BuzzSugar

Katherine Heigl to Take On Carolyn Jessop's Polygamy Story

BuzzSugar — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 11:31:10 -0700

Carolyn Jessop's memoir Escape will be adapted for the big screen, with Katherine Heigl attached to star and produce, Variety reports. Jessop, whose testimony helped convict polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs, "was born into the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints sect. At 18 she married a man 32 years her senior; at 35, she fled with her eight children."

Another memoir focusing on this same Warren Jeffs case was also recently acquired by a movie studio, Elissa Wall's Stolen Innocence. Apparently this particular case is becoming a favorite headline for filmmakers to rip.

Do you think Heigl will do well with this weighty drama?

Source and source

Stars on the Set This Week!

PopSugar — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:30:00 -0800

Even stars need a break! Between working hard in front of the camera, studying scripts, and rolling just one more take, these stars have to sneak a little time for themselves. This week Eva Longoria escaped to her trailer while America Ferrera grabbed a bite between takes. Check out more hardworking stars on the set this week!

View Slideshow ›

Talking New Moon With Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene

BuzzSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:15:50 -0800

Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner may be dominating the promotional circuit right now, but they're not the only cast members with something to say about New Moon. I had the opportunity to chat with costars Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene, aka Emmett and Alice Cullen, during their recent stopover in SF. They chatted about their characters, the vampire craze, and what it's like to be a "Twilight celebrity." Here are highlights:

On why so many people are crazy for the Twilight Saga:
Ashley: I think this film in particular is highly relatable. There are a lot of situations that people can relate to. The love story - everyone can relate to being in love or being in lust. You add the vampire, and it adds that next level fantasy. Vampires are mysterious and sensual and dangerous and unattainable. And everyone wants what they can't have. I think on another level that this came together at the perfect time. All the elements just fit, the casting was spot on, and we're in a difficult time right now with our economy. That's why you never have a drop in ticket sales because everyone wants an escape, and this movie is very much an escape from reality.
Kellan: It's a good escape but also it deals with so many situations, on so many positive notes. Just looking at it from the vampire coven to the wolf pack. It just deals with everyday issues just on bigger levels, in a way. And you have Bella as the keystone in many situations. You can just all relate from different countries to issues within the United States. It's easily relatable.

To read a lot more about working with three different directors and why they feel so lucky, just read more.

On how their portrayals of the Cullens are similar or different from the books:
Kellan: We got the jobs because we brought something new to it. You can interpret the characters each their own, but I think it's what we did alongside. Just like Kristen said - she's playing Bella but she's putting her Kristen spin on it, just like all of us are. And I think that's what's making it unique. We're still following the cheat sheets that Stephenie created by making the books, and there's Wikipedia. We have a lot of information to go off of. But I hope it's what I did in my audition that set it apart from the other guys trying out.

Ashley: I think it's mannerisms too. People do fall in love with this book, but I think part of it is that they always want more. You can't write out every human mannerism. You can imagine it, but seeing the emotion in someone's eyes and seeing them be affected it - it was kind of easy to give something to it, because we were just being people. We kinda just got lucky.
On how much more of the Cullens we can expect in the remaining movies:
Kellan: Realistically, we stick pretty close to the books. Obviously us Cullens would love to be in the books a lot more, which would mean we'd be in the movies a lot more. Talking New Moon, the scenes that the Cullens - except for Ashley, playing Alice who gets to go to Italy and be a main lead in the movie - us Cullens, we have to stick really close to the books, and the scenes that we're in are really crucial to the story, as you know - the birthday scene, the voting scene. I don't know, it was kind of a tease. Chris Weitz is such an amazing director, and for us, for myself - I only worked about a week on that movie. And it didn't even seem like I really got a taste for what it was.

Ashley: In the third film, you'll see a lot more of the Cullens because it's all of us collaborating and then getting ready to fight this war that's coming up. In the second one, my character got a much larger role because Alice is the Cullen, other than Edward, that really embraces Bella and they end up becoming best friends. In the beginning, you see her throw this huge party for Bella, and then Alice is the one who does, in fact, come back for Bella when everyone else decides to skip town. Alice is responsible for dragging Bella over to Italy, and she and I the whole time are fighting to save my brother's life. And then of course we get held up by the Volturi and stuff like that. My character got to grow a lot, which is really cool. You get to actually see the relationship develop between Bella and Alice, where in the first one you didn't. The first one was very much about the romance and showing the audience why these two people are willing to die for each other.
On working with a different director on each film:
Ashley: Each director is going to be very different. They're artists as well, and I don't think any of them are quite the same. The books, when you read them, all have very, very, different tones. So I think it's highly appropriate that we switch directors each go. The first one is very much a romance and is a very scenic, beautiful film. And Catherine's really, really great at capturing that. She's very high energy and works well in chaos and stuff like that. And it was fantastic because we didn't quite know what we were getting ourselves into, and so it was nice to have her to guide us when we were freaking out a little bit. She was just so high energy, and it was really contagious. We were sad to lose her and move on to the second film, but then we got Chris Weitz and he's the complete opposite! But great as well. He's so giving and caring and collaborative and created this atmosphere that was kind of a safe haven for us. And it was really nice because we didn't know, switching directors, if they were gonna embrace us or if they had a completely different vision than what we created in the first one. It was nice that he was right there on the same page with us. And the second one is a warmer film, even from the color scheme. The first one is very blue tones, and the second one is much richer and warmer and I think he did a great job at capturing that. And we just finished shooting with David Slade, and I think he's highly appropriate as well. He just finished shooting 30 Days of Night and Hard Candy, and they're both very dark, edgy films. And Eclipse is very much that. It's all centered around the anticipation and us getting ready to fight this huge war. We just finished filming, we haven't gotten to see much of it, but I think it's gonna be fantastic. He is, technically, the most advanced director. The angles that he shot and how he knows that tweaking something can affect a whole scene and the lenses. He was really nice to work with.
On coping with the fan effect and being a "Twilight celebrity"
Kellan: That's what blows my mind, 'cause I feel like it's really unearned in a way. The fans are making our careers. Without them, we wouldn't be working and doing the saga. There's so many times that trilogy books become a movie and the first one bombs, and then that's it. And you're always hopeful that you get to do them all. Especially since we're all in love with our characters. I love Emmett Cullen to death, he's my favorite character I've ever played. It's just so cool to have made it this far, and I think we all hope that we get to finish this series and do Breaking Dawn. This is such a blessing, it's every actor's dream to be part of something like this. It's not terribly hard either. We don't shoot halfway around the world; we don't shoot for a year of our lives. I know a lot of us have homes, we have pets, we have family. And it's really nice to shoot on the West Coast, either Portland or Vancouver, and have the chance to fly down if we need to. But it's definitely amazing to be part of something like this. And I don't think any of us knew how crazy it would be and how exhilarating it would turn out to be. Going to the premiere, really just, wow. I don't even remember it because I was really just starstruck by how many fans and signs and cameras. It felt like I was just walking through a strobe light room. It's amazing.

Ashley: I still think we can't really wrap our heads around what's going on and what's happening. We're still in the midst of filming and kept very busy from one film until the next. It's only these brief moments where you sit back and are actually able to take a breath where you go "Whoa. Wow. This is crazy." I mean, the amount of tickets they've already sold for New Moon - I'm pretty sure I can't even get a ticket if I tried to see my film in Jacksonville and it's mind boggling. We're just very lucky. I went into this film thinking "Oh my gosh, I got a job" and the it turned into the biggest break of my life. I think we all feel very blessed to be a part of this.
On how it feels to be part of Twilight fan fiction:
Kellan: It's an escape, in a way. We do live in a trivial time period right now. There's so much depression that it's kinda cool to be a part of something where people use it to be an escape. In a way that's kinda what Stephenie did -she had a dream and just elaborated on it. It became a huge success and it's really encouraging that people are doing the same and just making up this journey.

Ashley: That's why people love it so much I think. You can take it and make what you want of it. Before the demographic was teenage girls, but now it's women of every age and guys are starting to get into it, too. It's because there is that element of fantasy. If you're 8 years old you look at it one way; if you're 80 years old you look at it another. I think it's fantastic that we can draw such a huge crowd. The other thing is - it blows my mind but people are making connections over this film and over this book. there are mothers and daughters and grandmas who can all sit and talk about the same story and all fantasize about it and I think that's a really cool thing. I think it's rare.

To see all of our Twilight and New Moon coverage, check out TwilightSugar!

Desperate Housewives Rundown, "The Coffee Cup"

BuzzSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 06:30:00 -0800

Some shows bring out big guest stars for November sweeps, but Desperate Housewives is getting back in touch with its sexy side instead. Susan tries to set a new record with Mike while Bree narrowly escapes an Orson interruption when she's with Karl. Meanwhile, Lynette's pregnancy secret is finally out and Nick Bolen continues to be creeptastic all over town.

Now that Mad Men's long gone, I'm hoping the housewives will kick things into higher gear for my Sunday nights. Ready to get into it? Just read more.

Susan: Susan manages to avoid jail time for shooting Katherine, but the cheeky judge sentences her to garbage pick up for all of her "trash talking" (get it?!). Katherine and Susan's little courtroom drama re-enactment is ridiculous (as is Susan's cleavage baring dress for the hearing) but unfortunately the catty antics don't stop there. Katherine taunts Susan and her orange jumpsuit, prompting Susan to turn the tables on her rival. Katherine has a hissy fit and reveals that she and Mike once had sex five times in one day, which of course gets Susan all worked up. When her endless array of lingerie and come-ons still can't land Mike in the sack more than three times in 24 hours, Susan has one of her typical annoying tantrums. Mike comforts her in what's meant to be an "aww" inducing moment, but I was too busy rolling my eyes. Usually Susan doesn't bug me this much, but I couldn't be more over the love triangle.

Angie and Bree: Gaby usually has the best lines of the show, but it looks like Angie is right on her tail - "Have you seen Avenue Q? With the puppets? Now that's theater." Anyway, Angie's now got herself a balancing act between giving Nick grief about his affair with Julie and being too involved with Bree's life. After Orson admits to Angie that he suspects Bree is having an affair, Angie immediately tells Bree. Though she refuses to spy on Bree, Angie still gets all tangled up in the web when she plays Rear Window - looking on as Orson enters the house while Bree and Karl are upstairs getting it on. Angie intervenes and saves the day, but how long before she asks Bree to return the favor. Also, when Orson is discussing the plot of Madame Butterfly, is he insinuating that he might kill himself when he inevitably finds out about Bree's affair? Personally, both Karl and Orson kind of bug me so I'm just as torn as Bree is about which man to choose.

Lynette and Gaby: The latest update in Lynette's secret pregnancy? Menswear. But that's just the tip of the iceberg, when she and Gaby start squaring off over one of Lynette's colleagues. Gaby convinces Carlos to transfer Terrence, the colleague in question, to Florida so that Juanita can take Terrence's daughter's spot at a Catholic school. Realizing that she won't be able to take maternity leave without Terrence, Lynette turns the tables and convinces Terrence to reject the transfer. The tables turn on Lynette when Gaby discovers that she's pregnant - and Carlos is pissed. He gives Lynette an ultimatum - take the spot in Florida, or quit. Though Carlos's anger is understandable, I think I'm on Lynette's side here. Carlos had been complaining about another co-worker's pregnancy, so Lynette had every right to be scared to tell him. I also think it's a bit rich for Gaby to admit how selfish she is but then point fingers at Lynette for keeping her secret.

How'd you feel about the scandals this week? Are you on Team Orson or Team Karl? Do you think it was Nick who kills the coffee shop girl at the end? Sound off!

new releases in music and new DVDs to add to your Netflix queue. I've checked out today's movie offerings and have some recommendations for the movies that are worth your rental time below.

This Summer's hit from Pixar is as tear-jerking as it is funny and light, and equally entertaining for kids and adults. Up is a story about an old man, voiced by Ed Asner, who attaches his home to balloons to escape his rapidly changing neighborhood.

I loved the emotional and original story, and wouldn't be surprised to see it nab a Best Picture nomination. The DVD has a ton of fun extras like cartoon shorts Partly Cloudy and Dug's Special Mission, and the expected making-of featurettes.

98%

See two more new releases when you read more.

The Ugly Truth

Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler play opposite each other in this romantic comedy that hinges on the notion that women want love, while men only want sex. I couldn't find much romance, though; in its place are cliches and some truly cringe-worthy moments.

But if you're one of the many who loves Gerard Butler, you may enjoy his boorish behavior. DVD extras include deleted scenes, two alternate endings, director commentary, and a gag reel.

15%

Spread

Ashton Kutcher is just a gigolo in the indie Spread. OK, maybe he's not exactly a gigolo, but it's pretty close - his character Nikki hangs around wealthy women like Anne Heche, exchanging good lovin' for a place to stay. When he unintentionally falls for a mysterious girl, his sugar mama ways are challenged.

Kutcher's role is more dramatic than what he usually takes on, and the love scenes are supposedly pretty steamy. Included in the DVD's extras are a feature called "The World According to Nikki," commentary with Kutcher (who also produced the movie), and deleted scenes.

13%

90210 vs. Melrose Place: Which Was More Scandalous?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 07:30:00 -0700

Both 90210 and Melrose Place felt like they were building up to something big this week. It didn't make for a particularly juicy two-hour block, but I cannot wait to see exactly what happens in the coming episodes as each carefully placed plot point starts to unravel. (You just know Jen's scheming is about to blow up in Naomi's face - and don't even get me started on nut-job Violet! They're going to have to kill her off soon if she keeps acting this cuckoo.)

Which show do you think had the most drama? I know my pick for the week, so check out my argument and see if you agree when you read more.

90210 point: Jen is such a snake in the grass. She talks smack about Naomi - even going so far as to say "You couldn't even keep your little high school James Dean happy" about Liam. Then she backpedals and pretends to be Naomi's best friend to weasel money out of her.
Melrose Place counterpoint: Can we say psycho? First, Violet tries on Auggie's clothes while he's out of town, and then she makes Michael her new mark, going to the hospital with a fake heart attack and getting him to drop trou outside the bar. Oh, and let's not forget the clincher: She shows up to his house by posing as the new babysitter and blackmails him.

90210 point: Adrianna is such an idiot, even she said so. She breaks up with Navid because of her wandering eye for Teddy, but after a quick frolic on the beach (barf!) set to the tune of "You're a Dream to Me," Teddy breaks the news that he wasn't looking for a relationship. By the time Adrianna realizes the mistake she's made, Navid knows about her kisses with Teddy and tells her that he doesn't want anything to do with her. Hurtful, but deserved.
Melrose Place counterpoint: The hooker lifestyle is quickly getting more out of control for Lauren. When she takes a job on board a party boat with a few other "girls," her neighbor David shows up, forcing her to make a quick escape - and putting her on very thin ice with her madam. Anyone else think the writers are starting to put her and David together romantically? Ella is going to be pissed!

90210 point: Mark gets jealous of Jasper, and tells Annie that Jasper pulled a knife on someone at his old school. As a result, Annie starts blowing Jasper off, and instead accepts a date with Mark, which quickly escalates into borderline rape. Jasper swoops in to break it up and denies the knife rumor - but whaddyaknow, he just happens to have a blade on him so he can stab Mark's car tires.
Melrose Place counterpoint: An art deal goes wrong fast with David, so he gets beat up by multiple guys and has to go to the hospital. His nurse? Lauren, naturally. I swear these two will be knocking boots any minute now.

90210 point: Silver starts to rekindle her relationship with her mom - that is, until Kelly butts in and tells her mom to stay away from Silver because she's bipolar. (Kind of mean for Kelly, wasn't it?) In other Kelly news, Harry obviously has feelings for the teach. He drinks too much at the bar, and accidentally says her name - instead of his wife's.
Melrose Place counterpoint: Prepare for a Riley-Ella face-off. Did you see the death stare Ella gave her when Riley became the new model for the jeans line?

Alright, so I'm giving this week's round to 90210. While Violet is certifiably insane, she really was the only shocker on Melrose. But on 90210, you've got Jen and Jasper keeping things interesting. Do you agree with my assessment? Which one caused you to do a TiVo rewind?

Want to keep talking about the episode? Check out the 90210 Superfans group in the Buzz Community!

Photos courtesy of The CW

What to Download: New Music Today

BuzzSugar — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:30:32 -0700

Tuesdays are big in entertainmentville: not only do all the new DVD releases hit Netflix, but new music also pours into stores. So I take a spin through each week's music releases and pick out some albums and tracks worthy of a download.

Queen of the dance floor: I pretty much murdered my cassette of Madonna's greatest hits, The Immaculate Collection, which came out in 1990. Now, with Celebration, her third hits compilation, Madonna brings the party again. The title track is an upbeat dancer, but what you really want are her older songs that are mixed in with more recent hits, including "Hung Up," "Music," "Vogue," "Into the Groove," "Don’t Tell Me," and "Like a Virgin."

Divas are doing it for themselves: Even if your tastes aren't Mariah-level mainstream, you probably won't be able to escape most of the singles off of Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel for the next few months. Mariah wrote and executive produced the entire album, which includes her stalker jam "Obsessed" which has already been getting lots of airplay. If you tend to like her pipes more on ballads, look out for "H.A.T.E.U." and "I Want to Know What Love Is."

See one more release when you read more.

Alt rock out: Paramore sprung on the scene last year with prime placement on the Twilight soundtrack. Since then, they've been nominated for a VMA, and today they release their third album, Brand New Eyes. The first single, "Ignorance," is a hard rocker, while the slower, bittersweet "All I Wanted" will please devoted fans and new listeners. I also predict "Brick by Boring Brick" will go places.

Desperate Housewives Rundown Season 6 Premiere "Nice Is Different Than Good"

BuzzSugar — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:30:36 -0700

The season six premiere of Desperate Housewives opens with Mike's much-anticipated wedding and then takes us on a series of flashbacks to the weeks leading up to the big event.

With Edie out of the picture and a new housewife on the block, Mike's marriage isn't the only scandal happening on Wisteria Lane. To chat about the exciting season premiere, just read more.

Susan - She's been avoiding Katherine since she and Mike got back together but is forced to see her when she stops by Bree's house. Hiding behind Lynette, she manages to avoid a confrontation until a delivery man leaves Susan's wedding dress at Katherine's house, leaving her no choice but to go over and pick it up. When Susan stops by, Katherine opens the door wearing the dress - and teases her by cooking red pasta sauce dangerously close to the dress. It's obvious that Katherine is upset about the wedding, but Susan is determined that it be her special day. Susan might have more than Katherine to worry about with Julie back in town being courted by Danny, the new housewife's son.

Bree - Still estranged from Orson and toying with an affair with her divorce lawyer Carl, Bree struggles with her adulterous feelings. When Orson begs her to rethink the divorce and consider counseling, she realizes that "guilt is a small price to pay for happiness" and books a hotel room for a rendezvous with Carl - in clean sheets, of course.

Gaby - Carlos's niece Mariana is living at the house and pushing Gaby's patience. Gaby sees right through Mariana's tricks and tries to keep her teenage ways under control by monitoring what she wears to school and implementing a 10 p.m. curfew. Gaby sees a lot of her teenage self in Mariana and doesn't want her to have to go through the same struggles that she did, so she signs papers to legalize her and Carlos's guardianship over Mariana.

Lynette - Three months pregnant with twins and realizing she'll be 60 years old when they graduate from high school, Lynette is stressed out about the idea of adding two more to the family. In the waiting room at the doctor's office, she scares a young new mom-to-be out of her elation with details about saggy boobs, constant breastfeeding, and absent husbands. Later, she and Tom are together for the first ultrasound, and when she doesn't show any excitement for the babies, Tom confronts her. She breaks down and says she doesn't love the babies liked she loved their other kids. Tom assures her that once she holds them she will, but she doesn't seem too convinced.

Katherine - Crazed from losing Mike, Katherine is a mix of depressed and resentful. She and Susan still haven't spoken since the breakup, and she intends to get a public apology from Susan - at her and Mike's wedding. Susan refuses and locks her in a closet before the ceremony, but she manages to get out and meet them in the aisle after the ceremony. Even after Susan gives in and apologizes in front of the entire church, it's pretty clear that Katherine won't be letting go of her heartbreak, or resentment for Susan, any time soon.

Angie - The mysterious new housewife on the block (spitfire Drea de Matteo) brings her husband Nick and son Danny to Fairview. We see that, obviously, they left some dark past behind when we get a glimpse of some pretty gnarly scars on Angie's back. But Angie won't be the only one stirring things up since Danny seems to have a sordid past too. After he and Julie go on a date and get in a fight and he goes missing after Mike and Susan's wedding, we are left to wonder who mysteriously strangled Julie and escaped the scene.

What did you think of the season premiere? Was there enough crazy and intrigue to keep you watching another season?