The Kick-Ass sequel was a forgone conclusion but speculation mounted on when it would occur and if its stars including Aaron Johnson would take part. But all turned out fine and Jeff Wadlow will direct from his script, a follow up to the original that debuted at SXSW back in 2010 that went on to gross $103M at the box office worldwide. That’s a lot of ass-kicking! Star Aaron Johnson told Collider that he’s seen the script and it shouldn’t disappoint. “It’s pretty much set to go this fall,” he said. “I think now [Chloe Grace Moretz] and [Christopher Mintz-Plasse] are on board. I’m certainly set up to do it…Yeah, I think it’s going to happen.” Asked about the script, Johnson assures that the new version will keep the faith. “Oh, yeah! It keeps the standard from the first film.” Continuing, Johnson adds about creator Matthew Vaughn: “The only way he was ever going to make a sequel was if it could be anywhere close to the first one, and keep that class and that quality, and just maintain something original and new and refreshing. And this script delivers all of that, right now.” [ Collider ]
Decades after championing auteur theory and tangling with Pauline Kael, New York-based film critic Andrew Sarris has died at the age of 83, survived by his wife, the film critic Molly Haskell. In honor of one of the most influential careers in American film criticism, revisit one of Sarris’s first notable reviews — his celebration of Alfred Hitchcock’s seminal 1960 film Psycho , which the then-32-year-old insisted “should be seen at least three times by any discerning film-goer.” Sarris, whose career spanned stints at the New York Bulletin, the Village Voice, and The New York Observer, popularized and championed the auteur theory after spending time with New Wave filmmakers in Paris. Subbing in for the absent Village Voice critic Jonas Mekas, he infused his review of Psycho with this approach to viewing film as a expression of a director’s personal vision, later solidifying his stance (and coining the phrase “auteur theory”) in his 1962 essay “Notes on the Auteur Theory.” But back to bold beginnings: Read Sarris’s full Psycho review here (re-published in J. Hoberman’s 2010 remembrance), portions of which are excerpted below. “A close inspection of Psycho indicates not only that the French have been right all along, but that Hitchcock is the most-daring avant-garde film-maker in America today. Besides making previous horror films look like variations of Pollyanna , Psycho is overlaid with a richly symbolic commentary on the modern world as a public swamp in which human feelings and passions are flushed down the drain. What once seemed like impurities in his patented cut-and-chase technique now give Psycho and the rest of Hollywood Hitchcock a personal flavor and intellectual penetration which his British classics lack.” “…Hitchcock no longer cheats his endings. Where the mystery of Diabolique , for example, is explained in the most popular after-all-this-is-just-a-movie-and-we’ve-been-taken manner, the solution of Psycho is more ghoulish than the antecedent horror which includes the grisliest murder scenes ever filmed. Although Hitchcock continually teases his conglomerate audience, he never fails to deliver on his most ominous portents. Such divergent American institutions as motherhood and motels, will never seem quite the same again, and only Hitchcock could give a soft-spoken State Trooper the visually sinister overtones of a dehumanized machine patrolling a conformist society.” ” Psycho should be seen at least three times by any discerning film-goer, the first time for the sheer terror of the experience, and on this occasion I fully agree with Hitchcock that only a congenital spoilsport would reveal the plot; the second time for the macabre comedy inherent in the conception of the film; and the third for all the hidden meanings and symbols lurking beneath the surface of the first American movie since Touch of Evil to stand in the same creative rank as the great European films.” [ NYT ] [Photo: Sarris last month at the 25th anniversary of Columbia University’s Film Festival, via Getty Images]
And doesn’t it make sense? With the final installment of the mega franchise coming out, how could there not be a ton of cash? Notes the publication, “At this point, could anyone else play Bella Swan in Twilight ?” Good point! The publication, which dishes out the super rich and famous wealth numbers annually said Stewart made an estimated $12.5 million plus a share of the profits from the mega-franchise in her last two stints on Twilight , but she also made more cash via Snow White and the Huntsman this past year. According to Forbes Stewart’s total earnings between May 2011 and May 2012 totaled a whopping $34.5 million. Not bad for a 22 year-old. She is the youngest person on the list by 16 years. In the previous year, the actress ranked 5th in the list (tied with Julia Roberts). And coming in second on the list is Cameron Diaz who is estimated to have earned $34 million in the same time period. Her big cash cow came courtesy of Bad Teacher , which Forbes noted only cost $20 million to make but brought in $216 million worldwide. Last year’s top earning actresses were Angelina Jolie and Sarah Jessica Parker who each cha-chinged $30 million between May 2010 and May 2011. [Source: Forbes ] And what do you think of these numbers?
If the world were ending imminently — say, in three weeks — would you throw off the shackles of social confines and indulge in every crazy impulse the moment inspired? Would you seek out your loved ones in order to spend your last days in their company? Would you just stay put and continue on as normal right up until the final moment? Seeking a Friend for the End of the World , the directorial debut of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist writer Lorene Scafaria, combines a deviously tragicomic take on the approaching annihilation of mankind with a irritatingly unconvincing and unnecessary love story. Until romance reluctantly but unavoidably creaks into the story (seeking a friend, my ass), the film starts off so well, exploring the most prosaic of upcoming apocalypses as seen through the eyes of Dodge ( Steve Carell ), a man whose life has been largely unexceptional and is now about to come to an end, along with most everyone else’s. (One of the film’s nice touches is an overheard radio broadcast about how the planet’s best and brightest are being gathered into some kind of ark — a standard issue global cataclysm plot point never touched on again, because the characters in this film aren’t exceptional enough to be plucked up.) At the outset beginning, he and his wife listen to a news announcement about how a last effort to stop a giant asteroid headed toward us has failed, and that impact was in an estimated 21 days. She looks at him, and then runs for the hills, never to be seen again. For a while, Dodge keeps going into work at his insurance company, where his boss notes that the few remaining employees are allowed to dress like it’s casual Friday every day, and wonders if anyone would like to take over as CFO. On the TV, there’s news that air travel has ended and cell phones are no longer working. At a dinner party being thrown by Dodge’s friends Warren (Rob Corddry) and Diane (Connie Britton), polite talk about what attendees plan to do with the rest of their time (one member suggests she’s going to finally take that pottery class she’s been meaning to) devolves into wild debauchery, getting the children drunk and someone arriving with hard drugs like you would a nice bottle of wine for the table. “I regret my entire life,” Dodge says, and seems ready to let that be the sentiment with which he waits out Armageddon, until he has a chance encounter with his neighbor Penny ( Keira Knightley ), a flaky, teary Brit who has just broken up with her boyfriend Owen (Adam Brody) and now mourns the fact that she has no way to make it back to England to see her family one last time. She also has a pile of his letters that were accidentally put in her box — three years worth — including one from his high school girlfriend saying he’s the love of her life. Penny has a car and Dodge knows someone who has a plane, and the two make a deal to help each other get where they need to go. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is primarily a meander through random encounters on the road toward Dodge’s old sweetheart, most of them wild-eyed but sweet — aside from a riot that springs up in Los-Angeles-barely-pretending-to-be-New-York, where the pair live, the film’s world is good-hearted even when faced with impending doom. Whether encountering survivalists or the dedicated, giddy employees of a chain restaurant, everyone quivers with a delirious what-the-hell vibe that’s melancholy and amusing. Our obsession with the apocalypse is stronger than ever — it practically merits its own movie subsection, if its too scattered to be a genre. There’s no reason why the end of the world shouldn’t get the romantic comedy treatment, but the connection that springs up between Dodge and Penny feels awkward and forced. It’s not just that Carell is 22 years older than Knightley, or that the process in which he falls in love with her consists of him staring puppy-dog like while she weeps on the phone to her family — it’s that the idea of two people finding an unexpected connection to one another and offering up kindness in desperate times is actually much more touching than the insistence that they’re last-minute soulmates. Carell and Knightley have no spark of romantic chemistry between them — in fact, they actually clash in more interesting ways, with Dodge being a morose wet blanket and Penny coming across as a disaster who tends to allow major mistake to happen and then cry about them. The things they stumble onto — dinner in an abandoned house, a line of people headed to the beach — have a warm, wistful tangibility to them, in the way that you’d think the conscious gathering of last experiences would. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World ‘s effusive declarations of love just seem like the stagey stuff of movies — they’ve got nothing on the moment in which Dodge lies on the carpet and listens the Walker Brothers’ “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine (Anymore)” on vinyl while he waits for the earth to be destroyed. Follow Alison Willmore on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Drake’s homie Meek Mill says he didn’t throw any bottles during the W.i.P. club brawl that got the venue shut down and injured Chris Brown last week. Meek says Chris didn’t throw any either, and denies there is any lingering beef with the R&B singer or his camp. Mill told XXL (dot) com the following: “Chris and Drake, them two was there, but it’s other people that be around that take sh!t to the next level … Things just happen in the club.” “I seen girls in there throwing bottles, all types of sh!t. All types of people. I never seen Chris Brown or Drake throw a bottle and I was there.” Asked if he threw a bottle at Brown, Meek replied, “F*%k no.” Mill, who was hanging at Drake’s table during the June 13 incident, was rumored to be an instigator in the fight (and to have banged Rihanna ). Meek claims, at least, that he spoke with Chris Brown on the phone after the brawl and both sides agreed they had no problem with the other.
Glenn Beck gave a speech on Friday at the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference and made two very simple points: Glee is destroying America; and he knows how to fix it. The former Fox News anchor told attendees that he and his wife watched a recent episode of the Fox hit and could not believe it dared to address topics such as homosexuality and bullying. “It’s horrifying some of the things that they’re teaching high schoolers,” Beck said of Glee . “But it’s brilliantly done. It’s produced, brilliantly. Its music, brilliant. Its acting, brilliant. Its cinematography, brilliant. All of it!” Glenn Beck Hates on Glee So what is a conservative pundit to do in the face of such disgusting propaganda? Come up with a counter alternative, of course. Beck won’t reveal what he has in mind, but told the crowd he has “spent about a year now trying to put together a push-back [to Glee ] with artists, with music. But not the stereotypical conservative Lee Greenwood music.” He has named the mysterious initiative his “Oedipus Project” because “the left will be making out with me and they’ll never see it coming.” All Beck has said about the project is that it will somehow involve a rapper and more information will be revealed at his three-day “Restoring Love” event July 28 at Cowboy Stadium in Dallas. Really, that’s a thing. This is not the first time Beck has gone off on Glee . Last year, he referred to the show as a “nightmare” that centered on “self-gratification.” Choose a side now in this feud:
Legendary director Woody Allen had kind of an awkward Father’s Day yesterday after his estranged son ripped him on Twitter with a joke about Woody and his wife. When your wife used to be your stepdaughter, you’re sorta asking for it. Ronan Farrow, the 24-year-old son of Allen and Mia Farrow, posted on Twitter, “Happy father’s day — or as they call it in my family, happy brother-in-law’s day.” Mia Farrow then re-tweeted the message … and added the word, “BOOM.” According to reports, Ronan stopped speaking to his father back in 1992 when it was discovered Woody was cheating on Mia with Soon-Yi Previn. That would be Mia Farrow’s adopted daughter with her second husband, Andr
Game show legend, known for kissing all female contestants, loses his battle with cancer. By Jason Kaufman Richard Dawson Photo: Getty Images Richard Dawson, the host of “Family Feud” who made kissing all female contestants on the show his signature, is dead at 79 after losing a battle with cancer. News of Dawson’s death came from his son Gary through a post on Facebook. “Dear Friends. It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you that my father passed away this evening from complications due to esophageal cancer. He was surrounded by his family. He was an amazing talent, a loving husband, a great dad, and a doting grandfather. He will be missed but always remembered…” Dawson hosted “Family Feud” for nine years from 1976 through 1985, also returning to the show for the 1994-95 season. He became known for kissing all the female contestants on the “Feud,” a signature move that earned him the nickname “The Kissing Bandit.” He would explain years later that it was something he had learned during his childhood from his mother. Dawson grew up in England and pursued a comedy career early on, eventually landing bit parts in TV shows and films, including a spot on “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” He married British sex symbol Diane Dors in 1959 and moved to California, which put him in close proximity to the entertainment industry. He eventually landed a role on “Hogan’s Heroes” as Corporal Peter Newkirk. Through the years, Dawson would spend his time between films, TV appearances (including “Laugh-In”) and even music, recording psychedelic tunes in the late ’60s. But it was his appearance as a panelist on the game show “Match Game” in 1975 that led to the “Feud” job that would make him a TV legend. Dawson made fun of his own image in the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger action film “The Running Man,” playing diabolical game show host Damon Killian. Dawson’s kissing skills were quite potent. He met his second wife, Gretchen Johnson, when she was a contestant on “Feud” in 1981. They married a decade later. When Dawson returned to host the show in the ’90s, his wife had one rule: No more kissing any contestants. Share your condolences for Dawson’s friends and family in the comments.
Game show legend, known for kissing all female contestants, loses his battle with cancer. By Jason Kaufman Richard Dawson Photo: Getty Images Richard Dawson, the host of “Family Feud” who made kissing all female contestants on the show his signature, is dead at 79 after losing a battle with cancer. News of Dawson’s death came from his son Gary through a post on Facebook. “Dear Friends. It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you that my father passed away this evening from complications due to esophageal cancer. He was surrounded by his family. He was an amazing talent, a loving husband, a great dad, and a doting grandfather. He will be missed but always remembered…” Dawson hosted “Family Feud” for nine years from 1976 through 1985, also returning to the show for the 1994-95 season. He became known for kissing all the female contestants on the “Feud,” a signature move that earned him the nickname “The Kissing Bandit.” He would explain years later that it was something he had learned during his childhood from his mother. Dawson grew up in England and pursued a comedy career early on, eventually landing bit parts in TV shows and films, including a spot on “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” He married British sex symbol Diane Dors in 1959 and moved to California, which put him in close proximity to the entertainment industry. He eventually landed a role on “Hogan’s Heroes” as Corporal Peter Newkirk. Through the years, Dawson would spend his time between films, TV appearances (including “Laugh-In”) and even music, recording psychedelic tunes in the late ’60s. But it was his appearance as a panelist on the game show “Match Game” in 1975 that led to the “Feud” job that would make him a TV legend. Dawson made fun of his own image in the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger action film “The Running Man,” playing diabolical game show host Damon Killian. Dawson’s kissing skills were quite potent. He met his second wife, Gretchen Johnson, when she was a contestant on “Feud” in 1981. They married a decade later. When Dawson returned to host the show in the ’90s, his wife had one rule: No more kissing any contestants. Share your condolences for Dawson’s friends and family in the comments.
Frank Cady, a career character actor best known as the general store owner on the famous sitcom Green Acres , has died. He was 96 years old. Cady’s daughter, Catherine Turk, reportedly told the Los Angeles Times that her father passed away Friday at his home in Wilsonville, Ore. A cause of death has not been released at this time. Cady played Sam Drucker, one of the less loony denizens of fictional Hooterville in Green Acres , for the show’s entire run, from 1965-1971. The show, centered about a Manhattan couple who left the big city to live in a rundown farm, became one of the staples of early television. Cady also played the same character in Petticoat Junction and The Beverly Hillbillies and played Doc Williams on Ozzie and Harriet . He and his wife, Shirley, retired to Oregon in the 1990s. She died in 2008.
