Samantha Mathis

In 1969, a young Jud Crandall has dreams of leaving his hometown of Ludlow, Maine behind, but soon discovers sinister secrets buried within and is forced to confront a dark family history that will forever keep him connected to Ludlow. Banding together, Jud and his childhood friends must fight an ancient evil that has gripped Ludlow since its founding, and once unearthed has the power to destroy everything in its path.

In 1987, wealthy New York investment banker Patrick Bateman's (Christian Bale) life revolves around dining at trendy restaurants while keeping up appearances for his fiance Evelyn (Reese Witherspoon) and for his circle of wealthy and shallow associates, most of whom he dislikes. Bateman describes the material accouterments of his lifestyle, including his daily morning exercise and beautification routine. He also discusses his music collection, with performers such as Huey Lewis and the News, Phil Collins, and Whitney Houston. His focus on a lavish lifestyle is also evident by his taste in expensive designer clothing and his luxurious apartment. Bateman is having an affair with Evelyn' friend Courtney (Samantha Mathis), while Evelyn is having an affair with Bateman's coworker Timothy (Justin Theroux). Courtney is engaged to Bateman's other colleague Luis Carruthers (who is slightly gay). Bateman and his associates flaunt their business cards in a display of vanity. Enraged by the superiority of co-worker Paul Allen's (Jared Leto) card, Bateman murders a homeless man and kills the man's dog. At a Christmas party, Bateman makes plans to have dinner with Paul, with Paul mistaking Bateman for another coworker, Marcus Halberstram (Anthony Lemke). Bateman gets Paul drunk and lures him back to his apartment. While playing "Hip to Be Square" on the stereo, explaining to Paul his opinion and interpretation of the song, Bateman murders Paul with an ax, donning a raincoat moments before, to keep blood off of his clothes. He disposes of Paul's body, then goes to Paul's apartment to stage the situation so that others believe Paul has run off to London. Bateman is later interviewed about Paul's disappearance in his office by private detective Donald Kimball (Willem Dafoe), hired by Paul's family. During the night, Bateman takes two prostitutes, whom he names Christie (Cara Seymour) and Sabrina (Krista Sutton), to his apartment and explains to them the improvement he saw in the band Genesis after they moved away from progressive rock toward a more pop rock sound beginning with the album Duke. After they have sex, Bateman tells them to stay, while taking out instruments he uses for torture. In the next scene, the prostitutes leave his apartment bruised and bloodied. In the entire sequence, Bateman makes sure that he introduces himself as Paul Allen. The next day, Bateman's colleague Luis Carruthers (Matt Ross) reveals his new business card. Bateman tries to kill Luis in the restroom of an expensive restaurant but cannot bring himself to strangle him. Luis mistakes the attempted murder for a sexual advance and declares his love for Bateman, who flees in disgust. After murdering a model, Bateman invites his secretary, Jean (Chloë Sevigny), to dinner, suggesting she meet him at his apartment for drinks beforehand. When Jean arrives, Bateman, unbeknownst to her, holds a nail gun to the back of her head while the two converse. When he receives an answering machine message from his fiance, he asks Jean to leave. Kimball meets Bateman for lunch and tells him he is not under suspicion. Bateman has a threesome with his friend Elizabeth (Guinevere Turner) and Christie at Paul's apartment. Bateman kills Elizabeth during sex, and Christie runs, discovering multiple female corpses as she searches for an exit. She is chased by a naked Bateman wielding a chainsaw, and as she is running down the stairs of Paul's apartment building, is killed by the chainsaw which Bateman drops from several levels above her. Bateman breaks off his engagement with Evelyn. That night, as he uses an ATM, he finds a stray kitten; the ATM displays the text "feed me a stray cat". As he prepares to shoot the cat, a woman sees him and tries to stop him; he shoots her and lets the cat go free. A police chase ensues, but Bateman destroys the police cars by shooting their gas tanks. Fleeing to his office, Bateman enters the wrong office building, where he murders a security guard and a janitor. In an office he believes to be his, Bateman calls his lawyer Harold (Stephen Bogaert) and frantically leaves a lengthy confession on Harold's answering machine. The following morning, Bateman visits Paul's apartment, expecting it to be full of decomposing bodies and in the middle of a police investigation, but it is vacant and for sale. The real estate broker tells him to leave. As Bateman goes to meet with his colleagues and lawyer for lunch, a horrified Jean finds detailed drawings of murder, mutilation, and sexual assault in Bateman's office journal. Bateman sees Harold at a restaurant and tries to convince him that he is a serial killer relating to the phone message he left the other night. Harold mistakes Bateman for another colleague and laughs off the phone message confession as a joke, saying he had dinner with Paul in London days earlier. A confused Bateman returns to his friends and in a final voice-over narration, he realizes he will continue to escape the punishment he deserves, that there has been no catharsis: "This confession has meant nothing".

A writer/radio advice show host fails to heed his own advice as he stalks his ex-girlfriend and then becomes involved with an actress friend of hers.

Michael Douglas is President Andrew Shepherd, a widower and father who begins to get uncomfortable with the perception surrounding his being a single father. He drops in on a meeting with environmental lobbyists and meets hard-charging Sydney Wade (Annette Bening). After Sydney escorts President Shepherd to a State dinner, the two strike up a relationship, much to the chagrin of Sydney's boss, played by John Mahoney, and much to the delight of President Shepherd's political rival, the scheming Senator Bob Rumson (Richard Dreyfuss). Rumson's attacks on Sydney and the President's character send President Shepherd's approval ratings tumbling and eventually forces Shepherd to choose between one of his priority bills and the bill Sydney was hired to get passed.

Newcomers to the country-music business seek love and stardom. Miranda Presley moves from New York to Nashville to become a songwriter. At an unsuccessful audition she meets James Wright, a promising newcomer. They fall head-over-heels and after only a few days they marry but very soon they start to regret this action. —Matthias Scheler <tron@lyssa.owl.de> Miranda Presley (no relation in it actually being her middle name as her now deceased father was a fan) has just arrived in Nashville in her quest to become the next big country singer/songwriter, she planning on using the same stepping stone as many of the open weekly auditions to perform at the Bluebird Café. Lucy, the café owner who decides who gets to perform, has strict rules and tells the auditioners that not getting picked one week does not mean that they are bad, but that they are not yet ready, meaning that they can audition every week. She has a wall of fame showcasing the handwritten songs that have been first performed at the café, some which made it big and some that she just felt marked a milestone for that specific singer/songwriter. Beyond Lucy, the café where she ends up working as a waitress in needing to earn a living in the meantime, Miranda befriends three of the non-Nashvillian regular auditioners, each who have a differing realistic chance of making a success in the business: Linda Lue Linden, who is always looking for the approval and friendship of others; earnest Kyle Davidson; and James Wright, arguably the one outwardly with the greatest chance of success among the four. As the four spend time together and work on their craft both individually and sometimes in collaboration, complications ensue when both Kyle and James start to fall for Miranda, Kyle who wears his heart more on his sleeve, while James deals with his feelings more like a childhood playground first love in being somewhat standoffish, and where his music may still be first priority. —Huggo Young Miranda Presley, an aspiring country singer/songwriter, comes to Nashville, Tennessee, to enter the weekly singer contest held at "The Bluebird Cafe". There she meets energetic but chaotic James Wright, the more laid-back Kyle Davidson, and Linda Lue Linden, whose career might not necessarily be in country music... When both James and Kyle get attracted to Miranda, she makes a decision. —Thomas Meyer <i03a@zfn.uni-bremen.de>