It's been a few months since Australia sent us a new movie star. Did their assembly line have a malfunction or something? Anywho, Abbie Cornish. Some of you may already know the 24 year-old actress from Somersault (2004), for which she won numerous kudos or from Candy (2006), wherein she drugged it up with Heath Ledger. But both films combined gross less than $150,000 in stateside release so maybe not. More likely you caught a glimpse of her in A Good Year or read the rumors that she was the third party in the Reese & Ryan split. 2007 promises to be an important year in determining whether she's the latest in Australia's long line of screen marvels with staying power. Toni Collette, Eric Bana, Heath Ledger, Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Cate Blanchett... them Aussies don't quit.
Abbie has roles in two must-see films this year. The first is the Untitled Kimberly Peirce Project (sometimes referred to as Stop-Loss) an ensemble drama that reads like a who's who of male twentysomething stardom: Ryan Phillipe, Channing Tatum, Jay Hernandez, Victor Rasuk and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The project will gain attention because it focuses on a hot topic: the war in Iraq (though it takes place stateside) and because it's Peirce's first feature since her debut, Boys Don't Cry (1999). What took her so long? Who knows but people will undoubtedly give her sophomore effort a look.
Abbie Cornish (far right) on set with Cate Blanchett watching playback.She and Samantha Morton hold the two crucial female supporting roles in The Golden Age
Abbie's second film in 2007 is the Elizabeth sequel The Golden Age. If she attracts your eye, critical kudos, or Oscar buzz for this film whilst surrounded by Cate Blanchett, Clive Owen, Geoffrey Rush and Samantha Morton (9 Oscar nominations and 2 wins between them) then she's definitely on her way.
Stay tuned. Will Abbie Cornish be the emerging star of 2007?
Previous Aussie-centric posts:
Australia news from Bazmark
Day Job:Toni Collette Toni's onscreen callings.
We Are All Nicole Kidman - a quiz.
Hugh Jackman hump day hottie
Interview with greatly missed Aussie blog six things
Hug an Australian yes there's actually a day for it.
Brokeback Birthday Heath and all the writings about Brokeback Mountain
Moulin Rouge! the obsession detailed.
Tags: Abbie Cornish, movies, Oscars, Academy Awards, cinema, Film, cinematography, queen elizabeth, Cate Blanchett, Golden Age, Australia, australian, Heath Ledger, Ryan Phillipe
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15 comments:
Already dubbed the new Nicole Kidman.
"But it’s her taste for the dark side that distinguishes Cornish as a talent to watch. She is a distractingly beautiful actress who has refused to be railroaded into rom-coms or Hollywood titbits. There are shades of Kidman about her ambitious choices." http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,24169-2379272,00.html She's seems like an interesting actress. I'm excited to see where she goes with her choices.
I love the Aussies. On a related note- Nicole, Naomi, Cate, and now Abbie- all very pale. What happened to the tanned, beach bum Aussie? :)
Speaking of Aussies, I just got back from my second screening of Notes on a Scandal. Loved it (again) - not a masterwork, but so much fun. In a lesser year, Blanchett might have joined Dench on my Best Actress list. I don't have nearly the same problems you do with her performance. Yes, Blanchett's screen persona initially seems too strong and smart to realistically portray a woman who makes such bad and weak decisions, but isn't that what is often said about seemingly happy people who hide terrible secrets and make destructive choices? I found the unravelling of that facade fascinating and thought that, when viewed in that light, Blanchett's actorly charisma worked wonders.
I like her but I think the American public will almost always know her as the woman who split up Ryan and Reese. It's a shame but it's possible.
I remember Abbie from her very first gig in "Wildside" - one of the best shows ever to grace Australian TV. In fact, the other young actress who featured in right at the beginning of this series? Rose Byrne. The main cast included Alex Dimitriades (Head On), Rachel Blake (Lantana) and Tony Martin (The Interview).
Abbie was so young, and amongst such an experienced crowd you felt her uncertainty - I didn't think much of her performance at the time . . . but in "Somersault", holy shit. She's a revelation.
And on her rep: I'm sure a lot of people thought Nicole would never shake the tag of being the hussy who broke up Tom Cruise's marriage.
PS: Go Fug Yourself has some hilarious recent posts about Abbie Cornish - on the red carpet, the poor girl has been wearing these awful nun-like dresses, in what the GFY girls have been calling "the Abbie Cornish chastity tour". Hilarious.
Does the American public know who broke up Ryan and Reese? Or care? Cuz I myself had never heard of that until you mentioned it anonymous 3:26. Just saying...
There's no such thing as bad publicity.
Abbie is indeed very talented. She was the best thing about Somersault and was pretty great in Candy too.
And Nat, trust me, we're in the process of incubating some substantial talent for, what I dub, The Next Wave. Alongside Abbie the two most notables are Emily Barclay (a New Zealander actually but she's been in some Aussie films and is super-crazy-wildly-unbelievably talented) and Teresa Palmer (from 2.37, already been in Grudge 2 for Americans). I also have major acting-crushes on Emma Lung (I like knowing that the second I became about the fourth person on the planet to see her in Peaches I knew she was one to watch) and Saskia Bermeister.
Abbie was FABULOUS in Somersault. Hard to imagine that the ten bucks I spent to sit in an empty theater and watch her burn right through the screen was a significant portion of her total box office income stateside.
I'd say she's our new Kidman, and Blunt is our new Winslet.
I have a feeling that This new Elizabeth movie will not be very good...
Obviously no-one paid any attention to her in "A Good Year"?
By the way, does indie film nudity at the drop of a hat.
I think Abbie is going to be known as "the person who dated Ryan, while he was still very publicly married to Reese". (They had that very private dinner for only 2, at the back room, of the restaurant in Texas. She sends him private Blackberry mesages. Come on... Abbie KNOWS that Ryan is a married man. Abbie can not be that naive, that she does not realize this is very bad behaviour from HER.)
And it is different that Tom and Nicole's relationship because -
1. Reese and Ryan have 2 children, and Reese always publicly lovingly supported her husband; while Ryan would publicly pout because he did not make enough money.
2. Tom Cruise and his first wife did not have children. She was also much older, and many people did not really think they were a 'good match' (except that they were both Scientologist), so their divorce was not unexpected.
I don't think the American audience will ever like Abbie Cornish. I would not go to a movie with her in it.
i totally think abbie cornish has the possibility of becoming a name...
but a huge-old-star, i am not feeling it yet.
i think who ever said "the new nicole kidman" is kidding themselves.
she reminds me of a less-impressive-aussie version of Scarjo.
--RC of strangeculture.blogspot.com
hi i would just say that Abbie Cornish is best of all
I agree with what others said.. Abbie Cornish will always be known as the reason why Reese and Ryan got divorced! She is not that naive to know that Ryan is already married!!! I don't really like her and she doesn't look like Reese!!!
She is soo qiut
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