Juliette Lewis

"So, I work part time in the movie industry," coyly commented a sweat-damp Juliette Lewis halfway through her rock band's show at the Knitting Factory on Wednesday. She went on to explain that everybody always thinks she's really crazy after seeing her performance as a mayhem-loving teenager in Oliver Stone's "Natural Born Killers." "You know why?" she said. "Because I'm so [expletive] good."

Once an industry standard for new dramas, the two-hour premiere has become rare enough to acquire an alarming air; as with 10-minute film trailers or wildly enthusiastic blind-date suggestions, one quickly catches the underlying whiff of desperation. And indeed, NBC's new legal thriller "The Firm" is so front-loaded for success — John Grisham! Josh Lucas! Juliette Lewis! — that even two hours feel uncomfortably crammed, with back story and B-plot, family drama and legalese, potential conspiracies and sentimental posturing.

A new series of Guess jeans TV spots introduce rebel starlet Juliette (will she ever live down those cornrows at the Academy Awards?) Lewis as the new Guess Jeans girl. The mini film noir dramas also feature Harry Dean Stanton, Peter Horton and Traci Lords, coiffed and made up to be a dead ringer for '40s star Lizbeth Scott. Lewis, working as an operative for private eye Stanton, struts in a shrunken satin shirt and white jeans, but clothes are really beside the point.

Adult animated films are extremely hard to pull off. You either go X-rated like Ralph Bakshi's smartly provocative "Fritz the Cat" did so many years ago, or unexpectedly insightful as 2008's brilliant war story " Waltz With Bashir" did, earning an Oscar nod. Despite grand ambitions, "Metropia" doesn't quite manage either though it makes a high-minded grab at a bit of both. From Swedish documentary filmmaker Tarik Saleh, a one-time graffiti artist with a long interest in animation, "Metropia" was conceived as a dark futuristic conspiracy thriller about mind control, big business and a nefarious subway system.

When evil meets innocence alone in the darkened theater of a high school in an agonizing 10-minute sequence in director Martin Scorsese's "Cape Fear," the encounter may be as nerve-wracking as anything captured on film. In the scene, Max Cady, a sadistic psychopath just released from prison, feeds 15-year-old Danielle's insecurities and emerging sexuality to hook and--ever so slowly--reel in his catch. What caught critics off guard in last weekend's No.

"I get these comments, 'Oh my God, you're so much prettier in person,' says Juliette Lewis, who looks so much prettier in person than she does on screen. "It's kind of a backhanded compliment. 'Oh, so I've been ugly all this time in film.' But I never played the vanity girl, so I don't mind. I'd rather be the rebel, be harsh." There is nothing rebellious or harsh about Lewis, at least at the moment.

Early Grayce sports a homemade tattoo on his arm, a crude blue drawing of a heart. But that sentimental gesture has been obliterated by a self-inflicted scar. Adele Corners looks like a girl who would cause trouble on any seedy street, even if her only crime was a fashion infraction. Skinny legs stretch from her high-heel clogs to her hot pants, and a thin tube top covers her chest. She pops her gum with mindless ease.

After the release of director Martin Scorsese's thriller "Cape Fear," Juliette Lewis, whose impromptu seduction scene with Robert De Niro was the kind that makes young careers, many wondered if she would ever work with such top talent again. After all, the next movie the 18-year-old actress shot, a small independent called "That Night," co-starring pretty-boy C. Thomas Howell, is patiently awaiting a release date from Warner Bros. But in late November, when Woody Allen was having creative clashes with British actress Emily Lloyd on his new untitled film, he dropped Lloyd for Lewis, even though the swap meant some extensive re-shooting.

Backstage at the Greek Theatre, Juliette Lewis is one hot mess. After opening for the Pretenders and Cat Power, the singer-actress' dark, choppy hair clings damply to her neck; smeared glitter eye shadow sparkles on her cheeks; and the toe of one boot (black with vaguely Victorian gold buttons up the sides) is held together with tape. The centerpiece of her ensemble -- a red, single-sleeved romper made of metallic Lycra and sequins with a regal plume of feathers at one shoulder -- looks like the result of a collision between MÃtley Crüe and the Moulin Rouge.

At the tender age of 32, Juliette Lewis has carved out a choice spot for herself in the Hollywood firmament. An Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe nominee, the versatile actress has brought a ferocious commitment and intelligence to the films of such auteurs as Martin Scorsese ("Cape Fear"), Quentin Tarantino ("From Dusk Till Dawn"), Woody Allen ("Husbands and Wives") and Oliver Stone ("Natural Born Killers").

Backstage at the Greek Theatre, Juliette Lewis is one hot mess. After opening for the Pretenders and Cat Power, the singer-actress' dark, choppy hair clings damply to her neck; smeared glitter eye shadow sparkles on her cheeks; and the toe of one boot (black with vaguely Victorian gold buttons up the sides) is held together with tape. The centerpiece of her ensemble -- a red, single-sleeved romper made of metallic Lycra and sequins with a regal plume of feathers at one shoulder -- looks like the result of a collision between MÃtley Crüe and the Moulin Rouge.

It was difficult to tell Thursday night at the Greek Theatre where there were more women wearing their dark-brown bangs in their eyes -- onstage or in the audience? The occasion was the final date of one of the summer's more unlikely tours, a female-fronted triple bill featuring the Pretenders, Cat Power and Juliette Lewis. Not much unites these acts beyond the guitar and a common haircut, but apparently that was enough to foster a sense of family on the road. As Lewis put it near the end of her opening set, "It's been an absolute lovefest out here."

At the tender age of 32, Juliette Lewis has carved out a choice spot for herself in the Hollywood firmament. An Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe nominee, the versatile actress has brought a ferocious commitment and intelligence to the films of such auteurs as Martin Scorsese ("Cape Fear"), Quentin Tarantino ("From Dusk Till Dawn"), Woody Allen ("Husbands and Wives") and Oliver Stone ("Natural Born Killers").

"So, I work part time in the movie industry," coyly commented a sweat-damp Juliette Lewis halfway through her rock band's show at the Knitting Factory on Wednesday. She went on to explain that everybody always thinks she's really crazy after seeing her performance as a mayhem-loving teenager in Oliver Stone's "Natural Born Killers." "You know why?" she said. "Because I'm so [expletive] good."

"I get these comments, 'Oh my God, you're so much prettier in person,' says Juliette Lewis, who looks so much prettier in person than she does on screen. "It's kind of a backhanded compliment. 'Oh, so I've been ugly all this time in film.' But I never played the vanity girl, so I don't mind. I'd rather be the rebel, be harsh." There is nothing rebellious or harsh about Lewis, at least at the moment.

A new series of Guess jeans TV spots introduce rebel starlet Juliette (will she ever live down those cornrows at the Academy Awards?) Lewis as the new Guess Jeans girl. The mini film noir dramas also feature Harry Dean Stanton, Peter Horton and Traci Lords, coiffed and made up to be a dead ringer for '40s star Lizbeth Scott. Lewis, working as an operative for private eye Stanton, struts in a shrunken satin shirt and white jeans, but clothes are really beside the point.

Adult animated films are extremely hard to pull off. You either go X-rated like Ralph Bakshi's smartly provocative "Fritz the Cat" did so many years ago, or unexpectedly insightful as 2008's brilliant war story " Waltz With Bashir" did, earning an Oscar nod. Despite grand ambitions, "Metropia" doesn't quite manage either though it makes a high-minded grab at a bit of both. From Swedish documentary filmmaker Tarik Saleh, a one-time graffiti artist with a long interest in animation, "Metropia" was conceived as a dark futuristic conspiracy thriller about mind control, big business and a nefarious subway system.

Once an industry standard for new dramas, the two-hour premiere has become rare enough to acquire an alarming air; as with 10-minute film trailers or wildly enthusiastic blind-date suggestions, one quickly catches the underlying whiff of desperation. And indeed, NBC's new legal thriller "The Firm" is so front-loaded for success — John Grisham! Josh Lucas! Juliette Lewis! — that even two hours feel uncomfortably crammed, with back story and B-plot, family drama and legalese, potential conspiracies and sentimental posturing.

Early Grayce sports a homemade tattoo on his arm, a crude blue drawing of a heart. But that sentimental gesture has been obliterated by a self-inflicted scar. Adele Corners looks like a girl who would cause trouble on any seedy street, even if her only crime was a fashion infraction. Skinny legs stretch from her high-heel clogs to her hot pants, and a thin tube top covers her chest. She pops her gum with mindless ease.

After the release of director Martin Scorsese's thriller "Cape Fear," Juliette Lewis, whose impromptu seduction scene with Robert De Niro was the kind that makes young careers, many wondered if she would ever work with such top talent again. After all, the next movie the 18-year-old actress shot, a small independent called "That Night," co-starring pretty-boy C. Thomas Howell, is patiently awaiting a release date from Warner Bros. But in late November, when Woody Allen was having creative clashes with British actress Emily Lloyd on his new untitled film, he dropped Lloyd for Lewis, even though the swap meant some extensive re-shooting.