It is Christmas in August when Summit Entertainment releases more photos from the final installment of the Twilight Saga , Breaking Dawn – Part 2 . And it just so happens that one of the photos depicts Bella ( Kristen Stewart ), Jacob (Taylor Lautner) and Renesmee, the half-vampire progeny of Bella and Edward rocking around the Christmas tree with some, um, traditionally human appetizers. Apparently, the half human side of Suri, I mean, Renesmee still digs Ritz crackers and Hershey Christmas Kisses. I’m guessing the summer sausage is for Jacob. Okay, so enough about the holidays. Let’s just get to the pictures, which you can find after the jump. Breaking Dawn Part 2 , which reportedly will have at least one big plot surprise that does not follow the book from which its adapted, opens on Nov. 16. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
Adult actress/filmmaker/reality TV personality Sunny Leone was poised to make a big splash in her non-porny Bollywood acting debut, an erotic thriller that by all accounts had everything: Cleavage-baring love scenes, Bollywood musical interludes, a convoluted plot about a porn star asked to go undercover to lure her insane assassin-ex to the authorities. But on top of its racy material enraging some audiences in India, director Pooja Bhatt’s picture had something else working against it, even moreso stateside: Dudes, it’s called Jism 2 . Bhatt’s erotic thriller, a follow-up in name to 2003’s Jism (the word means “body” in Hindi… and something entirely different in the parlance of our times), did decent business in India last week despite lukewarm reviews. In its second week, however, Jism 2 suffered a steep drop off , but in America, where media companies like Apple reportedly balked at the title , it was a nonstarter. Maybe Leone’s fanbase opted out (save those who tuned in to Jism 2 , y’know, just for the acting). I’m guessing the limited opportunities to plaster the words “JISM 2!” on billboards and bus stops across America didn’t help, either. Or, as reviews revealed, it simply wasn’t worth getting worked up about. “The most controversial Hindi film of the year is also the worst,” blared The Hollywood Reporter in its review. Another critic at Bollywood Hungama perhaps put it best: “Sunny Leone in the driver’s seat, coupled with a generous dose of skin show and erotica, besides an attention-grabbing title, should act as a honey-trap to lure the audiences. But how one wishes this jism had soul as well!” [ THR , Yahoo India , Bollywood Hungama ]
Also in Wednesday afternoon’s round-up of news briefs, Willie Nelson throws support behind the Weinstein Company’s Lawless , and production on Iron Man 3 is suspended after Robert Downey Jr. injures his ankle. NY Film Festival Unveils Line-up The Main Slate line-up for the 50th New York Film Festival will be comprised of 32 movies, including Roger Michell’s Hyde Park on Hudson , which stars Bill Murray as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt; Noah Baumbach’s Frances Ha , a comedy he wrote with actress Greta Gerwig about an aspiring dancer in New York City; and Brian De Palma’s thriller Passion , with Noomi Rapace and Rachel McAdams. The 1960s era rock ‘n’ roll film Not Fade Away , by The Sopranos creator David Chase will also premiere as the festival’s centerpiece. For the complete list, check out the NYFF website. NY Times Columnist Booed By Pattinson Fans At Cosmopolis Q&A New York Times reporter and columnist David Carr incurred the wrath of RPatz fans at a Times Talks Q&A session when he asked the British actor, “So, if you and Kristen have trouble, it’s like Charles and Di having trouble?” The New York Daily News reports. Willie Nelson Down with Lawless The Weinstein Company announced that country-music star Willie Nelson is lending his support to the movie distributor’s gangster bootlegger picture Lawless. Nelson performs the previously unreleased “Midnight Run” on the movie’s soundtrack and will appear at a special screening of the film on Aug. 25 at the Alamo Draft House in Austin, Texas. Lawless , which stars Tom Hardy , Jessica Chastain and Shia LaBeouf is based on a true story about the bootlegging Bondurant brothers. Avengers Assemble! In 2015, That Is Marvel’s Avengers 2 has an official release date of May 1, 2015. Joss Whedon is set to direct and write the sequel, which will follow Iron Man 3 , Thor 2 , Captain America 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy . Deadline reports. Speaking of Iron Man 3, Production Delayed After Downey Injures Ankle Production was suspended briefly on the set of Iron Man 3 when the film’s leading man Robert Downey Jr. injured his ankle. Deadline reports . Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
In what may be one of the most inspired cross-promotion deals of the year, Deadline reports that Warner Bros. and WWE Studios will team up to produce a Scooby-Doo animated feature in which the Mystery Inc. team investigates strange goings-on at Wrestlemania. (Now, that’s a loaded premise.) WWE personalities Triple H, John Cena, Kane , The Miz and WWE CEO Vince McMahon will be among those lending their voices to the production, and it occurred to me that not only will their cartoonish on-air personalities lend themselves well to animation,. but that a number of the classic Scooby-Doo villains would make memorable WWE Wrestlers. Tell me that the Phantom Puppeteer was not a proto-Undertaker, or that Big Show and the Wax Phantom are not brothers from another mother. With that in mind, I invite you Scooby lovers out there to choose which classic Scooby-Doo,Where Are You! villain below would make the best WWE Wrestler. If you’re one of those meddling-kid types who thinks the best choice is not on the list, leave him or her in the comments section. Take Our Poll Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
The new trailer House at the End of the Street has been released. The Hunger Games ‘ Jennifer Lawrence stars in the horror-thriller, which looks like plenty of both, along with Elisabeth Shue, Max Thieriot and Gil Bellows. The basic premise: Seeking a fresh start, Sarah (Shue) and her daughter Elissa (Lawrence) find the house of their dreams in a small, upscale, rural town. But then startling and unexplainable events begin to happen, and the more they learn, the less they know … and the scarier this mystery gets. Take a look: House at the End of the Street Trailer
I hesitate to even post this video — part fever dream, part vaguely authorized marketing blip, yet utterly curiosity-stoking glimpse at what appears to be Paul Thomas Anderson’s forthcoming The Master . Joaquin Phoenix, take it away. The clip made its way to Twitter via YouTube just a little while ago. It was originally housed at the account ” Al Rose Promotions ” — an account named after the real estate man whom Daniel Plainview consults about the Bandy tract in There Will Be Blood — and linked out to themasterfilm.com , so there’s definitely something there beyond Phoenix’s machete-sharpening, beach-brawling, mechanically disposed grunt under interrogation by The Man. Suggestions welcome, but I’m inclined to take the mystery for now.
Finally! Brian De Palma is getting out of the repugnant war-screed business pioneered in Redacted and back into the sexy-time homage-remake business with which he made his name. This time it’s Passion , a thriller based on the late Alain Corneau’s acclaimed 2010 French potboiler Love Crime and featuring Rachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace taking over for Kristen Scott Thomas and Ludivine Sagnier, respectively. In the first photo released from the film, the actresses do what comes naturally… to, uh, De Palma. Is that necessarily a bad thing? The Cannes market will be the first to know, with Passion headed to the Croisette as one of the myriad films on the block — yet most likely the only one with the synopsis passage, “Christine loves surprises. Naked she goes to meet the mystery lover waiting in her bedroom…” File under LOLrotic. Or not? Maybe it’s a worthy successor to Corneau. Anyway, here’s the full breakdown via The Playlist : An erotic thriller in the tradition of Dressed To Kill and Basic Instinct , Brian de Palma’s PASSION tells the story of a deadly power struggle between two women in the dog-eat-dog world of international business. Christine possesses the natural elegance and casual ease associated with one who has a healthy relationship with money and power. Innocent, lovely and easily exploited, her admiring protégé Isabelle is full of cutting-edge ideas that Christine has no qualms about stealing. They’re on the same team, after all… Christine takes pleasure in exercising control over the younger woman, leading her one step at a time ever deeper into a game of seduction and manipulation, dominance and humiliation. But when Isabelle falls into bed with one of Christine’s lovers, war breaks out. On the night of the murder, Isabelle is at the ballet, while Christine receives an invitation to seduction. From whom? Christine loves surprises. Naked she goes to meet the mystery lover waiting in her bedroom… [ The Playlist ]
Actor and multimedia DIYer Joseph Gordon-Levitt is set to make his directorial debut opposite fellow newbie director Scarlett Johansson in an untitled comedy co-produced under his own hitRecord Films banner. The pic, shooting in April, also stars JGL as a Don Juan-type ladykiller seeking to reform his ways; the actor-director also wrote the script. So yes, it’s time to face facts: That kid from Third Rock from the Sun is officially way, way more accomplished than you. [ Deadline ]
In director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s horror tale The Intruders , Clive Owen investigates spooky happenings at home and discovers that something supernatural may be haunting his young daughter. How scary is this mystery perpetrator who makes things go bump late at night? Well, just hit the jump to get a good look at what it did to poor Owen’s handsome face. Ready? BOOM. What. The. Hell. The Intruders , in theaters March 30, involves a creepy faceless entity known as “Hollow Face” who comes for Owen and his daughter (Ella Purnell) at night. Good luck getting Clive Owen’s scruffy no-face face out of your nightmares. [via Millennium Films]
This just in from Nikki Finke: Paramount’s cheap wannabe found footage hit The Devil Inside — which drew reports of audible grumbles and boos as the credits rolled at sneak screenings in Los Angeles and New York last night — has already made back double its acquisition costs . ” The Devil Inside acquired for $1M opened with $2M midnights from 1,400 theaters. It goes wide into 2,300 theaters today,” Finke writes at Deadline, adding that “the genre film plays very young and very ethnic so it will probably be frontloaded.” Nice. Very young and very ethnic. If the pic turns into a Paranormal Activity -esque hit, you know who to blame. [ Deadline , @STYDnews , Moviefone ]
