Can I get a Hoo-Ah ? Al Pacino has had a good run playing reviled real-life characters in HBO movies and miniseries, and, based on this trailer for Phil Spector , he’s going to keep his streak alive when the movie debuts on March 24. The actor, who played suicide machine inventor Jack Kevorkian in the 2010 HBO biopic You Don’t Know Jack , and was particularly brilliant as the homophobic gay lawyer Roy Cohn in the cable network’s adaptation of Lincoln screenwriter Tony Kushner’s Angels in America in 2003, dons quite a few wacky wigs in this clip to play the legendary 60s music producer who’s serving 19 years to life in a California prison for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson . It’s not just the hair though. The picture was written and directed by David Mamet , whose mean, hard-boiled writing sounds great coming out of Pacino’s mouth. “First time you got felt up, guess what? You were listening to one of my songs,” the actor brazenly tells Helen Mirren who plays his defense attorney. And then there’s the disembodied voice who, referring to Spector, tells Mirren: “He’s a freak. Theyr’e going to convict him of I just don’t like you.” Make that a talented freak. Spector produced albums by the Crystals, Darlene Love, the Ronettes, the Righteous Brothers, John Lennon , the Ramones and Leonard Cohen’s famous disaster of an album, Death of a Ladies Man. His Wall of Sound production technique influenced Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run , among other albums. The scene in the trailer where Spector pulls a gun and shoots it into the ceiling next to a guitarist looks like it may be a recreation of a recording session with John Lennon. The former Beatle told Spector: “Phil, if you’re going to kill me, kill me. But don’t fuck with my ears. I need ‘em.” Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
Hollywood.TV is your source for all the latest celebrity news, gossip and videos of your favorite stars! bit.ly – Click to Subscribe! Facebook.com – Become a Fan! Twitter.com – Follow Us! Helen Mirren received the 2488th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday, honoring an acclaimed career that has seen her portraying a wide array of roles in movies, television and theater. She described the occasion as “the most spectacular day for me” and joked, “I’m going to finally lie next to Colin Firth – something I’ve been wanting to do for a very long time.” Dame Helen has won an Academy Award, four Baftas, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards Hollywood.TV is the global leader in capturing celebrity breaking news as it happens. Launched in 2008, we capture all the latest news, exclusive celebrity interviews, star videos and hot celebrity gossip from around the world every minute of everyday. HTV is on the streets 24/7, at all the industry events and invited by the stars to cover their every move in Hollywood, New York and Miami. Hollywood.TV is currently the third most viewed reporter channel on www.youtube.com YouTube with almost 400 million views, and our footage is seen worldwide! Tune in daily for all the latest Hollywood news on www.hollywood.tv and http like us on Facebook!
Emily Blunt, Helen Mirren and Jessica Chastain also share how ‘elated’ they are to receive nominatiosn from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. By Kara Warner Leonardo DiCaprio in “Django Unchained” Photo: Weinstein Company
Once, Nicole Kidman barely had to raise an eyebrow to get awards attention. Now, she barely can raise an eyebrow and her best work in years is being completely ignored in the Oscar conversation. The Paperboy stars Kidman as Charlotte Bless, a damaged attention-seeker who becomes sexually obsessed with a convicted murderer ( John Cusack ), while cock-teasing the only man—or really, teenager—who truly loves her (Zac Efron). It’s Kidman’s bravest, boldest, and most committed performance ever, and no one cares for the short-sighted reason that the movie is terrible. How unfair. The Nicole Kidman of To Die For used to have a bright future before that bright future came true and blinded everyone to her comedic gifts. Once Kidman scored her first Oscar nomination for 2002’s Moulin Rouge , she became the prey of the Hollywood awards hunt, in which the chase for For-Your-Consideration goes like this: take one prestigious actress (see Kidman, Berry, Jolie, Swank), make her play someone vulnerable (see Cold Mountain , Things We Lost in the Fire , The Changeling , Conviction ), then cross your fingers. This is why we’ve had a full decade of Kidman drifting about in period costumes or, god forbid, stretching herself to play a movie star in Nine . And people, this is why the Oscar season is boring. This formula guarantees a chase to the middlebrow, and it’s why every Best Picture Oscar winner since Silence of the Lambs is something your grandma would see at an arthouse matinee. There’s only one thing we can do to save the Academy Awards: nominate Nicole Kidman for The Paperboy . Just because The Paperboy is bad doesn’t void the bravery it took to make it. Kidman’s Charlotte is a balls-out wonder. She’s pure sex and need, at once over-confident and fragile. Slithering around in her neon polyester pants, Kidman is fully alive for the first time since Baz Luhrmann murdered her with tuberculosis. And The Paperboy even has not one but two stand-out scenes that will live on in infamy—Sally Field standing on a table in Norma Rae can’t compete with Kidman peeing on Zac Efron or giving John Cusack an orgasm just by breathing at him from across a prison cell. Imagine if Oscar voters were able to parse the jewels from the schlock. Why should Les Misérables clutter up every acting category? What if this year’s ceremony didn’t just include the dull favorites like Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln and Jessica Chastain in Zero Dark Thirty —roles everyone respects, but no one loves—but made room for Michael Shannon in Premium Rush and Michael Sheen in Breaking Dawn – Part 2 . Imagine just being able to say, “The Academy Award-nominated bike messenger thriller Premium Rush .” Plus, this wouldn’t be the first time we’ve given an actor a statuette for good work in an awful film. We did it three years ago when Mo’Nique won for Precious . It’s no coincidence that Precious and The Paperboy were both directed by bizarro auteur Lee Daniels, a former casting agent and producer with the clout to get serious actors to take him seriously. He convinced the likes of Helen Mirren, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Joseph Gordon-Levitt to star in his debut film, Shadowboxer —-and that’s despite a script which opens with Stephen Dorff shoving a pool cue up a guy’s ass. In fact, let’s go one step further. Not only does Nicole Kidman deserve a Best Actress nomination for The Paperboy , Lee Daniels deserves Best Director. He’s clearly one of the greats. Not because his films are any good, but because his actors would do—and do do—anything for him. Anthony Minghella, Sidney Pollack, Rob Marshall only wish they could pull as passionate of a performance out of Kidman, and Daniels behind-the-scenes alchemy is that powerful with every single one of his actors. He not only convinced Helen Mirren and Cuba Gooding Jr. to shoot a strip scene in Shadowboxer , he convinced them to commit to it like it was high art. And The Paperboy performs more stunt-casting miracles: An American sweetheart, John Cusack, is loathsome; Macy Gray is the next great actress and Zac Efron, convincingly, can’t get laid. Could Steven Spielberg swing that? Never. Luckily, we’re not alone in appreciating this wonderful, terrible gem. In October, a group of rogue cinephiles launched a For Your Consideration Facebook page flogging Nicole Kidman’s outstanding work in The Paperboy . As of today, the page has 10 fans. Let’s get that number growing.
Calling the lobby before last night’s New York premiere of R. Kelly ‘s Trapped in the Closet an awkward scene wouldn’t do it justice: PR reps ran around, security locked down our electronics and scores of media folk shuffled about as all of our abilities to tell time went dark. But then something magical happened: Eric Lane walked in. He was followed by La Donna Tittle, and suddenly everyone stood around in awe of the two actors who are better known in this strange world as Twan and Rosie the Nosy Neighbor. It speaks to the weird magic behind R. Kelly’s self-described “hip hopera” — but really, let’s just say it’s a soap opera that rhymes — and how a one-night stand can transform into a character study about a group of people dealing with relationships, crime and a blind ho named Francine. And yet, the crowd that came out to see the latest installment in the Trapped franchise (airing on IFC Friday, November 23 at 9pm PT/ET) wasn’t there for spectacle. The audience assembled because of the assured promise that R. Kelly would continue to deliver revelations with his cult hit about adultery, midgets and how devastating a plot point that no one could find Chuck — once a throw-away character, now a series lynchpin — could be. Even the show itself turned into a meta-on-top-of-meta moment as Reverend Mosley hawked a “Trapped in the Closet” book (“There’s the Bible…and there’s this”) as characters gave Real World confessionals on an unnamed talk show. But when R. Kelly came out for a post-screening Q&A with E! ‘s Alicia Crowley, any questions were moot as he soaked in the applause. Answering a few questions, Kelly had this to say about the writing process behind the series: PHOTOS: New Images from R. Kelly’s ‘Trapped In The Closet’ “I sit in the studio all day, thinking of stupid stuff I have,” he said. Even when asked about a certain new chapter and how it chronicles the comically long trip to see a new character, “That’s me trying to say in a hilarious way, this guy’s way up in the building! You got to form a scene!” Kelly is adamant in keeping the Trapped series as silly as possible, not because it needs to be but because it appears to keep him sane while working in the studio. On writing the chapters, he explained, “It varies. I’m in the studio and it takes a while. I need to rhyme in order to write.” Even if he takes inspiration from his family (Rosie and Randolph are based on his grandparents, Lucius’ stutter on his stepfather) Kelly himself continues to provide fodder for his fans and the Trapped in the Closet mystique. On top of comparing Trapped to being an alien and calling himself and his actors astronauts, he announced he is considering a Broadway run for the series on top of the next installment, which will happen in “less than five years.” During the Q&A, Kelly delivered to his fans — he broke into song three times : An intro, a brief “Bump ‘n’ Grind” for a fan in the front row, and then an a cappella “I Believe I Can Fly” that got arms in the air and at least one lighter going in the theater to close out the night. Now here’s what makes Trapped In The Closet: Chapters 23-42 required Black Friday viewing: – It turns out blood is thicker than the finest p-p-p-pimp juice when we learn who Pimp Lucius is related to. – Speaking of Pimp Lucius, ever since he was almost converted by Reverend Mosley, he can hear the the voice of God. No, really. – We still don’t know how Tina got her twitch. – Kelly takes on two new roles: relationship counselor Dr. William Percy and a bad-ass, shark toothed gangster named Beeno (aka The Goat) who has a penchant for sunflower seeds and “stallions” (i.e. ladies in bikinis). – Sgt. James (Michael Kenneth Williams) doesn’t return (except for a brief shot)! Neither, as we knew, do Big Man, Bridget (save for a still shot in Chapter 23) or the Italians. – Perhaps in the cruelest fashion, “The Package” is finally revealed. But it is done in so in such a way that it feels like Kells took lessons in plot revelation from Damon Lindelof and it won’t officially pay off till the next series. – There’s certainly nothing as insane as a midget crapping himself, but the final Chapter IS a huge stand-out from everything thing else R. Kelly previously gave us. It’s so entertaining that it even gets a reprise during the credits, and had the entire crowd clapping along. – The next arc will focus on a talk show called “Out of the Closet.” We won’t spoil certain relationships, but a healthy amount of the teases point to a Jerry Springer-esque “confession” series with all the characters involved. – Seriously, Pimp Lucius? If ever a spin-off were to happen, this block of chapters gives the feeling that Kelly knows exactly who he’d focus on. In fact, if we had to wager who is the true star of this arc… let’s just say we wouldn’t stutter, but he definitely would. – We’re not going to say for sure, but there is a clear question asked at the beginning of Chapter 23 that won’t be resolved this time (SPOILER): ” Where’s Chuck? ” READ MORE ON R. KELLY’S TRAPPED IN THE CLOSET : WATCH: R. Kelly Gets Personal In ‘Trapped In The Closet’ Behind The Scenes (Plus: New Photos!) R. Kelly’s ‘Trapped In The Closet’ Might Be The Best Thing Ever, Forever John Lichman has written for The Playlist, Washington City Paper and does a fine Armond White impression. He tweets here .
” Elmo is bigger than any one person,” the producers of Sesame Street declared last week when Kevin Clash, who was the voice of the furry and very famous red muppet, was first accused of having sex with a minor. That statement is about to be tested in the wake of Clash’s resignation from the venerable children’s show after a second allegation, this time, in a lawsuit, was reported by the Associated Press on Tuesday. Although Clash’s first accuser recanted his claims, a lawsuit filed in federal court in New York charges Clash with sexual abuse of a second youth, Cecil Singleton, then 15 and now an adult. According to the AP (via Yahoo!) , the lawsuit, which seeks damages in excess of $5 million, alleges that Singleton was persuaded by Clash to meet for sexual encounters. A statement posted on the Sesame Workshop blog, also on Tuesday, noted that “the controversy surrounding Kevin’s personal life has become a distraction that none of us want.” The statement additionally read that Clash had resigned after 28 years at Sesame Street , because he’d concluded that “that he can no longer be effective in his job.” “It’s a sad day for Sesame Street ,” concluded the statement. It’s also a thorny public-relations problem for Sesame Workshop. But while Clash’s career won’t likely bounce back from this scandal any time soon, the reality is that Elmo is going to be fine. Movieline ‘s offices are located in the Times Square and even as news of these new allegations were breaking, there were two people dressed as Elmo circulating among the tourists and making a few bucks by taking pictures with children. They did not seem to be having trouble attracting business and no one was taunting them about the Clash story. In fact, when I approached one of the Elmos, who identified himself as Jose Segarro — that’s him in the picture with Hello Kitty — he was unaware of Clash’s resignation and told me that business was “the same.” In a recent piece on the growing scandal, The Grio.com interviewed Jim Silver, Editor in Chief of the online family site, Time to Play.com, who pointed out that while a small group of parents may be hesitant to buy an Elmo-related product for their kids in light of Clash’s problems, the brand remains strong. (He estimates that Elmo generates more than 50 percent of the $75 million in sales that Sesame Stree t toys generate each year. ) “Kevin [Clash] is the voice and is not Elmo the same way James Earl Jones is not Darth Vader.” Exactly. Despite this scandal’s great potential as a media story, my experience as a father tells me that kids, who are in the Elmo-loving age bracket, aren’t going to spend a lot of time thinking about what the voice of Elmo does in his personal life, even if they’re savvy enough to understand that Elmo is a puppet voiced by an actor. And even if there are a few preternaturally aware youngsters who watch a lot of cable news and grasp what’s happening here, they’re probably going to grow up to be the kind of knowing pop-culture savants who will convert this unfortunate chapter in Sesame Street history into some form of art or journalism, whether it be a documentary, book or comedy routine. That may be cold comfort, but, at this stage in the story, the silver linings don’t look all that plentiful. Related Stories: TALKBACK: Can ‘Elmo’ Puppeteer Kevin Clash Bounce Back From Abuse Allegations? INTERVIEW: Kevin Clash, the Man Behind Elmo, on Jim Henson, Puppetry, and Jason Segel’s The Muppets [AP via Yahoo! The Grio.com] Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
Quick, name your favorite Alfred Hitchcock movie and scene. With the Master of Suspense getting a lot of attention this fall, thanks to the HBO movie, The Girl , and the theatrical feature Hitchcock , which opens in limited release on Friday, Movieline decided these would be good questions to ask of the celebrity contingent that showed up for the New York premiere of the latter film on Sunday. Hitchcock , which stars Anthony Hopkins in the title role and Helen Mirren as his better half Alma Reville, is set during the making of Psycho and depicts the filmmaker in a more cuddly light than the manipulative misogynist he’s made out to be in The Girl . The comic drama is built around Hitchcock’s relationship with wife and the helpful role she played in his career. And though Hopkins didn’t attend the premiere at the Ziegfeld Theater, I spoke to him via satellite on Saturday. Based on his answers, he’s clearly spent some time with Vertigo. Movieline: What is your favorite Hitchcock film and your favorite scene? Anthony Hopkins , the star of Hitchcock . Movie: “ Vertigo is one of my all-time favorites. I think it’s the haunting music of Bernard Hermann and James Stewart’s romantic obsession for this young woman who is a mystery. She’s beautiful, blonde, inaccessible. He falls madly in love with her, and she’s killed halfway through or a quarter way through the film. She just falls out of the window or commits suicide. Then she reappears on the street in San Francisco.” Scene: “That scene particularly, when he follows her across the street to her hotel. That late afternoon light in the San Francisco street, 54 years ago when it was made. And the moment when he leaves her room, he says, “Can I take you for dinner,” and Kim Novak, as he goes out, turns towards the camera and you see the whole plot. You’re let in on the secret that this was a setup and James Stewart is the victim of an appalling tragedy—a woman’s murder. Then, he sees her on the street and becomes obsessed with repossessing Madeleine. He makes her have her hair done and the skirts and the shoes and everything. He’s obsessed, as Hitchcock was about the costuming, about the dressing of his female stars. He’s waiting in her hotel room and she’s finally persuaded to have her hair done the way Madeleine had it. She comes out and she’s come back from the dead. I mean, that’s the kind of mystical genius of Hitchcock. I think that has now become the top, number one film of all time. The critics destroyed it when it came out. They just said it was rubbish. Now, it’s number one. Top movie, above Casablanca and all those. So, the guy’s genius lives on, many years after his death.” Sacha Gervasi , the director of Hitchcock Movie: “Hel-lo, Psycho . With many filmmakers there’s perhaps two or three masterworks, but with Hitchcock there’s ten or twelve. That’s very rare. I also love Vertigo , because it’s so romantic. I think it’s sort of unintentionally revealing of the man himself.” Scene: “How could I not say the shower scene? It’s so revolutionary and so shocking and surprising.” Scarlett Johansson , Janet Leigh in Hitchcock Movie: “ Strangers on a Train . As a kid, I liked the look of it. I liked the cinematography. I liked the suspense. I liked everything about it.” Danny Huston , Strangers on a Train screenwriter Whitfield Cook in Hitchcock Movie: “ Strangers on a Train — only because I wrote it. [Laughs] I suppose Psycho because of those memorable moments; because it all came together in such a terrifying way and it’s just such a deeply psychological film.” Scene: “I don’t know whether it’s my favorite, but the one I just can’t shake, especially when I get soap in my eyes in the shower is the Psycho shower sequence. It’s just something that stays with me. And, if you’re somewhere around birds and the birds get a little too close to you, then you have that memory, too. It’s a subconscious thing.” Toni Collette , Peggy Robertson in Hitchcock : Movie: “It’s too hard. I mean, do you know how many movies he made? Jesus. I always go for Rear Window . Psycho is probably the most famous, which is why [Hitchcock] is so enlightening. He’s the master.” Scene: “I’m too jetlagged to recall.” Michael Stuhlbarg , Lew Wasserman in Hitchcock : Movie: “It’s impossible to choose between them. Each one accomplishes a different feat. I am particularly taken by Rope , especially because of the technical achievement of shooting the story so that it appeared to be a single continuous shot and how he creatively found ways to hide that.” Scene: “When that biplane comes after Cary Grant in North By Northwest and how close it gets to him — that’s an iconic scene that has stayed with me.” Jessica Biel , Vera Miles in Hitchcock : Movie : “I actually just saw Dial M for Murder , which I quite loved a lot. That and The Birds , of course.” James D’Arcy , Anthony Perkins in Hitchcock Movie: “I think the best one is the last one I watched, because the minute you see it you’re struck by his genius and you forget the other ones. Then, you watch the next one. The last one I saw was Foreign Correspondent , which is a 1940 piece of war propaganda. It’s utterly mesmeric. It’s got one of the best plane crashes I’ve ever seen. That wasn’t even on my radar before I’d seen it. Now it’s my favorite Hitchcock film.” Scene: “Wow. That is a difficult question. That shower scene in Psycho . That had people running out of cinemas when it was first screened. It’s just so iconic.” Jon Voight , actor: Movie: “I don’t have any favorites. I liked what he did for cinema, you know? And everybody who makes a film has learned something from Hitchcock and the way he made films. So, every film I see reminds me. ‘They took that from Hitchcock, they took that from Hitchcock.’ The things he employed became ingested by everybody in filmmaking.” Amanda Setton , actress, Gossip Girl Movie: “I don’t want to be cliché, but I have to say Psycho . We shoot on the Universal lot in L.A. and the Bates Motel and the Psycho house are on our back lot, so I kind of feel a very personal relationship to the ‘epicness,’ if you will, of that space. Ralph Macchio , actor: Movie: “Right now, it’s Rear Window . I just wrote a short film that I’m going to direct this December and there’s a voyeur-esque element to it. Scene: “Certainly the shower scene in Psycho . There’s a zillion of ’em.” Steve “Lips” Kudlow, frontman, Anvil Movie: “It would probably be Dial M for Murder . It was really brilliant that there was virtually nothing but one room. That and Rear Window . Those two movies. Wow.” Nell Alk is an arts and entertainment writer and reporter based in New York City. Her work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Manhattan Magazine, Z!NK Magazine and on InterviewMagazine.com, PaperMag.com and RollingStone.com, among others. Learn more about her here. Follow Nell Alk on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
So Scarlett Johansson and Jessica Biel were both at the Hitchcock premiere, and I’m glad to see that these two haven’t gotten boring yet. Even though Jessica did get married recently, and Scarlett’s been around for ever by now. I was hoping these two might spice things up even more and give me something to fantasize about, but it’s hard with Helen Mirren constantly in between them. Unless you’re into that kind of thing, in which case, this must be your lucky day. Enjoy. » view all 41 photos Related Articles: Scarlett Johansson Nude Pictures Leaked? Scarlett Johansson Topless In He’s Just Not That Into You Scarlett Johansson’s Boobs Have Gone Flat Scarlett Johansson’s Breasts Are Alluring Photos: WENN.com
Scarlett Johansson is channeling screen legend Janet Leigh in this depiction of the cult movie Psycho ‘s famous (or infamous) shower scene. Johansson is, of course, portraying Leigh’s character Marion Crane in the upcoming Oscar contender Hitchcock , which will have its world premiere as the opening night film at AFI Fest November 1st. Alfred Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) and his wife Alma Reville (Helen Mirren) are the focus in the Sacha Gervasi-directed feature, which is set against the backdrop of filming Hitchcock’s Psycho in 1959. Click for more images from Hitchcock Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh Johansson as well as Jessica Biel, Vera Miles, James D’Arcy, Danny Huston and Toni Collette also star in the film, which spans from the time of Wisconsin murderer Ed Gein, who was the inspiration for Psycho ‘s Norman Bates character, to the release of the acclaimed film in 1960. Hitchcock and Reville’s marriage comes under strain due to the filmmaker’s determination to complete the film. It is hard to completely tell if Johansson is wearing a bit of lipstick to show off her pillowy lips, given the color vs. black and white comparison with the original, but a little creative license will always be at play nevertheless. Psycho became a big success despite the fact that horror was often dismissed by the Hollywood elite of the time. Janet Leigh’s scream is easily one of the most recognizable images in Hollywood history. Leigh died in October 2004 at 77. Alfred Hitchcock passed away in 1980 at age 80. Fox Searchlight, which will release Hitchcock beginning November 23rd and it will likely be an Academy Award power-house this year. [ Source: The Sun ]
I’ve watched Leonardo DiCaprio die a dozen times as Jack Dawson in Titanic , each time cursing that Rose ( Kate Winslet ) for not sharing the Floating Debris of Life with her doomed lover. With every frail tweet of that rescue whistle, every whispered ” Come baaaack! ” I’ve wondered: Did Jack really have to die? Now we have our answer. The good folks on The Discovery Channel’s MythBusters must have shared my nagging concerns, because they put Jack’s Titanic death scene to the test. Could two human beings have fit on Rose’s makeshift raft, and therefore survived to live happily ever after sketching nudie pics of each other forever in Paris?? Granted, Jack was a streetwise, card-playing, jig-dancing sensitive artiste with probably zero physics training, so he probably wouldn’t have thought to tie Rose’s life jacket to the bottom of the debris to give it enough buoyancy to hold the two of them. But if he hadn’t had to shove over to let stupid Rose cling to the entire thing Jack wouldn’t have had to chill, literally, in the freezing waters, and maybe then he wouldn’t have died of sinking like a beautiful popsicle to the bottom of the ocean. Or as you fancypants science types call it, hypothermia. “With all we’ve learned, I think Jack’s death is needless,” co-host Jamie Hyneman tells James Cameron , who appears in the episode. Cameron’s response? “The script says Jack dies. He has to die.” DAMN YOU, CAMERON. [ MythBusters via Thompson on Hollywood ] Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
