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Posted on Sat, Dec. 08, 2007
Dancer helps link movie to its Texas roots
By MARIA RECIO
Star-Telegram Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- Oscar-winning director Mike Nichols was looking for just the right dancer this spring for Charlie Wilson's War, a movie about a former Texas congressman, when he got a tape of a striking brunette with electric blue eyes.
He decided that she was perfect to play Carol Shannon, the Fort Worth belly dancer who enthralled Wilson and accompanied him on his exploits around the world. It was an inspired bit of casting with a Texas twist. Tracy Phillips, who plays the belly dancer, is the daughter of Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips and granddaughter of legendary football coach O.A. "Bum" Phillips.
"Mike Nichols liked the tape and that was it," the Los Angeles-based Tracy Phillips said.
It may be a breakout role for the actress, dancer and choreographer, whose family is from Texas but who grew up all over the country as a "coach's kid." Her daring dance balancing a sword and virtual seduction of the Egyptian defense minister is a central scene in the film, which depicts Wilson's clandestine support of the anti-Soviet rebels in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
The world premiere is Monday at Universal CityWalk Cinemas in Los Angeles, with national release scheduled for Dec. 21. The movie, which stars Oscar winners Tom Hanks as Wilson, Julia Roberts as Houston socialite Joanne Herring and Philip Seymour Hoffman as a rogue CIA agent, is already generating Oscar buzz of its own.
Wilson recovering
In a bit of movielike drama, Wilson, who is recovering from a heart transplant two months ago at Methodist Hospital in Houston, is doing his best to make the event. "I'm in training to go to the premiere and, God willing, I'll be there," Wilson said as he gasped for breath after a workout. The Lufkin Democrat is recovering at a friend's home in The Woodlands.
Tracy Phillips did not know Wilson's story when she was tapped for the belly dancer's role but immediately went out and bought the 2003 book, Charlie Wilson's War, by the late CBS 60 Minutes producer George Crile. "It seems like fiction," Phillips said. "It's amazing that it's a true story."
Wilson, a colorful congressman who served from 1973 to 1997, took up the cause of the Afghan mujahedeen in the early 1980s after he read of their fierce struggle against the invading Soviet Army. Wilson used his position as a member of the House Appropriations Committee to funnel money to the fighters and joined forces with CIA agent Gust Avrakotos and Herring to secretly buy the mujahedeen weapons.
And always, with Wilson, there were women. The divorced Wilson took Shannon, his own belly dancer, to Egypt, Israel and Pakistan.
'In love with the war'
Around the same time he was also engaged to Herring.
"We were in love with the war," Herring said. "I mean by that, with winning the war."
"We were in love with getting rid of the Russians," she said. "We found we were a good team working together. It was a lovely time of my life."
Shannon, whose dancing sealed an arms deal for Wilson, had not seen her former flame in years. She saw him (and his new wife) in May in Los Angeles, when both were on the set to watch Phillips in the belly-dancing scene.
But it was the meeting between Shannon and Phillips that stood out for both of them.
"Mike Nichols came over and took my hand," Shannon said, "and said, 'I want you to meet the girl we found to play you.' He had this happy, smug look on his face, like a boy who had gotten what he wanted for Christmas."
Phillips replaced an actress who Wilson said Nichols thought did not capture Shannon's allure.
"Nichols said, 'Isn't she beautiful?' and I said, 'Yes, she is,'" recalled Shannon, who admired the younger woman's dancing. Shannon, now in her 60s, is a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines but still dances, and Phillips, in her 20s, has danced in music videos and movies, including Dream Girls.
'A spitfire'
Phillips was excited to meet Shannon, whom she described as "just a spitfire."
"I wanted to do right by her," she said of the belly-dance scene. "It definitely takes a little more liberties than traditional belly dance. I think it works."
Playing alongside Hanks and in the company of so many Hollywood A-listers was a heady time for Phillips.
"It was a magical experience for me," she said.
As for coach Phillips, Tracy Phillips said, "Of course, my parents were delighted" that she got the part. Her parents, who met in high school in Port Neches, knew of Wilson and even knew one of his many beauty queen girlfriends, one-time Playboy cover girl and former CNN presenter Liz Wickersham.
Phillips thinks her Texas affiliations were an asset.
"I know Charlie Wilson was happy it was a Texas girl," she said.
Phillips had lunch with Wilson and his wife, Barbara, during a break in the filming. "He's so charismatic," Phillips said. "I get the appeal of Charlie Wilson."
About the movie
Charlie Wilson's War is based on the 2003 book of the same name.
Director: Mike Nichols (The Graduate, Silkwood)
Stars: Oscar winners Tom Hanks as Wilson, Julia Roberts as Houston socialite Joanne Herring and Philip Seymour Hoffman as rogue CIA agent Gust Avrakotos.
Opens: Dec. 21 nationwide
About the movie
Charlie Wilson's War is based on the 2003 book of the same name.
Director: Mike Nichols (The Graduate, Silkwood)
Stars: Oscar winners Tom Hanks as Wilson, Julia Roberts as Houston socialite Joanne Herring and Philip Seymour Hoffman as rogue CIA agent Gust Avrakotos.
Opens: Dec. 21 nationwide
MARIA RECIO 202-383-6103 MRECIO@MCCLATCHYDC.COM
LINK
Dancer helps link movie to its Texas roots
By MARIA RECIO
Star-Telegram Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- Oscar-winning director Mike Nichols was looking for just the right dancer this spring for Charlie Wilson's War, a movie about a former Texas congressman, when he got a tape of a striking brunette with electric blue eyes.
He decided that she was perfect to play Carol Shannon, the Fort Worth belly dancer who enthralled Wilson and accompanied him on his exploits around the world. It was an inspired bit of casting with a Texas twist. Tracy Phillips, who plays the belly dancer, is the daughter of Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips and granddaughter of legendary football coach O.A. "Bum" Phillips.
"Mike Nichols liked the tape and that was it," the Los Angeles-based Tracy Phillips said.
It may be a breakout role for the actress, dancer and choreographer, whose family is from Texas but who grew up all over the country as a "coach's kid." Her daring dance balancing a sword and virtual seduction of the Egyptian defense minister is a central scene in the film, which depicts Wilson's clandestine support of the anti-Soviet rebels in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
The world premiere is Monday at Universal CityWalk Cinemas in Los Angeles, with national release scheduled for Dec. 21. The movie, which stars Oscar winners Tom Hanks as Wilson, Julia Roberts as Houston socialite Joanne Herring and Philip Seymour Hoffman as a rogue CIA agent, is already generating Oscar buzz of its own.
Wilson recovering
In a bit of movielike drama, Wilson, who is recovering from a heart transplant two months ago at Methodist Hospital in Houston, is doing his best to make the event. "I'm in training to go to the premiere and, God willing, I'll be there," Wilson said as he gasped for breath after a workout. The Lufkin Democrat is recovering at a friend's home in The Woodlands.
Tracy Phillips did not know Wilson's story when she was tapped for the belly dancer's role but immediately went out and bought the 2003 book, Charlie Wilson's War, by the late CBS 60 Minutes producer George Crile. "It seems like fiction," Phillips said. "It's amazing that it's a true story."
Wilson, a colorful congressman who served from 1973 to 1997, took up the cause of the Afghan mujahedeen in the early 1980s after he read of their fierce struggle against the invading Soviet Army. Wilson used his position as a member of the House Appropriations Committee to funnel money to the fighters and joined forces with CIA agent Gust Avrakotos and Herring to secretly buy the mujahedeen weapons.
And always, with Wilson, there were women. The divorced Wilson took Shannon, his own belly dancer, to Egypt, Israel and Pakistan.
'In love with the war'
Around the same time he was also engaged to Herring.
"We were in love with the war," Herring said. "I mean by that, with winning the war."
"We were in love with getting rid of the Russians," she said. "We found we were a good team working together. It was a lovely time of my life."
Shannon, whose dancing sealed an arms deal for Wilson, had not seen her former flame in years. She saw him (and his new wife) in May in Los Angeles, when both were on the set to watch Phillips in the belly-dancing scene.
But it was the meeting between Shannon and Phillips that stood out for both of them.
"Mike Nichols came over and took my hand," Shannon said, "and said, 'I want you to meet the girl we found to play you.' He had this happy, smug look on his face, like a boy who had gotten what he wanted for Christmas."
Phillips replaced an actress who Wilson said Nichols thought did not capture Shannon's allure.
"Nichols said, 'Isn't she beautiful?' and I said, 'Yes, she is,'" recalled Shannon, who admired the younger woman's dancing. Shannon, now in her 60s, is a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines but still dances, and Phillips, in her 20s, has danced in music videos and movies, including Dream Girls.
'A spitfire'
Phillips was excited to meet Shannon, whom she described as "just a spitfire."
"I wanted to do right by her," she said of the belly-dance scene. "It definitely takes a little more liberties than traditional belly dance. I think it works."
Playing alongside Hanks and in the company of so many Hollywood A-listers was a heady time for Phillips.
"It was a magical experience for me," she said.
As for coach Phillips, Tracy Phillips said, "Of course, my parents were delighted" that she got the part. Her parents, who met in high school in Port Neches, knew of Wilson and even knew one of his many beauty queen girlfriends, one-time Playboy cover girl and former CNN presenter Liz Wickersham.
Phillips thinks her Texas affiliations were an asset.
"I know Charlie Wilson was happy it was a Texas girl," she said.
Phillips had lunch with Wilson and his wife, Barbara, during a break in the filming. "He's so charismatic," Phillips said. "I get the appeal of Charlie Wilson."
About the movie
Charlie Wilson's War is based on the 2003 book of the same name.
Director: Mike Nichols (The Graduate, Silkwood)
Stars: Oscar winners Tom Hanks as Wilson, Julia Roberts as Houston socialite Joanne Herring and Philip Seymour Hoffman as rogue CIA agent Gust Avrakotos.
Opens: Dec. 21 nationwide
About the movie
Charlie Wilson's War is based on the 2003 book of the same name.
Director: Mike Nichols (The Graduate, Silkwood)
Stars: Oscar winners Tom Hanks as Wilson, Julia Roberts as Houston socialite Joanne Herring and Philip Seymour Hoffman as rogue CIA agent Gust Avrakotos.
Opens: Dec. 21 nationwide
MARIA RECIO 202-383-6103 MRECIO@MCCLATCHYDC.COM
LINK
