"Jennifer 8" (1992) is a movie that was reduced by 20 minutes and they took the heart out of the picture. They took three or four scenes of the interrogation out between me and John Malkovich. The script was originally called "A Policeman's Story", and in the end, there was no policeman's story...There were electrifying moments between my character and Malkovich, and that interrogation was precluded by an all-night alcoholic binge by my character. When they come to arrest me, I was naked, with my pants down, in complete emotional shambles. But they cut that out and diminished the whole film...It's a thriller, and it works as a thriller, but that's all it is. How do you deeply care about people if you don't give the audience a chance to care about them or to understand them? That was my argument. So that was painful on many fronts, that whole process, for everybody concerned, really. Actor Andy Garcia



The interrogation scenes between John Malkovich and Andy Garcia that did escape the cutting room floor in "Jennifer 8" are outstanding. I still like the film, but wish the scenes Garcia discusses above had been left in. I considered writing a review of the film, but Garcia does an excellent job of that himself.

He is currently at work on a number of projects. "My Dinner with Herve" is a television movie about "Fantasy Island" actor Herve Villechaize, who committed suicide at the age of 50. Peter Dinklage is Villechaize, while Garcia will play Ricardo Montalban. Garcia is also currently filming a comedy, "Book Club". The star power on this one is amazing. The cast includes Jane Fonda, Mary Steenburgen, Candace Bergen, Diane Keaton, Alicia Silverstone, Richard Dreyfuss, and Don Johnson. The story is told from the female perspective of the four older women who read "50 Shades of Grey". It changes their lives, and I imagine, the lives of their partners. Even though this is a comedy, I hope it takes the high road and gives us adult (as opposed to cheap) laughs.

Speaking of books - Sean Connery gave an enlightening acceptance speech when he received the American Film Institute's Lifetime Award in 2006 (it is archived on YouTube). Connery, somewhat surprisingly, told the audience he received his first big break at the age of five, although it took him seventy years to realize it. He learned to read. Connery was forced to leave school at the age of thirteen, but his ability to read books, plays, and scripts allowed him to educate himself and achieve success. A wonderful reminder of the power of reading.


Here's the latest article from the Drama Movies site at BellaOnline.com.

Clinton and Nadine Film Review
This film qualifies as another of my guilty pleasures. A young Andy Garcia stars as a small-time smuggler out to avenge his brother's murder. Set in Florida in the 1980s, "Clinton and Nadine" has connections to "Miami Vice". Ellen Barkin and Morgan Freeman co-star.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art43986.asp

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