On the heels of Fast Five's box office success, Deadline reports that Dwayne Johnson is in negotiations with Paramount to star in another sequel -- G.I. Joe: Cobra Strikes, the 3-D film from Justin Bieber: Never Say Never director Jon M. Chu. The former wrestler will likely play a character named Roadblock opposite Channing Tatum, who is expected to return to the G.I. Joe franchise. Paramount hopes to have Cobra Strikes in theaters next summer. [Deadline]
If J.J. Abrams' nostalgic summer sci-fi adventure Super 8 is intentionally evocative of producer (and Abrams mentor) Steven Spielberg's E.T. (1982), then 15-year-old newcomer Joel Courtney is its Elliott, the young, sensitive boy hero caught in the middle of an otherworldly mystery. It's a big role to hang on the shoulders of a newcomer -- one who won the part after visiting L.A. in hopes of landing a modest commercial gig -- but, as it turns out, the Idaho native now has bigger career goals in his sights.
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· Just this morning, the conversation around the Movieline HQ water cooler was that Green Lantern had very little buzz surrounding its June 17 release date. And, like that: buzz! Per /Film, an early screening of the film in Los Angeles over the weekend was met with mostly positive nerdgasms from the invited geek horde. So, that's good. But will regular folk be excited for Lantern when it hits theaters in eleven days? Contemplate that, then click ahead for more Buzz Break.
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Human Centipede mastermind Tom Six warned us, and now at least one governing body is taking action: The British Board of Film Classification has refused to certify The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) for public distribution on DVD, citing "the sexual arousal of the central character at both the idea and the spectacle of the total degradation, humiliation, mutilation, torture, and murder of his naked victims." Well! That was fast. Depending on where you're at with your meals for the day, read on for the offending details -- which is to say, graphic spoilers.
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When Kristen Stewart awkwardly praised Emma Watson during her acceptance speech for Best Female Performance during the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday night, the camera cut to the lovely Harry Potter star and caught her slightly shaking her head in seeming disapproval. And if that doesn't permanently endear you to the charms of Emma Watson, perhaps this set of post-Movie Awards photos will.
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And that was when American Idol also-ran Paul McDonald won the hand of Twilight franchise regular (and erstwhile indie wild child) Nikki Reed: "He admitted that their instant connection was 'weird,' particularly since he's not a Twi-hard at all. 'I haven't ever actually watched any of her movies. I don't know too much of her career at all, but the person she is is super cool.'" [Us]
[Photo: Getty Images]
It's kind of hard to believe that after what feels like an eternity of hype, skywriting and sexytime salesmanship, X-Men: First Class is in our culture's rearview mirror. But this makes for one particularly helpful advantage for the rest of us: Now we can actually discuss the movie. Your Monday Morning Talkback is here.
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Also in this Monday edition of The Broadsheet: Denzel Washington and Robert Zemeckis take Flight... Robert Pattinson drops an f-bomb on TV... video gamers are getting older... and more ahead.
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Less than a week after announcing work on All Things Must Pass -- a splendid-sounding documentary about meteoric rise and precipitous fall of the Tower Records empire -- actor/producer Colin Hanks confirmed today that he and his partners had fulfilled their $50,000 fundraising goal via the crowdsourcing hotspot Kickstarter.
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Twenty-nine years ago this weekend, a little thriller named Poltergeist opened in theaters. Co-written and produced (and unofficially co-directed) by Steven Spielberg -- whose other 1982 effort, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, would grab summer by the balls a week later and not let go for months -- the film made an enduring catchphrase of "They're heeeeere," spawned rumors of a fatal curse, pushed the PG rating to its bloodiest, grossest extremes, and laid the groundwork for two sequels and and an imminent remake. But does it hold up?
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From the annual Produced By conference comes word of a tragically missed opportunity. Or happily dodged bullet. Both, maybe? "[Producer Ralph] Winter had pointed out that Shaquille O'Neal had wanted to play a part in the first X-Men movie, and that Michael Jackson lobbied for the role of Professor Xavier, which was played by Patrick Stewart." [The Wrap]
It wasn't what you'd call a surprising weekend at the box office -- X-Men: First Class, The Hangover Part II and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides pretty much all did what they were supposed to do -- but it was a busy one, with even a little history made by America's stank-face sweethearts. Your weekend receipts are here.
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Gwyneth Paltrow and Alec Baldwin aren't the only Hollywood-types with must-follow Twitter accounts -- Cameron Crowe has one, too! The long-in-exile director returns in a big way this year with three releases -- The Union, Pearl Jam Twenty and We Bought a Zoo -- and he's using the social networking platform to update fans on the films' progress. Today, that progress includes a shot at Matt Damon's coffee mug from Zoo. Neil Young fans, take note.
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"Is Gene Hackman retired from acting?" reads the title of the iconic actor's rare interview with GQ. So, is he? "If I could do [one more movie] in my own house, maybe, without them disturbing anything and just one or two people." Sounds like someone wants to try his hand at mumblecore! For what it's worth, Hackman was last seen onscreen in the 2004 comedy Welcome to Mooseport. [GQ]
With the exception of his little-seen work in I Love You Phillip Morris and a blink-and-you-missed-it appearance in the season finale of The Office, Jim Carrey has been away from the pop culture landscape for almost two years. (Three, if you don't want to count the motion-capture spectacle that was A Christmas Carol.) That will change when Mr. Popper's Penguins gets released in two weeks, and apparently Carrey wants to keep the likely momentum going forward by doing what movie stars do best: heading back to their past successes.
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