"Love is not Enough" What did you think?

[ilovewinona]

Apr 30, 2010 20:54:08 GMT -5 @destinysluck said:

Now if there is actually any new interviews and featurettes not previously released, as opposed to the already posted videos seen by many now on the internet, and being packaged with the already released DVD, then this is someth--

( there is a sound of car keys rangling, followed by a slamming of a house door )

----- With me it would be ----- the sound of me calling my local Hallmark store and being told they are holding a newly arrived copy of the DVD for me. Then the sound of me rushing out the door ----- When I get it I can tell you exactly what the extras contain, then you can decide if you want to buy the DVD if it has extras you haven't seen yet. ----- Rusty

[imayne]

STAN LEE TO MODEL HEROINE OF NEXT FRANCHISE, 'SCENESTEALER' ON WINONA RYDER

(AP) 87 year old comic book maestro Stan Lee, after watching Winona Ryder's performance in "When Love is Not Enough" on the Hallmark Channel, has decided to model the heroine of his new line of intellectual properties, "Scenestealer" on Winona Ryder.

Lee admits that he was taken back when he saw the Hallmark telefilm with his wife. "'Who is that actress?' I asked her. 'What do you mean actress?' she replied, 'That's Lois Wilson, founder of Alcoholics Anonymous.' "

At that moment, Lee realized that he was encountering a new kind of superpower that his mind had yet to conceive despite the length of his career. "Thank God I was more immune to it after all those years spent designing my characters." Lee remarked. "I took my notebook and wrote it down immediately, and in a flash, I realized what to name this new heroine of mine: Scene-Stealer.

Lee reveals that he was surprised to realize that the actress in question was one Winona Ryder. "I checked up on this Winona Ryder's background, and was surprised at the number of movies I saw her in back in the day, but she was always recognizable! But now she's gotten so good, I can no longer do it!"

After assembling the entire staff of Marvel Studios for an emergency meeting, Lee says he is now ready with a storyline for the movie trilogy and the first 13-issue miniseries of "Scenestealer". When asked who would be playing Scenestealer, Lee suggested Gwyneth Paltrow or Kirsten Dunst having met both on the sets of the 'Iron Man' and 'Spiderman' films. Lee however admits that he would need to import the most sophisticated special effects workstations to create the impression of advanced acting ability on the part of Scenestealer if any actress were to land the part. Lee has ruled out Winona Ryder because "this movie is not about Scenestealer, it's about a woman who BECOMES Scenestealer."

James Cameron is touted as a possible director due to his experience with enhancing actors' performances with CGI on "Avatar". "But," said Lee, shaking his head. "Recreating Winona Ryder's ability will be much tougher than anything he's ever done so far."

Word has it out that George Lucas had previously turned down the job after realizing that the effort to recreate Winona Ryder's acting by the Industrial Light and Magic Crew would bankrupt him, and Harvey Weinstein was furious that the choice seemed to be a direct attack on Paltrow, his erstwhile "Muse of Miramax"'s acting ability despite the Oscar she won after he threatened to sit on the face of every single member of the Academy that didn't vote for her on her own merit. Peter Jackson of the "Lord of the Rings" fame just let out a cry of "Winona! Santa Maria!", made the sign of the cross and converted to Catholicism.

[Charles]

WONDERFUL stuff, Imayne!!! Just amazingly creative and clever . . .

[ilovewinona]

My local Hallmark Gold Crown store came through like a champ yesterday. ----- I called to see if they got "When Love Is Not Enough" on DVD yet, not only was the movie in, the store also had a copy of "My Name is Bill W." from 1998 with James Woods as Bill Wilson. James Woods won an Emmy for his performance. ----- I'll watch it after I watch "When Love Is Not Enough" right now for the second time. . ----- The "Making of" featurette was great with Winona making some comments. But There were no interviews in the extras, only text messages. ----- Still seeing "When Love Is Not Enough" in a Widescreen version and with 5.1 Dolby Surround sound makes it worth buying the DVD from Hallmark. ----- Rusty

[imayne]

Interview clip for "When Love is Not Enough". Hope you guys have seen it. She still has that coy charm like no one else does.

winona-ryder.org/2010/04/when-love-is-not-enough-interview-clips/

[imayne]

One of her Canadian co-stars recalls her:


Entertainment DVD
Lois Wilson biopic an inspiration

By BRUCE KIRKLAND, QMI Agency


Canadian co-star Ellen Dubin (right) only has good things to say about Winona Ryder, who plays the titular heroine in When Love is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story, now available on DVD.

Addiction is both a human illness and a tragedy. But the story of one man’s alcohol addiction, and how he and his long-suffering wife laid down the foundations for Alcoholic Anonymous, has also become a singular inspiration.

That story is told in When Love is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story, co-starring Winona Ryder and Barry Pepper. Set from their humble beginnings in 1917 as a newly married couple, and running through to their hard-earned triumphs of the 1940s and 1950s, When Love is Not Enough is a meticulously crafted biopic about Lois and Bill Wilson.

It comes from Hallmark Hall of Fame. The story is set primarily in the U.S., but was filmed in Canada by veteran director John Kent Harrison. A clutch of excellent Canadian character actors populate the screen, including underused powerhouse Ellen Dubin. More on the Dubinator in a moment. Other talent is Canadian, too, including excellent composer Lawrence Shragge, who sweetens the deal without making his score mushy.

With Hallmark’s name attached, you automatically know it is family fare. Naturally, there is no Hollywood pandering, no gratuitous sex and violence. But there is violence: Of the emotional kind perpetrated by a drunk on the woman who loves him. How they resolve that decades-long struggle is the stuff of humanity. While story elements are fictionalized, there is much truth.

“This a very compelling movie about a relationship that is so powerful and intense, and yet so dysfunctional,” Dubin observes in an interview. “I got a lot of e-mails from people about how this film profoundly affected and inspired them (after its broadcast premiere April 25). It made this film so worthwhile for me. That is why we do what we do as actors — to affect and move people. I got some very beautiful, heartfelt letters from people who were in recovery programs and who thanked me for taking part in such an important project.”

The movie is now available on DVD, in a specialized, niche manner. It is for sale in all Hallmark stores across North America. This exclusivity will not only be repeated, but expanded in the future. Filmmakers and production companies are looking for ways to give their work a viable home entertainment life. With thousands of titles still debuting yearly — despite the recession — fare such as When Love is Not Enough needs to stand out in a crowded marketplace.

It helps that Hallmark has recognizable stars. Ryder, an American whose talent has never diminished, now is rebuilding her career. Pepper, a Canadian, is an exceptionally driven, skilled individual. Together, they make a convincing case to be believed, and to inspire compassion, as the Wilsons.

Dubin plays a Wall Street matron (and she should have more screen time opposite Ryder). She offers observations on the co-stars:

“Winona was a real team player. She worked very hard to make sure that the dialogue sounded fitting to the period, and created a gentle, calm atmosphere on the set. She really cared about the film and always made sure that we were all working together. The chemistry of the women is a true testament to her devotion. I loved working with her. I was so impressed with her work ethic because she had a huge load to carry. And she has the most beautiful skin I have ever seen. She glows from within!”

Dubin had no scenes with Pepper, but watched him in action. “He is an immensely talented man. I appreciated his commitment and the way he jumped into his role with dedication and absolute fierce passion.”

When Love is Not Enough should be seen, should be heard, and should be listened to.

[e-mail]

[Charles]

Great article, thanks Imayne . . .

[Deleted]

I too, liked that article. It was kind, informative. Thanks.

---

A wryter's thoughts...

I'm personally noticing, increasingly, that many celebrities and other such related things are surprisingly Canadian.
This is very fascinating.
Furthermore, is it me or does it seem that the collective universe of Hollywood is essentially Canadian? I'm not sure.

Canada: United States' possibly better, positively unassuming neighbor.

Now, even though I'm "love/hate sympathetic" to my own country, I could possibly see why someone would want to defect from the U.S. and high tail it to somewhere in Canada, if ever considered.
Perhaps one day I can take a trip to chilly Toronto or even the forested Vancouver filming area to see what all the rage is about.
Until then, I can dream I'm secretly Canadian and that everything that I've ever known about myself is a lie and that I was actually a baby orphan from Canada and that I was actually adopted and hushed by a broken American couple from Louisvile, Kentucky. Yeps.

(Post-editing truly does suck annoy me. Yep.)

[imayne]

Bigdaddy can tell you about all the wonderful tax breaks, credits, production incentives and facilities that have helped to make this possible. All a matter of money, kid.

Jun 13, 2010 18:05:24 GMT -5 @destinysluck said:

I too, liked that article. It was kind, informative. Thanks.

---
I'm personally noticing, increasingly, that many celebrities and other such related things are surprisingly Canadian.

[imayne]

Another online review of the film. The guy's a fundamentalist Christian dork who wrote a book with Pat Boone, but still...worth watching.

[imayne]

Okay, I definitely am the last person on this page to finally watch this film, but here are my thoughts.

About Winona's performance: wow, it was great. I know I have already seen the clips, but it took viewing the whole thing to see how outstanding Winona has become as an actress. Absolutely one of the few actresses I can deem to fully disappear into a role on cue. Both her and Pepper were so effective in portraying typical New England gentry of the time that you felt you were watching people as they probably lived. Bill and Lois seemed to embody all that was good and not that good about Old School New England Republicans of the time: affluent without being removed, but also loving, patriotic, dutiful, brash, gender-progressive and entrepreneurial. Also provincial, spiritually immature and more than a little dismissive of society's outcasts. There's little sense of it being a TV show or reenactment at all. That's a very tough effect to get especially with TV-level production values. Or maybe that was the advantage. You didn't get the sense of it being a "show".

What surprised me was how the sugary effect of many early scenes got turned on their head to show the destructiveness of such personal cataclysm even as it slowly built up the coming storm. For nearly twenty minutes there were a few tragedies here and there but the film corresponded with what seemed like a syrupy outflow of tweeness. The remarkably low-key way it addressed Bill's combat experiences as treacly dialogue about love conquering all floating around in the mailed correspondences between the couple. Lois and Bill riding around on the bike and chasing each other in the foliage. Everything had that whole too-good-to-be-true air about it that only hit home when the gravity of what they were about to face came up, bit by bit.

More important was the way that the film built up and showed the larger social forces that were at work: the sense of heady euphoria by people who thought they were all living a dream until the floorboards gave way and it was nothing but a drop down a yawning abyss, of which alcoholism was but one manifestation. There's that disconnect between the Wilsons' remarkable successes in their outward, professional life vis a vis Lois's continued failures to wean Bill of the bottle that to me formed a really interesting tension. More in the way it all collided when the dream around them collapsed.

AA wasn't just about stopping folks from getting drunk, but a microcosmic response to such adversity as America was undergoing at the time. It was about people realizing that it was okay not to stew in guilt but come clean about your weaknesses, what made you feel bad when shit hit the fan, and it had nothing to do with your moral or personal failings. In a way the movie can be said to be ahead of its time, with a LOT of its emotional concerns now surfacing in various films and TV shows ranging from more serious work to even cartoons and superhero-themed material. It probably is a more watchable film now than it was in 2010.

Winona's projects always have such great potential to surprise.

[imayne]

One more thing that I rather liked that I don't think anyone really brought up yet is that the script (or Winona) didn't really go out of its way to make her character too likeable. That early line where she gives a rather shrug-her-shoulders dismissive response about society's outcasts (she says that there's nothing to done about drunks and psychopaths) and a blink-and-miss scene where she is repulsed by two drunks knocking on the door of a speakeasy really made it clear how hard it must have been for her to be impartial towards her own husband.

Given that it's no wonder I felt Lois' "swear on the Bible" type hectoring of her husband and her various withdrawals from his life were rather counter-productive. They made the decision to quit drinking or not a matter of moral failure which only adds to guilt, which adds to further self-loathing and harder drinking. I REALLY DIDN'T LIKE her character that much for that reason. It's telling that it wasn't until Bill decided to "hand everything to God" and stop seeing God as his judge/probation officer but as his helper, that he could actually get to recovering. Which in a way made that film a bit of a rebuttal of the puritan approach to spirituality. I also like it that the film isn't openly moralistic about these points and it left audiences to figure out these aspects for themselves.

On top of that I got a little sadistic laugh out of her line that the 1929 crash was but temporary and the market "would come back", because it "always came back".