Tag Archives: film

Mary J. Blige To Star In Nina Simone Biopic

Film focuses on Simone’s relationship later in life with her assistant. By Kara Warner Mary J. Blige Photo: Getty Images Fresh off her role in Tyler Perry’s “I Can Do Bad All by Myself,” Mary J. Blige has signed on to play legendary crooner Nina Simone in a biopic of her life. According to Variety, the film — currently titled “Nina” — focuses on Simone’s relationship later in life with her assistant Clifton Henderson, who will be played by David Oyelowo (“The Last King of Scotland”). Although this will be the first major leading role for the Grammy winner, Blige has been flexing her acting muscles since 1998, when she played Ola Mae on “The Jamie Foxx Show.” Since that appearance, Blige has guest-starred in episodes of “The Ghost Whisperer” and “Strong Medicine,” and her other film credits include “Prison” and “Angel: One More Road to Cross.” Musically, Blige is a fitting choice to play Simone, who was known as “The High Priestess of Soul.” She certainly has the chops to take on the singer/songwriter’s sultry lower register on jazzy songs like “My Baby Just Cares for Me” and “I Put a Spell on You.” If the film does stay focused on the storied singer’s later life, it will be interesting to see how far the filmmakers delve into Simone’s emotional and mental struggles with multiple-personality disorder and schizophrenia. “Nina” is set to begin shooting in September in France. The script is penned and directed by Cynthia Mort, who wrote “The Brave One.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Artists Mary J. Blige

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Mary J. Blige To Star In Nina Simone Biopic

Russell Crowe Takes Us Inside Robin Hood’s Climactic Speech

‘Robin’s not a grandiose bloke,’ Crowe says of his everyman character. By Eric Ditzian, with reporting by Todd Gilchrist Russel Crowe Photo: MTV News Russell Crowe gives good speech. Throw on a DVD of “Gladiator” or “Master and Commander” and see for yourself: The dude can give such a killer pep talk, he’ll have you rising out of your La-Z-Boy to join whatever crusade he’s hyping. His rousing speech as the title character in “Robin Hood,” however, was of an entirely different nature and required a sufficiently distinct approach on Crowe’s part. Not that everyone around him, including director Ridley Scott, initially agreed with Crowe’s plan. “Robin’s not a grandiose bloke,” Crowe told MTV News. “Everybody around it was thinking that, ‘You have to take this one to the bank, man. You have to nail it. This has got to be like the moment from “Gladiator” when you said such and such.’ I was like, ‘Well, he’s not that guy.’ That guy was a general. He’s used to being in control and he can’t help but stamp himself on a moment. Robin’s just a bloke.” That is to say, Crowe’s Robin Hood does not begin the film as some steal-from-the-rich-give-to-the-poor superhero. In fact, this Robin is more concerned with self-preservation than anything approaching public altruism. What changes him is falling in love with a woman — the ethereal Cate Blanchett as Maid Marion — and learning the secret history of his father. And so when it comes time for Robin to confront the nefarious King John, who’s gone off on a quest to tax almost every last penny from his indigent subjects, Crowe brings a sort of everyman attitude to his speech. “You’ve got to be real in this moment,” he explained. “You are talking to a king, so you can only go so far. He’s got to know his place. It’s not interesting if he takes a contemporary attitude and goes, ‘I don’t f—ing care if you’re a king.’ You’ve got to stay in that pocket. “Take the cape off him, take the mask, he’s just a man,” he added. Check out everything we’ve got on “Robin Hood.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘Robin Hood’ Related Photos “Robin Hood”

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Russell Crowe Takes Us Inside Robin Hood’s Climactic Speech

Joaquin Phoenix Mockumentary Is Really Happening

Casey Affleck-directed film is being shopped to buyers, including Harvey Weinstein. By Eric Ditzian Joaquin Phoenix Photo: Gustavo Caballero/ Getty Images Who could forget Joaquin Phoenix’s epic unraveling on the “Late Show With David Letterman,” when the heavily bearded actor mumbled his way through one of the most awkward appearances in late-night history? Had the guy lost his marbles ? Or was this whole muttering Grizzly Adams thing an elaborate hoax? A hoax it was, and the mockumentary about Phoenix’s transition from Oscar-nominated actor to aspiring rapper is complete and being shopped around to buyers, reports Deadline.com . Directed by Casey Affleck , the film’s details are being keep under lock and key, but it will surely follow Phoenix’s many public, perplexing episodes since word of the project — publicized as a straight documentary — first cropped up in January of 2009. Those episodes included a video of the actor spitting verses at a nightclub, reportedly inking a deal with Diddy, performing at a club in Las Vegas (and falling off the stage), and supposedly posting demo tracks on MySpace. And, of course, there was the “Letterman” interview, which took such a bizarre turn that at the end of the segment, the host memorably said to Phoenix, “I’m sorry you couldn’t be here tonight.” According to the Deadline report, the mockumentary was debuted to buyers last week during a private lunchtime screening at the William Morris Endeavor talent agency. Attendees included Harvey Weinstein. A deal for the film is expected to be completed within a matter of days. There’s still no word about when the public will get a chance to see the film, but the apparent goal is to keep the mockumentary’s details a secret for as long as possible before it debuts. For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com .

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Joaquin Phoenix Mockumentary Is Really Happening

‘X-Men: First Class’ Gets ‘Kick-Ass’ Director And 2011 Release Date

Matthew Vaughn to helm flick about the mutants’ early days, due June 3, 2011. By Rick Marshall “X-Men: First Class” Photo: Marvel “Kick-Ass” director Matthew Vaughn will soon trade superhero wannabes for the real deal when he gets behind the camera for “X-Men: First Class.” The 20th Century Fox film about the early years of Marvel’s popular mutants received a director and release date this week, according to Variety. The report confirmed earlier rumors regarding Vaughn’s attachment to the project and set the release date for the film as June 3, 2011. Production is expected to begin this summer, with “X-Men” and “X2: X-Men United” director Bryan Singer producing “First Class” alongside Lauren Shuler Donner and Simon Kinberg. “I’ve been a fan of Matthew’s since ‘Layer Cake,’ ” Singer said in a statement regarding the announcement. “He has a deft hand with multiple characters and storylines, and a great love of the X-Men universe. I feel the combination of this story and his vision will make for an exciting and original X-Men film.” “X-Men: First Class” is expected to focus on younger versions of Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr (played by Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, respectively, in the original franchise), before Xavier established his school for mutants and Lensherr adopted the name Magneto. The plot will explore the events that led up to the rift between the two characters. No cast has been announced at this point for “X-Men: First Class.” ” ‘X-Men: First Class’ presents an exciting opportunity to further explore the history and relationships of these beloved characters,” said Emma Watts, Fox president of production. “Matthew’s combination of talent, verve and vision is perfectly suited to the task.” Who do you think should star in “X-Men: First Class”? Share your casting ideas in the comments. For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com .

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‘X-Men: First Class’ Gets ‘Kick-Ass’ Director And 2011 Release Date

Kirsten Dunst Added To ‘On The Road’ Cast

‘Spider-Man’ actress joins Kristen Stewart, Garrett Hedlund and Sam Reilly in the adaptation. By Josh Wigler Kirsten Dunst Photo: Evan Agostini/ Getty Images Kristen Stewart is getting some female companionship while heading out “On the Road.” Variety reports that “Spider-Man” actress Kirsten Dunst will play an unspecified role in director Walter Salles and producer Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s 1957 novel. Dunst joins a growing cast that already includes Stewart, Garrett Hedlund (“Tron: Legacy”) and Sam Reilly (“Control”). “On the Road” tells the story of Salvatore “Sal” Paradise (Reilly), a curious man who embarks on a road trip across the country. He meets an eclectic assortment of characters along the way, including the self-assured-but-trouble-attracting Dean Moriarty (Hedlund) and his wife Marylou (Stewart). Dunst’s involvement in “On the Road” comes just one week after the announcement of Stewart’s own participation. “I am super excited about it,” she told USA Today of her casting. The road to bring “On the Road” to the big screen has been a lengthy one, as Coppola and Salles first secured the rights to the film more than three decades ago. The movie entered production in 2005 but stalled due to a lack of financing. In his attempts to adapt “On the Road,” Salles traveled the same cross-country route as the book’s author and even filmed a documentary, “In Search of On the Road.” “The film greatly benefited from the extra time we had to conceptualize it,” Salles told Variety of his lengthy journey in adapting the novel. “The unedited scroll version was published recently and inspired a new version of the screenplay written by Jose Rivera that is at the same time more luminous, daring and muscular than the one we had at the start.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com .

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Kirsten Dunst Added To ‘On The Road’ Cast

Miley Cyrus lap dance video

According report, the tape shows Miley Cyrus, 17, giving Shankman, 45, a risque lap dance during their film#39;s wrap party last year. TMZ has obtained a video reportedly filmed last summer that shows a 16-year-old Cyrus grinding on the dance floor and later giving 45-year-old So You Think You Can Dance judge Adam Shankman a lap dance. The video was reportedly taken during the wrap party for Cyrus#39; movie, The Last Song. Shankman, who is openly g-ay, produced the film. “The video was take

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Miley Cyrus lap dance video

Any Day Now For Claudia Schiffer!

Super model and super mom Claudia Schiffer is getting closer and closer to her due date. We spotted the very pregnant cover girl in London today dropping off her children at school. This will make baby number three for Claudia and her film producer husband, Matthew Vaughn.

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Any Day Now For Claudia Schiffer!

Cannes Film Festival Kicks Off With ‘Robin Hood’

‘Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,’ ‘Fair Game’ and more films are set to premiere at the fest. By Jocelyn Vena Russell Crowe stars in “Robin Hood” Photo: Universal Pictures Not even rain could dampen the mood as the Cannes Film Festival kicked off Wednesday (May 12) in the French resort town that gives the fest its name. The A-list stars are expected to turn out to premiere several big flicks at this year’s event; Russell Crowe, Naomi Watts and Shia LaBeouf are just a few whose films will be presented at the annual festival, running until May 23. Director Tim Burton leads the judges’ panel, which includes Benicio Del Toro and Kate Beckinsale. The Crowe-starring and Ridley Scott-directed “Robin Hood” opens the festival. “This is the sort of film that you hope for and then you wait for because you get to step into a completely different world,” Crowe told MTV News of taking the role in the period flick. “You actually get to time-travel.” Among this year’s buzzed-about films are the sequel to 1987’s “Wall Street,” the LaBeouf-starring “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” which sees the young actor teaming with the original flick’s Michael Douglas. Naomi Watts has two films at Cannes: “You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger,” co-starring Josh Brolin and directed by Woody Allen, and the Sean Penn CIA thriller “Fair Game.” Crowe’s “Robin Hood” isn’t slated for the competition portion of the festival; neither are “Wall Street” and “Dark Stranger.” Also at Cannes, Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling will screen “Blue Valentine,” which follows a married couple’s deteriorating union through flashbacks. “It’s a racy movie, so it’s hard to watch those scenes with so many people,” Gosling told MTV News in January, when the film showed at Sundance. “I watched it with my mother, she was beside me. I gave her an iPod. And when the naughty scenes came on, I pressed ‘play’ and covered her eyes.” Which Cannes films are you most looking forward to? Let us know in the comments below! For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘Robin Hood’ Related Photos “Robin Hood”

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Cannes Film Festival Kicks Off With ‘Robin Hood’

Lindsay Lohan’s Porn-Star Biopic Is ‘Scary,’ Not Sexy, Director Says

Lindsay Lohan’s Porn-Star Biopic Is ‘Scary,’ Not Sexy: Director By Kara Warner Lindsay Lohan Photo: Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImage Despite the salacious headlines regarding Lindsay Lohan’s starring role in the Linda Lovelace biopic “Inferno,” director Matthew Wilder insists the film will be “scary,” not sexy. TXT Over the past couple of weeks, the words “Lindsay Lohan” and “porn star” — regarding the actress’ reported starring role in “Inferno,” a biopic of the late “Deep Throat” star Linda Lovelace — have made for a lot of tabloid stories speculating about just what the troubled actress is getting into next. However, most of the stories and headlines about the film only focus on the fact that LiLo is playing a porn actress, and not what the film is actually about. On Tuesday, “Inferno” director Matthew Wilder talked with MTV News about the film and Lohan’s role. “The way I describe this movie is that it’s kind of like a grindhouse version of Ingmar Bergman’s “Scenes from a Marriage,” Wilder said. “There’s a little bit of bait-and-switch because people may know Linda Lovelace’s name and they may know a little bit about her — she was the first globally huge porn star. She made “Deep Throat” in ’72, which was this huge crossover hit — I don’t think there has ever been another porn movie that had that kind of success.” Wilder said the “meat” of the film focuses on the tumultuous relationship between Lovelace and her husband, Chuck Traynor. “If you read Linda’s book about her ordeal, she describes her relationship in terms that are black and white: the guy is a terrible villain, he abused her, everything that she did he physically coerced her to do, and she escaped him. So in our version we’re kind of reading between the lines a little bit. It’s about her complicity and her strange attraction to him and how in a weird way it was kind of a tragic love story. These are two people who loved each other.” Not only that, but audiences expecting a slightly romanticized, “Boogie Nights”-type biopic have another thing coming. “I would say it’s … this is maybe too extreme, but if you can imagine the relationship between Dennis Hopper and Isabella Rosselini in ‘Blue Velvet’ as an entire movie, that’s kind of what the movie is like. There’s a canvas for this movie and it’s about the move from the ’60s to the ’70s, and the ‘summer of love’ getting crushed a bit. There is a bigger canvas than just their story, but it’s very intense, very acting-driven.” Wilder isn’t sure what kind of rating the film will eventually garner, but he did confirm that there is nudity — although not the kind that people might expect. “There is definitely nudity in this movie, but the way I describe it to people is that it’s like ‘Schindler’s List’ nudity and not salacious nudity. This is a scary movie. If people think this is some salacious direct-to-video tripe or something, I’m like, ‘No.’ This is a very sober, scary movie about a dysfunctional romance. It’s not something I can imagine that anybody would ever be turned on by, unless they’re really sick.” Regarding Lohan herself, Wilder had only genuine praise for her, both as a person and as an actor. “I love her so much,” he said. “I think she is so fantastic. I am amazed everyday I’ll read some blurb in some gossip thing and I will read the user comments that are so hateful. … It’s so weird. I think people have a really twisted, wrong impression of who she is, what she’s all about, and the bottom line is that she is a brilliant actor. We’ve worked on this movie, rehearsed it, read it and she is great. I think she is as good as anyone in her age group. I hope this will turn the story for her a little bit and remind people that this is someone who is serious about acting and who is really different from the cartoon portrayed in the tabloid press.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com .

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Lindsay Lohan’s Porn-Star Biopic Is ‘Scary,’ Not Sexy, Director Says

‘The Avengers’ Cheat Sheet: Everything You Need To Know

Can’t wait until May 2012? Here’s all we know about the superhero supergroup. By Eric Ditzian Robert Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle in “Iron Man 2” Photo: Paramount Pictures With the mega-opening of “Iron Man 2” behind us and the release of “Thor” and “The First Avenger: Captain America” coming down the line in 2011, it’s time to turn our attention to “The Avengers,” Marvel’s planned big-screen adaptation of their team of iconic superheroes. Debuting in the early ’60s, the comic book’s members have at one time or another included Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk and others. “Avengers” isn’t set for a theatrical release until May 4, 2012. But details about the project are quickly coming together. Here is MTV News’ cheat sheet on the movie: everything you need to know about “The Avengers.” “Iron Man” and “The Incredible Hulk” Get Things Started At the end of 2008’s “Iron Man,” Samuel L. Jackson pops up as Nick Fury , the eye-patched head of the superhero-focused spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D. who’s putting together the Avengers. Not only was it an awesome and unexpected cameo, but it served as notice to fans that Marvel was dead set on weaving together the cinematic universes of their classic superheroes. Little more than a month later, Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark — a.k.a. Iron Man — appeared briefly in “The Incredible Hulk,” talking about getting a team together. Again, it was a satisfying cameo and further proof that “Avengers” was most definitely Marvel’s long-term — and long-planned — goal. Further along in ’08, “Iron Man 2,” “Thor,” “Captain America” and “Avengers” got release dates . While all except “IM2” would end up being pushed back (“Avengers” was originally slated for summer 2011), they were all at least officially on Marvel’s docket. By early ’09, the official release dates for all the films were in place . The Team Comes Together In fall 2008, the cast and crew began to fall into place . Downey and Don Cheadle (as War Machine) signed on to reprise their “Iron Man” roles in “Avengers,” and “Iron Man” director Jon Favreau shifted into an executive-producer role. Zak Penn (“X-Men: The Last Stand”) was recruited to pen the script and delivered a first draft in March. Meanwhile, Edward Norton, who played Hulk in the ’08 film, wouldn’t commit to reprising his role, even though Hulk is set to appear in the film . Scarlett Johansson, who played Black Widow in “Iron Man 2,” hinted at a juicy role for her character in “Avengers.” Chris Hemsworth was cast as Thor both for his own movie and for “Avengers,” while after a lengthy search, Chris Evans was signed as Captain America for his titular flick and “Avengers.” Last month, Joss Whedon nabbed the coveted director job and also got a chance to rewrite the script. The Remaining ‘Avenger’ Questions While the core team is in place, oodles of questions remain. Which other heroes and villains will pop up in “Avengers”? How about Loki (to be played by Tom Hiddleston in “Thor”) or Red Skull (to be played by Hugo Weaving in “Captain America”)? What other characters will enter the “Avengers” universe, like Ant-Man, Wasp, Black Panther and Vision? And then there’s the question of who will be the de facto leader of the Avengers. History points to Captain America, but nothing is set in stone. “I don’t know if they’re going to make him the boss,” Evans told MTV News in April. Joked Downey : “I’ll clown all of them. I’ll just clown those fools.” Check out everything we’ve got on “The Avengers.” For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com . Related Photos ‘Iron Man 2’

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‘The Avengers’ Cheat Sheet: Everything You Need To Know