From yahoo state trooper to veteran record producer, Frances McDormand can do it all. Her's was one Academy Award well-earned. And it's McDormand who breathes life into "Laurel Canyon," an otherwise ho-hum story of a couple in trouble.
Sam (Christian Bale) and Alex (Kate Beckinsale) appear to have the perfect relationship. Both young and attractive (and apparently not wanting for cash), they live in ritzy Cambridge, where both recently graduated medical school. Alex is working on her thesis in genomics and Sam has decided to take an internship in Los Angeles, where his mother Jane (McDormand) works as a record producer.
It's fine for Alex; it doesn't matter where she works as long as it's got a desk and computer. But Sam is worried about how things will go with Jane, who has been no stranger to messed up relationships, drugs and the fast living of the rock and roll world. He doesn't want Alex to be distracted from her work.
When they arrive at the Laurel Canyon house that Jane has promised would be vacant and all theirs, Alex and Sam instead find Sam's mom engrossed in a project in the home's studio with an English band led by Ian McKnight (Alessandro Nivola).
Every day when Sam goes off to work, Alex stays behind to hammer away at her thesis. Meanwhile, she begins to grow intrigued by the sounds of Jane and the band working and smells the wafting smoke as it rises from below. Soon, she's spending more time in the studio than with her genomics.
At the same time, Sam is growing close to an attractive and attracted co-worker, Sara (Natascha McElhone), and it becomes more and more apparent that Jane isn't the main distraction in their lives -- as Sam has feared -- but potential new love interests.
Can they fight the temptation and save their relationship?
That's the crux of "Laurel Canyon," the second feature from writer and
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
