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'Bruno' Star Sacha Baron Cohen Is Just One Of Hollywood's Top Cinematic Chameleons

14 July 2009 12:30 PM, PDT | From MTV Movies Blog | See recent MTV Movies Blog news

How weird is it that, out of Sacha Baron Cohen’s three trademark characters, Ali G is now the least famous of them all? With this past weekend’s strong “Brüno” opening, the UK-born and raised funnyman has once again fooled the world into believing that he is someone else. Where he goes from here is anyone’s guess, but as we play Monday-morning quarterback there is an even more pressing question: is Cohen the greatest cinematic "chameleon" of all time?

There are few things I love more in a movie than when an actor fully immerses himself in another persona. Sometimes it’s for comedy, sometimes it’s for drama... but whatever the performance is in the name of, when done right it can make that performer a legend. Below are my favorite "chameleon" actors of all time. Post your thoughts in the comments section and tell us where

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Larry Carroll

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DVD Playhouse--July 2009

14 July 2009 12:00 PM, PDT | From The Hollywood Interview | See recent The Hollywood Interview news

DVD Playhouse—July 2009

By

Allen Gardner

Do The Right Thing: 20th Anniversary Edition (Universal) Spike Lee’s groundbreaking fable about race relations in an ethnically mixed Brooklyn neighborhood during a sweltering New York summer remains as potent, timely and prescient as it was in 1989. Lee is among the cast, which also includes John Turturro, Danny Aiello, Samuel L. Jackson, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, and Rosie Perez (to name a few), that provide the tableaux-like framework for this stunning work. Criminally ignored by Oscar (it wasn't even nominated for Best Picture, but did garner nods for Supporting Actor Danny Aiello and Lee’s screenplay), it endures as a timeless classic. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Commentary by Lee, Ernest Dickerson, Wynn Thomas, Joie Lee; Documentary; Deleted and extended scenes; Featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS 5.1 surround.

Coraline (Universal) A young girl moves into an old Victorian house with her parents

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The Hollywood Interview.com

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Great Poster Redesigns for TCM Summer Series

14 July 2009 1:03 AM, PDT | From GetTheBigPicture.net | See recent Get The Big Picture news

We found this at Rope of Silicon, so we'll gladly give them the credit for steering us to TCM's Summer Under the Stars movie series. TCM is the best movie network around, and in August, every day is devoted to a different star, from Cary Grant to Peter Sellers and from Sinatra to Elvis.

The series will also introduce over three dozen new films to the TCM family, classics that are getting their debut on the network in August. To find out which ones, and to get a full schedule, download this Pdf. And with no new network shoes and only a handful of cable series up and running in August, it's a great time to revisit some of these films or see them for the first time.

The highlight of the Summer Under the Stars series is this collection of redesigned posters, which includes that gorgeous new take on Jailhouse Rock featured above.

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Colin Boyd

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TCM's 'Summer Under the Stars' Posters are Phenomenal

13 July 2009 3:22 AM, PDT | From Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news

Photo: Turner Classic Movies In August, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will be celebrating their "Summer Under the Stars" marathon for the seventh year and in celebration of the event they have released a series of twelve posters and there are some real beauties in this gallery. First off, for those that may be interested, here is how the series breaks down: August 1 - Henry Fonda August 2 - James Mason August 3 - Marion Davies August 4 - James Coburn August 5 - Harold Lloyd August 6 - Judy Garlan August 7 - Glenn Ford August 8 - Bette Davis August 9 - Cary Grant August 10 - Dirk Bogarde August 11 - Audrey Hepburn August 12 - Clark Gable August 13 - Gloria Grahame August 14 - Sidney Portier August 15 - Deborah Kerr August 16 - Elvis Presley August 17 - Jennifer Jones August 18 - John Wayne August 19 - Red Skelton August 20 - Miriam Hopkins August 21 - Gene Hackman August 22 - Sterling Hayden August

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Brad Brevet

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'The Office' star Mackenzie Crook credits Ricky Gervais

10 July 2009 10:00 PM, PDT | From Monsters and Critics | See recent Monsters and Critics news

Mackenzie Crook has irritated his neighbours by refusing to cut down a beech tree. The 'Office' actor lives in a house that was once owned by late British comedian Peter Sellers, and insists he won't chop down the foliage because Peter planted it. He said: "There's a huge beech tree at the bottom of the garden that Sellers planted. The neighbours want me to chop it down because it casts a shadow over their garden but I won't. I like the fact that he is pissing off the neighbours from beyond the grave." Mackenzie's big break came when comedian Ricky Gervais chose him to appear in UK TV show 'The Office'. Without Ricky, the 37-year-old actor admits he might

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Mackenzie Crook's Sellers support

10 July 2009 10:00 PM, PDT | From Monsters and Critics | See recent Monsters and Critics news

Mackenzie Crook has irritated his neighbours by refusing to cut down a beech tree. The 'Office' actor lives in a house that was once owned by late British comedian Peter Sellers, and insists he won't chop down the foliage because Peter planted it. He said: "There's a huge beech tree at the bottom of the garden that Sellers planted. The neighbours want me to chop it down because it casts a shadow over their garden but I won't. I like the fact that he is p**sing off the neighbours from beyond the grave." Mackenzie's big break came when comedian Ricky Gervais chose him to appear in UK TV show 'The Office'. Without Ricky, the 37-year-old actor admits he might still

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Gay Panic

10 July 2009 8:09 AM, PDT | From ifc.com | See recent IFC news

Sacha Baron Cohen's improvisational prank film "Brüno" is a conceptual mess that's satisfying as a lowball, turn-your-brain-off snot comedy, but deeply problematic as social commentary. It's this last aspect, unfortunately, that made 2006's "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" (and the character's original TV incarnation) an object of debate. Did Borat's interactions with prototypical dumb-ass Americans, and his stoking of anti-Semitic tendencies, critique the Arab world's cultural prejudice and expose the country's latent prejudice and paranoia, or merely invite smug liberal laughter and an unearned sense of cultural superiority? Was Borat a Rorschach test, or an admittedly mesmerizing comedian's clever way of indulging stereotypes while pretending to challenge them? And in total, was the movie a stinging critique of a fat, happy nation engaged in two distant wars against countries filled with Borat-types, or just a put-on faking relevance, the movie

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Matt Zoller Seitz

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Dr. Strangelove Blu-ray Review

9 July 2009 11:11 PM, PDT | From TheHDRoom | See recent TheHDRoom news

A half century has passed since the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union commenced, keeping the world under the constant threat of a nuclear holocaust. While Russia may no longer be the "Nuclear Boogeyman" it once was, the specter of someone using nuclear missiles, bombs and other weapons of mass destruction still looms large. This constant global threat is just one of the reasons why that after 45 years, Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb is still a film that dazzles, entertains and maintains its surprising degree of tension. Based on the novel Red Alert, Strangelove tells the tale of a nuclear war started by a rather delusional Brigadier General named Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden). Ripper believes that Communist Russia is planning an attack on America in order to drain its citizens of their precious bodily fluids (through fluoridated water,

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Review: Bruno

9 July 2009 1:48 PM, PDT | From FilmSchoolRejects.com | See recent FilmSchoolRejects news

Sacha Baron Cohen is, without doubt, a comedian with balls. In Bruno, his latest feature-length adaptation of one of his three characters from The Ali G Show, the Peter Sellers of the 21st century puts himself in such absurd and sometimes unbelievably real situations that result in him, at various points within the film, being whipped mercilessly by a dominatrix, walking past a “God Hates Fags” protest held by Fred Phelps’s notorious Westboro Baptist Church while helplessly locked in S&M paraphernalia with another man, flamboyantly roaming the Middle East, and finally, making out with another man in a cage match while a shocked and angry audience throw increasingly large objects at him. Throughout all these ordeals, Cohen remains thoroughly and consistently enmeshed as Bruno, never once breaking character even as the situations escalate to absurd proportions. Cohen is a brilliantly talented comedian who has raised the bar of expectations for comedic performance—he may even

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Landon Palmer

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Peter Sellers's mini from Pink Panther classic up for auction

8 July 2009 4:21 AM, PDT | From Boxwish.com | See recent BoxWish news

There’s no better symbol of Britain’s mod culture from the swinging 1960s than the mini car. They did the job for Michael Caine and co. in The Italian Job, The Beatles both offscreen and on in 1967’s TV movie Magical Mystery Tour and that bastion of retro glory, the Austin Powers movies in the third instalment, Austin Powers in Goldmember. And now one of the most famous minis from the era, the mini driven by Peter Sellers’s bumbling Inspector Jacques Clouseau in the second (and for many, the best) Pink Panther comedy, 1964’s A Shot in the Dark is going under the hammer.

The car is one of many that will be available to the highest bidder at the Coys motor auction at Blenheim Palace on Saturday 18th July, with a current estimated price of £35,000 to £40,000. Definitely not cheap, but there’s movie magic in this motor.

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[DVD Review] Pink Panther 2

30 June 2009 6:00 AM, PDT | From JustPressPlay.net | See recent JustPressPlay news

I didn’t cringe once during Pink Panther 2. Of course, I was lying down on the couch at the time so it’s possible my body wasn't able to contort correctly in response to the pitiful display of humor exhibited in this film. In this second outing, Steve Martin continues to careen downwards as the reincarnation of Peter Sellers's celebrated creation. Although the most basic elements of the previous film are referenced they are not required viewing to understand or rather suffer through the sequel. This is a film that assembles a choice ensemble of reliable actors and then squanders them in painfully unfunny situations. They are led by Martin as the hellish ringleader, so focused on his own physical comedy (which he does admittedly well) that he neglects the rest of the film, which ultimately falls victim to a meager plot and an acute lack of jokes. Every

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Mark Zhuravsky

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‘Alice In Wonderland’ Through The Years

23 June 2009 3:30 PM, PDT | From MTV Movies Blog | See recent MTV Movies Blog news

Yesterday I took you on a tour through Johnny Depp’s long and storied film collaborations with director Tim Burton. Why? Because new images from Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” popped up online, including a clear look at Depp in full costume as the Mad Hatter. I didn’t sleep last night, thanks to that image.

Now I want to give you something a little bit different. Burton’s “Alice” is hardly the first one. There have been no less than 20(!) film adaptations of Lewis Carroll’s story, including several foreign versions, an anime reinterpretation and a porno. After the jump I’ve inserted a bunch of images from “Alice” across the years. Is the porno in there, you ask? You’ll have to click to find out (it isn’t).

This isn’t the first “Alice in Wonderland,” but it’s the earliest still I could find. This 1933 version

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Adam Rosenberg

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This Week On DVD and Blu-ray: June 23, 2009

23 June 2009 3:17 AM, PDT | From Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news

DVD Links: DVD News | Release Dates | New Dvds | Reviews | RSS Feed Last week I took a quick peek at the titles coming out this week and noticed a very small selection. Wouldn't you know I had accidentally added Inkheart and Confessions of a Shopaholic as releasing on June 23, 2006. I guess it doesn't really matter what year you release either of those titles since the same people that buy everything are likely to be the ones picking them up, but for those without bottomless wallets I offer my quick opinion on what may interest you this week on DVD and Blu-ray... Oh, and don't forget to check out the new release dates at the end as the date for the Lord of the Rings trilogy on Blu-ray has been announced along with Blu-ray release dates for Gladiator, Forrest Gump and Braveheart. Last Year at Marienbad (Criterion Collection) I just wrote up

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Brad Brevet

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Scenes We Love: Murder By Death

22 June 2009 4:45 PM, PDT | From Cinematical.com | See recent Cinematical news

Lionel Twain (Truman Capote) has invited the five greatest detectives to a "dinner and murder." How can they resist? Included are a blind butler, a deaf-mute maid, screams, spinning rooms, secret passages, false identities, and more plot turns and twists than are decently allowed.

When you see a plot summary like that, how can you resist? It's pure ridiculousness. Nine years before Clue, there was Neil Simon's Murder By Death -- a most excellent spoof on the classic literary detectives: Peter Falk as Sam Diamond (Spade), Elsa Lanchester as Jessica Marbles (Marple), David Niven and Maggie Smith as Dick and Dora Charleston (Charles), James Coco as Milo Perrier (Poirot), and Peter Sellers as Sidney Wang (Chan). Rounding out the cast, there's James Cromwell as a ridiculous French chauffeur, Eileen Brennan (of later Clue fame) as Spade's dame, Alec Guinness as the butler Bensonmum, Nancy Walker as the deaf-mute maid

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Monika Bartyzel

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Blu-Ray Review: Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Dr. Strangelove’ Still Resonates

22 June 2009 6:00 AM, PDT | From HollywoodChicago.com | See recent HollywoodChicago.com news

Chicago – Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying And Love the Bomb” is nearly as important a film today as when it was released, over 45 years ago. The Anniversary Special Edition of the comedy classic is now available on Blu-Ray and it’s a must-own for any true film historian.

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0 Personally, I think All Kubrick films are “must-owns for any true film historian”. He is one of the most influential and important voices in the history of the medium. But “Dr. Strangelove” has always been one of my personal favorites for a simple reason that’s perfect for Blu-Ray - it doesn’t age. If “Strangelove” came out today, it would be just as resonant, hilarious, and brilliant. Do you know how few films from the early ’60s that you can accurately write that about?

Dr. Strangelove was released on Blu-Ray on June 16th,

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adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)

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This Week in Blu-ray: The Backlog Reduction Exercise

20 June 2009 4:42 PM, PDT | From FilmSchoolRejects.com | See recent FilmSchoolRejects news

Welcome to the ever-changing face of my Blu-ray column. Based on my theory of things, eventually I will find a format that can be (a) consistently written in time for Tuesday's new releases and (b) something that people actually want to read. In this instance -- version 4.0 for those keeping count -- we've decided to match the format of 'This Week in Blu-ray' to Rob Hunter's weekly column DVDs I Bought This Week, which happens to be one of the most popular columns on the site. Why? Because people like their DVD reviews clear, concise and most of all, quick to the punch. This week I am pleased to bring you the most epic Blu-ray report in the history of my musings about the format. As you may have noted, I've taken the past two weeks off and have missed quite a few titles. So I'm playing catch up -- this wee's report will not only

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Neil Miller

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Just for Laughs Chicago: Martin Short on His Own Character

20 June 2009 3:21 PM, PDT | From HollywoodChicago.com | See recent HollywoodChicago.com news

Chicago – Martin Short, the classic comic performer of Sctv, Saturday Night Live and film, came to Chicago as part of Superstation TBS “Just for Laughs” Festival, hosting and performing in the “Let Freedom Hum” revue on June 17th.

Martin Short (as Lawrence Orbach) and friend as part of ‘Just for Laughs’ Chicago

Photo credit: ©2009 Jeremy Freeman for TBS ‘Just for Laughs’ Chicago Dusting off some of his famous characters, like inept talk show host Jiminy Glick, Short also introduced some of the top comedy stand-up talent in the country, including John Pinnette, Tom Papa, Greg Giraldo, Jeremy Hotz and Kathleen Madigan.

HollywoodChicago.com caught up with Short right after the taping of the special, which will air June 26th on TBS (check listings). He spoke about the Canadian sensibility of comedy, the two second cities and some memories of then and now.

HollywoodChicago.com: How did being born and raised

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adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)

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Ryan Reynolds Goes Shirtless For Entertainment Weekly

17 June 2009 6:27 AM, PDT | From Hollyscoop.com | See recent HollyScoop news

We propose that Ryan Reynolds goes topless more often. Yum-my! Scarlett Johansson's hubby went shirtless for the upcoming double issue of EW magazine’s annual ‘Must List’ issue. In the article Ryan talks about his must list, Jon & Kate, and his sex symbol status. Here are some highlights from the interview... Ryan on what's on his 'Must List' list: “I love Peter Sellers,” he tells the mag, “And his performance in that is one of the most amazing performances I’ve ever seen in my life.” Ryan on his Must TV Show, A&E’s Intervention: “Real...

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Tony Awards Round Up: Harden, Lansbury, Hathaway, Langella, Neil Patrick Harris

8 June 2009 2:37 PM, PDT | From FilmExperience | See recent FilmExperience news

And now a pre-show moment with Martha Plimpton...

That's right. I was conceived because of the musical Hair. I wouldn't exist without it. That's Plimpton sandwiched inbetween Broadway's Hair boys: my fellow Byu alum Will Swenson, who we've been drooling on for awhile and Gavin Creel (Love the... tie? scarf? tarf?). Plimpton was actually speaking the truth to the reporter. Her parents Keith Carradine (yes, the star and composer of one of the greatest song scenes in all of cinematic history, "I'm Easy" from Robert Altman's Nashville) and Sheila Plimpton met while performing Hair on stage in the late 60s.

I bring up this pre-show red carpet moment because Martha Plimpton is a handy human symbol of how much the mainstream media, and by extension the public, misses out on because they ignore theater and great actors who work in it. To the general public Ms. Plimpton isn't recognizable or,

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NATHANIEL R

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Sellers Snub Still Haunts Asner

26 May 2009 3:00 PM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

TV and movie veteran Ed Asner is still bitter about missing out on a role in Peter Sellers' movie I Love You Alice B. Toklas - because he had to grovel for a $10,000 (GBP6,660) loan when he was snubbed.

Asner read for the role of Sellers' brother-in-law in the 1968 film but lost out to Herb Edelman - and the disappointment was doubled when the Lou Grant star stumbled onto the film's set on his way to beg his agent for cash.

He recalls, "I knew I'd lost the job and at the same time my family was moving to a larger house because we had three kids and I had to borrow $10,000 from my agent and he kept stalling me.

"On the day I went to get the cheque I was in an open elevator and I see these two figures come into the building dressed in tennis togs, who looked like two actors.

"I realised they were Peter Sellers and Herb Edelman and they were in the midst of shooting the picture which, if I had gotten, I wouldn't be making this goddamn trip down to my agent to pick up $10,000, which I had to practically grovel for. It's amazing how life moves."

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2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1997

1-20 of 71 articles from 2009   « Prev | Next »

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