Over the last few years, Timothy Olyphant has ventured to the Old West in "Deadwood," the suburbs in "The Girl Next Door," and the corridors of power in "Live Free or Die Hard," but in a surprising admission, the actor confessed exclusively to MTV News that he almost boldly ventured where no man has gone before.
"I went in and met with J.J. Abrams about one of the characters," the 39-year-old actor revealed of a secret casting session with the director for the "Star Trek" reboot. "That led to a series of conversations and I was very flattered. Lots of emails exchanged between the two of us. Ultimately I think we both were aware that it just didn't make sense. It was a mutual thing."
Olyphant's confession raises more questions than it answers, of course, chief among them exactly what character he was supposedly up for. Based solely on the actors who eventually signed on, Olyphant would seem most like Karl Urban (Dr. McCoy) in age and temperament, but it's not outside the realm of possibility to think he might have been up for Nero or even Captain Kirk.
Regardless of who he was up for, though, Olyphant is certain Abrams made the right choice with who he eventually got. Read more...
The long, tiring days of shooting a movie tend to lead to an assortment of pranks and gags. "Live Free or Die Hard" was no different, as Justin Long revealed to MTV News. In the video clip below, watch Long describe an "incident" he manufactured while filming a car-ride sequence with co-star Bruce Willis. Then, read/watch our full interview with Long right here.
Kevin Smith so loves working with the same group of actors, he once joked that had he directed "Jaws," he'd "cast Ben Affleck as the shark." But according to the director, familiar faces won't be found in Smith's upcoming "Red State," a horror movie about religious fundamentalism.
"'Red State' I would like to do with completely unknown people. I think it would be tough to settle into a horror movie if you're like, 'Hey! That's the Snootchie-Bootchies guy,'" Smith deadpanned.
So no Jason Mewes, no Jason Lee, and no Jeff Anderson. But what about Bruce Willis, who Smith met while filming a cameo on "Live Free or Die Hard"? "Bruce Willis would never do one of my flicks," Smith laughed. "In a million years he wouldn't. Dude would be like, 'No way, I don't want to put the kibosh on my career, man. I hitch my wagon to your star, forget it, we're plummeting,' Justin Long though...maybe one day. If he's feeling charitable."
Originally slated to be his next project, "Red State" may wind up being pushed back so Smith can next film "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," (A page of which was recently posted by "Entertainment Weekly"). Read more...
MTV's "Inside the Action" takes you inside the hottest action flicks by re-creating their most explosive stunts. On deck this week is "Live Free or Die Hard," (the show premieres on MTV Sunday night at 11:30pm) and we brought together co-stars Bruce Willis and Justin Long and director Len Wiseman to witness our fiery carnage first-hand. Watch a segment below -- or see the entire show here -- and then keep reading after the jump for the full behind-the-scenes report from the show's writer.
I've been going on MTV shoots for 8 years now (wow, that freaks me out), but this "Inside the Action" was certainly unusual. I mean, I'd never blown up a car before. Read more...
If you think being an awards show presenter is easy, just trying reading from a teleprompter...it's harder than it looks. "Live Free or Die Hard" co-stars Bruce Willis and Justin Long decided to play it safe and train before the big show. See them in action below.
See more backstage videos right here in our "MTV Movie Awards: Under Surveillance show.
