Say what you will about the Kutch, he does a fairly convincing Steve Jobs. Watch Ashton Kutcher take on the role of one of the most revered men of our time in the first trailer for Jobs . Jobs Trailer The film tells the story of Jobs and Steve Wozniak, played by Josh Gad, as they start building computers in their garage, and eventually go on to found Apple Computers. It looks like a fairly straightforward, safely-played biopic, and the trailer feels a bit formulaic given that the movie was already lampooned before it came out by the Funny or Die movie iSteve . Dermot Mulroney, Matthew Modine, and James Woods also star. Jobs will hit theaters August 16.
Also for Thursday morning’s look at news headlines, Kevin Smith will embark on a tour promoting a Slamdance film, Obama cha-chings at an exclusive fundraiser in L.A. with A-listers, Matthew Modine lands a role in Steve Jobs pic and New York’s Stony Brook Film Festival set to bow this summer with No God . Prometheus Heads to IMAX Theaters Friday in N. America The Ridley Scott-directed movie will feature a larger aspect ratio of 2.0:1 versus the traditional 2.39:1 ratio. Domestically, the film will be released in 298 theaters beginning Friday, June 8, simultaneous with the film’s North American release. Internationally, the film debuted in select territories last week and will be expanding to additional theaters through the coming weeks for a total of 123 theaters confirmed to date. Kevin Smith to Tour with Slamdance’s Bindlestiffs The Clerks director will support Andrew Edison’s high school comedy under the “Kevin Smith’s SModcast Pictures Presents” label with Phase 4 Films. The tour will kick off its theatrical tour June 12th in New York City. In the film, three high school virgins, suspended from school on a graffiti charge, flee to the city to live out the plot of The Catcher in the Rye Bindlestiffs had its world premiere at the 2012 Slamdance Film Festival and Phase 4 will release the film via VOD June 19th. Around the ‘net… George Clooney to Direct The Yankee Comandante Focus Features is nabbing the rights to the story which appeared in the May 28th edition of The New Yorker under the same title. The story is about William Alexander Morgan who helped Cuba’s Fidel Castro and his band of rebels to overthrow dictator Batista and reached the level of ‘Comandante,’ the only other foreigner besides Argentina’s legendary Ernesto “Che” Guevara, Deadline reports . Glee Creator Hosts Star-packed Obama Fundraiser The President attended a $40K per couple fundraiser attended by 70 people including Julia Roberts, CAA’s Kevin Huvane and Bryan Lourd, Glee star Jane Lynch and Reese Witherspoon at the home of Glee creator Ryan Murphy and his partner David Miller’s house, Deadline reports . Matthew Modine Boards Steve Jobs Pic Modine will play John Sculley who lead Apple in 1983 after Jobs picked him as CEO and then fired Jobs two years later. Ashton Kutcher stars as the late Apple founder in the movie that Joshua Michael Stern ( Swing Vote ) will direct, THR reports . World Premiere of No God to Bow Stony Brook Fest Terry Green’s No God No Master starring David Strathairn will open the 17th Stony Brook Film Festival, taking place in Stony Brook, NY July 19 – 28. Other highlights include doc Side by Side narrated by Keanu Reaves and director/star Julie Delpy’s Le Skylab , Variety reports .
Teenage Ansiedad (Cierra Ramirez) is lacking in role models. Her father’s unknown, her best friend (Raini Rodriguez) is faithful but a little dull, and her mother Grace (Eva Mendes) is a hotcha-cha mess who dates married dudes and behaves less like a mom than a deadbeat roommate. So when her English teacher (Patricia Arquette, vital in a too-brief role) introduces the concept of the coming-of-age narrative, hyper-precocious Ansiedad decides to use it as a kind of emancipation blueprint. Directed by Patricia Riggen ( Under the Same Moon ), Girl In Progress starts out breezy, making wacky archetypes of the overachieving latchkey kid and her appallingly irresponsible mom. Odd-jobbing Grace shrugs about finishing the cereal (and the milk) and forgets about her child’s existence whenever her current philandering squeeze (Matthew Modine) swings into view. Ansiedad resolves to apply her discipline to a teenaged trajectory so clichéd that it’s easily converted into a giant flow chart on her bedroom wall. I got a little ahead of the script (by Hiram Martinez) when Ansiedad has her light bulb moment in English class, thinking perhaps the daughter might use a set of literary conventions to finally midwife her mother into adulthood. Instead the narrative splits off into parallel parts, similar to the way Riggen divided Under the Same Moon between the story of a Mexican woman laboring as a Los Angeles housekeeper and that of her son’s journey from Mexico to find her. Ansiedad begins acting out her acting out, ticking off bullet points (ditch your old friends; infiltrate the cool circle; offer the alpha babe your virginity) like items on a grocery list. Were the conceit a little more genre- or source material-specific — if the picture followed some overarching inspiration the way Clueless played on Emma , say, or if it featured some of the alter-ego goofing of Youth in Revolt or the self-conscious twistiness of The Cabin in the Woods — the plot’s terms would have been more firmly grounded and we might have been brought closer to Ansiedad’s logic. Ramirez’s bad girl schtick is occasionally amusing (“I’m out of control; catch you later,” she deadpans at one point) but the idea that she would consciously risk becoming her mother just to get away from her never feels convincing. Meanwhile, Grace’s apparently bottomless self-absorption is well played by Mendes, who has always infused her man-candy roles with warmth and a weary intelligence behind her eyes. Both are on display when Grace’s latest relationship implodes after she’s confronted with an indifference to her daughter that equals and maybe even surpasses her own. At this point Girl in Progress attempts to go deep: The best friend acts out for real and Ansiedad heads for the bus station to earn her runaway badge. Riggen doesn’t find a tonal equilibrium at this new level, though, and everything goes wobbly as Mendes and Ramirez are forced into what feels like a false moment of repentance and reconciliation. Girl in Progress feels a little trapped by its own conceits: It plays with the idea that all rebellion is in some sense performed and makes a caricature out of the immature, attention-hungry mother, but it never liberates its characters from their molds. I wanted to believe that Grace suddenly straightens up and heads to school and Ansiedad finally gets the love and care she deserves, but was left with the feeling that their movie was still a few milestones short of full maturity. Follow Michelle Orange on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Producer William Orbit tweets details about Madge’s top-secret project. By Jocelyn Vena Madonna Photo: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images Since Madonna manager Guy Oseary announced she’d be working on an album over the summer, tentatively slated for a spring release , the Queen of Pop’s most loyal followers have been clamoring for updates about the progress of the record. Last week, it was rumored Madge had plans to work with M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj , and now producer William Orbit has some more news for the singer’s most loyal devotees. “Madonna has phenomenal understanding of both the minutiae of music and the big picture. Zooming in, zooming out. 4ever amazing. Plus VISION!!!” he tweeted . “Working with Madonna is a treat. Fantastic tracks and vibes. Going deep. She’s ON IT !!! This is THE album!” The Ray of Light producer’s tweets even reveal where the two have been cooking up tracks for the record. “WOWOWOWOW just looked out the window here in NY and IT’s SNOWING !!!!!” he wrote . “A Fairy Tale in New York but Hot Hot Hot in the studioooooo.” At the London screening for her film “W.E.,” Madonna spoke to Sky News about the top-secret project, addressing the nature of her celebrity and how it relates to her art. “Even when I try something old [I get criticized]. When I make my music, I come up against criticism,” she said. “So it kind of goes with the territory. I’m used to it.” What are you expecting from Madonna’s next album? Let us know in the comments! Related Artists Madonna
Batman makes an appearance in the cockpit of the Batwing in new pics. By Kevin P. Sullivan Joseph Gordon-Levitt films a scene of “Dark Knight Rises” in Manhattan in front of the Stock Exchange on Sunday Photo: Getty Images Batman has returned to Gotham — New York City, that is — to film scenes from “The Dark Knight Rises” and he arrived in style. More set photos hit the Web on Monday (October 31), mostly depicting the same scenes featured in online images from last week, but with one big change. (Fans should be forewarned: there are spoilers ahead .) For photos from the set, click here. In one of the pictures published last week, Joseph Gordon-Levitt ‘s character, a beat cop named John Blake, escorts Christian Bale ‘s Batman, who’s dressed in business attire; in another, the beat cop fires a gun at some fleeing bikers. Gordon-Levitt’s character has been the center of much discussion about the “Rises” plot and who the character may end up being. One rumor that continues to circulate is that John Blake may end up being Robin, the Boy Wonder, something Gordon-Levitt has remained quiet about. The latest crop of pictures follows what is presumably the same scene but further along in the action. The riders on the motocross bikes are still driving away and jumping over cop cars, but this time the Batwing is visible . Although the Batwing has been featured in dozens of leaked set photos, the pictures posted by a user to the Superhero Hype forum are particularly interesting because they clearly show Batman in the cockpit. If that wasn’t enough, he seems to be hovering above a large explosive device in the middle of the street. It’s unclear who ends up on the back of the motorcycles or what they’re doing on them. Matthew Modine was on set, but there are conflicting reports on what role his character, Nixon, is playing and whether it was actually Modine’s stunt double on the back of the bike. Check out everything we’ve got on “The Dark Knight Rises.” For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com . Related Photos On The Set Of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’