olivia wilde Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Isn't it funny how the entertainment world plays around with the calendar? The "official" television year ended last week, and the "official" summer movie season is in full bloom, so what better time to think about TV stars who should be in more movies? Last month we offered our picks for the gentlemen of the dramatic arts; now it's time to focus on the women.

Even though I just used the royal "we," let me hasten to add that the following picks reflect my own personal thinking. Thanks to a nifty new DVR, I watched more television shows over the past season than in the past, but I won't pretend this is a comprehensive list. These are the women that jumped off the screen.

1. Evangeline Lilly

That memorable image of her from the first season of Lost -- in her underwear, at the beach -- pretty much defined her, initially. Lilly had precious little acting experience before the series began, so she had to learn on the job. And she hasn't always been terribly convincing. But she's come into her own, and is now able to capture attention even without speaking, even with all her clothes on, even as part of that ridiculous love quadrangle. She's learned that less is more and cuts a strong figure as a loving, adoptive mother and a sexy, deadly criminal. She has a small part in The Hurt Locker, which finally opens next month, and could easily transition into supporting roles in just about any kind of movie now that Lost is nearing its finale.

Hold on to your glo-suits, because Tron 2 has finally kicked into high gear. Just one month after Olivia Wilde signed on to star in the much anticipated sequel, The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Disney has chosen Eragorn's Garrett Hedlund for the lead in the sequel to the cult sci-fi flick. Plus, if you were like me and were less than thrilled with the working title TR2N, it looks like Disney has made it a lot easier on all of us and the film will now go by the much simpler title of Tron.

So while most details about the film have been kept under wraps, Sci Fi Wire recently got the chance to sit down with Wilde and she gave us a little tease of what we should expect from the sequel. Don't worry, the interview is spoiler free but Wilde was willing to share a few tidbits, including the return of Bruce Boxleitner, and that director Joseph Kosinski will not just be relying on green screen, and is actually building some honest to goodness sets for the film.

There had been a few hints that the film was going to act as a 'next chapter' in the story, but what we do know is that Hedlund plays a man who finds himself retracing the steps of a character from the original movie named Kevin Flynn. Flynn was originally played by Jeff Bridges (who will also be returning for the sequel), a computer programmer that ended up as the CEO of a software corporation.

Tron is expected to start production this spring, and should arrive in theaters in 2011. Sound off below, and tell us what you think about Disney's choice of leading man...

It is not often that movie geeks can be taken by surprise, but that's exactly what happened at Comic Con back in July when Disney screened test footage from the long-rumored sequel to the 80's sci-fi classic, Tron. Now a few months later fans can rejoice at news that the project is still chugging along -- in fact, The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Olivia Wilde (of TV's House) and Beau Garrett ( Wilde's co-star in the horror flick Turistas) have signed to star along side Jeff Bridges in the sequel to the cult classic.

Newcomer Joseph Kosinski will direct from a script co-written with LOST writer Adam Horowitz. This is Kosinski's first feature after making a name directing commercials for Gears of War, Halo 3, and Apple, and has already been signed for the Logan's Run update over at WB (if that happens). According to the Reporter, TR2N, "is acting as a "next chapter." Plot details are being guarded closely, but Wilde will play a worker in the virtual world who tries to help fight Master Control Program, the villainous intelligence protocol that was the nemesis in the original film."

Although, if we're being honest with ourselves, was Tron really about the plot? I know that for me it was all about those cool light-up suits and the possibility that I might disappear into my Commodore 64 (What do you want? I was seven).

TR2N (a title that gets more irritating to type each and every time) is scheduled for release in 2011.

In January, Olivia Wilde joined Harold Ramis' new comedy, The Year One. Her oh-so-lucky role -- Princess Inanna, Jack Black's love interest. Now, there's a number of geek dudes I could get into, but the goofy Black is not one of them (unless we're talking the really old-school days when he was on All-American Girl). Nevertheless, he'll get to sauce it up with her in the film, let her live up to her name, and it could be very, very risque, considering what she told MTV.

It appears that Inanna isn't just some random princess, but the princess of Sodom. Oh yes -- that whole Sodom and Gomorrah thing, and the root of that lovely word -- sodomy. Wilde says: "Michael Cera and Jack Black go on this journey, and they are searching for the meaning of life...they meet all these characters you'll recognize from the bible. It's all these brilliant references to historical things..." Just how much they reference S&G -- the towns infamous for being destroyed by God for their rampant lasciviousness -- she doesn't say. However, she does say: "There'll be a hint towards [the lead characters falling for me], then Jack Black and I come together. It's really funny what we do, and what happens next."

Just how far they will push it, and how over-the-top it becomes, remains to be seen. It's currently filming in Shreveport, Lousiana, and we should find out next year when the comedy hits theaters. In the meantime, hop through the jump and watch The Professor Brothers video about Sodom and Gomorrah to whet your appetite for sexy destruction.

They say Hollywood is for the hunks, but I don't believe it. For every hunk out there, you can find a gaggle of guys who get the hot girls no matter how unsexy they look. It's just the way of the biz -- a totally one-way improvement over high school misfortune. The creepy dudes get the girls, as do the cute geeks, the brow-raising nerds, and just about everyone else in between. We still have to wait for the cute guys to even go for a normal-looking girl, let alone one that could be deemed less attractive with any regularity, but in the meantime, we will get to watch Jack Black get not one, but two cuties in the upcoming biblical comedy, Year One.

In December I posted about lady #1 -- June Raphael. As Maya, she's set to get action from two men in her village, one of them being Black. Now Variety reports that Olivia Wilde gets to go a step further and be the female lead opposite Jack. She'll play Princess Inanna, who is also Black's love interest. Biblical Black gets around! You've probably seen Wilde* before. She's popped up on House M.D. and The Black Donnellys, and she's also been in flicks like Turistas, Conversations with Other Women, and The Girl Next Door. Production is currently underway in New Mexico and Louisiana, so hopefully we'll actually get some solid info about the plot soon, other than who everyone is playing.

In the meantime, what's your favorite cinematic pairing between a beautiful woman and a non-hunk?

*Thanks, again, to Maria.

Travel advisory: if you ever find yourself walking aimlessly under the snake-dripping treetops of an uncharted Amazonian jungle with no food or water, and the only person who shows up to help you looks like the Brazilian Roy Scheider, fire your travel agent. Turistas, an expensive horror movie from the newly christened Fox Atomic logo, is notable for two things: some impressive natural scenery and for fetishizing something that is normally more of a given in the horror genre -- the white-woman-in-distress motif. The story concerns a ragtag group of 'gringos' -- the word is used about 100 times -- who stray off course during some South American holiday-making and end up in the clutches of a mad surgeon with a colonialism-chip on his shoulder. He intends to remove their vital organs and bundle them off to the black market. Once an unlucky gringo is strapped to the operating gurney, they are forced to simultaneously watch their own evisceration and listen to the doctor's quips, like: "I'd also take the skin from your lily-white ass, but it doesn't travel."

Needless to say, creepiness is the wavelength the film wants to travel on, as opposed to the usual buffet of boo-moments. Fair enough, but aside from those unfortunate transplant sessions, there are only a couple of moments that really deliver on that level. One occurs in the opening moments of the film, when the turistas, who clump together on foot after the tour bus they are all sharing crashes, encounter an unaccompanied Brazilian child in the street. A friendly attempt to snap a photo of the kid nearly sets off an international incident, with the angry parents rushing into the frame, spitting curses and threats in Portuguese. It's a good 'back away slowly' moment. A more serious culture clash comes when the group, led by an Australian beach bunny called Pru (Melissa George) and a sensitive jock called Alex (Josh Duhamel) unwittingly arrive at the jungle home of the evil surgeon. Because they don't speak the lingo, they stand idly by, checking their watches, as the doctor and his henchmen walk around them and between them like incurious sharks, all the while chatting in Portuguese about how they are going to slice and dice them.

I love when celebrities speak their minds, because 1) it is interesting to hear what they have to say, and 2) their minds are often filled with controversial statements. Actors especially are given crap for giving their opinions, but really how is it different for them to advertise a cause or point of view than to sell fashion or goods? Is it different because they aren't getting paid for their thoughts? Is it okay for them to support charities and causes through events but not through interviews? And shouldn't Susan Sarandon, who is well known for being one of the more outspoken celebrities in the world today, find another way to attempt communication with more conservative-minded people than by way of her own voice? Here are the latest in celebrity causes and criticisms:

• According to the Daily News, Sarandon is one of a few celebrities trying to get The Ground Truth seen by members of the U.S. Armed Forces, and subsequently one of a few now slamming the military for lack of interest. On Veteran's Day, the actress joined Cher, Paul Haggis, Olivia Wilde and others for a special AOL event, during which they spoke with war veterans and promoted the documentary. Now, apparently Cher has made 5,000 copies of the film's DVD for American soldiers to view, but Army, Navy and Marine Corps bases are not showing any thanks. An Army spokeswoman responded via the newspaper, saying that the film is an activist piece, not a documentary, and says that it, "has a definite point of view," adding that the military isn't encouraging soldiers to boycott the film, but it isn't interested in promoting it to them (what does she find more suitable for the troops? Sahara). While it is obvious that The Ground Truth has a bit of a slant -- it would be impossible for it not to -- I found it mostly unbiased, actually. You can read my review of the film here.
  

When a blissful Brazilian holiday becomes a horrific gauntlet of murder, mayhem and involuntary organ harvests -- it's horror movie time. The flick in question is Turistas, which is the very first release from Fox Atomic, and I think it looks pretty darn intriguing -- and no, not just because of the mega-skimpy bikinis, tyvm.

Sixth directorial effort from actor-turned-helmer John Stockwell (he starred in Christine and My Science Project; as director he's previously given us Crazy/Beautiful, Blue Crush and Into the Blue), Turistas is about a bunch of exceedingly photogenic young Americans who run afoul of some black-market nastiness while enjoying a salacious Brazilian vacation. The model-hot "normal kids" are played by Josh Duhamel, Melissa George, Olivia Wilde (sigh), Desmond Askew and Beau Garrett -- and this crew looks to be in a whole lot of sweaty trouble, despite the fact that they're all too gorgeous for words.

The screenplay comes from editor / first-time screenwriter Michael Ross, and it looks to be a semi-creative take on a fairly standard slasher conceit: Hot kids congregate, commit licentious acts -- and then spend the rest of the flick running desperately for their lives as a killer stalks their every step. Only this one's in Brazil ... and there are gurneys involved. Ick.

So fingers crossed on Turistas, which could either be a great little horror thriller or a depthless, vicious dungpile in which we applaud the numerous demises of people much, much sexier than ourselves. At least with Stockwell behind the camera, you know the thing will most likely LOOK good. (Try watching Into the Blue on MUTE some time. Makes the flick about 45 times more entertaining.) To keep you interested until the movie's December 1 release date, you can check out this old promo clip or this brand-new theatrical trailer.

Either way, Brazil's not gonna like this.

Fox Atomic, the hideously named new young-adult division from Fox Filmed Entertainment, has acquired its first film for distribution. And, because there are just not enough crappy horror movies aimed at young-adults coming out right now, they've grabbed one of those -- take that, Lionsgate! This particular horror flick is called Turistas, and stars Josh Duhamel, Melissa George (AKA the most hated woman in the history of Alias) and Olivia Wilde as "college-age backpackers who embark on a dream vacation along the Brazilian coast." Sharp-eyed readers will note I said "horror," so clearly this is not going to be a Brazilian travelogue (though I have to say I'd be more likely to watch that movie than this one). In fact, things on the trip go south when, after an unspecified accident, the trio "discover a beachside bar filled with revelers, only to end up drugged by the locals and two of them kidnapped." Hmm. Can you say "Hostel in South America?" I knew you could.

Though the film, directed by John Stockwell (He also helmed both Into the Blue and Blue Crush -- I wonder if an early title for this one was Dead Blue Americans.), is completed, Fox hasn't yet specified a release date.

The New York Post's Page Six - and you know that Page Six always speaks the truth - says this morning that the Bond Girl battle is officially over. According to their sources, Eva Green beat out The O.C.'s Olivia Wilde (who just happens to have been the second fake lesbian considered for the role), and will be playing Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale. Green, who starred in Bernardo Bertolucci's sexually frank The Dreamers, recently also appeared in Kingdom of Heaven. She's thought to have won the role after being one of several actresses flown all the way to Prague for a screen test with Blond Bondshell Daniel Craig.

So, there you have it - why, we haven't had word this official since Fake Lesbian #1 won the role almost exactly a month ago.

[via Egotastic; thanks, Phil]