Word: chicago
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DIED. AL LOPEZ, 97, Hall of Fame catcher turned manager, known as El Seņor for his genial, gentlemanly style; in Tampa, Fla. Few pennant victories have been sweeter than his American League wins in 1954, with the Cleveland Indians, and 1959, when he led the Chicago White Sox to their first World Series since 1919. The player whose teams so often finished second to the New York Yankees became the only manager whose teams finished ahead of them during the years...
...director Rob Marshall, whose first big film was the 2002 musical Chicago, has made this fairy tale into an emotionally sumptuous love story. This intimate epic spans almost two decades, but its script, by Robin Swicord and Doug Wright, never hurries past the telling biographical detail of its four main characters. Nor does the movie's visual splendor ever obscure the furtive, assertive heart beating under the kimono. It's still early in the season of Oscar contenders, but Geisha has a shot to join Chicago as a Best Picture champ...
...later, he bowed out while staying on as a producer. Lucy Fisher, a producer, jokes that her next choice was David Lean, "but he wasn't available," having died in 1991. Other directors expressed interest, but none stuck. Then, in 2002, Fisher and her producing partner Douglas Wick saw Chicago and figured they had their man. "Geishas are trained much like dancers, and as a choreographer and a former dancer who understands disciplined training, Rob had a natural affinity for their life," says Wick. He and Fisher pursued the director as one would a geisha--sending him bottles of sake...
Shooting mostly in California, with a few locations in Japan (including a Kyoto temple whose head monk granted access because he was a fan of Chicago), Marshall got beautiful performances from his cast. Suzuka Ohgo, as the young Chiyo, brings an elfin gravity to the first 40 minutes of the film. Zhang, 26, blossoms persuasively from a girl of 15 to a woman in her early 30s, and Watanabe lends his warmth and regal machismo to the Chairman. But it's Gong Li, in a Bette Davis bitch-goddess role, who strides away with the picture. Her stiletto stare...
...successful as Gregg and Drew Shipp by accident. Shake hands with the 36-year-old fraternal twins who co-own the sprawling Hi Fi Personal Fitness club in Chicago, and it's clear you're in the presence of people who thrive on their drive. But that wasn't always the case. The twins' father founded the Jovan perfume company, a glamorous business that spun off the kinds of glamorous profits that made it possible for the Shipps to amble through high school, coast into college and never much worry about getting the rent paid or keeping the fridge filled...