MTV Movies Blog › The Informant!

Richard Kelly Finds His 'Box,' Matt Damon Becomes 'The Informant' And More, In The DVD Report For 2/23

Posted 2/23/10 1:31 pm EST by in DVD


James Marsden and Cameron Diaz in 'The Box'Director Richard Kelly's had a wild ride in Hollywood. His debut film "Donnie Darko" didn't survive long at the box office, but found renewed life and hordes of fans after its release on DVD. The high-concept Jake Gyllenhaal-led pic was breathtakingly original, a dark sci-fi thriller that brought together tangent universes and an evil-looking man in a rabbit costume. But for Kelly, the true measure of his career would be whether the freshman filmmaker could follow up "Darko" with something just as clever and unique.

Five years later we got "Southland Tales," an ambitious, pre-apocalyptic, musical-tinged film narrated by Justin Timberlake and starring everyone from Dwayne Johnson to Mandy Moore. While it opened to dour critical reviews, it showed there was nonetheless still promise buried within the then-32-year-old Kelly. So what would come next? Our answer came with "The Box," Kelly's most mainstream project to date and an expansion of a short story by "I Am Legend" author Richard Matheson. Starring James Marsden and Cameron Diaz, the film begs the question: Would you take a million dollars in return for pressing a button that will kill someone you've never met? Read More...

Tags , , , , ,

Golden Globe Nominations Are In, 'Avatar' And 'The Hangover' Among The Surprises

Posted 12/15/09 9:30 am EST by in Golden Globes, News


The nominations for the 2010 Golden Globes were released this morning. We knew they were coming of course, but that didn't stop the surprises. MTV's Eric Ditzian considered the possibility yesterday that "Avatar" would join the more predictable Best Drama nominees as a wild card, but I'm still somewhat surprised to see it on the list. It's a great movie and director James Cameron deserves the accolades he's receiving, but I would have preferred to see one of the more original contenders, such as "District 9" or "Moon" in its place. Of course, this speaks to the monumental year that Hollywood has had; it's hard to make a case that any Best Drama Contender doesn't deserve to be there.

The Best Musical/Comedy category is a bit more discussion-worthy. Where on earth is "Zombieland"? Or hell, how about "The Informant!"? I would have taken either of those over "The Hangover," which seems to be there purely for its surprising summer box office performance. It was an okay movie, with a few high points, but not exactly what I'd call one of the best comedies of the year. Hit the jump for the full list of nominations. Read More...

Tags , , , , , , ,

'Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs' Shines Brightly In The Sunday Box Office Report

Posted 9/27/09 3:08 pm EST by in Box Office


1. "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs" ($24.6 million)
2. "Surrogates" ($15 million)
3. "Fame" ($10 million)
4. "The Informant!" ($6.9 million)
5. "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" ($4.7 million)

Moviegoers on the American east coast woke up to both a literal downpour of rain as well as an irrefutable onslaught of oh-so-delicious "Meatballs." The Sony Pictures Animation film easily won the box office for its second weekend in a row with a $24.6 million intake, resulting in a total of $60 million since its debut last weekend. Read More...

Tags , , , , ,

Bruce Willis Succumbs To 'Meatballs' In The Saturday Box Office Report!

Posted 9/26/09 2:49 pm EST by in Box Office


1. "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs" ($5.6 million)
2. "Surrogates" ($5 million)
3. "Fame" ($3.5 million)
4. "The Informant!" ($2 million)
5. "Pandorum" ($1.6 million)

If the Bruce Willis-starring comic book movie "Surrogates" had one obstacle to overcome this weekend, it was "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs," the Sony Pictures Animation film that reigned supreme over last weekend's box office. Truly, it's a difficult decision for moviegoers -- experience a world filled with robotic analogues that can do and see anything you wish them to, or behold the spectacle of delectable food products raining gloriously upon your face. In the end, it looks like taste buds just barely won the battle. Read More...

Tags , , , ,

Moviegoers Neglect 'Jennifer's Body' And Enjoy A 'Meatballs' Hero In The Sunday Box Office Report!

Posted 9/20/09 1:39 pm EST by in Box Office


1. "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs" ($30.1 million)
2. "The Informant!" ($10.5 million)
3. "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" ($10 million)
4. "Love Happens" ($8.4 million)
5. "Jennifer's Body" ($6.8 million)

Unsurprisingly -- particularly given its $8 million intake on Friday -- "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" is the clear-cut winner at the box office this weekend. After outgrossing the competition by almost $5 million on Friday, the Bill Hader-starring "Meatballs" went on to sweep the weekend with a healthy $30.1 million serving. Deadline Hollywood Daily reports that the animated family film's final box office intake is greater than initially forecasted at the weekend's outset thanks largely to families churning out for Saturday matinees. Read More...

Tags , , , ,

It's Raining 'Meatballs' In The Saturday Box Office Report!

Posted 9/19/09 2:42 pm EST by in Box Office


1. "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs" ($8 million)
2. "The Informant!" ($3.7 million)
3. "Love Happens" ($3.2 million)
4. "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" ($3 million)
5. "Jennifer's Body" ($2.7 million)

What do Bill Hader, Matt Damon, Jennifer Aniston and Megan Fox all have in common? No, they're not signing up for an ensemble dramedy, though that would be nice -- instead, all four actors are duking it out at the box office this weekend with their respective debuting films "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs," "The Informant!," "Love Happens" and "Jennifer's Body." Read More...

Tags , , , ,

Kurt Loder Reviews 'The Informant!'

Posted 9/18/09 11:30 am EST by in Reviews


FROM MTV.COM: It's October of 1992, and Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon), a hotshot executive at Archer Daniels Midland, the giant agricultural conglomerate, is going about his job. He has a full plate at the moment — some mysterious virus is screwing up the company's corn-syrup operation. Did you know there's corn syrup in everything — orange juice, maple syrup? It's true.

So Mark has a lot on his mind. Or at least that part of his mind that's not buzzing with a whole other swarm of odd fixations. Like ... sushi. "I wonder who went first on that one?" Mark wonders. "The guy without the grill?" There's also the threat of poison-winged butterflies. And ... polar bears! Do you realize that polar bears would be impossible to spot in their snowy Arctic habitat if it weren't for their black noses? It's true. Do you think a polar bear ever peered at his reflection in the water surrounding his ice floe and thought, "Without that nose, I'd be invisible"? Maybe. On the other hand, as Mark concludes, "That's a lot of thinking for a bear."

Continue reading 'The Informant!': Liars, Inc., By Kurt Loder

Tags ,

Michael Douglas To Matt Damon: 'Get Your Chapstick Ready' For 'Liberace'

Posted 9/18/09 11:00 am EST by in Commentary, Toronto International Film Festival, Video


"It would be sexual harassment in any other business." That's what Matt Damon had to say about Michael Douglas's "chapstick" comment, a reference to the Liberace biopic the two will star in. Douglas will play the famous singer/showman and Damon, his gay lover. The duo will be under the direction of Steven Soderbergh, whose Damon-starring quirky comedy "The Informant!" hits theaters today.

In the video below you can hear Damon talking about his work with Soderbergh at last week's Toronto International Film Festival, where MTV's Josh Horowitz got to sit with him. Beware listeners: there are some sizable "Informant" spoilers in the latter half of the video, so hit stop at around 1:00/1:10 if you want to remain pure.

Tags , , , ,

Matt Damon: Everybody's Favorite Everyman

Posted 9/17/09 1:00 pm EST by in Commentary


We don’t like intellectuals. You, the person reading this right now, and me, the dude writing, might have a fondness for them. But we, the lot of us living in North America, don’t have a whole lot of time for intellectuals. This is by no means a modern development. More of an essential American personality quirk going back a few hundred years. We like smart people, no doubt. Admirers and detractors alike in this country have always celebrated brilliant satirists and social commentators, from Mark Twain all the way up to Jon Stewart.

They make us laugh though, so they’re disqualified. Comedy often helps us forgive, and sometimes negate, intellectualism. Without it, though, we view dispassionate reason in matters of politics and ethics as weaknesses or haughtiness. This is especially true of liberal-minded entertainers. An actor and filmmaker doesn’t understand the common man’s values, the naysayers contend, so their intellectual approach to moral or political issues is invalid. Not with Ronald Reagan, though! But Reagan was no intellectual. There’s the catch. And that's why Matt Damon interests me. Read More...

Tags , ,

Matt Damon On Gaining Weight For 'The Informant!': 'It Was Really, Really... Really Fun'

Posted 9/17/09 10:00 am EST by in Commentary, Toronto International Film Festival, Video


I saw "The Informant!" last night. It was quite good. Matt Damon has really distinguished himself as an actor who inhabits the roles that he plays; his pudgy corporate whistle-blower Mark Whitacre is only the latest in a long line.

When MTV's Josh Horowitz spoke with Damon last week at the Toronto International Film Festival, he asked the actor about how he prepared for his meaty role. As in how he gained all that weight; no fat suits for this guy. Said Damon, "it was really, really... really fun" to put on that weight. I'll bet. Hear the actor run through his "Informant!" diet in the Rough Cut clip below.

Read More...

Tags , ,

Page 1 of 212
SPONSORS
AD:
©2012 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. MTV and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.