Timothy Bottoms Movies
The oldest of three sons of a high school art teacher, Timothy Bottoms was 17 when he toured Europe as a member of the Santa Monica Madrigal Society. Enjoying the "rush" of appearing before live audiences, Bottoms pursued a theatrical career. While playing the lead in a stage production of Romeo and Juliet, he was selected by writer/director Dalton Trumbo to play the blind, deaf, armless, and legless protagonist in the 1971 film version of Trumbo's Johnny Got His Gun. That same year, Bottoms was tapped by Peter Bogdanovich to star as Texas teenager Sonny Crawford in the award-winning The Last Picture Show (1971), which featured Tim's younger brother Samuel. Bottoms followed these triumphs by creating the role of harried first-year law student Hart in the 1973 sleeper The Paper Chase. Thereafter, his film roles seemed haphazardly selected. On TV, Bottoms was given an opportunity to age nearly 30 years as Adam Trask in the 1981 miniseries version of East of Eden; he also co-starred with brothers Joseph and Sam in the feature-length TV pilot Favorite Son (1987). Again appearing opposite younger sibling Joseph, Tim made his Broadway bow in The 5th of July (1951). Bottoms surprised no one when he balked at the opportunity of re-creating his Sonny Crawford characterization in Texasville, the 1991 sequel to Last Picture Show. Eventually he not only agreed to co-star in Texasville, but also served as executive producer of a documentary on the making of that film, Picture This (1990). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2009
Timothy Bottoms and C. Thomas Howell headline this feature adaption of Edgar Rice Burrough's classic tale. When the survivors of a shipwreck become stranded on an mysterious island inhabited by dinosaurs, they must struggle to outrun and outsmart the prehistoric predators. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- C. Thomas Howell, Timothy Bottoms, (more)
Independent filmmaker Richard Gabai gives Jack London's literary classic a modern-day makeover with this family-friendly adventure. Nine-year-old city girl Ryan (Ariel Gade) is visiting her grandpa (Christopher Lloyd) in Montana and lamenting the lack of shopping malls when she befriends a wounded wild dog and names it Buck. As the annual sledding race draws near, Ryan and her new friends begin training Buck for the big day in hopes that he can win the gold. Can Buck's wild spirit be tamed in time for the race, or is he more comfortable out in the wilderness, running free with his four-legged friends? Veronica Cartwright, Timothy Bottoms, and Joyce DeWitt co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Lloyd, Ariel Gade, (more)
- 2008
In this sinister twist on the Sleeping Beauty legend, an innocent beauty suffering from a rare sleep disorder falls victim to a menacing mesmerist and serial killer who draws his vast arsenal of hypnotic weaponry to take control of her fragile psyche. Art student Danny Sloan (Dylan Purcell) has fallen deeply in love with the Laura Baxter (Cherilyn Rae Wilson), a lovely young woman afflicted with a medical condition brought on by a tragic childhood accident. Laura suffers from Parasomnia, a condition that causes her to literally sleep her life away. She only awakens on rare occasions, and even then, she doesn't stay conscious for long. Unfortunately, murderous psychopath Byron Volpe (Patrick Kilpatrick) has also fallen in love with Laura, and he'll do everything within his power to claim her as his own. Byron may be locked away in a high security hospital, but no restraints in the world are strong enough to keep him from the woman of his dreams. Now, as Byron uses his powers to take possession of unsuspecting hosts in the real world and command a frightening array of ominous creatures in the realm of the unconscious, Danny must face unimaginable horrors to defeat the malevolent killer and save the woman he loves. Dylan Purcell and Cherlyn Wilson star in a dark thriller directed by William Malone, and co-starring Patrick Kilpatrick, Jeffrey Combs, and Timothy Bottoms. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cherilyn Wilson, Dylan Purcell, (more)
Unlucky in life and love, quirky waitress Trudie (Melissa Joan Hart) takes the holidays -- and the law -- into her own hands. Unable to brave Christmas with her family as a single woman, Trudie kidnaps restaurant customer David Martin (Mario Lopez) and introduces him to her family as her boyfriend. Unable to escape the family vacation house, David agrees to play along until the police arrive. In the meantime, however, David ponders his own romantic life, and questions if he is falling in love with Trudie despite the unlikely circumstances. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melissa Joan Hart, Mario Lopez, (more)
Dirt stars Courteney Cox as Lucy Spiller, celebrity journalist and editor-in-chief of DirtNow, a tabloid magazine that traffics in sleaze -- especially sleaze with a Hollywood dateline. She and her photographer Don Konkey (Ian Hart) probe Hollywood's seamy underbelly in search of seepage, in a contant race with other media bottom feeders. Lucy simultaneously tries to engage her personal life, which includes her actor boyfriend, Holt McLaren (Josh Stewart), and her brother Leo Spiller (Will McCormack). This four-disc, 13-episode box set of Season 1 (which aired on cable's FX network in 2007) features an array of character-driven special features, including a behind-the-scenes look at real-life paparazzi darlings and co-producing couple, Courteney Cox and David Arquette, as well as interviews with entertainment leaders and Hollywood gossip gurus, a profile on schizophrenic paparazzo Konkey, and deleted scenes.
- Starring:
- Courteney Cox Arquette, Ian Hart, (more)
Timothy Bottoms stars in this bittersweet drama about Mack Cameron, a famous Hollywood actor dealing with a midlife crisis and struggling marriage. When an on-location shoot lands him back in his small Texas hometown for the first time in years, Cameron gets answers to life's questions from some unexpected sources. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Timothy Bottoms, Sheryl Lee, (more)
- 2005
Rosanna Arquette guest stars as convict Constance Ferguson, who tries to get out of solitary confinement by swallowing four razor blades--an act of pathetic bravado that earns the contempt of Cristina (Sandra Oh). Elsewhere, the newborn quintuplets and their mother (Margaret Welsh) are suffering serious post-natal problems, with one of the infants close to death. As Izzie (Katherine Heigl) cares for the ailing child, Addison (Kate Walsh) decides that it is time to teach the idealistic intern a painful but necessary lesson. Also, Alex (Justin Chambers) broods obessessively over a medical mistake, which only serves to make Izzie (Katherine Heigl) even more angry with him; and under pressure, George (T.R. Knight) agrees to treat a skin-cancer patient with leeches. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
Jane Doe: Now You See It, Now You Don't is one of several Hallmark Channel TV-movies starring Lea Thompson as suburban housewife and mom Kathy Davis (Lea Thompson), who unbeknownst to her family occasionally moonlights as an undercover special agent and "problem solver" for the NSA. When the Declaration of Independence is stolen while on display at a Los Angeles bank, NSA higher-up Frank Darnell (Joe Penny) calls in Kathy--code name "Jane Doe"--in hopes of figuring out who did it. It's a standard "locked room" mystery which Kathy manages to figure out in no time flat, but the murder of the chief suspect and the kidnapping of the suspect's wife makes things a bit more complicated. As she endeavors to crack the case, Kathy must also deal with her neurotic husband Jack (William R. Moses) as he adjusts to working in the same office with a former girlfriend, and she must contend with the jealousy of her NRA cohort, case officer Helen Morrison (Tamlyn Tomita). Jane Doe: Now You See It, Now You Don't made its first TV appearance on February 24, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
Having survived a traumatic encounter with hordes of dangerous locusts, Dr. Maddy Reardon (Lucy Lawless), a specialist in the behavior patterns of voracious insects, accepts what she thinks will be a stress-free job as a professor at Tate University in Louisiana. Unfortunately, Maddy is once again forced to put her knowledge to use--and her life on the line--when the body of a student is found, drained of blood. Assisted by her husband Dan (Dylan Neal) and by several of her more courageous (or should we say foolhardy?) students, Maddy endeavors to prove that the death of the student was caused by a flock of particularly vicious vampire bats, mutated into monstrosity by a recent toxic waste dump. Timothy Bottoms costars as Mayor Hank Poelker, who is covertly in cahoots with the chemical company that has caused this calamity. (Can it be that Bottoms was cast because of his resemblance to President George W. Bush, whom the actor has also played on several occasions?) Originally slated to be filmed in New Orleans, Vampire Bats shifted production to Canada to avoid the anticipated onslaught of Hurricane Katrina; the made-for-TV thriller debuted October 30, 2005 on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lucy Lawless, Dylan Neal, (more)
Tom Selleck stars as General Dwight D. Eisenhower in the television film Ike: Countdown to D-Day. The film follows the General in the three months leading up to the decisive invasion that would turn the tide of World War II toward the Allied powers. The film opens with Winston Churchill (Ian Mune) appointing Eisenhower as the Supreme Allied Commander. Ike faces conflicts with British General Montgomery (Bruce Phillips), American General George Patton (Gerald McRaney), and French leader Charles de Gaulle (George Shevtsov). Eisenhower must balance these men's egos as he organizes the risky but necessary military maneuver. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Selleck
A successful Las Vegas singer who lost everything when her casino mogul husband dropped dead of a heart attack gets a second shot at happiness after leaving town in the middle of the night and encountering a spiritual guide who shows her just what she's been missing all these years. Patricia Paradise (Dee Wallace Stone) may be a star on the Las Vegas stage, though she still can't help but feeling unfulfilled with the way her life has turned out. Over the years Patricia made plenty of sacrifices, both for her own career and her husband's as well, though her greatest desire has always been to start a family. When her husband does and Patricia realizes that their business is bankrupt, she sneaks out of town under the cover of darkness and sets out towards an uncertain future. But Patricia isn't alone, because her spiritual guide (Mickey Rooney) appears in her dreams to gently help her through this troubling time. Before long, Patricia becomes pregnant by a mysterious stranger who seems to be the reincarnation of her late husband. Upon giving birth Patricia realizes that no matter what measure of fame or fortune she could have accomplished, it all pales in comparison to the blessing bestowed upon her by her spiritual guide. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dee Wallace Stone, Mickey Rooney, (more)
Boy meets girl who's already met all sorts of boys and girls in this teen-slanted comedy. Matthew Kidman (Emile Hirsch) is a straight-laced and highly ambitious high school student who plans to study at Georgetown University and dreams of a career in politics. While most of his classmates are in the throes of an epidemic of senioritis, Matthew is obsessed with schoolwork and has a hard time relaxing and having fun. But he finds himself a bit less focused on his future career when Danielle (Elisha Cuthbert), a beautiful 19-year-old blonde, moves in next door. Danielle is playful, spontaneous, and doesn't always remember to draw her shades, and before long Matthew is head over heels in love. Danielle soon finds herself taken with Matthew as well, but their relationship takes an unusual turn when he discovers that, before she moved to town, Danielle had a successful career as a porn actress. Matthew is able to convince Danielle that she's cut out for better things in life than appearing in porn videos, but his advice doesn't especially please Kelly (Timothy Olyphant) or Hugo (James Remar), two porn moguls who figure Matthew owes them big-time after convincing their leading lady to drop out of the adult industry. The Girl Next Door -- which, appropriately enough, shares its title with a 1999 documentary about adult film superstar Stacy Valentine -- also features Timothy Bottoms, Paul Dano, and Chris Marquette. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elisha Cuthbert, Emile Hirsch, (more)
Filmed under the title The Big Dance, this tense, made-for-cable docudrama recreates the events following the devastating terrorist attack on New York City and Washington, D.C., on September 11, 2001. The focus is on President George W. Bush, here played by Timothy Bottoms. Inasmuch as the film was assembled by a man avowedly sympathetic to Bush (Hollywood veteran Lionel Chetwynd), there are few ambiguities here: The president acts swiftly, decisively, and dispassionately, and there's no time to raise any questions about judgment, discretion, or diplomatic missteps, past, present, or future. Chetwynd's teleplay utilizes several well-known factoids (the president wanted to return to Washington immediately after the attack, but his advisors wouldn't let him) along with a number of newly unearthed information bites (the crew of Air Force One had to use cell phones to contact the DC airport, out of concern that their radio would alert terrorists to their location). Also dramatized are the efforts by the government to gather evidence against al-Qaida, and the president's inspiring address to the nation ten days after the tragedy. DC 9/11: Time of Crisis debuted September 7, 2003, on the Showtime network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Timothy Bottoms, John Cunningham, (more)
Director Gus Van Sant returned to the low-key style of his early independent efforts with this semi-improvised exploration of how violence makes its way into a typical American high school. Eric (Eric Deulen) and Alex (Alex Frost) are two close friends who are students in a well-to-do suburb of Portland, OR. Eric and Alex are at once ordinary and misfits; while they seem to be confined to the edges of the clique-oriented social strata of high school, little about their behavior draws attention to itself. Or at least not during a typical school day; on their own time, the two boys are fascinated by Nazi iconography, enjoy violent video games, tentatively explore homoerotic desires, and coolly begin to make plans for an armed ambush of the school, drawing up working diagrams of the lunch room during study hall and buying rifles over the Internet. Drawing an expected degree of controversy, Elephant had its world premiere when it was screened in competition at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival, where it won both Best Director for Van Sant and the Golden Palm award. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alex Frost, Eric Deulen, (more)
- 2000
A woman finds herself walking a fine line between dreams and reality in this thriller. Zoey Drayden (Nicole Eggert) is a college student studying botany who has been having horrible dreams about a series of murders. One night, after receiving a telephone call frantically begging for help, Zoey discovers that her dreams bear a striking resemblance to the work of an actual serial killer, and Keegan (Callum Keith Rennie) and Stepnoski (Timothy Bottoms), a pair of police detectives, begin to believe Zoey may have psychic abilities that could help lead them to the killer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicole Eggert, Callum Keith Rennie, (more)
- 2000
Kim Hunter, the woman who played the legendary Stella Kowalski in 1951's A Streetcar Named Desire, finds herself in another production revolving around madness and psychological instability, though this time from a more geriatric point-of-view. Douglas Green's feature directorial debut, based on Mitch Giannunzio's play A Smaller Place, stars Hunter as Muriel, a home-bound senior frequently tended to by her just under 50-year-old son Jack (Timothy Bottoms). She's beginning to mention her deceased husband as if her were still alive, and she frequently acts as if Jack is a young man who wants to date her. Distressed, Jack is forced to admit her to a nursing home -- something his wife Holly (Kim Greist) has wanted all along -- and as he prepares to ship Muriel and her belongings away, he's forced to face painful truths about his childhood and how it might have affected his adult life. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kim Hunter, Timothy Bottoms, (more)
This suspense film features Dennis Hopper as JD, a crazed kidnapper who hijacks a school bus (not unlike his crazed kidnapper in Speed) and holds the students hostage (one of the students is played by former Home Improvement star Zachery Ty Bryan). Even if the hostages are able to break free from their captors, they would have to survive the harsh terrain that surrounds the cabin in which they are being held. Lee Stanley's film was sold directly to Blockbuster Video, never gaining a theatrical release in the United States. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper gets an update and an overhaul in this family-oriented comedy. "Cash" Canty (Sean Kellman) is a typical Southern California kid who likes surfing, skateboarding, and pretty much anything that can be described as "rad." Prince Edward of Gelfland is the heir to the throne of a small nation; he has a wealth, privilege, and retinue of minders, but he wishes that he could live like a normal guy for a change. Prince Edward also happens to look exactly like Cash (and is also played by Sean Kellman), and when the two bump into each other by accident while the Prince is on a visit to California, they get the idea of switching places. Edward gets to do all of the "normal person" things that he's kept away from by his staff, and Cash gets to live like a big shot, not to mention spending time with Galina (Katie Jane Johnson), a beautiful girl who is pledged to marry the Prince when he's of age. However, Edward learns that a commoner's life has its downside, and Cash discovers treachery among the keepers of the throne that must be revealed to Edward before it's too late. The Prince and the Surfer marked the directorial debut for actor Arye Gross; he also plays a small role, alongside Robert Englund, Timothy Bottoms, C. Thomas Howell and Jennifer O'Neill. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Jeff Burr's family friendly science fiction film The X-Treme Teens stars Bryan Neal as Andy, a teenager who one day discovers a special pair of powerful glasses. Not long after that, he is approached by aliens who need his help in order to retrieve a lost item that, in the wrong hands, could destroy Earth. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
When the FBI puts its war against terrorism into space, the terrorists fight back in this action drama. In an effort to more closely monitor the activities of underground militia groups, the U.S. government schedules the launch of a surveillance satellite designed specifically to keep tabs on domestic terrorists. The satellite is to be launched during NASA's next space shuttle mission; however, a militia group calling themselves the Diamondbacks have learned the location of the tracking station that monitors the shuttle's activities, and they stage an armed raid that effectively cuts off all communication between the shuttle, its crew, and NASA's tracking computers shortly after launch. FBI agent Frank Jenkins (Miles O'Keeffe) is sent in to take back the tracking station and insure the safety of the astronauts, but he soon discovers that not all of his associates can be trusted. Diamondbacks also features Timothy Bottoms, Chris Mitchum, and Ed Lottimer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Actor-director William Richert (Winter Kills), who directed the late River Phoenix in A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon (1988), originally planned this low-budget adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' 1848-50 classic adventure, as a vehicle for River Phoenix. Casting his son, Nick Richert, in the dual role of Philippe and King Louis XIV, he continued on with the project, despite the competition of the heavily promoted, more lavish MGM production scheduled for release almost the same month. The future King of France is kidnapped as a boy, put inside an iron mask, and imprisoned in the Bastille. Court intrigue then places his younger twin on the throne as Louis XIV. A decade later, the queen confesses on her deathbed, revealing the truth to Count Aramis (William Richert), who recruits the three Musketeers (Edward Albert, Dennis Hayden, Rex Ryon) in order to bring truth and justice to the situation. Filmed at the historic Mission Inn in Riverside, California. Previous film versions: the 1939 James Whale version with Louis Hayward, the 1976 TV movie with Richard Chamberlain, and Ken Annakin's The Fifth Musketeer (1978, aka Behind the Iron Mask) with Beau Bridges, Lloyd Bridges, Ursula Andress, Cornel Wilde, Jose Ferrer, Rex Harrison, and Olivia de Havilland. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Albert, Dana Barron, (more)
After being killed by friendly fire during the Gulf War, soldier Sam Harper (David Shark Fralick) inexplicably returns from the dead to wreak revenge upon corrupt military men, draft dodgers, tax cheats, and flag burners. His memory is cherished only by his nephew, who doesn't realize that in life Sam was an angry, violent alcoholic who abused his family members and earned his heroic medals simply by being psychotic on the battlefield. Sam crawls out of his coffin after being brought back to his hometown, steals an Uncle Sam costume and proceeds to wreak havoc on insincere patriots during a Fourth of July celebration. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Timothy Bottoms, Robert Forster, (more)
- 1997
In this youthful adventure fantasy, a young boy goes for a walk, accidentally falls into a deep hole, and finds himself face-to-face with the Greek god Atlas. The two become good friends, and after the legendary hero brings the boy to safety, the boy shows his gratitude by inviting Atlas to his home. Matters take an even stranger turn when Atlas falls head-over-heels in love with the boy's mother. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- T.J. Lowther, Laura Johnson, (more)
