Even making it to the Paralympic Games is an incredible feat, given the obstacles that the participants must inherently overcome to excel athletically. Watching the competition, however, gives you a true appreciation for the level of skill and determination of these athletes. Case in point: David Wetherill. For a highlight rivaling any moment from the London Olympics, check out the utterly ridiculous shot the British table tennis standout pulled off this week:
Thomas Beatie is hoping to support the pregnant woman this time around. The 38-year old – who first made headlines in 2007 after undergoing transgender surgery, yet preserving the organs needed to give birth – split from his wife in April of this year and is now dating someone named Amber Nicholas. And he tells The Sunday Mirror that he wants to have another child, with one major catch: “Being pregnant is the most incredible experience,” Beatie says to the newspaper. “But we want Amber to do it this time around. I think it would be amazing to experience pregnancy as the father.” While married to ex-wife Nancy, Thomas gave birth to three children. And he’s not against trying for another, even if it means defying doctor’s orders. “My surgeon has advised against me getting pregnant because it would be a lot
Ben Affleck ‘s look at a hidden story from the Iranian hostage crisis, Bill Murray as FDR, Marion Cotillard playing a woman whose life is dramatically altered in an instant, as well as a pair of acclaimed foreign language films are just a few of the most buzzed about movies coming out of this year’s Telluride Film Festival . Over the course of just four days here in this Colorado mountain town, attendees got a head start peek at some of the best movies of the year. Films and performance that will have moviegoers talking this fall. Marion Cotillard Saturday night here in Telluride, French actress Marion Cotillard sat at a small dinner alongside director James Gray. Directors Alexander Payne and Sally Potter were among those wishing her well at the intimate gathering after her on stage tribute. Cotillard is starring in Gray’s upcoming movie, Nightingale and Gray was here in Colorado to salute her on stage as she received a festival tribute. While the night included a five minute clip from Nightingale , the Cotillard movie that had festival goers buzzing was Jacques Audiard’s Rust and Bone . Marion Cotillard, Photo by Eugene Hernandez Set on a grittier side of the South of France than is typically pictured in the gossip magazines, Audiard’s Rust and Bone is the story of an animal trainer at the local Marineland who fights back from a dramatic setback. It would be an unfair spoiler to detail the nature of Cotillard’s character’s devastating journey but it’s safe to say that as she comes to grips with her future she also finds love in an unexpected place. Cotillard’s performance has been hailed since the film’s debut at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year and there’s little doubt that the Oscar winner will be high atop year end lists of the best performances of the year. While it’s rare for an acting Academy Award to go to a lead in a foreign film, Cotillard already broke that barrier, winning the award for Ma Vie En Rose in five years ago. Rust and Bone opens in theaters on November 16th. Bill Murray While the best acting category will surely have some big names all vying for attention, the Telluride festival also showcased a male actor sure to turn heads. Comic legend Bill Murray plays it pretty serious in Roger Michell’s latest, Hyde Park on Hudson . He was a surprise attendee here in Telluride, walking on stage to cheers as he introduced Saturday’s screening of the 20th Century American historical drama. FDR had secrets, Michell’s film reiterates. The beloved U.S president who got the country through the Great Depression and took it into World War II was able to keep his paralysis from polio hidden from the American public. Even more buried at the time were the details of his apparent romances with numerous women, including a distant cousin near his rural upstate New York home. Uniquely, Bill Murray on Saturday compared playing FDR to performing at Carnegie Hall and cleaning out his garage. Things he never imagined doing in his life. However he said he wasn’t against giving it a shot. “I knew it would be hard,” Murray explained but added, “If I worked really hard and really tried I’d get something out of it.” In the film, scheduled to open in theaters in early December, Murray’s FDR navigates his private relationships even as his wife Eleanor tends to her own quiet affairs and his relationship with distant relative Daisy (Laura Linney) coincides with a weekend state visit by the King of England seeking the American presidents’s help on the verge of war. A Royal Affair Marital indiscretions and a monarchy collide head on in another film seen by American audiences for the first time here in Telluride, Nikolaj Arcel’s A Royal Affair . Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen stars as an aide to a mentally unbalanced King. Along the way he and the young Queen of Denmark develop a forbidden relationship. Domestic audiences will remember Mikkelsen for his turn as a villain in the recent James Bond movie, Casino Royale . This weekend’s he was also an acting honoree at the Telluride Film Festival, Mads Mikkelsen, Photo by Eugene Hernandez A Royal Affair depicts a scandal familiar to Scandinavians that doesn’t require that an audience have a detailed knowledge of European history to appreciate its universal themes. Nikolaj Arcel, writer of the original film version of Girl With the Dragon Tattoo , has created an engrossing costume drama that follows Mikkelsen’s insightful doctor who betrays a mad king by taking up with his wife. It opens on November 9th. Mikkelsen also stars this year in Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt , a Cannes competition entry that also screened here in Colorado and for which Mikkelsen won the best actor prize at the French festival. Amour The big winner in Cannes this year, anchored by stunning lead performances from legendary French actors Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva, had Telluride audiences buzzing all weekend. Extra festival showings were added to meet demand here. Delicately directed by Austrian Michael Haneke, Amour is an end of life love story set amidst a devoted couple’s battle to gracefully navigate the natural disintegration of their union. Michael Haneke’s tender touch in this new movie surprised many who are fans of his films The White Ribbon , Cache , and Funny Games . Meanwhile those who were turned off by his previous work have been won over by this film. Witness the Cannes jury. President Nanni Moretti apparently wasn’t a Haneke fan but his group of jurors gave Haneke the best picture prize in Cannes. At the aforementioned dinner on Saturday night in Telluride, Cannes juror Alexander Payne was still praising the movie. Buzz this weekend was that it may just be a surprise contender for best picture when the Oscar nominations are announced. Amour opens in theaters on December 19th. Argo Speaking of golden statues, Ben Affleck’s Argo , is clearly an early awards season contender. Local attendees speculated that Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master or Terrance Malick’s To The Wonder might get a sneak peek slot here but it was Argo that secured the sole surprise sneak preview in Telluride this weekend. Ben Affleck, Photo copyright Pamela Gentile A suspense-filled look at a secret plot that rescued some of the Americans captured in Iran in 1979, Affleck’s Argo was immediately buzzed about as a viable Oscar contender. The plot involves a fictitious movie project that was created as the cover for a covert plot to free U.S. Embassy employees who secretly sought asylum in the Canadian Embassy in Tehran. Hollywood and the U.S. government quietly conspired to create the fake movie and successfully freed the would be hostages. More than one high profile Academy member praised the film this weekend. They rejoiced in the positive portrayal of the movie business afforded by Affleck. At a festival that loves movies as much as Telluride, Affleck’s Argo was beloved. At the height of the film’s tense climax, the Telluride audience burst into applause. Of course, it’s way too early to say — awards season is a marathon and this is just the first mile — but persistent talk throughout the weekend was that Argo is clear cut contender for an best picture nod. “This is one of the few festivals that really about seeing movies, rather than walking around and just talking about [them],” gushed Ben Affleck on stage this weekend here in Telluride. Argo will open on October 10th 3 More to Watch Three films that probably won’t see American screens until sometime next year were among the best that Telluride had to offer this year. Noah Baumbach’s Frances Ha starring Greta Gerwig as a Brooklyn twenty-something was a sheer joy to experience. Actress turned director Sarah Polley’s Stories We Tell , a surprising documentary about her family secrets, was a moving and powerful tribute to her parents. Finally, Gerard Barrett’s first feature, Pilgrim Hill , was a quietly powerful portrait of an Irish farmer that will resonate in this time of economic insecurity. The Telluride Film Festival takes place August 31-September 3. Follow Eugene Hernandez on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Kim Kardashian And Kanye West Seen House Hunting In NY Fresh off of big homie Hov’s star-studded 2-day Made In America Festival that took place over the weekend, Yeezy and his thick-thighed thang Kim Kardashian were spotted checking out smash crash pads in Westchester, NY. Since Kanye and Kimmy Cakes both already have individual places in both NY and LA , we’re guessing they were looking for something they could buy together. Last week it was wedding dress fittings and now house-hunting…all signs are definitely pointing to the altar any day now for these two. More pics of the house and KimYe on the flippy… Images via SplashNews
R.I.P…. Sad news out of Hollywod today as Micahel Clarke Duncan passed away earlier today. According to TMZ… Michael Clarke Duncan, star of such movies as “The Green Mile” and “The Whole Nine Yards,” passed away this morning. He was 54. According to our sources, his passing came very suddenly. We’re told his fiancee, Omarosa Manigault, was with him in his hospital room in Los Angeles and left for a short period of time. When she returned … he had died. Our sources say Omarosa’s mother was with him when he passed. Duncan’s rep tells TMZ the actor never fully recovered from the myocardial infarction he suffered on July 13. As TMZ first reported, Omarosa found Duncan in cardiac arrest and performed CPR and was able to resuscitate him before calling 911. The rep tells us, “[Omarosa] Manigault is grateful for all of your prayers and asks for privacy at this time. Celebrations of his life, both private and public, will be announced at a later date.” Duncan was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of John Coffey in “The Green Mile.” He worked as a bodyguard for celebrities like Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Jamie Foxx, LL Cool J, and Notorious B.I.G. before he got his break. We’re keeping his family and friends in prayer. Images via WENN
hi this is just a quick cover for my frand KENNY NGUYEN happy late birthday please rate, comment,favorite, and subscribe Love yall. Stalk me! www.isaballerr.tumblr.com www.facebook.com/isabellthao www.twitter.com/isabellthao (barely use it …cause it SUCKS lol jk) http://www.youtube.com/v/vufG-sbuHyo?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata Read the original post: Die In Your Arms (Justin Bieber Cover) – Isabell Thao
How do you get in touch with Jeffrey Dean Morgan , who lives with his family far outside the confines of Hollywood “in the woods,” to ask him to be in your film? If you’re like The Possession director Ole Bornedal, you go old school. “The script was sent to me with a really nice letter that Ole had written asking me to be a part of it,” Morgan told Movieline. “It sat on my desk for a couple of days, but I kept reading this letter.” Eventually Morgan read the script and, enticed by the familial relationships at the center of the demonic possession tale, got over his reluctance to take on the “overdone” horror genre to play a father desperately trying to reconnect with his daughter — and, in the process, save her from an evil spirit. In this weekend’s The Possession Morgan plays Clyde Brenek, a career-focused college basketball coach whose pending divorce is taking a heavy toll on his two young daughters, one of whom — Em (Natasha Calis) — has formed a strange attachment to an antique Jewish box found at a yard sale. (The film is inspired by the real life account of the Dybbuk Box, a Hebrew wine cabinet allegedly haunted by an evil spirit which reigned down terror and ill fortune on multiple owners.) Movieline caught up with Morgan last month at Comic-Con , where the Watchmen veteran planned on walking the floor to find geek treasure for his son (“Sometimes it gets a little unruly for me down there, but I dig this world”), marveled at the maturity of his young co-stars (“I’ve worked with kids that are just horrendous, and it’s mostly because of their parents”) and discussed Karyn Kusama’s The Rut , in which he’d play dad to Chloe Moretz’s teenage huntress. What made you want to jump into a story like this? Because it was an actual story . I certainly wasn’t looking to do a horror movie — I think they’ve been kind of screwed up lately, all the found footage, it’s just been kind of overdone. The script was sent to me with a really nice letter that Ole [Bornedal] had written, asking me to be a part of it. I didn’t read the script; I was like, ‘Oh God, it’s a horror movie — it’s just not what I’m looking to do.’ It sat on my desk for a couple of days, and I kept reading this letter. What did it say? It was just very sweet and complimentary about my previous work, and it was really well-written. Do you get a lot of those letters? Sometimes! I guess I do, because I’m never around. I live in the woods, so really the only way you can get to me is if you send a letter. You’re like Bill Murray ! [Laughs] I love Bill Murray, but I’m not quite Bill Murray. I wish! So you got a letter from Ole. So, I got this letter — and I read the script and I was like, “Crap, this is a really good script.” The story’s there, it’s really character-driven, it’s not a typical horror movie. Demonic possession is its own storied subgenre within horror. What set it apart, beside the dybbuk aspect? I guess it’s a little Jewish. But I think it was the dynamic of these characters that sets it apart. The only way this movie works, the only way any movie works, is if somehow the audience can get invested in these characters. And again, I don’t know if this genre has capitalized on getting to know characters very well. I think this movie had that aspect to it. Then I watched a couple of Ole’s films and thought, this guy has a singular look that I haven’t seen. Him and his DP are so good at setting a mood and knowing where to put a camera — and you’d think all directors know this stuff but they really don’t, it’s a crap shoot. I felt like you really knew what he was doing behind the camera. I had a couple of conversations with him on the phone. He was like, “Don’t think of this as a horror movie,” and what he saw and what I saw were really meshing. You’ve played a lot of fathers, but here so much rides on finding the right young co-star. That was the other key for me — how are you going to find this little girl? You’re asking a lot of any actor, much less a young actor, to make this believable. Her performance is what makes this movie work or not work. He sent me a DVD of an audition/work session that he’d done with her, and only after I saw that did I agree to do the movie. I saw that audition and was like, holy God, this girl is something. And she really is something. The stuff she pulled… was amazing, and I don’t know how she did it and what kind of life experience she has to be able to draw from. It was terrifying to act opposite of. I guess that helps? Yes, but I was really worried for Natasha, going into some really dark places. For one, I didn’t know where she was going and getting this darkness. How old was she at the time? She was 11. Eleven! So it kind of blew my mind. Did you draw on your own life experience, being a father yourself, to tap into your character? Yeah. I love kids, which helps. And the opportunity to be the dad to Natasha [Calis] and Madison [Davenport] in this film, they were such great little girls and had such great senses of humor. They didn’t take themselves too seriously and they were actually little girls. Instead of miniature grown-ups? Yeah! I can hear her talk now and she’s grown up a lot since I last saw her, but she was just a kid! An eleven-year-old kid who was just a kid. She wasn’t some actor-y [child performer]. And Ole gave us an opportunity to not just stick to the page, so I was able to infuse some humor and other stuff that maybe wasn’t there, that kind of shows the father-daughter relationship, especially going through the divorce that my character is going through. So there are just some really real moments in this movie that were my favorite things to film. Natasha was so great at falling into that, I think I learned from her somehow. I thought I was going to have to be babysitting a kid, but she was probably more babysitting me. I’m just truly blown away by what she did and I give a lot of credit to her parents for raising her – I’ve worked with kids that are just horrendous, and it’s mostly because of their parents. [Laughs] Off- and on-camera. But off, yeah. They’re little beasts! Little holy terrors. And you always worry about that, you know? There’s that rule, don’t work with kids and animals. There’s a reason for that! But it was great, it was truly great. I think the relationship we formed between takes and off-camera really shows on screen. How would you describe Sam Raimi ’s influence as a producer on The Possession ? He’s sort of the innovator. I don’t know how much, but Sam would get the dailies after the first week and the notes stopped. I know that Sam was prepping his Oz movie at that time and he was watching the dailies, but all the feedback we were getting from Sam was really positive. He just sort of oversaw from afar. You have so many upcoming projects! Do you foresee any of them bringing you back to the genre fold again, the Comic-Con fold? None of them, really –— which means I need to find another one so I can come back! Maybe they’ll do something with the Watchmen stuff, the prequel stuff. Maybe we’ll get to do something there. You’re attached to a Karyn Kusama project called The Rut , which would be one of multiple projects with Chloe Moretz. I’m very excited about that. That’s one of those countless movies that you’re just waiting for all the pieces to come together, finances and all that, but I’m so thrilled to be working with her and Chloe, who I’ve done a couple of things with already. Chloe has established her reputation as the preeminent young lady ass-kicker. That’s exactly right! She’s doing Carrie now. She’s amazing, Karyn is amazing, and I think they got Ray Liotta to be the heavy in this. It’s a really cool script. It’s Winter’s Bone meets… Hanna , maybe? A little bit of Hanna ! I loved that movie, by the way. Good one. But I’m very excited about this movie. We need a winter location in the woods somewhere. Well, you do live in the woods. I know, and don’t think I haven’t said it! Because I do actually know where we could shoot this movie… The Possession is in theaters today. Read Movieline’s review here . Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Full speed… behind? Following a statement from Summit Entertainment in which the studio said it was moving ” full speed ahead ” with its original outline for the upcoming Breaking Dawn press tour – despite a certain publicized breakup – plans appear to have changed. Ashley Greene may be stepping in for Kristen Stewart. “The studio’s holding out to see if [ Robert Pattinson and Stewart] get back together,” an insider tells The New York Post . “But I don’t think anyone is banking on that happening… At this point, the press strategy would have been mapped out. It’s usually very organized, but at this time it’s undecided.” With various premieres set to take place around the country and the world, executives could simply split Stewart and Pattinson up. Greene would then appear alongside the actor for interviews and junkets. She couldn’t be a bigger fan of Rob, telling The Daily Mail a couple years ago that the star “has been one of my biggest inspirations. As a person, he’s not like anyone I’ve ever met in Hollywood, and as an actor he’s a complete natural. He has no ego.” Sorry, Kristen, but that really does appear to be true. You’ve lost one of the very good eggs here. [Photo: WENN.com]
Katie Couric may have left The Today Show in 2006, but she still has some strong opinions regarding the current state of the program. Specifically, its handling of Ann Curry . And they aren’t very positive. “I felt really bad for Ann. I still don’t understand why they didn’t give her sort of a proper send-off,” Couric told Philly.com this week as part of her promotion for Katie , which premieres on September 10, adding: “Ann did some extraordinary work during her time there. It was just not the best chapter in The Today Show . It made me sad for the institution.” That’s for sure. Ratings for the program haven’t picked up and there’s reportedly even chatter that many employees want Matt Lauer gone next . The juggernaut has fallen has very hard times. Couric, though, kicks off her talk show next month and has booked Jessica Simpson and Sheryl Crow as her opening day guests. She says she’s inspired by Oprah, but… “When people say, ‘Are you the new Oprah?’ I say, ‘No, I’m the old Katie.'”
Fair warning: Depending on your opinion of Aubrey Plaza , you’re either going to find this trailer incredibly endearing or impossibly irritating. Skin Central, as it turns out, finds her adorable, and so we’re pretty into this red-band trailer for Aubrey’s new movie The To Do List (2013), about a young woman who makes a list of all the sex acts she’d like to try (get it? “The to DO List?”). The only creepy part? Aubrey’s playing a high school senior trying to accomplish all this before she goes off to college, but hey– high school kids are usually 18 by the time they graduate, right? Some of ’em, anyway? (For the record, Aubrey is 28 in real life). There’s no nudity in this trailer (just a lot of dirty talk), and The To Do List doesn’t hit theaters until February 14, 2013 , but you can get an eyeful of Aubrey’s Parks and Recreation co-stars Rashida Jones and Amy Poehler right here at MrSkin.com!
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