Matt Reeves knew he was going to take some heat for this week's new Let Me In, the English-language adaptation of the beloved Swedish vampire-youth novel Let the Right One In -- a celebrated screen version of which had already been exported to America in 2008. He anticipated an uphill battle with the original film's rabid fan base, in which a denouncement from director Tomas Alfredson wouldn't particularly help matters. But judging by his results (and their response to date), it's safe to say cooler heads prevailed. Movieline spoke to Reeves this morning about the early discord, the period flavor that helps define his film (count 'em, two Culture Club songs) and, yes, the possibility of a much ballyhooed Cloverfield sequel.
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A remake of the recent Swedish classic Let the Right One In, director Matt Reeves' Let Me In is the tale of a sleepy New Mexico town, circa 1983, that happens to be he new home of a predatory vampire stuck in the body of a 12-year old. For those not familiar with the original, certainly don't expect the sexy version of the vampire legend that audiences have grown accustomed to over the last few years. For starters, veteran actor Elias Koteas means business as The Policeman, the only authority figure assigned to investigate the film's series of brutal killings. Movieline caught up with Koteas today to talk over the remake, what is was like revisiting 1983, and why he still can't believe there's another movie called Crash following his own, similarly titled 1996 film with David Cronenberg.
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After achieving recognition as one of the premiere stunt actresses in Hong Kong, Maggie Q (née Margaret Quigley) returned to the U.S. four years ago to film her first blockbuster, Mission Impossible: III. Since then, the stunning Jackie Chan protege has kicked ass in a slew of films including Live Free or Die Hard and Balls of Fury, and now you can watch her take names on a weekly basis in the CW's new action-thriller series Nikita.
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Morgan Spurlock is just one-sixth of the all-star documentarian ensemble responsible for Freakonomics, but he's unarguably the only director in the group who might prompt a double take if you saw him on the street -- "Hey, isn't that guy who did Super Size Me? What's his name?" Which brings up kind of a funny point.
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Before David Cross hopped onto the phone last week to discuss The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, his British comedy series premiering on IFC this Friday, his publicist implored, "Please, no questions about the Arrested Development movie. There really are no new developments."
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Mark Salling, who plays Glee's once-befohawked football star Noah "Puck" Puckerson, checked in with Movieline to play our favorite game for cinephiles, My Favorite Scene. What did Salling pick as his favorite film moment of all time? Did he copy Christina Hendricks and pick Fame's "Hot Lunch Jam"? Did he ape Sharon Osbourne and pick a moment from Doctor Zhivago? Or did he branch out on his own?
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It took Stephen Frears more than four decades of directing for TV, stage and screen before he finally got an opportunity quite like Tamara Drewe, his adaptation of author/illustrator Posy Simmonds's celebrated graphic novel about love, lust, lies and gossip in the English countryside. It's hardly new thematic terrain for Frears, whose deft touch with sordid secrets and those who keep them has served him exceedingly well from Dangerous Liaisons to The Grifters to Dirty Pretty Things and last year's underrated Chéri. But those sources didn't have beloved illustrated sources providing guidelines and clues -- not to mention challenges.
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Melissa McCarthy played the delightful Sookie on Gilmore Girls for seven seasons and Dena on the quaint Samantha Who? for two years. Now she's back as Mike & Molly's Molly Flynn, a fourth-grade teacher in Chicago who treats family, romance with Mike (Billy Gardell) and Overeaters Anonymous meetings with equal amounts sarcasm and sincerity. Just before last week's premiere, Movieline caught up with McCarthy about the show's buzz, how Mike & Molly recalls All in the Family, and future of her new character.
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The last two years have been quite busy for Ben Schwartz. The UCB comedian moved out to Los Angeles and almost immediately found himself writing jokes for the Oscars (he co-wrote the recession-themed musical number for Hugh Jackman when he hosted in 2009), co-starring alongside Michael C. Hall, Sarah Silverman and Rainn Wilson in the upcoming Peepworld, and being cast on shows like Parks and Recreation and Undercovers. Not bad for a guy who used to fax jokes to Saturday Night Live and David Letterman.
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When we all last heard from Malin Åkerman, she was preparing for the hometown premiere of her fiery drama The Bang Bang Club in Toronto. But for at least one more weekend, she's keeping an eye on her darling The Romantics as it expands into limited wide release. The ensemble film features the Swedish-Canadian actress as Tripler, one of several college pals reuniting for the marriage of Lila (Anna Paquin) and Tom (Josh Duhamel) -- over the simmering objection of Tom's ex Laura (Katie Holmes).
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The eight months between Buried's world premiere at Sundance and its release tomorrow couldn't have flown by fast enough: The ingenious Ryan Reynolds thriller -- set entirely inside a coffin buried somewhere in Iraq, where American contractor struggles against time (and oxygen, and... well, no spoilers) to arrange his rescue -- was one of the fest's most harrowing and memorable surprises. And not least for Reynolds' performance, which this week quietly entered the Oscar sweepstakes. After the jump, flashback to the Buried premiere, where Reynolds (along with director Rodrigo Cortés and screenwriter Chris Sparling) elaborated on the agony and ecstasy (but mostly agony) behind one of the best roles of his career to date.
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Even if you don't know Sarah Drew, you know Sarah Drew. With appearances on Mad Men, Castle, Private Practice, Glee and many other top series over the course of the last few years, it's no wonder Drew describes herself as a "Guest Star Queen." That's about to change though: With her regular role on Grey's Anatomy -- itself which started as a guest appearance -- Drew is ready to take the next step in her career.
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Reports yesterday that Clint Eastwood approached Joaquin Phoenix to play the G-man object of affection in Hoover stimulated a new flurry of rumors about the project, from whether Leonardo DiCaprio is actually set to play the father of the FBI to whether Eastwood or Phoenix can attract enough studio confidence after their respective fall fizzles of Hereafter and I'm Still Here. The jury remains out on Phoenix, but as Dustin Lance Black told Movieline last week, don't worry about the power duo at the top.
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Billy Gardell, an established stand-up comic, is adjusting well to his role as the star of the new CBS sitcom Mike & Molly, which, of course, premieres tonight. The series, a multicam yarn about a couple (played by Gardell and Gilmore Girls alum Melissa McCarthy) that meets at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting, is not afraid to throw around the word "fat." Movieline caught up with Gardell at a press conference to discuss the show's appeal, whether the Modern Family audience will latch on, and shifting gears from the humor in his stand-up.
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As gold-digging courtesan Charmaine in the new Woody Allen film, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, Lucy Punch spends most of her screen time acting alongside one Anthony Hopkins -- not too bad for a breakout role. The British actress first gained national exposure here on the CBS series The Class, but left the show before it's eventual cancellation to pursue other projects. It was a risky but, as it turns out, wise move. I spoke to Punch about her role in Stranger, her... interesting wardrobe for both this film and Dinner for Schmucks, learned about her dead-on Midwestern accent the hard way and realized that watching CSI: Miami is certainly not on her list of leisure activities.
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