Parents, it is popularly thought, do not understand. This sentiment has been a constant running throughout human history, but it seems like parents have understood even less in the past century. It’s been 60 years since the word teenager was first coined, and parental understanding has just gotten murkier since. What the hell is their problem anyway, trying to instill you with their personal system of values? It’s BS and we all know it is. This is why it’s necessary to rebel!
Doing something dangerous is usually a successful strategy for rebelling against parental authority. Bliss Cavendar, as played by Ellen Page in this week’s “Whip It!,” knows a good thing in the sport of roller derby when she sees it. Your mom trying to get you into the beauty pageant scene? Then try a sport that involves knocking people in roller skates down while moving at high speed; it's a great way to say "no thank you" to your legal guardian’s quest to keep you down. It helps that roller derby is awesome and closely associated with punk rock, so your rebellion is doubled!
But hey, roller derby may not be your thing. There are alternatives though! For example, you could… Read more...
Please excuse the delay in running this week's Box Office Poll. I experienced some technical difficulties when working from home yesterday, so I put this post off for today. What a week we're in for movies. I don't know about y'all, but every wide release that opens is on my list as well as a fair few of the limited releases. So let's get to it.
Tough to say what the big one for the week is going to be. I think the top contender -- though not necessarily by a wide margin -- is "Zombieland," a comedy-horror flick starring Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin. As a zombie apocalypse sweeps across the world, the foursome set out on a cross-country trip to... well I'm not entirely sure. They kill lots of zombies though. Read more...
Tags A Serious Man, abigail breslin, Bright Star, capitalism: a love story, Drew Barrymore, ellen page, emma stone, ethan coen, Jane Campion, Jesse Eisenberg, joel coen, juliette lewis, kristen wiig, marcia gay harden, michael moore, More Than A Game, Paranormal Activity, ricky gervais, The Boys Are Back, The Invention of Lying, toy story, toy story 2, toy story 3, whip it, woody harrelson, zoe bell, zombieland
Whatever disagreement it was that sent Ellen Page and Juliette Lewis into a food-fueled cat fight in yesterday's "Whip It" clip, they clearly resolve it by the time the scene in the clip below arrives. Check out Lewis, director/star Drew Barrymore and the rest of the team get psyched up as they prepare for their first roller derby match with their newest addition: Page. "Whip It," an adaptation of Shauna Cross's novel "Derby Girl," hits theaters on October 2.
"Whip It" may feature a mostly female cast, but it is does not fall into the traditional definition of a "chick flick." For her directorial debut, star Drew Barrymore snatched up a script from "Derby Girl" author and professional roller derby athlete Shauna Cross. The story follows a former beauty queen (Ellen Page) who, in an act of rebellion, leaves her properly coiffed world behind for the rough and tumble action of a professional roller derby league.
In the clip below, Page's Bliss Cavendar, still a newcomer, is goaded by teammate Dinah Might (Juliette Lewis) with harsh words and flung food. The situation escalates and messy shenanigans ensue. Enjoy the rumble.
Chicks on roller skates. That's how I've chosen to sell "Whip It" to you male readers. Chicks. On. Roller skates. They're kickass ladies too, the lot of them. Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Zoe Bell, Ari Graynor, Alia Shawkat... like I said, kickass ladies. But then, that's what happens when you make a movie about an all-girl roller derby team.
I'm not entirely clear on the plot, but I do know a little something about the setup. Page stars as Bliss, a young Texan who rebels by joining a roller derby league after she grows tired of her mother (Marcia Guy Harden) pushing her to participate in beauty pageants. The script comes from Shauna Cross, adapted from her book "Derby Girl," and the movie is directed by Drew Barrymore, her feature debut. Hit the jump for the full poster. Read more...
Remember the "Charlie's Angels" movies? Directed by McG? Starring Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu and Cameron Diaz? No? Could be because it's been more than half a decade since the second movie in the series, 2003's "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle." It wasn't half-bad either, especially if you're into the whole "grrl power" blockbuster vibe.
So where has the series gone? "Full Throttle" didn't review so well, but the worldwide gross of $259 million more than doubled its $120 million budget. You'd think that with three hot leading ladies, a veteran blockbuster director and lots more money to be made, a third "Charlie's Angels" would be a foregone conclusion. Too bad the trio of "Angels" stars have a work ethic that "sucks." At least according to Cameron Diaz, who spoke with MTV on the series at San Diego Comic-Con.
FROM HOLLYWOOD CRUSH: If you’ve never been to a roller-derby match before, get ready to be intrigued by this crop of new photos from Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut, “Whip It.” USA Today brings us the exclusive images, which feature Drew, Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig and Zoe Bell as members of the Girl Scout-themed team “Hurl Scouts.” There are also some shots of the movie’s villain, played by Juliette Lewis, who leads the Catholic schoolgirl-themed rival team, “Holy Rollers.”
Based on the young adult novel “Derby Girl,” the plot of “Whip It” focuses on Ellen’s character, a teenage runaway, who lies about her age and joins up with a roller-derby league in Austin, Texas. Going by the alias “Babe Ruthless,” she skates alongside her new mentor, “Maggie Mayhem” (Kristen), as well as “Smashley Simpson” (Drew), “Bloody Holly” (Zoe) and other tough ladies with similarly badass nicknames.
Continue reading Ellen Page and Drew Barrymore “Whip It” Good In New Roller Derby Flick
I’ve been hurting. Probably my two favorite comedies on TV—“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm”—have been on hiatus far too long, and there’s only so many times you can re-watch episodes before your neighbors, behind thin NYC apartment walls, begin to complain. But! Larry David's “Curb” is coming back to HBO in the fall, after a two-year break. And now comes word that “Sunny,” the debaucherous comedy about four friends who run a dive bar in Philly and make one another’s lives hilariously uncomfortable, will be resurfacing on F/X on September 17th for a 12-episode run.
While Charlie Day, along with his fellow writer/producer/co-stars Rob McElhenney and Glenn Howerton are still in the midst of shooting episodes, Day stepped away from the set to kick MTV News the inside scoop about what “Sunny” fans can expect when the gang—including Danny DeVito's bundle of scummy fun, Frank—returns to the small screen.
“One of my favorite scripts right now is an episode called ‘The Gang Wrestles for the Troops,’” he said. “In our attempt to honor the troops coming back from Iraq, we try and put on a wrestling match and ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper is appearing in that. He’s playing a down on his luck wrestler called Da Maniac.” Read more...
Back in February, Drew Barrymore had been one of the names tossed around as the director to take over the "Twilight" franchise for the film's third installment, "Eclipse." With no confirmations, but with speculation that Juan Antonio Bayona will direct the film, MTV News went straight to Ms. Barrymore herself to get the low down on where she stands to direct the film.
"Oh, I wish that I was! I adore that project and I adore the team that's making it," she told MTV News at the premiere of "Grey Gardens." Read more...
Drew Barrymore has been starring in films for nearly thirty years; now, she’s finally ready to start directing them.
As any good Twilighter knows, rumors broke recently that her upcoming rollerskating flick “Whip It!” is so good that it has Summit Entertainment contemplating hiring her to direct “Eclipse.” And with that Ellen Page-starring film hitting theaters in October, we wanted to know what important directorial lessons she employed while becoming a filmmaker.
“As a director, I worked scrupulously and endlessly for months and months and months before we started shooting,” Barrymore explained of her “Whip It!” preparation. “And I would get to work at least one to two hours early.” Read more...
