The Latest in ShowBiz News

2009/01/14 at 12:00am

Ricardo Montalban dies at 88

01.14.2009 | By Mack Chico |

Ricardo Montalban, the Mexican-born actor who became a star in splashy MGM musicals and later as the wish-fulfilling Mr. Roarke in TV’s “Fantasy Island,” died Wednesday morning at his home, a city councilman said. He was 88.

Montalban’s death was announced at a meeting of the city council by president Eric Garcetti, who represents the district where the actor lived. Garcetti did not give a cause of death.

“The Ricardo Montalban Theatre in my Council District — where the next generations of performers participate in plays, musicals, and concerts — stands as a fitting tribute to this consummate performer,” Garcetti said later in a written statement.

Montalban had been a star in Mexican movies when MGM brought him to Hollywood in 1946. He was cast in the leading role opposite Esther Williams in “Fiesta.” He also starred with the swimming beauty in “On an Island with You” and “Neptune’s Daughter.”

A later generation knew Montalban as the faintly mysterious, white-suited Mr. Roarke, who presided over an island resort where visitors were able to fulfill their lifelong dreams. “Fantasy Island” received high ratings for most of its 1978-1984 span on ABC television and still appears in reruns.

In a 1978 interview, he analyzed the series’ success:

“What is appealing is the idea of attaining the unattainable and learning from it. Once you obtain a fantasy it becomes a reality, and that reality is not as exciting as your fantasy. Through the fantasies you learn to appreciate your own realities.”

IFC’s ‘Che’ hits a small screen near you!

By Mack Chico

2009/01/14 at 12:00am

Movies

IFC’s ‘Che’ hits a small screen near you!

01.14.2009 | By Mack Chico |

Our friends over at IFC have definitely lined up 4 good movies to check out in theaters and on TV simultaneously. They are: WHERE GOD LEFT HIS SHOES, PERRO COME PERRO, LOS APARECIDOS and on January 21st CHE at home via their remote controls at the exact same time as the film is showing theatrically in New York and Los Angeles.

Films from IFC IN THEATERS and IFC FESTIVAL DIRECT are available nationwide for 90 days on cable systems and satellite TV providers such as Bright House, Cablevision, Cox, Charter, Time Warner, Comcast and Direct TV which together represent more than 50 million households. The films can be found in a special IFC IN THEATERS or IFC FESTIVAL DIRECT-branded section within each cable company’s on demand platform.

Here’s the scoop on the line-up:

WHERE GOD LEFT HIS SHOES, a wonderful new holiday-themed film which stars John Leguizamo in an exceptional performance. Directed by Salvatore Stabile, the film is both a richly moving family drama and a testament to the difficulties faced by working class Americans during these tough economic times. Cast includes: John Leguizamo, Leonor Varela, David Castro, Samantha Rose, Dave Salerno, Jerry Ferrara, Adriane Lenox and Manny Perez.

PERRO COME PERRO (Dog Eat Dog), a tale of double-crosses and retribution and Colombia’s official entry to the Academy Awards for Best Foreign-Language Film. This is the first feature from Carlos Moreno, an award-winning television and video director whose work has been featured at festivals around the world. Cast includes: Eusebio Benítez, Óscar Borda, Blas Jaramillo, Marlon Moreno, Víctor Peñarandas, Paulina Rivas y Álvaro Rodríguez.

LOS APARECIDOS (The Appeared), a road movie of terror and a trip to the dark side of the human soul. Cast includes: Ruth Díaz, Javier Pereira, Leonora Balcarce, Héctor Bidonde, Paco Cabezas, Luciano Cáceres and Pablo Cedrón.

CHE, Steven Soderbergh’s two-part film epic about the life of Ernesto “Che” Guevara, the Argentinean blue blood guerrilla leader. Cast includes: Benicio Del Toro, Santiago Santoro, Demain Bichir, Catalina sandino Moreno and Santiago Cabrera. The very talented Del Toro has already been awarded the Best Actor award at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.

Synopsis:
CHE – PART 1
On November 26, 1956, Fidel Castro sails to Cuba with eighty rebels. One of those rebels is Ernesto “Che” Guevara, an Argentine doctor who shares a common goal with Fidel Castro – to overthrow the corrupt dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. Che proves indispensable as a fighter, and quickly grasps the art of guerrilla warfare. As he throws himself into the struggle, Che is embraced by his comrades and the Cuban people. the argentine tracks Che’s rise in the Cuban Revolution, from doctor to commander to revolutionary hero.

CHE – PART 2
After the Cuban Revolution, Che is at the height of his fame and power. Then he disappears, re-emerging incognito in Bolivia, where he organizes a small group of Cuban comrades and Bolivian recruits to start the great Latin American Revolution. The story of the Bolivian campaign is a tale of tenacity, sacrifice, idealism, and of guerrilla warfare that ultimately fails, bringing Che to his death. Through this story, we come to understand how Che remains a symbol of idealism and heroism that lives in the hearts of people around the world.

By Jack Rico

2009/01/14 at 12:00am

Movies

Shalim Ortiz’s new movie is #1 on TV

01.14.2009 | By Jack Rico |

“Sssshhhhhhh…” Shalim Ortiz, an international star, and one of the bright young stars of the hit TV show, ‘Heroes’ in Season 2, was recently given some good news this week: his new TV movie “Expecting a Miracle” on the Hallmark Channel on January 10th, ranked as the #1 cable program of the night, #1 cable movie of the week, and boosted the family-friendly network to rank #1 in Prime Time for the day. As we understand it, it will air 2 more times on Friday Jan. 16 and Thursday Jan. 22 on the Hallmark Channel at 9pm.

If you want to know what Shalim is up to, check out his website:

http://www.shalim.net/

We extend our congrats to Shalim and his big ratings success!

Also, check out the cool pics form the movie:

John Leguizamo to play ‘Cantinflas’ in biopic?

By Jack Rico

2009/01/13 at 12:00am

Movies

John Leguizamo to play ‘Cantinflas’ in biopic?

01.13.2009 | By Jack Rico |

As soon as I heard Cantinflas was announced as a major motion picture film, I immediately thought of colombian actor John Leguizamo as the perfect lead. For those who don’t know who Cantinflas is, he was the greatest film comedian Mexico ever produced. Leguizamo would be an obvious choice and here are the 3 reasons why:

1. He physically looks like him

2. He speaks Spanish (broken Spanish, but he speaks it)

and…

3. He’s a natural comedian

One problem producers will confront from the get go would be his Spanish. He has a Nuyorican accent he can’t shake – have you heard him in Love in the Time of Cholera playing a colombian? He sounds like… you guessed it, a Puerto Rican from New York. Leguizamo, who was born in Bogota, Colombia, will have to master an authentic Mexican accent without sounding like Speedy Gonzalez. If he does that, and Alejandro Gomez Monteverde can write a formidable script, we could see a watershed moment in Leguizamo’s acting career for the better. Salma Hayek did something similar with ‘Frida’ and the results were an Oscar nomination as best actress for that role. I don’t see anyone else with a recognizable name playing the Mexican icon, unless they go with an unknown, which would be a bad business move if the producers go that route. Let’s see what happens, folks!

Here is a pic of Leguizamo with a moustache. What do you think? Leave a comment below.

Below is the Variety report about the Cantinflas biopic:

Latino comic and actor Cantinflas, his real name is Fortino Mario Alfonso Moreno Reyes, who helped usher in the golden era of Mexican filmmaking in the 1940s and ’50s, will be the focus of a biopic by Alejandro Gomez Monteverde.

Alejandro Gomez Monteverde will co-write and direct “Cantinflas,” a biopic about the comedian and actor who helped usher in a golden era of Mexican filmmaking in the ’40s and ’50s.

NBC co-chairman Ben Silverman will serve as an exec producer on the feature film with Monteverde and TV producer Jay Weisleder producing. Monteverde, whose drama “Bella” won the People’s Choice Award at the 2006 Toronto Intl. Film Festival, will co-write the script with Jose Portillo.

Despite his debut to American audiences in “Around the World in 80 Days” (1956), Cantinflas is not well known in the English-speaking world.

After pitching the idea to Silverman, Weisleder told the reluctant exec to ask any Latino about Cantinflas. “The moment he did that he called me from a restaurant and said ‘I got 10 people following me. Everybody knows who he is. We gotta do this,’ ” Weisleder said.

As the founder and former owner of Reveille, Silverman remains attached as an exec producer on several Reveille features projects, which include the Kurt Cobain biopic at Universal and “Staked Plains” at Focus.

Weisleder worked with Silverman at Reveille and has several television projects in development, including the comedy “My Problems With Women,” exec produced by Justin Timberlake. Monteverde and Weisleder secured the rights with the late actor’s son, Mario Moreno Ivanova, who will serve as an associate producer on the project.

By Alex Florez

2009/01/12 at 12:00am

DVD Reviews Reviews

Swing Vote

01.12.2009 | By Alex Florez |

Rating: 2.0

Rated: PG-13 for language.
Release Date: 2008-08-01
Starring: Joshua Michael Stern, Jason Richman
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:NULL
Official Website: http://swingvote.movies.go.com/

Go to our film page

SWING VOTE: ELECT TO SEE SOMETHING ELSE

Few would argue that Hollywood, as a whole, is a pretty ‘liberal’ industry whose star studded cast often shows its support by way of propaganda and sizable donations to left-winged presidential nominees every four years. Nowadays, whenever filmmakers have the opportunity to chastise our republican administration in the not-so-subtle of ways, they’ve taken it and in some cases exploited it – and I’m not just talking about Michael Moore and his rattling documentaries. Take films such as ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ and ‘Transformers’, to name a more recent one, where the political jabs are more humorous than they are sharp.

Nevertheless, there are those, more conservative members of Hollywood, that from time to time strike back. Which is why it’s so surprising to see actor Kevin Costner, a registered republican, so decidedly neutral in this latest comedy about a middle-class american who will decide the next president of our country. Instead, the Costner produced movie, tries to focus itself on a father-daughter relationship while only underlining the importance of our civic duty. But that’s as much credit as I can give Swing Vote.

In it, Costner plays Bud Johnson, an apathetic, disorderly, but lovable father who is coasting through a life that has almost passed him by. The only bright spot is his overly precocious and overachieving 12-year-old daughter Molly (Madeleine Carroll) who in this case, is the one that takes care of him. That is, until one mischievous moment on Election Day, when she attempts to vote on Bud’s behalf when he is too drunk to show up to the booth. Later that night, when the tallies are all in, the nomination happens to come down to one final vote – Bud’s vote – which needs to be recast because of a technical error in the voting machine. The media soon takes hold of the news and within minutes, the courtship from both campaigns are full throttle.

But It’s that same courtship to win over Bud’s vote, that makes this film hard to watch. The politicians in the movie, played by Kelsey Grammer and Dennis Hopper are merely stereotypical representations of the republican and democratic party respectively, and consequently, the ways in which they attempt to win over Bud’s affection are beyond predictable.

Then there’s the media – represented by George Lopez as the local, cutthroat news director and his journalist on the rise Kate Madison (played by Paula Patton), but both come off as one-dimensional.

Costner seems more than complaisant with the notion of letting little Madeleine Carroll carry the movie, but she is too precocious for her own good. If she were more like a ‘kid’ then perhaps it would be easier for us to empathize with her and the situation she’s in.

Notwithstanding, the film does deliver a couple of Disneyesque moments where Costner’s character finally shows some arc. Unfortunately, they come way too late in the story, at a time when all you want to know is who ends up being president so you can leave the theater. However, even those curious of the outcome will be seriously disappointed.

By Jack Rico

2009/01/12 at 12:00am

Movies

‘Terminator Salvation’ – First Review!

01.12.2009 | By Jack Rico |

I just came back from watching an exclusive 20 minute screening of TERMINATOR SALVATION at the Time Warner Center in Manhattan, New York. I love that area, but that’s a whole other conversation.

The director of the film McG, yes the same guy who produced the TV series ‘O.C’ and ‘Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious’, was there to present and introduce 4 never before seen clips. Before I get to that, I must say, I think the guy gets a bad rap (I’m at fault too). Today he impressed me with his presence, orator skills and humor. Compared to director Zack Snyder, from Watchmen, he’s a savant. McG essentially pitched himself to the 40 some-odd film critics as why he is the right guy to direct this film. He was convincing, but even more, the clips he showed had me at hello.

Here’s a breakdown of what I saw followed by some commentary (spoilers!):

Scene 1: A snipett of the film that felt more like a :30 second trailer.

Scene 2: All out action. Looks like McG went for the jugular on this one… and he got me. We see actor Sam Worthington as Marcus Wright, I’m still trying to find out what relevance his character has in the film, with Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese, arriving at what seems an abandoned gas station. There they are surprised by several refugees who are aiming guns at them until… a thunderous thud comes roaring through the roof in the form giant robotic claws and… GASP! people are torn to shreds! A truck chase ensues between the gigantic robot and our two heroes. Robot motorcycle drivers are spit out from the legs of the behemoth machine and then… KABOOM! Many of the CGI scenes presented were still unfinished so we couldn’t get a full grasp of the clips, yet, it was enough to remind me of T2’s action sequences. I was entertained to say the least.

Scene 3: Here we see Bale crashing his helicopter into a lake. Hydrobots come rushing like piranhas to mutilate and dismember what ever they can get their fiber optic wires on, only to be confronted by “B.A.B” (Bad Ass Bale) who plays John Connor. Sam Worthington then comes out of the lake like the Predator and stands toe to toe with Bale. Drama ensues. Fade to black.

Scene 4: This clip looks like an extended theatrical trailer wich lasted like 3-4 minutes. It’s essentially a summary of the movie and all the clips that were exhibited.

Here are my thoughts of the presentation and the film:

McG

McG was an appealing and engaging presenter. He hinted at ‘The Governator’ making a cameo. The director talked about how ‘big budget action meets quality acting’ will be seen here á la Dark Knight and Iron Man. He loves Sam Worthington and he thinks he’s going to be a BIG star. He mentioned that Bale’s talent is the reason the movie will be a hit. He also mentioned that ‘Bruce Wayne’ spends 6-8 hours in the editing room with him to make sure it doesn’t turn out campy. It was referred to in the Q&A that there is a part 5 in the mix and it will incorporate the time travel theme. Danny Elfman was picked over Oscar winning Argentinian composer Gustavo Santaolalla from Babel. He chose him because of his delicateness and bravura.

The Scenes

The action scenes we saw are the real deal and I can’t wait to see this film in IMAX. I’m gonna flip out! There was so much action compacted into the 10 minute clip that my head almost exploded. That’s what a summer action movie is all about. I thought Bale sounded like BATMAN, you know, the hoarse, husky, grating voice I’m talking about. To me that was the single reason The Dark Knight was not perfect. The raspy voice has got to go! I feel that apart from that, there will be enough acting chops from Bale to distinguish this from a contrived, generic action summer flick. From the looks of it, we can count on Terminator Salvation to be an entertaining and frolicking good time at the movies this summer!

Check out some of the pictures we collected at the press event:

McG presenting an animatrics T-800 and cussin’ up a storm

New unknown robot

T-800’s

Motorbots?

The destruction of Earth

‘Slumdog’, ‘Vicky Cristina’ win at the Golden Globes

By Mack Chico

2009/01/12 at 12:00am

Movies

‘Slumdog’, ‘Vicky Cristina’ win at the Golden Globes

01.12.2009 | By Mack Chico |

“Slumdog Millionaire” took its rags-to-riches storyline to the next level at the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday, riding an emotional groundswell to pocket the nods for best picture, director, screenplay and original score.

The top musical or comedy award went to “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.”

The show’s 66th installment, presented from the Beverly Hilton, was a glitzy and often emotional return to form after last year’s event was disrupted and turned into a glorified press conference due to the Writer’s Guild strike.

Here are the winners of the Golden Globes:

FILM

BEST FEATURE – DRAMA

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” – Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures; Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures

“Frost/Nixon” – Imagine Entertainment, Working Title, Studio Canal; Universal Pictures

“The Reader” – Mirage Enterprises; The Weinstein Company

“Revolutionary Road” – An Evamere Entertainment BBC Films Neal Street Production; DreamWorks Pictures in Association with BBC Films and Paramount Vantage

WINNER: “Slumdog Millionaire” – Fox Searchlight Pictures and Warner Bros.; Fox Searchlight Pictures and Warner Bros.

BEST FEATURE – COMEDY

“Burn After Reading” – Working Title/Releasing Company; Focus Features in association with Studio Canal

“Happy-Go-Lucky” – Summit Entertainment, Film4, Ingenious Film Partners, Miramax Films; Miramax Films

“In Bruges” – Blueprint Pictures; Focus Features

“Mamma Mia!” – Relativity Media, Playtone, Littlestar; Universal Pictures

WINNER: “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” – Mediapro; The Weinstein Company

DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE

WINNER: Danny Boyle – “Slumdog Millionaire”

Stephen Daldry -“The Reader”

David Fincher -“The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button”

Ron Howard – “Frost/Nixon”

Sam Mendes -“Revolutionary Road”

ACTOR – DRAMA

Leonardo DiCaprio – “Revolutionary Road”

Frank Langella – “Frost/Nixon”

Sean Penn – “Milk”

Brad Pitt – “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

WINNER: Mickey Rouke – “The Wrestler”

ACTRESS – DRAMA

Anne Hathaway – “Rachel Getting Married”

Angelina Jolie – “Changeling”

Meryl Streep – “Doubt”

Kristin Scott Thomas – “I’ve Loved You So Long”

WINNER: Kate Winslet – “Revolutionary Road”

More than one option

(Co) Paramount Pictures
(Co) Paramount Pictures Scoring Stage M
(Co) Paramount Studio Facilities

More than one option

(Co) Studio Canal
(Co) StudioCanal

More than one option

(Film) La Lectrice
(Film) The Reader

More than one option

(Person) Danny Boyle
(Person) Danny J Boyle

More than one option

(Film) Milk
(Film) Milk
(Film) Milk

More than one option

(Film) Pehlivan
(Film) The Wrestler
(Film) The Wrestler

More than one option

(Tv) Changeling
(Film) The Changeling

ACTOR – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Javier Bardem – “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”

WINNER: Colin Farrell – “In Bruges”

James Franco – “Pineapple Express”

Brendan Gleeson – “In Bruges”

Dustin Hoffman – “Last Chance Harvey”

ACTRESS – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Rebecca Hall – “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”

WINNER: Sally Hawkins – “Happy-Go-Lucky”

Frances McDormand – “Burn After Reading”

Meryl Streep – “Mamma Mia!”

Emma Thompson – “Last Chance Harvey”

SUPPORTING ACTOR

Tom Cruise – “Tropic Thunder”

Robert Downey Jr. – “Tropic Thunder”

Ralph Fiennes – “The Duchess”

Philip Seymour Hoffman – “Doubt”

WINNER: Heath Ledger – “The Dark Knight”

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amy Adams – “Doubt”

Penelope Cruz – “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”

Viola Davis – “Doubt”

Marisa Tomei – “The Wrestler”

WINNER: Kate Winslet – “The Reader”

SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE

WINNER: Simon Beaufoy – “Slumdog Millionaire”

David Hare – “The Reader”

Peter Morgan – “Frost/Nixon”

Eric Roth – “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

John Patrick Shanley – “Doubt”

BEST SCORE

Alexandre Desplat – “The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button”

Clint Eastwood – “Changeling”

James Newton Howard – “Defiance”

WINNER: A. R. Rahman – “Slumdog Millionaire”

Hans Zimmer – “Frost/Nixon”

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“Down To Earth” from “Wall-E” – Music By: Peter Gabriel, Thomas Newman; Lyrics By: Peter Gabriel

“Gran Torino” from “Gran Torino” – Music By: Clint Eastwood, Jamie Cullum, Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens; Lyrics By: Jamie Cullum

“I Thought I Lost You” from “Bolt” – Music & Lyrics By: Miley Cyrus, Jeffrey Steele

“Once In A Lifetime” from “Cadillac Records” – Music & Lyrics By: Beyoncé Knowles, Amanda Ghost, Scott Mcfarnon, Ian Dench, James Dring, Jody Street

WINNER: “The Wrestler” from “The Wrestler” – Music & Lyrics By: Bruce Springsteen

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

“Bolt” – Walt Disney Pictures; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

“Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation SKG; Paramount Pictures

WINNER: “Wall-E” – Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

“The Baader Meinhof Complex” (“Der Baader Meinhof Komplex”)(Germany) – Constantin Film Produktion GmbH; Summit Entertainment, LLC

“Everlasting Moments” (“Maria larssons eviga ögonblick”) (Sweden) – Final Cut Productions Aps; IFC Films

“Gomorrah” (“Gomorra”) (Italy) – Fandango; IFC Films

“I’ve Loved You So Long” (“Il y a longtemps que je t’aime”) (France) – UGC YM/UGC Images/France 3 Cinema/Integral Film; Sony Pictures Classics

WINNER: “Waltz with Bashir” (Israel) – Bridgit Folman Film Gang/Les Films D’Ici/Razor Films/Arte France/ITVS International; Sony Pictures

TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

“Dexter” (Showtime) – Showtime/John Goldwyn Productions/The Colleton Company/Clyde Phillips Productions

“House” (Fox) – Universal Media Studios In Association With Heel And Toe Films, Shore Z Productions And Bad Hat Harry Productions

“In Treatment” (HBO) – Sheleg, Closest To The Hole Productions In Association With HBO Entertainment

WINNER: “Mad Men” (AMC) – Lionsgate Television

“True Blood” (HBO) – Your Face Goes Here Productions In Association With HBO Entertainment

MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

“A Raisin in the Sun” – Sony Pictures Television, Storyline Entertainment and Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment

“Bernard and Doris” – Trigger Street Independent Productions in association with Little Bird and Chicago Films and HBO Films

“Cranford” – A Co-Production of BBC and WGBH Boston.

WINNER: “John Adams” – Playtone in association with HBO Films

“Recount” – Spring Creek/Mirage Productions in association with Trigger Street Productions, Everyman Pictures and HBO Films

TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

WINNER: “30 Rock” – Universal Media Studios in association with Broadway Video and Little

Stranger Inc.

“Californication” – Showtime Presents in association with Aggressive Mediocrity, And Then…

“Entourage” – Leverage and Closest to the Hole Productions in association with HBO Entertainment

“The Office” – Deedle Dee Productions, Reveille LLC, Universal Media Studios

“Weeds” – Lionsgate Television

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

WINNER: Gabriel Byrne – “In Treatment”

Michael C. Hall – “Dexter

Jon Hamm – “Mad Men

Hugh Laurie – “House

Jonathan Rhys Meyers – “The Tudors

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

Sally Field – “Brothers And Sisters”

Mariska Hargitay – “Law And Order: Special Victims Unit”

January Jones – “Mad Men”

WINNER: Anna Paquin – “True Blood”

Kyra Sedgwick – “The Closer”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Christina Applegate – “Samantha Who?”

America Ferrera – “Ugly Betty”

WINNER: Tina Fey – “30 Rock”

Debra Messing – “The Starter Wife”

Mary-Louise Parker – “Weeds”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

WINNER: Alec Baldwin – “30 Rock”

Steve Carell – “The Office”

Kevin Connelly – “Entourage”

David Duchovny – “Californication”

Tony Shalhoub – “Monk”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Judi Dench – “Cranford”

Catherine Keener – “An American Crime”

WINNER: Laura Linney – “John Adams”

Shirley Maclaine – “Coco Chanel”

Susan Sarandon – “Bernard And Doris”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Ralph Fiennes – “Bernard and Doris”

WINNER: Paul Giamatti – “John Adams”

Kevin Spacey – ” Recount”

Kiefer Sutherland – “24: Redemption”

Tom Wilkinson – “Recount”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Neil Patrick Harris – “How I Met Your Mother”

Denis Leary – “Recount”

Jeremy Piven – “Entourage”

Blair Underwood – “In Treatment”

WINNER: Tom Wilkinson – “John Adams”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Eileen Atkins – “Cranford”

WINNER: Laura Dern – “Recount”

Melissa George – “In Treatment”

Rachel Griffiths – “Brothers And Sisters”

Dianne Wiest – “In Treatment”

‘Gran Torino’ pulls an upset at box office!

By Mack Chico

2009/01/12 at 12:00am

Movies

‘Gran Torino’ pulls an upset at box office!

01.12.2009 | By Mack Chico |

Warner Bros. sped to the top of the domestic boxoffice this weekend, as Clint Eastwood’s urban drama “Gran Torino” registered an estimated $29 million with a turbocharged expansion into wide release.

Fox’s opening salvo with the romantic comedy “Bride Wars” captured second place with $21.5 million, while Universal’s supernatural thriller “The Unborn” delivered $21.1 million in third. The three top debutantes outpaced expectations in a weekend so robust as to blow away any concern that economic hard times might discourage moviegoing.

Sony’s urban drama “Not Easily Broken” bowed less dramatically, but with just 724 runs even its ninth-place showing of $5.6 million amounted to a solid showing.

Industrywide, the first weekend of the 2009 boxoffice year marked a 4% improvement over the same frame last year with $146 million in collective grosses, according to Nielsen EDI data.

The specialty market also was ebullient.

Paramount Vantage added 97 playdates for a total of 135 for its Leonardo DiCaprio-Kate Winslet starrer “Revolutionary Road” and grossed $1.4 million. That represented an impressive $10,666 per engagement and boosted its cume to $3.2 million.

Fox Searchlight added 42 locations for a total of 60 for its Mickey Rourke vehicle “The Wrestler” and grossed $873,900, or an auspicious $14,565 per site, for a $2.8 million cume.

The Weinstein Co.’s Winslet-toplined drama “The Reader” added 109 theaters for a total of 507 to gross $1.4 million, or a so-so $2,666 per venue, for a $5.5 million cume.

Overture added 10 playdates for a total of 16 for its romantic comedy “Last Chance Harvey,” starring Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson, and registered $151,058, or a solid $9,441 per engagement, as its cume reached $541,212.

And Sony Pictures Classics’ animated drama “Waltz With Bashir” added three locations for a total of eight and grossed $80,889, or a pleasing $10,111, with a cume of $363,859.

Then there was the situation with IFC Films’ Benicio Del Toro starrer “Che.”

As planned, the distributor began distributing the Ernesto “Che” Guevara biopic in two parts following three weeks of bicoastal exclusives for the entire four-hour-plus epic. But it reported grosses for the two parts jointly.

The Steven Soderbergh-helmed pics grossed a combined $37,546, or $7,509 per theater, as cume hit $293,641. IFC programmed theaters with the separate films christened “Che, Part I” and “Che, Part II,” abandoning the festival-circuit titles of “The Argentine” and “The Guerrilla.”

In another twist, “Che” will expand Friday into solo runs in nine additional markets, where theaters will program both parts together for one weekend before splitting the film into two parts in each venue. “Che” will continue to play in two parts in New York and Los Angeles.

“We wanted to give people the opportunity to see the same ‘road show’ presentation that we had so much success with in New York and L.A.,” IFC distribution president Mark Boxer said.

By Mack Chico

2009/01/09 at 12:00am

Reviews

The Unborn

01.9.2009 | By Mack Chico |

Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and terror, disturbing images, thematic material and language including some sexual references.
Release Date: 2009-01-09
Starring: David S. Goyer
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country: USA
Official Website: http://www.theunbornmovie.net/

Go to our film page

By Mack Chico

2009/01/09 at 12:00am

Movies

Mickey Rourke could be in ‘Iron Man 2’

01.9.2009 | By Mack Chico |

Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell are in talks to star as the villains in “Iron Man 2,” being directed by Jon Favreau.

Marvel has been keeping a very tight lid on the script for the sequel, being written by Justin Theroux, but it is known that Rourke would play a tattooed Russian heavy named Ivan who becomes Whiplash, a man with deadly, technologically enhanced coils.

Rockwell would play Justin Hammer, a multibillionaire businessman and a rival of industrialist Anthony Stark, AKA Iron Man, being played by a returning Robert Downey Jr.

Rourke and Rockwell would be joining a cast that also includes the returning Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle, who is replacing Terrence Howard, making for one eclectically cast summer blockbuster.

Another part — one for Stark’s assistant Natasha — is still open.

The project is eyeing a spring start in Manhattan Beach. Paramount will release the movie May 7, 2010.

Rourke, repped by ICM, is making the best of the accolades he is receiving for his heart-wrenching turn in “The Wrestler.” On top of this big-budget movie, the actor, who will next be seen in “The Informers,” just joined the cast of “The Expendables,” an action movie starring Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li, Jason Statham and Dolph Lundgren.

If Rockwell’s deal makes, it would mark a rare studio appearance for the actor, who is best known for his indie dramas. Gersh-repped Rockwell recently starred as a sex-addicted con man in “Choke” and an estranged husband in “Snow Angels.” He can currently be seen in the political drama “Frost/Nixon.”

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