jerry mcguire

Regina King at home for 'Christmas'

November 18, 2007
BY CINDY PEARLMAN
Regina King says that filming "This Christmas" was hazardous to her waistline. "The film is about this big loving family at Christmas and the dining table was always crammed with food," King moans. "Let's just say that I'm the type who loves to pig out on mac and cheese."

King, who played Cuba Gooding Jr.'s wife in "Jerry Maguire" and stars on the television series "24," is eager to talk about "This Christmas," a multi-generational African-American holiday tale about a family led by Loretta Devine, who must deal with her grown children and issues including fidelity, abandonment, secret marriages, pregnancies, affairs and other matters of the heart.

1"This Christmas" has such a great ensemble cast including Delroy Lindo, Mekhi Phifer and Chris Brown. Is that what drew you to the film?

I just loved the fact that Loretta Devine and Delroy Lindo were attached to the film. In fact, I thought that the actors just took this Christmas story to the next level. It's like anything. You read a script and like the story. But then on the set, I was thinking, "My God, that's what an actor can do to a piece?" You get a feeling with this film that you just want to move into this place and celebrate Christmas with a family that does "Soul Train" dances in the living room.

2Newcomer Chris Brown who has a hit CD out right now plays your little brother. Did you ever think, "Darn, why couldn't he be my love interest?"

[Laughing] Yes! Isn't he a cutie? He's like Michael Jackson years ago with his singing.

3You have a heartbreaking scene in the film where you put on this hot bra and panties set and attempt to seduce your husband. But he pretends to be asleep because he ...

Because he is a jerk! Yeah, it's a hard scene because this woman I'm playing is trying so hard to make something out of a marriage that is not working. She does everything for this cheating husband including cutting his meat at the dinner table! Believe me that meat cutting scene was hard to do because you just want to gasp. Why does a grown man need his meat cut up? Then he ignores his wife who spends all this time becoming beautiful for him. There are so many women out there who go through that type of relationship and lose their confidence in life. They think, "My husband doesn't want me, so no one will want me."

4You're walking around in the bra and panties which was either a) liberating or b) mortifying. Which one was it for you?

It was actually fine with me because I've worked out three times a week for the last three years. I thought of that scene like a bikini scene. I'm an actress and this is just what I do for a living. I thought that I was doing this for all the women who would get something out of this scene of a woman trying so hard.

5You've always played tough women in movies like "Jerry Maguire" and on TV as Sandra Palmer on "24." Was it hard to play someone who is very much the doormat of her husband?

I actually chose to do "This Christmas" because it would be a new way for people to see me. I wanted them to see me do something else convincingly. It's great to play a strong woman, but in real life there are moments when you don't feel like you can handle it. There are times when life spins out of control and that's what this represented to me. As an actress, I want to do it all.

Big Picture News, Inc.Tom Cruise's latest flick, Valkyrie, is set in Nazi Germany, and it's not a comedy, so why does its new trailer (embedded below, or streaming in a higher-quality clip at Yahoo) leave me snickering? Is it the eye patch? Or the way the lightning crashes as Cruise declares "We have to kill Hitler" in his Serious Thespian Voice? Maybe it's that awful line, "When the S.S. catch you, they will pull you apart like warm bread." (Mission: Carbs!) Or maybe I can no longer separate the tabloid staple from the actor. Whatever the case may be, I'm kind of wondering ― especially in the face of Lions for Lambs bombing this weekend ― how many other folks share my inability to take Tom Cruise seriously anymore? Eventually, one of those roles would click and, to a person, everyone I encountered would profess their love for Ms. King. She's built a career off of that goodwill and she's taken on one of her most challenging roles in This Christmas. Typically known for playing strong, confident women, King takes the challenge of playing a wife who actually cuts her cheating husband's meat. Like everything she's done, King nails it. At first glance, you might never know her name, but you'll always love Regina King.

The Deadbolt: Not just the characters, but the people who play them in This Christmas - Delroy [Lindo], Loretta [Devine] - are so likable that it brings a question to mind - what's more important to you, a script and its character or the collaborators you're going to be working with?

Regina King: With this project, it was the cast. It definitely drew me more than the script. This movie is a testament to how when you have a cast like that you can turn something not-so-great into something incredible. Like the movie The Big Chill. If you read the original script and then you look at the movie, it's because you had Kevin Kline, Glenn Close, Bill Hurt - how do you beat that? We have the same thing in This Christmas.

DB: But, in general?

King: Well, for example, Jerry Maguire, it was the script that drew me to that project. Originally, when I auditioned the first time, Tom Cruise was not attached. They hadn't found Jerry Maguire. Cuba Gooding was the first person locked in on that movie. They had done table readings with Robin Williams as Jerry Maguire. It was the script on that one. So, it differs.

DB: So, This Christmas changed a lot from script level to the screen?

King: I would just say that the way this movie just jumps off the screen, it didn't jump off the pages like that. There was a lot of ad-libbing and natural things that actors like Loretta and Delroy, with their experience, do. They've done so much that they know when something needs more air or we need to take a little air out of it. When you have veterans like that, it just makes it more colorful. People just sprinkle their own thing. And then you have the newcomers who are just so fresh and refreshing. The combination of the two is great.

DB: How did you guys build the family warmth? Did you do a lot of off-camera work or did it just come naturally?

King: It came naturally because it was these eight people. I couldn't see anybody else in these roles. We did not have time to rehearse. We had a few little workshopping on the script to bring it to what you see now. Everybody liked each other. Normally, somebody doesn't like each other when you have that many people working together all the time. We have like four huge scenes. Usually, a scene might have four or five people, but we had scenes that took all day because there were so many people. I think that there's no way for people to get a result like this when people don't like each other. You see it in the movie when that happens.

DB: You usually play really strong women and this character is more vulnerable. A: is that something that drew you to the part, and B: was it particularly challenging because it's not something that you usually do?

King: Yes, A, and yes, B. Like you noticed, I usually play stronger women and when you're audience is used to that, you know that you really have to be honest when you're playing something that's far from what your audience is used to seeing. It was difficult to execute, especially the scene when I was cutting his meat. That was really hard for me. Every time we did that take, I said in my mind "This is what we do all the time and there's nothing degrading about this. I love my husband and this is what I do." When I read the script, I was like "Hell no, who does that?" But [Director] Preston [Whitmore] said his sister did. If you say a person really did that, then I'm going to believe it and I'll believe it when I'm playing it.

DB: Family is such a part of the film. Can you speak a little about your family and how they've supported you?

King: The majority of the support in my life comes from my family and my friends. I really have a tight circle of friends that I consider family - a lot of women. Obviously, an actress that plays strong women all the time, clearly there are a lot of strong women around me. My mother is such a spiritual woman and she always comes up with these great 'zen sarcasms,' small little jewels that she's always planted in my or my sister's head. Being younger, I thought it went in one ear and out the other. But I still remember things like "Everything you do, do it with grace. And if you didn't go into it with grace, come out of it with grace." Little things like that. Jerry Maguire (aka Tom Cruise) in Hitler Murder Attempt | James Bond's Next Villain Revealed | Julian Schnabel: Curtain for Diners | Leona Lewis Gets Ready for the Diva Train | How Oprah Can Lose Weight; Betting On Fink | Le Cirque Goes to the Dogs

Jerry Maguire (aka Tom Cruise) in Hitler Murder Attempt

Jerry Maguire tried to kill Adolf Hitler? Or was it Joel from "Risky Business"?

The first trailer is out from the Tom Cruise movie "Valkyrie" and it's a doozy. This misguided attempt by Cruise to win fans for Scientology in Germany by playing a local hero has got to be the single worst idea in modern movie history.

As I've said before, the tag line should be: "You had me at Achtung."

Click here to watch

Even though this is not "Springtime for Hitler," the trailer is so awful and so indicative of what's to come, you can only imagine Mel Brooks popping up in it.

Cruise wears an eye patch and a Nazi uniform, but speaks with the same flat, unaffected American accent that places him somewhere between Redondo Beach and Johnny Rockets. It's absolutely hysterical to hear and see a boyish Nazi with blazing white perfect teeth and that voice announce, "We must kill Hitler."

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The accent is only part of the problem, but it's a big part. Cruise apparently didn't even try for a German sound to play Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg. It's as if Meryl Streep wandered into "Sophie's Choice" sounding like a Valley Girl.

If this was the way he thought he'd get to the hearts and minds of Germans, maybe he should get some new marketing advice. When the fans in that country see this, even Brunhilde won't be able to help him!

James Bond's Next Villain Revealed

Daniel Craig had better look out. I'm told that Mathieu Amalric, the probable Oscar nominee from Miramax's "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," is James Bond's next villain. That was the word Thursday at a lunch for "Diving Bell" director Julian Schnabel and Amalric.

Even though sources insist it's true, Amalric would neither confirm nor deny. Since his "Diving Bell" character communicates through blinking, we thought of asking him to do just that ― one for yes, two for no ― but thought better of it. Anyway, expect a formal announcement shortly. This is a done deal.

For the untitled Bond movie's director Marc Forster, Amalric is a brilliant choice. He's a youthful looking 42-year-old overnight sensation, an independent French film director who only started seriously acting in films at age 30 and has suddenly been thrust into a hot career.

So what does he want to do? "I want to direct my next film," he told me over lunch at Brasserie Ruhlmann in Rockefeller Center in New York City.

Of course, it was hard to finish a conversation with Mathieu (pronounced Matthew) because women, one after another, wanted to come over and "just say hello." Then, you know, they don't leave.

"It's like a dream," Almaric said to me between visitations.

So who is this guy? Mathieu Amalric's got a very French father who lives in Corsica with his second wife, and a Polish-Jewish-French mother in Paris.

He looks a little bit like a young Roman Polanski, which makes sense because the mother comes from the same village as "The Pianist" director.

And even more ties: Polanski's beautiful wife, Emanuelle Seigner, plays Amalric's ex in "Diving Bell." (The film also features the sensational Marie-Josee Croze.)

He got the part of French Elle magazine editor Jean-Dominique Bauby thanks to producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, who produced Steven Spielberg's "Munich." If you remember, Amalric was the breakout actor from that movie. He played the rich, young French arms dealer who worked with his father (Michael Lonsdale) from their chateau. When Schnabel was looking for an actor to play the part of Bauby, who was rendered paralyzed from a stroke but still managed to write a book, Kennedy and Marshall suggested Amalric.

Let me say this: if Mathieu Amalric isn't nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor, then something is really wrong. His performance is nothing less that stunning, a miracle. He belongs in a group with John Cusack ("Grace Is Gone"), Johnny Depp ("Sweeney Todd"), Philip Seymour Hoffman ("The Savages") and Daniel Day-Lewis ("There Will Be Blood"). As Bauby he manages to take what could have been maudlin and makes it full of life.

Don't worry that he's French. This is no Roberto Benigni. Even though "Diving Bell" is told mostly in French, the actor's English is just fine. He lived in Washington, D.C., from ages 5-8 because his father was a journalist on assignment. Mathieu is already in demand from the TV talk shows for interviews. And all this is a little strange for him.

"The Oscars are a big deal?" he asked at lunch. "It will help the film?"

He is not kidding.

"Diving Bell and the Butterfly" is not a depressing movie, by the way. It's life affirming, and gorgeously crafted by director and famed artist Julian Schnabel.

Ronald Harwood, who won the Oscar for "The Pianist" and also wrote "Being Julia" and "The Dresser," did the screenplay. They all deserve nominations. And if they don't get them, well, then, when Amalric is schooled in James Bond he can threaten to blow up the Academy!

PS: There's talk that Leona Lewis will sing the Bond theme song. See below…

Julian Schnabel: Curtain for Diners

Even the lunch itself Thursday must have seemed like a dream to Mathieu Amalric. With famed actors like Ben Gazzarra and Tony Musante in the room, Hart Bochner visiting from Hollywood, and the estimable Bob Balaban at his table, Amalric was in real Academy company.

But the best moment of the lunch was when Julian Schnabel ― ferocious looking like the Cowardly Lion after getting courage from the Wizard ― stood to make a welcoming speech to the 100 or so guests partitioned from the Ruhlmann dining room.

The noise level from the other side was so decibel-shaking that Schnabel, fearless, opened the diving drape and bellowed, "Hello, everyone. Can we have some quiet in here?" The stunned diners literally came to a screeching halt. You literally could have heard a pin drop.

After a beat, one man yelled out, "WIll you pay for our lunch?" Clear that Schnabel would not go that far, the cacophony resumed, and Schnabel finished his speech over the din.

Leona Lewis Gets Ready for the Diva Train

Maybe you remember: last winter, Clive Davis, Peter Edge et al from J Records assembled all the best songwriters and had them listen to Leona Lewis, the hot singer who won Britain's X Factor show last year.

They then submitted material, and Davis ― working with Simon Cowell ― oversaw Lewis' CD.

Now that CD has been released in the U.K., and it's a freakin' smash hit. By the end of the weekend, "Spirit" will have sold over 400,000 CDs in Britain. It's a small country, so that means nearly everyone has a copy! And that is a record for a release from a new artist.

The single from "Spirit," called "Bleeding Love," has already sold 500,000 copies in England. (I guess some Scots bought it, too.) Industry observers are already saying the Lewis ― a stunning-looking young woman with a very sexy video ― will be bigger than Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston.

It doesn't hurt that she can sing for real. No kidding ― she's a powerhouse.

So if you're wondering: "Spirit" will be released in America next March by Davis, who has already signed Leona to a five-album contract. We may get to see her "live" at Davis' famous pre-Grammy dinner in February. For now, you can see her video for "Bleeding Love" at http://www.leonalewismusic.co.uk.

How does Clive do this? It remains a mystery to us in the outside world (although I suspect Peter Edge has an idea).

Anyway, Alicia Keys' "As I Am" will debut at No. 1 on Monday with around 600,000 copies sold. That's more than twice as much as Britney whatshername did in her first week. And more than twice as much as Celine Dion's "Taking Chances," also released last Tuesday.

Speaking of Celine, it's not we don't like her. We do! Download a song called "Just Fade Away" from that new album. It's the best thing on it.

By the way, Clive and crew are not letting the pre-holiday season lull them to sleep. They're planning a big launch on Dec. 4 for "American Idol" Blake Lewis (no relation to Leona)

For contrast, over at Warner Music Group, there are no new releases scheduled for the rest of the year. Edgar Bronfman Jr. and Lyor Cohen don't believe in 'em. Their Christmas present to financier Thomas Lee may be a below $7 stock price. Ho ho ho.

How Oprah Can Lose Weight; Betting On Fink

Wolfgang Puck's favorite cookbook collaborator, Martha Rose Shulman, has just published her latest food tome, called "Mediterranean Harvest" (Rodale Press).

Martha, always in demand by chefs for help on their books, has authored about 20 of her own including the famous "Vegetarian Feast" and "Provencal Light." If Oprah wants to lose weight again, this is whom she should call, that's all I'm sayin'. Check her out her delicious recipes on Amazon.com or at www.martha-rose-shulman.com. ...

There are no new shows for Letterman, Leno or Conan, but there is the weekly "Heads Up Handicapping" every Saturday at 10:30 a.m. on Channel 71 in Manhattan.

Last Saturday, for those of you who missed it, I appeared on this lively broadcast about horse racing which is hosted by my old pal, Mitchell Fink. This free-wheeling, entertaining program features a couple of guests who pick horses in five of the nine races at Aqueduct.

When the horse racing season is over, the smartest bettor gets his "winnings" donated to a favorite charity. I chose the Grammy Foundation and MusiCares, and so far, I am told, I'm in the lead by a nose. We'll have to watch Saturday and see if the next contestants do better…

Le Cirque Goes to the Dogs

You may recall an item published here at the end of August, which I filed from Botswana in southern Africa. It concerned a litter of rare wild dogs on the Kwando River. Microsoft's Paul Allen failed to photograph them even after hiring six helicopters and attaching a $2 million camera to one of them. This reporter, however, got the pics.

Last week at Le Cirque, there was an update on the litter, thanks to conservationists Dr. J. Weldon "Tico" McNutt and Lesley Boggs. (I know, Dr. McNutt makes him sound like Professor Irwin Corey. But he's a young tall guy with blond hair, right out of Central Casting.)

The couple and their kids live in Botswana, but flew into New York for a reception honoring them thrown by Wild Entrust International.

Some of the guests among the conservation-minded included Chris Johns, editor in chief of National Geographic; Court TV correspondent Ashleigh Banfield; socialite Ann Rapp; downtown dynamo and founder of Wall Street Rising Julie Menin (who's also a mover and shaker on Community Board #1 in Tribeca); marketing whiz Neal Sroka; as well as prominent wildlife photographer George Steinmetz and Rick Smolen, creator of the "Day in the Life" series.

And what news is there of our cute puppies? They're still alive, reports Dr. McNutt, although another litter born around the same time, he was sad to say, has been eaten by lions.
Jerry Maguire
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Jerry Maguire


This image is a candidate for speedy deletion. It will be deleted after Saturday, 10 November 2007.
Directed by Cameron Crowe
Produced by James L. Brooks
Cameron Crowe
Laurence Mark
Richard Sakai
Written by Cameron Crowe
Starring Tom Cruise
Renée Zellweger
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Bonnie Hunt
Regina King
Kelly Preston
Jonathan Lipnicki
Jay Mohr
Jerry O'Connell
Editing by Joe Hutshing
Distributed by TriStar Pictures
Release date(s) December 13, 1996
Running time 139 min.
Language English
Budget $50,000,000
IMDb profile
Jerry Maguire is a 1996 American comedy-drama film starring Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Renée Zellweger. It was written and directed by Cameron Crowe.

Contents [hide]
1 Plot
2 Reception
3 Cast
4 Themes
5 Trivia
6 Soundtrack
7 References
8 External links



[edit] Plot
Jerry Maguire (Cruise) works for Sports Management International, a company that manages the careers of present and future professional athletes. Much of his job involves "spinning" negative publicity surrounding his clients, encouraging them to continue playing even at the expense of their health and families, and even turning autograph sessions into money-making enterprises.

One day in his hotel room, Jerry suffers a nervous breakdown as the result of his pent-up stress from confronting his conscience. He decides on a whim to write a "mission statement" about what he dreams his company should be. Though mission statements are generally brief in nature, his reaches 25 pages in length. He takes the finished product, called "The Things We Think and Do Not Say: The Future of Our Business" to a copy store and runs off enough bound copies for his co-workers, ordering his secretary to send them out.

However, after a cooling-off period the following day, he calls the office to see if the mission statement went out, which it has. He goes into the office and is greeted with wild applause from his co-workers, all of whom have a copy of his words in their possession.

Later in the week, Jerry is invited to lunch with Bob Sugar (Jay Mohr) one of his less scrupulous co-workers who has been given the order to fire him while at the restaurant. Jerry is upset, but Sugar tells him he brought it on himself. Jerry abruptly ends their lunch meeting and returns to clean out his desk and convince his clients to come to his new company. Sugar, knowing what his former mentor is up to, immediately gets on the phone to keep Jerry's clients with SMI, degrading his reputation along the way.


Cruise as Jerry Maguire
This image is a candidate for speedy deletion. It will be deleted after Saturday, 10 November 2007.Jerry gets through to Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), one of his clients who is disgruntled by his contract that he believes to be far inferior than that of his teammates. Meanwhile, Maguire's phone is jammed with clients on hold. Rod tests Jerry's resolve by keeping him on the line and having him "dance", as proof that he will work harder to get Rod the contract he deserves, uttering the phrase "Show me the money!", which eventually became part of '90s pop culture. After the conversation, the clients on hold are no longer there.

In a dramatic scene, Jerry leaves SMI, asking "Who's coming with me?" after announcing he's forming his own company. Only one shows enough faith, and that's Dorothy Boyd (Zellweger), whom Jerry met on a junket before his breakdown. Jerry's fiancée Avery (Kelly Preston), another sports agent, tells him not to lose faith, that between Tidwell and Frank "Cush" Cushman, a college football star considered one of the top prospects, he should have enough business to get him started.

Cushman's father Matt (Beau Bridges) tells Jerry that he doesn't do contracts, but that Jerry has his word, which is "stronger than oak". Jerry goes to the NFL draft, where he meets Tidwell and introduces them to prospective endorsement sponsors, and all goes well. Rod, however, feels abandoned when Jerry, feeling nervous, leaves him momentarily to get Cush on paper to keep Sugar from stealing him away. Unfortunately, he's too late ... Matt, falling prey to a lie about Jerry told to him by Sugar, unwittingly inks a deal with SMI ... and Sugar.

Jerry seeks solace in an unsympathetic Avery, who says she loves him but refuses to nurse his bruised pride. Knowing that he'll never be happy with Avery, Jerry breaks their engagement, and she manages to deliver three closed-fist blows to land him on the floor. With only one shot at success, Jerry resigns himself to Rod, which proves to be a constant problem because of his attitude, which makes him a thorn in the side of team executive Dennis Wilburn (Glenn Frey). Meanwhile, Jerry enters into a marriage of convenience with Dorothy.

The souring relationship between Jerry and Rod comes to a head after Jerry receives an offer of $1.7 million for three years, which Rod's wife Marcee (Regina King) readily refuses. Unable to tolerate Marcee's abuse of her husband anymore, Dorothy unloads on Marcee, telling him that Jerry is continuing to hustle for Rod despite the fact that he's broke and on the brink of financial ruin. Marcee finally shuts up, but Jerry, despite Rod's shortcomings, is convinced they can do better. Jerry finally tells Rod that he's a "paycheck player", who needs to prove his love of the game in order to inspire people, and inspiration is what drives success in the professional sports industry. Do that, Jerry says, and "I will show you the kwan", a term Rod uses earlier in the movie to describe the whole package ... money, prestige, and respect.

Hurt at Jerry's words, Rod angrily climbs on the bus, proclaiming "I'm ALL heart" as he's doing so. Meanwhile, Dorothy offers to let Jerry out their marriage so they can both start over fresh. Not long afterwards, Rod proves himself, working harder than ever before, and then gradually earns the respect of fans ... and the interest of SMI, who showed little interest earlier.

One game, Rod gets hurt on the field after a touchdown and doesn't get up. A frantic Marcee calls Jerry and tearfully apologizes for everything bad she said about him and please bring her husband home safely. Jerry tells Marcee he'll keep her posted.

A trainer tries to revive Rod, who finally regains consciousness. The trainer calls for a stretcher, but Rod says "No ... I want to enjoy this." While the camera stays on him, he can be seen slowly rising to his feet. Once standing, he removes his helmet and waves it to the cheering crowd. Doing a handstand and jumping up to the stands to even more applause, the fans even become more wild. After the game ends, Jerry and Rod embrace among a throng of reporters, prompting another player to ask Sugar "How come we don't have that kind of relationship?" Sugar goes to put his arms around the player, who pushes him back.

Jerry is then approached by Wilburn, who gives him a thumbs-up and a smile. Jerry gestures towards him that it's time to talk about serious money. Wilburn says "I know" and leaves. Jerry flies back home to Dorothy, claiming that they had "a very big, big night", and tells her "you complete me" before she tells him "Just shut up ... you had me at hello" and takes him back.

The movie ends with Rod on an ESPN interview show with Roy Firestone, known for its touchy-feely interviews that make athletes cry. Rod, saying in advance "I'm not gonna cry, Roy", doesn't know that he has a new deal on the table (which Jerry planned). Firestone tells him he has an $11 million deal that will allow him to finish his pro football career in Arizona. Shocked by this sudden revelation, Rod lets out a whoop and breaks down in tears, thanking everyone from his teammates to his family.

Jerry, who is also on the set of the show, speaks with several other pro athletes, some of whom have read his earlier mission statement and express their enjoyment of it, possibly opening even more doors for Maguire, though that's not fully determined.


[edit] Reception
Jerry Maguire remains famous due to memorable quotes, including "Show me the money!" (shouted repeatedly in a phone exchange between Rod Tidwell and Jerry Maguire) and "You had me at 'hello'" (said by Dorothy Boyd after a lengthy romantic plea by Jerry Maguire), and "Kwan" (a word used by Rod Tidwell to mean love, respect, community and money) mentioned by Tidwell to illustrate the difference between himself and other football players. ("Other football players can have money, but they won't have the 'Kwan'"). These lines are largely attributed to Cameron Crowe, director and screenwriter of the movie.

The film was well received, with Cuba Gooding Jr. winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Rod Tidwell, the Arizona Cardinals football player who sticks with Maguire. Cruise was also nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role and although Renée Zellweger missed out on a nomination for her portrayal of Dorothy Boyd, it was Zellweger's breakout role. The film itself was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, and crew members on the film were nominated for Best Screenplay and Best Film Editing awards.