Once in a lifetime comes along an actor who society takes for
granted as a part of their global consciousness. Once in a while
an actor will come along who every civilized person on Earth has
heard of, across all generations, and recognizes their greatness.
Once in a lifetime emerges an artist whose presence makes the art
of filmmaking and images a better world to live in and to view.
Once in a lifetime, there is Jodie Foster. One of the finest
actors of cinema, the beautiful, intelligent, and talented Jodie
Foster was a born star. She broke out on to the Hollywood set at
the mere age of three, appearing as ‘The Coppertone
Girl’ in the hugely popular television commercial.
Encouraged to appreciate the artistic side of filmmaking, she had
her mother to thank for helping to influence her uncompromising
style, artistry, and class. Ms. Foster states, ‘I certainly
was exposed to and learned to appreciate the work of great
directors early on. As a kid, my mother used to take me to see
really interesting arty films in Los Angeles.’ That actable
support from her mother, carried with her as she went on to
become a regular on a number of television series, including
‘Mayberry RFD,’ ‘The Courtship of Eddie’s
Father,’ ‘My Three Sons’ and ‘Paper
Moon.’ She made her feature film debut in ‘Napoleon
and Samantha’ when she was a mere eight years old.
But it was her role in ‘Alice Doesn’t Live Here
Anymore’ (1975), which brought her to the audience’s
eyes and her powerful portrayal as a streetwise teenager in
Martin Scorsese’s cult classic hit ‘Taxi Driver’
(1976) that won her widespread critical praise and international
attention. Foster appeared in a total of four films in 1976,
‘Bugsy Malone’ ‘Echoes of Summer,’
‘Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane’ and ‘
Taxi Driver,’ which were all presented at the Cannes Film
Festival. Alan Parker’s ‘Bugsy Malone,’ earned
her an Italian Comedy Award. She was now fourteen.
Other select motion picture credits include Woody Allen’s
stylized black and white comedy ‘Shadows and Fog,’
Mary Lambert’s ‘Siesta’ opposite Ellen Barking;
‘Stealing Home;’ and ‘Five Corners;’ as
well as earlier films such as ‘Tom Sawyer’
Disney’s ‘Freaky Friday;’ Adrian Lynne’s
‘Foxes’ Tony Richardson’s ‘The Hotel New
Hampshire;’ and Claude Carol’s ‘The Blood of
Others,’ for which the multi-lingual Foster looped all of
her own dialogue in French.
In total, Foster has appeared in nearly 40 films, including
recent films ‘Inside Man’ with Denzel Washington and
Clive Owen; the box-office hit ‘Flightplan’; Jean
Pierre Jeunet’s French language film, ‘A Very Long
Engagement;’ David Fincher’s box-office success,
‘Panic Room;’ ‘Anna and the King’ for
director Andy Tenant, ‘Contact’ for director Robert
Zemeckis; ‘Nell’ opposite Liam Neeson; the comedy
‘Maverick’ opposite Mel Gibson and James Garner and
the romantic drama ‘Sommersby’ opposite Richard
Gere.
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© 2009, The Hollywood Sentinel ®