This September, Taylor Lautner will attempt to transition from Twilight heartthrob to action star with John Singleton's Abduction. About "a teen who finds himself in mortal danger after realizing that his entire childhood has been built on lies," Lautner will showcase his gun-toting skills, his parkour moves, and an extensive disguise collection (of black hoodie sweatshirts). You've seen the Bourne Identity-style trailer, you've stared at the first stubble-y poster and now, you can gawk at Lautner's ability to slide on broken glass without cutting himself in the movie's latest artwork.
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· And you thought Michael Ian Black had the last word on the controversial tweet posted by Roger Ebert in the wake of the car accident that killed Jackass star Ryan Dunn. Wrong! As usual, the "news animators" at NMA have culled this flare up down to the bare essentials: Bam Margera hurling throwing stars at Ebert as he leaves the Chicago Sun-Times offices. Click through to watch, then stick around for more Buzz Break.
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Incarcerated ponzi schemer Bradley Ruderman is allegedly trying to save his bankrupted company by obtaining money through any means possible. According to a report first posted by RadarOnline.com, Ruderman is suing Tobey Maguire for winning $311,200 against him in unlicensed poker games take took place from 2006 through 2009 in Los Angeles-area hotels. California gambling is illegal, see, so the money can be considered illegally obtained. The good news: Tobey Maguire, you are a helluva poker player! You should donate some of that gold to the producers of The Good German, anyway. [NYT/ArtsBeat]
Jason Segel, Alison Brie, and Emily Blunt -- three of the stars of the upcoming Five-Year Engagement -- and some silly television star named John Krasinski convened off set, crashed an Ann Arbor bachelorette party, and howled karaoke standards to the delight of all YouTubia. Who wins this duel: Segel and Krasinski with their rendition of "With a Little Help from My Friends," or Brie and Blunt with "Total Eclipse of the Heart"? Video follows.
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If you loved The Grudge in both its Japanese and American incarnations, here's some pleasant news: director Takashi Shimizu has just signed on for Flight 75. The CBS Films production focuses on a "transpacific airliner where the passengers encounter what appears to be a supernatural force." Somewhere, Alfred Hitchcock is smiling. Or maybe that's Rod Serling. [Deadline]
Long before Bad Teacher, Cameron Diaz was a worse student (ha!) of karate and Soul Train choreography in Charlie's Angels. Shoot my face off. What a candy-colored crapden of jailbait, misery, and shattered dreamboards this movie is. What a clumsy potato gun aimed right at Jaclyn Smith's glowing visage. What a grim greeting to a decade that throttled us with movie remakes of outdated TV shows. What a barrel of burp gas dumped on Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, and all women, feathered or not. What a glorious rapture.
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Beloved former Wire star Idris Elba has been circling many major Hollywood project in recent months, and it looks like he finally bagged one. Deadline reports that Elba -- last seen onscreen as Heimdall in Thor -- has landed the lead role opposite Charlie Hunnam in Guillermo del Toro's sci-fi blockbuster Pacific Rim. Fabulous! But what does this mean for Django Unchained?
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"We're putting all of our resources into this," Paramount chairman Brad Grey told the New York Times about the 3-D presentation of Transformers: Dark of the Moon. "It's the most spectacular visual experience I have ever seen." But is that promise enough to get you to shell out extra money to see the additional dimension when the Michael Bay-directed threequel arrives in theaters next week?
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It's apparently birthday week for Oscar-winning actresses. On Monday, Nicole Kidman celebrated her 44th, and today, Meryl Streep rings in her 62nd anniversaire. With a record-setting 16 Academy Award nominations, the New Jersey-born actress averages one nod every 3.87 years. In honor of this feat and today's Meryl milestone, let's cut ourselves 3.87 servings of sheet cake each and decide which onscreen moment of hers is the very best in a Sophie's Choice-themed celebration.
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Also in this Wednesday edition of The Broadsheet: Snow White and The Huntsman lines up more dwarves... Ron Howard could go to the races... Spike Lee and Mike Tyson hit HBO... and more ahead.
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Following reports that Steven Spielberg demanded Megan Fox be fired from the Transformers franchise for comparing Michael Bay to Hitler, the actress has been cast in Sacha Baron Cohen's upcoming comedy, fittingly titled The Dictator.
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In 1979, church leaders and even some normal people clamored over the content in Monty Python's Life of Brian, an excellent movie about a guy named Brian Cohen who's mistaken for the messiah. Opponents claimed the film mocked Christianity, and thus it was banned in several countries (but not the U.S., where it was the highest-grossing British import that year). Now, the BBC is bringing us Holy Flying Circus, a comic drama that chronicles Brian's furor in a bizarre and Python-appropriate format. Puppets are involved.
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AMC announced a four-day Harry Potter marathon screening scheduled for the week preceding Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II's premiere. In 35 participating theaters across the country, you'll be able to watch two Harry Potter films a night (starting with The Sorcerer's Stone on Monday, July 11 at 6 p.m.), and if you attend every screening, you'll conclude on Thursday at midnight with the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 premiere. It's only $45, a steal for Hogwarts matriculants. I'm wearing my feathered, conceptual Ravenclaw gown on Wednesday! [First Showing]
Financing is still the main obstacle that stands between Terry Gilliam and his long-gestating Don Quixote project, and he's got at least one scapegoat to blame for sucking up all the money in Europe: Woody Allen. That's just one of the amazingly honest, semi-joking truth bombs he dropped on a Vulture reporter while discussing the failure of The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, the "green" movies -- Green Lantern and Green Hornet -- the problem with comic book movies these days, and more.
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A lesser person would make a joke about Hailee Steinfeld finding her Romeo. Fear not, though; you're in good hands. Variety reports that Douglas Booth has been cast in the upcoming adaptation of Romeo & Juliet from Gosford Park writer Julian Fellowes. The 19-year-old reportedly beat out 300 other actors for the chance to call Juliet the sun. Congrats, handsome! Steinfeld, Holly Hunter, Ed Westwick and Kodi Smit-McPhee round out the motley crew of a cast. [Variety]
