FILM STAR OF THE MONTH

ZOE SALDANA

Zoe Saldana.   Fierce.

This actor is one of my favorites.  She is a rising young star that has been quietly moving steadily up the Hollywood food chain for the past 10 years.  Her name is Zoe Saldana and she is the Film Star of the Month. 

Rather than going with a more sophisticated and older subject I decided to focus on a more recent film star.  With two of the biggest and most critically acclaimed blockbusters of the year (Star Trek), and of all time (Avatar), Zoe had the kind of year an actress would sell her soul for.  She is hot and well on her way to leading lady status.  But before Hollywood, before the blockbuster movies, Zoe began her career simply enough, in the theater.

      Zoe Yadira Zaldana Nazario was born June 19, 1978 in New Jersey but was raised in Queens New York.  Her father, who hails from the Dominican Republic and her mother, Puerto Rican, moved to the Dominican Republic, with her two sisters Mariel Saldana and Cisely Saldana, when Zoe was 10 years-old.  While living in the Dominican Republic Zoe began taking ballet classes at one of the islands most prestigious dance schools.

     Upon her family’s return to New York, when she was seventeen, Zoe began performing with a youth oriented theater troupe called Faces.  Faces focused on teen issues and instilled in young Zoe discipline, dramatic timing, and a drive to portray positive strong characters.

     While performing with the New York Theater Zoe was picked up by a talent agency.  Zoe’s first gig was in 1999 in an episode of the long running hit T.V. series Law & Order.  Zoe would use her skill as a dancer and stage actress to gain a roll in the small but important teen-dance movie, Center Stage.

      Released in 2000, Center Stage, directed by Nicholas Hytner and written by Carol Heikkinen, is a film about a group of ballet dancers who get accepted into the American Ballet Academy.  Each dancer deals with his or her on challenges as they compete to become American Ballet dancers.  The film also stars Amanda Schull, Peter Gallagher, world renowned dancer Ethan Stiefel, and dancer Sascha Radetsky.

Taryn Manning, Britney Spears, and Zoe Saldana in Crossroads (2002)

Saldana followed her debut in Center Stage with a string of forgettable teen romps like Get Over It (2001), Snipes (2001), and Crossroads (2002).  Drumline, released during the holiday season of 2002, was Saldana’s next major role.  Drumline was a financial and critical success and launched the career of Nick Cannon.  The film is loosely based on the experience of music producer Dallas Austin.

     Drumline, directed by Charles Stone III and written by Tina Gordon Chism, is the story of Devon Miles (Cannon) a hot-shot snare drummer with a chip on his shoulder.  When Miles is recruited by fictional Atlanta A&T University he goes through the rigors of making the drumline, gets into a rivalry with lead drummer Sean Taylor (Leonard Roberts), and falls in love with a pretty dancer, Laila (Saldana).

     Zoe Saldana and Nick Cannon in Drumline (2002)

When band director Dr. Lee (Orlando Jones) finds out that Devon cannot read music Devon is suspended from the band.  With rival college Morris Brown College looking to win the battle of the bands, Miles must rally A&T’s band to compete against Morris Brown in the BET Classic.  The film is fun and entertaining.  And though it too is a teen movie, Drumline gives audiences a look into the counter culture of black college marching bands.

Saldana’s next film would introduce her to the world of the mega blockbuster with her role in Pirates of the Caribbean:  Curse of the Black Pearl. Released in 2003 and directed by Gore Verbinski, Pirates is based on a theme park ride at Disneyland.  The film stars Johnny Depp, Kiera Knightly, Orlando Bloom and Geoffrey Rush. Saldana plays a small part as Anamaria, an ex flame of Captain Jack Sparrow. Pirates became a commercial and critical success. 

Next was The Terminal (2004) a film staring Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta Jones and directed by Steven Speilberg.  The Terminal is a movie inspired by a man who spent 18 years in Terminal 1 at Paris’s Charles DeGaulle airport.  An eastern European man Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks) learns during his first flight to New York City, that his small country has been overthrown voiding his passport.  Because he no longer has a country and his voided passport makes it impossible for him to enter the U.S Viktor must stay in New York’s JFK airport until the situation regarding his country is resolved.

During his stay he makes enemies with Director of Customs Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci), befriends airport personnel, and falls for a beautiful United Airlines flight attendant, Amelia Warren, played by Catherine Zeta-Jones.  Saldana plays Dolores Torres, an airport security officer being pursued by truck driver Enrique Cruz, played by Diego Luna.

That same year Saldana completed two films.  Haven is a crime drama set in the Cayman Islands.  Written and directed by Frank E. Flowers Haven stars Orlando Bloom, Bill Paxton, Anthony Mackie, and Joy Bryant.  The film includes several stories that all come together for a gripping climax.  The film debuted at the 2004 Toronto Film Festival but only received limited release in the U.S. in 2006.  Saldana followed Haven with the very little seen Temptation (2004).

2005 was a busy year for the actress.  She completed three films; Dirty Deeds, an American Pie rip-off staring Milo Ventimiglia, that ended up only being released in Hungary, Constellation, starring an ensemble cast that includes Gabrielle Union, Billy Dee Williams, Hill Harper, and Melissa De Sousa, that tells the story of a southern family who come together after the death of the family matriarch, and Guess Who.

Guess Who, directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan and written by David Ronn, Jay Scherick, & Peter Tolan, is based on the film Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967).  Starring Bernie Mac and Ashton Kutcher, Guess Who is a comedic adaptation of the original film about a young pretty black girl bringing home a white guy to which her domineering father immediately dislikes because he is…well…white.  Though the film is sweet and funny in some parts, Kutcher and Saldana do not ignite much of a spark, Bernie Mac is common place, and the film’s plot is simple and predictable.  Guess Who is a watered-down generic version of the original groundbreaking and thought provoking film. Despite the film’s weakness, Saldana is delightful.

Saldana had a relatively slow year in 2006 but, like all actors must, she continued to work in small yet poignant films such as Premium which reteamed her with Hill Harper, and Ways of the Flesh, an independent film that debuted at the Boston Film Festival, about the trials of tribulations of African-American doctors fighting through their first years of residency. 

In 2006 Saldana scored her first major endorsement deal when she signed on to be the face of RocaWear.  An urban clothing line founded by hip-hop impresario Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter.  The ad campaign also included Jay-Z and was shot in various countries in Africa.

Saldana tried her hand in television with the engaging but little watched drama series Six Degrees.  Six Degrees premiered on ABC in September of 2006.  The show’s premise is everyone is separated by only 6 people, so though each character is remarkably different, they all come into contact with each other at some point.  The show starred such young hot actors like Jay Hernandez, Erika Christensen, and Dorian Missick. 

     The show also starred Bridget Moynahan, Campbell Scott, and Hope Davis.  Though the show had a staple of talented writers and directors, as well as television producer extraordinaire - and hotshot film director – J.J. Abrams as a producer the show was canceled in early 2007.  I actually enjoyed the show and was surprised when the show was taken off the air.  Though short-lived working on Six Degrees allowed Saldana to meet and work with the powerful J.J. Abrams thus setting her up for her next blockbuster.

     After Sex was shot in 2006 and released in 2007 on DVD.  The film is written and directed by Eric Amadio and stars Mila Kunis, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Taryn Manning, and Jane Seymour.  The film explores the relationships of 9 different couples, through conversation, after sex.  Saldana plays Kat, a lesbian who has a crush on her roommate Nikki (Kunis) and comes to terms with her sexuality.

     Saldana also starred in Blackout, a crime drama that takes place in New York City during the 2003 Northeast blackout.  Though the film stars talented thespians Jeffrey Wright, Melvin Van Peebles, and Michael B. Jordan, the film did not get a theatrical release.  Blackout premiered on BET in 2008 and was later released on DVD.

     Zoe had a small role in the film Vantage Point (2008) written by Barry Levy and directed by Pete Travis.  The movie features big names including Dennis Quaid, Sigourney Weaver, Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker, Matthew Fox, William Hurt, and Bruce McGill.  The story revolves around 8 people who all witness the attempted assassination of the President of the United States.  Each person relates what he (she) saw from their vantage point. Though Vantage Point has a good premise the film falls short at the end and was a box office dud.

     In 2008 Saldana appeared on the highly coveted cover of Vanity Fair’s Hollywood Issue sharing the cover with red hot actresses Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Biel, Alice Braga, Ellen Page, Elizabeth Banks, Ginnifer Goodwin, and America Ferrera.

Saldana on the cover of Vanity Fair (Seventh from right)

Snagging the cover was very much deserved.  Later that year she began production on the remake, and reimagining, of the tried and true Star Trek film.  Star Trek was a decades old franchise that first debuted as a campy television show in September of 1966.  Created by Gene Roddenberry, and staring William Shatner as James T. Kirk, and Leonard Nimoy as Spock, Star Trek lasted only three seasons.  After nearly four decades, five additional televisions series, and 10 theatrical films, a new retooled Star Trek was released May 9, 2009.

This is not your mother’s Star Trek.  This film is a sleek and stylish remake wonderfully written, by young screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, and fabulously directed by J.J. Abrams.  The cast includes a batch of no-name yet beautifully cast actors in what are their break-out roles.  Chris Pine delivers the goods as young and cocky James T. Kirk.  Zachary Quinto aces the roll of Spock, and Zoe Saldana is lovely yet no-nonsense as Uhura.  The film also stars Eric Bana, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Ben Cross, Winona Ryder, Leonard Nimoy and, in a small role, Tyler Perry.

Saldana as Uhra in Star Trek (2009)

Star Trek was the surprise hit that opened the 2009 summer blockbuster season.  Well received by critics, and with a world wide gross of over $380 million, Star Trek was nominated for four Academy Awards.  The film took home a Best Make-Up Oscar at the 2010 ceremony.

But of course, Saldana may be remembered most for a film in which her physical self is not even on the screen.  Avatar was released during the holiday season of 2009.  The film was the brainchild of mega-director James Cameron who had also directed such favorites as Aliens (1986), Terminator 2:  Judgment Day (1992), and Titanic (1997) which, up until 2009, held the record of the world’s highest grossing movie.

Avatar takes place in 2154 on the planet Pandora.  The planet is under a planned attack by humans because of the discovery of a highly profitable mineral.  Neytiri (Saldana) is a member of the Na’vi tribe who falls in love with a human, Jake Sully, played by Sam Worthington.   

Avatar is a fantasy sci-fi extravaganza shot entirely with groundbreaking 3D technology.  The film also stars Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Laz Alonso, Giovanni Ribisi, Michelle Rodriguez, and Joel Moore.

Saldana as Neytiri in Avatar (2009)

                                Avatar would go on to gross over 1.7 billion dollars worldwide garnering James Cameron yet another seemingly impossible feat.  The film was nominated for several Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography. 

     The hugeness of Avatar put Saldana in a rarified category… leading lady and possible box-office draw.  Unfortunately her films following Avatar haven’t been that great.  Death at a Funeral, a remake of the British film, that starred Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Luke Wilson, James Marsden, and Columbus Short, failed to garner much business.  And The Losers, another remake, was… well just that.

     Next up for the young actress is Takers, an action packed heist drama directed by virtual new-comer John Luessenhop, staring a bevy of stars such as T.I., Paul Walker, Idris Elba, Matt Dillon, Chris Brown, and Michael Ealy.  Takers will be released August 27, 2010.

     Perhaps Saldana’s biggest test will be in the film Columbiana, which is currently filming.  Columbiana, directed by Olivier Megaton, and written and produced by Luc Besson (Taken, The Professional) is about a woman who witnesses the murder of her parents and grows up to become an assassin and vigilante hunting for her parent’s murderer.  

     I am interested to see what else is in store for this talented young actress.  It is good to see an actress who doesn’t resort to mindless publicity stunts to gain notoriety but uses what God gave her.  Oh, and she is the newest spokes model for Calvin Klein underwear.  Yep, this lady is well on her way.

            Sources

IMDB.com

Wikipedia.com

JustJared.com

GlobalGrind.com

VanityFair.com

StarPluse.com