Fingers are crossed that Pixar bounces back from the uncharacteristic critical disappointment that was Cars 2 with their next effort, Brave -- a foray into Disney princess territory about a headstrong young Scottish lass (voiced by Kelly Macdonald) who defies tradition in her parents' kingdom. A new trailer for the animated adventure promises no small measure of spunky girl power as our heroine Merida upends an archery contest where doofus candidates are vying for her hand in marriage.
more »
Woody Allen, whose Midnight in Paris is competing at this Sunday's Academy Awards, will be bringing his Oscar-nominated 1994 comedy Bullets Over Broadway to the Great White Way in 2013, reports the New York Times. The adaptation has long been rumored to be in the works; Allen himself is writing the book, with songs culled from existing 1920s-era music. Cue obligatory Dianne Wiest quotes! [NYT]
A new batch of Battleship stills show singer-turned-actress Rihanna in Navy gear manning all manner of combat machinery as the resident weapons specialist in Taylor Kitsch's crew. But can her feature debut in Peter Berg's summer blockbuster counteract the criticism she's getting from reuniting, at least professionally, with Chris Brown?
more »
With Universal's colorful animated tale The Lorax, "the President's liberal friends in Hollywood [are] targeting a younger demographic using animated movies to sell their agenda to children," claimed an outraged Lou Dobbs this week on Fox Business Network. Animated movies! A liberal agenda! HOW DARE THEY. What's to blame for allowing this "insidious nonsense" into the vulnerable minds of our nation's youth? Bad parenting, of course. As conservative radio host Matt Patrick bellowed from the commentator pit, "We are creating Occu-toddlers!"
more »
Hunger Games fans, here's your chance to be among the first to see Lionsgate's highly anticipated YA novel adaptation -- Movieline is giving away a pair of tickets to the Los Angeles premiere of The Hunger Games, starring Jennifer Lawrence as teen warrior Katniss Everdeen, based on the novels by Suzanne Collins. To decide our winner, we're holding a Cornucopia of words: A Hunger Games Haiku contest! Channel your inner mockingjay and get to composing in the comments below. [UPDATE: Thanks to all who played -- and there were a lot of you! Submissions will be closed at 5PT/8ET.]
more »
"Unless they’re assured that nothing entertaining is going to happen on the Red Carpet, the Academy is not admitting Sacha Baron Cohen to the show." Previous succinct gems. [Deadline]
I'm willing to give on-the-brink screenwriter Michael Bacall the benefit of the doubt based on what I've seen and heard of him so far, from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (which he co-wrote) to the Todd Phillips-produced teen party comedy Project X and 21 Jump Street (both of which he has scripting and story credits on), the latter of which is earning surprisingly glowing reactions from the blogoscenti. But I might have to draw some sort of line at the Tropic Thunder spin-off starring a fat, hairy Tom Cruise as slimy Hollywood exec Les Grossman, which apparently is not only really, seriously a thing but is, as Bacall describes, "a pretty heartfelt story."
more »
Film lovers, take note: Benh Zeitlin's highly lauded Sundance '12 favorite Beasts of the Southern Wild is heading to theaters. Fox Searchlight, which acquired first time feature director Zeitlin's pic out of the fest, will release the film in limited release on June 29; hit the jump for a full synopsis and peek at the festival award winner.
more »
Joseph Kahn's Detention had me from its first knowingly self-aware trailer, and while word out of SXSW was polarizing -- a love it or hate it kind of deal, by many accounts -- it's one of my more anticipated films of the spring. True, the competition this season isn't too stiff, but still! Watch Josh Hutcherson (of next months The Hunger Games, perhaps you've heard of it?) as a cute hipster kid get ready to take a beating from the school tough guy while an actual killer runs rampant through town and tell me this isn't worth putting on the calendar for April.
more »
Next month brings the launch of The Hunger Games, one of the most-anticipated releases of the 2012 calendar and the first installment of a hopeful franchise based on Suzanne Collins's bestselling young-adult adventure trilogy. In selling their film, studio execs at Lionsgate have ramped up all manner of marketing to immerse fans in the experience — and, in doing so, have made the least-populated jursdiction on the planet a financial beneficiary.
more »
It's awfully simplistic to say so but with Lena Dunham's forthcoming HBO dramedy series GIRLS, which marks the latest milestone in her rapidly ascending career, the comparisons draw themselves -- comparisons to Dunham's own prior work and to all that's come before in attempting to mine the modern single female experience for insights and laughs in film and television. But whether you're a fan or a Dunham skeptic, it's worth taking a look at the show's first trailer to see for yourself what to expect from the developing filmmaker, especially with folks like Judd Apatow shepherding her post-Tiny Furniture.
more »
By many accounts -- okay, mostly just the filmmakers' -- this week's commando pic Act of Valor marks a new kind of filmmaking on account of it's a Navy SEALS actioner starring real active duty soldiers that takes the viewer along on a near-firsthand experience of what it's like to fight terrorists and baddies. From the looks of the film's new redband featurette this means audiences will get to see what it looks and sounds like to drop dome shots left and right in the heat of battle, because nothing says "valor" better than shooting strangers in the head with automatic weapons.
more »
Says storied MPAA-fighter Harvey: "I have been compelled by the filmmakers and the children to fight for an exception so we can change this R rating brought on by some bad language. As a father of four, I worry every day about bullying; it’s a serious and ever-present concern for me and my family. I want every child, parent, and educator in America to see Bully, so it is imperative for us to gain a PG-13 rating. It’s better that children see bad language than bad behavior, so my wish is that the MPAA considers the importance of this matter as we make this appeal.” [Press release via IndieWire]
Everybody knows that George Clooney broke out on The Facts of Life in the mid-'80s. But in the quarter-century before the once and possibly future Oscar-winner and all-around Hollywood royal's media profile encompassed morning-show house tours and magazine covers from Esquire to Vanity Fair, where was the 25-year-old Clooney developing his public persona? Where else? Tiger Beat!
more »
Festival darling Brit Marling burst onto the scene last summer with the sci-fi indie Another Earth (and will be seen in the upcoming fiscal thriller Arbitrage opposite Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon), but her turn as a mysterious cult leader in this April's Sound of My Voice is the more impressive introduction to the charismatic up and comer. Hit the jump to watch the first 10 minutes of Sound of My Voice, courtesy of Fox Searchlight, and see for yourself.
more »
