Fairuza Balk

In 1969, young William Miller (Michael Angarano) lives with his widowed mother Elaine (Frances McDormand) and older sister Anita (Zooey Deschanel) in San Diego, California. While William gets along well with his family, his academic-minded mother and rebellious sister are at odds with each other about a number of things. William also receives a startling revelation when Anita has Elaine confess that William is actually 11, and not 13 as he has been led to believe. Once she turns 18, Anita leaves home to become a stewardess. In the wake of her absence, she leaves her record collection to William. Four years later, the albums have led William (Patrick Fugit) to write a number of freelance articles about rock and roll. When famed rock journalist Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman) visits San Diego, William takes the opportunity to meet him. Impressed by William's drive, Lester gives him an assignment to interview Black Sabbath at the San Diego Sports Arena. While the arena's door person refuses to let him in, William manages to enter with some help from the band Stillwater, who are the opening band for Black Sabbath. William also meets a group of young women calling themselves Band-Aids. Led by Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), they claim they are there to support and inspire the bands. After the concert, Stillwater's lead guitarist Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup) invites William and Penny to meet up with the band in Los Angeles. The two make the trip, where it becomes apparent to William that there is something going on between Russell and Penny. William next receives a phone call from Rolling Stone editor Ben Fong-Torres (Terry Chen), who requests William write an article for the magazine. William suggests interviewing Stillwater, and is soon touring with the band (and the Band-Aids!) for a few days to interview them (much to the horror of his mother). On the road, William is privy to a number of notable events. In Tempe Arizona, Russell gets electrocuted, leading to the band leaving before finishing their set, much to the ire of the show's promoter. In Topeka Kansas, the band's first t-shirt design focuses more on Russell, leading to an argument with lead singer Jeff Bebe (Jason Lee). Following this, William and Russell go to a local party where Russell drops acid and proclaims himself to be "a golden god." In Greenville Tennessee, William is "deflowered" by the Band Aids (not including Penny Lane), and has to contend with a phone call from Ben Fong-Torres about the story. William manages to buy himself some more time to finish it, but is informed that Rolling Stone is considering putting the band on the next issue's cover. Still not having gotten an interview with Russell, William is forced to accompany the band to Cleveland, Ohio. He gives his Mom a call to try and make amends that he is staying longer than intended, but the call is intercepted by Russell, only for the lead guitarist to be freaked out by Elaine's well-educated "directness." Following the Cleveland concert, a manager named Dennis Hope (Jimmy Fallon) meets with the band at the behest of the record label. While the band does not want to lose Dick Roswell (Noah Taylor) and claims they play for the fans, they soon buy into Dennis' vision of making more money by adding more tour dates. The next day, the band ditches their tour bus "Doris," and hop aboard a private airplane to Boston, Massachusetts. It is here that William is privy to a poker game wherein the Band-Aids and Penny Lane are "sold" to Humble Pie before Stillwater reaches New York, where Russell's girlfriend Leslie (Liz Stauber) is to meet up with the band. William tries to keep quiet about this, but hearing how Penny believes that Russell really does love her, he lets slip what he heard. In New York, William receives a call from Ben Fong-Torres, claiming the magazine has approved the band for their next cover, and requesting he send what he has for the fact-checker to start reviewing. The band celebrates the cover news at a restaurant, but Leslie soon sees Penny Lane eyeing the band from a corner. Dick gets her to leave and she rushes off with William giving chase out of concern. He follows her to the Plaza Hotel, where he finds she has overdosed on Quaaludes. He manages to call a doctor and saves her life. In the aftermath, Penny confesses to William that her real name is Lady Goodman, and he makes sure she gets back to San Diego via airplane. William rejoins the band afterwards, but as their plane flies over Mississippi, they are buffeted by extreme turbulence and it seems possible that the plane may crash. Fearing that they may die, people begin to confess secrets: Dennis tells how he was a hit-and-run driver Dick tells how he took more than his salary from the group Jeff confesses to sleeping with Leslie, and also tells about Russell and Penny William confesses what happened to Penny, and that he loves her Silent Ed Vallencourt (John Fedevich) finally speaks up, and confesses that he's gay The plane makes it through the weather, and once the plane lands, William separates from the band, with Russell telling him to "write whatever you want." William eventually makes it to Rolling Stones' main office with plenty of notes, but no interview with Russell. He begs for the evening to get everything put together. Seeking advice, William calls up Lester, who tells him to be as honest and truthful as possible about what he saw. This results in an article about the band revealing everything from their infighting, to the confessions on the plane. In the end, Russell denies the story to the magazine's fact-checker, and William is sent home. At the airport, his sister Anita sees him, and offers to go on an adventure with him. In the end, she helps William get back to San Diego, and she and her mother make up. As Stillwater's tour ends, the band members go their separate ways. During a meal, a Band-Aid named Sapphire (Fairuza Balk) chastises Russell for causing Penny to almost kill herself, let alone killing William's story. Russell then calls Penny, claiming he wants to meet with her and make up. She gives him an address, but when Russell arrives, he realizes he is at William's house! Talking to William, Russell mentions that he did contact Rolling Stone and retracted his previous statement. William also takes the time to get what he never could while on the tour: an interview with Russell. Following these events, Stillwater goes on tour the following year, touring on their bus "Doris." Anita returns home to live with William and Elaine. William's article is published by Rolling Stone magazine. Penny Lane fulfills a dream, and heads off to live in Morocco for one year.

Sarah Bailey (Robin Tunney), a troubled teenage girl who has previously attempted suicide, has just moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles with her father (Cliff De Young) and stepmother. She enrolls in a local Catholic high school, but has trouble fitting in. During French class, her classmate Bonnie (Neve Campbell) witnesses Sarah telekinetically causing a pencil to rotate while standing on its tip. During lunch, Sarah is hit on by Chris (Skeet Ulrich), the school's football star. She asks about Bonnie and her two friends Nancy (Fairuza Balk) and Rochelle (Rachel True). Chris tells Sarah to stay away from the trio, because "they're witches". Bonnie tells Nancy and Rochelle that Sarah is the "fourth" who will complete their circle and make a full coven. The three girls each have issues: Nancy lives in a trailer with her mom, Grace Downs (Helen Shaver) and abusive stepfather Ray (John Kapelos) , Bonnie has massive burn scars all over her back, and the painful treatment recommended by the surgeon (Brenda Strong) is likely to fail. Insecure African American athlete Rochelle is subjected to racist taunts by the most popular girl in school, blonde Laura Lizzie (Christine Taylor). After school, the three girls befriend Sarah and take her to an occult shop. The owner, Lirio (Assumpta Serna), comments that Sarah is not like the other girls and says to her: "Maybe you are a natural witch; your power comes from within." While leaving the shop, Sarah is harassed by a vagrant (Arthur Senzy), and all four girls simultaneously will for something to happen; the vagrant is then hit by a car. The girls escape, and Nancy is thrilled at their "connection". Nancy tells Sarah about "invoking the Spirit" Manon, which is their ultimate goal as a coven. Sarah leaves the girls to meet Chris, but refuses to have sex with him. However, at school the next day, Sarah discovers that Chris boasted to the whole school that they slept together, and that she was the worst he's ever had. Nancy, Bonnie and Rochelle comfort Sarah, and invite her on a field trip. They take the bus out to the country. The bust drivers tells them to be careful about wicked boys, but they say that they four are the dangerous ones. While on the countryside, they call the corners and cast some spells: Rochelle asks for the strength not to hate those who hate her, Sarah performs a love spell on Chris, Bonnie asks for beauty inside and out, and Nancy asks for "all the power of Manon." Shortly after the spells are cast, they show signs of working: Chris becomes infatuated with Sarah and goes after her constantly in spite of his friends Mitt (Breckin Meyer) and Trey (Nathaniel Marston) taunting him about it, Bonnie's scars miraculously heal, and the next time Laura bullies Rochelle, Laura's hair begins falling out. At home, Nancy causes the microwave and all light bulbs to explode, and Ray suffers a massive heart attack and dies. Then Nancy and her mother are told by the insurance man (Brogan Roche) that they have inherited $175,000 from an insurance policy, and they feel overjoyed about it. Nancy and her mother move into a posh high-rise where the girls meet one night and learn disguise-changing magic. Nancy's mother looks confused and dazzled. She has bought a weird-coloured sofa and a jukebox with only songs by Connie Francis. The four friends lock themselves in Nancy's room ignoring Nancy's mother, who is left empty and ignored, just as she felt before cashing in on the insurance money. The girls go to Lirio's shop again, where Nancy finds a book about "Invoking the Spirit". Later that night, the girls go to the beach and form a circle, calling on Manon. At the culmination of the spell Nancy is struck by lightning. The next day the rest of the girls witness Nancy walking on the water, and from this point on, Nancy's powers have increased. Later on, Rochelle sees a balding Laura in the locker room, hysterically sobbing after swim practice. Laura's two closest friends (Elizabeth Guber and Jennifer Greenhut) try to offer some consolation, to no avail. Rochelle feels remorse for the spell she has cast and when she looks in the mirror at herself, her reflection looks away. Sarah's love spell also backfires on her. She finally accepts to have a dinner date with Chris, but he takes her to the top of a hill and attempts to rape her. Sarah runs away and knocks on Nancy's door. Nancy leaves her home for a party Chris is attending in order to punish him. However, when she arrives to the party, she tries to seduce Chris by disguising herself as Sarah, but when the real Sarah arrives as they engage in foreplay, Nancy causes Chris to fall out a third-story window, killing him. On consequence of this, Sarah starts having nightmares concerning her old friends, and feels like they're following her everywhere to torment her. She tries to stop Nancy - who has become the leader of the three remaining coven witches - by binding her powers so that she won't be able to hurt other or herself, but this does not work and the three other coven girls now hate Sarah. Nancy appears and tells Sarah that in the old days, if a witch betrayed her coven, they would kill her. Needing help, Sarah goes to Lirio, who tells her to invoke the spirit herself. Lirio also reveals that Sarah's mother was a powerful witch, and that her talent has passed on to Sarah. Sarah starts to invoke Manon, but she has a vision of fire and the shop exploding, so she leaves the shop absolutely terrified.. Sarah returns home, where she is tormented by Nancy, Bonnie and Rochelle, who taunt her using magic and intimidate her with threats on her life. Sarah arrives home and nobody is there. She is instructed to turn on the TV set and listens that her family went back to San Francisco thinking that she had run away there, and that their plane had had an accident without any survivors. Without a second of rest, all kinds of snakes and worm appear everywhere. The three other coven girls then appear. After a few seconds of intimidation Nancy says that Sarah will commit suicide. Nancy later slashes Sarah's wrists and a letter on Sarah's handwriting stating the reasons of her suicide magically appear - blaming herself for Chris' death. Sarah runs to her room, while Nancy, Bonnie and Rochelle wait for her to die. Rochelle then tells Nancy that this has gone out of hand. Nancy tells her to go upstairs to check on Sarah and threatens to slit her throat if she doesn't. Bonnie pulls up Rochelle to Sarah's room. Sarah is almost too weak to invoke Manon, but then she hears her mother (Janet Eilber) moving in an old photograph and her sweet voice whispering, "Don't be afraid. Reach inside yourself". Sarah successfully invokes Manon and is able to cast spells to fight back, as well as heal the injuries to her wrists. Forced by a counter spell of Sarah's to see themselves and what they've become by catching their reflections in a mirror, Bonnie's face horribly scarred and Rochelle's hair falling out, Bonnie and Rochelle flee, leaving only Nancy and Sarah at home. Nancy and Sarah have a showdown, in which Nancy is ultimately defeated by Sarah as she binds Nancy's power to prevent her from doing any more harm. In the end, Nancy has been sent to a psychiatric hospital, and Bonnie and Rochelle lose any powers they had. They go to see Sarah and half-mockingly tell her not to be angry with them because when Sarah was made to believe that her family had died it was just an illusion. Sarah's father is packing everything in his car to move out of LA. The two girls ask Sarah if she still has any powers, and when she shows no interest in continuing a friendship with the two girls who tried to kill her, they make fun of her as they leave, saying, "She probably doesn't have powers, anyway". On hearing this Sarah makes a bolt of lightning strike causing a tree branch to fall, nearly crushing the two girls, revealing that she still has powers. As they stare back at her in shock, Sarah warns them, "Be careful. You don't wanna end up like Nancy", and smiles. The scene cuts to a bird's eye view of Nancy's room in the psychiatric hospital. She is screaming like a maniac, telling the nurse (Esther Scott), "He gave me powers! I can fly, I'm flying, I'm flying, I'm flying!"

Five different criminals face imminent death after botching a job quite badly. Jimmy the Saint's business is videotaping the terminally-ill, so that they will be around to give 'Afterlife Advice' to their survivors. He hasn't been doing too well lately and has had to turn to loan-sharks to accommodate his failing business, as well as his expensive personal tastes. When an evil gangster-overlord buys up his note and demands a favor of Jimmy, in exchange for the interest that he can't afford, Jimmy capitulates. Jimmy is to scare someone for the gangster-overlord--really rough them up. Without giving too much away (spoiler), the scene goes down badly and Jimmy and his crew all end up with contracts on their heads for their trouble. —Tad Dibbern <DIBBERN_D@a1.mscf.upenn.edu>

In the rural desert town of Laramie, New Mexico, 16-year-old "Shade" Evans (Fairuza Balk) spends her free time at the local movie house, obsessed with melodramatic Mexican romances starring her favorite actress, Elvia Rivero. One day after a matinée, Shade meets her 18-year-old sister, Trudi (Ione Skye) , at the diner where their divorced mother, Nora (Brooke Adams), works. Nora sighs as Trudi insults the busboy by calling him a "wetback" after he accidentally spills her drink on their table while serving Trudi and Shade. When the busboy quits in protest, Shade, embarrassed by Trudi's racist behavior, announces that she does not like diner food and storms out. That night, Shade contemplates Nora's numerous failed relationships. Inspired by an Elvia Rivero movie, the adolescent girl decides to play matchmaker. However, as much as Shade would like to "find a man" for her mom, she remains curious about her biological father, John Evans. She telephones him, but hangs up as soon as he answers. Nora returns from a late shift, dismayed to see Trudi's empty bed. At 2:30 a.m., Trudi sneaks back, and Nora chastises her daughter for behaving irresponsibly. Shade covers her ears in an attempt to block out the argument. The next day, Trudi takes a job waitressing at the diner, intent on making enough money to move out. Shade goes to the movie theater to watch another Spanish-language Elvia Rivero picture, but in the middle of the movie, the screen goes blank. Shade wanders to the projection room, surprised to see Javier (Jacob Vargas), the busboy from the diner, now working as projectionist. He makes a biting remark about Trudi's racist behavior at the diner, but Shade retorts that he should focus on his new job, rather than hold a grudge against her sister. Javier laughs, charmed by Shade's fiery spirit. That night, Nora fends off the romantic advances of Raymond (Chris Mulkey), a local man with whom she had an affair years earlier. She returns his passionate kiss, but warns him that she has no intention of getting involved with a married man. Elsewhere in Laramie, Shade hangs out with her moody friend, Darius (Donovan Leitch). Her eyes widen as he interprets the lyrics to an Olivia Newton-John song. Meanwhile, Trudi sits alone in the diner after being rejected by the boy she has been dating. Her sniffling draws the attention of an English geologist named Dank (Robert Knepper), who offers to give her a ride home. En route, she makes scornful remarks about men, unaware that Dank finds her tirade amusing. The next day at the laundromat, Shade borrows change from a man named John (James Brolin), oblivious to his sidelong glances at Nora. Later that evening, Trudi joins Dank as he explores desert caves looking for phosphorescent rocks. After an intimate evening together where Trudi and Dank have sex in the cave, she confides she was gang raped the first time she had sex a few years ago. Afraid to report the crime, she decided to take a carefree attitude toward sex, becoming involved with any boy who showed interest. Trudi confesses that she never had a meaningful sexual experience until she met Dank. Later, the geologist announces that he needs to leave town for a few days. He assures the suspicious Trudi that she is special to him. When Trudi returns home the next morning, she and Nora get into another argument over Trudi staying out all night again. As Nora storms away, Hamlet Humphrey (David Lansbury), the local satellite dish installer, offers to listen to her problems, but she dismisses him. Meanwhile, Shade tells Trudi about her friend Darius, uncertain if she should reciprocate his "crush" on her. When Trudi advises making a bold move, Shade dresses up like Olivia Newton-John and attempts to seduce Darius, but he reveals that he is not attracted to her (implying he might be gay). Feeling foolish, Shade leaves and runs into Javier, who teases her about her appearance. That night, Shade arranges a blind date between Nora and Raymond. The two adults do not let on that they know each other, and struggle to keep from laughing during the awkward dinner. The teenager goes to bed disappointed in her day. A few weeks later, Trudi realizes that Dank is not coming back when he has not called or wrote to her. Then another week later, Trudi learns that learns that she is pregnant from her one-time sexual encounter with Dank at the cave. When Nora advises Trudi to get an abortion, she becomes outraged by her mother's insensitivity. Trudi decides to move to Dallas, Texas, and give the baby up for adoption. Sometime later, in an attempt to cheer up Shade, Nora suggests they get cable television. Hamlet Humphrey comes over to talk about the installation, but Nora changes her mind when she hears what it will cost. He flirts with her, and they make love. Meanwhile, Shade attends a party at her friend Tanya's (Julie Condra) house. A disc jockey musician visiting from Los Angeles, California, pressures Tanya to make out with him. Shade breaks up the tryst, but the boy and his friends refuse to leave. Meanwhile, the man from the laundromat drives past and notices the altercation. He stops and threatens the musicians, before offering to escort Shade home. On the way, he reveals that he is John Evans, her father. Shade is stunned, and in the morning confronts Nora with the news. A few days later, Shade locates her father at his house outside of town, and asks for money. The request provokes an outburst from John's girl friend, and Shade leaves, embarrassed. John follows and presses a roll of cash into her hand. Shade stops by Javier's house, curious to meet his family. Javier welcomes her with a few good-natured jokes, and later whispers passionately in her ear in Spanish. They kiss. In the ensuing weeks, Shade and Javier spend long afternoons together in the desert. As the teenagers fall in love, so do Nora and Hamlet. Shade is unimpressed with her mother's boyfriend until he reveals an admiration for Elvia Rivero. Several months later, Nora, Hamlet, and Shade go to Dallas to support Trudi through the delivery of her baby. Shade wants her sister to return to Laramie, but Trudi says she is looking forward to starting a new life in Dallas. Driving home, Shade notices a roadside business selling phosphorescent rocks. She asks Hamlet to drop her off and leave her while he and Nora drive back to Laramie. Confronting the vendors, Shade learns that they acquired the rocks from Dank, who died in a mine cave-in months earlier while collecting specimens. In the final scene, Shade walks back to Laramie through the desert, reflecting on the relationships between lovers, mothers, and daughters. Shade realizes that Dank always loved Trudi and vows to eventually tell her the truth of what happened to him someday.