Movies
Jon Hamm Gets Gritty with a Shotgun
“Mad Men” star, Jon Hamm, was spotted in Boston earlier today filming a scene for the movie, “The Town”, co-starring Ben Affleck and Blake Lively. For some odd reason, I’m strangely attracted to seeing Jon Hamm wear an FBI bulletproof vest and holding a big gun in his hands.
Shia Lebeouf Does Wall Street
Good ol’ Shia Lebeouf was out in Central Park last Thursday, smoking a cigarette and wearing expensive loafers with no socks. But he wasn’t just fiddling around because, as it turns out, he was doing some filming for Oliver Stone’s new flick “Wall Street 2″!
Disney Sequels Everywhere!
The Walt Disney Company very rarely releases their movie sequels into theaters. Just look how many freakin’ straight-to-video sequels were made for “Aladdin”! But the exception belongs Disney/Pixar and the Mouse House has got two new sequels brewing in the brewery.
In the works from the animation giant are no more than TWO big sequels from the Pixar elite: “Cars 2″ and “Toy Story 3″! Now you’re probably thinking why I’m reporting this and the answer is simple: Lindsay Lohan has done anything stupid today. YET.
MTV to wolf out with ‘Teen Wolf’ remake
I watched the first movie with Michael J. Fox, then the unfortunate sequel with Jason Bateman, then the even more unfortunate Saturday morning cartoon, and yet I’m still willing to buy into MTV’s reinvention of the 1985 movie “Teen Wolf” appealing.
The cable network announced the project in January as part of its development slate. After seeing the script, MTV higher ups have picked it up as a pilot presentation.
The MTV version will be set in high school and sees itself more as a horror series with, a romantic plot line.
“It has a fresh take and is very different from the original,” said Liz Gateley, senior vp MTV series development. “It has more of an ‘American Werewolf in Paris’ feel to it. It’s a dramatic thriller with two best friends in the center who provide a great comedy element: They are two very relate-able characters on the outer circles of popular cliques.”
The new “Wolf” was written by “Criminal Minds” creator Jeff Davis.
Lily Cole thanks Heath Ledger
Lily Cole isn’t just a pretty face any more and that’s thanks to Heath Ledger. She claims the late actor taught her the tricks of the trade while they were filming “The Imaginarium Of Dr Parnassus.”
The model landed a small role in the movie, filming in 2007, and was ecstatic to join Terry Gilliam’s fantasy epic, opposite Ledger and Christopher Plummer.
She admits she was nervous about the role, but said Ledger, who died midway through the shoot, was a great friend and mentor.
“He definitely helped me. From the beginning, he understood that I would be overwhelmed and scared by the size of the project. He encouraged me and said he was really proud of me, constantly fed me support,” said Cole. She nearly gave up on the film when Ledger was found dead of an accidental drug overdose in January 2008.
His role was taken on by three other actors – Jude Law, Colin Farrell and Johnny Depp.
“Everyone loved Heath. For everyone who knew him, (his death) was devastating. The practicalities of continuing the production were difficult, but it seemed irrelevant,” said Cole.
“Johnny (Depp) slipped seamlessly into the role, but that didn’t stop it being bizarre. I thought I was in at the deep end in the beginning, then look what happened!”
Twifans are dropping like flies on set
Is there a doctor in the house? Fans have been in need of medical attention on the set of the new Twilight movies. The sight of stars Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner has sent Twifans into a frenzy.
Lautner admits some devotees can’t control their emotions.
He told Interview magazine, “We’ve met many different fans: the criers, who come around quite often; the hyperventilators, who stop breathing and have to have a medic come. We’ve definitely seen some passion.”
Bradley Cooper blames Bale for role loss
Christian Bale is Hollywood’s whipping boy. Actor Bradley Cooper is blaming the Batman star for costing him the lead role in “The Green Lantern.”
Cooper auditioned to star in the upcoming comic book movie adaptation, but screwed up in his screen test by imitating Bale’s husky-voiced portrayal of the caped crusader.
“I couldn’t not do Christian Bale’s Batman when I was doing the audition. I don’t know what it was. You put a mask on, and I actually said, ‘I’m Batman.’ When I walked back and saw (the playback) I thought, ‘Oh my God!’ It looked like a Saturday Night Live sketch. I was like, ‘Oh, I’m not getting this!’” Cooper said. The role ultimately went to Ryan Reynolds.
Dakota Fanning set to rock out
Dakota Fanning is ready to rock out. The 15-year-old will share the screen not once but twice with Kristen Stewart. In addition to playing Jane the vampire in “New Moon,” Fanning will appear in the Joan Jett biopic “The Runaways” and their co-star Scout Taylor-Compton insists their hard work in mastering musicianship has paid off.
“We performed for like eight hours straight. It was crazy. Basically, I felt like I was in a band and I miss it. I miss rehearsal,” said Taylor-Compton, who plays guitarist Lita Ford in the movie. Fanning plays Cheri Currie and Stewart portrays Jett.
“All of us had something to do. Dakota will blow your mind. She’s amazing in it and so is Kristen. We learned a lot of songs. We did a lot of performances.”
Taylor-Compton said that though she didn’t get to meet her on-screen alter ego, she loved having the chance to rub shoulders with the real-life members of The Runaways.
“I didn’t meet Lita but Joan Jett was always there during band practice, during the filming. She was always there, always hanging out with us. It was great. And Cheri Currie was there.”
Kristen Stewart terrified of fans
Not surprisingly, Kristen Stewart is scared of the Twifans.
“I’m scared. I feel like I could go out in disguise but they would still recognize my feet or the shape of my leg. They’d say, ‘Hey, she looks about right.’ And they would just bag me. It’s scary,” she said.
She’s not the only one to think disguises are a good idea. Cameron Diaz recently said she uses movie costumes to disguise herself when she wants to remain anonymous.
“I’ve enjoyed taking home some of the costumes from movie sets, in particular when I played Lotte Schwartz in ‘Being John Malkovich’. That was really fun because I had these brown contact lenses and this crazy wig and I would go shopping as Lotte. People didn’t even want to help me,” said Diaz.
“Lord of the Rings” actor Dominic Monaghan also said he wears a disguise when can’t stop and talk to fans.
“Unfortunately I have to get to places on schedule, I don’t do a huge amount of stopping. I wear little disguises so I don’t get stopped, but it’s good to feel the love, and good to know people are supportive of projects that I’m involved with,” he said.
Christian Bale’s movie disappearing act
Christian Bale has been “missing in action” on the set of his new movie.
He’s filming “The Fighter” in Massachusetts with Mark Wahlberg and Amy Adams and the method actor insists on “getting into character” by refusing to be seen on set.
“You only see him when it’s time for his scenes. Other than that, no one has any idea where he is. He just goes missing,” a source told E!.
Bale is determined to accurately portray former crack addict Dicky Eklund in the movie, which follows the life of boxer “Irish” Mickey Ward.
The source explained: “Christian has lost almost as much weight as he did for ‘The Machinist’. He is so gaunt. They have even thinned his hair, he just looks sickly.”
When filming “The Machinist,” Bale lived on just a can of tuna and an apple a day and lost 60 lbs. to play a paranoid insomniac.
Bale has said he didn’t plan to go to those extremes again, but admits he thrived on the “mental challenges” it presented.
“I wouldn’t want to take it to that extreme again. But it was necessary to lose weight for that role – not as much as I did – but it was a challenge mentally to see if I was capable of doing such a thing.
“I know that I can now, so there would need to be a certain gimmick if I was to do that all over again. But I do like the notion of seeing how far you can push yourself so I’m very happy that I did that. Everybody told me that I was risking my health the first time around, so doing it twice? I’m probably being an idiot.”
‘New Moon’ clips go Team Jacob
Let’s get the day going with a “New Moon” clip. It’s very Team Jacob, but there is some tasty Edward-Bella kissing action and all sorts of yummy bits:
New ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ trailer
I’m still excited about “Where the Wild Things Are” but much like a hot girl at the bar, when there’s talking involved, I’m less enthused. Still, check out the new trailer:
“Where the Wild Things Are” is set for release Oct. 16.
‘Send It On’ official video
The Disney kids aren’t just wholesome-looking money machines. They luvs the world and want you to pay it forward send it on. And they’re singing about it in the “Send It On” official video:
‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’ trailer
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” trailer has hit the Web and while I doubt it will be a commercial success for more than having a dead Heath Ledger in it, it looks pretty good:
The Ballad of G.I. Joe
I’m in flyover country, but I’m one of those “godless liberals” so I didn’t go to G.I. Joe last weekend (yet I loved the cartoon when I was little).
“The Ballad of G.I. Joe” is a much better cast and much worthier of your time. Check it out:
‘Post Grad’ trailer
Ah Rory, Alexis Bleidel, I’ve missed you so. Unlike her Gilmore Girls persona, Bleidel’s on-screen persona in her new movie “Post Grad” is facing a post-college life a little more in keeping with the reality: unemployment. (Of course, she will end up with a good job and a hot man by the end of it, not so much how it usually goes)
Check out the trailer.
‘Vampire Assistant’ preview
If you’re not so into “Twilight” and want a little alternative vampire programming, Paul Weitz has a movie for you. The co-director of “American Pie” and “About a Boy” has a new vampiric comedy to compete with his brother Chris Weitz’s “New Moon” (yeah, it’ll gross maybe 10 percent of the newest “Twilight” movie)
“Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant” is about a young boy named Darren Shan, who meets a mysterious man at a freak show who turns out to be a vampire. After a series of events Darren must leave his normal life and go on the road with the Cirque Du Freak and become a Vampire.
Check it out:
‘District 9′ Restricted clip
Must not get too excited about District 9. Must. not. Except this clip looking incredibly awesome:
‘New Moon’ teaser hits the web
Promises are made that the new 14-second “New Moon” trailer tease of Taylor Lautner’s buff bod, but there’s simply not enough to judge. I’m going to need some more skin.
In this clip werewolf character Jacob Black consoles Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), telling her:
“Bella, I won’t ever hurt you, I promise,” he tells her. She replies, “You’re sort of beautiful.” (Hmm, I’m not remembering this from the book. Twifans?)
The full trailer premieres Friday before Vanessa Hudgens’ new comedy “Bandslam.”
Check it out below:
New Moon hits screens Nov. 20.
Hardwicke claims Howard was first choice for ‘Twilight’ role
In a stunning piece of spin on the dropping of Rachelle Lefevre from “Eclipse”, director Catherine Hardwicke claims Bryce Dallas Howard was always the first choice to play villainous vampire Victoria in the original “Twilight” movie.
Summit signed Dallas Howard on to replace Lefevre. Fellow redhead Lefevre, who stars in the first two installments, was dropped for a supposed scheduling conflict, setting the Twifans into full scream mode.
Hardwicke said Dallas Howard was always producers’ top pick, but the star initially rejected the part.
“I know we originally asked Bdh (Bryce Dallas Howard) to do the first movie but she thought it was too small a part at that time,” noted Hardwicke, who was herself dropped from “New Moon” in favor of Chris Weitz.
Hardwicke admitted she sympathizes with Lefevre, but insists she only knows about what has been reported in the media.
“Of course I cast (Lefevre), so I wish (producers at Summit Entertainment) could have worked out something. I wasn
