Do ya know??? Which Comedian Just Bought This New $1.75 Million Condo Via Realtor This comedian oversees plenty of trades as the host of “Let’s Make a Deal,” but recently he supervised a transaction off the set. The veteran television funnyman has purchased a luxury condominium in Pacific Palisades, reports the Los Angeles Times. He paid $1.75 million for the property found in the Rockwell Building, a coveted coastal high-rise that features just 10 single-level residences and six “penthouse” townhomes. His new digs boasts a host of luxe touches, including reclaimed white oak flooring, signature exposed concrete walls, custom built-ins and cabinets, and marble countertops. Ann Sacks tile and natural stone run throughout the home, which also features a row of French doors that open onto a private viewing terrace with handcrafted Moroccan cement tiles and floor-to-ceiling windows. In addition to its finer finishes, his new home comes complete with wired home automation, which includes built-in audio, lighting controls with a Nest thermostat, and private security systems. Last but certainly not least, the home is accessed via an electronically keyed private elevator that connects to secure underground parking. Flip it over, to see who to the new home owner is. Images via MLS Continue reading →
This week television’s probing procedural Law & Order: SVU ripped inspiration from the headlines — or rather, the bestseller list — with a case involving the assault of the author of a Fifty Shades of Grey -style novel. (Starring My Girl ‘s Anna Chlumsky!) But what’s the takeaway here? What’s L&O:SVU really trying to say to E.L. James ? Chlumsky guest-starred as Jocelyn Paley, a successful writer whose bondage-fantasy lit phenomenon, 25 Acts , has burned its way up the charts. “Her book makes Fifty Shades look like a Disney story,” explains talk show host Adam Cain (Roger Bart), who then takes fantasies straight from Paley’s book over the rape-y line. As they do each week, the L&O:SVU crew then sets out to seek justice. But there’s a twist! (Uh, spoilers.) Paley’s not the real author of the kinky Fifty Shades stand-in, but has instead claimed credit and made a fortune off of someone else’s writing. Plagiarism: Another shade of grey! (Ok, not really.) In real life, James has tread both moral grounds. As Fifty Shades blazed a kinky trail through the suburbs and lady lit world, critics claimed its depictions of the BDSM community are off-base and promote regressive gender politics. Is protagonist Ana Steele an agent of her own sexual awakening or a pathetic young woman submitting herself to the irresistibly damaged Christian Grey ? The twisty question of authorship put on blast by L&O:SVU also has roots in James’ phenomenal success. First penned and shared online (for free!) as Twilight fan fiction — minus the supernatural stuff, but with all of the emotional desperation — Fifty Shades of Grey became a commercial property when James stopped going by her message-board friendly AKA Snowqueens Icedragon, re-named her characters to avoid copyright infringement, and turned her lusty fanfic into a book . So what’s going on here, L&O ? Does James owe more of a debt than she acknowledges to Twilight and the fan community that once welcomed her as their own? Are there repercussions to cashing in as James did without giving proper credit? Are the Law & Order writers not entirely objective in their deliciously entertaining, headline-ripping yarn-spinning ? Recall that cutting Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode inspired by Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark featuring Cynthia Nixon as a wacko drunk Julie Taymor doppelganger? Yeah, not judgmental at all. I do hope that the producers of the in-development Fifty Shades of Grey movie take note of this L&O: SVU episode and, in some way, acknowledge the meta-fictional incest loop of it all, because by the time the film spanks its way into theaters we’ll have dissected James’ novel — and the phenomenon surrounding it — every which way already. And if the big-screen adaptation is just a straight, lightly erotic retelling of Ana and Christian’s kinky courtship it’ll all seem so… vanilla . Oh, and one more thing: When will Richard Belzer record his Fifty Shades of Grey celebrity narration? Watch the full episode online here and wonder how long all this will be relevant as the Fifty Shades of Grey movie keeps chugging along. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
The Sean Penn , Ryan Gosling , Josh Brolin starrer was initially set for an early September release, but the tragedy in Aurora, CO at a The Dark Knight Rises showing at a multiplex threw the title into a tailspin. The Ruben-Fleischer-directed film about the L.A. police department’s war against organized crime in the ’40s and ’50s. Gangster Squad is now set for a January release. The original trailer, which played some TDKR showings, depicted a scene in which mobsters open fire at a crowd of moviegoers. The scene was reportedly pivotal to the feature’s plot and producers delayed the pic to re-work film and eliminate the possibility of touching a raw nerve. The trailer opens within explosion and a few shoot-outs. The period piece appears to have gangster Sean Penn up against cop Ryan Gosling, but is there a woman they both share? Who will ultimately rule L.A.? Warner Bros. is now planning a roll out on January 11th. The film also stars Emma Stone, Michael Pena, Anthony Mackie, Nick Nolte and James Carpinello.
Sam Rockwell joined writer/director Martin McDonagh and others for a special screening of Seven Psychopaths , hosted by The Cinema Society along with Hugo Boss and Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum. And what gangster doesn’t enjoy watching a movie in his best suit while nursing a choice drink? And why are all these gangsters in the flick so dog happy? McDonagh cheekily claims he was inspired to make a canine-themed movie after seeing all the accolades Uggie got last year in The Artist ! Check out the video below to hear the cast’s thoughts on man’s best friend, what made McDonagh think Colin Farrell would be a good comedian all the way back when they did his first feature In Bruges , and how Rockwell liked running with the crazy crowd…. Follow Movieline on Twitter . Follow Grace on Twitter .
With a little over a week before Martin McDonough’s slam-bang Seven Psychopaths opens in theaters, the fun is just starting. I caught the film at the Toronto International Film Festival and it’s as much fun as this Red Band behind-the-scenes trailer suggests. Check out the verbal hijinks between Sam Rockwell and Colin Farrell that concludes with the former telling the latter: “I want to jump inside your pants.” Also, check out Movieline’s gallery of exclusive shots of Rockwell from the movie. Trivia: McDonough told me that Farrell found that wacky knit cap that Rockwell wears at a convenience store where he also picked up some chocolate milk and a bag of cheese puffs — all props that Rockwell uses for laughs in the film. EXCLUSIVE GALLERY: SAM ROCKWELL IN SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS Written and Directed by McDonough, Seven Psychopaths is the story of a struggling and blocked screenwriter (Farrell) who unwittingly becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends, played by Walken and Rockwell, kidnap a gangster’s (Woody Harrelson) beloved Shih Tzu. Yep, it’s all that and a truly memorable exploding head scene. Here’s the clip. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
For a dead man, Stanley Kubrick sure is prolific. Steven Spielberg mounted his A.I. : Artificial Intelligence as a semi-posthumous collaboration with the director, and now a lost Jim Thompson story commissioned by Kubrick is scheduled to go before cameras with Sam Rockwell and Scarlett Johanssen starring. Next up for dead Stanley: tackling 3D! [ Production Weekly ]
It is the near future. Astronaut Sam Bell is living on the far side of the moon, completing a three-year contract with Lunar Industries to mine Earths primary source of energy, Helium-3. It is a lonely job, made harder by a broken satellite that allows no live communications home
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