Also in Thursday afternoon's round up of film news, The Weinstein Company has scored a round of financing for a division. The Indian International Film Festival sets its lineup, while Steven Soderbergh's Liberace pic picks up a new actor. And West Memphis Three also adds more cast.
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Hot dudes and with asses in air… A few thongs and strippers galore. A party in Miami, Key West or Palm Springs? Nahh… It's Magic Mike of course and the latest trailer shows off a bit of skin courtesy of Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matthew McConaughey — the resident hotties who will hold court in their sexiest in Steven Soderbergh's latest film. There was a time in the not too distant past that Soderbergh said he was "retiring" from filmmaking, but things clearly changed and he found inspiration to continue. Good for him, since most ladies (and some gentlemen) will likely enjoy the show.
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The Los Angeles Film Festival unveiled its lineup of nearly 200 features, shorts and more today. This year's event, which comprises work from 30 countries, will open with the North American premiere of Woody Allen's To Rome With Love (as previously announced), while the world premiere of Warner Bros.' Magic Mike by Steven Soderbergh will close out the festival, which runs June 14 - 24 at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles.
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The more I see of Steven Soderbergh's Magic Mike, the higher it climbs up my most-anticipated list. Here's why: Shirtless Channing Tatum. Sensitive Channing Tatum. Dancing Channing Tatum! A cute romance with total girl next door Cody Horn. Rihanna on the soundtrack! They found love in a pantsless place, you guys. Watch the full trailer after the jump. Beefcake!
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Haha, it's a trick! There are no words.
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Watching mixed martial artist Gina Carano fight on television, director Steven Soderbergh was struck by inspiration: Why not build an action movie around the lethal (and yes, gorgeous) athlete to show audiences what a real action heroine could look like? Forget Angelina Jolie in Salt, or any number of actresses who’ve unconvincingly flitted their way through the genre. Carano was the real deal, a woman who can dole out punches with bone-shattering believability, leap between buildings, and battle Hollywood’s best leading men with aplomb, as evidenced in this week’s Haywire.
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Anyone who's seen Contagion (or, let's be honest, even just the trailer for Contagion) knows that Steven Soderbergh is not precious about keeping his biggest stars breathing for the duration of his films. And when you think about it, that is kind of an awesome against-the-tide trend that few directors -- okay, few studios -- have the wherewithal to attempt. Chatting with the UK's Independent about Contagion and Haywire, Soderbergh dropped some science on the art of manipulating the very essence of stardom in movies to great effect.
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MMA star Gina Carano makes her action heroine debut this month in Steven Soderbergh's spy revenge pic Haywire, which bone-crunched its way into moviegoer hearts during AFI Fest. Can't wait to see Carano put a beat down on just about every leading man (Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender) whose path she crosses? Submit a 10-word review of any Soderbergh film to enter to win a pair of tickets to Thursday's Los Angeles premiere.
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Ever since Matt Damon let slip, like "a 14-year-old girl," that Steven Soderbergh wanted to retire from filmmaking, Soderbergh has been toying with his adoring public. Look people, he's not retiring anytime soon. He's said as much, side career in fine art or no. What more evidence do you need? How about the bazillionth new project announcement from Team Soderbergh? Good, because here it comes.
AFI Fest's "secret" screening of Steven Soderbergh's Haywire wasn't so much a showcase for the AFI darling as it was a coming out party for MMA bruiser-cum-action heroine Gina Carano, whom Soderbergh glimpsed fighting one night on TV and subsequently built a star-studded spy thriller pic around. But it's hard to say if first-time actor Carano will branch out in a film career beyond the often lo-fi action experiment. Is she a hybrid of Angelina Jolie and Steven Seagal, as Soderbergh suggested Sunday night? Or is there more of a Cynthia Rothrock quality to Carano's steely gaze and powerhouse physicality?
Olivia Munn first became known for keeping geeks everywhere enthralled on a daily basis as the co-host of G4's Attack of the Show, but since leaving the program to pursue acting she's hit the ground running by joining The Daily Show, starring in the short-lived sitcom Perfect Couples, and snagging roles in upcoming projects from the likes of Aaron Sorkin and Steven Soderbergh. Speaking with Munn over the weekend about her latest film, I Don't Know How She Does It, Movieline was determined not to ask the pun-tastic question of how, in fact, she does it. What we discovered instead was the story of how, in the course of following her Hollywood dreams, she tried to do it all.
Contagion/Haywire/Magic Mike director (slash painter and future retiree) Steven Soderbergh was indeed tapped by old friend Gary Ross to shoot second unit on the YA adaptation The Hunger Games, the challenge of which he explains in an interview with Moviefone: "I thought, 'OK, I see what you guys are doing. I know what the tool kit is. I know what the rules are.' And it's fun in a way. I found it much more nerve-wracking than when you're shooting for yourself. Because I was constantly thinking, 'Oh, I hope that he likes this. I hope he likes that.' May the odds be ever in his favor? [Moviefone]
In Steven Soderbergh's panic-inducing epidemic thriller Contagion, the world is paralyzed by a fast-spreading virus that scientists, including Laurence Fishburne, can't get a bead on. "Someone doesn't have to weaponize the bird flu," he intones in the trailer. "The birds are doing that." As if Contagion wasn't already a hypochondriac's nightmare, a U.N. report this week reveals that the deadly bird flu, or H5N1, has mutated and is spreading overseas.
When Channing Tatum takes Alex Pettyfer under his wing to teach him the ins and outs of male stripper life in Steven Soderbergh's Magic Mike, the young bucks will have another ex-stripper on hand with extensive shirtless experience: Matthew McConaughey. Best casting move in a while, Hollywood -- doubly so for you, Matty McC. Shall we study the history books to guess whether or not McConaughey will strip down himself as Dallas, "a former exotic dancer who now owns and operates Xquisite, the club where 'Magic Mike' works?" [Variety]
Further evidence that Steven Soderbergh can't possibly retire early as previously reported: Even with Haywire and Contagion to promote and Channing Tatum's stripper movie to shoot this year, the Oscar-winner has found time to shoot second unit on Lionsgate's now-filming adaptation of The Hunger Games.
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