"If I was in a room with Michelle Obama, and I thought she was right for a part, I wouldn't hesitate to ask her." Woody Allen cast French first lady (and former model-chanteuse) Carla Bruni in a small part as a museum guide in his Midnight in Paris "on a whim" after dining with the President and Mrs. Nicolas Sarkozy. He'd give Mrs. Obama a similar shot, he said on British T.V., if only he met with her first. Sounds like someone wants an invite to the White House! [USA Today via Onion A.V. Club]
I don't know how in touch you are with Dane Cook's film career, but this December, the comedian-turned-actor stars in a kidnapping drama called Answers to Nothing. As a philandering husband whose wife is determined to get pregnant in spite of his infidelities, the leading role -- which appears to be completely (and purposefully) humorless in the trailer -- could be a step in a new direction for the 39-year-old stand-up. But can Dane Cook even be taken seriously as a dramatic actor at this point in his career?
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Ides of March co-star Evan Rachel Wood hit the late night circuit last night to push her latest, George Clooney's political thriller Ides of March, by talking to Jimmy Fallon about... her recent bout of Bieber Fever. Sure, why not? She plays an eager 20-year-old in the film, after all. And in grabbing the mic to perform an impromptu version of Justin Bieber's "Baby," Wood kills two birds with one stone by pimping both the Clooney-Gosling Oscar hopeful AND the concert doc Never Say Never. Judge her Bieber-esque swag and stick around for more Buzz Break.
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Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest Evil Queen of them all? Is it Julia Roberts, who will star opposite Lily Collins's Snow White in Tarsem Singh's untitled fairy tale adaptation? Or is it Charlize Theron, who will play the wicked queen opposite Kristen Stewart's armored Disney princess in Snow White and the Huntsman? Take a look at the side-by-side comparison below before deciding for yourself.
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Happy Thursday! Also in today's edition of The Broadsheet: James Bond's 23rd may have a title... Octavia Spencer could deal for Diablo Cody... Javier Bardem may return to villainy (animation-style)... And the Nobel literature winner is... and more.
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In case you haven't heard, Lifetime is stepping out of its comfort zone of original cancer movies, royal couple dramatizations and New Adventures of Old Christine reruns to develop a Lady Gaga biopic called Fame Monster: The Lady Gaga Story. In celebration of this news, Movieline asks its readers to find their best casting (meat) hats and choose the best actress to portray Stefani Germanotta in her cable close-up!
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"It's an amazing story... what is quite clear is that her [Princess Diana's] life was an amazing life. She was a wagonload of monkeys but she was also an amazing, fascinating, ballsy woman." Producer Stephen Evans, talking to Screen Daily, explained why his $50M take on Princess Diana's life -- leading up to her divorce from Prince Charles, ending before her Dodi Al Fayed years -- is such a no-brainer. ""You don't often get a movie like this where you know, that if you can make it work, it is bomb proof." Classy! [Screen Daily]
After an excerpt of his Vanity Fair interview hit yesterday in which he compared being photographed to being raped, Johnny Depp (whose Rum Diary hits screens in a few weeks) thought better of his word choice. ""I am truly sorry for offending anyone in any way. I never meant to. It was a poor choice of words on my part in an effort to explain a feeling. I understand there is no comparison and I am very regretful. In an effort to correct my lack of judgment, please accept my heartfelt apology." No worries, Johnny. It's Apology Wednesday! Stick around for more Buzz Break.
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"Bottom line, and not that this is any of your fucking business weirdos, but my wife and I want to start a family and we ABSOLUTELY CANNOT have an animal that shits all over the house. Sorry. If you are a parent you will understand. And if not, that probably explains why you have such a hard on for cats. Just sayin'." And that, Internet, is why Moneyball star Chris Pratt gave up his 15-year-old cat Bella for adoption on Twitter. The actor ultimately gave Bella to a Twitter user named Meghan who is a "perfectly reasonable, sweet and friendly cat lover." Pratt's wife is What's My Number? star Anna Faris. [ChrisPratt.com]
Well, now: Lars Von Trier's notorious Nazi comments last May have haunted him all the way home to Denmark, where he says local cops questioned him in connection to charges leveled at him by French officials, post-Cannes. In a statement released today, the Melancholia director issued a promise of his own following the media and legal shit storm caused by his ill-conceived joking, announcing that he'll no longer speak publicly or to press. At all.
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"I love George Clooney's movie, The Ides of March," Harvey Weinstein raved recently when asked for an Academy Award prediction. "I love politics, and this movie is the best political movie -- it's gotta be right up there with the best of the best. Seriously, it is the toughest, most incisive, no-bullshit movie I've seen this year. And [Ryan] Gosling hits it out of the ballpark. And the entire cast is great. Clooney just nailed it. It's an appropriate movie for these times. So Oscar prediction? That that gets nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor. And it's not mine." [Vulture]
Real Steel calls upon Hugh Jackman's ability to tame and train robots, but this isn't his first time at the robo-dome. He first conquered a borg named Nicole Kidman in Baz Luhrmann's failed epic Australia. Ha! Now, now, that's the first and last Nicole Kidman joke you'll hear from me because 1) Nicole Kidman is awesome, 2) Rabbit Hole is under-appreciated, and 3) BORGS ARE VINDICTIVE. Let's reinspect the joys of this looooong movie without ever caring about the story!
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The Lion King 3D's box-office success is admirable on its own, but Disney is looking to ramp up its output of 3-D reboots in a staggering way: Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc. are all coming back to theaters in 3-D within the next two years. That's fine, but I can think of 10 great Disney visuals from other animated classics that deserve full-bodied renovation:
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Happy Wednesday! Also in today's edition of The Broadsheet: The Academy finally gets some movie museum space... The Coens have their eye on TV... Paul Feig backs out of his next... Another 50 Cent movie, thank God... and more.
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Well, lookie who just officially entered the Oscar race! Fox Searchlight excitedly Tweeted today that they'll release filmmaker Steve McQueen's hot festival pickup Shame on December 2, 2011. That means two things: A) Rejigger those early Oscar charts to allow for stars Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan, and B) get ready for some erotic, angsty December sexytime. Just in time for the holidays! [@FoxSearchlight]
