Watch Heath Ledger cackle and tease in The Dark Knight trailer

0 Comments | Posted on Friday, 29 February 2008 by Don

The Dark Knight may well be a thrilling and spellbinding epitaph to the career of Heath Ledger. The trailer shows Heath in top flight as the Joker: taunting his enemies, cocky, sardonic, menacing--and seemingly laughing in the face of death. The movie, which opens on July... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Can The Other Boleyn Girl seduce the Yanks?

0 Comments | Posted on Friday, 29 February 2008 by Don

By and large, American audiences aren't wild about British period dramas, especially those that relate to the monarchy. So there are modest hopes for The Other Boleyn Girl, which opens in the US over the weekend; a much warmer reception is likely when the film starring Eric Bana, Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson opens here on March 13. The saga of the Boleyn sisters who fought for the affections of King Henry VIII was written by Peter Morgan (The Queen, The Last King of Scotlan... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

View the Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull trailer

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 28 February 2008 by Don

Nineteen years since the last Indiana Jones adventure, can Harrison Ford still kick butt at the age of 66? At 61, can director Steven Spielberg reinvent the franchise? And at 21, can Shia La Beouf convince us he's a fitting successor as the young Indy? We won't know the answers until Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull opens worldwide on May 22 (or a few days before that if you happen to be at the Cannes film festival and can snag a ticket to the film's world premiere there o... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

10,000 B.C.: a blast from the ancient past

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 28 February 2008 by Don

Roland Emmerich had no qualms about rewriting history as he co-wrote and directed the fantasy adventure 10,000 B.C. The movie, which opens on March 6, posits that the pyramids and other monuments were built by an ancient civilization much, much earlier than 2,500 B.C., as many historians believe. It follows a young hunter, D'Leh (Steven Strait) in a remote mountain village, who's in love with the beautiful Evolet (Camilla Belle). Their idyllic existence doesn't last long as a band of ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Carmen Electra told: Keep most of your clothes on!

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 28 February 2008 by Don

It's a weird kind of movie where Carmen Electra wears more clothes than most of the male cast. That's the point, of course, of Meet the Spartans, the Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer concoction which sends up 300 and a bunch of other movies, TV shows and celebrities. Carmen, a veteran of previous Seltzer-Friedberg collaborations Date Movie and Epic Movie, plays Leonidas’ wife, Queen Margo. She got a kick out of the filmmakers' willingness to subvert audience expectations on which... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

What are the funniest spoofs of all time?

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 28 February 2008 by Don

If Meet the Spartans doesn't rank among the all-time great spoofs, one reason is because it pokes fun at movies like 300, Transformers and Ghost Rider, which themselves are so over the top, they can be difficult to mock. Arguably, the most memorable Hollywood spoofs are those which took the mickey out of movies that tried to be serious, if not worthy. Top Gun, for example, was mercilessly lampooned by Hot Shots, which was blessed with razor-sharp wit and genuinely funny performances ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Justice League ready for take-off

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 27 February 2008 by Don

It seems all systems are go for George Miller's superhero epic Justice League, despite earlier reports the options on the cast had lapsed amid doubts about the film's financing. Warner Bros. is pushing ahead with plans to make Justice League in time for a 2009 debut and Miller has started pre-production in Australia, according to Variety. The production was put on hold in January, reportedly because the script needed further revision, which wasn't possible while the scribes were on str... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Women are still doing it tough in Hollywood

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 27 February 2008 by Don

Despite the Oscars for Juno scriptwriter Diablo Cody, Australian documentary producer Eva Orner and female experts in makeup, costume design and art direction, one fact of life in Hollywood hasn't changed: Apart from some highly paid actresses, women continue to get a raw deal. In every category of the craft of filmmaking, women are under-represented. And far from making gains, they're losing ground in some key areas such as directing. Despite the abundance of talented female director... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Run, Fatboy, Run: How to turn a heel into a hero

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 27 February 2008 by Don

How do you turn a guy who literally runs away from his pregnant fiancee on their wedding day into someone girls could fancy and blokes might want to have a beer with? That was the challenge facing Simon Pegg, co-writer and star of English comedy Run, Fat Boy, Run. Pegg was acutely aware that most females would regard such a person as a complete jerk, especially when Libby, the girl he jilts, is played by the hugely appealing Thandie Newton. So why would you care what happens to him? "I... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Getting in the mood for love in We Own the Night

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 27 February 2008 by Don

Crime drama We Own the Night starts with a sexy interlude between Joaquin Phoenix and his on-screen girlfriend Eva Mendes. That must have been a blast for Phoenix, right? Well no, actually. There was nothing romantic about it, despite Eva's hotness. "It’s ridiculous," says Joaquin. "We’re in a plywood box on a stage. Standing behind you the actors are bored and dudes are hammering and stuff. Up above are rafters where you can imagine dudes up there eating popcorn, laughing at you. It’... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Bond screenwriter: A Quantum of what?

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 26 February 2008 by Don

When the James Bond producers and director Marc Forster dreamed up the title of the 22nd 007 adventure, Quantum of Solace, it appears they forgot to tell one key person: the guy who wrote the script. That's Paul Haggis, who also wrote Casino Royale, and whose film In the Valley of Elah, which he wrote and directed, opens here on Thursday. Haggis turned in his script for the new Bond caper hours before the writers went on strike, then moved on to other projects and apparently wasn't con... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Oscars a turn-off for TV viewers

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 26 February 2008 by Don

Ho hum. That, in a nutshell, is how television viewers in the US and Australia felt about this year's Academy Awards, judging by the plunging ratings for the Oscars telecast. Here, Nine's Oscars show was beaten in the first hour by Seven's Desperate Housewives and Ten's Good News Week. Nine reported the telecast was watched by an average of 424,000 viewers aged 25-to-54 in the East Coast, making it just the ninth most watched show across the Sydney-Melbourne-Brisbane markets. In the five c... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Spartans skewer Transformers- watch a special video clip

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 26 February 2008 by Don

What happens when the brave men of Sparta tangle with the Transformers in the spoof Meet the Spartans? Well, a fair degree of mirth, especially when you see Ken Davitian, the fat guy in Borat, in the role of Xerxes. "Xerxes has taken over all the free world," says Davitian, whose nude wrestle with Borat lingers in the memory."And he keeps going and going, just like the Energizer Bunny. But all of my troops are beaten into submission, so it’s not really a volunteer army.” Fac... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

The Bucket List jumps into Oz...but can't catch Jumper

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 26 February 2008 by Don

If the Australian distributors of The Bucket List had a wish list, no doubt their biggest wish would have been to see the film open at No. 1. Well, the first-ever movie pairing of Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman opened well, but not quite well enough to beat the second weekend of Jumper. It was a close call: just 64 grand separated the two films. Jumper captured $1.72 million (down 49%, bringing its total to $6 million), while The Bucket List fetched $1.66 million. In third pla... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

An Aussie win to celebrate at the Oscars

0 Comments | Posted on Monday, 25 February 2008 by Don

While Cate Blanchett may have been stiff to miss out on awards for her performances in I'm Not There and Elizabeth: The Golden Age, there was one Aussie winner at the Academy Awards. Melbourne-born producer Eva Orner and fellow producer-director Alex Gibney got the Oscar for best documentary feature, Taxi to the Dark Side, which investigates the death in custody of a Afghan taxi-driver, Dilawar, at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan in 2002. It was later found that Dilawar had been repeatedly ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Oscar triumphs for No Country for Old Men and Daniel Day-Lewis

0 Comments | Posted on Monday, 25 February 2008 by Don

In a night of certainties and surprises, No Country for Old Men won the best picture Oscar and its directors Joel and Ethan Coen took the directing and adapted screenplay prizes. Hot favourites Daniel Day-Lewis and Javiar Bardem won trophies, but there were shocks in the other two acting categories. No Country for Old Men was widely tipped as best pic. Day-Lewis was the almost unanimous choice for best actor as the ruthless oil man in There Will Be Blood. Similarly, Bardem romped home ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

''I want to thank my director, my agent...''

0 Comments | Posted on Monday, 25 February 2008 by Don

The Oscar winners predictably thanked their directors, agents and other collaborators. Thankfully, some did so with a sense of humour. Here are some of the reactions: Best supporting actor Javier Bardem: “Thank you to the Coens for being crazy enough to think I could do that and for putting one of the most horrible haircuts in history over my head.” Best actor Daniel Day-Lewis, paying tribute to There Will Be Blood's director: "This sprang like a golden sapling out of the mad beautif... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Vantage Point hits the target in the US

0 Comments | Posted on Monday, 25 February 2008 by Don

Millions of Americans enjoyed watching an assassination attempt on a (fictional) US President at the weekend, ensuring a first-place debut for Vantage Point. The political thriller, which stars William Hurt as the Prez and Dennis Quaid and Matthew Fox as Secret Service agents, sold $US22.8 million worth of tickets. Sony was heartened to see the audience was spread evenly among the 'four quadrants,' ie, males, females, those aged under 30, and 30-plus. The film opens here on March 13. <... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Juno sweeps Spirit Awards while Heath's memory is honoured

0 Comments | Posted on Sunday, 24 February 2008 by Don

In the lead-up to the Oscars, Juno won several of the top prizes at the Independent Spirit awards, while the occasion was also notable for emotional tributes to Heath Ledger. Juno was named best feature, Ellen Page took the lead actress honours, and stripper-turned- writer Diablo Cody received the award for best first screenplay. Philip Seymour Hoffman was saluted as best male lead for The Savages, which opens here in April, while Cate Blanchett's turn as Bob Dylan in I'm Not There ea... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Eddie Murphy and Lindsay Lohan get well and truly Razzed

0 Comments | Posted on Sunday, 24 February 2008 by Don

And the big winners of the awards no-one in Hollywood wants are...Eddie Murphy and Lindsay Lohan. And each set unwanted records at the Golden Raspberry Awards, or Razzies, which "salute" the worst films and performances of the past year. Eddie has the dubious distinction of being the first to win three of the four worst acting trophies in a single year — all for his multiple roles in the comedy Norbit. Lindsay's I Know Who Killed Me earned eight Razzies, including worst film and... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Shock interview: Ellen Page doesn’t think she should win Oscar!

0 Comments | Posted on Saturday, 23 February 2008 by Don

Juno star Ellen Page just went up in my already high estimation. The Canadian-born actress was interviewed by Barbara Walters for a pre-Oscars special airing on the ABC network in the US. Walters, who's "never afraid to ask a blunt question," according to MSNBC's breathless account of the interview, asked: "Do you think you deserve to win the Academy Award?” To her great credit, Ellen modestly replied: "“I don’t. I really don’t… to be honest with you. I feel really weird even bei... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

The cop and the crim: new roles for Hugo Weaving, David Wenham

0 Comments | Posted on Saturday, 23 February 2008 by Don

You gotta hand it to Hugo Weaving and David Wenham. Both are carving out successful careers in Hollywood films, while still finding time to star in relatively low-budget Australian movies. The Lord of the Rings alumni have just landed plum roles in two major films, Weaving as a cop, Wenham as a gangster. Hugo, who was Agent Smith in The Matrix movies and the voice behind Megatron in Transformers, will join Benicio Del Toro and Emily Blunt in The Wolfman, a remake of a 1941 classic horr... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Oscars worst snubs

0 Comments | Posted on Friday, 22 February 2008 by Don

By any yardstick, Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Stanley Kubrick, Ingmar Bergman, King Vidor, Howard Hawks, D. W. Griffith and Robert Altman were some of the greatest directors ever. Not one won an Oscar. Nor has Ridley Scott, David Lynch, Peter Weir, Akira Kurosawa, Sam Peckinpah, Terrence Malick or Tim Burton. So when you watch Hollywood's finest clutching their little gold men on Monday our time, spare a thought for those whom Oscar has overlooked. Entertainment Weekly has ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Meet the Spartans: they've got 300's number

0 Comments | Posted on Friday, 22 February 2008 by Don

If you enjoyed Date Movie, Epic Movie and Scary Movie, get ready for Meet the Spartans. The latest parody from writer-directors Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer takes aim at 300, numerous action movies and TV shows, and tabloid queens Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton. Tasteful and high-brow it ain't, but there's a market for such bawdy satires, as the Date, Epic and Scary Movies proved. And Meet the Spartans opened at No. 1 in the US in January, outmuscling the debu... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Vantage Point: Taking shots at a US President

0 Comments | Posted on Friday, 22 February 2008 by Don

Depending on which US critic you read, Vantage Point is either a perfectly serviceable thriller with high production values and some better-than-average car chases...Or an action movie that's far more intelligent than most in that genre...Or "viscerally effective but lobotomized." US audiences will pass judgment as the film directed by Pete Travis (TV's Omagh and Henry VIII) opens on more 3,000 screens over the weekend; it debuts here on March 13. Boasting a stellar cast headed by Denn... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

In the Valley of Elah: the search for truth in war

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 21 February 2008 by Don

Tommy Lee Jones was an obvious choice to play Hank Deerfield, an Army veteran whose son disappears after returning from Iraq in the movie In the Valley of Elah. "It's about something that we all have in common," says Jones, who sparked immediately to the script by writer-director Paul Haggis, the follow-up to his Oscar-winning Crash. "If you have not been to Iraq or Afghanistan and gone to war and come home, you are akin to somebody who has. If you're not, you've been paying attention ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Juno a popular choice for Oscars

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 21 February 2008 by Don

It's highly unlikely that Juno or Ellen Page will emerge with major Oscars next Monday our time. But the producers of the teenage drama/comedy and the Canadian-born actress can console themselves with knowing some US cinemagoers think they deserve gold. Juno was voted as best film, ahead of the favourite No Country For Old Men, in an E-Poll/Reuters Oscars poll, while Page got the best actress gong, beating Julie Christie (Away From Her) and Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age). S... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Kathleen Turner dishes the dirt

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 21 February 2008 by Don

William Hurt was an inveterate womaniser and drinker. Steve Martin was quite stiff and unfunny when he wasn't in character. Jack Nicholson was mischievous but a lot of fun. And Burt Reynolds was plain nasty. So says Katheen Turner in her new autobiography, Send Yourself Roses. The 53-year-old star of Romancing the Stone, Body Heat and The War of the Roses dishes the dirt on her co-stars as well as making some remarkably frank confessions about her own vices. In the 1990s she went throu... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

The biggest celebrity shockers

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 21 February 2008 by Don

What are the juiciest celebrity scandals of the past 10-15 years? Let's exclude the antics of Britney, Lindsay and Co. as too numerous and too tiresome to include among the all-time clangers and controversies. Entertainment Weekly compiled a list of 25 "shocking celebrity moments." Some had a devestating impact on the perpetrator; others seemed only to make them more popular. The mag awarded top spot in its gallery of infamy to Nipplegate, Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction du... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Director Rob Cohen works his magic on The Mummy 3

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 20 February 2008 by Don

In the midst of editing The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, director Rob Cohen has given some tantalizing details about the characters and the myriad visual effects shots. Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello, John Hannah, Michelle Yeoh, Anthony Wong and Luke Ford star in the third Mummy adventure, which opens here in September. The action moves to Asia as explorer Rick O'Connell (Fraser) strives to combat the resurrected Han Emperor (Jet Li) in a hectic chase from the catacombs of ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Love is the melody in August Rush

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 20 February 2008 by Don

Music is at the heart of August Rush, a love story about a couple of musos who are torn apart, leaving behind a son who is raised as an orphan. The boy, August, becomes a musical prodigy, and years later, uses his gift to find his birth parents. As the lead couple, Jonathan Rhys Meyers had to learn how to sing and play the guitar, and Keri Russell had to master the cello. Their son is played by 15-year-old Freddie Highmore, who has packed roles in The Golden Compass, Charlie and t... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Here comes Horton Hears a Who: and watch the trailer

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 20 February 2008 by Don

It's probably fair to say the last couple of films inspired by the books by Ted Geisel (who used the pen name Dr Seuss), How the Grinch Stole Christmas and The Cat in the Hat, didn't please everyone who loves the books. But the initial buzz on Horton Hears a Who, a CGI animated film based on Geisel's 1954 book, has been pretty positive, indicating this form of story-telling may finally do justice to the idiosyncratic characters and the often bitter-sweet humour. Jim Carrey lends his ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Who are Oscars biggest winners and losers?

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 20 February 2008 by Don

With the 80th annual Academy Awards being handed out next Monday our time, here are 10 cool things you didn't know about the Oscars....unless you're David Stratton or Margaret Pomeranz. 1. Biggest winners: 11 gongs each for Ben Hur (1959), Titanic (1997) and Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King (2003). 2. Biggest losers: 11 nominations apiece for The Turning Point (1977) and The Color Purple (1985), for zero reward. 3. Oldest nominee for supporting actor: Hal Holbrook, 82, for th... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Ryan Reynolds set as Deadpool in X:Men Origins: Wolverine

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 19 February 2008 by Don

The Internet is buzzing with arguments over the casting of Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, the mercenary anti-hero in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Fox has confirmed the Definitely, Maybe star will play the wisecracking, satirical character known as "merc with a mouth" in the film ,which is shooting in Sydney and New Zealand. Also set to play cameos are Friday Night Lights regular Taylor Kitsch as the card-throwing Gambit, and William Young (better known as the Black Eyed Peas' rapper will.i.am... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Martian Child: an alien, or just alienated?

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 19 February 2008 by Don

The movie Martian Child has an intriguing premise: A young orphan claims he's from Mars. Could he really be an alien, or is there another explanation for his odd, other-worldly behaviour? John Cusack plays David, a science-fiction writer still grieving over the death of his wife, who decides to adopt the boy, Dennis. That's despite advice from his sister Liz (Joan Cusack) and the misgivings of the children's group home director Sophie (Sophie Okonedo). "It's a very modern and compelli... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Stallone, Rambo and, ah, Shakespeare

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 19 February 2008 by Don

I never thought I'd write a sentence linking the words Stallone, Rambo and Shakespeare. But there, I've done it, thanks to the musings of the great storyteller (Sylvester, not Shakespeare) on the rationale for bringing back the Rambo character 20 years after his last adventure. In researching the film, Sly rang the United Nations to ask: What is the most under-reported, most graphic and devastating abuse of human rights on the planet? The answer: Burma. So Stallone wrote a script... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

More awards showered on No Country For Old Men

0 Comments | Posted on Monday, 18 February 2008 by Don

The hot favourite for the best picture Oscar, No Country For Old Men, gained further momentum over the weekend, picking up awards from art directors and sound mixers. The Coen brothers' thriller won the Cinema Audio Society award for achievement in motion picture sound mixing, beating Transformers, 300, The Bourne Ultimatum and Into the Wild. The Art Directors Guild honoured No Country as best contemporary film in production design, together with There Will Be Blood for period film a... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Nicholson and Freeman: Living out their dreams in The Bucket List

0 Comments | Posted on Monday, 18 February 2008 by Don

The on-screen rapport is so strong between Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman in The Bucket List, it's surprising to discover this is the first time they'd worked together. And it helps that they play diametrically different characters: Jack the lonely billionaire who had pursued money at the cost of his personal life; Morgan the happily married car mechanic. They meet in a hospital room, where they discover they have two important things in common: the need to come to terms with who they w... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Scarlett Johansson to release her debut album

0 Comments | Posted on Monday, 18 February 2008 by

Scarlett Johansson will release her debut album, Anywhere I Lay My Head, on Atco Records, an imprint of Warner Music Group's Rhino Entertainment, on Saturday May 24. The inspired album features 10 Tom Waits songs and includes one original track. Collaborating with TV on the Radio producer David Sitek, Johansson is also joined by Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner, Sean Antanaitis from Celebration, as well as others. Johansson, who stars in the upcoming film, THE OTHER BO... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Make a wish: what would you put on your 'bucket list'?

0 Comments | Posted on Monday, 18 February 2008 by Don

In The Bucket List, two old fogys played by Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman get the chance to act out their fantasies before they kick the bucket. The intrepid duo sets off on a series of adventures which include skydiving, visiting the Taj Mahal, racing vintage cars and, of all things, getting a tattoo. In the process, they rediscover their zest for life. Avoiding the risk of being morbid, what fun things would you like to do? Entertainment Weekly asked its readers to nominat... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Jumper leaps to No. 1 in Oz and the US

0 Comments | Posted on Monday, 18 February 2008 by Don

Critics: what do they know? Virtually nothing when it comes to understanding the tastes of their readers or viewers. For proof, look at Jumper. Virtually every critic in Australia and the US panned the movie, but audiences voted with their feet, elevating the sci-fi thriller to No. 1 in both countries over the weekend. In Oz, the teleporting adventure starring Hayden Christensen and Samuel L. Jackson grossed $3.4 million, the second highest opening weekend ever for the month of Februar... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Another Cliffhanger for Stallone?

0 Comments | Posted on Sunday, 17 February 2008 by Don

After successfully resurrecting Rocky Balboa and John Rambo, Sylvester Stallone could next breathe new life into his Cliffhanger hero Gabe Walker. Sony is in talks with the 61-year-old musclebound actor to play Walker, the rock climber from the 1993 hit, in a film called The Dam, according to wire reports. That would presumably come after two movies he's attached to. One is Ramparts, the film which investigates the deaths of rapper Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls. Stallone will play LA... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Do the Oscars matter?

0 Comments | Posted on Sunday, 17 February 2008 by Don

Do the Oscars matter and does anyone care anymore? That was the question raised by a CNN story last week. Dumb question. The premise for CNN's story was the disconnect between box-office success and this year's nominees for best picture, only one of which, Juno, has grossed more than $US100 million in the US. Backing up its argument, CNN quoted the reaction to the Oscar nominations of Slate's Hollywoodland columnist Kim Masters: "There are lots of films that most people haven't seen... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Hollywood's hottest on-screen couple$

0 Comments | Posted on Sunday, 17 February 2008 by Don

Who is Hollywood's most successful on-screen couple? Measured purely in box-office dollars, that honour goes to Spider-Man's Toby Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. That big-budget franchise has sold $US2.5 billion worth of tickets worldwide. Forbes mag has ranked the top 10 movie pairings, using box-office earnings as the yardstick. It's good to see two Aussies in the list. The figures were not adjusted for inflation; if they had been, classic couples such as Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable, an... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Melissa George: three for the price of one in Triangle

0 Comments | Posted on Saturday, 16 February 2008 by Don

Let's hope Melissa George gets a decent pay cheque in the new Australian supernatural thriller Triangle, in which she'll play split personalities. It's the first Oz-based film for the former Home and Away starlet since she appeared in Alex Proyas' cult hit Dark City 10 years ago. In between, she's worked steadily in movies such as 30 Days of Night, Derailed, The Amityville Horror, Mulholland Drive and TV's Alias, without cracking the big time. In Triangle, the plot centres o... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Depp, Law and Farrell to replace Heath?

0 Comments | Posted on Saturday, 16 February 2008 by Don

How's this for a star trifecta: Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell? All three are reported to be joining the cast of Terry Gilliam's modern-day fantasy The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, which halted production after the untimely death of Heath Ledger. Heath was playing a charlatan who gets mixed up with a travelling show where the audience gets to choose between light and joy or darkness and gloom. Christopher Plummer, who plays Doctor Parnassus, suggested CGI could be us... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Nobody loses their head in The Other Boleyn Girl

0 Comments | Posted on Saturday, 16 February 2008 by Don

When actors go out of their way to proclaim what a serenely happy experience it was on the set of X movie, you can sometimes conclude it was a real catfight of conflicting egos and temperaments. But maybe we should banish our usual cynicism and believe Eric Bana, Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman when they insist all was sweetness and light during the filming of The Other Boleyn Girl. "Why is it that people in the media hate the idea that actors working together is possibly true?... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

The Spiderwick Chronicles: capturing the spirit of E.T.

0 Comments | Posted on Friday, 15 February 2008 by Don

A well-crafted family thriller that's truly scary and doesn't wimp out.... A fast-moving adventure with more than dynamic glitz to recommend it... A fantasy film aimed at the younger set that's just as appealing to adults, with an E.T.-ish/Goonies spirit. That's how some usually hard-to-please US critics have greeted The Spiderwick Chronicles, which opened on Valentine's Day in the US; it debuts here on April 3 (March 27 in Victoria). Directed by Mark Waters (Freaky Friday, Mean Girl... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Stars to turn out for the Oscars

0 Comments | Posted on Friday, 15 February 2008 by Don

Those who watch the Oscars as much to see the stars, what they're wearing and the clever (or sometimes dumb) things they say, as to find out who won, will have plenty to ogle this year. The list of presenters will include Jessica Alba, Cate Blanchett, Josh Brolin, Steve Carell, George Clooney, Penelope Cruz, Miley Cyrus, Patrick Dempsey, Cameron Diaz, Colin Farrell, Harrison Ford, Jennifer Garner, Tom Hanks, Anne Hathaway...pause for breath... And Katherine Heigl, Jonah Hill, Dwayne Jo... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Mel Gibson is on his best behaviour

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 14 February 2008 by Don

It looks like Mel Gibson has turned over a new leaf since he was arrested for drink driving in July 2006, sentenced to three years probation, ordered to pay $US1,400 in fines and attend alcohol rehabilitation. Fronting up to a Los Angeles Superior Court, the 52-year-old actor/director was told he had completed the requirements of his no-contest plea and didn't need to make progress reports to the court. "You're on your own now with the self-help groups, so this is the most difficult ti... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Catch the first footage of the new 007, Quantum of Solace

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 14 February 2008 by Don

Filming of Quantum of Solace, the 22nd James Bond adventure is underway at Pinewood Studios outside London and we have vision from the first couple of weeks. Click Here to see behind the scenes footage and much more The enigmatic title? It's taken from a short story published by 007 creator Ian Fleming in 1960. Producer Michael G. Wilson has promised the new film will have twice as much action as 2006's Casi... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Romance in the cinema: what are the best lines you've ever heard?

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 14 February 2008 by Don

As it's Valentine's Day, let's reflect on some of the greatest romantic lines heard in cinemas, that is, by the actors, not your loved one at the time. You know, the dialogue that set millions of hearts a-flutter, caused greath mirth or brought on buckets of tears. In retrospect, some 'sweet nothings' now seem downright corny, while others are classics of the ages. In the corny category, "Love means never having to say you're sorry" uttered by Ryan O'Neal in Love Story, takes some be... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Star Wars: The Clone Wars heading to cinemas

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 13 February 2008 by Don

Star Wars fans who have been eagerly awaiting the latest manifestation of the franchise- the CGI animated TV series--now have a big screen treat in store. The movie Star Wars: The Clone Wars will hit US cinemas on August 15 and we can expect the film to open in Australia soon after, if not the same week. Produced by Lucas Animation, the movie is the precursor to the TV series of the same name which will air on Cartoon Network in the US; broadcast deals for international markets includ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

The secret's out: Nicole Kidman to play CIA spy

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 13 February 2008 by Don

Nicole Kidman will play Valerie Plame in a movie about the woman whose identity as a CIA agent was leaked by a White House official to discredit her diplomat husband after he'd attacked Bush's policy on Iraq. Who let that cat out of the bag? Doug Liman, who will direct the Plame biopic for Warner Bros. Liman spilled the beans to MTV News while he was promoting this week's release of his science-fiction thriller Jumper. He revealed he'd originally wanted Kidman to star in Mr a... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Naomi Watts and Edward Norton lift The Painted Veil

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 13 February 2008 by Don

The Painted Veil, a 1920s love story starring Edward Norton and Naomi Watts, will debut on on April 24, the first release from new distribution company Transmission in partnership with Paramount Pictures International. Based on a W. Somerset Maugham novel, the plot revolves around a young English couple, Walter, a middle class doctor, and the upper class Kitty, who marry for the wrong reasons and move to Shanghai, where she falls in love with someone else. When Walter uncovers her infidel... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

On your marks for Run, Fat Boy, Run; and watch the trailer

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 13 February 2008 by Don

Brit comedy Run, Fat Boy, Run opens on a bold if risky note: A man runs out on his pregnant fiancée on their wedding day. You could lose the audience right there if the actor playing the 'love rat' doesn't have the charisma, humour and fallible qualities to grab and keep your attention. Here the responsibility rests on the broad shoulders of Simon Pegg, the gifted actor and writer who built up a sizable fan base in the hit comedies Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead. Pegg co-wrote the scri... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Hey hey- here's an Aussie film the critics love!

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 13 February 2008 by Don

After a largely forgettable year for Australian films, could Hey, Hey, It’s Esther Blueburger be the first movie to signal an improvement in Oz cinema in 2008? Could be, judging by the warm reception for the coming-of-age comedy at the Berlin Film Festival, where it screened in Generation Kplus, a special section dedicated to films that look at the world from the viewpoint of kids and youth. One review hailed the film, which opens here on March 20, as an "utterly hilarious, ama... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Cashing in on Heath's death

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 13 February 2008 by Don

The SoHo apartment building where Heath Ledger died has been added to the list of "attractions" by a company which offers bus tours of New York. Is that a ghoulish attempt to exploit the actor's sad demise? Or simply satisfying some people's natural curiousity to see the place where a much-admired celebrity lived and died? Like, say, seeking out the Central Park high-rise where John Lennon lived and was shot dead as he was entering the building in 1980. Jim Dykes, who runs Rich ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Steve Carell gets his groove back in Dan in Real Life

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 12 February 2008 by Don

Taking a lot of the flak for starring in Evan Almighty, the most expensive comedy ever made and one of Hollywood's biggest flops, must have been an ordeal for Steve Carell. So it must have been a relief for the actor to follow that with Dan in Real Life, a box-office success in the US, which also got a lot of plaudits from critics. "Carell shows a whole new side to his talents," said Rolling Stone. "Dan offers the most pleasing kind of unforced charm as it uses a terrific plot device to exa... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Hayden Christensen escapes the Star Wars ''curse''

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 12 February 2008 by Don

If there was a downside for Hayden Christensen playing Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episodes II and III, it was the risk of being forever known as the "Star Wars guy." The Canadian-born actor, who's 26, gets the chance to break out of that mould in Jumper, a science-fiction thriller which delves into the centuries-old mythology of teleporting: "jumping" instantly to any place in the world. Jumper casts Hayden as David Rice, who discovers his extraordinary powers when he's a kid, conv... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Does Rachel Weisz need a mate? Definitely, Maybe

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 12 February 2008 by Don

If you ask Rachel Weisz if she has much in common with Summer, the ambitious, fiercely independent New York journalist she plays in the romantic comedy Definitely, Maybe, you'd get a blunt answer. "I'm much too needy. I need a mate. I wouldn't be happy on my own," says the London-born actress, contrasting her lifestyle with that of Summer, who seems happy without a regular partner. Rachel lives in New York with her partner of four years, director Darren Aronofsky, and their one-y... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

'Gold' rush at Australian and US cinemas

0 Comments | Posted on Monday, 11 February 2008 by Don

Fool's Gold dug up plenty of treasure at cinemas in Australia and the US at the weekend. The romantic adventure starring Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson sold $1.95 million worth of tickets in Oz and $US21.5 million in the US-- No. 1 in both markets. In Australia, The Mist scared up a modest $487,000 in its debut, and multiple Oscar nominee There Will Be Blood, which opened on Saturday, rang up an impressive $311,000 on just 68 screens. In the US, Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Just what celebs need: a ''personal safety zone''

0 Comments | Posted on Monday, 11 February 2008 by Don

What a great idea: a personal safety zone which would mean paparazzi and reporters could not intrude within 20 yards (18 metres) of celebrities. And it would apply to celebs' homes, when they're out on the streets, and, most critically, when they're going to or from hospitals or clinics. That's been proposed by Los Angeles councillor Dennis Zine, who was riled that 12 police officers were required to escort Britney Spears on her recent trip to hospital. Not unreasonably, he took the vi... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Brits salute Atonement, the Coens and Daniel Day-Lewis

0 Comments | Posted on Monday, 11 February 2008 by Don

The Brits saluted their own as Atonement was named best film at the British Academy Film Awards on Sunday, and London-born Daniel Day-Lewis took the best actor prize for There Will Be Blood. But let's not accuse the British industry of being too parochial, as Joel and Ethan Coen won best director for No Country for Old Men and Marion Cotillard was voted best actress for La Vie En Rose. In the supporting actor categories, Javier Bardem won for No Country and Tilda Swinton for Mi... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Oscars: roll out the red carpet! And the likely winners are...

0 Comments | Posted on Sunday, 10 February 2008 by Don

The American writers strike is officially over, guaranteeing the Oscars ceremony will happen in all its pomp and glory. At meetings in Los Angeles and New York on Tuesday US time, writers ratified the agreement hammered out with the Hollywood studios, meaning they can go back to work immediately. That doesn't allow a lot of time for the writers employed to craft funny and smart things for the stars to say at the Academy Awards; believe it or not, those scripts usually take months to pr... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Outrage over attack on Ledger

0 Comments | Posted on Saturday, 9 February 2008 by Don

It's hard to know which is more outrageous: the New York Post trashing the memory of Heath Ledger-- or the fact that some of the rag's readers agreed with that mean-spirited attack. Andrea Peyser, a columnist at the Murdoch-owned paper, accused the actor of being "reckless, greedy and fundamentally selfish." Her evidence: None, except a baseless claim that he planned to take a lethal cocktail of drugs and to throw his life away "as if he had put a gun to his mouth and pulled the ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

The stars come out for Aussie films

0 Comments | Posted on Friday, 8 February 2008 by Don

Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Guy Pearce, Toni Collette, Ethan Hawke, John Malkovich, Hugo Weaving, Rose Byrne...these are just some of the stellar names we'll see on screen in Australian movies this year. On paper it looks to be one of the most interesting and intriguing years for Oz cinema, if, and it's a big IF, the quality of the story-telling does justice to the calibre of the talent involved. Collette stars in two films: The Black Balloon, a drama about a 16-... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

The Mist is truly scary, even for Stephen King

0 Comments | Posted on Friday, 8 February 2008 by Don

Here's a shocking confession from the master story-teller whose books and movies have probably sent more shivers down spines around the world than any other horror-meister. "I’m afraid of everything,” says Stephen King, whose latest adaptation, The Mist, is playing in cinemas now. "It shows in my work. Elevators… cars… fear is a survival function, right? In the stories that I write, the only thing that I’ve tried to do is provide people with nightmares which are really safe places to p... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Heath Ledger's death ruled an accident, but investigation continues

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 7 February 2008 by Don

Heath Ledger's cause of death on Jan 22 was an accidental mixture of prescription drugs, New York City's Chief Medical Examiner has found. However the matter may not rest there, because the Drug Enforcement Administration has launched an investigation into how the actor obtained the multiple prescription drugs that led to his accidental overdose. "It's common for investigators to review prescriptions when so many drugs are involved in an overdose death," DEA spokesman Rusty Payne told... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Father and son torn apart in There Will Be Blood

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 7 February 2008 by Don

How daunting would it be to make your film debut opposite Oscar-winner Daniel Day-Lewis, whose towering presence fills the screen in There Will Be Blood-- especially when you're 10 years old? Dillon Freasier took on the challenge of playing H.W. Plainview, the adopted son of the ruthless oil tycoon, as if acting were completely natural. There's no hint of the precocity, self-consciousness or cuteness which often dogs child actors. It's quite a journey for H.W., who slaps his father in ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

New pic: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 7 February 2008 by Don

Paramount has just released this still of Harrison Ford, Shia LaBoeuf and Ray Winstone in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which opens on May 22. Details of the plot are sketchy, but we do know the film is set in 1957, some 19 years after the events of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The crystal skull is believed to refer to a Mayan artifact discovered in 1926, whose mystical properties baffled scientists who couldn't fathom how a relatively primitive society could h... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Paris is so not the Hottie

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 6 February 2008 by Don

After the humiliation of being made up to look like Freddy Krueger in Hot Wax, you'd think Paris Hilton would avoid movie cameras. But no, her latest film, the memorably titled The Hottie and the Nottie, opens in the US this Friday. Paris plays Cristabel, the Hottie (who else?), for whom Nate Cooper (Joel David Moore) has carried a torch since she was six. But he moved away and nothing came of it. Years later, convinced she's the girl for him, Nate moves back to LA and tracks her down. Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Aussie Isla Fisher looking for love in Definitely, Maybe

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 6 February 2008 by Don

Isla Fisher plays a feisty, independent woman who's looking for love in Definitely, Maybe, an intriguing romantic comedy which opens on Valentine's Day. Not in real life, of course. The Aussie actress (she was born in the Middle Eastern country Oman, but we can claim her because she was raised in Perth and starred in Home and Away) is the partner of Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat's alter ego). She gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Olive, last October. In Definitely, Maybe, s... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

The Mist: confronting the monsters within and without

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 5 February 2008 by Don

Adapting a Stephen King short story, The Mist writer-director Frank Darabont faced several challenges: inventing creatures which hadn't been seen in countless other horror movies; deciding how much to reveal of these nasty critters; and devising a new ending. Darabont succeeded on all counts, judging by mostly positive reviews when the film was released in the US last November; it's now screening here. The plot revolves around a group of terrified townspeople in Maine who get trapped... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Australia the ideal spot for ''the end of the world''?

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 5 February 2008 by Don

Tongue-in-cheek (we hope) a San Francisco-based web site for sci-fi geeks has named Australia as the coolest spot to stage the end of the world. And the site, i09, lists seven reasons why we deserve this honour, if you can call it that. Thanks to Movie City News, io9's musings are getting wide coverage on the net. 1. Australia could be the last refuge in a world plagued by radiation, as that classic book and movie On the Beach depict. 2. We will be the first country to see water ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Bigger than Titanic: Hannah Montana mania grips the US

0 Comments | Posted on Monday, 4 February 2008 by Don

Disney's new 3-D film, Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour, smashed several US box-office records over the weekend. The concert pic, which opens here on March 20 for an exclusive one-week engagement, scored a huge $US31.1 million from just 683 screens. That's the most for any film opening on the Super Bowl weekend (the previous best was When a Stranger Calls two years ago) and the highest takings for that weekend, beating Titanic's $25.6 million. It was also th... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Juno outguns the cowboys in Australia

0 Comments | Posted on Monday, 4 February 2008 by Don

The gunslingers of 3:10 to Yuma were outdrawn by a feisty pregnant teenager last weekend as Juno ruled the Australian box-office in its third weekend. Driven by positive word-of-mouth, the comedy-drama which has made a genuine star of Ellen Page earned $1.2 million, boosting its total to $6.7 million. In second spot was 27 Dresses, which banked $1.06 million in its fourth weekend to reach a lucrative $13 million. Russell Crowe and Christian Bale proved to be a mildly appealing ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Fool's Gold a mixed blessing for Kate Hudson

0 Comments | Posted on Monday, 4 February 2008 by Don

Shooting Fool's Gold, the adventure comedy which is now in cinemas, in Queensland was a happy/sad experience for Kate Hudson. Happy, because she got to resume her on-screen partnership with How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days co-star Matthew McConaughey. And spend time in such idyllic spots as Lizard and Hamilton Islands, Airlie Beach and Port Douglas. Idyllic, that is, apart from an invasion of killer jellyfish. The sad part was being forced to spend three weeks without her son, Ryder 4, w... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

At 70, it's time to grow up, Jack

0 Comments | Posted on Sunday, 3 February 2008 by Don

It's rather sad, and undignified, to see Jack Nicholson at the age of 70 refer to his life as "one long sexual fantasy." That may have been uttered tongue in cheek or playfully: the veteran actor has confessed to being economical with the truth in in many interviews. But it fits with the history of a guy who has had multiple partners (his longest union, with Anjelica Huston lasted 17 years) and appears happy to be typecast as an aging Lothario. Interviewed in London, whe... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Producers salute No Country for Old Men

0 Comments | Posted on Sunday, 3 February 2008 by Don

No Country for Old Men's chances of Oscar gold took another leap forward when the Coen brothers' thriller was named best film at the 2008 Producers Guild Awards. That makes it a hat-trick of wins from the key industry guilds after the film nabbed the top prizes from the Screen Actors Guild ad the Directors Guild. The other contenders for best film were There Will Be Blood, Juno, Michael Clayton and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. In a ceremony held at the Beverly Hilton Hot... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

''My heart is broken''--Michelle Williams

0 Comments | Posted on Saturday, 2 February 2008 by Don

In her first public statement since the death of her ex-fiance Heath Ledger, Michelle Williams says the actor's spirit lives on in their daughter Matilda Rose. "My heart is broken," says the 27-year-old actress, who split with Ledger last September; Matilda was born in October 2005. "I am the mother of the most tender-hearted, high-spirited, beautiful little girl who is the spitting image of her father," her statement continues. "All that I can cling to is his presence inside her that... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

The oil man vs the preacher: an almighty battle in There Will Be Blood

0 Comments | Posted on Saturday, 2 February 2008 by Don

At the core of Paul Thomas Anderson's Oscar-nominated There Will Be Blood is a titanic struggle between a ruthless oil tycoon and an evangelical preacher in outback America of the early 1900s. Seemingly poles apart, it's soon clear that prospector Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) and man of God Eli Sunday (Paul Dano) are lusting after the same things: money, power and influence. As Plainview grows more richer and more powerful, Eli becomes infuriated at the way Daniel dismisses him... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Juno ''overrated''? Give us a break!

1 Comments | Posted on Friday, 1 February 2008 by Don

How dare they? Juno may be wildly popular with audiences and critics, but that hasn't stopped the Los Angeles Times from slagging off the film in its regular Underrated/Overrated column. Deliberately insulting all those who admire the comedy, the Times dismisses it with these mean-minded words: "The snarky, rapid-fire quips that pass for 'razor sharp wit' amount to little more than an emotionally superficial take on teen pregnancy." Showing its ignorance, the Times continues, "That Jun... Find out more...   |   1 Comments

Protecting the President: Lost's Matthew Fox on his new movie Vantage Point

0 Comments | Posted on Friday, 1 February 2008 by Don

Lost star Matthew Fox plays a Secret Service agent assigned to protect the US President in action-thriller Vantage Point. In Australia to promote the movie, which opens here on March 13, Fox admits he wasn't able to meet with any real Secret Service types (that's why they're Secret) while researching the role. But he did talk to advisors who are familiar with the way the service operates. The actor's interest in the project stemmed from his admiration for director Pete Travis, who made... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

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