Airs today!! Jewel is receiving raving reviews!
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'Ring of Fire' Myth Busting: Jewel Can Act and Lifetime Movies Can Be
Seriously Awesome
Lifetime Movies can be seriously awesome. The network's
"<http://tv.yahoo.com/shows/ring-of-fire-lifetime-9/>Ring of Fire"
showcases Jewel's talent - in dentures, no less.
"I always liked the song 'Ring of Fire,' but I was never that into
it," she told us before the premiere at the Grammy Museum of her
Lifetime movie debut, the June Carter Cash biopic "Ring of Fire."
"But there's a scene in the movie where June writes 'Ring of Fire,'
and you realize she wrote it about falling in love with Johnny (Cash)
while she was still married; and she was very religious, very strict,
so she really feared the fires of hell. It lent such drama to that
song that it made me connect with it."
She went on to say that she's felt a connection to the Carter family
for most of her life: "They were raised in the mountains with an out
house and that's how I was raised. I was taught to be professional at
a young age. I was helping the family earn income at a young age. We
toured, I ate squirrel stew. So, we had a lot in common."
Does squirrel take just like chicken?
"No," she said, "it's awful. Maybe we didn't cook it right. But it's not good."
Jewel should get an Emmy nod, and not just because she had to sing
and act in dentures, a wig, and contacts. Although the makeover is
impressive. We asked if the men in her life - her husband, Ty Murray,
and her little boy, Kase - were on set to see her in Carter form.
"[Ty] did, and my son did too," she said. "He was 9 or 10 months old,
and he kept trying to look behind me, like I was wearing a mask or
something. It was really sweet. My husband thought the teeth were
really wild, really transformative. You'd never think fixing a tooth
would be that powerful, but it really was."
And what's it like to be transformed into a 72-year-old? "It was a
kind of cool sneak peak," she said. "It was an interesting process. I
didn't mind."
Before starting "Fire," Jewel had hesitations beyond the aesthetic
realm. "Reese (Witherspoon) won an Oscar for portraying her, so I
knew I would be compared," she said. "The level was set very high,
and I knew I had to hit it going in."
We asked Jewel if there was anyone else she wanted to portray, now
that she's used to dentures and makeup. "Elton John," she said. "But
that's never gonna happen. They could never give me that button
nose." The natural follow-up question is who should play her in 40
years. "Nobody has bad enough teeth in Hollywood," she laughed.
"They'd have to wear prosthetic dentures."
And here's something to chew on - Jewel's take on the '90s: "Half of
it I didn't really relate to because there was so much angst, so much
laissez-faire. And to me it seemed like spoiled people that could
afford to be angsty. It was kind of a spoiled attitude."
While a lot of actors talk about keeping it real, the 39-year-old
star literally walks the walk on her 2,400 acre ranch in
Stephenville, Texas. She recently talked to
<http://www.intouchweekly.com/stars/news/jewel-talks-farm-life>In
Touch Weekly about caring for 250 cows, 15 horses, four chickens, and
two dogs. "It's branding season, so we've been castrating and
earmarking our cattle," she told the magazine. "City people are
squeamish about that stuff, but I grew up on a farm, so I rope, brand
- all of that!"
Jewel assured In Touch that she's fine living so far away from
civilization - 20 miles from Walmart! - and gets help from neighbors:
"I even have a neighbor that gives us [goat] milk. I was raised in
rural Alaska, so that's what I enjoy - open space and fresh air."
This isn't a good Lifetime movie. This is a good movie. Period.
Lets just lay it out there. Lifetime movies are often the butt of
jokes. They're not thought of as real movies. We went to the Grammy
Museum for a screening of "Ring of Fire," which stars Jewel as June
Carter Cash. We didn't know what to expect. After all, doesn't
everyone (especially critics) judge Lifetime movies because they're
... Lifetime movies?
"The truth of it is, yeah, I think they do, and I think it's
ridiculous," says Robert Sharenow, Lifetime's executive vice
president of programming. "I think this movie would hold up against
any movie you would see on television and in theaters. I think we've
got feature-film performances out of everyone and a feature film
director (Allison Anders). So yeah. Part of my mission is to overcome
that strange expectation of what a Lifetime movie should be."
And if you think Mr. Lifetime is a frumpy guy in a lime-green
cardigan with a box of Kleenex, think again. Sharenow is very punk
rock. He once stood in line at a record store in Cambridge to get an
autograph from John Doe's punk band X. Doe is in "Ring of Fire." See,
guys, Lifetime can be cool.
And Sharenow's mission is accomplished. "Ring of Fire" is beautifully
and meticulously designed, lit, shot, and directed, and it's
seamlessly sewn together. Jewel's performance is fascinating; she
mastered the June Carter laugh. Matt Ross ("Big Love") and Frances
Conroy ("Six Feet Under") give nuanced performances as Johnny Cash
and Maybelle Carter.
The movie strikes sad and funny notes, but the very best one-liner
came after the screening during the Q&A. A balding dude in the
audience asked Jewel if this was her first time acting. Ouch. Ever
heard of "Ride With the Devil," by Ang Lee? A super-awkward hush came
over the room.
"I did a movie about 15 years ago," she sassed. "But you're much too
young to remember."
Now that's a plucky Lifetime-style comeback if we ever heard one.
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Jewel Sparkles and Shines in Lifetime's "Ring of Fire"
TV Review Jackie K Cooper
"Ring of Fire" (Lifetime)
Jewel (Kilcher) sparkles and shines in Lifetime's original movie "Ring of Fire," the story of June Carter Cash. The movie tells the story of this country legend from early childhood to death. Matt Ross co-stars as Johnny Cash and Frances Conroy is featured as Mother Maybelle. The film covers a lot of years so details are not easy to come by; but the overall message, which is the love story between the two country performers, is loud and clear.
The film opens with June as a small child performing with her family on the radio and in concerts. It then moves ahead to when June flirted with fellow singer Carl Smith (Linds Edwards) on air and in concert. She ended up marrying him but he was unfaithful. She then married a race car driver. As a result of these two marriages she had two daughters.
She was ready for love when she met Johnny Cash but she also knew he had problems with alcohol and pills. Foolishly she thought her love could make him quit but the road to sobriety was a long one. There isn't a lot of time spent on Johnny's addictions but it is enough to make an impact.
This movie is Jewel's first major dramatic role and she is surprisingly good. She handles the more emotional parts of the role believably and she excels when the role calls for some comedic action. She makes us forget that she is Jewel the actress by becoming June Carter Cash on the screen. Reese Witherspoon won an Academy Award for her portrayal of June Carter Cash in the movie "I Walk the Line" so there might be an Emmy nomination ahead in Jewel's future. She has more spunk on view than Reese ever did.
The main criticism of the movie has to be that the makers of the film tried to cram too much story into two hours. The content of the first hour is really rushed, and only gets slightly better in the final one. Still there is an emotional pull to the love story between Johnny and June Cash that fills every nick and crevice of the film. They were truly soul mates who were destined to be together. The fact they could sing together beautifully just added to the power of their union.
There was a lot of humor in June Carter Cash, a brightness that is allowed to shine in the performance by Jewel. You will find yourself liking this woman and the actress who plays her. They are a good match and this makes for a good movie.
"Ring of Fire" airs Monday, May 27 at 9PM on the Lifetime Channel.
Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com