It's brief, but the newly debuted teaser trailer for the sci-fi romance The Host is here to tantalize you with images of freaky-eyed pod people and star Saoirse Ronan's fierce, unearthly qualities. Adapted from author Stephenie Meyer's non-Twilight novel about a human and an alien symbiote who share the same body, The Host is headed to theaters in 2013 under director Andrew Niccol (In Time), and while this oughta give Host readers a twinge of anticipation, non-fans are likely scratching their heads wondering what Ronan's eyeballs and the vaguely Benetton-like reel of faces has to do with anything.
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While Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer and director Gore Verbinski are working to turn Disney's rudderless blockbuster ship around with The Lone Ranger, Hollywood megaproducer and Twitter mainstay Jerry Bruckheimer has been busy dropping clues about and glimpses at the the making of the film from behind the scenes. If you are even the least bit interested in how this one's coming together, you could do worse than keep an eye on Bruckheimer's tweets.
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"Gene did think he had Roger on smarts. Whenever Roger claimed to have the superior intellect, Gene would say, 'Aren’t you the guy who wrote Beyond the Valley of the Dolls?'" Oh, that Siskel. This and many more great At the Movies nuggets can be found over in Slate's exclusive excerpt from The Chicagoan's Roger Ebert-Gene Siskel piece Enemies, A Love Story. Give it a go and settle in for a good, long read on the best frenemyship in film criticism history. [Slate]
"What you are about to witness are stunts performed by experienced professionals." So warns the new trailer for The Three Stooges, which is here to punish you with yet more inane, terrible-looking slapstick yuks. Indeed. Weep for the careers of the "professionals" prostrating themselves herein in the name of entertainment and watch the trailer, if you dare.
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Finally, Dr. Uwe Boll is making a movie America actually wants to see! According to The Hollywood Reporter, Boll will start filming in April on Bailout, his 27th film -- a feature-length thriller that follows an everyman New Yorker "who loses everything in the wake of the 2008 Wall Street financial crisis, and who strikes back by killing investment bankers." I don't know about you, but I think this one's got a shot at gaining the cultural foothold that Ollie Stone missed with Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps, nein? [THR]
Heads up, romantic drama die-hards: Movie theaters will be awash with tears in the next couple of weeks. Three epic — well, two epics and one epic-lite — love stories are being re-released for various questionable reasons, and in these challenging economic times it might not make sense to rush out and see all three. Here, then, are some points to consider before buying a ticket and travel-size tissues for Casablanca, The Bodyguard or Titanic.
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Forget comparisons to Twilight -- will Lionsgate's The Hunger Games hit Dark Knight-level opening weekend success? So sayeth some experts who peg the PG-13 action pic's tracking in the $85 million - $115 million range on par with Iron Man, Spider-Man, and franchise sequels usually featuring wizards or robots. What's more, The Hollywood Reporter cites "insiders" who think those figures are conservative and say the Suzanne Collins YA adaptation could even bank as much as $140 million thanks to its four-quadrant appeal, which would propel it not only ahead of all but one Twilight sequel in the record books, but into the Top 5 weekend openings of all time. [THR]
Despite Newt Gingrich and Michelle Obama finding rare common ground over their distaste for Robert De Niro's recent "white First Lady" gag, the actor and occasional king of comedy did not back down in a statement released Tuesday: "My remarks, although spoken with satirical jest, were not meant to offend or embarrass anyone —- especially the First Lady." Oy. So much for the impossible De Niro robocall dream, I guess. [TPM]
SXSW 2012 marked the starring screen debut of model-turned-actress Dree Hemingway – daughter of Mariel, great-granddaughter of Ernest, and at 24, a veteran of the fashion world -- as an airy Los Angeleno named Jane who befriends a cranky senior citizen (85-year-old newcomer Besedka Johnson) in Sean Baker’s Starlet, a surprisingly sweet tale comprised of a series of moving, naturalistic episodes … and one infamous hardcore sex scene. But as much as Starlet is a fantastically observed introduction to Hemingway, who possesses Evan Rachel Wood’s preternatural poise and Daryl Hannah’s leggy looks, sitting down with her in Austin – and indulging in a post-interview round of karaoke together -- offered greater insights into one of the more talked-about but hard-to-talk-about films of the fest.
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The BBC's biopic The Girl aims to explore Alfred Hitchcock's fascination with actress Tippi Hedren, and from the first image of Toby Jones as Hitch and Sienna Miller as his The Birds and Marnie muse this promises to be an intriguing watch. But mimicry/homage aside -- as evidenced by the near-perfect recreation of Hitch & Hedren's famous Birds promo photo -- will The Girl get everything right about their relationship? Like the fact that, as Hedren has been saying for years now, Hitch stalled her career because she turned him down?
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It's probably one of the best ways to work through your failed celebrity marriage: Air all your dirty laundry in a thinly veiled dance-pop ditty from your hawt new album! Which is what Madonna seemingly does in her new song, "I Don't Give A," which Guy Ritchie is listening to somewhere, shaking his head. Sample lyrics: "You were so mad at me / Who's got custody / Lawyers / Suck it up / Didn't have a prenup." OUCH. Let the divorce therapy rip!
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“Callista Gingrich. Karen Santorum. Ann Romney. Now do you really think our country is ready for a white first lady?” Zing! Still a true master. Related: Irrelevant blob Newt Gingrich is upset. [TPM via @raypride]
So sorry to have missed this: Noted Newt Gingrich supporter Chuck Norris last week attempted to shore up his candidate's standing ahead of presidential primaries in Southern states including Mississippi and Alabama, contributing his own riff on the automated telecommunications scourge known as the robocall. As you likely know, Gingrich lost. Hell, we all lost.
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Per mogul Richard Branson: "Great news today news from our Astronaut Relations team at Virgin Galactic: our 500th future astronaut customer has just signed up! Even better news is that number 500 is Ashton Kutcher. I gave Ashton a quick call to congratulate and welcome him. He is as thrilled as we are at the prospect of being among the first to cross the final frontier (and back!) with us and to experience the magic of space for himself." And you don't have to pay a dime! According to reports, Kutcher covered the $200,000 cost himself. Coulda (shoulda?) been you, Charlie Sheen! [Virgin]
With Lionsgate's big screen adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ teen-centric sci-fi survival-adventure The Hunger Games hitting screens this week, it’s kind of impossible not to draw comparisons to that other YA juggernaut series, which concludes its billion-dollar run on pop culture this fall. So how does The Hunger Games measure up to Twilight?
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