Consider this the calm before the storm. Starting later tonight in limited preview and rolling out in full on Thursday, movie geeks of all shapes, sizes, creeds and fan-bases will hit San Diego for Comic-Con 2011. Only some geeks -- and here at Movieline, we use that term as lovingly as possible -- are already waiting for the fun to start. Hey, they don't call 'em Twi-hards for nothing!
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The hilariously massive schedule for day three of Comic-Con has been released, and while it doesn't offer as many geek-bait treats as days one and two did, it does have Francis Ford Coppola front and center. The Oscar-winning director brings TWIXT to San Diego later this month, where he'll be joined by Kevin Smith, Snow White and the Huntsman, Immortals, and plenty of your favorite television shows. Click through for the day three lineup.
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Breaking Dawn highlighted yesterday's announcement of the Day One schedule for Comic-Con, but today's unveiling of Day Two's line-up promises even more star wattage in Hall H. Among the talent making appearances in support of upcoming projects: John Cusack, Steven Soderbergh, Jeff Bridges, Alex Proyas, Guillermo del Toro, Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Nicolas Cage, and Andrew Garfield. Hit the jump to see how many award nominees and Oscar winners will come through the geek event on Friday alone!
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Leonard Maltin moderated a "game show" Q&A between Bernie stars Shirley MacLaine and Jack Black on Thursday night, where the critic quizzed the actors on their careers, lesser roles, and other trivia. Though Jack Black hammed it up and even revealed some fun details (like that Nacho Libre was likely heavily influenced by Jared Hess's Mormon upbringing), the star of the 90-minute discussion was MacLaine, who told stories about Alfred Hitchcock, Marilyn Monroe, the Rat Pack, Jack Nicholson, and even the worst man she ever worked with. Sure, she's probably told these stories before, but they were no less salacious in 2011. Here are her best anecdotes.
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Twenty years ago this July, an unknown 23-year-old USC student named John Singleton released his first feature film, Boyz n the Hood. The drama, which stars Cuba Gooding Jr., Ice Cube and Morris Chestnut as a group of childhood friends growing up in South Central Los Angeles, earned Singleton Academy Award nominations for Best Director (making him the youngest person ever nominated) and Best Original Screenplay. Last night, the Los Angeles Film Festival honored Boyz n the Hood during a special anniversary screening and panel in which Singleton, Cuba Gooding Jr., producer Steven Nicolaides and former Columbia executive Stephanie Allain shared their memories from and thoughts on the project two decades later.
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The L.A. Film Festival's "Coffee Talk" series -- where film professionals in the same occupation gather to discuss the job and upcoming projects -- enjoyed one of its most noteworthy moments of the season on Sunday with its "Screenwriters" meetup: Dustin Lance Black (of Oscar-winning Milk fame) and Diablo Cody (of Oscar-winning Juno and Movieline fame) spoke most, while Christopher Marcus and Stephen McFeely (The Chronicles of Narnia, Captain America) and Josh Olson (A History of Violence) also fielded questions, offered insights, and even deigned to make us laugh.
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Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, and Matthew McConaughey kicked things off with Richard Linklater's Bernie. Ryan Gosling, Christina Hendricks, and their Drive co-stars hit the red carpet with director Nicolas Winding Refn. Kate Bosworth & Co. presented the indie rom-com Life Happens the same night that the cast of the vogueing flick Leave it on the Dance Floor turned a rooftop party into a runway ball complete with live performances, drag queens, and wanton fabulousness. The 2011 L.A. Film Fest is in full swing, and so is Movieline's star-studded red carpet gallery! Hit the jump for a peek at the celebs (and divas) who hit the fest this weekend.
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Nicolas Winding Refn turned up the charm Friday night at the L.A. Film Fest, delivering a crowd-pleasing introduction for his highly anticipated crime pic, Drive. Part acceptance speech, part promotional spiel, and part comedy roast, Refn's delivery included nods to his wife Liv, Ryan Gosling, Prada menswear, a studio head in the making, his rumored Wonder Woman project, and Alejandro Jodorowsky -- wildly entertaining and all too rare, as far as these things go.
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"Money makes the world go 'round, but it's not the answer to all your prayers," declared Jack Black at the opening night of the L.A. Film Fest, where he and screen legend Shirley MacLaine hit the red carpet arm in arm at the world premiere of Richard Linklater's new black comedy, Bernie. "It makes the world go 'round, sometimes the other way," quipped MacLaine. That's precisely the lesson at the heart of Bernie, based on the zany true story of a mortician who lived a well-loved existence in his small East Texas town -- until, that is, he committed a terrible crime.
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At Sundance we described The Devil's Double as the outrageous, over-the-top Iraqi Scarface you've been waiting for, then we evaluated the movie's incredible trailer, and now we have more information to prove that Dominic Cooper's dual roles in the film (one as Uday Hussein) are as buzzworthy as the project itself. Cinema Blend has two new images of Cooper that show his transformation during the movie, and [spoiler] they're grittier than his role in An Education. He's also talking to himself in one of the photos, which is cute.
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Attention, Los Angelenos! Film Independent's 2011 LA Film Fest kicks off this week, offering a variety of new films, festival darlings, retrospectives, and special events from June 16-26. After the jump, scroll through 18 of the must-see films, Q&As, and events to catch during the fest, from guest director Guillermo del Toro's many planned appearances to Ryan Gosling's Drive, Green Lantern, and the historic (and insanely unpredictable) combination of Erykah Badu and Ricky Gervais.
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With the Los Angeles Film Festival beginning on Wednesday, your friendly Movieline editors decided to reinspect the itinerary for this year's events. Um, we missed a splendid gem: Neo-soul high priestess Erykah Badu will act as an "artist in residence" for the festival, meaning she'll choose a film, screen it, and conduct a discussion afterward. Now, from the woman who gave us finger-wagging jams like "Tyrone" and "Bag Lady," I expected a film selection that wasn't so much a -- hmmmm -- uninspired Ricky Gervais comedy? Click through to see her pick.
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Tilda Swinton may not have won Best Actress at the 64th annual Festival de Cannes, but that doesn't mean her lauded work in We Need to Talk About Kevin will be forgotten come Oscar time. Oscilloscope has acquired the film for North American release, with eyes to release it during awards season this winter. That gives them plenty of time to start planning those For Your Consideration ads! [Deadline]
Today the area around the Palais was emptier than I've seen it in the nearly two weeks I've been here, but the air of anticipation seemed heightened rather than diminished: Everyone -- the locals as well as the critics and journalists who haven't yet cleared out -- has been waiting for the prizes.
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The 64th Cannes Film Festival handed out its awards today, delivering its coveted Palme d'Or to Terrence Malick's epic The Tree of Life. Kirsten Dunst and director Nicolas Winding Refn made unexpectedly strong showings as well. Check out the full list of winners after the jump, and drop back by this afternoon for a final wrap-up from Stephanie Zacharek on the Croisette.
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