Although it is a tale that's been told on the big screen a couple of times before, actor/filmmaker Jodie Foster says that moviegoers shouldn't hesitate to see the new version of "Anna and the King." For starters, the story is told this time from a much different perspective.
"It's completely different than the other two films -- 'Anna and the King of Siam' with Rex Harrison and Irene Dunne, and (the musical) 'The King and I' with Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr," says Foster of the story of the relationship between an English schoolteacher and the King of Siam (played in this film by Chow Yun-Fat).
"We love Yul Brynner -- what a great performance -- but it has nothing to do with who King Mongkut was. King Mongkut was a great leader, a stern man and an incredible educator -- and we wanted to make a movie from the Asian experience about Asia, so that it wasn't from the perspective of British colonizers.
"This film has all majesty and the miraculous tone and quality of Thailand and Siam at that time, which is something the other films never captured," Foster says.
While Foster's turn as Anna in "Anna and the King" is her first role since 1997's "Contact," she's had good reasons for being absent from the big screen.
Foster became a mother to a baby boy in the interim. And like her her latest film, the story of her life is now being looked at from a different perspective.
"Things have changed a lot because my focus is so heavily on him," says Foster. "As a result I don't want to work unless I feel really compassionate about a story I want to tell. That means I'll work a lot less."
That doesn't mean, however, that she'll be totally absent from the business. "I produce movies and direct them as well," she says, "So there are a lot of different facets to my career."
The roles Foster may choose in the future remain a mystery. But one case she shed a little more light on, is whether she'll reprise the role of FBI agent Clarice Starling in a "Silence of the Lambs" sequel with Anthony Hopkins. She sounds hopeful.
"We've waited to reprise our roles for 10 years, and both Tony (Anthony Hopkins) and myself just want to wait for a script and say 'yes' or 'no' based on that. But so far there hasn't been a script," she explains.
Until that time comes, she says, don't believe any rumors. There have already been rumors that both she and Hopkins have said 'no' to another "Silence," but oddly enough, those rumors don't bother her.
"None of it is true, but it is flattering because it means that people really want to see another 'Silence of the Lambs' and that they were really taken by the first one."
Perhaps this sounds like a cliché, but it seems like Robin Williams' role as robot with a heart in "Bicentennial Man" was made, or in this case invented, for him.
Truthfully, could you think of anybody that could play the part any better? Simply put, he's the closest actor Hollywood has to being animated.
Despite the "Man's" high-tech look, Williams is, indeed, inside the robotic costume. It makes, for the lack of a better word, the character seem more human. It also afforded Williams the chance to literally get into character.
"When I got into it, I had a different life -- it's unique," recalls Williams. "They could made it CG (computer generated) but it would have been more expensive and it would have had a different effect. We found that by having me in there, it really helped."
On top of the robot costume, Williams may soon shed himself of all his screen characteristics for a stint in live stand-up. Despite the pressures involved, he hopes the exhilaration of live stage-work will recharge the performance level of his acting batteries.
"It peels away all the pretense. The celebrity thing lasts for about five minutes and if you don't have anything else to say, people will say 'Okay, let's go.' So, you have to put it out there. It's a very different medium. It's very free, but very frightening. It's my form of bungee jumping," says Williams.
Like many other Web sites that I've pointed you to of late, "Anna and the King" has an attractive design and nice interactive features. But what sets this site apart from the others is something auction site users will be drooling over: a section by Fox Studios that allows you to bid on actual props used in the film (and let them re-coup some of their production costs!).
Early items that came and went included brass candelabras and flower bowls. But if you missed the first round, there's plenty more interesting items ahead, including Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat costumes, and a 40-foot long wooden "Royal Drum Boat" built specifically for the film. Come sail -- or surf -- away!
--Additional reporting by Bill Carlson
Note: Tim's column appears every Thursday in our Entertainment section. Have suggestions for topics? Questions you'd like to ask movie makers? E-mail away!
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