Hugh Jackman’s plummy-eyed posters did not scare off moviegoers (or robot foes) this weekend, as Real Steel toppled all challengers at the box office. The Ides of March comes in for a distant, but respectable #2, and Moneyball and Dolphin Tale continue to hold hands, shut out the rest of the world, and survive on sheer joy.
It almost wouldn’t be the New York Film Festival these days without Michelle Williams, whose My Week With Marilyn marks the actress’s fourth effort in five years to grace Manhattan’s venerated fall-movie showcase. It’s inarguably her highest-profile work to splash down here — a world premiere debuting in the festival’s prestigious Centerpiece slot, glowing with awards-season ambition and hinging almost entirely on Williams’s risky interpretation of Marilyn Monroe. But come on: We’re talking about Michelle Williams here. Of course she pulled it off.
The American Film Institute has selected Shirley MacLaine, the candid Hollywood legend and memorable Oscar speechifier , to receive their 40th Life Achievement Award . Hooray! Problem is, they’re only honoring her current lifetime. Her other 18 or 19 lifetimes were failures, I guess — but still, she’s had a pretty good career on the big screen. Shall we take a walk through her finest quotes in film?
Ben Stiller hosted last night’s episode of SNL , and while he didn’t quite bring the game that Alec Baldwin and Melissa McCarthy did in weeks past, he did bring an old friend: Derek Zoolander. Stiller revived the titular male model from the 2001 comedy during Weekend Update, where Bill Hader’s Stefon claimed him as a date. Hope you’re prepared to handle Derek’s “cold coffee” face on this pleasant Sunday morning.
Someone’s been dumping bodies in the marsh lands outside of small town Texas City, and cops Sam Worthington , Jeffrey Dean Morgan , and Jessica Chastain are determined to catch the killer. In her sophomore directorial effort, Ami Canaan Mann (daughter of Michael , who produced) helms Texas Killing Fields , a cop thriller based on grisly true events. After the jump, watch Worthingon and Chloe Moretz in Movieline’s exclusive look at a scene from the October 14 release.
Film legend and Movieline pal Sigourney Weaver turns 62 today, which means she’s been a working girl for almost 35 years. Damn, Ripley. Let’s pick her most underrated work on the big screen after the jump. Personally, I think I’ve pinpointed it. If your suggestion is You Again , I’m prepared to yell, “Get away from her, you bitch” at you.
Splendor in the Grass , Elia Kazan’s ode to teenage angst and adolescent obsession, turns 50 this Monday. The golden anniversary of William Inge’s torrid screenplay may not seem like a big deal to you, but if you haven’t seen Splendor in the Grass (which was a box office sensation in ’61), you’ve missed out on three important film moments: 1) the performance of Natalie Wood’s career; 2) the debut of a young buck named Warren Beatty; and 3) a level of teenage hysteria that is both extreme and extremely moving.
Buena Vista’s aggressive marketing push gave Real Steel a major edge on Friday’s box office receipts. In fact, it rocked and socked its competitors, including The Ides of March , which pulls in at a distant second. Elsewhere on the tally, Dolphin Tale and Moneyball continue their streak of identical revenues while 50/50 strides on admirably.
Zsa Zsa Gabor suffered another health setback when she slipped out of consciousness this afternoon and was sent to the hospital. The 94-year-old film and matrimonial legend fell and broke her hip last year, which didn’t stop her husband Prince Frederic von Anhalt from declaring he wanted to have babies with her . Watch, I bet he’ll start shacking up with some younger woman like Joan Fontaine soon. [ TMZ ]
Dutch filmmaker Tom Six cut a striking figure last month at Fantastic Fest , where he appeared — ever-smiling and clad head to toe in a pristine white suit, his outfit of choice — to world premiere his squirm-inducing body horror sequel, The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) . The following day Movieline spoke with Six about the film, in which he meets the challenge of one-upping himself in the escalation of extremes in gory, grotesque detail. Upon hearing that an audience member fainted the previous night , Six professed his sympathy. He was sorry to hear it, he said with a grin. Well, maybe not completely sorry.