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Are You Glad Sean Penn Dropped Out of the Stooges Movie?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:15:25 -0700

Sean Penn needs a little break. The Oscar-winning actor has abruptly pulled out of several projects, including the new Farrelly Brothers comedy, The Three Stooges. The casting for this movie has always been a little, well, odd to me, with Jim Carrey set to play Curly, Benicio Del Toro as Moe, and Sean Penn as Larry.

What do you think about Penn dropping out? Is it good to see a spot open up for an actor who is potentially better suited for this comedy (like Will Arnett, Martin Short, or Robert Downey Jr., as MTV suggests)? Or were you fine with the idea of Penn playing Larry?

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Are These Three the New Stooges?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:30:16 -0700

I've been curious about the Farrelly Brothers' Three Stooges project for a while now, and "curious" is also the word I'd use to describe today's casting news. Sean Penn is, as rumored, on board to play Larry, and Jim Carrey has entered negotiations to play Curly. And while nobody's officially claimed the role of Moe, The Hollywood Reporter says Benicio del Toro has been named as a possibility.

So, let's take a look at these three. Could they be funny together? With the exception of Carrey, none of them is particularly known for being funny solo, but maybe there's a hidden world of pratfalls and "nyuk-nyuk"s buried deep inside of them. Also of note, this tidbit about the project itself:

Originally constructed as four separate shorts, the feature screenplay has since been streamlined into a single narrative. Included in the story line is an opening that shows the Stooges as kids in an orphanage, a device that will require some Benjamin Button-style visual trickery to place the adult actors' heads on child actors' bodies.

So, it seems we've got a lot to talk about. How do these three potential Stooges-to-be stack up to your recast picks (I can't believe they wouldn't/couldn't get John C. Reilly)? And how are you feeling about the project itself at this point?

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Where Will We See the Oscar Winners Next?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:30:03 -0800

The Oscars did a great job of getting me psyched for some upcoming films - but when will we see this year's Oscar winners on the big screen next? Here's a rundown of what Sean Penn, Penelope Cruz, Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle, and more are working on now.

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From the Press Room: Kate Winslet and Sean Penn

BuzzSugar — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 21:34:42 -0800

A visibly overjoyed Kate Winslet, winner of the Best Actress award, came back to the press interview room where, as she said with awe, "It's only dawning on me now that I've won an Oscar . . . Oh, my God." She was so gleeful, in fact, that she raced off the stage and threw her arms around a man who clearly has been interviewing her for years - as he said, since she was a 17-year-old girl from Reading. When he asked her how she felt, she crowed, "Like a little girl from Reading! . . . To have been here and lost, I can tell you winning is a lot better - really, a lot!"

She said many more things - including a saucy little shoutout to Susan Sarandon - and so did this year's Best Actor, Sean Penn. For some of their post-win comments, read more.

Kate, on getting flak from other Brits for being emotional in her acceptance speeches: "I really don't care and quite honestly it makes me sad that my own country can't be happy for the successes of their own kind."

Kate, on believing in fate: "Well, look at this [statue] . . . Yes I do. I do, I do! . . . I feel like a very unlikely hero here, you know. I was not the privileged kid that things like this could possibly happen to."

Kate, on working in Germany: "I have never worked with a more solid group of actors and crew members in my life . . . They were all so committed in a way that was almost startling . . . It really is about working as a team and working to an end . . . I'd really love to go back to Germany and work again."

Sean, on his relationship with Mickey Rourke: "I've known Mickey for over 25 years. We've had, for the most part, a very close friendship. He's somebody that I've alternately looked up to, I've directed . . . I've admired. He had me, almost throughout The Wrestler, weeping . . . What's sensational about him is what's always been sensational about him . . . he's simply one of the most poetic talents in acting."

Sean, on what it means to him, bringing Harvey Milk's story to screen: "That means a lot to myself and anyone involved . . . anyone who believes in equal rights for a human being . . . It's very simple."

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Oscar Nominee: Milk For Best Costume Design

BuzzSugar — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:30:21 -0800

As we gear up for the Oscars, I'll be featuring the nominees for Best Costume Design. It's a big year for this category as the films nominated represent vastly different historical periods. Be it 18th-century England or San Francisco in the '70s, these films include some gorgeous threads. I've already presented galleries for four out of the five nominees, so today the final movie is Milk.

People often think of San Francisco's "Summer of Love" as the city's major cultural movement, but Gus Van Sant's biopic Milk features the life of gay activist Harvey Milk during another turbulent time for this town: The 1970s. And nothing helps bring this vision to life more than the detailed costumes worn by each member of the fantastic ensemble cast. From Josh Brolin's traditional suiting to the flashy polyester getups worn by Diego Luna, the '70s never looked so good!

To check out the many photos of good-looking people in high-waisted jeans and such, just read more.

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Photos courtesy of Focus Features

Buzz Brainteaser

BuzzSugar — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 04:30:01 -0800

Welcome to Buzz Brainteaser, the trivia feature on BuzzSugar! Every weekday I'll test your knowledge about TV shows, music, and movies. If you enter in the correct answer, you win points! Sean Penn just won a SAG award for his role in Milk. This is his first SAG win, though he's been nominated several times. He was first nominated for a SAG award for his role in what mid-'90s film?

Announcing The Winners: The 2009 Critics' Choice Awards

BuzzSugar — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 23:38:59 -0800

Slumdog Millionaire was the big winner Thursday at the Critics' Choice Awards, taking home the trophy for Best Picture as well as several other awards. The film won five awards in all, including trophies for its director, star, and composer.

Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep tied in the Best Actress category, with Hathaway winning for Rachel Getting Married and Streep for Doubt. On the men's side, Sean Penn won Best Actor for Milk.

The Dark Knight, The Reader, and Wall-E were among the other films that won awards. To check out the full list of winners, just read more.

BEST PICTURE
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ACTOR
Sean Penn, Milk

BEST ACTRESS
Tie: Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married and Meryl Streep, Doubt

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Kate Winslet, The Reader

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Milk

BEST DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST WRITER
Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
WALL-E

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS (Under 21)
Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ACTION MOVIE
The Dark Knight

BEST COMEDY MOVIE
Tropic Thunder

BEST PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
John Adams

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Waltz With Bashir

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Man On Wire

BEST SONG
"The Wrestler" (performed by Bruce Springsteen, written by Bruce Springsteen), The Wrestler

BEST COMPOSER
A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire

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Milk: Deeply Moving, Difficult, and Worthwhile

BuzzSugar — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 12:30:58 -0800

"I know that you cannot live on hope alone, but without it, life is not worth living." - Harvey Milk

The story of gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk had a huge impact on me a few years ago when I first watched the Oscar-winning documentary about him, The Times of Harvey Milk. His is truly a stranger-than-fiction tale and is so full of inspiration, absurdity, and absolute heartache that it's somewhat surprising it has taken this long to create a feature-length dramatization of his life and death. I respect director Gus Van Sant's decision to memorialize and honor Harvey Milk with his movie Milk, and to my great relief, Van Sant and his exceptional ensemble cast have done Milk's story justice.

Milk picks up Harvey Milk's life when Milk (Sean Penn) meets one of the great loves of his life, Scott Smith (portrayed by James Franco) and decides to move from New York City to San Francisco. There, the two open a camera store in the heart of the Castro, a neighborhood with a rapidly growing gay population, and there Milk begins his life as a leader of the gay rights movement in the 1970s. After trying and failing twice, he is finally elected to San Francisco's Board of Supervisors in 1977, largely due to the support of the gay community. For the first time, it becomes apparent that the gay community could be a powerful one, and Milk often emphasizes this during his time in city hall. As the country's first openly gay man to be elected to public office, Milk brings the gay rights movement to the city's attention as much as possible, earning him admiration and support along with many enemies - including his ultimate enemy, fellow supervisor Dan White (Josh Brolin). For more about this and my thoughts on it all, read more.

Dan White is a good ol' Christian boy who feels threatened by and resentful of Harvey Milk's success. Josh Brolin, who is fast becoming one of the most fascinating actors in Hollywood, simply morphs into this insecure and fearful man who gradually becomes unhinged. His fate and that of Harvey Milk are tragically linked in history forever, and frankly, it's disturbing to see Dan White brought to life on screen, especially after seeing all the actual footage of him in the documentary.

The rest of the cast is equally remarkable: Franco makes for a loving, sympathetic Smith, and Emile Hirsch is captivating as Milk's young activist protégé Cleve Jones. Allison Pill is always an undeniably strong presence on screen and her depiction of Milk's sole female team member, Anne Kronenberg, is no different. Diego Luna plays one of Milk's lovers, Jack Lira, with equal parts bright beauty and troubling instability. Most of all, Penn's portrayal of this charismatic, resilient, and good-humored pioneer will surely earn him some well-deserved accolades and awards.

This project is remarkably ambitious. There are so many intersecting aspects of Milk's career, activism, and personal life, it's enough to make one's head spin. Add to this Van Sant's decision to incorporate actual footage from the '70s into his dramatized story, and you've got yourself a crazy, giant puzzle to put together. But the actual footage is crucial in this case, consistently reminding us that though this seems like fiction at times - especially now, to modern audiences - this is a true story.

Interestingly, one "character" (so to speak), the outspoken fundamentalist Christian singer Anita Bryant, is not played by any actress (though at first glance I thought for sure it was Marcia Gay Harden). Instead, her entire part in Milk's story is shown through real footage - which only makes her behavior that much more staggering. This directorial choice seamlessly blends the reality of Harvey Milk's actual life with the staging of his life by the director and cast. Overall, I can’t express enough how much I applaud and admire Van Sant’s accomplishment here. It's a complicated and deeply emotional story, and the entire production - Van Sant, screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, the whole cast - carried a tremendous responsibility to get this thing right and the result is a dignified homage.

I highly recommend watching the documentary first, as there was an effervescence and a beautiful light to the real Harvey Milk that no actor, not even the great Sean Penn, can capture. Both the documentary and this new film may leave you speechless and/or weepy. But his is a worthwhile story to tell and if this grand-scale production with heavy-hitting actors and a talented director gets his story out there, all the better.

Photos courtesy of Focus Features

Movie Preview: Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch in Milk

BuzzSugar — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 13:30:09 -0700

One of the movies I'm most looking forward to this Fall is Milk, which filmed in my fair city of San Francisco last Winter. Directed by Gus Van Sant, the movie follows the true story of Harvey Milk, the nation's first gay official of any major American city, who was assassinated shortly after his election to office. The story has already been covered by a moving documentary, and in Milk, Sean Penn steps into the title role.

Now, I've said before that I can be a bit of a crybaby, and this trailer got me all teary. Penn seems like a great fit as Milk, letting the right amounts of warmth and passion through. The overall look of the film also seems spot-on, capturing the '70s style without seeming costumey. And the cast - oh, the cast! Some of the most wonderful actors in Hollywood appear alongside Penn in this one, including Josh Brolin, James Franco, Diego Luna, and a totally transformed Emile Hirsch.

Milk premieres at the end of October in San Francisco and will be in wide release starting Dec. 5. To watch the trailer, get your tissues ready and read more.

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Movie Preview: What Just Happened?

BuzzSugar — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:29:59 -0700

What Just Happened? was a fairly big deal at this year's Sundance mostly because of Robert De Niro who is at the center of this strange comedy. It's a Hollywood satire that some people will probably appreciate more than others, and the reviews I've read of the film have said there may be too many "insider" jokes about "the industry" for most people, but that otherwise it's a great movie.

The story follows "two weeks in the life of a fading Hollywood producer (De Niro) who's having a rough time trying to get his new picture made." Sean Penn plays himself, as does Bruce Willis (pretty hilariously, it seems) and Twilight's Bella, Kristen Stewart, also stars in the film, which opens October 3.

To check out the funny/odd trailer for What Just Happened?, read more.

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