Clark Duke
Actor Clark Duke entered the professional acting sphere during childhood, with an ongoing role as Elliot Hartman, one of two sons of congressional legislative assistant John Hartman (John Ritter, whom...
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BirthDate BirthPlace |
05/04/1985
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How Each Superman Actor Has Helped Keep the Man of Steel Relevant for 75 Years
June 11, 2013 2:41pm ESTIn celebration of Superman's 75th anniversary, and the release June 14 of the Son of Krypton's latest big-screen adventure Man of Steel, writer Larry Tye, author of Superman: The High-Flying History of America's Most Enduring Hero, Now Out In Paperback, contributes this essay exclusively to Hollywood.com on the unique qualities some of the actors who've played Superman — Kirk Alyn, George Reeves, Christopher Reeve, and Henry Cavill — have brought to the role. Nobody is more All-American than Superman in his red cape, blue tights and bright yellow "S." So how is it that a Brit – a native of the Channel Islands and a product of a Buckinghamshire boarding school, with an English brogue no less – is donning the leotards and cape in the new Man of Steel movie? Warner Bros' selection of Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill as our newest Superman seems ill-conceived if not profane, the more so coming just as America is celebrating its hero's milestone 75th birthday. But Cavill, a British heartthrob who played the First Duke of Suffolk on the Showtime series The Tudors, wouldn't be the first on-screen Man of Steel to defy convention and, in so doing, to soar higher than even his studio handlers dared dream. Kirk Alyn, the original live-action Superman, was more a song-and-dance man than an actor, having studied ballet and performed in vaudeville and on Broadway in the 1930s and early forties. That's where he decided to trade in the name he was born with, John Feggo, Jr., for Kirk Alyn, which he felt was better suited to the stage. He appeared in chorus lines and in blackface, modeled for muscle magazines, and performed in TV murder mysteries in the days when only bars had TVs and only dead-end actors performed for the small screen. But he had experience in movie serials, if not in superheroes, so when he got a call from Columbia Pictures in 1948 asking if he was interested in trying out for Superman he jumped into his car and headed to the studio. Told to take off his shirt so the assembled executives could check out his build, the burly performer complied. Then producer-director Sam Katzman instructed him to take off his pants. "I said, 'Wait a minute.' They said, 'We want to see if your legs are any good,'" he recalled forty years later. They were good enough, and fifteen minutes after he arrived, Alyn was hired as the first actor to play a Superman whom fans could see as well as hear. Alyn and his directors were smart enough not to try and reinvent the character that Bud Collyer had introduced so convincingly to the radio airwaves. “I visualized the guy I heard on the radio. That was a guy nothing could stop,” Alyn said. "That's why I stood like this, with my chest out, and a look on my face saying, 'Shoot me.'" His demeanor said "tough guy" but his wide eyes signaled approachability and mischievousness, just the way creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster had imagined their Superman a decade before. Alyn understood, the same way Collyer had, that kids could spot a phony in an instant. If they didn't think Alyn was having fun – and that he believed in Superman – they wouldn't pay to see his movies. His young audience, after all, didn't just admire the Man of Steel. They loved him. Superman was not merely who they dreamed of becoming but who they were already, if only we could see. The good news for them was that Alyn was having fun, and he did believe in his character in a way that these pre-teens and teens appreciated even if movie reviewers wouldn't. In the 1950s, when Superman was gearing up for television, producer Robert Maxwell and director Tommy Carr screened nearly two hundred candidates who were sure they were him. Most made their living as actors, although some were full-time musclemen. Nearly all, Carr said, "appeared to have a serious deficiency in their chromosome count." So thorough – and perhaps so frustrating – was their search that the executives stopped by the Mr. America contest in Los Angeles. One choice they never seriously considered, despite his later claims, was Kirk Alyn, who had done well enough for the serials but had neither the acting skills nor the looks around which to build a Superman TV series. The search ended the day a barrel-chested B-movie actor named George Reeves showed up on the studio lot. Maxwell's co-producer had recognized Reeves in a Los Angeles restaurant, seeming "rather forlorn," and suggested he come in for a tryout. He did, the next morning, and "from that moment on he was my first choice," said Carr. "He looked like Superman with that jaw of his. Kirk had the long neck and fine features, but although I like Kirk very much, he never looked the Superman Reeves did." His tough-guy demeanor was no put-on. Standing six-foot-two and carrying 195 pounds, Reeves had been a light-heavyweight boxing champ in college and could have gone further if he hadn't broken his nose seven times and his mother hadn't made him step out of the ring. The Superman TV show, like other incarnations of his story, turned around the hero himself. Collyer, the first flesh-and-blood Man of Steel, had set the standard. He lowered and raised the timbre of his voice as he switched between Superman and Clark, making the changeover convincing. Maxwell's wife Jessica, the TV dialogue director, would follow Reeves around the set urging him to do the same – but he just couldn't master the switch. The result: a Superman who sounded just like his alter ego. They both swallowed their words. They looked and acted alike. There was no attempt here to make Clark Kent into the klutz he was in the comics. No slouching; no shyness. Reeves portrayed the newsman the way he knew, and that Jessica's husband told him to: hard-boiled and rough-edged, Superman in a business suit. The only differences were that Reeves would shed his rubber muscles and add thick tortoise-shell glasses with no lenses – that was the sum total of his switch to Clark Kent. But it worked. It worked because fans wanted to be fooled, and because of the way Reeves turned to the camera and made it clear he knew they knew his secret, even if Lois, Jimmy, and Perry didn't. This Superman had a dignity and self-assurance that projected even better on an intimate TV screen than it had in the movies. Reeves just had it somehow. He called himself Honest George, The People's Friend – the same kind of homespun language Jerry and Joe used for their creation – and he suspended his own doubts the way he wanted viewers to. He looked not just like a guy who could make gangsters cringe, but who believed in the righteousness of his hero's cause. His smile could melt an iceberg. His cold stare and puffed-out chest could bring a mob to its knees. Sure, his acting was workmanlike, but it won him generations of fans. Today, when those now grown-up fans call to mind their carefree youth, they think of his TV Adventures of Superman, and when they envision Superman himself, it is George Reeves they see. Christopher Reeve was an even less likely choice when producers set out to find the right Superman for their 1970s motion picture extravaganza. It wasn't just his honey brown hair and 180 pounds that did not come close to filling out his six-foot-four frame. He had asthma and he sweated so profusely that a crew member would have to blow dry his armpits between takes. He was prep school and Ivy League, with a background in serious theater that made him more comfortable in England's Old Vic than its Pinewood movie lot. He was picked, as he acknowledged, 90% because he looked "like the guy in the comic book . . . the other 10% is acting talent." He also was a brilliant choice. He brought to the part irony and comic timing that harked back to the best of screwball comedy. He had dramatic good looks and an instinct for melding humanism with heroism. "When he walked into a room you could see this wasn't a conventional leading man, there was so much depth he had almost an old movie star feeling," says casting director Lynn Stalmaster. The bean counters loved his price: $250,000, or less than a tenth of what Marlon Brando would get for the modest role as Superman's dad. Director Richard Donner asked Reeve to try on his horned-rimmed glasses. Squinting back at him was Clark Kent. Even his name fit: Christopher Reeve assuming the part made famous by George Reeves. "I didn't find him," Donner would say throughout the production. "God sent him to me." Superman changed with every artist who filled in his features, writer who scripted his adventures, and even the marketers and accountants who managed his finances and grew his audience. Each could claim partial ownership. Actors like Christopher Reeve did more molding and framing than anyone and could have claimed more proprietorship. With each scene shot it was clearer that he was giving the hero a different face as well as a unique personality. Reeve's Superman would be funnier and more human – if less powerful or intimidating – than any who had proceeded him. He was more of a Big Blue Boy Scout now, in contrast to Kirk Alyn's Action Ace and George Reeves's Man of Steel. In the hands of this conservatory-trained actor, Supes was getting increasingly comfortable baring his soul. Picking up the role and the mythos now will be English actor Henry Cavill, whose first appearance on the big screen was as Albert Mondego in The Count of Monte Cristo (2002). Can Cavill make us believe the way Reeve, Reeves, and Alyn did, and make us embrace a British-accented Man of Metropolis? History suggests he can – provided he and Warner Bros. remember the formula that has served their hero so brilliantly for 75 years and counting. It starts with the intrinsic simplicity of his story. Little Orphan Annie and Oliver Twist reminded us how compelling a foundling's tale can be, and Superman, the sole survivor of a doomed planet, is a super-foundling. The love triangle connecting Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Superman has a side for everyone, whether you are the boy who can't get the girl, the girl pursued by the wrong boy, or the conflicted hero. His secret identity might have been annoying if we hadn't been let in on the joke and we didn't have a hero hidden within each of us. He was not just any hero, but one with the very powers we would have: the strength to lift boulders and planets, the speed to outrun a locomotive or a bullet, and, coolest on anyone's fantasy list, the gift of flight. Superpowers, however, are just half the equation. More essential is knowing what to do with them, and nobody has a more instinctual sense than Superman of right and wrong. He is an archetype of mankind at its pinnacle. Like John Wayne, he sweeps in to solve our problems. No "thank you" needed. Like Jesus Christ, he descended from the heavens to help us discover our humanity. He is neither cynical like Batman nor fraught like Spider-Man. For the religious, he can reinforce whatever faith they profess; for nonbelievers he is a secular messiah. The more jaded the era, the more we have been suckered back to his clunky familiarity. So what if the upshot of his adventures is as predictable as with Sherlock Holmes: the good guy never loses. That is reassuring. There is no getting around the fact that the comic book and its leading man could only have taken root in America. What could be more U.S.A. than an orphaned outsider who arrives in this land of immigrants, reinvents himself, and reminds us that we can reach for the sky? Yet this flying Uncle Sam also has always been global in his reach, having written himself into the national folklore from Beirut to Buenos Aires. If Cavill acknowledges both sides of that legacy, the all-American and the all-world, then he should be able to reel back aging devotees and draw in new ones. Larry Tye was an award-winning journalist at The Boston Globe and a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. A lifelong Superman fan, Tye now runs a Boston-based training program for medical journalists. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Satchel, as well as The Father of Spin, Home Lands, and Rising from the Rails, and co-author, with Kitty Dukakis, of Shock. He lives in Lexington, Massachusetts, and is currently writing a biography of Robert F. Kennedy. Follow Hollywood.com on Twitter@Hollywood_com More:'Man of Steel' Movie Review 'Man of Steel' TV Spot: Is Jor-El Alive? Marvel's Phase 3: Hulk, Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, 'Iron Man 4,' and More From Our PartnersStars Pose Naked for 'Allure' (Celebuzz)Which Game of Thrones Actor Looks Least Like His Character? (Vulture)
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Fascinating fact:
May 07, 2013 7:17pm ESTActor Adam Scott is set to replace John Cusack in a sequel to comedy Hot Tub Time Machine. Cusack's co-stars in the zany original - Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry and Clark Duke - have signed up for the new film, which is scheduled for a 2014 release.
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Review: 'The Croods' Works, But It Isn't Reinventing the Wheel
March 21, 2013 7:02pm ESTThe Croods will entertain smaller children with its bright colors and funky animal creations, but anyone looking for more than that will be sorely disappointed. The plot is, shall we say, crudely simple: A family of cave-dwellers must abandon their way of life when the tectonic plates shift, causing a ripple effect of natural disasters that threaten not just their cave but their lives. The future beckons, and the Croods' guide is Guy (Ryan Reynolds), a slightly more evolved human who knows about things like fire, shoes, and belts — specifically, a sloth named Belt who holds his pants up and acts as adorable comic relief. Guy also serves as a romantic interest for our heroine Eep (Emma Stone) and the burr in Daddy Crood's backside, an old school Neanderthal type with a low-hanging brow and a fiercely overprotective nature. The push/pull dynamic of the Croods' fear of the future and desire to learn more about Guy's world (and also not die) is a decent foil to the more personal tension between our heroine Eep and her dad Grug (Nicolas Cage). In this world, sneaking out at night could lead to certain death, and the family has only survived so far because Grug is strong and cautious. "Fear keeps us alive. Never not be afraid," he tells his family, just in case we didn't get the point. RELATED: 'The Croods' Star Emma Stone Teaches Ryan Reynolds What a Gif Is — Video Eep is at that shaky time in a teen girl's life where she's still her daddy's baby but also longs for sunshine and adventure and love. Guy's the one who urges them towards a mystical place called Tomorrow, and eventually Grug's gotta decide if he wants to keep up with the times or stay behind. The majority of the movie consists of the Croods mock-fighting with each other and chasing or being chased by large animals, strung together by hollow emotional interactions between the characters. The story itself has promise, but its execution is lacking. The strangest thing about The Croods is that its talented voice cast is so bland as to be unrecognizable. The charming Stone is lost behind her character's muddy identity, which switches between a present-day teen and a Neanderthal with overpowering strength and the ability to walk and run on her hands and feet. Keener's character Ugga, Eep's mom, is nearly invisible, and mostly serves as a body to transport the obnoxious toddler Sandy. Cloris Leachman voices Gran, a character that allows writers/directors Kirk De Micco and Chris Sanders (Space Chimps) to flex their Catskill-era comedy skills when it comes to jokes about mother-in-laws that are too mean or stubborn to die. Thankfully, The Croods does offer viewers something to look at while the characters go on their interminable trip. Although the Croods and Guy themselves leave something to be desired in terms of design, the environments they travel through are inventive, wildly colorful, and fun. Granted, we're not talking about a ParaNorman-like attention to detail, but it's something to look at while you're biding your time. The animals they encounter are strangely cute, too, like the weird Corgi/alligator that Thunk Crood (Clark Duke) adopts and named Douglas. The 3D is fine and doesn't feel like too much of a rip-off, but it's not necessarily going to blow your mind. Still, there's something missing if the most interesting and memorable thing in your movie is a pink sloth that doubles as a belt. Hopefully, parents are ready to hear their little ones imitate Belt's "Dun dun DUNNNN!" and buy all the Belt-branded merchandise sure to follow. 2.5/5 You Might Also Like:15 Oscar-Winning Nude ScenesYoung Jack Black Is Totally Unrecognizable
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'Croods' Star Nicolas Cage Says The Sequel Should Be Like 'Star Trek'
March 20, 2013 12:07pm ESTThe Croods may be about a family discovering new worlds in their stone-age setting — places in which whales walk on land and tigers are rainbow-colored — but the voice of head caveman Grug, Nicolas Cage, is ready to move his family on to the final frontier: Space. When he sat down with Hollywood.com (video below), Cage told us all about how the cro-magnon crew could boldly go where no caveman has gone before. RELATED: 'Croods' Star Emma Stone Teaches Ryan Reynolds About GIFs -VIDEO "I want to see the Croods in space so that way we have all the Jetsons and the Flintstones all rolled into one," he says. But it's not just about circumstance, The Croods employs a wild sense of imagination, taking us and the caveman clan (comprised of characters voiced by Emma Stone, Cloris Leachman, Catherine Keener, and Clark Duke) into spectacular landscapes full of exotic vegetation and even more exotic animals, something that could be even more fantastical in space. "You could take it to the next level in terms of landscapes. You could Star Trek it, there could be an entire planet that is purple," says Cage. But Cage's character Grug might not actually be up for that kind of adventure. His mode of operation is hiding from anything new or unknown, something his daughter Eep (Stone) rebels against rather vehemently when she meets a new friend, Guy (Ryan Reynolds). Cage says Grug's anti-exploration position couldn't be further from his style. RELATED: 'The Croods' Think Ideas Are For Weaklings - CLIP "I don't relate to Grug, I really dont... I'd even cringe when I had lines like 'New is bad' and 'Never not be a afraid,'" he says. "I want to face the unknown, I want to go on road trips and go to wild places and explore," adds Cage with the caveat that as a father himself, he does understand the want to protect one's children. And even with all of Grug's safety at all costs rhetoric, the film still makes sure to give even the youngest children the benefit of the doubt. "[The movie] doesn't talk down to kids, it knows how intelligent they are," says Cage. The intelligent, creative, visually-stunning film and Cage's vocal stylings will hit movie screens March 22. Follow Kelsea on Twitter @KelseaStahler You Might Also Like:15 Oscar-Winning Nude ScenesYoung Jack Black Is Totally Unrecognizable
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Identity Thief Review
February 07, 2013 4:32am ESTMisused talent is disappointing. Although Jason Bateman who stars as Sandy Patterson in Identity Thief was fantastic on Arrested Development he's never quite hit the same rhythm when it comes to movie roles. His co-star Melissa McCarthy who is probably best known for her Bridesmaids shenanigans has been quietly putting out terrific work for years — especially in the show Gilmore Girls. She's Bateman's foil in her latest film playing Diana a lifestyle identity thief whose social engineering wipes out Sandy's bank account tanks his credit and jeopardizes his new job at a financial firm. Cue 21st century financial distress plot point about the little guy just trying to make ends meet and how he's family man and blah blah blah. Too bad an accountant doesn't realize not to give his social security number out on the phone to a stranger. It's so easy to root for McCarthy and Bateman — so easy in fact that one can almost overlook the most half-baked aspects of Identity Thief: the limp road trip the even worse car chases the stupid subplot that affords us a few glimpses of beloved Breaking Bad-baddie Jonathan Banks the exhausting make-over and last but never least the weirdly moralistic and touchy-feely ending. Identity Thief asks a somewhat interesting question which is what could prompt a person to steal another's identity? The answer of course is a "Hobbit-sized" woman with an orange-tinted fake tan and tacky makeup who on one hand is charismatic enough to talk her way out of anything but lonely enough that she makes up a never-ending stream of lies to tell strangers who aren't listening anyway. In the end she's not a sociopath she's just an emotionally broken person who needs a cream rinse and some neutral eye shadow. There's something amazing and pathetic in the first scene where we meet Diana. She's buying drinks for an entire bar and naturally everyone is shouting her name (well Sandy's name) and clapping and rallying around her because who doesn't like free drinks? When a bartender gets tired of her hijinks he tries to take her down a peg by sneering at her that these strangers aren't her friends and they'll never be her friends and that they only like her because she's buying them stuff. So she punches him in the throat. There's promise in this premise when Diana is allowed to be vicious and wily but as the story transmogrifies into a road trip/morality lesson she is awkwardly defanged in what could be assumed is an attempt to flesh out her character and give her a past that would explain away everything. Sandy is a weak character to begin with; the ongoing jokes about how Sandy is a woman's name is all too typical of screenwriter Craig Mazin who's penned all three Hangover movies Scary Movie 3 and 4 and Superhero Movie. At least there's not a smoking monkey right? Bateman is often typecast as an Everyman because only in Hollywood could someone who looks like Jason Bateman pass for a regular guy on the street. He's that Everyman here too — a doting dad a loving husband a hardworking employee an honest citizen — but there's an ugly edge to him that Diana brings out. What's interesting about this dynamic is that Diana becomes much more empathetic even before Mazin et al throw in a ham-handed backstory for her. The people that encounter them on their road trip — and the explanation for that is too exhausting to get into — see Diana as a fun warm woman and they give Sandy a hard time for being a jerk to her. (Cheers to a great Ben Falcone cameo as one such gentleman.) It's not clear if we're supposed to be on Diana's side or if we're to believe that she's using her prodigious social engineering skills to her own ends or if it's supposed to be hilarious that men would actually find her sexually attractive and cool. I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and go with the former. The latter in particular would just be too much to swallow especially given the garish make-up and clothes she's wearing before she realizes the error of her ways both morally and aesthetically. Identity Thief is better than The Hangover and on par with director Seth Gordon's Horrible Bosses which Bateman also appeared in. It's something you'll watch on demand one night when you don't feel like moving off your couch. Why is it so hard for these two talented actors and comedians to find good movie roles? If we learned anything from This is 40 it's that any movie can be improved by letting McCarthy improvise. How much longer do we have to wait to see their own respective projects get off the ground? And why isn't Gilmore Girls on Netflix Instant yet? From Our Partners: Celebrity Swimsuits Ever (Celebuzz) Stars: Where Are They Now? (Celebuzz)
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Amy Poehler and Adam Scott Reteam in Excellent Divorce Comedy 'A.C.O.D.'
January 24, 2013 1:55pm ESTDivorce is no laughing matter. Just ask Meryl Streep's Oscar from Kramer Vs. Kramer. Yes, it is a very serious things that rips apart families, destroys children, and is disintegrating the moral fabric of this country. Well, that's what movies always lead us to believe. The funniest thing about divorce comedy A.C.O.D. is that it shows that divorce has been around long enough that we can now laugh about it. And watching this movie, you will laugh plenty. The title stands for "adult children of divore" and the premise of the movie shows exactly why its time has come. Adam Scott stars as a man whose parents (Richard Jenkins and Catherine O'Hara) had a vicious divorce when he was 9 years-old. Now that his brother (Clark Duke) is getting married he has to forge a truce between the two. He also was the subject of a book about children who were screwed up by divorce and now the pyschologist who wrote the book (Jane Lynch) is interviewing him for the follow up. Yes, Scott's character Carter is part of a generation where divorce is just a part of the world. In classrooms growing up half of the students were from "broken homes," and now that generation has come of age and society has changed. We're finally at a point where we can joke about divorce. Many of the jokes in director Stu Zicherman's debut feature land quite well. But when you're dealing with comedy vets like O'Hara, Lynch, and Amy Poehler, who plays Carter's bitchy step mother, of course the hilarity is going to be off the charts. What makes the movie great is that the subject matter is fresh, dealing with the interactions, jealousies, and grievances of a sprawling family, but the structure is familiar. A.C.O.D. is set up like your standard rom-com (for Christ sakes there's even a small part for Jessica Alba as the hot girl who threatens to rip it all apart) except what Scott is falling in love with and out of love with and in love with again is his family. This movie has not only a handful of belly laughs but a few twists and turns up its sleeve. The greatest weapon in its arsenal, however, is Scott, who has proven himself to be the American Hugh Grant (a higher compliment, I can not pay) who is goofy and befuddled while also being very earnest and totally dreamy. Just like in last year's Friends with Kids he proves himself an adept straight man in a cast of crazies, trying to anchor things down even as he sees them falling apart. He doesn't have the range of many other comic actors, but his product is one we should all buy stock in, because it would make all of us very rich. And then when we're all rich and want to divorce our husbands (or wives) then at least we'll be able to laugh at it. A.C.O.D. opens a door for all of that, and I can't wait to see the brave new world of what divorce comedies will follow. Follow Brian Moylan on Twitter @BrianJMoylan More: Sundance Darling 'The Way, Way Back' May Not Be the $10 Million Hit Everyone Thinks It Is James Franco Had a Lot of Sex at Sundance Last Night Naomi Watts and Robin Wright Sleeping with Each Other's Sons Is as Creepy as It Sounds
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'Hot Tub Time Machine' Sequel: Where (Or WHEN) Can They Go From Here?
January 16, 2013 7:09am ESTThroughout the 1980s, John Cusack made a living embarking upon ski vacations and passion-fueled romances. In 2010, the man to whom Chuck Klosterman once assigned the downfall of American society took that voyage again, parodying '80s cinema in the sci-fi/comedy Hot Tub Time Machine. Acting not only as a revival and send-up of Cusack's glory days, but as launching point for the career of Clark Duke and a new spotlight for established background comedians Rob Corddry and Craig Robinson, Hot Tub Time Machine effectively played with the tropes of films like Say Anything..., Better Off Dead, and fellow time travel comedy Back to the Future, among others. Now, the 2010 picture from director Steve Pink (who wrote another excellent Cusack venture, High Fidelity), looks to be getting a sequel: The Hollywood Reporter reveals that MGM is in discussions with the director and stars Corddry, Robinson, and Duke for a second cinematic exploit. The reports add that Cusack is not presently on board. Hot Tub Time Machine is a comedy first and science-fiction second, but time travel and the principles that comprise it are undeniably substantial building blocks of the movie. Revisiting an established time traveling world is often a tricky feat — the community of follow-up ventures ranges from rousing success stories to regrettable glitches we wish we could go back and prevent. But most have at least striven for an expansion of the complicated sci-fi phenomenon. So where (or when) can Hot Tub Time Machine go in its potential sequel? Into the future! Back to the Future 2, the biggest representation of a franchise's decline in quality in movie history, transported Marty McFly to the year 2015, where he saw the future that would befall him, if he didn't do something about it. Might HTTM2 want to give its characters a glimpse at their yet-to-come incarnations, propping Corddry on a hoverboard and Robinson in a robot body? Into multiple alternate futures! A hard sci-fi staple, embodied in every genre title from Star Trek to Sliding Doors, maybe the hot tub (this time a sauna? a whirlpool? a bottle of Smartwater?) can send the goofballs off on a handful of divergent paths as they inadvertently create new possible futures with the help of subway doors, a sports almanac, or the wings of a butterfly (come to think of it, were there actually any butterflies in The Butterfly Effect?). Way into the past! Again, the Back to the Future series is the precedent: the third installment of the series relocates Marty and the Doc to the Old West. What time periods might best suit the HTTM gang? Medieval Europe? Ancient Rome? The early '80s? To a robot apocalypse! One of the greatest triumphs in time travel sequeldom is Terminator 2, which sends a robotic Arnold Schwarzenegger back in time to save the fate of the human race. But what if the same destiny overtook the HTTM crew, with a killing machine transported to the present day with a mission to destroy Corddry's character? (Again, in an effort to save the fate of the human race... seriously, we could see him causing our downfall.) To a parallel dimension! And of course, that masterpiece/travesty that was Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, which followed up the duo's journeys through world history with an adventure to the beyond. Clark Duke playing chess with Death, Craig Robinson befriending an alien species known only as Station, and conversations with the man upstairs... that'd be one weird, idiotic movie that I would totally, definitely see. [Photo Credit: MGM] More: Kid Cudi Cast in 'Need for Speed': Will He Be the Next Common or the Next Xzibit? A 'Ben-Hur' Reboot: How It Could Go Wrong or Right 'Pirates 5,' 'Captain America 2,' 'Muppets 2': Disney's Release Date Frenzy You Might Also Like: 100 Hottest Women of the Century: Do You Agree? Jeremy Renner’s Baby Secret Overheard at Party
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WENN 2012 Hollywood quiz
January 01, 2013 4:00am EST1. A slew of stars were given the honour of carrying the Olympic torch on its tour around the U.K. over the summer, but not everyone was granted the opportunity to run with the flame ahead of the London 2012 Games - who missed out on the occasion? a. Daniel Radcliffe b. Sir Patrick Stewart c. James McAvoy 2. Which country was Tom Cruise filming in when Katie Holmes filed for divorce? a. France b. Iceland c. Canada 3. Which Baldwin brother took legal action against Kevin Costner amid allegations he was cheated out of profits after selling his shares in an oil filtering business? a. Daniel b. Alec c. Stephen 4. In August, actress Jennifer Aniston got engaged to Justin Theroux, her co-star in which movie? a. Horrible Bosses b. Wanderlust c. He's Just Not That Into You 5. Saucy summer blockbuster Magic Mike was based on which actor's real-life experiences as a stripper? a. Joe Manganiello b. Matthew McConaughey c. Channing Tatum 6. In July, actress Kristen Stewart confessed to an "indiscretion" with the director of which of her films? a. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 b: Snow White and the Huntsman c. The Runaways 7. Which celebrity couple got married in 2012 without first getting engaged? a. Anne Hathaway and Adam Shulman b. Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied c. Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds 8. Actress Kristin Chenoweth was critically injured on the set of which hit U.S. TV show last summer? a. Glee b. The Good Wife c. Hot in Cleveland 9. What is the name of the actor Sienna Miller welcomed her first child with in 2012? a) Jude Law b) Tom Sturridge c) Rhys Ifans 10. Sally Field had to beg Steven Spielberg for an audition to play Abraham Lincoln's wife Mary Todd in the critically acclaimed biopic Lincoln. Why? a) She was too old b) She was too fat c) She was too famous 11. What was the name of Daniel Radcliffe's first feature film release of 2012 following the end of the Harry Potter franchise? a. The Lady in Red b. The Woman in Black c. Lady Jane Grey 12. Which famous British actor took on a starring role in the London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony reciting verses from William's Shakespeare's The Tempest? a. Hugh Grant b. Rowan Atkinson c. Kenneth Branagh 13. Which Hollywood star married actor Adam Shulman in California in September? a. Natalie Portman b. Miley Cyrus c. Anne Hathaway 14. Halle Berry lost a bitter custody battle with her ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry over their daughter in November. What is their child's name? a. Nahla b. Simba c. Naomi 15. This Hollywood hunk can normally be found fighting for a good cause but in 2012 he was chosen as the rather unusual frontman for Chanel's signature fragrance, Chanel No5. Who is he? a. Brad Pitt b. Colin Farrell c. George Clooney 16. Which actress despaired that she 'looked like her gay brother' after an extreme transformation for a movie role? a. Penelope Cruz b. Anne Hathaway c. Jennifer Lawrence 17. Which actress named her new baby daughter Rosalind Arusha Arkadina Altalune Florence? a. Tina Fey b. Uma Thurman c. Jemima Kirke 18. Which British royal was hospitalised during the celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee? a. Charles, Prince of Wales b. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh c. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge 19. Which TV legend was laid to rest four months after losing his battle with cancer? a. Sherman Hemsley b. Dick Clark c. Larry Hagman 20. What is the name of the 2012 Bond movie? a. Skyscraper b. Skyfall c. Skylander 21. Jennifer Lawrence played the lead role in movie hit The Hunger Games. What was her character's name? a. Katniss b. Katnip c. Katbliss 22. Which film won the Oscar for Best Picture? a. Moneyball b. The Artist c. Hugo 23. Which film star did NOT get married in 2012? a. Matthew McConaughey b. Daniel Craig c. Anne Hathaway 24. British actress Carey Mulligan married which member of musical group Mumford and Sons in April? a. Marcus Mumford b. Ben Lovett c. Ted Dwane 25. Name the only surviving member of the original cast of Dallas who was not part of the hit TV drama's 2012 reboot. a. Charlene Tilton b. Steve Kanaly c. Victoria Principal 26. Which veteran porn star has been immortalised in two movie biopics due out this year? a. Linda Lovelace b. Ron Jeremy c. Sasha Grey 27. Which moody movie star was dramatically rescued by coast guard workers after becoming stranded during a kayaking trip off the coast of New York in September? a. Colin Farrell b. Dustin Hoffman c. Russell Crowe 28. Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese joined forces again in 2012 to shoot their fifth movie project - but what is the name of the new film, due for release this year? a. The Beast of Broadway b. The Monster of Manhattan c. The Wolf of Wall Street 29. Which movie won the coveted Palme d'Or prize at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival? a. Amour b. Cosmopolis c. The Paperboy 30. In November, movie hardman Sylvester Stallone launched a stage musical version of which of his famous film franchises? a. Rambo b. Rocky c. The Expendables 1. a 2. b 3. c 4. b 5. c 6. b 7. c 8. b 9. b 10. a 11. b 12. c 13. c 14. a 15. a 16. b 17. b 18. b 19. a 20. b 21. a 22. b 23. b 24. a 25. c 26. a 27. c 28. c 29. a 30. b
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Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ashton Kutcher to Debut Films at 2013 Sundance Fim Festival
December 03, 2012 4:20pm ESTWhile the annual Sundance film festival continues to be a place that launches young filmmaking talent, over the years it's also become a star-studded publicity machine attracting big names looking to debut their new films. The list of celebs attending the 2013 festival for the out-of-competition premieres of their new movies should not disappoint. The most anticipated premiere won't happen until the end of the festival, when the Steve Jobs biopic jOBS, starring Ashton Kutcher as the Apple guru, is honored as the closing night film. Oscar-winning screenwriters (and sometime sitcom stars) Nat Faxon and Jim Rash will make their directorial debut with a film they wrote called The Way, Way Back, starring Steve Carell and Toni Collette. Joseph Gordon-Levitt will take it one step further by starring in his self-penned directorial debut, DonJon's Addiction, alongside Scarlett Johansson and Julianne Moore. There's also Lovelace, with Amanda Seyfried as the titular '70s porn star, the third union of Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy in Before Midnight, and Jane Campion's six-hour epic Top of the Lake, among many others. The documentaries premiering out of competition cover diverse topics, including Wikileaks, Jeremy Lin, multiple sclerosis, Dick Cheney and more. The 2013 Sundance Film Festival runs from Jan. 17-27, 2013. 2013 PREMIERES A.C.O.D. / U.S.A. (Director: Stuart Zicherman, Screenwriters: Ben Karlin, Stuart Zicherman) — Carter is a well-adjusted Adult Child of Divorce. So he thinks. When he discovers he was part of a divorce study as a child, it wreaks havoc on his family and forces him to face his chaotic past. Cast: Adam Scott, Richard Jenkins, Catherine O'Hara, Amy Poehler, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clark Duke. Before Midnight / U.S.A. (Director: Richard Linklater, Screenwriters: Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklater— We meet Jesse and Celine nine years on in Greece. Almost two decades have passed since their first meeting on that train bound for Vienna. Before the clock strikes midnight, we will again become part of their story. Cast: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Xenia Kalogeropoulou, Ariane Labed, Athina Rachel Tsangari, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick. Big Sur / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Michael Polish) — Unable to cope with a suddenly demanding public and battling advanced alcoholism, Jack Kerouac seeks respite in three brief sojourns to a cabin in Big Sur, which reveal his mental and physical deterioration. Cast: Jean-Marc Barr, Kate Bosworth, Josh Lucas, Radha Mitchell, Anthony Edwards, Henry Thomas. Breathe In / U.S.A. (Director: Drake Doremus, Screenwriters: Drake Doremus, Ben York Jones) — When a foreign exchange student arrives in a small upstate New York town, she challenges the dynamics of her host family's relationships and alters their lives forever. Cast: Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones, Amy Ryan, Mackenzie Davis. Don Jon's Addiction / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Joseph Gordon-Levitt) — In Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s charming directorial debut, a selfish modern-day Don Juan attempts to change his ways. Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza, Glenne Headly, Rob Brown. The East / U.S.A. (Director: Zal Batmanglij, Screenwriters: Zal Batmanglij, Brit Marling) — An operative for an elite private intelligence firm goes into deep cover to infiltrate a mysterious anarchist collective attacking major corporations. Bent on apprehending these fugitives, she finds her loyalty tested as her feelings grow for the group's charismatic leader. Cast: Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgård, Ellen Page, Toby Kebbell, Shiloh Fernandez, Patricia Clarkson. The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete / U.S.A. (Director: George Tillman Jr., Screenwriter: Michael Starrbury) — Separated from their mothers and facing a summer in the Brooklyn projects alone, two boys hide from police and forage for food, with only each other to trust. A story of salvation through friendship and two boys against the world. Cast: Skylan Brooks, Ethan Dizon, Jennifer Hudson, Jordin Sparks, Anthony Mackie, Jeffrey Wright. jOBS / U.S.A. (Director: Joshua Michael Stern, Screenwriter: Matt Whiteley) — The true story of one of the greatest entrepreneurs in American history, jOBS chronicles the defining 30 years of Steve Jobs’ life. jOBS is a candid, inspiring and personal portrait of the one who saw things differently. Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Dermot Mulroney, Josh Gad, Lukas Haas, J.K. Simmons, Matthew Modine. CLOSING NIGHT FILM The Look of Love / United Kingdom (Director: Michael Winterbottom, Screenwriter: Matt Greenhalgh) — The true story of British adult magazine publisher and entrepreneur Paul Raymond. A modern day King Midas story, Raymond became one of the richest men in Britain at the cost of losing those closest to him. Cast: Steve Coogan, Anna Friel, Imogen Poots, Tamsin Egerton. Lovelace / U.S.A. (Directors: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman, Screenwriter: Andy Bellin) — Deep Throat, the first pornographic feature film to be a mainstream success, was an international sensation in 1972 and made its star, Linda Lovelace, a media darling. Years later the “poster girl for the sexual revolution” revealed a darker side to her story. Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard, Hank Azaria, Adam Brody, James Franco, Sharon Stone. The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman / U.S.A. (Director: Fredrik Bond, Screenwriter: Matt Drake) — Traveling abroad, Charlie Countryman falls for Gabi, a Romanian beauty whose unreachable heart has its origins in Nigel, her violent, charismatic ex. As the darkness of Gabi’s past increasingly envelops him, Charlie resolves to win her heart, or die trying. Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Evan Rachel Wood, Mads Mikkelsen, Rupert Grint, James Buckley, Til Schweiger. Prince Avalanche / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Gordon Green) — Two highway road workers spend the summer of 1988 away from their city lives. The isolated landscape becomes a place of misadventure as the men find themselves at odds with each other and the women they left behind. Cast: Paul Rudd, Emile Hirsch. Stoker / U.S.A. (Director: Park Chan-Wook, Screenwriter: Wentworth Miller) — After India's father dies in an auto accident, her Uncle Charlie comes to live with her and her mother, Evelyn. Soon after his arrival, India suspects that this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives but becomes increasingly infatuated with him. Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Matthew Goode, Dermot Mulroney, Jacki Weaver, Nicole Kidman. Sweetwater / U.S.A. (Directors: Logan Miller, Noah Miller, Screenwriter: Andrew McKenzie) — In the late 1800s, a fanatical religious leader, a renegade Sheriff, and a former prostitute collide in a blood triangle on the rugged plains of the New Mexico Territory. Cast: Ed Harris, January Jones, Jason Isaacs, Eduardo Noriega, Steven Rude, Amy Madigan. Top of the Lake / Australia, New Zealand (Directors: Jane Campion, Garth Davis, Screenwriters: Jane Campion, Gerard Lee) — A 12-year-old girl stands chest deep in a frozen lake. She is five months pregnant, and won't say who the father is. Then she disappears. So begins a haunting mystery that consumes a community. Cast: Elisabeth Moss, Holly Hunter, Peter Mullan, David Wenham. This six-hour film will screen once during the Festival. Two Mothers / Australia, France (Director: Anne Fontaine, Screenwriter: Christopher Hampton) — This gripping tale of love, lust and the power of friendship charts the unconventional and passionate affairs of two lifelong friends who fall in love with each other’s sons. Cast: Naomi Watts, Robin Wright, Xavier Samuel, James Frechevile. Very Good Girls / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Naomi Foner) — In the long, half-naked days of a New York summer, two girls on the brink of becoming women fall for the same guy and find that life isn't as simple or safe as they had thought. Cast: Dakota Fanning, Elizabeth Olsen, Boyd Holbrook, Demi Moore, Richard Dreyfuss, Ellen Barkin. The Way, Way Back / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Nat Faxon, Jim Rash) — Duncan, an introverted 14-year-old, comes into his own over the course of a comedic summer when he forms unlikely friendships with the gregarious manager of a rundown water park and the misfits who work there. Cast: Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Sam Rockwell, Maya Rudolph, Liam James. 2013 DOCUMENTARY PREMIERES ANITA / U.S.A. (Director: Freida Mock) — Anita Hill, an African-American woman, charges Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas with sexual harassment in explosive Senate hearings in 1991 – bringing sexual politics into the national consciousness and fueling 20 years of international debate on the issues. The Crash Reel / U.S.A. (Director: Lucy Walker) — The jaw-dropping story of one unforgettable athlete, Kevin Pearce; one eye-popping sport, snowboarding; and one explosive issue, traumatic brain injury. An epic rivalry between Kevin and Shaun White culminates in a life-changing crash and a comeback story with a difference. SALT LAKE CITY GALA FILM History of the Eagles / U.S.A. (Director: Alison Ellwood) — Using never-before-seen home movies, archival footage and new interviews with all current and former members of the Eagles, this documentary provides an intimate look into the history of the band and the legacy of their music. Linsanity / U.S.A. (Director: Evan Leong) — Jeremy Lin came from a humble background to make an unbelievable run in the NBA. State high school champion, all-Ivy League at Harvard, undrafted by the NBA and unwanted there: his story started long before he landed on Broadway. Pandora's Promise / U.S.A. (Director: Robert Stone) — A growing number of environmentalists are renouncing decades of antinuclear orthodoxy and have come to believe that the most feared and controversial technology known to mankind is probably our greatest hope. Running from Crazy / U.S.A. (Director: Barbara Kopple) — Mariel Hemingway, granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, strives for a greater understanding of her family history of suicide and mental illness. As tragedies are explored and deeply hidden secrets are revealed, Mariel searches for a way to overcome a similar fate. Sound City / U.S.A. (Director: Dave Grohl) — Through interviews and performances with the legendary musicians and producers who worked at America's greatest unsung recording studio, Sound City, we explore the human element of music, and the lost art of analog recording in an increasingly digital world. We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks / U.S.A. (Director: Alex Gibney) — In 2010, WikiLeaks and its sources used the power of the Internet to usher in what was for some a new era of transparency and for others the beginnings of an information war. When I Walk / U.S.A., Canada (Director: Jason DaSilva) — At 25, filmmaker and artist Jason DaSilva finds out he has a severe form of multiple sclerosis. This film shares his personal and grueling journey over the next seven years. Along the way, an unlikely miracle changes everything. Which Way is the Front Line from Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington / U.S.A. (Director: Sebastian Junger) — Shortly after the release of his documentary Restrepo, photographer Tim Hetherington was killed in Libya. Colleague Sebastian Junger traces Hetherington's work across the world's battlefields to reveal how he transcended the boundaries of image-making to become a luminary in his profession. The World According to Dick Cheney / U.S.A. (Directors: R.J. Cutler, Greg Finton) — How did Dick Cheney become the single-most-powerful nonpresidential figure in American history? This multi-layered examination of Cheney's life, career, key relationships and controversial worldview features exclusive interviews with the former vice president and his closest allies. Follow Jean on Twitter @hijean [Photo Credit: Dale Robinette/Millennium Films] MORE: 2013 Sundance Film Festival Lineup Revealed Ashton Kutcher Looks Mighty Creepy in First Pic From jOBS The Best Films of Sundance 2012 From Our Partners: 22 Must-See Holiday Movies Brad Pitt’s On-Screen Style Evolution — PICS
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It Was The Weekend Of Weddings: Who Got Married?
October 01, 2012 10:30am ESTIt may not be June, but that sure didn’t stop a bevy of stars from tying the knot this past weekend. From a surprise romance in Italy to a country-themed hoedown near Nashville, celebrities said their vows, cut their cakes, and danced the night away in a number of styles on Saturday and Sunday. But just who said their “I dos” and to whom? Let’s say our congratulations to these five lucky-in-love couples: Not So Les Miserable The Dark Knight Rises’ Anne Hathaway married Adam Schulman on Saturday evening at a private estate in Big Sur, California; they celebrated with over 150 family and friends. Hathaway wore a dress designed especially for her by her good friend Valentino. The couple, engaged since last November, had dated for three years prior. So You Think You Can Marry? According to the BBC, Cat Deeley (35), So You Think You Can Dance host, married Irish comedian Patrick Kielty (41) on Saturday. The top secret ceremony, planned months in advance, was intimate with only 60 friends and family in attendance at St. Isidore’s College Church in Rome, Italy. In fact, Deeley and Kielty didn’t even tell their friends until only a few days before tying the knot and paid for their guests to fly out to celebrate with them – how generous! The couple met 10 months ago while presenting at the BBC1 talent show Fame Academy and have been together ever since. Married Again ... And Again! While Stanley Tucci (51) and Felicity Blunt (31) secretly wed in June, they finally celebrated with family, friends, and celebrities galore in London on Saturday, People reports. The bride’s sister, Looper's Emily Blunt, served as a bridesmaid while Boardwalk Empire’s Steve Buscemi performed best man duties. Tucci and Blunt had announced their engagement last November. Tucci’s first wife, Kate, died in 2009 from breast cancer. Kings of Leon Officially Off the Market Jared Followill (25) was the last single member of band Kings of Leon. The bassist wed his girlfriend, model Martha Patterson (21), on Saturday 40 miles outside of Nashville in a country-themed wedding, People reports. Followill expressed his newlywed bliss on Twitter by tweeting prior to the ceremony, "Today, I get married. It's the biggest step I've ever taken. I've dreamed about this day since I was a little girl." Then, a day later, "Aaaaaand I'm married. Happiest man in the world." From the Runway to the Aisle Lisa D'Amato (30), America's Next Top Model Cycle 5 contestant and Cycle 17 All-Stars winner, married her fiancé Adam Friedman (37) on Sunday in Los Angeles at the Hollywood Castle in Hollywood Hills, reports E! Online. The couple celebrated with a few of D’Amato’s ANTM friends like Bre Scullark and Alexandria Everett, as well as Celebrity Rehab’s Dr. Drew Pinsky. Follow Sydney on Twitter @SydneyBucksbaum [Photo Credits: WENN, Getty Images] More: Rick Ross and Young Jeezy Allegedly Brawl at BET Hip Hop Awards — REPORT UPDATE: Lindsay Lohan Allegedly Assaulted in New York — REPORT Justin Bieber Can Vomit and Sing Simultaneously — VIDEO From Our Partners: Bill Rancic Tweets Adorable Photo of Baby Edward (PHOTO) (Celebuzz) Real Housewives of NJ Reunion: 5 Hottest Moments (Celebuzz)
