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Oprah In Silver Screen Comeback?
It’s been a long time since Oprah Winfrey was on the big screen, other than to voice pictures like Bee Movie and Charlotte’s Web. In fact, the last time the long-reigning queen of TV chat appeared in a feature was in the 1998 movie Beloved.
She previously starred in the pictures The Color Purple and 1986’s Native Son, no mean achievements when you consider that she has never trained formally as an actress.
Now there have been reports that Winfrey is considering taking on a role in the next picture from Precious director Lee Daniels, The Butler. However, it should be stressed that no deals have yet been struck – at this stage it’s just a possibility.
The movie centers on the tale of Eugene Allen, a butler who worked for eight presidents at the White House between 1952 and 1986. He died in 2010 aged 90, and his wife of over six decades, Helene, passed away the night before Obama was elected.
There are reports that Mila Kunis, John Cusack, and Hugh Jackman have all put themselves forward for roles in the project, and Daniels apparently would like David Oyelowo, best known for playing MI5 officer Danny Hunter in British TV drama Spooks (called MI-5 in the US) to take the part of the eponymous character.
If it works out, Oprah would play Allen’s wife, while Kunis is the name in the frame as Jackie Kennedy, and Cusack would portray Richard Nixon, while the role for Jackman remains shrouded in mystery.
Photo: Frederick M. Brown – © 2011 Getty Images
Tagged Lee Daniels, Oprah, Oprah Winfrey, The Butler
Nicholas Cage Wore Voodoo Style Mask While Filming “Ghost Rider II”
It seems that method acting is the way he likes to do it: Nicholas Cage apparently stayed in character while he was on set filming Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, which is in theaters now.
The 48-year-old actor explained that he had the idea following discussions with Brian Taylor, the film’s director. And Cage had to overcome initial concerns that he would look “ridiculous” if he painted on a voodoo-style mask, which was how he stayed in character as he played the part of stunt motorcyclist Johnny Blaze, who sells his soul to the devil and transforms into the vigilante Ghost Rider.
Not only that, but the Leaving Las Vegas star also began sporting black contact lenses, and carrying around particular objects with him that had a mystical significance.
He told the BBC: “Whether they work or not, if you give yourself over to it, it can stimulate your psyche to believe you really are the Ghost Rider.”
Cage starred in the first Ghost Rider movie in 2007, although in that film there was someone else doing the stunts.
Now it seems he is taking his second outing as Blaze very seriously. He would don his voodoo mask, and then stride on set without saying a word to anyone.
“I saw the fear in the other actor’s eyes, inspiring me to believe I was this spirit from another dimension.”
In this latest movie, there are scenes where Cage is required to “flip out,” and this has become something of hallmark of this actor’s style.
He adds: “I need to find characters which let me realize, in the truest sense of the word, my abstract dreams as a filmmaker.”
Now there have been reports that Cage wants to get back in the saddle for his third appearance as the flame-skulled anti-hero.
Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris – © WireImage.com.
Kodak No Longer in Frame as Oscar Venue Sponsor
Photo giant Kodak has been given legal permission to terminate its long-running sponsorship deal with the Los Angeles home of the Academy Awards, meaning the Oscars will no longer come from the Kodak Theater.
Eastman Kodak, which signed a 20-year-deal in 2000, giving it naming rights, had been looking to end the arrangement, worth about $74m.
And a judge ruled in the company’s favor this week, despite an objection from the real estate business which owns the theater, CIM Group.
CIM does not even have to take down the Kodak branding from the Hollywood Boulevard venue’s façade ahead of the awards, which take place on February 26. The building has been the home of the Academy Awards for the last 10 years.
While it hasn’t commented on the judge’s decision, CIM is thought to be probably looking for a new corporate sponsor of the theater.
Any new arrangement would need the agreement of the awards’ organizers, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. And it is not even known for certain whether the event will continue to be held at the same venue.
Under its 20-year agreement with CIM, the Academy has the right look at other venues, before determining whether to recommit to the theater for the second decade of the contract.
Established in 1879, Eastman Kodak recently said it would cease making digital cameras to concentrate on its more profitable activities. After struggling to keep pace with its competitors, the company entered bankruptcy protection from its creditors in January.
Seven of the nine Best Picture nominated movies in this year’s awards were shot on Kodak film.
Photo: Cirque du Soleil 2012.
Tagged academy awards, Kodak, Kodak Theater, oscars
“Waiting to Exhale” Sequel Goes Ahead Without Whitney
The late Whitney Houston starred in the mid-1990s seminal movie Waiting to Exhale, based on the novel by Terry McMillan. When his sequel, Getting to Happy, was published nearly 18 months ago, Fox grabbed film rights within days, and filming was due to start. Now Fox has said the project will go ahead, despite the death of its star.
The singer played Savannah, an unlucky-in-love television producer who was involved with a married man, in the first film. Alongside Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, and Lela Rochon, Houston broke new ground with Waiting to Exhale. It set the scene for a wave of middle-class-themed black films in the 1990s. It was unique at the time for its “portrayal of black, Chablis quaffing women who weren’t living in housing projects or stuck in gangs.”
Now all that the makers of the sequel need to do is find a new leading lady. Fox 2000 President Elizabeth Gabler, who recently renewed her contract with the corporation, said that she thought that Houston would have wanted the sequel to go ahead.
“It’s almost in her honor that we think to soldier on,” she added. “But we literally have not talked about anybody for that part.”
That hasn’t stopped speculation, and a couple of actresses have already been mentioned in connection with the project. One is Oprah Winfrey, who was a great champion of Waiting to Exhale. Another name that is already being mentioned online to take on the iconic mantle of Savannah is Oscar nominee Viola Davis, star of The Help.
Photo: 20th Century Fox 1995.
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen: In Theaters March 9
Starring Emily Blunt and Ewan McGregor, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is the story of a UK fisheries expert who is approached by a consultant to help realize an Arab sheik’s dream of bringing fly fishing to the arid highlands of his nation Yemen. The expert embarks on an upstream journey of faith and fish to complete what initially seemed like Mission Impossible. He ends up altering British political history, and, ultimately, the course of his own life as well.
The movie is directed by Lasse Hallstrom, and writer Simon Beaufoy’s script is based on the original, hugely popular novel by Paul Torday. Kristin Scott Thomas (Four Weddings and a Funeral) also stars.
The movie was shot on location in nine weeks, in London, Scotland and Morocco, and the picture had its premiere at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival.
The sheik believes his passion for salmon fishing can enrich his subjects’ lives, and so it is his dream to bring the activity to the desert, hardly the most fish-friendly environment. With an almost limitless budget, he enlists the help of Britain’s top fisheries expert, Alfred Jones (McGregor).
While Jones initially considers the idea ludicrously unachievable, once the Prime Minister’s overzealous press secretary gets hold of it as a “good news” story, he is given no choice but to see it through to the end.
The basic premise may sound uninspiring, but stick with this one. If you like your romantic comedies to have dry wit and a healthy dose of British charm, this could well be the perfect springtime movie.
Photo: IMPA 2012.
Being Flynn
Julianne Moore and Robert De Niro star in this comedy drama set in a Boston homeless shelter, which tells the tale of Nick Flynn, a man who re-encounters his eccentric, long-absent father Jonathan, a con man who also describes himself as a poet. Nick wrestles with the idea of reaching out to his dad again.
Flynn Junior is still feeling the loss of his mother Jody (Moore) keenly, and is in the throes of a new relationship with Denise. So it’s kind of understandable that the last person he wants to see is his father, who is suddenly in touch with his son again as he faces eviction from his apartment, after the pair have been apart for 18 years. However, he slowly comes to realize that you can’t outrun fate, and Nick eventually sees that he has been given the opportunity to make a good future, not only for himself but for his father as well.
Paul Dano also stars, as the troubled son, in this adaptation of the 2004 memoir, Another Bull***t Night in Suck City, written by the real Nick Flynn.
The movie is directed by Academy Award nominated writer/director Paul Weitz (About A Boy).
And early indications suggest that Being Flynn, from Focus Features and in theaters March 2 on limited release, seems to not just be another tale of father/son relationships and mental illness, exploited to garner awards and praise. De Niro and Dano reportedly both turn in first class performances.
With its subtle of exploration of the fragile yet unbreakable bonds between father and child, this picture should be one to keep an eye out for this spring.
Photo: IMDB 2011.
Late February Releases: Movie Roundup
Movie goers have some treats in store toward the end of this month, with a string of new releases to look forward to in theaters from February 2.
If you like comedies of the romantic variety, check out Good Deeds, starring Thandie Newton, Tyler Perry, and Gabrielle Union. It centers on businessman Wesley Deeds, who is jolted out of his ordinary life when he meets single mom Lindsey, a cleaner in his office building. It will be the first time Perry stars in a picture he didn’t direct.
If thrillers are more your thing, go see Gone, starring Amanda Seyfried, and telling the story of Jill, who, when her sister disappears, is sure it means the return of the serial murder who had been her own kidnapper a couple of years earlier. She sets out to face her abductor once more.
Another thriller is Act of Valor, which is also an action adventure film. Directed by Mike McCoy, its focus is an elite team of Navy SEALs who have a secret mission to recover a kidnapped CIA agent.
In the same week, you can also catch The Forgiveness of Blood, a drama on limited release. Its story is about an Albanian family, torn apart by a murder, leading to a feud that finds one member, Nik, the prime target, and his sister Rudina forced to quit school to take over the family business.
If none of the above is to your fancy, The Fairy, on release in New York City, is about a hotel clerk who searches all over Le Havre for the fairy who made two of his three wishes come true before vanishing.
So there’s plenty to enjoy in theaters at the end of this month, no matter your movie tastes.
Photo: Quantrell Colbert – © 2011 Very Perry Films.
Tagged Act of Valor, Gone, Good Deeds, The Fairy, The Forgiveness of Blood
Wanderlust: In Theaters February 24
New comedy drama Wanderlust is the story of a stressed-out, uptight Manhattan married couple who, stricken by unexpected unemployment, look at different ways of living their lives, and end up trying an alternative lifestyle in a rural commune, where free love rules supreme. Here there is only one rule – be yourself.
Could this new way of life that they discover on their cross-country journey be just what the pair needs – or can you have too much of a good thing? As the trailer says, sometimes you need a new direction, and sometimes you need a detour…
They find the commune when, having no option but to leave New York, they go to stay with family in Georgia. En route to an unpopular sibling’s home in Atlanta, they stop off at a bed and breakfast hotel which turns out to be a hippy commune.
Written by David Wain (who also directs, and who is best known for cult classic Wet Hot American Summer) and Ken Marino, Wanderlust stars Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd as husband and wife George and Linda. Their co-stars are Justin Theroux (who is of course Aniston’s boyfriend in real life– they reportedly started dating on set) and Malin Akerman.
Rudd and Jen last co-starred in a movie some 13 years ago, in The Object of My Affection, while Rudd and Role Models director David Wain worked together on Wet Hot American Summer.
Rated R, Wanderlust is in theaters from February 24, but you can catch a trailer online before then. This one has got to be worth it, just to see Jennifer Aniston milking a goat!
Photo: Universal Pictures 2012.
Tagged David Wain, Jennifer Aniston, Ken Marino, Paul Rudd, Wanderlust
“The Artist” Steals Show at 2012 BAFTA Awards
At this month’s BAFTA Awards in London, it seemed there was only one movie that really mattered, the silent picture The Artist.
It may be almost entirely wordless, but this film certainly knows how to make a lot of noise, scooping seven awards, including Best Director and Original Screenplay for Michel Hazanavicius, and Best Lead Actor for Jean Dujardin.
The movie also proved silence really is golden by taking home the Costume Design, Original Music and Cinematography prizes.
However, the US industry was honored, with supporting actress and actor awards going to Octavia Spencer and Christopher Plummer for The Help and Beginners respectively, while Meryl Streep took home Best Actress gong for The Iron Lady, in which she played former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
The King’s Speech actor and Mamma Mia co-star Colin Firth had to leap chivalrously to Ms. Streep’s assistance when a shoe slipped off her foot as she stepped up to the podium to collect her award. But, even missing an item of footwear she still saw off fellow nominees Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn), Viola Davis (The Help) and Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk about Kevin). It was exactly 30 years since Streep won her last BAFTA, for The French Lieutenant’s Woman.
Meanwhile, Thor actors Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston both left empty-handed having missed out on the Orange Rising Star award, which went to Adulthood actor Adam Deacon.
At the end of the ceremony, hosted by Stephen Fry, Martin Scorsese was awarded a BAFTA Fellowship.
Photo: Reuters February 2012.
Ryan Gosling At A Glance
A partial timeline of Ryan Gosling’s films provides a quick look at his rising success as one of Hollywood’s top actors and heartthrobs.
The Notebook (2004)
Ryan Gosling won over the hearts of women everywhere as Noah—a man who builds his dream house in hopes that the love of his life (Rachel McAdams) will return.
Half Nelson (2006)
Successfully avoiding being type-casted as a chick flick male lead, in this film he plays a junkie history teacher with good intentions.
Lars and the Real Girl (2007)
Gosling switches to another popular acting form—that of a loveable mentally challenged man, in this case one who falls in love with a blow up doll.
Blue Valentine (2010)
In this film he dons the quintessential loser role with slicked back, greasy hair, a wife beater shirt, and a wife (Michelle Williams) who falls out of love with him.
All Good Things (2010)
Suave, rich, and slightly creepy, Gosling is a bad boy in an expensive suit in this murder mystery/thriller alongside Kirsten Dunst.
Drive (2011)
Gosling gets behind the wheel in this action-packed crime drama as a bad boy driver who finds himself in high water, with Carey Mulligan and Christina Hendricks.
Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)
Again a bad boy in an expensive suit, Gosling plays a gorgeous womanizer who makes over a good guy (Steve Carell) and falls for a good girl (Emma Stone).
The Ides of March (2011)
For his first major political thriller, Gosling plays opposite such greats as George Clooney and Philip Seymour Hoffman and earns a Golden Globe nomination. Clearly he is on his way up.
Photo © liravega – Fotolia.com