Category: Celebrities (Page 8 of 34)

Bullz-Eye’s TCA 2011 Winter Press Tour Wrap-Up: Kneel Before Oprah!

January 23, 2011 / Will Harris

The TCA Winter Press Tour is an event which never quite seems to live up to the TCA Summer Press Tour…but, then, that stands to reason, as the mid-season series rarely match the ones which hit the airwaves in the fall, right? Still, the experience never fails to be one which I enjoy, mostly because you never know what’s going to be around the corner, and Day 1 really set the stage for that: during the course of 12 hours, I interviewed Betty White, Henry Rollins, and Bruce Jenner, and, thanks to National Geographic, I wore a giant snake around my neck. Not a bad way to begin things…

Actors, Actresses, Celebrities, External Entertainment, External TV, Interviews, News, TCA Blog 2011, TCA Press Tour, TV, TV Action, TV Comedies, TV Dramas, TV Reality, TV Sci-Fi

2011 Winter TCA Blog 2011 Winter TCA Recap 30 Rock America's Next Great Restaurant An Idiot Abroad Animal Planet Betty White Bill Pullman Billy Crudup Bravo Bruce Jenner Caligula Can't Stop the Music Charice Children's Hospital CHiPs Community Conan Conan O'Brien Cormac McCarthy Cynthia Nixon Dan Hedaya David Foster Donald Glover Donna Summer Ed Asner Elijah Wood Gary Owens George Schlatter Grambling's White Tiger Great Performances HBO Henry Winkler Jack McBrayer Jackie Chiles James Woods Jeff Bridges Jerry Rice Jewel Jo Anne Worley Jose Andres Julie Bowen Kara DioGuardi Karl Pilkington Kathy Baker Laugh-In Lily Tomlin Lord Buckley Love That Girl!Mad Love Made in Spain Malcolm McDowell Mark Burnett Matthew Modine Michael O’Keefe Mike Tyson Modern Family NBC Oprah Oprah Winfrey Paris Hilton Parks & Recreation Paul Giamatti Paul Provenza PBS Phil Morris Platinum Hit Reaper Ricky Gervais Rob Corrdry Robert King Royal Pains Ruth Buzzi Samuel L. Jackson Sara Rue Science Channel Seinfeld Shedding for the Wedding Sons of Tucson Steve Young Steven Merchant Steven Tyler Taking on Tyson The Best of Laugh-In The Good Wife The Green Room with Paul Provenza The Sunset Limited Tommy Lee Jones Tony Shaloub Too Big To Fail Topher Grace TV One Tyler Labine Wilfred William Hurt Year of the Quarterback

2010 Year End Movie Review: David Medsker

December 28, 2010 / David Medsker

No year in recent memory got off to as slow a start as 2010 did. In the end, it turned out to be a pretty damn good year – especially once I compare this list of movies to my picks from 2008 – but there were some rough patches early on, where nearly every movie we were seeing wasn’t merely mediocre but downright bad. The difference between this year and other years was the event movies; no one expects them to be award-winners, but it makes such a difference when they’re at least good (“Iron Man,” for example). This year, with a couple of exceptions, they were not good (“Iron Man 2,” for example).

People like to put down movie critics for being cranky sourpusses, but the truth is most of us want to like the movies we see. “TRON: Legacy,” “Salt,” “Due Date“… I wanted those to be awesome. They weren’t.

Luckily for me, there were just over 10 movies that were awesome, which means I have enough for a list, yay! And here they are, along some movies that were most decidedly not awesome. Happy new year, everyone. Now let’s all close our eyes and pretend we don’t see the 3D. Maybe, that way, it will go away.

Best Movies of 2010

1. Black Swan
The beauty of Darren Aronofsky’s psychological thriller about a fragile ballet dancer is that there is rarely a point where you know whether you’ve swallowed the blue pill or the red pill. The mirror work alone demands repeat viewings, if you’re brave enough.

2. The Social Network
Where Jesse Eisenberg officially stops being ‘that guy who acts like Michael Cera’ and puts on a showstopping performance as the brilliant but socially inept Mark Zuckerberg. Rooney Mara, meanwhile, is on screen for about six minutes, but makes every second count. And she’s right about the Internet – everything’s written in ink.

3. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
The most wildly entertaining movie I saw all year. From the dialogue to the editing to the on-screen sound effects, I had a stupid grin plastered to my face from start to finish. Even better to see Chris Evans and Brandon Routh poke fun at their superhero images. And I want to swim in Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s eyes.

4. Inception
There is a backlash growing against Christopher Nolan. I do not understand why. His movies are well-plotted, well-acted, smart and gorgeous. What’s not to love? Yes, “Inception” was chatty, but pardon the pun, it dared to dream, and I love movies that go for it. And so did a lot of other people, as its $290 million box office take will attest.

5. Toy Story 3
There isn’t a movie out this year that touches the last 10 minutes of “Toy Story 3” in terms of emotional impact. Terrifying one minute, heartbreaking the next, and armed with a bittersweet yet pitch-perfect ending. I still can’t make it through the ending, or even the beginning, without crying.

Action Movies, Actors, Actresses, Animation, Celebrities, Documentaries, External Entertainment, External Movies, Humor, Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, Movies, Year in Review

127 Hours Alice in Woderland Black Swan Clash of the Titans Easy A Exit Through the Gift Shop Grown-Ups I'm Still Here Inception Kick Ass Leap Year Marwencol Micmacs Remember Me Scott Pilgrim vs. the World The Back-Up Plan The Bounty Hunter The Fighter The King's Speech The Last Airbender The Secret in Their Eyes The Social Network The Virginity Hit Toy Story 3 When in Rome Year End Movies 2010 Year End Movies Medsker

Red carpet chatter with some folks from “Backwash”

December 17, 2010 / Bob Westal

If, like me, you grew up a weird kid compulsively watching the Marx Brothers, Abbott and Costello, Laurel and Hardy and, yes and alas, the Three Stooges, then you might well enjoy “Backwash,” an enjoyably dippy web series with its final episode to be uploaded on Crackle this Monday night, December 20. The series stars Joshua Malina, who also wrote it, as the grumpy and conniving Val, who is, for whatever reason, charged with the care of the childlike and lovably idiotic Jonesy (Michael Panes). When they accidentally rob a bank with a sausage — you kind of have to be there — and hook up with a flamboyant ice cream truck driver, Fleming (Michael Ian Black, who I was unable to nab for a quick interview), the on-the-lamb trio begins a cross-country odyssey of sorts.

The enjoyably lowbrow but sometimes surreal silliness is book-ended by introductions from a rogues gallery of comic and acting talent, the funniest being a mysteriously bearded Jon Hamm, Allison Janney, John Cho, Dulé Hill, and Sarah Silverman. Somehow, Victorian author William Makepeace Thackeray is maligned as being the originally author of this more or less contemporary travesty lovingly directed by Danny Leiner, who also helmed “Harold and Kumar Go to Whitecastle.”

It was my privilege to chat with with some of the actors and creators of “Backwash” at the theatrical premiere of a somewhat shortened feature-length version of the web series. I started with Josh Malina, an actor I’ve been rather fond of since I stumbled over “Sports Night,” the show that convinced me that the writer of “The Social Network” was something more than an entertainingly glib semi-hack, actually a lot more.

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A Night at the Opera A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas Aaron Sorkin Abbott and Costello Alan Cumming Allison Janney Almost Famous B.J. Novak Backwash Big Sky Bud Abbott Cameron Crowe Capote Crackle Curly Danny Leiner Dude Where's My Car?Dulé Hill Eeyore Elizabethtown Fleming Gore Vidal Groucho Marx Gwyneth Paltrow Harold and Kumar Go to Harold and Kumar Go to Whitecastle Headlines In Cold Blood In Plain Sight Infamous Jennifer Jason Leigh Joe Lo Truglio John Cho Jon Hamm Jonah Hill Jonesy Joshua Malina Kitty Carlisle Laurel and Hardy Lindsay Kraft Masterpiece Theater Michael Ian Black Michael Panes Moe Howard Oliver Hardy Peter Sellers Ryan Adams Sarah Silverman Say Anything Sports Night Stella Superbad The Anniversary Party The Marx Brothers The Office The Social Network The Three Stooges The West Wing Truman Capote Val Vanilla Sky W.C. Fields We Bought a Zoo William Makepeace Thackeray WUHF

2010: A Look Back at a Lot of Interviews

December 12, 2010 / Will Harris

At the end of 2009, I took a look back at 100 interviews I’d done over the course of the year, and it was exhausting…not only for me, but possibly also for you, the reader. Oh, I still think it was a heck of a piece, but I believe I made a mistake by numbering them. I mean, you get about 20 – 25 into the proceedings, and it’s, like, “Oh, geez, I’ve still got 75 left to go? Screw this, I’m out of here.” So this time, I’m not going to tell you how many quotes are in the piece. I’ll just say that I talked to a lot of really funny, fascinating, and decidedly forthright people during the course of 2010, and I’ll let you dive in. Hope you enjoy the chance to reminisce as much I did, and here’s to a great 2011 for us all!

Big Shots at the Box Office

“I was in Australia, touring with my films and live show, and I got an E-mail from my agent, saying that there was interest in me for Tim Burton’s ‘Alice in Wonderland.’ I thought, ‘Okay, that sounds good.’ I thought it would be for a day or two, maybe a few days or something, and I would’ve been very happy to do that. But then the offer came in, and it was for virtually the entire run of the film. I didn’t even know what part it was for, so I asked my agent, and he said it was for the Knave of Hearts. So I looked up the Knave of Hearts in the original book online and…it didn’t really seem like a character that would require the run of the film. I thought, ‘Something must be different.’ And then I got the actual screenplay, and it was extremely different. I could see that it was written as a sequel. But it was a great part, and I was ecstatic to be in it…and I’m still ecstatic to be in it!” – Crispin Glover, Alice in Wonderland

“They called my agent and said they were auditioning for (‘Inception’), so I flew myself back, I read for Chris (Nolan) once, and I left. I think it was later that day that I heard from my agent, saying, ‘They’ve cut everyone except you. Now, they’re going to go to London to see some people, and then we’ll know more after that. So don’t get your hopes up, but…this is great!’ Then I came back and read again, and I got the job. And then, as you might expect, I freaked out completely.” – Dileep Rao, Inception

“I was actually down at my ranch in South Texas, and my guys called me and said, ‘Hey, we’re trying to get you a meeting with Sylvester Stallone. He’s casting a movie called ‘The Expendables.’’ Several months went by, and he’d already cast ‘The Expendables,’ but he still wanted to meet me for potentially playing the part of Dan Paine. So I went in to meet Sly, it was the first time I’d ever met him, and I’m a huge fan. I remember watching ‘Rocky’ back in ’76 or whenever it was, then getting up the next morning, drinking eggs, and running down the street…and now here I am meeting with this guy!” – Steve Austin, The Expendables

“I was privileged and honored to work side by side with Sly (Stallone in ‘The Expendables’). Most of my scenes take place with him, and I’m telling you, man, he took me under his wing, and it was a brilliant thing. I don’t know what else to say. ‘Rocky,’ ‘Rambo,’ just everything he’s done is iconic, and it wasn’t lost on me. I love the man, and I can’t wait to do another one, ‘cause Sly’s the king of the sequels…and in my whole career, I’ve never done a sequel to any one of my projects. So I’m, like, ‘Sly, I’m ready for ‘Expendables 2,’ okay?'” – Terry Crews, The Expendables

“Jessica (Pare) was just about to disrobe…we were in the (hot) tub…and they were, like, ‘Ready!’ And she took off whatever was covering her in the tub. And somebody asked the boom guy a question just as she was disrobing, and all he could say was, ‘Yesssssss…’ He could only whisper. I didn’t make a joke about it, though. I was just, like, ‘Okay, Craig, keep it cool, keep it together…’” – Craig Robinson, Hot Tub Time Machine

“I made the mistake of using one term loosely and saying (filming in 3D) was a tedious process, and somebody made it sound really bad. The bottom line is that it took a little longer, and the one that suffered more than anybody was (director Kevin Greutert) and the camera guy, because they have to get it right. You know, calibration and being specific with lights and all that stuff. For me, it was a good excuse to go play with the crew that wasn’t on set and crack a couple of jokes, so I got to socialize a little bit more.” – Costas Mandylor, Saw 3D

“Usually, when you’re coming in completely blind with who you’re working with, you don’t know if you’re going to get along, nor do some people put the time in to try to get along. We were all in Pittsburgh, and we did do, like, two weeks of rehearsal before we started shooting (‘She’s Out of My League’), and in those two weeks, we hung out a lot…and, luckily, it went good rather than bad. Because sometimes it’s just awful, and you’re going, ‘I can’t stand that guy!’ So we were lucky. I know a lot of people always say this when they come off work, because they’re kind of trained to say it, but with this one, we all really got along, and I think that’s what helps our chemistry on screen so much: we thought each other were funny, we even liked to hang out afterward, and that played well. ” – Nate Torrence, She’s Out of My League

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Aaron Paul Adhir Kalyan Alan Parsons Aleksa Palladino Andrew Lincoln Andy Steinman Anna Gunn Anne Dudek Arj Barker Ben McKenzie Bill Lawrence Bill Paxton Bill Rebane Billy Corgan Billy West Blair Underwood Bob Gale Bob Odenkirk Bob Saget Brad Meltzer Brenda Vaccaro Bryan Cranston Carly Pope Carolyn Hennesy Chevy Chase Chi McBride Christopher McDonald Costas Mandylor Craig Robinson Crispin Glover Darius Rucker David Boreanaz David Cross David Hasselhoff David Koechner Dean Norris DeAnn Heline Dileep Rao Donal Logue Elisabeth Moss Emily Deschanel Erin Cummings Garret Dillahunt Geoff Stults Giancarlo Esposito Glen Matlock Grizz Chapman Henry Rollins Henry Selick Howard Jones Isabella Rossellini James Badge Dale Jane Adams Jean Smart Jeri Ryan Jesse Ventura Jim Breuer Joe Mazzello John Walsh Jon Sena Jordana Spiro Kelly Carlson Kevin Heffernan Kevin Pollak Kyle Killen Linda Gray Mark Valley Martha Plimpton Mayim Bialik Megyn Price Michael Cudlitz Michael Rooker Michael Schur Mick Jackson Nate Torrence Neil Finn Neil Jordan Parvesh Cheena Patrick Stewart Paul Lieberstein Paul Provenza Peter Billingsley Peter Murphy Regina King Ricky Schroder Rizwan Manji Rob Riggle Robert Carlyle Robert Davi Robert Klein Ryan Kwanten Sendhil Ramamurthy Skeet Ulrich Spike Lee Stephen Yeun Steve Austin Steven Moffat Susie Essman Ted Lange Temple Grandin Terry Crews Ti West Tim Conway Tim Meadows Timothy Hutton Tom Everett Scott Tom Selleck Tommy Chong Ty Burrell Vince Gilligan Warren the Ape Yoko Ono

A Chat with director Patrick Hughes and actor Ryan Kwanten of “Red Hill”

November 3, 2010 / Bob Westal

First-time feature directors — especially when they’re essentially financing their films — tend to make low-key stories without much in the way of action. Often, they are offbeat romances or perhaps something about a bunch of guys in their teens or late twenties avoiding the responsibilities of adulthood. Directors who emerge from the world of commercials often wind-up making movies that rely on flashy visuals and employ the worst kind of ADHD editorial approach. To his everlasting credit, Patrick Hughes, a first-time self-financing feature director with a background in commercials, did none of those things in his first feature, “Red Hill,” an often violent suspense tale with elements of classic westerns, monster films, and a strong sense of its Australian heritage.

Its star, Ryan Kwanten, is by far best known as Jason Stackhouse of “True Blood,” an occasionally likable dim-bulb of a character who would pretty much be nothing if it weren’t for his athletic good looks and sexual prowess. But Kwanten as an actor is certainly no mere boy-toy, even if he remains a favorite of young female fans and looks about a decade younger than his actual age (he’ll be 34 later this month). As the rather archly named Shane Cooper, the earnest, violence-averse policeman hero of “Red Hill,” he must be believable dealing with the rampage of revenge waged by an Aboriginal escaped convict (Tommy Lewis) while protecting his loving and pregnant wife (Claire van der Boom), dealing with the barbs of his taskmaster of a new boss (Steve Bisley), and spending a good chunk of the movie marinating in his own blood and believably fighting on. If that isn’t proof that Kwanten is, you know, a real actor, his next non-“True Blood” role appears to be as Charles Manson.

I met with voluble writer-director Hughes and actor Kwanten – who, as befits this film’s low budget provenance, come across as remarkably down-to-earth in person – during a press day held at Strand Releasing’s east Culver City office. A short time later, Kwanten would be chatting telephonically for a solo interview with my colleague, Will Harris, who’d be concentrating on his career, definitely including “True Blood.” No prima dona, and you’ll see just what I mean by that later in the interview, he was fine with surrendering some of the spotlight to director Hughes, who kind of dominates the discussion during the first half of this interview. However, do not fear, Kwantenites: we do hear from the very talented actor starting just past this interview’s halfway point, as he discusses crucial matters of blood, guts, and pig poo.