August 2008 News Archive (Page 25)

Tropic Thunder comes out on August 13.

What do critics have to say about this Ben Stiller-directed comedy? We asked a few for their opinion...

- A smart-alecky sendup of Hollywood in general and action films in particular, Tropic Thunder undeniably provokes quite a few laughs, but of the most hollow kind... -- Variety

- The self-aggrandizing humor becomes tiresome midway through...but the ending is spectacular and relentless. It would be hard for even the most cynical to avoid a hefty chuckle or two by the time the credits roll... -- ReelzChannel

- A broad action comedy that manages to mix subtlety with satire... -- Hollywood Reporter

- Robert Downey, Jr.'s performance is nearly on par with what Heath Ledger did as the Joker... -- Cinema Blend

Despite the fact that Doom - released in 2005 and starring Dwayne Johnson - was neither a critical nor commercial success, the video game's developer is still calling for a sequel.

"Personally I'd like to do another Doom movie - I thought working with it was a blast, software CEO Todd Hollenshead said. "There are some lessons we learned. The best way to do things better is to get the experience."

Despite the presence of Dwayne Johnson, viewers didn't exactly line up for Doom.

Universal Pictures currently owns the film rights to the game, but Hollenshead believes that the forthcoming Doom 4 edition will help inspire a sequel.

"We'll see what happens when we get further along in development of the game and there's more buzz and we share more about what the game will be about. As the buzz meter starts to go up, that may kind of kick-start the guys over at Universal."

James Franco - who stars this weekend in Pineapple Express and later this year in the biopic Milk - recently sat down with USA Today.

As for the two movies come up, Milk producer Bruce Cohen said: "It couldn't be a better showcase for his talent to look at these two roles. They're both different sides of him...

He can bring the attributes of the young stoner guy he needs for Pineapple Express, but underneath that is the scholar and the deep thinker and the guy who wants to learn about art and is interested in politics. His performances are complex and layered."

Franco himself was asked about the role of Saul (pictured above) in Pineapple Express and deadpanned:

"I was always going to play Saul. They found me in my apartment, there was no script, they just came into my place. My dealer came after me. It was perfect."

In reality, Franco told the newspaper that he "used to smoke weed, but I haven't done it in a long time. Everybody, even now, thinks, 'That guy is stoned.' It's just the way I talk, because I don't smoke weed.

Somehow, there's something about me, the way I talk, that implies that I'm on drugs."

Starring a quarter of young, adorable actresses, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 comes out this Friday.

Now that the four main stars - Blake Lively, Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel and America Ferrera - are household names, expect the sequel to hit it big at the box office.

In the meantime, check out the movie's soundtrack on our site. Artists such as Michelle Branch and Mute Math have contributed songs to the film's album.

Follow our link to the The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 home page for more information on this movie's soundtrack.

Hamlet 2 looks pretty funny.

It's a Steve Coogen comedy that focuses on one teacher's overzealous quest to mount a high school musical based on a certain former work by Shakespeare.

Check out the movie's trailer below:

David Gordon Green is making his big studio debut behind the camera with Pineapple Express.

ComingSoon.net recently talked with the director about the Seth Rogen/James Franco comedy. Here are highlights from the interview:

CS: What kind of shape was the script in when you got it? Was the story in place with beginning, middle and end and they knew exactly where it was going to go?
Green: Yeah, but again, it being so highly improvised, there was a different ending, like we improvised that ending. "Well, let's see what happens if we just turn a camera on these guys at a coffee shop afterwards and they recap the movie." That was just an idea, that wasn't in the script. It ended at the barn initially, so it's just all very loose.

Seth Rogen and James Franco light up in Pineapple Express.

CS: While this is a comedy, there's also a lot of violence, which is done in a very realistic and graphic way, but there's also the jokes in between. I was curious about trying to find the right balance of those things so you feel they're in danger but still keep it light.
Green: It was interesting and we were worried about that at first, but we really just followed our instincts about what movie we wanted to see, and started putting that in front of an audience and the more we pushed the audience, the more they responded to it.

The gore we added and the strange humor we added, the weirder the movie became, the more positive the reaction became, so there was really every incentive to maximize its strange qualities and non-traditional qualities and really follow our initial instincts of what that balance would be.

Channing Tatum was named Choice Movie Actor in a Drama at least night's Teen Choice Awards.

The rising star earned the honor for his role on Stop-Loss, but fans can expect him to truly hit it big with next year's G.I. Joe movie.

Australia is a Baz Luhrmann-directed epic starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. It comes out on November 14.

In the drama, Kidman portrays English aristocrat Lady Sarah Ashley, who falls in love with a cattle driver, played by Jackman.

“It’s romantic, adventurous, and huge in scale,” the actor told Entertainment Weekly about the movie. ”That’s what I love about Baz. His movies really are all about breaking society’s rules and love conquering all. Working with Nicole was beyond anything I could have imagined.”

Check out the following pics of the stars getting hot and heavy during scenes from Australia:

Billy Bob Thornton turns 53 today.

No longer simply known as Angelina Jolie's (semi-insane) ex-husband, Thornton has carved out a respectable career for himself.

He won an Academy Award for his writing of Sling Blade, while he earned a Best Actor nomination for his performance in the same movie. Other films on Thornton's resume include...

• Friday Night Lights: Gary Gaines
• Bad Santa: Willie
• Love Actually: The US President
• Armageddon: Truman

As The Dark Knight continues to shatter box office records, and Heath Ledger continues to garner Oscar buzz, rumors are already circulating about what big-name actors will take on the villainous roles in next Batman movie.

According to Great Britain's The Daily Telegraph, two new A-list stars are being talked about for a pair of iconic roles. 

The paper, quoting "unnamed sources," reports that Warner Bros. has targeted Johnny Depp to play The Riddler and Philip Seymour Hoffman to take on the role of The Penguin.

"Producers are convinced that the role of The Riddler is perfect for Depp. Johnny's a pro. He'll be able to take direction and still make the character his own," the souce said. "And what better Penguin is there than Philip Seymour Hoffman?"

Are we looking at the next Batman baddies?

As film fans know, Jim Carey was the last actor to portray the Riddler (in Batman Forever), while Danny De Vito played the portly penguin in Batman Returns.

It's not hard to imagine Depp or Hoffman in these roles. But do you think the Batman franchise is in danger of its villains overshadowing its hero?