Darren Aronofsky's Early Career Comeback [Things We Actually Like]
After slogging through The Fountain, a strenuous mindfuck dirge about death and time travel and Ponce de León (sort of?), and watching its resounding failure at the box office, it was easy to think that the film's writer/director/envisioner Darren Aronofsky might never be trusted with a film again. And certainly the exciting director of Pi and Requiem for a Dream's next effort, The Wrestler, is significantly scaled back from the tens-of-millions of dollars fountain of youth blunderbuss, but it's proving t

Darren Aronofsky in Talks to Direct "Robocop"; "Red Dawn" Gets a Writer/Director - Good News, or Still Bad?
Do we really need remakes of Robocop and Red Dawn? No, but that's not stopping MGM from continuing forth with the projects anyway.read more

NYFF '08 | Aronofsky, Rourke Talk "Wrestler," Folman "Waltzes" With New York
Wednesday afternoon at the Walter Reade Theatre in New York marked a big day for the 46th New York Film Festival. "The Wrestler" Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei and producer Scott Franklin joined director Darren Aronofsky to discuss the film after its first screening for New York press and industry. The movie, acquired shortly after its North American debut last month at the Toronto fest, will close the NYFF on October 12th. Meanwhile, Ari Folman's acclaimed animated documentary, "Waltz With Bashir" made its

NYFF '08 | Aronofsky, Rourke Talk "Wrestler," Folman "Waltzes" With New York - indieWIRE
Wednesday afternoon at the Walter Reade Theatre in New York marked a big day for the 46th New York Film Festival. "The Wrestler" Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei and producer Scott Franklin joined director Darren Aronofsky to discuss the film after its first screening for New York press and industry. The movie, acquired shortly after its North American debut last month at the Toronto fest, will close the NYFF on October 12th. Meanwhile, Ari Folman's acclaimed animated documentary, "Waltz With Bashir" made its

Darren the Dude Revives Mickey The Mauler
Darren Aronofsky was a serious young man, a nature boy. He grew up in Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, where the beaches were beautiful but cluttered with trash. His interest in the environment took him to Alaska to study the behavior of seals. “There was a moment, we were kayaking around,” he said of the trip with the School for Field Studies, a charity on whose board he now sits. “I was eating a candy bar and I dropped the wrapper in the water and it went under. And I realized that that thing was going i

When director yells 'Cut,' Rourke's ready
Mickey Rourke definitely deserves a Method acting trophy - if not an Oscar - for his performance in "The Wrestler." When director Darren Aronofsky asked him to become a has-been pro wrestler, Rourke literally opened a vein. Rourke heard that real-life ring showmen sometimes fake injury by cutting themselves with razor blades. "So Mickey taped a blade to his forearm, and when the time was right, sliced his forehead," Rourke's co-star Wass Stevens told us. Rourke admitted last week at a New York Film Festiv

'Wrestler' grips NY Film Festival
Film News: Film takes physical, emotional toll on Rourke -- The Mickey Rourke comeback campaign alighted on the New York Film Festival with "The Wrestler" on Wednesday. The thesp choked up at one point during a post-screening news conference as he was asked about the similarities between the down-and-out grappler he plays in the Darren Aronofsky film and his own career.

Lineup for October 8th, 2008
"My personal theory is that she’s something that they can’t grasp," CBS News commentator-turned-McCain advisor Nicolle Wallace tells Felix Gillette of Sarah Palin. "They don’t know how to process her. She is beautiful, accomplished, successful, pro-gun and pro-life. They’ve never seen all those things in one package. She totally disorients many in the liberal media, especially a lot of the women." John Koblin reports that Moneyball author Michael Lewis will be leaving Portfolio

The Suck-Up Entertainment Press
Everyone (or at least the McCain campaign) talks about the liberal media being in the can for Democrats, about how they pander to Barack Obama and their liberal gods in Hollywood. But they're only saying that because they've never seen the entertainment press in action. Take this morning's press conference with The Wrestler director Darren Aronofsky and its stars, Mickey Rourke and Oscar-winner™ Marisa Tomei, all of whom have been talked about for Oscar nominations. Already. Why are the press so af

Tomei explains nipple troubles
Actress Marisa Tomei had trouble getting into her costume on the set of new movie The Wrestler - because she had to be fitted with fake nipple piercings. The My Cousin Vinny star plays a tattooed and pierced stripper in the upcoming film. And director Darren Aronofsky admits the fake piercings caused an upset on set - because they took so long to attach. He tells the New York Daily News, "The hardest part was fitting the fake nipple piercings on her. "You'd be surprised at how long that took, bu

Mickey Rourke’s Oscar Pitch: ‘You Change, or You Blow Your Fucking Brains Out’ [Piledriver]
After picking up its hardware in Venice and a distribution deal in Toronto, Mickey Rourke's comeback The Wrestler screened for the first time in the United States this morning in New York. We crashed the joint, and we can confirm that everything you've heard about Rourke's Oscar future is essentially on the nose: He'll nab a Best Actor nomination for his performance as Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a 40-something pro wrestler on the downswing with pretty everything in his life including his relationship with hi

Australia Trailer
Hugh Jackman & Nicole Kidman in Farmhand Epic! Gayer than Gay Part II / Dustin Rowles

Deception Blu-ray Review
Deception starring Hugh Jackman, Ewan McGregor and  Michelle Williams is an interesting look into the life of Jonathan McQuarry (McGregor), a lonely accountant whose life is turned upside down after meeting Wyatt Bose (Jackman).  Bose introduces McQuarry to a life he’s never known and one he’s not sure he can handle.  It starts innocently enough with a joint and good conversation, but as the obsession builds his life goes the other way. Hugh Jackman and Ewan McGregor play well off of each other.  B

Taylor Kitsch talks about being Gambit
Taylor Kitsch on Friday Night LightsTuesday, 07 October 2008By Christina RadishHailed as one of the Top 10 shows of 2006 by Time Magazine and Entertainment Weekly, the critically acclaimed NBC drama Friday Night Lights has returned for a third season, first airing solely on Direct TV. An industry first, as part of a deal to finance the critically adored but seriously under-watched series, the 101 Network will air all 13 new episodes before their premiere on NBC in early 2009.Expanding on the hit feature fil

Producer talks Wolverine Origin film
X Men Origins: Wolverine will be released in May next year, and new has been a little thin on the ground. Now one of the producers has been talking about what we can expect. Lauren Shuler Donner pretty much sums it up in three words, and repeats them a lot. For the uninitiated, X Men Origins: Wolverine, stars Hugh Jackman reprising his role as Wolverine from the X Men films. What can we expect from a film telling the back story of the mysterious Wolverine? Lauren Shuler Don

Second trailer from Australia
A second full trailer for Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming epic film Australia has debuted yesterday. Fox is releasing the movie, starring Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, David Wenham, Jack Thompson, Bryan Brown and

New trailer for Australia
We have a new trailer for Luhrmann's Australia. Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman star, and the new trailer looks great. These films aren't usually my bag, but this one looks like it could be good. Australia sees Nicole Kidman play an English aristocrat who inherits a large ranch. She sets off with a stock-man, Hugh Jackman, to make sure her property is not taken over. The pair have to drive 2,000 cattle across country. And along the way they witness the Japanese bombing of D

MSN Celebrities Undressed for the Week of 6 Oct. 2008
These Boots Are Made for Knocking:Heidi Montag is so much more than just a soulless, Spencer Pratt-fondling reality show personality. She's also a philanthropist. Here she is, happily kicking up her heels at a Taco Bell and biting into something even cheesier than she is as part of an effort to combat world hunger. The "Hills" starlet selflessly gives a few hours of her precious time to help the needy, and it's clear from her choice of outfit that she's taking her duties seriously. Her toe-crammin

Australia Ramp-up
Here's last summer's trailer for Baz Luhrman's Australia (20th Century Fox, 11.26), and a newer, just-released version. Luhrman is a fever-pitch, headstrong, first-rate director -- one of the dependable visionaries in this business. The finely crafted script tells a rousing, big-canvas, primary-colors story that's set in the World War II era. And the movie is clearly looking to deliver an eye-filling, epic-sized experience with a mostly realistic (i.e., not too much CG) brush. The only unce

Another Great Australia Trailer
I'm not really into that romantic mumbo jumbo, however I am actually quite looking forward to Baz Luhrmann Australia. The previous trailers and imagery we have seen have been quite something, but this latest trailer has confirmed that I will be seeing this when it is released. The trailer starts off casually, exploring the predictable relationship between Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman, and then BAM! The trailer switches. The epic…

Be Still My Heart -- New 'Australia' Trailer!
The release date of Australia is a mere month away, yet there's been little in the way of promotion for it. A few posters, a new release date, a few interviews with Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman -- that's it. While this could spell a lack of confidence, I think it's largely due to the fact that Baz Luhrmann was still tinkering with the film as of August. But at last, there is a new trailer, courtesy of MSN, but sans embed code. It's an odd trailer. It starts off in a style that's quite contemporary, both

Nuovo trailer per Australia
E' online un nuovo, spettacolare trailer per Australia, il nuovo kolossal di Baz Luhrmann con Nicole Kidman e Hugh Jackman...