Thursday, March 31, 2011

New Video Footage From ‘Thor’ Has Hit The Internets

Pink is the New Blog
Paramount Pictures has released a new clip from the upcoming superhero film Thor, due out in May, that isn’t really a trailer per se … it’s just about a minute of footage from the film. The clip is quite humorous, especially the way it ends. Check it out in full below.







I’m thinking Kat Dennings is going to steal the show in this film. She tends to play funny roles very well and this deffo looks like a funny role. It’s crazy to think that the film we first heard about so long ago is almost due for release. I remember when Spring 2011 sounded like a lifetime away and … well, here we are. This clip is really fun. I wonder if we’ll get to see more clips before the film opens in May.

Baby girl joins Doctor Who dynasty as David Tennant and Georgia Moffett celebrate birth of daughter

By Sara Nathan and Ben Todd for The Daily Mail

Former Doctor Who star David Tennant and his actress fiancee Georgia Moffett were last night celebrating the birth of a daughter.

And the baby, named Olive, will not only have an ex-Time Lord for a father but also a grandfather – Miss Moffett is the daughter of Peter Davison, the fifth actor to play the Doctor.
Over the moon: David Tennant and Georgia Moffett are celebrating the birth of their daughter, who they have named Olive
Over the moon: David Tennant and Georgia Moffett are celebrating the birth of their daughter, who they have named Olive

Tennant met the 26-year-old actress when she appeared alongside him in a 2008 episode of the long-running series, playing his character’s daughter Jenny.

Tennant, 39, and Miss Moffett, who became engaged over Christmas, have remained steadfastly quiet about their relationship, but a friend said last night: ‘Georgia and David could not be happier, Olivia is beautiful and their families are over the moon.’

‘They did very well in keeping everything very nearly private and keeping  things under wraps. Georgia was a lot more pregnant than people thought when  the news first broke.’ 
Hand in hand: The happy couple take a stroll in January, when Miss Moffett's baby bump was clearly visible
Hand in hand: The happy couple take a stroll in January, when Miss Moffett's baby bump was clearly visible

The actress already has a son called Ty, born when she was just 17. She has never publicly named his father.

Mr Tennant had spoken openly about his desire to become a father last year,  saying: ‘It feels an important thing to do and I’d hate to miss out on it. I’m  only 38 but my parents had had three kids by this age and I have had none yet.’ 

His beloved mother Helen McDonald died of cancer in 2007 and he said: ‘My mum’s  gone now but I feel very fortunate to have had the upbringing that I had and to  have had the family around me that I’ve had.’ 
Where they met: The couple started dated after starring in an episode of Doctor Who during 2008
Where they met: The couple started dated after starring in an episode of Doctor Who during 2008

Tennant was the tenth actor to portray the Doctor, leaving the role in  2009.  

Peter Davison played the Doctor from 1981 to 1984, in which time Georgia was born to  his first wife, U.S. actress Sandra Dickinson - who also appeared in Doctor Who.   


Last night, a spokeswoman for Tennant refused to comment and said ‘I do not  comment on my client’s personal lives.’
People:

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

SPOILERS in Thor!!!

Do not read if you don't want to know!!!

























SPOILER ALERT !!
Aint It Cool News
Nordling here.

I don't like sizzle reels.  Those are presentations by the studios to show off a film, likely to press or at a convention, and only slightly bigger than trailers.  Some run 20 minutes or so and show key points and action sequences of upcoming films, but it's no way to judge the finished product.  There's a bunch of crappy movies out there that could have amazing sizzle reels.  Just saying.

At CinemaCon this weekend, Katey Rich of Cinema Blend saw THOR's sizzle reel, and it reveals something we've suspected, but weren't sure until now - The Avengers' Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) is in THOR.  And it's not just a cameo either - from reports he has at least one extended scene with SHIELD's Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg).

Marvel is definitely tying up its releases for the big AVENGERS extravaganza next summer.  I'm actually more concerned with the longevity of the characters and how successful they will be as franchises and films.  We'll know more this summer, when THOR and CAPTAIN AMERICA open.

Apropos of nothing, I dreamt I saw CAPTAIN AMERICA last night.  Spoiler: it was awesome!
Nordling, out.

'Teen Wolf': Watch the fang-tastic new trailer -- EXCLUSIVE VIDEO

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  • MTV’s TV series reboot of the classic ’80s comedy Teen Wolf, premiering on June 5 after the MTV Movie Awards, is set to be markedly different from the Michael J. Fox flick. For starters, there doesn’t seem to be a modern version of best pal and love interest, the awesomely named “Boof” (travesty!). Instead, the network is going for an edgier approach and hoping to attract the audience of two other supernatural classics. “When I first talked to MTV about it, I said what if we do it kind of like The Lost Boys with kind of the pace and fun of Buffy,” exec producer Jeff Davis (Criminal Minds) told EW in February. “We’ve had comparisons to Vampire Diaires. That’s a very brooding melodrama. This exists far closer to Buffy.” Watch the three minute trailer below and judge for yourself:
    Click Here for Link  - If you dare:P

    Saoirse Ronan Close To Landing That Other Snow White Gig


    Saoirse Ronan is apparently thisclose to landing the role of Snow White in the film The Brothers Grimm: Snow White. Armie Hammer (love him) and Julia Roberts are set to co-star as the Prince and Evil Queen, respectively. The Oscar-nominated Saoirse is one of the biggest of the big right now – she was considered for The Hunger Games and is also in talks to star in The Hobbit. Did we mention her new movie Hanna opens next month? Fire, she is on you.

    This puts Ronan in direct competition with another in-demand young actress, Kristen Stewart, who is starring as Snow White in Snow White and the Huntsman. Charlize Theron is attached to play the Evil Queen, while the search continues for the Huntsman after Viggo Mortensen left the project this week. As if that wasn’t enough Snow White movies, there’s a third in the works – Snow and the Seven.

    We’re fans of both Saoirse and Kristen – they’re uber-talented, humble, articulate and dedicated to their craft. In fact, we think BOTH of them will not just pull off the role of Snow White, but completely nail it. Do you have a favorite?

    'True Grit' Teen Hailee Steinfeld Attached To 'Sleeping Beauty' Spec Script

    Deadline.com
    EXCLUSIVE: True Grit star Hailee Steinfeld is attached to Sleeping Beauty, a spec package that is going out to buyers as we speak. Screenwriter Lindsay Devlin has written a revisionist take on the fairy tale that will give Steinfeld a lot more to do than nap while waiting for a charming prince's peck to awaken her from a witch's curse. The new version is told from her point of view as she enters the dream world and has to find her way out.

    Hollywood has been absolutely smitten with fairy tales since the billion dollar grosser Alice in Wonderland. There is already a version of Sleeping Beauty at Disney called Maleficent, which is being scripted by Linda Woolverton, with Tim Burton attached and rumors that Angelina Jolie coveted for the title role of the witch. There is also Snow White and the Hunstman at Universal with Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron, and The Brothers Grimm: Snow White at Relativity with Julia Roberts and Armie Hammer; Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters at Paramount with Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton; a revisionist take on Peter Pan with Channing Tatum at Sony Pictures; and Disney's Oz: The Great and Powerful, the Sam Raimi-directed film that will star James Franco.

    The 14-year old Steinfeld was such a revelation in her Oscar-nominated True Grit turn that I'd be surprised if the Sleeping Beauty spec slumbers long. Her reps at ICM and the writers reps at APA are handling the sale.

    ugh Jackman: 'The Wolverine' knocked back, but not dead -- EXCLUSIVE

    Wolverine-jackman
    Image Credit: Michael Muller
    When Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky backed out of The Wolverine a little over a week ago, it left the promising comic book drama in the lurch.

    Part of the anticipation for the film, in which Hugh Jackman’s X-Men character ventures to Japan and encounters a legion of samurai warriors, was having the provocative tendencies of Aronofsky channeled into a commercial action-adventure movie. Jackman himself has been bulking up, gorging on protein and working out to build muscle, in anticipation of the project’s start. Then Aronofsky said he could no longer commit to the project because the Japan shoot would interfere too much with his personal life.
    Jackman says he’s not quitting now.

    The actor was in Las Vegas for CinemaCon, the annual convention for theater owners, to reveal the first scenes of his upcoming robot-boxing drama Real Steel. (More on that film in an upcoming Inside Movies post.) After the presentation, he told EW that The Wolverine remains very much alive — he’s staying on board, and the script by The Usual Suspects screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie is still in play.

    “So now we’re out looking for a director,” Jackman shrugged. “We were pretty much ready to go. The script is fantastic — the best we’ve ever had, which is why it attracted Darren in the first place. His personal situation precludes him from doing it now, and I feel for him. But now we need to find a director.”

    Jackman wouldn’t cite any preference, but said the team is aiming for another prestige filmmaker, not just someone to yell “action” and “cut.”

    “We’re not going to settle. We’re going to find a director as good as Darren, if not better. Well, as good,” Jackman said. “Everyone is still pushing forward to getting it done.”

    The actor did acknowledge a little impatience, especially since he’s growing weary of his protein-powered, muscle-building diet. “I can’t be eating too many more chicken breasts,” he groaned.

    Follow Anthony Breznican on Twitter (@Breznican) for more movie news, including updates from Hollywood’s many CinemaCon previews this week.

    Warner Bros. to Reboot BATMAN after THE DARK KNIGHT RISES; Christopher Nolan to Remain on as Producer

    Collider.com

    batman-alex-ross-slice-01
    Christopher Nolan has publicly stated that The Dark Knight Rises will be his final Batman film, and Warner Bros. is already looking ahead to the future of the franchise.  As we reported last night, the studio is currently planning a Justice League movie for 2013 and Warner Bros. president Jeff Robinov tells Hero Complex that scripts are being written for Flash and Wonder Woman (the Wonder Woman project would exist separately from the upcoming NBC show).  But most intriguing is what the studio plans to do with its marquee superhero, Batman:
    “We have the third Batman, but then we’ll have to reinvent Batman…” says Robinov.  “Chris Nolan and [producing partner and wife] Emma Thomas will be producing it, so it will be a conversation with them about what the next phase is.”
    Hit the jump for my thoughts on the future of the Batman franchise.
    batman-alex-ross-01Since Nolan said TDKR would be his last Batman film, I already assumed that Warner Bros. would reboot the franchise.  However, I hope that they don’t devote yet another film to Batman’s origin story.  We all know how Bruce Wayne became Batman.

    I’m a little worried about keeping Nolan and Thomas on as producers.  I’m hoping that they’ll be on board simply to give the reboot some cred and leave the creative decisions to a new director and his or her team.  Nolan has recast the Batman world in a “realistic” setting and that’s a perfectly valid take that’s had both positive and negative repercussions.  But I think a trilogy of Batman films done in that style is enough and it’s time to see what a new director can bring to the table.

    Another question worth asking is if Warner Bros. plans to tie Justice League to their new Batman.  Will the actor who plays Batman in JL also play Batman in the new franchise?  Or will Justice League exist in its own universe?

    OK, get this straight...Farley Granger, not JACKIE CHAN, died!!!

    Alfred Hitchcock star Farley Granger dead at 85
    Farley Granger in Alfred Hitchcock's classic thriller "Strangers On A Train."

    NEW YORK (AP) — Farley Granger, the 1950s bobby sox screen idol who starred in the Alfred Hitchcock classics "Rope" and "Strangers on a Train," has died. He was 85.

    Granger died Sunday of natural causes, said Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the New York City medical examiner's office.

    Granger, who died at his Manhattan home, was an overnight Hollywood success story. He was a 16-year-old student at North Hollywood High School when he got the notion that he wanted to act and joined a little theater group.

    Talent scouts for movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn saw the handsome youngster and signed him to a contract. His first movie was "The North Star" in 1943, a World War II story that starred Anne Baxter and Dana Andrews.

    "It was one of those miracle careers," he said. "I had no talent and no training whatsoever and suddenly I was thrown ... (in) with Walter Huston, Erich von Stroheim, Anne Baxter, Ann Harding and Walter Brennan."

    A decade later, at the height of his Hollywood stardom, he walked away from it to really learn his craft. He spent the rest of his career in a mix of movies, television and stage work.

    Granger was born on July 1, 1925, in San Jose, Calif., where his father was a car dealer. The business went bust during the Depression and in 1933 the family moved to Los Angeles where he was subsequently spotted.

    His career halted for U.S. Navy service during World War II — "I was chronically seasick." But when he was mustered out he returned to Hollywood and the Goldwyn publicity machine.

    "Goldwyn firmly believed in big hype and hoopla for his stars, so he'd publicize me in projects that were never even written just to get space in the fan magazines," Granger once recalled.

    The magazines ran pictures of Granger in swim trunks cavorting with such stars as Debbie Reynolds, Ann Blyth and Jane Powell. But he said the only serious romance he had with a woman was with Shelley Winters.

    In the 2007 memoir "Include Me Out," written with his partner Robert Calhoun, Granger says he was bisexual.

    He writes about a Honolulu night that epitomized his life. A 21-year-old virgin and wartime Navy recruit, he was determined to change his status. He did so with a young and lovely female prostitute. He was about to leave the premises when he ran into a handsome Navy officer. Granger was soon in bed again.

    "I lost my virginity twice in one night," he writes.

    His lifelong romance with Winters was "very much a love affair."

    "It evolved into a very complex relationship, and we were close until the day she died," he said in a 2007 interview with The Associated Press.

    A briefer affair with Ava Gardner began when both quarreled with their dates at a Hollywood Christmas party. "We met at the bar and left together," he recalled in the interview. "It was a short but pretty intense and enormously fun affair."
    He also writes about his same-sex celebrity affairs. For a time, he lived with Arthur Laurents, writer of the stage and movie versions of "West Side Story" and "Gypsy." In New York, Granger says he had a two-night fling with Leonard Bernstein.
    Granger made "Rope" in 1948 and "Strangers on a Train" in 1951. In the latter, based on the classic novel by Patricia Highsmith, he played a tennis star who meets a man on a train. The other man, played by Robert Walker, turns out to be a psychotic who proposes that each of them murder the other's troublesome relative. He tells Granger's character, "Some people are better off dead — like your wife and my father, for instance."

    Walker's character proceeds to carry out his part of the bargain, killing the tennis star's estranged wife and trapping the Granger character in an ever-tightening circle of suspicion.

    Beside the two Hitchcock thrillers, Granger appeared in "They Live By Night," ''Roseanna McCoy," ''Side Street," ''The Story of Three Loves," ''Edge of Doom" and "Hans Christian Andersen."

    But he wasn't happy with most of the films he was offered. "I was on suspension most of the time for turning down scripts," he recalled. Finally, in 1953, he effectively fired his boss and headed for New York.

    "I bought out my contract from Goldwyn, which had two years to go. It took every penny I had. It helped that I didn't live a big fancy life, that I'd saved my money for a rainy day. Because that was a rainy day.

    "I left Hollywood because I didn't know my craft," he said. "I was a star, but I knew nothing of the techniques of acting. I figured I'd better learn or I'd be in trouble when the star aspects of my career wore off."

    In New York, he studied with Stella Adler, Lee Strasberg and Sanford Meisner, among the top and most famous acting coaches.
    "What saved my life then was live television, the so-called Golden Age of television drama," Granger said. "I did a lot of it and loved it. Most movie actors were afraid to go into live TV because they weren't used to it. I had to, just to make a living, but I also wanted to because it was the closest thing to theater."

    He made his Broadway debut in 1960 in "First Impressions," a musical version of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice." He later did two years with Eva Le Gallienne's repertory troupe and a considerable stint as the lead in the long-running thriller "Deathtrap."

    Granger continued to make films over the years, including "The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing," ''The Serpent," ''The Man called Noon," ''The Imagemaker" and "The Whoopee Boys." He made several movies in Italy including Luchino Visconti's "Senso."
    He also appeared in several daytime soaps, including "As the World Turns," ''Edge of Night" and "One Life to Live," for which he received a Daytime Emmy nomination.

    But he said he preferred the stage: "I feel I'm much more relaxed in front of an audience than a camera. I feel the response. The live audience really turns me on and I like it.

    Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.

    French vegans in dock over baby's death

    Two vegans who fed their 11-month-old daughter only mother's milk went on trial in northern France on Tuesday charged with neglect after their baby died suffering from vitamin deficiency.
     
    Sergine and Joel Le Moaligou, whose vegan diet forbids consuming any animal product including eggs and cow's milk, called the emergency services in March 2008 after becoming worried about their baby Louise's listlessness.
     
    When the ambulance arrived at their home in Saint-Maulvis, a small village 150 kilometres (90 miles) north of Paris, the baby was already dead.
     
    The ambulance workers called the police because the child was pale and thin, weighing 5.7 kilos (12.5 pounds) compared to an average eight kilos for her age.
     
    The baby had only been fed on the milk of her mother, who was aged 37 at the time.
     
    An autopsy showed that Louise was suffering from a vitamin A and B12 deficiency which experts say increases a child's sensitivity to infection and can be due to an unbalanced diet.
     
    "The problem of vitamin B12 deficiency could be linked to the mother's diet," said Anne-Laure Sandretto, deputy prosecutor in the city of Amiens where the trial is taking place.
     
    The couple has been charged with "neglect or food deprivation followed by death" and face up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

    Monday, March 28, 2011

    Watch: ‘True Blood’ Releases A Season 4 Preview Video Featuring Bill Compton

    Pik is the New Blog
    Previously we got to see True Blood season 4 preview videos featuring Eric Northman (HERE) and Jason Stackhouse (HERE) … today we get to see a new promo video from the Waiting Sucks campaign for the show that features a scene with Bill Compton. Bill is joined in this clip by his friend/foe Eric. Check it out below.

    Altho this clip is short and it doesn’t show much action, it does give us a bit of insight as to what to expect from the upcoming 4th season of True Blood. It sounds like Bill and Eric will have to team up to work together against a common enemy:



    I understand the supernatural creatures du jour this season will be witches (you may recall it was werewolves last season and shapeshifters the season before) so it sounds like they are going to be causing some problems for the vamps this Summer. I can’t wait! True Blood season 4 premieres on HBO on June 12 … a little over 2 1/2 months away. While the waiting continues to suck, at least we can nibble on these little video teasers in the meantime.

    [
    Source]

    'Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2' Poster Revealed

    Huffington Post
    For Harry Potter fans, it all comes down to this.

    Come this July, the epic adventures of Harry Potter and friends come to a thrilling conclusion on the big screen, as the long-awaited "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" hits theaters. Potter, played by Daniel Radcliffe, and evil wizard Voldemort come face to face in the battle of good vs. evil, and the first poster for the film depicts that intense encounter.

    The first part of the two-part finale was released in November, 2010; the new film will hit theaters on July 15th.

    If you're looking for your Hogwarts fix in a smaller package, check out the Potter-themed Royal Mail stamps recently put out in the UK.

    PHOTO:

    Branagh On Idris Elba's Thor Casting

    The controversy was 'daft'
    Source: Exclusive

    Branagh On Idris Elba's Thor Casting
    So far, the signs are looking pretty good for Thor, Marvel's trickiest Avenger to slot into our universe. So as you'd expect, director Kenneth Branagh was in a good mood when we spoke to him for the latest issue of Empire, on sale on Thursday. But in the piece he wrote for us as part of our Brit Director's Diary series, he did address the biggest controversy that has attached itself to his film so far: the casting of The Wire's Idris Elba as Norse god Heimdall.

    "Idris Elba is a fantastic actor - we were lucky to get him. He provides all the characteristics we need from Asgard's gatekeeper, the man who says, "Thou shalt not pass". When Idris Elba says that, you know you're gonna have a problem. He's smart, intelligent, handsome and an absolute joy to work with. If you have a chance to have a great actor in the part, everything else is irrelevant.

    "If you're going to say the colour of his skin matters in a story like this, look at 50 years of Thor comics to see how many ways great artists have bent alleged 'rules'. Look at the Norse myths to see the way they confounded and contradicted themselves. That whole 'controversy' was a surprising - and daft - moment."

    You know what? He's not wrong. For the full story on Thor and more from Branagh, pick up the new issue of Empire on Thursday.
    Helen O'Hara

    **I agree! Idris Elba is one of the BEST actors working today!!!

    Neil Gaiman's AMERICAN GODS Going To Happen On Screen?

    Neil Gaiman's work shouldn't be difficult to put on film, but many of his novels have struggled to be adapted.  Now comes word that AMERICAN GODS is going to happen, with a cinematographer and a director "who has many, many Oscars and is, I think, a genius", according to Gaiman himself.  Apparently the rights were signed last week sometime.  Here's a video with a little more information:

    AMERICAN GODS is the story of how humanity's various deities throughout the centuries still exist but are now weaker since we have moved on from them.  It's a terrific read, like so much of Gaiman's work.  We can only speculate about who the director is - any thoughts?  And personally, I'd love to see GOOD OMENS adapted sometime.  I know that particular book has been struggling to get made into a film for years.  Thanks to Bleeding Cool for the heads up.



    Nordling out.
    Ain't It Cool News

    'So darn adorable' and 'delightful' Daniel Radcliffe wows New York as he makes his musical debut on Broadway

    By Georgina Littlejohn for The Daily Mail

    For the past ten years, Daniel Radcliffe has been known as the Boy Who Lived as he portrayed the world-famous and beloved character of Harry Potter.

    But boy wizards have to grow up sometime and with the final film instalment due to hit our screens this summer, the young actor has finally left Hogwarts far behind him.

    On the other side of the Atlantic, to be precise, as last night he shook off his Harry Potter tag once and for all as he wowed Broadway and received rave reviews as he made his eagerly-anticipated musical debut.

    Scroll down to see video...
    Standing ovation: Daniel Radcliffe revels in the applause from the Broadway audience and his cast mates after the opening night of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying
    Standing ovation: Daniel Radcliffe revels in the applause from the Broadway audience and his cast mates after the opening night of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying

    Radcliffe, 21, is currently starring as the lead in the 50th anniversary revival of the 1961 musical How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying.

    And last night, after a month of previews, the play officially open to the public, who flocked inside the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.

    Radcliffe plays J. Pierrepont Finch, who relies on the rules of a  guidebook called How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, to climb the corporate ladder and go from window washer to chairman of the board.
    Take a bow: Radcliffe grabs his cast mates hands as they soak up the cheers during the curtain call
    Take a bow: Radcliffe grabs his cast mates hands as they soak up the cheers during the curtain call

    Radcliffe is no stranger to treading the boards, having starred in Equus in 2007 in the West End and on Broadway the following year, as Alan Strang, a stable boy who has an obsession with horses.

    He also appeared as guest in The Play What I Wrote, a celebration of comedy duo Morecambe and Wise, which was directed by Kenneth Branagh, who starred in the second Harry Potter film.

    But this was Radcliffe's musical debut and while critics had mixed thoughts on his singing ability, they all were in agreement that he did a good job.
    Won't take all the glory: Radcliffe came out in the stage alone for his own applause but made sure his cast mates were recognised too
    Won't take all the glory: Radcliffe came out in the stage alone for his own applause but made sure his cast mates were recognised too
    Won't take all the glory: Radcliffe came out in the stage alone for his own applause but made sure his cast mates were recognised too

    Elysa Gardner from USA Today said he was a 'servicable tenor' and had 'sufficient rhythmic savvy to handle Loesser's jaunty, jazz-tinged score'.

    She added: 'If Radcliffe doesn't provide a study in loosey-goosey virtuosity, he certainly captures and savors the joy. In fact, Radcliffe ultimately succeeds not by overshadowing his fellow cast members, but by working in conscientious harmony with them - and having a blast in the process.'

    WHAT THE CRITICS SAID

    Mark Kennedy, AP: 'His voice is nice, but thin and he strains to fill the theater. Somehow it doesn't matter. He works so hard that we're on his side even if he, like his character, doesn't have the creds.'

    Ben Brantley, New York Times: 'This 21-year-old British actor conscientiously hits his choreographic marks, speaks his lines quickly and distinctly (with a convincing American accent) and often sings on key.'

    Joe Dziemianowicz, New York Daily News: 'His current transformation into a song-and-dance man isn't quite so convincing.'

    Elysa Gardner, USA Today: 'Radcliffe ultimately succeeds not by overshadowing his fellow cast members, but by working in conscientious harmony with them.'
    The Associated Press's Mark Kennedy said he was 'so darn adorable' that 'pockets of smitten teenage girls in the audience will be rooting for his unlikely rise from window washer to chairman of the board'.

    He commented on his singing ability and said: 'To be blunt, Radcliffe is not a Broadway singer. His voice is nice, but thin and he strains to fill the theatre - American Idol judge Randy Jackson would call it "pitchy". Somehow it doesn't matter.

    'He works so hard that we're on his side even if he, like his character, doesn't have the creds.
    'Radcliffe has somehow telegraphed enough personal guts, tenacity and good humor that the audience doesn't hold it against his smarmy character.

    Ben Brantley from the New York Times wrote: 'Mr. Radcliffe is clearly not to the musical manner born, I would give him, oh, a 6 out of 10.'

    But he added that he was also the 'only reason to see the show and added: 'There’s little doubt that audiences will feel like rooting for Mr. Radcliffe. This 21-year-old British actor conscientiously hits his choreographic marks, speaks his lines quickly and distinctly (with a convincing American accent) and often sings on key.'

    Philly.com, Philadelphia's 24-hour news website said: 'Those dancing lessons Radcliffe took, as he emerged from a film-acting life as Harry Potter, paid off; he executes the show's sometimes complex, quick choreography easily with one of Broadway's best current ensembles.
    'The singing instruction is not quite as successful, but Radcliffe is more than passable.'
    Gracious: Radcliffe humbly opens in his arms in thanks to thunderous applause from the sold-out audience
    Gracious: Radcliffe humbly opens in his arms in thanks to thunderous applause from the sold-out audience

    What would Harry say?! Radcliffe's Finch is seduced by Tammy Blanchard's character, the flamboyant and seductive mistress of boss J.B Biggley, Hedy LaRue
    What would Harry say?! Radcliffe's Finch is seduced by Tammy Blanchard's character, the flamboyant and seductive mistress of boss J.B Biggley, Hedy LaRue


    But Joe Dziemianowicz from the New York Daily News wasn't so complimentary and wrote: 'His current transformation into a song-and-dance man isn't quite so convincing.
    'Making his first foray into musical comedy, Radcliffe is a likeable but very boyish presence. He shows off a pleasant singing voice as corporate climber J. Pierrepont Finch, but he's waxen and not animated enough to make Finch soar.'
    This summer, Radcliffe will team up with his Harry Potter co-stars Emma Watson and Rupert Grint to promote the second part of The Deathly Hallows, the seventh and last installment of the Harry Potter films.
    A job well done: Radcliffe attends the after-party with co-star Rose Hemingway, who plays secretary Rosemary Pilkington
    A job well done: Radcliffe attends the after-party with co-star Rose Hemingway, who plays secretary Rosemary Pilkington
    On his way to the top: Radcliffe and John Larroquette - who plays the company boss J.B Biggley
    On his way to the top: Radcliffe and John Larroquette - who plays the company boss J.B Biggley



    Sunday, March 27, 2011

    Paganism in fun places - 'Firefly: Safe'

    While watching 'Firefly' on the Science Channel, I heard a quote that I had forgotten about and had to share -
    "Patron: The girl is a witch.
    Mal: Yeah, but she's our witch.
    [Cocks shotgun and aims at Town Patron]
    Mal: So cut her the hell down."



    Enjoy!  Make sure you are tuning in to 'Firefly' Sundays on the Science Channel!










    Have a safe and beautiful night everybody...

    Weekend Box Office – DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: RODRICK RULES Knocks Out SUCKER PUNCH

    Collider.com by Nicole Pedersendiary-of-a-wimpy-kid-2-rodrick-rules-slice

    Ouch.  Though it seemed likely after Friday’s figures were announced, the fact that Fox’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules so easily topped the flashier Sucker Punch has still got to hurt the folks at Warners this morning.

    TitleWeekendTotal
    1Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2$24,400,000$24.4
    2Sucker Punch$19,000,000$19
    3Limitless$15,225,000$41.2
    4The Lincoln Lawyer$11,000,000$28.9
    5Rango$9,800,000$106.3
    6Battle: Los Angeles$7,600,000$72.5
    7Paul$7,500,000$24.6
    8Red Riding Hood$4,340,000$32.4
    9The Adjustment Bureau$4,240,000$54.8
    10Mars Needs Moms$2,186,000$19.1
    In March of 2010 the first Wimpy Kid opened to $21.2 million, putting it just ahead of the Jenifer Aniston/Gerard Butler comedy The Bounty Hunter but well behind the number one Alice in Wonderland. With no big holdover to contend with this year, the PG-rated Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2 led the weekend with an estimated $24.4 million from 3,167 locations.  That is all kinds of good news for Fox, who earlier in the week said they would have been happy to land in the mid-teens against the better-promoted and more-pricey Sucker Punch.

    With this weekend’s win, Diary 2 should be able to match its predecessor in terms of profitability.  The first film cost less than $20 million and ended up grossing $75 million worldwide.  The sequel, which was in the works before the original’s release, cost a reported $21 million before promotion. That means that every weekend it stays in theatres going forward it is making money instead of balancing expenditures.  Sadly, that is not the case with Sucker Punch.

    Just as the first Wimpy Kid put the hurt on the Bounty Hunter in 2010, the sequel is making Sucker Punch look like the wimp this weekend.  Though the studio will undoubtedly find a way to spin it to their advantage, the fact that the film’s $19 million estimate is lower than the $19.8 million Kick-Ass earned in its debut last April is not boding well for Zack Snyder’s latest feature.  It could have been worse, however.  Sucker Punch could have easily lost on Friday (the traditional night for action movies to shine).

    Warner Brothers put a lot into promoting Sucker Punch: Comic-Con, video games, apps, etc, etc.  That means that the film’s budget (as low as $85 million and as high as $110, depending on who you believe) is only part of the story. The film’s stunning visuals should play well overseas so this may not be a disaster, but the trouble is that, here at home, weekend’s like this only make it harder for original screenplays to make it into multiplexes.  On a positive note, Sucker Punch did have a good showing at its IMAX venues (bringing in $4 million from 229 screens) and it also managed to open better than Snyder’s last film, Legends of the Guardians: the Owls of Ga’Hoole.

    Last weekend’s number one film Limitless came in third this weekend, taking in an estimated $15.2 million in its sophomore frame.  That’s a drop of less than 20% over last weekend which is pretty great for any genre.  The Lincoln Lawyer did even better, falling just 16.7% while fellow sophomore Paul declined by 42% to place seventh.  Already ranking as number five on Hollywood’s list of all-time money losers, Mars Needs Moms dropped to number ten this weekend with a total domestic gross still shy of $20 million.

    At the other end of the spectrum, Rango crossed the $100 million mark here in the US in its fourth weekend in theatres.  Sony’s Just Go With It hit the same milestone – preserving Adam Sandler’s record as the $100 million man of American comedy.  Next weekend Universal’s animated Hop will dominate, though I’m more interested in seeing how the release of the newly edited The King’s Speech will fare in its 1,000 locations.

    Amy Adams Has Been Cast As Lois Lane In The New Superman Film

    In January we learned that actor Henry Cavill won the role of Superman in the upcoming Zack Snyder-directed reboot of the Superman film franchise followed by the news in February that Kevin Costner was cast as Jonathan Pa Kent and the news in March that Diane Lane was cast as Martha Ma Kent. Today we learn that actress Amy Adams has been cast in the leading female role of Lois Lane. At last, Clark Kent/Superman has found his leading lady.

    This just in — three-time Oscar nominee Amy Adams will play journalist Lois Lane in Hollywood’s revival of “Superman.” The 36-year-old star got the news on Sunday from director Zack Snyder, who phoned her from Paris … There had been a crush of Hollywood interest in the lead female role in the Warner Bros. project but Snyder said that after meeting with Adams, she was the clear choice to take on a character that dates back to 1938 and has long represented the strong, professional woman who can hold her own against any man – even if he can leap tall buildings in a single bound. “There was a big, giant search for Lois,” Snyder said. “For us it was a big thing and obviously a really important role. We did a lot of auditioning but we had this meeting with Amy Adams and after that I just felt she was perfect for it.” Snyder declined to discuss the precise prominence of Lois in the story or any plot details about the film but he said the role is “a linchpin” to the project and that he considers it essential that Lois — an FDR-era creation – arrives on screen in 2012 with contemporary appeal and spirit. “It goes back to what I’ve said about Superman and making him really understandable for today. What’s important to us is making him relevant and real and making him empathetic to today’s audience so that we understand the decisions he makes. That applies to Lois as well. She has to be in the same universe as him [in tone and substance].”

    Yes, I am very happy with this casting. While I wouldn’t necessarily have pictured Amy in the role of Lois, I can see how she is a great choice for the role. I generally like Amy Adams in everything I’ve seen her in so I think she will make a perfect Lois Lane. I really hated Kate Bosworth as Lois in Superman Returns so here’s hoping Amy will NOT look to her performance for inspiration. Now that Superman and his lady have been cast, along with the Kents … I guess we’ll soon be hearing about villain casting. I’m assuming Superman‘s arch nemesis Lex Luthor will be featured in the film … I wonder who they’ll get to play him. As for Amy‘s casting, what do y’all think? Do you approve of Amy Adams as Lois Lane?
    [Source]