Director Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike debuted over the weekend , closing out the Los Angeles Film Festival. And while the Warner Bros film opens in theaters this Friday, fans may have the opportunity to see it live in the flesh as it were in the future. Starring Channing Tatum, the story loosely revolves around the actor’s eight month stint dancing at male strip clubs in Tampa, Florida. It is a time during which Tatum admits to witnessing a much more dark and depressing version of events than what producing partner/writer Reid Carolin transposes to the script. He meets an eager college drop out, played by Alex Pettyfer and takes him under his wing. Carolin tipped off to USA Today that there are plans to strut Magic Mike on Broadway in the near future. “”We are working on it as a Broadway show, which would be a different story,” said Carolin, adding, “More of a romp, more of a fun night out at a club with a story. I’m almost more excited about that than the movie because I think it’s the perfect thing for women to go see on Broadway, to be participants in the show.” And Pettyfer may have a chance to show more skin as well if and when the show hits the great white way. He said he “absolutely” would do the show. “”I think we should all do the opening night,” he said.
In Monday afternoon’s round up of news briefs, SXSW is inviting audiences to propose panels for their 2013 event via online. BB takes a quick look at final weekend box office numbers. Samuel L. Jackson will host an upcoming awards show, while Fandango and MSN team up. And which book will be the next box office golden child? SXSW Accepting Panel Proposals for 2013 The South by Southwest Conferences and Festivals are now accepting programming proposals for next year’s edition. The event’s “PanelPicker” interface is an online tool that allows the SXSW attendees to have a voice in programming Music, Film, and Interactive conference activities through an open proposal and voting process. SXSW 2013 takes place March 8 – 17. Step One allows users to submit proposals for programming at the SXSW website beginning Monday, June 25 and continuing through Friday, July 20. Step Two allows participants to browse proposals and rate which ones they think are the best fit for SXSW. Community voting begins Monday, August 13 and will continue through Friday, August 31. Final Box Office Numbers for the Weekend Actual numbers are in and Brave rests comfortably at the top of the box office . It’s Friday through Sunday total came to $66,323,594 in 4,164 locations for a screen average of$15,928. Next up was fellow animation, Madagascar 3 with $19,712,315 in 3,920 theaters. That was a 42% drop in gross from the previous week and a per screen average of $5,029. It’s three week total is $157,086,037. [Source: Hollywood.com] Around the ‘net… Julian Assange Internet Dating to Become a Film Documentary filmmaker Cyril Tuschi will direct a film about a series of fictional dates involving the Wikileaks founder. Shooting will take place in Germany. Casting is pending, The Guardian reports . Samuel L. Jackson to Host BET Awards Chris Brown, Nicki Minaj, Usher, 2 Chainz and Big Sean are scheduled to perform, in addition to comedians Kevin Hart and Cedric the Entertainer, Washington Post reports . Fandango Partners with MSN for Movie Tix Fandango is working with MSN to be the web portal’s official online and mobile movie ticketer. MSN’s sites reach more than 100 million U.S. users per month, Deadline reports . One of These Books Is the Next Hunger Games Hunger Games has cleaned up at the box office and now the studios are looking at which other books out there may be the next golden franchise. The Seventh Son , The Wardstones Chroicles and Maximum Ride are all contenders, The Wrap reports .
All is Well won the Narrative Award at the Los Angeles Film Festival over the weekend. Directed by Pocas Pascoal the North American premiere follows to Angolan sisters feeling civil war and struggle to survive in Lisbon. Honorable mention in the category went to Thursday Till Sunday by Dominga Sotomayor. Best Documentary went to Drought by Everardo Gonzalez. The film is a poetic portrait of a cattle-ranching community in northeastern Mexico. In the Audience Award category, Best Narrative Feature went to Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild The film won Cannes and Sundance earlier this year. And Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin and the Farm Midwives by sara Lamm and mary Wigmore won the Audience Award for Best Documentary. Award Winners with information provided by LAFF: Narrative Award (for Best Narrative Feature) Winner: All is Well directed by Pocas Pascoal Producer: Luis Correia Cast: Ciomara Morais, Cheila Lima, William Brandao, Vera Cruz Film Description: (Portugal) Strangers in a strange land, two beautiful Angolan sisters fleeing a civil war in their homeland struggle to survive in Lisbon. Pocas Pascoal’s deeply personal saga shows us the face of exile with quietly stunning power. Honorable Mention (for Best Narrative Feature) Film Title: Thursday till Sunday directed by Dominga Sotomayor Producers: Gregorio González, Benjamin Domenech Cast: Santi Ahumada, Emiliano Freifeld, Francisco Pérez-Bannen, Paola Giannini Film Description: (Chile) With uncommon beauty and style, this Chilean road movie finds a family at a crossroads, as the daughter slowly realizes the divide between the adults in the front seat and the kids in back. Documentary Award (for Best Documentary Feature) Winner: Drought directed by Everardo González Producer: Martha Orozco Film Description: (Mexico) Contrasting the lives of a cattle-ranching community with the arid northeastern Mexican landscape that surrounds them, this cinéma vérité documentary paints a poetic portrait of a community on the verge of distinction. Best Performance in the Narrative Competition Winner: Wendell Pierce, Emory Cohen, E.J. Bonilla and Aja Naomi King in Joshua Sanchez’s Four . Film Description: Over the course of a steamy 4th of July night, a father and daughter, each trapped in loneliness, reach out for sexual connection — he with a self-hating teenage boy, she with a smooth-talking wannabe homeboy — in this psychologically complex, beautifully acted drama. Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature Winner: Beasts of the Southern Wild , directed by Benh Zeitlin Producers: Michael Gottwald, Dan Janvey, Josh Penn Cast: Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry Film Description: This stunningly imaginative, boldly original film follows six-year-old Hushpuppy as she fights to protect her father and their unique way of life in a remote, dreamlike area of the Delta threatened by apocalyptic floods. Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature Winner: Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin and The Farm Midwives , directed by Sara Lamm and Mary Wigmore Producers: Sara Lamm, Mary Wigmore, Kate Roughan, Zachary Mortensen Featuring: Ina May Gaskin, Stephen Gaskin, Pamela Hunt, Farm Midwives past and present, Kristina Kennedy Davis Film Description: Ina May Gaskin and the courageous midwives of the Farm commune inspired the modern midwifery movement. This beguiling documentary tells their empowering story with depth, intelligence and wit. Audience Award for Best International Feature Winner: Searching for Sugar Man directed by Malik Bendjelloul Producers: Simon Chinn, Malik Bendjelloul Featuring: Rodriguez Film Description: Years after facing into obscurity at home, the music of ‘70s U.S. singer/songwriter Rodriguez became an underground sensation in South Africa. Decades after his disappearance, two fans uncover the startling truth behind the legend. Best Narrative Short Film Winner: The Chair directed by Grainger David Producers: Spencer Kiernan, Caroline Oliveira Cast: Khari Lucas, King Hoey, Martha F. Brown Description: A young boy questions the origins of a mysterious mold outbreak that threatens to destroy his town. Best Documentary Short Film Winner: Kudzu Vine directed & produced by Josh Gibson Description: This ode to the kudzu vine poetically highlights its ties to the history and the people of the South. Best Animated/Experimental Short Film Winner: The Pub directed by Joseph Pierce Producer: Mark Grimmer Description: (England) Life isn’t easy behind the counter of a North London pub. Audience Award for Best Short Film Winner: Asad directed by Bryan Buckley Producers: Bryan Buckley, Mino Jarjoura, Rafiq Samsodien, Matt Lefebvre, Kevin Byrne, Hank Perlman Cast: Harun Mohammed, Ibrahim Moalim Hussein, Ali Mohammed, Abdiwale Mohmed Mohamed, Mariya Abdulle, Najah Abdi Abdullahi, Mustafa Olad Dirie, Mohamed Abdullahi Abdikher, Abdi, Sidow Farah, Sahied Nuur Mahamed, Ahmed Dhadane Jimale, Hussein Abdi Mohamed, Isa, Mohamed Abdul, Ikram Hassan, Yasmin Abdi Mohamed, Maymum Abdi Mohamed, Sadia Hassan, Meade Nichol Description: A young boy in a war-torn Somalian village faces a moral dilemma. Audience Award for Best Music Video Winner: Piranhas Club directed by Lex Halaby Music: Man Man
All is Well won the Narrative Award at the Los Angeles Film Festival over the weekend. Directed by Pocas Pascoal the North American premiere follows to Angolan sisters feeling civil war and struggle to survive in Lisbon. Honorable mention in the category went to Thursday Till Sunday by Dominga Sotomayor. Best Documentary went to Drought by Everardo Gonzalez. The film is a poetic portrait of a cattle-ranching community in northeastern Mexico. In the Audience Award category, Best Narrative Feature went to Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild The film won Cannes and Sundance earlier this year. And Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin and the Farm Midwives by sara Lamm and mary Wigmore won the Audience Award for Best Documentary. Award Winners with information provided by LAFF: Narrative Award (for Best Narrative Feature) Winner: All is Well directed by Pocas Pascoal Producer: Luis Correia Cast: Ciomara Morais, Cheila Lima, William Brandao, Vera Cruz Film Description: (Portugal) Strangers in a strange land, two beautiful Angolan sisters fleeing a civil war in their homeland struggle to survive in Lisbon. Pocas Pascoal’s deeply personal saga shows us the face of exile with quietly stunning power. Honorable Mention (for Best Narrative Feature) Film Title: Thursday till Sunday directed by Dominga Sotomayor Producers: Gregorio González, Benjamin Domenech Cast: Santi Ahumada, Emiliano Freifeld, Francisco Pérez-Bannen, Paola Giannini Film Description: (Chile) With uncommon beauty and style, this Chilean road movie finds a family at a crossroads, as the daughter slowly realizes the divide between the adults in the front seat and the kids in back. Documentary Award (for Best Documentary Feature) Winner: Drought directed by Everardo González Producer: Martha Orozco Film Description: (Mexico) Contrasting the lives of a cattle-ranching community with the arid northeastern Mexican landscape that surrounds them, this cinéma vérité documentary paints a poetic portrait of a community on the verge of distinction. Best Performance in the Narrative Competition Winner: Wendell Pierce, Emory Cohen, E.J. Bonilla and Aja Naomi King in Joshua Sanchez’s Four . Film Description: Over the course of a steamy 4th of July night, a father and daughter, each trapped in loneliness, reach out for sexual connection — he with a self-hating teenage boy, she with a smooth-talking wannabe homeboy — in this psychologically complex, beautifully acted drama. Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature Winner: Beasts of the Southern Wild , directed by Benh Zeitlin Producers: Michael Gottwald, Dan Janvey, Josh Penn Cast: Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry Film Description: This stunningly imaginative, boldly original film follows six-year-old Hushpuppy as she fights to protect her father and their unique way of life in a remote, dreamlike area of the Delta threatened by apocalyptic floods. Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature Winner: Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin and The Farm Midwives , directed by Sara Lamm and Mary Wigmore Producers: Sara Lamm, Mary Wigmore, Kate Roughan, Zachary Mortensen Featuring: Ina May Gaskin, Stephen Gaskin, Pamela Hunt, Farm Midwives past and present, Kristina Kennedy Davis Film Description: Ina May Gaskin and the courageous midwives of the Farm commune inspired the modern midwifery movement. This beguiling documentary tells their empowering story with depth, intelligence and wit. Audience Award for Best International Feature Winner: Searching for Sugar Man directed by Malik Bendjelloul Producers: Simon Chinn, Malik Bendjelloul Featuring: Rodriguez Film Description: Years after facing into obscurity at home, the music of ‘70s U.S. singer/songwriter Rodriguez became an underground sensation in South Africa. Decades after his disappearance, two fans uncover the startling truth behind the legend. Best Narrative Short Film Winner: The Chair directed by Grainger David Producers: Spencer Kiernan, Caroline Oliveira Cast: Khari Lucas, King Hoey, Martha F. Brown Description: A young boy questions the origins of a mysterious mold outbreak that threatens to destroy his town. Best Documentary Short Film Winner: Kudzu Vine directed & produced by Josh Gibson Description: This ode to the kudzu vine poetically highlights its ties to the history and the people of the South. Best Animated/Experimental Short Film Winner: The Pub directed by Joseph Pierce Producer: Mark Grimmer Description: (England) Life isn’t easy behind the counter of a North London pub. Audience Award for Best Short Film Winner: Asad directed by Bryan Buckley Producers: Bryan Buckley, Mino Jarjoura, Rafiq Samsodien, Matt Lefebvre, Kevin Byrne, Hank Perlman Cast: Harun Mohammed, Ibrahim Moalim Hussein, Ali Mohammed, Abdiwale Mohmed Mohamed, Mariya Abdulle, Najah Abdi Abdullahi, Mustafa Olad Dirie, Mohamed Abdullahi Abdikher, Abdi, Sidow Farah, Sahied Nuur Mahamed, Ahmed Dhadane Jimale, Hussein Abdi Mohamed, Isa, Mohamed Abdul, Ikram Hassan, Yasmin Abdi Mohamed, Maymum Abdi Mohamed, Sadia Hassan, Meade Nichol Description: A young boy in a war-torn Somalian village faces a moral dilemma. Audience Award for Best Music Video Winner: Piranhas Club directed by Lex Halaby Music: Man Man
All is Well won the Narrative Award at the Los Angeles Film Festival over the weekend. Directed by Pocas Pascoal the North American premiere follows to Angolan sisters feeling civil war and struggle to survive in Lisbon. Honorable mention in the category went to Thursday Till Sunday by Dominga Sotomayor. Best Documentary went to Drought by Everardo Gonzalez. The film is a poetic portrait of a cattle-ranching community in northeastern Mexico. In the Audience Award category, Best Narrative Feature went to Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild The film won Cannes and Sundance earlier this year. And Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin and the Farm Midwives by sara Lamm and mary Wigmore won the Audience Award for Best Documentary. Award Winners with information provided by LAFF: Narrative Award (for Best Narrative Feature) Winner: All is Well directed by Pocas Pascoal Producer: Luis Correia Cast: Ciomara Morais, Cheila Lima, William Brandao, Vera Cruz Film Description: (Portugal) Strangers in a strange land, two beautiful Angolan sisters fleeing a civil war in their homeland struggle to survive in Lisbon. Pocas Pascoal’s deeply personal saga shows us the face of exile with quietly stunning power. Honorable Mention (for Best Narrative Feature) Film Title: Thursday till Sunday directed by Dominga Sotomayor Producers: Gregorio González, Benjamin Domenech Cast: Santi Ahumada, Emiliano Freifeld, Francisco Pérez-Bannen, Paola Giannini Film Description: (Chile) With uncommon beauty and style, this Chilean road movie finds a family at a crossroads, as the daughter slowly realizes the divide between the adults in the front seat and the kids in back. Documentary Award (for Best Documentary Feature) Winner: Drought directed by Everardo González Producer: Martha Orozco Film Description: (Mexico) Contrasting the lives of a cattle-ranching community with the arid northeastern Mexican landscape that surrounds them, this cinéma vérité documentary paints a poetic portrait of a community on the verge of distinction. Best Performance in the Narrative Competition Winner: Wendell Pierce, Emory Cohen, E.J. Bonilla and Aja Naomi King in Joshua Sanchez’s Four . Film Description: Over the course of a steamy 4th of July night, a father and daughter, each trapped in loneliness, reach out for sexual connection — he with a self-hating teenage boy, she with a smooth-talking wannabe homeboy — in this psychologically complex, beautifully acted drama. Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature Winner: Beasts of the Southern Wild , directed by Benh Zeitlin Producers: Michael Gottwald, Dan Janvey, Josh Penn Cast: Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry Film Description: This stunningly imaginative, boldly original film follows six-year-old Hushpuppy as she fights to protect her father and their unique way of life in a remote, dreamlike area of the Delta threatened by apocalyptic floods. Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature Winner: Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin and The Farm Midwives , directed by Sara Lamm and Mary Wigmore Producers: Sara Lamm, Mary Wigmore, Kate Roughan, Zachary Mortensen Featuring: Ina May Gaskin, Stephen Gaskin, Pamela Hunt, Farm Midwives past and present, Kristina Kennedy Davis Film Description: Ina May Gaskin and the courageous midwives of the Farm commune inspired the modern midwifery movement. This beguiling documentary tells their empowering story with depth, intelligence and wit. Audience Award for Best International Feature Winner: Searching for Sugar Man directed by Malik Bendjelloul Producers: Simon Chinn, Malik Bendjelloul Featuring: Rodriguez Film Description: Years after facing into obscurity at home, the music of ‘70s U.S. singer/songwriter Rodriguez became an underground sensation in South Africa. Decades after his disappearance, two fans uncover the startling truth behind the legend. Best Narrative Short Film Winner: The Chair directed by Grainger David Producers: Spencer Kiernan, Caroline Oliveira Cast: Khari Lucas, King Hoey, Martha F. Brown Description: A young boy questions the origins of a mysterious mold outbreak that threatens to destroy his town. Best Documentary Short Film Winner: Kudzu Vine directed & produced by Josh Gibson Description: This ode to the kudzu vine poetically highlights its ties to the history and the people of the South. Best Animated/Experimental Short Film Winner: The Pub directed by Joseph Pierce Producer: Mark Grimmer Description: (England) Life isn’t easy behind the counter of a North London pub. Audience Award for Best Short Film Winner: Asad directed by Bryan Buckley Producers: Bryan Buckley, Mino Jarjoura, Rafiq Samsodien, Matt Lefebvre, Kevin Byrne, Hank Perlman Cast: Harun Mohammed, Ibrahim Moalim Hussein, Ali Mohammed, Abdiwale Mohmed Mohamed, Mariya Abdulle, Najah Abdi Abdullahi, Mustafa Olad Dirie, Mohamed Abdullahi Abdikher, Abdi, Sidow Farah, Sahied Nuur Mahamed, Ahmed Dhadane Jimale, Hussein Abdi Mohamed, Isa, Mohamed Abdul, Ikram Hassan, Yasmin Abdi Mohamed, Maymum Abdi Mohamed, Sadia Hassan, Meade Nichol Description: A young boy in a war-torn Somalian village faces a moral dilemma. Audience Award for Best Music Video Winner: Piranhas Club directed by Lex Halaby Music: Man Man
Penélope Cruz, Woody Allen and Geta Gerwig at the NYC premiere of To Rome with Love this week hosted by the Cinema Society. Photo by Nick Hunt/Patrick McMullan Co. This weekend’s new theatrical offerings include a massive array for any taste. In the studio realm, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter marks the 16th Prez as a savior from Vampires, Pixar’s Brave centers on a Princess who must save her kingdom. Focus’ Seeking a Friend for the End of the World pits a mismatched man and woman on an unlikely road trip, while doc The Invisible War is a fascinating but sad exposé on the sad truth about sexual assault in the U.S. military. Fellow doc Kumaré , meanwhile follows a man posing as an Eastern guru who builds his own following in Arizona. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Director: Timur Bekmambetov Writers: Seth Grahame-Smith Cast: Benjamin Walker, Rufus Sewell, Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie Distributor: Fox Just the title itself makes it a worthy consideration. In this fantasy/horror pic, America’s 16th President adds another credit to his stellar historical legacy. Vampires are planning to take over the United States and of course he is the man who takes it upon himself to eliminate them… Brave (Animation) Directors: Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, Steve Purcell Writers: Mark Andrews, Steve Purcell, Brenda Chapman, Irene Mecchi Cast: Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson Distributor: Buena Vista Paramount/Dreamworks Animation has been bringing in lots of cash with their big summer animated feature Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted and it looks like Disney/Pixar will be reaping some box office gold themselves with Brave . So, for the plot… Princess Merida is a determined gal, who wants to follow her own destiny. She breaks with tradition and unfortunately it brings chaos to her kingdom. But, she is granted one wish and Merida must rely on her bravery and even her archery prowess to end the curse. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World Director: Lorene Scafaria Writer: Lorene Scafaria Cast: Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, Melanie Lynskey, Adam Brody Distributor: Focus Features The directorial debut of screenwriter Lorene Scafaria, this pic explores what people will do when faced with the end of the world. In the feature, an asteroid is speeding toward Earth and one attempt to avoid calamity has failed. Dodge (Steve Carell), a man who plays by the rules, is facing a failed marriage. His wife leaves him on the spot. Meanwhile, his neighbor Penny (Keira Knightley) is an extroverted woman who does not play by the rules. Dodge decides to seek out a long lost love, while Penny makes her way back to her family and the two unlikely travel companions set out on the road together. The Invisible War (Documentary) Director: Kirby Dick Subjects: Helen Benedict, Anu Bhagwati, Susan Burke Distributor: Cinedigm Digital Cinema, Docurama This could very well get an Oscar nomination, so check it out before the hype begins. Kirby Dick and producing partner Amy Ziering delve into the mostly unknown scourge of rape and sexual assault that runs rampant in the U.S. military. Don’t let the subject matter scare you off. Sure it’s tough, but this is a great movie and – what the hell – why not educate yourself? Said Kirby Dick about making the film : “Each one of these interviews were equally stunning. Amy did each interview and she did a phenomenal job and she’d be emotionally drained and devastated and be incredibly angry afterward. It was a good combination.” Kumaré (Documentary) Director: Vikram Gandhi Subjects: Vikram Gandhi, Purva Bedi, Kristen Calgaro Distributor: Kino Lorber Films Ever wondered how gurus and other spirituals manage to find their, well… following? If so, then so has filmmaker Vikram Gandhi and his crew. Gandhi, who grew up in New Jersey and is skeptical of religion decides to don a beard, long hair and some made-up Eastern Mysticism jargon and heads West to Arizona where sure enough, he finds his followers. His message is quite benign, “the answers are within yourself,” he tells his sheep. “It’s a place where nobody really knew us and a place that represented America, but at the same time open to new ideas,” producer Brendan Colthurst shared about Arizona. Most of the country may have to wait a bit though, the film is only in New York this weekend. To Rome with Love Director: Woody Allen Writer: Woody Allen Cast: Woody Allen, Penélope Cruz, Jesse Eisenberg, Alec Baldwin, Ellen Page, Roberto Benigni, Judy Davis Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics Last year Woody Allen made the City of Lights a character in one of his most successful films to date, Midnight in Paris and this year, the New York director made the Eternal City a star in To Rome with Love . The film, a story about a number of people in the Italian capital, follows Americans and Italians in various romances and adventures throughout Rome. The film already opened overseas and opened the Los Angeles Film Festival last week. It had its own glittering premiere in New York earlier this week, courtesy of the Cinema Society and sponsor Piaget at Casa Lever. Fittingly, Italian beverage Disaronno was being served. Along with cast members, the celeb quotient was through the roof.
Among the many familiar faces in Disney-Pixar’s Brave – or familiar voices , rather – is actor Kevin McKidd , who joins fellow Scots Kelly MacDonald, Billy Connolly, Craig Ferguson, and Robbie Coltrane in bringing the tale of a 10th century princess to life in colorful detail. Earlier this week, Movieline spoke with the transplanted McKidd about his beloved home country, his Brave brogue, and the breakthrough moments in a career spanning his early turn in Trainspotting to his current gig on Grey’s Anatomy . Tapped for Brave , McKidd (who also lends his voice to the popular Call of Duty: Modern Warfare video games) contributed not one, but two voices to the animated adventure: He voices the honor-bound Lord MacGuffin, one of three battle-happy noblemen in King Fergus’s domain, and the lord’s awkward son Young MacGuffin, a bashful would-be suitor prodded to vie for the hand of the headstrong Princess Merida (MacDonald). For the role of Young MacGuffin, the Elgin, Scotland native offered his own solution to a stumped Pixar’s filmmaking crew searching to find the right unintelligible accent for the character. McKidd shared that and more with Movieline, discussing the post- Trainspotting “lean years,” the TV roles on Journeyman , Grey’s Anatomy , and HBO’s Rome that established him Stateside, his brush with Disney’s John Carter , and how the one-time engineering student forged his own path, a la Brave , to embark on his acting career: “There’s no point living unless you’re actually following the path you feel you should be on, you know?” I’ve never been to Scotland. You have obviously been, a few times. How could you not go to Scotland? It’s beautiful. You should go! Go now! Go today! Okay, I’ll just go right after this! But tell me, from your perspective having grown up there, how well do you feel Brave captures the feel and the spirit and the culture of the place you’re from? I think it really captures it – it’s almost like they took the best parts of Scotland and stuck them in a film and put them in Photoshop, kind of improved on Scotland. I didn’t think anyone could improve on Scotland but I think Pixar did. What are the best parts of Scotland? The glens, and the beautiful lochs… the amazing islands. I love the islands on the west coast of Scotland, they’re stunning places to visit. You take ferries from different ports to different places – the beautiful, white, sandy, clear beaches with no pollution. It’s a stunning place, but also the people are hilarious. I really miss the people. They’re your own people – or, for me, they’re my own people. And I do miss that. There also must be such a sense of the mythic history, so rich in this place. Growing up in Scotland, surrounded by these beautiful landscapes – did you feel that sense? Yeah! There were castles near where I was from, and I’d cycle my bike out there and we’d have picnics. There’s Duffus Castle, near Elgin, so there’s definitely that kind of epic historical nature to the landscape that’s there, that’s never far away. It’s just part of your life as you grow up. And we’d have standing stones just stood around in fields, with cows walking around them, that are ancient – truly ancient! How did you come to Brave ? It’s great that so much of the voice cast is actually Scottish. They just called me – they said, “We want you to be in this film!’ I said, “Who are you?” [Laughs] “Pixar!” “Pixar? I’ll do it!” And then they said it was about Scotland and I was like, brilliant! So it was a double-whammy for me, because just to be asked to be involved with Pixar is a big badge of honor. Then for the film to be about a place that I really love, was brilliant. So I didn’t even think about it for a second. At this point it’s interesting to hear the projects that different folks recognize you from – you’ve done notable television and film work, but many people also recognize your voice from your video game work. Oh yeah, from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare ! It’s huge, that game. It’s absolutely massive. And I didn’t realize how big video games are until I did them. Did the Brave call come before or after your gaming voice work? It was during, actually. I’ve been doing the Brave movie for four years, and I did Modern Warfare 2 and 3 over the course of two years. So it was all around the same time. Which of your works do you think inspired the Pixar folks to call you up for Brave ? I don’t know! They just said, “We think you’re a really good actor and we’ve been a fan of your stuff.” I think a lot of people at Pixar were very into Rome , on HBO. It was a great show. So I think that was the thing that made them go, “We’re interested…” I know that Andrew Stanton was very interested in me for John Carter , which I couldn’t do because of Grey’s Anatomy , so I think my name was around there. Which role was it, in John Carter ? I can’t remember! Did you go as far as to actually converse with Stanton about the film? We got close to meeting, and then the studio just said, “No, we can’t release him from Grey’s , so don’t even bother.” It was a shame. It’s been interesting to follow your career all these years – the first time I saw you was in Trainspotting . Yes. That was a long time ago… At what point do you feel like you really broke through? I think there were a couple of points, really. I think it was Rome that was the thing, because I had quite a lot of lean years after Trainspotting . I did a lot of cool work but very low budget and very indie stuff. I think it was Rome that was that game changer for me. That was also just about the time that cable television was emerging as this fantastic medium for storytelling, and look at it now. Yes – this force! I’m still so proud to have been a part of that show, and I miss that show. I’m so happy to be on Grey’s , but there was something about Rome – it was this real boy’s own show, it was about all these male relationships and these strong female characters, and it was really just an amazing show to shoot. Grey’s Anatomy in itself is quite a touchstone – isn’t landing that show a sign that you’ve made it? It’s kind of cool – I’m still pinching myself that I’m on that show. I was also fond of Journeyman … I loved that show, and I miss that show. I saw Kevin Falls, the creator, yesterday – he was playing golf with his son and I was behind him. We were reminiscing, it was great! We’re still good friends. That was a brilliantly written show, Journeyman – it just didn’t get the traction it needed. It’s hard these days in the business world, in the TV world. A TV show has to be a massive hit straight away, so it was unfortunate that it didn’t last. We sat through the writer’s strike and then we thought, “Shit, we’re going to have to just leave, and go back to the U.K.” – and then Shonda Rhimes called me. She said, “We want you for this show.” You and your family were ready to go back? Yeah, we were going to go, and Shonda said, “I want you to play this guy, Owen Hunt.” I knew Grey’s was a hit, but I didn’t know much about it. But it’s been a blast ever since, and I feel very, very fortunate, to be honest. Because I’m just this guy from a village in the highlands of Scotland, you know? Well, going back to your roots – you play not one, but two characters in Brave . The resemblance is stunning, by the way. [Laughs] Oh, thank you! I like the hairdos. You play Lord MacGuffin and his son, two very different characters in the periphery of Merida’s kingdom. It’s interesting to see how the vocal performances come through, because some of the dialogue is so minimal. But the younger MacGuffin has a very particular accent… He does! It’s kind of a great joke, to give him an accent so thick nobody can understand him – even other Scottish characters in the film. It works pretty well. They wanted the young MacGuffin to be completely not understandable, and they were asking my advice on how they should do it. I said, “The one thing I can suggest is, there’s a dialect from the home area that I’m from which is called the Doric, and it’s a very thick, almost Norwegian dialect that most people, even in Scotland, can’t understand.” Can you understand it? I can understand it because I grew up with it, my grandfather spoke it. But a lot of people familiar with that area can’t understand it. So I did some for them and showed them a few YouTube clips and they were like, “Oh my god, that’s amazing! That isn’t made up?” I said, “No, it’s real!” So I feel pretty stoked that I managed to get this crazy dialect from my home area into a massive Disney film. I love that – not to mention the fact that the character is so cute. He’s very cute. Well, he’s this shy boy, very big-boned – he’s shy like I was. I kind of channeled myself as a ten-year-old boy, because I was a painfully shy child. When did that change for you? Probably about age 14, because then I started acting and that was the thing that drew me out of myself. The themes that resonate strongly in Brave , aside from the fact that this is the rare female heroine who doesn’t need a love interest and gets to fight her own battles, involve the relationship between parent and child, and the idea of teenagers forging their own path in life. Do you feel that you relate to that sentiment yourself? I relate – I shouldn’t have been an actor. I should have been like a plumber, or something practical. I went to university to study engineering. What changed? I just knew that I wasn’t going to be happy. I could feel it in my gut, I could just feel it. So I made a change. I didn’t tell anybody, but I applied to drama school in addition, and got in, and then told my family that I was going in another direction. People were really cool about it, surprisingly! I think that can be a challenge – I was expecting them to be really not happy. But I think you have to do that sometimes, you have to just follow your gut. There’s no point living unless you’re actually following the path you feel you should be on, you know? Brave is in theaters today. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Emma is the newest busty UK beauty and is topless here in these photo shoot pictures of her. She really is a very pretty model indeed. Continue reading →
Pixar’s first female-driven adventure leaves many satisfied, but doesn’t quite meet the studio’s storied standards, according to the critics. By Josh Wigler Merida in “Brave” Photo: Between “The Hunger Games” and “Marvel’s The Avengers,” 2012 is rapidly becoming the year of the archer — and another bow-wielder joins the fray this weekend in “Brave,” Pixar’s latest effort and first feature film led by a female protagonist. “Boardwalk Empire” actress Kelly Macdonald supplies the voice of Merida, a princess who does everything possible to resist her fate in a male-driven medieval society. She does not want to be married off to some noble she doesn’t care about; she wants to pursue her own path, living freely with her treasured bow and arrow at her side. But circumstances eventually change for Merida, leading her down a path that even she couldn’t have envisioned for herself. By many accounts, “Brave” continues Pixar’s trend of highly regarded flicks that please both adults and children alike — but not by all accounts. Some critics believe “Brave” doesn’t quite meet Pixar’s storied standards, resulting in a film that falls short of its potential. Keep reading for a selection of reviews for “Brave,” opening in theaters nationwide Friday (June 22). The Story “A strong-willed lass, Merida exasperates her mother, Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson), with her pronounced lack of interest in daintiness, needlework, gentleman callers, and all other forms of stereotypical feminine activity. She charms her burly, good, but somewhat galumphy father, King Fergus (Billy Connolly, who else?), for the same reason. (She’s also a role model for her tiny triplet brothers, spunky mischief-makers with their own heads of matching ginger squiggles.) Merida’s passion is for the archery at which she excels — she loves loves loves the thrill of it. Still, as Mama continues to push her daughter toward betrothal to a suitable lord for the good of the kingdom, Merida pushes back, hard, until in her rebellion she finds a witch (Julie Walters) who can cast a spell to change her woeful female fate.” — Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly Power of the Princess “In addition to being fast, funny, and unpretentious, ‘Brave’ is a happy antidote to all the recent films in which women triumph by besting men at their own macho games, as if the history of male dominance is one of patriarchs suppressing females’ essential warlike nature. Merida wants nothing more than to control her own fate, her rage provoked by the refusal of her mother— — for whom duty and subservience are paramount — to see the world through her eyes. Why surrender her will to silly, drunken, endlessly combative men when there’s so much to see and do? Her boo-boo at least has the effect of giving her and her mother a common cause, which is certainly a more direct route to mutual understanding than tens of thousands of dollars of therapy.” — David Edelstein, New York The “Brave” Look “Many aspects of ‘Brave’ remind us, at a glance, why Pixar rules the American animation game. Production designer Steve Pilcher’s landscapes are nearly photo-realistic, but with a welcome touch of poetry; likewise, the director of photography for lighting, Danielle Feinberg, pours on the golden sunlight (and when it hits that red hair of Merida’s — wow!) but pays close attention to the shadows and the rough-hewn menace of Merida’s quest.” — Michael Phillips, The Chicago Tribune An All-Too-Familiar Tale “The good news is that the kids will probably love it, and the bad news is that parents will be disappointed if they’re hoping for another Pixar groundbreaker. Unlike such brightly original films as ‘Toy Story,’ ‘Finding Nemo,’ ‘WALL-E’ and ‘Up,’ this one finds Pixar poaching on traditional territory of Disney, its corporate partner. We get a spunky princess; her mum, the queen; her dad, the gruff king; an old witch who lives in the woods, and so on.” — Roger Ebert, The Chicago Sun-Times The Final Word ” ‘Brave’ is gorgeous to look at — as usual, the 3D accentuates without being overbearing, and there are moments that offer some of the most photorealistic tableaux I’ve ever seen in an animated film — and features a strong script that avoids the third-act pitfalls that have plagued previous Pixar projects. Whether you’re a fan of great animation, or just jonesing for another arrow-slinging heroine until the next ‘Hunger Games’ sequel comes out, brave the crowds for this one.” — Alonso Duradle, The Wrap Will you be seeing “Brave” this weekend? Tell us your plans in the comments below! Check out everything we’ve got on “Brave.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com .
It’s hard to know exactly how to review something like The Invisible War , how to step back and look at it as a movie through the steady barrage of emotional devastation it presents. The stranger sitting next to me at my screening spent the latter half of the runtime sobbing into a fistful of tissues, and I couldn’t blame her — the film, the latest documentary from the Oscar-nominated Kirby Dick ( Outrage, This Film Is Not Yet Rated ) presents a sickening chorus of accounts not just of rape but of institutional betrayal, of a system that’s utterly failed to protect or serve those who’ve joined it. The Invisible War is brutal in the cases of sexual assaults in the U.S. military it runs down, but it’s even harder to take when it then explores the lack of follow-up, the victim blaming and self-serving protection of those in charge and the status quo. Again and again, the interviewees in the film — who are mostly but not entirely women — tell stories of enlisting out of idealism, patriotism or family tradition, thinking they’ve found a place for themselves, only to realize that for some of their colleagues, they’ll only ever be a target, and for others, they’re going to be held responsible for their own safety and taken to task otherwise. The film offers a variety of stories from military rape victims from different branches of the armed forces, including the Coast Guard and the Marines. Disturbing patterns quickly emerge. A woman ends up on assignment somewhere where she’s usually outnumbered. She gets harassed; she gets raped. She reports what happened to her superior officer, who either warns her off, or is a friend of the attacker, or would just rather the problem go away. And usually, at least for the perpetrator, it does — an appallingly low number of cases actually get brought to any kind of justice. Dick skillfully weaves together interviews with presentations of some damning numbers — like the fact that 20% of active-duty female soldiers get sexually assaulted, and the military itself acknowledges that a lot of cases are underreported because accusations of rape are so discouraged and can also permanently damage careers. To listen to someone talk about how she ended up getting charged with adultery and conduct unbecoming an officer after being assaulted by a married colleague is to feel that these structures aren’t just fundamentally flawed, they actually encourage this kind of horrific behavior because there are no consequences. The Invisible War follows a few of its interviewees in their current, non-military lives. One, Kori Cioca, is a young mother trying to get the VA to help her with the surgery she needs for her facial injury — she had her jaw broken by someone with whom she was serving in the Coast Guard, a man who raped her. Struggling with PTSD and in constant pain, she’s able to eat only soft food and is told she hasn’t served long enough to be covered because she left after the assault. Navy Seaman Trina McDonald was drugged and raped repeatedly while on a remote assignment in Alaska — the men attacking her were the military police to whom she’d need to report an assault. Now married to a woman and living in Seattle, she still struggles with trauma that, for a while, left her addicted and homeless. There are others — Marine Ariana Klay was told she must have wanted the harassment she received because she wore her military-standard uniform skirt. Elle Helmer, another Marine, and Navy Seaman Hannah Sewell had their rape kits “lost.” The film delves into what’s been done to change the present military culture and comes up with some laughable in-house poster and video campaigns that feature a woman soldier being angrily quizzed about why she’s out by herself and another that urges guys to “ask her when she’s sober,” suggesting that the problem in the military’s eyes is drunk girls with morning-after regrets rather than the kinds of attacks described by the interviewees on screen. The Invisible War also suggests, though doesn’t pursue the way perhaps it should have, that the military has a higher percentage of sexual predators than the outside world — because they’re drawn to the macho imagery with which enlistment is sold. The film certainly offers a solid case for military service being a great environment for someone with those inclinations, because there’s little recourse for a victim to report what happened outside of going to his or her commanding officer (one spokesperson earnestly suggests one could also write to one’s congressperson as a secondary option), and that goes against military sentiment of solidarity and strength through suffering. But solidarity’s worth nothing if you’re not actually a part of the whole, and both the accounts on display here and the way so many of the interviewees conclude that, initial positive experiences aside, they couldn’t recommend that anyone serve, show just how warped the system is and how many scars it’s left. The Invisible War might be best judged as a piece of activism, in which case it’s already succeeding — after seeing the film in April, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta took the responsibility for sexual assault investigations away from commanding officers and put them in the hands of higher-ranking officials. It’s a step in the right direction, but this doc makes it clear there are many more serious changes to be made. Follow Alison Willmore on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
