Tag Archives: Movies

‘Harry Potter’ World Cup: Help Decide The Best Character!

Voting opens Monday on the MTV Movies Blog to finally put this debate to rest. By Eric Ditzian Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” Photo: Warner Bros. Are you a Dumbledore guy or gal? Perhaps you’re keen on Hermione and Harry? Or maybe you shun the high-profile faces and hold a special place in your heart for Moaning Myrtle or Nearly Headless Nick? Who truly is the greatest “Harry Potter” character of all time? That’s a debate fans have been having since J.K. Rowling published her first novel about a boy wizard in 1997 and one that continues to rage as the final film, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2,” nears its July 15 debut. And you know what? It’s time to finally put this fantastical argument to rest! Get ready for MTV News’ “Harry Potter” World Cup , a monthlong tournament pitting 64 “Potter” characters against one another to see which will be decided solely by online fan voting. Check out the full bracket with all the supernatural matchups, then study up and get ready to vote when the first round kicks off Monday, June 20, at MoviesBlog.MTV.com . Check out photos of all 60 of the “Harry Potter” World Cup players. The single-elimination tournament will proceed from round to round with the intensity of the fiercest of Quidditch matches, with some characters falling by the wayside and others continuing to fight the good fight. It’s all leading up to the epic championship round. The two finalists will be announced Monday, July 11. Voting will continue through MTV News’ live-stream coverage of the “Deathly Hallows, Part 2” red-carpet premiere in New York City, with the winner crowned at the end of the event. The full Harry Potter World Cup is as follows:

Steven Spielberg Is Discussing Another Jurassic Park, and 5 Other Stories You’ll Be Talking About Today

Also in this Thursday edition of The Broadsheet: Someone was spotted on the set of The Dark Knight Rises … Jon Hamm could stalk Melissa McCarthy… The Expendables 2 gets a director… and more ahead.

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Steven Spielberg Is Discussing Another Jurassic Park, and 5 Other Stories You’ll Be Talking About Today

VIDEO: David Fincher and Christopher Nolan Explain the Greatness of Terrence Malick

Winning the Palme d’Or was cool, and blowing out the box office on Memorial Day weekend was pretty nice, too. But as Fox Searchllght prepares to take The Tree of Life to its broadest audience to date — more than doubling its screen count this weekend to over 100 — what better time to bring out the big guns? And I mean big .

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VIDEO: David Fincher and Christopher Nolan Explain the Greatness of Terrence Malick

5 of The Most Unlikely Characters to Fend Off An Alien Invasion on Film

Say what you will about Battle: Los Angeles — and both Roger Ebert and Movieline’s Michelle Orange had a lot to say — Aaron Eckhart was convincing as the strong-jawed military hero who faces a SoCal alien air raid. That’s saying a lot considering that Hollywood has created some very unlikely characters to go up against extraterrestrials. In honor of this small coup for Battle: Los Angeles (available on DVD and Blu-Ray this week), let’s round up some of the most surprising movie personalities to fend off aliens.

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5 of The Most Unlikely Characters to Fend Off An Alien Invasion on Film

Has ‘Spoiler Culture’ Ruined Twist Endings For Good?

Take it away, Chuck Klosterman! “Are screenwriters now affected by ‘spoiler culture’ before they even begin the writing process? If you know a twist will be unavoidably revealed before the majority of people see the work itself, and if you concede that selling and marketing a film with a major secret will be more complicated for everyone involved … would you even try? Would you essentially stop yourself from trying to write a movie that’s structured like The Sixth Sense ?” [ Grantland ]

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Has ‘Spoiler Culture’ Ruined Twist Endings For Good?

‘Super 8’ Burning Questions: J.J. Abrams Has Answers!

We take our lingering questions straight to the director. By Eric Ditzian J.J. Abrams Photo: MTV News After months of mystery, “Super 8” finally arrived in theaters over the weekend. The secretive marketing campaigns seemed to have paid off, with positive reviews and experts predicting lasting box-office success . With all that film-going satisfaction in mind, the way J.J. Abrams crafted his nostalgic thriller left plenty of lingering questions to be answered. So when the esteemed master of mystery stopped by our MTV News headquarters on Tuesday, we asked him our most burning “Super 8” questions. ( Spoilers ahead! ) Hanging Humans MTV News : When we go into the creature’s cave, we see the humans hanging upside down. Are they hanging upside down because he’s saving them to nosh on later? J.J. Abrams : I love anything involving aliens and noshing. First of all, a man’s got to eat, let’s be honest. Part of it is that he’s a hungry guy and he’s been through a lot, and part of it is that there’s a second connection that he can make with people, so he’s sort of used them as sort of a library of information of what he needs to know about the human technology to use it. Zombie Movies MTV News : The zombie movie that the kids made — why a zombie movie? Why not monsters? Vampires? Why zombies? Abrams : There are a series of films that George Romero did — “Night of the Living Dead,” “Dawn of the Dead” — and I thought that that would be something that could be a big influence on the kid who makes the movies, and so he’s sort of trying to create a movie the way that George Romero, his sort of hero in the movie, did with his zombie films. MTV News : Is there a director’s cut, maybe something we might see on the DVD of their zombie film? Abrams : There’s definitely a movie that’s three times as long, but it’s probably four times as bad. Kiss MTV News : Why no kiss between Elle Fanning and Joel Courtney? Abrams : You know, I don’t know who wanted to see the kiss between Elle Fanning and Joel Courtney, but to me … these were kids who, their affection for each other didn’t necessarily need to be played out with a kiss. But I think that hopefully you get the sense that their feelings for each other are profound. Cameo MTV News : We hear Bruce Greenwood did the motion capture from the creature. Abrams : Bruce Greenwood came in and he did some motion capture, body capture and also facial capture for the performance of the creature. A lot of it we ended up using and a lot of it we ended up having to animate and change because, frankly, when we saw the creature move, sometimes it felt like we had to change it up to make it work better. The PG-13 F-Bomb MTV News : It was a great use of the PG-13 f—. Was there always going to be the one F-bomb you threw? Did you go through different iterations? Abrams : It made me laugh, the idea that this guy who was such a sort of dink at the beginning and the fact that you know he was trying to sell these kids pot, he’s trying to hook up with his sister and he’s just an utter loser working at the camera store. The idea that this guy kind of gets roped into this adventure and sort of starts to really care about these kids. It makes you sort of like the guy, and so his showing up and seeing these kids are still alive and being happy about it and then seeing that this bus has been overturned after this attack of the creature. That reaction that he had just felt like the reaction he would have. And I was hoping that we’d get past the rating and not have to lose it, and luckily we did. Check out everything we’ve got on “Super 8.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘Super 8’

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‘Super 8’ Burning Questions: J.J. Abrams Has Answers!

Attention New Yorkers: Hear Werner Herzog Read a Filthy Bedtime Story Tonight

Did you enjoy listening to the dulcet tones of Werner Herzog during his latest film, The Cave of Forgotten Dreams ? If so — and if you live in the New York area — Movieline has just the event for you: the director — and beloved talk show guest — did an audio recording of the new children’s book Go the F**k to Sleep , and it will be unveiled tonight at the New York Public Library. Tickets are even available . Click through for a taste of what to expect.

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Attention New Yorkers: Hear Werner Herzog Read a Filthy Bedtime Story Tonight

Watch ‘Jesse Eisenberg’ Give Advice to Teen Girls in New Funny or Die Video

Oh, man. The only way the Funny or Die video “Staying Positive with Jesse Eisenberg” could be any better is if Eisenberg himself was actually the star. He’s not, of course, but comic Scott Gairdner does a fairly great impression of what the 30 Minutes or Less star would look like hosting an advice show for teen girls. “Should I like goth or hip-hop?” asks one of the youngsters hoping for some Eisenberg-y insight. Great question! And plenty more where that came from — even a music video starring “Eisenberg” at the end. Click through to watch.

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Watch ‘Jesse Eisenberg’ Give Advice to Teen Girls in New Funny or Die Video

Talkback: Do You Think Stuntpeople Should Have An Oscar Category?

Earlier this year, Vin Diesel boldly told the Los Angeles Times that he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Fast Five garnered “Oscar talk” this award season. While the fifth Fast and Furious film won’t be winning any statuettes for its acting this lifetime (sorry, Vin, The Rock and Ludacris), it might have a legitimate shot at an Academy Award if the movie’s stunt coordinator Jack Gill convinces the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to add a Best Stunt category.

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Talkback: Do You Think Stuntpeople Should Have An Oscar Category?

14 Most Promising Stills From Transformers: Dark of the Moon

With just over two weeks until the premiere of Transformers: Dark of the Moon , Paramount is has upped the anticipation factor by releasing more stills from the third (and Megan Fox-less ) installment of the big budget franchise. Ahead, Movieline has compiled the sexiest, most explosive, and most Michael Bay-y images from the Shia LaBeouf summer tentpole. How’s it going, John Malkovich and Patrick Dempsey?

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14 Most Promising Stills From Transformers: Dark of the Moon