Yesterday, I dredged up the terrifying childhood memory of the creepy ventriloquist's dummy (if that's not redundant) in the ads for Magic, so let's keep the young-nightmare fuel going with a discussion of clowns. But even if those painted circus harlequins make you uneasy -- studies show you're in the majority -- you should still check out the DVD debut of Federico Fellini's fascinating The Clowns (RaroVideo).
more »
Tom Hanks and Tim Allen as cartoons? An unbeatable box office combination. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen as live-action middle-aged dudes on a jungle adventure? Hopefully an unbeatable box office combination. At least that's what Disney is probably hoping. According to THR, they've cast Hanks and Allen in Jungle Cruise, a "big action-adventure movie with unique aspects that will make it more than just a straight-up adventure." Unique aspects like animating Hanks and Allen as a couple of toys? No? Oh. [THR/Heat Vision]
· As if Aubrey Plaza wasn't a geek dream before -- what with her comedy nerd bona fides and total above-it-all demeanor -- this College Humor video parodying Star Wars and co-starring the Parks and Recreation scene stealer should do the trick. Click ahead to revel in Plaza's stankface, then stick around for more Buzz Break.
more »
There are few films I'm currently more excited about than Super 8. J.J. Abrams' ode to '70s-era Spielberg, James Horner's Cocoon soundtrack, and Coach Taylor seems -- to these tired eyes -- to be the one "must-see-now-please" film of the summer. Take your Thors and Captain Americas and cowboys and aliens; give me the mystery of Abrams and his lens flare. This excitement is why you can expect me to ignore every future trailer for Super 8 from here on out. And it's why you probably should as well.
more »
You know how Charlie Sheen's sons were removed from his home early on Wednesday morning, after the Two and a Half Men actor threatened to cut the head off his estranged wife Brooke Mueller, "put it in a box and send it to [her] mom"? Well, apparently she was not the only person whose life Sheen threatened to brutally end in the past 36 hours. Winning?
more »
Colin Firth isn't the only person with a voice. The New York Post brings news of a "bombshell" lawsuit from the makers of Hoodwinked that alleges Harvey and Bob Weinstein paid them $500,000 in "hush money" to keep the suit under wraps until after The King's Speech won its Oscars. Considering the news of said legal documents are just coming out now, though, doesn't it seem to have worked?
more »
"Michael Cera runs. He runs in Superbad, escaping the police with his friend Jonah Hill, and he runs in Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, after a derelict played by Andy Samberg verbally assaults him on the steps of downtown Manhattan's Grace Church. [...] For all his running, never once is Cera chasing anybody. (The closest he comes is in Juno: just after crossing the finish line and failing to locate Juno in the stands, he runs to the hospital where Juno is giving birth.) He is never the pursuer. But then again, he is rarely the pursued. In Nick and Norah, nobody chases after him when he runs away, and in Youth in Revolt he is pursued only by a phantom, an id he cannot vanquish and is not sure he wants to. That is the essence of his running: a contest with himself, a test to see if he can become a man -- if he can, to use the term of art, man up." Now you know. [The Believer via Looker]
While you were sleeping, Charlie Sheen wasn't. In between calling out to his Twitter followers for questions and comments, Sheen's two children were removed from his home by police after his estranged wife, Brooke Mueller, received a court order following an alleged Sheen-ified death threat: "I will cut your head off, put it in a box and send it to your mom." Deeeeeeeeeeeeeep breath.
more »
Also in this Wednesday edition of The Broadsheet: Jonah Hill lines up his directorial debut... the Christina Aguilera mugshot has arrived... Channing Tatum is Peter Pan... and more ahead.
more »
Granted, it's possible that if you translate the Russian at the bottom of this new poster for Apollo 18 that the tagline is even cheesier than "There's a reason we've never gone back to the moon," which sits atop the bland U.S. one. Nonetheless, this new Russian poster is miles better, mostly because it looks to me like this astronaut's space helmet is possibly turning into a ghost that wants to eat him! That said, the trailer and other viral marketing materials for this found footage space movie have been underwhelming and sometimes just dumb. Honestly, I kind of doubt that spacesuits actually turn into ghosts in the real movie. But a guy's gotta dream right?
more »
Not only has Joel Edgerton proven himself in the Movieline HQ favorite Animal Kingdom and the underseen Aussie thriller The Square, but he's also probably about to become pretty famous. What other guarantee of fame is there than showing up on those ever-shifting shortlists for sought-after parts like the lead in the new Bourne film? You'll be able to catch his stateside debut as a leading man soon in the remake of The Thing, but if you're like me and really couldn't care less about another remake of The Thing, then you may prefer to check out the seven-minute short film he directed titled Monkeys. Later on when he pulls a George Clooney and ends up directing his way to multiple Oscar nominations, you'll be one of the few who knows that his directing career began with...mullets.
more »
What's that? You are not sick of Charlie Sheen after countless radio interviews, morning show segments, backyard investigations and weird Twitpics? Then you're lucky, because the self-described warlock sitcom star engaged in a stalemate with CBS over the fate of Two and a Half Men, appeared on ABC during the second half of 20/20's dramatized sit-down with the actor last night. As always, click through for the most intriguing quotes.
more »
Based on this trailer, the Mildred Pierce miniseries from Todd Haynes still looks like a total knockout and guaranteed Emmy-hog. In terms of production-value, the cable-TV trappings don't seem to have compromised one iota of Todd Haynes' visual panache and meticulous attention to detail which made his last revisionist 50's melodrama Far From Heaven such a treat, and while Guy Pearce is still mostly relegated to the background, Kate Winslet looks like she'll have a grand showcase for her considerable talents in the titular role. And yet I have to admit, I'm still pretty baffled as to why the thing exists.
more »
· As we -- and every other person on the Internet -- alerted you to earlier, Charlie Sheen joined Twitter on Tuesday, shocking no one. His first order of business on the tweet machine: posting a picture of his favorite indulgence. It's not a hogshead of black-tar heroin, but the picture is still unnerving. [Twitpic]
more »
There's a little something wrong with the casting breakdown for Lionsgate's upcoming adaptation of Suzanne Collins' YA smash The Hunger Games. Or rather, a few little somethings: in a widely circulated casting call for the central part of Katniss, the fiercely independent young heroine of the dystopian survival trilogy, filmmakers are seeking girls who are Caucasian and look "underfed but strong." Is this fantasy franchise off to the wrong start?
more »
