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Ryan Gosling's 'Drive': A Stunt Driver's Perspective

Posted 9/16/11 10:36 am EST by in Deep Dive, Interviews

“Drive” hits theaters today (September 16), and director Nicolas Winding Refn’s stylized, synth-soundtracked action flick is one of the best things you’ll see this year – just trust us. We were blown away by the story of Driver (Ryan Gosling) – a stuntman by day and a getaway wheelman by night – who falls for a vulnerable neighbor in peril (Carey Mulligan), and finds himself embroiled in a twisted heist involving her husband (Oscar Isaac). Bryan Cranston, Ron Perlman and Christina Hendricks deliver in top-notch supporting roles, and Albert Brooks is absolutely menacing as the villainous Bernie Rose.

The movie is chock full of elaborate stunts, which got us thinking – what was it like to coordinate the action of “Drive”? We sat down with Darrin Prescott, the film’s Stunt Coordinator and Second Unit Director, to find out. Darrin has been a member of the stunt crew on 95 films, including “Independence Day,” “Blade,” “The Matrix Reloaded,” “Spider-Man 2,” “The Bourne Supremacy,” “The Bourne Ultimatum,” and “Mr. & Mrs. Smith.”

Prescott enlightened us with behind-the-scenes knowledge of his work with Refn and Gosling, the collaboration involved in pulling off many of "Drive’s" sequences, and various other tricks of the stunt industry trade.

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Everything You Need To Know In '30 Minutes Or Less'

Posted 8/12/11 1:36 pm EST by in Deep Dive

FROM MTV MOVIES: Like a bomb indestructibly attached to an anxious pizza delivery boy's chest, "30 Minutes or Less" hasn't been able to shake MTV News off itself.

From the early news updates (Jesse Eisenberg as that unfortunate pie-slinger, "Zombieland" helmer Ruben Fleischer in the director's chair) to the exclusive first look at the Michigan set to an MTV Sneak Peek Week public screening of the action-comedy and beyond, we've been all over this movie. And now that it's finally hit theaters, we're not letting go quite yet. So slip on our "30 Minutes" cheat sheet for everything you need to know before heading to the multiplex this weekend.

Read the full story at MTV Movies!

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The Magical Items Of 'Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows'

Posted 7/19/11 5:30 pm EST by in Commentary, Deep Dive

by Matt Adler

The saga of Harry Potter has come to a close on the big-screen with the release of "Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2." As a wizard, Harry’s primary tool of the trade is magic, and there is magic aplenty in this final film, particularly in the form of items which have been enchanted with magical powers, and are utilized by heroes and villains alike in the war for wizardly supremacy.

After the jump, we’re taking a look at some of these key arcane objects that drive the film’s story, and breaking down for you just what they can do in the right hands… or the wrong ones.

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'Horrible Bosses': Real-Life Tales Of Workplace Woe

Posted 7/8/11 10:17 am EST by in Deep Dive

Horrible Bosses“Horrible Bosses” micromanages its way into theaters today, and – with a comedic lineup boasting Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis, it goes without saying that audiences will be punching tickets to witness their chemistry alone.

The black comedy centers upon three friends, Nick Hendricks (Bateman), Dale Arbus (Day), and Kurt Buckman (Sudeikis), whose overbearing bosses Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey), Julia Harris (Jennifer Aniston) and Bobby Pellitt (Colin Farrell) push them to the point of postal. The pals hatch a plan to murder their evil paycheck-signing overlords, with disastrously hilarious results.

We got to wondering: are the film’s over-the-top antagonists – Farrell’s drug-addicted chemical company manager, Aniston’s sexually inappropriate dentist and Spacey’s weasely promotion-stealing executive – among good company in real life? So we talked to five formerly disgruntled victims of horrible bosses, and the answer is an enthusiastically resounding: yes!

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'Transformers': The 'Dark Of The Moon' Conspiracy

Posted 7/1/11 11:30 am EST by in Deep Dive, Interviews

Whether you’ve already seen “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” – the highly-anticipated third installment of Michael Bay’s epic action franchise – or you’re planning to check it out over the holiday weekend, you’re probably already aware of the film’s general premise.

No, we’re not talking about Autobots versus Decepticons versus Shia LaBeouf, with a hot chick thrown in the mix. Though it’s got that, too. We’re referring to the fact that the movie re-imagines the history of the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing, presuming that – instead of a science-based plight – a highly secretive mission was forged to investigate a mysterious robot-laden spacecraft that crashed on the lunar surface one year prior to Neil Armstrong’s infamous “one small step.”

This got us thinking about moon landing conspiracy theories. So we contacted Roger Launius, Senior Curator of Space History at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Not only does Roger have a Ph.D. in history, but he’s been an aerospace historian since 1982, and he was a NASA chief historian between 1990 and 2002 before joining the Smithsonian in 2002. He’s also written or edited over 20 books about aerospace history.

Roger’s insights about the nature of historical conspiracy theories, the psyche behind them, and the way that Hollywood gets it right (and wrong) are completely fascinating.

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'Bad Teacher': Nightmares From The Education System

Posted 6/24/11 11:45 am EST by in Deep Dive, Interviews

The raunchy comedy “Bad Teacher” opens today in theaters, reuniting former Hollywood power couple Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake. Unlike their first meeting at the 2003 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards (the two began dating shortly thereafter), sparks decidedly aren’t flying between Diaz and Timberlake in the film – at least as far as we can tell from the red band trailer.

Diaz plays Elizabeth Halsey – an unorthodox junior high teacher who clearly cares less about the education of her students than she does about wooing Scott Delacort (Timberlake), the wealthy new substitute at her school. She takes a new interest in academic achievement, though, when she finds out there’s a cash prize in it for her if her class outperforms that of a rival teacher (played by the hilarious Lucy Punch), all the while spurning the advances of lovable gym teacher Russell Gettis (Jason Segel).

Halsey’s abysmal practices – which include pummeling her students with dodgeballs and smoking pot in the school parking lot – got us thinking: have real-life teachers worked with similarly inappropriate colleagues? As it turns out: there are plenty of bad teachers among us – check out what they had to say!

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'Hangover Part II': Ken Jeong Explains The Enigma Of Mr. Chow

Posted 5/25/11 5:19 pm EST by in Deep Dive, Interviews, News, Video

Ken Jeong, thank you for existing. Not only have you given us countless quips and one-liners over the course of "Knocked Up," "Community" and more, you've given us the most important gift of all — and his name is Mr. Chow.

The MTV Movie Awards winner reprises his most iconic role in this weekend's "The Hangover Part II," and to hear him tell it, he couldn't be more excited. Watch the video above and click past the jump to find out Jeong's thoughts on the psyche of Mr. Chow, the oft-naked gangster standing in the wolf-pack's path time and time again.

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'Bridesmaids': Real Life Wedding Horror Stories

Posted 5/13/11 9:14 am EST by in Deep Dive, Hot Stuff, Humor

Scientifically proven fact: a heaping dose of Kristen Wiig heals all wounds. And, as evidenced by “Bridesmaids” – in theaters today (May 13) – Wiig’s performance seems especially therapeutic to counteract the residual traumas of our “always a bridesmaid” contingent.

“Bridesmaids” promises to fill an as-yet-unworn set o’ uncomfortably tight stilettos, bringing a much-needed female perspective to the “bro comedy” genre. The story follows the pitfall-laden plight of maid of honor Annie (Wiig) as she attempts to wrangle plans for the revelry surrounding her best friend Lillian’s (Maya Rudolph) wedding. Along with suffering a slew of personal problems, Annie must contend with the rest of the bridal party – disgruntled mom Rita (Wendi McLendon-Covey), naïve newlywed Becca (Ellie Kemper), aggressive and tomboyish Megan (Melissa McCarthy) and privileged, wanna-be BFF Helen (Rose Byrne).

The misadventures of this motley crew prove stomach-ache-inducing hilarious, but also touch upon some very current struggles for all those “of age” ladies out there. Which got us thinking – does real life imitate art? According to some former brides and bridesmaids, the answer is a resounding YES. Check out some real life wedding horror stories after the jump!

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'Fast Five' Physics: Could Two Muscle Cars REALLY Steal A Bank Vault? We Asked The Experts!

Posted 4/27/11 11:16 am EST by in Deep Dive, Interviews, Second Take

The fifth installment of the torque and testosterone-fueled “Fast and Furious” franchise – “Fast Five” – throttles into theaters this Friday, and the Vin Diesel-fronted vehicle promises to be the most fun you’ve had at the movies so far this year, as evidenced by the clip we teased you with last week.

Though it’s thoroughly badass, we couldn’t help but wonder if the bank vault heist we showcased is physically feasible under any circumstances, so we sent the video along to Phil Schewe, Chief Science Writer and spokesman for the American Institute of Physics. His thoughts about the Plausibility Factor of Vin and Paul Walker’s vault-toting plight? In a word: impossible. But does the suspension of disbelief make for massively fun cinema? Absolutely!

Phil’s play-by-play of the science behind the sequence is pretty entertaining stuff – so geek out with us, if you’re so inclined, and check what he had to say!

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'Transformers: Dark Of The Moon' Sneak Peek Reveals Destruction In Downtown Chicago

Posted 4/15/11 3:47 pm EST by in Commentary, Deep Dive, News

TransformersFROM MTV MOVIES: While gearing up for the release of "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," director Michael Bay has not been shy about his desire to right the missteps in "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen": putting more focus on writing a better story, making the action more accessible, yet "epic" in scale. Based on the footage and trailer MTV News saw on the Paramount lot before a candid chat with Bay on Thursday, it looks like he's making good on his word.

We can't get into specifics, of course, but with regard to the trailer — the 2-D version of which will roll out in theaters on April 28, while a 3-D version will hit in front of "Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides" — it takes the intrigue of the teaser trailer, plus the intensity from the action-packed 30-second Super Bowl spot and adds enough mind-blowing, mesmerizing robotgasm goodness to leave even the most passive of fans slack-jawed. Or googly-eyed. One of the two.

We also saw snippets of returning and new supporting cast members, a possible Pink Floyd tie-in and a tantalizing, yet not at all overwhelming, 3-D sizzle reel.

Read the full story at MTV Movies!

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