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2012/02/14 at 12:00am

Sparkle: Whitney’s last film

02.14.2012 | By Jack Rico |

Before her sudden death at age 48, the legendary singer Whitney Houston made her last film – Sparkle. The film has an official release date for August 17, 2012 and sure to be now one of the most anticipated films of the year. Not much is known about Whitney’s character except she will play a single mother whose daughter has high aspirations of becoming a music superstar.

‘Sparkle’, is loosely based on the 1976 musical film that tells the story of Sparkle (Jordin Sparks) a girl who strives to become a music star, while trying to overcome the problems that are destroying her family. She comes from a wealthy neighborhood in Detroit, where she lives with her single mother (Whitney Houston). In the midst of her personal difficulties, Sparkle tries to balance a new romance with music manager, Stix (Derek Luke), while she and her two sisters (Carmen Ejogo and Tika Sumpter) face unexpected challenges in trying to become a dynamic group of singers during the golden era of Motown.

The only photo that exists so far of Houston in the movie is the one below. In it we see a Whitney holding her daughter in the film, Jordin Sparks, with a glamorous dress. She looks young, healthy and beautiful.

At the time of this publication, it is unknown when exactly the official premiere of the trailer of ‘Sparkle’ will be released or how much screen time Houston will have. So remember, August 17 we will see on the silver screen the last picture of one of the most unique voices of the 20th century.

‘Paranormal Activity 3’: Win the Blu-ray movie!

By Mack Chico

2012/01/24 at 12:00am

Movies

‘Paranormal Activity 3’: Win the Blu-ray movie!

01.24.2012 | By Mack Chico |

The record-breaking franchise that has terrified audiences around the world returns with the scariest story yet as PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 is already out on Blu-ray/DVD combo pack with UltraViolet™ and a Digital Copy at a value of $39.99, but we’re giving 10 copies away for free to 10 lucky ShowBizCafe.com winners.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 Blu-ray/DVD combo pack includes both the theatrical version of the film and an unrated version with footage not seen in theaters, as well as Lost Tapes that reveal more footage not seen in the film. In addition, all Blu-ray and DVD releases available for purchase will be enabled with UltraViolet, a new way to collect, access and enjoy movies. With UltraViolet, consumers can easily add movies to their digital collection in the cloud, and then stream or download them – safely and securely – to a variety of devices.

To win the free Blu-ray/DVD combo pack is easy, all you have to do is fill out the COMMENTS section below with your full name and email address to win.

The first 10 winners will be notified by e-mail. Only one entry per e-mail address will be accepted, and multiple entrants may be disqualified. Employees agents, consultants and other advisors of showbizcafe.com are not eligible to participate in this contest. No one under 13 is eligible. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

Once again, to enter, please post your name and email address. We will email you for your home address. All entrants MUST be residents of the United States. ShowBizCafe.com respects the privacy of its readers. No information submitted in this contest will be given, copied, transferred, or sold to any third parties.

‘The Artist’ wins Best Picture at Critics Choice Awards

By Jack Rico

2012/01/13 at 12:00am

Movies

‘The Artist’ wins Best Picture at Critics Choice Awards

01.13.2012 | By Jack Rico |

LOS ANGELES, CA. – January 13, 2012 – The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) announced the winners of the 17th annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards earlier this evening. Hosted by comedians Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel, the star-studded ceremony was held at the Hollywood Palladium and aired live on VH1. “The Artist” was named the year’s Best Picture and Michael Hazanavicius won Best Director honors for the film.

Other big winners of the night included George Clooney, who took Best Actor for his role in “The Descendants” and Viola Davis, who won Best Actress for her role in “The Help.” Also honored was Christopher Plummer with the Best Supporting Actor award and Octavia Spencer for Best Supporting Actress both for her work in “The Help.”

Additional awards included a tie for Best Cinematography, going to both “The Tree of Life” and “War Horse.” Best Art Direction went to “Hugo” and Best Editing went to “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” “The Help” was honored with Best Acting Ensemble and Best Original Screenplay honors went to Woody Allen for “Midnight in Paris.” Best Young Actor/Actress went to Thomas Horn for “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.” “Rango” won Best Animated Feature and Best Comedy went to “Bridesmaids.”

Academy Award winner, film director and humanitarian Sean Penn was honored with the fifth annual Joel Siegel Award, presented by George Clooney. The BFCA created this award to honor those in the film community whose actions demonstrate that the greatest value of celebrity is the ability to do good work for others. This award pays homage to beloved “Good Morning America” film critic and BFCA member Joel Siegel, who lost his struggle with cancer in June, 2007.

The 17th Annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards also included a special nod to “Hugo” director Martin Scorsese, who received the Critics’ Choice Music+Film Award, presented by Leonardo DiCaprio and Olivia Harrison in addition to a special musical tribute from Bob Dylan. The Critics’ Choice Music+Film Award was created to honor a single filmmaker who has not only inspired moviegoers with his cinematic storytelling, but has heightened the impact of film through the brilliant use of source and soundtrack music.

Nominees in attendance included: Berenice Bejo, Kenneth Branagh, Albert Brooks, Asa Butterfield, Jessica Chastain, George Clooney, Stephen Daldry, Viola Davis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jean Dujardin, Elle Fanning, Judy Greer, Michael Hazanavicius, Ellie Kemper, Nick Krause, Thomas Horn, Matthew Lillard, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Penelope Ann Miller, Nick Nolte, Elizabeth Olsen, Patton Oswalt, Alexander Payne, Brad Pitt, Christopher Plummer, Maya Rudolph, Andy Serki, Octavia Spencer, Steven Spielberg, Emma Stone, Meryl Streep, Tilda Swinton, Charlize Theron, Michelle Williams, Evan Rachel Wood and Shailene Woodley

Presenters at the gala included: Vin Diesel, Kirsten Dunst, Donald Glover, Dustin Hoffman, Mindy Kaling, Ben Kingsley, Diane Kruger, Elizabeth Olsen, Patton Oswalt, Paul Rudd, Maya Rudolph, Jason Segel, Owen Wilson and Robin Wright.

The show featured Fitz and The Tantrums as this year’s house band. Bob Dylan also performed “Blind Willie McTell” during the Critic’s Choice Music+Film Award tribute to Martin Scorsese.

Since its inception in 1995, the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards has been a star-studded bellwether event of the movie awards season. Historically, the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards are the most accurate predictor of the Academy Award nominations. Last year, for example, all four of the acting category winners at the Oscars – Colin Firth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale and Melissa Leo – first accepted their awards in the same categories at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards. In all, 18 of the 20 actors nominated for Oscars were first Critics’ Choice Movie Awards nominees.

About The Broadcast Film Critics Association:
The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) is the largest film critics organization in the United States and Canada, representing more than 250 television, radio and online critics. BFCA members are the primary source of information for today’s film going public. The very first opinion a moviegoer hears about new releases at the multiplex or the art house usually comes from one of its members.

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WINNERS OF THE 17TH ANNUAL CRITICS’ CHOICE MOVIE AWARDS

BEST PICTURE
“The Artist”

BEST ACTOR
George Clooney – “The Descendants”

BEST ACTRESS
Viola Davis – “The Help”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christopher Plummer – “Beginners”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Octavia Spencer – “The Help”

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Thomas Horn – “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
“The Help”

BEST DIRECTOR
Michel Hazanavicius – “The Artist”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“Midnight in Paris” – Woody Allen

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“Moneyball” – Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, Story by Stan Chervin

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY (TIE)
“The Tree of Life”
AND
“War Horse”

BEST ART DIRECTION
“Hugo”

BEST EDITING
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“The Artist”

BEST MAKE-UP
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”

BEST SOUND
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
“Rango”

BEST ACTION MOVIE
“Drive”

BEST COMEDY
“Bridesmaids”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“A Separation”

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“George Harrison: Living in the Material World”

BEST SONG
“Life’s a Happy Song” – The Muppets
Performed by Jason Segel, Amy Adams and Walter
Written by Bret McKenzie and The Muppets

BEST SCORE
“The Artist”

JOEL SIEGEL AWARD
Sean Penn

CRITICS’ CHOICE MUSIC+FILM AWARD
Martin Scorsese

‘Mission Impossible:Ghost Protocol’ #1 at the box office

By Mack Chico

2011/12/26 at 12:00am

Movies

‘Mission Impossible:Ghost Protocol’ #1 at the box office

12.26.2011 | By Mack Chico |

‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol‘ in its second weekend of exhibition in the U.S. has brought together the modest sum of $58.9 million dollars, and this weekend, was no exception as the film starring Tom Cruise hit $26 million dollars at the box office.

On the other hand the production of Warner ‘Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows‘ fails to overcome the aforementioned, and ranks second with $17.8 million dollars in addition to the box office last week.

In third place we see the new sequel to the squirrels chattering ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked‘ that have grossed $50.2 million USD in its two weeks of release.

Seventh place there we see the ashes of ‘New Year’s Eve‘ with the premise that neither have the repartazo that has been able to exceed 50 million dollars budget.

Under the above, we see the animated film ‘Arthur Christmas‘ whose criticism has been mostly positive. The weekend box office below.

1. “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol,” $26.5 million.

2. “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” $17.8 million.

3. “Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked,” $13.3 million

4. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” $13 million.

5. “The Adventures of Tintin,” $9.1 million.

6. “We Bought a Zoo,” $7.8 million

7. “New Year’s Eve,” $3 million.

8. “Arthur Christmas,” $2.7 million

9. “Hugo,” $2.03 million.

10. “The Muppets,” $2 million

3 questions with ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’

By Karen Posada

2011/12/18 at 12:00am

Movies

3 questions with ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’

12.18.2011 | By Karen Posada |

The main actors of the amazing phenomenon ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’, Daniel Craig (AKA Mr. James Bond) and Rooney Mara gave us an exclusive behind the scenes of what it was like to be involved in this project and how they prepared to become the characters that have been followed by 65 million plus readers of the trilogy world-wide. There’s so much pressure coming from different angles from the readers and from the fans of the Swedish version of the film and it’s understandable since this is a story that has captivated so many, but Craig and Mara have such easy going confident personalities that it’s easy to understand why they were chosen for the roles.

ShowBizCafe.com (SBC): How did you prepare for the roles of Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander and what kind of pressure did you feel?

Daniel Craig (DC): The more you read the more prepared [you are] and the better chances you have during the day. Steve Zaillian (Screenwriter/Executive producer) wrote great words, so it’s all there and all you are trying to do in rehearsal is just tweak and make sense of it and make sure it ties up, make sure you know where you are when you get to it because we didn’t shoot one thing in sequence. We shot the end of the movie first; like you always do…I did what I wanted to do. The most important thing for me, was to make his character as real and believable as possible and obviously is another person I play and I deal with it in a different way, not that I kind of was ever thinking about that but you put the reality in it. You get shot at and you run away screaming, like anybody else would. That’s what the key is; it’s that easy. The [more] you think about what other people think about in the industry the less original you can be; you can’t go into a project thinking: “How would those people like it?” You just gotta get on and be reason minded about it, you can’t please everybody.

Rooney Mara (RM): David Fincher (Director) told the casting director to let me know before I went down the long road of auditioning that If I were to get the part I would have to: become a smoker, have to go off and live by myself for a year, I would have to be butt naked, I would have to do a rape scene and I would have to ride a motorcycle; which was the least thing I was excited to do [because] it just seemed dangerous. There was a lot of rehearsal, me and David read the script a few times just the two of us together and all of us sat around quite a lot and went through the script and talk the scenes through with Steven Zaillian. We started shooting in Stockholm, just doing the exterior so, it sort of felt like we had three months to really rehearse before we went back to LA and shot sort of the meat of the movie. To be honest, I didn’t really think much about what other people imagined them to be (meaning the characters), I used what I imagined her to be and I read all three books and I had a really clear picture of who this girl was and luckily David’s idea was pretty similar.

SBC: Daniel, what can you tell us about your character and the relationship he has with the female lead?

DC: What I love about this character and the relationship he was with Salander…he’s not out to prove that he’s a man, he’s a guy [and] he doesn’t have to go around beating his chest and he’s very happy to fall into this sort of relationship where she’s literally wearing the trousers. [They have] have an age difference and she falls for him but she’s not supposed to. It has a lot to do with honesty and trust. They shouldn’t have a relationship, they shouldn’t really meet in life, they come from different social classes but Salander doesn’t trust anybody and there are very few people in her life that are straight with her and he is. She’s broken the law, she’s hacked into his life and he walks in and says: “ok forget that. I think you are great and I’d like to work with you”. [he] doesn’t walk away.

SBC: Rooney, What do you think about your bi-sexual character and the fashion trend she’s set? Seeing that H&M has a ‘Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ clothing line out in stores now.

RM: Growing up in NY and LA it didn’t seem that crazy to have a bisexual character, she’s incredibly comfortable with her sexuality and I wanted to do it the same. It didn’t faze me, I didn’t really think about it too much. I think the clothes featured in H&M is more Salander, I wouldn’t call her a fashion icon, but you know the H&M look has nothing to do with me personally. [There wasn’t much] I could do with the costume after shots, the hair was stuck to my head and the eyebrows remained bleached and the piercings that I got that were real obviously stayed in. I expected people to treat me much differently. But, it didn’t really happen, the biggest change I noticed is that when you sort of look slightly off in that way, people sort of pay less attention to you and their expectations of you are lowered and I didn’t mind that; I actually enjoyed it.

Steven Spielberg: In-depth interview about ‘Tintin’

By Karen Posada

2011/12/14 at 12:00am

Interviews Movies

Steven Spielberg: In-depth interview about ‘Tintin’

12.14.2011 | By Karen Posada |

ShowBizCafe.com had the amazing opportunity to listen to Steven Spielberg as he talked about his new 3D movie â€˜The Adventures of Tintinâ€™ during the press conference. This is the story of a journalist invented by HergÃ©, a Belgian comic writer that created endless adventures of the boy reporter from 1929-1983. This was a story in the making for 20 years, Spielberg told us how that came about and what we should expect from it.Â Read More

7 clips from ‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1’

By Jack Rico

2011/11/12 at 12:00am

Movies

7 clips from ‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1’

11.12.2011 | By Jack Rico |

Fans of ‘The Twilight Saga’! We obtained 7 exclusive scenes from ‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1‘, a film which opens in the U.S. on November 18. These scenes show a bit more than what trailers have been presenting. However, you will see more of what the film offers with these videos.

The plot the Quileute and the Volturi closing in on expecting parents Edward and Bella, whose unborn child poses different threats to the wolf pack and vampire coven.

To view photos, news and official trailer, click here.

Javier Bardem gives first interview on ‘Skyfall’

By Jack Rico

2011/11/03 at 12:00am

Interviews Movies

Javier Bardem gives first interview on ‘Skyfall’

11.3.2011 | By Jack Rico |

Alongside director Sam Mendes and his colleagues Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Naomie Harris, Berenice Marlohe and producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, Spanish actor Javier Bardem, who won an Oscar for the film ‘No Country For Old Men’, takes some time out to chat about the the 23 installment of the James Bond series entitled ‘Skyfall‘ and his participation in it, as a villain, at a presentation press conference in London. Read More

Disney’s ‘John Carter’: Exclusive Sneak Peak Look!

By Jack Rico

2011/10/04 at 12:00am

Movies

Disney’s ‘John Carter’: Exclusive Sneak Peak Look!

10.4.2011 | By Jack Rico |

Six months before it’s release, Disney has put together an impressive private event to tout its new big 2012 movie ‘John Carter’ which they are banking all the marbles on. I was one of the select few that was invited yesterday to see early footage from the film, as well as props from the actual set and other elements from the production like concept art and life size monster models.

As soon as you walked in, there was a hallway full of set props from the film that were very detailed and accurate from the tales of the Edgar Rice Burroughs 11 series books. There was everything from monster mannequins of Tharks – a tribe of fictional Green Martian warriors on the fictional planet of Barsoom – aircraft sketches and models, clothing, weapons and books from Carter’s home and martian culture.

After the hallway glancing, you entered the screening room where director Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, Wall*E) and his 3 main stars: Taylor Kitsch (The Bang Bang Club, X-Men Origins: Wolverine) who plays John Carter himself, Lynn Collins (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) who will play Princess Dejah Thoris and Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man, Antichrist, Melancholia) who will be the alien Tars Tarkas, were chatting and socializing amongst themselves. About a dozen Disney publicists and execs were everywhere, including an in-house production unit behind me covering the action.

About 10 minutes later, producer Jim Morris took the mic to talk about the difficulties of making ‘John Carter’ in Hollywood and how the many failed attempts at bringing it to the screen where mainly due to a lack of technology. According to Morris, Tom Cruise was at one point attached to star in the mid 80’s, but it fell through. He then introduced Andrew Stanton to an applause from the guests. Stanton began by presenting an educational, historical keynote introduction of John Carter from the early novels to the Marvel comic books to the CGI integration to the selection process of the cast. He then proceeded to unveil the first 5 clips of the movie that the even the cast had not seen until then. Regrettably, we’re not allowed to give a formal written narration of the scenes I saw, but hopefully near release.

After the clips were shown, we were invited to stay for a Q&A with the Stanton and cast, and afterwards we were allowed to mingle with them and ask them questions one on one. I interviewed Stanton and will have that posted some time this week.

Here then are 13 exclusive behind-the-scene pics of the props and items from the private screening that were on display for viewing:

‘John Carter’ will be released March 9th, 2012 which happens to be Andrew Stanton’s first live-action film. The pressure is on for him to deliver on what is Disney’s hopeful future franchise.

For those unaware of the plot, ‘John Carter’ is set in the devastated planet Mars where John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), a soldier in the Civil War, is thrust into a mysterious new war with a strange army of Martians , among which are Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). The film is based on the Martian series of American author Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Exclusive: First Spanish-language trailer of ‘Dream House’

By Jack Rico

2011/09/16 at 12:00am

Movies

Exclusive: First Spanish-language trailer of ‘Dream House’

09.16.2011 | By Jack Rico |

We just got our hands on the exclusive ‘Dream House’ Spanish language trailer from Universal Studios. You won’t find this video anywhere else except here. The film stars Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts in a half-ghost, half-mystery thriller about a family who unknowingly move into a home where several grisly murders were committed…only to find themselves the killer’s next target. Successful publisher Will Atenton (Craig) quit a job in New York City to relocate his wife, Libby (Weisz), and two girls to a quaint New England town. But as they settle into their new life, they discover their perfect home was the murder scene of a mother and her children. And the entire city believes it was at the hands of the husband who survived. When Will investigates the tragedy, his only lead comes from Ann Paterson (Watts), a neighbor who was close to the family that died. As Will and Ann piece together the disturbing puzzle, they discover that the story of the last man to leave Will’s dream house will be just as horrifying to the one who came next.

The buzz around the ‘Dream House’ is rooted in the original trailer that supposedly reveals the twist of the film half way through. But according to an executive producer, the twist shown in the original trailer (which is not shown in the Spanish trailer) is not the main twist of the movie. So is there another one? We’ll all have to wit for the reviews to come in and see.

Dream House will be released September 30th, 2011.