Having had the chance to work with one of his heroes, Paul Newman (in 1989’s Fat Man and Little Boy), John Cusack turned to a Newman classic for a round of Movieline’s My Favorite Scene. “There’s a scene of Paul Newman in The Verdict that I would use as the best example of economy and what a close-up is supposed to mean,” Cusack explained during our chat for The Raven. “It’s the example where the film does what no other art form can do – a book can’t do it, and theater can’t do it, it’s only for film, and it’s the best example of it.” Pay attention, kids – Professor Cusack’s Film Language 101 is in session.
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It's been a while since we've played My Favorite Scene around here, but we found just the right candidate this week: Nellie McKay, the pop polymath, cultural classicist and all-around megatalent who brings both her musical and acting chops to the screen next week in the New York-based indie Downtown Express. I'll have more with her in days ahead, but in the meantime: What's your favorite scene, Nellie?
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He’s stared down the Terminator, tangled with aliens, and faced off against Doc Holliday with nary a glimmer of fear, so suffice to say Michael Biehn’s no stranger to playing hardened, iconic screen bad asses. (Think Biehn’s played tough? Just wait and see him mean, nasty, and unraveling at the seams in this week’s apocalyptic horror The Divide, a film whose production was reportedly a nightmare in itself.) But early on, Biehn says, he wasn’t so sure how serious he should be about acting – that is, until he saw Robert De Niro in a riveting classic role that convinced him that this was his calling.
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You can call me Shirley. It’s fine.
Everything about writing a final post for Movieline is overwhelming, so bear with me as I wrap my head around how wonderful and challenging an experience I’ve had writing for this site for two and a half years. And what the hell? Let’s watch my favorite movie scene of all time too.
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This weekend, most of the Harry Potter cast and filmmakers flew down to Universal Orlando's Wizarding World of Harry Potter to fête the home release of Deathly Hallows -- Part 2, the final installment in the film series based on J.K. Rowling's beloved books. At a Potter-themed party in Hogsmeade Village Saturday night -- complete with a performance by the frog choir, endless rounds of butter beer served by wizards and fireworks -- franchise star Rupert Grint took a moment to play a round of 'My Favorite Scene' with Movieline.
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This week, Movieline's favorite honey badger of directors, Tarsem (The Fall, The Cell), unveils his spin on Greek mythology in Immortals, a fantasy actioner that blends artistic influences as vast and varied as Caravaggio, classics, and Henry Cavill's abs. So who better to invite to a round of My Favorite Scene than the visionary filmmaker, who managed to pinpoint the uncanny cinematic parallels between the 1992 Belgian mockumentary Man Bites Dog, a Cannes Film Festival awardee, and that one episode from the "brilliant" first season of COPS.
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Liv Tyler's latest film, The Ledge, features the actress as a woman mired in a love triangle with her fundamentalist Christian husband (played by Patrick Wilson) and the more secular-minded hunk next door (Charlie Hunnam) -- a scenario that ultimately plays out with the neighbor contemplating suicide on a building ledge high above Baton Rouge. There's a lot to dig into there -- which Movieline will do closer to The Ledge's July 8 theatrical release (it's currently available on VOD) -- but for now let's reflect elsewhere in the latest round of My Favorite Scene.
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David Hyde Pierce returns to cinemas next week as the title character in The Perfect Host, a psychological thriller meets cat-and-mouse mystery meets dark, dark comedy about a fugitive bank robber (Clayne Crawford) who takes refuge at what soon becomes the dinner party from hell. The less said about that, the better (for now, anyway; we'll hear further from Pierce when Host lands in theaters), but there's certainly no harm in playing a round of My Favorite Scene with the beloved Emmy- and Tony-winner. And it is a doozy -- maybe our best to date.
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Mere months after helping revive the Scream franchise, Emma Roberts is back onscreen in the decidedly smaller enterprise The Art of Getting By. Opening this Friday from Fox Searchlight, the film features Roberts as Sally, a uniquely privileged young New Yorker who develops a romantically tinged friendship with her high school's most notorious slacker (played by Freddie Highmore). We talked it over in an interview still to come, but for now, let's stick with Movieline tradition by checking out Roberts's favorite scene.
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After a two-decade absence, legendary filmmaker Monte Hellman (Two-Lane Blacktop, Cockfighter) returns to feature-film directing this weekend with the movie-within-a-movie noir Road to Nowhere. Technically, it's more like a movie within a movie within a movie, at least when it comes to Hellman's favorite scene, which he shared today with Movieline.
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When he sat down with Movieline to talk The Hangover Part II (in theaters today), comedian-turned-actor Zach Galifianakis expressed a desire to balance his comedic work with dramatic roles. "I would love to do it if I could pull it off," he said. "I don't know if I can, but I would like to." Given that aspiration, Galifianakis couldn't have picked a more perfect film for his round of Movieline's My Favorite Scene -- one featuring funny man-turned-Oscar winner Robin Williams.
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Last year at this time, Hailee Steinfeld was just finishing work on her first feature film -- Joel and Ethan Coen's magnificent True Grit -- and was unknowingly enjoying her last few months of anonymity. Since the film's December release, the one-time Kmart commercial star has been on a nonstop red carpet tour from the Oscars to the BAFTAs to last week's Young Hollywood Awards, where Movieline played a lightning round of My Favorite Scene with the poised 14-year-old actress.
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Mimi Kennedy, who sit-com aficionados will remember as Jenna Elfman's mother on Dharma & Greg, is not only a co-star in Woody Allen's legitimate return to form, Midnight in Paris, but she's set to play Jason Segel's mother in the upcoming Five-Year Engagement. Emily Blunt made us excited for that movie, remember? We checked in with Kennedy at yesterday's L.A. premiere of Midnight in Paris to play our favorite cinephile game, My Favorite Scene. Which mindblowing movie did Kennedy pick as her favorite ever?
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Shiloh Fernandez makes Amanda Seyfried swoon with his bad boy ways in Catherine Hardwicke's Red Riding Hood, but when Movieline met with the 26-year-old actor in Los Angeles he revealed his softer side with a favorite moment from a romantic '90s-era classic -- and turned on the charm with a touch of good, old-fashioned flattery. "I read Movieline!" he exclaimed before diving into a nostalgic round of My Favorite Scene.
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Not that you doubted Emily Blunt's taste in the first place, but her preference in cinema is decidedly first-rate. Following my interview her to discuss her new film Gnomeo and Juliet, Emily agreed to play Movieline's favorite parlor game, My Favorite Scene. Will her selection be better than Darren Criss' Casablanca scene or JJ Abrams' slow-motion classic from Rear Window? You'll be delighted to know Blunt's pick is much grittier than both.
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