Reel Movie Stars News

After opening the floodgates to directors with Kevin Smith, Reel Movie Stars is proud to present one of the hottest directors of this decade, Christopher Nolan.

Nolan was a relatively unknown director except to his fans with the critically acclaimed Memento in 2000 and his remake of Insomnia in 2002.

Nolan truly became a household name when he helped reboot the Batman franchise with his 2005 blockbuster, Batman Begins starring Christian Bale.  Since then Nolan has been unstoppable with The Illusionist and The Dark Knight.

But, of course, to you movie buffs, this Nolan info is not new to you.  But how about some Nolan facts you may not know:

• Holds dual citizenship in the United States and the United Kingdom
• His brother, Jonathan Nolan, wrote Memento, The Prestige, and The Dark Knight
• Is red and green colorblind
• Married to his repeated Producer, Emma Thomas and has three childre
• Studied English Literature in college

Now for some pics of this 5'11 director.

With Zack and Miri Make a Porno due out in theaters on October 31st, we decided to feature Kevin Smith as our first director for Reel Movie Stars.

Kevin Smith got his start as a writer and director with his critical darling, Clerks, which took the Sundance Film Festival by storm in 1994.  Since then, Smith has written and directed Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Jersey Girl, and Clerks II.

As an actor, you probably know Smith best as Silent Bob in his various View Askewniverse movies.  However, did you know Smith has also acted in several non-Smith productions including Daredevil, Catch and Release, and Live Free or Die Hard?

Ready for some more fun Kevin Smith trivia facts you may not know?

• Cast his wife, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith as Missy in Jay and Silent Bob Stike Back and Emma in Clerks II
• Named his daughter Harley Quinn after Joker's sidekick from the Comic Book
• Cast his daughter Harley to play a baby Silent Bob in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
• Harley Quinn's godfather in Jason Lee
  
• Owns a comic book store, Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash in Red Bank, New Jersey
• Made a cameo alongside Jason Mewes in the music video for Because I Got High by Afroman
• Has two dogs named Mulder and Scully

Now that you're all Kevin Smith experts, we'll leave you with some fun pictures of this lovable guy.

With the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince pushed back to the summer of 2009, fans at least have more time to get to know Jessie Cave.

The young actress won the role of Lavender Brown on November 13, 2007. Cave obtained the role of Lavender Brown over 7,000 other aspiring stars. In the upcoming installment, she'll replace Jennifer Smith, who portrayed the character in the film version of Prisoner of Azkaban.

Here are some quick facts about Cave:

• She was born on May 5, 1987;
• Her father works as a general practitioner;
• She's the oldest of four siblings;
• Hails from West London.

Since his debut role in the 1998 Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Jason Statham has quickly risen to being one of the biggest names in action movies.  Trust us when we say Statham is a Reel Movie Star.

Statham initially started off in the world of sports in both competitive diving and driving.  As a diver, Statham was an Olympic Diver on the British National Diving Team.  As a driver, Statham finished 12th in the World Championships in 1992.

Statham soon took his chiseled ahtletic body to the world of modeling.  It was when he was a model for the French Connection that he was discovered and auditioned for a role in Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels.  From there, Statham has been on a non-stop career filled with some of the best action movies this decade and Statham's next movie, Death Race, doesn't look to disappoint.

To honor this bloke, we put up just a fraction of his movies with a ten movie filmography, six photos, and hundreds of quick one-liners.

Now what Reel Movie Star post would be complete without a series of fun facts:

• Did nearly all his own stunts in The Transporter
• Well trained in several martial arts, particularly kickboxing and Jujitsu
• Jason and director Guy Ritchie became obsessed with chess during the shooting of Revolver
• Dated English model and actress Kelly Brook until she met actor Billy Zane on the set of Survival Island
• Also dated former singer Sophie Monk

Now we'll leave you with a photo montage of this hunky action star.

Rhona Mitra doesn't want to be known as a video game character any longer.

The British actress rose to fame by portraying Lara Croft from the Tomb Raider video game. As Croft, Mitra attended trade shows and participated in media events, always in character. She was considered for the big screen version of Croft - but the part eventually went to Angelina Jolie.

Since then, Mitra has enjoyed more television show success than movie success.

She appeared for a few episodes at a time on Party of Five, Boston Legal and Nip/Tuck. You might also recognize Rhona from bit roles in The Life of David Gale and The Number 23.

In 2009, Mitra is set to take on her most prominent role yet. She has the lead role in Underworld 3: The Rise of the Lycans. It opens on January 23.

Might this part do for her what the starring role in the original Underworld did for Kate Beckinsale?

Our guess is, yes, this isn't the last you'll hear of Rhona Mitra.

Steve Carell was the last member officially added to the Frat Pack so it seems fitting we made him our last Frat Pack member for Reel Movie Stars.

Steve Carell's career was started bring a correspondent The Daily Show, but it truly sky rocketed thanks to his starring roles in The 40 Year Old Virgin and on the television series, The Office.

We decided to give Carell some Reel treament with 9 films, 8 pictures, and one heck of a biography.

Now for some fun Carell trivia you may not have known:

• Was breifly a post office worker in Massachusetts where he delivered mail from his own car
• Provides the voice of Gary in The Ambigulously Gay Duo cartoons alongside fellow The Daily Show alumn Stephen Colbert
• While a member of the Chicago troupe The Second City, Stephen Colbert was his understudy
• Is a skilled ice skater and played goaltender as a kid.  Still plays in a league in Los Angeles
• Married to Nancy Walls who he met as his student in his improve class
• His wife, Nancy, briefly played his girlfriend on the show The Office
• Has two children, daughter Elisabeth and son John

Now enjoy this photo montage from our final Frat Packer being featured as a Reel Movie Star:

After just covering fellow Tropic Thunder co-star Jack Black, Reel Movie Stars is back with the film's director, Ben Stiller.

Our sixth installment of Reel Movie Stars is absolutely considering a member of the Frat Pack and is by far one of its most prolific members.

In honor of Stiller's return to the director's seat, we've gone ahead and added 22 movies to the comedian's filmography and one of the most complete biographies the Reel editors have ever put together.

But what would a Reel Movie Star blog be without some fun facts:

• Ben Stiller has been impersonating Tom Cruise since his show, The Ben Stiller Show.  He got Cruise to star in Tropic Thunder!
• His father Jerry Stiller played his father in The Heartbreak Kid
• He played his father Jerry Stiller's father in The King of Queens
• His father, Jerry, is Jewish and his mother, Anne, is Irish and converted to Jusaism before marrying Jerry.
• Won an Emmy award for his writing on The Ben Stiller Show
• Is Only 5'8
• Married to Christine Taylor who he co-stared with in Zoolander, Dodgeball, and Tropic Thunder
• Ben and Christine have two children together: daughter Ella Olivia and son Quinlin Dempsey

Now we'd like to leave you with some pictures of this amazing writer, director, and actor:

With Tropic Thunder coming out in theaters today, we thought we'd feature Jack Black as our fifth installment of Reel Movie Stars.

Jack Black was born in Redondo Beach, California in 1969 and decided he would become an actor after a game of Freeze after a Passover seder as a kid. After attending Crossroads School where he excelled in drama, he went on to attend UCLA until he dropped out to persue his career in acting.

It appeared his decision paid off as he was cast in small roles in movies such as Demolition Man and Waterworld and with television roles on shows such as Mr. Show and The X-Files.

Black's acting career really broke through with his role in the 2000 John Cusack romantic comedy, High Fidelty. Shortly after, Black became a leading man with roles in Shallow Hal, Orange County, and School of Rock. Now, as a full-fledged A-lister, it seems Black is unstoppable with big time roles in Kung Fu Panda and Tropic Thunder this year.

Jack Black is considered a member of the Frat Pack and appears in numerous of their movies and is also well known for his comedic rock band, Tenacious D.

Now for some cool Jack Black facts you may not know?

• Both of his parents were rocket scientists. His mother worked on the Hubble Space Telescope.
• Met his wife, Tanya Haden, in high school. They married after dating less than a year.
  
• Has one son, Samuel Wyatt, born on June 10, 2006. His wife is expecting their second child.
  
• Often competes with Philp Seymour Hoffman for roles, considers Hoffman his nemesis.

Get ready to laugh as you check out the following photo montage of Jack Black and be sure to check out his full bio and filmography on our site.

We're choosing the hilarious Owen Wilson for our fourth installment of Reel Movie Stars. If you can't tell from our choices of Will Ferrell, Luke Wilson, and Vince Vaughn, we're doing the Frat Pack, one member at a time.

Wilson made his film debut alongside his brother Luke, in Wes Anderson's first movie, Bottle Rockets. However, Owen's career took off thanks to his role opposite Jackie Chan in Shanghai Noon in 2000.

Ready for some cool facts about everyone's (or at least second) favorite Wedding Crasher?

• His trademarked bump in his nose is from being broken twice: once in a fight and once in a football game
• Only member of the Frat Pack to be nominated for an Academy Award (his was for co-writing The Royal Tennenbaums)
• Has been in nine movies with Ben Stiller: The Cable Guy, Premanent Midnight, Heat Vision and Jack, Meet the Parents, Zoolander, The Royal Tenenbaums, Starsky & Hutch, Meet the Fockers, and Night at the Museum
• Has been romantically linked to Demi Moore, Sheryl Crow, and Kate Hudson
• Majored in English at the University of Texas and is only 2 classes short of graduating
• Co-wrote Wes Anderson's first three movies, Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, and The Royal Tennenbaum
• Has been in every Wes Anderson movie if you count appearing in photographs in Rushmore

Now that you're an expert in Owen Wilson trivia, be sure and memorize his bio and filmography, the best Owen Wilson quotes, and check out these pictures of the Butterscotch Stallion:

After our first two installments of Reel Movie Stars covered Will Ferrell and Luke Wilson, we'd like to focus on the third founding father of Lambda Epsilon Omega, Vince Vaughn. At 6'5, Vaughn is the tallest member of the Frat Pack and one of our favorite. He's definitely a Reel Movie Star.

Vince Vaughn has recently come to super stardom for his roles in the Frat Pack comedies Old School, Anchorman, Wedding Crashers, Starsky & Hutch, and Dodgeball, but Vaughn has been a movie star since his breakthrough in the 1996 independent film, Swingers.

Afterwards, his career started off with roles in more serious movies such as The Lost World, Pyscho, Return to Paradise, The Cell, and Domestic Disturbance, but has since move more to comedies. However, thanks to the Frat Pack, Vaughn has established himself as a comedic genius.

Some other fun facts about Vaughn?

• Wedding Crashers does not lie, he is a phenomenal dancer and loves it
• First job was as a telemarketer. We're sorry if we hung up on you, Vince.
• Before his Swingers fame, did an After School Special on steroids
• Dated two The Break-Up co-stars: Joey Lauren Adams and Jennifer Aniston
• While filming Domestic Disturbance, was banned from Wilmington, N.C. bars after a bar brawl in 2001

Haven't had enough Vaughn yet? How could you? Be sure and read our complete Vince Vaughn bio, check out our collection of Vince Vaughn quotes, and enjoy the photo montage.