Apparently some people felt an apology was in order after Madonna was overheard dissing a gift she received from an ambushing fan at a Venice Film Festival press conference for her new, lovingly panned movie W.E.. "I absolutely loathe hydrangeas," she purred, adding, "[The fan] obviously doesn't know that." You know what I say to that? LEGEND. She is a LEGEND. Also: Madonna is a prim English rose, you simpering plebe! She is not a baroque tolerator of hydrangeas! But her publicist would like to address her offending comments anyway.
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I'll never forget Sean Stone as the young, freckle-faced Jim Morrison through whom the soul of the bloody dead roadside Indian passed in his father Oliver Stone's epic The Doors. But now Stone fils is all grown up and making sketchily conceived films of his own for his dad to appear in. Click through to check out the triple Oscar-winner's cameo in the trailer for Stone's narrative feature debut Graystone (no pun intended... I think?), and stick around for more Buzz Break.
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Let this be a cautionary tale for all baristas in the New York metropolitan area: If you mouth off to Alec Baldwin, he will report you on Twitter. "Starbucks on 93 and B'way. Uptight Queen barrista [sic] named JAY has an attitude problem." You've been warned. [@AlecBaldwin]
Since Warrior and Tom Hardy are planning to beat us up this weekend, I figured we'd counter their attack by revisiting the least gripping boxing movie of all time: The Main Event (a.k.a. "A Glove Story"). If flaxen, dimpled, Dancing with the Stars candidate Ryan O'Neal is your idea of a prizefighter and Barbra Streisand is your idea of his grimy promoter, then The Main Event is the pugilist saga for you. Otherwise? It's a terrifying medley of boner jokes and Barbra costuming. Ready to watch the stars of What's Up, Doc? threaten to pummel each other in front of a screaming crowd? Ding-ding!
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It's the quotidian, almost invisible bits that matter most behind the camera on a movie set. Take the sliver of video newly available on a Tumblr called Mouth Taped Shut, by all appearances another bit of authorized viral marketing for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo -- this time featuring David Fincher directing Daniel Craig, Christopher Plummer extolling Fincher's virtues (and leveling a not-so-prescient Oscar-season pledge) and snapshots from the production.
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Nick Broomfield's documentary Sarah Palin: You Betcha!, which premieres this week at the Toronto Film Festival, has made a domestic theatrical deal with Freestyle Releasing. The crowd-funded film is said to scrub away the sheen of the miserably received pro-Palin doc The Undefeated, trickling into limited release in New York and L.A. on Sept. 30 -- not long after when the ex-governor's long-rumored presidential bid would likely launch, if it launches at all. Intrigue! [Deadline]
Happy Wednesday! Also in this edition of The Broadsheet: Abigail Breslin takes the Virgin route ... Auction mania for Liz Taylor and John Wayne devotees ... The jewel of post-communist Bulgaria is awaiting your low-budget genre/schlock movie endeavors ... and more.
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Earlier today came word that Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme might be joining Sly Stallone & Co. for The Expendables 2 (although the reported cast listing at Millenium Films now reads "TBA"). Now it seems Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis are onboard to reprise their cameos from the first film, with bigger parts this time around. (Expanded Expendables!) So let's just take a minute and regroup: Who isn't onboard or under consideration to join the beefy action sequel?
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Earlier today, various trades reported that Chris Tucker is circling two big Hollywood roles -- one in David O. Russell's The Silver Linings Playbook and the other in Neighborhood Watch opposite Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill. Nearly all reports also noted that Tucker has been curiously absent from the box office since 2007's Rush Hour 3, which is strange considering that the actor was in the middle of a career upswing that started with Friday, continued with his Jackie Chan franchise and could have ended with the actor becoming one of the most marketable movie stars this decade. But after some careful math, Movieline HQ can tell you exactly why Tucker was free to retreat from the box office...
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Movies teem with ridiculous dialogue, but only a few pop with memorably bad one-liners. Our friends at BuzzFeed compiled a list of 20 dubious movie lines, and while I'd have suggested more material from The Room or, say, anything in Black Swan, I'm more interested in what the Movieline hivemind thinks are worst. What say you, elite?
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Peter Facinelli, the elder Twilight statesman at age 37, wrote, produced, and stars in the new movie Loosies, the story of a tricky pickpocket who discovers that his ex-girlfriend (Jaimie Alexander) is pregnant just as he finds himself on the lam. It costars Michael Madsen and Vincent Gallo, which should make you jolt an eyebrow. Let's see if Facinelli can make thievery look cool in the movie's new trailer.
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Ryan Gosling fans, Nicolas Winding Refn devotees, and soundtrack obsessives, take note: As of today, you can download the '80s/electronica-influenced soundtrack to Drive, the crime-thriller-romance that should be on your must-see list for fall. Available for purchase on Amazon today, the album -- combining original tracks by the likes of Johnny Jewel's Desire and Chromatics with an atmospheric electronic score by Cliff Martinez -- should make the perfect aural accompaniment to your Drive tour of L.A.!
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Madonna may have set female directors back a few decades with W.E., her Venice Film Festival premiere that has been deemed "comically bad," "silly" and pretty much all-around awful. Fear not though, ladies: There is another female filmmaker who is making giant strides for her gender at the box office. In fact, her film crossed the $650 million mark worldwide recently, making her the director with the highest-grossing film among female helmers. Can you guess the new record holder?
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The new international poster of Tower Heist positions Brett Ratner's vindictive ensemble atop a skyscraper where they pose like cool TJ Maxx models. Confession: I can't wait to see this movie (and, particularly, Alan Alda's bastardly turn in it), and I think it'll be the breakout hit of November. I apologize, Albert Nobbs!
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Well, there you have it: Co-producer Brett Ratner asked, his Tower Heist star Eddie Murphy accepted, and the Academy today gave its official blessing for the comic/actor to host the 84th Academy Awards next February.
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