Also in Thursday morning’s briefs: Bill Clinton heads to Monaco for celebrity fundraising, Obama is criticized for helping Kathryn Bigelow’s latest film on Osama bin Laden, and a pair of fan-friendly sites team up for ticket initiative. Kanye West Hosts Cannes Party and Premiere The hip-hop artist debuted Cruel Summer at a beachside venue in Cannes Wednesday night. The project, a fusion of short film and art installation, will be available to the public for two days of screenings via www.cruelsummer.com . Rumors flew that he would perform as happened last year at the festival, but West opted out this time around. President Clinton, Prince Albert Raise Cash in Monaco The first annual Nights in Monaco gala raised $750K for the former president’s William J. Clinton Foundation and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. Princess Caroline, Diane Kruger, Joshua Jackson, Billy Zane and Rose McGowan were among the attendees. The event coincided with the Cannes Film Festival, about a 45-minute drive away. Entertainment One Nabs Freaky Deaky Charlie Matthau’s homage to the ’70s will go to eOne, the company announced from Cannes. Based on Elmore Leonard’s 1988 novel of the same name, the film stars Crispin Glover, Billy Burke, Michael Jai White and Christian Slater in a darkly comic tale of murder, manipulation, money and movies. It premiered last month at the Tribeca Film Festival. Around the ‘net… Obama Admin Under Fire for Hollywood Bin Laden Access The Administration is taking some heat for granting Kathryn Bigelow access to the Navy SEAL team that killed the Al Qaeda leader last year, The Guardian reports . Sony Snaps up Ethan Hawke Time-Travel Thriller The sci-fi action thriller Predestination has been picked up by Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions. The story “chronicles the life of a temporal government agent sent on an intricate series of time-travel journeys designed to stop future killers,” and will be directed by Michael and Peter Spierig, who previously directed Hawke in Daybreakers . THR reports . Moviefone and Fandango Team for Tix Sales The two companies are forging a ticketing partnership focusing on mobile phone and tablets, Thompson on Hollywood reports .
This could be fun: “Gary Oldman has inked a deal to star opposite Joel Kinnaman in MGM’s remake of Robocop . Kinnaman ( The Killing ) plays the title character, a cop named Alex Murphy who is brought back from the brink of death and turned into a cyborg police officer. Oldman will play Norton, the scientist who creates Robocop and finds himself torn between the ideals of the machine trying to rediscover its humanity and the callous needs of a corporation.” [ THR ]
The French Riviera got a triple dose of star power as Brad Pitt breezed into town for his Killing Me Softly premiere, where the goofy Pitt got snap-happy with the paparazzi. The Andrew Dominik debut was followed by another star-studded to-do as Twilight ‘s Kristen Stewart and her On the Road co-stars hit the red carpet, joined by Robert Pattinson (who will unveil his own Cannes flick, David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis , on Friday). Check out Movieline’s updated Cannes gallery for pics from the fest! Click on Brad’s beautiful mug to launch the gallery.
I know, I know — to paraphrase a popular rejoinder to the overexposed, “How can I ever anticipate On the Road if it won’t go away?” Nevertheless, consider the two new clips released by IFC Films as complements to Brian’s coverage from Cannes , where the long-awaited Jack Kerouac adaptation premiered this morning. Via our video-devouring partners at ENTV , take a few minutes to enjoy Kristen Stewart’s aborted front-seat handy, Kirsten Dunst’s sweet Colorado slow-dance and Movieline favorite Sam Riley as the beneficiary of both. And if That’s not enough, hop over to our just-refreshed Cannes 2012 photo gallery for red-carpet pics. Read more of Movieline’s Cannes 2012 coverage here .
This week marks the big screen return of Will Smith — Hollywood’s most bankable star — after a four year absence from acting, during which time the erstwhile Fresh Prince refocused his personal pursuit of happiness: namely, producing the burgeoning entertainment careers of kids Jaden and Willow Smith, while fine-tuning his own career. So where do you go when you’re already on top — or were, a few films ago? Back to the blockbuster well, if you’re Smith, whose Men in Black 3 headlines the latest step in a lifetime career plan that, he describes, began when he was just a kid himself. “I like big movies,” admitted Smith to journalists at the Men in Black 3 press day in Los Angeles, “and the adjustment I’m making in my career right now is the clarity of what we’re saying with the movie. There has to be an idea, there has to be some message or some statement, for me.” Even, say, in a threequel about aliens wreaking havoc on earth? Despite widespread reports of the chaotic Men in Black 3 production — filming without a finished script, for starters — Smith insists these essential messages are there to be found as viewers watch his Agent J traipse back in time to the 1960s to save the younger version of his partner, Agent K (played by Josh Brolin , channeling Tommy Lee Jones with uncanny aplomb). “With Men in Black 3 we connected to the destructive nature of secrets,” he explained. “That idea whether you get that or not, when you look at it or think about it, that’s what we’re displaying, and how a relationship can get repaired and go to another level through the exposure of a secret.” At the age of 43, the Oscar- and Golden Globe-nominated Smith is almost twice as old as he was when he first rose to popularity on his TV show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air . And though he’s still got those baby faced looks and an effervescent energy about him, he espouses the kind of philosophical musings of someone who’s managed to avoid the pitfalls of fame through sheer determination. “I control every interaction with every human being that I’m with,” he proclaimed. “That a person isn’t just an asshole, or a person isn’t crazy; if I’m aware, I can actually manage any situation with 98 percent of the people on Earth.” Of course, there’s the odd fan who’ll go in for one too many kisses on the red carpet — like the Ukrainian journalist at the center of last week’s widely reported Men in Black 3 premiere incident (which occurred after this interview). “There are some lunatics that you just can’t do nothing with them,” Smith said with a smile, “but for the most part you play a part in every aspect of your life going the way you want, or not going the way that you want.” That self-determining secret to success is something that Smith also says he and wife Jada Pinkett-Smith try to impart to their children, Willow and Jaden. “The idea of failure is a label,” said Smith. “It has no bearing on what actually happened. What actually happened can turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to you if you decide that it’s the best thing that ever happened to you. So for me, the big thing with my kids is you have to control how you label things, because they’re going to become what you say it is. It’s very important to me that they understand the power they have to create the lives that they want.” “Willow, for example — we were getting flack for letting Willow cut her hair,” he said. “If I teach her that I’m in charge of whether or not she can touch her hair, she’s going to replace me with some other man when she goes out in the world. Now, she can’t cut my hair! [Laughs] But that’s her hair. To me it’s more about lumping the responsibility on them for their lives, as much weight as they can hold without breaking… that’s what we try to give them until they can hold the full weight of their lives.” [To son Jaden, with whom Smith co-starred in The Pursuit of Happyness and appears in M. Night Shyamalan’s After Earth : “I tell him all the time, ‘Son, I’m going to teach you everything that I know — and if you work hard, you can be the second biggest movie star in the world.’”] This brings Smith full circle, in a way, with the roots of his own success, which he credits to soaking up the pop cultural trifecta of Star Wars , hip-hop, and TV’s Dallas as a child. “It just felt like somehow the limits got knocked off after I saw [ Star Wars ],” Smith recalled. He was 10 years-old when he first saw the sci-fi classic. “It coincided right with the time that ‘Rapper’s Delight’ came out, so it was the introduction to rap music and Star Wars in the same year. Rap music was something that only people in New York did, and it was separate and you couldn’t get it, but part of the experience of Star Wars made me think, ‘Oh, I can rap.’ My mind got expanded in a way that’s really hard to explain.” Add to that the sprawling estate that the Ewing family lived on in Dallas and Smith’s lifelong inspiration was set. “Grown people lived on the property and came to breakfast and everybody worked in the family business, and I was like, ‘I want that!’” he exclaimed. “So I’ve been like a mad scientist trying to build Dallas through Star Wars and rap music.” Men in Black 3 is in theaters Friday. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
After debuting at Cannes , Wes Anderson ‘s latest offering Moonrise Kingdom hits limited release in New York and Los Angeles this week. You’ve seen the twee snippets previewing the tale of young puppy love in flight, circa 1965. You’ve pored over the visual charm assault that is its poster . Now let co-star Bill Murray be your guide — wearing patchwork madras pants, with a little bit o’ rum in his belly — through the New England set of Moonrise Kingdom . Among Murray’s observational insights: Anderson’s characters wear their pants flooded because that’s how the director dresses himself! It’s all clicking into place. “He likes everyone in the film to wear their pants really short to look just a little bit like the kind of person you’d like to mug.” Wes Anderson Chic, whittled down to its base elements. Moonrise Kingdom is really quite lovely and charming and sweet, but then I’m a sucker for Wes Anderson and angsty adolescents and little girls who listen to Francoise Hardy. The synopsis: Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, Moonrise Kingdom tells the story of two twelve-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore — and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone can handle. Bruce Willis plays the local sheriff. Edward Norton is a Khaki Scout troop leader. Bill Murray and Frances McDormand portray the young girl’s parents. The cast also includes Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, and Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as the boy and girl.
Chris Brown and Nicki Minaj are confirmed to perform at the 2012 BET Awards on July 1. By Rob Markman Kanye West Photo: Chris Hyde/Getty Images Expect lots of drama, plenty of laughs and possibly even a few superheroes in the building when Samuel L. Jackson hosts the 2012 BET Awards on July 1, live from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. On Tuesday (May 22), BET announced the nominees for their 2012 awards show and even confirmed performances by Chris Brown and Nicki Minaj (though there was no official word on whether the Hulk will attend). BET president Stephen Hill held a press conference in New York City on Tuesday, and with the help of Big Sean , DJ Khaled, A$AP Rocky, Diggy, Mindless Behavior and Melanie Fiona, he spilled the beans about the big show. Samuel L. wasn’t in attendance, but “The Avengers” star sent a pre-taped message promising that the show will be “too big to miss.” Kanye West leads the nominations with seven, including two Video of the Year nods for the Throne’s “N—as in Paris” and “Otis.” Beyonc
So says Rufio himself! Chatting with Crave Online, Hook actor Dante Basco waxed nostalgic about imaginary food fightin’ with Robin Williams in the 1991 cult flick and let slip that he’s attached to produce a Rufio prequel, with Zorro director Rpin Suwannath at the helm. Of course, the project is A) currently only in development and B) going the indie route, so take it with a grain of salt. That said, in the spirit of the Lost Boys, let your inner kid dream big. Ru-fi-OOO! According to Basco, who appeared in two films at the Los Angeles Asian Film Festival, the Rufio film will be based on a musical that comedy troupe The Younger Statesmen wrote in college. “These guys have a whole storyline of how he gets the mohawk,” Basco told Crave . “The whole story’s crazy. These guys came with the script, I’m like, ‘You guys wrote this?'” “Not only did they write this, they did the musical in their college. They were going to go off Broadway with it and then they lost their insurance and they came to Hollywood. If anyone saw their play it’s that, but the newer version is pretty intense. They added more action. I never saw the play but I think they added more backstory to Rufio, like how he became Rufio which I was impressed by.” So: Good idea or bad idea? The original film made money but tanked with critics (though it did garner five Oscar nods), but ask any kid of the ’90s and I’d bet they’d watch a Rufio spin-off in a heartbeat. [via Crave Online ]
Last week we wondered if, as reported by the band Here We Go Magic during its ongoing tour, filmmaker John Waters was in fact hitchhiking his way across America. We had little reason to doubt that he was (who would lie about picking up John Waters in Ohio?), and now, with photographic evidence of Waters cropping up via Twitter, we have definitive answers at last. To wit, he’s in… Kansas? Shout out to Movieline commenter “Knoob,” who sent up this tweeted flare at Movieline’s original post : Wow, this just sent to us from a sweet gal, Sarah Trimble, in Kansas!! Look who she found… yfrog.com/nttpyypj — Here We Go Magic (@herewegomagic) May 21, 2012 Brilliant. Hats off to the guy for taking his time in the heartland, too; I once stopped in Salina, Kansas, just long enough to do laundry and get sick at a Sonic. (Which reminds me: Thanks for nothing, Salina.) [ @herewegomagic ]
“Midnight showings were conceived as a way to reward the most ravenous consumers and offer a two hour block in which their anticipated movie could be enjoyed alongside the small contingent of people who actually gave a shit as much as they did. They were niche activities, like nudist weekends or snake-handling conventions. Every fat dude with a Jabba The Hutt mask in a thirty mile radius was honored for one night with an evening to argue about who shot first, and within that small window of time, those fat dudes with stains on their signed R2D2 medium t-shirt didn’t have to feel like the weirdos. They were among friends. Sadly, over the past few years, the policy that allowed that escape has changed to welcome every Han, Luke and Lando with even a passing interest into the screenings. The result is an atmosphere filled with people who, on average, care far less.” [ Cinema Blend ]
