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Carey Mulligan Doubles Up on New Roles

Becky Kirsch — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 09:54:53 PDT

Carey Mulligan continues to rack up coveted roles with some of Hollywood's best directors. Once she wraps The Great Gatsby, Mulligan will star in the Coen Brothers' Inside Llewyn Davis. The '60s-set film follows a musician who tries to make it in NYC, though there's no word yet who Mulligan will play (or whether we'll get to hear her pretty voice).

That's not the only deal Mulligan has in the pipeline either: she's also in talks to work with Spike Jonze on his next project, which will star Joaquin Phoenix. The actress certainly seems to be choosing her roles carefully, and it seems like she's making some spot-on decisions. Are you excited for more Mulligan?

Matt Damon Brings Luciana to Her First Post-Baby Red Carpet at True Grit NYC Premiere

Molly Goodson — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 06:00:00 PST

Matt Damon had a ravishing in red Luciana by his side at the NYC premiere of True Grit last night, which was the first time she's hit the carpet since giving birth to baby Stella in late October. Matt has been shooting Contagion in chilly Chicago for the past few weeks, but now he has to take care of the promotion for his highly-anticipated new release. When he's home on the East Coast, Matt and Luciana like to take their girls for walks in Central Park, which is just part of what makes this family man one of our favorite guys of the year. The busy actor is always looking toward his next project and despite a Golden Globes snub we're still hoping his name is a big one for award season. His costar Jeff Bridges is also doing the press rounds for Tron: Legacy and he chatted with us about his wife's role in the movie and photography skills. Check out more from the event including Jeff, Gretchen Mol, Bill Hader, the Coens, and more!

Justin Timberlake Is Well Enough to Toast True Grit With the Coens

Allie Merriam — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 10:00:00 PST

Justin Timberlake joined Joel Coen last night for an LA screening of True Grit. The western film, which hits theaters on Dec. 22, is the latest offering from Joel and his brother Ethan Coen and stars Matt Damon and Josh Brolin, who also hit the reception with his wife, Diane Lane. Matt wasn't able to turn out for the event, however, as he's filming Contagion in Illinois with his very cold costar Gwyneth Paltrow. Justin is making the social rounds during a break from work on his new movie Now, as production was halted after he sustained an injury on set. JT's evidently well enough to continue doing press for The Social Network as the cast courts some love from the Oscars and even take girlfriend Jessica Biel out for a date.

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Movie Preview: Jeff Bridges Show His True Grit

BuzzSugar — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 15:30:08 PDT

It doesn't take much for a Coen Brothers movie to garner Oscar buzz, so it's no surprise that their latest, True Grit, was getting hype before we even saw a trailer. Now that our first look is here, I can confirm that does already seem to have a good shot at accolades. The remake of the 1969 film starring John Wayne has an impressive trio of leading men - Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin - and one Hollywood newbie (Hailee Steinfeld). Steinfeld plays Hattie, a 14-year-old girl who follows a US Marshal with "true grit" (Bridges) on a quest to avenge her father's death by tracking down and killing his murderer (Brolin). Damon plays a lawyer that tags along for his own reasons.

Anyone who saw No Country For Old Men knows that the Coen Brothers can bring the spirit of the West to the big screen with ease, and the trailer looks gorgeous and engaging (even though it's not much more than a teaser). Get your first taste of one of my Fall movie picks when you

Damon and Brolin May Get Gritty For the Coen Brothers

BuzzSugar — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:30:12 PDT

The freight train that is Matt Damon's career is still chugging away at full steam: while he's off filming The Adjustment Bureau, the actor is in talks for yet another upcoming project. Ethan and Joel Coen want Damon, along with Josh Brolin, to star in their upcoming remake of True Grit.

Jeff Bridges is already on board to play US marshal Rooster Cogburn, and Damon would play a lawyer who joins Cogburn and a 14-year-old girl to track down the killer of the girl's father. Josh Brolin would play the murderer, which doesn't seem like much of a stretch of imagination after his recent role in Milk.

Bridges and Brolin are obviously already pets of the Coen Brothers, and I could see Matt Damon fitting perfectly into their repertoire. I was a bit disappointed with A Serious Man, but I'm already looking forward to seeing the talented filmmaking siblings take on another drama with a star-studded cast.

A Serious Man: Seriously Hard To Wrap Your Head Around

Lauren Bradshaw — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:00:10 PDT

I like the Coen brothers. I loved No Country For Old Men, I still enjoy quoting Frances McDormand lines from Fargo - I even appreciated their most recent project, Burn After Reading despite lukewarm reviews. So I went into A Serious Man with high expectations. Perhaps a bit too high.

The Coens go incredibly dark and thought-provoking this time around, and unfortunately without any big-named stars attached like Clooney a la Reading or O Brother, Where Art Thou?, A Serious Man probably won't live on as one of their more memorable films for viewers. In fact, many people will probably feel put off by it. To see what I mean,

A Serious Man opens like a horror movie, which isn't surprising given the Coen's propensity for heavy themes (and often a few stab wounds) in their stories. The music is a big player, creating tension that doesn't let up for the audience even when the screen goes to black. But the antagonizing score fits well within the nightmare existence of Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a professor and devoted family man in '60s suburbia. First, his wife announces that she's leaving him for a touchy-feely close-talker; his unemployed brother spends entire 24-hour periods in his bathroom; and one of his foreign students is threatening to sue him. Really, the only thrill Gopnik ever gets in life is when his neighbor Mrs. Samsky sunbathes nude.

Poor Gopnik is a wound-up guy, and you feel for him and with him. (It's true; I had to decompress after this movie.) His world is spiraling out of control, so he seeks out three rabbis for a solution. Does Gopnik get the enlightenment he seeks? Not exactly, and neither do we as the audience.

There's not a single bad thing I can say about any of the actors. Each one was believable and charmingly offbeat in their role. The Coens are brilliant with character nuances - even some of the small two-minute parts managed to get laughs - but the larger picture just seemed murky from the get-go. The first five minutes of the film starts with a man in a village who accidentally invites a ghost home for dinner. It's all in Yiddish with subtitles, and it's almost like watching a stand-alone play, but I'm still not sure what it had to do with the rest of the plot, other than the Jewish religion and setting a dismal tone. So right away I felt semiconfused, but entertained nonetheless - which is pretty much how the duration of it went for me.

The film does have some great scenes - I loved the interaction between Gopnik and his foreign student, and his wife's new boyfriend Si is particularly funny - but trying to piece it together is a bit like banging your head against the wall (just like in the movie's trailer). I get that Gopnik's life sucks, but other than that, it's hard to tell exactly what we're supposed to glean from the story. I think that was sort of the point the Coens were trying to make - Gopnik doesn't get the answers he seeks, and neither do we.

Go see it if you're a hardcore Coenaholic, and enjoy the funny scenes without trying to analyze it too much. But if you prefer to dissect your movies, I'd say rent this one at home, because you may need to watch it twice.

What movies are you seeing this weekend? Review them in our Movie Review Group!

Photos courtesy of Focus Features

Movie Preview: A Serious Man by the Coen Brothers

BuzzSugar — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 10:30:40 PDT

Seeing as this one minute, 40-second teaser trailer for the Coen brothers' latest film, A Serious Man, is like a little short film in itself, I can say with certainty that I'll be eagerly waiting in line for this one come October. The synopsis: "A black comedy set in 1967 and centered on Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a Midwestern professor who watches his life unravel when his wife prepares to leave him because his inept brother (Richard Kind) won't move out of the house." Seeking some kind of balance, Larry approaches three different rabbis for advice.

In the trailer, the sounds of destruction, confusion, and desperation in this man's life weave together to make a mesmerizing kind of music. It looks dark and weird and funny - everything we've come to expect from the Coens. A Serious Man opens in limited release Oct. 2. To check out the trailer,

Buzz News Roundup, 3/23

BuzzSugar — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:30:13 PDT

The Coen Brothers are planning a remake of the John Wayne film True Grit. - Zap2it
Mary McDonnell is joining The Closer for several episodes to go head-to-head with Kyra Sedgwick's character. - Entertainment Weekly
Speaking of which, here's a rundown of what's coming up at Sci Fi – er, Syfy - post-Battlestar Galactica. - The Hollywood Reporter
Two Jimi Hendrix albums and some live DVD footage are expected to be released later this year. - Billboard
DirecTV will begin airing more canceled shows, including Smith and The Nine. - Variety
A biopic of Steve McQueen is in the works. - The Hollywood Reporter
Drummer Jimmy Chamberlain has reportedly left Smashing Pumpkins. - New York Times
Chad Michael Murray says One Tree Hill doesn't want him anymore. - E!

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Burn After Reading: A Smart and Sinister Spy Comedy

BuzzSugar — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 06:31:51 PDT

As the opening credits of Burn After Reading blip across a satellite image of Washington, DC, viewers may find themselves wondering if they've wandered into the wrong movie - a Bourne Identity type thriller filled with high-tech secrets and evil intentions. But for every spook with high-security clearance in DC, there is a goofball at Jamba Juice, waiting for his afternoon smoothie. And when that iPod-wearing dude wanders into the tropes of a spy movie, the results are wonderfully absurd and fraught with a different sort of intelligence.

The Coen brothers have given us stories of bumbling criminals time and time again, but with Burn After Reading, the filmmakers approach the familiar theme in an entirely fresh way. The "criminals" in this case are more accidental than bumbling, their deceptions adorably mundane against an ominous, thundering soundtrack and spy-camera cinematography. For all the details,

Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand play Chad and Linda, two gym employees who find a CD in the locker room that contains data belonging to a former CIA analyst. Assuming that someone will pay big bucks for the return of the sensitive info, they attempt, with childlike naivete, to blackmail the analyst, a Princeton man named Osborne Cox (John Malkovich). But old Ozzy is far more concerned about his recent unemployment and impending divorce from his wife (Tilda Swinton), who's having an affair with a pinhead womanizer played by George Clooney.

When Cox doesn't bite on the blackmail, Chad and Linda attempt to sell the secrets to the Russians, inadvertently setting off a series of plot twists that entangle everyone and provide plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. At one point, a CIA boss (played by JK Simmons) is briefed on the case - and utterly baffled: "Just report back to me when - I don't know. When it makes sense."

The way the story unfolds makes perfect sense, and at the same time, it's entirely senseless. Like kids playing spy games, the characters talk like actors trying to up the drama while waiting for something to happen. But when things happen - and believe me, some serious stuff happens - it is simply real, without cinematic spectacle, and more powerful as a result. Where other filmmakers hold might back in the name of mystery or add a cheeky twist, the Coen brothers just give us mundane reality at its most absurd.

Photos Courtesy of Focus Features

Brad and George Share Red Carpet and Pitt's Children in Venice

PopSugar — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:00:59 PDT

The Brad Pitt and George Clooney two man Venice Film Festival show rolled on, this time swapping their dark suits for light ones to meet up with co-stars Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand and the Coen brothers at a Burn After Reading photocall today. The handsome duo arrived by boat again with smiles, laughs and autographs for fans. During the session, when reporters got a little personal, the close friends kept things light by stepping in for each other and joking around. Here's more:

When a reported asked Brad about the babies, George answered: "The twins are fine."
When Brad was asked if he'd rather win an Oscar or fall in love with a beautiful woman, George answered: "Brad, don't answer that."
When George was asked about settling down and having kids they both answered: George: "I am so surprised to hear that question. That is honestly the first time I’ve been asked that question. I am getting married and having children today. Brad?" Brad: "And until then I’ll be sharing mine with him. I’ll have two more by next year."
Both also answered when asked abut missing the convention in Denver: George: "I'm happy to be here. This is one of my favorite places in the world to be. I like to watch the conventions on TV. I think the stars of the convention should be the people who are being elected. I'm pessimistic, but I'm optimistic. I think it's a very exciting time in American politics."Pitt: "I'm optimistic, too. It's a vital time. It's a defining time. I'm excited about where things are going."

They went on to joke that they only share one scene in the movie thanks to a restraining order. While we miss seeing them at the DNC, Venice is even better and thanks to tonight's red carpet premiere the Brad and George fun is not over yet.

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Images include: Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Frances McDormand

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