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
James Franco to Play Hugh Hefner?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Biopics, Drama, Period, Casting, Celeb News, Filmmaking, Upcoming Releases
James Franco is in negotiations to play Hugh Hefner in Lovelace.
The 127 Hours actor may portray the Playboy magazine founder in the movie starring Amanda Seyfried as Linda Lovelace - best known for her starring role in porn movie Deep Throat - after passing on the opportunity to play her husband Chuck Traynor.
The role would be a cameo and only require one day of shooting, but talks have not yet been completed to find a date suitable for him, according to The Hollywood Reporter. A heavy-hitting cast including Sharon Stone, Peter Sarsgaard, Chris Noth and Juno Temple are already signed on to star.
Production on the project is already underway, with shooting in Los Angeles beginning last week. Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman are directing the picture.
James - who earlier this year put in a turn as presenter when he hosted the Academy Awards with Anne Hathaway - has a number of movies coming up, including Wizard of Oz prequel Oz: The Great and Powerful and Spring Breakers.
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Rise of the Planet of the Apes Sequel Already Planned
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: 20th Century Fox, Action, Classics, Remakes, Science Fiction, Sequels, Box Office, Filmmaking, New Releases
Rise of the Planet of the Apes director Rupert Wyatt is already planning a sequel.
The movie - starring James Franco as San Francisco scientist Will Rodman and Frieda Pinto as primatologist Caroline Aranha - performed strongly on its US release last weekend, and Rupert believes the possibilities for a new film are endless.
"There's so much we could do. The ideas I've had are all sorts of things, ranging from Full Metal Jacket with apes, you could start this story again eight years from where we left off, the next generation of apes, those that have come from our protagonists, perhaps going in to a conflict with humans and showing real fear, in the same way as going into war for young soldiers in this day and age, telling their story."
Rupert believes the interactions between apes and humans is a fascinating story and is keen to explore this more in any future sequels: "Or we could look at how apes are taking over cities, and being moved into human environments and having to interact with them and deal with things that are part of our culture and understand and evolve through them. Spies that are in the employ of the apes, working against humans and humans maybe existing underground, because that's a way they can avoid the virus, coming up above ground wearing gas masks, and maybe that's what dehumanizes them."
Box Office: Russell Brand Stays on Top
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: FOCUS, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Biopics, Family, Horror, Remakes, Comedy, Box Office, New Releases
UPDATE: Final numbers prove Sunday estimates were wrong. Get the updated -- and accurate -- box office results below.
Even Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman can’t compete with family-friendly Easter-themed animation. Hop has retained its number one box office position, and Portman’s lowbrow comedy flick suffered a dismal opening weekend.
Hop, which cost around $63 million to make, has already earned a cool $68.2 million from box office revenue ($21.7 million this weekend). Thanks to his new comedy flick, Russell Brand is in the top two positions on the box office list for the weekend. Arthur earned $12.6 million to gain the second top slot. His voice is behind the leading bunny in Hop, and Brand plays the title character in the number 2 flick.
Action flick Hanna just barely got pushed into third, earning $12.3 million in its opening weekend. Soul Surfer scored $11.1 million to lock down a fourth place opening. Insidious is still on the top five list (barely) with $9.7 million. Natalie Portman, James Franco and Danny McBride proved to be a dismal box office combination, earning a combined $9.5 with Your Highness to land in sixth place.
UPDATED: Hanna actually earned second place at the box office with $12.4 million. Arthur slid into third place with its $12.2 million box office take.
Read More 
| Entertainment Weekly
James Franco: From Oscars to Oz
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Disney, Adventure, Casting, Celeb News, Rumors, Upcoming Releases
According to rumors, James Franco is in talks to star in Disney’s Oz: The Great and Powerful, a prequel to The Wizard of Oz. Robert Downey, Jr. was originally in talks to star in the new Sam Raimi flick, but we think Franco would be a great fit, too.
The movie focuses on a circus wrangler who gets caught up in a tornado that transports him to the magical land of Oz, where the citizens mistake him for a powerful wizard.
Read More | Perez Hilton
2011 Academy Award Nominations
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Awards
Academy Award winner Mo'Nique (Precious) and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' President Tom Sherak had the honor of announcing the nominees for the 2011 Annual Academy Awards early Tuesday morning.
The King's Speech lead all films this morning with 12 nominations total. True Grit came in second with 10 nods. Meanwhile, The Social Network and Inception both tied with 8 nominations.
Here are some of the noteworthy omissions and inclusions from today’s press conference:
- Best Director: No Christopher Nolan (Inception). Seriously?? (Even James Cameron has to say something about that!)
- Best Movie: No for Blue Valentine, yes for Winter's Bone and Toy Story 3 (also nominated in Animation category)
- Best Actor: No Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine)!!! Also, no Mark Wahlberg (Fighter), no Leo DiCaprio (Inception), no Aaron Eckhart (Rabbit Hole), no Paul Giamatti (recent Golden Globe winner for Barney's Version). Javier Bardem, though, gets a yes for Biutiful.
- Best Actress: No Julianne Moore (The Kids are All Right), no Halle Berry (Frankie & Alice)
- Best Supp. Actor: No Andrew Garfield or Justin Timberlake (The Social Network), but a big YES for Jeremy Renner (The Town) and John Hawkes (Winter's Bone)
You can find a list of the nominees from the major Oscar categories after the jump.
Click to continue reading 2011 Academy Award Nominations
Read More | Oscars
This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: January 4, 2011
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Documentary, Horror, Period, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases
Here are some of the DVD and Blu-ray options available this week:
- Backdraft (Anniversary Edition): Blu-ray
- Blade Runner (The Final Cut): Blu-ray
- Camille: DVD
- Case 39: DVD, Blu-ray
- Catfish: DVD, Blu-ray
- Dinner for Schmucks: DVD, Blu-ray
- Doctor Zhivago (Deluxe Edition): DVD
- El Mariachi/Desperado: Blu-ray
- Ever After: Blu-ray
- Gone with the Wind: Blu-ray
Click to continue reading This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: January 4, 2011
Read More | Amazon
Don’t Let James Franco’s Grandmother Call You the P-Word
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Fox Searchlight, Biopics, Drama, Videos
If you've been hesitant to watch 127 Hours because of that, you know, amputation scene -- this message from the Franco family is for you.
Over the holidays, James Franco's grandmother recorded a Funny or Die video for those who are a "little scared" to watch the film. Let's just say her choice of words isn't p-retty.
Hey. James -- maybe you can incorporate Grandma into your Academy Awards gig?
Read More | The Hollywood Reporter
2011 Golden Globe Nominations (Film)
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, FOCUS, Disney, Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Biopics, Drama, Family, Foreign, Foreign Language, Musicals, Period, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Awards
Katie Holmes, Josh Duhamel and Blair Underwood helped kick off the 2010-11 awards season Tuesday morning by formally announcing the latest round of Golden Globe contenders.
In the film category, The King's Speech -- starring Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush -- lead all nominees with a total of six nods. (The Fighter and The Social Network tied for second with six each.)
Although the Academy Awards will not necessarily mirror the choices made by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, there were some notable inclusions/omissions in this year's list of Globe nominees:
- Justin Timberlake did not earn an acting nomination for The Social Network.
- Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp were both recognized for their work in The Tourist, a movie that has been panned by critics. (BTW - they were nominated in the "Comedy" category.)
- Speaking of Depp, he will be running against himself. (He was also nominated for Alice in Wonderland.)
- Wall Street's Michael Douglas has now received another Golden Globe nod for his role as Gordon Gekko. (He won for Best Actor in 1987.)
- Gwyneth Paltrow did not earn a nomination for her role in Country Strong.
- 127 Hours was left out of the Best Movie category -- so was True Grit. (The Coen Brothers western received zero nominations.)
The 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards -- hosted again by Ricky Gervais -- will air Jan. 16 on NBC.
(You can find the full list of nominees after the jump. Click here for the TV nominations.)
Click to continue reading 2011 Golden Globe Nominations (Film)
Read More | Golden Globes
James Franco and Anne Hathaway: New Academy Awards Hosts
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Awards, Celeb News
For the 83rd Annual Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be going about as far away as Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin as you can get.
It’s been announced that Anne Hathaway and James Franco – two other Saturday Night Live hosting vets – have been asked to front the live event. This would be the second year in a row a pair of actors shared hosting duties.
Click to continue reading James Franco and Anne Hathaway: New Academy Awards Hosts
Read More | Deadline
This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: November 23, 2010
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Magnolia, Miramax, Lionsgate, Sony, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Biopics, Classics, Drama, Family, Romance, Science Fiction, Sports, Thrillers, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases
Here are some of the DVD and Blu-ray options available this week:
- Beauty and the Beast (Two-Disc Diamond Edition): DVD
- Diary of a Mad Black Woman: Blu-ray
- The Disappearance of Alice Creed: DVD, Blu-ray
- Eat Pray Love: DVD, Blu-ray
- The Expendables: DVD, Blu-ray
- The Family that Preys: Blu-ray
- The Hunting Party: Blu-ray
- I'm Still Here: DVD, Blu-ray
- Metropolis: Blu-ray
- Strictly Ballroom (Special Edition): DVD
- Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion: Blu-ray
- Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail: Blu-ray
- Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married: Blu-ray
- The Winning Season: DVD
Make sure to also check out the TV-on-DVD options for this week.
Read More | Amazon
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