What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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October 16 - 22, 2022 WHATS UP! T11 (1996) certainly has a lot in com- mon with the Bourne franchise, which was first a 1980 book by Robert Ludlum, then a TV mini- series before becoming a big- screen hit starring Matt Damon ("The Martian," 2015) in 2002. In fact, the comparisons continue as both assassins ultimately have to choose between their old life and the new one they built after their trauma. Given the undeniable similari- ties and considering the time- lines, one would assume that "Kiss" writer Shane Black ("Predator," 1987) at least bor- rowed from Ludlum's story. The film's credits, however, would have curious viewers believe otherwise. To be fair, there are a lot of dif- ferences as well. For starters, the assassin in "Kiss" is a woman, played by the great Geena Davis ("Thelma & Louise," 1991), who lives a totally separate life for years before her memory starts to return. Not to mention that the description above only com- prises half the plot. The other half of "Kiss" is a detective movie, thanks to the low-rent private detective (Sam- uel L. Jackson, fresh off his in- credible turn in 1994's "Pulp Fic- tion") who helps her solve the puzzle from her past. This element of the film owes a debt to another book-film combo, but this time the director pays up: the film's title, if noth- ing else, seems to pay homage to the classic Raymond Chandler novel "The Long Goodbye," published in 1953. The 1973 film adaptation of the novel is seen playing on a TV in the back- ground at one point during "The Long Kiss Goodnight." In another way, "Kiss" actually did pay a debt to "The Bourne Identity" in the form of Brian Cox. Cox (best known lately as the star of HBO's "Succession") played a CIA suit with a mysteri- ous role in the amnesiac assas- sin's past in "Kiss" and then did so again in 2002's "The Bourne Identity." Q: I just saw the action movie "Copshop," and the person who played the hero was excellent. What else can I see her in? A: If you're hoping to get the amount of face time with Alexis Louder as you did with "Cop- shop" (2021), you're out of luck. That said, she has had a busy few years of increasingly meaty sup- porting roles. "Copshop," in which she plays one good cop taking a stand against villains laying siege to her precinct, was by far Lounder's most significant role. It may not be her highest-pro- file role, however — that title goes to her five-episode run as The Mother in HBO's presti- gious 2019 miniseries "Watch- men." Earlier this year, she had an- other multi-episode arc on the Amazon action series "The Ter- minal List." Things coming down the pipe for her later this year include a role in the AppleTV+ series "The Changeling" and a spot in "Violent Night," a big-screen ac- tion comedy with Santa Claus as the hero (yes, you read that right). You can presumably ex- pect the latter to be released around the Christmas season. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Per- sonal replies will not be provided. Advance Pest Control 2 x 2 TAKE 5 Solution on page T23 Use the clues above and beside the grid to fill in the squares BY ADAM THOMLISON TV Media Q: I love "Mr Bean." What was Rowan Atkinson's first movie? A: Mr. Bean, the character Rowan Atkinson is most famous for by far, once tried to feed his friends sugar and vinegar be- cause he forgot to buy cham- pagne. He also once tried to paint his apartment by placing a paint can in the middle of the room and dropping in a stick of dynamite. But none of that as- sorted strangeness prepared me for this even weirder fact: Row- an Atkinson's first big-screen role was in a Bond movie. He was already a budding TV star in the U.K. at that point, thanks to his late-1970s sketch series, "Not the Nine O'Clock News," but had yet to break into cinema. In 1983, he was cast in the Bond franchise's "Never Say Never Again," which brought Sean Connery back to the suave spy role after a prolonged ab- sence. Because of a legal loop- hole regarding the rights, "Never Say Never Again" was made by a different production company at the same time Roger Moore ("Octopussy," 1983) was making the official Bond films. As a re- sult, "Never" has a noticeably different — lighter — tone, and is generally not considered part of the big-screen Bond continu- ity. Casting Atkinson in this off- beat Bond film makes sense be- cause his character is a bit of a bumbler, a parody of other silly — and certainly less sexy — in- effectual British government of- ficials. Nonetheless, seeing him acting next to action legend Connery is a surprise. Being privy to this knowledge also adds a bit of a new spin on "Johnny English" (2003) and its sequels, which featured Atkin- son in the role of the dapper and heroic titular secret agent. All three films were big successes — maybe because Atkinson trained for the role next to the very best. Q: Was "The Long Kiss Goodnight" based on "The Bourne Identity"? A: The story of a super-capa- ble, CIA-trained assassin with amnesia, whose memory gradu- ally returns while being hunted by the very agency that trained her, "The Long Kiss Goodnight" Rowan Atkinson in "Mr. Bean" HOLLYWOOD Q&A www.advancepestcontrolnwa.com Family Owned, Competitively Priced, Quality Service Since 1981 Rogers 479-636-5590 Springdale 479-756-1788 Eureka Springs 479-253-8967 PEST CONTROL TERMITE FERTILIZATION WEED CONTROL PRE-EMERGENTS