Search - Stardom

French Canadian director Denys Arcand pushes the boundaries of the mockumentary with Stardom, the tale of a fictional neophyte supermodel (Jessica Pare) told entirely through clips of her appearances on talk shows, television interviews, and documentaries. Originally titled 15 Moments, Stardom begins its portrait at a women's hockey game in the nether regions of Ontario, Canada. When the team's formidable teenage forward Tina (Pare) pulls her helmet off, letting her brunette tresses fly, a bystander snaps a photo, and Tina soon becomes the buzz at the country's hottest fashion houses. Her rise through the industry, however, is plagued by advances from older men with sundry motives: a smitten French photographer (Charles Berling), a smarmy entrepreneur (Dan Aykroyd), the Canadian Ambassador to the U.N. (Frank Langella), and a slick promoter (Thomas Gibson, the latter half of TV's Dharma and Greg). Stardom was the closing film at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, marking the first time in over 50 years that a Canadian production was chosen for such an honor; it would go on to open the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival before its theatrical premiere. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

Jessica Paré - Tina Menzhal
Dan Aykroyd - Barry Levine
Charles Berling - Philippe Gascon
Thomas Gibson - Renny Ohayon
Frank Langella - Blaine de Castillon

2000	Best Cinematography (nominee)	Genie Awards	Guy Dufaux
2000	Best Screenplay (nominee)	Genie Awards	Denys Arcand
2000	Best Screenplay (nominee)	Genie Awards	Jacob Potashnik
2000	Best Art Direction/Production Design (nominee)	Genie Awards	Jean Morin
2000	Best Art Direction/Production Design (nominee)	Genie Awards	Zoe Sakellaropoulo
2000	Best Costume Design (winner)	Genie Awards	Michel Robidas

Denys Arcand's Stardom comes to DVD with a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. English and French soundtracks are rendered in Dolby Digital Surround. There are no subtitles but the English soundtrack is closed-captioned. Supplemental materials include a theatrical trailer. This is a solid, but unspectacular release from Universal studios that will likely appeal to fans of the film's performers, but there is little here to interest the average DVD consumer. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

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