BuzzSugar

Brad Pitt Enters the Dark Void

BuzzSugar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:00:54 -0800

Introducing Brad Pitt, computer game star: the actor's production company Plan B has signed off on a deal with Capcom to adapt the game Dark Void for the big screen with Pitt as the lead. Void follows a pilot who crashes in the Bermuda Triangle and finds himself in an alternate universe fighting off aliens intent on taking over the human race.

This seems more like Will Smith territory to me - I immediately think of something along the lines of I, Robot or I Am Legend. Even so, I welcome the chance to see Pitt in a sci-fi action movie, and this storyline sounds tailor-made for the blockbuster treatment.

What do you think about Pitt as a gaming hero?

Brad and Angelina Treat the Twins to Ice Cream, Rob and Kristen's Hotel Dash, and SNL Brings On the Cameos

Molly — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:18:19 -0700

Knox and Vivienne Jolie-Pitt make a public appearance, we take a look at the trend of significant others on Saturday Night Live, and Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart's Saturday date night. All that and more - watch PopSugar Rush now!

Brad Pitt Might Face Off With RDJ in Sherlock Holmes Sequel

BuzzSugar — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 10:30:33 -0700

Warner Brothers is already developing a sequel to the not-yet-released Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, and early gossip suggests that Brad Pitt has been in talks to join the cast as Moriarity, Holmes's rival.

Please let this be true! Not only would adding Pitt to the Downey-Law lineup help keep the Holmes franchise afloat, but Downey and Pitt in the same film is pretty much my dream - both guys have that wise-cracking persona, good looks, and it would be so much fun to see them spar.

The downside: Pitt's character Moriarity is supposedly only shown in shadow according to the script, making him impossible to actually see. Not a single shot of Pitt's face? Bummer.

No word yet if Pitt will be affecting a British accent or using his Inglorious Basterds hillbilly.

Inglourious Basterds: Graphic, but Good

BuzzSugar — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 07:00:00 -0700

Meet the Inglorious Bastards, er, the Inglourious Basterds: a quintessential Quentin Tarantino clan (see also Reservoir Dogs) helmed by an accent-affected Brad Pitt. Pitt, who plays a sort of Tennessean hillbilly, is the ringleader of the group of mostly Jewish-American soldiers whose aim is to kill - specifically by scalping - Nazis. It's as disgusting as it sounds, but the film is not all gory and the Basterds are only one in a series of interwoven stories. In fact, Brad Pitt and his band of men are each in fewer than half of the movie's chapters. Yes, there is violence but the biggest tone of the movie is artfully crafted tension that left me holding my breath, wondering where the action was going to come from next.

At its core, the film has the violent tendencies you'd expect from writer/director Tarantino. It's incredibly graphic and gory (it was actually comical to hear all of the moans coming from the critics at my screening), but it's peppered with moments of genuine humor (albeit of the dark variety) with just a small dash of romance. In this regard, Basterds is very much like his classic film Pulp Fiction, but topically, the two couldn't be more different.

To hear more about the plot of the film, with some minor spoilers, read more.

The movie begins with an incredible and very intense scene between a Nazi colonel (played by Christopher Waltz) and French countryman Perrier LaPadite (Denis Menochet). It sets up the tone of the film perfectly, while introducing one of the most chilling villains I've ever seen on the big screen, played superbly by Waltz. The vignette could stand alone as a short film, and doesn't quite blend in with the rest of the movie, but it will be what stays with you long after you've walked out of the theater. The rest of Basterds fast-forwards a few years, but we haven't seen the last of the first scene's survivors.

Elsewhere, Aldo Raine (Pitt) is prepping his troops to drop into Europe and kill as many Nazis as possible - he wants each solider to gather 100 scalps. Based on some of the more graphic scenes, the mission is a success. Most of their work takes place off-screen but their influence is clear when a bumbling Hitler and his high ranking official start trembling in their boots. As the Basterds' popularity rises, they're presented with an opportunity that ropes in famous actress and spy Bridget von Hammrsmark (Diane Kruger). The movie is building up to a climactic movie premiere, but unbeknownst to the Basterds, they're not the only ones plotting.

This, for me, is when the movie really starts getting good. Firstly, based on her relatively small résumé (National Treasure, Troy, Wicker Park), I was not expecting to be so blown away by Kruger. She's simply stunning in her role including carrying one of the longest and most intense scenes. Pitt also pulls off the necessary swagger and bravado that goes with his ringleader role. When these two get together the screen seems to warm to their combined presence. Both Pitt and Kruger also add to the element of humor in the film, which is clear throughout all 2.5 hours of it.

It's hard to talk much more about the plot without spoilers, but it's one of the most satisfying - and quite frankly, entertaining and thought-provoking - movies I've seen in some time. If you can stomach the violence, the film is worth its weight in gold (or blood).

Brad, Will, and Jonah Lend Their Voices to Oobermind

BuzzSugar — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:30:35 -0700

I don't know about you guys, but I'm always more excited about an animated movie when I love the actors behind the voices. Before I even read the description of Dreamworks' Oobermind, I was already on board since Brad Pitt and Will Ferrell will lend their vocal talents to the lead roles. Along with Jonah Hill, the actors will play three superheroes - Brad's a good guy, Jonah's a bad guy, and Will's the title character who apparently swings both ways. Robert Downey Jr. was originally set to play Oobermind, but it sounds like he's got his eye on bigger projects. RDJ would have been fun, but added bonus: Tina Fey's already signed on as well.

Bradley and Renee Kiss in Spain, Brad and Angelina Glow, and Teens Pose Nude!

Molly — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:52:32 -0700

Today's PopSugar Rush features video of rumored couple Bradley Cooper and Renee Zellweger smooching in Spain, as well as scenes from Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's entrance at last night's Inglourious Basterds premiere. Plus, video of Diane Kruger talking about what it was like to work with Brad again. A new survey shows that one in 10 teens pose naked, which isn't too surprising considering all the celebrity nude photo scandals! Plus, of course, new New Moon. Check it out now!

Video of Nigel Recruiting Paula, a Britney Opera, and Who Made VF's Best Dressed!

Molly — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:15:57 -0700

Last night Paula Abdul took to her Twitter to announce that she is not returning to Idol. BuzzSugar was attending a SYTYCD taping in LA and was able to get Nigel Lythgoe's comments on the big news - watch what he has to say below! That's not all we have in today's PopSugar Rush. Check out Fab's take on this year's VF Best Dressed list, a Britney opera, and Robert Pattinson's arrival in LA. Watch it now!

Moneyball Movie Gets Another Chance Thanks to Aaron Sorkin

BuzzSugar — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:30:25 -0700

The Moneyball movie that got grounded by Sony just days before it was supposed to start shooting may yet make it to a big screen near you. Aaron Sorkin has been hired to rewrite the script for the film, which is based on Michael Lewis's nonfiction book.

The script has been the major point of contention: Sony halted production on the film because it didn't like some changes Steven Soderbergh - who was then signed on to direct the film - had made. Soderbergh will no longer be involved with the movie in any capacity.

Brad Pitt is still signed on to star as Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A's who took an unusual approach to evaluating ballplayers' talent. One of Soderbergh's plans was to have actual ballplayers and managers appear in the film to talk about Beane, but it's unclear if that will still happen under Sorkin.

With Sports Night, Sorkin proved he can get inside a sports story. Will he be the one who can get Moneyball back off the ground? Or does this sound like a bad marriage between a dry subject and Sorkin's wordy writing? And if Sorkin's script does get the go-ahead, who should direct this thing?

Source and Getty

Weekend Reading: What the Heck Happened to That Brad Pitt Baseball Movie?

BuzzSugar — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 07:30:28 -0700

Last weekend, the entertainment industry was shocked when Sony pulled the plug on Steven Soderbergh's baseball movie that was going to star Brad Pitt - just days before the movie was supposed to start shooting.

Based on a bestseller by Michael Lewis, Moneyball was going to be a feature-length film about the true story of Oakland Athletics' general manager Billy Beane (Pitt) who put together a successful baseball team based on a new way of measuring a player's skill via stats. It might sound kind of dry, but having read both the book and an early, leaked version of the script, I can vouch for it being a compelling story. So, I'm officially bummed that this project appears to be stuck in development hell and may never hit the big screen.

High-profile projects with big-name stars and directors don't get swiftly killed all that often - so what the heck happened? Two articles this week shed some light on the whole debacle, and they're fascinating reads if you're interested in this project and/or the inner workings of the Hollywood studio system.

First, Sony co-chairman Amy Pascal gives her side of the story in this LA Times piece. Apparently, Soderbergh made some drastic, last-minute changes to the script:

"I've wanted to work with Steven forever, because he's simply a great filmmaker," Pascal told me today. "But the draft he turned in wasn't at all what we'd signed up for. He wanted to make a dramatic reenactment of events with real people playing themselves. I'd still work with Steven in a minute, but in terms of this project, he wanted to do the film in a different way than we did."

For more on what happened with Moneyball, just read more.

Then there's this New York Times article that fills in details on some of Soderbergh's changes, some of which were made to make Major League Baseball happier with the film's accuracy:

What baseball saw as accurate, Sony executives saw as being too much a documentary. Mr. Soderbergh, for instance, planned to film interviews with some of the people who were connected to the film’s story. The executives, who had just seen disappointing results from The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 and Year One, rebelled.

As of now, the film is mostly considered dead, though there's thought that a different director could come in to make a movie out of the version of the script that Sony originally approved. After reading the stories, do you think Soderbergh was in the wrong for making the last-minute changes? Or do you think Sony got too skittish about a movie that still could have been good? And if Moneyball ever does get made, would you go see it?

WireImage and Source

Buzz News Roundup, 6/22

BuzzSugar — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:15:21 -0700

Just days away from the start of shooting, Columbia has pulled the plug on Moneyball, Steven Soderbergh's baseball drama starring Brad Pitt. - The Hollywood Reporter
Here's the track listing for the American Idol season eight album. - Entertainment Weekly
A 10-gallery museum devoted to the life of Walt Disney will open in San Francisco on Oct. 1. - AP
Simon Cowell has addressed the Susan Boyle situation and other controversies from this season of Britain's Got Talent. - Daily Mail
Nip/Tuck has filmed its 100th and final episode - though it may not air till 2011. - LA Times
Playing in Britain and Japan ahead of its worldwide release on Wednesday, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen premiered at No. 1 on the international circuit during the weekend, with a total of almost $20 million. - Reuters
True Blood tops a new index of shows that fans love to talk about online. - The Hollywood Reporter
British singer Estelle will replace Lauryn Hill as the headline act at this year's Stockholm Jazz Festival. - AP

Source and WireImage