The good folks over at NextMovie continue their brilliant series Rappers Review Movies with a pairing even more perfect than the times they got MC Hammer to review Thor, and had Lil' Mama critique the latest Big Momma's sequel. After the jump, behold West Coast party rappers Tha Alkaholics play film critic -- liquor store purchases in hand, natch -- with (what else?) The Hangover Part II.
Paul Thomas Anderson's next film, an untitled drama about a charismatic, pseudo-Scientological religious leader (Philip Seymour Hoffman, perhaps paging Paul Dano in There Will Be Blood), will get a boost from Friday Night Lights alum Jesse Plemons as the guru's son. It's spot-on casting; they're very related-looking. That's like if Daniel Plainview's brothers were played by Blue Bloods-era Tom Selleck and the Pringles guy. The movie costars Joaquin Phoenix, Laura Dern, and veteran character actor David Warshofsky. [Variety]
Noah Baumbach didn't invent Jesse Eisenberg, but he sure had a hand in the star's future typecasting as a conflicted young nebbish. As such, the idea that Eisenberg might co-star in Baumbach's next film, While We're Young, seems both circular and inevitable. Who better to embody 20-something angst than the man who helped pioneer sullen teenage angst in The Squid and The Whale?
Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage's Fake Empire production company (which is under the Paramount Pictures umbrella) has acquired Let It Snow -- a trio of intersecting short stories by novelists John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle -- in hopes of adapting the anthology into a "teen Love Actually." The script, which will be written by Jordan Roter, will be set in town hit by a "crippling snowstorm" on Christmas Eve. No word yet on whether said town will feature a low security airport, wholesome porn stars who just want to find love and a conveniently single Claudia Schiffer. [Deadline]
Speaking with the U.K.'s Telegraph, Angelina Jolie addressed the inevitable comparisons between her future performance as Egyptian pharaoh Cleopatra and Elizabeth Taylor's iconic 1963 turn. "My performance will never be as lovely as Elizabeth's," she demurred, explaining that her David Fincher-directed version will be a more realistic biopic. For example, this Cleopatra won't be a seducer. So what can you look forward to from Jolie's Queen of the Nile?
If you dug the first trailer for Jonathan Levine's (The Wackness) September pic 50/50 -- about a 27-year-old (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) coming to terms with his cancer diagnosis -- then enjoy the first batch of images, in which JGL shaves his head, lights fires with Seth Rogen, and unburdens himself to a comely young lady friend (Anna Kendrick).
Even though fans of Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instrument series initially pushed for Alex Pettyfer as the lead in Scott Charles Stewart's adaptation -- going so far as to piece together homemade videos of the I Am Number Four star and Lily Collins, who had already been cast -- Screen Gems has given Jamie Campbell Bower the star-making role of Jace Wayland, dreamy Shadowhunter.
· Alec Baldwin may use his Twitter account to make jokes about TSA agents, but Cameron Crowe is using his to post photo updates on his upcoming projects. In addition to some behind the scenes pictures of Pearl Jam Twenty, Crowe has also uploaded a plethora of We Bought a Zoo set pictures during the last month. The latest highlights his Almost Famous alter ego Patrick Fugit. Hey, Patrick! Click ahead for a look, then stick around for more Buzz Break.
If The Hangover Part II didn't quench your thirst for off-color jokes with its crack about trafficking children, surely Porn Rental -- a new short with Peep World co-stars Ben Schwartz and Michael C. Hall -- will make up the difference. In the three-minute comedy, Schwartz plays a video store patron who wants child pornography and Hall plays a bewildered clerk. Nutty? Yes. Funny? You be the judge.
While you were debating the veracity of the leaked trailer for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo over the weekend, Alec Baldwin decided to join Twitter. The talkative actor has taken to the social networking site like a pro, posting random missives like updates on TSA security checks, as well as backhanded swipes at Rock of Ages. "Rock of Ages? What's that?" Baldwin jokingly wrote. "Flight to Miami cancelled. Is it a sign?" It wasn't, and the first picture of Baldwin on set has arrived -- fittingly -- via director Adam Shankman's Twitter account.
Donald Sutherland -- the film legend (and, weirdly, zero-time Oscar nominee) who starred in M*A*S*H* and Klute among many others -- is slated to play President Snow in The Hunger Games, the movie based on Suzanne Collins' blockbuster book series. Snow uses the violent games to maintain control as an autocratic ruler. Mr. Sutherland's white, wintry mane -- like angelfood cake in the wind -- makes him a shoo-in for the part. To me, anyway. For the full Hunger Games cast list, click on over to our comprehensive gallery. [Deadline]
It only took, oh, 30 years or so, but Terrence Malick's loooonnnng-gestating, hugely anticipated passion project The Tree of Life finally arrived in limited release over the weekend. And while a traditional Talkback feature is probably out of the question considering the film's opening on a mere four screens, a lot of people saw it on those four screens. So! Let's open the floor.
The breakout of Hangover Part II fever has effectively had its run over movie audiences, making for a record-breaking holiday weekend at the box office and officially commencing the discussion: Is it really as bad as the critics say it is? On this quiet post-Memorial Day morning, we're bringing that discussion to Movieline.
Also in this Tuesday edition of The Broadsheet: Tim Burton has an update on Dark Shadows... Alice Braga headed to Elysium... Kung Fu Panda 2 breaks one box office record... and more ahead.
It wouldn't be Memorial Day without an update from Middle-earth! According to a press release from New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. and MGM, the two halves of The Hobbit have official titles and release dates -- and they're the same titles that were rumored back in March. Part one of the saga will be called The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, while part two gets designated The Hobbit: There and Back Again. The Peter Jackson-directed films will hit theaters on Dec. 14, 2012 and Dec. 13, 2013, respectively. Click through for the full press release.
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