ITINERARY
20
FEBRUARY 01, 2012
AA.COM/AMERICANWAY
THISPAGE, FROMLEFT: RONBATZDORFF/LIONSGATE; EVERETTCOLLECTION (4).OPPOSITEPAGE,MILK&HONEY: R. KENNEDYFORGPTMC
{ MOVI ES }
Morethan
MeetstheEye
Sure,
DANIELSUNJATA
’s
notbad to lookat. But
the
One for theMoney
star ismore than just apretty face.
{
}
W
henHollywoodcasting
directorsare look-
ing forthatperfectblendof
smolderingandsmart, they
lookno furtherthanDaniel
Sunjata. It’sacombination
thathasservedhimwell— in
recentyears, the40-year-old
haspoppeduponBroadway
(
CyranodeBergerac
,
TakeMe
Out
),onthesmallscreen(
CSI
,
Grey’sAnatomy
,
RescueMe
)
andatyour localCineplex(
The
DevilWearsPrada
and
Ghosts
ofGirlfriendsPast
).
Despitehisscreen-idolgood
looks,he’s interested inmore
than justthesuperficial;he
revels inportrayingcompli-
cated,below-the-surfacemen.
“Whatexcitesmeaboutarole is
psychologicalcomplexity,”says
Sunjata,whowasraised inChi-
cago. “Because isn’tthatwhat
mostofusareonsome level?
Boilingpotsofcontradiction?”
Nowhe’sbringingthat
complexitytothebigscreen,
co-starringoppositeKatherine
HeiglandJasonO’Mara inthe
adaptationof theJanetEva-
novichbest-seller,
One for the
Money
.HeiglplaysStephanie,
adown-on-her-luckJersey
girl,O’Maraplaysthedeadbeat
she’schasing,andSunjata
playsabountyhunterwho
showshertheropestocatching
acon.Despitethetrio’ssome-
whattenseon-screendynamic,
itwasall funandgamesonthe
set. “Thevibewasdefinitelya
goodone,”hesays. “Katherine
keptusall laughingthroughout
thearduousshootingschedule.”
Upnext forthedo-it-all
pro?Heswitchesgearstoplay
adetectiveoppositeAmanda
Seyfried inthismonth’s
thriller
Gone
,andthissummer,
he’llappear inthehighlyan-
ticipatedblockbuster
TheDark
KnightRises
.Aftersuchheavy
work,he’lldecompresswith
someheadyhobbies—reading,
listeningtomusicandattend-
ingseminarsonsubjectsthat
interesthim.Afterall, ittakes
worktostaysharp—even if
lookingsharpcomesnaturally.
SettingtheScene
Need ideas forwhere to takeyour valentine to sweepher
off her feet?Youneedn’t lookany further thanyour—
well,
her
— favorite romanticcomedies.Here’sacheat
sheet toa fewof the locationswheremoviemagiccould
translate into real-life romance.
{
¥¦ §¦¨¦ }
Manhattan
(1979)
HaydenPlanetariumatthe
AmericanMuseumofNaturalHistory
NewYork
WoodyAllen’shomage tohishome
city immediately summons the
iconic imageofAllenandDiane
Keaton chattingonabenchas the
sun risesover theQueensboro
Bridge. But just asheartwarming
is the scene inwhich theyduck
into theHaydenPlanetarium to
escapea sudden lightning storm.
What’smore romantic thana little
stargazing?
NottingHill
(1999)
TheSavoyHotel
London
The famousPortabelloRoad,with
itsweekday fruit-and-vegetable
market andweekendantique
vendors, plays akey role in this
HughGrant-JuliaRoberts romantic
comedy. But the film’sdramatic
climax comeswhenGrant’sWill
proposes toRoberts’ Annaduring
apress conferenceat theSavoy
Hotel. Thehotel is an international
fixture, having recentlyundergone
anextensive renovation. TheSavoy
Teapatisserie is theperfect spot to
take ina traditional English cuppa
andbask in thehotel’sopulence.
HighFidelity
(2000)
DoubleDoor
Chicago
Likeall good rom-coms, thisone
endsonahopeful note,whenan
endlesslyembittered record-store
clerk, playedby JackBlack, gets
a chance to shine, singing “Let’s
Get ItOn”onstage. The scenewas
shot atChicago’s famousDouble
Door, a former liquor store
and roominghouse turned live-
musicvenue. It’s agreat place
togrababeer, catcha showand
maybeeven serenadeyour
datewitha littleMarvinGaye.
Amélie
(2001)
Lamarck-Caulaincourt
MetroStation
Paris
Aspart of thequirky title charac-
ter’smission tobring joy to com-
plete strangers, shebreathlessly
describes the sights and smells in
theLamarck-CaulaincourtMetro
Station toablindman. Theman is
overwhelmedby the randomact
of kindness, andwhile leaving the
station, Amélie spots ahandsome
young love interest. Only in the
Cityof Love could romanceblos-
som in suchanordinaryplaceas a
train station.
