Benicio Del Toro is Pablo Escobar. Let that sink in. It’s not a stretch for a man who has made a career being involved in one drug related movie after another, but this time he’s the man in charge. The big cheese. The big enchilada. The big kahuna. The dude with all the cocaine. See what we mean in the following image, courtesy of the upcoming drama Paradise Lost : A movie about Pablo Escobar seems rather straightforward, right? Well… Paradise Lost is actually a romantic thriller starring Josh Hutcherson as a starry eyed surfer who falls head over heels for a pretty girl. That pretty girl just happens to be Pablo Escobar’s niece. A nice twist if they can pull it off. Paradise Lost is at the tail end of filming, so hopefully info will be more plentiful in coming months. For now, let’s entertain ourselves with even more Hutcherson in this Catching Fire trailer !
Joe Wright ‘s latest Anna Karenina had a cast, screenplay and plan of action in hand in the spring of 2011, but the acclaimed filmmaker of Atonement and Pride & Prejudice made a bold step a mere two months before beginning the shoot. Instead of another straightforward narrative telling of the story of the epic novel by Russian great Leo Tolstoy, he opted to go for a theatrical angle in depicting the saga of a late-19th century Russian high-society aristocrat who breaks entrenched taboos and embarks in a torrid love affair with affluent soldier, Count Vronsky. In Toronto where the film is having its World Premiere Friday night, cast members including star Keira Knightley and Wright likened the sudden change to “jumping off a cliff,” but they were ready for the challenge, though not all were sure if it would ultimately succeed. “I don’t know that we did know it would work,” Keira Knightley, who plays Anna Karenina, said Friday morning. “With Anna Karenina it’s been done so many times before and there was a sense that if you’re going to tell this story again, you might as well do something that’s out there.” “Out there” includes depicting scenes of the titled heroine (or anti-heroine) on a stage as her marriage and social status disintegrates. Wright grew up working at his parents’ puppet theater and took classes at the Anna Scher Theatre School and even acted on stage, no doubt influencing his creative point of view. And, perhaps conveniently, the reversal served-up some pragmatic pluses, according to Wright. “A lot of the budget was being spent on hotels and travel and all this stuff that the audience is never going to get to see,” he said in Toronto today at a hotel with a small group of journalists. “And I thought, if I could set this film in one place, where would it be? I was reminded of Orlando Figes’ book Natasha’s Dance: A Cultural History of Russia , in which he talks about Russian society as if they lived upon a stage.” Wright also said that locations he’d been visiting in Russia and England for the shoot did not appear to be the key to give his project a new vision for Anna Karenina or its star Keira Knightley. “It just got to a point where I was walking around stately homes in England and I had people saying to me, ‘Well we’ve made three Keira Knightley films here before,’ and in Russia we had people saying, “Oh yes, we’ve made seven Anna Karenina s here before,’ and I was going, ‘Oh god, why am I doing this, it is so depressing.” The ultimate screen result is hypnotic and sumptuous, but Knightley admitted that the style will not work for everyone, though the few people who caught a glimpse in pre-premiere screenings here are already saying Knightley and others including Jude Law, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and others may be hefty contenders for next year’s Oscars race. “He demands 110% and that’s exactly what we give him and it makes him an extraordinarily magical person to work with, and a frightening person to work with, because it’s everything for the time you’re making it,” Knightley, who starred in Atonement and Pride & Prejudice said. “And that is why people said let’s go with the new concept. Not because we necessarily knew it would work, but we knew this was a team that would give 110 to 150% who will try and make it work. And at least we knew we’d given it our all.” Knightley said that she had read Anna Karenina as a teenager, but re-read it again last summer and had an entirely different take on the woman she’d eventually portray. “The dichotomy of Anna is that you’re not entirely sure what you should think about her. She is deceitful and manipulative and needy. But she is also wonderful, full of energy and full of love. She is also all of these things and completely culpable for what she does. She is a creature that makes you think of yourself because when you look at our own lives, the people we hurt the most are the people we love the most.” “I’m glad how daring Joe has been,” concluding Knightley on Friday, “and I’m glad I jumped off the cliff with him.” Read more from the Toronto Film Festival. Follow Brian Brooks on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Beatles legend and ‘How Do You Know’ star team up for a digital short on NBC hit. By Mawuse Ziegbe Paul McCartney and Paul Rudd on “SNL” on Dec. 11, 2010 Photo: NBC “Saturday Night Live” was packed with Pauls, from a rock icon to a newbie comedian. Second time host Paul Rudd played up the plethora of fellas with the name during his opening monologue, claiming credit for the fan mania that was clearly the result of rock legend Paul McCartney’s on-set presence as musical guest. Rudd smugly remarked about a woman crying and people chanting “Yesterday,” until the Beatles icon appeared onstage to clear up the brouhaha. Featured “SNL” player Paul Brittain also briefly joined the Paul-fest. For the most part, the two stuck to what they’re each known for, with Rudd dishing out the laughs and McCartney serving up the music. In one sketch, Rudd brings his girlfriend home for the holidays to meet his super affectionate family who make out and grope each other to the horror of his gal pal. Rudd also turns up as a gay man who heads to a relationship expert’s talk show for advice, only to get ridiculed by her stodgy, ignorant producer who had to fill in because she was sick. The “How Do You Know” star also competed in the faux game show “What’s That Name,” handily identifying pop culture figures like Subway spokesman Jared Fogel and fumbling when faced with naming his doorman of four years. Rudd also flexed his comedic chops as a nerdy math teacher tasked with mounting a holiday party for students and ends up geekifying the whole affair by dropping zingers like “off the hoof” and “elf esteem.” Rudd and McCartney did cross paths once again in the digital short “Stumblin’ ” in which Andy Samberg and Rudd play buddies who tagger through life, always seconds away from falling over outright. McCartney inexplicably pops up mid-segment in a ruffled blouse and velvet blazer to croon ’80s ballad “Take My Breath Away” by Berlin. Then he whips out a miniscule harmonica, dons cowboy gear and goes to town with Rudd and Samberg cheering him on. McCartney confined the goofiness to the Samberg skit, taking the stage first with “Jet” from Wings’ 1973 Band on the Run LP. The rock luminary strummed the straightforward jam, bopping along in a purple blazer, and adding a flourish of a boogie-woogie dance at the end. McCartney followed up with another Wings hit, “Band on the Run,” for his second performance, ditching the blazer for skinny red suspenders and punctuating the set with guttural howls. What did you think of “SNL” this week? Let us know in the comments! Related Artists Paul McCartney
In response to the recent Republican “Pledge to America,” Libertarian Party executive director Wes Benedict released the following statement: Instead of a “Pledge to America,” the Republicans should have written an “Apology to America.” It should have gone something like this: “We're sorry, America. Sorry we grew the federal government budget from $1.7 trillion to over $3 trillion. Sorry we added $5 trillion to the federal debt. Sorry we doubled the size of the Department of Education. Sorry we started two incredibly costly foreign wars. Sorry we supported the absurd and costly TARP bailouts. Sorry we created a huge and costly new Medicare entitlement. Sorry we did nothing to end the costly and destructive War on Drugs. Sorry we did nothing to reform the federal government's near-prohibition on immigration. But hey, at least we helped you by shifting a lot of your tax burden onto your children and grandchildren.” There are so many lies, distortions, hypocrisies, and idiocy in this document that it's hard to know where to start. It is deeply insulting to see the Republicans refer to “America's founding values” on their cover. The Republican Party has no understanding whatsoever of America's founding values. They have proven and re-proven that for decades. The document talks a lot about “tax cuts.” Unfortunately, the Republican “tax cut” proposals would really do nothing to cut taxes. All their proposals achieve is to defer taxes, pushing the burden onto our children and grandchildren. The only real way to cut taxes is to cut government spending, and the Republican document does almost nothing in that regard. The Republicans say they want to “roll back government spending to pre-stimulus, pre-bailout levels.” In other words, to re-create the situation near the end of the Bush administration, after Republicans had massively increased federal spending on almost everything. Republicans must love it when Democrats expand government, because it gives them the opportunity to propose small “cuts,” while still ending up with huge government. One shocking aspect of the document is that it actually includes subtle Republican proposals to increase government spending. The Republicans offer no plan whatsoever to reduce military spending, America's foreign wars and nation building, or our military defense of rich foriegn nations. On the contrary, the Republicans apparently want to increase military spending, promising to “provide the resources, authority, and support our deployed military requires, fully fund missile defense, and enforce sanctions against Iran.” The Republicans also appear to want to increase government spending on border control. They say “We will ensure that the Border Patrol has the tools and authorities to establish operational control at the border,” a costly proposition. Furthermore, as expected, the document complains about “massive Medicare cuts,” implying that Republicans want to make sure Medicare is kept gigantic. The bulk of federal spending is in three places: Social Security, Medicare, and the military. The Republicans propose absolutely nothing to reduce spending on these three things, or even to slow down their growth. There must be a typo in the document where it says “Undeterred by dismal results, Washington Democrats continue to double-down on their job-killing policies.” That probably should read “Washington Democrats continue to double-down on *Republican* job-killing policies.” The best way to restore American prosperity would be to implement the straightforward 28 planks of the Libertarian Party platform, or even just follow the Constitution. I mean the actual Constitution, not the Republican re-write that allows for every federal government program imaginable. I suppose the one positive aspect of the document is that it finally dispels any illusion that Republicans want to shrink government in any meaningful way. Apparently the Republicans are hoping they can “fool some of the people all of the time.” The Libertarian Party is ready to point out Republican lies and hypocrisy to American voters, and we hope that Americans who actually want small and constitutional government, not just hypocrisy and worthless rhetoric, will vote Libertarian this November. The Libertarian Party has 21 candidates for U.S. Senate and 170 candidates for U.S. House in the upcoming November 2010 elections. For more information, or to arrange an interview, call LP Executive Director Wes Benedict at 202-333-0008 ext. 222. The LP is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971. The Libertarian Party stands for free markets and civil liberties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party at our website. http://www.lp.org/news/press-releases/libertarians-say-republicans-owe-apology-n… added by: shanklinmike
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New clips are for ‘Deuces’ and the Brown solo effort ‘No Bullsh–.’ By Jayson Rodriguez, with reporting by Shaheem Reid Tyga Photo: MTV News Chris Brown and Tyga premiered a pair of videos from their Fan of a Fan mixtape Monday (May 24), the collaboration “Deuces” and the Brown solo effort “No Bullsh–.” Both clips were directed by Colin Tilley, an up-and-coming filmmaker based in Los Angeles who has worked with Tyga in the past. “Deuces” is among the standout tracks from the collection, which was released for free online last week . “All that bullsh– is for the birds, you ain’t nothing but a vulture,” Brown sings on “Deuces.” “Always hoping for the worst, waiting for me to f— up/ You’ll regret the day when I find another girl, that knows just what I need/ She knows just what I mean, when I tell her, ‘Keep it drama-free.’ ” The black-and-white video features Tyga and Kevin McCall, the song’s producer, also billed as K-Mack, rapping on the track. “Basically it’s about you getting rid of this girl, you tried to make it work, but you got to move on,” Tyga told MTV News about “Deuces.” “So you put up one finger, put up another, and then ‘Deuces.’ ” In the straightforward clip, Brown is seen energetically dancing alone and later, in scenes with Tyga and K-Mack, posing for the camera. Brown and Tyga performed “Deuces” earlier this month at the singer’s Virginia Stand Up! charity concert , which benefited his local community and aid to Haiti. “No Bullsh–,” the third video overall from the mixtape project, is a much steamier affair featuring Brown by himself. The “Forever” star is seen wooing and romancing his leading lady in the clip. Before the videos were posted, Tyga told MTV News he couldn’t support Brown on set for his solo endeavor. “No, no, I can’t be in that video,” Tyga said, laughing. “That’s like a dude being in ‘I Invented Sex’ with Trey Songz. What are you gonna do?” What do you think about the new videos? Let us know in the comments! Related Artists Chris Brown Tyga
Nancy Kerrigan’s father’s death late last month has been ruled a homicide, according to the Middlesex County (Mass.) Chief Medical Examiner. According to the findings, Daniel Kerrigan died from cardiac dysrhythmia after suffering a neck injury during a physical altercation at his home. The Coroner reports that the 70-year-old Daniel suffered a cartilage fracture to the larynx area, which was exacerbated by heart disease. As we previously reported, Nancy’s brother Mark Kerrigan faces one charge of assault and battery on an elder with serious bodily injury. Nancy Kerrigan won medals in figure skating at the ’92 and ’94 Olympics/ The investigation continues, with no word on whether prosecutors will now up the charges against Mark, but the family is displeased with the coroner’s report. The family lawyer, Tracy Miner, says “The Kerrigan family is extremely disappointed that the medical examiner would release a cause of death without having all of the relevant facts. We believe this finding to be premature and inaccurate.” The Kerrigans are also standing by Mark Kerrigan – who was arrested and charged with assault and battery after – saying, “The Kerrigan family does not blame anyone for the unfortunate death of Dan Kerrigan, who had a pre-existing heart condition.”
She’s a woman of many looks, dressing like a sexy boxer for the music video “Dirrty” and like a burlesque singer other times. But no matter what kind of outfit Christina Aguilera chooses, a couple things remain the same: this is a gorgeous artist with a cute son and a beautiful voice. We can’t just leave it at that, however. What fun would that be? For her next video, or her next night, out, Christina might be choosing between the contrasting styles below and she needs your help. Which do you prefer? What is Christina Aguilera’s best look?
Captain Phil Harris of the Cornelia Marie on Deadliest Catch has died. Sons Jake and Josh Harris broke the news on the Discovery Channel show’s official site, where updates on Harris had been posted since his January 30 stroke. “It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to our dad – Captain Phil Harris. Dad has always been a fighter and continued to be until the end. For us and the entire crew, he was someone who never backed down.” “We will forever remember and celebrate that strength. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers. – Jake and Josh Harris” Harris, who was 53, was based out of Seattle, suffered a stroke during an offload of crab. He was found unconscious in a stateroom, was airlifted to Anchorage for 12 hours of surgery, then placed in a medically induced coma. R.I.P. Phil Harris with sons Josh and Jake. He had shown signs of improvement last week, squeezing hands and even telling his doctors and nurses, in his signature gruff style, to not “f–k things up.” Phil Harris, a fisherman for 32 years, was a co-owner of the Cornelia Marie , which he’d captained for 18 years; Jake and Josh work on the ship as deck hands. Fans reached out Tuesday night on the show’s message boards, where comments have been posted since Phil Harris fell ill, offering condolences to the family. The Discovery Channel said in a statement that Phil “more than someone on our TV. Phil was a devoted father and loyal friend to all who knew him. We will miss his straightforward honesty, wicked sense of humor and enormous heart.”
