thomas hayden church Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Tomorrow brings Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott to the screen as Role Models. Energy drink and driving bandits, they crash the company truck, and get one of two choices as punishment -- sign up to mentor children, or go to the slammer. Of course, they choose mentoring, having no idea what they're really getting into.

It's always been an interesting idea -- make ne'er-do-wells change their ways by making them do good deeds and be role models. But sometimes it's not such a good idea. In the world of film, there are MANY characters who should never, ever be allowed to act as role models to impressionable youths. Menaces to children everywhere, they'd most likely do the exact opposite of what was intended. This list is, by no means, complete; but consider it a starting point. Read on, reminisce about these bad influences and then comment below about who you would include.

And be warned: These clips may include strong language, and all sorts of adult conduct.

Three clips have popped up online for Miramax's comedy Smart People. The film stars Dennis Quaid as a sullen academic who is trying to improve both his professional and personal situation -- on the family side of things, there's Ellen Page as his daughter, Thomas Haden Church as his adopted brother, and Sarah Jessica Parker as his love interest. James Rocchi recently interviewed the cast, and said that the film was "funny, yet never forced; rich, but always real." (Stay tuned for his review.)

And if you need more proof, these clips look pretty darned good, if I do say so myself. Hearing about this project, I was most drawn to Page's involvement, but now I'm really digging Quaid. I've always loved the guy, and there's just something about these clips that brings me back to the golden age of Quaid -- granted, with much more hair and much less devilish grinning. Check out the one clip above, and the other two after the jump.

[via Ace Showbiz]

If there is a woman (other than Julia Roberts, of course) who has traversed most of the romcom actors in the world, it's Sandra Bullock. She's been romantically linked on-screen with men who include Tate Donovan, Keanu Reeves, Bill Pullman, Chris O'Donnell and Benjamin Bratt. If current talks for her upcoming comedy All About Steve continue as planned, her next cinematic interest will be none other than Thomas Haden Church. Erik Davis last told us about Bullock signing to the stalker comedy back in April. The flick follows Bullock who goes nuts stalking a CNN cameraman after one date, positive that he's her true love. She then follows him across the U.S., ultimately failing to lure him in (duh) but finding a "band of misfits who appreciate her for who she is."

Alright, now I get strange attractions. I've been teased a number of times for my taste in leading men. People think I was crazy for always getting distracted by Gary Oldman's screaming Wanted poster in Harry Potter, and very few understand my attraction to Christopher Walken. I get it. But when and how on earth did Thomas Hayden Church become a leading man? Seriously. We're not talking about a case where some people happen to find him attractive, we're talking about his roles that cast him as a luscious piece of meat to the female sex. Just yesterday, I was watching Sideways and I just didn't get it -- especially during the hotel sex scene. So now he's going to be the guy that makes Bullock go crazy with lust and love. Am I missing something?

You'd be hard-pressed to find a person who's not excited about Spider-Man 3. In the five years since director Sam Raimi first introduced us to Tobey Maguire as the webbed crusader, we've experienced what is, perhaps, one of the greatest comic-related superhero trilogies of all time. And, if what we've seen so far of the third film is any indication, it's going to positively knock our socks off. In preparation of the film's release, we've collected a slew of information from Cinematical, AOL Movies and Moviefone and decided to provide you with a Spidey 3 FAQ ... featuring an all new character guide. Not sure what the story is about? Wait, a black Spider-Man? Who is he? And what about this blonde girl Gwen Stacy? Does she really think she's going to steal Mary Jane's man?

For you Spidey fanatics, consider this FAQ just another reason to get pumped up about the film. And, for those who don't know much about the superhero -- and may have missed one or two of the other films -- but still want to make it appear as if you're "in the know" (oh, you know who you are), then feel free to use us as your primary Spidey resource. Spider-Man 3 officially swings into theaters on May 4.

So, what's the film about?

From the official Spider-Man 3 website: In Spider-Man 3, based on the legendary Marvel Comics series, Peter Parker has finally managed to strike a balance between his devotion to M.J. and his duties as a superhero. But there is a storm brewing on the horizon. When his suit suddenly changes, turning jet-black and enhancing his powers, it transforms Peter as well, bringing out the dark, vengeful side of his personality that he is struggling to control. Under the influence of the suit, Peter becomes overconfident and starts to neglect the people who care about him most. Forced to choose between the seductive power of the new suit and the compassionate hero he used to be, Peter must overcome his personal demons as two of the most-feared villains yet, Sandman and Venom, gather unparalleled power and a thirst for retribution to threaten Peter and everyone he loves.

Cinematical was invited to Sony Pictures on Saturday for a top-secret screening of several scenes from Spider-Man 3. Needless to say, they didn't have to ask me twice. I would have spent several days after I'd gotten the invitation building web-shooters if I needed to. Although Peter now uses organic webbing in the movies, so I'd have to try and genetically splice spider-DNA onto my own, which would have been too time-consuming. Thankfully, they weren't that demanding. OK, before we proceed any further, I should wave the giant spoiler alert flag. If you don't want to know anything about the plot of Spider-Man 3, then you should read no further. You especially don't want to find out from me that Aunt May is actually Galactus. Whoops. Sorry, but you've been warned. Just wait until you see a 300-foot tall May stomping on New York. It's not pretty. Although imagine the size of the cookies she could bake.

Anyhow, onto the screening and into the swanky Cary Grant theater. Sony, if you're not using that theater all the time, mind if we use it for movie watching and playing video games? OK -- here's what happened. Sam Raimi himself (dressed in his ever-present suit) came out and introduced the footage to us and called it a "super ... sneak .... preview ... scenelet." He told us the footage was brand-new, hadn't been seen outside of Sony, had a temporary score, and that some things had been shortened a bit for this preview. He then had to run off to do some audio recording with Stan Lee, who was next door, so we begrudgingly let him go. I mean, no one makes Stan "The Man" Lee wait, even if he does have yet another scene in this Spidey flick.

When we first shared news of this film in September, Smart People had a power cast: Dennis Quaid, Rachel Weisz and Thomas Hayden Church. After a questionable stint in American Dreamz, this was looking to be a welcome change for Quaid, who has mixed the likes of great movies such as Far from Heaven with shlockier fare like The Day After Tomorrow. Now Miramax has bought the North American rights to the film, but it might be a different flick than we were expecting.

Weisz has since dropped out of the picture, and in a surprising twist, Sarah Jessica Parker has taken her place. Now, don't get me wrong, I like the actress and I enjoy Sex and the City. However, there's an undeniable change in atmosphere when someone like Weisz is replaced with someone like Parker. Now the film, which tells the story of a man struggling with the death of his wife, the ex-student he falls for and the arrival of an adopted brother, has a different feel to it. Sure, it's always been a romantic dramedy, but I think this change will give us a little less drama, and a little more quirky comedy.

Nevertheless, there are big hopes for the film. According to Variety, Daniel Battsek, head of Miramax, wants to release the film in the fall, and give it an award-season run -- although he also sees its commercial appeal. Sure, there is commercial appeal, as it's got a great cast. But will it have award potential?

After lingering around the studio system for awhile now (with Robert Redford and Gary Winnick previously attached), commercial director Noam Murro has been brought on to make his feature debut with Smart People, a co-production of Groundswell Prods. (second day in a row for them), QED International and Grosvenor Park. Joining the pic is a very smart cast that includes Dennis Quaid, Rachel Weisz and Thomas Hayden Church (who reunites with Sideways producer Michael London).

In the film, Quaid will play a college professor who turns a bit nutty following the death of his wife. However, life soon becomes even more complicated when he falls in love with a former student (Weisz) and his adopted brother (Church) drops in to pay a visit. Flick goes into production this November in Pittsburgh with a script by Mark Poirier (who, as a novelist, is making his screenwriting debut).