Latest Movie News From Moviefone |
- Cameron Crowe's First Concert Nearly Cost Him His Life
- 'Walking Dead' Alum Chad L. Coleman Joins 'Arrow' Season 5
- FX Renews 'Archer' for Three More Seasons
- CBS Announces Fall 2016 Premiere Dates
- Idris Elba Shares 'Dark Tower' Image, Teases Roland Role
- A 'Golden Girls'-Themed Cafe Is Coming to NYC (and Yes, There Will Be Cheesecake)
- Here's the Main Villain and Plot of 'Justice League'
- Matthew McConaughey Felt a 'Responsibility' to Use the N-word in 'Free State of Jones'
- Ben Affleck's 'Batman' Movie Script Isn't Ready Yet
- 'The Fast and the Furious': 10 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About the Vin Diesel Hit
| Cameron Crowe's First Concert Nearly Cost Him His Life Posted:  As the writer-director behind romantic comedy classics like "Say Anything...," "Singles" and "Jerry Maguire," Cameron Crowe knows how to spin a good love story. But uniquely among filmmakers, he really understands how to make the romance between someone and the music they love come alive on screen.That's why its welcome news that Crowe -- who, as vividly depicted in his semi-autobiographical film "Almost Famous," began his career as an unlikely teenage rock-and-roll journalist for Rolling Stone, interviewing and traveling with some of the most legendary musical artists of the 1970s -- is returning to the rich rock world for "Roadies," his new series for Showtime that delves into the lives of the music-besotted concert tour crews that make arena rock happen from city to city. Drawing on his deep vault of personal experiences and inside knowledge about life on the road (he was also married to Heart's Nancy Wilson for over a quarter of a century), Crowe talks about putting his past to work, his last interaction with David Bowie, and the concert that almost ended his life. On getting up to speed on the current state of the tour business since his heyday on the road: "It's a little more mechanized. It's a little bigger, and smaller. The middle has disappeared, like so many other ways. It's like, big, big, big flourishes and small, small, small flourishes. I love the idea that bands do living room concerts now, and they tour living rooms. And guess what? They're great shows. They're great shows. So I like that and I like expressing that in the show. "Also, a band like [the series'] The Statehouse Band is kind of struggling to find out what the next phase is. So we'll find out through the show -- like, where do you fit now? You've been together for 10 plus years, where are you going to take your audience now to make yourself compelling? That's a fun issue to get into." On staying connected to his memories of joining bands on tour: "I kept notes on everything -- I'm actually doing a collection book now. It's so bizarre how present the memories are. Not a lot changes. I see a lot of people in the notes from the interview that we've done like struggling to find a way to success with integrity. Dealing with failure. Turning failure into a lesson. It's all kind of stories that I've kept writing about. "And I still have friends that are in bands and I go out and do shows and check out stuff. I've stayed researching pretty consistently. And it's present to me. It's very present. "There's all kinds of stories, and real specific ones, too, about things that happened with crews or one member deviates from the personality traits he's had up until now. It's like, it's a never-ending fresh source to just go to real life. Because when you make it up, it's never as good." On the people who surround and support the bands: "The ambition is to make friends and family and celebrate the things that you love. I always felt like the whole sex, drugs, and rock and roll stereotype of rock-stardom was so kind of dishonest in a way. Because nobody ever picked up a guitar to get drugs. And they couldn't play very long because that's not going to help them write a song. "That stuff can happen later. But what happens first is like somebody falls in love with a song, or piece of music, and it changes you life. That's what this whole crew has in common with the people they work for and the actors have in common too. So I like writing about that."  On the contributions of fellow executive producer (and musically talented) J.J. Abrams:"A lot! He also wrote some music that's in the show somewhere -- a little Easter egg! He was able to set up the original meetings and say like, "Here's Cameron, my friend for a long time. We've been talking about this project for a long time." "Here's a story, here's a show that I want to do as part of Bad Robot. We've been pitching to each other for a long time." So that makes the meeting go pretty well." On what he learned from legendary filmmaker Billy Wilder ("Some Like It Hot," "The Apartment") while they worked on a book together that he still uses today: "Let the audience put the facts together. Say 'Two and two,' but don't add it up for them and they'll love you forever. You always want to not be the guy that says, 'It's four! It's four! It's four! It's four!' It's like Carla [Gugino] and Luke [Wilson's] relationship in the pilot: Don't keep saying 'Oh, they're a work marriage. They're not a real marriage.' Just show it and people will get it. So that was a little lesson from Billy Wilder, for sure." On why the show isn't a continuation of "Almost Famous": ''Almost Famous' really kind of needed to be that one story, which is getting that one interview that was so hard to get. And that was kind of the thing that was defining about that time and for me. And some of the bands took me in, and some of them didn't. But the ones that took me in created an adventure that lives and lives and lives. So I thought, let's tell one story and that's the story of 1973." On his own legendary teenage years touring with the biggest rock acts of their day as a reporter for Rolling Stone: "Nobody told me that it couldn't be done! It was only later when people would say, like, 'Are you kidding me? You did blah blah blah?' I'm like, 'Yeah -- is that wrong?' 'Yes, it's wrong. You can't ask Led Zeppelin to just take you on the road!' But I did. "Part of it, I think, was being that age. And another part of it was a lot of the journalists in that era were guys that were from a previous era of loving a different kind of music. If you're, like, Jethro Tull, and they send some guy that could really give a sh*t about Jethro Tull's music, you're going to be a little pissed about it. Like, 'This is our shot as Rolling Stone and he's this guy that really is like holding it against me that I'm not Miles Davis? Wait, here's a 16-year-old kid that knows every chord that I've played and he's writing for Rolling Stone -- I want to talk to him.' That happened a lot. "So they would say like, 'You're really the guy? They print your stories?' I was like, 'Yeah. But I do have tough questions.' It's like, 'It's okay. You know the songs. Come with us.' And that happened again, and again, and again." On his last exchange with David Bowie, whom he spent six months following in 1975: "My last memory of David was doing liner notes for the 'Station to Station' expanded release that they did. He wanted me to do liner notes, and I had kept really good records of that session. So I wrote a very detailed set of liner notes about the session and how he created these songs like 'TVC 15' and stuff like that. "I asked to talk to David, and his guy said 'He's not doing interviews, but he really wants you to write about the session.' I thought it was really good, but the note I got back was, 'He's a little disappointed. He wanted you to write more about the music and what you thought of the music.' It was like, 'Damn -- okay, cool.' "So I went and I did another pass where I talked about how the music felt and what it meant to me and left everything else that was already there in. And it was better. So it was like, 'Damn -- he just did a good edit on me.' And that was my last experience with David, but I was writing something [before he died] that I wanted him to act in. I loved him as an actor." On his ultimate concert experience: "I would say the first one was where I got to go to a concert all by myself, and it was The Who. I didn't have a ticket on the floor, but I snuck down on to the floor right before they came on stage and got caught in a crush to get to the stage. And I got pressed to the very front of the stage and couldn't breathe. And then The Who came on, and they were my favorite band at the time ... I didn't know what was going to happen. I remember thinking, 'They're playing "My Generation" right now, and I may die.' "Then, I got sucked in under the crowd and spit out 50 yards away, and it was the best f*cking concert I've ever been to, and maybe still. It was like: 'All the songs you want to hear; near-death experience; escaping your protective family life -- Yes!' "Roadies" premieres Sunday, June 26th, on Showtime. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 'Walking Dead' Alum Chad L. Coleman Joins 'Arrow' Season 5 Posted:  Superhero series "Arrow" is adding another actor from a fan favorite comic-inspired show in season five, with news that Chad L. Coleman has joined the cast.IGN reports that Coleman -- who fans of "The Walking Dead" know as the dearly departed Tyreese -- will play the villainous Tobias Church on the upcoming fifth season of the CW show, in what's being billed as a recurring role. According to the site, Church is described as "an imposing gangster looking to unite the various criminal enterprises in Star City under his own singular command." Coleman-as-Church will make his "Arrow" debut on the season premiere of the series, which is slated for October. No word yet on how long his guest arc will last, though for those missing him on "The Walking Dead" (his character certainly deserved better), Coleman's enigmatic onscreen presence can't last long enough. In addition to his "TWD" role, Coleman is known to television fans for his portrayal of Dennis "Cutty" Wise on the critically lauded HBO series "The Wire." His most recent credits include a turn on the acclaimed History miniseries "Roots." "Arrow" will make its season five debut on The CW on October 5. [via: IGN] Photo credit: Getty Images This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| FX Renews 'Archer' for Three More Seasons Posted:  "Archer" fans, pour yourself a celebratory drink: The animated FX series has been renewed for three more seasons.FX announced the generous pickup on Tuesday, a few weeks after the season seven finale aired -- and ended on a major, deadly cliffhanger. The fate of the spy spoof series -- which relocated to Los Angeles for its most recent batch of episodes, and saw the core gang reinvent themselves yet again as a private detective agency -- was still up in the air then (as was the fate of its titular character), but thankfully, the cable network decided to extend its lifespan. "We can't say enough about what [creator] Adam [Reed], [producer] Matt [Thompson], and the entire 'Archer' team at Floyd County have done to keep this series so insanely funny and vital through seven seasons," said Nick Grad, FX's co-president of original programming, in a press release. "The move to Los Angeles this past season as private detectives was just the latest twist in 'Archer"'s legendary exploits and the next three seasons will to be just as amazing and unpredictable. We are thrilled to continue making great TV." Unlike seasons past, though, seasons eight, nine, and 10 of "Archer" will be a bit abbreviated, clocking in at only eight episodes apiece. Season seven ran for 10 episodes, down from 13 during seasons two through six. (Season one was also 10 episodes.) No word yet on when more "Archer" will come (are we still doing phrasing?). Stay tuned for the continuing adventures of the gang at the Figgis Agency. [via: Uproxx] Photo credit: FX This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| CBS Announces Fall 2016 Premiere Dates Posted:  CBS announced its premiere dates for the upcoming fall TV season on Tuesday, revealing a staggered approach that metes out returning and new series over the course of seven weeks.The schedule officially begins on September 15 with the season debut of Thursday Night Football, featuring a showdown between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets. The last of the new and returning series, meanwhile, won't premiere until October 27. Sandwiched between those dates are a bunch of new shows, including limited series "Case Closed" (September 18), Kevin James sitcom "Kevin Can Wait" (September 19), former "NCIS" star Michael Weatherly's "Bull" (September 20), the "MacGyver" reboot (September 23), Matt LeBlanc-starrer "Man With a Plan" (October 24), sitcom "The Great Indoors" (October 27), and drama "Pure Genius" (October 27). Here's the full lineup for CBS's fall 2016-2017 shows: Thursday, Sept. 15 7:30 PM, ET: THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL PRE-GAME SHOW 8:25 PM, ET: THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (NY Jets @ Buffalo Bills) Sunday, Sept. 18 8:30-10:30 PM: CASE CLOSED (LIMITED SERIES, PART 1) Monday, Sept. 19 8:00-8:30 PM: THE BIG BANG THEORY (10th Season Premiere) 8:30-9:00 PM: KEVIN CAN WAIT (SERIES DEBUT) 9:00-11:00 PM: CASE CLOSED (Part 2) Tuesday, Sept. 20 8:00-9:00 PM: NCIS (14th Season Premiere) 9:00-10:00 PM: BULL (SERIES DEBUT) 10:00-11:00 PM: NCIS: NEW ORLEANS (3rd Season Premiere) Wednesday, Sept. 21 8:00-9:30 PM: SURVIVOR (90-Minute 33rd Season Premiere) 9:30-11:00 PM: BIG BROTHER (90-Minute Season Finale) Friday, Sept. 23 8:00-9:00 PM: MACGYVER (SERIES DEBUT) 9:00-10:00 PM: HAWAII FIVE-0 (7th Season Premiere) 10:00-11:00 PM: BLUE BLOODS (7th Season Premiere) Saturday, Sept. 24 10:00-11:00 PM: 48 HOURS (29th Season Premiere) Sunday, Sept. 25 7:30-8:30 PM: 60 MINUTES (49th Season Premiere) 8:30-10:30 PM: CASE CLOSED (Part 3) Monday, Sept. 26 8:00-8:30 PM: THE BIG BANG THEORY 8:30-9:00 PM: KEVIN CAN WAIT 9:00-11:00 PM: Presidential Debate Wednesday, Sept. 28 8:00-9:00 PM: SURVIVOR (Regular Time Period) 9:00-10:00 PM: CRIMINAL MINDS (12th Season Premiere) 10:00-11:00 PM: CODE BLACK (2nd Season Premiere) Sunday, Oct. 2 8:00-9:00 PM: NCIS: LOS ANGELES (8th Season Premiere) 9:00-10:00 PM: MADAM SECRETARY (3rd Season Premiere) 10:00-11:00 PM: ELEMENTARY (5th Season Premiere) Monday, Oct. 3 8:00-8:30 PM: THE BIG BANG THEORY 8:30-9:00 PM: KEVIN CAN WAIT 9:00-11:00 PM: SCORPION (2-Hour 3rd Season Premiere) Monday, Oct. 10 8:00-8:30 PM: THE BIG BANG THEORY 8:30-9:00 PM: KEVIN CAN WAIT 9:00-10:00 PM: 2 BROKE GIRLS (1-Hour 6th Season Premiere) 10:00-11:00 PM: SCORPION (regular time period) Monday, Oct. 17 8:00-8:30 PM: THE BIG BANG THEORY 8:30-9:00 PM: KEVIN CAN WAIT 9:00-9:30 PM: 2 BROKE GIRLS (regular time period) 9:30-10:00 PM: THE ODD COUPLE (3rd Season Premiere) 10:00-11:00 PM: SCORPION Monday, Oct. 24 8:00-8:30 PM: KEVIN CAN WAIT (New Time Period) 8:30-9:00 PM: MAN WITH A PLAN (SERIES DEBUT) 9:00-9:30 PM: 2 BROKE GIRLS 9:30-10:00 PM: THE ODD COUPLE 10:00-11:00 PM: SCORPION Thursday, Oct. 27 8:00-8:30 PM: THE BIG BANG THEORY (Regular Time Period) 8:30-9:00 PM: THE GREAT INDOORS (SERIES DEBUT) 9:00-9:30 PM: MOM (4th Season Premiere) 9:30 -10:00 PM: LIFE IN PIECES (2nd Season Premiere) 10:00-11:00 PM: PURE GENIUS (SERIES DEBUT) [via: Coming Soon] Photo credit: Michael Yarish/CBS This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Idris Elba Shares 'Dark Tower' Image, Teases Roland Role Posted:  The long-awaited film adaptation of Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series is finally in production, and star Idris Elba has clearly been enjoying connecting with fans of the books on social media. Elba's most recent post teases some key background info about his character, and the mythology of the series.The actor took to Twitter over the weekend to share an image that says, "Remember the face of your father," and captioned the post, "I am Roland, son of Steven, son of Henry, true descendant of Arthur. And I have not forgotten."
According to The A.V. Club, the post reveals a lot about Elba's protagonist, Roland Deschain, a.k.a. The Gunslinger. Here's the scoop from the site:
That's certainly good news for diehard fans of the series, who've no doubt been a bit confused about some of the odd casting intel that's leaked since the flick was first announced. Here, it appears Elba -- and the rest of the creative team, including director Nikolaj Arcel -- is committed to keeping the core of the series intact as it prepares to finally hit the big screen. We're eager to see just how faithful the final product turns out to be. "The Dark Tower" is due in theaters on February 17, 2017. [via: Idris Elba, h/t The A.V. Club] Photo credit: Getty Images This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| A 'Golden Girls'-Themed Cafe Is Coming to NYC (and Yes, There Will Be Cheesecake) Posted:  If you can't get enough of bawdy broads trading barbs and eating cheesecake out on the lanai, there's a new establishment coming to New York City that's especially for you: Rue La Rue Cafe, a "Golden Girls"-themed restaurant set to open this fall.The idea is the brainchild of Michael J. LaRue, and inspired by his close friendship with the late Rue McClanahan, who played the promiscuous Blanche Devereaux on the beloved '80s sitcom. During a recent community meeting in NYC's Washington Heights neighborhood, LaRue laid out his plan for the cafe, explaining that McClanahan left him many pieces of "Golden Girls" memorabilia when she passed away in 2010; LaRue plans to decorate the cafe with those items, he said, including McLanahan's piano, which will be used for live music performances. (We request the iconic theme song on repeat.) According to DNA Info, the Rue La Rue menu will include "soups, wraps, salads, desserts, baked treats and wine — and, of course, cheesecake." LaRue -- who's partnering with McClanahan's son, Mark Bisch, on the project -- also said there's a plan to sell officially-licensed "Golden Girls" souvenirs, thanks to a deal with the Walt Disney Company, which owns the rights to the Emmy-winning series. "I believe I can turn this place into a mini-tourist [hub] in Washington Heights," LaRue said at the community meeting. We're definitely on board. Rue La Rue Cafe is currently slated to open in early September in the appropriately-named Sofia Storage Building at 4396 Broadway. According to LaRue, Betty White (who played Rose Nylund on the show, and is the last surviving member of the core ensemble) will appear at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. [via: DNA Info] Photo credit: Associated Press This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Here's the Main Villain and Plot of 'Justice League' Posted:  Production on "Justice League: Part One" is currently underway in London, and while there are still many secrets surrounding the cast and plot of the DC team-up flick, filmmakers have revealed a few key pieces of intel to whet fans' appetites.Mashable recently visited the set, and chatted with director Zack Snyder and producers Deborah Snyder and Charles Roven. Deborah Snyder confirmed that the main villain in the film will be Steppenwolf, a mysterious figure that Mashable spied in concept art that depicted "a six-foot, shadowy silhouette with two horns sprouting from its faceless head." Producers are "close" to casting the supervillain, Snyder said, though she declined to name just who is in the running for the part. When it comes to supporting villains, it's still unclear just who will be helping Steppenwolf antagonize the titular superheroes. Synder demurred when asked about whether Steppenwolf's nephew, Darkseid, will appear in the flick, telling Mashable, "I think you're going to have to wait to see about that." (Mashable seems to think that that coy answer all but confirms Darkseid's appearance, since the villain's presence was hinted at heavily during a dream sequence in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.") Other notable takeaways from Mashable's report include the fact that "Justice League"'s tone is very different from that of the critically-maligned "Dawn of Justice," and that the movie will be a self-contained story, not necessarily a cliffhanger-ending film meant to lead directly into "Part Two." The mysterious Motherboxes will also feature heavily into the plot, while Superman (Henry Cavill) may not show up until partway into the flick. And fans should expect Ben Affleck's Bruce Wayne/Batman to face some resistance when it comes to forming the Justice League, especially from Aquaman (Jason Momoa). "It's about trying to get a lot of disparate people who are used to being very powerful and very independent to try to work together, and it's about how hard that is," Affleck explained to Mashable. "There are some characters that really hit it off with each other, some that really don't hit if off with each other and almost come to blows, and it's about trying to contain that." Read the entire report here. "Justice League: Part One" opens on November 17, 2017. [via: Mashable] This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Matthew McConaughey Felt a 'Responsibility' to Use the N-word in 'Free State of Jones' Posted:  When you're drawing up your list of best Matthew McConaughey movies, it's likely you'll be adding "Free State of Jones," a drama based on the real story of a Southerner, Newt Knight, who led escaped slaves and poor white farmers against the Confederacy during the Civil War, a war within a war that hardly anyone has ever heard about before now.Moviefone talked to McConaughey about meeting Newt's descendants, the inspiration for his Mississippi accent, and having to use the N-word in a pivotal scene. Moviefone: Had you ever heard of Newt Knight before this? McConaughey: No, I never had. And most people I talked to had not either. I was introduced to Newt Knight via the script that Gary Ross spent the last 10 years writing. How did Gary pitch it to you? He said, "I have this true story that has not been shared or passed down through history. It's an amazing story about this man who fought to defend his own freedom and his neighbors' freedom during the Civil War. He fought alongside poor white farmers and runaway African-American slaves. And then, in the third act of his life, after the Civil War ended, he continued to fight for African-Americans' rights in the South until he was buried in the ground next to his black wife (Rachel, played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw) when he was 94 years old." Quite a life. What resonated the most for you about this role? Well, one, that it was a great true story that had not been shared. I, like many other people, asked, "Why have I not heard about this? Why did I never read about this?" It wasn't even passed down through populist folklore. He was a man with a very simple creed and a very simple constitution. He was a man who, if he saw a wrong, he did not know how to ignore that wrong. He had a very clear sense of right and wrong, like that. [Snaps fingers] He didn't measure the consequence of his actions, but he just took action. This is a guy on whose ideals alone, he was ready to wage a war. And he did. He led the rebellion during the Civil War and then his sense of family broadened after the war. It was about the Family of Men and he became about a cause for the last 45, 50 years of his life Did you get to meet any of his descendants? I did. I went to Ellisville, MS, where he's from. Met quite a few of his descendants, quite a few are partially through the film and I met a lot of them. And then I had a lot of extras that came in from Mississippi and a couple of 100 of them said they would have done this film for free because Newt Knight was a hero to them. And I also heard a bunch of them say, "Those are good people in Ellisville," which is were a lot of his descendants live. Had you done a Mississippi accent before this? No, I hadn't. I listened to the wonderful maple-syrup voice of Shelby Foote, if you've ever seen Ken Burns's documentary on the Civil War, he's the sage that wrote a great book on the war. To hear him talk is just beautiful. It's a whole different type of music than I have. But after a couple of months of work on it and finding a whole bunch of bootleg tapes of interviews he had done, that's where I started. I started with him and then turned it into Newt.  Gugu told me that you and she did have a kiss, but it didn't make the final film. Does it matter to you if it's in there or not?No. A lot of times you do scenes and when you watch the film [after it's been cut], you think, "Do I miss it?" And if it stands out and you missed it in the storytelling, then it's kind of important. But if the story's well told ... you're gonna lose a lot of scenes that are great scenes, but if you watch the movie as a whole -- not just as a scene in particular, but as an overall way to tell the story -- then the story's not calling for it. So I didn't miss it in the story of the telling; it's insinuated. Rachel and Newt live together. They have a child, so obviously they were intimate. And I think the way Gary handled that scene [where they first spend the night together], I think was more powerful in that it goes out on her seeing this feather bed that's for her for the first time. During one of Newt's speeches, you use the N-word. Did you find that hard? It was a responsibility is the way I looked at it, especially in the context of the scene. It was a scene where Newt was using it to expose the word and really put it out there and shine a bright light on it in all capital letters, so to speak. We have a tendency, all of us in some ways, to sweep things like that under the carpet, to put it in the closet. Don't say that, don't do that, let's act like that doesn't exist. In this context, Newt was doing it in a very responsible and almost incentivizing way to expose that word, that nasty word. Personally, I think you put it out there in front of a light and and let's examine that, let's examine what its historical meaning is, what its present meaning is. And understand how it hurts. It was a hard but beautiful scene that we did. Another key scene is when the Confederate Flag is taken down. Was that an emotional moment on set? Yes, somewhat. A lot of people on the set that day were from Mississippi, and Gary's got a great story about the man who actually took it down in the scene. It's a very important symbol and it makes me want to talk about the value of symbolism and the difference between symbolism and action. After that flag came down in the Civil War, when Reconstruction was over in 1876, there were other varying implementations of enslavement that were reinforced in the South. The Klan rose up. The North had Civil War fatigue and pulled out and went home and a lot of things went back to how they were before. So the symbol is one thing, but the work to do and the action to change is another. I think the example there is that no matter what the symbol is, we've all got work to do. "Free State of Jones" opens in theaters nationwide June 24th. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Ben Affleck's 'Batman' Movie Script Isn't Ready Yet Posted:  Batman may not fly solo for quite some time, according to Ben Affleck, who played the Caped Crusader in "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice."Affleck is set to write and direct a "Batman" standalone movie, but recently told reporters (via Collider) that he's still working on the script with "Argo" writer Chris Terrio. "I think [Warner Bros.] have a date for it. Although, I don't know if I would necessarily be able to make that date because I don't have a script that's ready yet," he said. Affleck added, "I have a script, we're still working on it, and I'm not happy enough with it yet to actually go out there and make a 'Batman' movie, for which I have the highest of standards, I would say. That's something that would have to pass a very high bar for me. It's not just like, 'Yeah, that might be fun, let's go try this out.'" That is reassuring, actually, since Affleck and Terrio's collaboration on "Argo" led to an Academy Award. And after the criticism directed at "Batman v. Superman," it might be worth it to take the time to get things right. Not only that, Affleck is a busy man. He is wrapping production on his next directing project, "Live By Night." And he'll be starring in the upcoming "Justice League" movie, which is due in theaters Nov. 17, 2017. Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 'The Fast and the Furious': 10 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About the Vin Diesel Hit Posted:  When it came out 15 years ago, on June 22, 2001, "The Fast and the Furious" seemed like just a 1950s exploitation movie with a bigger budget. Little did anyone imagine that the drag-race drama would turn into an enormous franchise that has earned $3.9 billion to date and spawned six sequels, with at least three more on the way.As popular as the first "Fast" was -- it earned $145 million in North America and a total of $207 million worldwide -- there's plenty you may not know about how the film came to be. Here are a few tidbits of behind-the-scenes trivia, doled out a quarter-mile at a time.  1. In 1998, reporter Ken Li began writing a series of articles about 30-year-old Dominican street racer Rafael Estevez, first in the New York Daily News, then in Vibe magazine. Director Rob Cohen claimed he was inspired to make the film by reading one of those articles, entitled "Racer X" (for which Universal bought the film rights and adapted into the "Fast" screenplay), as well as by attending an actual illegal street race.2. The title was licensed from B-movie legend Roger Corman. His 1955 film, "The Fast and the Furious," was about a wrongly-convicted man who escapes from prison and takes up with a gang of illegal street racers. Of course, Corman produced his movie for just $66,000, while Cohen's cost $38 million.  3. While making "The Skulls" for Cohen and producer Neal H. Moritz, Paul Walker mentioned that he'd love to play an undercover cop one day. He didn't know at the time that Cohen and Moritz were developing just such a project.4. In his college days, Vin Diesel recalled, he had a Suzuki GSX-R sport bike that he would tear along on the highways of Queens, N.Y. But by the time he first played Dominic Toretto in "Fast" at age 33, he admitted, "I'm an SUV kind of guy."  5. Michelle Rodriguez's role of Letty (above) wasn't part of the original script, but the filmmakers created it for her after seeing her breakthrough performance in the indie boxing drama "Girlfight."6. Neither Jersey girl Rodriguez nor Manhattan-raised Jordana Brewster (Mia) had much driving experience before they made the film; in fact, Brewster (then 20) didn't have a driver's license or even know how to drive. Both actresses had to learn some stunt-driving moves, including slides and sideways turns, for the movie. By the end of the shoot, newly-minted car enthusiast Rodriguez was complaining of the filmmakers, "They wouldn't let us drive faster than 80 miles per hour!"  7. Seen in the movie are some 150 actual street racers, along with their custom cars. They were easy to recruit, recalled transportation coordinator David Marder. "Every one of these kids have monitors hooked up in their cars, where they play video games and use the Internet," he said. "We just put out the word, and they appeared!"8. The unique circular Beverly Hills house that the police use as their sting headquarters is said in the film to be the home Eddie Fisher built for Elizabeth Taylor. Sadly, that's not true; it wasn't built until 1963, when Taylor had left Fisher for Richard Burton. Less juicy trivia: it's the same house where Walter Matthau's screenwriter character lived in the 2000 Nora Ephron movie "Hanging Up."  9. Moritz and Cohen both have cameos in the film. That's Moritz as the driver of the black Ferrari who races Brian (Walker). And that's Cohen (above) as the pizza delivery man blocked by the first race.10. Today, Rafael Estevez, the inspiration for the whole franchise, runs a garage in Queens. Journalist Li says Estevez eventually got compensation from Universal for his role as the franchise's catalyst. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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