‘Safe House’ actor details the ‘quick little brawl’ he got into in Amsterdam when he was 20. By Kara Warner, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Ryan Reynolds Photo: MTV News Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington get plenty of action in their new thriller “Safe House,” which revolves around Reynolds’ character trying to prevent the escape/kidnapping of a dangerous rogue CIA agent (Washington) from the safe house where he works. When MTV News caught up with Reynolds, we asked him why this story is more intriguing than most action thrillers, as well as whether he’s had any real-life fighting experience to bring an extra edge to his character. “It’s such a great character piece,” Reynolds said of the film’s appeal. “You have two characters that are obviously diametrically opposed but they’re sort of marching toward one another as opposed to away from one another. My character is an idealist, [Washington’s] is basically a sociopath. They’re taking slow, steady steps toward each other, and by the end they’re kind of integrating,” he explained. “Factor in Denzel Washington, who is one of the greatest living actors today, and [director] Daniel Espinosa, who is a young guy with a fresh take on the genre.” With regard to the hand-to-hand fighting in the film, we asked Reynolds to take us through the last time he was in an actual fight. “I was in Amsterdam and I was probably about 20,” Reynolds recalled. “People can wander around a little affected there, and this guy was on something funny and he just came at me. I don’t know what he did but he just came at me. I was 20 years old and it was all a blur. I ended up in this quick little brawl and then it was over. Then the next thing I knew the police were escorting me to the train station and asking me to leave. Not because I was in trouble, but because they thought, ‘If this guy sees you again, he’s going to stab you.’ I was escorted off the city limits.” Are you planning on seeing “Safe House”? Leave your comment below! Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: Safe House
How did the film do so much with so little? Simon Hansen tells MTV News. By Kevin P. Sullivan Alex Russell in “Chronicle” Photo: 20th Century Fox This weekend, the teenage superheroes of “Chronicle” edged out Harry Potter himself at the box office with their amazing abilities. Made on a relatively tight budget of $12 million, the found-footage superhero movie made almost twice its budget back in domestic ticket sales alone. Part of the reason for the success, no doubt, was due to the work of visual-effects supervisor Simon Hansen and his team in South Africa. They created all the usual sights of a superhero flick but with a fraction of the budget. MTV News spoke with Hansen to find out how he did so much with so little. ( There are minor spoilers ahead. ) MTV : Where does work begin when trying to tackle something like “Chronicle” on such a low budget? Simon Hansen : That was obviously the challenge of the film and one of the reasons that I was keen to get involved with the project from the beginning. I get to play with commercially viable films that are also cost-effective to make. Having read the script, it was a small film. It’s supposed to be low-budget, relatively. I started making notes when we read the script, noting down all the effects. By the time I got to the third act, I put my pen down because it got so hectic that making notes at that point was a bit of a waste of time. There was clearly a hell of a lot more work that needed to be done. From that point of view, it was a really big film for a low budget, and that was what excited me and what excited everyone on the project. This was the little film that we were going to push further than smaller films normally go. MTV : What’s your approach for doing what the big-budget movies do but with a fraction of the money? Hansen : My background was actually pursuing that as a goal from a very early age in the industry, trying to make things that looked great but didn’t cost a lot. It wasn’t a new idea from that point of view. It wasn’t daunting or hindering; it was actually the most exhilarating part of the process. The superhero genre is a good comparison, which I think has too much money. Having these large budgets is removing the innovation from the project. Capping the budget is a way to force that ingenuity and innovation into the project, which I think does come across. I think “Chronicle” has that feel of being a higher-budget film than it is, but it always has a kind of edginess to it at the same time. MTV : Was there a question of “Can we do everything that’s in the script?” Hansen : Yes, the first question is, “Read the script and tell us how much of it we can do and what you think we can’t do.” My pitch that [producer] Adam [Schroeder] and [director] Josh [Trank] bought on “Chronicle” was that the first thing I was going to try to do was reduce the number of visual-effects shots in the film, because even though my background is visual effects, I like to think of myself as a filmmaker first. I’m not in love with CGI for its own sake. I’d rather do things in camera, and I think most directors would. I think audiences really appreciate the grittiness and edginess of stuff that’s real. If you’re forced to do CGI, try to do it in a way that’s really minimalist, where most of what you’re doing is real. MTV : What was the most challenging shot on the film? Hansen : The most important and the one I considered the biggest challenge was any kind of flying. What ended up happening was we ended up designing brand-new rigs to actually make people fly that worked out really well. It’s probably my favorite part of the process. It’s weird in effects how some shots start out one way and they don’t seem that difficult, and they end up being really difficult. The most difficult sequence was where Andrew beats up the thugs and tosses them around the street because we had to shoot that all in one day and all those different people were on wires and rigs. We had to do it in different parts and put it all together. You get tripped up by the sun moving during the day when you have to shoot it all in one day. The light’s changing all the time, and you’re shooting different elements together. For the level of complexity of that shot and the time we had to do it, that was definitely the most difficult. MTV : How did you come up with the solution for making the characters fly? Hansen : I’d been very frustrated, even with big-budget films and how they’ve done flying. Some of the bad examples, not to knock anyone, “Armageddon” ‘s weightless sequence, for example, was a movie that had a lot of money and didn’t get it right. Lots of films don’t get it right. I knew it wasn’t necessarily about the budget. It was about the technique to get flying to work. I spent a lot of time analyzing footage of sky diving and looking how bodies move in free motion. As a result, I ended up designing a big hamster-wheel rig that the subject would be strapped to in the center and he could be spun within this rig, which could turn itself. You’d get two axes out of it. The actors called it the Wheel of Death because you actually get strapped into this thing and a motor spins you around while the wheel is actually turning. You can do full-on McTwist-type movements. What I tried to get away from was a situation where you pick someone up on wires and move them from one side of a soundstage to another in front of a green screen. MTV : Was there anything you simply couldn’t accomplish with the budget? Hansen : I think we pretty much did just about everything that we wanted to in the script. There were some shots that didn’t work out the way that we wanted them to, where we had to reshoot them or come up with another way to do them. The closest we came to cutting things — we didn’t in the end — but the closest we came was not the kind of effect that you’d even be aware of. When Andrew films himself in the mirror and we’re using a considerably larger camera than the one he’s using, we needed to shoot with one camera and replace it and Andrew in the mirror with the smaller camera. Those turned out to be really difficult shots to plan and get right. No one will really pay them any attention. It’s amazing how that always happens. Check out everything we’ve got on “Chronicle.” For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com . Related Videos Talk Nerdy
Rathbone tells Us Weekly he is ‘thrilled and excited’ to have a child with girlfriend Sheila Hafsadi. By Kara Warner Jackson Rathbone Photo: Mark Sullivan/ WireImage/ Getty Images “Twilight” star Jackson Rathbone has been a very busy man over the last few years, juggling his rising career as an actor, as well as working to establish himself as a musician with his band 100 Monkeys. It turns out that the 27-year-old is going to be even busier in the coming months when he and burlesque dancer girlfriend Sheila Hafsadi welcome a child into the world. That’s right, Jackson Rathbone is going to be a dad. According to Us Weekly , the couple will become first-time parents later this year. Rathbone’s rep told the magazine that he and Hafsadi are “thrilled and excited to be expecting their first child.” Rathbone and Hafsadi, 24, who is said to be five months pregnant, reportedly met at one of his band’s performances and have already been busy preparing for the baby. A source told the magazine that the actor/musician recently traded in not one, but two of his vehicles for a hybrid SUV in order to have more room for a growing family. In addition to the anticipation and excitement that surrounds the arrival of a new baby, Rathbone will have a jam-packed 2012 with the release of “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2” in November, along with the potential release of several diverse film projects: “Cowgirls ‘N Angels,” “Zombie Hamlet,” the dramedy musical “DaZe: Vol. Too – NonSeNse” and “Live At The Foxes Den.” Speaking of what fans still have to look forward to from his character Jasper Cullen in “Breaking Dawn – Part 2,” Rathbone told MTV News there is a particularly poignant moment in the final film that he can’t wait to see on the big screen. “There’s a very fulfilling moment for myself as an actor and as a fan of the books and of the film series that you get to see, in the end, really how much these characters love one another and how much they function as a family,” Rathbone said of the franchise’s final film. “Even though they are kind of an odd family of vampires. Vegetarian vampires, at that. They’re an odd bunch.” Send your well-wishes for Rathbone in the comments below! Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘Breaking Dawn – Part 1’
Rathbone tells Us Weekly he is ‘thrilled and excited’ to have a child with girlfriend Sheila Hafsadi. By Kara Warner Jackson Rathbone Photo: Mark Sullivan/ WireImage/ Getty Images “Twilight” star Jackson Rathbone has been a very busy man over the last few years, juggling his rising career as an actor, as well as working to establish himself as a musician with his band 100 Monkeys. It turns out that the 27-year-old is going to be even busier in the coming months when he and burlesque dancer girlfriend Sheila Hafsadi welcome a child into the world. That’s right, Jackson Rathbone is going to be a dad. According to Us Weekly , the couple will become first-time parents later this year. Rathbone’s rep told the magazine that he and Hafsadi are “thrilled and excited to be expecting their first child.” Rathbone and Hafsadi, 24, who is said to be five months pregnant, reportedly met at one of his band’s performances and have already been busy preparing for the baby. A source told the magazine that the actor/musician recently traded in not one, but two of his vehicles for a hybrid SUV in order to have more room for a growing family. In addition to the anticipation and excitement that surrounds the arrival of a new baby, Rathbone will have a jam-packed 2012 with the release of “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2” in November, along with the potential release of several diverse film projects: “Cowgirls ‘N Angels,” “Zombie Hamlet,” the dramedy musical “DaZe: Vol. Too – NonSeNse” and “Live At The Foxes Den.” Speaking of what fans still have to look forward to from his character Jasper Cullen in “Breaking Dawn – Part 2,” Rathbone told MTV News there is a particularly poignant moment in the final film that he can’t wait to see on the big screen. “There’s a very fulfilling moment for myself as an actor and as a fan of the books and of the film series that you get to see, in the end, really how much these characters love one another and how much they function as a family,” Rathbone said of the franchise’s final film. “Even though they are kind of an odd family of vampires. Vegetarian vampires, at that. They’re an odd bunch.” Send your well-wishes for Rathbone in the comments below! Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘Breaking Dawn – Part 1’
Found-footage film earns $22 million, beating out Daniel Radcliffe’s ‘Woman in Black.’ By Ryan J. Downey Dane DeHaan in “Chronicle” Photo: Alan Markfield/ 20th Century Fox The Super Bowl couldn’t stop another found-footage flick from topping the box office. Box-office receipts were up more than 30 percent from last year’s Super Bowl weekend as “Chronicle” took the #1 spot with Daniel Radcliffe’s first post-“Potter” flick, “The Woman in Black,” close behind at #2. “Chronicle” took in $22 million while “Woman in Black” earned $21 million, according to studio estimates. The feel-good Alaskan whale story “Big Miracle,” starring Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski (“The Office”), debuted at #4 with $8.5 million. Meanwhile, Super Bowl halftime performer Madonna saw her “W.E.” open with a ho-hum $45,000 in four theaters. Despite the film’s director earning a Golden Globe for her song from the movie, “W.E.” has suffered from mostly negative reviews. While it didn’t open as strongly as the “Paranormal Activity” movies, “Cloverfield” or last month’s found-footage flick, “The Devil Inside,” teen superhero-centered “Chronicle” enjoyed the fourth highest Super Bowl debut ever and took the #1 spot internationally. Considering the movie’s estimated production budget of $12 million, the found-footage phenomenon will undoubtedly continue. The modest success of “The Woman in Black” was good news for Radcliffe, who had yet to top-line a movie in a role as anyone other than “Harry Potter.” Its numbers were comparable with the 2006 remake of “When a Stranger Calls,” which was also a horror flick directed at teens that opened on Super Bowl weekend. Both Radcliffe’s ghost story and “Chronicle” earned mostly positive reviews. Last weekend’s #1 movie, “The Grey,” dropped to #3 with $9.5 million. The Liam Neeson vehicle, which, like “Big Miracle,” takes places in Alaska, has made $34.7 million thus far. “Underworld: Awakening” rounded out the top five with $5.6 million for a $53.4 million total. Awards season favorite “The Artist” and “The Iron Lady” (which has earned Meryl Streep another Oscar nomination) both passed the $20 million mark over the weekend. Each movie is playing at roughly 1,000 locations; “Chronicle,” by comparison, opened in 2,907. This weekend’s new releases include “The Vow,” which sees Rachel McAdams returning to source material from “The Notebook” author Nicholas Sparks, opposite Channing Tatum; Denzel Washington’s “Safe House”; “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, which is already doing solid business overseas; and the 3-D re-release of “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace,” which is the first in a series of planned “Star Wars” 3-D re-releases over the next few years. Woody Harrelson’s corrupt cop drama “Rampart,” which reunites the actor with “The Messenger” writer/ director Oren Moverman, will open in limited release. Check out everything we’ve got on “Chronicle.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos Talk Nerdy MTV Rough Cut: Daniel Radcliffe
Found-footage film earns $22 million, beating out Daniel Radcliffe’s ‘Woman in Black.’ By Ryan J. Downey Dane DeHaan in “Chronicle” Photo: Alan Markfield/ 20th Century Fox The Super Bowl couldn’t stop another found-footage flick from topping the box office. Box-office receipts were up more than 30 percent from last year’s Super Bowl weekend as “Chronicle” took the #1 spot with Daniel Radcliffe’s first post-“Potter” flick, “The Woman in Black,” close behind at #2. “Chronicle” took in $22 million while “Woman in Black” earned $21 million, according to studio estimates. The feel-good Alaskan whale story “Big Miracle,” starring Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski (“The Office”), debuted at #4 with $8.5 million. Meanwhile, Super Bowl halftime performer Madonna saw her “W.E.” open with a ho-hum $45,000 in four theaters. Despite the film’s director earning a Golden Globe for her song from the movie, “W.E.” has suffered from mostly negative reviews. While it didn’t open as strongly as the “Paranormal Activity” movies, “Cloverfield” or last month’s found-footage flick, “The Devil Inside,” teen superhero-centered “Chronicle” enjoyed the fourth highest Super Bowl debut ever and took the #1 spot internationally. Considering the movie’s estimated production budget of $12 million, the found-footage phenomenon will undoubtedly continue. The modest success of “The Woman in Black” was good news for Radcliffe, who had yet to top-line a movie in a role as anyone other than “Harry Potter.” Its numbers were comparable with the 2006 remake of “When a Stranger Calls,” which was also a horror flick directed at teens that opened on Super Bowl weekend. Both Radcliffe’s ghost story and “Chronicle” earned mostly positive reviews. Last weekend’s #1 movie, “The Grey,” dropped to #3 with $9.5 million. The Liam Neeson vehicle, which, like “Big Miracle,” takes places in Alaska, has made $34.7 million thus far. “Underworld: Awakening” rounded out the top five with $5.6 million for a $53.4 million total. Awards season favorite “The Artist” and “The Iron Lady” (which has earned Meryl Streep another Oscar nomination) both passed the $20 million mark over the weekend. Each movie is playing at roughly 1,000 locations; “Chronicle,” by comparison, opened in 2,907. This weekend’s new releases include “The Vow,” which sees Rachel McAdams returning to source material from “The Notebook” author Nicholas Sparks, opposite Channing Tatum; Denzel Washington’s “Safe House”; “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, which is already doing solid business overseas; and the 3-D re-release of “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace,” which is the first in a series of planned “Star Wars” 3-D re-releases over the next few years. Woody Harrelson’s corrupt cop drama “Rampart,” which reunites the actor with “The Messenger” writer/ director Oren Moverman, will open in limited release. Check out everything we’ve got on “Chronicle.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos Talk Nerdy MTV Rough Cut: Daniel Radcliffe
Willard Christopher “Will” Smith, Jr. (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood.[2] Smith has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards, two Academy Awards, and has won multiple Grammy Awards. Source MUSIC Will got his first taste of showbiz when he debuted in a rap duo “DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince” with a chart-topping and record-breaking single, ” Parents Just Don’t Understand” which garnered the first Grammy awarded in the Rap category in 1988. Who could forget the critically acclaimed “Summertime” performed by the duo? This song still gets heavily played during the summer season during family reunions, in your local barber and beauty shops, and on radio stations nationwide. TELEVISION AND FILM After nearly being bankrupt in 1990, NBC networks created a show around Will called ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” which seen huge success and launched a thriving acting career for the rapper. He then set a goal to be the “biggest movie star in the world” and began studying hit movies trends and successes. His first movie was in 1993 titled, Six Degrees of Separation later starring alongside Martin Lawrence in Bad Boys two years later. Check out more of Will Smith’s top 10 films below courtesy of IMDB . Independence Day (1996) In the beginning of July, a strange spaceship is heading towards Earth. Humans received a strange signal, and this has turned into a global phenomenon. It was aliens. smaller spaceships began to cover entire cities around the world. Suddenly, the wonder turns into horror as the spaceships destroy the cities. Then, when the world counterattacked, the alien ships are invincible to normal weapon systems, then The President of the United States, decides to head to area 51, to formulate a plan to defeat the aliens. Now, the fate of the world rests on a handful of surviving humans. Written by John Wiggins Men In Black (1997) Men in Black follows the exploits of agents Kay (Jones) and Jay (Smith), members of a top-secret organization established to monitor and police alien activity on Earth. The two Men in Black find themselves in the middle of the deadly plot by an intergalactic terrorist who has arrived on Earth to assassinate two ambassadors from opposing galaxies. In order to prevent worlds from colliding, the MiB must track down the terrorist and prevent the destruction of Earth. Source Enemy of the State (1998) A successful lawyer (Smith) finds himself the target of a treacherous NSA official and his goons after receiving evidence to a politically motivated murder, the only man that can help him is a former government operative turned surveillance expert (Hackman). Written by mystic80 Ali (2001) Muhammad Ali from 1964 to 1974, told in three braided threads. The boxer: from becoming champion to regaining the championship. Religion and politics: Cassius Clay becomes a Black Muslim, truncates a friendship with Malcolm X, perhaps is Elijah Muhammad’s pawn, refuses induction into the US military, and faces a five year prison sentence while his case goes to the Supreme Court. Family: he marries twice and by 1974 marriage two is strained, defends his white trainer, has a brother in Bundini Brown, and is wily with Howard Cosell. Throughout, Ali keeps his own counsel: in the ring, at the induction center when he won’t step forward, and in friendship, love, and victory. Written by Men In Black II (2002) For Agent J, it is another day at the office, monitoring, licensing and policing all alien activity on Earth. One day, J receives a report of an unauthorized landing of an alien spacecraft near New York. It is an old enemy of MIB, a Kylothian named Surleena. Who is searching for a powerful artifact called The Light of Zartha. J investigates and quickly realizes he is going to need help. Unfortunately, the other MIB agents do not work up to par like J can. So, J decides to bring back K. J must bring back K’s memory as an MIB agent and try to stop Surleena, before she can succeed. Written by John Wiggins I, Robot (2004) This is the year 2035. Everybody in the world relies on a huge system of robots, which are programmed specifically to help humans and not harm them in any way. But one person does not think that robots are helpful. Chicago homicide detective Del Spooner. but one day, he received a call from the United States Robotics (USR) about a recent death of renowned robot scientist Dr. Alfred J. Laning. Spooner immediately blamed this incident on robots without justifiable reason or proof. Then, he begins his investigation on Lanning’s death, only to discover Sonny, a “unique” robot. What Spooner does not realize, is that something is about to happen. Something that is beyond even spooner’s wildest dreams. Written by John Wiggins Hitch (2005) Alex Hitchens is “The Date Doctor.” He helps men to land dates. Sara is a gossip columnist for a New York City tabloid. Both are very guarded around the opposite sex. Despite their natures, Alex and Sara begin a relationship. Complications ensue when Sara’s latest scoop happens to be one of Alex’s clients. Written by Ken Miller The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) Chris Gardner has big dreams for him and his family but it doesn’t seem to come together for him. Chris has an opportunity to be a stock broker but first he has to go through a grueling internship which means no pay. Chris decides to do it but when his wife leaves and he is evicted, he has to take care of his son on his own. So they find themselves sometimes living on the street and struggling to get by. But Chris is determined to make it. Written by rcs0411@yahoo.com I Am Legend (2007) It is the year 2012. In the ruins of New York city. Robert Neville who is a military scientist who is the lone survivor of a biochemical disease which was supposed to cure cancer 3 years previous. With only blood thirsty zombies as his neighbors and his trusty dog, Samantha, Robert is trying to discover a cure for this disease and to find out any other people who might have also survived. Written by John Wiggins FUN FACTS ABOUT WILL SMITH: He was originally casted as Neo in The Matrix movie, but turned it down to do the film, Wild Wild West . He enjoys playing chess. He was a millionaire by age 20. Will Smith speaks fluent Spanish. Will Smith is also an author, penning a children’s book called “Just The Two of Us”. SOURCE
We take a closer look at the many references to ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ in Honda’s commercial. By Eric Ditzian Matthew Broderick in his Honda CR-V commercial Photo: Honda Did you catch everything there was to see in the “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”-inspired Super Bowl ad ? Perhaps there were some references you didn’t pick up, some callbacks that went unnoticed. Maybe you just want to go back and watch, again and again, what is sure to be one of the night’s most talked-about Super Bowl commercials . So go right ahead with the help of MTV News’ pop-culture cheat sheet: Sick phone call : In the movie, it was Ferris’ buddy, Cameron Frye (Alan Ruck), who picked up Ferris’ call to plead that he was too sick to leave his bed. In the ad, Ferris receives the call. Walter Linder : His agent’s name in the commercial is the name written right above the name of Abe Froman — the sausage king of Chicago — at the restaurant Ferris and his pals crash. Pencils and Wite-Out : Bored secretary Grace (Edie McClurg) spent much of the film sniffing Wite-Out and picking pencils out of her hair, so note the pencils and Wite-Out prominently displayed on Linder’s desk. Baseball : The ball Broderick’s agent tosses in the air calls to mind both the ball Ferris caught at the Chicago Cubs game and the one he flung at his stereo to kill the fake snores at the film’s end as his parents approached his room. Roeman, Peterson & Frye : The name of Linder’s agency, etched in glass on his door, is a reference not only to Froman, but to Cameron Frye and Ferris’ girlfriend, Sloane Peterson (Mia Sara). “He bought it” : After Ferris successfully fools his parents, the first line he utters to camera, much like in the ad, is, “They bought it.” Later, he pops off another classic line referenced in the ad: “Incredible. One of the worst performances of my career, and they never doubted it for a second.” Opening curtains : After Ferris successfully fools his parents, he thrusts open the curtains in his bedroom and wonders how he can be expected to go to school on such a gorgeous day. Yello’s “Oh Yeah” : Though the song plays in the commercial as Ferris opens the curtains, it doesn’t play in the film until the first time we see the Frye family Ferrari. Twisty towel : Both Ferris and Matthew’s preferred post-shower getup includes a robe and a twisty towel on the head. “Broderick, Broderick” : A callback to one of the film’s most famous lines, in which Ferris’ dry-as-toast teacher (Ben Stein) takes attendance and, in a ridiculous monotone, says, “Bueller? Bueller?” Rottweiler : The dog sitting by another Honda outside the hotel is a Rottweiler, the same breed of dog the Buellers own and which terrorized Principal Edward R. Rooney (Jeffrey Jones) as he attempts to bust Ferris. Detroit Red Wings jersey : On the roller coaster, the man behind Ferris is wearing a Red Wings jersey, the same one worn by Cameron in the movie. Grace : The woman who calls Broderick while in the Honda is named Grace, another reference to Ferris’ school secretary. Exaggerated coughing : When Broderick coughs loudly while on the car phone, we thought back to the call Ferris made to some high school freshmen, during which he used a keyboard sound effect to make it seem like he was literally coughing up a lung. Who’s in the driver’s seat? : As Broderick pulls up to a stop in his car, he discovers he is right next to Linder. He quickly hides behind a stuffed panda. In the film, Ferris finds himself stuck in traffic right next to his dad and switches places with Sloane. Trench coat and clarinet : Look closely during this scene and you’ll see a man playing the instrument, a nifty callback to Ferris’ activities early in the movie. SOCHOIC : Broderick’s license plate refers to the way Ferris describes the Ferrari: “It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.” Natural History Museum : Instead of attending the Art Institute of Chicago as in the movie, Broderick checks out the history museum. Instead of walking hand in hand with kids, he chases them. The walrus : Two references in one. First off, Ferris shouts out John Lennon early in the film, saying, “He was the walrus. I could be the walrus. I’d still have to bum rides off people.” Secondly, the staring contest with the animal riffs on Cameron’s deep gaze into “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” Georges Seurat’s pointillist masterpiece. Horse race : In the film, Ferris checked out a Cubs game. In the ad, Broderick opts for a horse race. Chinese parade : Whereas Ferris rocked a parade in downtown Chicago, belting out “Twist and Shout” and “Danke Schoen,” this time around, he crashes a Chinese parade. The valet : Call us crazy, but the way that valet shadily looked at Broderick, we were thinking back to the garage attendant who told Ferris to relax, because he was a professional, yet took the Ferrari on a joy ride. In the ad, the valet soon peels away from the curb and is seen racing the car off a jump. “Life moves pretty fast” : Indeed, Broderick will say it again, as he did twice during the film itself: “If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” What “Ferris Bueller” references did we miss? Let us know in the comments! Check out everything we’ve got on “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com .
‘I’m kind of living through them all over again,’ new social media correspondent tells MTV News of the contestants. By Kara Warner Christina Milian Photo: MTV News In addition to a brand-new crop of talent and potential future stars, NBC’s hit singing competition ” The Voice ” has added a familiar face to its cast for season two: new social media correspondent Christina Milian . When MTV News caught up with the singer/actress recently, she explained how she got the gig and how excited she is for the show to premiere on Super Bowl Sunday . “I’m heavily involved on Twitter, have always been involved with my Internet fanbase and find that that’s the best way to connect with the fans,” Milian told us during a photo shoot for Hydrogen magazine. “I guess the people at NBC had their eye on me and they paid attention to it. I got a call one day and met up with everyone at NBC and the folks from ‘The Voice,’ and next thing you know, a week later, I’m signing a contract and the following week I’m working.” Milian had nothing but praise for her “Voice” castmates and the experience working on the show thus far. “It’s been fabulous. I’ve had fun working with the cast already,” she said. “Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, Cee Lo, Carson Daly — it’s an awesome super team they have, and from day one, they treated me like family.” The “Dip It Low” singer said she loves that the show is about music and chasing your dreams and that she’s enjoyed watching the coaches take time to work with and help their contestants. “This show is about music, it’s about talent, and it’s about this passion and this dream of becoming a star,” Milian said. “Still to this day, every day that I wake up, I have that same dream, so to be involved with the show, [it’s amazing] to watch what they incorporate and how the coaches act as advisers and mentors to the artists and really truthfully help them and push them and want them to be the best so they can win. “There have been so many moments where I’ve thought, ‘That’s me on that stage! I remember that time,’ ” she added of enjoying watching the contestants. “Or you see their family sitting on the side of the stage crying or excited or jumping up and down, just so happy for them to even be there, I’ve felt that before, so I’m kind of living through them all over again.” Will you check out season two of “The Voice” when it returns Sunday? Let us know in the comments! Check out everything we’ve got on “The Voice.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Artists Christina Milian
Drew Barrymore, John Krasinksi and Kristen Bell discuss their new film, which follows the rescue of three gray whales in Alaska. By Kara Warner John Krasinksi and Drew Barrymore in “Big Miracle” Photo: Universal Pictures If you’re looking for a feel-good film to see this weekend, look no further than “Big Miracle,” the story of the real-life rescue of three gray whales trapped in ice near Point Barrow, Alaska, in 1988. Incredibly, the effort became an international issue that involved a rare collaboration between the United States and the Soviet Union and garnered worldwide media attention. MTV News recently caught up with the three stars of the film, Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski and Kristen Bell, who explained the multi-generational appeal and importance of the story and the cause presented in the film. “The whales have Twitter accounts,” Krasinski joked when asked how the film might specifically appeal to MTV viewers. “So, streamlined information, done deal. Don’t ask us, ask them. They’ll talk all about it,” he said with a smile. “It’s a big movie that deals with participation, and with the election coming up and all these different things, and everybody is divided over this, that and the other, and everybody is angry about something. It’s one of those moments where you get to say, ‘I could just step in and lend my voice to something.’ And it really helps, it makes you feel important and special that you’re doing something. This movie sort of focuses on that completely, about how when you get a bunch of people together you can kind of do anything.” Barrymore added that the film’s setting in the late ’80s provides for a unique look back at our media and political cultures at the time. “It’s an interesting look back at how if things were a little different maybe we wouldn’t exactly be where we are. But, it’s not in a patronizing way, it’s in a really interesting way,” she said. “And it’s amazing historically, like, you know, environmentally and politically. But, I think it’s very true to what’s going on now, that if people work together, whether it’s protesting via Twitter for an important movement to change their country or to do something wonderful and important like saving whales. It’s working together, so I think actually in 1987 when this takes place and what’s going on right now today, they definitely have a connection.” Kristen Bell also focused on the warm, fuzzy aspects of the film, particularly how its positive message compares to the continually multiplying “train wreck” elements involved in other films and TV. “I think it’s a very positive story as opposed to many of the unendingly interesting train wrecks that are put on television or in films these days, which believe me, I’m not poo-pooing, but there’s something very inspiring about a story where a bunch of different people come together for a common goal and actually accomplish it,” Bell explained. “It’s very, very inspiring, I think. And often times, news headlines or things that are written about in blogs, you know, reality television, it’s not as inspiring as you want it to be, at least not for me. And it actually happened. It’s historical, so you’ll get smarter watching it. You’ll also be inspired, so you’ll be happier. What’s the downfall? See the movie!” Are you planning on seeing “Big Miracle”? Leave your comment below.
