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Discuss: Should Gay Actors Stay in the Closet?
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy »
A few days before Meredith Baxter (the mom from Family Ties) came out of the closet, the always-outspoken Rupert Everett had some choice words for gay actors: get comfy in the closet. Coincidentally, Everett's new movie St. Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold, has him playing Camilla Fritton, an eccentric headmistress who looks like a cross between the Queen Mum and Madame the puppet. In the previous St. Trinians, which I couldn't sit through, he also played her brother, Carnaby. The openly gay actor blames coming out of the closet for the state of his career, telling The Guardian, "The fact is that you could not be, and still cannot be, a 25-year-old homosexual trying to make it in the British film business or the American film business or even the Italian film business. It just doesn't work and you're going to hit a brick wall at some point. You're going to manage to make it roll for a certain amount of time, but at the first sign of failure they'll cut you right off. And I'm sick of saying, 'Yes, it's probably my own fault.' Because I've always tried to make it work and when it stops working somewhere, I try to make it work somewhere else. But the fact of the matter is, and I don't care who disagrees, it doesn't work if you're gay." (I really recommend reading the whole interview; it's very interesting.)
I'm a heterosexual woman who's also not an actor and can't speak to the true experience of being a gay man in the film industry. I first saw Everett in Cemetery Man and was later somewhat disappointed to find out the handsome star was gay, but I was more turned off by his later choice of roles than anything else. I know I am the minority when it comes to my reaction, unfortunately.
Sundance '10 Announces Non-Competing Film Premieres
Filed under: Sundance », Newsstand »
Sundance is a celebration of independent filmmaking, but half the fun is seeing the premieres of larger films that might not come out for months, or years in some cases. In fact, the non-industry people who attend Sundance every year might not be able to tell you what documentary won the Grand Jury prize last year (it was Ondi Timoner's We Live In Public), but they're always able to tell you when they saw "that new George Clooney movie."
With that in mind, Sundance has announced the premieres that are screening out of competition. You can see a full list, complete with synopsis and cast listing for each film, just beyond the break. There's a few standouts so far, and I'd have to say my most eagerly anticipated is The Company Men, where Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper and others have to survive corporate downsizing. There are a few films that sound potentially painful, including Buried, where Ryan Reynolds plays a contractor in Iraq who finds himself buried alive with only a lighter and a cell phone.
However, our real money is on Splice, a Park City at Midnight premiere, which are usually quirky comedies or horror movies. "Clive and Elsa are young, brilliant, and ambitious. The new animal species they engineered has made them rebel superstars of the scientific world. In secret, they introduce human DNA into the experiment." Excellent! Plus it's directed by Vincenzo Natali, who also helmed the terrific Cube, and stars Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley.
Check out the full list just beyond the break, where you'll see that Catherine Keener and John C. Reilly are appearing in two movies apiece at Sundance, thereby making them eligible for the Parker Posey award.
'Up in the Air' Named Best Film of the Year by NBR
Filed under: Awards », Newsstand », Oscar Watch »
For the past two years in a row, the National Board of Review (aka NBR) and the Academy Awards have each honored the same film as their top pick of the year. Will that streak now continue with Jason Reitman's Up in the Air? Paramount couldn't have picked a better release date for Up in the Air because 24 hours after the film was named best of the year by NBR, it will arrive in theaters in limited release. Aside from taking top honors, Reitman's film about a corporate downsizer who can't seem to connect with anything (or anyone) also won Best Adapted Screenplay (Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner) and Best Supporting Actress (Anna Kendrick). Other big winners include Clint Eastwood for Best Director (Invictus), Morgan Freeman for Best Actor (Invictus), Carey Mulligan for Best Actress (An Education) and Woody Harrelson for Best Supporting Actor (The Messenger). The Cove, which is a film we've been heavily championing all year long, won for Best Documentary, while Pixar's Up took home Best Animated Feature. The biggest and most talked-about surprise so far is that top awards contender Precious was nowhere to be found, and wasn't even listed among the year's top ten list, though as a fan of both films it was nice to see District 9 and Moon make the top ten independent films list (along with a special mention for Moon director Duncan Jones in NBR's Spotlight Award for Best Directorial Debut).
Check out all the winners after the jump.
Johnny Depp to Play Pancho Villa?
Filed under: Foreign Language », Casting », Johnny Depp »
If there's one actor working today who is worth waiting for, it's Johnny Depp. Unfortunately, not all filmmakers have the luxury of being able to postpone a project long enough to fit the busy star in. His many commitments may, for instance, force Terry Gilliam to replace the actor in his second attempt to make The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (Robert Duvall claims to be Yet Serbian director Emir Kusturica, who last collaborated with Depp on the underrated and under-seen Arizona Dream 16 years ago, is holding off production of his latest, titled Seven Friends of Pancho Villa and the Woman With Six Fingers, until 2011 in order for Depp to play the title role. According to Variety, the actor is still merely in negotiations to play the Mexican Revolution hero, whom he would reportedly portray entirely with Spanish dialogue.
The International 'Iron Man 2' Poster Subtracts a Suit
Filed under: Action », Paramount », Movie Marketing », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels », Images », Posters »
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Given the frenzy that surrounded the release of the first Iron Man 2 poster and the early stills, I thought it was fitting that we should end the week with a trilogy of marketing material. Empire has debuted the international version of the Iron Man 2 poster which you can see to the right in mini form. If you click on the link, it'll take you to a larger version.While our poster gave you two Iron Man suits for the money, the international audience only gets one -- and Tony Stark isn't even wearing his helmet! We should pity the overseas people who will be denied that awesome look at War Machine. On the other hand, they get the soulful eyes of Robert Downey Jr. I feel like there's some kind of commentary on the difference between American audiences and international ones here. They're sold by an intense, human gaze whereas we're sold by big metal suits that hint at the promise of explosions.
Yes, I'm reading too much into it. Come on, I have to make my word count ... and I don't know what it says about me that this is the one I'd put on my wall. I'm a sucker for the man inside the suit, I guess.
Iron Man 2 hits American theaters on May 7, 2010, but the UK reportedly gets an earlier look on April 30, 2010. Truly devoted fans might want to book that plane ticket now.
Robert Duvall as Don Quixote?
Filed under: Casting », RumorMonger »
At the beginning of the year, we heard what many thought was impossible: Terry Gilliam was able to get the rights back to The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, and he was going to do some rewrites and get the project back on track. Some Quixote nibbles hit here or there, but there wasn't a lot of buzz even with Gilliam back at the reigns.But at least we now know who will (we hope!) star. While talking to Robert Duvall about Crazy Heart, Collider learned that the actor is set to play Don Quixote de la Mancha. Don't believe it? It's on video, with Duvall saying that it would be "totally amazing to work with Terry Gilliam. But, once again, the money. It's so difficult to get the money. He saw me play a Cuban barber one time with Richard Harris and that's what gave him the idea to cast me as Don Quixote."
It would be Gilliam's luck -- just as the steam picks up, the coffers recoil in the cinematic world, leaving little chance for an epic and plagued project. Someone cough up some dough for Terry already, okay? I'm sure that I'm not the only one who would love to see Duvall dig into the project. Blockbusters and sure bets are good and all, but Hollywood is only as great as the films it dares to make against all odds.
Sundance Announces the 2010 US and World Competition Lineups!
Filed under: Sundance », Exhibition »
It might be that Christmas is the time of year when we're inundated with tinsel and Christmas tunes, but it's also the time when Sundance starts announcing their killer line-ups for 2010. This year's festival will run from January 21 to 31in Park City, Utah, and as always, Cinematical will be there to kick off the new festival year and cover all the great films that premiere.
The first announcement covers Sundance's US and World Competition Lineups, with more to follow later. This year boasts a slew of buzz-worthy fare, a lot of which we've been dying to see. The U.S. Dramatic Competition will screen Hesher, Spencer Susser's tale of a trickster that descends upon a struggling family, which just so happens to star Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Natalie Portman, Howl, the eagerly anticipated look at the obscenity trial that followed the poet's famous work (Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman directing James Franco, David Strathairn), and actor Mark Ruffalo's directorial debut Sympathy for Delicious, starring Orlando Bloom as a recently paralyzed DJ who becomes a faith healer.
The Documentary selections include Alex Gibney's CASINO JACK & The United States of Money, plus additional fare ranging from Amir Bar-Lev's I'm Pat _____ Tillman to Tamra Davis' look at art with Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child. Topping that off with world cinema, we've got foreign docs from names like Jose Padilha, and narrative films like Peepli Live by Anusha Rizvi.
See the full list after the jump and stay tuned for more slates, ones that -- we're hoping -- will include the latest from Michael Winterbottom and Mark Romanek.
3D Sequels for 'Zombieland' and 'Jackass' Confirmed
Filed under: Comedy », Horror », Deals », Paramount », Sony »
Having attended the world premiere at Fantastic Fest, I was positive Zombieland would be a word of mouth hit and the creative gang both behind and in front of the camera would surely be returning to their special post-apocalyptic world in no time. But, in retrospect, my experience was a little bit biased. While I think the movie holds up no matter when and where it's playing, showing Zombieland in a regal, old-school movie palace in front of a festival crowd that takes to zombies like Han Solo takes to a Tauntaun (yes, we often curl up inside the gooey, mushy embrace of the undead to keep warm on particularly cold horror winters), is more than hedging your bet; I can't imagine a better venue. There were instant talks of sequels at the Q&A following the film, and all involved were clearly game, but then the film went on to be only a mild hit, and not the grandslam one would have expected from the crowd reactions at Fantastic Fest. What seemed like a lock seemed even shakier when Rhett Rheese, one half of the film's writing team, mentioned that Zombieland's stance as the most pirated movie currently on the net had put the future of the should-be franchise in jeopardy.
But all that worrying was for nothing, it turns out, as Sony has gone ahead and penciled in a trip back to Zombieland in their to do list. As of now, stars Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg are in talks to return, but director Ruben Fleischer and writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick have all signed on to further flesh out the comedic end of the world. And further out it shall be, as Sony has also confirmed that the untitlted part two will be filmed in 3D.
Everything You Need to Know About Peter Berg's 'Battleship'
Filed under: Action », Fandom », Newsstand »
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When it comes to films based on board games, folks are immediately inclined to make fun of the idea and trash the project -- which is why Universal decided to get out in front of the negative buzz by sending a group of movie writers down to San Diego to meet with Battleship director Peter Berg prior to production to find out exactly what the man (and studio) have planned when it comes to this particular board game adaptation (which is the first of many in the pipeline). So ... what, are we looking at a film set in 1987 about two 10-year-old kids trying to sink the other dude's Battleship before mom calls them inside for dinner? Not quite. Here's the quickie version:
- Battleship will follow a small fleet of American and international (ie: Japanese) ships (5 in total) that for some reason get separated from the rest of the Navy and must take on an opposing fleet of alien ships that have arrived on earth in order to build some sort of "bridge" that will help their alien race in some way.
- These aliens are called The Regents (which has nothing to do with the High School exam ... we think), and they're not here to destroy earth or humankind -- they're just here to use the planet to help save their own species. However, they will defend themselves if provoked, and, well, what else are we to use our giant massive Naval ships for?
- The aliens will be a mix of human actors and CGI. Berg compared them to Davey Jones from Pirates of the Caribbean.
- The Regents aren't all that superior to us either, as Berg noted that the fight will be a fair one. The story will be more strategic, like the game, in that it will focus on each party (human and alien) using their skills to locate and destroy the other before they themselves are destroyed.
- And yes, someone will say "You sunk my Battleship!" at some point during the film.
Celebs Return to Their Most Iconic Roles for Photo Shoot
Filed under: Fandom », Images »
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To celebrate their 20th birthday, Empire Magazine invited a whole ton of actors and actresses to ever-so-briefly reprise their most iconic roles for a pretty cool photo shoot. Curious to see what Arnold Schwarzenegger would look like now if he donned those famous black sunglasses and threw on his best badass pose for a photo in front of a motorcycle? Or what about wanting to see Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster reunited for the first time since the Oscar-winning Silence of the Lambs?
Other cool photo ops include Mel Gibson wearing face paint in honor of Braveheart, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost looking back at Shaun of the Dead, Christian Bale returning to his American Psycho days, Ben Stiller showing us all that Zoolander totally deserves a sequel, Gerard Butler giving us his best 300 roar, Laurence Fishburne calling back Morpheus and more. It's a pretty cool idea, even if Tom Cruise's most iconic role is certainly not Minority Report (20 bucks says Empire couldn't get him to wear that Top Gun jacket). Check out some of the images below and the rest over at Empire.
Discuss: Should Gay Actors Stay in the Closet?
Sundance '10 Announces Non-Competing Film Premieres
'Up in the Air' Named Best Film of the Year by NBR
Johnny Depp to Play Pancho Villa?_thumbnail.jpg)
The International 'Iron Man 2' Poster Subtracts a Suit
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