Helen Mirren is one Oscar-winner who doesn't mind forsaking Ferragamos for, shall we say, more athletic footwear. "I often buy my shoes on Hollywood Boulevard at these places that sell them to pole dancers -- because they're really high," she said. "I'm only five foot four (inches), so I put those little babies on and I'm, like, five foot 10 and I can strut my stuff alongside Nicole Kidman anytime." I imagine Nicole Kidman does the same thing so she can finally compete with Sigourney Weaver and Gheorghe Muresan. [IMDB]
It was an agonizing enough process just getting cast in Tarsem's Immortals, stars Luke Evans and Henry Cavill told Movieline over the weekend at WonderCon, where audiences got their first look at the November fantasy pic. But the real struggle, they say, was in reaching and maintaining the physique required of their roles as Zeus and Theseus, respectively -- characters for whom godlike perfection was a prerequisite. But hey, no pressure!
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Apparently, 20 years isn't too long to wait before making a sequel. Two decades after the last Bill & Ted movie hit theaters, Keanu Reeves has announced that franchise writers Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon are feverishly working on a script, the details of which the actor shared on Monday afternoon.
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Future cult leader Russell Brand is having quite an April. The Hop and Arthur star is reportedly on the verge of completing a deal to co-star in Rock of Ages that has long been in the works. The announcement -- which could come as early as this week -- would cast Brand opposite every person in Hollywood in the big-screen adaptation of the hit Broadway musical. Cue up some Infant Sorrow to celebrate. [Wrap]
If Screen Gems' upcoming post-apocalyptic thriller Priest feels a bit familiar to you, there's a reason: the film reunites star Paul Bettany with director Scott Stewart, with whom he made last year's avenging-angel apocalypse pic Legion. Produced on a relatively modest budget, Legion made $67 million worldwide but fared poorly with critics and, Bettany admits, suffered from its limitations. With Priest, however, he and Stewart aim to surpass their own benchmark and give audiences something that they haven't seen before: a 3-D post-conversion job worth the price of admission.
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Score another project in in the works for Will Smith and his offspring! This time it's Jaden Smith, who is reportedly booked to reteamwith his father to appear in an untitled sci-fi movie for Sony and co-writer/director M. Night Shyamalan. Nothing too out of the ordinary there -- except it joins 13 other Will Smith films is various stages of development limbo.
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It's no secret that your friends at Movieline HQ have a healthy obsession with Greta Gerwig, but who does the Indie Queen turned rom-com staple bow at the altar for? Her Arthur co-star Russell Brand. "When Russell paid attention to you, the sun was shining on you and it was so warm and good. And then he'd take it away and you'd just want it back again," she told New York. "Which is why I've always said he could be a cult or religious leader. Everyone was in love with him -- men and women." If this acting thing doesn't work out, at least he's got something to fall back on. [New York]
Last fall, Blockbuster Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after accumulating nearly $1 billion in debt and today, the most popular movie-rental chain of the '90s will sadly be auctioned off to the highest bidder. So just what does the cash-strapped company expect to net?
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The 2011 Tribeca Film Festival keeps adding intriguing titles. Premiering in New York later this month will be Detachment from American History X director Tony Kaye. The film -- about a substitute teacher who has his life changed by a student -- features an all-star cast led by Adrien Brody, Christina Hendricks and Bryan Cranston. Also debuting: Talihina Sky: The Story of Kings of Leon, which surely will be Ryan Murphy's favorite film of the festival.
I know everyone's rankings of Pixar's best movies are all wrong except mine, but I hope we can agree that Monsters, Inc. clocks in near the top of the list. Keep your self-important WALL*E and your maudlin Finding Nemo; I think the imagination of Monsters, Inc (and that insane door world) bests them both. Now that you've agreed, let's observe the logo for the 2012 sequel Monsters University. It better be temporary.
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· X-Men: First Class is poised to be the superhero movie of the summer for Mad Men fans, and not just because it takes place in the swingin' '60s. January Jones co-stars as the duplicitous Emma Frost, and if this new Total Film cover is any indication, those upset because Betty Draper's wardrobe is too constrictive will be quite pleased. Click through from some titillation, then stick around for more Buzz Break.
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After months of speculation, a bit of Movieline-approved debate, and some good ol' fashioned begging, the male leads in the Lionsgate adaptation of The Hunger Games have been cast. Surprise: It's Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth. Hutcherson -- who lobbied hard for the role -- will play Peeta, while Hemsworth will tackle the role of Gale opposite the previously cast Jennifer Lawrence. Click through for the full press release, and to discuss whether Hemsworth and Hutcherson have what it takes to survive in the Games.
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We all might be a little late to this rambling, amazing, must-read defense of Zack Snyder and his embattled Sucker Punch, but that's OK. Crazy is forever: "Maybe the fact is that you're afraid of success. Just like that screenplay you never wrote, or that song you never played for that girl you never asked out, you'd rather the safety of your own mediocre surroundings than losing something that was never yours to begin with to the success of popular acceptance. [...] Are you worried about losing what's yours? The one thing that you have confidence in? Your own limited authority?" [GeekScape via @ebertchicago]
According to the unofficial box office numbers released on Sunday, Hop enjoyed the biggest opening of any 2011 release -- besting Rango by a mere $39,000. Congrats, Tim Hill! What led this mostly reviled animation hybrid to box office glory? For the answer to that, perhaps take a look in the mirror.
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Wasn't April Fools' Day on Friday? During the MIPTV press conference at Cannes, former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that his planned animated series The Governator will also become a planned feature film. In 3-D. Suffice to say, he's back.
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