") says he was less interested in creating his own version of Narnia or Hogwarts than in revisiting films that inspired him. "I was excited [about] making a movie like 'Gremlins,' 'E.T.,' 'Back to the Future.' They made fantasy adventure seem real. "I'm a suburban Midwestern … [Read more...] about Spinning ‘Spiderwick Chronicles’ for the screen
Many creatures underfoot in ‘Chronicles of Narnia’
There'll be no shortage of computer-generated characters to be found in movie theaters this summer, but for the sheer number of make-believe beasties onscreen, "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" wins hands-down. Centaurs, fauns, talking animals and humans mingle within seamless special-effects shots that will have even jaded audiences wondering "How'd they do that?!" "We had a lot of people in blue tights," says "Caspian" director Andrew Adamson, explaining how his effects wizards erased and replaced the dressed-in-blue performers with their imaginary counterparts in post-production. After directing the original "Shrek," its first sequel and the first Narnia film "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" in 2005, the 41-year old New Zealander is an old hand at bringing fantasy critters to life. "It's a painstaking process, especially when you're doing crowd scenes," says Adamson. "On the previous film, we used some on-set faun legs that kind of worked, but we didn't … [Read more...] about Many creatures underfoot in ‘Chronicles of Narnia’
‘Spiderwick Chronicles’ fantasy can grow on you
The Spiderwick Chronicles. Fantasy-adventure about children who discover a magical, and dangerous, world. With Freddie Highmore, Mary-Louise Parker. Director: Mark Waters (1:37). PG: Violence, scares. At area theaters. With Harry Potter MIA until November, and no chance to revisit Narnia before May, "The Spiderwick Chronicles" should pass as a suitable substitute for young adventurers (and the grownups who love them).Though it's missing the old-fashioned appeal of the best-selling books from Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi, Mark Waters' energetic adaptation does have its own charms. One - or, more accurately, two - of those come in the form of Freddie Highmore, who plays twins Jared and Simon Grace. Along with their sister (Sarah Bolger) and mother (Mary-Louise Parker), the boys have just moved from New York to New England. Unlike the calmer Simon, Jared is still smarting from his parents' divorce, and furious about getting stuck in a creepy old house in the middle of nowhere. With … [Read more...] about ‘Spiderwick Chronicles’ fantasy can grow on you
The 6 benefits of a Democrat and Chronicle digital subscription
You can play a vital role in supporting local journalism that you and your community can trust. With a digital subscription, you can help our journalists hold those in power accountable.6 benefits of a Democrat and Chronicle digital-only subscriptionWith a digital-only subscription, you can be one of the first to learn about breaking news with personalized news alerts, flip through a digital replica of the print paper, access exclusive deals, and more.A digital subscription provides instant and unlimited access Great stories don’t stop with great writing. With your subscription, you’ll have unlimited access to our videos, photo galleries and interactive data visuals. Experience a view from above with video from our licensed drone pilots, look through photos from the latest storm, learn how to make a margarita, or grade the latest Buffalo Bills performance.Insider: Exclusive deals for our loyal subscribersBeyond content, we provide all of our … [Read more...] about The 6 benefits of a Democrat and Chronicle digital subscription
ROMANCING THE STONES. Ellen Barkin’s jewels, on auction at Christie’s, chronicle a love story’s unhappy ending
From the opera-length string of pearls given on the eve of their wedding to the 32-carat apricot diamond ring received just weeks before the divorce, every item in Ellen Barkin's jewelry collection chronicles a chapter in her doomed relationship with billionaire Ron Perelman. When the stunning pieces are sold at Christie's next Tuesday, the auctioneer's hammer will sound a very public death knell on the couple's five-year marriage. New York psychologist Dr. Joy Browne says Barkin's actions are a classic case of "washing that man right out of her hair." "It's cleaning your emotional closet," she adds. "The rest of us might get rid of a pair of blue jeans we wore on our honeymoon, but she's got a gazillion dollars' worth of gems." Browne, who has a relationships advice show on WOR Radio 710, says some wealthy men use the gift of jewelry as a subtle means of control. "The message is, 'I can provide things for you which no one else can, so it's okay for me to demand things from … [Read more...] about ROMANCING THE STONES. Ellen Barkin’s jewels, on auction at Christie’s, chronicle a love story’s unhappy ending
NYC’S ELITE BEAT. Wendy Wasserstein’s novel chronicles upper East Side lives
ELEMENTS OF STYLE By Wendy Wasserstein Knopf, $24.95 Wendy Wasserstein, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright whose dramas so closely chronicled the lives of achieving women, writes of chronically affluent women and their significant others in "Elements of Style." The elite precincts of Manhattan's social privilege make for familiar fiction, but still Wasserstein delivers it with such seductive intimacy. It's quite obvious which character Wasserstein, who died earlier this year, had affinity for. Francesca (Frankie) Weissman, the daughter of a hosiery manufacturer, has just been rated the top pediatrician on the upper East Side by Manhattan magazine. She's intelligent, earnest and a do-gooder, but also has the impressive social connections that come with her practice. Though Judy Tremont is not so happy with Frankie. She loathes that her children must share a waiting room with the welfare clientele that Frankie insists on treating. Judy, who married into inherited money, is … [Read more...] about NYC’S ELITE BEAT. Wendy Wasserstein’s novel chronicles upper East Side lives
‘The Heidi Chronicles’ review: Elisabeth Moss, of ‘Mad Men’ leads Broadway revival
Wendy Wasserstein’s 1988 play “The Heidi Chronicles” was originally a bracing wakeup call about women’s evolving lives. The Broadway revival is far less stirring. Chalk that up to the passage of time and a middling performance by “Mad Men” star Elisabeth Moss. Bookended by scenes set in the late 1980s, the story reverses to 1965 and moves ahead for drive-by looks at moments in the heroine’s life. Friendships are forged, careers carved out, seductions achieved, protests enacted and nerves frayed. Through it all, maybe, there’s hope for the future. Front and center is art professor Heidi Holland (Moss), often accompanied by one of the two men in her life — sometime lover Scoop (Jason Biggs), a hotshot publisher and lawyer, and BFF Peter (Bryce Pinkham), who becomes a doctor. Single girl Heidi’s life amounts to a big, aching irony. She’s devoted herself to honoring women forgotten by history only to realize that … [Read more...] about ‘The Heidi Chronicles’ review: Elisabeth Moss, of ‘Mad Men’ leads Broadway revival
Xenoblade Chronicles 3D, Nintendo’s sword-wielding portable roleplaying romp, is sharp fun: Video Game Review
Sometimes, a game is just better when it’s made bite-sized. Sometimes, a game is too big for its own good on the your big screen, and the move to a smaller screen is exactly what it needs. Such is the case with Xenoblade Chronicles 3D. Just three years ago, Nintendo released this spectacular Japanese role-playing game on the aging Wii, delivering a landmark JRPG experience to a console on its last legs, a console that would be phased out for the Wii U in a mere matter of months. But now, the landmark title is making its reappearance on the New Nintendo 3DS XL (and only on the New 3DS XL, because this title won’t work on older versions of the console), and it couldn’t possibly be any better. What was once a fun and deep experience on a limited machine is more digestable and easier to appreciate on the most potent portable console available. It feels right at home on the 3DS XL, even in those moments when the graphics seem a little bit grainy. The story told in … [Read more...] about Xenoblade Chronicles 3D, Nintendo’s sword-wielding portable roleplaying romp, is sharp fun: Video Game Review