BuzzSugar

Link Time! ABC Pulls the Plug on Kelsey Grammer's Hank

BuzzSugar — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:30:57 -0800

It's just no Frasier: ABC cancels Hank - Ausiello Files
In a quick turn of events, Steven Tyler announces that he is not quitting Aerosmith - E! Online
Did you watch The City last night? Test your knowledge with this tech quiz - GeekSugar
Celebrate Veterans Day with these classic war movies! - MTV Movies Blog
The Tony Awards better get ready: Denzel Washington is coming to Broadway in a revival of August Wilson's Fences - Culture Monster
Winona Ryder signs on as the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous in a Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie. - Movieline
Check out this list of John Cusack's 10 best movies - Rotten Tomatoes
Get to know the actress behind Anna on TV's V - TV.com

Movie Preview: The Private Lives of Pippa Lee

BuzzSugar — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:30:41 -0700

Though the stars of The Private Lives of Pippa Lee were walking the red carpet for the film months ago, the movie still won't hit US theaters until Nov. 27. From the trailer, it doesn't look half-bad, and it features some well-known actors like Robin Wright Penn, Julianne Moore, Alan Arkin, Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, and Blake Lively.

Robin Wright Penn and Blake Lively play older and younger versions of Pippa Lee, a woman who finds herself reflecting on her wild past when her much older husband suddenly decides that they should leave New York for a retirement home. The film is written and directed by Rebecca Miller, writer/director of The Ballad of Jack and Rose and writer of the Proof screenplay.

Pippa Lee looks like she's rather different from the character Lively's playing now in Ben Affleck's The Town, and she's certainly a far cry from Serena Van Der Woodsen. To see the Gossip Girl actress as an edgier, rebellious teen in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, read more.

The Informers: Convoluted and Boring

BuzzSugar — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 13:30:51 -0700

Greed is good. Sex is easy. Youth is forever.

Or so goes the tagline for The Informers, a new film adapted from a collection of short stories by Bret Easton Ellis. You may recognize Ellis's name from the posters of several films in the past decade, namely American Psycho and The Rules of Attraction (there's also Glitterati, if that ever sees the light of day). If you're familiar with his work, you'll know, loosely, what to expect from his latest venture: Sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. There's plenty of all the aforementioned (hence the tagline), but, unfortunately the end result is more of a melodramatic mess than an examination of the excesses of the '80s.

Don't blame the actors, especially the more seasoned among them. A few - Kim Basinger, Mickey Rourke and to a slightly lesser degree Winona Ryder and Billy Bob Thornton - even give memorable performances in a movie that is anything but. The younger newcomers don't fare quite as well with the inane script that contains far too many storylines with far too many unlikeable characters. What's worse, the stories barely intersect, adding confusion on top of disdain.

Let me try to explain what goes down, when you read more.

If you break it down, there are five major plot pieces fighting for attention throughout the movie (apparently a vampire subplot starring Brandon Routh was cut). The most watchable of the bunch are the scenes with Thornton, Basinger, and Ryder. Thornton plays a TV exec who is trying to reconcile his marriage to Basinger's character, while still having an affair with Ryder. Basinger's open to reconciliation, but she's also currently sleeping with one of her son's friends. Which brings in plotline No. 2 involving most of the younger actors of the film. Austin Nichols, Jon Foster, and Amber Heard form a trio of friends who have nothing better to do than drugs and each other. Plot No. 3 has their friend Lou Taylor Pucci fighting off seedy seductions with his gung-ho father (Chris Isaak) in Hawaii. And finally plot No. 4 (don't even get me started on the fifth storyline) follows Mickey Rourke who is trying to sell a kidnapped kid to pedophiles, despite objection from his nephew played by the late Brad Renfro. Confused yet? I certainly was. Bored? That too.

Ultimately the film falters in its attempt to cover too much ground, spreading itself too thin with characters not worth caring about. And not that this movie needed another subplot, but a little vampire love could have added some bite to this film without a pulse.

Bottom Line: The Ellis fans out there may want to check out this first film for which he (co)-wrote the screenplay, but I'd skip the theatrical release.

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2009 Sundance Spotlight: Brooklyn's Finest, The Informers, 500 Days of Summer

BuzzSugar — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 16:30:39 -0800

While I won't be heading down to the 2009 Sundance Film Festival this year, I will be sorting through the humongous pile of festival entries to share with you some of the films I think look most promising. From quirky documentaries to talented young filmmaker debuts to a potential runaway hit, Sundance is filled with entertainment possibilities. Here are today's selections:

Brooklyn's Finest
Directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day), Brooklyn's Finest just became this year's first sale at Sundance. Apparently "Senator Distribution nabbed North American rights . . . on Saturday night, 24 hours after its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. . . Senator says it will release the film in the fourth quarter for awards consideration." According to Senator president Mark Urman, the company "went into aggressive pursuit right after Friday's screening." Wow! All of this spells good things for the cop drama which features a stellar cast (Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes, Ellen Barkin). The plot is described as: "Three unconnected Brooklyn cops wind up at the same deadly location after enduring vastly different career paths." The guy responsible for the screenplay has a unique and intriguing story himself (you can read about it here). No clips available just yet, but now that it's been purchased I'm sure we'll hear and see much more about this film in the future.

Two more great-looking movies, with talented folks like Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Mickey Rourke, if you read more.

The Informers
Well, the long-awaited movie adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's collection of short stories is upon us. The movie, starring a whole lot of people from the '80s and early '90s (most notably Mickey Rourke, continuing his amazing career comeback) is about LA in the '80s in all its beautiful, indulgent, moral-decaying glory. The Informers also includes Kim Basinger, Winona Ryder, Billy Bob Thornton, Chris Isaak, and the late Brad Renfro (his final role). I have mixed feelings about this movie, but then again, any trailer that includes a song by A Flock of Seagulls deserves a chance in my book.

FYI: The trailer for The Informers below is not suitable for work due to some topless ladies. Proceed with caution:

500 Days of Summer
Oh, man. Could these two be cuter together? I think not. I was so excited when this casting news first came out and I'm even more thrilled that the movie's premiering at Sundance (to not-bad reviews so far) and has a release date (July 24) and now has a super cute teaser trailer (see below!). At first glance, the movie's description sounds like a little tale of unrequited love (boy loves girl, girl doesn't believe in love) but here's the part that got me really curious: "energized by dance numbers, split screens, and two dynamic performances from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel." Dance numbers? Why not?! Check out the trailer below and for additional clips, click here.

Photos courtesy of Sundance

Josh Holloway Joins the Cast of Stay Cool

BuzzSugar — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:31:14 -0700

Now, I was interested in the initial movie news concerning Stay Cool, when the cast included Chevy Chase, Winona Ryder, Hilary Duff, Sean Astin and Jon Cryer. But now that they're adding my beloved Sawyer (Josh Holloway, of Lost), my interest has naturally morphed into complete fascination.

The movie, described as a "knowing-your-age comedy" follows "a successful author (Mark Polish) who is forced to confront an unrequited high school crush, Scarlet Smith (Ryder), when he returns home to deliver a commencement address to graduating seniors."

Duff plays Shasta O'Neill, "a sexy high school senior who flirts with the visiting author and invites him to the prom." Holloway's character is "the former high school jock and ex-boyfriend to Ryder's Scarlet."

This collection of people is hilariously bizarre in my eyes, and I can't wait to see what comes out of this project. Will you be first in line at the theaters along with me?

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Buzz In: Who Are the Meanest Teens to Ever Hit the Screen?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:39:19 -0700

Lately there's been a glut of wholesome, good-natured teens (see Jonas Brothers, High School Musical, and Vanessa Hudgens's snuggly ode to sneakers). But this week's release of the 20th anniversary of the classic Heathers reminded me that onscreen teenagers can be really mean. Actually, they can be downright vicious.

The girl group in Heathers was so mean they were essentially psychopathic. And then there's the famous pack of mean teens that torments Lindsay Lohan in Tina Fey's Mean Girls. Rich girl Caroline Mulford in Sixteen Candles is incredibly cruel (well, until she spends an evening with the geeky Farmer Ted). And of course, they're not always girls: Ryan Phillippe's character in Cruel Intentions is about as scummy as it gets in terms of douchebag teen guys.

Clear your mind of Disney stars and tell me about the most memorable nasty onscreen teens.

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Hilary Duff Joins Cast of Stay Cool

BuzzSugar — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 11:37:35 -0700

Everyone's favorite yearbook line. . .
Stay Cool, a comedy by twin brothers Michael and Mark Polish (The Astronaut Farmer, Northfork) just added Hilary Duff (who stays cool this summer in real life by going shopping) to the cast, which already included Chevy Chase, Jon Cryer, Winona Ryder and Sean Astin.

How cool is this character name?
Duff's character is named Shasta O'Neill in the movie, which has been deemed a "knowing-your-age comedy." It follows "a successful author (Polish) who is forced to confront an unrequited high school crush (Ryder) when he returns home to deliver a commencement address to graduating seniors." Shasta (seriously, that name!) is "a sexy high school senior who flirts with the visiting author and invites him to the prom."

When do you think Hilary Duff will stop getting the "sexy ____" roles?
She was recently seen in War, Inc. opposite John Cusack as the "sexy international pop starlet" and now she's going back to high school as a sexy student. I guess use it if you got it. . . ?

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Recast Mermaids and Win a Prize!

BuzzSugar — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 12:32:30 -0700

Every other Wednesday on BuzzSugar, I post a Recast challenge, where I ask you to choose new actors for a classic TV show or movie. The reader who submits the best cast wins a BuzzSugar t-shirt!

Did anyone else love the 1990 flick Mermaids? I loved it. I don't know what it was exactly - maybe the wonderful performance by Cher as a quirky single mom who's only capable of feeding her girls finger food? Winona Ryder at her angsty best? A young, hot, brooding Michael Schoeffling (you know, dreamboat Jake Ryan from Sixteen Candles)? Or the adorableness that was an itty-bitty Christina Ricci?

Who would you recast as the drop-dead-gorgeous mother of two, Rachel Flax, who has a hard time with maternal instincts? And we'll need a young actress to portray her frustrated, religion-swapping daughter, Charlotte, who's a bit of an outcast. What about Charlotte's crush, the stoic and silent Joe Porretti? Is there a little actress today that reminds you of a young Christina Ricci? And finally, who would you cast as Lou Landsky (originally played by Bob Hoskins, and why they allowed this DVD cover to be made with his face frozen like that is beyond me), who's no Brad Pitt on the outside, but has a heart of gold?

Leave your entry in the comment section below, and I'll pick one winner to feature Tuesday, June 10, complete with a "new" cast photo.

To see a list of characters to recast and a photo of the BuzzSugar t-shirt, read more.

Characters to recast
Rachel Flax (Cher)
Charlotte Flax (Winona Ryder)
Kate Flax (Christina Ricci)
Lou Landsky (Bob Hoskins)
Joe Porretti (Michael Schoeffling)

The BuzzSugar t-shirt

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Recast Reality Bites and Win a Prize!

BuzzSugar — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 15:30:07 -0800

Every Wednesday on BuzzSugar, I post a Recast challenge, where I ask you to choose new actors for a classic TV show or movie. The reader who submits the best cast wins a BuzzSugar t-shirt!

For this week's recast challenge, let's tap into the angst of Generation X and find a new group of actors for Reality Bites, Ben Stiller's 1994 directorial debut. There's the pouty Lelaina, scruffball Troy, square Michael, promiscuous Gap employee Vickie and commitmentphobe Sammy. What new actors could dredge up some mid-1990s anguish for a new Reality Bites?

Leave your entry in the comment section below, and I'll pick one winner to feature Tuesday, December 4, complete with a "new" cast photo.

To see a list of characters to recast and a photo of the BuzzSugar t-shirt, read more

Characters to recast:
Lelaina Pierce (Winona Ryder)
Troy Dyer (Ethan Hawke)
Vickie Miner (Janeane Garofalo)
Michael Grates (Ben Stiller)
Sammy Gray (Steve Zahn)

The BuzzSugar t-shirt

Buzz News Roundup, 11/9

BuzzSugar — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 14:30:36 -0800

Winona Ryder will play the mother to Zachary Quinto's Spock in the new Star Trek movie, Zap2it reports.
It's looking like Jay-Z will have his 10th No. 1 album when sales are reported next week, according to Billboard.
E! reports that Showtime wants a third season of Dexter.
Mark Wahlberg will star in Max Payne, a big-screen adaptation of the video game, according to Variety.
Laila Ali and Hulk Hogan will share hosting duties for the new American Gladiators, People reports.
A&E is planning a reality show where celebrities throw garage sales, hosted by Illeana Douglas, writes the Hollywood Reporter.
NME reports that satellite radio listeners can now tune into a channel completely devoted to Led Zeppelin.
Fox is working on a new comedy starring Bernie Mac, Variety reports.

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