The story behind the making of Go For It! -- a decade-long DIY saga encompassing three cities, two career changes, at least one extra job, untold failed locations, one broken mirror, and one of Madonna's choreographers, among other distinguishing qualities -- is not necessarily so different than that of scores of other hand-to-mouth independent-film productions you've heard or read before. But it's one worth telling, if only because Carmen Marron, the woman responsible for it, is living a dream she didn't even know she had.
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British newcomer Sam Claflin makes his Hollywood debut this month in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and he just landed the part of Kristen Stewart's prince in 2012's Snow White and the Huntsman, so it's safe to say he's on the brink of a rapid star ascension. On Friday, the 24-year-old confirmed his Twitter handle to Movieline (@SamClaflin) and expressed genuine giddy surprise at his ever-growing follower count. Does he know what he's in for?
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When Ginnifer Goodwin first burst upon the scene, it was as Justin Long's sarcastic yet unfortunately coiffed sidekick Diane on the NBC series Ed. Now, after a string of supporting roles in films like Mona Lisa Smile and Walk the Line -- and having just wrapped up five seasons as Margene on the critically acclaimed HBO series Big Love -- Goodwin returns to the big screen in her largest role to date in the adaptation of Emily Giffin's chick-lit bestseller, Something Borrowed.
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Despite his Oscar-nominee pedigree and Shakesperean theater training -- perhaps because of it, in fact -- Kenneth Branagh was not exactly the first name that came to most moviegoers' minds when Marvel Studios sought a director to adapt Thor for the big screen. But the stirring end results of that partnership say more about the limits of our imaginations than of Branagh's own.
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When Mel Gibson's infamous taped phone calls leaked at the tail end of filming on The Beaver, actor-director Jodie Foster was forced into crisis mode with her distributors. "It was just about, now how do we sell it, and how do we get it out there, how do we get people to want to see it?" Foster recalled recently in Los Angeles. Two years and three release dates later, she feels like the timing is finally right. "I think they made the right decision," she said. "I feel like the film's getting a fair shake, and I'm not sure it would have."
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Rarely do actors reveal as much, as candidly, as Wes Bentley did in a recent conversation with Movieline. Speaking about his latest film, the Roland Joffé-directed Spanish Civil War drama There Be Dragons, Bentley offered a frank window into his life following the crippling, years-long addiction that waylaid what was once one of Hollywood's most promising young careers.
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After chipping away at the mainstream with the screenplay for the 2005 psychological thriller The Jacket, screenwriter Massy Tadjedin finally makes her directorial debut this week with the subtle, sleek relationship drama Last Night. And by "finally," I mean Hollywood almost swallowed Tadjedin's film -- with a power cast including Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington amd Eva Mendes -- in one bite before it could make its way to screens.
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Forget the brawny gods of Asgard; as Darcy, the sardonic college intern to Natalie Portman's frazzled-but-gorgeous astrophysicist in Thor, Kat Dennings has the weight of the film resting on her shoulders. Her snappy one-liners bring the comic book adventure down to Earth, grounding the high-flying tale of a super-powered cosmic prince (Chris Hemsworth) with a real world skepticism that reflects that of the audience.
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With Thor poised to kick-off the next chapter in Marvel's superhero empire this week, the film's stars and creatives found themselves looking to the future at a press conference Sunday in Los Angeles. Though actors Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston were loath to drop details on the currently-filming Avengers, they gave a teaser of what to expect when their godly alter egos collide with human superheroes like Iron Man and Hulk in the Joss Whedon-helmed 2012 pic.
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In anticipation of the May 6 limited release of The Beaver, Mel Gibson spoke candidly last week about the film, his high-profile image crisis and his relationship with director and long-time friend Jodie Foster. But in the sprawling conversation, the Oscar winner failed to discuss his most intimate co-star and the namesake of his potential comeback project: the beaver puppet.
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It only took a decade, but veteran actor and recent Oscar nominee Mark Ruffalo finally has his feature directorial debut, Sympathy For Delicious, in theaters. Written by and starring Ruffalo's longtime theater comrade Christopher Thornton, the film follows the rise and fall of a paralyzed street dweller and aspiring DJ who discovers an uncanny gift for healing the sick, wounded and infirm -- with the exception of himself. The paradox throws him into conflict with everybody from a service- (and money-) minded Catholic priest (played by Ruffalo) to a pair of debased rockers (Orlando Bloom and Juliette Lewis) hoping to enliven their show with a big new thrill. Why not a healer?
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Aimee Teegarden first caught Hollywood's eye as Julie Taylor, the coach's daughter on the critically acclaimed series Friday Night Lights, but in the five years since the show premiered she's done a lot of growing up -- and smartly so. This week Teegarden steps into her first starring film role by leading a cast of fresh-scrubbed high schoolers in Disney's Prom, but as she looks toward a burgeoning career as producer and carefully plots her acting choices (including a teen action series for Warner Bros. opposite Twilight's Jackson Rathbone) it's clear this teen idol has a long-term strategy in mind.
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Few details are known about Neill Blomkamp's Elysium, the science fiction follow-up to Blomkamp's Oscar-nominated District 9 that's currently in pre-production for a 2013 release. But Elysium co-star Jodie Foster, who'll star alongside Sharlto Copley, William Fichtner, and Matt Damon in the film, shared a few details of her character and the film's CG element with Movieline during a recent sit-down in Los Angeles.
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The warm months of summer aren't just a time when stars can break out in front of the camera; there are up and comers behind the camera looking to push through as well. Like directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, who land their second feature film, the Steve Carell-led ensemble comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love, right smack dab in the middle of July.
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Brandon Routh and Sam Huntington scored their breakthrough roles in Warner Bros.' 2006 blockbuster Superman Returns playing Clark Kent/The Man of Steel and his trusty BFF Jimmy Olsen, respectively. But while the film grossed $391 million worldwide, a sequel never materialized. This week, the off-screen friends reunite in the indie comic book noir Dylan Dog: Dead of Night, about a hard-boiled investigator of the supernatural (Routh) on a case with his trusty BFF (Huntington) by his side. Given their easy hero-sidekick rapport in the film, it's hard not to think of the specter of Superman.
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