The death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il this past Sunday inspired hope in some and fear (that Kim’s mysterious 20-something son Kim Jong-un will continue his father’s tyranny) in others. But for Sacha Baron Cohen — the comedic actor/writer/producer who reveled in staging uncomfortable situations in his mockumentaries Borat and Brüno — Kim’s death inspired a publicity push for his upcoming comedy The Dictator .
‘It’s attached to your head and your body,’ actress tells MTV News By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Rooney Mara Photo: MTV News It took a lot of work for Rooney Mara to become the tattooed Lisbeth Salander. For David Fincher’s big-screen adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s bestselling “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” the actress didn’t just have to think like the famed fictional hacker: It was a process to get into not just the mind, but also the body of the 24-year-old character — and Rooney’s transformation into the broken and abused Lisbeth lingered with her long after shooting the film. When MTV News asked if she carried herself differently while playing the character, Mara explained, “I think that I probably did. It’s hard to look at yourself in that way. I think it’ll be easier for me to really see that years from now. It’s impossible to leave it behind whenever it’s attached to your head and your body. But when you work 16 hours a day, there isn’t really time to do anything else but go home and go to sleep.” Playing Lisbeth certainly comes with a unique skill set that goes far beyond just understanding her dark backstory. Given Lisbeth’s penchant for computer hacking, motorcycles and physical activity, it comes as no surprise that Mara had to undergo some intense training for the physically and emotionally demanding role, one that had already been imagined once before by Noomi Rapace in a 2009 film version of the novels. “That’s my favorite thing about my job is that your education never really stops,” Mara shared. “I feel like I went to school: I had motorcycle class from 9 to 11, and then I went to dialect class, and then I had skateboarding, and then I had computer training, and then I had kickboxing. I just feel like I learned so much. And that’s kind of the most incredible part about my job is I got to acquire all these skills that I never really wanted or needed, but now I have them.” Whatever Mara did seems to have worked. Her performance is garnering her and the film some high critical praise . The flick opened Tuesday (December 20), and also features Daniel Craig, Stellan Skarsg
A former New York University film professor made headlines recently for suing the school, which he said fired him for giving barely present graduate student James Franco a D in his class. José Angel Santana alleges not only racist employment practices at NYU, but also that, “In my opinion, they’ve turned the NYU graduate film degree into swag for James Franco’s purposes, a possession, something you can buy.” Burn. Anyway, none of this would matter were it not for the requisite Taiwanese news animation showcasing both Santana’s firing and a reimagining of 127 Hours that’s quite possibly better than Danny Boyle’s film itself.
Even after the frustration and angst vented by the franchise’s erstwhile star, Matt Damon hasn’t given up hope of reprising his role as super-spy Jason Bourne: “I think if [ Bourne Legacy ] doesn’t work, we can just ignore it and pretend it didn’t happen, and that’d be fine. But I expect that it will work and only help us if we did another one, which I’d love to do.” With Paul Greengrass instead of Tony Gilroy, of course, but anyway. Hang your hopes accordingly. [ THR ]
Sylvester Stallone may be the busiest aging action icon today (sorry Chuck Norris). In between adapting Rocky into German musical format and posing for photos on the set of Expendables 2 , Sylvester Stallone just finished filming Bullet to the Head . The New Orleans-set action movie stars Sly as a musclebound hitman who teams up with a young NYPD detective (Sung Kang) to investigate a pair of murders and naturally, exact revenge on anyone who stands in their way. Fortunately for us, the first caption-worthy photo from Bullet to the Head has arrived.
Kim Jong-il, the reclusive North Korean leader who died Sunday at age 69, was a tyrant, a thug, a meddler, a menace, a fanatic, a spendthrift, a dilettante, and a dangerous visionary responsible for some of the worst abuses witnessed by world civilization in the last half century. But enough about his movies.
In spite of our hesitations about a 21 Jump Street film, Movieline thoroughly enjoyed last month’s red band trailer for the feature adaptation of the ’80s television series. It teased the quippy chemistry of stars Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum in a goofy buddy cop comedy similar in tone to Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller’s Starsky & Hutch reboot. But instead of infiltrating motorcycle gangs and Bat Mitzvahs, a new 21 Jump Street trailer proves that this ditzy male duo have a hard enough time uncovering a drug ring in between their afternoon chores and sad dance moves at prom.
I am obviously a thundering shill for Madonna whether she’s making terrible movies with her ex-husband or making terrible movies with Griffin Dunne , but there’s something about W.E. ‘s self-serious, accidental telenovela that’s not even watchably bad. It’s just humorless and overlong — though Andrea Riseborough is fabulous as the polarizing Wallis Simpson. In a new 24-minute documentary about Madonna’s big feature, the director and her cast do their best to sell their watercolored biopic, and I tell you what? They do a good job. Don’t ask me to explain it. But James D’A rcy still looks like Anthony Perkins, so shut up and start crying in adoration.
‘It’s nice to hear that people like the film,’ actress tells MTV News. By Kevin P. Sullivan, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Rooney Mara Photo: MTV News After a long debate, the MTV Movies team chose David Fincher’s “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” as the Best Movie of 2011 . To celebrate the occasion, MTV News’ Josh Horowitz presented its star, Rooney Mara , with a trophy and congratulated her for the accomplishment. Mara graciously accepted the award and shared her excitement. “That’s so amazing. That’s so cool. Thank you, MTV,” she said. Given the chance to thank MTV for the honor, Mara expressed her real wish for the film: that people see it and love it. “So many people worked so hard on this film. It was just a year of really hard work. I feel like we put so much work into it,” she said. “That’s all we really want, for people to love the film and to go out and see it and fall in love with these characters the way we did. Of course, it’s nice to hear that people like the film.” The honor may have come as a surprise to Mara, since her director, David Fincher , dismissed any awards chances for the film a few weeks ago, but as the film’s release draws closer, it is creeping further and further into the awards conversation. Mara just earned a Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of Lisbeth Salander. Mara said she believes the film should get more awards attention simply because of Fincher’s work. “I think anything David does deserves to be in any conversation. I think there’s nothing he can’t do,” she said. “He elevates everything that he does. … He really made it about these two characters. I think he did an incredible job.” Stick with MTV as we count down the Best of 2011 , including the top Artists , Songs , Live Performances and EDM Artists of the year. Check out everything we’ve got on “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos Best Movies Of 2011 Debate
What is going on out there, people? All these franchises and rehashes at the multiplex, and Hollywood can’t interest you in any of them? Last week it was the aromatic anti-charm of New Year’s Eve falling flat on opening weekend, and now new installments of Sherlock Holmes and Alvin and the Chipmunks are limping along at the front of the pack? At least Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol showed signs life in limited IMAX release, but ugh . Next week’s Christmas harvest couldn’t come soon enough, but for now, your Friday Box Office is here.
