Few Hollywood pastimes enjoy the longevity and influence of a well-placed casting or development rumor. Agents, producers, writers, studio execs and numerous other industry species have used the form to stimulate interest in their projects (or disinterest in others) as long as trade publications have existed to print them; the growth of the Web has seen those projects -- and their insinuation as anything close to reality -- explode. And 2010 was a banner year for BS.
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After a quick foray into comedy with this summer's The Other Guys, Mark Wahlberg returns to drama this month in The Fighter. He stars as Mickey Ward, a tough-luck Boston boxer with a domineering mother/manager (Melissa Leo) and a brother/trainer (Christian Bale) who once knocked down Sugar Ray Leonard before becoming a crackhead. Alert Oscar! But how did Wahlberg become an Academy Award-nominated actor from his roots as a hip-hop artist who lead the infamous Funky Bunch? You can always trace a direct line through a handful of roles (not necessarily his best roles, mind you) to illustrate what led to an star's current success, and with Wahlberg, that line might be as high as it's ever been. Let's look at eight performances that trace the evolution of one Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg.
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· Here's something Ke$ha would enjoy: A video montage of a bunch of movie characters saying "blah, blah, blah." Look, there's Richard Dreyfuss! And William Shatner! And Ryan Phillippe from Cruel Intentions? OK, this is good. Click ahead to watch, then stick around for more Buzz Break (non-blah edition).
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For what it's worth, this just started as a joke. If three is a trend, though, then five is a tsunami. To catch you up: First, Meghan McCain took on Bristol Palin for not voting; then Keith Olbermann attacked her for being a hypocrite; then Margaret Cho said she only did Dancing with the Stars because her mother made her. Kathy Griffin blasted Bristol too, but her lobbed insult was so insignificant it didn't even warrant a Palin Feud of the Day label. Nope, that's reserved for this: A handful of very upset Dancing with the Stars fans decided the FCC was the best place to voice their displeasure over Bristol's improbable run to the finals. Strap in, America. This is happening.
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Also in today's edition of The Broadsheet: Dan Aykroyd keeps selling Ghostbusters 3... Julian Assange turns himself in... Why December is problematic... America has about 15 years to live... and more...
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Like many other characters before him, Hayden Christensen walks out one day (presumably onto 7th street) to find his city completely abandoned. Maybe he's seen 28 Days Later or I am Legend, and feels prepared for the situation and even a bit bored with it at first. I sure did. But then the situation gets more ominous, and soon he finds out he's not dealing with vampires, zombies or even vampire-zombies, but with merciless shadow monsters.
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In one of the more bizarre rumors in a while, George Lucas-collaborator Mel Smith (director of Radioland Murders) claims that Lucas is buying the film rights to dead movie stars in hopes of casting them in a movie with the help of digital effects. Given his track record for the last 10 years, I honestly didn't think Lucas could do anything that would make my jaw drop for even a moment. But bravo. I was wrong.
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Christmas arrived early for fans of both Bret Easton Ellis and musicals this morning via the announcement that the author's 1991 novel American Psycho -- which was memorably adapted into a feature film starring Christian Bale -- is being transformed again, this time into musical form. In celebration of this news -- and in hopes that it avoids the same disastrous Broadway fate as Spiderman -- Movieline suggests a few song titles that composer Duncan Sheik ("Spring Awakening") will hopefully consider for the first draft, which is expected next year.
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Breathless headlines today trumpeted the news that Amber Heard -- the comely, clothes-allergic starlet from such titles as Alpha Dog, The Informers, Zombieland, The Stepfather and the upcoming Drive Angry 3D and The Rum Diaries -- has confirmed her status as an out-and-proud lesbian. What a revelation! A while ago, anyway.
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· It was Moe. (Spoiler.) Maybe it was a good idea for Sesame Street to ban Katy Perry from their show after all. The pop strumpet appeared on The Simpsons last night, not as a cartoon, but as herself, and received some oral pleasures from a puppet version of Moe Slyzak. Click ahead to watch Katy's Simpsons debut, wash your eyes out with soap, and then stick around for more Buzz Break.
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This is fun: Movieline's resident DVD guru and holiday-film expert Alonso Duralde has made his way to New York, where tonight he'll read an excerpt of his new book Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas before presenting a rare screening of Santa Claus -- the 1959 Mexican import in which the jolly title character "and his best bud Merlin the Wizard must team up to stop Satan from ruining Christmas." As if that weren't enticement enough, the event is free to attend for all good little boys and girls. Find more information here, and enjoy! [ReRun]
Let's just say The Social Network is probably Bristol Palin's favorite movie of the year. Either that or Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore. After blasting Keith Olbermann on her Facebook page last week for calling her the "worst person in the world," Bristol was at it again this weekend when she took on some recent comments made by Margaret Cho. Do Facebook ghostwriters get overtime for working weekends?
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I moved to New York City in 2004 with two goals: first, to attend and complete journalism school; second, to blow my first freelance paycheck on drinks and dinner at Elaine's. Because, you know, that's Where Writers Are (or at least Were) Supposed to Go. I managed the first goal without much difficulty. The second eluded me, alas, after Elaine Kaufman herself threatened to kill me.
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I get just as tired of writing this crap up as you probably do reading about it, but for some reason it feels like the beginning of the end of Hollywood in a way: The MPAA ratings board is under assault again for determining the oral-sex sequence featured in Blue Valentine is worthy of at least some of the film's NC-17, while letting the same act -- by two women -- slide in the R-rated Black Swan. Oh, and then there's the kid with the knife.
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Also in today's edition of The Broadsheet: Weinsteins push back Company Men (mere days before opening)... Russell Crowe (sort of) attempts to stir a Master and Commander sequel campaign... A former publicist wrestles with the Ronni Chasen case... Shaaaaaarrrrk!... and more...
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