Peter Deming Movies

Originally slated to premiere on November 27, 2007, then held back until December 4, the hour-long dramedy Cashmere Mafia finally made its ABC debut on January 6, 2008. The series focused on a quartet of highly successful female executives, friends since their days in business college, who continued to meet, compare notes, and advise and console one another in various expensive Manhattan restaurants and watering holes. Miranda Otto played the "anchor" of the group, Juliet Draper, the powerful COO of the Stanton Hall hotel chain, who wryly observed the passing scene, dispensed sage wisdom, and merrily dissed most of the males who crossed her path--with the occasional exception of her husband Davis (Peter Hermann). Lucy Liu costarred as Mia Mason, high-powered functionary at Barnstead Media, a publishing firm run by a Murdoch clone; Mia was so ambitious that she was even willing to sacrifice her love life for her career, maneuvering her own fiancee out of the job she finally grabbed for herself. Frances O'Connor played Zoe Burden, senior marketing VP for Lily Parish cosmetics, who after several dead-end heterosexual romances suddenly found herself attracted to another woman, Alicia Lawson (Lourdes Benedicto). And Bonnie Somerville appeared as Zoe Burden, managing director of mergers and acquisitions at the investment firm of Gorham Sutter, who encountered considerable difficulty juggling her career and her private life with her stay-at-home husband Eric (Julian Ovenden) and twin children Luke (Nicholas Reese Art) and Sasha (Peyton List). Also in the cast was Addison Timlin as Juliet and Davis' mildly rebellious 14-year-old daughter Emily. If Cashmere Mafia seemed to be an upscale variation of HBO's Sex and the City, it may have been because it was executive-produced by former Sex and the City producer Darren Star. The ABC series also bore a marked resemblance to Lipstick Jungle, a novel written by Starr's onetime Sex and the City partner Candace Bushnell; ironically, the TV-series version of Lipstick Jungle made its NBC bow some four weeks after Cashmere Mafia's inaugural episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A professional poker player whose astounding luck at the table fails to translate into his lonesome love life attempts to win the World Series of Poker while simultaneously earning the affections of a beautiful Las Vegas singer in a high-stakes emotional drama from L.A. Confidential director Curtis Hanson and Munich screenwriter Eric Roth. When his personal problems threaten to distract him from what could be his biggest win ever, seasoned poker pro Huck Cheever (Eric Bana) finds comfort in the company of singer Billie Offer (Drew Barrymore). Upon preparing for the biggest card game in the country, however, Huck soon realizes that his problems have only just begun when he finds that his opponent at the table will be none other than his estranged father, L.C. (Robert Duvall), a poker legend whose mythical reputation makes him a more than worthy opponent for his troubled son. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Over a hundred leading cameramen (and women) discuss the fine art of motion picture photography in this documentary. Cinematographer Style is compiled from interviews with a broad cross section of respected cinematographers, ranging from award-winning veterans such as Gordon Willis (The Godfather), Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now), Vilmos Zsigmond (Deliverance), and Haskell Wexler (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) to contemporary masters of the craft such as Roger Deakins (A Beautiful Mind), Peter Deming (Lost Highway), Ernest Dickerson (Do the Right Thing), and Remi Adefarasin (Match Point). While several participants discuss the tools of their trade, Cinematographer Style focuses as much on the philosophy behind photographing movies -- how they find a style that matches the material, their visual influences, how to prepare for a shoot, establishing a lighting and color scheme, and how "pretty" the image ought to be to match the story. Sponsored in part by Kodak, Cinematographer Style received its world premiere at the 2006 Los Angeles Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A woman discovers that a part of her family history may be more complicated -- and more famous -- than she ever imagined in this comedy. Thirtysomething Sarah Huttinger (Jennifer Aniston), who has spent most of her adult life in New York City, is flying home to California with her long time boyfriend, Jeff Daly (Mark Ruffalo), for the wedding of her annoyingly perky younger sister, Annie (Mena Suvari). While Sarah and Jeff have recently announced they're engaged to be married, Sarah has been having second thoughts, and she isn't excited about the prospect of spending time with the family where she's always felt like the odd duck. As Sarah tries to decide what she should do with her personal and professional lives, she turns to her sharp-tongued and still youthful grandmother, Katharine (Shirley MacLaine), for advice, and Katharine shares a little-known bit of family history -- that Sarah's now-deceased mother left her father, Earl (Richard Jenkins), a few days before their wedding and ran off with another man for several days before coming back and marrying Earl. However, after hearing this Sarah is also treated to some long-simmering local gossip about a young man who ran off with a bride-to-be after he was seduced by her mother...and that the story became the basis for the hit movie The Graduate. Sarah begins to wonder, was Katharine the real-life Mrs. Robinson of this story? And if it's true, who was the man who had affairs with Sarah's mother and grandmother? Was it dashing and wealthy family friend Beau Burroughs (Kevin Costner), who has also turned Sarah's head? Rumor Has It... was produced from an original screenplay by Ted Griffin; Griffin was originally set to direct the film, but shortly after production began he was replaced, with Rob Reiner taking over the project. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Philip Kaufman directs the detective thriller Twisted (originally to be titled The Blackout Murders), with a script by up-and-coming filmmaker Sarah Thorp. Ashley Judd plays troubled police detective Jessica Shepard, who works under the jurisdiction of the man who raised her as his daughter, police Commissioner Mills (Samuel L. Jackson). While investigating a serial murder case, Jessica -- who is has a proclivity for dangerous, drunken one-night-stands -- discovers that all of the victims are men whom she's recently bedded. Complicating matters are her bitter ex-boyfriend (Mark Pellegrino), her very curious therapist (David Strathairn), and her odd-behaving new partner Mike Delmarco (Andy Garcia). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Mike Myers' phenomenally successful spy spoof gains a few more characters, a slew of celebrity cameos, and even more free-associative laughs in this third installment of the popular franchise. Austin Powers in Goldmember continues the exploits of the swinging-'60s leftover, who, as the film opens, is busy critiquing a big-budget Hollywood production of his life story, replete with a 20-million-dollar star in the lead role and a slew of John Woo-style action scenes. But not far from the soundstage lurks arch nemesis Dr. Evil (Myers), who has opened up a talent agency representing some of the industry's biggest stars -- all the while channeling their profits into a diabolical world-destruction plan with the unfortunate code name Preparation H. Dr. Evil presents a distraction to Austin by kidnapping his similarly swingin' father, Nigel Powers, and transporting him back in time to 1975. Travelling there to save his father -- and in turn win back his dad's sometimes-errant affection -- Austin comes across the alluring superspy Foxxy Cleopatra (Beyonce Knowles). The three of them travel back to the present day, where they join forces to battle Dr. Evil and his posse of nefarious evil-doers, including the trusty clone Mini-Me (Verne Troyer); his snotty son, Scott (Seth Green); the inimitable Fat Bastard (Myers); and the eponymous new addition to the fold: the epidermis-obsessed, precious-metal-fortified Dutchman called Goldmember (Myers). ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

David Lynch wrote and directed this look at two women who find themselves walking a fine line between truth and deception in the beautiful but dangerous netherworld of Hollywood. A beautiful woman (Laura Elena Harring) riding in a limousine along Los Angeles' Mulholland Drive is targeted by a would-be shooter, but before he can pull the trigger, she is injured when her limo is hit by another car. The woman stumbles from the wreck with a head wound, and in time makes her way into an apartment with no idea of where or who she is. As it turns out, the apartment is home to an elderly woman who is out of town, and is allowing her niece Betty (Naomi Watts) to stay there; Betty is a small-town girl from Canada who wants to be an actress, and her aunt was able to arrange an audition with a film director for her. Betty befriends the injured woman, who begins calling herself "Rita" after seeing a poster of Rita Hayworth. While Betty's audition impresses a casting agent, and she catches the eye of hotshot director Adam Kesher (Justin Theroux), Kesher's producers and moneymen insist with no small vehemence that he instead cast a woman named Camilla Rhodes. As Rita attempts to put the pieces of her life back together, she pulls the name Diane Selwyn from her memory; Rita thinks it could be her real name, but when she and Betty find a listing for Diane Selwyn and visit her apartment, they discover the latest victim of a mysterious killer who is eluding police detective Harry McKnight (Robert Forster). Rita's emotional identity soon takes a left turn, and it turns out that neither woman is quite who she once appeared to be. David Lynch originally conceived Mulholland Drive as the pilot film for a television series; after the ABC television network rejected the pilot and declined to air it, the French production film StudioCanal took over the project, and Lynch reshot and re-edited the material into a theatrical feature. The resulting version of Mulholland Drive premiered at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, where David Lynch shared Best Director honors with Joel Coen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This three-part drama, produced for HBO, examines the changing tides of the lives of lesbians in America, both politically and personally, as we eavesdrop on three stories taking place in the same house over a span of five decades. In 1961, the house is home to Edith (Vanessa Redgrave) and Abby (Marian Seldes), an elderly lesbian couple whose lifestyle is not accepted or acknowledged by their families. When Abby suffers a serious stroke and is on the verge of death, her family rallies to her side, but not understanding the nature of her relationship with Edith, she is not included as her loved ones say their final good-byes. After Abby's death, her nephew (Paul Giamatti) and his wife (Elizabeth Perkins) arrive from out of state with plans to sell the house, without consulting Edith. In 1972, the house is now home to four college students, Michelle (Amy Carlson), Linda (Michelle Williams), Karen (Nia Long), and Jeanne (Natasha Lyonne), all of whom are actively involved in the women's movement and also happen to be lesbians. The four find themselves at odds with the campus women's group when they try to promote an all-women's dance, while the other members of the group feel that feminism, not lesbianism, should be the focus of the group. Similarly, Linda faces hostility from her friends when she becomes involved with Amy (Chloe Sevigny), a very butch townie; Linda's friends see Amy's masculine attire and attitude as a form of self-loathing against being a woman, and while Linda cares deeply for Amy, she's not always comfortable with her and isn't sure that she wants to be public with their relationship. In 2000, Fran (Sharon Stone) and Kal (Ellen DeGeneres), a happy and firmly committed couple, are sharing the house, and after much discussion, they decide that they want to take their relationship to the next level and have a baby. However, deciding that they want a child and dealing with the practicalities of getting pregnant are two different things; Fran and Kal first debate about going to a sperm bank as opposed to asking one of their male friends to help out, and later, either going to a doctor to perform the procedure or trying it at home. DeGeneres' significant other, Anne Heche, wrote and directed the final segment; the 1972 story was directed by Martha Coolidge, and the 1961 episode was directed by Jane Anderson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this comic drama about fame, sports, and small-town life, Mystery, Alaska is a small town in one of the least accessible parts of the coldest state in the union. It's a town where everyone knows each other and there isn't much to do. In places like this, small things tend to become very important, and in Mystery, the one thing that keeps everyone sane is hockey. Most of the men of Mystery are obsessive hockey fans, and a local hockey league has sprung up, with pools of neighborhood talent facing off on the ice every week. When a national sports magazine does a story on the hockey fans of Mystery, Alaska, someone at the National Hockey League gets an idea for a publicity stunt: send the New York Rangers to Mystery to play the local all-stars in a nationally televised game. Most of the locals are thrilled; the game will give the people of Mystery a chance to bask in the limelight and make their sleepy town a household word. On the other hand, in a small town where everyone knows everyone else's secrets, this event could cause everyone to start airing their dirty laundry in public, with the whole world watching. Mystery, Alaska was directed by Jay Roach, who enjoyed considerable success with the two Austin Powers films, and stars Russell Crowe as John Biebe, Mary McCormack as his wife Donna, Burt Reynolds as Judge Burns, and Lolita Davidovich as Mary Jane. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Five years after the critical and commercial disappointment of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, director David Lynch returned to the big screen with this cryptic thriller about confused identities and erotic obsession. Fred (Bill Pullman) is an avant-garde jazz saxophonist who shares a luxurious but fashionably barren house with his wife Renee (Patricia Arquette). Fred suspects that Renee may be unfaithful to him, but realizes he has bigger things to worry about when a series of videotapes appear at his door that prove someone is watching his home from the outside and inside. When Renee is found murdered, Fred finds himself behind bars, but one morning Fred is no longer in his cell. He has seemingly been transformed into Pete Drayton (Balthazar Getty), a young auto mechanic who foolishly allowed himself to get involved with the wife of gangster Dick Laurent (Robert Loggia), a luscious blonde named Alice who looks exactly like Renee. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Less a parody of the early James Bond film than a parody of the films that parodied the early James Bond films, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery stars Mike Myers as Austin Powers, by day a hipster fashion photographer in mid-'60s swingin' London and by night a crime-fighting secret agent. Austin's wardrobe is pure Carnaby Street at its most outrageous, his vocabulary is crowded by the cool lingo of the day ("Groovy, baby! Yeah!!"), and he's irresistible to women, despite the fact that he can be charitably described as "stocky" and has teeth that strike fear into any practicing dentist. When his nemesis, the arch-enemy Dr. Evil (also played by Myers), has himself cryogenically frozen and sent into space, Powers also has himself put on ice so he can be thawed out when Dr. Evil returns. Come 1997, Dr. Evil returns to Earth and is back to his old tricks, so Austin is thawed out and returned to active service -- though he soon discovers his style doesn't play so well 30 years on. The supporting cast includes Elizabeth Hurley as Austin's sidekick, Vanessa Kensington; Michael York as his boss, Basil Exposition; Robert Wagner as Dr. Evil's assistant, Number Two; and Seth Green as Dr. Evil's troubled son, Scott Evil. Ming Tea, the swingin' pop band that periodically backs up Austin, includes real life pop-rockers Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery was a mild box-office hit but an even bigger success on home video, which led to the 1999 sequel, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Embracing the supposed nihilism and cynicism of the "slacker" generation, S.F.W. (1995) caused nary a blip on the media-saturated cultural radar screen that it criticized. Stephen Dorff stars as Cliff Spab, an aimless, hard-drinking youth. Spab becomes a national hero when he is one of several people held hostage by gun-toting terrorists in a convenience store. He doesn't care much about his own life or anything else, and his attitude of "So f---ing what?" translates into debates with his terrorist captors and gloomy pronouncements that charm viewers. After a month-long siege, a crisis erupts when the store runs out of beer and junk food, so Cliff finds himself a free man whose celebrity image is emblazoned on t-shirts and whose presence is requested at a rock concert where he is required to do nothing other than appear. In the meantime, Spab's girlfriend Wendy (Reese Witherspoon) becomes a ubiquitous talk show guest. Ostensibly a satire of the celebrity-obsessed culture of the 1990s, the film was withheld from distribution for a year because of thematic similarities to Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers (1994). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide