FROM MTV.COM: As soon as Robert Pattinson loses one high-profile leading lady, he gains another one for his upcoming film "Bel Ami." Of course, Nicole Kidman was never officially booked for the movie — an offer went out, but a deal was never solidified — but now everyone's favorite "Twilight" vampire is set to star opposite Uma Thurman in the picture, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"Bel Ami" is an adaptation of 19th-century French writer Guy de Maupassant's short story of the same name. The plot follows Georges Duroy (Pattinson), a Parisian journalist and notorious ladies' man who overcomes a poverty-stricken childhood to become one of the city's foremost movers and shakers. Thurman is set to play the wife of Duroy's friend who eventually marries him after assisting in his personal and professional rise in French society.
Continue reading Uma Thurman To Join Robert Pattinson In 'Bel Ami'
FROM MTV.COM: It's Friday morning, and the opening midnight screenings of "New Moon" have come and gone. But it's not just devoted vampire lovers and werewolf fiends who got early looks at the film. Premieres and screenings have taken place across the country, and loads of folks have already been able to see this sequel to Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" vampire series.
Now, let's be honest, if you're a committed Twilighter, you surely already plunked down some cash for an opening weekend trip to the cinema and are counting the minutes until showtime. Or maybe you're sitting on the "Twilight" fence, unsure if all the breathless enthusiasm for Edward and Bella can possibly live up to the hype. Well, the "New Moon" reviews have flooded in to help you decide. Agree or disagree, here are what the critics are saying about the film.
Continue reading 'New Moon': The Reviews Are In!
FROM MTV.COM: The saga of Johnny Depp and the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise has lately hit choppy waters.
After Disney studio chief Dick Cook — Depp's close creative partner — abruptly left the company, the actor said there'd been "a fissure, a crack" in his enthusiasm for the fourth "Pirates" film. On top of that, a new director, Rob Marshall, has come on-board to helm the film after three-time "Pirates" director Gore Verbinski set sail for other projects.
All of these developments cast doubt on the future of "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," as the picture will be titled. MTV News had a chance to chat with Depp, People magazine's newly anointed "Sexiest Man Alive," on Tuesday night at the Museum of Modern Art's Tim Burton retrospective in New York, and the star revealed several key points. He hasn't seen a script. He's unsure of what the story line will be. And while he's keen to step into the boots of pirate Jack Sparrow once again, he stopped well short of making a 100 percent commitment to return.
Continue reading Johnny Depp Says He'd 'Love To' Return To 'Pirates Of The Caribbean'
FROM MTV.COM: By now every Twilighter knows the story well. Taylor Lautner almost lost the role of werewolf Jacob Black for "New Moon." But he hit the gym, packed on 30 pounds of muscle and secured the coveted part opposite Kristen Stewart. What we don't know as well is what went on behind the scenes when the casting decision was being deliberated at Summit Entertainment, the studio behind the vampire saga.
It turns out that at least one star was doing her best to make sure Lautner was not replaced. "I definitely fought for him," Kristen Stewart told MTV News on the red carpet at the "New Moon" premiere on Monday night. "I was totally on his side the entire time."
Continue reading Kristen Stewart 'Fought For' Taylor Lautner To Return For 'New Moon'
FROM MTV.COM: The "Twilight" franchise is not just for middle-school girls who need their parents to drive them to the movie theater, and you better not suggest such a thing to 50 Cent.
"Well, what exactly is the target demographic?" 50 wondered when asked what exactly he was doing at the "New Moon" red-carpet premiere in Los Angeles on Monday night.
"Little teenage girls?" MTV News' Larry Carroll suggested.
Continue reading 50 Cent Explains Why He Was At The 'New Moon' Premiere
By now I hope you're two-thirds of the way through AMC's new six-part miniseries, "The Prisoner," which launched on Sunday night and plowed through its third and fourth episodes on Monday. The series is about as good as sci-fi TV gets. Gone is the low-budget cheese of so many past cable series, and in its place are strong performances from talented actors, a twisty plot revealed slowly and expertly and a gorgeous overall look that is more Hollywood hit than small screen crud.
The first of last night's eps, "Anvil," delivers on all these fronts and contains one of the most intense scenes in the entire series (big spoilers ahead!). For the uninitiated — or those not familiar with the original British series on which this "Prisoner" is based — James Caviezel plays a man called Six, who finds himself stranded in the mysterious Village with no memory of how he got there. Attempting to make sure Six doesn't learn the truth about his environment is Two (Ian McKellen), who has a silently brooding son named 11-12, played by Jamie Campbell Bower ("New Moon"). Read more...
More than thirteen years, Bill Pullman gave a goose-bump-inducing Fourth of July speech about freedom, willpower and how a few ugly aliens needed a good beatdown – and honestly I'm still pumped up.
On the strength of that patriotic presidential speech alone, "Independence Day" deserves a sequel, and talk about one has cropped up here and there since the film's blockbuster release in '96. Could it actually happen? And what would it look like all these years later? Director Roland Emmerich gave MTV News a couple clues. Read more...
FROM MTV.COM: Late last month, during MTV's "Ulalume: Howling at New Moon" special, we debuted the catalyzing scene in the upcoming "Twilight" sequel, that traumatic moment that drives all the action in the film: when Bella Swan's 18th birthday party with the Cullen family turns from joyous occasion to violent game-changer.
As committed Twilighters know, Kristen Stewart's Bella nicks her finger while opening up a present, and the sight of fresh blood triggers the need for Jasper (Jackson Rathbone) to do a little vampire feeding. In steps Robert Pattinson's Edward to smack down Jasper and make sure not a hair on his beloved's head is touched. Their relationship is forever altered.
Continue reading Robert Pattinson Takes Us Inside The 'New Moon' Birthday Scene
Today marks a joyful anniversary for action movie fans and a rather unpleasant one for gun control advocates. Exactly 90 years ago, Mikhail Kalashnikov, the man who invented the AK-47 assault rifle, was born in a small Siberian village. If we can, though, let us put aside the AK's bloody legacy on the battlefield and focus on all the badassery the weapon has unleashed on the big screen.
Whether they're battling Russians, trading in black market goods or bang-bang-banging their way through the city streets, movie characters have embraced the trusty AK or later variants like the AKM or SKS. And we, in turn, have embraced those bullet-spewing beauties. Here are some of our cinematic favs (click the image above to check out our AK-47 flipbook gallery)... Read more...
"Se7en." "Fight Club." "Zodiac." Good movies, all – some even great – yet not exactly laugh riots. Rightly or not, director David Fincher has a reputation for serving up dark fare – films that explore death, violence, fear, crime. But maybe Fincher's set on exploring fresh creative territory, stories and themes not present in his earlier work: first a love story in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and now, perhaps, a comedy in "The Social Network."
That's what Kevin Spacey, who's producing the film about the founding of Facebook, told MTV News' Josh Horowitz in a recent interview. "It's probably going to be a lot funnier than people might expect it to be," he said. Read more...
