Zooey Deschanel Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Cinematical Seven: Great Modern Comedy Teams
Filed under: Brad Pitt », Cinematical Seven », George Clooney »
So many comedians don't really play well with others. They're mostly scene-stealers with little regard for anyone who gets in their way. So it's always a treat to find some that click together. If they click, their connection usually passes on to the audience. Two mega-comedians, Adam Sandler & Seth Rogen, team up for the first time in this week's Funny People. It remains to be seen just what kind of chemistry they'll have, or if it deserves to be repeated, but in any case, it's a good time to revisit some of cinema's greatest comedy team-ups. [Note: I thought I would stay modern and therefore exclude Martin & Lewis, Laurel & Hardy, Fields & West, Abbott & Costello, Hepburn & Grant, Hepburn & Tracy, etc. Just because it goes without saying.]
1. Simon Pegg & Nick Frost
They're friends in real life and it shows in their films Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007). Pegg gets to do all the heroic stuff, and the romantic stuff, and he's great at it; his character arc and his performance in Shaun of the Dead are remarkably rich and subtle. But Frost has the hard job. He must balance his persona of annoying slacker with lovable sidekick, throwing in just a tiny hint of homoerotic attachment to his friend. This is an A+ in chemistry.
Interview: '500 Days of Summer' Director Marc Webb
Filed under: Fox Searchlight », Interviews »
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Although conventional wisdom says otherwise, men really do want to watch romantic comedies. Unfortunately, they're not the same ones that women want to watch: for every two dozen movies like The Proposal or the upcoming The Ugly Truth, there's maybe one or two like High Fidelity or Almost Famous. This week, men can add 500 Days of Summer to their shortlist of testosterone-driven rom-coms, thanks to its story of a neurotic twentysomething named Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who falls deeply – and increasingly desperately – in love with a comely young lady named Summer (Zooey Deschanel).
Cinematical recently spoke to 500 Days director Marc Webb via telephone about his experience making the film, which he admits contains more than a few chestnuts of wisdom he wishes he had at Tom's age. In addition to discussing the demands of juggling relationships both off and on screen, Webb spoke about the significance of releasing his Summer film during the hottest months of the year, and offered a few insights about the seldom-discussed but decidedly-substantive legacy of romantic comedies made and marketed to – and for - men.
Cinematical: When you started working on 500 Days of Summer, what was this movie really about for you, or what did you want to explore the most?
Webb: During the process it evolved a little bit, but to me it's a coming of age story masked as a romantic comedy. To me it's about growing up; Summer isn't just a girl, she's a phase of your life. It is something that we've all gone through and all experienced, and there's certainly a romantic element, and there's an examination of the ambiguity of certain kinds of relationships. But at the end of the day, it's how you negotiate that and how you deal with that that's important to me.
Zooey Deschanel Will Be a Princess For 'Your Highness'
Filed under: Action », Comedy », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Casting », Universal », Newsstand »
I am trying to keep my expectations very low for Your Highness, the medieval comedy headed by Danny McBride and James Franco, but it's so hard, especially since they keep adding such promising cast members. Now The Hollywood Reporter says they have added another fair maiden to keep the testosterone levels down: Zooey Deschanel. To refresh your memory, Highness centers on a lazy, arrogant prince (played by McBride, naturally) who must go on a knightly quest to save his father's kingdom. Joining him is his heroic brother, played by James Franco. (And he's so perfect for this with those Pre-Raphaelite looks of his.) Natalie Portman plays a warrior princess, who wins the heart of McBride, while Deschanel plays Belladonna, Franco's virginal bride. It's not clear if she goes along on the quest, but something tells me she's probably left behind in a tower, and abandoning her chastity belt.
Directed by David Gordon Green, it's set to begin shooting this month in Northern Ireland. I'm keeping my expectations low because fantasy / medieval comedy is one of those things that sounds great in theory, but often comes off pretty lame. (Who has pulled it off besides Chaucer and Danny Kaye?) But McBride and Franco just keep hitting it out of the park, so bring on those hobbit weed jokes. And the photos. I can't wait to see the costumes.
Cinematical Rewind: Actors Who Could Play Siblings
Filed under: Fandom », Lists »
(Cinematical Rewind is a new column that showcases some of our favorite posts from the past few years. Here's Jeffrey M. Anderson's famous Cinematical Seven from 7/22/08)
Occasionally Hollywood cobbles together random members of the A-list to play family members on film, even if their genes obviously come from opposite ends of the earth. If the actors are good enough or if the chemistry is there, sometimes the combo can work, such as Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman as brothers in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead or Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor in Cassandra's Dream. Other times, it stretches credibility, such as Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman in The Darjeeling Limited. My all-time favorite oddball casting is in Sidney Lumet's Family Business (1989), with Sean Connery, Dustin Hoffman and Matthew Broderick playing grandfather, father and son. (Huh?) At the same time, there are actor combos out there who just scream to be paired up in a family capacity. Remember Julia Roberts and Kyra Sedgwick in Something to Talk About? Well, neither do I, but that pairing was perfect. Here are a few others that could work:
1. Christian Bale & Samantha Morton
I don't mean to harp on that old "Bad British teeth" thing, but both Christian and Samantha have front teeth that seem to curve slightly upward in the center, so that their pearly whites tend to disappear under their top lips when they speak. As a result, both speak with ever-so-vague sibilant 'S'es -- Christian more so than Samantha. (It's fairly inconvenient trait for a Bruce Wayne trying to maintain his secret identity.) But aside from that, they both have dark, intense eyes and they certainly both project a similar, singularly dedicated mood onscreen. (Christian is the big brother, three years older than Samantha.)
Check Out Zooey and Joseph Playing Sid & Nancy
Filed under: Comedy », Fandom », Trailers and Clips »
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Move over Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb! There's a new Sid and Nancy in town -- Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt!
While next week's release of Harry Potter might be getting the most buzz, there's another flick I (along with a lot of you, I'm sure) am dying to see -- Deschanel and Gordon-Levitt's 500 Days of Summer, the film that our Erik Davis called: "a looker and a feeler and way too easy to fall in love with if you give her a little room to work that magic."
In one scene from the film, which you can see after the jump, Summer compares her relationship with Tom to Sid and Nancy. He's shocked to be compared to Sid, but then she clarifies: No, he's Nancy and she's Sid. So what's the best way to have fun with that and create buzz for the film? Why, to have Zooey play Sid and Joseph play Nancy in a little spoof, of course.
Oh yes, you can watch the comedic wonder for yourself over at MSN's Cinemash. Gordon-Levitt is wonderful as the hot-headed and irrational Nancy Spungen (albeit a bit hairier), while Zooey rocks Sid Vicious. In fact, she plays him so straight-faced that it's quite annoying Ms. Deschanel always gets the same roles. She's definitely more than a manic pixie. Check out some stills from the video below.
Hollywood -- Give these two more great gigs, mmkay?
500 Days of ... Jenny Beckman?
Filed under: Comedy », Romance », Fandom », Movie Marketing »
It's not really a spoiler to say that in the upcoming cute and quirky 500 Days of Summer, the film begins with the following disclaimer: " Any resemblance to people living or dead is purely accidental ... Especially Jenny Beckman ... Bitch." Having seen this film play at festivals with Q&As afterward, the first or second question asked is always about whether or not Jenny Beckman is a real girl and perhaps the inspiration for the character Summer (played by Zooey Deschanel). The filmmakers have said that she is real, and at a recent screening of the film in Chicago, director Marc Webb added this to the end of his answer: "... yeah, she's real, look her up on Facebook."
So we looked her up on Facebook, and, yup, there's the Facebook page for a girl named Jenny Beckman who kinda sorta resembles Zooey Deschanel. She's a fan of 500 Days of Summer, her favorite music lists bands on the film's soundtrack (The Smiths are listed first) and she's friends with director Webb, as well as the writers of the movie. All that being said, I've walked away with a few questions:
1. Is this really the Facebook page for a girl named Jenny Beckman, and is this same Jenny Beckman the inspiration for Zooey Deschanel's character in 500 Days of Summer?
2. Is this just a piece of viral marketing on behalf of Fox Searchlight and/or the filmmakers to get people interested and keep them interested in the film?
3. If this is a hoax, then who is that girl in the picture? Is that really a girl named Jenny Beckman? Is the name Jenny Beckman fictitious, but is that still a picture of the girl who inspired the character?
We want answers! What do you think?
Discuss: Trailers Full of Deleted Scenes
Filed under: Action », Animation », Comedy », Romance », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Disney », Warner Brothers », Fox Searchlight », Trailers and Clips »
Last year, when I interviewed Kimberly Peirce for Stop-Loss, I asked why a relationship played up between Ryan Phillippe's character and Abbie Cornish's in the trailer seemed absent from the final film, not to mention a confrontation between Phillippe and the senator he's driven cross-country to reach coming to a close over the phone and not in person. She explained that about as soon as they had to start editing the film itself, they had to turn over the footage to the promotional department for them to work with simultaneously, and that things don't always match up as a result.
Now, every once in a while, usually in regard to Apatow's oft-tested and whittled-down comedies, absent jokes and alternate takes come as a little surprise. But the year-old teaser for Terminator Salvation capped itself by showing Christian Bale facing off against a robot hiding underwater -- a scene that should appear early on in the film, but doesn't. In Disney/Pixar's Up, our geriatric hero doesn't blow a raspberry as he departs with his house (perhaps for the best), and in 500 Days of Summer, Joseph Gordon-Levitt does not in fact board a bus filled with Zooey Deschanels (certainly for the worst).
What's the most striking occasion you can think of where a scene regularly flaunted in the trailers or TV spots was nowhere to be seen in theaters, and was clearly part of a scene and not a one-off teaser like Pixar themselves so often indulges in?
SXSW 2009 Preview: We Want to See It All
Filed under: Independent », SXSW »
When in the world did it get to be the day before the SXSW Film Festival starts? I've been getting organized and ready, and so have the other Cinematical writers who are coming to town. We are going to be all over this fest like barbecue sauce on Texas brisket. (Don't tell me that you don't think sauce belongs on brisket, I don't want to hear that kind of perverted talk.)Trying to decide which films to see has been at least as difficult this year as it has been in the past. Sam Raimi or Sacha Baron Cohen? Kathryn Bigelow's latest film, or Tobe Hooper's first? Office Space or Observe and Report? There are documentaries about mushrooms and Martin Scorsese movies, conspiracy theorists and film critics. And of course I want to see some of the big splashy premieres at the Paramount, but can't bear to miss any of the indie films I might not get to see again -- gaaaaaaah. I've made a list of a few of the movies we're looking forward to seeing this week. If you're coming to Austin, I hope I'll see you there.
SXSW Rounds Out Line-Up; Blogger Wets Pants
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Horror », Independent », Music & Musicals », Romance », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Thrillers », SXSW », Mystery & Suspense », Shorts », RumorMonger »
As it turns out, I lied to all of you last week when I said that next month's SXSW Film Festival had announced its full line-up -- and I couldn't have been happier. It looks like those awesome Austin-ites are bringing summer in March, specifically 500 Days of Summer, the one apparently adorable title I particularly pined for as a non-Sundance-ite.But wait! There's more! In addition to six picks from the Fantastic Fest crew that have yet to be announced (and are as eagerly awaited by yours truly as anything else), SXSW is bringing Broken Lizard's latest (The Slammin' Salmon), an Iron Maiden tour doc (Flight 666), Jason Eisener's already acclaimed horror-comedy short (Treevenge), and a handful of other features and shorts programs.
Between all of that and all of this, I can honestly say that I'm the most psyched for this fest than I have been in the past three years (nothing personal, Matt!), and again, you can be sure to hear plenty more from our lot in just a couple of weeks.
Exclusive: 'Gigantic' Poster Premiere
Filed under: Movie Marketing », Images », Posters »
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Cinematical has received this exclusive poster for the film Gigantic, starring Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel and John Goodman (check out the full-sized version in the gallery below). Co-written and directed by Matt Aselton, Gigantic follows a depressed mattress salesman (Dano) who, while on a quest to adopt a Chinese baby, is sidetracked when he falls in love with a girl named Happy (Deschanel). Completely bizarre plot, but I have no problem whatsoever watching Deschanel in anything, and it's damn good to see our buddy Dano back up on the big screen (that yellow on the poster remind you of anything?). Oh, and I should mention that Ed Asner and Jane Alexander co-star. Right on! Click on the image below to see the full poster.
Gigantic hits theaters (in limited release) on April 3. Check out a full synopsis after the jump.
Gallery: 'Giantic' Poster
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Jeremy Renner Wants To Be An Avenger
Directors We Love: Jim Jarmusch
Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
Shelf Life: Fight Club_thumbnail.jpg)
Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
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