Julian Lee
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Does Naomi Watts' 'Diana' Teaser Border on Emotional Manipulation?
June 12, 2013 9:48am ESTOf course we're not going to get a Princess Diana movie that doesn't affix its lens on her relationship with the media. But man does the first teaser trailer for Diana, the forthcoming biopic led by actress Naomi Watts, really lay it on thick. With melodramatic shots of England's Rose ensconced in a sea of paparazzi snapshots, stepping into the backseat of a car in ominous slow motion, the video treads the line of emotional manipulation. With this tragic connotation already at the forefront of our minds at any mention of Princess Di, it seems like overkill to deal so heavy-handedly with her untimely passing. But maybe the trailer is not an indication of the attitude Diana will take in handling its subject matter. A truly innovative, interesting film would delve into the princess' intriguing, romantic, highly complicated life. Hopefully, Diana does not lose focus in an attempt to recreate the emotional resonance of the unforgettable day she was taken from this Earth. Diana hits theaters Sept. 20. Follow Michael Arbeiter on Twitter @MichaelArbeiter | Follow hollywood.com on Twitter @hollywood_com More:10 Reasons 'Rodham' Will Never Get MadePele Biopic Moving Forward with '30 on 30' TeamBenedict Cumberbatch Becomes Julian Assange in New Pic From Our PartnersStars Pose Naked for 'Allure' (Celebuzz)Which Game of Thrones Actor Looks Least Like His Character? (Vulture)
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Robin Thicke to bring son on tour
June 11, 2013 4:54am ESTSinger Robin Thicke is making plans to take his son on tour because he doesn't want to be separated from the youngster. The Blurred Lines star became a father to Julian, three, with his actress wife Paula Patton in 2010 and he hasn't embarked on a full series of shows since the boy's birth. Thicke admits he is considering heading back out on the road, but only if his son is able to go with him. He tells The Sun, "I haven't done a legitimate leave-the-house-for-two-or-three-months thing since the kid was born and I don't really want to. I'm going to have to at some point though, because it's too much money... I know when I start touring that he'll just have to come with me for some of it."
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Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld host charity bash in Central Park
June 07, 2013 6:19am ESTFunnyman Jerry Seinfeld and his wife Jessica invited a host of celebrity pals and their children to join them for a charity event in New York earlier this week (05Jun13). The couple hosted the Baby Buggy Bedtime Bash in Central Park to raise money for Jessica's charity, Baby Buggy, which provides families in need with essentials for newborns. The Seinfeld star enjoyed the day out with his three kids - Sascha, 13, Julian, 10, and Shepherd, seven - and the family was joined by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit co-stars Debra Messing and Mariska Hargitay, who spotted a couple getting married in the park and later posed for pictures with them. Actress Molly Sims also joined in the fun by enjoying a ride on one of the attractions with her son Brooks, who turns one later this month (19Jun13). The event helped to raise more than $500,000 (£322,580) for the charity.
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Keira Knightley Joins Benedict Cumberbatch in 'The Imitation Game,' Which Sounds Appropriately British
June 05, 2013 11:56am ESTThere's just something about those British accents. We love to hear them narrating nature documentaries, lambasting the establishment in punk rock ballads, and professing their desire for the throne on HBO dramas. And movies? Just toss anything from a cockney lilt to a Downtonian affect onto the big screen, and we're sold. In the latest crumpetastic news (is that offensive?), Keira Knightley has signed on to join the developing biographical drama The Imitation Game, joining fellow charming Briton Benedict Cumberbatch, as reported by Variety. The project (which, you've got to admit, has the most Britishy-sounding title since The Draughtsman's Contract) will focus on the life and work of the United Kingdom's own Alan Turing, a mathematical genius who proved a hero to the Allied Forces during World War II but was persecuted by his own country due to his homosexuality. The great Cumberbatch is playing Turing while Knightley's role is as of yet unspecified. But we can bet it'll be a pleasure, at the very least, to listen to. Follow Michael Arbeiter on Twitter @MichaelArbeiter | Follow hollywood.com on Twitter @hollywood_com More:Benedict Cumberbatch to Play Alan TuringKeira Knightley Stars in Karl Legerfield's Gorgeous MovieBenedict Cumberbatch Becomes Julian Assange! From Our PartnersStars Pose Naked for 'Allure' (Celebuzz)Which Game of Thrones Actor Looks Least Like His Character? (Vulture)
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Jazz star Ben Tucker killed in crash
June 05, 2013 9:48am ESTJazz musician Ben Tucker has been killed in a car crash in Georgia. The 82 year old was driving a golf cart across a road on Hutchinson Island in Savannah on Tuesday (04Jun13) when a car slammed into him at high speed. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The other driver, a 52-year-old man from Texas, has been charged with racing, vehicular homicide and reckless driving, according to Savannah-Chatham County police spokesman Julian Miller. An accomplished upright bass player, Tucker performed with the likes of Quincy Jones and Peggy Lee, and played an impressive instrument he named Bertha and claimed was 240 years old. Tucker also penned a number of jazz records, most notably the track Comin' Home Baby!, co-written with jazz vocalist Bob Dorough, which has been recorded by Mel Torme, Herbie Mann and, more recently, Michael Buble. Jazz guitarist Howard Paul paid tribute to his longtime friend saying, "One of the most interesting things about playing with Ben was he was so beloved by so many people in Savannah who had met him at his club or whose weddings he had played. You could count on being interrupted at least three times in a song because Savannahians (sic) would walk up and shake his hand while we were playing." "He was on the music scene for so many years and performed with many of the greatest names in jazz, yet he spent so much time with local musicians and children as well. I think he grew up in an era of jazz musicians where they felt obligated to give back."
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Cannes: Ryan Gosling Only Has 17 Lines in the Bloody 'Only God Forgives'
May 22, 2013 7:47am ESTPhilosophical pondering: if your movie stars Ryan Gosling, can it also be considered an art film? Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive) makes a compelling case for "hell yes" in his latest Only God Forgives, a slow-burning exploitation film that sends Gosling to Thailand to stir up trouble. He plays Julian, a boxing ring owner seeking revenge against a corrupt cop (Vithaya Pansringarm) who had his brother killed. Pushed by his Cruella de Vil-type mother Crystal (Kristen Scott Thomas), Julian strolls through the underbelly of Bangkok to hunt down the cop and kick his ass. The ass kicking doesn't go smoothly. If you've seen the posters for Only God Forgives, you know Gosling's face ends up quite busted. It got that way from the character's first encounter with the cop, a ferocious fight scene set in an arena of glowing red and yellow. Refn has always embraced brutality and once again puts his leading man through the ringer. Outside of the sporadically violent moments — where men cut each other in two and gun themselves down in a fashion that would make John Woo smile — Only God Forgives is a hushed meditation on the awful potential of human instinct. Refn floats through the spectrum of color that drowns Bangkok, relying on slow motion and Gosling's good looks to carry the weight of the movie. It's the definition of a "mood piece." Refn wants us to feel the light, feel the atmosphere, feel the piercing glance of Gosling, and feel the pulsation of composer Cliff Martinez's score. Martinez's work is so essential to the film, it feels as if Refn crafted a movie around the Vangelis-esque soundscape. Like in Drive, the soundtrack's character is the best performance in the film. Depending on your tolerance for gratuitous violence and dreamy meandering, Only God Forgives doesn't offer much in the way of plot or vibrant performances. Gosling — while impressive in his big fight scene — is an observer with only 17 lines (with classics like: "Go."). Thomas is, thankfully, in an entirely different movie, an extravagant character who delivers sultry energy to the somber picture with moments of comedy that sting. The men of Only God Forgives rip each other to shreds scene after scene, but it's Thomas who delivers the strongest punch. Teasing a narrative is Only God Forgives' biggest fault. We see a few scarce details of who Julian is, what he's gone through, and why he's ended up in Bangkok. Yet these are not important. Prioritized are the mesmerizing affects of locking eyes with a beauty or the dread that builds as an assailant slowly pins a person with sharp objects, one limb at a time. The movie has tunnel vision, and while it occasionally breaks — there's a cheeky recurring gag of the cop singing karaoke — that sense of humor and personality never round out Only God Forgives. Instead, Gosling is given his 17 lines and the camera starts rolling. If there were subtext underneath the silence, the brevity may have worked. Only God Forgives arrives in the U.S. on July 19. Follow Matt Patches on Twitter @misterpatches | Follow Matt Patches on Twitter @Hollywood_com More:See the First 'Only God Forgives' TrailerRyan Gosling Got Himself Beat UpRyan Gosling Won't Eat His Cereal (the Best Meme Ever) From Our PartnersStars Pose Naked for 'Allure' (Celebuzz)Which Game of Thrones Actor Looks Least Like His Character? (Vulture)
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Julian Assange wanted Benedict Cumberbatch to quit WikiLeaks film
May 21, 2013 4:19pm ESTWanted WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange pleaded with British actor Benedict Cumberbatch to drop out of the Hollywood adaptation of his story after objecting to an early version of the film's script. The Star Trek Into Darkness star portrays Assange in The Fifth Estate, an upcoming movie based on his whistleblowing website, which hit headlines across the world for leaking top secret and classified documents from military and international government sources. Cumberbatch recently admitted he had tried to set up a meeting with the embattled Australian journalist, who has been living in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since last summer (12) as he battles extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted over allegations of sexual assault - but Assange wanted nothing to do with him. The actor reveals Assange actually asked him to quit the project in a bid to put a stop to the movie. Cumberbatch tells New York Magazine, "(We had) a form of communication. He hates the idea of the film and asked me not to do it, and I said to him, 'Well, somebody is going to do it, wouldn't you rather it's someone who has your ear, who could steer the film to a place that's more accurate or balanced?' The tabloid image of him, what he fears is going to be promoted - that weird, white-haired guy wanted for rape - is so far from what we did." And the star insists he has nothing but admiration for his film subject for exposing documents that were in the public's interest: "No matter how you cut it, he's done us a massive service, to wake us up to the zombie-like way we absorb our news."
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Sean 'Diddy' Combs' Downton Abbey news was online spoof
May 16, 2013 6:58am ESTRap mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs has cleared up confusion surrounding his claims he was set to star in Downton Abbey by debuting an online spoof featuring him parodying the hit U.K. period drama. The hip-hop star announced on his Twitter.com page on Wednesday (15May13) that he was to become a series regular on Julian Fellowes' British show, only for TV bosses to deny the claim. Combs has now revealed his prank was to promote a new FunnyOrDie.com skit, which he unveiled to fans early on Thursday (16May13). He declares, "Last week it was reported that they have cast the first black cast member... (Gary Carr) - the only problem with this is I already broke down that barrier. I'm the first black cast member... and I got the scenes to prove it." The rapper then introduces a series of clips from 'Downtown Abbey' which he appears in thanks to computer trickery - and his character, Lord Wolcott, causes a stir in the online show. In one scene, Combs, dressed in smart period costume, turns down the advances of Rob James-Collier's character Thomas Barrow, while in another he appears to host "the first ever white party" for the cast. He later recommends Hugh Bonneville's Earl of Grantham invests in upcoming company International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) and then offers Dame Maggie Smith and Penelope Wilton's characters a sip of his own-brand Ciroc vodka - before asking them to kiss.
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Sean 'Diddy' Combs confuses Downton Abbey fans with casting announcement
May 15, 2013 6:28pm ESTRap mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs has left fans of Downton Abbey confused after declaring he had landed a recurring role on the hit period drama - only for TV bosses to deny the allegations. The hip-hop star took to his Twitter.com page on Wednesday (15May13) to announce the news after admitting that he was an unlikely fan of Julian Fellowes' British TV series. He initially wrote, "How many of y'all out there are Downton Abbey fans? I have to admit that Downton Abbey is one of my favorite shows..." Soon afterwards, he posted, "MY BIG NEWS: So happy to announce that Im (sic) a series regular on DOWNTON ABBEY-my favorite show+i'll be debuting a sneak peek tonight 12am PST!" Combs then gave his Twitter profile a complete makeover with a new Downtown Abbey background and an image of the titular country estate as his avatar picture. However, it appears the Get Him to the Greek star won't be joining the cast after all - a representative for the show tells GossipCop.com the reports are "not true", adding, "He is not joining the cast of Downton Abbey." It is not yet clear why Combs made the claims. He wouldn't have been the only black castmember added to the programme line-up after British actor Gary Carr recently joined the show as the first major black character, portraying a jazz star in the upcoming fourth season of the critically-acclaimed drama.
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Get Thee to the Geek on 'Star Trek Into Darkness': 8 Things You Need to Know In Advance
May 14, 2013 9:26pm ESTIt's been four long years since J.J. Abrams rebooted Star Trek with an origin story for the ages: how Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the crew of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 first came together. Now if you're a diehard Trekker who's watched the movie multiple times you probably need no catching up for Abrams' sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness, opening May 17. For you non-nerds, though, you may need a refresher course. Here are 8 things you need to know before you see Star Trek Into Darkness. 1. Spock And Uhura Are In A Relationship One of the most surprising things about the 2009 Star Trek was how we learned that Spock's (Zachary Quinto) green blood runs hot for communications officer Uhura (Zoe Saldana). That was certainly never a part of The Original Series or its spin-off films. That's because Abrams didn't just make a prequel with his Star Trek, he and writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman introduced a time-travel element where a disgruntled Romulan freighter captain named Nero traveled back in time to avenge himself on Spock for allowing his homeworld of Romulus to be destroyed in a supernova. That simple act of time-travel created a whole new timeline, in which many things have happened that never happened to our characters on The Original Series. Because Nero traveled back to the early 23rd century, Kirk's father, George, was killed; the Federation made face-to-face contact with Romulans some thirty years earlier than in the original timeline; and Spock and Uhura ended up playing tonsil-hockey. Fans now refer to the original timeline of The Original Series and its subsequent films as "The Prime Timeline." That's where Nero never traveled back in time, George Kirk wasn't killed, the Federation and the Romulans didn't meet face to face until "Balance of Terror," and Uhura and Spock were colleagues but never lovers. However, elements of the new timeline, including Spock and Uhura's sparks, are arguably there in subtler ways in the Prime Timeline. In the Original Series episode "Charlie X," there is some definite sexual tension between Leonard Nimoy's Spock and Nichelle Nichols' Uhura as he plays the lyre and she sings a song about "the handsome man who looks like Satan" — meaning him. Uhura bats her lashes and sends him about every come-hither glance imaginable during their duet, and Spock even smiles! So basically, the concept of the new timeline is that we're seeing the things, such as Spock and Uhura's relationship, that could have happened given these few tweaks to history. When Nero goes back in time and changes history, Spock and Uhura go from having a charged musical recital to a full-blown relationship. 2. The Prime Directive This wasn't such a big deal in the first movie, but it's critical to keep in mind for Star Trek Into Darkness. Though Starfleet is a military organization, it's one geared toward exploration, discovery, and diplomacy more than warfare. The central guiding principal of Starfleet when encountering other lifeforms is the Prime Directive, which states that Starfleet must not interfere in the natural evolution of alien races that are less technologically advanced. Technically, that means a Federation captain and his crew shouldn't even do anything to alleviate the suffering of aliens less developed. It's a total hands-off, non-interference policy, and it's one that we essentially borrowed from the Vulcans. Our pointy-eared friends only made first contact with humans after we developed warp drive in the year 2063. Only then were we developed enough to be aware of the existence of alien races and embark upon a path toward becoming a part of the interstellar community...or so the Vulcans though. Which is too bad, because we really could have used their help during the dire early part of the 21st century when humanity was engulfed in World War III. (Yeah, the next few decades are really gonna suck.) But the Vulcans felt that not interfering in our natural evolution was more important than alleviating our tremendous hardship. Each race has to grow up by itself. This is very important to the opening of Star Trek Into Darkness. 3. Vulcan Was Destroyed The most pivotal change to the timeline with Nero's temporal incursion was, of course, the destruction of Vulcan. Nero wanted revenge against Spock for the destruction of Romulus and he got that satisfaction by destroying Spock's world in kind. This alone changes the entire course of Federation history. And it sets up a new conflict within the ranks of Starfleet. We already said that it was a military organization devoted more to exploration and diplomacy than war. After Vulcan, a founding world of the Federation, is destroyed, you better believe that there are those in Starfleet who start to question their mission, who start to think that achieving a security state is more important than seeking out new life forms and new civilizations. 4. Kirk's Command Was Just a Battlefield Promotion Kirk only got the Captain's Chair in 2009's Star Trek because Spock had to be relieved after being emotionally compromised following the destruction of his homeworld. And Spock only got the Enterprise after Nero kidnapped the ship's real captain, Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood). Basically, that meant the Enterprise was Christopher Pike's to have back whenever he wanted...except Pike was promoted to admiral, meaning he'd most likely assume a desk job rather than go hopping about the cosmos. That isn't a given, though. William Shatner's Kirk basically pulls a Leno in Star Trek: The Motion Picture by giving up the Enterprise to become an admiral, then wanting to assume command of it again, putting its new captain, Stephen Collins' Will Decker, out of a job. Something similar happens in Star Trek Into Darkness. 5. Section 31 This is something that writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman obviously just threw in for the diehard fans. It's revealed in a throwaway line of dialogue in Star Trek Into Darkness that one of the major characters is a member of Section 31, a super-secret intel organization within the Federation that responds to threats against the Federation while being completely off-the-grid. Meaning: no accountability. Section 31 first appeared in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, when the organization was led by Sloan (Iron Man 3's William Sadler). On that show, we saw that Section 31 had no qualms about doing things to protect the Federation that completely trampled its values. They were okay with torture, with biological warfare, and, interestingly enough, they were very keen to recruit someone who had been genetically-engineered to have a "superior" intellect and physical abilities. In that case, the recruit was Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig). Now we realize that Deep Space Nine is set in the 24th century, but 200 years earlier, during the events of the 22nd-century-set Star Trek: Enterprise Section 31 was puttering around even then. You don't need to know anything about Section 31 to appreciate Star Trek Into Darkness, but that clandestine organization is pretty much the embodiment of the war for the Federation's soul and whether Starfleet will indeed "boldly go where no man has gone before" or merely retrench behind their own borders and build up their defenses. 6. Transwarp Beaming This is one thing that only appears in Abrams' alternate timeline. Apparently, Nero's incursion set in motion events that would inspire Simon Pegg's Scotty to invent something James Doohan's Scotty never thought of: the ability to beam people and objects long-distance, from planet to planet or solar system to solar system. It's technology called "transwarp beaming" and theoretically it means you could transport instantly from Earth to, say, Andoria, a planet in a completely different solar system. Very handy if you're a criminal on the run, like Benedict Cumberbatch's John Harrison. By our reckoning, this technology had only become viable in the original timeline by the late 24th century (as seen in Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Nemesis) and even then required the person transporting to wear a homing beacon. 7. The Klingons The Klingons are, now and forever, humanity's prime antagonists in Star Trek. They are the embodiment of the bloodlust, the warmongering, the death-as-sport mentality that humanity once embraced but thankfully outgrew. All through The Original Series and its related movies, the Klingons are major villains when it comes to their dealings with James T. Kirk and crew. These warriors are the fiery yang to the Romulans' icy, calculating yin. But then something amazing happened. In the 24th century, a detente began to form between the Klingons and the Federation, eventually even an alliance, and shows like The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager tried to depict them as noble warriors rather than hot-headed killers. That is not the way the Klingons are presented in Star Trek Into Darkness. Here they are bloodthirsty savages, because it's the 23rd century, which means it's basically the Wild West. They were affected by the altered timeline too. In fact, they captured Nero and held him prisoner for some years while they studied his freighter, the Narada. Alias' Victor Garber had been cast to play Nero's Klingon interrogator. The deleted scene of Garber in costume exists on the Star Trek DVD, but they were otherwise cast out of that movie. They are a big deal in Star Trek Into Darkness, though, and some within the Federation begin to feel that war with the Klingons is inevitable. 8. Carol Marcus William Shatner's Capt. Kirk cuddled a lot of space babes in his day, but there's only one with whom he actually had a son: Carol Marcus. She was a scientist who specialized in biotechnology, and she'd one day help create the Genesis device that could terraform an entire world in a matter of hours — a device Ricardo Montalban's Khan Noonien Singh saw as a weapon to be exploited. Before Kirk ever began his five-year voyage they had a relationship, and from that relationship emerged their son David. Kirk wanted to take to the stars, though, and Carol wanted to raise her son far away from danger, so they split up, and Kirk became an absentee dad. When he sees David all grown up in The Wrath of Khan, he basically is seeing him for the first time in decades. David, however, is a whiny shell of a man compared to his father. Here's hoping he's been erased from history altogether in the altered timeline. Follow Christian Blauvelt on Twitter @Ctblauvelt More: ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’: Forget Khan — John Harrison is a Klingon How ‘DS9’ Boldly Became the Best, Most Influential ‘Trek’ Series Alice Eve Shares Her Favorite ‘Star Trek’ Episode Zoe Saldana Goes Topless for ‘Allure,’ Says She’s ‘Androgynous’ From Our Partners: What Happened to 33 Child Stars (Celebuzz)40 Most Revealing See-Through Red Carpet Looks (Vh1)
