Latest Movie News From Moviefone |
- Instagram on Location: 'SNL 40' Anniversary Special
- Kevin Costner Ate a Lot of Enchiladas for 'McFarland, USA' (EXCLUSIVE)
- This Simple Theory Will Change the Way You Watch Pixar's 'Up' Forever
- 11 Actors Nominated for Two Oscars in the Same Year
- Amazon Orders Full Seasons of Five New Series
- The 17 Best and Worst TV Roommates of All Time
- 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales' Sets Sail
- Scarlett Johansson Will Take 'The Psychopath Test'
- Oscar Predictions 2015: Who Will Win Best Actress?
- 'X-Men: Apocalypse' Finds Its Nightcrawler With Kodi Smit-McPhee
- Best of Late Night TV: Taylor Swift's Jumbotron Dancing, Britt From 'The Bachelor' Defends Herself (VIDEO)
| Instagram on Location: 'SNL 40' Anniversary Special Posted: To say that "SNL40" was a star-studded event would be an understatement. The three and a half hour "Saturday Night Live" anniversary special brought together not only the biggest stars in comedy, but also Grammy-winners and Oscar-legends from around the country. Check out the New York night to remember for yourself. Here are a few of the best behind-the-scenes photos from the biggest stars at "SNL40."  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Kevin Costner Ate a Lot of Enchiladas for 'McFarland, USA' (EXCLUSIVE) Posted:  When you watch "McFarland, USA," the wonderful new Disney sports movie about a coach who, in 1987, took a group of untested kids in California (mostly sons of migrant field workers) and turned them into track champions, it's hard to imagine that Kevin Costner, who plays the coach, hasn't been in one of these films before. The actor, who has seen his career rebound in recent years thanks to brief roles in big movies like "Man of Steel" and "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit," is perfect as the grizzled coach who crafted this nearly legendary team.We got to sit down and chat with Costner recently, which is pretty amazing given his legacy not only as an actor (in things like "Revenge" and "JFK") but as a filmmaker (including the Oscar-winning "Dances with Wolves" and underrated Western "Open Range"). We chatted about a whole range of topics -- everything from how many enchiladas he ate during a dinner sequence in "McFarland, USA," to the validity of director's cuts, to what went wrong on his Euro action movie "3 Days to Kill." It's a wide-ranging and incredibly fun chat. Moviefone: First, a hard-hitting journalistic question: How many enchiladas did you eat during that scene? Kevin Costner: It was hard because I had to eat a little bit. A lot of the times you can fake it. But this one I had to eat a lot -- I probably had eight or nine of those. Were you a fan beforehand? Oh, I love enchiladas. But at a certain point you're like, What the f*ck? And part of it had to show me eating it, and I found myself in situations where it's like, when in Rome, you've got to do something like that. So it was a clever scene. It could have been worse. Yes, it could have been one of those dumb TV shows where you're eating beetles. What initially drew you to this project? They pursued me for this. They just felt that I was the person to do this. And I had read about this story about 15 years earlier in Sports Illustrated and I thought, Whoa. And it interesting because it was a school I had played against in high school. I had played McFarland. So I know the central valley and I know the kids and I fought with them and I played with them and everything else. I knew their families. It wasn't lost on me what was going on here. And that story, then to circle back around to me 20-something years later and for them to ask me to play this, it's like, Whoa. It's kind of a weird circle. I thought it was very inspirational. Number one, it's true. And it's this part of the world that people just don't talk about and don't recognize. It wrapped itself up in a movie very nicely. Don't forget - they paid me. After giving $9 million to "Black or White," you've got to recoup some of that. Well, I've never really grown my wealth as much as I've used it to do the things that are important to me, or that I've wanted to do. Not wise business, usually. Let's invest this here, let's invest that there; it's never really been my way. Part of that has been directing your own projects. Are you going to direct again soon? I think so. Another Western? I hope so. You've done these movies based on historical fact before -- has your approach been the same over the years, or have you switched it up? It's always a little different. With "JFK," Oliver [Stone] didn't want a physical resemblance between Jim Garrison and me. He just didn't want that. He said, "I want you to be the essence of this man." Kenny O'Donnell in "Thirteen Days," I mimicked myself after he behaved -- his language, his accent, his movements, his haircuts. I did that because I felt that is what should happen in that particular movie. But in "JFK." it was really playing the essence of somebody. In this instance there was a physical resemblance to Jim and I. But the minute certain facts weren't factual to his life, that's when, for me, all pretenses of "oh, I'm playing him exactly" drop away. So what the essence of a coach is and what he was to these young guys in McFarland became more important to me than any twitch. It wasn't important how he carried his body -- it was all out the window. Because for me, you can't have both. You said you played these guys. Did you incorporate anything from your coach? No. But I obviously know what a coach can mean to kids and there's a thing called tough love that's very important. Like anything, they resist stuff because they're teenagers, too. But the script was crafted and we made sure that it was crafted, so that you saw the arcs. Scenes have been cut out of it for running time, which I'm not a fan of. I'm more like, If you thought it was important and you shot it and edited it and thought it was good, why are we cutting it? They say people won't stay over two hours and I go, "Really?" So I always come from a different camp. Well, was there something you had shot or something you had discovered while working on the movie that you wish was still in there? There are some great scenes that I wish were in there. Niki [Caro] had the hard job. Every day, she had to direct this, and every day and she was just great and I'm sure, for her, she hated to lose some scenes. The way American cinema is today, running length is a really big deal. It isn't to me. You've been involved in a number of movies that have had director's cuts. Well, when it comes to my movies, the cut is the director's cut. I invented the three-hour thing. The studio started to understand that people really like to look deep behind the thing and the scenes going on. And that became a whole cottage industry -- "See the director's cut!" I don't get that. "Dances With Wolves" was a solid three hours. And "Open Range" was 2 hours and 17 minutes. And "Postman" was 2 hours and 24 minutes. They were what they were. I'm happy with what "Postman" is. Is it cut in a conventional way, down to 2 hours? Is that more enjoyable? Maybe it's more enjoyable to you. But I make a movie that I enjoy and then want to share. That's how I approach it. And then you did the miniseries "Hatfields & McCoys." So you had a whole week. Well, no I didn't. Because they wanted to cut it down to a more conventional thing, it was only going to be two nights. And I said, "Tell me what scene in here you don't like." And they said, "Well, we like every scene." And I said, "Me too." And I said, "I think it needs about three or four more scenes to have a level of meaning. I'll write them and I'll show you what I mean." So I did that and they loved them. So I said, "This is going to be three, maybe four nights." They said, "We don't do that." So I said, "I can't change your mind, I can only decide what I'll do, and if it's not going to be three to four nights, I'm not going to do it." And through real, honest discussion, it became that. And now everybody is doing these five-night miniseries, which I think audiences are really enjoying... if they're done well. Would you do it again? Yeah, I would do it again. I have a Western that could either be four features, all about the same story, or it could be 12-hours of TV with the last being a feature film. Is that what you're trying to decide right now? Yeah, I'm trying to decide that right now. "McFarland, USA" is a Disney sports movie, which has almost become its own genre. Do you like those movies? Yeah, I love Disney. I've always loved Disney and what they've stood for and what they've been for. And this movie had a bit of an edge and I hope as much of it could stay in it as possible. You're a filmmaker yourself. Did you make any suggestions? Niki was really good to me and really open in the scripting process. But at the end of the day, once the movie was shot, I wasn't consulted with what would stay and what would go. Were you happy with the final movie? Yeah, I was happy with it. You kind of have to take a minute and absorb things because you're thinking about things you did or didn't do. It's what happens in life. Were there any of your movies that you'd like to see expanded into director's cuts? Yeah. They weren't movies that I directed but they followed the script at one point and then certain stuff is taken out, with people saying, "Oh, that's too hard on the audience." And I'm saying, "You're wrong. You're wrong to take that out." I don't think there was anything like that here in this movie. But I often say, "You try to soften it, you try to move it into another demographic, you moved it from an R to a PG-13 because you thought more people would see it." But the truth was that the people who would really appreciate it would only appreciate it as an R. You lost those adult bones that make it an R. I don't know if you've seen "Black or White," but there's a line where he says, "Maybe you're not a drunk. Maybe you're just an angry f*cking motherf*cker." And they were going to give me an R for saying it one time. In "Django" they say it a million times. I had to go to them and say, "Please don't give me an R." But I would have not compromised the movie. Did you end up getting a PG-13? Yeah. But I had to go before a board and beg for it and they were really cool to me. But what I'm saying is that if they hadn't, because it was my money, I would have kept it as an R. Did that happen with "3 Days to Kill?" It seems like it was softened. Yeah, it was. There were some subplots that were never in the script. Like The Wolf. They said we needed a bad guy. I said, "No you don't, you just need guys that he'll go kill because he's f*cked up his life. And what guys do is throw money at problems." So this guy would kill anybody. He doesn't have to kill an important person. All I have to do is kill a bad person. We didn't need the ultimate criminal. At least that movie didn't. And the original writer wrote it that way. We didn't need the big shoot out. But there it was. My guy was not going after the best criminal in the world and I wasn't the best CIA agent in the world. I was a jobber. Sometimes people think that you have to blow things up more than it already is. In "McFarland," they say we win nine times. We don't say they won 11. And because it's a true story, we don't have to say six. They won nine times. These little guys. It's pretty amazing. They had a goal and they just succeeded wildly. It's really life affirming. We didn't have to make stuff up. That's why I made "3 Days to Kill," because it could have been a perfect action movie for me, because it had a lot of character and a lot of funny scenes mixed with these scenes of violence. That's what I can do. That could be really mature. But it slipped in several key categories. You brought up "Django Unchained." You were supposed to be in the movie, right? Yeah, there was a possibility that I could have been in it. Is Quentin Tarantino somebody you still want to work with? Oh yeah. I would work with him in a second. I hope that I do. But with that one, at the end of the day, it just wasn't right. And maybe you just get one chance with Quentin. Look, people's feelings are important and his process, and he made a Western and didn't ask me to be in it, so maybe that was a problem. Are you coming back for anymore Superman movies? I don't know. It has to be what it has to be. Didn't he already save the world? Is it in peril again? "McFarland, USA" opens everywhere Friday, February 20. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| This Simple Theory Will Change the Way You Watch Pixar's 'Up' Forever Posted: |
| 11 Actors Nominated for Two Oscars in the Same Year Posted: An actor receiving double Oscar nominations in one year is definitely a rare occurrence, but it has probably happened more than you think. Even Julianne Moore, who is a nominee this year for "Still Alice," has been nominated twice within the same ceremony for two separate performances. This year composer Alexandre Desplat is nominated in the Musical Score category for his work on "The Imitation Game" and "The Grand Budapest Hotel," but we won't be seeing any actors going for two times the gold this time around. Let's take a look back at the eleven accomplished actors who have been nominated for two Oscars in the same year. Way to be overachievers, you guys...  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Amazon Orders Full Seasons of Five New Series Posted:  Move over, "Transparent" - you're getting five new siblings on Amazon Prime Instant Video.Amazon gave the green light to full seasons of five new series:
Amazon also is giving a second season to "Mozart in the Jungle," the dramatic comedy about a brilliant, somewhat eccentric composer (Gael Garcia Bernal). This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| The 17 Best and Worst TV Roommates of All Time Posted: It's been 50 years since Neil Simon wrote his play "The Odd Couple," the story of two divorced, middle-aged New York men driving each other nuts as roommates. It's an indestructible premise that's been through many incarnations on stage, in movies, and on TV -- the latest is the new "Odd Couple" series starring Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon as messy Oscar and fussy Felix, debuting Feb. 19 on CBS -- because, as anyone who's ever had a roommate knows, being forced to live in tight quarters with someone whose idiosyncrasies irritate you can be a juicy source of comedy. Though you may not have the perspective to laugh until one of you moves out. The influence of "The Odd Couple" is extensive, resulting in numerous shows over the years about mismatched tenants who have nothing in common except an electric bill but who nonetheless have to act like a couple or a family. With perspective, we viewers can laugh at characters that we'd barely be able to stand sharing a refrigerator with in real life. Here, then, ranked from worst to best, are 17 of the funniest groups of roommates in TV history.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales' Sets Sail Posted:  We were worried for a minute that we'd never get to ride the high seas with Jack Sparrow ever again, but there's good new for all you diehard "Pirates of the Caribbean" fans. Filming has officially begun on the fifth movie in the series, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales," down in Queensland, Australia. It's been a hot minute since we've heard news of the fifth "Pirates of the Caribbean," and for a while it was unclear whether or not we'd ever see Jack Sparrow again. We can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that Johnny Depp in all his eyeliner-y glory will be back, alongside Javier Bardem as the big baddie, and a host of fresh young faces who'll be walking the plank. The new additions include Golshifteh Farahani ("Exodus: Gods and Kings," "Rosewater"), Kaya Scodelario ("The Maze Runner," "Skins," "Wuthering Heights"), and Brenton Thwaites ("The Giver," "Maleficent"). Espen Sandberg and Joachim Rønning ("Kon-Tiki") are directing. "Dead Men Tell No Tales" will hit theaters on July 7, 2017. [Via Vulture] This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Scarlett Johansson Will Take 'The Psychopath Test' Posted:  Scarlett Johansson's latest project sounds a little spooky. She's signed on to star in an adaptation of Jon Ronson's book "The Psychopath Test," a non-fiction book about psychopaths and "the madness industry." It's not exactly clear how the book will be adapted into a narrative, or where Johansson will fit in, but it's being described as "a psychological thriller." Here's the Amazon description of the book:
Ronson also wrote the book "The Men Who Stare At Goats," which was turned into a movie starring George Clooney and Ewan McGregor, and the screenplay for "Frank," which was based on his experiences as a young wanna-be musician. His most recent release is "So You've Been Publicly Shamed," about people whose lives have been ruined by social media. His work is intelligent, snappy, and fun to read, although it seems rather difficult to translate to the big screen. As for "The Psychopath Test," Scarlett Johansson could definitely play a psychologist or scientist, but wouldn't it be more interesting if she appeared as one of the psychopaths Ronson meets during his investigation? The star has found great success in the past few years by playing with and subverting her public persona as a bombshell with roles in movies like "Under the Skin," "Her," and "Lucy." Jay Roach is attached to produce and direct, which should be interesting; he's known more for comedies like "Meet the Parents" and "Austin Powers in Goldmember" than he is for more serious fare like the HBO TV movie "Game Change." Kristin Gore is penning the script; her credits range from "Saturday Night Live" to collaborations on David O. Russell's "Accidental Love," formerly known as "Nailed," "Her," and "Foxatcher." [Via Deadline] This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Oscar Predictions 2015: Who Will Win Best Actress? Posted:  This Sunday, all eyes will be on the star-studded Oscars!With less than a week before the big night, it's time to look back and reexamine the most noteworthy performances and films of 2014. In countdown fashion, Moviefone will be releasing a set of staff predictions each day this week for the four major categories -- kicking it off today with Best Actress. We've already given you the beat on the 2015 Oscars race, so now let's break down our favorites to win Best Actress. Here, we've listed the actress we expect to win, and then, more importantly, which ones we think should win. Tim Hayne Who Will Win: Julianne Moore. Not only has she already won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role (a predictor of Oscar glory) for her portrayal of a woman dealing with early-onset Alzheimer's in "Still Alice," but Moore is poised to take home the trophy on career merit alone. This is her fifth nomination, and, in 2003, she became one of only a handful of actors to be nominated in both the Best Supporting and Best Actress categories. Her career has been filled with widely varied roles, many of them lauded, and the Academy undoubtedly believes she's paid her dues. In short, it's time. Who Should Win: Julianne Moore. I mean, come on. She deserves it for all the reasons I mentioned above, and more. It's her year. Alana Altmann Who Will Win: Julianne Moore. Most people probably already assume the accomplished powerhouse has an Oscar under her belt, but the nominee has sadly gone home empty handed four times in the past. The versatile actress turned an unremarkable small film with a overwhelmingly heavy concept like "Still Alice" into something worth talking about. It's her year to take it, especially since her competition isn't that steep... Who Should Win: Julianne Moore. But we're pretending she's getting the award for the "will you be my mommy?" scene in "Boogie Nights." Just kidding. (Sort of). What could have treaded into sappy tear-bait territory in "Still Alice" turned out to be a powerful, moving, and relatable portrayal of a woman whose world is slipping through her finger tips. And although we're picking Julianne here, we're going to take a moment to shout out Rosamund Pike's nuanced breakout work as "Gone Girl's" Amazing Amy just because it was one of the most fun performances to watch this year. It's just not quite Moore-level emotional rawness. Jonny Black Who Will Win: Julianne Moore. She was incredible in "Still Alice" and has racked up award after award for her performance, and rightfully so. I mean, she's the main draw for a downer of a movie (the story centers on Moore's character who's recently been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's) and carries it alongside an impressive performance from Kristen Stewart. Moore's 2015 nod is her fifth career Oscar nomination and it's about time she takes home the golden statuette -- she's rarely been more deserving. Who Should Win: Julianne Moore. She's fantastic in the movie and has more than paid her Academy dues. Have we even mentioned another actress's name for this year's race? Barely. She's also front and center in two of the greatest and most talked about movies of the last twenty years, "Boogie Nights" (1997) and "The Big Lebowski" (1998), so just give her the damn thing! What's your pick? Tell us in the comments below, and find out which star wins Best Actress when the Oscars air live Sunday, February 22 at 7 ET / 4 PT on ABC. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 'X-Men: Apocalypse' Finds Its Nightcrawler With Kodi Smit-McPhee Posted:  What's the best way to up your follower count on Instagram? If you're Bryan Singer, you use your account to tease your upcoming movie. Yesterday he dropped some concept art for "X-Men: Apocalypse," and late last night, Singer revealed his new Nightcrawler. Singer posted a professional-looking headshot of Kodi Smit-McPhee, with the caption, " Excited to welcome @kodismitmcphee to the cast of #XmenApocalypse as young #Nightcrawler." Smit-McPhee doubled up on the message by posting a similar Instagram announcement. Kodi Smit-McPhee first snagged our attention as the nameless young boy in "The Road," followed by roles in "Let Me In," "ParaNorman," and "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes." However, the character of Nightcrawler, a fuzzy blue mutant with a prehensile tail, is probably the weirdest of them all. Alan Cumming transmogrified into a super creepy Nightcrawler in "X-Men 2," complete with yellow eyes, two-fingered hands, and scarred blue skin. Smit-McPhee is joining a cast stacked with "X-Men" regulars like James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence Evan Peters, and Nicholas Hoult, as well as newcomers Sophie Turner, Alexandra Shipp, Tye Sheridan, and Oscar Isaac. "X-Men Apocalypse" is currently slated for release on May 27, 2016. [Via IGN] This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted:  If you're like us and value your sleep, you probably nodded off into your Ambien dreamland before the party started on post-prime time TV. Don't worry; we've got you covered. Here's the best of what happened last night on late night.Taylor Swift was on "The Tonight Show" Tuesday night, and Jimmy Fallon told her he was really upset because she dances all the time now, but that used to be their exclusive thing. They were "famous Jumbotron dancers." Jimmy shared "random" Jumbotron footage showing the two of them going for it. Love how they flip the popcorn every time. Funny bit. The people in the background are the best. Taylor and Jimmy also cemented their new BFF status by drawing each other without looking. Kristen Bell was on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" to talk about Dax Shepard's 40th birthday and their two young daughters, Lincoln and Delta. They almost forgot Dax's 40th b-day because they were in that new baby haze. Kristen said Dax named their second baby Delta, without knowing there was a woman named Delta Burke. He thought he made up the name for a girl. Kristen also talked about how she was such a stubborn kid as a child and insisted everyone call her Smurfette. Then Matthew. Then Annie. They settled on Annie and some people still call her that. Jimmy Kimmel also video-chatted with Britt from "The Bachelor." Jimmy said his wife and her friends all want Britt as The Bachelorette, and she seemed very happy about the idea. Did Britt have any idea that Carly did not like her? She only found out about the puppet thing when she watched the show back. Britt said she wasn't lying about her Iowa reaction. She does shower. And she's still working as a waitress, except now people don't tip her so much because she's "famous" and they assume she was well-paid to be on "The Bachelor." Dakota Johnson was on David Letterman's show and she told Dave that her mom, Melanie Griffith, told her to tell Dave that she (Melanie) loves Dave. Melanie was on the show a lot and she brought Dave handcuffs one time. Dakota: "So, are you my dad?" They discussed the origin of her name. She thinks her parents stole the name from friends' parents who were also about to have a baby. She was supposed to be named Ruby but Don Johnson thought Ruby Johnson sounded like a stripper's name. Jack McBrayer and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog were on "Conan" to promote their new show, and Conan O'Brien called out the puppeteer as the worst "f--king puppeteer" ever." Triumph shared his censored NBC jokes and there are also web-only Andy Richter jokes. "The Walking Dead" star Lauren Cohan was also on "Conan," talking about her first Hollywood job as a waitress. She was in over her head, and had one customer who was a real jerk. When he left the table to use the bathroom, his own friends told her to pretend to have a nervous breakdown when he came back. She went for it with a full meltdown - and someone from CBS casting was actually in the restaurant and told her to call. Lauren also said she wants a zombie apocalypse Fitbit to count all her steps on TWD. Conan thinks the zombies should wear them, since all they do is walk. Lauren thinks zombies should advertise the Fitbits. Brilliant! Taraji P. Henson was on "Late Night with Seth Meyers" and Seth decided to audition for "Empire" on the spot. He wants to be in Cookie's posse. He said her father inspired her character. Matthew Perry was also on Seth's show and he talked about how he almost turned down "Friends" in 1994 because he was committed to another show called "LAX 2194" about futuristic LAX baggage handlers. Haha. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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