Latest Video: FilmCrunch 067: Hairspray, Chuck & Larry, Premonition reviewed
Veronica Santiago and Neil Estep review Hairspray, Chuck & Larry, and Premonition in this episode of FilmCrunch.Play Video
Gene Wilder: ‘Willy Wonka’ Remake Is an Insult
Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Warner Bros, Adaptation, Classics, Family, Remakes, Celebrity Gossip
Although it's been 8 years since Tim Burton's adaptation of the Roald Dahl novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory hit theaters, Gene Wilder - who portrayed the title role in the 1972 adaptation of the book Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory -is still rather upset that it was made.
The 80 year-old screen veteran made an apperance at an event in New York, where he was asked his opinion of Burton's take of the classic children's tale. "I think it's an insult. It's probably Warner Bros.' insult," Wilder said.
While the Young Frankenstein actor didn't necessarily have good things to say about Burton, he did compliment his frequent collaborator, Johnny Depp: "Johnny Depp, I think, is a good actor, but I don't care for that director. He's a talented man, but I don't care for him doing stuff like he did."
Wilder may not be acting in Hollywood anymore, but he has recently taken to writing; his second book, Something to Remember You By, is due in bookstores soon.
Read More 
| Moviefone
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Ethan Hawke to Play Macbeth
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Classics, Drama, Casting, Celeb News
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Ethan Hawke will play Macbeth on Broadway.
The 42-year-old actor has been confirmed as taking the leading role in the Shakespeare tragedy. The female lead playing Lady Macbeth has yet to be confirmed.
Ethan will reunite with director Jack O'Brien at Lincoln Center Theater, where he has previously starred productions of The Coast of Utopia - earning him a Tony nomination in 2007 - and Henry IV. Ethan is also currently riding high as the star of The Purge - which topped the box office last weekend - as well as playing the lead in highly anticipated romantic drama Before Midnight, the sequel to Before Sunrise and Before Sunset.
The actor recently admitted he often questions his stardom and feels "guilty" as he thinks he deserves the attention he receives from fans. "You know in your heart of hearts that you're special only like every human being is special, so you don't know why you're getting all this attention and you feel guilty about it. What you feel guilty about is the feeling that some part of you thinks you deserve it 'cos it feels good. And it's a weird snake that's eating it's own tail."
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Scientist Names Ancient Creature After Johnny Depp
Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Classics, Horror, Romance, Celeb News
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While Johnny Depp has already become immortalized in the films he has made throughout his career, the Transcendence actor will now always be remembered by the scientific community as the inspiration for naming a recently discovered ancient animal.
Working on his PhD at Imperial College London, David Legg carried out research concerning a 505 million year old fossil of a creature that he dubbed Kooteninchela deppi, after Depp's character in the classic Tim Burton film, Edward Scissorhands. Legg, admittedly a fan of the 49 year old star explained his thought process in naming the fossil (see what it looks like after the jump):
“When I first saw the pair of isolated claws in the fossil records of this species I could not help but think of Edward Scissorhands. Even the genus name, Kootenichela, includes the reference to this film as ‘chela’ is Latin for claws or scissors. In truth, I am also a bit of a Depp fan and so what better way to honor the man than to immortalize him as an ancient creature that once roamed the sea?”
Click to continue reading Scientist Names Ancient Creature After Johnny Depp
Read More | Imperial College London via People
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Quote of the Day: Carey Mulligan on Gatsby’s Daisy and the Kardashians
Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Warner Bros, Adaptation, Classics, Drama, Romance, Celeb News, Upcoming Releases
"She's in her own TV show. She's like a Kardashian."
- Carey Mulligan compares her character, Daisy Buchanan, from her upcoming film Gatsby, to reality stars of Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
(Make sure to check out other notable quotes.)
Read More | People
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Orlando Bloom to Make Broadway Debut as Romeo
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Classics, Drama, Romance, Casting, Celeb News, Upcoming Releases
Orlando Bloom will make his Broadway debut in a new production of Romeo & Juliet.
The 36-year-old actor will star as the tragic hero Romeo in director David Leveaux's staging of William Shakespeare's classic love story, which will begin previews at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York on August 24 with an official opening date of September 19. Condola Rashad will play Juliet in the production, but director David insists he isn't trying to make a political point by casting a black actress in the role opposite a white actor as Romeo.
"They could have been any number of different ethnicities. The two actors I wanted to be together producing sparks just happened to be those two and I followed my nose in casting the families. There was nothing simple about that choice but I'm not about to turn a contemporary version of Shakespeare into a sociological or political point. We know there are families from one background or another who would reject their children getting together with someone from another group. Romeo and Juliet reject that notion. It is still the case that children try to oppose the cultural expectations thrust upon them, the rigidity of tribes, the rigidity of fundamentalism," he told The New York Times.
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Elizabeth Olsen to Star in ‘Romeo and Juliet’
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Classics, Drama, Romance, Casting
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Elizabeth Olsen is set to star in an off Broadway production of Romeo and Juliet.
The 24-year-old actress will make her on-stage leading role debut as Juliet in the Classic Stage Company's production, which will open the company's 2013-14 season later this year, according to E! News.
Although Elizabeth's older siblings are actresses and designers Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen she previously insisted they never tell her how to behave or get ahead in her career: "It's always felt as though Mary-Kate and Ashley have been women, while I've been the kid. But we're very close and I look up to them a lot. I wasn't really affected by their fame until I went to college. People would expect me to be partying and all sorts of stuff. It was really strange. We've never had a conversation about [fame], but I learn by example. They try to keep their lives private and they work their asses off. People have this idea of them swanning around the world, partying, but they're at an office every day - I wouldn't be able to do what they do. They have so much pressure on them. They tell me, 'It's all about being happy with what you're working on and trying to be the best at it that you can be.'"
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Quote of the Day: Carrie Fisher on Princess Leia in New Star Wars Films
Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Buena Vista, Disney, Action, Adventure, Classics, Science Fiction, Sequels, Casting, Celebrity Gossip, Rumors, Upcoming Releases
"Elderly. She’s in an intergalactic old folks' home [laughs]. I just think she would be just like she was before, only slower and less inclined to be up for the big battle... The bagel buns and the bikini, because probably she has sundowners syndrome. At sundown, she thinks that she’s twenty-something. And she puts it on and gets institutionalized."
- Carrie Fisher jokes about what Princess Leia would be like in the upcoming Star Wars films.
(Make sure to check out other notable quotes.)
Read More | Vulture
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Emma Watson in Talks to Star in Cinderella Adaptation
Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Buena Vista, Disney, Adaptation, Adventure, Classics, Remakes, Casting, Upcoming Releases
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Emma Watson may be dipping her toes back into a fantasy world with an updated film version of Cinderella.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower star is said to have her eyes on the Disney movie, in which Cate Blanchett has been cast as the evil stepmother and Kenneth Branagh has signed on to direct.
Fairy tale updates are becoming a trend these days... Aside from Universal's update of Snow White - starring Kristen Stewart - Disney has had the Sleeping Beauty-inspired film Maleficent in the works, in which Angelina Jolie plays the title villainess.
Watson will be seen next in Sofia Coppola's Bling Ring, a film about the thieving teenagers who targeted stars like Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton a few years ago.
Read More | Variety via E! Online
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Scarlett Johansson Auditioned for ‘Les Miserables’
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Universal, Adaptation, Classics, Drama, Music, Musicals, Period, Casting, Celeb News, New Releases
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Scarlett Johansson tried out for Anne Hathaway's role in Les Miserables.
The 28-year-old actress was keen to take on the part of tragic Fantine in Tom Hooper's big screen version of the hit musical but thinks Anne was the correct choice. When asked if she had auditioned, Scarlett said, "Yes, I did. I sang my little heart out. The jazz hands kid inside me was just over the moon! I auditioned with laryngitis. I did everything I could to, like, not have laryngitis. I think, looking at the film now, there's no possible way I ever could have topped that performance [by Anne Hathaway]. It was perfect and I think fateful and meant to be."
It wasn't the first time Scarlett had auditioned for a part in the famous musical. When she was younger she went for the role of Fantine's eight-year-old daughter Cosette, so the story has always been close to her heart.
"But, yes, the audition itself brought back so many memories of auditioning for Les Mis for the young Cosette and it was fun for me to revisit that," she said.
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Vivienne Jolie-Pitt’s Lucrative Movie Role
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Buena Vista, Disney, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Classics, Family, Period, Casting, Celeb News, Upcoming Releases
Vivienne Jolie-Pitt is earning $3,000-a-week on her first acting job.
The four-year-old tot - the youngest daughter of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie - is starring alongside her mother in her new movie Maleficent and according to her contract, she is being paid an impressive amount for a minor. Gossip website TMZ also claims Vivienne - who has a twin brother, Knox - is being given $60-a-day in expenses.
As well as Vivienne - who will play a younger version of Elle Fanning's character Princess Aurora in the live-action film - starring in the movie, her siblings Pax, nine, and eight-year-old Zahara have also won roles. "They have smaller parts," a source said.
But the couple's other daughter Shiloh - who previously appeared alongside her father in acclaimed 2008 movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - is said to have turned down an opportunity to be in the new Disney film. "Shiloh was supposed to be in it, too, but she was bored and not in the mood during the day her part was supposed to happen, so she ended up not being in the film," the source added.
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