MTV Movies Blog ›

Oscar snubs are nothing new, but the writer of the novel "Up in the Air" came from has a bone to pick with the Academy Awards' invitation gurus. Walter Kirn had fierce words for Hollywood as well, which you can find below.

In other tweets, a "Community" actor apparently found himself in the right place at the right time to sell Super Bowl-winning running back Reggie Bush a pair of glasses, Peter Serafinowicz knows who should have been cast as Percy Jackson, and actress Jamie Chung had a close brush with death in a limousine. Check those out after the jump, along with Elizabeth Banks' beef with figure skating judges. It's all in Twitter-Wood for February 17, 2010. Read more...

Tags ashton kutcher, David Slade, donald glover, elizabeth banks, Jamie Chung, john lithgow, michael sheen, Peter Serafinowicz, walter kirn

Do you remember, at the height of the "Matrix" craze, a spin-off DVD was released called "The Animatrix." It wasn't a movie; rather, "The Animatrix" served up a collection of nine animated short films, each telling a short story set within the "Matrix" universe from different writers/directors. It was a solid idea with, as you might expect, a bit of an uneven presentation. Some shorts are excellent, some are forgettable and some would have been better left out completely.

I'm referencing this 2003 release because "Halo Legends," released yesterday on Blu-ray and DVD, is much the same thing. "Halo" is of course one of the biggest video game franchises on the planet. "Legends" is a similar sort of short film collection, but with a few notable differences: the contributors all hail from the anime world and none of the stories fit comfortably within the "Halo" canon established by the games and the books. Read more...

Tags Halo, Halo Legends

As you may have heard, Oscar is planning a new technique this year to streamline the annual awards show: stars are encouraged to give the TV cameras their excitement and “You like me! You really like me!” A-list material, but are supposed to save their name-dropping thank-you’s for a behind-the-scenes webcam. Well, one of this year’s sure-to-be-big-winners is “Avatar,” and when producer Jon Landau stopped by our studio recently, he couldn’t help but get a laugh out of the fact that he was one of those bad apples who had created the need for a “thank-you cam.” (Editor's note: It should be mentioned that our Landau interview came before the change in procedure was announced.)

America, meet the man responsible for this year’s lack of thank-you’s. Read more...

Tags avatar, james cameron, Jon Landau, Oscars, titanic

When we caught up to "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" star Michael Douglas a few weeks ago, he gave us some vague details of his encounter with Bud Fox, a Charlie Sheen cameo in the April 23 sequel.

Prior to that, in September of last year, The Playlist reviewed the "Money Never Sleeps" script where they learned that Sheen's cameo would be an brief background appearance on a financial talk show. So when I chatted with writer Allan Loeb last week, I asked him to clear up once and for all the particulars of Sheen's appearance, in a spoiler-free manner of course. Read more...

Tags Allan Loeb, Charlie Sheen, michael douglas, oliver stone, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

Call them "cult classics." "Guilty pleasures." "Comfort movies." We all have a mental rolodex of flicks that may not be terribly popular but, for one reason or another, they resonate in a very special way. Maybe you saw it at the right moment. Maybe you just see gold where everyone else sees feces. Whatever the case, these are the special favorites that you keep stashed away for sick days. Here are some of ours.

One of the big news items getting my fanboy heart a-pounding this month is the long-awaited return of Vin Diesel and David Twohy to the "Riddick" franchise. The news broke last week that they are going back for a third helping and then we learned just this morning the first few story details and plans for a "back-to-basics" approach. In this case, "basics" refers to "Pitch Black," the thoroughly enjoyable first movie in the series which celebrates its 10th anniversary tomorrow. Read more...

Tags david twohy, Pitch Black, vin diesel

FROM MTV.COM: Taylor Lautner's werewolf performance in "New Moon" netted him his own line of shirtless "Twilight" toys from NECA and legions of female fans. But his flips and mixed martial arts skills during his opening monologue on "Saturday Night Live" last year brought one of Hasbro's most famous toy lines, Stretch Armstrong, to him when Universal offered up the title role in the movie adaptation.

"He is a real actor," Hasbro CEO and "Stretch Armstrong" producer Brian Goldner told MTV News. "And it was so clear to us as we saw him in 'Twilight.' And we look for insights from every audience about where we should go with our brands, so when I saw my daughter and all of her friends go crazy for him, and then I saw the background that he was also this mixed martial arts expert in that 'Saturday Night Live' piece ... that was the real deal."

Continue reading Taylor Lautner's 'SNL' Appearance Clinched 'Stretch Armstrong' Role

Tags New Moon, Taylor Lautner, Twilight

Being a huge “G.I. Joe” fan, I’ll be the first to admit that last year’s “The Rise of Cobra” was a pretty massive disappointment. But, being a fan of “Zombieland,” I’ll also be the first to say I’m excited about the fact that the film’s two writers have been hired to pen the sequel. To paraphrase Michael Corleone: Just when I thought I was out (roughly around the time Marlon Wayans put on that stupid robot suit), they pull me back in.

Recently, we caught up with red-hot screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick – and they assured us that their “G.I. Joe” sequel will be something closer to the roots of the toyline.

“We’re excited,” explained Wernick. “Rhett was such a huge ‘G.I. Joe’ fan growing up, as was I.” Read more...

Tags G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, marlon wayans, Paul Wernick, rhett reese, Video, zombieland

FROM MTV.COM: Robert Pattinson has admitted that when it comes to fame, he's kind of shy. So when he was hanging out with his "Remember Me" co-star Pierce Brosnan, he witnessed a whole new way of approaching the fame game.

"I went out a couple of times with Pierce [Brosnan]. He's totally recognizable and he makes no effort to tone it down," the "Twilight Saga" actor told Vogue magazine. "Some people were glancing over at us in the restaurant, and he just went over and introduced himself. And it does work. It dissipates all the attention."

Continue reading Robert Pattinson Gets Advice On Fame From Pierce Brosnan

Tags pierce brosnan, remember me, robert pattinson, Twilight

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of the Christian religious period during which worshipers traditionally give up some vice or another as an act of penance. For the 40-day period leading up to Easter, observant folk give up smoking or drinking or chocolate or somesuch activity that is deemed as pleasurable but not entirely good for you.

It is in that spirit that I write to the collective film industry today. Sure, you're not all Christian. It doesn't matter. The point here is that Lent gets people thinking about penance, about abandoning vice for a time, and there's a big one that's all the rage in Hollywood these days.

I'm talking of course about reboots. Read more...

FROM HOLLYWOOD CRUSH: Leonardo DiCaprio is one of our generation's most celebrated actors, who at the age of 35 has been nominated for an Oscar three times and worked with legendary director Martin Scorsese four times (the pair's latest effort, the thriller "Shutter Island" opens this weekend.) But, who's to say that even those at the top of the A-list can't have a couple of guilty pleasures?

Turns out, Leo has no shame in admitting he's a fan of the guiltiest pleasure in recent history, the reality mega hit, "Jersey Shore"! So much so, that during a night on the town he found himself hanging out with the likes of "J-Woww" and Pauly D. In a recent interview with MTV News, Leo spills the details on how he wound up partying with the cast (sadly, no mention of any fist pumps.)

Continue reading 'Shutter Island' Star Leonardo DiCaprio: Oscar Nominee, Sex Symbol...'Jersey Shore' Fan?

Tags Jersey Shore, leonardo dicaprio, shutter island, Video