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The Success of Chicago

2002 American musical film Chicago was adapted from a satirical stage musical of the same name. In the film celebrity, scandal, and corruption in Jazz age Chicago are dealt with in a creative format.

Chicago was directed and choreographed by Rob Marshall while screenwriter Bill Condon did the screenplay. The film was a massive success and won six Academy Awards including Best Picture, making it the first musical film to win the award since Oliver! in 1968.

The film which is based on a musical of the same name was slated to be choreographed by Bob Fosse who was a well-known stage and film choreographer as well as director. Fosse was the one who had directed and choreographed the original Broadway production of Chicago. Unfortunately he passed away before the film was made. But he very much left his mark on the film as the style of dance is distinctive to his jazz choreography style. He made Cabaret in 1972, and the Chicago’s resemblance to that film is very noticeable.

The story of Chicago is about Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart, two women criminals who had committed murder in the throes of passion. They are awaiting trial for murder in a jail in 1920s Chicago. While Velma is a vaudeville player Roxie is a housewife who wants to be a star. Both are in a cat-fight to get fame that will save them from being hung. That fame and being saved can only come through one person, a hot shot criminal lawyer who is extremely money-minded. In reality the film was inspired by the stories of two Jazz-era killers Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner.

The Success of Chicago is a post from: Renee Zellweger

Popular Quotes From Jerry Maguire

American romantic comedy-drama film was released in 1996 and stars Tom Cruise. Distributed by Gracie Films and TriStar Pictures, Jerry Maguire was written, co-produced, and directed by Cameron Crowe.

Made on a $50 million budget, Jerry Maguire grossed more than $270 million worldwide, making it a financial success. The film is about a character of the same name, played by Tom Cruise. Jerry Maguire is a flashy 35-year-old sports agent working for a big sports management company. He suffers a bit of a nervous breakdown due to stress and a guilty conscience and writes a treatise about dishonesty in the sports management business and how it should be operated. He makes copies of the document entitled “The Things We Think and Do Not Say: The Future of Our Business”. Though his co-workers applaud his honesty, Jerry Maguire is fired by his own protégé under the instructions of the management. Jerry Maguire is about how the main protagonist strives to live by his own words as published in the memo.

Popular quotes from Jerry Maguire include “Show me the money!” This was shouted during a phone exchange between Rod Tidwell and Jerry Maguire. Other important quotes include “You complete me”, “Help me help you”, “I didn’t shoplift the pootie,” and “That’s more than a dress, that’s an Audrey Hepburn movie”. Another romantic quote that had all the ladies sighing included “You had me at ‘hello’”, when Jerry Maguire professes his love for his romantic interest Dorothy Boyd played by Renee Zellweger. Another term that was coined in the film was “Kwan”. This was said by Rod Tidwell and said to signify love, respect, community, and money.

Popular Quotes From Jerry Maguire is a post from: Renee Zellweger

What Renee Zellweger Was Doing Till Jerry Maguire Happened

Renee Zellweger, who won an Academy Award for her role in Jerry Maguire, was born in Katy, Texas to Emil Erich Zellweger and Kjellfried Irene. Her father was Swiss while her mother was Norwegian-born and of Sami origin. Renee Zellweger’s family had a relaxed and flexible approach to religion and she herself has described her upbringing a being raised in a family of “lazy Catholics and Episcopalians”.

While in Junior High, Renee Zellweger was quite the sportswoman, actively participating in several sports, including soccer, basketball, baseball and football at Katy High School. She was also heavily into extra-curricular activities and was a cheerleader, a gymnast, a member of speech team, and a drama club member. Though not really interested in pursuing an acting career at the time, Renee Zellweger played parts in several school plays and was voted the “Best Looking” of her Class of 1987. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin to major in English language and landed in the Dean’s List several times. Ironically enough, Renee Zellweger’s first foray into drama was because she took a drama class only to get the fine arts credit she needed to complete her degree. However, the experience gave birth to her inner actress and Renee Zellweger realized her innate love for acting.

After graduating in 1991, Renee Zellweger considered going to Hollywood to pursue acting but ended up not leaving Texas. The first job she got post graduation involved her working in a beef commercial.

In Texas, Renee Zellweger got roles in films like A Taste for Killing (1992), the ABC TV mini series Murder in the Heartland (1993), Reality Bites (1994) and 8 Seconds. Renee Zellweger’s first starring role was in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994). She then acted in Love and a .45 (1994). It was in 1995 that Renee Zellweger finally made the move to Los Angeles and acted in films like Empire Records (1995) and The Whole Wide World (1996). But despite all these roles, it was her part as the love interest of Jerry Maguire that got Renee Zellweger her first Academy Award and shot her to stardom.

What Renee Zellweger Was Doing Till Jerry Maguire Happened is a post from: Renee Zellweger

Renee Zellweger in Bridget Jones’s Diary

In 2001, Renee Zellweger acted in the British romantic comedy film Bridget Jones’s Diary. The film is based on Helen Fielding’s novel. In the film Academy award winner Renée Zellweger stars as Bridget, Golden Globe winner Hugh Grant is the Daniel Cleaver, Colin First, an Academy Award nominee himself, plays Bridget’s love interest.

Renee Zellweger had to compete with Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, Rachel Weisz, Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette, and Kate Winslet. And though Renee Zellweger got the film, her casting inspired a considerable amount of controversy prior to the film’s release. The reasons behind this included her being American though Bridger Jones was considered to be quintessentially British. But once the film was released, her critics ate their words. Renee Zellweger’s performance in Bridget Jones’ Diary is considered to be stellar and her English accent almost authentic.

Another issue behind people’s resistance of Renee Zellweger in the role of Bridget was the fact that she was not overweight. As she was informed that her frame was not chubby enough to play the chubby Bridget convincingly, Renee Zellweger embarked on a weight gain plan parallel to working with a speech coach to perfect an English accent. Renee Zellweger was able to gain 20 pounds and able to successfully step into the shoes of Bridget Jones. The media can never be appeased and Renee Zellweger’s weight fluctuations were a pet subject at that time.

Nevertheless, Renee Zellweger plays the role of Bridget very convincingly and her acting got a lot of praise from some very tough critics including Stephen Holden from The New York Times. Talking of Renee Zellweger’s performance, he is quoted as saying, “Ms. Zellweger accomplishes the small miracle of making Bridget both entirely endearing and utterly real.”

And putting on weight and voice coaching wasn’t all that Renee Zellweger did to prepare for her role. She also spent three weeks working undercover in a “work experience placement” for British publishing firm Picador. All Renee Zellweger’s efforts to play Bridget Jones successfully paid off and she not only received praise from fans and critics, she also got a Best Actress Academy Award nomination, her first.

Renee Zellweger in Bridget Jones’s Diary is a post from: Renee Zellweger