Happy Friday! Time to get out of the house and face the next to last day you'll ever have your face violently rubbed in the opening of a Harry Potter movie. It's not as bad a scenario as it sounds, to be honest -- unless you're Russell Crowe and/or Paul Haggis, in which case, well, maybe think about sleeping in. Let's get to the forecast...
This new series of commercials for the grocery store chain Wegmans begins like any other low-budget, locally produced ad you might see on daytime television...until Alec Baldwin pops up, hanging out with the employees and singing the praises of the chain's deals with unbridled enthusiasm. And they are brilliant. But Baldwin is not the first celebrity to show up in a baffling advertisement. Today, Movieline takes a look at the Wegmans spots, then fondly remembers five other advertisements where the celebrity appearances make almost zero sense.
A new development in the tragic shooting of veteran film publicist Ronni Chasen: Police now believe that the murder was planned in advance and not the result of road rage or a carjacking attempt. The police have apparently obtained security camera footage from a nearby residence and are actively seeking more. They have not released any leads on a motive or whether Chasen was supposed to be the target. Developing... [THR]
· This is cute: Some Fox Newspeople are sitting around between segments, casually discussing how terrible Sarah Palin's reality show is. The way The Washington Post's takedown is brought up is particularly adorable. Obviously I disagree and consider the show a brilliant evolution in television. [THR]
As anyone who has ever spent eight hours watching consecutive episodes of Cops (don't judge) knows, there is a fine line between bad and brilliant television. Some television is horrible because abominable writing and overacting mesh so weirdly well, that a series becomes unintentionally hilarious; other times, ridiculous conceits, tragically unfunny hosts and drunken reality subjects accidentally yield entertainment. Sadly, TV scientists have yet to isolate a foolproof formula to replicated this "bad but brilliant" genre, but Movieline has identified five programs that qualify for the category.
Entertainment Weekly is riding the Jake Gyllenhaal/Anne Hathaway live-flesh beat pretty hard this week, unveiling not one, not two, but three separate covers featuring the Love and Other Drugs duo in various nude embraces. Hot stuff! But haven't we seen something like this before somewhere else? (Hint: Yes -- in the same building.)
· Basically this is just clips from Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer and Jingle All the Way. Can you make it through the entire video? So far the record here at Movieline HQ is 3 minutes, 15 seconds. Watch the video ahead, and stick around for more Buzz Break.
Russell Crowe tries his best at counterprogramming this weekend with his new prison break thriller, The Next Three Days. But how did Crowe get to the point of bankable action star after his debut on an Australian television series? 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 actor's current success, and with Crowe, that line twists through soap operas, cop dramas, thrillers, and, of course, one fateful Oscar night. Let's look at eight performances -- including one of his earliest -- that trace the evolution of Russell Ira Crowe.
Ah, yes: The old, "We took our kids to see one movie, and then they were showed something much, much worse" news story. It's the type of almost yearly occurrence that warms the hearts of those people who like laughing at the absurd (non)misfortunes of others. In this case, a group of 7-year-old children in Massachusetts went to see Megamind 3D with a couple of parents, only to be shown Saw 3D instead. As one child told his parents, the mere site of the violent images witnessed by his young eyes were enough to make him not want to see another movie ever again.
"Why did I cut the stunt, because the building wanted a $40,000 location fee. I told my producer we are not paying that - Why? Because I like to stay on budget, and I also don't like to get ripped off. So there's the truth. And yes, we are still under budget today." Moral of the story: The surest ways to elicit a reaction from Michael Bay are to accuse him of having blown his Transformers 3 budget or compare him to Hitler. Go ahead, try it! [MichaelBay.com]
We can argue forever about the stuntiness of Harvey Weinstein's ratings battles against the MPAA, but no one can take way the man's determination to fight in the most public and prestigious way possible. After all, what better way to overturn Blue Valentine's NC-17 and The King's Speech's R than to dispatch the guy best known for taking Al Gore's case to the Supreme Court in 2000? Or, better yet, siccing your actor on the ratings board?
Some photos from the set of Men in Black 3 have surfaced, and everyone in the film looks a bit confused. Take this photo of Will Smith in action: Does he look so perplexed because he has no idea what kind of computer-generated alien will be chasing him in the final product? Or is there just a general air of uncertainty because they are shooting without a finished script? Take a look and caption away!
Also in today's edition of The Broadsheet: Robert Downey Jr. achieves zero Gravity... Footloose gets bumped... Something called Hovercar apparently exists... Death Wish receives the close read it deserves... and more...
First came the trailer for for a full length version of Hobo with a Shotgun, which is based on a fake trailer. Then director Jon Watts created a completely unauthorized, 100% fake and totally inspired trailer for an Eli Roth film (that Roth had no plans to direct) called Clown. After tweeting that he loved the trailer, Roth has now announced that he will produce a full length version of Watts' film. Just like that! But is this a completely unwarranted lucky break for Watts, or is Roth onto something? Let's take a look at some of Watts' previous work to decide.
For all the excitable people who scream at the characters in horror movies and then get abusive when they don't take advice, your day has come. This clever Youtube video series uses footage from Night of the Living Dead to let you test how you'd fare during a zombie takeover. It's fun for a while even if you've seen the film (which I hope you have), and may be a total blast if you haven't. But with television integrating 3-D technology and threatening to take over movie theaters' new cash-cow gimick, I couldn't help but wonder how current directors would adapt if this sort of viewing experience became the norm.
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