Jennifer Garner Tagged Articles at Cinematical

For a business that is notoriously slow to develop groundbreaking creative projects, the film industry can be remarkably quick when it comes to cashing in on proven success. Thus, when the romantic comedy He's Just Not That Into You -- timed for release to capitalize on Valentine's Day earlier this year -- grossed an estimated $94 million for New Line Cinema / Warner Brothers, the company decided to prepare something similar for Valentine's Day next year, reports the New York Times.

Since He's Just Not That Into You featured an ensemble cast of notable actresses (Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Aniston), the new project, imaginatively titled Valentine's Day, hopes to pack Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Garner, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, and Shirley MacLaine into a storyline about "would-be romantics working their way through a tangle of circumstances in Los Angeles." None of the women have signed on yet, nor has the company's director of choice, Garry Marshall, nor has Ashton Kutcher, whose name has also been floated, but potential Green Lantern Bradley Cooper has agreed to play a man in the movie.

Lionsgate has sown up Halloween with the Saw franchise, so, strictly from a business perspective, this makes good sense. Of course, just packing "names" into a movie for the sake of names won't necessarily work. Still, if Valentine's Day is successful with big stars and establishes a new franchise for New Line, they could populate sequels with less-expensive stars and turn a decent profit for years to come.

Several weeks ago at a press conference for Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Matthew McConaughey's latest cinematic, um, effort, I asked him and co-star Jennifer Garner if this film was more a cautionary tale for women not to be drawn in by douchebags than an object lesson for would-be lotharios. While McConaughey marveled at the prospect anyone would think one of his characters was a douchebag, Garner dismissed the idea that the greater lesson could or should be learned by the film's female viewership. "It's more for men to say you have to risk love and commitment," she insisted. "Otherwise, you're going to end up alone with old-age make-up and sad and the beautiful woman is going to go off and marry someone else."

While Garner's make-up reference was a clever play on the film's decidedly underwhelming "ghosts of girlfriends future" segment – and one which, if you're lucky enough to never see the film, will never be provided an actual context - the question unfortunately remains: who is this film supposed to teach a lesson, much less entertain? Having analyzed its reprehensible characters and deconstructed its mixed messages, it seems obvious that the film was either made specifically for terrible, stupid people of both genders, or for no one at all.

I apparently loved Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.

See, according to the logic doled out by the monogamy-hating, scotch-addled mind of one Connor Mead (Matthew McConaughey), the power of any relationship falls to whoever cares less, and my friends, I really could not care less about whether or not his boozing, cruising lothario was going to learn any magical lesson lifted straight out of Dickens. Ergo, the further I slumped in my seat while watching this mawkish, obvious, and not very funny film, the more powerful I grew in this particular relationship, and let me tell you right now: that and two bucks will get you a cup of coffee, with no need for any more artificial sweetener...

I have this feeling the brilliant Ricky Gervais probably won't make it big in Hollywood. Now before you get all riled up, hear me out: Whenever Gervais gets the chance to 'ingratiate' himself into the Hollywood big-time, let's face it, the results are less than cuddly. In fact, more often than not the guy winds up on a demo reel of controversial moments. Gervais is someone who can't sit down with Elmo without it turning into a moment of subversive comedy, and that is what I love about him. But the biggest thing that stands between Gervais and a big movie career (other than an absence of a six-pack and capped teeth) is that the man just couldn't care less about playing nice -- and it's that quality that has earned my eternal respect (after all, it takes a lot of guts to put this scene in a Christmas special).

Gervais has been making some inroads stateside with the romantic comedy Ghost Town -- a relatively successful film that tried to capitalize on Gervais' fondness of creating sympathetic yet unpleasant characters. Granted, it wasn't a big hit, but it was well liked enough and managed to win some fans who weren't strictly Office devotees. But I think the big test for whether or not Gervais becomes movie star is his directorial debut, This Side of the Truth, with Jonah Hill, Jennifer Garner, and Rob Lowe. But even if Truth doesn't work out, Gervais and long-time creative partner Stephen Merchant will be going back to slightly more familiar territory when they team up with Sony for a coming of age flick, The Men at the Pru, about a group of men working at an insurance company in the 1970s.

Goodness me, for just how long has Hollywood been sitting on the high-concept rom-com that is Ghosts of Girlfriends Past? So narrow-minded lothario Matthew McConaughey (who's getting good at this kind of role) is visited by three of his exes and shown the error of his ways -- namely, letting childhood flame Jennifer Garner slip away (I'll give 'em that much; a dumb, dumb move). If the Moviefone trailer above is any indication, saccharine and slapstick will be in no short supply.

It seems that director Mark Waters has opted to skew the sharper comedic stomping grounds of, say, Mean Girls in favor of another rom-com fantasy in the vein of Just Like Heavin', from the pair of writers who also brought us Full of It and Four Christmases. If we're really supposed to have any hope for this project, let me know when you find it.

At any rate, Ghosts opens on May 1st as counter-programming against X-Men Origins: Wolverine -- for all the girls who just can't stand that Hugh Jackman fella, I suppose. Come on, which one are you readers counting down the days for?

In the last few years, Nicole Kidman has starred in a number of movies that underperformed at the box office, but last year's disappointing grosses for The Interpreter The Invasion, The Golden Compass and even Margot at the Wedding likely contributed to her being named the least bankable actor in Hollywood by Forbes magazine. Apparently, given her exorbitant asking price, Forbes estimates her movies only earn, on average, as much from ticket sales as she earns for appearing in them. This is a major drop compared to last year, when Kidman's films were estimated to gross $8 for every $1 she's paid.

After Kidman, Forbes names Jennifer Garner, whose '07 films The Kingdom and Catch and Release did poorly enough that the runaway success of Juno couldn't help her ranking. On average her films grossed $3.60 for every $1 she took home. In third place, not surprisingly, is Kidman's ex, Tom Cruise, who bombed big time with Lions for Lambs last year. Others making the list of most overpaid actors include Nicolas Cage, Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, Jim Carrey, Cate Blanchett and Will Ferrell. Meanwhile, Russell Crowe, who topped the list last year, is considered more fairly paid this year thanks to the success of American Gangster.

Such fluctuations in actors' bankability only continues the debate regarding the importance of movie stars these days. Certainly all the names on Forbes' list are big names who occasionally headline blockbuster hits, but are they actually significant to moviegoers' attraction to a movie? Apparently not.

So, which actor do you think is most in need of a major reality check before his or her next major paycheck?

If I wasn't already sold on Ricky Gervais' comedy, This Side of The Truth, then this picture alone would convince me to shell out my hard earned dollars -- and keep in mind, I don't normally say that kind of thing about a film starring Jennifer Garner and Rob Lowe. Over at Gervais' production blog, the comedian has posted some new photos from his film about a writer who invents the art of lying. Gervais has always been a big fan of all things web-related, including his massively successful podcast series, and various blogging endeavors. So to be expected, Gervais has been pretty consistent with updates, with only a few of his trademark diversions here and there.

Truth was written by Matthew Robinson and Gervais, and the cast includes a nice helping of comedic heavyweights. Monika already brought us the news about Christopher Guest and Tina Fey signing on. The two will be joining Jonah Hill, Jeffrey Tambor, John Hodgman, and Louis C.K. in what is shaping up to be what I would call a comedy 'dream team'. This is Gervais' first attempt at directing a feature film, and according to reports coming off the set, everyone is having a fine old time. Filming will wrap in the next couple of weeks, and then Gervais is off to England to put the final touches on the film.

This Side of the Truth will arrive in theaters in 2009.

This news is actually more than a few days old -- and it was so buried within a Jennifer Garner press release that I just missed it. No matter, I'm sure it's new to most of you.

According to Variety, Garner has signed a first look deal with Warner Brothers for her Vandalia Films, and one of the upcoming films on her slate is 3 Days in Europe in which she will co-star and co-produce with Hugh Jackman.

Europe is a romantic adventure about a couple embroiled in danger and excitement on what was supposed to be their perfect Valentine's Day vacation. It's based on the graphic novel by Anthony Johnston and Michael Hawthorne. (And published by Oni Press, who just sold The Damned last week, as reported by Scott Weinberg, as well as Scott Pilgrim. ) No director has been named, and no start date. Given how full both actors' slates are, it could be awhile.

Of course this is based on a graphic novel! Jackman is addicted to them. He's obviously given up his plans to revive the musical (drat!) and is just going to adapt all things comic related. In lieu of this information, I've decided I am going to give up my Cinematical gig and write a graphic novel about a 20-something chick who has a specialty in Anglo-Saxon literature, and ... well, I'm still working out the middle. I'll need someone to do the illustrations, but we'll have a buyer.

[via SuperheroHype.com]

Since Ricky Gervais has always been a chatty sort, it should come as no surprise that for his directorial debut, This Side of the Truth, the film would come hand in hand with its very own blog. Gervais is directing alongside Matthew Robinson (they also wrote the film) and the story is set in a future where no one lies -- heck, they don't even know how.

Gervais reportedly plays a history professor who 'invents' the art of deception. At first, he only uses his new found skill to liven up his lectures, but he then turns to the more important task of landing a woman who is way out of his league (as played by Jennifer Garner). Other members of the cast include, Jonah Hill, Rob Lowe and Louis C.K.

Gervais has been massively successful in his previous online adventures, and his blog for Truth will probably be no exception. Even without his usual cohorts on hand, these short clips are still pretty funny. One thing is for sure, Robinson seems to think it's a hoot since you can hear him giggling throughout. There is no promise of how often Gervais will be updating the blog, mainly because production on the film has already started. According to Gervais, casting has almost been finalized and shooting should begin soon on location in Boston. Hopefully he will find the time to keep the updates coming. This Side of the Truth is expected to arrive in theaters later this year.

He was the talk of the red carpet Sunday night after interrupting Ryan Seacrest's interview with Jennifer Garner, only to wrap Garner in a bear-hug and kiss her neck. I'd say the poor gal was a bit freaked out. And then there's Gary Busey's date in the background, trying to push her way in toward Seacrest, smiling like a moron in that ugly green dress. Anyway, Busey, as always, was a maniac. Now, check out what happened after the ceremony (I believe it's after), as an 11-year-old female reporter attempts to approach Busey for an interview.

She sounds like a cute girl, shooting these red carpet things for a website called StarzLife.com. I don't think she runs the website, but they most likely brought her in to do the reporting -- probably because it was the only way they could get a celeb to talk to them. So the girl tries to talk to Busey, and the guy just verbally abuses her. Not so much that he was making fun of her, but treating her like a complete moron -- raising his voice, asking her to repeat the question 30 times, then refusing to give the girl a shout out for the site. "I don't do shout outs," he, well, shouted.

But we'll give her a shout out. Go visit StarzLife.com. There ya go kid. Check out the video above.

[via EW]