‘I didn’t have any issue [doing] this fight scene with a woman, because I was the underdog,’ Ewan McGregor tells MTV News. By Kara Warner Gina Carano in “Haywire” Photo: Claudette Barius / Five Continents Imports If you like your movies with a lot of action, kick-ass fight sequences and actors who do their own stunts, look no further than this week’s new thriller “Haywire” to satisfy those needs. The concept for the film was born after director Steven Soderbergh saw footage of MMA fighter Gina Carano in the cage, which inspired the Oscar winner to build a film around her. “Haywire” revolves around a black-ops supersoldier (Carano) who seeks the ultimate revenge after she is betrayed by her colleagues, played by the very capable Ewan McGregor, Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, Antonio Banderas and Michael Douglas. MTV News recently caught up with Carano, Tatum and McGregor to discuss the very realistic fight sequences and how the guys were more than game for getting their butts kicked by a woman. “The physicality, that was fun to me. I didn’t have to hurt anybody,” Carano said of the difference between the film’s choreographed fights versus her MMA matches. “I didn’t have to worry about getting choked out, and there were no egos with any of the actors. They all wanted to do all their own stunts, and a lot of people around me were like, ‘Gina, that’s not normal. You’ve got some beautiful people to work with and a beautiful first experience.’ ” “To be totally honest, she’s better than every guy I’ve ever fought, really, other than one, and he was a strike force fighter as well,” Tatum admitted of his co-star, with whom he shares an intense bone-breaking exchange during the first five minutes of the film. “I can say this without any amount of trying to say it for the movie: I challenge anyone to come and fight her or even move with her. She’s by far the best athlete I’ve ever gotten a chance to move with. She’s so strong and in control, it’s just ridiculously unprecedented in my opinion.” McGregor added that he didn’t even think about the man-vs.-woman factor, only that it was the most appropriate scenario for his manipulative, weasel-like character. “There was a slight difference in our fight scene together. For me, I didn’t ever have any issue with the fact that I was having to do this fight scene with a woman, because I was the underdog,” he said. “There was no question that I was going to get killed if I didn’t manage to get away.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Haywire.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com .
‘I didn’t have any issue [doing] this fight scene with a woman, because I was the underdog,’ Ewan McGregor tells MTV News. By Kara Warner Gina Carano in “Haywire” Photo: Claudette Barius / Five Continents Imports If you like your movies with a lot of action, kick-ass fight sequences and actors who do their own stunts, look no further than this week’s new thriller “Haywire” to satisfy those needs. The concept for the film was born after director Steven Soderbergh saw footage of MMA fighter Gina Carano in the cage, which inspired the Oscar winner to build a film around her. “Haywire” revolves around a black-ops supersoldier (Carano) who seeks the ultimate revenge after she is betrayed by her colleagues, played by the very capable Ewan McGregor, Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, Antonio Banderas and Michael Douglas. MTV News recently caught up with Carano, Tatum and McGregor to discuss the very realistic fight sequences and how the guys were more than game for getting their butts kicked by a woman. “The physicality, that was fun to me. I didn’t have to hurt anybody,” Carano said of the difference between the film’s choreographed fights versus her MMA matches. “I didn’t have to worry about getting choked out, and there were no egos with any of the actors. They all wanted to do all their own stunts, and a lot of people around me were like, ‘Gina, that’s not normal. You’ve got some beautiful people to work with and a beautiful first experience.’ ” “To be totally honest, she’s better than every guy I’ve ever fought, really, other than one, and he was a strike force fighter as well,” Tatum admitted of his co-star, with whom he shares an intense bone-breaking exchange during the first five minutes of the film. “I can say this without any amount of trying to say it for the movie: I challenge anyone to come and fight her or even move with her. She’s by far the best athlete I’ve ever gotten a chance to move with. She’s so strong and in control, it’s just ridiculously unprecedented in my opinion.” McGregor added that he didn’t even think about the man-vs.-woman factor, only that it was the most appropriate scenario for his manipulative, weasel-like character. “There was a slight difference in our fight scene together. For me, I didn’t ever have any issue with the fact that I was having to do this fight scene with a woman, because I was the underdog,” he said. “There was no question that I was going to get killed if I didn’t manage to get away.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Haywire.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com .
Nominees for the 43rd Annual NAACP Image Awards were announced earlier this afternoon. As expected, The Help leads with nominations for Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer as well as white actresses Emma Stone and Bryce Dallas Howard. The movie is also up for Best Motion Picture and Best Director (Tate Taylor). Indie darling Pariah was also acknowledged with Best Actress noms for Adepero Oduye, Best Supporting Actress for Kim Wayans and Best Supporting Actor for Charles Parnell. Some questionable nominations include Tower Heist for Best Motion Picture as well as a Best Actor nod for Eddie Murphy, and Angelina for Best Director for her wartime drama In The Land of Blood and Honey. The awards ceremony will air February 17th 8 P.M. EST on NBC. Hit the flip for the noms and let us know who you think should win at the 2012 NAACP Image Awards…
If you’ve been keeping up with MTV’s hit reality show, “The Real World” then you’re familiar with the recent “Back To Las Vegas” season which was full of drama, hook-ups, back stabbing, lies and of course partying. The Las Vegas cast seemed to win over the hearts of America as they were the highest rated Real World cast to date. Now one of the cast members, Naomi, is getting ready for the premiere of the new Real World challenge, Battle of the Exs, which features a few of her cast mates including her on again off again boo/hook-up buddy, Leroy. If you watched the season, then you know just what it means when you put Naomi and Leroy in a room together for more than 5 minutes! I recently had the chance to chat with Naomi about her experience with MTV. Check out my exclusive interview with her as she dishes on her experience living with seven strangers, having cameras follow her every move, dealing with the whole STD drama with Leroy on camera and her experience on the upcoming Battle of the Exs challenge! HelloBeautiful: How has your life changed since u appeared on the MTV’s “Real World Las Vegas”? Naomi: It’s definitely changed. For one thing, I never stick to the same look. I get bored having the same look. I’ve colored my hair and now I have a very short hair cut. I renovate my look often and people still notice me and ask me questions about the show. I’ve met a lot of people in the business and in the MTV family. I’ve been able to party with people from “Jersey Shore”. Our show was even nominated for a “Teen Choice Award” against The Kardashians and “Jersey Shore” which is really big. Our Real World season brought it back on the map as we were the highest rated Real World ever. This is insane even though “Jersey Shore” won, it was just amazing to be nominated. I’ve gotten into cool projects, reality shows and photo shoots. I even want to enroll in acting classes in NYC so I have gained a lot. HB: Did u want to be an actress before the “Real World”? Naomi: Ever since I was 11 I wanted to be an actress. I was offered a scholarship to go acting school but my dad didn’t want to pay so I let the idea go until I became an adult But being on reality TV I figured this could be an opportunity to do other things. The only thing is that being on reality tv they don’t take you as serious so I would definitely have to take a lot of classes to get on my feet. HB: Why did u decide to go on the real world in the first place? Naomi: I was in college at the time I went to school upstate and my soror sent me an email about the casting. They said I’m crazy and have such a good personality that I’ll get picked right away so I figured I had nothing to lose. I didn’t expect anything out of it. I was pretty casual and I showed up late. I just wore jeans, curly hair all out. Other people had on fur coats and dresses and stuff I was the complete opposite. The way it works is that you have a group interview and the casting director asks you a question about yourself and then from there he’ll build on more questions. At the end of the interview, the casting director asks everyone who would they like to get to know more out of the entire group. Everybody liked me out of the group, wanted to get to know me and wanted to have me as a friend. Then, he chose me to fill out an 80-page application to move on to the next step and I kept moving on. There was 5 or 6 other steps in the process before I finally was chosen to move into the house. HB: How was your experience in the house? Do u have any regrets? Naomi: We were all so multi dimensional so I want to say that none of us did anything to misinterpret. The way we were on TV was the way we were in real life. The problem with other people is that they get on reality TV and they’re excited so they try to edit themselves. We were all ourselves; we were completely the same person that we are. I don’t think we were seen in anyway that we weren’t. I met 7 new people I never knew before. Its lead me to other opportunities so I don’t regret any of it. HB: How was it dealing with/hooking up with Leroy? Naomi: Our whole relationship was playful. We didn’t want to get in each other’s way when were having a good time. We’re both playful and immature and this situation with the STD made us want to be more mature. When it comes to dealing with feelings we both become introverted. So I had to grow up because it was my health I was dealing with. I was the one going through the situation. I had to own up to my mistake, which was having sex with him, unprotected, and then having to go to the doctor. You have cameras following you and it’s nothing you can do about it. It’s no such thing as privacy. You’re living in a bubble so it’s like you’re dealing with just your roommates but when the show airs you’re dealing with everybody’s reaction. People are so quick to judge people off a reality show when they know that that happens everyday but because it’s on TV people feel the need to judge u more. You live and you learn. I don’t regret it. It helped other people realize the importance of protecting yourself. HB: Do you ever get any type of privacy? Naomi: No, the only time they don’t follow you is when you’re taking a crap but you get used to it. You’ll have a personal relationship with the cameraman, it is what it is. They’re there you’re there but you’re not communicating. We got used to the fact that we were being watched by day number two. HB: How did you get hooked up with battle of exes? There’s always a challenge that follows a “Real World” and each challenge has a theme. This one is battle of the exs and you don’t know what’s going on until u get there. You don’t know who was picked. We were in the Dominican Republic and imagine getting the news you’re being hooked up with your ex. After the show we were trying to figure out if we were going to pursue each other on a more serious note. But unfortunately it didn’t work out. But the wounds were still fresh to me because I obviously cared about him a lot so it was something I was still dealing with. When I went to the Dominican Republic, I was still dealing with not being with him. How can I be paired up with him and live with him and I still have feelings? He’s the kind of guy that’s never settles down and he’s never had a real relationship so for me its kind of like I’m in it alone. Everything else will be shown on TV. It was a very different experience from real world. HB: Which do you like better? Real World or the Challenges? Naomi: I like the “Real World” better. I like to party and have a good time and I like to meet different people. You build better relationships on the “Real World”. The “Challenge” is so competitive and everyone is backstabbing and for themselves. I hate those situations. I don’t want to be the kind of person that has to be on their toes all the time because something is constantly changing. I did like the challenge though but I just like the “Real World” better. HB: How is you and Leroy’s relationship now? Naomi: Leroy and I are friends, nothing more and nothing less. If we see each other, I’m sure we would hook up. I think we see each other in a different light. HB: Any new projects? Naomi: Well, I have a photo shoot coming up. I’m on the cover of Ellements Magazine for the January issue (ellementsmag.com). I’m having my 24 th birthday at TAJ In NYC sponsored by Isreal at Alist Entertainment. Follow me @NaomiMTV Will you tune in to “Battle of the Ex’s”?
The great Fifth Generation filmmaker Zhang Yimou has gone from having films like Ju Dou and Raise the Red Lantern banned in his homeland of China to directing the lavish opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, his more recent work taking place in the safer territory of the grandiose historical melodrama of Curse of the Golden Flower and the Nicholas Sparks-worthy sentimentality of Under the Hawthorn Tree . Zhang has insisted that he’s not interested in politics, a tack that certainly seems to have its benefits: With an estimated budget of around $90 million, The Flowers of War is one of the most, if not the most, expensive Chinese production to date, it stars Christian Bale and it’s China’s Oscar submission. But that doesn’t mean that Zhang’s latest output should be dismissed offhand as nationalist propaganda. That the accusation’s been tossed at The Flowers of War , a big, button-pushing, brutally effective World War II-era drama, may be due to unfamiliarity with the atrocity during which it’s set — the Nanjing Massacre, during which hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed and tens of thousands raped by Japanese soldiers after the capturing of the city in December of 1937. It’s a horrific incident that remains relatively unexplored in popular culture, though Iris Chang’s bestselling book The Rape of Nanking , Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman’s 2007 documentary Nanking , and Lu Chuan’s excellent City of Life and Death , which played in a few U.S. theaters last year, have brought it recent attention. Given that the massacre remains a painful point in China-Japan relations, and that certain far-right Japanese ultranationalists (like Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara) like to claim the massacre never took place and was invented to tarnish the image of Japan, it’s surprising that the Japanese soldiers don’t come off even less one-dimensional in Zhang’s film. The Flowers of War starts off with less context than I’ve given above, offering up a title card about “an especially dark chapter in human history” before dropping right into a destroyed Nanjing through which a scattering of schoolgirls runs, looking for shelter. Also scurrying through the wreckage and the piles of bodies is John Miller (Bale), an American mortician hired to bury the head of the local Catholic cathedral. While the ragged remains of the Chinese forces, led by Major Li (Tong Dawei), exchange fire with the Japanese troops, John discovers to his dismay that only students remain at the church — a group of adolescent convent girls and George (Huang Tianyuan), the orphan boy trying to serve as their caretaker. Finding no money for his fee, John settles into the late Father Engleman’s quarters to get trashed on Communion wine when a group of prostitutes arrives at the gates, having been promised sanctuary by the church’s cook, long since fled. Bale’s presence in the film is a kind of misdirect, a calculated element intended to better its international commercial prospects — his character makes a clumsily predictable journey from cynical drunken expat to hero willing to sacrifice a chance to escape the country in order to care for the children who’ve ended up in his charge. It’s the relationship between the famous “women of the Qinhuai River” and the frightened, sheltered girls that’s the stealthy heart of the film, the prostitutes sauntering in like brightly plumed birds and taking over the basement despite the protests of the cathedral’s scandalized remaining inhabitants, settling in to gamble and gossip. Yu Mo (Zhang discovery Ni Ni), the “top girl,” sets out to seduce John, knowing that as a Westerner he’ll be spared by the invading troops and might be able to help them escape. Meanwhile, the girls’ experience is filtered through Shujuan (Zhang Xinyi), who refused to leave the city without her schoolmates, and whose father (Cao Kefan) is now working for the Japanese in order to stay nearby. Despite the church’s supposedly being protected, Japanese soldiers break down the door (“We’re got virgins!” one yells), and it’s only due to the intervention of Major Li, hiding nearby, that the girls are spared gang rape and that only two are left dead. The Flowers of War never errs on the side of the overly nuanced — a soaring chorus accompanies moments of grace, and beyond a setup based on the looming threat of sexual violence to 12-year-old girls, the film features multiple characters sacrificing themselves to protect the youngsters, from Major Li, who fends off a platoon singlehandedly in an over-the-top but masterfully shot action sequence, to John, in his trek toward redemption, to the prostitutes, who end up offering themselves in the place of the children. A particularly harsh digression in which two of the latter travel back to their brothel to retrieve precious items they left there seems included only to reinforce the terrible fate awaiting any women who fall into the hands of the Japanese soldiers. Colonel Hasegawa (Atsuro Watabe), is the lone Japanese officer who’s not portrayed as a complete savage, though he’s still bound to follow orders, no matter how distasteful. But while it’s as blunt as any typical big-budget war epic would be, the film finds plenty of moments in which Zhang’s skill as a filmmaker and his deft handling and interest in female characters shines, from the way Shujuan serves as a far-too-young witness to these horrors, the camera often closing in on her gaze through a fracture in the cathedral’s rose window, to a sequence in which John cuts the prostitutes’ hair as they sleep (he knows how to work on people only when they’re lying down), so that they rise fresh-faced, with schoolgirl bobs. The enchantment with which the film views the Qinhuai ladies goes beyond any simple hookers-with-hearts-of-gold conceit — an imagined moment in which they sing while strolling through the church finds in them a magic that circumvents the victimization of their circumstances, a vision of lost decadence amidst the devastation. Follow Alison Willmore on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth exclusively talk survival skills, accents and most challenging scenes. By Kara Warner, with additional reporting by MTV UK Liam Hemsworth, Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson in “The Hunger Games” Photo: Lionsgate As promised, we are back with more from our exclusive interviews with “Hunger Games” stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth — and all the questions were asked by you, the fans. Last week, Lawrence, Hutcherson and Hemsworth revealed a few of the pranks pulled on set, as well as a preview of what the arena will look like onscreen. This second installment features talk about which actor is most like his or her character, details about the reaping and talk of real-life survival skills. (Minor spoilers ahead for those who haven’t read Suzanne Collins’ brilliant books!) Be sure to check back here next week for part three of our interviews. @RealOrNotReal: Who among the cast is most like their “Hunger Games” character? Jennifer Lawrence : Josh. Josh is Peeta. He’s charming, he’s nice, he’s very real and down to earth, he’s not fake in any way. He just can charm anyone and anything. Josh Hutcherson : Oh, God, this is going to sound so stupid: Me, because I have literally never read a character, book or script or anything that has a character in it I connected with more than Peeta. I feel like so much of who I am is Peeta. It drove me crazy during the audition process, because I was like, “This is so me, it hurts. If I don’t get this, I’m not even good at being me, so now what am I? I have no idea what to do next.” @HGTribute_Manda: What was the most difficult scene to shoot? Liam Hemsworth : The reaping stuff that we shot was pretty hard. I remember turning up to set the first day and looking out at the few hundred extras there — it looked like a prison camp. It looked so rough and really did look how I think it would be, and it was hot. It was some of the hottest weather I’ve ever shot in. We had extras collapsing because it was so hot out there. That was probably the hardest stuff to shoot for sure. Lawrence : I don’t know if I have a most difficult scene. Really, the physical scenes, the running. Katniss doesn’t really stop running throughout the whole movie, so if I’m running up a mountain in a scene, that’s what we shot all day, so by the time we started acting and talking, it was like a vacation. @p1nklov3er: Is it hard to hide your accent? Hemsworth : It gets easier and easier. I work with accent coaches a lot and try to do my best to get the Australian out of there. Australians grow up with a lot of American TV; we watch the same movies you watch, so it’s not as alien for an Australian to do an American accent as it is for an American to do an Australian accent, because you guys don’t grow up hearing our accents. It’s in the back of your mind, but it’s practice, practice, practice. @eringabin: In a postapocalyptic world, what would your most valuable survival skill be? Hutcherson : I think I’d be pretty good at building a fort. I have a lot of experience with that when I was a kid. I built a lot of forts back in the day, so I think my expertise would be in the architecture and design of our shelter. @OttoRivera: Have you met Suzanne Collins? Hemsworth : I haven’t met her, but I’ve spoken to her on the phone a few times, and she’s really, really lovely. She’s obviously tremendously smart, and I love her books, so she’s been a big part of collaborating on the script. … I think everyone involved in the production wanted it to be true to the story, so she’s been involved a lot. @eringabin: Did you get any injuries during filming? Hutcherson : Not anything too crazy in the injury department. There were the classic bumps and bruises from running through the woods and forest, the big fight scene at the end with myself and Katniss and Cato on top of the Cornucopia, which itself lends itself to having more injuries than other times, but it was pretty good all in all, nothing too serious. All month long, the stars of “The Hunger Games” will be answering your Twitter questions, exclusively for MTV News. Check back every Thursday in January for more answers from Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth! Check out everything we’ve got on “The Hunger Games.” For young Hollywood news, fashion and “Twilight” updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com . Related Videos The ‘Hunger Games’ Cast Answer Your Burning Twitter Questions
Ashanti, Spike Lee, Irv Gotti and more of Hov’s high-profile friends toast the new dad at renovated NYC club. By Rob Markman Jay-Z at the 40/40 Club Reopening Photo: FilmMagic NEW YORK — Jay-Z has a lot to celebrate. A little over a week ago, he and wife Beyonc
On Friday January 20, 2012 George Luca’s passion project, Red Tails , will finally be in theaters. After years of lobbying in Hollywood to get a feature film made about the Tuskegee Airmen, the director and producer financed the project with his own money. Where The Red Tails Worked And Played Overseas Tapping director Anthony Hemingway (“The Wire”, “OZ”, “The Corner”) to execute his vision, an all-star cast of talent was assembled to tell the story of the fighting 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps that fought in WWII. Given that Lucas is known by most for his epic Star Wars franchise, which was inspired in many ways by the fighting in World War II, it only seemed right to ask the cast of Red Tails if their new movie qualified to be the Black Star Wars. RELATED POSTS: Terrence Howard And Cuba Gooding Jr. Show Man Love [PHOTOS] “Red Tails” Is Putting Black Filmmakers In Jeopardy The Cast of “Red Tails” Heat Up Cover of Ebony Magazine [PHOTOS]
If you’ve had enough of the 2011-12 awards season by now (and sweet Jesus in a pie-eating contest, who hasn’t?) can the NY Times interest you in next year’s race? That’s where filmmaker Baz Luhrmann has turned to continue his early stumping on behalf of The Great Gatsby , the Leonardo DiCaprio-starring megabudget adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Jazz Era masterpiece. Er, sorry — the megabudget 3-D adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Jazz Era masterpiece. Which, in 2012, is probably redundant, but hey. The NYT confirms Gatsby ‘s budget around $125 million — “before government rebates,” of course, which still likely delivers a film in the low nine figures (to say nothing of its marketing budget). We all can likely agree that that is an insane amount of money to spend on adapting a renowned story that you can probably read faster than you can watch, or on an updating preceded by at least two failed adaptations and featuring just one bankable star. Nevertheless, by factoring 3-D into the equation, Luhrmann has both insured his film against devastating, Australia -style box-office losses and — thanks in part to the NYT and particularly to his partners at Warner Bros. (whom I’ll get to in a moment) — spun an equally pragmatic path on the Hollywood high road. But while it’s never too soon to hype (I guess?), is Luhrmann really doing himself any favors by likening his Gatsby not to Avatar , not to Hugo , but rather to a 58-year-old Hitchcock effort that virtually no one’s actually seen in 3-D? To examine the potential of actors in 3-D without the gimmickry of contemporary action sequences, Mr. Luhrmann turned to Alfred Hitchcock’s 3-D version of Dial M for Murder , from 1954. It wasn’t easy. He found only two projectors, one in New York, one in Burbank, Calif., that could still play that film. The sensation of moving through it with Ray Milland, Grace Kelly and Robert Cummings sealed the deal — both for himself and for Mr. DiCaprio and the troupe, who also studied the Hitchcock film. “It was like theater,” Mr. Luhrmann said. Burbank, Calif.? Would that be the same Burbank where Warner Bros. is headquartered — the very studios where Hitchcock shot Dial M all those years ago? And would that be the same Warner Bros. that holds the rights to not only Dial M but also Gone With the Wind and Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King , to which Gatsby is compared here as a film that “might also supply what has been missing in the Oscar season — the heat of a film that decisively breaks a barrier”? And the same Warner Bros. playing a little preemptive Oscar politics after failing to keep DiCaprio and J. Edgar at this year’s awards-season forefront? Whose domestic distribution president told the Times that “[a]dult interest in 3-D has ‘settled into a very, very good place'” yet couldn’t coax anyone over 25 into seeing its bloated 3-D Green Lantern ? That Warner Bros.? I see. Anyway, this may yet turn out to be the greatest literary adaptation since The Godfather and may yet succeed in Luhrmann’s quest to “make it feel like you’re inside the room” (which, I dunno, is why I go to plays?), and may yet succeed in righting both Luhrmann and Warner Bros.’s ships after weathering pricey, stormy dalliances with prestige, and may yet sweep the 2013 Oscars (in which case I hope someone remembered to cast Uggie ). But has so obviously and self-servingly faking the 3-D funk ever really worked? Seriously, I’m asking. This just feels… off .
‘It didn’t hurt that George Lucas spent the last quarter of a decade trying to get this story’ made, actor tells MTV News. By Kevin P. Sullivan Cuba Gooding Jr. in “Red Tails” Photo: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation The upcoming World War II drama “Red Tails” tells many stories. First and foremost, it’s the story of the heroic Tuskegee Airmen, the country’s first African American air regimen. Within that story are tales of social injustice and a historical wartime drama. It’s also a big-budget action movie produced by George Lucas. With so much to accomplish, “Red Tails” has a lot on its plate dramatically speaking. One of the stars of the film, Cuba Gooding Jr., told MTV News recently that the film manages to find the right balance. “I think it strikes it in the subject matter,” Gooding said. “It didn’t hurt that George Lucas spent the last quarter of a decade trying to get this story onto the big screen. “The fact that you have the story of these warriors, whose story has been suppressed up until this date — except for smaller instances — are finally getting their due, educating the audience of what African Americans did in the war effort in World War II … told by George Lucas, Star Wars,” Gooding said. “You’re going to see an amusement park ride.” Gooding concluded that all of those elements came together for a proper telling of the story. “I think that’s how you get the balance,” he added. “You get a filmmaker who is so passionate he’s putting his own dough up to the tune of $100 million-plus. You see it on the screen.” Gooding’s co-star, Nate Parker, tried to chime in with a comment of his own, but the Academy Award-winning actor stopped Parker jokingly. “No, no, no, no. That was enough,” Gooding said. “I’m just kidding. Speak your mind, brother.” For Parker, the answer to the film’s success is simple. “Risk and reward,” he said. “He took a risk, and now I think he’s being rewarded in a major way because I think the film is fantastic.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Red Tails.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: Red Tails
