Peter Jackson's denial came ahead of the Hobbit premiere in New Zealand Wednesday. Also tracking in film news, Cate Blachett is eyeing a Wicked Stepmother role; MGM is considering a remake of a 1975 horror pic; And the Friar's Club is set to roast Jack Black.
Peter Jackson Again Denies The Hobbit Animal Cruelty
Jackson said, "Absolutely none - no mistreatment, no abuse," at a news conference in Wellington hours before Wednesday's premiere. He also described PETA as "pretty pathetic" for seeking publicity ahead of the premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Deadline reports.
Palm Springs Film Festival to Honor Robert Zemeckis
Zemeckis will be feted at the festival for his latest pic, Flight, starring Denzel Washington. The festival, which take place January 3 - 14, will present the award to Zemeckis at a gala January 5th, Variety reports.
Cate Blanchett Eyes Disney's Cinderella
Blanchett could play Cinderella's evil stepmother in the Mark Romanek-directed film and would be the first actor to join the project, written by The Devil Wears Prada writer Aline Brosh McKenna, Deadline reports.
MGM Eyes Sundown Remake
The possible re-do is a remake of the 1976 horror movie The Town that Dreaded Sundown. The original was based on five unsolved murders attributed to a Phantom Killer during a three month period in 1946 in the border area between Texas and Arkansas, Variety reports.
Friar's Club to Roast Jack Black in 2013
Black will sit in the hot seat at the group's next annual roast. The comedian follows previous roastees including Betty White and Quentin Tarantino. "We only roast the ones we love, and with Jack, we love his comedy, we love his music and we love his enormous talent," said Friars Club "Abbot" Jerry Lewis. "It’s going to be a great day for all of us." The event will take place April 5 in New York. THR reports.
Congratulations Marvel’s The Avengers, you win. But some people did break away from the mobs to see something different. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel did a fine job launching in 27 theaters, grossing $750,000 for a $27,789 average. Pretty good, all things considered, and only a tad shy of last weekend’s $30,000 per-theater average for Richard Linklater's Bernie. Meanwhile, the people behind the latter film weren’t shy singing its praises. “Bernie is a potential crossover hit best reviews of [Jack] Black’s career. His audience could show up big,” Cinetic’s John Sloss told us. His company sold the film to Millennium back in July and he’s still looking out for it on a sunny Sunday... Read more at Deadline.
Can a person really be charming enough to get away with murder? Especially if the victim is a super-beeyotch to begin with? That’s the question asked, and almost answered, by Richard Linklater’s Bernie, in which Jack Black plays a Carthage, Texas, assistant funeral-home director who’s so beloved in his community that his fellow citizens are almost willing to look the other way when he breaks the sixth commandment.
more »
There's really nothing I can add to this video that hasn't already been captured on camera: The white-hot quasi-celeb vibe of the Bernie premiere in L.A., the vaguely arbitrary line of red-carpet questioning, the genius retort from MacLaine, Jack Black's exquisite repulsion, the hit-and-run brevity of it all... It just doesn't get much better. Sorry, Richard Dreyfuss!
more »
So this is what Val Kilmer and his luscious locks were doing hanging with Kyle Gass and Jack Black, AKA Tenacious D. In the newly released video 'To Be the Best,' Black and Gass find their fates have gone in different directions following the failure of their film Tenacious D: In the Pick of Destiny and only Kilmer, Dave Grohl, and Josh Groban can help mental patient Gass and "Hollywood Jack" reunite (for their new album, in stores May 15). Also on hand? Tim Robbins. Why not?
more »
There was no shortage of stars coming through SXSW 2012, debuting films and projects as diverse as Joss Whedon's Cabin in the Woods to Lena Dunham's HBO series GIRLS. Take a look and see who else dropped in on Austin, Texas for the annual film festival, including: Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, and their 21 Jump Street crew, Willem Dafoe, Al Gore, Johnny Knoxville, Melissa Leo, Matthew McConaughey, Jack Black, Aubrey Plaza, Gabrielle Union, Bobcat Goldthwait, new director (!) Matthew Lillard, two Broken Lizards, model-turned-actress Dree Hemingway, and more.
more »
Richard Linklater's latest film, Bernie, makes its SXSW debut on Wednesday, but Movieline will save you a trip to Austin by showcasing one of its finer highlights here. Take it away, Kay McCabe!
more »
"Money makes the world go 'round, but it's not the answer to all your prayers," declared Jack Black at the opening night of the L.A. Film Fest, where he and screen legend Shirley MacLaine hit the red carpet arm in arm at the world premiere of Richard Linklater's new black comedy, Bernie. "It makes the world go 'round, sometimes the other way," quipped MacLaine. That's precisely the lesson at the heart of Bernie, based on the zany true story of a mortician who lived a well-loved existence in his small East Texas town -- until, that is, he committed a terrible crime.
more »
With Lionsgate milking its casting announcement roll-out as much as possible (today's news: All My Children's Leven Rambin and Meg Ryan/Dennis Quaid progeny Jack Quaid are your new District 1 tributes, Glimmer and Marvel!) it's time to play the speculation game with one of the series' most important supporting characters: Haymitch. Which veteran actors could fill the Hunger Games winner-turned-alcoholic mentor's shoes?
more »
It's a good week to be an animation fan, what with Rango garnering rave reviews and a new trailer for the Shrek spin-off Puss in Boots hitting the web. (Unless, like me, you caught the Puss in Boots teaser in theaters at midnight in front of the aptly-named Beastly. Not a smart life choice, in retrospect.) But what mystical, family-friendly, Eastern-influenced laughs await us in the new trailer for Kung Fu Panda 2?
more »
