There’s a very specific type of person who can rock the single name: Beyonce, Madonna, Cher, Diana, Prince. And, well, with the exception of that last one, they’re usually all independent women with singing careers or other astonishing levels of fame.
With two single-name movies on their way later this year, though, Hollywood sets out to prove they’re really anything but interchangeable.
Diana
Princess Di was adored internationally for being the people’s princess, but her life was tragically cut short when, just over a year after her divorce from Prince Charles, she was killed in a car accident in Paris in August 1997. Now, 16 years later, her long overdue biopic is here, starring Naomi Watts and Naveen Andrews. Is there still a place in people’s hearts for Diana now that Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, is on the scene? Time will tell.
Carrie
Chloë Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore star in this feature based on the novel by Stephen King. Moretz’s title character discovers she has some telekinetic powers, and everyone in town knows her name, but not at all for the right reasons. Due out Oct. 18, this film from director Kimberly Peirce arrives just in time for Halloween.
This article appears in June 7 • 2013.