You might guess most folks flocking to theaters this weekend for Snow White and the Huntsman are the legions of diehard fans of Twilight ‘s Kristen Stewart , who stars in the fantasy adventure as the sword-swinging Snow White. Maybe, even, they’ll come for co-star Chris Hemsworth — he of Thor and Avengers fame. But surprise, surprise — who’d have thought the big draw, at least for folks who hit opening day today, would be neither of SWATH ‘s up-and-coming talent? PMC Studios’ Beyond the Trailer (owned by Movieline’s parent company PMC) caught up with some early Snow White adopters at the AMC E-Walk today, and they told Grace Randolph they were there to see the Evil Queen — Charlize Theron . What’s more: At least one woman says she actually saw the film despite K-Stew. Also: Props to the older lady at 3:50 dropping truth bombs about dead ugly people, who wants to buy presents for Hemsworth’s children (even though they’d most certainly be impossibly beautiful Hems-spawn, but whatevs). Surprised at all the Charlize love? Agree with the consensus that KStew’s performance pales in comparison to Theron’s near-camp extravaganza? Or are you REALLY in it just to see Hemsworth swing that axe around a forest? For more movie news, commentary, and reviews, check out Beyond the Trailer on YouTube.
You might guess most folks flocking to theaters this weekend for Snow White and the Huntsman are the legions of diehard fans of Twilight ‘s Kristen Stewart , who stars in the fantasy adventure as the sword-swinging Snow White. Maybe, even, they’ll come for co-star Chris Hemsworth — he of Thor and Avengers fame. But surprise, surprise — who’d have thought the big draw, at least for folks who hit opening day today, would be neither of SWATH ‘s up-and-coming talent? PMC Studios’ Beyond the Trailer (owned by Movieline’s parent company PMC) caught up with some early Snow White adopters at the AMC E-Walk today, and they told Grace Randolph they were there to see the Evil Queen — Charlize Theron . What’s more: At least one woman says she actually saw the film despite K-Stew. Also: Props to the older lady at 3:50 dropping truth bombs about dead ugly people, who wants to buy presents for Hemsworth’s children (even though they’d most certainly be impossibly beautiful Hems-spawn, but whatevs). Surprised at all the Charlize love? Agree with the consensus that KStew’s performance pales in comparison to Theron’s near-camp extravaganza? Or are you REALLY in it just to see Hemsworth swing that axe around a forest? For more movie news, commentary, and reviews, check out Beyond the Trailer on YouTube.
To close out his popular live-reading program at LACMA Thursday night Jason Reitman selected a film that seemed to tie the series and the room together: The Coen brothers’ 1998 noir-comedy opus The Big Lebowski . In the hot seat filling Jeff Bridges’ slippers as The Dude sat Seth Rogen , whose own slacker charm proved oddly suitable, with folks like Hank Azaria (as Donny), Rainn Wilson (as Walter) and Christina Hendricks (as Maude) alongside him re-enacting one of the most quotable films of the past two decades. The cherry on top? Playing the role of The Stranger originated by Sam Elliott and written explicitly for an actor like Sam Elliott, perhaps… was none other than Sam Elliott. Also onboard for the final night of the series’s first run? (According to Reitman, the live-reads will resume again in October – blame the gap on his “day job.”) Jason Alexander as Jeffrey Lebowski; Fred Savage replacing Patton Oswalt at the last minute as the Big Lebowski’s assistant, Brandt; Nick Kroll as Jesus ; and Reitman’s sister, actress Catherine, as Bunny. And of course all the while there was Reitman himself, reading along all the stage directions and fantastically detailed scene descriptions, including both of the film’s trippy dream sequences. (But, strangely enough, not Jackie Treehorn’s mysterious moment of artistic inspiration, scribbled on a notepad, which was conspicuously skipped over.) Elliott’s surprise appearance was the special casting move of the night, a fitting gesture following Reitman’s previous strokes of genius which included tapping original director Rob Reiner to narrate the excellent Princess Bride live-read and re-envisioning Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs with an all-black cast. With his first line Elliott drew applause (and subsequently flubbed a few words, saying his eyesight wasn’t what it used to be) but whenever he came back around to deliver another deep, mellifluous nugget of wisdom – the film’s narrator, sitting right there, narrating The Dude’s story right to the audience! — the theater was rapt. Elliott’s vision may have gotten worse over the years, but his sarsaparilla-soaked cowboy flair is as rich and twangy as ever. Besides, this was a “Los Angeleez” story being retold in L.A., right down the street from a Ralphs to boot. How could Reitman not invite the man who so specifically inspired a character that his name was used in the script to describe the role?? In many ways, Elliott had it the easiest; the rest of the cast, through no fault of their own, battled the specter of their onscreen counterparts the whole night – a testament to the indelible performances Bridges, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, John Turturro, David Huddleston, Ben Gazzara, Julianne Moore and Co. gave in the Coens’ film. Rainn Wilson’s Walter Sobchak was at times uproarious, especially when he, Rogen, and Azaria cross-talked like a well-rehearsed comedy trio. But his Walter was perhaps the most conspicuous example of the film’s performances overshadowing the live-read’s; no matter how well Wilson nailed Walter’s aggro-cluelessness, comparisons to Goodman’s unforgettable work kept creeping into my brain, and it was no contest. Advantage: Goodman. In fairness to Wilson and his cohorts, the live-read can be an extremely limiting setting for an actor. Performance here is primarily aural rather than physical, and one has to establish as best one can, within seconds of spoken dialogue, the kind of character nuance that is otherwise built through months of preparation and rehearsal. Instead of costuming and sets, you’re chair-bound on a stage staring at pages. This can work well with the right script – say, one reliant on dialogue or especially well-suited to alternate forms of storytelling, like, say, a movie about storytelling – but tackling a well-known and beloved film like Lebowski adds the additional challenge of having to compete, in the hearts and minds of your audience, with the cinematic specter of the movie they already know and love. Also suffering from inescapable comparisons to the film: Hendricks’ perfectly good Maude, still much flatter and straighter than Moore’s wonderfully condescending version; Alexander’s Big Lebowski, highly entertaining in his pomposity but naggingly reminiscent of George Costanza; and Rogen’s Dude, effective for the most part in a highly entertaining Rogenesque way but still lacking the subtle variations that made Bridges’ turn so iconic. On the other hand, colorful vocal performances from a few supporting players provided much-needed jolts of creative energy, including voice-over pro Azaria’s multitude of distinct voices (including an off-the-cuff Bush impersonation dropped into the opening supermarket scene as Reitman realized he hadn’t assigned the line to anyone beforehand) and Kroll’s Tony Montana-like Jesus and other assorted delightful side characters. But the biggest discovery of the night, aside from the fact that Reitman’s sister is herself quite talented at accents, was Savage, of all people. The former Wonder Years child thesp-turned-director had done a spunky version of himself months ago at The Princess Bride , but he earned some of the biggest laughs playing Jackie Treehorn’s thug, the third Nihilist, and, most impressively, doing an uncanny Philip Seymour Hoffman impression as Brandt. I’m glad to hear that the live-read series will continue in October, because that gives Reitman time to choose his next selections and cast wisely. One flaw in his group casting Thursday night was the relative similarity in vocal range of many of his actors; variety of tone and register should help differentiate one voice from the next, giving the audience more to paint the imagination with. Viewer familiarity can be both a blessing and a curse; oftentimes during the Lebowski read it felt as if the room was just waiting to hop from one iconic line to the next, laughing along more out of recognition than from the discovery of new and unexpected nuance in the way, say, our hero wakes up to find his rug missing, or struggles to spit out the simplest of platitudes. And while live-read regulars like Kroll (not to mention Mindy Kaling and Oswalt) have absolutely killed, I’d encourage Reitman to think more and further outside the box as he plans his next run. A friend suggested gender-switching as a potential way to keep the energy of these sold-out shows going while daring to push the envelope – why else stage a live-reading, except to explore “what might have been” (i.e. Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones, Christopher Walken as Han Solo) and “what will probably never be?” I’m still convinced that the live-read concept may never turn out as magically as it did with The Princess Bride , a quotable classic built on unforgettable film performances and a fantastic script that nonetheless lent itself well to re-imagination. Following along those lines, with a varied and vocally interesting cast in place, what films should Reitman consider next? Here are my suggestions, off the top of my head: Pulp Fiction , The NeverEnding Story , The Goonies , Annie Hall , Casablanca , Fight Club . But, you know. That’s just, like, my opinion, man. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
You knew The Hunger Games would open big , but this big? Meet your new bona fide box office powerhouse franchise: Taking in $19.75 million at midnight showings around the country, Lionsgate’s PG-13 action-romance earned the #1 all-time non-sequel midnight debut, outperforming even The Dark Knight ‘s 2008 $18 million midnight. We’ve got another true blue four-quadrant blockbuster on our hands, people! If you’re sitting bleary-eyed at your desk right now with a happy smile on your face from last night’s late night debut, share your reactions after the jump. Here’s my happy Hunger Games midnight madness story: I arrived for the 12:15 am showing at the Arclight in Hollywood to a scene of PURE. CHAOS. By which I mean the garage was packed, the lobby resembled a refugee camp, and the bar was swarming with bodies jockeying for a drink like it was the Cornucopia. A man, bellied up to the bar, screamed into his phone to some unfortunate person on the other end, ” I’ve been up for 36 hours and I’m not fit to come back to the hospital and I’m going to the cinema, dammit! ” Which is how I knew The Hunger Games would hit all five quadrants, the fifth being drunken 40-year-old male doctors on their one night off. I mean, behold: The film played exceedingly well in my theater, and the entire place was buzzing once the credits rolled. But the real bloodbath? Getting out of the parking garage. Did you see The Hunger Games at midnight? Are you planning on seeing it this weekend? Leave your thoughts and box office prognostications below. [ Deadline ]
Talking about Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard’s savvy and surprising genre deconstruction Cabin in the Woods , the opening night film of SXSW 2012 , is a tricky thing partly because nobody involved wants any part of the film spoiled for their opening weekend audience and also, more importantly, because those surprises really are best left discovered by virgin eyes. So rest assured: All spoilery plot details, character developments, casting choices, kills, and surprises that follow in this piece have been redacted for the preservation of discovery, leaving only all the vital bits of information up for discussion. Like, after filming in 2009 and being delayed for so long that star Chris Hemsworth is now kind of famous, is Cabin in the Woods actually any good? The quick and easy answer is (mostly) yes, though folks who rooted out early-early word on the mysterious meta-horror pic already know that nothing but raves came from an unofficial unveiling – call it a test run in friendly waters – at last winter’s Butt-Numb-A-Thon in Austin. But Friday at SXSW Cabin in the Woods had its true blue world premiere, confirming those early rumblings: It’s smart, fresh, and utterly Whedonesque, even if its ultimate point is more muddled and incomplete than profound. The basic plot setup is as follows: Five attractive college kids embark on a weekend getaway in the woods at a lakeside cabin, each repping a different classic horror movie type. There’s Curt (Chris Hemsworth), the jock; Jules (Anna Hutchison), his blonde girlfriend; Dana (Kristen Connolly), the average-but-extraordinary in a secretly-stronger-than-she-thinks kind of final girl way; Holden (Jesse Williams), Curt’s good looking friend/ Dana’s new love interest; and Marty (Fran Kranz), their stoner pal. Once at the cabin, the gang is beset by [redacted] and [redacted] ensues, in keeping with every horror movie ever made. We get to know these doomed coeds as they go through the requisite horror movie paces, ignorant to the dangers that await – the awkward/menacing brush with a [redacted] , the predictable descent into the darkened [redacted] filled with [redacted] and [redacted] and [redacted] , the moonlit rendezvous in the uninhabited backwoods where there surely aren’t any [redacted] lying in wait… and here, something wonderful happens. We learn that there’s more to these stock dead teenager types than expected – for example, [redacted] is more [redacted] than he seems, and [redacted] only recently [redacted] –adding subtle layers of sophistication to our understanding of why it is we, or anyone, expects these kids to behave according to type to begin with. And yet there’s even more going on here than meets the eye. Unbeknownst to the gang they’ve entered a [redacted] controlled by a pair of jaded [redacted] played by [redacted] and [redacted] , who run a [redacted] that manipulates every bit of [redacted] with elements like [redacted] and [redacted] . Part [redacted] , part [redacted] , they’re also voyeurs in this game, watching our heroes hurtle through scenarios straight out of horror classics from the obvious influencers ( [redacted] ) to the more heady ( [redacted] ).. Of course, [redacted] isn’t going down without a fight. And the movie, co-written by Whedon and Goddard, isn’t letting its audience go without at least one more major, mind-blowing shake-up, which is when chaos really reigns, literally and conceptually. The film is at its cleverest when it’s peeling away layers to turn clichés on their head, and it turns out that isn’t just confined to the kids in the cabin in the woods; Whedon and Goddard aren’t just having a fun little go at tired horror movie conventions — they’re trying to nuke the entire genre so it can be restarted anew. But amusing as the film is when subverting horror clichés, it loses steam and focus in its final act. Characters that had been developing in refreshingly dimensional ways get short shrift as their journeys come to abrupt ends, as if Whedon and Goddard had been so busy turning over concepts they forgot that every story needs to end well, too. Themes of faith and religion hinted at throughout the film give way to a disappointingly uninspired new mythology and an ending that is, perhaps, pointedly meaningless in many ways and more than a little nihilistic. Whedon and Goddard seem to be suggesting that they have made what should be the last and perhaps greatest horror movie ever made, at least in this generation of self-aware, referential, overstimulated mass media. The way things end in this ultimate smartypants, knowing, deconstructed, playfully reverential horror movie – which is just as much about watching horror movies as it is making them – they’ve essentially dropped the mic but are also trying to close the lid shut on the genre as it stands. Ultimately it’s a ride that deep-thinking horror fans will probably love, average moviegoers should be tickled (or possibly confused) by, and Whedon-watchers will continue to worship him for on account of it fits in his wheelhouse of eye-winking, wholesomely aware fantasy-comedy and yet marks a step outside his norm. Goddard acquits himself well in his feature directing debut, though he does struggle to juggle all the pieces and bring it all home. What begins as a clever excursion into simple, familiar territory expands exponentially until everything’s been razed, as one character suggests, to pave the way for the next wave – a fascinating declaration to end on, in the least. But then where do we go next? Cabin in the Woods will be released on April 13. Read more from SXSW 2012 here. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
If you feel like whiling away the afternoon following updates about a room full of wealthy entertainers and/or movie-industry craftspeople eating, the Academy’s Twitter feed might be for you. The 2012 Oscar nominee luncheon is underway, which will culminate in grand group-photo tradition and at least a half-dozen bouts of indigestion. Bon appetit to all! “I’ll tell you my best joke but I’m not a comedian so it’s not funny.” – Nick Nolte #NomLunch Mon Feb 06 20:58:15 via web The Academy TheAcademy “The Oscar’s better than the money. The villains are the ones you do for money. They’re expensive…or they will be now.” – Gary Oldman Mon Feb 06 20:49:24 via web The Academy TheAcademy 5 Best Actor Nominees, 1 Photo. #NomLunch #Oscars http://t.co/1tjjg0Pk Mon Feb 06 20:46:48 via web The Academy TheAcademy [Photo via Shutterstock ]
Forget blowing a million or more on a Super Bowl ad; the day after upcoming tentpoles John Carter , Battleship , and G.I. Joe targeted football-watchers with pricey TV spots, Sony went after niche fans with an international simulcast screening of new footage and a 3-D preview of the new Amazing Spider-Man trailer set to hit tonight at midnight PT. Though it included some unfinished visual effects, the sizzle reel featuring 30-40 percent new footage (according to a rep for the studio) hinted at the scope and darkly humorous tone of the Marc Webb-directed reboot. Webb, in attendance at the Los Angeles leg of the event, was joined via satellite by co-star Emma Stone and producers Avi Arad and Matthew Tolmach in Rio, Rhys Ifans in London, and Andrew Garfield in New York as the group presented 3-D and 2-D footage and answered fan questions. (The event was also screened live for audiences in additional cities around the globe.) Among the highlights of the Q&A: Stone expounding on the many differences between her character Gwen Stacy and Peter Parker’s other more famous leading lady, Mary Jane. Besides coming from an affluent background and having a solid relationship with her father, police captain George Stacy (whose traditional attitude toward law enforcement clashes with Parker’s in the footage), “Gwen falls in love with Peter Parker, but Mary Jane falls in love with Spider-Man.” With reverence for the Spider-Man legacy he’s now a part of, Garfield elicited cheers from the crowd by pondered the future possibilities of the role in pop culture. Tobey Maguire had played him first and now Garfield was inheriting Spidey’s web slingers but, he said, “next time I hope it will be a half-Hispanic, half-African American actor.” Screened in 3-D for those in attendance at the simultaneous screenings around the globe, the Amazing Spider-Man trailer came packed with action snippets, gadget porn (ex. Peter inventing homemade web slinger technology), flashbacks to Peter’s traumatic black and white childhood, and looks at Ifans’ Dr. Curt Conners/The Lizard, smoothly and slickly pulled off as an engaging bit of 3-D. Massive set pieces and close-combat fight scenes use CG well enough that Garfield’s superhuman movements look believable within the space. But if any one thing distinguishes this Spider-Man from the Raimi series, it’s Garfield’s superpowered Peter Parker. Sardonic and wry, he bristles with a cocksure energy that Maguire never had and maybe couldn’t have achieved, either. This Spider-Man marks his streets with spider graffiti, toys with his criminal prey, revels in the coolness of his own superpowers. He’s defiant in the face of authority, maybe a little too gleeful in assuming the role of jokester vigilante; of course that brings him in direct conflict with his girlfriend’s dad (Denis Leary as George Stacy), but that seems to shade in his own parental issues as much as it’s convenient storytelling. The focus this time around — in the story that Sony would like us to believe we’ve never seen or heard before, though Spider-Man ‘s decades-long pop cultural saturation inspires some skepticism — isn’t on losing Uncle Ben and wrestling with that guilt forever and ever (and upside down kisses and stuff), though additional footage showing Martin Sheen as Ben riffing tenderly with Peter does make you think about how that other shoe will drop. Instead, Webb said, he wanted to tap into “the emotional consequences of what it means to be an orphan,” and so the teenage Peter reaches out to Dr. Conners, who he discovers used to work closely with his long-lost dad. “What makes him a more emotional presence in Peter’s life is that he had a very close relationship to Peter’s father,” explained Ifans. The two of them share a genius knack for science but ultimately, obviously, come to blows. Much of today’s sizzle reel footage (which was shot in 3-D but shown today in 2-D) was previously shown at Comic-Con — Peter being bullied by Flash Thompson at school, Uncle Ben embarrassing him in front of Gwen, Peter as Spidey having fun with a car thief. In terms of character, Conners and his alter ego The Lizard are featured quite prominently in this new footage, which showed some well-textured CG work of the character in full creature mode (The Lizard punching his way into a car, a close-up on his face) as well as snippets of Lizard vs. Spidey fighting all over the city, culminating with Spidey toppling a tower atop a skyscraper. After the footage screening Movieline spoke briefly with Webb, who seemed pleased with the reception. That said, he’s got a long way to go to a final cut, he admitted. But despite the fact that a handful of shots in the footage were clearly unfinished, fans still seemed impressed — especially by the finished 3-D portion, which was important to nail particularly since it was filmed in 3-D and had better look good given the initial disappointment over the video game-esque portion of Spider-Man ‘s first teaser . As for the event itself, fans who waited for hours for a chance to see the Spider-Man footage (At noon! On a weekday!) but were shut-out of the simulcast satellite event were rewarded as Sony replayed the footage again and again for those who’d missed it. Stay tuned for the new trailer, which hits tonight at midnight. The Amazing Spider-Man hits theaters July 3, 2012.
The formidable creative team behind the new adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo reconvened today in New York, where director David Fincher, screenwriter Steven Zaillian, and stars Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer and Stellan Skarsgård talked things over with a few dozen members of the press. Movieline was there to capture a range of revealing back stories, true confessions and amusing — if slightly harrowing — anecdotes from the shoot. Read on for the full report.
Although Albert Nobbs has made the festival rounds and has long been generating awards-season buzz — particularly for star and co-writer Glenn Close — the film only had its Hollywood coming-out party of sorts over the weekend.
In honor of Scarface ‘s upcoming Blu-ray release, Universal Studios hosted a lavish soiree on Tuesday night to celebrate the Brian De Palma gangster flick which has become a machismo cult classic since its poor critical reception in 1983. At the Belasco Theater in downtown Los Angeles, the event featured Cuban cuisine, desserts shaped like lines of cocaine, a Ludacris concert and a Q&A panel with stars Al Pacino, Steven Bauer, Robert Loggia and F. Murray Abraham, as well as Scarface producer Martin Bregman. From their Scarface -style thrones on stage — bathed in red light and surrounded by Roman sculptures, natch — the cast reflected on their movie’s present-day popularity, machine-gun injuries and Eddie Murphy. The nine most interesting revelations follow.
