Defamer
the day after
Posts Tagged “
Emile Hirsch
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the day after
rants
The Wachowskis Still in Hiding as 'Speed Racer' Circles the Drain
For all its confectionery imagery, Christina Ricci scene-stealing and the few other things Speed Racer gets right, it still faces a box-office false start that could make Leatherheads look like a hit in comparison. We sketched a few of the hurdles here yesterday (number one being its own studio's resignation to its underachievement), but at this point there's only one that counts: Larry and Andy Wachowski need to climb out of their hole.
It might be self-serving of us to suggest they publicize their films, and in a way, we empathize with their reclusion; Larry Wachowski has been the subject of sex-change and dominatrix-dating speculation since a feminized version of himself — earrings, plucked eyebrows, manicure — showed up on the Matrix Revolutions red carpet in Cannes five years ago with mistress Ilsa Strix (née Karen Winslow) on his arm. The siblings later sneaked into the New York premiere of V For Vendetta (which they wrote and co-produced), and last week in Los Angeles they went positively presidential with subterfuge at the debut of Speed Racer. "They did not do the red-carpet press line at the Nokia Theatre on Saturday, and were well-camouflaged during the after-party," wrote Borys Kit in The Hollywood Reporter. "Photographers were sworn to secrecy as to their whereabouts, and Warner Bros. assigned handlers the mission of keeping journalists off the scent."
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box office panic
Julia Roberts Can't Open! (And Other Crises Setting a Shattered Hollywood on Edge)
OK, OK, Hollywood Reporter — we get it. The trade paper today took 1,600 words, three pie charts, two line graphs, and a half-dozen adorable floating-head info boxes to confirm the long-suspected word on the street that — are you ready? — the star system is dying. Jim Carrey can't open! Brad Pitt's last film did $4 million! Julia Roberts hasn't broken $70 million since 2001! Shriek! More »
rain check
Speed Racer doesn't have enough going for it, evidently, for Warner Bros. to sell an April 25 sneak preview in Los Angeles on its own hotly anticipated merits. And its venue partners at the ImaginAsian Theater apparently could take or leave stars Emile Hirch, Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon and others. No, what this movie really needs is a boost from one of the world's most famous international pop stars to get people interested — i.e. Rain, the Korean sensation (and Speed Racer co-star) whose profile dwarfs the WB tentpole by comparison. And with free, first-come-first-served seats, we imagine a perfectly calm crowd will be on hand to join him. Follow the jump for details about joining the riot. More »
Underpromoted 'Speed Racer' Plans Public One-Night Stand With Korean Pop Icon
Speed Racer doesn't have enough going for it, evidently, for Warner Bros. to sell an April 25 sneak preview in Los Angeles on its own hotly anticipated merits. And its venue partners at the ImaginAsian Theater apparently could take or leave stars Emile Hirch, Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon and others. No, what this movie really needs is a boost from one of the world's most famous international pop stars to get people interested — i.e. Rain, the Korean sensation (and Speed Racer co-star) whose profile dwarfs the WB tentpole by comparison. And with free, first-come-first-served seats, we imagine a perfectly calm crowd will be on hand to join him. Follow the jump for details about joining the riot. More »
defamer first look
Sean Penn As Harvey Milk: First Set-Gawking YouTube Video
Thanks to some intrepid, DV-equipped pedestrians in San Francisco's Castro district, the YouTubes now provide some tantalizing glimpses of what Sean Penn looks and sounds like as Harvey Milk in Gus Van Sant's biopic. (His face is obstructed in the clip above, but you can get a better look at him here.)
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Pow! That's the sound of a pneumatic cattle bolt flying into our awards-crazy melons, officially marking the start of Oscar Season: The National Board of Review has named No Country for Old Men their best film of 2007. Other big wins: George Clooney for best actor in Michael Clayton, Tim Burton for best director for Sweeney Todd, and Emile Hirsch and Ellen Page won breakthrough performances for Into the Wild and Juno, respectively. [Reuters]
milk'd
Some Version Of Harvey Milk's Life Story Gets Three More Cast Commitments
There's more A-list casting goodness for Gus Van Sant's Milk, the late-70s biographical drama about San Francisco's beloved openly gay city supervisor Harvey Milk, an American civics story that probably wouldn't have two major, competing productions in the pipeline had Milk and then-S.F. Mayor George Moscone not been shot to death at City Hall by political rival Dan White. Reports THR:
[Josh] Brolin will play Dan White, the rival politician and supervisor who shot Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone to death at City Hall.More »
