Spoiler Alert: Someone's been ripping out car batteries at the local dealership! And everyone's pet dogs are missing! What in heaven's name is going on, Small Town Sheriff Kyle Chandler? Piece together the latest action-packed snippets of J.J. Abrams' summer nostalgia project Super 8 in the new TV spot after the jump!
After being handpicked by Stephenie Meyer to adapt her Twilight follow-up, the body-snatching romance The Host, Andrew Niccol has also been set to direct. With filming completed on the Amanda Seyfried-Justin Timberlake flick Now, Niccol can soon shift his focus to The Host, which will star Saoirse Ronan as human Melanie Stryder and the alien parasite who comes to inhabit her body. It's all coming together! [Deadline]
I knew Lady Gaga's gig as a columnist for V magazine meant an incessant (though impressive) wave of art references and pop culture musings, but I didn't know she'd so deftly cross into Movieline territory when explaining her rock persona. In her premiere outing as a V contributor, the leotard aficionado mentions an unforgettable cinematic heroine who helped inspire her "panache." Is it Scarlett O'Hara? Blanche DuBois? Breathless Mahoney? Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory's Violet Beauregarde? Click through for the reveal.
When great casts happen to iffy premises: Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Katherine Heigl and Amanda Seyfried have all signed on to star in Gently Down the Stream, an indie comedy about a divorced couple (De Niro and Keaton) who pretend they are still together "for the sake of their adopted son's wedding and his biological mother." Hmm. Justin Zackham (The Bucket List) will write and direct. Double hmm. [Variety]
The Pitt-Jolie brood made their way to the South of France this week with matching his-and-hers festival offerings, starting with Angelina's animated sequel Kung Fu Panda 2. (Brad's much-anticipated Tree of Life debuts Monday; follow Movieline's complete Cannes coverage here.) Among the hot topics of inquiry international press had for Angie: Her kids, the state of animation, and that mysterious tattoo she recently added to her collection. Are there more additions to the clan in the works?
· It looks as though the Force is strong with documentary filmmakers Heidi Burkey and Tim Larson. The pair followed students from the Arts & Learning Children's Conservatory in Anaheim, Calif. over the course of a year, during which the kids put on a musical version of The Empire Strikes Back. The film is shot, and thanks to some generous donations through Kickstarter, Burkey and Larson will actually have a chance to finish the thing. Click through to watch the trailer, then stick around for more Buzz Break.
In Matthew Chapman's The Ledge, a battle of wills and of faith erupts between atheist Gavin (Charlie Hunnam) and uber-religious Joe (Patrick Wilson) after Joe discovers Gavin's been sleeping with his wife (Liv Tyler). The predicament lands Gavin on the titular ledge, forced to jump at the stroke of noon or else something terrible will happen to his lover... who's dealing with some intimidating marital overtures at home herself. Watch the Movieline exclusive (and NSFW) clip after the jump.
"They took her bikini. They took her virginity. She took her revenge." Well, of course. That's the tagline for grindhouse throwback Skinny Dip, which has added Pam Grier, Brigitte Nielsen and Michael Madsen to its cast. They join the previously hired Sasha Grey and Danny Trejo, making Skinny Dip the most obvious-but-awesome bit of genre pandering since The Expendables. [THR/Heat Vision]
Behind the femme-dominated laughs of this Friday's Bridesmaids -- the movie that will prove ladies can carry blockbuster comedies, or not, but probably so -- is writer, actor, director, Judd Apatow compatriot, and creator of the well-loved cult series Freaks and Geeks, Paul Feig. After a successful run directing episodes of your favorite shows (The Office, Arrested Development), Feig is finally staking his claim in the film world with the Kristen Wiig starrer, about a woman tapped to play maid of honor at her best friend's wedding. But Feig, on the brink of a likely summer hit, is noticeably nervous.
When Sir Ian McKellen isn't honing his stand-up skills, he's apparently posting goofy pictures of himself wearing 3-D glasses while in full Gandalf regalia on the set of The Hobbit. Guy's a regular prop comedian. Next stop: The Laugh Factory! Click ahead for a brand new set picture of McKellen-as-Gandalf watching some recently shot dailies from the Peter Jackson-directed film.
Just in time for the 40th anniversary of A Clockwork Orange -- which is set to screen at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday -- comes word that novelist Anthony Burgess' original script for film has been unearthed. "It's actually quite a bit more violent than the novel," said Dr Andrew Biswell, director of the Anthony Burgess Foundation. "There's a scene early on where Alex opens his bedroom cupboard and it's full of drugs, hypodermic needles and a child's skull." Huh. Stanley Kubrick jettisoned Burgess' adaptation A Clockwork Orange for his own. [BBC]
As pop culture advice goes, you could do worse: "And then there's the movie's music, especially its crown jewel, 'Part of Your World.' This is the best song that has ever been in a movie, and I will not hear otherwise. Straight men, I guarantee you that in your life, you will date someone who sang this song into her mirror at some point as a child, so pay respect. (Gay men, this actually applies to you, too.)" [The Awl]
Also in this Thursday edition of The Broadsheet: Seven Psychopaths adds four scenery chewing actors... Alexander Skarsgard and Julianne Moore may know What Maisie Knew... Gotti is getting a major overhaul... and more ahead.
At long last, the announcement of the final two tributes in Gary Ross's The Hunger Games brings Lionsgate's ridiculously drawn-out casting search to a close. After the jump, meet the familiar teen faces who'll portray intimidating District 2 tributes Cato and Clove, two of the more fearsome adversaries Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) must face in the arena.
Nobody expected the Terminator series to be resuscitated after, well, Terminator Salvation -- until Arnold Schwarzenegger changed everything by announcing he was returning to the franchise. (Well, he did say he'd be back.) Now, with Fast Five's Justin Lin attached, comes another surprise development in the future of the Terminator films: A new contender has stepped up to battle for the rights to the property.
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