It's difficult to single out the best part of Mark Ebner's fascinating new Hollywood poker-culture exposé, but Kevin Pollak's true confessions are up there: "Nick [Cassavetes] actually pulled me aside — I got up to go to the restroom, and when I came out, he was waiting for me. He took me into a side room and said, 'Dude, you've got to lighten up. You could kill this game if you stopped being so upset about everyone playing like dicks. This is how we play, and you could be killing these guys, because half of them don't know what the fuck they're doing. They just know how to play like a dick. You actually know how the game works, so stop being so pissed off at everyone for over-betting 3-2 off, and take their money.'" Oh, wait, no... this: "Hank Azaria, Simpsons’ co-creator Sam Simon, Lou Diamond Phillips, and Macaulay Culkin have all hosted prominent house games in the past 20 years." [Hollywood Interrupted]
Strap yourselves in, folks: In the wake of its billion-dollar amusement park-inspired Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Disney is bringing another classic attraction to the big screen — Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. The Disneyland staple (a ride itself based on a film based on the children's book The Wind in the Willows) is heading to theaters under the direction of filmmaker Pete Candeland, who will helm the as-yet unscripted CG/live-action adventure. I don't know about you, but I take one look at this Mr. Toad's ride poster and just one spot on the release calendar jumps out. How's about April 20 2013/14, if you get my drift? [Deadline]
This should be interesting (or completely familiar, depending on how they play it): According to Deadline, Vince Vaughn is set to star in a feature adaptation of The Rockford Files, the '70s-era detective series that starred James Garner as a disheveled Los Angeles private eye. The involvement of scripting duo David Levien and Brian Koppelman (Rounders, Ocean's Thirteen, Solitary Man) is somewhat promising, though Vaughn hasn't shown any desire to move away from his tired Vince Vaughn shtick of late -- and do audiences really want a Vince Vaughn-ified Jim Rockford? Besides, if Steve Carell and David Shore couldn't make a Rockford reboot work, how will Vaughn & Co. fare? [Deadline]
Forget about healthcare: The Supreme Court may yet face the defining constitutional issue of our day if one producer has his way. "You claim on behalf of your client, Will Ryder Productions, that the low-budget, clearly pornographic, film your client intends to sell by infringing upon The Three Stooges® Brand is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as 'parody,'" writes Robert Benjamin, the co-producer of the PG-rated Three Stooges currently in theaters, to the lawyer representing the geniuses behind Not the Three Stooges XXX. "Such a claim of parody has no merit." And there's related Stooges case history (PDF file)! Clear the docket! [TMZ]
Of all the random shenanigans actor/filmmaker/online purveyor of fine goods Vincent Gallo has pulled, suing the city of Los Angeles kind of makes the most sense of them all. Consider: According to TMZ, Gallo filed a lawsuit to shut down the Arts District Business Improvement District plan, which uses taxpayer money to patrol, safeguard, and improve the downtown L.A. arts district. Gallo reportedly wants the program shut down and $1.3 million returned because it's purportedly wasteful and provides "no benefit." In other news: The Brown Bunny star's personal services are still available for purchase! Now that's money well spent, I'm sure. [TMZ]
Weekend box-office sluggishness got you down? Oh. Well, either way, fortune tellers around Hollywood are saying the recent Avengers buzz has further heated up an already scorching prospect: Some tracking reports have Joss Whedon's Marvel-hero mash-up sailing beyond The Dark Knight's $158 million three-day mark from 2008, though Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2's all-time record of $169 million seems safe, 3-D and all. Stay tuned to Movieline for more box-office previews and projections — especially your own — as The Avenegers' May 4 release date draws near. [THR]
This just in: Paramount and New Regency will release Darren Aronofsky's Biblical tale Noah on March 28, 2014. No filming date has been announced just yet, but that gives the Black Swan helmer just about two years to get Russell Crowe in gear as the eponymous wino/boat-builder; Aronofsky will direct from a script credited to himself, Ari Handel, and John Logan. The date puts Noah opening right before Captain America 2, which means... superhero season will start even earlier in '14, kinda. I know, I know: But when will we see a big-screen adaptation of Fightin' Around the World? [Deadline]
Get ready to double-exhale, folks: It looks like both the Arrested Development movie and Sin City 2 are finally happening at long last -- and both are reportedly set to film this summer. Hurrah! That said, Deadline admits that none of the Arrested Development cast have been inked just yet even as Will Arnett let slip on The Today Show that the long-awaited big screen adaptation was on track for a summer shoot. Meanwhile, Robert Rodriguez's Sin City: A Dame To Kill For is set to film in Austin, with casting to begin next week. [Today Show, Playlist]
This just in from the Avengers press conference in Beverly Hills, where Robert Downey Jr. may or may not be messing with the assembled press a la Tony Stark: "We are shooting one more scene [for The Avengers]... tonight. Not kidding." Aaand with that mysterious cliffhanger, Downey and his fellow superheroes exited the stage. What does it mean? UPDATE: Joss Whedon reacts: "He's Robert, of course he's kidding." Well, it was fun while it lasted. And Downey did promise that nothing after his first answer would be sincere. Stay tuned for Movieline's full report from the Avengers junket!
Universal and Hasbro's $200 million-plus Battleship has emerged overseas, prompting one Germany-based critic to gas up his flamethrower and go to town: "This thing is an Asylum movie with hundreds of millions of dollars of gloss on it. And much like that hallowed studio, Battleship also feels free to snake ideas from other flicks. In fact, all of its ideas come from somewhere else. Its alien design steals from Halo and Power Rangers as well as a highly recognizable character from Green Lantern. The plot tricks come straight from ID4 (including a “Welcome to Earth”-style line for Rihanna (who, no kidding, is one of the few actually trying hard to deliver a real performance)). By the time they copy Transformers, Terminator and Predator, it’s sad. When they copy Titanic and Space Cowboys, it’s downright depressing." Can't wait! [Film School Rejects]
"Considering the vivid 3D effects, we fear that viewers may reach out their hands for a touch and thus interrupt other people's viewing. To avoid potential conflicts between viewers and out of consideration of building a harmonious ethical social environment, we've decided to cut off the nudity scenes." I presume this means Piranha 3DD can count the Chinese market out. [IMDB]
"It sounds creepy, but basically I just enjoy looking at her face, and think about it a lot. Even when she was a child actor in Panic Room, she just always appears very, very tired. She looks like she has an old soul. There's something about her presence on camera and how she carries herself. She's very intriguing. A lot of times, it looks like she hasn't slept for two days and it's exciting to think about: 'What were you doing? Why were you awake so long? What were you thinking about?'" Julia Vickerman's MUCHOS KSTEW, comprised entirely of artwork inspired by Twilight's Kristen Stewart, runs through April 20 at L.A.'s Meltdown Comics. [Next Movie]
“'The thing that makes it so relevant is that we live in this age of robots, particularly when it comes to war,' [Tim] Hill, also a longtime writer on the television series SpongeBob SquarePants, told 24 Frames. 'We have drones that do our fighting for us, do all these jobs men and women don’t want to do. And that’s what makes this so interesting -- things like this moment in the story when Johnny realizes he’s going to be disassembled and contemplates death, and whether it’s right to terminate someone else.' He paused. 'These are heavy themes for a family movie,' he said, anticipating a reasonable reader's reaction. 'But I think they can have their place.'" Of course. [LAT]
Deadline reports that Paula Patton is in talks to star with Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg in 2 Guns, a crime pic directed by Contraband's Baltasar Kormakur based on the graphic novel by Stephen Grant "about a DEA agent and an undercover naval intelligence officer who unwittingly investigate each other as each steals mob money." Patton will play Washington's love interest, though I feel like they've already been here before... or maybe I just have DEJA VU. HONK! Yeeeeah. Sigh. [Deadline]
Mmm-hmm: "'I am not being Harvey Weinstein, showman,' he said in a separate interview on Friday. 'I am not using the ratings system for publicity. Yes, I’ve done it in the past. Mea culpa for that.' But, he said of Bully, 'this is completely out of passion.'" [NYT]
