Hungry for some funny? Sounds like the new competitive carving satire Butter might be what you’re craving, at least according to its cast who hit the red carpet last night for the NY premiere! Jennifer Garner, Olivia Wilde, Modern Family ‘s Ty Burrell and more were all on hand for the creamy fete hosted by The Cinema Society along with DKNY, Forevermark, and RentTheRunway.com — and they all went out of their way to assure audiences that Butter is NOT a political comedy. So then what is it? To find out, watch my video interview below! Plus while Butter hits theaters October 5th, you can get instant gratification right now as the movie’s currently available on iTunes and On Demand. And if it’s half as fun as the cast seems to have had making it, then you’re in for a treat… Follow Movieline on Twitter . Follow Grace on Twitter .
Is Ryan Gosling set to play the lead role of Christian in Fifty Shades of Grey? Not exactly. Or at all. But the rumor mill has run wild with this one. Why? According to reports, author E. L. James’ husband Niall Leonard thinks Gosling would be perfect and he is now the frontrunner for the role. Only those reports aren’t accurate. “As usual, it’s all been misreported,” she said. “What happened is that his local paper … reported on my husband being the inspiration for Christian Grey.” “Underneath, they put a picture of Ryan Gosling. So, that’s how that came about.” James, meanwhile, says she has 3-4 actors in mind for the steamy role, but declines to name any names. Maybe she should check out this fan made Fifty Shades of Grey trailer . The roles of Christian and Ana are “a long way” from being cast in the wildly anticipated film adaptation, although Carla Gugino did score a small but key role in the movie. At the end of the day, James told Ryan Seacrest that the whole experience of writing the popular books has been wild. “I wasn’t prepared for all this [attention],” she says. “This whole roller coaster ride has been completely mind-blowing.” Would Gosling be mind-blowing as Christian? Vote below! Yes! He’d be perfect as Christian! No! Someone else! View Poll »
Let The Hunger Games begin again! Next November, that is. With over a year to go until Katniss and company return for Catching Fire , Lionsgate has gone ahead and revealed the final new cast members for this wildly anticipated sequel in one joint announcement. Who will be joining new additions such as Sam Claflin and Alan Ritchson ? None of them will be feature players, but here’s a look at other Tributes we’ll meet in Catching Fire : James Logan – District 5 Tribute Boy Ivette Li-Sanchez -District 5 Tribute Girl Justin Hix – District 6 Tribute Boy Megan Hayes – District 6 Tribute Girl Bobby Jordan – Blight John Casino – Woof Elena Sanchez – Cecelia Daniel Bernhardt – District 9 Tribute Boy Marian Greene – District 9 Tribute Girl Jackson Spidell – District 10 Tribute Boy Tiffany Waxler – District 10 Tribute Girl Take note: for all your movie news , bookmark our friends at Movie Fanatic!
Is there a name more tattered in the annals of big-movie casting choices than George Lazenby ? Notice I say “choice” rather than “mistake,” because for all the static about the admittedly somewhat wooden Lazenby’s shortcomings, he managed to hold his own as the steady center of what James Bond fans have gradually come to recognize as one of the hidden highlights of the series, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service . His filmmaking peers vouch that although inexperienced and not always a day at the beach in terms of temperament, Lazenby was ultimately a pro in his work habits and showed a confidence that enabled him to brazen through a rather daunting succession: replacing the world’s favorite Bond while acting opposite one of the franchise’s most memorable Bond girls. That would be Diana Rigg as Tracy, the daughter of crime boss Draco (played by Gabriele Ferzetti as The Most Interesting Man In the World, 1968-style). “What she needs is a man to dominate her,” Daddy D says of his daughter, but, before we get any comments from readers of The End of Men, be advised that Tracy is more than a match for Bond. And it’s not just because The Avengers goddess Rigg —that’s the classic 1960s UK TV spy series, not the Marvel superhero costume party—is more than a match for Lazenby. It’s because the rather sharp script from one of Ian Fleming’s darker Bond sagas gives the debonair spy license to submit to her charms and depths. As Charles Taylor wrote of Rigg’s Tracy in Salon nearly 15 years ago, “Her presence enhances the whole concept of James Bond. For the first time, Bond has to prove himself worthy of a woman he’s attracted to.” We meet Tracy (aka Countess Teresa) in the pre-credits action when her cardinal-colored Mercury Cougar zooms past Bond’s ride. Although he prevents her suicide in the surf and beats down two thugs who try to grab her, she zooms away, leaving a gaping Lazenby to break the fourth wall and say, “This never happened to the other fella.” [Related: POLL: Vote for Your Favorite Bond Film ] In the making-of featurette that’s found on the Special Editon DVD and in the new 50th-anniversary box set, Lazenby calls that line “A way of breaking the ice,” and he’s right. Director Peter Hunt, who’d been an editor on previous Bond films, explains he decided to accept that Sean Connery’s departure from the role (which would then go on to Roger Moore, et al) was a lurch. So, in order to “get on with it”, he simply asked Lazenby to insert the line, which the model-turned-actor — in his first film role — had been tossing out occasionally on set. It’s a moment not unlike one in the early innings of The Bourne Legacy , when Jeremy Renner , taking over for Matt Damon , is trying to puzzle out his place in the franchise’s deadly world. “You ask too many questions,” says his fellow operative, surely a subtle reminder from writer-director Tony Gilroy that we should simply belt in and take the ride with the new guy. Lazenby’s ride was a turbulent one, thanks in part to his back-seat driving. From the start, the producers of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service had problems calibrating the neophyte’s self-importance: Though he was a tough Aussie who’d been a soldier back home before moving to London in 1963 (where he initially worked as a car salesman), Lazenby groaned about the cold Portugese surf that day he shot the pre-credits surf scene with Rigg. When he had an “I’m the star” snit one night at the Swiss location where the film’s spectacular ski chases were shot, franchise kingpin Cubby Broccoli reminded him that he wasn’t a star until the public decided he was. That was never to be, of course. Director Hunt decided after a frustrating hunt for Connery’s replacement that Lazenby “oozed sexual magnetism”, and Rigg personally signed off on his casting. The film’s cinematographer rather hopefully avers in the making-of short that the filmmakers thought they had found the “ruthlessness of Jack Palance and the charm of Cary Grant” in Lazenby. Alas, the actor’s unfortunate wardrobe in the movie — color-coordinated ensembles, bathrobes and frilly formal shirts — made him look more Austin Powers than James Bond, though a kilt Lazenby wears makes for a good gag. After a girl in a mountaintop harem scrawls her room number in lipstick well up on Lazenby’s left thigh, a henchman for Telly Savalas’ marginally suave Blofeld asks Bond about his physical state following a chopper lift to the cold, mountainous climate. In response, our hero admits to “Just a slight stiffness coming on.”
Also in Monday afternoon’s round-up of news briefs, Len Wiseman is being tapped to direct a classic thriller reboot. Innocence of Muslims actress is heading to federal court. And Benicio Del Toro eyes his latest project. Lee Daniels’ The Butler Heads to The Weinstein Company TWC picked up U.S. rights to the film by Oscar-nominated director Lee Daniels. Forest Whitaker stars in the true-life inspired story about an African-American man who served as a butler in the White House under eight U.S. Presidents. The film also stars Oprah Winfrey, Mariah Carey, John Cusack, Jane Fonda, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Terrence Howard, Minka Kelly, Lenny Kravitz, Melissa Leo, James Marsden and Vanessa Redgrave. The film traces the dramatic changes that swept American society, from the civil rights movement to Vietnam and beyond, and how those changes affected this man’s life and family. “Lee tells stories in a way no one else does,” said TWC head Harvey Weinstein. “What struck me most about this story is the perspective it comes from, which in this case is the butler- a man who was a fly on the wall for decades in the world’s most powerful home.” The Butler is currently in production in New Orleans. Around the ‘net… Jake Gyllenhaal Eyes Prisoners Gyllenhaal is in talks to star opposite Hugh Jackman the the gritty thriller, being directed by Incendies director Denis Velleneuve. The story centers around a small town carpenter (Jackman) whose young daughter and best friend are kidnapped. He in turn kidnaps the man he believes is responsible for the crime, THR reports . Len Wiseman to Direct The Mummy Universal Pictures has tapped Wiseman to direct the reboot of the franchise that took in $1.25 billion over three films. Jon Spaihts is writing the script for the studio which is looking at a possible Summer 2014 release, Deadline reports . Innocence of Muslims Actress to Sue in Federal Court Cindy Lee Garcia named YouTube, Google and the film’s supposed producer Nakoula Basseley Nakoula in a law suit alleging fraud and emotional distress. Claiming a copyright issue, her lawyer Cris Armenta said on the Today show that they will dismiss the state court lawsuit and head to federal court, Deadline reports . Benicio Del Toro Set for How the Light Gets In Del Toro and producer Laura Bickford who partnered on Traffic and Che are partnering on How the Light Gets In , described as a “contemporary love story set in New York, London, Paris and Berlin.” In the film, Del Toro will play a Chilean novelist living in Paris who falls in love. Variety reports .
Everyone is either looking forward to Wreck-It Ralph or still refers to video games as “those beeping boximacallits.” There are no other options. Gaming movies have a bad reputation, which is weird, because, despite what you may have heard and read, they have yet to materialize. We’ve seen dozens of action movies that share the titles of video games and little else, and run from reprehensible to ridiculously profitable — sometimes in the same series . We’ve also watched feature-length advertisements for video games that we’ve paid to see in hopes that there might be a movie in there somewhere. Case in point: Universal Pictures’ The Wizard. But that may be about to change. Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph could be the first true gaming movie — the first of a genre that could some day stand alongside war, horror and gangster movie genres. It’s a genre whose time has come. The children being brought to the latest Disney movie have grown up with games, while their parents have watched their kids — and the games — grow from simple noise-making bundles of reflexes to fully interactive 3D characters. I haven’t seen Wreck-It Ralph yet, but I already know one thing that’s smart about it. The movie doesn’t tie itself to a single franchise, but populates its world with characters and cliches from all of them. Imagine Super Smash Bros Brawl without being limited to Nintendo, then give them time off to chill between battles. That’s the level of world we’re looking at here. Wreck-It Ralph puts together a dream team of retro characters from a savvily chosen array of games: Zangief from Street Fighter , Q-Bert, Sonic, Kano and even a Beholder. If you’re not familiar with that last creature, he exists in video games the same way Captain Kirk exists in video games — he’s certainly been there but comes from a whole other world: Dungeons & Dragons . The Beholder is an extremely cool nod to gamers. Better yet, the characters are all rendered with such love that even the zombie — the most generic enemy in videogaming history — is recognizably from a specific game series. The double-fire-axe and torn beige shirt distinguishes him as a walker from House of the Dead clearer than a passport with his bite-marks on it. Wreck-It Ralph is stuffed with so many celebrity cameos that Chun-Li, also from Street Fighter , as a background character. Other companies have built entire films around her, although considering how that turned out, it’s probably a good thing the producers didn’t follow suit. The cruelest (but most accurate) gaming revelation was the presence of Sonic and Bowser, but no Mario. The writers told TotalFilm.com that Mario is such a powerful character that there would be no way to put him in the movie without him dominating it. But Sonic? Sure, stick him in there. There was never any doubt about who won the ’90s battle between him and Mario — and his inclusion removes any doubt that the writers really understand the games they’re referencing. Others have bitched about Zangief ‘s presence in the Bad Guys support group when he’s just one of many playable Street Fighters, but come on: he was a Russian in a fighting game in the 90s. He was also almost unplayable in the original, so the only way most people saw him was from the wrong end of a devastating Screw Piledriver. He’s become much cuddlier since, and a surprisingly effective character in Super Street Fighter IV multiplayer. This detailed attention to our old gaming friends is glorious, but could cause a hardcore backlash. The trailers’ focus has obviously been on these recognizable characters, but they’re just as obviously trailer-trash. We’ve probably seen fully half their screen time already. This retro-disappointment is going to be a big complaint for people missing the point, but put it this way: These are Expendables cameos, not Expendables 2 cameos. We can expect these old-school characters to turn up for a few seconds then get out of the way of the main story. Still, for any veteran gamer it’s mind-boggling to see so many different game publishers cooperating. That many intellectual properties overlapping means more legal wrangling than the average nuclear test. That also probably means that none of these characters will actually do anything for most of the movie, but it’s a real coup just to have them along for the ride. Besides, even though, after seeing the trailers, some people are expecting this: The movie has to be about these guys: And that’s a good thing. Because this isn’t a retro movie . It’s a gaming movie. Sonic and the Beholder will get asses in seats, but it’s the original characters, and the, I hope, original story that will make the faces on the other ends of those asses leave with smiles. One of the parody games featured in Wreck-It Ralph , Hero’s Duty, fuses Halo , Call of Duty , Battlefield 3 and every other action shooter, while another, Sugar Rush couldn’t be more of a Mario Kart clone if it featured an Italian plumber. The filmmakers can make all the pointed jokes they want about these and other video games without their publishers complaining. (And it’s not like every other gaming company hasn’t made a knock-off of Mario Kart already.) The new characters are well capable of carrying the movie. Ralph is entirely believable as an 1980s game villain (and already has his own game ). Sergeant Calhoun is a tough female soldier who kicks ass and actually wears sensible body-covering clothing, meaning Wreck-It Ralph is better at character creation than most modern video games. Wreck-It Ralph is important because games aren’t a niche market anymore. They’re everywhere and everyone, from casual Angry Birds players to 80th level World of Warcraft Paladins. It looks like the movie industry is finally ready to take video games seriously. And by that, I mean, have some real fun with them. 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.
Almost three years ago we posted the story of this woman, who put her ex-boyfriend on blast after he decided to reconcile with his wife following their 8 1/2 year relationship… It looks like she wasn’t nearly finished humiliating him. Woman Who Put Lover On Blast Via Billboard Makes Movie About Affair Via NY Daily News reports: Charles Phillips, the former president of Oracle Corp. and a member of President Obama’s Economic Advisory Board, sent the Harlem International Film Festival a cease-and-desist letter this week trying to block Thursday’s premiere of “The Glamorous Lie,” a documentary by his ex-mistress YaVaughnie Wilkins. Wilkins, who in 2010 vindictively plastered shots of her and Phillips on pricey billboards in Times Square, Atlanta and San Francisco after their 81/2-year relationship ended, didn’t let the letter scare her. Neither did the Harlem Film Festival. Nasri Zacharia, a festival spokesman, says the staff for the tiny, 100-person Maysles Cinema, set to screen the film at 7 p.m., was initially worried because the still-married Phillips’ lawyers also targeted the theater. “We were on hold for a while, and the theater where we are screening the world premiere was concerned, but we managed to alleviate the problems,” says Zacharia. He says Wilkins agreed to take responsibility for all liability and is “standing behind the film.” Wilkins tells Confidenti@l that her ex-beau’s “cease-and-desist letter is saying it’s an unauthorized documentary, but my lawyers are countering that he’s a public figure and I have a right to tell my story.” Wilkins is also in a civil court battle with the film’s director, who she claims is now in cahoots with Phillips. Her ex, she said, tried to buy the documentary to kill it. “If Charles thinks there is something in there that misrepresents our relationship, then he should do his own documentary and tell his own story,” says Wilkins. A spokesman for Phillips, who is now the CEO of software company Infor, did not respond to a request for comment. But back when he was the butt of Wilkins’ rage after he decided to reconcile with wife Karen, he said this: “I had an 81/2-year serious relationship with YaVaughnie Wilkins … The relationship with Ms. Wilkins has since ended and we both wish each other well.” Cry him a damn river… You do the crime, you pay the time, over and over again apparently. But seriously, we have to imagine that with all her resources there has to be something more constructive YaVaughnie could be doing with her time and money. Do you agree? Photo Credit: Sam Costanza
It’s not after every interview that you stand up to leave and then your subject drops a bomb that changes how you see them, but at Fantastic Fest anything goes. So I was amused when, after talking opening night selection Dredd 3D (in theaters nationwide on Friday), lower jaw acting, and Indiana Jones baby names with actor Karl Urban , he mentioned he’d read my stuff. “Even the one where you said I have no charisma,” he laughed. Mea culpa , Karl. Months ago I’d written my reaction to the very first Dredd 3D trailer. “With Urban set to never take off that Dredd mask in the film — and delivering lines like ‘I’m the law’ with no trace of Sly’s charisma — this feels like a precursor to the RoboCop reboot, only with less emotion,” I opined . (Technically I never said Urban himself lacked charisma, but still .) Later I caught the film’s world premiere screening at Comic-Con and was pleasantly surprised to see how the film, directed by Pete Travis from a script by Alex Garland, navigated my concerns with strong performances by its cast — including, yes, Urban and his Judge Dredd grimace. It turns out Urban not only is one charismatic dude in person (and onscreen, as his recent work as Bones in Star Trek attests quite plainly, and with his full face exposed!), he’s got quite the sense of humor. I offered to reconsider my stance if he gave Fantastic Fest karaoke a whirl following tonight’s Dredd 3D premiere, but the truth is in that moment I already had. So, for the record: Karl Urban — charisma for days. Karaoke skills — to be determined. Enjoy our chat below and stay tuned for more from Fantastic Fest! You’ve been in many geek-oriented properties but it was nice to see you dive into Comic-Con full on, and now Fantastic Fest, which is my favorite time of year. It’s good fun. I guess I only get to experience a small fraction of it. Well, you’ll experience it tonight when they take you to karaoke. [Laughs] Oh, no. That would be a bad move. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, there aren’t many musicals on my resume. That’s true! Why is that? Yeah, why is that? If you see me at karaoke you’ll find out why. Well — let’s jump into Dredd . Stallone’s version, which is quite different from your new one, came out 17 years ago. Where were you when it hit theaters? I was living in Auckland. And Judge Dredd as a character was dear to me. I read it as a kid. I responded to the sort of tough, enigmatic lawman who is essentially a Man With No Name Western archetype — The Man With No Face. Yes, essentially — an enigma in many ways, but defined by his actions. The character and the comics were something that I read, but I went along for the movie. As a fan of the comics how did you respond to the movie? I think that film was very much a product of its time. You know, the way that comic book adaptations were treated in the ‘90s is quite different from how they’re treated now, and tonally our films couldn’t me more different. We’re a lot grittier, a lot more realistic, a lot more futuristic and less sci-fi. And the character is actually quite different. Dredd in our movie is a bit more monolithic, he’s a bit more stoic. He’s a man of few words but he’s got a great dry sense of humor. I think he’s like a tightly-wound coil that is ready to leap forth at any given point, but the character is also compassionate — you can see that in when he chooses not to kill people. And there’s a wariness about him which also humanizes him. Essentially I think the biggest humanizing factor is that relationship with Anderson. That, to me, is the heart of the movie. In the beginning of the film Dredd is so consistent, and that consistency is one of his virtues — but over the course of the film he learns to be flexible, and learns to value life so much more. Exactly. That’s what I liked about it. The heart of this piece is this story of two people who get together, a senior cop and a rookie cop, they don’t like each other, they don’t particularly get on, and Dredd doesn’t think that she’s worthy of even wearing the uniform. But over the course of the film that changes, and I find that really interesting – for a guy who sees the world in such black and white terms and who often has to make a decision that results in life or death actions, to suddenly be confronted with the idea that he could actually be wrong about this person, I could be wrong about this situation… suddenly there’s this whole gray area and what happens in the story is a tiny crack in Dredd’s worldview. He does something at the end of this film that he would never do, that he would have difficulty explaining or justifying to anyone else, but he knows it’s the right thing to do. I found that to be so interesting in Dredd — so much of the film is filled with violence, and so much of the action looks “cool” as action movies do these days, but what I came away from the film was the feeling of the loss of life. It is, and it’s interesting that you should speak of that because I think it really does evoke a certain sadness. This is what humanity has degenerated into, and I think great science fiction films have that tone. Look at the sadness throughout Blade Runner ; it’s the same with Dredd , the state of humanity and often the choices that people within the film who live in Peach Trees [tenements], the choices they make. Alex Garland mentioned that he spent a while going back and forth on the script and that you added your own notes as well — how did that work out? It was a truly collaborative experience — one of the most collaborative experiences I’ve ever had. Alex, when he came onboard to write this, immediately contacted John Wagner, the creator of Dredd . A couple of months later Alex delivered a script and one of John’s few notes was, “Dredd says less.” So Alex in his next draft incorporated that note, cut down the dialogue, and we got to Cape Town. Three weeks before we’re shooting Alex and I sit down for a script meeting and I open up my page and Alex sees these lines that I’ve drawn through his dialogue. He looks at it quizzically and I say, “Look, I love this dialogue — but Dredd says less.” So from even there on we sat down and reduced it. I was lucky to be working with a writer who wasn’t precious, who could see the value in economy. And that’s one of the things in Dredd — the economy of movement, the economy of speech. That seems like it might be unusual for an actor to voluntarily reduce his own dialogue, but then you took on a role where most of your face is obscured. Was that a hard choice to make? Was there any hesitation knowing that people might only see your jaw? No, I guess I was blinded by the affinity I felt for the character. I didn’t really start this by approaching it from a perspective of fear, a how the fuck am I going to do this? It was just like, Okay, this is a challenge. What have I got to work with? Is there a secret to acting just with your jaw? Well it’s not actually just acting with your lower face. You’re using your voice and your physicality, how you do something. If you think about the massacre that occurs in this film, the loss of innocent life. At that juncture you can see a violent gear shift within Dredd and the way he treats Wood Harris’ character, the perp-prisoner, Dredd gets a little off the leash at that point and that’s an emotional response to what’s just gone on. That’s a good point. Can we also talk about the female characters in the mix? Lena [Headey] as the big boss is a wonderfully complex, ferocious character. The women in this film are bad ass. They are dominant and proactive and smart and scary and formidable. Lena is so compelling to watch, particularly to work with; she made choices that are so left-field and scary as a result. And of course Olivia does such an extraordinary job of bringing a humanity to this whole story; she’s a key way into Dredd, but she humanizes the story with her vulnerabilities and her insecurities and you see her grow — she becomes empowered, she becomes a tough and badass judge. You’ve been in Star Trek and comic book movies and, tell me if this is right — I read that you named one of your children after Indiana Jones? My wife, actually, had the dibs on that one. I got to name the first son. But we were watching Raiders of the Lost Ark and it was the scene where Marion’s been abducted by the Arab swordsman and she’s in the basket going, “Indy!” We were sitting on the couch like, Indy — let’s do that. So yeah, he’s named after a famous abduction. [Laughs] I go to him sometimes, “Doctor Jones!? Have you brushed your teeth, Doctor Jones?” And he loves it. His nickname is Jones. Given all that I’ve wondered if you’ve taken to messing with the media when it comes to Star Trek spoilers . Are you messing with us? No! I don’t believe I messed with you. I promised exclusive footage at Comic-Con, and I gave exclusive footage. I didn’t lie! Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
This thing is gettin’ super ugly… Muslim People In Islamabad Gather To Protest “Innocence Of Muslims” According to the BBC/UK Demonstrators who gathered outside the US embassy in Islamabad to protest against an amateur video mocking Islam have begun to disperse peacefully. The Pakistani authorities had earlier called on the army as police struggled to contain the crowd of thousands with tear gas and live rounds. Some protesters had said they would not leave the diplomatic enclave until the US embassy was on fire. Protests over the film, Innocence of Muslims, have claimed several lives. It was made in the US and is said to insult the Prophet Muhammad. Streets leading to the enclave, where most of the embassies are housed, were earlier blocked off by shipping containers in an effort to increase security. Police had no control of the situation as angry protesters burned President Obama in effigy as people threw missles and other objects at authorites. One protester in particular was heard saying: “The infidel who produced the movie should be hanged, or hand over him to the Muslims. And we don’t want any (US) diplomat or embassy in Pakistan: all relations should be cut off.” Despite all the ire, the BBC correspondent says the protest appeared to end without incident. The BBC’s Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad, who did not see any evidence of the army at the scene, said the protest was “turned out like a light”. He said it was amazing, given the strength of feeling at the the protest earlier, that the crowd left as peacefully as it did. He says the area is still shrouded in tear gas. The Pakistani government has issued a national holiday for people to protest in peace, but how long will that “peace” really last when people are so angry??? Image via AP
