News Flash: Josh Hartnett is a Heartthrob
Post and Rocky Gaga for Josh Hartnett
By Jenny Shank, 8-03-06
The swift-footed Achilles. Er, make that the "chick magnet" Josh Hartnett.
The typical content breakdown of the gossip columns at the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News goes something like this: 80 percent John Elway sightings, ten percent reports of famous people passing through Colorado, and ten percent items about local people who are not really famous but happen to own restaurants, anchor the news, or have a lot of money. So this week when a Hollywood crew came to Denver to film a movie staring not only Josh Hartnett and Samuel L. Jackson, but The Man himself, John Elway, you can bet that the gossip columnists were all over that mess. The movie, "Resurrecting the Champ," is based on an article by Denver-based L.A. Times journalist J.R. Moehringer, and although it's set in Denver, the bulk of the filming was completed in Calgary.
The few scenes that were filmed here left the gossip columnists plenty to gab about. On Sunday, Bill Husted called the film "the most Denver-drenched movie ever to hit the big screen," and referred to Josh Hartnett as "the movie's heartthrob lead." One scene in the movie was filmed in John Elway's restaurant, and on Monday, Husted gave readers the lowdown on the lines Elway exchanged with a tyke. Penny Parker gave a similiar report on Tuesday, while noting that Hartnett is generally considered a "heartthrob."
On Wednesday, Parker reported about how Denver landed the movie shooting: "If you like seeing Denver getting 'face time' on the silver screen, you can thank in part Greg Babcock, a professional location scout." Babcock worked with director Rob Lurie in setting up the scene at Elway's Steakhouse. In this piece, Hartnett, who like Achilles in the Illiad apparently can never be referred to without an epithet, is called "chick magnet Josh Hartnett." Parker also interviewed Kevin Shand, executive director of the Colorado Film Commission, who complained about the commission's meager funding and spoke longingly of New Mexico's film budget: "I understand that New Mexico alone spends eight to 10 million in incentives." Last week, Parker wrote a preview of the filming in which she called Hartnett a "hunky heartbreaker."
The filming of the boxing-themed movie provided plenty of material for local sports writers, too. On Wednesday Mark Kizsla spoke to Jake Plummer, who had a bit part in the movie in which he was interviewed by "heartthrob" Josh Harttnet. The Rocky Mountain News sports section restrained itself, referring to Hartnett simply as an "actor."
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