The wonderful trailers for Jason Segel's Muppets movie already have me torqued for a reboot of Kermit the Frog's kingdom, but now consider me extra-amped: This new disc of Muppet cover songs featuring Weezer, OK Go, the Fray, and Rachael Yamagata is so solid and original that I can't believe an alternative version like it has never been attempted before. You can listen to the whole Green Album online now, but first, think: What are your favorite Muppet covers? And do these live up?
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Rise of the Planet of the Apes may have won the box office for a second weekend in a row, but The Help was the real story: perfect Cinemascore marks, strong opening weekend earnings, Oscar buzz and some major controversy. As the summer movie season winds to a close, this could be the one film you're still talking about come Thanksgiving. So! Let's talk about it!
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Andy Serkis brings up an interesting point when he insists that motion-capture acting -- a la Rise of the Planet of the Apes -- is acting, plain and simple. As the performer, you record movement and voice, much like any conventional thespian, except later someone colors over you with computer voodoo. But does that take anything away from the award-worthiness of a role? Should the Oscars key up their appreciation of this artform?
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Movieline tried to thwart so many of these remakes, but it appears the Footloose revamp with nice guy Kenny Wormald is still happening. It's so real, in fact, that the title song from the movie soundtrack has a cover artist: country singer and The Voice panelist Blake Shelton. Does this sit well with you? Glimpse the other contributors (who will cover "Let's Hear It for the Boy," "Almost Paradise," etc) after the jump. Seethe together!
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The cast of Stand by Me reunited a few months ago to commemorate the film's 25th year, but it's today, Aug. 8, that the Rob Reiner-directed ode to innocence and burgeoning adulthood celebrates its official silver anniversary. Whether in the narration of Richard Dreyfuss or the poignant camaraderie of 12-year-old crusaders Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, or Jerry O'Connell, the movie packs plenty of childhood insight into 88 minutes. What its most underrated moment?
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Hail Caesar! As the surprisingly strong box office results showed over the weekend, audiences went bananas for Rise of the Planet of the Apes. (GROAN!) The film exceeded both critical and financial expectations, and not only launched what could be another large cycle in the apocalyptic franchise, but also a sneaky Oscar campaign. In short, there's plenty to discuss -- so let's discuss!
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I keep eyeing the news of Jesse Eisenberg's dual role in Richard Ayoade's next movie The Double, based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novella, with excitement about people who aren't even involved with the project. If The Double, about "a Russian government clerk whose life unravels after what he believes is a literal facsimile of himself -- same appearance, same name, same hometown -- begins working in his office," is a hit, will it popularize the idea of other actors playing dual roles? And who would we want to see act against his/her own mirror image?
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The only way Tom Sherak and Dawn Hudson could have enraged the online community further with the selection of an Oscar co-producer for 2012 is if they hired Michael Bay. That's the kind of vitriol newly minted Oscar producer -- and apparent walking Old Hollywood Wikipedia page -- Brett Ratner brings to the table. When it was announced late Thursday that Ratner would produce the Oscars next winter with Don Mischer, a cacophony of "What the fuck?" rose up from Twitter with the speed of one of Chris Tucker's monologues in Rush Hour. It's a terrible, no-good, off-the-grid idea! Except for the fact that maybe it isn't.
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In a similar fashion with what they did with actresses, Forbes has released a list of the 15 highest-earning actors in Hollywood (caveat here for the perhaps inexact figures). Topping the list? Not Johnny Depp (No. 2) or Will Smith (No. 4), but Leonardo DiCaprio, who -- thanks to his one-two 2010 punch of Shutter Island and Inception -- has earned upward of $77 million in the last year. Kudos, Leo! The rest of the list is populated with familiar faces like Adam Sandler, Tom Cruise and Tim Allen. Wait, what is Tim Allen doing here?
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Actual weekend box office numbers won't be released until later today, but regardless of the final results, many of you saw either The Smurfs or Cowboys & Aliens during the last days of July. Or maybe both! As such, there's plenty to talk about -- both onscreen and, more important, off.
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On July 30, 1947, Arnold Schwarzenegger was born in Austria to parents Gustav and Aurelia. He moved to America when he was 21 years old, rose to fame as a prominent body builder, turned to acting, turned to politics, and -- before the scandal about his illegitimate love child broke earlier this year -- was one of the most beloved figures in pop culture over the last 30 years. So, not a great birthday year for Arnold! But! that doesn't mean we can't celebrate the former Governator's cumpleaños by remembering some of his great onscreen one-liners.
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Not only is Olivia Wilde open to appearing partially nude in movies -- as she does in Cowboys & Aliens and the upcoming Change-Up, but she is totally down to talk about said partial nudity at length in interviews. Earlier this week, she admitted that her own exposed behind in the latter film was a surprise, even to her, and the other night on a special Jon Favreau-directed episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the actress told the host (and all of America) about the CGI movie magic involved in her topless Change-Up scene with Ryan Reynolds.
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And so Movieline concludes today's birthday-celebration marathon -- previously spotlighting the finest film work of both Dame Helen Mirren and Sir Mick Jagger -- as any self-respecting movie site would: By commemorating the day 83 years ago when the world welcomed one Stanley Kubrick into existence. This would change everything.
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Sixty-eight years ago today, a Hirschfeld caricature named Mick Jagger was born. In addition to inventing our current perception of rock stars, the Rolling Stones frontman has produced some of the darkest material ever to permeate the mainstream. While you could revisit the harrowing Altamont doc Gimme Shelter or Martin Scorsese's 2008 concert film Shine a Light to celebrate Mick's special occasion, Movieline is instead turning back to Mick's performance in the once-abhorred, now-revered 1970 movie Performance. Check out the slickest Mick ever ahead!
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On July 26, 1945, Helen Lydia Mironoff was born in a London hospital to parents Vasiliy and Kathleen Mironoff (or Mironov depending on the spelling). During the 1950s, Vasily changed the family last name to "Mirren," and for his young daughter, the rest is history. From her breakout role in Michael Powell's Age of Consent to her Oscar-winning turn as Queen Elizabeth in The Queen, Mirren has been one of Hollywood's greatest -- and seemingly ageless -- actresses for five decades. As Liz Lemon once said in reaction to one of Mirren's famous bikini pics, "Is she a wizard?"
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