What the Hell Happened to Anne Heche?

During the 90’s, Anne Heche was an up-and-coming actress.  Many believed that the A-list was in her future.  Then she started a high-profile relationship with Ellen DeGeneres and I think it’s fair to say that all hell broke loose.  The couple became the face of same sex relationships at a time when the nation did not approve of same sex relationships.  They were all over the media.  Some accused them of shoving their lifestyle down America’s collective throat.  The relationship and the media whirlwind that surrounded it eclipsed both of their careers.  I know it’s hard to believe it now when DeGeneres is a beloved figure in the entertainment industry, but the backlash nearly took down her career.  It certainly limited Heche’s prospects.

So, what the hell happened?

Heche had an unfortunate childhood.  She was the youngest of five children.  Her family moved 11 times during her childhood including a stay in an Amish community.  It is unclear exactly how Heche’s father supported his family.  Outwardly, he was a choir director.  He also claimed to be involved in the business of “gas and oil”.  But Heche denies these claims suggesting that he was actually involved in something shadier.

When Heche was 12, her family settled in Ocean City, New Jersey.  They had lost their home, so the entire family of seven moved into a single bedroom in the home of another family from their church.  Heche took a job working at a dinner theater where she earned $100 a week.  At the age of 12, she was the top earner in her family.

The following year, when Heche was 13, her father died of AIDS.  He was only 45 years old.  Heche claimed that her father was a closeted homosexual, “He was in complete denial until the day he died. We know he got it from his gay relationships. Absolutely. I don’t think it was just one. He was a very promiscuous man, and we knew his lifestyle then.”  Heche has also claimed that despite being gay, her father raped her as a child:

I don’t think he was just a gay man. I think he was sexually deviant. My belief was that my father was gay and he had to cover that up. I think he was sexually abusive. The more he couldn’t be who he was, the more that came out of him in ways that it did.

Three months after the death of her father, Heche’s older brother Nathan was killed in a car crash.  He was only 18 at the time.  Officially, it was believed that Nathan fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a tree, but Heche believes her brother committed suicide.

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Call Me Crazy – Anne Heche’s 2001 auto-biography

Heche wrote about her tragic childhood in her 2001 memoir, Call Me Crazy.  In the book, she claimed that she contracted genital herpes as an infant and that her mother, Nancy, refused to acknowledge it or take her to a doctor.  Nancy Heche vehemently denied her daughter’s claims:  “I am trying to find a place for myself in this writing, a place where I as Anne’s mother do not feel violated or scandalized.”

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Anne Heche and her sister, Abigail

Heche’s sole surviving sister, Abigail, cast some doubt on the validity of the book:

“It is my opinion that my sister Anne truly believes, at this moment, what she has asserted about our father’s past behavior; however, at the same time, I would like to point out that Anne, in the past, has expressed doubts herself about the accuracy of such memories.  Based on my experience and her own expressed doubts, I believe that her memories regarding our father are untrue. And I can state emphatically, regardless of Anne’s beliefs, that the assertion that our mother knew about such behavior is absolutely false.”

Following the death of her husband, Nancy Heche became a Christian therapist and motivational speaker.  She  lectures on behalf of the controversial James Dobson’s Focus on the Family about overcoming homosexuality.  According to Heche:

My mother’s had a very tragic life. Three of her five children are dead, and her husband is dead. That she is attempting to change gay people into straight people is, in my opinion, a way to keep the pain of the truth out. People wonder why I am so forthcoming with the truths that have happened in my life, and it’s because the lies that I have been surrounded with and the denial that I was raised in, for better or worse, bore a child of truth and love. My mother preaches to this day the opposite of that core of my life. It is no mistake that she still stands up against love. And one wonders why I’m not rushing to have her meet my children.

Heche remains estranged from her mother.  But she has reconciled with her sister.

Following her brother’s death, the surviving members of the Heche family relocated to Chicago.  At the age of 16, an agent spotted Heche in a school play.  He secured an audition for her for the daytime soap, As the World Turns.  Heche’s mother insisted she finish school first.  Two years later, just before her high school graduation, Heche was offered a dual role on the soap opera, Another World.  Once again, her mother refused to let her go.  But this time, Heche rebelled:

My mother was very religious and maybe she thought it was a sinner’s world.  But I got on the phone and said, ‘Send me the ticket. I’m getting on the plane.’ I was like, ‘Bye!’ I did my time with my mom in a one-bedroom, skanky apartment and I was done.

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Anne Heche – Another World – 1987-1991

From 1987-1991, Heche appeared as a regular on Another World.  She played twins Vickie and Marley Hudson.  The dual role allowed Heche to play both a hero and a villain.

In 1989, Heche was nominated for an Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Juvenile Female in a Drama Series.  In 1991, she took home Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series.

In 1991, Heche made her prime time debut on an episode of Murphy Brown.  In the season 4 episode, It Came From College, Heche guest starred as the 18-year-old daughter of one of Muphy’s old friends.  Murphy learns about what she is in store for as a mother by watching over a college-aged kid.

In 1992, Heche appeared in the Hallmark TV movie, O Pioneers!  Jessica Lange starred as settler who has to keep the family together and save their farm.  David Strathairn played Lange’s suitor who gets the townsfolk talking.  Heather Graham played Lange’s character in her youth.  Heche’s role was a small one.

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Anne Heche – The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – 1993

In 1993, Heche made the jump to the big screen.  First she appeared opposite David Arquette and Stephen Dorff in An Ambush of Ghosts.  Then she played Mary Jane Wilks in Stephen Sommers’ adaptation of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  (pictured above)

That’s future hobbit, Elijah Wood, as young Huck.  And Jason Robards played The King.

Around this time, Heche met Fleetwood Mac frontman Lindsey Buckingham on an airplane.  She did not know who he was.  He was smitten with her and gave her his phone number.  A friend of Heche’s insisted that she call him back.  They ended up dating for roughly a year before Heche called it quits.  Buckingham’s song, Come, was supposedly inspired by Heche.

There are other song’s in Buckingham’s catalogue that arguably may have been inspired by Heche as well.  But Buckingham has pretty much confirmed that Come was written as a result of their breakup.  Heche wrote about the relationship in her book, Call Me Crazy:

Lindsey and I traveled together for a while while he was on tour, and I tried to be the good girlfriend groupie. We had fun for about a year. We played, we sang. But I was playing for him and not for me. I needed my own career and wasn’t willing to sacrifice it for a rock star. I had just gotten cast in a John Frankenheimer movie and it seemed like the perfect time to make the split.

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Anne Heche – The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles – 1993

Back on the small screen, Heche appeared in an episode of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.

Heche doesn’t show up until the 8 minute mark if you want to skip ahead.  No offense to Sean Patrick Flanery, but Heche would meet the real Indy soon enough.

In 1994, Heche was all over the place.  She had a small role in James L Brooks’ dramedy, I’ll Do Anything.  Nick Nolte starred as a struggling actor trying to reconnect with a daughter he hasn’t seen in two years.  Albert Brooks, Julie Kavner, Joely Richardson and Tracey Ullman co-starred.  The movie was originally filmed as a musical with eight songs by Prince.  But test audiences hated the music, so the movie was reworked without them.

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Anne Heche – Against the Wall – 1994

Next, Heche appeared in the TV movie, Against the Wall.

Against the Wall was based on the Attica Prison uprising of 1971.  It was directed by John Frankenheimer and starred Kyle MacLachlan, Samuel L. Jackson, Clarence Williams III, and Harry Dean Stanton.

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Anne Heche – Girls in Prison – 1994

Heche played a prison inmate in the made-for-Showtime movie, Girls In Prison.

Girls in Prison was part of Showtime’s Rebel Highway series of intentionally campy updates on B-movies.

This one was directed by John McNaughton and starred Ione Skye.

Back on the big screen, Heche also appeared opposite Melanie Griffith and Ed Harris in the rom-com, Milk Money.  Griffith played a hooker named V who flashes a kid for money.  The kid then invites V to live in his tree house and hooks her up with his dad (played by Harris who should know better).  Heche played Griffith’s best friend who was also a prostitute.

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Anne Heche and Steve Martin

Heche had an uncredited role in the Steve Martin movie, A Simple Twist of Fate.  The two of them dated for two years from 1995-1997.  Reportedly, Heche left Martin for DeGeneres.  Two years later, Martin based the Heather Graham character in Bowfinger on his relationship with Heche.  In the movie, Graham plays a social climber who flirts with both Martin and Eddie Murphy in order to star in a movie.  Martin denied the character was based on Heche, but at the end of the movie she informs Martin that she is dating “the most powerful lesbian in Hollywood.”  So you decide.

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Anne Heche – Wild Side – 1995

In 1995, Heche appeared in the TNT movie, Kingfish: A Story of Huey P. Long opposite John Goodman.  She also appeared in the thriller, Wild Side (pictured above).

Christopher Walken starred as an international criminal.  Joan Chen played his wife.  And Heche played a hooker once again.  Walken described his character as the craziest he had ever played.  Which is really saying something!

As Walken described in the interview above, Wild Side ran into some problems after filming was completed.  Writer/director Donald Cammell clashed with the producer Elie Cohn over the casting of Heche who was a complete unknown at the time.  They fought during filming, but things came to a head when Cammell turned in his rough cut.  The producers hated it and ordered the editor to remove all flashbacks, flash forwards and jump cuts.  Still unsatisfied, they fired the editor and recut the movie themselves.  After seeing the final cut, Cammell committed suicide.

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Anne Heche – The Juror – 1996

In 1996, Heche landed a role opposite Alec Baldwin and Demi Moore in the thriller, The Juror.

Moore starred as a single mom called to jury duty.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt played her son.  Baldwin played a mob enforcer who tries to convince Moore to sway the other jurors.  Heche played Moore’s best friend whom Baldwin murders to send a message.

Reviews were terrible and the movie flopped at the box office.

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Anne Heche – Pie in the Sky – 1996

Later that year, Heche starred opposite Josh Charles and John Goodman in the romantic comedy, Pie In The Sky.  She played an avant-garde dancer.  Charles played a man obsessed with traffic patterns and unraveling gridlock.  In fact, the movie was released in other countries under the romantic title, Mr. Traffic.

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Anne Heche – Walking and Talking – 1996

Heche also starred opposite Katherine Keener in the movie, Walking and Talking.

Heche and Keener played best friends in New York City.  Heche’s character is engaged while Keener is juggling two men one of whom is played by Liev Schreiber.

Have I seen the movie?  No.  But Entertainment Weekly picked it for their “Top 50 Cult Films of All-Time” list.  It ranked #47.  

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Anne Heche – If These Walls Could Talk – 1996

Heche ended a busy 1996 by appearing in the made-for-HBO movie, If These Walls Could Talk.

The movie was broken into three segments.  The 1952 story starred Heche’s The Juror co-star, Demi Moore.  The 1974 segment starred Sissy Spacek.  Heche starred in the segment set in 1996.  She played a college student who gets pregnant while having an affair with her professor.  When the professor finds out, he dumps her leading Heche to decide on an abortion.  The doctor who performs the operation was played by Cher which is probably cause for concern.

Jada Pinkett Smith played Heche’s roommate and Matthew Lillard played a pro-life protester.

Demi Moore spent seven years trying to get a movie made about abortion.  According to Cher, “It took someone with Demi’s power and fortitude to have something like this made. Without that power, you couldn’t do it. These topics are not on everybody’s top 10 list of things to do.”

If These Walls Could Talk surprised everyone by becoming the highest-rated movie in HBO’s history at the time.  It was nominated for several Emmys and Golden Globes but didn’t take home any statues.  Four years later, HBO aired a sequel which included a role for Ellen DeGeneres.

Finally, Heche did voice work for the video game, 9 The Last Resort.  The game was produced by Robert De Niro and included voice work from Heche (as both Miss G-String and The Guitar Woman, Cher, Ellen DeGeneres (as The Octopus Lady), Steve Perry and Joe Tyler (as The Toxic Twins) and Christopher Reeve.

If you thought 1996 was busy, wait till you see 1997!

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Anne Heche – Donnie Brasco – 1997

Heche started off 1997 by appearing in Mike Newell’s crime drama, Donnie Brasco.

The movie is based on the true story of an undercover agent who infiltrated the a crime family in New York in the 1970s.  Johnny Depp played the undercover agent who befriends a low-level gangster played by Al Pacino.  The longer Depp’s character stays undercover, the harder it is for him to differentiate between his real life and his cover.  Heche played Depp’s wife who finds it difficult to deal with the strains her husband’s work puts on their marriage.

Originally, Stephen Frears was set to direct and Tom Cruise to star.  But in 1991, the project was put on hold because it was considered to similar to Goodfellas.  When the project started up again five years later, Frears and Cruise had moved on.  Joe Pesci was replaced with Bruno Kirby for fear that Pesci would bring Goodfellas to mind.  Only Pacino stayed with the picture.

Despite mostly positive reviews, Donnie Brasco was a disappointment in the US box office.  It opened at #2 behind The Empire Strikes Back Special Edition which was in its second week of re-release.  It ended up grossing almost $42 million in the US.  Fortunately, it fared better overseas.

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Anne Heche – Volcano – 1997

Next, Heche starred opposite Tommy Lee Jones in the disaster movie, Volcano.

Jones starred as the head of the Los Angeles Office of Emergency Management.  When an earthquake hits the city, he returns from vacation to investigate.  Heche played a geologist who believes a volcano may be forming underneath LA.  Together, they try to save the city from destruction.

Volcano was the second of two major volcano-themed disaster movies released in 1997.  The first was Dante’s Peak starring Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton.  Of the two, Volcano got better reviews although critics didn’t care for either movie.  Since Dante’s Peak got to theaters first, it was the bigger financial success of the two.

Volcano opened at #1 at the box office ahead of the weekend’s other new release, Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion.  But by the end of its domestic run it grossed under $50 million dollars on a $90 million dollar budget making it a flop.

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Anne Heche – Subway Stories – 1997

Heche returned to HBO for the movie, Subway Stories.

The project began as a contest in which New Yorkers submitted their personal stories about experiences on the subway.  HBO picked ten stories and then chose top-tier talent to adapt them.  Heche appears in the final short directed by Ted Demme.  She plays a pregnant woman contemplating suicide.  Gregory Hines played a man on the other side of the tracks trying to stop her from stepping in front of the train.

Subway Stories was well-received by critics.

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Anne Heche – I Know What You Did Last Summer – 1997

Ever the busy actress, Heche also popped up in the teen horror movie, I Know What You Did Last Summer.

Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Freddie Prinze Jr. played teens who try to hide a hit-and-run from the police.  They dump the body and try to get on with their lives.  But eventually, they start receiving notes that say “I know what you did last summer”.  Heche played the sister of the man the teens hit.

I Know… was Kevin Williamson’s follow-up to Scream.  Williamson wrote the script for I Know What You Did Last Summer before writing Scream, but he could not sell it.  After Scream became a big hit, Columbia Pictures immediately bought I Know What You Did Last Summer.  They tried to market their movie as being “from the creators of Scream“.  But Miramax, the studio which owned the rights to the Scream franchise, sued for false advertising and the phrase was removed from all further marketing materials.

Reviews were mostly negative, but the movie was a hit with teen audiences who were hungry for more slasher movies like Scream.  A glut of like-minded horror movies followed including I Still Know What You Did Last Summer which really should have been called I Still Know What You Did the Summer Before Last.  In 2006, a direct-to-video sequel was released called I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer – a title that makes no sense whatsoever.

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Anne Heche – Wag the Dog – 1997

Heche ended 1997 with a supporting role in Barry Levinson’s political satire, Wag the Dog.

In a story that mirrored the Clinton-era headlines, the US president is embroiled in a sex scandal just before an election.  In order to distract the American public, a White House spin doctor (played by Robert De Niro) hires a Hollywood producer (played by Dustin Hoffman) to produce a fake war.  Heche played De Niro’s assistant.  Denis Leary, Willie Nelson, Kirsten Dunst, William H. Macy and Woody Harrelson all made appearances.

During the filming of the movie, Levinson, De Niro and Hoffman had a meeting with President Clinton.  The president asked De Niro what their movie was about.  De Niro looked over to Levinson, hoping he would answer the question. Levinson, in turn, looked over to Hoffman.  Hoffman, having no one else to turn to, says he started tap dancing.  According to Hoffman, “I can’t even remember what I said.”

Hoffman and Levinson made Wag the Dog while taking a break from their sci-fi movie, Sphere.

Reviews for Wag the Dog were very positive.  But it performed modestly at the box office.  It opened in limited release and then went into wider distribution.  When it went wide, it landed in fourth place.  It ended up grossing just over $40 million in the US which is disappointing given the level of talent involved.

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Anne Heche and Ellen Degeneres

As Heche was being noticed in Hollywood, she began a very high-profile romance with comedian Ellen Degeneres.  Degeneres was the star of the modestly successful sitcom, Ellen.   Ellen the show saw a ratings spike when Degeneres came out of the closet on the Oprah Winfrey Show.  A month later, Degeneres and Heche met at the Oscars.  A month after that, Heche landed the biggest role of her career.  And the next day, she took Degeneres as her date to the Volcano premiere.  This was their first time being seen together as a couple in public and served as Heche’s coming out.

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Anne Heche – Six Days, Seven Nights – 1998

In 1998, Heche starred opposite Harrison Ford in Ivan Reitman’s romantic-comedy-adventure, Six Days Seven Nights.

Ford played a comically grumpy pilot hired by Heche.  Heche played a fashion writer who recently became engaged to her boyfriend played by David Schwimmer.  When their plane passes through a storm, Heche and Ford are stranded on an island inhabited by pirates.

Ford picked Heche for the role from a list of possible co-stars most of whom were more famous than Heche.  According to Ford, ““She had, whether pretended or real enough, I wouldn’t say quite ‘disdain but she seemed to be unconcerned about me.”  One day after being cast as Ford’s romantic interest, Heche came out as gay at the Volcano premiere.  The media pounced on it.  Would audiences accept a gay actress as a leading lady in a romantic comedy?

When Reitman was asked about the headlines, he admitted to being worried.  He was quoted as saying, ” “I think it will do the movie some harm, and that makes me nervous.”  Somehow Six Day, Seven Nights became some kind of national test of gay acceptance instead of a mediocre piece of escapist entertainment.  So when it failed to live up to expectations, Heche took the blame.

Reviews were mixed.  The movie opened at #2 behind The Truman Show which was in its second week of release. It ended up grossing just over its $70 million dollar budget which qualifies it as a disappointment.  Fortunately, it fared better overseas where audiences didn’t care who Heche was kissing in real life.

Heche - Return to Paradise
Anne Heche – Return to Paradise – 1998

Later that year, Heche appeared opposite Vince Vaughn and Joaquin Phoenix in the drama, Return to Paradise.

Vaughn and Phoenix played friends who partied a little too hard in Malaysia.  Hey, haven’t we all?  Unfortunately, they left behind massive amounts of hashish.  Since Phoenix stayed behind, he has had to take the fall for Vaughn and a third friend.  Heche played a lawyer who tells Vaughn that unless he returns to Malaysia and serves a jail sentence, Phoenix will be put to death.  This is exactly why I stopped partying in third world countries!

Return to Paradise received pretty solid reviews but it opened on less than 1,000 theaters and grossed only $8 million dollars on a $14 million dollar budget.

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Anne Heche – Psycho – 1998

Heche’s final film of 1998 was Gus Van Sant’s remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic, Psycho.

Heche played Marion Crane, the role originated by Janet Leigh.  You know the deal.  If you don’t, stop what you are doing and go watch the original Psycho – not the remake – right now.  Go on!  What are you waiting for?  It’s a classic.  It’s good for you.  You’ll like it, I promise.  Yes, it’s black and white.  That just makes it creepier.  Done?  Good.  Anyway, Hitchcock cast Leigh in the role because she was a star.  Then he killed her off at the end of the first act which was unheard of at the time.  Shocking!

So what does it say about Heche that she was chosen to play such an iconic role?  A role that hinged on the idea that the actress playing the part was a big star?  I think it shows that Hollywood considered her to be a big deal.  A-list?  Probably not.  But definitely a name.

Say what you will about the Psycho remake, but you have to admire the brass balls on Van Sant.  He makes what is very nearly a shot-for-shot remake of one of the most beloved movies of all times.  Good idea?  No.  Not remotely.  In fact, it may be the worst idea to come out of Hollywood that decade.  But Van Sant was hot off of Goodwill Hunting and he had cachet to burn.  And burn it, he did.  All at once on the most ill-advised remake of the century.

Heche’s Return to Paradise co-star, Vince Vaughn, stepped in to the shoes of Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates.  Vaughn was at a point in his career where Hollywood was still figuring out what to do with him.  Soon, he would settle comfortably – too comfortably – into the role of slacker goofball.  The talented cast included Julianne Moore, Viggo Mortensen, William H. Macy and Robert Forster.  If these guys had sat around reading the phone book, it probably would have been more interesting than a pointless reshoot of Psycho.  

Reviews were mostly negative.  Ebert summed up the critical consensus when he wrote that the movie “demonstrates that a shot-by-shot remake is pointless; genius apparently resides between or beneath the shots, or in chemistry that cannot be timed or counted.”  The remake opened at #2 at the box office behind A Bug’s Life.  It grossed just over $20 million dollars on a $60 million dollar budget.

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Anne Heche – Ellen – 1997-1998

Heche also found time to do a guest spot on Degeneres’ sitcom, Ellen.  A strange thing happened with Ellen the sitcom.  When Degeneres and her character came out, the show had a spike in the ratings.  But after that, the sitcom which had been light as a creampuff during the first four seasons started to deal more and more with gay and lesbian issues.  Even  Chaz Bono, the media director for GLAAD at the time, criticized the show for its serious shift in tone.  A backlash started, ratings dropped and the show was cancelled not long after hitting its highest ratings ever.

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Anne Heche – The Third Miracle – 1999

In 1999, Heche appeared opposite Ed Harris in the Catholic drama, The Third Miracle.

Harris played a priest suffering a crisis of faith.  He is investigating and potentially debunking a series of miracles performed by a woman who has been nominated for sainthood.  Heche played the would-be saint’s daughter, a non-believer who cannot forgive her mother for abandoning her at the age of 16.

Reviews were mixed to positive.  But very few people ever saw the movie.

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Anne Heche – Auggie Rose – 2000

In 2000, Heche starred opposite Jeff Goldblum in the drama, Auggie Rose also known as Beyond Suspicion.

Goldblum played an insurance salesman who witnesses the murder of an ex-con named Auggie Rose.  Goldblum’s character assumes the identity of the dead man and begins living a double life.  He keeps this a secret from his live-in girlfriend played by Nancy Travis.  Heche played a pen pal who was planning to meet Auggie for the first time.  Goldblum poses as Auggie and meets with her instead.

Auggie Rose debuted on Cinemax before being released on video under the title Beyond Suspicion.  Then it had a limited theatrical release at select cities in California.  Reviews were mixed.

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Anne Heche – One Kill – 2000

Later that year, Heche starred opposite Sam Shepard and Eric Stoltz in the Showtime movie, One Kill.

The movie was based on a true story of a divorced marine who started having an affair with a senior office.  Shepard played the marine with whom Heche’s character is having an affair.  When she discovered that his character was married, she tried to break off the relationship.  But he wouldn’t have it.  He becomes increasingly violent eventually going so far as to break into her home.  Heche shoots and kills him in self-defense.  But when she is put on trial, she finds that the other marines who have witnessed Shepard’s errant behavior refuse to testify against him.  Stoltz played the military lawyer who represented Heche in court.

Heche -Split

Heche’s career took a backseat to her personal life in 2000.  In August, Heche and Degeneres made a public statement in the New York Daily News announcing that they were ending their relationship after 3 1/2 years.  According to the announcement, the split was amicable and mutual.  Not long before, the couple had been talking very openly about getting married as soon as same-sex marriages were allowed.  So the news of their split came as a shock.

More shocking still was Heche’s behavior following the announcement.  Heche’s car broke down about 40 miles outside of Fresno.  She walked about a mile and knocked on the door of a complete stranger.  The resident of the house recognized Heche from Six Days, Seven Nights.  She admitted Heche into her home and even let her take a shower.  She became worried when Heche showed no signs of leaving.  After a half hour, she called the sheriff’s office.  When deputies arrived, Heche told them that she was “God, and was going to take everyone back to heaven…in a spaceship,”

The deputies called an ambulance and Heche was driven 50 miles to Fresno’s University Medical Center.  She was released a few hours later.

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Anne Heche and Barbara Walters

Heche later confessed to Barbara Walters in an interview on 20/20 that she was crazy at the time.  She said that to deal with the abuse she suffered as a child, she created an alter ego named Celestia who lived in a fantasy world Heche called the Fourth Dimension.  According to Heche:

“I was told to go to a place where I would meet a spaceship. I was told in order to get on the spaceship that I would have to take a hit of Ecstasy… Fresno was the culmination of a journey and a world that I thought I needed to escape to in order to find love.”

The next day, Heche and her publicist picked up her car.  A tow truck had been called and filled the tank with gas.  Then they drove away like nothing ever happened.  Heche said that was when she turned her life around.

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Anne Heche – Ally McBeal – 2001

In 2001, Heche appeared in seven episodes of the quirky law drama, Ally McBeal.  Heche played a woman with Tourette syndrome and has a relationship with the lawyer played by Peter MacNicol.  The show was in its fourth season at the time and was also serving as a kind of career rehab for Robert Downey Jr.

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Anne Heche – Prozac Nation – 2001

Heche returned to the big screen in the film adaptation of  Elizabeth Wurtzel’s best-selling novel, Prozac Nation.

Christina Ricci played Wurtzel, a journalism student struggling with depression at Harvard.  Her mother, played by Jessica Lange, sends her to a doctor played by Heche for help.  Michelle Williams and Jason Biggs co-starred.

Prozac Nation premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2001.  Miramax bought the rights to distribute the movie nationally.  But after months of re-editing and screen-testing the movie, the studio abandoned the idea of releasing it to theaters.  Instead, the movie made its debut on the Starz channel.  According to one of the film’s screen-writers:

It’s a truthful depiction of depression. And I think the reason Miramax has struggled is the fact that it doesn’t have a traditional dramatic structure, in terms of a clear, unqualified ending. Look at the book: Elizabeth is very clear that Prozac has helped her, but you’re left with a dilemma, because perhaps she no longer knows who she is. We didn’t want to come down heavily on one side or the other. People who’ve experienced depression like that aspect of the film, but a lot of people don’t like it. Miramax certainly don’t seem to like it.

Reviews were negative.

heche - lafoon
Anne Heche and Coley Laffoon

In 2001, Heche married a cameraman named Coley Laffoon.  The couple met during a stand-up comedy tour with Degeneres.  They had a son named Homer.  At the time, people were shocked to see one half of America’s best known lesbian couple marrying a dude.  We’ll see a little later how that turned out.

heche - john q
Anne Heche – John Q – 2002

In 2002, Heche had a supporting role in the medical thriller, John Q.

Denzel Washington starred as a man whose son is in need of a heart transplant or else he will die.  A doctor played by James Woods and hospital administrator played by Heche give him the bad news that his insurance doesn’t cover the procedure.  Since they can’t pay for the procedure, the hospital prepares to released Washington’s son.  So Washington does the only logical thing.  He starts taking hostages.  Robert Duvall played a negotiator and Ray Liotta played a sharp shooter on a SWAT team tasked with taking him down.

Both George W. Bush and Al Gore shot scenes for the movie.  At the time, the winner of the 2000 presidential election had not been determined.  As the eventual winner of the election, Bush made the final cut of the movie while Gore ended up on the cutting room floor.

Despite mostly negative reviews, John Q was a hit at the box office.

heche - proof
Anne Heche – Proof – 2002

In 2002, Heche made her Broadway debut.  She took over the lead role in Proof from Jennifer Jason Leigh.

heche - gracie's choice
Anne Heche – Gracie’s Choice – 2004

In 2004, Heche co-starred opposite Kristen Bell and Diane Ladd in the Lifetime movie, Gracie’s Choice.

Bell starred as a teeneager who has essentially raised her four younger siblings.  Heche played an abusive mother.  Bell’s character eventually decides that things have gone too far and she must take full custody of her brothers.  Heche was nominated for an Emmy.

heche - birth
Anne Heche – Birth – 2004

Later that year, Heche appeared opposite Nicole Kidman in the bizarre reincarnation drama, Birth.

Kidman played a wealthy widow who gradually becomes convinced that a ten-year old boy is her late husband reincarnated.  Heche played the late husband’s sister-in-law.  Over the course of the movie, it is revealed that Heche had an affair with Kidman’s husband before he died.

When the movie premiered at the Venice Film Festival, it was greeted by boos and catcalls.  Reviews were mostly negative and  the movie flopped at the box office.

heche - new twentieth century
Anne Heche – Twentieth Century – 2004

Heche also returned to Broadway to star with Alec Baldwin in a revival of the comedy, Twentieth Century.  She was nominated for a Tony Award.

heche - dead will tell
Anne Heche – The Dead Will Tell – 2004

Heche ended 2004 with another TV movie.  This time it was a ghost story called The Dead Will Tell.  Heche played a woman haunted by ghostly images after accepting an antique engagement ring from her fiance.

Kathleen Quinlan, Chris Sarandon and Eva Longoria co-starred.

heche - everwood
Anne Heche – Everwood – 2004-2005

From 2004-2005, Heche appeared on 10 episodes of the TV drama, Everwood.  During the show’s fourth and final season, the doctor played by Treat Williams has an affair with his patient’s wife played by Heche.

heche - nip tuck
Anne Heche – Nip/Tuck – 2005

Heche continued her TV career with three episodes of the FX drama, Nip/Tuck in 2005.

heche - silver bells
Anne Heche – Silver Bells – 2005

Capping off 2005, Heche starred opposite Tate Donovan in one of those outrageous Hallmark holiday movies.  In Silver Bells, Donovan played a widower who travels from Nova Scotia to New York every year to sell Christmas trees.  Heche played a widow who hasn’t celebrated Christmas since her husband died.  Every year, she politely refuses to buy a tree.

Some people find these movie’s heart warming.  But they make me want to projectile vomit.

Heche - Fatal Desire
Anne Heche – Fatal Desire – 2006

In 2006, Heche starred opposite Eric Roberts in the Lifetime movie, Fatal Desire.  Yes, a random title generator was used to select that title.

Roberts played a single dad in his forties despite being 50 years old in real life.  Roberts’ character meets “sexkitten” online.  After exchanging messages online, the two decide to meet.  “Sexkitten” is a woman in her twenties despite being played by Heche who was actually 37 at the time.  That makes sense when you adjust her real age to her Lifetime Movie Age.  “Sexkitten” reveals that she is married to an abusive man so they plot to kill him.  As soon as the deed is done, “Sexkitten” starts ignoring her older lover.  Sounds like someone watched Body Heat.

Being a Lifetime movie, Fatal Desire was of course based (loosely) on a “true story”.

Heche - Men in Trees
Anne Heche – Men in Trees – 2006-2008

From 2006-2008, Heche starred in the TV comedy-drama, Men In Trees.  Heche played a relationship coach who moves from New York to a small town in Alaska.  It’s kind of Sex In the City meets Northern Exposure.  The show was well liked by critics.  But ABC shuffled it around their schedule and it never found an audience.  It was cancelled after two seasons.

Heche - Tupper
Anne Heche and James Tupper

In 2007, Heche reportedly left her husband for her Men In Trees co-star, James Tupper.  Laffoon filed for divorce and sought sole custody of their son claiming that Heche was an unfit parent and exhibited “bizarre and delusional behavior for which she refuses to seek professional help.”  Heche claimed that Laffoon was lying to the court because she “would not cave in to his astronomical money demands.”  Heche ended up losing custody of their son.

In 2008, following the cancellation of Men in Trees, Heche submitted a financial declaration showing that she had less than $35,000 in her bank accounts and could no longer afford to pay child support.  Their divorce was not finalized until 2009.  A court order was issued which required them to hire a parenting coordinator to manage their relationships with son until 2011.

Heche and Tupper had a child together in 2009.  Although they have not married, they have remained together.

heche - suffering man's charity
Anne Heche – Suffering Man’s Charity – 2007

In 2007, Heche appeared in the horror-comedy, Suffering Man’s Charity.

Alan Cumming played an eccentric music teacher who takes in a young writer played by David Boreanaz.  He claims it is an act of charity, but really he is hoping to start a relationship with the guy from Bones.  Unfortunately, the Bones guy doesn’t swing that way.  When Cumming realizes his would-be boy-toy is dating Heche, he decides to kill him.  Afterwards, he discovers the writer’s unpublished manuscript and decides to take credit for it himself.  That’s unlikely to blow up in his face.

If you’re thinking the entire premise seems somewhat homophobic, Cumming – who is very outspokenly bi-sexual – directed the thing.

Anne Heche - What Love Is
Anne Heche – What Love Is – 2007

Later that year, Heche appeared in the rom-com, What Love Is.

Cuba Gooding Jr. starred as a man who intended to propose to his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day.  But when he returns home to pop the question, he finds his intended has dumped him with a “dear John” letter.  Gooding had invited four of his best buds over to witness the proposal.  So instead, his buddies hang out and talk about women.  One of his pals, played by Matthew Lillard, invited five women from a nearby bar to join them.  Heche played one of the women who hang out in the bathroom before confronting the men with their views on love.

What Love Is was unloved by critics.  It showed in 42 theaters for one week.

heche - jerry was a man
Anne Heche – Masters of Science Fiction – 2007

Heche also appeared in an episode of the TV series, Masters of Science Fiction.  The series was a follow-up to the Masters of Horror series.  Only four episodes of Masters of Science Fiction aired.  Heche appeared in an adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein’s short story, Jerry Was a Man.

heche - superman doomsday
Superman: Doomsday – 2007

Finally, Heche provided the voice of Lois Lane in the direct-to-video movie, Superman: Doomsday.  Superman was voiced by Adam Baldwin and Lex Luthor was voiced by James Marsters.

heche - toxic skies
Anne Heche – Toxic Skies – 2008

In 2008, Heche starred in the Canadian science-fiction movie, Toxic Skies.  Heche played a doctor who uncovers a conspiracy behind a lethal plague.

heche - hung
Anne Heche – Hung – 2009-2011

From 2009-2011, Heche had a recurring role in the HBO drama, Hung.

Thomas Jane played a high school teacher and coach whose house burns down.  Heche played his ex-wife.  In order to earn money so he can find a new place to live, Jane turns to prostitution.  The pilot episode was directed by Alexander Payne and he remained on the show as a producer.  The show was very well-reviewed and received several awards nominations.

Sometimes in these articles, you see things you can’t unsee.  Brace yourself.  This next picture is one of those times.

Heche - spread
Anne Heche – Spread – 2009

Later that year, Heche starred opposite Ashton Kutcher in the movie, Spread.

Kutcher played an LA gigolo looking for a woman to take care of him.  Heche played a rich older woman who takes him in.  Soon, he begins cheating on her.

Yep, we have reached the Kutcher phase of her career.  Ashton Kutcher prepared for his role by speaking with Warren Beatty who played a similar character in Shampoo (1975). He also read Neil Strauss’s non-fiction book “The Game“, which is about pickup artists.  Finally, he married Demi Moore.  ZING!

Spread received negative reviews.  It was barely released in the US but was a hit overseas.  The film was released under the name L.A. Gigolo in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, as Toy Boy in France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, Oh yeah in Argentina, as American Playboy in Spain and Portugal, Jogando com Prazer in Brazil, Love, Sex and Celebrity in Japan, and S-Lover in South Korea.

heche - the other guys
Anne Heche – The Other Guys – 2010

Heche had a cameo role in the Will Ferrell-Mark Wahlberg comedy, The Other Guys.  Heche played the CEO of an evil company who hires a gang of mercenaries to make sure Steve Coogan’s character pays his debt.  The Other Guys was a hit.  Even though Heche’s role was small, it was a chance to be seen and remembered by a large audience.

heche - rampart
Anne Heche – Rampart – 2011

In 2011, Heche appeared in the cop drama, Rampart.

Woody Harrelson starred as a cop with two ex-wives.  Heche and Cynthia Nixon played the exes who also happen to be sisters.  Harrelson’s character had children with both of them.  He was also unfaithful to both of them as well.  His character is a dirty cop who gets caught on tape beating a suspect.

Director/writer Oren Moverman also worked with Harrelson, Ben Foster and Steve Buscemi on the 2009 drama The Messenger.  Rampart received mostly positive reviews.

heche - cedar rapids
Anne Heche – Cedar Rapids – 2011

Later that year, Heche starred opposite Ed Helms and John C. Reilly in the convention comedy, Cedar Rapids.

Helms played a naive insurance agent sent to a convention in Cedar Rapids.  There he meets and befriend three convention-going veterans played by Reilly, Heche and Isiah Whitlock Jr.

Reviews were good and the movie did well in the art house circuit.

heche - girlfight
Anne Heche – Girl Fight – 2011

Next, Heche returned to Lifetime for the TV movie, Girl Fight.  Heche and James Tupper play parents of a girl who runs afoul of the popular kids in school.  The kids beat up their daughter and post the video online.  Heche and her family strike back in the courtroom.

heche - arthur newman
Anne Heche – Arthur Newman – 2012

In 2012, Heche appeared in the comedy-drama, Arthur Newman.

Collin Firth played a former golf pro who has grown bored with his life.  He works a dull job as a manager at FedEx and has grown apart from his girlfriend played by Heche.  So he fakes his death and creates a new identity as a golf pro named Arthur Newman.  (New Man, Newman – get it?)  Along the way he meets a thief played by Emily Blunt and they become travel companions.

Reviews were mixed to negative.

heche - that's what she said
Anne Heche – That’s What She Said – 2012

Later that year, Heche appeared in the indie comedy, That’s What She Said.

Marcia DeBonis played Bebe and Heche played her vulgar best friend, Dee Dee.  They meet up with a third girl played by Alia Shawkat from Arrested Development and hijinks ensue.

Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly wrote: “If you see just one repellent femme-owned-and-operated comedy about unpleasant women and a stubborn case of vaginal yeast infection, you might as well make it That’s What She Said, since I hope there’ll never be another like it.”  The movie currently has a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

heche - save me
Anne Heche – Save Me – 2013

In 2013, Heche starred in the NBC sitcom, Save Me.

Heche played a woman who nearly chokes to death on a sandwich.  Following her brush with death, she believes she has a direct line to God.  Perhaps if she did, the Almighty would have warned her that the show would be canceled after airing only seven episodes.

heche - michael j fox show
Anne Heche – The Michael J Fox Show – 2013-2014

From 2013-2014, Heche guest starred on The Michael J Fox Show.  The show went off the air to make room for the 2014 Winter Olympics.  Although it was never officially cancelled, the show did not return after the Olympics as had been announced.  Seven episodes remained unaired.

So what the hell happened?

Well, obviously Heche had family issues to deal with.  It’s not uncommon for stars to be driven by demons from their childhood.  But in Heche’s case, they may have driven her crazy.  What’s amazing to me isn’t that she walked around Fresno on ecstasy and calling herself Celestia.  The shocking part, to me, is how much she appears to have pulled her personal life together since then.

Heche has never been shy about having her personal life in the public eye.  There is no doubt that hurt her career.  Just as she was rising up the Hollywood ladder, she became the face of same-sex marriage.  Heche and DeGeneres pushed the boundaries of the issue ten years before it became acceptable to do so.  DeGeneres has managed to reinvent herself as a beloved talk show host.

I think public perception is that Heche went down in flames following the break-up with DeGeneres.  But that’s not true at all.  She has been working steadily throughout her career.  Granted, the public melt down essentially halted her career as a movie star.  But she has still managed to do supporting roles in Hollywood movies and starring roles in independent films and TV shows.

Would Heche have been an A-list star if she had made different choices?  Hard to say.  She never actually starred in a hit movie.  It’s entirely possible that her career would have ended up in the same place either way.  But her career has been surprisingly vital long after her very public meltdown.

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Carl
Carl
9 years ago

This confirms my opinion that she is pretty much a character actress with a crazy personal life. I’m happy for her if she is really mellowing with age. But as far as her career goes, there are plenty of lesser known actors with more impressive filmographies. I mean, I don’t see “What the Hell Happened to Harry Dean Stanton” happening any time soon! 🙂 Also, it is probably just me, but I’m not understanding this quote on page 10: “Sometimes in these articles, you see things you can’t unsee. Brace yourself. This next picture is one of those times.” All… Read more »

Carl
Carl
9 years ago
Reply to  lebeau

Ahh, ok. I did think that was the strangest image on the page, so I’m glad the caption matches it now!
I see your point about including her. It is hard to imagine her as on the potential A-list track now but if I take myself back to the 90s I can see how that could have been possible. Though to be honest I always thought of her primarily as Ellen’s girlfriend or ex-girlfriend. Other than that pointless Psycho remake I never took notice of any movie she was in.

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)
Reply to  lebeau
moviefan
moviefan
6 years ago
Reply to  lebeau

I disagree that Hollywood was grooming her. The year she came on the scene, this is what she was playing: the mother of a teenager (at 27) in Donnie Brasco a seismologist in Volcano a backwoods freak in I Know What You Did Last Summer a presidential advisor in Wag the Dog These are character roles. She wasn’t a budding ingenue. Any one of these parts could have been played by a 50 year old. The timing is certainly confusing. She got Six Days Seven Nights and Return to Paradise, her only legit leading lady roles, after the Ellen thing… Read more »

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)
Reply to  Carl

9 Celebrities Who Committed Career Suicide! http://www.fame10.com/entertainment/9-celebrities-who-committed-career-suicide/ Anne Heche Anne Heche was an up-and-coming actress in the mid to late ‘90s. She went from working on soap operas to landing supporting roles in movies and seemed well on her way to becoming a leading lady; however, once she began publicly dating Ellen Degeneres, her career cooled considerably. “People said ‘You’re not getting a job because you’re gay,’” Heche said. “How could that destroy my career? I still can’t wrap my head around it.” Following the break up, Heche had a nervous breakdown. Although she made a full recovery, her once-promising… Read more »

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

5 Gay Celebrities Who Claim Coming Out Ruined Their Careers:
http://www.fame10.com/entertainment/5-gay-celebrities-who-claim-coming-out-ruined-their-careers/5/

  1. Anne Heche

During the ‘90s, Anne Heche was one of Hollywood’s budding leading ladies. She co-starred in a number of high profile movies with some of Hollywood’s most recognized talent. Unfortunately, as soon as she became involved romantically with Ellen Degeneres, her prospects of becoming a leading lady were dashed. According to Heche, people told her that she wasn’t getting jobs because she was gay. “How could that destroy my career? I still can’t wrap my head around it,” she said.

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

In a poignant post-“Puppy” episode, Ellen lost her virginity (again)
http://www.avclub.com/article/poignant-post-puppy-episode-ellen-lost-her-virgini-227962

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

Ellen Page at #SXSW: “Being in the closet hurt my career way more than being out.” http://bit.ly/1YKoVEU

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)
Reply to  Carl

Phoenix will rise again, but will anyone rescue Anne Heche’s career from the flames? http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2010/sep/17/anne-heche-breakdown-joaquin-phoenix As the talented Heche re-surfaces, is Hollywood’s negative attitude to her breakdown, and its relief that Joaquin Phoenix’s was fake, a sign of its unease about real mental illness? Like much of the film-going world, my eye was caught this week by the re-emergence of a Hollywood star with a history of mental health issues that sent their once-glittering career off the rails. But I’m not thinking of Joaquin Phoenix, protagonist of what we all know for sure now is the hoax documentary I’m Still… Read more »

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

7 Car-Crash Actors Whose Meltdowns Were Better Than Their Careers: http://whatculture.com/film/7-car-crash-actors-whose-meltdowns-were-better-than-their-careers.php/4 Anne Heche Her appropriately titled autobiography, Call Me Crazy, doesn’t even begin to hold a candle to the flames of weirdness surrounding this chick. By now most have heard the story. After breaking up with Ellen Degeneres, Heche’s one and only lesbian partner (all of her other relationships have been with men), she decided to a do a little soul searching. In Cantua Creek, a rural area of Fresno one Californian was a bit more than surprised when a lingerie clad Heche showed up at her door and asked… Read more »

Craig Hansen
Craig Hansen
9 years ago

Well, that was one of the more interesting write-ups you’ve ever done Lebeau. There is no doubt that for a brief amount of time in the late 90’s, she appeared headed towards the A-list. I first heard of her when she played supporting roles in Donnie Brasco, Volcano, and Wag The Dog in 1997. Volcano was just mindless popcorn entertainment, but Donnie Brasco and Wag The Dog were excellent films. Donnie Brasco came a few years before Johnny Depp became a big box office draw with Pirates of the Carribean, a shame the film couldn’t have been released after Depp… Read more »

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)
Reply to  Craig Hansen

7 Celebrities Whose Careers Were Derailed Because of Relationships: http://www.fame10.com/entertainment/7-celebrities-whose-careers-were-derailed-because-of-relationships/3/ Anne Heche Anne Heche’s career was negatively affected by her relationship with Ellen Degeneres. Before these two hooked up, her career was on the upswing. She has had a number of supporting roles in big films like “Donnie Brasco,” “Volcano” and “Wag the Dog” and it looked like she was well on her way to becoming one of Hollywood’s go-to leading ladies. Unfortunately, after hooking up with Degeneres, her once promising career suddenly disappeared into thin air. People became more interested in her personal life. Since the relationship ended, Heche… Read more »

Craig Hansen
Craig Hansen
9 years ago
Reply to  lebeau

You’re probably not going to meet a bigger fan of Harrison Ford than I. Well, you have a pretty huge audience now Lebeau, so yeah it’s possible. But I grew up on the original Star Wars films and I ate, slept and breathed Star Wars as a kid. And then I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark and it was all over for me, I was a Harrison Ford fan forever. I saw Blade Runner in its original theatrical run when most filmgoers (and even professional film critics) knocked the film even though I loved it immediately. I was a… Read more »

Craig Hansen
Craig Hansen
9 years ago
Reply to  lebeau

You’re right, Harrison Ford did do a sequel in the 90’s with Clear And Present Danger, somehow when I was typing earlier I had a brain fart and completely overlooked that fact. Oops! I’m embarrassed for talking up Ford and then making such an obvious mistake. Tom Hanks made one sequel in the 90’s, Toy Story 2. Normally animated films don’t make much of an impact on an actor’s career but the Toy Story films were an exception I think, it gave an additional boost to both Hanks and Allen since their involvement was high profile and TS2 was a… Read more »

Craig Hansen
Craig Hansen
9 years ago
Reply to  lebeau

Tom Hanks had one of the greatest runs I’ve ever seen from an actor. Once he started his comeback in 1992, Hanks could do no wrong for the rest of the decade. What an impressive streak of hits and blockbusters! Not to mention multiple Oscar wins and nominations and Best Picture nominees in that decade. As long as that list of hits is, you actually left one out: Sleepless In Seattle in 1993, which was also a big hit for him, solidifying his comeback. And also, he had another critically acclaimed hit film in 1999 with The Green Mile. I’ve… Read more »

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)
Reply to  lebeau

Harrison Ford: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked: http://whatculture.com/film/harrison-ford-5-awesome-performances-5-sucked.php/6 5 That Sucked… Quinn Harris – Six Days And Seven Nights (1998) It’s never fun to watch one of your movie heroes hit a false note, and that’s why Six Days and Seven Nights is such a sour one. As a movie it’s merely feeble; a limp rehash of Romancing the Stone, but not particularly terrible in other respects. It is however, that moment where Ford’s career took a turn and we, the audience, started looking at him a different light. For me, it’s the first time that there’s a… Read more »

gluserty
9 years ago

Wow, Anne heche: solid actress, reasonably good-looking, but she has bats in her shuttle. I feel that one condition is why her career never took off.

admin
Admin
admin
9 years ago
Reply to  lebeau

Wow, good point: I guess one would have to be slightly unhinged to tackle the Hollywood industry (I like the names you used as reference too; they’re textbook). I actually like Anne Heche (she reminds me of an old girlfriend), but everytime I see her on television I can’t help but think, “oh lady, aren’t you just bats” (like my ex-girlfriend: someone fun for awhile, but the personal life is too exhausting, like punching in the time card when spending time with her, since it begins to feel like more of a job).

admin
Admin
admin
9 years ago
Reply to  lebeau

Bridget Fonda seems alright to me as well, but I really have to agree with you in general.

glusertyluserty
9 years ago
Reply to  lebeau

You know, I’ve never heard anything negative about Michael Keaton, so the circumstance that you read in the article sounds believeable to me. I’ve always heard that he was engaging yet private, and I think that’s a good way to be.

RB
RB
9 years ago

Well this was out of the blue, Lebeau, have to hand it to you – these surprises really keep the series fresh. That is no small accomplishment. As with many WTHH subjects, Heche has much more of a resume than I realized. And certainly gems like Wag the Dog are resume-builders. Although Hollywood considered her a very bankable star, even her more acclaimed movies were not blockbusters. Then the personal life stuff set in. Oddly, for someone so candid and open about everything, she remains enigmatic. Before she hooked up with Ellen, she had dated Lindsay Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac..… Read more »

Brad Deal
9 years ago

Lebeau, What a boring entry…oh wait, it’s my life that’s boring….ahhhh I have always enjoyed watching Anne Heche. She always seems to give a professional performance. I suspect that is why she continues to work. I find myself confused every time I watch her. Is she gay, is she not? Is it acceptable to be attracted to her, or does that confuse my masculinity? It becomes a challenge to my masculinity. Maybe I’m a little bit gay?? Am I being tested? Could I too change my lifestyle and dump my wife and kids for another ….guy? I think not but… Read more »

dwmcguff
dwmcguff
9 years ago
Reply to  lebeau

I’d like to cowrite Who the Hell Was Val Kilmer in 20 years

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)
Reply to  lebeau

Clash of the Egos: On-Set Drama and Feuds:
http://forums.previously.tv/topic/20764-clash-of-the-egos-on-set-drama-and-feuds/page-3#entry759595
I recently finished Neil Patrick Harris’ Choose Your Own Autobiography (which, BTW, is very entertaining — I’m no NPH superfan but it’s very light and witty) and he definitely aims to see the positive in everyone but Anne Heche as his stage partner in Proof gets an extended piece about how difficult and borderline traumatizing she was to work with.

Myso
Myso
9 years ago

I’ve technically never watched Anne Heche act. I was going to watch Six Days, but never got to it. The Psycho remake looked terrible. And I did love If Walls Could Talk, but I stopped watching after it went through Demi Moore’s story. Demi Moore’s acting was too perfect. Sissy Spacek is one of my favorite actors, but the premise of a daughter telling her mom to get an abortion was too weird. And I didn’t get to the third part with Cher. I’m more aware of her relationships than her acting. Which seems to be a huge problem in… Read more »

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)
Reply to  Myso

Psycho 1998: 5 Reasons It’s An Excellent Idea: http://whatculture.com/film/psycho-1998-5-reasons-its-an-excellent-idea.php Anne Heche, A-List Celebrity The star of last year’s epic Volcano and of the sure-to-be-legendary Six Days Seven Nights Anne Heche is perpetually on the cover of People Magazine and the National Enquirer. We see her on the nightly news and hear the mundane updates from her personal life on drive-time radio as we head to work each morning. Look for Miss Heche to take the role of Marion Crane to staggering new heights, an apex never even approached by the previous actress in the role, Janet Leigh. This film will… Read more »

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

10 Horror Movies That Should Never Have Been Made: http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/10/31/10-horror-movies-that-should-never-have-been-made?main_twitter=&page=2 1 Psycho (remake) Released 1998 The Psycho remake is not a bad movie. And why should it be? It hits all the beats of Hitchcock’s original almost to the letter. It is piously faithful. And while you could put director Gus van Sant’s recreation down to a fascinating cinematic experiment, the results are weak; watered down grape juice that looks like wine. Vince Vaughn simply isn’t weird enough to play Norman Bates, and Anne Heche is far too whispy and slight to carry off the requisite confident sexuality of Marion… Read more »

admin
Admin
admin
9 years ago

“Psycho 1998” wasn’t Anne Heche’s fault. I don’t know what Gus Van Sant was thinking (paycheck?), because he could offer up audiences so much more (“Drugstore Cowboy, “To Die For”) than that waste of time.

admin
Admin
admin
9 years ago
Reply to  lebeau

I see, that sounds reasonable enough. I guess was Gus Van Sant did with “Psycho 1998” is akin to a band releasing an album that’s a polar opposite to their usual stylings. You know what I thought was an actual good experimental film? “Timecode”.

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)
Reply to  admin

Remake Recon: Psycho
Alfred Hitchcock introduces the world to Norman Bates,
his domineering mother and the dangers of showers in
his 1960 horror classic Psycho. Then in 1998 Gus Van Sant
does a shot-for-shot remake of Hitch’s film.
I check them both out.
https://vimeo.com/144194978

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

12 Great Directors Who Helmed Terrible Movie Remakes http://whatculture.com/film-tv/12-great-directors-who-helmed-terrible-movie-remakes?page=3 Gus Van Sant – Psycho (1998) Why didn’t somebody stop Gus Van Sant as soon as he mentioned that he was planning on remaking Psycho, arguably the greatest horror movie ever made? It was a dumb idea from the off, and yet the art-house filmmaker – fresh off of the huge success of Good Will Hunting – was enthusiastically handed the keys to Hitchcock’s legacy. Presumably the reason Psycho wasn’t remade until almost forty years after its first release stemmed from the fact that there was nobody crazy enough to do… Read more »

daffystardust
Editor
9 years ago

That is indeed Billy Bragg singing “Must I Paint You a Picture” during the scene transition and shots of Heche paling around. It was one of 4 full songs Bragg provided for the film’s soundtrack and snippets of his guitar playing were used for the movie’s score. I can’t say I was ever particularly interested in Heche’s career. She was always good enough in anything saw her in, but she always seemed like a career supporting player who was being squeezed into leading roles to me. Honestly, if her notorious breakdown and breakups hadn’t been so public she may have… Read more »

cinemarchaeologist
9 years ago

I’ve been terribly in love with Anne Heche since the ’90s, but not so much with her career. She can play anything and well (and she’s absolutely gorgeous, and only becomes more so the older she’s gotten). She should have had a much better career. As it stands, it’s been way too much Hollywood. Her best part–best by light-years–was WILD SIDE. I discovered it, in one of its truncated forms, late at night on HBO and only got to see the longer version earlier this year. The cut-down versions (there are at least 2) really were hack-jobs, but the movie,… Read more »

cinemarchaeologist
9 years ago
Reply to  lebeau

Yeah, that was part of why Cammell killed himself or so the story goes. WILD SIDE is a noir study of four characters–Heche, Walken, Joan Chen, and Steven Bauer. I definitely agree with Walken regarding his character; I also think it’s one of his best movies. The shorter versions are still great–not just good but great–and even feature some moments I think are better edited, but the original long version blows them all away. It would be a great film to use in an editing class to show how you can radically change entire storylines already shot via editing. It… Read more »

dwmcguff
9 years ago

Ebert later wrote about talking to Van Sant about the remake, and why a director of van Sant’s caliber would do that. He said van Sant basically sounded like a parent keeping something precious away from the kids who might break it. Ie, he made it so no one else could. I think time and an incredible filmography has exonerate van Sant from whatever sin that may be

johnnythegreek21
9 years ago

I think she’s an underrated performer in the same way that her co-star in the wicked “Walking And Talking”, Katherine Keener is. Smoldering, sensuous, and perhaps just a little bit nutty. Her turn in Donnie Brasco was really worthy of an Oscar, and actually the whole film was kind of shafted that season, but she held her own so well, I really thought she’d do much better with her career. I have a feeling she will get better with age and pick up a best supporting actress award somewhere down the road. Her time in the A-list might have been… Read more »

Mastro
Mastro
9 years ago

Yeah- sad to say but Heche coming out really hurt her career (certainly didn’t kill it)
Even now- with gay marriage legal in most states- I can’t think of any big gay stars- Evan Rachel Wood isn’t that big- and Amber Heard is now dating Johnny Depp.
Heche will work regularly- but she missed the A list- and time will only tell if an open gay actress ever will.

admin
Admin
admin
9 years ago
Reply to  Mastro

Yeah, and Anne Heche came out when society wasn’t very accepting of such a union, and it was worse for someone trying to make a name in pictures.

derr
derr
8 years ago
Reply to  Mastro

No, it was already trendy for young Hollywood starlets to say they were bisexual in the late ’90s. Angelina Jolie and Drew Barrymore had “come out” before Heche. I think what bothered people is that this was such a blatant, obvious case of gold-digging that one took her seriously. She elbowed her way over to Ellen’s table at a Hollywood event and claimed it was love at first sight (yeah right). SNL and MadTV mocked the relationship, portraying Heche as a girltoy who was on the clock and Ellen as a fool.

derr
derr
8 years ago
Reply to  lebeau

Well, the last part is certainly true. But the Ellen/Anne thing really came out of left field. They’d only known each other for 3 weeks when they started making the red carpet rounds and telling journalists they were going to stay together forever. People were like really? How long can this last? Ellen never went public with any of her other girlfriends that quickly, before her since. Something fishy was going on. I’m undecided on whether the relationship ruined or helped Heche’s career. She only had what, 2 major roles in major studio films? 3 maybe? You could say Hollywood… Read more »

admin
Admin
admin
8 years ago
Reply to  lebeau

That’s how I saw it: they were very in your face publicly with their relationship. Back to “The Simpsons” again, they had a scene with an animated Ellen & Anne on a porch swing exclaiming in unison “We’re lesbians!”. I think the whole deal turned a lot of people off at the time (Not me; I just thought, “Yeah, that’s something alright”. Yep, sure was).

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)
Reply to  derr

Ellen DeGeneres: left for a man again http://www.lipstickalley.com/showthread.php/1006565-Ellen-DeGeneres-left-for-a-man-again?s=7862bb0755dd2e87a46e06b065eea19a Comedienne and TV host Ellen DeGeneres and partner Portia de Rossi, who have been married for seven years, are reportedly calling it quits.It is being said that Portia, 43, cheated on Ellen, 58, with a man, reported Aceshowbiz. “This is the end,” a source close to the couple said. “Ellen and Portia have been squabbling and drifting apart for some time. But for Portia to leave Ellen for a man is the culmination of Ellen’s worst fears.” Portia has apparently fallen in love with one of her Scandal co-stars. It’s unknown who… Read more »

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

Notable Pre-9/11 News Stories That Were Instantly Forgotten About On 9/11: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=3815571&postcount=1 Two stories come immediately to mind: Gary Condit is probably the only American who had mixed emotions on the morning of September 11th. Days before, he had given a disastrous prime-time interview about his relationship with Chandra Levy. As I recall, he came off as nervous and evasive. It really looked like the ‘court of public opinion’ was turning against him. On a much lighter note, Anne Heche also gave a bizarre prime-time interview just before 9/11 in which she told the public about her secret, ‘alien’ language…and,… Read more »

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

Anne Heche is heading to Epix’s Graves:
http://www.thewrap.com/anne-heche-nearing-deal-to-co-star-in-epix-comedy-graves-exclusive/
She’s nearing a deal to play a political consultant to Sela Ward on the drama that also stars Nick Nolte as president of the United States.

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

Anne Heche is headed to Quantico:
http://tvline.com/2015/10/21/quantico-anne-heche-cast-season-1-abc/
She’ll play a former FBI agent who has become a bestselling author and pundit.

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

Production Wraps On ‘Catfight’ Starring Anne Heche, Sandra Oh & Alicia Silverstone; Breaking Glass Lands ‘My Big Night’
http://deadline.com/2015/12/breaking-glass-nabs-my-big-night-production-wraps-on-catfight-1201671885/
MPI has announced that production has wrapped on the upcoming comedy Catfight, from writer-director Onur Tukel. Sandra Oh, Anne Heche and Alicia Silverstone star in the film that follows a bitter rivalry between struggling outsider artist Ashley (Heche) and wealthy housewife Veronica (Oh) that lasts a lifetime. Friends in college, the pair lost touch after, but when they reconnect at a birthday party, verbal sparring turns to violence, locking the two women in a…

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

What celebrity’s career never recovered after a controversial incident?
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/3nbtfr/what_celebritys_career_never_recovered_after_a/cvmxmri
Anne Heche after the whole Ellen relationship. There were other factors but her announcing her sexuality basically killed her promising movie career.

Rebecca
Rebecca
7 years ago

I think she was only with Ellen because Ellen was famous. Plain and simple. Anne is manipulative and a liar. I think the parts of her book about her dad were just for sensationalism and to sell copies. Why her ex and current husband thought/think she won’t turn against them eventually is beyond me. She is delusional and unstable. No one is just insane the first 31 years of their life (like she claims). It’s her entire life.

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

Anne Heche and James Tupper Cast as Married Couple in Syfy’s Aftermath
http://tvline.com/2016/05/05/anne-heche-james-tupper-cast-syfy-aftermath/

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

Exclusive: Anne Heche and James Tupper Preview Aftermath
http://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/aftermath/257608/exclusive-anne-heche-and-james-tupper-preview-aftermath
The real-life couple talked about leading their Aftermath family through an apocalypse of natural disasters and supernatural beings.

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

Anne Heche on playing husband and wife with real-life partner James Tupper in new TV series: We’re ‘family people’ http://peoplem.ag/HotP90s

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)

Real-life couple Anne Heche and James Tupper to reunite on The Brave
http://tvline.com/2017/11/09/james-tupper-the-brave-cast-anne-heche-season-1
He’ll guest on her TV series playing a brilliant CIA field officer as part of a multiepisode arc.

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