The cops play things as dirty as the crooks in Gangster Squad, an impressively pulpy underworld-plunger that embellishes on a 1949 showdown between a dedicated team of LAPD officers and Mob-connected Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) for control of the city. Set squarely in classic-noir territory, the bombastic crimer applies a pre-Production Code amorality to this world of vice, though its gleeful depiction of violence backfired once already, forcing the removal of a scene featuring Tommy guns blazing in a crowded movie theater due to the shootings in Aurora, Colo. A six-month delay should heal all wounds for this Warners release. more »
Also in Tuesday's early round-up of news briefs: Sean Penn is boarding an action thriller; Merchant Ivory composer dies at 71; The Hamptons International Film Festival's head makes an exit; And Future Weather wins top jury prize at Napa Valley Film Festival.
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The Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin starrer was initially set for an early September release, but the tragedy in Aurora, CO at a The Dark Knight Rises showing at a multiplex threw the title into a tailspin. The Ruben-Fleischer-directed film about the L.A. police department's war against organized crime in the '40s and '50s. Gangster Squad is now set for a January release.
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Also in Thursday afternoon's round-up of news briefs, political drama Knife Fight is heading to U.S. theaters courtesy of IFC Films. Saoirse Ronan will headline a new royal role and Steve Pink is eyeing the director's chair for a remake of 1986's About Last Night.
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Also in Monday morning's mostly Cannes news briefs: Samuel Goldwyn picks up Un Certain Regard debut for U.S., James Franco's collaborator heads to premiere documentary festival, Thomas Vinterberg resurfaces in Cannes with his latest, and for those lamenting a "No-Cannes-Do" this year, the weather has been pretty abysmal.
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The 2012 Cannes Film Festival is underway (catch up with Movieline's coverage from the French Riviera here), and plenty of stars have already traipsed the Croisette. See Marion Cotillard, Sean Penn, Bill Murray, Jada Pinkett Smith, Naomi Watts, Eva Longoria, Freida Pinto, Jane Fonda, Jessica Chastain, Diane Kruger, and more in Movieline's gallery of red carpet looks and candid shots from Cannes.
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There's so much swagger on display in the first trailer for Ruben Fleischer's period crime drama Gangster Squad that I hardly know where to start. Maybe Sean Penn's growly Mickey Cohen, the East Coast mobster who's come out west to reign as a god over all of Los Angeles? Or Josh Brolin's stoic turn as the head of an off the books secret cop squadron trying to shut Cohen down? Or Ryan Gosling soft-talking his way into Emma Stone's underoos then blowing away baddies with the moral turpitude of the best tough-guy antiheroes?
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The San Francisco International Film Festival honored its winners and two first-ever celeb-filled bashes are planned for Cannes (or Cannes adjacent). Also in Thursday morning's Biz Break, a list of way overpaid media heads, Ashton Kutcher lands in hot water, a cinema chain goes up for sale, Mark Ruffalo's Hulk moments, a 'Screamin'' sale and more.
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PBS's American Masters series is shining their "Viewers Like You"-funded spotlight on Woody Allen, who is decidedly uninterested in being a part of Academy consideration this year. In the trailer for the star-studded doc, we field gushy soundbites from Diane Keaton, Sean Penn, Larry David, Scarlett Johansson, Mariel Hemingway, Mira Sorvino, and more. Oh, and Woody also shows up.
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It's giveaway time again! This time, Movieline is giving away two Tree of Life combo packs (Blu-ray, DVD and digital copy included) in honor of tomorrow's home release of the Terrence Malick drama. And what better way to toast the thought-provoking feature starring Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain and Sean Penn than with a 10-word review contest. So grab your guest critic pens and click through for more details -- except for you, Sean Penn. [UPDATE: The contest is now closed! Thank you to everyone who participated. We will now sort through your submissions and notify you of a winner shortly.]
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U.S. hikers Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer had been imprisoned in Iran for two years when a joint effort between the U.N., Iraq, Oman freed them last week. Now, new details reveal the involvement of Venezuela's president (and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ally) Hugo Chavez in the process, and the "American intellectual" who helped bring Chavez onboard: Sean Penn.
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It seems like Sean Penn schedules his birthday the day after Madonna's almost every single year, which shows his true character. But let this not be a day of judgment! The 51-year-old thesp is the pride of Gen X's acting pool, and with good reason: The two-time Oscar winner is a commanding presence, a distinct powerhouse, and a whiz with punchy dialogue. What's his best line in a movie?
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