Twilight vs 007: which film do you most want to see?

0 Comments | Posted on Saturday, 30 August 2008 by Don

Here's a surprise: According to one survey, more US cinemagoers are looking forward to seeing vampire romance Twilight than the new 007 adventure, Quantum of Solace. That may not mean Twilight makes more money than the Bond, but it does point to a high level of excitement and expectation for the fantasy based on Stephenie Meyer's best-selling novel. Ticketing service Fandango.com ran an online poll, asking: “If you could choose only one movie to see in the next four months... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

New release date for Baz's Australia

0 Comments | Posted on Saturday, 30 August 2008 by Don

Baz Luhrmann's World War II-set romantic epic Australia has a new release date: November 26. Fox pushed back the launch from November 13, primarily to allow the director more time to finish the film after he brought back leads Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman for additional shooting. The movie will open on the same day in the US, where it will enable Fox to benefit from the less-crowded November period following Warner Bros.' decision to postpone Harry Potter and the Half-Blo... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Simon Pegg learns How to Lose Friends and Alienate People

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

As someone who writes for a living, I usually don't find comedies about journos to be funny or even remotely close to being credible. How to Lose Friends and Alienate People may be an exception, judging by the trailer and its top-notch cast led by Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst and Jeff Bridges. Pegg, who was terrific in Hot Fuzz and Run, Fatboy Run, plays a naive journo who lands a dream job with an upscale New York magazine, with Bridges as the feisty editor and Kirsten as hi... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Burn After Reading: an inspired lark, or just silly?

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

Depending on which critic you read, the Coen brothers' Burn After Reading is either a clever, goofy spy comedy with an A-list cast at the top of their game-- or a silly, fumbled sex farce mated with a political thriller. Brad Pitt stars as Chad, a pea-brained Washington gym trainer who finds a computer disc containing the explosive memoirs of ousted CIA agent Osborne (John Malkovich). Chad tries to blackmail Osborne to help his colleague Linda (Frances McDormand) get the ex... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Who are the real Hellboys and girls?

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

Ron Perlman is pretty cool as the cigar-chomping, cat-loving, crime-fighting Hellboy-- but he's a pussycat compared with some of Hollywood's true hellboys and girls. For sheer venom and evil, it's hard to beat Linda Blair's head-spinning, spewing, demon-possessed Regan MacNeil in The Exorcist, and Harvey Stephens' destructive Damien Thorn in The Omen. Or the sprog in Rosemary's Baby who tried to kill his mum while he was still in her womb. Jack Nicholson was at h... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Disaster strikes again!

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

Iron Man, Hannah Montana, Indiana Jones, Hancock, Amy Winehouse, Sex and the City and Juno all get lampooned in Disaster Movie, the latest spoof from the makers of Epic Movie, Date Movie and Meet the Spartans. What's loosely described as the plot follows the misadventures of a group of ridiculously attractive young folk as they flee from a series of catastrophic events - asteroids, twisters, earthquakes, you name it. I'm guessing not a lot was spent to hire the cast, who... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

And now for Mamma Mia!, karaoke-style!

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

If you enjoyed Mamma Mia!, you'll be thrilled to know a special sing-a-long version will launch at selected cinemas on September 5. Yes, you can sing out loud alongside Meryl Streep and the rest of the cast to tunes such as Dancing Queen, SOS and Money, Money, Money, with the lyrics on screen. Universal just confirmed the Australian premiere not long after it was announced that the sing-a-long edition will screen in 100 markets in the US. In Oz, the locations inc... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Crowe and DiCaprio butt heads in Body of Lies

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

Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio bounce off each other in Body of Lies, a spy thriller directed by Ridley Scott. Judging by the trailer, there's some tense stand-offs between Crowe's CIA boss Ed Hoffman and DiCaprio as Roger Ferris, a former journalist hired by the agency to track down a terrorist leader in Jordan. And, as you'd expect from Scott, plenty of action and firepower. It's based on the novel by Washington Times' foreign affairs journo David Ignatiu... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Doug Jones finds his voice, at last, in Hellboy II

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

For a time, Doug Jones had to resign himself to being seen but not heard in Hollywood films. The actor played Abe Sapien in the Guillermo del Toro's first Hellboy adventure, and, to his chagrin, the character's voice was dubbed by David Hyde Pierce. Even more gallingly, Doug was the Silver Surfer in the last Fantastic Four epic, and the filmmakers decided to substitute Laurence Fishburne's rather monotonous voice. And in del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth, Doug's Fauno/Pale Man was... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Dennis Hopper's near death experience in Mad Dog Morgan

1 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 28 August 2008 by Don

Dennis Hopper was so loaded up with booze and pills while he was filming Mad Dog Morgan in Victoria in 1976, he nearly died. The now-clean American actor reveals just how close in Not Quite Hollywood, Mark Hartley's entertaining homage to the Australian genre films of the 1970s and 80s. "Dennis was a wild and crazy guy," says Hartley, who interviewed Hopper in Los Angeles. "I think he was happy to be reacquainted with all the stories that happened, such as being arrested an... Find out more...   |   1 Comments

WALL.E: a robot love story in a world without humans

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

Pixar's latest animated treat, WALL.E is a terrific, funny movie, essentially a love story between the last robot on Earth and a visiting robot. Yet it depicts a bleak future where mankind has trashed the Earth to the point where it's no longer inhabitable, and bloated, inert humans are living aboard a giant spaceship controlled by a faceless corporation. Writer-director Andrew Stanton is quick to point out that when he and colleague Pete Docter conceived the idea in 1994, ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

In Bruges: finding humour and humanity in evil

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

Ray and Ken are Irish hit men who are forced to hide out in Belgium after a job in London goes horribly wrong and a child is murdered. The premise of In Bruges sounds grim-- but it's a film full of black humour, charm and redemption thanks to writer-director Martin McDonagh and a top-notch cast led by Colin Farrell, Brendon Gleeson (pictured) and Ralph Fiennes. Farrell is Ray, who is near suicidal after the botched London job. Gleeson is Ken, who's almost a father figure de... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Luke Goss a master of disguise in Hellboy II

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

Luke Goss is actually quite handsome, but you'd never know it if you see him as the evil elf Prince Nuada in Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Goss, pictured with Anna Walton, who plays his twin sister Princess Nuala, spent five hours each day in make-up. That was a chore, but the London-born actor had no qualms about sacrificing his ego. "Being recognized in the street, I don't care about that," said Goss, who had plenty of recognition when he was a member ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

An Aussie star was born in BMX Bandits

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

Do you recognize the teenage girl in this pic? Well done if you said Nicole Kidman. It's a still from her first film, BMX Bandits, shot in 1983 when she was just 16, and directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith, who clearly had a good eye for emerging talent. As the first Aussie action film for kids, it merits inclusion in Not Quite Hollywood, Mark Hartley's documentary on the sex, violence and horror movies of the 1970s and 80s. It featured Nicole as the friend of two ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Transformers II: bigger, darker and different!

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

Compared with the original Transformers movie, the sequel will be darker, more expensive and quite different. We have that on the good authority of Roberto Orci, co-writer of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. "The first movie is all about the mystery and reveal of the Transformers as a concept and a species, which means we had to hide them a lot in the first hour," Orci told a fan forum. "In the second movie, now that everyone believes in the universe, we can jump right... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

New scenes to give Twilight a bit more spice

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

The cast and crew of Twilight are back in action, filming new scenes over three days this week. It isn't unusual to recall everyone for additional filming after principal photography has finished; Baz Luhrmann's Australia is doing just that. And the Twilight actors say there's no cause for alarm."They liked it so much, they are bringing us back for some encore time — to beef it up," Peter Facinelli, who plays vampire patriarch Carlisle Cullen, told MTV News. "A little sal... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Stripping for the camera: Lynette Curran revisits Alvin Purple

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

When Tim Burstall directed sex-farce Alvin Purple in 1973, he offered actresses who were skittish about taking their gear off an extra $500. Sadly for Lynette Curran, who played a character billed simply as First Sugar Girl, she didn't get to hear about the offer until she first saw the film- a specially remastered version- last month, 35 years too late. And what made her more miffed was hearing from Graeme Blundell (who played the irresistible Alvin) that Jacki Weaver, who... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Selma Blair fires up for Hellboy II

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

When we last saw Selma Blair's Liz in Hellboy, the title character's pyrokinetic girlfriend was hesitant, afraid and unsure how to handle her flame-throwing powers. Four years later, Hellboy II: The Golden Army finds Liz much more comfortable in her own skin and still in love with the cigar-chomping crime-fighter. So that would be an easier assignment for Selma, right? Wrong. "It was difficult for me to play her as a more stable girl," says the spunky actress who has starre... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Nicole running hard for a hit?

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

It would be an under-statement to say Nicole Kidman needs a hit after the disappointments of The Golden Compass, The Invasion and Margot at the Wedding. Can Australia, Baz Luhrmann's romantic epic, restore Nic's tarnished reputation? Let's hope so for her sake and those of everyone else involved in the $100 million movie, which opens in November. This new still from the film, as well as the trailer, points to plenty of action and spectacle. Nicole play... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Tropic Thunder wins the Oz box-office war

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

The Dark Knight's majestic 5-week reign at the Australian box-office is over-- but it took a bunch of Hollywood superstars to do it. Tropic Thunder, the Hollywood spoof directed by and starring Ben Stiller, seized the top spot last weekend, gunning down an impressive $3.05 million. I'd suggest the shrewd casting of Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black and Tom Cruise combined with a smart script and great battle scenes that rival the best war movies, ensured a sizable opening and s... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

The House Bunny is in the money

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

A couple of years ago, Scary Movie actress Anna Faris had a cute idea for a movie: What happens when you're living a very surreal Hollywood life and it's time to move on? Do you become a lawyer? Work at Starbucks? Marry somebody wealthy? She developed a script with writers Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, whose credits include 10 Things I Hate About You, Legally Blonde and Ella Enchanted, and they pitched it to Adam Sandler. Sandler agreed to produce, and The House Bu... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

What Superman needs: a reboot, or the boot?

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

Warner Bros. has admitted what many fans have long felt: it wasn't happy with Superman Returns. But the studio hasn't given up on plans for another Man of Steel adventure. "Superman didn't quite work as a film in the way that we wanted it to," says the studio's Jeff Robinov. "It didn't position the character the way he needed to be positioned." Well whose fault is that? Director Bryan Singer, actor Brandon Routh or the Warner executives who oversaw the movie which ended up ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Twilight: the challenge of turning a hit novel into a movie

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

Screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg was given the tricky assignment of turning Stephenie Meyer's novel Twilight into a feature film. If she gets it right, millions of Twlight fans will embrace the movie, and we can probably expect a franchise of as many as five films. If she doesn't, well, it could be disastrous. It's just Melissa's second movie after penning Step Up; she's also a producer and writer on the TV serial killer series Dexter. "With something like this ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Ellen and Portia: who cares?

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

Should newlyweds Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi try to have children? That inane, pointless question was posed this week by a Los Angeles Times columnist. In my view, such triviliazing of the news is one reason why many newspapers around the world are losing readers and advertisers and slashing their payrolls. We've seen a similar dumbing-down of the Sydney Morning Herald with its witless Stay in Touch column. Elizabeth Snead, who writes the aptl... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Spoiler alert: Daniel Radcliffe on Harry Potter's darkest moments

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

Daniel Radcliffe treated Harry Potter fans to some revealing insights into the upcoming Hogwarts fims during a Q&A session in New York this week. The 19-year-old, who's starring in the Broadway play Equus, was told of Warner's controversial decision to postpone the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince just 24 hours before the announcement-- and asked fans not to blame him. He said the scenes in Half-Blood Prince with Dumbledore and Voldemort are the darkest, a... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Steve Coogan nearly loses his head in Tropic Thunder

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

Playing the director of a Vietnam war movie which becomes immersed in a real war in Tropic Thunder was a huge challenge, as well as a big thrill, for Steve Coogan. Confusion reigned on the set in Hawaii on numerous occasions since Ben Stiller, who directed the film, also played an actor who takes over as the director. So when Ben yelled 'cut' it wasn't always clear if he meant stop shooting or if that was part of the script, while at other times it was Coogan's character w... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Brideshead Revisited: a tale of wealth, sensuality and betrayal

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

Hollywood tried for years to make a film out of the 1945 Evelyn Waugh novel Brideshead Revisited, which was turned into a miniseries in 1981, starring Anthony Andrews and Jeremy Irons. It took director Julian Jarrold, who showed his flair for period romance with Becoming Jane, and screenwriter Andrew Davies (Bridget Jones's Diary, TV's Pride and Prejudice) to pull it off. Critics say the film is closer in spirit to the novel than the TV version in the tale of the Oxford stu... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Death Race gunning for Tropic Thunder in the US

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

When Jason Statham signed on to star in Death Race, the film inspired by Roger Corman's 1975 cult classic Death Race 2000, director Paul W. S. Anderson made an odd request: Don't watch Corman's film. "It’s not a remake, it’s just a homage," Anderson explained. His movie retains the characters of the masked racer named Frankenstein and Machine Gun Joe (played by Sylvester Stallone in the original) and a race to the death. But the twist is Statham is a speedway champion who's... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Jack Black tries buffalo whispering in Tropic Thunder

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

One of the funniest scenes in the Hollywood send-up Tropic Thunder features a near-naked Jack Black strapped to the back of a water buffalo. Black plays a comic actor named Jeff Portnoy who's suffering drug withdrawal symptoms when the cast of a war movie gets mixed up with drug warlords. Being carted around on the buffalo wasn't much fun for Jack- or the poor creature. "I did a lot of buffalo whispering, talking to her lovingly and complimenting her on her beauty and telli... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Tarantino: huge fan of 'Ozploitation'

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

When writer-director Mark Hartley abandoned plans to make a documentary on Australian genre films of the 1970s and 80s, he decided to send 100 pages of notes to Quentin Tarantino, knowing the director is a fan of Aussie 'exploitation' cinema. To his surprise, Tarantino replied immediately, asking via his assistant what he could do to help Hartley realise his dream. Tarantino's support enabled Hartley to secure pre-sales in the US and the UK, and Not Quite Hollywood went int... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Warner Bros. says sorry to Harry Potter fans

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

Stung by the reaction of fans who were justifiably angry when Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was postponed until next July, Warner Bros. has issued an apology, sort of. "The decision to move Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was not taken lightly, and was never intended to upset our Harry Potter fans," said president Alan Horn. "We know you have built this series into what it is, and we thank you for your ongoing enthusiasm and support. "If I may... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Baby Mama: a rent-a-womb comedy

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

First Juno, then Knocked Up and now Baby Mama: it seems Hollywood has been obsessed with pregnancy over the past year or so. The twist in Baby Mama: Tina Fey plays a 37-year-old single career woman who, unable to conceive, rents a womb of her own in the dizzy, loud-mouthed form of Amy Poehler. They're an odd couple. Tina's Kate lives alone in her Philadelphia apartment and has few contacts outside her job and extended family. Amy's Angie is dumber than the usual dumb blonde... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Hellboy's Ron Perlman: the man behind the mask

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

Hiding behind masks for much of one's career may be difficult for some ego-driven actors, but Hellboy's Ron Perlman has no such concerns. "I feel comfortable in my own skin," says the classically-trained actor, now 58, who was a prehistoric tribesman in his breakthrough film, Quest for Fire, and later starred in Alien: Resurrection, The Name of the Rose, Star Trek: Nemesis and TV's Beauty and the Beast. "I no longer need the mask as much as I used to, so now it becomes lik... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Tropic Thunder: a poke in the eye for Hollywood

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

Early in his career, Ben Stiller had a small role in Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun while some of his better-known mates starred in Vietnam war movies such as Platoon and Hamburger Hill. Stiller remembers being amused when his mates spoke about the two week "boot camps" they'd been to, how intense they were and how they helped form bonds. "That sort of self-important, self-involved thing seemed funny to me," he says. "I just couldn't figure a way to make that into a m... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Son of Rambow: thumbs-up from Sly

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

Sylvester Stallone wasn't thrilled when he first heard the British producers of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy were shooting a movie called Son of Rambow, an obvious reference to his macho character. But when he saw the movie, the good-natured, amusing tale of two boys in 1980s small-town England, he was totally charmed. "The fact that it was so heartwarming is the result of brilliant filmmaking by its creators," Sly said. Bill Milner and Will Poulter play... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Superstar trio donate fees to Heath's daughter

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

Jude Law, Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell have donated their wages from the film The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus to Heath Ledger's daughter Matilda. According to UK reports, the stars' generosity was prompted by the fact the Aussie actor's will was made out before she was born and thus did not include her. That's a very noble gesture, but I find it hard to believe that Heath's estate will not make handsome provisions for Matilda. Depp, Law and Farrell stepped ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Eagle Eye: A Hitchcockian puzzle

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

To my mind, Transformers was visually impressive but thin on plot and characters and lumbered with forgettable dialogue. So I'll be fascinated to see how Transformers co-writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci handle Eagle Eye. An homage to Alfred Hitchcock, the movie stars Shia LaBeouf as a college dropout whose twin brother dies mysteriously. He gets a call from a woman he doesn't know, who warns he has 30 seconds to get out of the apartment because the FBI are on the way.... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Robert Downey Jr a convincing Aussie?

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

Robert Downey Jr. has caught some flak in the US for playing an actor who impersonates a black character in Tropic Thunder. That didn't bother me, but why did the actor, Kirk Lazarus, have to be an Aussie? Ben Stiller, who co-wrote the script as well as directs the action comedy, originally had Kirk as an Irishman. It was Downey's idea. Just as shooting started, Downey asked Stiller, "Can I be Australian because I think I can improvise better in Australian?'" He... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Twilight now releasing December 11- and watch the trailer

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

Twilight fans rejoice-- you'll be able to see the vampire romance from December 11, nearly a month earlier than the original release date. Hoyts Distribution just confirmed it's bringing forward Twilight to the date vacated last week when Warner Bros. postponed the launch of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to next July. The same thing happened in the US, when Summit seized the release date vacated by the Half-Blood Prince. Twilight was due to launch here o... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Twilighters vs Harry Potter fans!

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

I can understand why fans of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight novels in the US were thrilled when the movie's release date was brought forward to November 21, taking the spot vacated when Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince moved to next July. But I didn't realize there's bad blood between some Twilighters and Hogwarts fans, to the point where fans of the vampire romance (pictured) were gloating about Potter being postponed. Ever since Meyer's Eclipse knocked Harry Potter and ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Dark Knight aces Clone Wars

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

A butt-kicking Liam Neeson and animated versions of Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker were no match for Batman and the Joker in Australia over the weekend. The Dark Knight reigned for the fifth straight weekend, amassing $1.95 million (dropping by a mild 34%), to boost its treasure chest to a hair below $40 million. Taken, featuring Neeson as a retired CIA operative on a mission to rescue his daughter from a sex slavery ring in Paris, was No. 2, pulling in a solid $1.66 m... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Star Trek XI villains inspired by Jack Sparrow

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

It seems a stretch to imagine Captain Jack Sparrow aboard the SS Enterprise. But maybe not so far fetched, however, considering Johnny Depp's swashbuckling character is the inspiration for the aliens played by Eric Bana and Clifton Collins Jr. in J.J. Abrams' Stark Trek XI. “Me and Eric are the new Romulans,” said Collins, who plays Ayel alongside Bana's Nero. "We’re space pirates. Think of Johnny Depp as a Romulan.” Collins said Abrams hired a linguist to inven... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Tropic Thunder battles the 'retard' tag

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

More than a dozen groups representing people with disabilities called for a boycott of Tropic Thunder in the US last week, objecting to the film's references to "retards" and to Ben Stiller portraying a Forrest Gump-like character named Simple Jack. Stiller denied any intention to offend, pointing out his film, which co-stars Robert Downey Jr and Jack Black (pictured), is a send-up of actors and their obsessions, egos and ambition. It's impossible to gauge, but the disab... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Updates: Justice League Mortal, new Batpic

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

Warner Bros. hasn't abandoned plans to make Justice League Mortal...but the studio hasn't even talked to director Christopher Nolan about a sequel to the blockbuster The Dark Knight. That's surprising on two counts: Firstly that the studio hasn't locked in Nolan for another Batpic adventure; and secondly that Justice League Mortal is still on the agenda after the film, which George Miller was due to shoot this year in Australia, was postponed indefinitely. Miller pulled th... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Paul Newman- leave him in peace!

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

At 83, Paul Newman is gravely ill. That's terribly sad, but what makes me angry is internet rumours and speculation about his death. Hollywood Newsroom says it has information from two sources-- anonymous, of course-- that the actor is dead. The website says it's checking but can't confirm it, adding sanctimoniously, "As we have the utmost respect for Paul Newman’s acting legacy, we hope these rumours are false." That report was picked up by other si... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Quantum of Solace racing against the clock

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

Director Marc Forster was given just six weeks to finish editing Quantum of Solace, the 22nd James Bond adventure before he shows the first cut to the producers--and he's feeling the pressure. Masterminding a picture budgeted at a reported $230 million is a huge step up for the director, who's used to working on films costing $20 million--$40 million, and on a far more relaxed timetable. "Normally, I’ve had 14 weeks (editing) for any of my films so far. Six weeks for this ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Monsters vs Aliens heralds the 3D future

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

How's this for a neat concept: When California girl Susan Murphy gets hit by a meteor from outer space, she turns into a 15.2 metre giant named Ginormica. The military captures her and she's held in a secret government compound along with other so-called monsters who've been rounded up over the years. When an alien robot lands on Earth and starts threatening mankind, the US President summonses the monsters to combat the aliens and save the world from destruction. Find out more...   |   0 Comments

US showdown: Tropic Thunder vs The Clone Wars

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

Can a bunch of self-obsessed Hollywood actors beat animated versions of Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker in the U.S. boxoffice battle this weekend? Probably, according to most pundits who expect Tropic Thunder, Ben Stiller's action comedy about the cast of a war movie who stumble into a real war, to make about $27 million. The movie, which co-stars Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black and Nick Nolte, with an inspired cameo from Tom Cruise, took $6.5 million when it opened on Wednesday, po... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

In search of the perfect snog

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

If a movie were made about Bridget Jones as a teenager, she'd have a lot in common with Georgia, the heroine of Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. At 14, Georgia (played by Georgia Groome, pictured) dreams of landing a "Love God" for a boyfriend and having the best 15th birthday party ever. Like Bridget, this Georgia is accident-prone and obsessed with her looks--and she keeps a diary. She confides everything to Angus, her feral cat, and communicates with her friends throu... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

G.I. Joe versus Cobra

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

If you've read the G.I. Joe comics or seen the 1980s cartoon series, you'll know all about the adventures of Duke, Ripcord, Snake-Eyes, Hawk, Scarlett and other members of the freedom-fighting squad. I haven't, but I'm jazzed about G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra, the live-action movie scripted by Stuart Beattie (Collateral, and co-writer with Baz Luhrmann of Australia) and directed by Stephen Sommers. The film pits the G.I. Joe team against the evil Cobra Commander and his ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince gets waylaid!

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

Bad news Hogwarts fans: you'll have to wait nearly a year to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Warner Bros. just announced it's postponing the film's release in the US and major foreign markets to July 17, 2009. The latest Hogwarts adventure was due to open in the US on November 21 and in Oz on December 11. The studio blamed the repercussions of the US writers' strike, sayng they "impacted the readiness of scripts for other films, changing the competiti... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Bale's in the clear after London hotel incident

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

All those commentators and critics who rushed to condemn Christian Bale after he was arrested for allegedly assaulting his mother and sister at a London hotel in July should now eat their words, or apologize. England's Crown Prosecution Service has found there is insufficient evidence for a "realistic prospect of convicting" The Dark Knight star. The Metropolitan Police has confirmed no further action will be taken against Bale. The alleged incident took place... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Ben Barnes in Dorian Gray: remember to act this time, Ben!

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

Ben Barnes is a hunk, so my teenage daughters tell me, so I can see why he got the lead in Dorian Gray, based on Oscar Wilde’s classic The Picture of Dorian Gray. Barnes looks right as a young guy whose appearance doesn't change while his portrait ages as he plunges into a hedonistic lifestyle. But let's hope he shows more charisma and animation than he did as the rather wooden Prince Caspian in the last Narnia adventure. At least he won't have to struggle with the accent. ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

SPOILER ALERT: Breaking Dawn secrets revealed!

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

If you've read Stephenie Meyer's Breaking Dawn, the fourth and final novel in the Twilight series, you may have some questions about the characters and plot-- and what Meyer may write next. The author candidly addresses questions from fans submitted to MTV News. If you haven't read the vampire romance saga and you want to avoid any spoilers before the Twilight movie is released next January, read no further. Otherwise, please continue as Meyer clears up some mysteries. Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Gemma Ward a different kind of dollface in The Strangers

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

You won't recognize her under the kewpie-doll mask, but the character at left is Gemma Ward. The Aussie supermodel turned actress plays Dollface, one of three intruders who terrorize hapless couple Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman in The Strangers. It's her first Hollywood role after her terrific performance as Rhys Wakefield's girlfriend in the Australian film The Black Balloon. To play Dollface, writer-director Bryan Bertino wanted a woman who was beautiful and se... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Maggie Grace: from Lost to Taken

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

In one of the chilling opening sequences in Taken, Liam Neeson’s character is talking on the phone to his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) who’s holidaying in Paris with a friend, when intruders break into her room. Liam's Bryan Mills, a retired CIA operative, winds up talking to one of kidnappers, and utters a menacing threat: Return my daughter unharmed or I will hunt you down and kill you. In turns out that scene was filmed in Los Angeles, with Maggie on the set just off came... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Where's the Star Wars crawl, George?

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

If you see Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the first thing you'll notice is the famous opening crawl, which introduced all six Star Wars movies, is missing. In its place, there's a Starship Troopers-type newsreel prologue, complete with 1940s style radio announcer. Why the break from tradition? "Because we originally developed this as a TV series, George (Lucas) felt the crawl wasn’t going to be effective as a way to introduce the audience to the TV series,” said the film's dire... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Tom Cruise gets his mojo back in Tropic Thunder

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

Tom Cruise's faltering career wasn't helped by the worthy but dull Lions for Lambs. And he's just had the ignominy of being replaced as the star of Phillip Noyce's upcoming thriller by Angelina Jolie. But the Cruiseman can hold his head high after his inspired cameo in Ben Stiller's action-comedy Tropic Thunder, which I saw yesterday. Tom is terrific as Len Grossman, a fat, foul-mouthed, booty-shaking mogul whose studio is financing a war movie which gets all too real after... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Beware: Eagle Eye is watching you!

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 13 August 2008 by Ben

Given a sneak peak at the first 30 mins of Eagle Eye earlier this week, it's safe to say this thriller will have you on the edge of your seat and raise some questions. Eagle Eye tells the story of two strangers (Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan) who are cruelly used as pawns by a mysterious woman they have never met to further her plot for a political assassination. Together they must fight and out-think the dangerous stranger who seems to know their every move and contacts them vi... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Taken: a man driven to the limits to rescue his daughter

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

It's every parent's worst nightmare: What would you do if your child were abducted? As the father of two boys, Liam Neeson had no problems empathizing with Bryan Mills, the lead characters he plays in Taken. A retired CIA agent, Mills sets off to find his teenage daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) when she and a friend are kidnapped while on holidays in Paris. The 56-year-old star of Schindler's List, Rob Roy and Love Actually may be and an unlikely action hero--but h... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

How much more do we want to know about Jabba the Hutt?

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

Ever wondered what Jabba the Hutt's family was all about? Frankly, no, but I guess plenty of Star Wars fans are keen to know, and George Lucas is counting on them to turn up for Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The animated movie fills in blanks in the Star Wars saga which the live-action movies couldn't address. "The fun part about animation, especially in the Clone Wars in particular, is that we're allowed to go and do stories about clones," Lucas says. "We get to kn... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

The Strangers: a scarifying home invasion

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

What would you do, God forbid, if a trio of psychopaths invaded your house? Try to escape into the night, screaming blue murder? Or call the cops, barricade yourself in one room and pray until help arrived? Neither course of action appeals to Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman, the besieged couple in The Strangers, but then logic is rarely a strong point in horror movies. Based on real events, the film follows James Hoyt (Speedman) and Kristen McKay (Tyler) as they're pursued by ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Adam Sandler's latest fantasy: Bedtime Stories

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

Adam Sandler fans may disagree, but You Don't Mess with the Zohan is unlikely to rank among the comic actor's most memorable movies. Sandler gets the chance to regain his mojo in Bedtime Stories, which will at least have him playing a less ludicrous character. He's Skeeter Bronson, a hotel handyman who reluctantly agrees to help his sister by looking after her two kids. To amuse himself if not his young charges, he tells them outlandish bedtime stories, set in ex... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Sam Worthington: man or machine in Terminator Salvation?

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

When I first read that director McG had cast Sam Worthington as the co-lead in Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins opposite Christian Bale, I had my doubts. I mean, can the director of Charlie's Angels coax a credible performance from the Aussie actor who, to my mind, didn't have a major screen presence in movies such as Somersault and Gettin' Square and TV's Love My Way? I'm still not sure, but Worthington, who often struggled to be articulate in previous interviews, h... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Danny McBride steals the show in Pineapple Express

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

Danny McBride plays a supporting character in Pineapple Express, but for my money he's the funniest guy in the movie. He's Red, a lonely, sadsack drug dealer who supplies pot to James Franco and Seth Rogen's characters and winds up being chased by drug lords and a corrupt cop. Red gets shot multiple times but somehow survives. "When I first got into the script, I started reading it and was like, 'Oh the guy's in it for like five pages,'" said Danny, pictured right with Roge... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

New Twilight novel sparks a backlash

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

The first three Twilight books by Stephenie Meyer generated a vast fan base and many can’t wait for the first Twilight movie —so I’m surprised that Breaking Dawn, the fourth and final novel in the series, has sparked a backlash from some disgruntled fans. "Don't burn your copies of the book — RETURN THEM," one reader urged in a discussion on Amazon.com. “BD R-U-I-N-E-D the whole twilight series for me,” griped another blogger on MTV. To be fair, the naysers... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

What's happened to Hollywood's wild girls?

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

I don't follow the tabloids, but I can't help but notice Hollywood's wild girls seem to have reformed their ways, or at least taken a lower profile. Only a year ago, Lindsay Lohan was making headlines for forgetting to wear her knickers, Britney Spears seemed destined to be committed for psychiatric care, and Paris Hilton was everywhere. But now? Paris has apparently hooked up with Good Charlotte's Benji Madden. Britney seems to be leading a near-normal life after her fa... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

James Franco smokin' in Pineapple Express

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

When Seth Rogan and his writing partner Evan Goldberg originally wrote the script for Pineapple Express, Rogen envisioned himself as the goofy drug-dealer sidekick and his Freaks and Geeks co-star James Franco as the straight, or straighter, leading guy. That didn't work, so they decided to flip the roles, and it proved an inspired move. "He's way funnier than I would have been doing that," Rogen says generously. "Thank God we did that." I'd always thought of ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Family Guy to hit the big screen

0 Comments | Posted on Monday, 11 August 2008 by Jess

Starting in 1999, Family Guy has been the cult hit that shot to fame through a Superbowl Commercial, and centres around the Griffin Family in Quahog, Rhode Island. The creator of Family Guy, Seth MacFarlane, has once again added fuel to the rumours of a Family Guy movie coming to our cinemas. Speaking to TV Week, MacFarlane hinted that he is keen to create a movie, but it is a matter of finding the time to write a movie script, on top of the current episodes. Although there... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

High School Musical movie: a ''bromance''?

1 Comments | Posted on Friday, 8 August 2008 by Don

Transferring High School Musical to the big screen seems a no-brainer after the phenomenal success of the first two musicals on the Disney Channel and DVD, plus CDs and videogames. High School Musical: Senior Year, opens in cinemas on November 26. The main focus will be on seniors Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) as they head to different colleges. But what about Troy and Chad? Their relationship is like a "bromance," according to Corbin Bleu, who plays Chad... Find out more...   |   1 Comments

Will the force be with the new Star Wars adventure?

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

How many hardcore Star Wars fans are itching to see Star Wars: The Clone Wars? George Lucas' latest creation isn't live action, it's animation, the precursor to a TV series commissioned by Cartoon Network and TNT. And as it's set in the period between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, it doesn't revolve around Anakin Skywalker. It may be a gamble, but I'm sure canny George has covered his bets in the way he's funded the movie and series with Warner Br... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

In Bruges: murder, mayhem and madcap humour

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

A vertically-challenged American guy is mercilessly karate-chopped. Fat Americans die of heart attacks. A prissy Canadian anti-smoking couple are knocked out. A gay skinhead is blinded. In Bruges cheerfully breaks a lot of rules. The debut film from writer-director Martin McDonagh, a noted Irish playwright, In Bruges stars Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell as Irish hitmen on the lam in the medieval Belgian town when a job goes wrong in London. Ralph Fiennes is their psycop... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Robert Downey Jr racist in Tropic Thunder? No way!

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

Robert Downey Jr's brave decision to play a white actor who pretends to be a black actor in Tropic Thunder has sparked cries of racism from some commentators in the US, mostly from those who haven't seen the film. Downey had a ready answer when he was asked about the issue at the film's US media launch. "Well, first it's entertainment set up by people who are high minded enough so the film won't be racist or offensive," he said. "Second, the whole film is based on the ide... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Pineapple Express: a high adventure

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

Ten years ago, producer Judd Apatow had the bright idea of a stoner action movie, like Cheech and Chong meets Jerry Bruckheimer. Years later he raised the idea with his Superbad writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, and Pineapple Express was born. Rogen plays a pot-loving process server who witnesses a murder and is forced to flee with his dealer played by James Franco. Danny McBride is hilarious as one of Franco's suppliers, Amber Heard is cute as Rogen's 18 ye... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Australia: finally, a sexy Nicole?

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

I think Nicole Kidman is a terrific actress- but I’ve never regarded her as sexy. I might have to change my opinion judging by this sultry shot of Nic and Hugh Jackman in Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming epic Australia. It just might cast Nic in a new, romantic light as she plays a prim English aristocrat who inherits a vast farm in the Northern Territory just before the outbreak of World War II. When cattle barons plot to take her land, she reluctantly joins forces with Hugh as ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Trashing Heath Ledger's memory

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

If Heath Ledger wins an Oscar for his spell-binding turn as The Joker in The Dark Knight, it will be because Academy members rate his performance as the best of the year. Contrary to an opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times, it will not be because the man died aged 28. "It's time to stop the canonization of Heath Ledger," the LA Times' Eric Lucas wrote. "He's just a pretty good actor who did away with himself and broke the hearts of his family and friends, and he shouldn't... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Sony may give Spidey some Venom

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

While Sony aims to produce a fourth edition of Spider-Man, the studio is hedging its bets by developing a spin-off based on the evil parasite Venom. Sony hopes the character could serve as an antidote to the aging Spidey franchise in the same way that Fox has used Wolverine to add longevity to its X-Men series, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Topher Grace, whose character Eddie Brock morphs into Venom in Spider-Man 3, evidently isn't in contention for the movie because... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Shia's injury could play a hand in Transformers 2

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

Shia LaBeouf's mangled hand, the result of his car accident in Los Angeles last Sunday night, could be written into the script of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. So says director, Michael Bay, who is toying with that idea after visiting the actor in hospital. "His two fingers are pretty mashed, but we’re figuring out a way to shoot around it, kind of write it in the story,” Bay told Access Hollywood. The director confirmed Shia's denial that he was not drunk... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Twilight could spawn a 5-film franchise!

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

Here's exciting news for all Twilight fans: if author Stephenie Meyer has her way, her novels will be turned into a series of five films. Meyer says the fourth novel, Breaking Dawn, which is being released in Australia on Monday and in the US tomorrow, is too big to capture in one movie, so it lends itself to two films. And she told MTV she knows exactly where to divide Breaking Dawn into the fourth and fifth films of the series. In the US, 3.5 million copies of... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Burn After Reading: Pitt and Clooney goofing off

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

Pitt, Clooney, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand and Joel and Ethan Coen....it sounds like a winning combination in Burn After Reading. The Coen brothers' follow-up to No Country for Old Men, the pinnacle of their nearly 25 year career, is a dark comedy which seems to be in the vein of two of their best movies, Raising Arizona and The Big Lebowski. Malkovich plays a former CIA agent whose memoirs somehow end up in the hands of Pitt and Clooney, bumbling emplo... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

New life for The Mummy franchise?

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

Released seven years ago, The Mummy Returns was a sizable hit although it wasn't universally admired. I thought it was crap. Now the franchise looks like being rejuvenated with The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, thanks to a new director, Rob Cohen, the introduction of several fresh faces, and a fast-paced plot set in China. Aussie Luke Ford signs on Alex, the son of explorer Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser). Mario Bello replaces Rachel Weisz as Rick's wife Evelyn. Asian... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

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