Yesterday the internet was abuzz over a report that Todd Phillips got his Hangover 2 capuchin monkey addicted to cigarettes, but today animal lovers can breathe a sigh of relief. Phillips, via email, explains to Movieline that the whole story was intended as a joke. (What's more: He assures us that Crystal the monkey didn't actually do cocaine in the film, either. Phew!) Hit the jump for the director's explanation in full.
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You got a little taste yesterday with the glimpse of Harry, Hermione and Ron putting on their game faces, but now we've got four more new images from the final chapter of the Harry Potter saga. THRILL to Harry brandishing the Gryffndor Sword in Gringotts! MARVEL at Neville Longbottom bravely defending Hogswarts! CHUCKLE at Draco Malfoy seemingly holding hands with Goyle and Zabini! TRY TO FIGURE OUT what just startled Helena Bonham Carter in the middle of her Stevie Nicks tribute concert!
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TMZ is reporting that Nicolas Cage was arrested early Saturday morning in New Orleans and charged with one count of domestic abuse and one count of disturbing the peace. The identity of the victim is unknown and no other details are available at this time but we'll keep you up to date as this story unfolds. UPDATE: Further details about Cage's arrest have come to light. Check it out below.
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Hi-yo idiosyncratic indie film darling! Away!
Ryan Gosling, the Taylor Lautner of the Williamsburg/Silverlake set, is allegedly in talks to star in Disney's upcoming big screen revival of The Lone Ranger. And what a blockbuster revival it would be, too: Gore Verbinski, he of the first 3 Pirates of the Caribbean movies, is set to direct, and would be re-united with power producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Johnny Depp, who is slated to play the Ranger's Indian sidekick, Tonto.
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The birds of paradise enjoyed a view from the top as Rio debuted Friday night at number one, leaving the teens of Scream 4 in second place. Elsewhere in the top five, the pattern repeated, with horror movie Insidious staying strong in third place and the chatty animated animals of Hop in fourth. Your Friday box office is here.
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A handful of online press got a sneak peek at Paramount's Transformers: Dark of the Moon the other day, complete with face time with Michael Bay himself. Alas, Movieline was not in attendance, so we'll have to take these other folks' word for it and assume Transformers 3 could be the balls-out, insane, eyeball-searing giant robot war movie to end all giant robot war movies! Right, guys?!
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Maybe including a monkey in The Hangover Part II was not director Todd Phillips's finest idea. Earlier this month, the Motion Picture Association of America (rightly) complained about a sequence in which the denim jacketed primate simulates oral sex on Zach Galifianakis and Warner Bros. was forced to pull the the trailer from theaters. And now, officials at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals are (rightly) outraged that Crystal, the capuchin monkey who appears in the film, cannot quit cigarettes after being taught to smoke on the Hangover: Part II set in Bangkok. UPDATE: The Hangover 2 monkey never actually smoked cigarettes, Phillips says.
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OK, fine, you can stand up. Your benevolent movie-news flagship invites you aboard to sail the tranquil waters of the weekend, both with the latest edition of Week in Review and the hospitable stewardship of Adm. (and weekend editor) Dixon Gaines. See you on the sun deck!
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In other pseudo-Kevin Williamson news, Vampire Diaries star Nina Dobrev landed the role of Candace in the upcoming adaptation of Stephen Chbosky's bestseller The Perks of Being a Wallflower. If you went to high school at any time from 1999-2005, you saw the little lime-colored book everywhere. Good on Dobrev, who is great on the CW drama, and good on her Wallflower costar Emma Watson for turning 21. Happy birthday, little Granger! [Deadline]
Every week is Harry Potter week here at Movieline. Monday, we celebrated when HP producers announced a series of behind-the-scenes documentaries about the making of your favorite child wizard franchise, Emma Watson revealed her favorite moment from Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and barely legal Potter co-stars Jamie Campbell Bower and Bonnie Wright trumpeted their engagement. To close out the week Potter-style, here is a new Deathly Hallows: Part 2 image in which Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) stare fearfully into the future.
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Fresh off of her lengthy New Yorker profile -- which argued that she is one of the few actresses capable of carrying a comedy these days -- Anna Faris has successfully pitched Paramount, well, a comedy. The House Bunny actress will star in the untitled project as a woman whose new roommate "turns out to be a stalker from hell;" the idea stemmed from a funny incident that happened to Faris in real life. The script will be written by Deanna Kizis (author of How to Meet Cute Boys) while Faris, Joe Roth and Palak Patel (both behind the upcoming Snow White and the Huntsman) will produce. [THR]
Though treatment for her bipolar II disorder shouldn't hamper filming on her next two upcoming films, Catherine Zeta-Jones is, the LA Times points out, "in the midst of an unusual career dry spell." Since her debut in the 1990 French film Les 1001 Nuits, Zeta-Jones had appeared in projects almost every year or two, but she hasn't had a film open theatrically in wide release since 2007's No Reservations.
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It's hard to believe the world is still talking about how much ballet dancing Oscar winner Natalie Portman performed while shooting Black Swan, but here you go: In an exclusive interview with 20/20 -- that was tweeted out by @BreakingNews of all places! -- Portman's dance double Sarah Lane goes on the record, again, to discuss what might be the myth of Natalie Portman: Ballet Queen.
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Hoo boy, that Lifetime movie about royal newlyweds-to-be Prince William and Kate Middleton sounds amazing: "The film has sparked a worldwide media frenzy, according to its promoters. This is the Wedding of the Year as imagined in Wichita or Wyoming, with dialogue so authentic it follows you round the room. As in all the best plays, they tell each other things they must already know. 'I say, Wills,' says Prince Harry. 'I am not the heir. I am just the spare.'" And shot entirely in L.A.! Set your DVRs for Monday! [Guardian via THR]
While standing in a (people-less) line at the Glendale Americana last night waiting to get into Scream 4/Scre4m/What's the Scr411m?'s midnight showing, I wondered: What is it about Scream's death scenes that remain so memorable? Will the new ones live up? After seeing the gory caper, I have a definitive answer. Join the discussion if you've seen the movie! Major spoilers ahead.
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