Ailing NBA star Lamar Odom is reportedly making major strides in his recovery … literally. Late last week, he walked without assistance. The basketball star had not been able to move without the aid a walker since the day he overdosed in a Vegas brothel earlier this fall. Until Thursday, when Lamar ditched the walker and took three steps, shocking the doctors working with him on his physical therapy. Furthermore, he has a limited range of motion in his hands, but he was able to make a small, yet significant, stride in that area as well. During a recent visit from wife Khloe Kardashian, Odom reached above his head to put his hood on, which may not sound that impressive. It is, however, considering the state of the athlete’s brain function, which was perilous to say the least and still clouds his entire future. The situation has been so unsettling – or at least uncertain – that some reports have suggested we may never see him in public again . Ever. While that’s an extreme and likely unsubstantiated scenario, it underscores what a difficult road lies ahead for the 36-year-old. Fortunately, he was able to recognize a hospital staff member this week, another milestone since he couldn’t recognize family before. Whatever you think of the circumstances that put him there, these developments are welcome news to Lamar, Khloe and Liza Morales . As for what lies ahead, that remains anyone’s guess, but we’re happy to hear that there has been some progress on the medical front. Despite reports that Odom has nowhere to go after he leaves the hospital, TMZ reports that he will soon be moved to a rehab facility. View Slideshow: Lamar Odom: A Timeline of Tragedy
Remember when Taylor Swift told Tina Fey and Amy Poehler to go to Hell? We wonder what the singer will say now… The beloved actresses and real-life best friends hosted Saturday Night Live this weekend, taking a few moments in one sketch to mock Swift's Bad Blood music video . The sketch opens with Aidy Bryant doing an interview with the women and asking them about how they handle being working mothers. Fey and Poehler reply by saying they get by with help from their squads, which includes nannied, their shared gynecologist and a few very famous faces. Yup, that's Amy Schumer over there! And, look! There's a Gayle King sighting! The hosts even recreated the look of Taylor's famous movie-esque video (sort of) by including wigs, tight costumes, post-apocalyptic walks, fire and also a rap about the PTA and UTIs by Bryant. It was all rather amazing and definitely all in good fun. But will Swift react to it negatively? Or has she forgiven Fey and Poehler for the jokes they made at her expense in 2013 at the Golden Globe Awards? Watch the hilarious video now.
These days, we have so many entertainment options that It's difficult for a new show to break through, particularly when it features no major stars and airs on a streaming service that's not Netflix. Fortunately, we have some tips: Focus on solid writing. Trust in the intelligence of the audience. Never ever, ever make a “joke” about child molestation, particularly when said “joke” involves a beloved toddler and a famously horrific real-life crime. Yes, for some reason, the writers of the new Amy Poehler-produced sitcom Difficult People thought they'd search for some laughs in SVU territory. Needless to say, it didn't go well. We can't even bring bring ourselves to quote the creepy-ass dialogue here, but suffice to day, it involves Blue Ivy Carter and the R. Kelly molestation case . Watch if you must, but say we didn't warn you.
Aspiring awards-show hosts, do I have a training video for you. Here, in one sweet video-clip compilation, is a highlight reel of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s pitch-perfect performance at the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday. Included are Poehler’s lines about the “beautiful people of film rubbing shoulders with the rat-faced people of television,” Les Miserables actress Anne Hathaway not being cut out for porn, and Fey’s warning to singer/songwriter Taylor Swift to “stay away from Michael J. Fox’s son,” Sam. This nicely edited clip, which was posted by The Guardian in the U.K., also features audience reaction to the jokes. You get to see Jessica Chastain’s gasp after Poehler does the joke about Zero Dark Thirty director Kathryn Bigelow understanding torture because of her three-year marriage to James Cameron. And Daniel Day-Lewis plays along by extending his index finger when Poehler and Fey tell the audience that the method actor actually worked for Steven Spielberg before Lincoln when he played E.T. There’s even a bonus shot of Tommy Lee Jones scowling, which makes this video a must-have for any awards-show aficionado’s collection. My only regret is that the video doesn’t include the shot of Poehler cuddling with George Clooney . Check it out below, but put down the coffee cup first or you’ll be doing a spit take like Quentin Tarantino . RELATED: Do The Tommy Lee Jones! 5 Top Golden Globe Moments WATCH: Jodie Foster Wins The Golden Globes With Her ‘Coming Out’ Speech [ The Guardian ] Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
The Tribeca Film Festival has announced The Avengers as the closing-night selection of its 11th annual event, where Joss Whedon’s summer superhero blockbuster will have its New York premiere on April 28 — and for a good cause, according to Marvel and fest organizers. “Honoring the spirit of the Tribeca Film Festival, the screening will allow the opportunity for Marvel’s The Avengers to celebrate everyday heroes from police agencies, fire departments, first responders and various branches of the U.S. military,” reads a statement just over the transom at ML HQ. “These local heroes will have an opportunity to attend the screening and meet the cast.” Marvel Studios’ producer Kevin Feige adds: “We all know and love our iconic Super Heroes, but when it really counts, it’s our real-life heroes who save the world every day by making it a better place for all of us.” Whedon, meanwhile, reacted with customary cheekiness: “Showing at Tribeca is both an honor and a double homecoming for me, who grew up in Manhattan, and for the movie, which wrapped production there. I’m thoroughly psyched to be closing the festival with our intimate little think-piece.” More to come at Movieline as Tribeca gets underway next month. Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
What’s the Film : Citizen Ruth (1996), available on DVD and Hulu Why it’s an Inessential Essential : The premise — one woman’s attempt to have an abortion turns into a national debate and bidding war — was a bold choice out of the gate for writer-director Alexander Payne. Citizen Ruth is his first feature film, and like his subsequent work, it has a biting wit, absurdities from every corner, and deeply flawed characters. Ruth (Laura Dern) is a dim-witted screw-up who is pregnant for the fifth time; her four offspring have been placed elsewhere because of her addiction to inhalants. When she is charged with a felony for huffing “patio sealant,” the judge coerces her to terminate the pregnancy. In jail, she meets anti-abortion crusaders who start a tug-of-war with pro-choice rivals over the unborn child, who becomes widely known as Baby Tanya after a clinic doctor manipulates Ruth into imagining keeping it. Tackling this tricky subject matter, Payne found an unreal story to tell, except that part of it was real. In the DVD commentary, he and co-writer Jim Taylor reveal that the plot was inspired by the true story of a woman who was offered money by anti-abortion and pro-choice camps to honor their respective wishes for her fetus. The parallels to reality don’t stop there. In one of Dern’s best unhinged moments, Ruth screams at two overzealous medical staffers at a clinic, who then pull out all the stops and force her to watch a video of abortion footage. That seems far-fetched, though maybe not in places like Arizona, where a lawmaker recently proposed a bill that would require women to watch an abortion before having one. The state representative, Terri Proud, calls her idea “(The) Reproductive Games.” Truth is catchier than fiction. Why We Recommend It Now : Released in 1996, Citizen Ruth resonates today, of course, because the issue of affordable health care has evolved into a fight over reproductive rights. Although Baby Tanya, were she real/alive, would be old enough to have a Sweet 16 party this year, not much has changed in the public discourse. Payne skewers the radicals on both sides, who are largely motivated by impressing their leaders — Tippi Hedren, for example, as a mother/god figure to the lunatic pro-choice activists. Their behavior is over the top, but their ideologies still echo. Among the points the movie makes so nicely is that extremists tend to lose sight of the real people and issues involved. When Sandra Fluke testified about hormonal birth control, the point she made — that the drug treats medical conditions — was lost once Rush Limbaugh piped in and turned Fluke into an abstraction and a “prostitute.” Ruth is unfit to be a mother, yet a contingent of crazies think she should take a stab at parenthood, aided by 15 grand, because somehow it’ll just all work out. There’s something to be said for laughing so we don’t cry, and Citizen Ruth allows us to do that. The DVD has few extras, but it does feature a revealing commentary track from Payne, Taylor, Dern and production designer Jane Ann Stewart. Explaining that the film doesn’t take sides, Stewart says her team strived to make both camps look a little foolish. Payne gets to the heart of the matter, saying, “Jane, you asked me, ‘Is nothing sacred?’ And it’s true. Everything is sacred, and nothing is sacred. Everyone is open for being examined as a human being.” Other Interesting Trivia : Payne says the film’s limited release was probably the reason he didn’t receive one threatening letter over it, though he was concerned about potential violence at the time from groups like the Army of God. Dern recalls a conversation with the women who ran Planned Parenthood in Texas, who called her to say how much they loved being mocked in the film. Also, let the end credits roll a couple minutes for a hint at Ruth’s fate. PREVIOUS INESSENTIAL ESSENTIALS The Last Temptation of Christ The Sitter
It has come to this for “unaccompanied” teenagers desperate to see the unrated Bully : “An AMC spokesman said it will indeed allow that, but only if the child presents a signed permission slip from a parent, either via a form letter made available by the theater or an improvised note on a standard piece of paper. The move is an apparent attempt to support the film — AMC executive Gerry Lopez has two teenagers and has been vocal about its importance — while still paying deference to the Motion Picture Assn. of America and its ratings system.” Related: Is Harvey Weinstein just recycling tricks from his Kids playbook ? [ LAT ]
This just in at ML HQ: Esteemed Mad Men creator and occasional director Matthew Weiner will make his feature filmmaking debut with You Are Here , to co-star Owen Wilson and Zach Galifianakis in a “funny, charming, and deeply honest film about who we were, who we are, and discovering the power to embrace life, no matter how much you screw it up.” There is also a road trip! And possibly Amy Poehler! Read on for full details from producer Gilbert Films. ========= LOS ANGELES, March 28 — Gilbert Films announced today that their next theatrical film project, YOU ARE HERE, will start production in May 2012 in North Carolina. The film, written and to be directed by Matthew Weiner (creator of Emmy and Golden Globe winning series MAD MEN, writer/executive producer of THE SOPRANOS) will star Owen Wilson (MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, WEDDING CRASHERS) and Zach Galifianakis (THE HANGOVER, DUE DATE). Discussions are underway for Amy Poehler (PARKS & RECREATION) to co-star. Weiner will be making his big screen debut after having directed numerous episodes of the award-winning MAD MEN through its five years of production. Gary Gilbert, Scott Hornbacher, and Jordan Horowitz will produce. Lionsgate is handling international sales. Local weatherman and freewheeling bachelor Steve Dallas (Wilson) and bi-polar man-child Ben (Galafinakis) are childhood best friends who embark on a road trip home after Ben discovers that his estranged father has passed away. Once there, Ben is shocked to learn that his eccentric father had big plans for him and he’s inherited a whole lot more than his father’s money. As Ben struggles with his new responsibilities, his friendship with Steve is tested by the complications of his inheritance, his sister Terry’s (Poehler) ambition, and Steve’s desire to be with his father’s beautiful young widow Angela. YOU ARE HERE is a funny, charming, and deeply honest film about who we were, who we are, and discovering the power to embrace life, no matter how much you screw it up. “This movie has been my passion for eight years and to see it come together with Owen and Zach and Amy is a dream come true,” said Weiner. “I can’t wait to get started because the movie is about everything I care about and I’m tired of reading it out loud to my friends.” Noted Gilbert: “We are thrilled to finally bring this project to the screen. Matt is one of the brightest creative minds in television, and we are confident that this project will solidify the same reputation for him in the world of narrative film.” ###
