We all remember Good Will Hunting as the touching drama about a troubled genius who works as a janitor (and something about apples, right?) The combination of an Oscar-winning script by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, and Gus Van Sant, a director who, up to that point, had a career consisting of expert societal button-pushing, made magic. But as touching as the movie turned out, it's important to note how different it could have been. Violently different. more »
Russell Crowe and Darren Aronofsky are busy with Noah. Will Smith is apparently tackling the Biblical brother rivals Cain in Abel in his directorial debut. Paul Verhoeven is taking on the big man himself in Jesus of Nazareth and now his earthly mother will be getting a big screen focus. Mary Mother of Christ will show Jesus' life up until about adolescence and the recently retired Peter O' Toole is apparently coming out of retirement to join the project, which is being billed as a prequel to The Passion of the Christ.
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Sometimes TMI is just TMI, says writer and critic Dave White, reviewing Scotty Bowers' Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars: "Stalker-y internet gossip site TMZ is its own TV show now and they've got a bus that runs all day long so tourists from Indiana can see where Chris Brown beat up Rihanna....It's a time in Hollywood history when Mel Gibson takes up with his mistress, puts a baby in her, screams weird racist things on the phone, they laugh about it on The View and then Jodie Foster turns around and puts him in her next movie...And even if [Katharine] Hepburn was a lesbian with a bad complexion and [Spencer] Tracy a conflicted bisexual alcoholic, what purpose does it serve if I also know that Scotty Bowers provided her with as many as 150 paid female 'companions' over her lifetime?" [Los Angeles Review of Books]
The Oscars are staying put for another 20 years, and before Scarlett Johansson joined the Avengers, another superhero was in line for the feature. Read on for that revelation and more in Tuesday's latest Biz Break.
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Wednesday night in Austin, Texas the embattled (but cheery) Mel Gibson popped down to the Alamo Drafthouse to premiere his latest film/star vehicle, the darkly comic Mexico-set action pic Get the Gringo. Though his most recent and public feud with Maccabee screenwriter Joe Eszterhas took a notoriously ugly turn of late, Gibson was jovial and in a joking mood – even when moderator Harry Knowles dared to make reference to Gibson’s documented anti-Semitic remarks.
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There was a time when the Judah Maccabee project (AKA the Jewish Braveheart) that Joe Eszterhas was penning for Mel Gibson seemed only modestly distasteful given Gibson's notorious penchant for making anti-Semitic remarks. Then Eszterhas turned in his script, Warner Bros. put the project on hold, and the real dramatic bloodbath began. Last night, Eszterhas penned a nine-page letter excoriating Gibson for ignoring his draft, accusing him of never intending to make the film in the first place and detailing a series of lurid, bigoted outbursts he and his family allegedly witnessed Gibson making during their collaboration -- a letter leaked to The Wrap and available in all of its bone-chilling glory, naturally.
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Because he deseeeeerrrrrvvvves it: "Now, it might be easy to conjecture that Gibson’s recent personal issues were a reason to bypass theaters, especially after The Beaver grossed less than $1 million domestic. I think this is different — a ballsy move by a maverick entrepreneur whose willingness to break rules led him to self-finance the $30 million R-rated The Passion Of The Christ and watch it gross $371 million domestic and $612 million worldwide (still the biggest indie film of all time), and spend $40 million to fund Apocalypto, a film that grossed $51 million domestic and $121 million worldwide." [Deadline]
There are mere days left until Halloween, and you're still scrambling for a costume that reflects your savvy Movieline-reading film knowledge? The perfect outfit that screams, "Look at me, I watch more movies than you, plebian sexy fill-in-the-blank!" Movieline's staff have culled a litany of costume ideas for you, inspired by indie art films and big Hollywood hits alike, either from this year at the movies or from the future. Dive in to find the greatest relevant Halloween costume ideas of the year!
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This just in from sister site Deadline: Warner Bros. is developing a Joe Eszterhas-penned project about the tale of warrior-hero Judah Maccabee, who led a second-century revolt against Hellenistic overlords in the name of the Jewish people. The project's producer and possible director? Mel Gibson.
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Earlier in the day at the Cannes Film Festival without her infamous co-star and friend Mel Gibson on hand, Jodie Foster put on a brave face for press, anticipating that their dark comedy The Beaver might be better received in Europe than it was stateside where it's grossed only $311, 588 in limited release since May 6. Open minds in Cannes might also be why Gibson did in fact make a rare public appearance Tuesday night at the film's premiere.
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Although he's avoided public appearances and kept press engagements to a minimum in the lead up to the premiere of The Beaver, Mel Gibson might yet show up at the Cannes Film Festival. According to a rep for The Beaver's French distributor, Gibson "is coming to Cannes," though his camp says it's still up in the air. Gauging public support, perhaps? Will the French lead by example and embrace the embattled filmmaker with open arms? [THR]
Few details are known about Neill Blomkamp's Elysium, the science fiction follow-up to Blomkamp's Oscar-nominated District 9 that's currently in pre-production for a 2013 release. But Elysium co-star Jodie Foster, who'll star alongside Sharlto Copley, William Fichtner, and Matt Damon in the film, shared a few details of her character and the film's CG element with Movieline during a recent sit-down in Los Angeles.
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In conversation with Movieline's Elvis Mitchell Friday at SXSW, director Todd Phillips talked all things Todd Phillips: His fascination with awkward male relationships, the status of The Hangover 2, how heartbroken he was when his HBO documentary Frat House was shelved by a lawsuit, and wise words he once received from James Cameron. And somewhere between sharing revelations from Due Date (a test of how forgiving an audience could be of Robert Downey Jr.) and expressing love for both Mel Gibson and Charlie Sheen (they're both "my boys"), Phillips accused Warner Bros. of violating DGA rules in the name of milking the home-video market.
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The great thing about the massive program at the SXSW Film Festival, which starts this week, is that it runs so deep and it takes so many chances, whether on up-and-coming directors, megastars in need of PR miracles (looking at you, Mel), or random collaborations between artists so awesome, the mere idea of them working together blows your mind (four words: Die Antwoord + Harmony Korine). But many of these folks have a lot riding on their SXSW debuts. Movieline names 10 films and filmmakers with something big prove this week in Austin.
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