Gemma Ward Movies
With distinctive, China doll-like features that gave her a thoroughly unique countenance, Australian model-cum-actress Gemma Ward carved out a niche for herself as one of the world's most unique and successful supermodels. A native of Perth (on Australia's western seaboard), Ward grew up in the obscurity of an average Aussie family, as the "tomboy" daughter of a physician and nurse, and only harbored dreams of movie stardom. At the age of 15, however, friends coaxed her into entering a local modeling competition (allegedly forging her mother's signature); though she didn't win the initial contest, an agent from Manhattan-based IMG spotted her, whisked her off to New York, and turned her into a global sensation on fashion runways and in magazine glossies.Ward's career imparted her with a multimillion-dollar fortune well before her 20th birthday and made her face an iconic one, so it was perhaps inevitable (and unsurprising) that she then made the leap from the catwalk into feature films. She took one of her first bows with a lead in the 2007 Aussie feature The Black Balloon (as the newfound girlfriend of a teenager who is struggling to care for his mentally ill brother). She then undertook a dramatic change of pace as one of three masked criminals who invade a home and terrorize a family in Bryan Bertino's thriller The Strangers. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 2008
- PG13
An adolescent boy from a most idiosyncratic family attempts to adjust to his new neighborhood as his 16th birthday looms on the horizon in this family drama from director Elissa Down. Thomas is about to turn 16, and as if adjusting to a new neighborhood, a new school, and new friends isn't enough for a teenage boy to contend with, his family is about as unpredictable as they come. His autistic older brother, Charlie, suffers from ADD, and attends a special school on the days that he actually chooses to go. His father, Simon, is an enormous cricket fan who is prone to holding intense discussions with his teddy bear, and his mother, Maggie, is a free spirit who sleeps with pretty much whomever she pleases. Recently, Thomas' mother revealed that she is pregnant. As a result, Thomas finds himself looking after Charlie much more frequently than usual. When Charlie strips half-naked and dashes into the neighbor's house in search of a bathroom, Thomas storms in after him and encounters pretty classmate Jackie -- who is currently attempting to take a shower. Mortified, Thomas begins to realize that he might not be capable of caring for Charlie. Later at school, Thomas realizes that he'll have to learn to swim before he earns his lifesaving badge. Of course, every student in class needs to have a partner, and it just so happens that Thomas' partner is a pretty fellow pupil named Jackie. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rhys Wakefield, Luke Ford, (more)
A suburban couple returning to their semi-secluded house after attending a wedding finds their lives suddenly thrown into chaos with the arrival of three malevolent, masked strangers in director Bryan Bertino's tense tale of survival. Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman star as the couple forced to resort to violence they never thought themselves capable of as they struggle for their lives, and model-turned-actress Gemma Ward continues her transition from the catwalk to the silver screen as one of the merciless masked invaders. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, (more)
