Please tell me you meet the news of Charlie Sheen receiving his own Comedy Central roast with a mixture of giggles and groans. Giggles for the potential insanity, and groans for the certain eventuality of tired-ass jokes about #winning, tiger blood, warlocks, and the eternal comic goldmine that is domestic abuse. Dicey. Thankfully, Movieline remembers that Charlie Sheen was once a (spit take!) movie star, and we think there's amusing stuff to mine from his 30 years on the big screen. Join us as we offer roasters some cinephile fodder.
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Fantastic news from that eerie dimension of sound and mind called Hollywood: a Rod Serling biopic is in the works! Andrew Meieran and his Bureau of Moving Pictures have acquired the life rights to the man who created The Twilight Zone and Night Gallery (as well as the staggering boxing 1962 film Requiem for a Heavyweight, which began as a Playhouse 90 live TV drama in the '50s), and now we'll get to see Rod's haunting mug reinvented for the millennial crowd. But who should play the TV legend? Movieline offers five perfect choices ahead.
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Skids and Mudflap don't actually appear in Transformers: Dark of the Moon, but you'd be forgiven if you thought they did. That's not because Dark of the Moon is as hard to follow as the derisible Revenge of the Fallen, but rather because Skids and Mudflap are no less ridiculous as character names than Wheeljack and Ratchet -- two Transformers who actually appear in the new film. In honor of this nonsense, Movieline has compiled a collection of 25 possible names for the Autobots and Decepticons in Dark of the Moon. Can you guess which are real? Take the quiz ahead!
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When you see Transformers: Dark of the Moon this week -- and you will, preferably on the biggest screen possible, if Michael Bay has any say -- you might notice something a bit strange. Nope, not how Dark of the Moon manages to work in multiple shots at the departed Megan Fox; rather, how Bay staffed his new film with a cavalcade of actors recognizable to fans of the Coen brothers. Frances McDormand, John Turturro and John Malkovich, all co-star in Dark of the Moon, and continue the strange bit of pop culture cross-pollination between Bay and the Coens that started with the casting of Fargo co-stars Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare in Armageddon. In honor of this randomness, here are five other Coen brothers players who should appear in a Michael Bay film.
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Had he not passed away on April 9, famed director Sidney Lumet would have turned 87 years old on Saturday. The five-time Academy Award-nominee was responsible for some of the most indelible films from the last half-century, including 12 Angry Men, Network, Dog Day Afternoon, The Verdict and Running on Empty, to name just five. Lumet was remembered at the Los Angeles Film Festival this week, and if you didn't get a chance to participate in that event, Movieline is here to provide a sounding board. In honor of what would have been Lumet's birthday, celebrate the director's career ahead.
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Out in two weeks, Horrible Bosses is poised to be the R-rated comedy of the summer. Or, at least the R-rated comedy of the summer with the most laughs. Directed by Seth Gordon and starring the hilarious trio of Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day, the film follows what happens when three everymen are pushed to their limits by the titular evil taskmasters (Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey and Colin Farrell). Spoiler: murder plotting happens. Also, some great chemistry.
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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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Considering there's going to be an ensemble film adaptation of What to Expect When You're Expecting, the chances are good that some Hollywood executive has already purchased the film rights to the trend piece in the New York Post on Wednesday about marijuana smoking mothers. Sorry: "Smokin' Pot Mamas," as the piece is titled. Yes, this is apparently a thing -- and yes, this sounds like a Hollywood comedy waiting to happen. In an effort to help the process along -- and to not bogart creative ideas -- Movieline has cast the inevitable film adaptation of Smokin' Hot Mamas with a cadre of big Hollywood stars. Fire one up, and click ahead for a look.
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It's Friday, and thus time once again for the lightning round known as Movieline's Week in Review. No, seriously: We have actual lightning in New York right now, and our West Coast bureau is making quick, brilliant strikes this weekend at hotspots around the Los Angeles Film Festival. Be sure to keep an eye on this site in the days ahead for news from the ground, from the box office, and anywhere else we find news happening. In the meantime, let's remember all the fun we had here in recent days. Enjoy your weekend!
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In this weekend's Mr. Popper's Penguins, Jim Carrey plays a ruthless Manhattan businessman who is unexpectedly bequeathed a brood of penguins. How did Carrey transform himself from the Hollywood goofball talking out of his butt cheeks in Ace Ventura to the buttoned-up father figure in this family comedy from 20th Century Fox?
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Critics can't stand Green Lantern, but that won't matter so much to the bean counters at DC Comics and Warner Bros. so long as the film makes green. The Burger King to Marvel's McDonald's-like rule over the comic book film industry, DC Comics has still made quite an impact at the multiplex, and Green Lantern hopes to continue the tradition. Ahead, nine indispensable box office facts about DC.
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Blackest night is right, Hal Jordan! At least judging from the critical consensus about Green Lantern, which is currently rocking a 22 percent rating over at Rotten Tomatoes -- better known as a worse percentage than previous summer punching bags The Hangover Part II and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Ouch. Pledge allegiance to a lantern, and click ahead to read the 9 most scathing reviews of Green Lantern.
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If not for his untimely death at the age of 25, Tupac Shakur would have turned 40 today. The West Coast rapper had already reached legendary status in the hip-hop world before his tragic (and still unsolved) murder in 1996 after just five living years in the game, during which time he'd released five studio albums and established himself as one of the most fascinatingly enigmatic, troubled, and complex figures of his generation. But he'd also demonstrated talent and depth in six feature film roles. On his 40th birthday, revisit his brief but memorable film work.
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