As evidenced by Jon Favreau ‘s old talk show Dinner for Five , the guy likes to shoot the shit with people, and he’s pretty good at it. So as a means of promoting his upcoming Cowboys and Aliens , he sat down to do a series of behind-the-scenes interviews with his cast himself. After the jump, watch Favreau and star Harrison Ford talk costuming, Star Wars ad-libs, Ford’s Han Solo audition, and more in the first interviews of the series.
Before watching ‘Dark of the Moon,’ check out our handy guide. By Eric Ditzian Shia LaBeouf and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” Photo: Paramount Before the second “Transformers” even hit theaters, director Michael Bay was already saying no to a third installment — or at least one that would hit theaters in 2011. It was back in February 2009, a full three months before the release of “Revenge of the Fallen,” that Bay said there was no way he’d helm a third “Transformers” flick (later titled “Dark of the Moon” ) and get it into multiplexes little more than two years later. “I would like to take a year off,” he told us at the time. But whaddya know? Bay not only ended up agreeing to whipping together the 3-D flick in time for this year’s Independence Day weekend, but Paramount ended up shifting the release to June 29 (June 28, if you count the many 9 p.m. showings). How did we get to this point? To understand that transformation — to learn everything there is to know — we’ll have to travel back to mid-2009: Hop aboard our “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” cheat sheet: Reworking the Bay-hem By October 2009, coming off the poorly reviewed but $836 million-grossing “Revenge of the Fallen,” Bay had cleared up the release date issues and announced that preproduction on the next film had begun. Increasingly, it appeared as though the new movie would be the first “Transformers” to get a 3-D release . “We’re literally in the middle of that. There’s no definitive answer,” producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura told us about the chance for 3-D . But the news about 3-D took a backseat to a rather shocking casting move in May: Megan Fox would not be returning to the franchise. She and Bay had previously shared a contentious creative partnership (remember when she compared him to Hitler and he called her immature?), but suddenly the two had parted ways. Possible replacements for Fox included Brooklyn Decker and Gemma Arterton, but the job eventually went to Victoria’s Secret model, and Hollywood newbie, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley . “I think there’s positives and negatives to her not being [in the movie],” LaBeouf told us about Fox . “It’s awesome that we get the discovery again. I think when everybody’s vetted and everybody’s been through these wars, then that discovery of the first film is nonexistent. It’s kind of beautiful in that we get a new set of eyes, a fresh set of eyes for the audience to vibe with. So you get the discovery again, which is something that wouldn’t happen if Megan came back.” New “Moon” Filming kicked off on the still-untitled film last summer. It wouldn’t be until the fall that it officially got a title . And the reason for that moniker wouldn’t become clear until December, when the film’s teaser trailer popped up online. It didn’t feature LaBeouf or Huntington-Whiteley — or any of the stars, for that matter — but it did make clear the story would be tied into the Apollo 11 moon landing. The trailers that followed, one 30-second spot during the Super Bowl and a second official trailer that dropped April 28, didn’t help explain the film’s storyline any further, but did continue to tease Bay’s famous action sequences and the new gorgeous girl. About That New Girl … Speaking of the lady in question, who admitted recently she thought she bombed her initial audition , Huntington-Whiteley’s co-stars Tyrese Gibson and LaBeouf assured us that the first-time actress has a lot more going on than just a pretty face. “Rosie is going to surprise a lot of people,” Gibson said. “I have to go on record and say that she did not replace Megan Fox. She’s a brand-new character; her name is Carly in the movie.” “She completely owns her sexuality,” LaBeouf added. “Which I think helps, especially on a movie like this where it’s a blanket summer movie and there are certain requirements of a woman in a summer movie.” Rising to Meet Technical Challenges Director Bay entered new territory on this third installment by doing away with his preconceived notions and shooting the film in 3-D, which, according to him, forced him to deal with a whole new set of filming challenges. “It’s hard with my style of shooting and taking [a camera] and strapping it to guys who are skydiving off buildings and helmet cams,” he said. “It’s a technical nightmare. You don’t even want to tell your viewers how technically complicated this stuff is.” On the other side of the technical spectrum is the amount of wirework required of the actors for the various stunts and action sequences. The specifics behind why the wirework proved to be so difficult, aside from the obvious hanging around, became very clear when LaBeouf, Gibson and Huntington-Whiteley offered a detailed (and highly entertaining) explanation of the various body parts that get pinched during the process. “Yeah, I don’t like the wires,” LaBeouf admitted to MTV News. “Really, you can ask any man.” “All the things cut into the wrong places, put pressure on the wrong bits,” Huntington-Whiteley added. “Whatever it does to a man, it also does to a woman.” “Thank God I have a bigger ass so when you put the harness on, the ass is able to help you stay away from the front part,” Gibson explained. “It kind of balances things out a little bit. When your ass is flat and you have to have it going over the front, it is a bad day in America.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Transformers: Dark of the Moon.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘Transformers: Dark Of The Moon’ Related Photos ‘Transformers: Dark Of The Moon’ Crashes Into New York City
Jon M. Chu ‘s G.I. Joe 2 is adding a Wu-Tang veteran to its ranks! According to THR , rapper-actor-newbie director RZA is in negotiations to appear opposite Channing Tatum, Dwayne Johnson, and Elodie Yung in the action sequel. More on RZA’ s character and the new actor cast as Flint after the jump.
The summer of 2013 just got a little more exciting: Warner Bros. has announced that they’ll release Guillermo del Toro ‘s sci-fi action pic Pacific Rim on July 12, 2013. The alien invasion film is set to star Idris Elba , Charlie Hunnam , and Charlie Day, and begins filming this November. Del Toro has described the Travis Beacham-penned project as his biggest film to date, so expect a summer monsterpalooza, del Toro-style. [ Deadline ]
‘Bad Teacher,’ starring Cameron Diaz, makes a strong showing at #2, with ‘Green Lantern’ following behind at #3. By Ryan J. Downey “Cars 2” Photo: Disney “Cars 2” may be the worst-reviewed movie in Pixar’s storied history, but that didn’t stop the animated sequel from maintaining the studio’s streak of box-office number ones. The second entry in the merchandise-friendly franchise took in $68 million over the weekend, according to distributor Walt Disney Studios, making it Pixar’s 12th consecutive movie to debut atop the box-office charts. Thanks to higher ticket prices and expensive 3-D screenings, “Cars 2” enjoyed the fifth-biggest opening for a Pixar film ever. In terms of attendance, however, the “Cars 2” debut was ahead of only “A Bug’s Life,” “Ratatouille” and the beloved company’s first feature film, 1995’s “Toy Story.” The 3-D fatigue evidenced by other recent openings continued as a mere 40 percent of moviegoers chose to see “Cars 2” in that format (versus the 60 percent who opted to see “Toy Story 3” in 3-D). “Bad Teacher,” the weekend’s other new wide release, debuted at #2 with $31 million. It was a strong showing for the reportedly low-budget Cameron Diaz vehicle, which industry watchers had predicted would be less well-received. Debuting the adult-oriented comedy against the family-oriented “Cars 2” was apparently a wise choice on the part of Sony Pictures, who released the film. Warner Bros., meanwhile, watched “Green Lantern” drop 66 percent in its second weekend of release. A sequel was already in development before Ryan Reynolds hit the screen as the DC Comics hero, but there has been little news about those plans since its lukewarm debut. “Lantern” made $18.4 million over the weekend for an $89.3 million total. With an estimated production budget of $200 million and a major marketing campaign behind it, “Green Lantern” has not done well. “Super 8” bears the distinction of being the only well-reviewed film in the top five. JJ Abrams’ nostalgic homage to ’80s coming-of-age classics took in $12.1 million for a $95.2 million total. Coming in at #5, Jim Carrey’s “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” dropped 44 percent with $10.3 million for a $39.4 million two-week total. “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” seems a safe bet for next weekend’s number one. Check out everything we’ve got on “Cars 2,” “Bad Teacher” and “Super 8.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos ‘Green Lantern’ 101 Related Photos ‘Bad Teacher’ Premieres In New York
The pair tied the knot in New York on Wednesday. By Jocelyn Vena Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig Photo: Getty Images It was the kind of clandestine operation only James Bond could pull off. Rachel Weisz and her “James Bond” beau Daniel Craig secretly married last week in New York. Reps for the couple confirmed the nuptials to the Daily Mail and People.com . Little is known about the Big Apple ceremony, but according to reports, the wedding took place on Wednesday and was attended by just four people. In addition to the actors’ children — Rachel’s 5-year-old son, Henry (his dad is “Black Swan” director Darren Aronofsky), and Daniel’s 18-year-old daughter, Ella — the wedding guests included two friends of the couple who acted as witnesses. “Daniel and Rachel insisted on having a small, quiet wedding,” a source reportedly told the News of the World. “They are madly in love and couldn’t wait to be husband and wife — but they wanted minimum fuss. They had a couple of friends as witnesses and their children from previous relationships and that was it.” Weisz and Craig have always been quite private about their relationship. Romance rumors were sparked last year when they were filming “Dream House,” in which they star as a married couple. In the supernatural thriller, their lives take a turn for the worse when they move with their two daughters to a quiet New England town and find out their new home was the site of a murder that claimed the life of a young mother and her two children. Naomi Watts also stars in the film as a neighbor with close ties to the deceased family. Last year, Weisz split from Aronofsky, whom she was with for nine years. Meanwhile, Craig parted ways with his producer girlfriend Satsuki Mitchell earlier in 2010.
As she continues to become more Jolie-like by the second, 42-year-old Jennifer Anniston got just a little more bad-a** recently by getting some fresh ink. And when we say bad-a**, we mean tough as hell! The actress got her first tattoo on the inside of her right foot, and it reads “Norman,” her rep tells PEOPLE. It is Aniston’s favorite word after all! The 42-year-old got a little teary telling James Lipton that during a taping of Inside the Actors Studio on Thursday. Norman was her Welsh corgi-terrier mix, who died in May at 15 years old. Huh? Sit your old a** down somewhere. Source
Oh, how I love this series over at NextMovie so! In the latest installment of “Rappers Review Movies,” hip-hop luminary KRS -One watches and critiques the new Cameron Diaz – Justin Timberlake comedy Bad Teacher . Sample analysis: “I thought the movie was dope. Cameron Diaz, I am a new fan!” It’s like she’s the new Goldie Hawn !
The first official photo from The Raven has surfaced and it features John Cusack looking very serious as Edgar Allen Poe. The film — which centers on a serial killer who challenges the dark poet to solve a series of murders based on his own stories — will hit theaters March 3, 2012. Click through to check out the full-sized image.
Ahh, Friday. It’s here before you know it, and now that I think about it, pretty much gone before you know it. But at least we have our memories as collected in Movieline’s Week in Review, plus the scintillating promise of box-office updates and other breaking news as it arises. If it arises. Who cares? What are you still doing here? Go forth and have a splendid weekend!
