Nick Holmes has appeared on Parks and Recreation and Gilmore Girls and is “an extraordinary poet,” according to Madsen. The pair started out as friends before their relationship became a romantic one. “She#39;s an exquisite talent and a timeless beauty,” he raved. “And an extraordinary amount of fun.” “I would say the same,” added Madsen. “He#39;s so much fun.” Virgina Madsen sat front row the Elie Tahari show in N.Y.C. Wednesday with a debut of her own: her “lover” (Madsen#39;s word, not our
Helmer of the 2009 franchise could begin shooting this winter, according to reports. By Gil Kaufman J.J. Abrams Photo: Getty Images Sometimes, if you wait long enough (and blog hard enough), the universe will hear your cries of anguish and soothe them with a big glass of thirst-quenching Romulan Ale. Or, better yet, provide confirmation that J.J. Abrams has finally committed to directing the “Star Trek” sequel. Either way, you’re pretty psyched. After indicating that he was still up in the air about directing the anticipated sequel to his wildly successful reboot of the space franchise, New York Magazine’s Vulture blog is reporting that Abrams is onboard and that pre-production is under way. Citing unnamed insiders familiar with the “Super 8” director’s plans, Vulture reported that the script is expected to be done by month’s end and that shooting could begin this winter. Entertainment Weekly confirmed the news on Wednesday (September 14). Abrams recently finished shooting the fourth “Mission: Impossible” movie, “Ghost Protocol” — which again stars Tom Cruise, along with Ving Rhames, Jeremy Renner, Josh Holloway and Paula Patton — has hedged in the past about whether he would take up another tour on the Enterprise before a killer script was in place. In August, he told Collider , “Once you say, ‘We’re ready to go, but we don’t have a finished script yet,’ or, ‘I’m directing the thing and here’s the release date, but we don’t have a finished script,’ what starts to happen is that you’re suddenly in production on a movie where you’re thinking, ‘Oh my God, we weren’t really ready!’ ” In July, producer/screenwriter Damon Lindelof told MTV News that work has continued on the script, even as the director’s chair question remained up in the air. “There was a lot of work going on over the course of the last year between Bob [Orci] and Alex [Kurtzman] and I,” he said. “We generated, like, a 90-page half-script half-treatment based on some meetings that we’ve had with J.J [Abrams]. Now that J.J. is finally finished with ‘Super 8’ we’ve kind of, not thrown out that material, but we’re reworking a lot of it.” Describing how the four writers wrote the original movie, Lindelof said, “Those four people sort of sitting in a room bouncing ideas off each other, challenging those ideas, sort of shaking the tree.” At the time, he said the idea was to get back to that form of creative thinking. “Because ‘Trek 2’ has to be better than ‘Trek 1,’ ” he said, likening the sequel to the increase in quality from the already great “Batman Begins” to the exceptional “The Dark Knight.” “It has to.” He said at the time that they were working hard to make a great leap forward in storytelling. “We are deep into that process now and writing.” A spokesperson for Paramount Pictures could not be reached for comment at press time. Check out everything we’ve got on “Star Trek” and “Star Trek 2.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com .
Dr. Conrad Murray faces charges he administrated lethal dose of sedatives to Jackson. By Gil Kaufman Dr. Conrad Murray (file) Photo: David McNew/AFP/Getty Images It’s been more than two years since Michael Jackson ‘s death shocked the world on the eve of the pop icon’s planned comeback tour. In the time since, the focus has turned to the King of Pop’s personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray , who officials claim administered the lethal combination of sedatives that ended Jackson’s life at age 50. On Thursday (September 8), jury selection began in Los Angeles in Murray’s manslaughter trial, which promises to grab headlines for the next month as prosecutors aim to pin the “Thriller” singer’s death on a series of actions Murray allegedly took in the hours before Jackson’s passing. No cameras will be allowed inside the courtroom for the trial, which will begin as soon as 12 impartial jurors can be found, a task that will likely be challenging given the worldwide attention Jackson’s death generated. Jackson died on June 25, 2009, after suffering cardiac arrest at his rented Hollywood mansion. The Los Angeles County coroner’s office ruled that the 50-year-old singer died of “acute propofol intoxication” in combination with the use of sedatives. Authorities have claimed that cardiologist Murray administered a lethal dose of the surgical anesthetic to chronic insomniac Jackson in an attempt to help him get to sleep. Murray was charged with involuntary manslaughter last February in connection with Jackson’s death and has pleaded not guilty in the case. The doctor is out on $75,000 bail and faces up to four years in prison and the revocation of his medical license if convicted. After taking care of Jackson and the singer’s children in his hometown of Las Vegas, Murray was hired by the pop star to be his personal physician in the lead-up to a series of 50 comeback shows at the O2 Arena in London dubbed This Is It. Murray was by Jackson’s side the night he died and has admitted to administering several doses of propofol and other sedatives to his client, but his lawyers have said that the physician did not give the fatal push of medication. Instead, they reportedly are planning to argue that Jackson — a chronic insomniac who was allegedly addicted to a deadly cocktail of strong sedatives in order to get rest — gave himself the final dose while Murray was out of the room. According to a Reuters report, in the first three days of the oft-delayed trial more than 480 potential jurors will be brought through the court house. They will be given a 30-page, 117-question survey seeking their past experience with prescription drugs, doctors, celebrities, news outlets, law enforcement and queries about their DVD collections, according to NBC Los Angeles . Among the questions on an earlier version of the questionnaire: “Have you ever considered yourself a fan of Michael Jackson or the Jackson family?,” “Did you ever watch [the Jackson documentary] ‘This Is It’?” and “What Internet sites or blogs, if any, do you visit on a regular basis?” The pool will be cut down to 100 potential jurors who will return for more questioning later this month. The trial is expected to last five weeks, with opening arguments set for September 27. Related Videos Remembering Michael Jackson Related Photos Michael Jackson: A Life In Photos Related Artists Michael Jackson
Producer Ehren Kruger talks about the newlyweds’ performance in the thriller, in our Fall Movie Preview. By Josh Horowitz Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz in “Dream House” Photo: Universal Pictures Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz married in a quiet New York ceremony in June, an idyllic union that presents a stark contrast to their onscreen marriage in “Dream House.” A genre mash-up with thriller and horror elements directed by Jim Sheridan, the film begins with a familiar setup: Craig, Weisz and their daughters move to a new home, only to discover their quarters are nothing like what they expected. From there, though, “Dream House” takes a twist, one that makes viewers reconsider everything they’ve previously seen and which was revealed in a surprisingly spoiler-filled trailer this summer. Click for photos from fall’s biggest flicks! But as producer Ehren Kruger told MTV News recently, that twist is just one in a flick filled with them. If you think you know everything “Dream House” has in store, he made clear that you’re missing all the clues — just as Kruger and the rest of the cast and crew seemingly missed the signs on set that Craig and Weisz’s heated on-camera coupling was the beginning of a trip down the aisle. As part of our Fall Movie Preview, we not only have a chat with Kruger, but the first clip from the film, in which Weisz confesses that she’s certain something is wrong with their new home and Craig promises to hire a priest or “feng shui the place.” Hit play on the video above and the read on for Kruger’s interview. MTV : You’ve got some impressive talent in front of and behind the camera. How did all those pieces of the puzzle come together? Ehren Kruger : It started with the original script by David Loucka, which blended genres in a very interesting way. That caught the eye of Jim Sheridan, and he’s not a director who is known for doing straightforward genre pieces. So he responded to some of the deeper character ideas in the script, and once he became interested, we started developing the script with him and very quickly there were actors like Daniel and Rachel and Naomi [Watts] that were interested in being a part of it, because his reputation is so wonderful with performance. You don’t always get that in genres that are perceived as just a mystery or just a scary movie or just a thriller, so getting involved in this allowed the actors to bring their A-game and challenge themselves performance-wise. MTV : As you said, this is not the type of film that Jim Sheridan normally takes on. Why was he the right guy for the job? Kruger : He’s often dealing with families in an emotional crisis. He really responds to that sort of environment, so while this story has a lot of the scary genre trappings and mystery trappings, at its core it’s really a family that’s in intense crisis. MTV : In terms of developing the script, what are the influences you drew on? Kruger : It shares some genre DNA with movies like “The Others” or “The Sixth Sense” or “Rosemary’s Baby” and movies that really try to cast a spell in terms of mood. In the world of scary thriller mysteries, there are the vampires and the zombies and the mask killers. They are very upfront with what is scary about them. And then there are the more traditional ghost-story antagonists, where their secrets can play something even more sinister. You don’t quite know who is pulling the strings and what to be afraid of. We talked about some of those classic ghost-story influences like “The Haunting” or “The Innocence” or “The Shining,” movies where you are dealing with something you initially think you can fight or combat but then aren’t sure if you can at all. MTV : Tell us about what Daniel brought to the table, how he approached the material and how he made the character his own. Kruger : He’s a very intense person, and it comes across in his roles and on the screen. This is a character who, on the outside, seems like an everyman, a family man, but you come to find out he has a number of demons of his own. Daniel was really able to dig into those and pull off a very intense portrayal of a man trying to protect his family in nearly an impossible situation. It’s a very valiant performance from him. And the chemistry between him and Rachel, which is kind of the core of the film, is really great. MTV : Was their relationship off camera apparent to you on the set? Kruger : They are both very focused actors, so you just figured they were really committed to their performance of this married couple. There is method acting and I guess there is matrimonial method acting. But I wouldn’t say it was apparent during shooting. They were playing the roles as professional, and it went from there. MTV : You show a big twist in the trailer about the murders that took place in the house. How do you make the decision of how much to reveal and how early? Kruger : It’s always a trick with movies that start off seeming like one thing and then turn into something else. In the case of this movie, it turns into something else again. You just have to make the decision of what is the best way to tell the audience that they are going to be getting more than what they think they are getting. You could have a trailer that doesn’t reveal any of the revelations that they will come to find out about — the house where he lives and the family — and then there’s just not quite enough juicy material to sell the movie. You have to provide a little and assure the audience there’s going to be more revelations. MTV : When do you find out who the murderer is in the movie? Kruger : It will be in the first half of the movie that you are getting the revelations that are in the trailer, so there is still half of the movie of mystery to tell. From “Abduction” to “Muppets, “Moneyball” to “Breaking Dawn,” the MTV Movies team is delving into the hottest upcoming flicks in our 2011 Fall Movie Preview. Check back daily for exclusive clips, photos and interviews with the films’ biggest stars. Check out everything we’ve got on “Dream House.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos Fall Movie Preview 2011 Related Photos Exclusive Photos From Fall’s Biggest Flicks
Translated from a French-language publication by The New Yorker ‘s Richard Brody, Sean Penn apparently has issues with Terrence Malick’s recent film: “I didn’t at all find on the screen the emotion of the script, which is the most magnificent one that I’ve ever read. A clearer and more conventional narrative would have helped the film without, in my opinion, lessening its beauty and its impact. Frankly, I’m still trying to figure out what I’m doing there and what I was supposed to add in that context! What’s more, Terry himself never managed to explain it to me clearly.” Join the club , pal. [ Le Figaro via The New Yorker ]
Edgar Wright says he’s just completed a third draft of the script for the Marvel movie. By Aubrey Sitterson, with reporting by Josh Horowitz “Ant-Man” director Edgar Wright Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images With “Captain America: The First Avenger” grossing over $65 million on its opening weekend and fans already buzzing about next year’s “Avengers,” Marvel’s quickly expanding cinematic universe is as popular as ever. Now, from San Diego Comic-Con 2011 comes news that Marvel Studios might finally be moving ahead on a long-awaited release: Edgar Wright’s “Ant-Man.” The “Shaun of the Dead” and “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” director has been talking about taking on Marvel’s smallest superhero since at least 2007, promising a live-action film that would blend humor with action and would include two different Ant-Men: Henry Pym and Scott Lang. In the Marvel Comics source material, both characters make use of a special formula and suit that allows them to shrink, as well as a high-tech helmet that facilitates communication with ants and other insects. “Ant-Man” is said to feature flashbacks of the original hero, Pym, as well as scenes of his successor, Lang, in the present day. Now, after years of infrequent updates and stalled production, things are finally looking up for “Ant-Man.” “Since February, we’ve done two drafts of the script, and we just handed in a third draft on Monday,” Wright told MTV News. The director is co-writing the film with Joe Cornish, whose “Attack the Block” (a British alien-invasion movie starring frequent Wright collaborator Nick Frost and in theaters on July 29) was making waves of its own at Comic-Con. Apparently, some of the hold-up on “Ant-Man” was related to “Attack the Block,” as the duo did not complete a second draft until Cornish was finished with his directorial debut. “The way we wrote the script is for it to be a standalone genre film,” Wright said, perhaps indicating that “Ant-Man” would be less explicitly tied to the “Avengers” family of titles like “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “Thor” and “Iron Man.” Wright continued by explaining his desire to “create an ‘in’ for people so you don’t have to know 50 years of ‘Avengers’ history to enjoy the movie.” While most recent superhero adaptations have focused on Marvel and DC’s “big guns,” characters like Batman, Spider-Man, Superman and others, the protagonist of “Ant-Man” will be entirely new to all but the most fervent comic book fans. For Wright and Cornish, however, the freedom that comes with a lesser-known character is a large part of the upcoming project’s appeal. Wright was close-lipped on who he wanted to play the part of the movie’s eponymous hero (or heroes), but he did hint that he had someone in mind. Who would you like to see play Ant-Man? Let us know in the comments below. Check out everything we’ve got on “Captain America: The First Avenger.” For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com .
Newly single superstar Jennifer Lopez , who divorced husband #3 Marc Anthony just last week, is announcing her availability to the world by taking on a duo of daring- and potentially nude- roles. J-lo has kept her jugs safely inside her top since her boob-baring turn in U-Turn (1997), but now, 14 years later, she’s set to play potential mother-to-be Holly in the movie adaptation of the popular pregnancy book What to Expect When You’re Expecting . In the script, Holly bares her boobs for her husband (played by Rodrigo Santoro ) to try to convince him to adopt a baby boy. She’s also signed on for a role in the crime movie Parker , and the script calls for Jennifer, as sexy real estate agent Leslie , to do a skintillating striptease for Jason Statham . Could this mean the long-anticipated movie debut of Jennifer’s juicy $27 million caboose? Skin Central just hopes Jenny from the Block doesn’t cock-block our nude hopes!
Nicholas Braun, who starred in a movie you didn’t see called Prom , is toplining a new comedy called Gay Dude . The premise concerns a high schooler named “Michael (Braun), who makes a pact with friend Matty to lose their virginity before graduation — until Matty comes out of the closet.” The good news is that Parks and Recreation scribe (and Mouse Rat band member) Alan Yang handled the script. The bad news is the following analogy could be true: American Pie : Gay Dude :: Road Trip : Boat Trip . Frightening. [ Variety ]
Oscar-winning Juno scribe Diablo Cody will make her directorial debut with Lamb of God , about a conservative woman who loses her faith and goes to Las Vegas to sin it up — which kind of sounds like Kristen Wiig’s character from Paul , only (let’s hope!) even naughtier. Cody also wrote the script and will re-team with producer Mason Novick, who produced Cody-penned films Juno , Jennifer’s Body , and the forthcoming Jason Reitman -directed comedy Young Adult . [ THR ]
Before signing up for Cameron Diaz’s class, study up with our fun facts. By Eric Ditzian Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake in “Bad Teacher” Photo: Sony It’s been more than a month since “Bridesmaids” slayed us at the cinema. We’re desperately in need of some hard-R laughs, a few gross-out moments that make us cringe, and the reminder that as crazy as we might be, we’re not nearly as loco as the folks we’re watching onscreen. Thus, we say thanks to “Bad Teacher” as it floats, on a comedic cloud of profanity and penis jokes, into theaters. Cameron Diaz stars as Elizabeth Halsey, an educator less concerned with math lessons than she is in smoking pot and calculating her way into marriage with any filthy-rich doofus. She meets the perfect mark in Justin Timberlake’s Scott Delacorte, a substitute teacher and a guy so freaking nice there’s got be something wrong with him. And then we have Jason Segel’s sly gym teacher; even though he’s got the hots for Halsey, his paycheck doesn’t have nearly enough digits to entice the leggy blonde. But all this is just the setup. The punch comes in a series of outlandish events that, if we were to reveal them here, would just spoil the fun. What we can do is tell you everything you need to know about “Bad Teacher” before hitting the multiplex this weekend. That’s where our cheat sheet comes into play. Getting Ready for Class News of the film, penned by “Office” scribes Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, broke in December of 2009. Diaz had signed on , but the rest of the cast had yet to be filled out. That changed a few months later, when Timberlake and Segel hopped aboard . Though Diaz had formerly dated JT, the actress had no qualms about stepping in front of the camera with him. “He’s the best person for the job. He’s going to be hilarious,” she said. “He’s clearly a very talented comedian; look at his ‘Saturday Night Live’ [skits]. He’s fantastic. He’s going to be so great.” School’s in Session Filming kicked off in March. Nearly a year later, a truly filthy red-band trailer popped up online, giving us a very clear idea of how truly terrible a teacher Diaz would be: “Are you f—ing kidding me?” she writes on a student’s test. While the comedy’s raunchiness was no surprise, Timberlake’s weirdo of a sub certainly was. As Diaz later explained to us , “He gives us a character that you have not seen yet before — not just him, but pretty much anyone. It’s just a very interesting character and a lot of fun to watch. By the end of it, you’re like, ‘What is up with that dude?’ It’s hilarious.” The Final Exam As part of our Summer Movie Preview Week, we debuted an exclusive photo of Diaz getting ready for a fundraising car wash unlike any that you might recall from your school days and also sat down for a chat with the woman herself. “She’s miserable. She’s not happy with her world, and she doesn’t pretend that she is,” Diaz said of her character. “Her pain is real. She’s living a very painful existence, so there’s no humor to her in this.” Sure, she’s a woman in pain. But there’s also something liberating about the way she just doesn’t give a hoot about anything. “I think that’s why people love Elizabeth,” Diaz told us at the film’s premiere in New York City. “It’s because everyone wants to be her, even for an hour, maybe a day. If you get away with a week — oh my gosh! I got to play her for six weeks. So yeah, it was a lot of fun.” “The first 30 pages, I’m like, ‘I am not playing this. There is no way I can play this character. There [are] no redeeming qualities to this character,’ ” she recalled of the script in an earlier chat. “And by the end of it, I’m like, ‘Oh my God, this is genius! There’s no redeeming qualities to this character!’ We got to the end of the script, and we’re not apologizing for anything she said. It’s a very modest arc.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Bad Teacher.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘Bad Teacher’ Related Photos ‘Bad Teacher’ Premieres In New York
