You never know where Mike White -- the defiantly square-peg filmmaker behind The School of Rock, Nacho Libre, and Year of the Dog -- might pop up next. One second he's crisscrossing the globe in matching outfits with his gay dad on The Amazing Race, the next he's giving Zombieland audiences an object lesson on the mortal dangers of going pottie in a zombie zone. For his next act, look no further than Gentlemen Broncos, his second collaboration with Utah-based dweebcore auteur Jared Hess, where he plays Dusty, a barechested "guardian angel from hell" to the film's aspiring science fiction writer hero (played by Michael Angarano). We talked to White about that Zombieland cameo, the prospects for his School of Rock sequel, and finding the Zen in Hess's universe of the gleefully absurd.
more »
While discussing her film An Education a few weeks ago in Los Angeles, Carey Mulligan sprung a surprise: "I don't know if somebody told you about this, but there's a different ending to the film. Am I allowed to say?" Naturally, I was interested for two reasons: Deleted scenes are always better when they're described to you by a pixie-cut ingenue with a lilting British accent, and Nick Hornby's script is sure to be Oscar-nominated, so it might be instructive to learn how he'd originally planned to end the film.
With a little prodding, both Mulligan and director Lone Scherfig opened up about the cut conclusion. As you can imagine, there are spoilers ahead.
more »
Aside from Anderson Cooper and Derek Jeter, few men will take up two hours of primetime television tonight. Rocky Carroll, who stars in both CBS's hugely popular NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles, is no stranger to endurance performances, coming from a rich Broadway background that earned him a Pulitzer Prize for Drama and nominations for a Tony and Drama Desk awards.
Movieline caught up with the man who plays NCIS Director Leon Vance shortly after the premiere of the NCIS spin-off to discuss America's fascination with crime and medical dramas, his initial doubts about working in television and why he is grateful his first stop out of college was not Hollywood.
more »
Adam Goldberg is often cast in roles that play on his own neurotic character, and in Jonathan Parker's sharp art world satire (Untitled), he initially appears to have a part that's made for him. His character Adrian is a musician (in real life, Goldberg has recorded two albums with his band LANDy) who's caught between two worlds: the mainstream, which has rewarded his painter brother (Eion Bailey) with irritating success, and the independent art scene, as represented by a self-consciously stylish gallery owner played by Marley Shelton.
Goldberg has a resume that plays like a manifestation of that artistic push-pull: independent films (two of which he's directed) jostle for space with big Hollywood productions and TV shows. Still, as he told Movieline, he's not quite as tortured about it as you might think.
more »
Caprice Crane writes lupine one-liners for Heather Locklear on the CW's Melrose Place, but she's also a bestselling author and daughter of Gilligan's Island's immortal Tina Louise. After graduating from NYU in the '90s and penning a bunch of "comedy, dramedy, news, reviews, biography, rock-star hagiography, promotions, and devotions" for MTV (including the legendary bad video countdown 25 Lame, featuring an incensed Vanilla Ice), Crane began work on the revamped 90210 and her books Stupid & Contagious and Forget About It.
Now, on the heels of her brand new book Family Affair comes Cross Road Blues, a one-page screenplay aimed squarely at the suburbanite who dreams of an easy, murder-tinged path to retirement.
more »
After scorching the screen in the film adaptation of The History Boys, Dominic Cooper could have parlayed his heat and good looks into generic leading man status. Instead, the 31-year-old actor has taken supporting roles in a series of interesting films (well, a series of interesting films and Mamma Mia!). Cooper's currently got two movies in theaters: Lone Scherfig's An Education, where he plays Peter Sarsgaard's wealthy best friend, and Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, where director John Krasinski hands Cooper the script's juiciest monologue and lets him run with away with the entire movie.
A few weeks ago, I sat down with the London native to discuss both movies, though talk soon turned to the possibility of a Mamma Mia! sequel and a huge, hush-hush blockbuster he's currently auditioning for. Which one? Read on and see.
more »
Though Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody's completed projects include just Juno, Jennifer's Body, and the Showtime series United States of Tara (plus a little gem entitled Father Approved), the 31-year-old's varied viewing tastes are well-known. In the past she has championed classic horror, There Will Be Blood, Mamma Mia, and the updated 90210 -- a piquant platter! Somehow, the explanation of her all-time favorite cinematic scene combines elements of all four -- and a tribal ceremony. And Jennifer Grey.
more »
You might know Tobin Bell from playing the brilliant Jigsaw in all six Saw movies (despite having died on-screen a while ago, Bell's still managed to keep reprising the character and does so again in the installment out next Friday), but there's more to him than that role -- a lot more. As it happens, the Actors Studio veteran has built an interesting career out of small parts in some of the biggest movies and TV shows of the last few decades (including Tootsie, Goodfellas, The X-Files, ER, and The Sopranos), and as a natural raconteur, he's got a lot of stories to tell about each of them.
When I had the chance to interview Bell, I asked him an obligatory few Saw-related questions (for those, stop by next week), but what I really wanted to talk about were his on-set stories from some of those pivotal productions. As it turns out, that's what he wanted to talk about, too.
more »
Only three women have ever been nominated for Best Director at the Academy Awards, but this year alone can boast three more that are in the running: Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker, the previously-nominated Jane Campion for Bright Star, and Danish director Lone Scherfig. Scherfig has gotten great buzz for her work helming An Education, and while the film's been a great launchpad for star Carey Mulligan, it's also shone a spotlight on Scherfig, who initially gained notice for directing Italian for Beginners and Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself.
Movieline recently caught up with Scherfig to debate several important matters: London vs. Paris, Sundance vs. Berlin, and British food vs...well, actually, there was no debate about British food. It was tough to make a case for it.
more »
After first making its audience-pleasing reputation in the Midnight section of this year's Sundance Film Festival, the blaxploitation send-up Black Dynamite concludes its nine-month fest rounds this week when it finally arrives in theaters. The sooner, the better: The outrageous story of nunchuck-swinging, kung-fu practicing, panty-wetting bad-ass (the brilliant Michael Jai White, who also co-wrote and produced) avenging his brother's death at the hands of "The Man," Dynamite is also a painstakingly precise stylistic exercise led by director Scott Sanders. It's simultaneously among the season's most entertaining and ambitious films; Movieline caught up with White and Sanders to discuss Dynamite's influences, its goals, and their hero's other plans for world conquest.
more »
While everyone else on Melrose Place plots and preens, Michael Rady's role is simply to be the nice guy. As fumbling filmmaker Jonah Miller, Rady lends Melrose a qualified and compelling optimism, a necessary counterpoint to Katie Cassidy's deep brood and Ashlee Simpson-Wentz's perpetual po-face. In fact, Rady's screen presence is so calming that when he breaks Alexis Bledel's Greek-American heart in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, we blithely approve.
Shortly after the CW ordered additional Melrose scripts, Movieline talked with the 28-year-old Rady about being broke in New York, his first table-reads with Heather Locklear, and Jonah's foreseeable (and perhaps homicidal) future.
more »
The Scene: Great Missenden, about an hour outside of London -- the Platonic ideal of the English countryside village, lined with perfectly tended row houses and gardens. It's home to Roald Dahl's estate and the Roald Dahl Museum, which today is overrun by international press who've gathered to interview the cast and crew of Fantastic Mr. Fox -- Wes Anderson's stop-motion adaptation of the Dahl classic. At The Nags Head Pub, Bill Murray pours pints for starstruck onlookers from behind the bar, as a small group of journalists sit around a table grilling Anderson on his animated opus. It seemed as good a moment as any to play My Favorite Scene with the director -- though I must admit we never saw his answer coming.
more »
After building a trailblazing career as an action director in Asia, John Woo left for Hollywood over fifteen years ago to make megabudget films like Face/Off and Mission: Impossible II. Still, the director always intended to return to his home country and bring his blockbuster knowledge to bear on a Chinese production, and he's done just that with Red Cliff, a massive war epic taken from Chinese history. The film was such a success in China that it outgrossed Titanic there; it'll have its Stateside debut next Friday through video-on-demand services before opening in theaters November 20th.
I sat down with Woo last week to talk about Red Cliff, his career, and his departure from Hollywood after directing the Ben Affleck thriller Paycheck. Part of our conversation (about what two English-language films might lure Woo back to the States) was published on Movieline last Wednesday; here's the rest.
more »
When Bravo revamped Million Dollar Listing last year, the elaborately primped and blow-dried Chad Rogers became its breakout star. His obsessive-compulsive organizational skills fostered close relationships with clients (like NBA star Cuttino Mobley) but provoked a sometimes-visceral reaction from viewers, including The Soup host Joel McHale. Now, as the real estate reality show returns tonight, Rogers talked to Movieline about his reputation, growing up lonely, the weirdest recognition he's ever received, and hanging out with 95-year-old Jack LaLanne.
more »
Little-known Hollywood fact: It's easier to chat with Zachary Quinto when he's not on dog-walking dates with an unfriendly steak. Movieline ran into the Star Trek star at last night's Hollywood Style Awards (where the 32-year-old presented a statuette to Heroes co-star Hayden Panettiere) and asked him about his favorite scene in cinematic history. Nope, Shatner isn't in this one either.
more »
