Mariah Carey to Receive Award for Precious Performance

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Lionsgate, Adaptation, Drama, Awards, Casting, Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip, New Releases

Seeming to have finally gotten past the incident known as Glitter, Mariah Carey will receive the Breakthrough Performance Award at the 21st Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival.

The singer-and-actress will receive the coveted honor at the Californian event in January in recognition for her portrayal of a dowdy social worker in Precious. Festival chairman Harold Matzner said:

“We’re delighted to be able to present the Breakthrough Performance Award to the extraordinary, very beautiful and versatile Mariah Carey, who, in a critically acclaimed role, completely transformed herself from a glamorous music icon to a forthright social worker for the role of Ms. Weiss in Precious.”

Previous winners of the prize include Jennifer Hudson, Marion Cotillard and Freida Pinto, who all went on to win an Oscar for their performances.

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In Theaters This Holiday Week: November 25, 2009

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign, Independent, Musicals, Period, Romance, Comedy, Lists, New Releases

Here are a few selections in theaters this weekend:

• Ninja Assassin (R): starring Ji-hoon “Rain” Jung, Rick Yune, Naomie Harris (directed by James McTeigue)
• Old Dogs (PG): starring John Travolta, Robin Williams, Seth Green (directed by Walt Becker)
• The Road (R): starring Viggo Mortensen, Robert Duvall, Kodi Smit-McPhee (directed by John Hillcoat)

Click to continue reading In Theaters This Holiday Week: November 25, 2009

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Quote of the Day: Robert Pattinson Scared of Abs

Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Action, Adaptation, Drama, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Thrillers, Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip, New Releases

“It was incredibly annoying when I saw Taylor [Lautner]‘s transformation. I realized just having a pre-pubescent girl’s body wasn’t going to work for me any more. In fact I saw him and thought ‘Jesus, I’m going to get fired.’”

- Robert Pattinson (abs on the left) on New Moon co-star Taylor Lautner’s (abs on the right) muscles.

(Make sure to check out other notable quotes.)

Read More | Us Magazine

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Joshua Jackson Takes On UFO

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Adaptation, Classics, Mystery, Remakes, Science Fiction, Thrillers, Casting, Celeb News, Scripts, Upcoming Releases

Joshua Jackson has signed up to take the lead in UFO.

The Fringe actor will take the lead in the big screen adaptation of the cult 70s TV show by Gerry Anderson in a story which follows test pilot Paul Foster join a secret alien-fighting organization hidden between a film studio.

The movie will be directed by special effects expert Matthew Gratzner, who has previously worked on The Aviator, The Good Shepherd, Pitch Black and Alien Resurrection, and is based on the hit TV series of the same name.

The show followed the pilot’s discovery of the secret group - named SHADO - and his discovery of alien life forms after his plane was severely damaged when the two fought in the sky. Matthew plans to start filming early next year with a script penned by Ryan Gaudet and Joseph Kanarek.

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Harvey Weinstein Slightly Justifies A Single Man Marketing

Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Weinstein Company, Adaptation, Drama, Period, Romance, Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip, Celebrity Controversy, Distribution, Rumors, Upcoming Releases

When the original movie poster (above) for Tom Ford’s directorial debut, A Single Man, appeared online, fans questioned whether or not distributors The Weinstein Company was downplaying the major gay theme of the film.

In the film, Colin Firth plays a closeted professor who mourns over his lover’s (Matthew Goode) death. Judging by the poster of Firth in bed with Julianne Moore (whose screen time is rumored to be fairly short), I think it’s safe to say that there was little intention to illustrate said storyline.

Upon the recent release of the film’s second poster (seen after the jump), Harvey Weinstein was questioned about the marketing that seems to say something other than the real message at hand.

Click to continue reading Harvey Weinstein Slightly Justifies A Single Man Marketing

Read More | New York Magazine

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Nine Addict Penelope Cruz

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Weinstein Company, Adaptation, Musicals, Romance, Casting, Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip, Filmmaking, Upcoming Releases

Penelope Cruz found working on her latest film, Nine, addictive.

The Broken Embraces actress formed a strong bond with her co-stars on the musical, which included Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman and Marion Cotillard, and particularly enjoyed their dance training.

“It was scary, but it was so much fun. It was great seeing that we were all feeling the same way. There was a great support system on that set, all the actors with each other and with Rob Marshall, the director. I had danced classical ballet before, so this was very different from what I had studied. We had a room in our building and we were all taking different classes. We would all pass each other in the hallway. All day, training. We all felt so free and so happy. Music was so present everywhere. That elevates people, music. It was so addictive, that experience.”

Rob admits he was amazed by the actress’ work ethic and dedication to giving the best possible performance while filming: “She knew we had to get in there and really be great, so she came in and worked like nobody’s business. She was the first one there and the last one to leave. She’d always want one more take. She’s a real perfectionist.”

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Quote of the Day: Natalie Portman on Joining Thor

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Paramount, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Casting, Celebrity Gossip, Filmmaking, Upcoming Releases

“I just thought it sounded like a really weird idea ‘cause Kenneth Branagh’s directing it. And Ken Branagh doing Thor is super weird. I’ve got to do it.”

-Natalie Portman explaining why she decided to join Paramount Pictures’ upcoming blockbuster.

(Make sure to check out other notable quotes.)

Read More | E! Online

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Box Office Breakdown: A Bloody Good Debut for New Moon

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Lionsgate, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Biopics, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Remakes, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists

After months of endless promotion, New Moon finally opened this weekend to monster-sized numbers. But how exactly did the film compare to the other theatrical giants?

1. Despite earning over $142 million since midnight Thursday, the adaptation’s debut still falls behind The Dark Knight ($158.4) and Spider-Man 3 ($151.1 million).
2. The sequel did, though, beat Knight for the best first day open ($72.7 compared to $67.2 million).
3. It had the largest midnight opening ($26.3 million) to date. (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince grossed $22.2 million.)
4. Moon also topped Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire‘s 2005 November debut ($102.7 million).

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: A Bloody Good Debut for New Moon

Read More | Variety

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This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: November 24, 2009

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Adaptation, Animation, Classics, Drama, Family, Horror, Religious, Comedy, Thrillers, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases

Here are some of the DVD and Blu-ray options available this Tuesday:

• Air America: Blu-ray
• Angel Heart: Blu-ray
• Angels & Demons: DVD, Blu-ray
• Blood: The Last Vampire: Blu-ray
• Cujo (25th Anniversary Edition): Blu-ray
• Four Christmases: DVD, Blu-ray
• Frailty: Blu-ray
• Funny People: DVD, Blu-ray
• Ghost in the Shell 2.0: Blu-ray
• Gomorrah: DVD, Blu-ray
• Imagine That: DVD

Click to continue reading This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: November 24, 2009

Read More | Amazon

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Daniel Day-Lewis Scared of Singing

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Weinstein Company, Adaptation, Musicals, Romance, Casting, Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip, Filmmaking, Upcoming Releases

Daniel Day-Lewis didn’t think his singing and dancing was good enough to star in new musical movie Nine.

The Oscar-winning actor, who plays Italian film director Guido Contini in the hotly-anticipated film, had a crisis of confidence and asked the director Rob Marshall if there was anyone else who could take his role, because he had no confidence in his voice.

“I did say to Rob in the early stages, ‘Is there anyway of getting out of this? I have a list of actors who could do it tomorrow!’ He tried to convince me I could sing and I said, ‘You’ve no idea if I can sing or not!’ I sang feebly a couple of times, and on the grounds of that Rob managed to convince me it was worth pursuing.”

The 52-year-old actor, who is famous for his method acting, also joked that dancing was difficult because his body is so “creaky”: “I can do a lot of stuff, I can climb, I can run, I can cycle, I can box, but I can’t dance. I used a lot of 3-in-1 to lubricate those stiff joints. It’s not natural grace - that’s sheer effort of will. My limbs are a mass of scar tissue through years of doing things I shouldn’t have.”

Daniel stars in Nine alongside Penelope Cruz, Dame Judi Dench and Nicole Kidman.

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