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Keira Knightley at Anna Karenina Premiere in LA | Pictures

Keira Knightley Nov 15, 2012

Keira Knightley Toasts Anna Karenina's Premiere in LA

Keira Knightley donned an Erdem gown, complete with a train, to premiere Anna Karenina in LA last night.

by Meghan Rooney

Keira Knightley donned an Erdem gown, complete with a train, to premiere Anna Karenina in LA last night. She was accompanied on the red carpet by director Joe Wright and costars Alicia Vikander, in Rodarte, and Domhnall Gleeson. After the screening, Keira changed into a sexy dress with cutouts to celebrate at a Champagne-filled afterparty. Also on hand to toast Anna Karenina was Russell Brand, who mingled with Joe, Keira, and other cast members.

Keira has been busy promoting her latest project, and last week we caught up with her at the NYC premiere. Keira spoke about playing Anna, saying the legendary character from Leo Tolstoy's novel is one "you might hate." Aside from the big screen, Keira can also be found on the cover of this month's Allure. Keira posed topless for the magazine, and inside the issue, gets candid about issues involving her career, body image, and feminism.

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Keira Knightley at LA Anna Karenina Screening | Pictures

Celebrity Interviews Nov 13, 2012

Keira Knightley Talks Sex and Her "Terrifying" Character Anna Karenina

Keira Knightley made her latest stop on the busy promotional trail for Anna Karenina yesterday evening.

by Lindsay Miller

On How Deeply In Character She Is While Shooting

Keira Knightley made her latest stop on the busy promotional trail for Anna Karenina yesterday evening. The film premiered in NYC last week, and Keira also graces the current cover of Allure in support of her latest period piece. Last night, Variety hosted a special screening of the film, featuring an interview with Keira and her director Joe Wright, at Hollywood's historic Grauman's Chinese Theater.

After the movie, Keira took questions from the audience and spoke at length about her conflicted feelings for the character, who leaves her husband — and is thereby forced to leave her young child — after falling in love with another man. Keira admitted that she felt torn about Anna. "That relationship with Vronsky, it is definitely the first time she's had any kind of romance, or the first time that she's ever had an orgasm! And from that point of view, you kind of go, well of course she's going to want that. Of course she's going to get addicted to that." Click through for more quotes from Keira on her newest project, including the surprising role she contributed to the film's score and how she and Jude Law worked together on their onscreen marriage.

On Rehearsing With Her Onscreen Husband, Jude Law

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Keira Knightley at Anna Karenina Premiere in NYC | Pictures

Keira Knightley Nov 08, 2012

Keira Knightley Loved Playing Anna Karenina, a Character You Might "Hate"

Keira Knightley donned a floor-length Valentino number to premiere Anna Karenina in a blustery Big Apple last night.

by Meghan Rooney

Keira Knightley donned a floor-length Valentino number to premiere Anna Karenina in a blustery Big Apple last night. She was accompanied by her director, Joe Wright, and costars Alicia Vikander and Domhnall Gleeson for the stateside screening of the much-anticipated adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's classic novel. Keira and Joe are close after working together previously on Atonement and Pride and Prejudice. Joe spoke to us about collaborating with Keira for a third time, saying, "We both went on our journeys and I found, when I saw her again, that she had been through some stuff, been through some dark stuff, and she had become even stronger and more powerful."

The NYC screening of the film came for Keira after a UK world premiere and a stop at the Toronto International Film Festival, where she and costar Jude Law hit the red carpet together. At last night's premiere, we caught up with Keira at NYC's Florence Gould Hall. She spoke about her favorite part of shooting the film, what attracted her to the role of Anna, and her exciting upcoming projects. Here's more from Keira:

On her favorite part of shooting the film: "The whole characterization and trying to figure out what made this person tick, which is always my favorite part of any job, particularly when you’re dealing with someone strange and complex. It's always interesting to try to fit the pieces together."
What attracted her to the role of Anna: "You would be drawn to play her because she doesn't adapt — you don't totally fall in love with her; you don't totally like her. You also hate her. You also think that sometimes she is ridiculous, but you always kind of understand her. I thought that was an extraordinary group of things, and that it was very true to life. I think most of us are like that most of the time."
On her "fun" upcoming projects: "I realized at the end of Anna Karenina that I had been doing films for the last five years where I died in pretty much all of them or there was something horrible that happened. I wanted to spend this year doing lighter fare. So, Can a Song Save Your Life? is entirely about friendship, and making an album, and hope. I thought that was quite a nice thing to do at the end of a period of films that had been very dark. Then, I am doing a Hollywood thriller that is not necessarily about hope, but it's a Hollywood thriller — so it's fun!"

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Brad Pitt's Second Commercial For Chanel No. 5 | Video

Brad Pitt Oct 17, 2012

Take Two: Brad Pitt's Second Commercial For Chanel No. 5

The second Chanel commercial starring Brad Pitt includes an element we didn't see in his first ad: women.

by Justin Fenner

The second Chanel commercial starring Brad Pitt includes an element we didn't see in his first ad: women.

While the first 30-second spot featured Pitt and only Pitt, the second version mostly uses the actor as a voice-over artist. His monologue, an ode to the fragrance, is overheard, while a group of models appear in different environments: one looks out a window to an urban landscape of buildings, and another appears to be walking on the surface of a lake.

The second commercial also features some of the same black-and-white footage director Joe Wright shot for the first one. But in the new ad, Pitt is only shown a few times, allowing the women in the ad to become the focus.

POPSUGAR Entertainment Oct 01, 2012

Anna Karenina Director Joe Wright Says He "Specifically Wanted to Make Another Film With Keira"

Director Joe Wright's adaptation of Anna Karenina comes out this November with Keira Knightley in the title role, which marks the third time Wright has cast the actress in one of his films.

by Shannon Vestal

Director Joe Wright's adaptation of Anna Karenina comes out this November with Keira Knightley in the title role, which marks the third time Wright has cast the actress in one of his films. When I sat down to chat with Wright, he talked about why Knightley was his only choice to play Anna, as well as how she's grown up since they made their last film together. Watch as Wright discusses her, how he had the best collaborator in Shakespeare in Love screenwriter Tom Stoppard, and why he cast Knightley's love interest, Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

Video Apr 09, 2011

Saoirse Ronan and Joe Wright Talk Hanna's Action and "Fun" Fight Scenes

Hanna is released into theaters this weekend, and we had a chance to sit down with star Saoirse Ronan and director Joe Wright.

by POPSUGAR Entertainment

Hanna is released into theaters this weekend, and we had a chance to sit down with star Saoirse Ronan and director Joe Wright. The pair talk about why the action of the film attracted them to the movie, the experience of shooting in freezing-cold Finland, and how much fun it was to film the fight choreography.

Sex Apr 04, 2011

Can a Strong Heroine Be Sexy?

At a WonderCon panel over the weekend, Hanna director Joe Wright spoke on how the thriller's unlikely heroine is the antithesis of other sexed-up action heroines (alluding specifically to Sucker Punch).

by Tara Block

At a WonderCon panel over the weekend, Hanna director Joe Wright spoke on how the thriller's unlikely heroine is the antithesis of other sexed-up action heroines (alluding specifically to Sucker Punch).

"The place of young women in society, and the continued sexual objectification of women — I find that whole culture terrifying and kind of disgusting really . . . I probably shouldn't say this, but I look at posters for recent films with girls kicking ass; there's one out at the moment, in bikinis and crop tops, and this is supposedly female empowerment, and that's bullsh*t. Female empowerment is not about sex; that's the point of female empowerment. It's about brains. So I was very keen to look at those issues with this movie, and Hanna exists outside of that."

When it comes to kickass heroines, do you agree with Wright that female empowering characters shouldn't be sexy? Or do you think sexy and strong can coexist?

Movies Apr 03, 2011

WonderCon 2011: Hanna Is an "Elegant" Action Heroine

Saoirse Ronan came dressed for the fanboys at yesterday's WonderCon panel for Hanna.

by Lauren Bradshaw

Saoirse Ronan came dressed for the fanboys at yesterday's WonderCon panel for Hanna. The young star showed up rocking a Wonder Woman t-shirt, as she sat alongside director Joe Wright to preview new clips from their upcoming thriller before a crowd of excited fans. The two collaborated previously on Atonement, but if you've seen the trailer for Hanna, then you know this is nothing like their previous work. But then again, the character Hanna is nothing like your typical heroine. Check out the panel highlights below to find out why.

The first question of the panel went to the director, Wright: why do a film like this after movies like Atonement and Pride & Prejudice? He said Ronan was actually the one who suggested he take it on. One of the things that attracted him to it was the fact that "It's not a franchise, not based on a comic, not even based on fairy tale specifically," which gave the director creative license to dream up his own world.
Wright joked that two of the bad guys in the film were actually inspired by his own bullies from when he was growing up. "It was my way of getting back at them, by having them slain by a girl," he quipped.
Ronan beats up guys twice her size in the flick, and the actress endured plenty of training to get the fight scenes, particularly in martial arts. "I suddenly had muscle in my arms, and I was strong," she said. "I had never experienced that before!"
As for why Ronan loved the script, she explained: "It's important that we have strong female characters in movies now." And unlike other "sexy or cool" leading women in film, Ronan likes that Hanna is a misfit. "She is weird, and I think Hanna as an action heroine — if that's what you want to call her — is quite elegant in her temperament and behavior except when she's kicking ass. I think we haven't seen an action heroine like this yet."
Wright also touched on the importance of heroines in movies, and got up on his soapbox to address female empowerment. "The place of young women in society, and the continued sexual objectification of women — I find that whole culture terrifying and kind of disgusting really," he said. "I wanted to address that with this film. I remember when the Spice Girls came out in the '90s and they called it 'girl power.' I think that's bullsh*t. I probably shouldn't say this, but I look at posters for recent films with girls kicking ass; there's one out at the moment, in bikinis and crop tops, and this is supposedly female empowerment, and that's bullsh*t. Female empowerment is not about sex; that's the point of female empowerment. It's about brains. So I was very keen to look at those issues with this movie, and Hanna exists outside of that." Obviously Wright was getting in a dig at Sucker Punch, but his little speech received huge cheers from the audience.

Movies Apr 24, 2009

The Soloist: The Lead Actors Are the High Notes

I'll be honest with you: If it stars Robert Downey Jr., I'm probably going to like it, at least a little.

by POPSUGAR Entertainment

I'll be honest with you: If it stars Robert Downey Jr., I'm probably going to like it, at least a little. Such is the case with director Joe Wright's (Atonement) new movie, The Soloist. Honestly, I'm not sure I would like this movie as much were it not for this excellent casting choice. It's amazing, the guy never disappoints, and in this movie he is a revelation. Downey digs deep to find the humanity and nuance in this true story and knocks his performance out of the park.

His costar Jamie Foxx gets an "A" for effort for fading into his character and successfully achieving what is no doubt a difficult job: realistically portraying a mentally ill man. For the most part, this is Downey's show, though the two actors work well together to give this already sentimental movie its heart. That said, it's not without some missteps. To find out what they are, read more