Earlier this year, Vin Diesel boldly told the Los Angeles Times that he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Fast Five garnered “Oscar talk” this award season. While the fifth Fast and Furious film won’t be winning any statuettes for its acting this lifetime (sorry, Vin, The Rock and Ludacris), it might have a legitimate shot at an Academy Award if the movie’s stunt coordinator Jack Gill convinces the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to add a Best Stunt category.
You might have missed it through all the smoke and scorched earth of the film’s opening weekend, but Jaleel White appeared as a banjo-playing teacher in Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer . That got White an audience with VanityFair.com, where the actor wasn’t about to regret or apologize for his run as one of the most notorious TV child stars of the ’90s. Not only that, but guess what? According to White, they don’t make them like Family Matters any more.
Director responds to speculation that there’s a link between the two movies. By Eric Ditzian J.J. Abrams Photo: Megan Jones/ MTV News Talking to J.J. Abrams about “Super 8” these days is a far different experience than it was just a few months ago. During a late April phone conversation, held as the director was putting the finishing touches on his film’s score, Abrams was impressively, impenetrably tight-lipped about the project’s many mysteries. When we asked how far into “Super 8” the much-hyped, never-seen creature would be revealed, he simply answered, “I would say the film will obviously answer that question.” But when Abrams stopped by the MTV Newsroom on Tuesday (June 14), fresh off his film’s impressive, $35.5 million opening weekend , the guy couldn’t have been more open. He answered lingering questions, cleared up sources of debate, and reveled in hearing how fans were taking in a film that is undoubtedly the most personal of his career. Among the most compelling topics we hit on were his revelations about the mysterious creature itself. (Needless to say, there are major spoilers below.) Once the “Super 8” alien could be fully glimpsed as it wreaked havoc in a small Ohio town, some observers noted a similarity between the creature and the alien in 2008’s “Cloverfield,” which Abrams produced. As he explained it to us, there is a link between the two creatures, but not one that has any storytelling impact. “The only connection between the creature in ‘Super 8’ and the creature in ‘Cloverfield’ is that they were both designed by the same guy, Neville Page,” Abrams said. “They actually look very different, but they both have two eyes, a nose and a mouth. So, in that regard, it also looks a lot like Laurence Olivier!” That answer puts to rest any suggestion that “Super 8” and “Cloverfield” exist in the same universe or that the “Super 8” alien’s actions in the 1970s somehow impacted the other alien’s later actions in “Cloverfield.” When we asked Abrams if there were a same-universe connection between the two flicks, he said, “No.” Abrams went on to talk specifically about what they needed their multi-limbed “Super 8” alien to accomplish and why it ended up looking the way it did. “The creature in ‘Super 8’ needed to be scary and it also needed to have the ability to have a performance and be a little bit less scary too,” he explained. “We didn’t want a creature that was just running around thumping his chest and screaming. It needed to be something that was able to have a plan, have an experience. Smart enough to create something, build something. “A lot of what the design was, was how do we do both?” Abrams continued. “If there was a big, strong soldier who had been taken in, was a prisoner of war and had escaped, if this guy was Rambo. Basically this could be someone who for some would be very scary, could be full of rage and also could be emotional and nuanced. So it really was a question of, he wasn’t King Kong and a lot of what we needed to do was find a way to have a design that would give us that latitude to do both — the big scares and also the more subtle stuff.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Super 8.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘Super 8’ Related Photos Tom Cruise, Elle Fanning, More At ‘Super 8’ Premiere
As Black musicals go it’s hard to go wrong putting Michael Jackson and Diana Ross in the same flick. But add to that Nipsey Russell and Richard Pryor and you have the makings of a classic. The Wiz , an ambitious re-imagining of The Wizard of Oz with an all Black cast , was filled with hidden messages (you peeped how Dorothy couldn’t catch a cab?) and wonderful music that has more than stood the test of time. Here are 5 Reasons we still “Ease on down the road.” 1) After talking to several people (and this is my own opinion as well), the overwhelming reason to watch The Wiz is the King Of Pop, Michael Jackson. He was perfect as The Scarecrow looking for a heart; sweet, vulnerable, a loyal friend–just as people close to Michael knew him in real life. Seeing him dance quadruple circles around Diana Ross as they “eased on down the road” induces chuckles…thinking of all that beautiful talent no longer with us induces a tear (or many). 2) The songs! I am serious when I say I still see references to the songs in The Wiz at least once or twice a week on Facebook, Twitter, or somebody’s blog. They transcend generations…my neighbor just told me her three year old daughter knows every single song in the film. “You Can’t Win”, “Home” (which you can’t help but cry on unless you’re made of stone), “Ease On Down The Road,” “He’s The Wizard,” and “Don’t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News” are all classics for the annals of history. With just the songs alone, it is a film that a family that encompasses any age can enjoy. 3) The overwhelming excess of the 70′s embodied in the film. Where to begin? It was directed by Sidney Lumet, who I’m quite certain was paid a billion dollars to be involved. The screenplay was written by Joel Schumaker (yes, of the “Batman” franchise). New songs were written by the mighty duo of Ashford and Simpson and the freaking World Trade Center used as the set for “Oz”! Costumes were designed by Oscar De La Renta and Norma Kamali (the sweatshop girls working for the evil queen could have easily stepped off today’s runway in their finery) and at any given time there were up to 135 crew members actively working on the set, not to mention hundreds and hundreds of extras. For all the money that was obviously a blank check budget for the film, it has at the very least endured as a very, very solid Black film classic that everyone knows and loves. 4) The performances of much loved icons in our community. Yes, Diana was unarguably waaaay too old for the role of 24-year-old Dorothy. But once you get past that, you can see that she really tried to do the role justice. Michael Jackson–’nuff said. Lena Horne as Glenda The Good Witch…etheral and beautiful, a sight to behold; really, could you imagine anyone else playing that role? Nipsey Russell as The Tinman is the bridge from an older time that was full of tap-dance and soft shoe, and he is a treasure of a time capsule that helps us to remember that history, our history. Mabel King, the momma from “What’s Happening” showed us another side to her that we’ve never, ever seen with Raj or Rerun. And the carryovers from the Broadway play helped fill in the holes to help keep some of the charm and magic that made someone want to bring it to the big screen to begin with (for example Ted Ross as The Cowardly Lion). And Richard Pryor as The Wiz? Check and mate. 5) The message. In it’s unique way, The Wiz gave us a message that has been told since ancient times; everything you ever need in life is already inside of you, just waiting to be discovered. The Lion showed bravery by fighting for his friends, The Tinman showed heart by feeling sadness or sympathy for his friends, and The Scarecrow made all of the smart suggestions that propelled them forward. They were all so busy trying to get to someone that would get them all the easy answers, not for one second slowing down and realizing that what they were looking for they already had the entire time. Sound familiar? RELATED POSTS: 5 MUSICAL MOVIES WE LOVE: The Five Heartbeats FACT OF THE DAY: Ashanti Was Once A Bad Girl Remember Snoop’s Perm & Curls? THEN & NOW: 1990s Music Icons CLASS OF 2001: Was G-Dep The Last Bad “Boy” Standing?
Now that you’ve seen the movie, the cast and crew lead you through some behind-the-scenes mysteries. By Kara Warner Joel Courtney, Ryan Lee and Riley Griffiths in “Super 8” Photo: Paramount Now that “Super 8” has been in theaters for the weekend, we can finally talk about some of the magic and the mystery of the film. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, please tread carefully in reading the rest of this story, because MTV News is about to reveal five juicy “Super 8” secrets! How the heck did they film the epic train crash? Although the young actors did their fair share of running and yelling amidst minor explosions in front of a green screen, the real heavy lifting in making that intense two minutes of mass destruction came from the visual-effects team, led by Oscar winner Dennis Muren. “The sequence itself is probably two to three minutes long, and it’s all done with computer graphics,” Muren said. “We made a point of making it look as organic as we could. It’s more realistic in a lot of ways and very frightening, but a lot of fire and all that stuff, it’s all computer-generated,” he revealed, adding that it took the VFX team three to four months to complete. Elle Fanning wasn’t allowed to drive Despite her very convincing performance behind the wheel, Elle Fanning wasn’t actually allowed to drive the car that her character “borrows” from her father to get the kids to the late-night film shoot. “It was illegal, so I couldn’t drive,” Fanning said. “There was actually someone that was in the car underneath my feet driving for me.” The movie-within-a-movie was written by the young stars Hopefully you stayed through the credits to see “The Case” in its entirety, because the six young stars of “Super 8” wrote and directed it themselves. “We actually wrote ‘The Case,’ ” Fanning said. “J.J. [Abrams told us] it had to be a zombie movie and that was the only thing we had, so during breaks, we would sit down and collaborate and make up the lines and everything,” she explained. “And then we actually shot it with a Super 8 camera.” What’s in that tintinnabular tune? There is a lot going on visually in “Super 8,” but it’s hard not to notice the sweeping, magical tinkling of the film’s score. So what instruments are you hearing? We asked Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino to explain which instruments make up the distinct effect. “[There is] a celesta, which is kind of a bell piano, a very short piano with bells,” Giacchino revealed at the film’s premiere last week. “You play it like you would a piano, but with bells. A Hammond organ was a big part of the score as well, which is interesting because you normally only hear those in church or in blues songs,” he added. “We used it with the [103-piece] orchestra, which was really fun. There was guitar actually, but done in a very ethereal way, you would never know it was a guitar.” About that alien … The biggest secret of them all: There’s an alien in the movie — one that the kids didn’t see until after they’d already been running away from it while filming green-screen sequences. “Whenever we were on set and acting with it, we were imagining what it could look like,” Ryan Lee said. “When we actually saw it, it was 10 times more scary than what I had imagined.” “The artist for ‘Avatar’ actually made the alien,” Gabriel Basso revealed. “It was really cool, because I was talking to him and he showed it to me on his laptop. I was like, ‘ That’s what we’re running from?’ [The scary factor] went from zero to 150.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Super 8.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘Super 8’ Related Photos Tom Cruise, Elle Fanning, More At ‘Super 8’ Premiere
We recap the mystery surrounding the project before you learn the mystery within. By Eric Ditzian Joel Courtney in “Super 8” Photo: Paramount Almost exactly one year to the day that J.J. Abrams’ rebooted “Star Trek” hit theaters, rumors started to circulate in May 2010 that the director had already shot a theatrical trailer , to run in front of “Iron Man 2,” for a secret new project called “Super 8.” While the film seemed to have a connection to the Abrams-produced alien-disaster flick “Cloverfield,” we soon learned that wasn’t true . Instead, the film was an original tale, produced by Steven Spielberg and having something to do with an escaped creature from Area 51, the mysterious government site long suspected to be involved in alien experimentation. But that’s about all we’d find out for a while. Over time, though, we began to put together the pieces. And eventually, Abrams himself started to dole out info about the movie. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s flash back in time with an MTV News cheat sheet before we can truly say we know everything there is to know about “Super 8.” The Explosion The teaser trailer arrived, as rumored, in May. It featured a fiery train crash and the unseen presence of the mysterious creature. Sources connected to the film said the story would focus on a group of small-town kids in 1979 who begin filming a home movie on a Super 8 camera, only to capture the crash and the emergence of the creature. At this point, though, production on the flick hadn’t even begun. The shoot kicked off in September. By that point, Abrams had cast a collection of unknown young actors, plus Elle Fanning (“Somewhere”), to play his featured kids, as well as Kyle Chandler (“Friday Night Lights”) to portray the town sheriff and central boy’s father. That’s about all we knew. The next month, all “Cloverfield” director Matt Reeves would tell us was that the film “is very, very intimately connected to an aspect of [Abrams’] childhood and to this idea of Super 8 [films].” The Dust Settles By February of this year, as Abrams got set to debut a “Super 8” Super Bowl ad and a full trailer , the director finally began to open up about the project, albeit reluctantly. “To me, all people need to know is that it’s an adventure about a small town and it’s funny, it’s sweet, it’s scary and there’s a mystery: What is this thing that has escaped? What are the ramifications of its presence? And what is the effect on people?” Abrams explained to the Los Angeles Times. “But I know that’s not enough. Look, I feel we need a little bit of a coming-out party because we are up against massive franchises and brands and most people don’t know what ‘Super 8’ means. We’re a complete anomaly in a summer of huge films … and we don’t want to be so silent or coy that people don’t care or don’t hear about it.” Then in April, we caught up with Abrams himself, as the helmer was putting the finishing touches on the film’s score. In a long-ranging conversation, he touched on the Spielbergian influences in “Super 8” that so many observers had noticed. “He’s a real producer of this movie,” Abrams said. “He worked with me to develop the story. We had countless story meetings prior to and following the script. What was wonderful about working with him is the ongoing conversation. Because I was working with him, I felt free to allow the influences of his films to rise to the surface.” Seeing Clearly With “Super 8” just days away from release, we debuted an exclusive clip at the MTV Movie Awards — one that began with a close look at the train crash and segued into a mini-trailer. Abrams, Spielberg and the kids were on hand at the show to introduce the footage. It wasn’t the first time we met them face to face. At a press event in May, the kids took us behind the scenes of that epic train crash and tried to explain what the film was all about without giving away the secret . And then on Wednesday evening in Los Angeles at the film’s red-carpet premiere, the cast had fun laughing off some of the wackiest theories they’ve heard about the mysterious creature at the heart of “Super 8.” “I’ve seen on IMDb that a lot of people thought it was a giant lion,” co-star Zach Mills said. “I don’t know why. That’s the craziest thing I’ve heard.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Super 8.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘Super 8’ ‘Super 8’: Check Out The Latest Movie Clips Here! Related Photos Tom Cruise, Elle Fanning, More At ‘Super 8’ Premiere
Tomorrow will see the nationwide release of one of this summer’s most anticipated movies – J.J. Abrams’ alleged homage to Steven Spielberg of old, Super 8 . The film centers on a group of white kids in a small Ohio town in the 1970s whose adventures into film-making with their Super 8mm camera are interrupted by a train crash carrying an alien life form. Naturally, chaos reigns in the aftermath. But there’s another “alien attacks” movie also centered on a group of kids coming soon to a theater near you (hopefully) that you may not yet be aware of, but really should be. And this one is of special importance because its story features that rare onscreen occurrence in which the alien, or aliens in this case, invade a predominantly urban (read: black) neighborhood. The film’s tag line, which you can read on the poster above, says it all: “ INNER CITY VS OUTER SPACE. ” Or, as I like to refer to it: the “ Aliens attack da hood ” project. For once, right? They almost never do! And the often vilified, bureaucratically-victimized young black boys and girls who live in “da hood” actually save the day for a change! It all sounds quite revolutionary, doesn’t it? Sarcasm aside, the film I’m talking about is a British-produced horror movie titled Attack The Block , brought to you by the producers of the hilarious zombie spoof Shaun Of The Dead , and the not-so hilarious graphic novel adaption of Scott Pilgrim Vs The World . The movie, in brief, pits a group of mostly black kids against an invasion of alien monsters, turning a an inner city London tower block into a fortress under siege, and a ragtag group of armed teenagers into heroes. Since its North American debut at the South by Southwest Film Festival this past March in Austin, Texas the critical and commercial buzz around the movie has been near-deafening. It was released in the UK last month and although it has a North American distributor, an official release date for those of us on this side of the Atlantic has yet to be announced. Given all that I’ve heard and read about the movie (from film critics and general audiences) it sounds like perfect summer fare – an exceptional combination of spectacle and story. You’ll get the thrills and chills, but also plenty of heart. Here’s a small sample: From Variety : “… enormously appealing debut feature, “Attack the Block”… Pitched as “inner city vs. outer space,” pic sees a quintet of teen street hoodlums defend their tower-block home in the projects from an invasion of shaggy-haired aliens with Day-Glo teeth. Set over one wild night in South London, this zero-to-hero tale will play gangbusters in its native Blighty before a rich ancillary career.” From Cinemablend : “Attack The Block Could Be The Best Action Movie Of The Year… finds a balance in scope to keep the action moving while showcasing the brilliant, hilarious and realistic teen actors. There’s a surprising amount of smaller-scale, alien attack action in Attack the Block and Cornish’s crack team of make-up and visual effects artists pull out all the stops. The film is quickly paced and never lets up… The result: an alien invasion where you actually give a damn about the folks being invaded.” And from IndieWire : “The violence is frenetic and visceral, but Cornish shoots these sequences with clarity and intensity, suggesting he’s an action director ready to bloom. And if you live by the adage that 90% of directing is casting, then Cornish’s job was fairly easy, as a group of total unknowns completely carry this picture. Credit must be given to the young John Boyega, a possible future star, who plays Moses, the de-facto leader of the pack. Boyega has a face that reveals both anger and strength in regular doses, the type of attitude that just cannot be taught in acting classes. As such, our designated hero, Boyega, with an expressive upper brow that reflects the character’s intelligence beyond these circumstances, is believable as both a defiant tough guy and as a teen who theorizes that the aliens are a government program meant to eliminate lower-class citizens. He’s compellingly watchable.” As the last snippet notes, the cast of Attack The Block comprises of mostly unknown actors who bring a realism to the film, ensuring that, despite its fantastical tale, remains fairly grounded. And the last line about the aliens being government inventions meant to wipe out the working class, indicates some political and allegorical subtext, speaking to a universal and warranted paranoia amongst black people that’s rooted in a mistrust of government, and people in positions of power in general. History is littered with incidents that instruct those fears. Taking all of the above into consideration, Attack The Block is a film we should all be watching for down the road. There has even been excited talk of an American studio purchasing the film’s remake rights and producing a Hollywood version of it! Let’s hope Sony Pictures does release the original first, and soon, rather than shelve it in favor of an Americanized version of the movie. So, after you’re done devouring popcorn and smoothies at the theater this weekend, watching a group of white kids take on a nasty extraterrestrial in Super 8 , get ready to “Attack The Block” sometime later this year… we hope. The film’s trailer follows below for those who’ve yet to see it: Tambay Obenson is editor of Shadow And Act on the indieWIRE Network , which can be found at http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact . FACT OF THE DAY: Ashanti Was Once A Bad Girl Remember Snoop’s Perm & Curls? THEN & NOW: 1990s Music Icons CLASS OF 2001: Was G-Dep The Last Bad “Boy” Standing?
This morning we relayed that Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol scribes Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec would head up a reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , which is probably good news. Problem is, the best parts of hard-bitten 1990 original should be preserved in turtle wax for eternity. You simply can’t recreate the essence of a film where the chief voice talent is Corey Feldman, and why on Earth would you try? Here are five elements from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that can’t be topped or (probably) even retooled.
Abracadabra! Variety reports that Jesse Eisenberg has agreed in principle to star in Now You See Me , a “magician-heist” thriller from Clash of the Titans director Louis Leterrier. Jake Gyllenhaal and Melanie Laurent are reportedly in talks for the film as well. What this means for Eisenberg’s rumored reunion with Noah Baumbach remains to be seen, though perhaps the Social Network star has some time expanding tricks up his sleeve. (Groan!) [ Variety ]
Actor says ‘Dark of the Moon’ is his last installment, but he’ll always covet the franchise: ‘It’s mine, dude!’ By Kara Warner, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Shia LaBeouf Photo: MTV News The closer we get to the “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” release date, the more we learn about the colorful characters and details involved in making this highly anticipated third film in the Michael Bay-directed franchise . In particular, star Shia LaBeouf is someone from whom we’ve come to expect the unexpected: complete and total honesty. When MTV News caught up with him backstage at Sunday’s MTV Movie Awards , we asked if “Dark of the Moon” is really his last onscreen romp with the robots. “For sure,” he said. “I’m not coming back to do another one. I don’t think Mike will either. It still is a hot property, I think, especially coming out of the third one. So I imagine they’ll reboot it at some point with someone else.” But will it be strange to see someone else hanging out with Optimus Prime and Bumblebee? “Yeah,” LaBeouf admitted. “You have an onus in it. I’ll enjoy it. I’ll go [see it] opening night, I’ll be there. But there is a disconnect. It’s mine, dude,” he joked of his role in the blockbuster franchise. “It’s mine.” Whether LaBeouf can be convinced to return to another “Transformers” film or not, it certainly seems like he and Bay are going out with a bang. “[‘Dark of the Moon’]is the best movie we’ve made, I’m serious,” he assured us. “It’s not a joke. I’m dead honest, man. I get myself in trouble all the time, but this is our best installment. It’s our best movie.” LaBeouf explained that this film’s defining characteristic is the action and the revolutionary 3-D. “It’s the best action, in terms of the geography. In the second one, you get confused as to who’s fighting who and where you are, because it’s such a big landscape,” he said. “This one is ‘Black Hawk Down’-ish. It’s one location, and the geography is simple to understand. “[Bay] did the 3-D in a different way than anyone has ever done it before,” he continued. “James Cameron has seen the movie; he said it’s the best 3-D since ‘Avatar,’ so there’s all that. Also, this is our best story. It’s the most solid screenplay we’ve had since we started. All those things plus new cast we have, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand, Ken Jeong, a lot of strong additions. Everything we got right in the first one, we’ve improved here.” MTV News has all of the highlights from the 2011 MTV Movie Awards . Relive the best moments, watch red-carpet interviews with your favorite stars and read all about what went on behind the scenes on the big night. Related Photos ‘Transformers: Dark Of The Moon’
