Katie Holmes filmed an indie flick called Miss Meadows last summer. She wore some really cute dresses and was flanked by high security during the shoot. Just from the set photos, the film looked like a sweet little romcom that no one would ever watch. I still don’t know if anyone will watch this movie, but the subject matter is surprising. This is a dark comedy, and Holmes plays a kindergarten teacher by day and gun-toting vigilante by night. Kind of like Dexter. Katie told The Wrap, “It’s a bit of a stretch to take on a character who does this, but she’s also funny and I thought the script had a lot of charm.” We’ll see. She also thought The Giver was a good idea, and it sort of bombed. Let’s watch this trailer and discuss.
What do you think? I think Katie could have gotten away with this movie back in her Joey Potter days. It would have made for a nice counterpoint during her Dawson’s Creek years. Will this film resurrect her career now? No way. It doesn’t look like a terrible movie. It also doesn’t hold mass appeal. Miss Meadows seems ambitious, but it’s not a career changer.
Katie also covers the September issue of DuJour. The shoot is pretty dry, so I popped them into the gallery. Katie uses the interview to talk about her career’s dry spell:
On being famous: “Even early on, when I was a young actor and all of a sudden people knew who I was, my dad told me, ‘Don’t let that change how you live your life.’ I’ve always sort of approached it that way. You have to continue to do the things you want to do and not let outside forces dictate.”
She didn’t use her divorce to reignite her career: “It’s the life of an actor. We don’t really have a lot of choice in the matter. You have dry spells, and then you have times when there is a lot of opportunity.”
Her break from acting was voluntary? “I totally admire women who go back to work six weeks after giving birth but when she was little, I was not ready. I was a very nervous mother — like, sleeping next to her crib — and I was in that mode for a long time.”
On maintaining normalcy for Suri: “I just try to live in a way that makes me happy. There’s definitely an awareness of the fact that people have camera phones, and that your privacy is sometimes invaded, but that’s something that I think everyone has had to adjust to.”
[From DuJour]
All of this makes sense considering Katie was in the grip of Scientology handlers every moment of the day when she was with Tom. Katie knew the drill years before she left Tom, and that probably added to the pressure that all new mothers feel about their babies. I’m so glad she left that marriage.
Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News
I like the trailer. Katie appears to have some sort of organ that is pumping life into the rest of her body? I think I saw emotion. She even cried! It looked real.
I’m rooting for her but I don’t think this movie is going to earn her the big comeback (?) that she needs.
it looks good
she has a Eva Green vibe in this movie))
I want to see it! And I never want to see anything, lol!
Katie should just got get a small supporting role in tv show or something. I don’t think she was ever meant to be a star . She can’t carry a movie. This is a small indie film which means a handful of people will watch it and it’s only released in very limited places. As for her marriage, kind of tired of hearing about it. It’s good she left scientology and it is a cult but some people act like she was a teenager when she joined. I just don’t see her as the total innocent. She is going to be 40 in a few years and it appears people still view her as teenage fragile Joey Potter.
I partially agree. I think she was excited about the fame, fortune and status marrying Tom would bring her and she thought she could deal with Scientology shit, but I don’t think she fully envisioned the whole force of it, the way it brainwashed and controlled everything.
It would help if she worked on that little girl voice. She also has some shy mannerisms – slouching her shoulders, smiling while looking away, looking up with head bowed. She can come off adorable and adult – Goldie Hawn did it for decades. Katie is no Goldie, but she should study her career.
This does look kinda movie of the week, but I would watch the heck of out of it. First Katie Holmes movie I’ve wanted to see since Teaching Mrs Tingle.
The concept of this film sounds promising, but since this is Katie Holmes…….it’s going to be as much of a snoozefest as all her prior efforts.
I have to say, Katie has my respect for the way she masterfully planned her divorce to the core.
I understand why she has all the tight security around her these days. That cult is so creepy.
Same here. I wish her the best and hope she stays safe. I read this morning that she secretly moved back to California with Suri. Makes me nervous since Scientology is so much closer there and in NYC she had the hustle and bustle of so many people around as witnesses if anything happened. I hope she has an amazing security team. it’s weird that Tom has basically stayed “gone” on movie sets overseas since the divorce. I wonder if the church said he couldn’t have contact with them because they broke from the church and were probably labeled “suppressive”, so he stays away to make it look like work is the reason he can’t see Suri? The whole thing is just crazy and creepy.
I hope Katie continues to breathe life back into her soul. For years now she has seemed so traumatized and lifeless. Similar to Nicole Kidman by the time they were done. We only know a tiny piece of what went on, so I’m sure the reality is 100x worse/more.
The trailer looks really good!! I am impressed. To say the truth I wouldn’t consider to watch a movie with her as the main actress but after watching the trailer it’s already on my watch list…and I’m actually looking forward for it??!
I’m pleasantly surprised – it looks good! We’ll have to wait and see, but based on the trailer, I’d watch it.
I’ve thought she was a wasted talent since Pieces of April. I’d definitely watch this.
Yes and yes. I’m liking her more and more these days, too, she looks great, seems to be a super loving mom and and appears to have her head on straight post divorce.
Ugh, terrible. I just don’t find her the least bit believable in anything she does.
And that cover photo? Why would they pose her like that? It borders on obscene even though nothing is showing – it’s just bizarre and unflattering.
I will totally see this.
I have an off-topic question for people from the USA – how close or far from the truth is the life of small town communities portrayed in many of the indie movies or just movies/tv shows set in the small towns, mostly in the South? Can people who are not exactly rich, like policemen, teachers, office workers, afford those lovely houses with porches and big yards? I love watching indie movies like Spring Forward, Junebug or The Kings of Summer for the visuals and lovely atmosphere of those small towns (apart from the script) and Miss Meadows seem to have it even despite the murders but I was always wondering how is that possible that every single character, even the struggling single mothers, usually live in their own smaller or bigger houses with their own yards and the only ones having housing troubles are addicts, former criminals and other miserable types? Where I come from, middle-class people from small towns are happy if they can afford 2-bedroom flat. A House with a garden is a luxury if you are not living in the village, that’s why I’m curious.
Interesting question/observation. I’ve always thought most films romanticize the living situations/decorating styles of typical working class people in the US.
Of course there are exceptions, some little towns have comparatively low costs of living so you can probably get a decent house that’s affordable, although I still think it’s unrealistic when they show mass quantities of funky, eclectic decor and great gardens when in reality a single working mom is probably much more focused on putting food on the table and finding affordable child care than achieving a home interior design aesthetic that’s worthy of film! Just my two cents. 🙂
Actually, in the south you can get more bang for your buck as far as a house.
As far as life in small towns being full of friendly folks, and a huge sense of community,I have no idea how it works in the south but in the Midwest, I have found small town living anything but friendly and welcoming. Lol.
I tend to agree. I’m in the midwest, too, and the biggest sense of community I’ve ever had was in my big city vs. in smaller towns. And I just was on vacation in NYC and was blown away by how much friendlier people seemed there than in the small, often narrow minded, town where I live now.
I live in smallish town in the southeast….not extremely small but only one elementary/middle/high school in the town small and I have found it to be extremely friendly and welcoming but I think it’s more of an exception rather than the rule. I had to live in a very small town in TX (which I personally don’t consider southern but they would disagree!) for a short amount of time and I hated it. The people were not friendly to outsiders at all.
It differs all over and there are a lot of factors to consider, but there are definitely places in the south and in the midwest where you can buy houses with a nice yard for a steal. In the areas neighboring where I live, you could find homes for $40-100K that are 1200-2000sq feet with a huge yard/garden and plenty of bedrooms.
I live in the south, and yes for the most part, housing prices in the south are the lowest in the nation. A middle class family can definitely have a nice house with a big yard. I live in a great little neighborhood, in the best school district in my state and all the houses in my neighborhood are under $200k. I think it mostly has to do with the fact that a lot of the south is still very rural and there is still so much unused land nearby. The closer you get to a big city of course, the higher prices will be. But, wages are also lower in the south than other parts of the country, so it kind of evens out I think.
Yes. In the South, especially. The coastal areas and when you near larger urban centers, housing costs are much higher. In small towns, however, it is absolutely accurate that teachers and police and nurses, etcetera, can afford very nice (modest, but very nice) homes, vehicles, and lifestyles.
When we spent two years in the Republic of Ireland, we could not afford anywhere near the square footage of living space, and the garden in back was about 1/4 the size of what we can afford here at home (North Carolina). That said, it’s difficult to compare the two places. In Ireland (we lived in Dublin), the amount of acreage is just smaller. There is less land to go around, and it is an old city. The lots are just not as big as they tend to be in America. Our home in Dublin was lovely, and we enjoyed it. Space is just more of a premium, especially in Europe.
She belongs on television or in indie films. She will never be A-list and should just feel fortunate that anyone still remembers her because of her marriage to Cruise. I think she does okay in low budget films where she won’t be expected to rake in the big bucks or deliver an Oscar winning performance. Miss Meadows looks decent and this is probably the best role she’s had since Pieces of April.
Not a career changer but the movie doesn’t look half-bad. I’ll watch it, and she is pretty cute in it too.
It looks good! I don’t think many people will see it in the theater but I think as something to watch on Net Flicks or DVD it would be great. Katie looks like she does a great job, I see more emotion than I have in ages with her.
The trailer looks promising but since it’s zombie Katie, I have a feeling it’ll be a snoozefest. But I’ll probably rent it when it’s out.
I’m kinda curious as to this movie. It’s like she’s tapping back into Pieces of April (a fine flick) but with vintage styled dresses!
This woulda been cute back in the days but now she looks twee and well..NO a grown ass woman tappa tappa tappaing all over a small town and killing baddies? Is Like Zoey Deschanel Murder Mysteries! LOL
I kind of disagree that this role would have been better back in the Joey Potter days. She may be playing a ‘twee’ (ugh, I hate that word…lol) vigilante… but it would have been a tougher sell for a much younger Katie… essentially Joey Potter, to pull it off. I think the wisdom she has gained through life experience will have helped her in this role, and I am looking forward to seeing it. Seems like it may look kind of cutesy, but with the possibility of grit in there too!
Also, I don’t expect it to be a huge comeback role for her. It’s an Indie film that won’t get much exposure… but if she’s decent in it, then it certainly won’t hurt any career that she is trying to put together.
Looks terrible, Katie should give tv a try.
Katie is beautiful does not matter to me if she can act or not. Is she still dating Jamie Fox?
They were never involved it was just a rumor like so many of other stories of her dating some actor.
I think if she is seeing someone we don’t know who he is at least publically.
That totally looks like a good-twisted-fun movie to me, but I do not claim to have good taste. Just my taste. 🙂 I may see it.
I’d watch it on Netflix if it ever showed up there. It’s the type of movie I think suit her abilities as an actress. Holmes becomes more interesting as soon as she drops the attempts to become A list superstar/fashion designer/and so on and so forth. She’s good within a certain range and I think she’s good enough to carry a little film like this (maybe…haven’t seen it, only going by trailer and goodwill from other small movies she was in), and by all means she should stretch and grow but I don’t think the A list superstar that she tried to be before is for her and that’s fine, really. I still think Pieces of April was good … but movies like Batman, or the other ones she was in, she just did not shine. I think like other actors and actresses, she works well within certain variables, but not at the superstar level, which really only belongs to a few.
That being said, I still think there’s something really annoying about her and I don’t know what it is. I’m glad she’s out of the scientology nightmare marriage – never saw her as a good match for Cruise anyway – and I’m glad she seems happier, but by golly, i don’t know if it’s horrid fashion sense, or resting b!tchface, or ridiculous attempts at fashion/dance, etc., but I can only stand her in very small doses.
I just want to give her a hug. I can’t put my finger on it but I feel that she was in a relationship so bad that it benefits her in more ways than one to not talk about it. There always seem to leaks to the press though “sources” during divorces. It just seems that she is someone who is so happy to be out of that marriage and so embarrassed about what she put up with.