Movie actors think they can escape to television and avoid the scrutiny of film critics, but never fear: Movieline found five border-hoppers planning to debut on the small screen this fall (or during midseason), and we're evaluating their work.
Because it's Tuesday, it's time for news about another planned Hollywood remake. The latest? The 1988 Jean-Claude Van Damme pre-ultimate fighting fighting film Bloodsport, which ScreenDaily reports director Phillip Noyce will shepherd back to the big screen with help from writer Robert Mark Kamen (The Karate Kid, Taken). Before you bemoan the fact that one of the key VHS rentals from your youth will be updated for today's audiences, let's consider five actors who could make this particular update worth fighting for.
Here at Movieline we've been tracking the stank levels of Bridesmaids' six premier pimpstresses since the first poster arrived in January sporting clinical sass, high levels of thug jaw, and traditional drag realness. So ferosh. So fire-faced. And while the finished film contained a surprising amount of base humor and slapstick cheapness, the sexy sextet still dished major attitude daggers and saucy voodoo, all while gyrating in the face of sassless Kate Hudson-types everywhere.
With Bridesmaids out now and Bad Teacher set to premiere later this summer, the conventional wisdom goes like this: We're living in a time when comic actresses are finally appreciated, honed, and challenged. They're not resigned to wifely roles or pally Judy Greer-types; they're hilarious as full-fledged protagonists who deservedly wield top-billing. This is why conventional wisdom is often a problem.
This weekend is an important one for Kristen Wiig, because the box office success of her first starring vehicle Bridesmaids will determine whether the Saturday Night Live actress can cross the tricky Hollywood threshold into leading lady-dom. Before the wildly anticipated comedy ("The Hangover...for women!") opens though, let's look back at the box office successes of Wiig's female predecessors at SNL.
The newswires say that Thomas Ian Nicholas, who was great in Nicole Holofcener's Please Give last year, is returning to the American Pie franchise for its umpteenth installment, American Reunion. The prospect is a little depressing, but it really shouldn't be: The original cast is what made the first film great in '99, and since the majority of that ensemble is returning for the reunion, perhaps the chutzpah will return as well. Just in case it doesn't, though, here are five ideas that could help reinvent the series and make it relevant (or at least funny) in time for its April 2012 release date.
Big news out of YouTube HQ today as the video giant announced it will add 3,000 new mainstream, feature-length titles for rent on its movie site. Taken largely from the libraries of Sony, Universal and Warner Bros. and costing around $2.99 each, the films' availability signifies the latest milestone in Hollywood's caution experimentation with Internet exhibition. Which is great, but I'm sorry: It's the movies Hollywood has to give away that are dazzling me right now. Especially the comedies.
Bridesmaids is finally opening this weekend, and oh-my-stars, I'm thrilled. In fact, I'm overexcited. I'm (unnecessarily) pinning the future of lady-led ensemble comedies on Paul Feig's testament to bridesmaidenhood, and I think we should plan ahead in case the world decides that women deserve to dominate more comic casts. Hint to the world: They do. Here are five female ensembles we'd like to see in five typically male-driven genres of film.
When it comes to writer-director Tonya Holly's The Story of Bonnie and Clyde, Hilary Duff is, ahem, so yesterday. According to TMZ, she's been booted from the project, though Gossip Girl star Kevin Zegers will still play Clyde Barrow. This leaves one question: Who is right to replace Duff and fill the role once mastered by Faye Dunaway? Let's rob an idea bank and figure it out.
(The movie's official Facebook page now says that Hilary Duff is still playing Bonnie Parker. Still, these five ladies are fun to think about.)
Last night, Movieline learned that Bradley Cooper is interested in shedding his hard partying Hangover persona to play the devil in Alex Proyas' possibly 3D adaptation of John Milton's Paradise Lost. This bit of casting news got us wondering which other actors and actresses have played Satan on the big screen.
When celebrities name children, the world weeps. Moxie Crimefighter, Pilot Inspektor, and Jermajesty are all real people thanks to "creative" celebrities and their restless revolt against the system. Sometimes, however, celebrities use their children to toast other celebrities, like Mariah Carey just did -- and luckily for Movieline, that's resulted in at least five babies with movie star names. Let's rank these scamps!
Video games don't have a sterling reputation when it comes to film adaptations, but that's not stopping mega-gamemaker Ubisoft from entering the cinematic fold. According to Gamespot, the company doesn't really want to crank out motion pictures, but it's a necessary evil. "We will start making movies not because we want to, but because this is what we have to do," Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said. "If we don't, we will not be able to take advantage of the next generation." Well, let's make the best of this! Here are four game titles that should see the big screen.
So you might have heard about a certain couple getting married tomorrow in London. And while we all wish only the best to Prince William and Kate Middleton, let's face it: Few things right now are more egregiously overblown than the world event this royal wedding has become. How to best observe the occasion while counteracting the hype? Let us count the ways -- moviewise, anyway:
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