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In sporting terms, it’s the Hollywood equivalent of a bloodied prize-fighter suddenly deciding to chuck in the towel and flee the ring in the dying seconds of a long and gruelling heavyweight bout that was almost certainly headed for a draw.
Producer Scott Rudin has abruptly walked away from the forthcoming film The Reader and removed his name from its credits, following a vitriolic dust-up with his co-producer, the movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
The two men, who have apparently hated each other for years, had been quarrelling over when to release the highly-anticipated love film, directed by Stephen Daldry and starrings Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes, which has been tipped as a major contender for next February’s Oscars.
A compromise appeared to have been reached in what was becoming a bitter and increasingly-public dispute last week when Rudin and Weinstein issued a joint statement saying they were finally “working together” and that The Reader would be released in US cinemas on December 12th.
However late on Thursday, it emerged that their relationship had taken a turn for the worse. Variety, the Hollywood bible, confirmed reports that another highly-strung dispute had seen Rudin finally leave the project. According to friends, Rudin resigned because he felt unable to set aside his differences with Weinstein, and was anxious to protect his working relationship with Daldry and Winslet.
The resignation of Rudin marks the latest in a long series of setbacks for The Reader, which recounts the love affair between a teenage boy and a much older woman who eventually turns out to have been a Nazi war criminal.
Initial production on the film which was adapted by David Hare from the Bernard Schlink novel was delayed by eight weeks after its original star, Nicole Kidman, pulled out after discovering she was pregnant. When Winslet was cast as her replacement, Daldry
was forced to factor in a further delay so that an actor could reach the age of consent before filming a sex scene.
Tags: epo, harvey weinstein, hollywood, ins, movie, nicole kidman, novelRelated posts
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- Oscar moments
- Elves, princesses, mobsters and monsters crowd Hollywood’s holidays
- ‘The Alchemist’ to be made into movie
- ‘Margot’ star brings her home to her work
- ‘Compass’ points to tests of faith
- `Do-gooder’ killer seeks early release
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The IOC has ordered the review of the tests after it came to light that traces of banned blood-boosting substance EPO Cera were found after the re-test of samples from the Tour de France.
Double-stage winner Stefan Schumacher and Italian Leonardo Piepoli both tested positive for CERA - an enhanced version of the blood-boosting hormone EPO - after giving samples during this year’s Tour.
And triple gold medallist cyclist Chris Hoy believes the decision to re-test the samples at the Olympics should be welcomed in the continued battle against drug cheats.
“The examiners can have up to eight years to dip into the samples taken and hopefully this sort of strong action will make people think twice about trying to cheat in the future.
Tags: cera, epo, gold medallist, ioc, leonardo, olympics, stage winner, stefan schumacher, tour de france, traces, triple goldRelated posts
On paper, at least, Travis Bickle was a catch. The lead character in “Taxi Driver” was a hard worker, drove a nice sedan, was mechanically inclined and had an interest in politics.
Unfortunately, he blew the most important part of any new relationship: the first-date movie. Instead of escorting Cybill Shepherd’s Betsy character to something relatively harmless, he took her to the XXX Show and Tell theater to see the Swedish erotic film “The Language of Love.” It’s no coincidence that a few weeks later he was shaving his hair into a Mohawk, plotting assassinations and waiting for a real rain to come and wash the scum off the street.
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U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan is no fan of comedian Tommy Chong’s movies.
The award winning documentary about her prosecution of the longtime marijuana advocate which was released Tuesday on DVD likely won’t change that.
The case was the first in more than a decade in which a manufacturer of drug paraphernalia was prosecuted in the United States.
“Mary Beth, I don’t know what planet she’s from. They had to find someone who would prosecute these victimless crimes, these political facades they call justice,” Chong said this week.
He has visited Pittsburgh numerous times since then as part of a stand-up comedy tour.
“I really credit the experience as one of the highlights of my life,” Chong said. “When you get martyred like I did, everything changes. People treat you with a lot more respect. It turned out to be a badge of honor.”
Chong’s indictment stated he was targeted, in part, for “glamorizing illegal distribution and use of marijuana” and noted the 1978 movie “Up in Smoke,” the first movie Chong made with Richard “Cheech” Marin. The comedy duo made a string of record-breaking movies and comedy albums based on the pot-laden exploits of “Cheech and Chong.”
Tags: edy, glam, movieRelated posts
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- Honorary Mayor of Hollywood Dies at 84
- Hollywood’s ‘mayor’ Johnny Grant dead at 84
When hearing about “Hamlet 2,” many may firstly think that the poor great Shakespeare is ripping his hair off his head in his grave. Well, I wouldn’t go so far, at least until I found out more about the movie.
Firstly, because lead characters in the original “Hamlet” are all dead and it would be far-fetched to think that “Hamlet 2” is about their ghosts. Secondly, because the movie that is opening this weekend includes the making of a play, from which it borrows the title. Therefore, “Hamlet 2” is the result of some crazy mind, no need to take it too serious. On the contrary.
The movie focuses on Dana Marschz (good luck with trying to pronounce that), a failing actor who, due to a conspiracy of the universe, never got a real role in his life. Not that he has any talent. Marschz is actually a terrible actor, and British comic actor Steve Coogan makes a terrific job dedicating all his talent to depict his character’s lack of it. Marschz is failing both professionally and personally, with his wife (Catherine Keener) thinking his an impotent because he can’t get her pregnant.
Dana becomes a Tucson high school drama teacher who sets his mind in creating a drama to save the school’s theatre program. He comes up with this sequel of the Shakespearian masterpiece, adding a series of elements that have nothing to do with the original. In order to have any characters of all, Dana concocts a time machine to revive them. Moreover, as that wasn’t enough, he also brings Jesus in the play. And the soundtrack of the play rests on the Gay Men’s Chorus. And when Hamlet (Joseph Julian Soria) implores Jesus (Coogan) in a song to “Rock Me, Sexy Jesus,” well, that’s the peak of it.
Nevertheless, the movie also benefits of the appearance of the Oscar-nominee for “Leaving Las Vegas” star, Elisabeth Shue, playing herself as an actress sick of Hollywood who has taken up nursing as a way of helping people. Dana meets his favorite actress when he enters hospital, having broken his f-you finger.
Tags: hollywood, movie, movie reviewRelated posts
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- Movietime newsletter
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- 2008 Movie Review Archive
- `No Country’ Dominates Weekend Awards
- `No Country’ Dominates Weekend Awards
- Zoom: Hollywood destroys New York (again) in ‘Cloverfield’
Iran has banned an award-winning young actress from leaving the country over her appearance in a star-studded Hollywood production, the state news agency IRNA said on Wednesday.
“Golshifteh Farahani was banned from leaving by the authorities at the airport on Tuesday when she was about to leave for Hollywood to examine a new offer,” IRNA said quoting an informed source.
The state agency said the decision was prompted by her starring in Ridley Scott’s latest movie “Body of Lies” with Hollywood heartthrobs Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe.
IRNA said Iranian actors are required to obtain a permit from the ministry of culture and Islamic guidance in order to appear in foreign movies.
The 25-year-old Farahani is one of Iran’s most popular actresses and has starred in several Iranian movies, including “Santouri”, which tells the story of young couple in which the husband, a musician, becomes a drug addict.
The film was criticised by conservative newspapers in particular as having portrayed a negative image of Iranian society and its drug problem, which affects some two million people.
Her appearance in “Body of Lies”, which tells the story of a CIA agent sent to Jordan to track down an Al-Qaeda leader, marked the first by an actress living in Iran in a Hollywood production.
Conservative Internet site Tabnak two days ago criticised Farahani for having played in “Body of Lies” and asked why the authorities had not taken steps against her.
Tags: hollywood, ins, leonardo dicaprio, ministry of culture, movieRelated posts
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- Star power at Staples Center rivals movie premiere
- Producer connects with women’s diversity
- Premiering today: Joe Neumaier
- Perky Anna Faris of ‘Scary Movie’ series makes ‘House Bunny’ funny
- Debut for princess’s movie
- Clash Of Movie Titans As Rudin Revives ‘reader’ Row
- Chihuahua Leaps To Top Of North American Box Office
- Forever Hunky: Ageless Action Figures
- Forever Hunky: Ageless Action Figures
It’s a given that any movie filming in New York City requires at least one pivotal scene be shot in Central Park.
Over the last 100 years, since 1908, more than 250 films have used the iconic park as their backdrop for love scenes, large-scale song-and-dance numbers, car chases and even for a monster’s rampage through Tavern on the Green restaurant.
Starting Tuesday, the Central Park Conservancy will celebrate a century of filmmaking with the Central Park Film Festival by screening five movies outdoors in the park’s Rumsey Playfield, kicking off with Harrison Ford and Melanie Griffith’s 1988 comedy, “Working Girl.”
The first film ever shot in the park was the 1908 silent British short, “Romeo and Juliet.” Since then, many a memorable scene has used the park’s 843 acres as a setting.
Tags: amp, edy, filmmaking, films, harrison ford, movieRelated posts
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- FLICKS ARE FOR KIDS
- ‘Gangster,’ ‘Bee’ audiences swarm to theaters
- One Filmmakers Vivid Tales of Fathers and Other Strangers
- One Filmmakers Vivid Tales of Fathers and Other Strangers
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“Baghdad High” follows four high school students from Iraq for a school year. My friends and I are no different.
The boys in “Baghdad High” are comparable to modern-day teens in America: A play-around songwriter, a boy with girl troubles, a goofball and a boy struggling to be accepted because of his religion.
Then you have Ali, who is worried about his girlfriend not contacting him. I’ve certainly had friends dealing with that drama. Ali is not only worried about his girlfriend, but moving away from his best friend, Mohammed, another familiar feeling for most people I know.
Mohammed is the boy who just has fun every moment of his life, but after Ali moves away, he had a hard time adjusting to his friend’s departure and struggles academically. I can identify with Mohammed because in elementary and middle school, I was known as that class clown. Now that I’m in high school, I have learned more about what’s funny and what to shy away from.
Lastly, there is Anmar, who unlike his many Muslim friends, is a Christian. Anmar is afraid that if his fellow classmates found out that he was a Christian, he would be shunned or even worse, murdered. I knew a kid in middle school who, every Christmas, I would ask what gifts he got. He would never give me an answer. Finally, he said he had never told this to anybody, but he was Jewish, and he was afraid people would pick on him.
Hayder, Ali, Mohammed and Anmar use their cell phones the same way we American teenagers do. They use their phones for video, texting, and pictures. And they use their video cameras to show us a side of the Iraq story we rarely see.
Even though the media makes Baghdad sound like a horrible place that is filled with dangerous people, not everybody there is evil. Each person deserves a chance to prove who they really are.
Tags: fellow, hard time, movieRelated posts
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- The unflappable Jena Malone
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Abba fans rejoice and get ready to try really hard to control yourself. Trust me you will have a hell of a time trying not to sing your heart out while watching this joyful romp through all the songs you know so intimately.
I had such a good time with this film. I did not know the woman next to me but I feel that we bonded through song. I could feel the music silently swelling in the crowd around me. It was obvious from the stealthy hums that viewers would have gleefully leaped from their seats to sing along with the cast.
So Sophie does the most logical thing she can think of and invites all three of them to her wedding with the idea that she will know him right away. They are all in for a surprise and we are in for a very good time with lots of silliness and romance.
If you are a fan you will be mesmerized by the song and dance even when it borders on off-the-wall. If not, then hopefully you will enjoy the gorgeous backdrop provided by Greece in all its splendor…complete with chorus. I felt as if I were on a glorious vacation with a wonderfully upbeat soundtrack to keep me going.
Tags: elf, hopeful, movie, movie reviewRelated posts
This summer’s list of movies has not fulfilled expectations as individuals would have liked; however, that detail has not prevented those respective movies’ trailers from generating significant buzz.
The trailer receiving the most attention thus far is for the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight. However, the advertising efforts for the film have been criticized due to the death of Heath Ledger, who portrays the Joker.
Other trailers that have since become popular included the previews for the latest James Bond film, Quantum of Solace and the preview for the newly-released Hancock film. Along with these, previews for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and No Country for Old Men have also become popular on YouTube and other video-viewership sites.
With the increasing popularity of trailers, let us hope that the movies that follow them turn out to be successful.
Tags: dark knight, james bond film, movie, Movie Trailer, youtubeRelated posts
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- The once and future Anne Shirley
