Radcliffe stretches in Beat murder tale
Daniel Radcliffe has really left Harry Potter behind with a startling and explicit Sundance Film Festival role as poet Allen Ginsberg.
“Kill Your Darlings,” the “Harry Potter” star’s first film at the independent-cinema showcase, premiered Friday at Sundance and puts Radcliffe into daring territory.
In a session with the audience after the premiere, Radcliffe was asked if he chose the role because it fit the “weird stuff” he likes.
“Films like this don’t get made unless everyone involved loves them,” Radcliffe said.
The film recounts a little-known story of murder involving Ginsberg’s circle of friends, including fellow future Beat heroes Jack Kerouac ( Jack Huston) and William S. Burroughs ( Ben Foster).
Director John Krokidas said Radcliffe became his muse on the film and that it was clear within minutes of their first meeting that the part was his.
Krokidas said young Ginsberg starts as a dutiful son who spends his time taking care of others but eventually spills over with repressed passion.
“By the end of the movie, he is a poet and a rebel,” Krokidas said. “I had a feeling Dan might be able to relate to this.”
Bolshoi director attacked with acid
The artistic director of the Bolshoi Theater’s ballet troupe was attacked with acid in Moscow and his eyesight is threatened, the theater said Friday.
Sergei Filin, a 42-year-old former ballet star, was approached Thursday night by an unknown man who splashed acid on his face as he got out of his car outside his home in central Moscow, Russian television reported.
Filin was appointed artistic director of the Bolshoi’s ballet company in March 2011. He danced for the Bolshoi on and off from 1988 to 2004, when he sustained a severe injury onstage.
“He was a man of principle and never compromised,” said the theater’s director general, Anatoly Iksanov. “If he believed that this or that dancer was not ready or was unable to perform this or that part, he would turn them down.”
Several stars at the Bolshoi including Nikolai Tsiskaridze, one of its most celebrated dancers, have complained about what they call Filin’s unfair treatment of dancers at the Bolshoi.
The birthday bunch
Actress Jean Stapleton is 90. Actor Fritz Weaver is 87. Actress Tippi Hedren is 83. Actress Shelley Fabares is 69. Country singer Dolly Parton is 67. TV chef Paula Deen is 66. Actor Desi Arnaz Jr. is 60. Comedian Paul Rodriguez is 58. Actor Shawn Wayans is 42. Actress Marsha Thomason is 37. Actor Logan Lerman is 21.