In the wake of award season, plenty of stars are looking to line up new projects for the future. Tina Fey, Daniel Radcliffe, and Emma Watson are just a few people who have signed on for leading roles, while The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has cast yet another villain. Find out where you can expect to see your favorite stars next!
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner didn't let the threat of a big snowstorm get in the way of their flight or red carpet plans as they stepped out for the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Gala in NYC last night. She took a break from mom duty to don a bight pink Rouland Mouret dress out to support her husband, whose film The Town picked up Best Ensemble Cast and was named one of the top 10 movies of the year. He was both the director and leading man in that project, and his cast member Blake Lively wore purple Marchesa to join him for their winning evening. Blake arrived back on the East Coast earlier in the day after joining Ben at their costar Jeremy Renner's birthday party. Ben was also coming off being honored as chairman at the star-studded Palm Springs Film Festival. Michelle Williams attended her third event in as many days, and she was once again joined by the guys of The Social Network. Mark Wahlberg, Jon Hamm, and Christian Bale helped round out the group, many of who will be catching planes to the West Coast for this weekend's award season happenings. On Friday there's the Critics Choice Awards, where we'll be broadcasting the celebrity arrivals live, and on Sunday it's time for the Golden Globes, so don't forget to fill out our ballot for a chance to win $1,000!
No one can resist the fun-loving Muppets! In today's casting news, Amy Adams and Rashida Jones have both signed on for human roles in the upcoming movie with the puppet creatures. They'll join Jason Segel who cowrote the script with Nick Stoller and will star as the lead.
The film reportedly follows the Muppet gang as they band together to put on a show to rescue a movie studio. Adams will play Segel's girlfriend who aids in the crusade, while Jones will step in as an ABC executive; Chris Cooper has also signed on as the villain. While I realize the movie will probably be marketed to kids, I'm already giddy over the project (who didn't love The Muppet Show or The Muppets Take Manhattan?!). So I'm wondering, will the Swedish chef cater the fundraiser? Will Janice play guitar? Come on, I need more details!
In the classic Shakespeare play The Tempest, a magician and rightful duke named Prospero is banished to a distant island by his jealous brother, who seeks the crown. Julie Taymor gives her film adaptation a girl power makeover, turning Prospero into Prospera and making her leading lady (Helen Mirren) the wife of a duke. When her conniving brother-in-law, Antonio (Chris Cooper), accuses Propsera of killing her husband with witchcraft, she's sent away on a ship with her 4-year-old daughter. She conjures a storm to lure Antonio to the island she and her daughter have been inhabiting.
It sounds like typical Shakespeare tragedy (murder! treason! banishment!) but The Tempest is actually a comedy, and the trailer's got some funny moments (thanks to Russell Brand and Alfred Molina). If you're expecting to see Brand branching out from his typical fare, then you may be disappointed, but he's oddly fitting here as a jester. As expected for a film about a sorcerer, there's also special effects to spare here — not to mention a stellar cast. Check it out after the jump.
Even historic Fenway Park got red carpet ready for the Boston premiere of Ben Affleck's second directorial project, The Town, on the Red Sox home field last night. Ben had the support of his cast, along with his friend, and fellow Beantown native, Matt Damon. While the stars of the film were dressed up, Matt and pregnant Luciana looked ready for a ballgame in jeans. Blake Lively's boyfriend Penn Badgley joined her for the journey up from NY after Regis and Kelly yesterday morning. Jon Hamm also had his partner Jennifer Westfeldt on his arm, while Jeremy Renner and Rebecca Hall were solo. Ben's wife Jennifer Garner is home in LA with their daughters, though she stopped by TIFF with him last weekend. Ben recently spoke about what it means to make Boston films, saying, "Boston is a place that — and I was the same way, living there — that likes to see itself reflected, likes its own, likes to see a reflection of its values. New York doesn’t so much care about a New York movie. . . But Boston knows. Boston knows if you’re from there. . . It means something to them."
To see more of Ben, Matt, Jon, Blake, and others, just read more
The movies from this year's Sundance Film Festival are slowly rolling out into wide release, and Ben Affleck's The Company Men is on its way as well. The aptly-timed drama follows the three corporate businessmen (Affleck, Chris Cooper, and Tommy Lee Jones) as their lives are affected by the recession and downsizing at their firm. The trailer is all about Affleck: we see that he gets fired, struggles to find work, cries to his wife, takes a job as a carpenter.
I know it seems like the whole film is being given away here, but there's definitely a lot more going on than what we see in the preview. I really liked the film when I saw it at the festival, though much like the trailer, it tries a little too hard. Still, it's a film that we can all relate to, so check out the preview when you read more
Robert Pattinson fans, rest assured: you won't be disappointed with the heartthrob's first post-Twilight flick, Remember Me. Pattinson is the epicenter of the film as Tyler Hawkins, a troubled-but-charming college student with a few anger management problems. His character is a loose cannon and his New York accent is all over the place, but Pattinson is just so watchable that his loyal followers will hardly notice the flaws in the plot that surrounds him. It's everyone who's not in the Twilight bubble that I'm more concerned about.
Pattinson's angsty Tyler has plenty of reasons to brood: he's still reeling with the day-to-day aftermath of his brother's suicide, constantly questioning his own worth and mortality as his 22nd birthday draws near. He's also struggling to come to terms with a mother that he can't connect with and a high-powered lawyer father (Pierce Brosnan) who doesn't seem to understand that parenthood is about more than monetary support. Tyler channels his frustrations into smoking, drinking, and random acts of violence, and eventually lands in jail after assaulting a police sergeant (Chris Cooper).
Tyler's seemingly aimless path turns in a new direction when he hits on the sergeant's daughter, Ally (Emilie de Ravin). Under the urging of his obnoxious roommate Aidan, Tyler schemes to seduce Ally and never call her again to get back at her father. Naturally, Tyler gets a lot more than he bargained for, and — surprise! — falls for Ally instead.
To see whether Ally and Tyler have more chemistry than Edward and Bella, just read more
One of the films I was most interested in checking out at Sundance was The Company Men. The timely tale, which focuses on three high-paid corporate executives slapped with downsizing at their company, boasts a stellar cast and is already drawing comparisons to Up in the Air. But does it have the potential to enjoy the same success?
To find out what I thought of the movie, just read more
A little Robert Pattinson overload never hurt anyone, but here's a break from all of his vampire stuff — the official trailer for Remember Me! Yesterday we took a peek at the first stills from the film, but here we get a much better taste for Pattinson's chemistry with Emilie de Ravin in the upcoming drama/romance. Pattinson plays Tyler, a broody but romantic college student who falls for the daughter of a cop (de Ravin). Pierce Brosnan also stars as Tyler's dad, while Chris Cooper plays the police officer who has an issue with Tyler's bad boy antics.
I was a bit skeptical about Pattinson's next film, but I have to admit that the movie looks intriguing despite a few cliches and a bit of cheesiness. It's nice to see Pattinson playing it straight in a more grownup role than the perpetual teenage vampire, and he and de Ravin have a fair amount of sweetness. It's enough to keep his fan base happy, that's for sure.
To see the trailer for yourself and tell me what you think, just read more
