Charlize Central

Oscar-winner Charlize Theron played the role of supportive girlfriend during her visit to the Sarasota Film Festival..

Her longtime boyfriend, Stuart Townsend, wrote and directed his first film, “Battle in Seattle,” which was to be shown in back-to-back screenings Sunday night.

Though she took center stage as an award recipient at the film festival ball Saturday night, she tried valiantly to downplay her presence and to promote Townsend and the film.

She did the same thing during an often serious, occasionally banter-filled conversation with Townsend and co-stars Martin Henderson and Michelle Rodriguez Sunday afternoon.

Townsend talked about the difficulty of writing his first script for the film about the riots that erupted during the World Trade Organization meetings in Seattle in 1999.

“I take my hat off to him,” Theron said. “When you’re lucky enough to witness somebody, and in this case somebody I love, go through an experience like this, it’s wonderful.”
Read the full story

“You know what? I like this business. I like filmmaking.”

In an industry where it’s fashionable to complain about how difficult the business can be, such a statement, if it’s uttered at all, would likely be presumed to be ironic.

But Charlize Theron is completely serious.

“I’ve never been one of those actors to hang out in my trailer and disappear. I’m fascinated by how the whole machine really works,” she said. “It’s a joy. I wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t. It’s too much work.”

Theron’s latest film, the indie project Sleepwalking, was a bit more work than usual for Theron, since she also served as a producer for the movie.
Read the full story

Charlize Theron is the Oscar-winning actress from the shocking serial killer movie “Monster.”

AnnaSophia Robb is the little girl from the sentimental dog movie “Because of Winn-Dixie.”

The actresses, 32 and 14 respectively, have joined forces to play mother and daughter in a dark and disturbing drama called “Sleepwalking.” Theron also produced the film.

Theron plays an irresponsible single mother trying to recapture her youth by abandoning her daughter and leaving her with a family member (Nick Stahl) who is about to lose his job and be evicted from his home. This delightful family dynamic dips to new low when Stahl’s character and the girl visit the family patriarch (Dennis Hopper), who makes the rest of the dysfunctional family look well-adjusted.
Read the full story

After climbing the Hollywood ladder to become one of the hottest A-list actresses on the planet, Charlize Theron can do it all. Whether it was drama in The Astronaut’s Wife, action in The Italian Job, or her stunning portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster, even her role as animated-to-live-action sci-fi hottie Aeon Flux, Charlize Theron has certainly diversified her big screen portfolio. Now Theron takes both the producing and acting reigns in Sleepwalking, a drama about an 11-year old girl’s struggle to deal with abandonment by her mother. At the recent junket for Sleepwalking, Theron was more than happy to talk about playing a single mother, working with young up-and-comer AnnaSophia Robb, producing the movie, and what it’s like to be able to finally vote as an American citizen.
Read the full story

Don’t make any dumb blonde jokes about Charlize Theron. Not just because the tall, lanky and very buff South African actress could probably break you in half. Rather, because she’s an ever-inquisitive mover and shaker who’s constantly trying to learn everything she can about the ropes of her business.

For “Sleepwalking,� the new film in which she both acts and serves as a co-producer, those blonde locks have gone brown. She plays Joleen, a bad apple mom who one day hops in a truck and hits the road with yet another boyfriend, leaving her brother and her 11-year-old daughter behind.

It’s not the first time Theron has played an unpleasant character. Her first foray into film was as Helga, the ice-hearted girlfriend to James Spader’s ruthless hitman in “2 Days in the Valley.� More famously, she nabbed a best actress Oscar for her gritty portrayal of real-life serial killer Aileen Wuornos in “Monster.�
Read the full story

With her stunning good looks, it would be easy for Charlize Theron to do fluffy romantic comedies in which she plays a bubbly heroine looking for love. But the South African native, who currently lives in Los Angeles, usually portrays flawed women who may not always be likable but are always fascinating to watch. She won an Oscar for playing real-life serial killer Aileen Wournos in the 2003 biopic “Monster.� In “Sleepwalking,� she plays a working-class single mom named Joleen Reedy who moves in with her brother James (Nick Stahl) and then abandons her daughter Tara (AnnaSophia Robb) for James to raise by himself. Theron, 32, not only stars in “Sleepwalking� but also produced the movie, and she recently sat down with myLifetime.com to chat about tackling Hollywood in front of and behind the camera.
Read the full story

The so-called Oscar Curse—the belief that Academy winners struggle with career setbacks after their triumph—was among the topics gamely discussed by Charlize Theron in a recent interview.

Charlize, who won the Oscar Best Actress award in 2004 for her performance in “Monster,� plays a supporting role in the drama “Sleepwalking,� which she produced. The grim indie film, which premiered in Sundance last January, tells the story of a bond that grows between a man, James (Nick Stahl) and his young niece, Tara (Anna Sophia Robb) after the girl’s mother, Joleen (Charlize) abandons her. James is forced to return to the ranch of his and Joleen’s abusive father, Mr. Reedy (Dennis Hopper), in a desperate move to take care of Tara.
Read the full story

In case you didn’t get the memo, Charlize Theron is a serious actor now. No more pretty girlfriend parts. Only Oscar caliber dark dramas. She even produced her latest, Sleepwalking, so she could play a desperate single mother who abandons her daughter. Even this summer’s Hancock sounds intense. But she’s pretty so it’s cool.

Crave Online: How did you like your trashy wardrobe in the film?

Charlize Theron: I loved it. I loved it, yeah. It felt very comfortable and felt very real and yeah, there’s no denying putting that on and really feeling like you’re Joleen.

Crave Online: Do you know anyone that’s like Joleen?

Charlize Theron: I don’t personally, no, but you know I observe a lot of people. I observe those kinds of people I don’t know them personally but I’ve watched them.
Read the full story

Sitting across from talented actresses Charlize Theron and teen Anna-Sophia Robb is like looking at the same person… past and future. The beautiful, blonde-haired, blue/green-eyed girls look very much like sisters but they play mom and daughter in the dark drama Sleepwalking which Charlize also produced. Both actresses have reps as hard-working professionals.

Anna, now 14, first caught our eye as a young girl befriending a stray dog in Because of Winn-Dixie. She was really annoying as the gum-popping gal in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, endearing as the doomed girl in Bridge to Terabithia and creepy in The Reaping. Charlize has a wonderful career playing everything from a future, butt-kicking heroine in Aeon Flux to a bank robber driving a Mini-Cooper opposite Matt Damon and gang. And, she won the Oscar as a mankiller in Monster.

The duo met with us in Beverly Hills recently to talk about working in Sleepwalking in which Anna-Sophia plays a runaway and Charlize her irresponsible, down-on-her-luck mom. Picture Anna-Sophia wearing a cute off-white, silk print dress with brown and turquoise flowers. Charlize was in a black, sleeveless top with button decorations on it, big silver hoop earrings and pants. They dig into each other’s necks to check the designer labels when I ask who they are wearing and come up with “Porridge” for Anna and something like “Mark and Chris” for Charlize.
Read the full story

Obviously, Charlize Theron the actress needs no introduction. But Charlize Theron the producer — who has, in a brief period of time, helped create some extremely serious-minded low-budget films — feels in many ways like a unique individual, distinct from her more glamorous alter ego. The evidence is on display in Sleepwalking, a stark indie film about a troubled mother (Theron) who abandons her young daughter (AnnaSophia Robb) in the care of her younger brother (Nick Stahl). What’s most amazing about the film is that much of the heavy lifting is done by the young Robb, familiar to audiences from more kid-friendly fare like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We caught up with Theron and Robb, now 14, on a recent visit to New York.
Read the full story