'SPANGLISH' A LESSON IN HARD WORK.Byline: - Glenn Whipp Tea Leoni says James L. Brooks can't come up with a neat-and-tidy summary of his new film, ``Spanglish,'' and he's been editing it since June. ``I think he's got four brilliant films in there,'' Leoni says. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. which one he's picked.'' That kind of surplus - and indecision - apparently was the source of more than a little angst during the making of ``Spanglish.'' For Brooks (``Terms of Endearment en·dear·ment n. 1. The act of endearing. 2. An expression of affection, such as a caress. endearment Noun an affectionate word or phrase Noun 1. ,'' ``Broadcast News,'' ``As Good as It Gets''), a renowned perfectionist per·fec·tion·ism n. 1. A propensity for being displeased with anything that is not perfect or does not meet extremely high standards. 2. , it was a desire to continually explore the characters: a celebrity chef In its strictest sense, a celebrity chef is a someone who has become well-known for his/her cooking. The first historical personality that fits this description is Martino da Como but in practical terms the term grew in popularity during the 1990s. (Adam Sandler), his neurotic wife (Leoni) and the live-in housekeeper (Spanish hottie Paz Vega Paz Campos Trigo (born January 2, 1976), better known as Paz Vega, is a Spanish actress. Biography Early life Vega was born in Seville, Andalucía, Spain, and takes her stage name from her grandmother. ) who comes between them. For the cast members, particularly Leoni, whose character was the hardest to pin down, it was a matter of sometimes wanting to strangle Strangle An options strategy where the investor holds a position in both a call and put with different strike prices but with the same maturity and underlying asset. This option strategy is profitable only if there are large movements in the price of the underlying asset. Brooks. ``It was intense,'' Leoni says. ``There's so much going on in the movie, and you can play it so many different ways.'' When suggested that sometimes the hardest movies to make often turn out to be the best, Leoni replies: ``If that's true, then we've got the film of the year.'' Adding to Leoni's anxiety was the unexpected departure, four weeks into filming, of Anne Bancroft, who was playing her character's mother. Cloris Leachman, a Brooks colleague dating back to ``The Mary Tyler Moore This article is about the actress. For her 1970s television series, also known as "Mary Tyler Moore", see The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Mary Tyler Moore Show,'' stepped in for Bancroft (who had to drop out because of an undisclosed illness), but the change necessitated much rewriting and rethinking of the film's relationships, which profoundly turn on mother-daughter dynamics. ``The script is very delicate,'' Leoni says. ``And when you go from Anne Bancroft to Cloris Leachman ... well, they're very different actresses. What was meant to be at first had to be examined again.'' Still, if the months of shooting weren't exactly as good as it gets, Leoni remains hopeful of the outcome. ``The brilliance and fun of working with Jim is that he writes you a bag of gold and then you get to dig inside it and pick which jewels to wear,'' Leoni says. ``Now which jewels I end up wearing ... I can't wait to see.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: ``Spanglish'' Dec. 17 (Tea Leoni) |
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