ImeldaStaunton Tagged Articles at Cinematical

It's no accident that at the very beginning of the movie, the title shows up broken into three words, one on its own separate line: Taking. Wood. Stock. The immensely likeable comedian Demetri Martin plays Elliot Teichberg, a menschy young guy who is spending his summer at his parents' ramshackle motel in the Catskills in yet another attempt to stave off their foreclosure. He has a life back in NYC, sure, but his work as an interior designer and painter isn't going so well, and his friends are all leaving for San Francisco. Elliot, or Ellie as his parents call him, is the consummate Good Jewish Boy – he runs the local Chamber of Commerce, helps around the hotel, and withstands his Russian mother's browbeating (played by Vera Drake's Imelda Staunton).

It's only sheer luck and desperation that leads him to call the Woodstock folks after a nearby town decides they don't want a hippie invasion after all. The rest, as they say, is history, much to Elliot's bemusement. Obviously, though, the free love and plentiful drugs help grease the wheels of his own individuation, as the Summer of Love draws to a close and the darker era of Altamont and Manson creep closer.

When Demetri Martin joined the cast of Taking Woodstock, it was set to begin production in late August. In a nice change of pace, the movie is still on schedule, and will begin shooting at the end of the month, SAG strike be damned. But that isn't the only reason to anticipate Ang Lee's project. Variety reports the ensemble cast has been set, and it's insanely good. Get ready for a film that includes the likes of Emile Hirsch, Imelda Staunton, Liev Schreiber, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Eugene Levy, Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Dan Fogler, Mamie Gummer, Henry Goodman, and Jonathan Groff.

Martin stars in the memoir adaptation as Elliot Tiber, a closeted gay man and aspiring interior designer who gives up his Big Apple dreams to run the family business in a Catskills motel. In 1969, he offered the hotel as home base for Woodstock organizers while his neighbor Max Yasgur (Levy) offered his farm. Staunton and Goodman play Tiber's parents, Groff will be festival organizer Michael Lang, Hirsch will play a Vietnam vet just back on American soil, Schreiber is in talks to play a transvestite named Vilma, Morgan will be a closeted married man having an affair with Tiber, Dano and Kazan play a hippy couple going to the concert, Fogler will be the head of a local theater troupe, and Gummer will take on the role of Lang's assistant.

I have a feeling this will be so very, very good.

What kind of amateurs could Burt Reynolds be joining? He's had a lot of roles in his almost 50 years in the business. Considering his past career, perhaps it would be an amateur group of cops, football players, bandits, porn professionals, judges, or even thieves. Nope! The reality is so very much better. Believe it or not, he's going to be joining some amateur Shakespearian actors. Variety reports that he's heading to Blighty this February to star in A Bunch of Amateurs. To be helmed by Andy Cadiff, from a script by Jonathan Gerschfield, John Ross, Ian Hislop, and Nick Newman, this is the first movie to come from the new production shingle, CinemaNX.

The film is being described as a fish-out-of-water comedy about "an aging Hollywood action star who accepts an invitation to play King Lear at Stratford, in the hope of reviving his career. When he arrives, he discovers that the play is not being staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford-upon-Avon, as he thought, but by an amateur dramatic society in the rural village of Stratford St. John." I am a man. More sinned against than sinning! He wants to back out, but it's a charity performance with lots of marketing, so he has to stick with it. Yes, that's right, he's going to be King Lear. I have to say, that's something I never thought I'd see. Reynolds' amateur co-stars will include the likes of Samantha Bond (Goldeneye), Derek Jacobi (The Golden Compass), and Imelda Staunton (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix). Are you ready for the Bandit to take on Lear?

Last week's License to Wed contest reinforced a couple of things for those of us over here at Moviefone. One, if it's bald and looks semi-crazy, it must be Britney Spears. Two, Michael Jackson jokes never get old. Congrats to our License to Wed loot winners below. They'll take home a beach towel tote, a Frisbee and a magnetic word set among other goodies. Alas, they will not be receiving the mechanical pooping baby pictured.

1. "I never even knew the Neverland Ranch had a gift shop." -- Todd G.

2. "Look, he's got your plastic." -- Ross M.

3. "You expect me to hold this thing?" ... "THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!!"
-- JD3

See full image and all captions

This week, we have a photo from the eagerly anticipated Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth chapter in the beloved boy-wizard saga. This time around, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) brace for the return of the vile Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) and battle to free Hogwarts from the iron-fisted authoritarian rule of Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton). And, in the midst of all this, Harry apparently finds some time to chill in a telephone booth with Ron's dad (Mark Williams).

Writers of our three favorite captions for the photo below will win a veritable Goblet of Fire full of Harry Potter swag, including a Death Eaters T-shirt (handy for those times when you just have to eat the deceased), a wooden notebook with quill and ink (so you can chronicle your hopes and dreams, Ginny Weasley-style) and some Potter temporary tattoos (because you know Harry loves to show off his ink). Good luck!

UPDATE: WINNERS ANNOUNCED! Click Here

With so many of Britain's acting legends appearing in the Harry Potter films, it isn't easy for just one to stand out, but I think this summer's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will feature one performance that shines above the rest. Imelda Staunton, who plays the cruel new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Dolores Umbridge, seen in this new publicity photo hovering above Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, will be a definite center of attention -- and not just because her pink wardrobe sticks out amongst the mostly black costumes worn by her fellow cast members. There is a lot of hype regarding her appearance in the film, and I for one am hoping that she lives up to it. I've even thought about how wonderful it would be for the actress to be so good that she gets another Oscar nomination (what a nice surprise it would be for the Academy to recognize the consistently good acting of this popular franchise!).

Of course, it is probably better for the film as a whole if no actor or actress stands out. Also, according to what we heard from the first test screenings, it is Gary Oldman and newcomer Evanna Lynch who rise above the rest. Regardless, I am happy enough that Staunton is garnering a lot of attention for this role, especially after seeing how good she can be even in a simple supporting part in the fantastic family film Nanny McPhee. According to her statements to the new issue of Newsweek, she put a lot of "proper acting" into her Potter performance. While I doubt any awards will come from this movie, she will hopefully be praised enough that she finds it worth returning for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

There have been so many of these Harry Potter movies that I could have sworn we already saw some stills from the new installment, but I must be thinking of the previous one. I guess the last thing we saw for Order of the Phoenix was just some set photos. Now this addition, brought to us by The Scotsman, isn't much, but one of two pictures present us with a glimpse of Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge and Emma Thompson as Sybil Trelawney. That photo also features Maggie Smith (McGonagall) and David Bradley (Fitch). As for the other still, it's not spectacular, but we do get Daniel Radcliffe (Harry) backed onto the floor, looking old and clean-cut, aiming his wand at the unseen Dementors. I'm not sure, but he appears to have been caught off guard while tagging the wall with some graffiti.

As for non-official photos, Mugglenet.com has some more set pics, this time of the Hogsmeade train station. And in case all these photos aren't enough to satisfy your Potter craving, you should also check out the two-part Newsweek interview with Emma Watson (Hermione) here and here.

[Thanks to Comingsoon.net for all the updates]