I guess carrying a kid around all day must be a great lower-body workout, because Hilary Duff continues to impress me with her MILF booty. This time she’s wearing jeans, but hopefully next time, we’ll get to see her in a nice pair of leggings, and then after that a bikini, and if I keep playing my cards right, doing squats at the foot of my bed. She’d have to leave the kid at home for that one though. » view all 16 photos Related Articles: Hilary Duff Ruins An Upskirt Moment Hilary Duff’s Breasts Revealed!!! ilary Duff’s Sexy Maxim Outtakes Hilary Duff Works It Good Photos: WENN.com
I guess carrying a kid around all day must be a great lower-body workout, because Hilary Duff continues to impress me with her MILF booty. This time she’s wearing jeans, but hopefully next time, we’ll get to see her in a nice pair of leggings, and then after that a bikini, and if I keep playing my cards right, doing squats at the foot of my bed. She’d have to leave the kid at home for that one though. » view all 16 photos Related Articles: Hilary Duff Ruins An Upskirt Moment Hilary Duff’s Breasts Revealed!!! ilary Duff’s Sexy Maxim Outtakes Hilary Duff Works It Good Photos: WENN.com
Surprisingly no Wild Cards were chosen, but two castoffs still have a chance to join the summer tour. By Adam Graham Ryan Seacrest and Lazaro Arbos on “American Idol” Photo: Michael Becker/ Fox
Netflix is breaking new ground in February by releasing House of Cards , the first original series produced by the movie-streaming service. The company also made the unusual move of releasing all 13 episodes at once, in defiance of standard weekly releases meant to build up social media buzz. Reviews so far are good, but if you don’t have time to spend 10 back-to-back hours wading through Washington politics, we can help you out. Spoiler alert: There’s nudity! See pics after the jump!
They’re blaming the Government for “too stringent terms”?!?! And to the tune of $25 billion! Via Gawker : A.I.G., the backbone that runs one inch beneath the surface of the global economy, has gotten itself millions of dollars worth of free PR today by just considering joining a lawsuit against the U.S. government. To sue, or not to sue? To be ungrateful bastards, or to potentially miss a payday? It’s not a complicated question, really. The background, as far as it goes, is that A.I.G. was woven ever so tightly into the fabric of the financial system that when it all came crashing down in 2008, the U.S. government chose to bail the company out to the tune of $182 billion, rather than to let it go bankrupt, pulling down many, many of the little people with it. A classic case of Too Big to Fail. A.I.G. subsequently paid back the bailout, with interest. Now, Hank Greenberg—A.I.G.’s flinty, sour-faced former chairman who’s still the company’s largest shareholder, and who almost certainly sits at home all day stroking his evil cat and counting golden doubloons—is suing the government for $25 billion, claiming that the government’s terms were too stringent. A.I.G. itself is reportedly contemplating whether or not to join this lawsuit, and possibly reap some of those billions. The terms of these deals are complex, and there are fairly high-level financial and legal claims at play. But for A.I.G., the entire decision really comes down to this: Will the money potentially won in the lawsuit outweigh the damage in good will the company will inflict on itself by joining the lawsuit? Because A.I.G. is, of course, fresh off becoming one of the most infamous symbols of greed and outrageously insular corporate conduct (some good background on the company’s various PR outrages during the financial crisis can be found here). Is the possibility of bringing in several billion dollars enough to make up for saying, in effect, “Fuck you” to A) the government legislators and regulators who crafted the company’s bailout package and B) the general public, which suffered without a bailout of any sort while A.I.G. executives reaped bonuses? The moral answer is “no, of course not.” The practical answer is “maybe, depending on how likely you think the revolution really is.” (Unlikely, considering the fact that even at the height of the financial collapse, no A.I.G. executives were lynched by angry mobs.) How likely are Americans to even organize a boycott against such an amorphous and massively connected company? Is such a thing even possible? A few hundred million in PR spending and several million more in lobbying fees could make everyone forget, anyhow. Americans have short memories. The moral of this story: Don’t bail out corporations. Now take your ungrateful azz and sit the fawk down! SMH. Images via AP
We all remember Good Will Hunting as the touching drama about a troubled genius who works as a janitor (and something about apples, right?) The combination of an Oscar-winning script by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon , and Gus Van Sant , a director who, up to that point, had a career consisting of expert societal button-pushing, made magic. But as touching as the movie turned out, it’s important to note how different it could have been. Violently different. It’s well known that the original screenplay for Good Will Hunting was a thriller in which the genius main character was recruited by the FBI. Thank the gods that changed, but perhaps it was that genesis which led to Mel Gibson being first at bat to direct the film. Yep, it’s true. The news comes courtesy of Boston Magazine (via Movies.com ), which has published an extensive conversation with the cast and crew of the film in honor of its 15 th anniversary. Initially, Affleck and Damon, desperate to get the thing made, asked Kevin Smith if he’d direct it. Smith turned it down, but he passed the script to Harvey Weinstein , who positively flipped for it. From there, Gibson was brought into the project. “We met with Mel Gibson,” Affleck, who’s been doing a spot-on Weinstein impersonation since he made Good Will Hunting , said, “and Braveheart had just come out, and was as hot as could be. But we hadn’t seen Braveheart and Harvey was like, ‘YOU HAVEN’T SEEN BRAVEHEART? F*CKING LIE TO HIM AND TELL HIM YOU LOVE BRAVEHEART .’ So the first thing we said was, ‘We just want to tell you how much we loved Braveheart !’” Knowing what we now know about Mel’s mood swings, they probably made the right choice. Alas, a Gibsonized version of Good Will Hunting wasn’t in the cards. Mel dragged his feet developing the script for several months and Damon eventually had to ask the volatile filmmaker to let them take it elsewhere. “Matt at one point said directly to Gibson, “Look, man. We’re getting too old. If this keeps going by, Ben and I can’t play these parts. Is there any chance you’d just let it go?” And to Mel’s credit, he said, “I totally understand what you’re saying.” That was a real stand-up thing to do.” Well yeah, but Mel knows a thing or two about the dangers of getting too old for this shit. Obviously, this turned out to be for the best, at least if the film’s two Oscars are any measure. But I can’t help but feel that the world was denied something kind of magical on the day Gibson let them take their script to another director. Let’s have a moment of silence then, for the hyper-patriotic revenge obsessed version of Good Will Hunting that never happened. Ross Lincoln is a LA-based freelance writer from Oklahoma with an unhealthy obsession with comics, movies, video games, ancient history, Gore Vidal, and wine. [ Boston Magazine , Movies.com ] Follow Ross Lincoln on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
I have some exciting news to report, everyone. It’s official: My favorite new bikini babe, Claudia Romani , and I are now Twitter friends. And we all know that’s only one small step away from Claudia becoming my new Internet girlfriend and, assuming she plays her cards right, my future ex-wife. It’s all happening so fast. I haven’t even told my mom yet. Related Articles: Claudia Romani Bikini Pictures Claudia Romani Does A Bikini Good Jennifer Lawrence Pumps It For Me Jennifer Lawrence Bikini Pictures For Thanksgiving Photos: PacificCoastNews
Clint Eastwood has starred in and/or directed some of the smartest, most thought-provoking movies I’ve seen in the last 10 years. And that’s making it very hard for me to get my head around his trite, addled performance at the Republican National Convention on Thursday night. I’m not bitching about Eastwood’s politics. I’m pretty certain that I don’t share his ideology, but I can’t help but respect someone who’s not afraid to be politically unpopular in largely liberal Hollywood. I only wish Eastwood’s courage and convictions translated to a more articulate speech and an appearance that didn’t make him look like a GOP pawn. For one thing, what possessed him to let the RNC appropriate the silhouette of his High Plains Drifter character for Mitt Romney’s coronation? The Stranger, as that character was billed in the movie’s credits, ran silent but deep — a far cry from Romney who runs silent and empty. Then there was Eastwood’s assertion in his speech that there are “a lot of conservative people” and moderates in Hollywood, but that they play their cards “close to the vest.” They must because the filmmaker could only name one famous fellow conservative: Jon Voight . That Eastwood followed Voight’s name with the statement: “These are all people that are like-minded,” made me wonder if he needed to up his Centrum Silver dosage. Eastwood, 82, also shot himself in the foot (with a .44 Magnum) when he derisively told the Tampa convention crowd that he wept during Obama’s inauguration. “I haven’t cried that hard since I found out that there’s 23 million unemployed people in this country,” said Eastwood, ploughing past the faulty construction of that sentence and adding: “That is a disgrace, a national disgrace.” Maybe he believes that, but, Eastwood, who made a career out of playing characters, such as Harry Callahan, who ferreted out the ugly truth, didn’t even acknowledge that the unemployment rate may have something to do with the financial meltdown that took place in 2008 under Republican President George W. Bush’s watch. Instead, he blithely trotted out a few more facile statements about how bad things are under the Obama administration before closing with his old Dirty Harry catchphrase, “Make My Day.” Like many of the lines that preceded it, the remark was trite and half-baked — a far cry from such thoughtful, moving films as Hereafter , Gran Torino and Million Dollar Baby that have made Eastwood such an original and powerful filmmaker. Clint, you didn’t make my day. You ruined my night. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
Also up for Tuesday morning’s new round up, Oscilloscope picks up a SXSW selection, MTV Movie Awards suffers a decline in ratings. Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins readies for the camera to play the role of a rock legend and Venice taps an Italian actor to lead its Horizons jury. Oscilloscope Nabs SXSW Doc Tchoupitoulas Pronounced “Chop-Ih-Tou-Less,” the New York-based specialty distributor picked up North American rights to the feature directed by Bill and Turner Ross. The film is described as a “lyrical documentary that follows three adolescent brothers as they journey through one night in New Orleans, encountering a vibrant kaleidoscope of dancers, musicians, hustlers, and revelers parading through the lamplit streets.” The deal was finalized at the recently completed Cannes Film Festival. David Laub and Dan Berger of Oscilloscope negotiated the deal with George Rush on behalf of the filmmakers. The film is produced by the Ross Brothers along with Michael Gottwald, Dan Janvey, and Josh Penn of Court 13. 1st Look East: Korean Film Festival Takes Shape Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood will be the home of the first annual event celebrating Korean cinema June 23 – 24. A 3D version of cult favorite The Host is on tap to join the roster of ten films, including U.S. premieres Flower in Hell and A Hometown in My Heart . Around the ‘net… Next Up for Ridley Scott: Moses The Prometheus director had some choice words for religion – all religions – and let it slip that he will direct the film about the Biblical figure, noting, “I probably shouldn’t have let that slip out. I’m not supposed to say anything. It’s definitely in the cards though…” Esquire reports . Amazon Studios to Conquer Rome with Zombies The studio has tapped Clive Barker to re-write and direct Zombies vs. Gladiators in which a shaman who faces death in the Coliseum casts a spell creating the world’s first zombies. But a gladiator steps in to try and end the zombie menace and save Rome, Deadline reports . MTV Movie Awards Takes a Hit The zany awards show saw a 28% decline in the 12 – 34 age range, perhaps a victim of the waning Twilight craze, Deadline reports . Foo Fighters Drummer to Play Iggy Pop Taylor Hawkins will play rock legend Iggy Pop in the upcoming rock film CBGB . Also joining the cast are The Big Bang Theory ‘s Johnny Galecki as music manager Terry Ork and portraying Patti Smith will be The Borgias actress Mickey Sumner, THR reports . Favino to Preside over Venice’s Horizons Jury Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino ( Angles and Demons ) will lead the Venice Film Festival’s cutting-edge Horizons section. Venice’s new artistic director Alberto Barbera has tightened the Horizons section’s lineup to 18 feature films, including some docs, representing “the latest trends in global cinema,” Variety reports .
