We’ve got a couple of nude picks for you this week in theaters: First, Korean act-chest Doona Bae makes her leap into the Hollywood mainstream with a topless role in Cloud Atlas (2012)–Mr. Skin Hall-of-Famers Halle Berry and Susan Sarandon also star in multiple roles, but they don’t get naked, so whatever. Also nude in theaters this week, super skinny model type Agyness Deyn (above) makes her onscreen nude debut in the hyper-stylized English-language remake of Pusher (2012). Agyness plays a smack-addled pole dancer in the movie, but we’d still push it. Push it real good… More after the jump!
We’ve got a couple of nude picks for you this week in theaters: First, Korean act-chest Doona Bae makes her leap into the Hollywood mainstream with a topless role in Cloud Atlas (2012)–Mr. Skin Hall-of-Famers Halle Berry and Susan Sarandon also star in multiple roles, but they don’t get naked, so whatever. Also nude in theaters this week, super skinny model type Agyness Deyn (above) makes her onscreen nude debut in the hyper-stylized English-language remake of Pusher (2012). Agyness plays a smack-addled pole dancer in the movie, but we’d still push it. Push it real good… More after the jump!
The re-make of Maniac (1980) doesn’t hit theaters until 2013, but this weekend New Yorkers can see a sneak peek courtesy of the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Scary Movies series! The masterminds behind this attempt to outdo William Lustig ‘s brilliantly twisted 1980 slasher classic (good luck with that, by the way) are Alexandre Aja and Gr
Everything is connected in Cloud Atlas , a few things more directly than others: actor Jim Sturgess portrays one heroic, kind-hearted soul through its evolution from a seafaring 19th century lawyer to a Korean freedom fighter in the futuristic Neo Seoul, many lifetimes (and some controversy-courting Asian make-up) later. When he first read the script, adapted from David Mitchell’s novel by Lana & Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer , Sturgess understandably had some questions. For starters: Why? “I had a million questions,” Sturgess admitted in a chat with Movieline about Cloud Atlas , which required him to play multiple characters — including the sci-fi hero Hae-Joo Chang, disguised under make-up that set critics abuzz — linked by the same soul. “Like, why would you want me to play an Asian man in your film? What reason did they have — and was that going to be okay?” The very idea of eternal souls traveling from one mortal identity to the next forms the backbone of Cloud Atlas , which waves away those raised eyebrows fairly quickly. Many of the cast play against gender, ethnicity, and even age in the film, though the person underneath always remains crucially recognizable. In the film’s Neo Seoul segment, set in the year 2144, Sturgess turns in some of his finest work to date — nearly unrecognizable under his futuristic Asian make-up, and the better for it — as Chang, a determined rebel operative who falls for his clone charge ( Doona Bae ) and helps her change the fate of humanity. Sturgess spoke with Movieline about his Cloud Atlas soul, the extended Spaghetti Western-style fight scene that didn’t make the final film, his first outing as a bona fide action star, his upcoming sci-fi romance Upside Down , and Electric Slide , an ’80s-set true crime tale by first time feature director Tristan Patterson ( Dragonslayer ) that he’s filming now in Los Angeles. When Cloud Atlas first came to you, when you first read the script, did you feel an instant connection to the material? Did you think, ‘This role must be mine’? It was kind of weird, actually. I was sent the script and was told they were maybe interested in me to play these two parts, Adam Ewing and Chang, which was pretty confusing. I didn’t understand what it was all about. So I read the script — it was while I was shooting another film so it was pretty rare, normally you’re so focused on what you’re doing that you don’t really read other scripts — but it arrived, and it was sort of just sitting in my hotel room where I was filming, and it just said “Andy Wachowski & Lana Wachowski & Tom Tykwer,” and I thought, this looks interesting. Eventually I couldn’t help but to just have a little peek, and I ended up reading the whole script. Then I met with Andy and Lana who came to London and they asked if it was something I’d be interested in doing. They hadn’t chosen me, I guess they were meeting other people, but we just had a meeting about the ideas. I had a million questions. Like, why would you want me to play an Asian man in your film? What reason did they have — and was that going to be okay? That is an interesting and important question with your portrayal of Hae-Joo Chang — one I think the film itself answers as it explores the boundaries of identity. I hope so. When it first came out that Cloud Atlas would be blurring the lines of ethnicity, the internet had some very heated discussions. Rightly so. I totally understand where it comes from. But yeah, you don’t get the full picture unless you watch the film, so just to get it from the trailer or the images that were put online could be jarring for some people. Which I understand. What were some of the bigger questions you initially had for Lana and Andy? I was just like, ‘Explain to me why I would be playing this character,’ and they explained to me the idea of the souls — that whoever was to play Adam Ewing, it was necessary, absolutely necessary, that that soul develops into the Hae-Joo Chang story. Because essentially they’re telling very similar stories, just in different paths, and Hae-Joo Chang is a progression of a soul, like Adam Ewing, who made very unconscious decisions of human kindness because it was in his make up to know right from wrong. But he had no idea he would change the course of human history. Then there’s someone like Hae-Joo Chang, who is battling the same idea of repression but in a more futuristic landscape but making very clear conscious decisions; he knows what he will do and that what he will achieve with Sonmi will alter the course of human existence. I like the idea of approaching it as an actor playing a soul through multiple lifetimes rather than simply individual characters. And there was a reason for absolutely everything. That’s what was so exciting. It wasn’t just, we want you to play this because it will be cool — no, this is the reason, this is your journey of your soul and this is how it maps out, what it represents. And, you know, Tom Hanks’ represents something very different, and Halle’s character represents something very different for her. Tom Hanks said he had a lot of fun trying to kill you. I know he did, I was there! [Laughs] I didn’t have so much fun having him try to kill me each day. He’s a force of nature, that guy. It was amazing just to meet him and work with him. How did you feel about becoming, in Cloud Atlas ‘s Neo Seoul segment, a bona fide action star for the first time — and not only that, but a Wachowski action star? It felt pretty cool, I’ve got to say! There were moments, little “pinch me” moments, just standing there clutching a gun, flying a space motorbike, knowing you were being looked after by the Wachowskis. They did make you look pretty cool. Or maybe that was you. [Laughs] No, it was all them! But it was cool knowing it could be such a sci-fi experience within a bigger film. It was just a piece of a bigger picture. Doona Bae is such a revelation in Cloud Atlas , partly because we haven’t seen her before in an American film and speaking English but also because when you think of this film, the idea of a relative unknown stealing the spotlight from the famous Hollywood “movie stars” falls right in line with the larger themes. How did you two develop your onscreen chemistry, that connection that binds your characters? I was really nervous to work with her because I was just told that she was a Korean actress who spoke very limited English. You would be amazed at how much her English has progressed since we first met. I’m so proud of her that she could do a press junket really not even using a translator. But we met and even though there was a huge language barrier, we got on instantly. Within five minutes of meeting I knew we were going to get on really well, because she’s got an awesome sense of humor. And the language barrier almost brought us closer together, in a weird way. Instead of being able to talk, we had to sort of try to make each other laugh a lot because it was our only way of connecting. So we’d just mess around most of the time. [Laughs] We grew really close. And you know, it’s about the process of making a film. I grew very protective of her in a strange way — she was so out of her regular comfort zone and she was all on her own, didn’t speak much English at all, and she was in a foreign city… I sort of felt duty-bound to look after her a little bit. We just had a lot of fun. You got a chance to play around with a Scottish accent in one of the film’s more broadly comical scenes, in which you actually get to smash Hugo Weaving over the head during a bar fight. That was cool! They cut that scene down a lot, actually. I mean, I understood why they had to. We actually rehearsed this giant kind of Spaghetti Western bar fight, and there were whole scenes where I was doing shots of whiskey and punching someone, then doing another shot of whiskey and punching someone. I was throwing people over my head! But obviously, it’s a big four-hour movie and they had to start shaving it down. Maybe the eventual director’s cut or extended cut will have all four hours intact so we can see this fight. I hope so! It was fun. I liked doing it. As it happens you have another science fiction romance story coming out — Upside Down , with Kirsten Dunst . What do you think it is that’s drawn you to sci-fi and to so many romantic figures of late? Each choice is sort of a reaction to the last thing you’ve made, and I had just done a film called The Way Back , which was a grueling, really bleak and difficult shoot — it was life-changing and amazing in so many different ways, but it was tough. It was all outdoors, no studio work. No comfort. We were out in the mountains of Bulgaria and the deserts of the Sahara, and it was really, really hard work. So the next script, I didn’t want to do anything like that at all. I’d just had that experience and I thought, what can I do that’s completely opposite to that? Then Upside Down kind of landed on my lap and it was this great, fun love story with this great idea of these two worlds, very much a CGI film but in a cool and artistic kind of way. So I thought, cool — I’ll go for that. I’m a fan of Kirsten Dunst and I knew she was going to be playing the girl, so I was really excited that they asked me to do that. I’m not necessarily drawn to science fiction stuff — I guess One Day was very much a love story, but the draw of that was to play one character that you’d stay with over 20 years, and I thought the character of Dexter was interesting. You seem like something of a natural born romantic. [Laughs] Maybe, I don’t know! There’s another project you’re about to start; how would you describe Electric Slide ? [The film, about Eddie Dodson — the ” New York Yankees Bandit ” — was previously set to star Ewan McGregor .] It’s a film called Electric Slide with a first time director called Tristan Patterson — it’s a true story, and set in the 1980s. It’s a cool period! I have to grow a mustache for it, that’s why I have the beard. Totally ‘80s, in a cool way though. Hopefully it’ll look great. I get to rob some banks! Previously: Korean Star Doona Bae On Sonmi-451 And Her Crossover Journey To ‘Cloud Atlas’ Read more on Cloud Atlas , in theaters Friday . Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Here at Skin Central we know that horror movies provide enough tricks and teats to get you jacking your lantern year round. Now the crack team at Fleshbot has put together their Favorite Horror Movie Nude Scenes, which you can read here . The list includes such favorites as Linnea Quigley ’s skinfamous graveyard strip scene in Return of the Living Dead (1985), the pillow fighting peepers of Juliette Cummins in Slumber Party Massacre II (1987), and the splatterrific bloody boobs of Monika Malacova in Hostel: Part II (2007). We can all celebrate the season where skimpy costumes are applauded, and horror movie hotties provide hair-raising howls and skin-pressive scares. So go plump up your Hallo-weenie to Fleshbot ’s favorite fright flicks, then get thrilled and chilled by the scream queen skin on Mr. Skin’s Favorite Horror Movie Nudes . See pics after the jump!
James Bond may be able to tussle with the world’s most notorious evil-doers, but he’s not able to resist the alluring sounds of singer Adele ‘s soulful voice. 007 star Daniel Craig said that he cried when he first heard the theme song to Skyfall . In an interview with Yahoo! Movies U.K., the Bond star said he was moved emotionally when he heard the first notes of Adele’s ballad. “I cried,” he said. “From the opening bars I knew immediately, then the voice kicked in and it was exactly what I’d wanted from the beginning. It just got better and better because it fitted the movie. In fact the more of the movie we made, the more it fitted it.” Skyfall director Sam Mendes said that the Rolling in the Deep singer was given an early copy of the script to help her compose the song, co-written by Paul Epworth. “She came in very early before we started shooting and her main concern was ‘I write songs about myself, how can I make a Bond song? My answer was ‘just write a personal song’! Carly Simon’s ‘Nobody Does It Better’ was a love song,” said Mendes. Skyfall headed to the number one spot on iTunes only ten hours after its release. Adele recorded the song at London’s Abbey Road Studios, featuring a 77-piece orchestra. “I was a little hesitant at first to be involved with the theme song for ‘Skyfall,'” Adele said. “There’s a lot of instant spotlight and pressure when it comes to a Bond song.” And the song has already lured some notable covers. Artists Jedward and Willow Smith have given their spin to the catchy tune. Skyfall had its World Premiere in London Wednesday and will open in the U.S. November 9th. [ Sources: Huffington Post , Yahoo! Movies U.K. ]
James Cameron said last Spring he disbanded his production company’s development wing, noting that aside from his deep-sea submarine dives, that he’s exclusively in the ” Avatar business – meaning Avatar 2 , Avatar 3 and possibly Avatar 4 . Well, that was then and this is now… But, Cameron’s production company has picked up rights to Taylor Stevens’ thriller novel The Informationist which he’ll likely direct and produce. “I’m not going to produce other people’s movies for them,” he told the New York Times earlier in the year. While Avatar -orama is still on, Cameron is eyeing a filmmaking life beyond the 3-D behemoth. Avatar ‘s follow-up may not hit screens for another four to five years, so it may be quite a number of years before The Informationist actually makes its way into production. But for now the plan is that his Lightstorm Entertainment label will develop the adaptation for 20th Century Fox, THR reports . “This was an opportunity to continue our relationship with Fox and Jim Gianopulos beyond the Avatar films,” Landau said in a statement to THR. “We were drawn to this book because of the terrific, compelling narrative and the character, who typifies the strong female protagonists that have inhabited Jim’s work. In this case, Vanessa Munroe is essentially a mix of Lisbeth Salander and Jason Bourne.” Said Cameron: “Taylor Stevens’ Vanessa Michael Munroe is an intriguing and compelling heroine with an agile mind and a thirst for adventure. Equally fascinating for me is her emotional life and her unexpected love story.” Amazon’s description of The Informationist: Stevens’s blazingly brilliant debut introduces a great new action heroine, Vanessa Michael Munroe, who doesn’t have to kick over a hornet’s nest to get attention, though her feral, take-no-prisoners attitude reflects the fire of Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander….Thriller fans will eagerly await the sequel to this high-octane page-turner.” —Publishers Weekly, starred, boxed review Vanessa “Michael” Munroe deals in information—expensive information—working for corporations, heads of state, private clients, and anyone else who can pay for her unique brand of expertise. Born to missionary parents in lawless central Africa, Munroe took up with an infamous gunrunner and his mercenary crew when she was just fourteen. As his protégé, she earned the respect of the jungle’s most dangerous men, cultivating her own reputation for years until something sent her running. After almost a decade building a new life and lucrative career from her home base in Dallas, she’s never looked back. [ Sources: THR , The Film Stage , Amazon ]
LEGO has released the trailer for LEGO Batman : The Movie — DC Super Heroes Unite , the feature-length version of the video game sequel that will be released in 2013 on Blu-Ray, DVD and via digital download, that’s based on the toy building-block adaptation of the comic. That’s four levels of franchising away from the source material, which means we’re more than halfway to Kevin Bacon . But despite sounding like the Inception of marketing, the movie looks great. Here are six reasons why: 1. It actually looks funny. The LEGO video game franchise, which has also adapted the Indiana Jones , Star Wars and Harry Potter universes, produces the equivalent of Mel Brooks parody movies for button mashers. While these games are never particularly inspired, they’re not blatant cash-ins either. Each is stuffed with genuine love for the source material and loaded with obscure collectibles and knowing in-jokes for fans, such as the scene in the above trailer where the Flash catches a boomerang with a look of contempt in his eyes that says, Really? You’re actually attempting to stop the Fastest Man Alive with a spinning chunk of wood? An unexpected explosion reveals the Penguin, in full tuxedo costume, playing with fish in the bath, and when Harley Quinn declares something to be a riddle a certain green-clad Batman villain plaintively wails “Hey, that’s my line!” The Bat-Signal even becomes a visual joke when Superman throws Bats into the sky. The toy setting establishes a light-hearted attitude, and the trailer indicates that the movie will take full advantage of that. 2. It’s A Justice League Movie Assembling the Justice League for the big screen has been a cinematic dream for decades. Marvel took five movies to get ready for their equivalent, assembling The Avengers to multi-billion dollar success. With DC planning to release its Justice League movie in the summer of 2015 (when Avengers 2 debuts), the LEGO movie offersoffers skips straight to the action, treating fans to an ensemble cast. 3. Restraint All LEGO movies rely on the gimmick that things break apart and have to be reassembled. Luckily even LEGO knows that now, and it seems to be showing some restraint with the premise instead of turning the whole movie into a computer-generated building demo. The central plot of the film is Lex Luthor inventing the “Deconstructor”, a device which can breakdown anything into its component parts. You wouldn’t think a genius would be required to figure out such a task in a LEGO world, but apparently it was. Thankfully, although there are bound to be a few spectacular dismantlings in the movie (and, I’m betting, at least one blurred scene of the Flash reassembling something with super speed), the trailer indicates that there’s more to the movie than that. Besides, there’s no topping the scene in the Star Wars short Revenge of the Brick in which Obi Wan Kenobi uses the Force to break up his own fighter so that it can evade enemy missiles. 4. Perfect Graphics One advantage of depicting computer-generated plastic blocks and other geometric shapes is that the current technology is well-suited to the task. With these basics covered, more of the animation budget can be spent on interesting design and exciting special effects instead of weeks spent attempting to get human hair to look better than painted plastic. In this movie, that’s what it’s supposed to look like. 5. Imagination The trailer isn’t just true to the toys, it’s true to the function of toys — playing! At one point during an air-and-sea chase involving Batman and the Joke, the Caped Crusader dips one of the Batplane’s wings into water to generate a wave that grounds the Joker-boat. If that doesn’t sound like a scenario that a kid would create with his LEGO toys, then you don’t have kids. Or LEGO. 6. Batman Always Wins Batman’s whole deal is succeeding in any situation — even conversion to other media (something other comic characters famously have trouble with.) The Batman Begins trilogy has been one of the blockbuster successes of the decade, Arkham Asylum made him the first hero to have a good video game in this console generation, then Arkham City showed he could do it again — bigger, and better — whenever he wanted. The question is whether he can also be king of the blocks. Luke McKinney loves the real world, but only because it has movies and video games in it. He responds to every tweet. Follow Luke McKinney on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
Daniel Craig shared a laugh with royal guest Prince Charles today at the Royal World Premiere of Skyfall in London, where the Prince of Wales and his +1, Camilla, greeted the Blond Bond and his co-stars Naomie Harris , Dame Judi Dench , Javier Bardem , and sultry new Bond girl Berenice Marlohe ahead of Skyfall ‘s debut. (Charles seemed particularly taken with Marlohe — join the club, buddy.) The 23rd official Bond outing sees Craig’s 007 battling his own blond nemesis, Silva (a wonderfully flamboyant Bardem), whose quest to take down MI6 and Bond’s boss M (Dench) is both catastrophic and deeply personal. Click here or on the photos below to peruse Movieline’s red carpet gallery of Skyfall ‘s stars and royal guests , including Rachel Weisz , who greeted the royals by husband Craig’s side, and one-time Bond villain ladyfriend Minnie Driver. (Recall her pre-fame turn as the country-singing mistress of a Russian gangster in GoldenEye ? No?! Here, refresh your memory . You’re welcome!) My first question: “What did Charles say to Craig?” (My second: Where was Bond’s old skydiving pal The Queen ?) Caption away, Movieliners! [Photos: Getty Images] Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
This week is about threesomes, in two movies that couldn’t be more different. Although both are the products of legendary filmmakers, one’s a restrained British drama while the other is a knockabout farce. (And if these movies put you in the mood for more ménage-a-cinema, check out 3 , Cloud Atlas co-director Tom Tykwer’s last film, a sexy and intelligent movie that got very little traction in this country.) HIGH: Sunday Bloody Sunday (The Criterion Collection; $29.95 DVD, $39.95 Blu-Ray) Who’s Responsible: Written by Penelope Gilliatt; directed by John Schlesinger; starring Peter Finch, Glenda Jackson and Murray Head. What’s It All About: Jewish physician Daniel (Finch) and divorcee Alex (Jackson) are both having a relationship with artist Bob (Head). Both Daniel and Alex are aware of the arrangement, and they put up with it because each does not want to lose the emotionally elusive Bob. Why It’s Schmancy: Sunday Bloody Sunday made history for its then-shocking kiss between Finch and Head — made all the more revolutionary in 1971 for Schlesinger’s refusal to treat it any differently than a heterosexual smooch. But what has made the film endure is the core honesty of the characters. (In an interview on the DVD, Head says that Schlesinger had once shared a boyfriend with a woman and that the film was a way for him to disentangle the experience.) Brilliantly acted, sensitively written and beautifully shot, Sunday Bloody Sunday is, as author William J. Mann notes on the DVD, Schlesinger’s masterpiece. W hy You Should Own It: Once again, The Criterion Collection packages its releases brilliantly. In addition to the extras with Head and Mann, there are excerpts from a 1975 AFI lecture given by Schlesinger, interviews with production designer Luciana Arrighi, cinematographer Billy Williams and Schlesinger’s longtime partner Michael Childers. An accompanying booklet includes a new essay as well as Gilliatt’s introduction to the published screenplay. The picture and sound are both exquisite as well, particularly in hi-def. LOW: Micki + Maude (Part of a four-film collection from Mill Creek Entertainment; $9.98 DVD) Who’s Responsible: Written by Jonathan Reynolds; directed by Blake Edwards; starring Dudley Moore , Ann Reinking, Amy Irving and Richard Mulligan. What’s It All About: Rob Salinger (Moore) really, really, really wants to have a baby, but his wife Micki (Ann Reinking), an assistant DA, seemingly has no interest in having children. When he falls for Maude (Irving), and she becomes pregnant, he prepares to marry her and divorce Micki — until it turns out that Micki is also with child. Not willing to cross Maude’s pro-wrestler dad, Rob marries her anyway, leading to the harried two-timer spending days with one wife and nights with the other. Cue the inevitable delivery room sequence, with both spouses in adjoining suites and Rob trying his best to keep the charade going. Why It’s Fun: The premise sounds like a turn-off, but Reynolds, Edwards and Moore manage to make Rob a sympathetic character: he really wants to be a father, and he really loves both of these women. So, through some miracle, this bigamist scoundrel comes off as a decent guy just trying to do the right thing. Few American filmmakers do door-slamming farce as well as the late, great Edwards, and the big hospital scene at the end ranks as a real comic gem. Micki + Maude isn’t often listed among the director’s greatest films, but it’s overdue for a reappraisal. Why You Should Buy It (Again): The film comes packaged in a very mixed bag of romantic comedies, ranging from the great ( Modern Romance ) to the forgettable ( There’s a Girl in My Soup , starring frequent Edwards collaborator Peter Sellers, and Hanky Panky ). The real reason to own this film is that much of Micki + Maude ’s comedy relies upon Edwards’ masterful use of the anamorphic screen, so this really isn’t a movie you want to watch on TV unless it’s letterboxed. Alonso Duralde has written about film for The Wrap, Salon and MSNBC.com. He also co-hosts the Linoleum Knife podcast and regularly appears on What the Flick?! (The Young Turks Network). He is a senior programmer for the Outfest Film Festival in Los Angeles and a pre-screener for the Sundance Film Festival. He also the author of two books: Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas (Limelight Editions) and 101 Must-See Movies for Gay Men (Advocate Books). Follow Alonso Duralde on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
