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Another Period Piece Heads To Australia

1 July 2009 9:54 AM, PDT | From cinemablend.com | See recent Cinema Blend news

Last fall Baz Luhrmann introduced us to the notion of a period drama set Down Under, and even though Australia didn't exactly set the box office on fire, man were those costumes gorgeous. And maybe we'll get a second chance with Spider Dance, which is, yes, a period drama set in Australia, this one directed by The Duchess helmer Saul Dibb. Dibb just signed on to the project, according to THR, which is about a young American woman who shocks a repressive part of 19th century Sydney with her forward-thinking ways. The tone doesn't sound all that different from the one in The Duchess, which found Keira Knightley as a scandalous figure in 17th century England. I love the idea of shifting the whole focus to Australia, a country whose history we Americans know virtually nothing about. And if there's a scene half as gorgeous and fun as the fundraiser

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Definitive Google vs WolframAlpha Test: Best for Quiz Cheats?

16 June 2009 2:30 PM, PDT | From Fast Company | See recent Fast Company news

With the launch of the iPhone version of new search engine WolframAlpha, we've decided to pit it against Google in the ultimate test: Which is best for helping you cheat at quizzes?

You're familiar with the scene. You're at a pub or bar quiz and, faced with a thorny question, you can't resist just a quick Google under the table on your smartphone. It's cheating. It's naughty. And we've all done it. Google used to be the de facto cheat search engine...but can WolframAlpha's searching skills surprise us? After all, it has a vast array of stored factoids sampled from reality by Wolfram's mysterious ninja elfs, and it searches through them with a clever-sounding "computational engine." We tried ten random trivia quiz questions to find out.

Why is February second a notable day in the U.S.A.?

Google: Second hit, via wikipedia--Groundhog Day.

Wa: "No official holidays or observances.

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Kit Eaton

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To Be Or Not To Be… Excited For Catherine Hardwicke’s Hamlet

5 June 2009 3:36 PM, PDT | From ScreenRant.com | See recent Screen Rant news

Overture Films recently announced plans to produce a modernized version of the classic Shakespearean drama Hamlet. The film will feature Emile Hirsch (Speed Racer) as the famed Prince of Denmark and will be helmed by Twilight director, Catherine Hardwicke. The two previously worked together on the 2005 drama, Lords of Dogtown.

 

From film luminaries like Akira Kurosawa to stalwart Shakespeareans like Kenneth Branagh, many directors have taken turns adapting William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy over the years. While many have criticized Catherine Hardwicke for her association with the Twilight franchise, her experience directing films focused on disenfranchised youth (Thirteen) could lend a unique modern sensibility to Hamlet.

Of course, the operative word here is could. Shakespeare adaptations have been notoriously hit-or-miss at the theater and, as seen from his turn in the box-office bomb Speed Racer, Emile Hirsch, while undeniably talented, is far from proven as a bankable leading man.

The

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Rob Frappier

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Emile Hirsch to Star as "Hamlet," "Twilight" Director to Helm

3 June 2009 5:27 PM, PDT | From Manny the Movie Guy | See recent Manny the Movie Guy news

Another generation, another "Hamlet" adaptation. This time, the William Shakespeare masterpiece is getting a makeover with a modern-day take ala Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo + Juliet" with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes.

In "Hamlet," Emile Hirsch is on board to star as the doomed prince.

"Twilight's" Catherine Hardwicke is set to direct from a script currently being adapted by "Philadelphia's" Ron Nyswaner. Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen are producing.

Hirsch previously worked with Jinks and Cohen for "Milk," and the actor also worked with Hardwicke for "Lords of Dogtown."

Manny

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So You Think Two Men Can't Dance? Six scenes to prove Nigel wrong...

26 May 2009 1:26 PM, PDT | From AfterElton.com | See recent AfterElton.com news

The recent controversy over So You Think You Can Dance's audition by a same-sex pair and the homophobic treatment they received by both the show and judge Nigel Lythgoe got us thinking of the rare earlier times pop culture has given us scenes of two guys dancing together. (Yes, Lythgoe has apologized since his coarseness aired, but why pass up a chance to revisit some fancy footwork?)

So enjoy these six two-man dances that managed to sidestep the homophobic knee-jerk reactions seen on Sytycd, and also proved that two guys dancing can be fun, touching, and downright sexy.

Police Academy's Blue Oyster Bar tango

1984

Many of us may remember the gay bar from the Police Academy movies as being a bad gay punchline, but rewatching the scene where two of the bad cops are sent there as a prank and wind up being tangoed by the local leather

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LyleMasaki

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Australia's tourism benefitting from movie promotion

20 May 2009 4:27 AM, PDT | From Boxwish.com | See recent BoxWish news

It all looked a little dicey for a while there. Back in December we were asking whether Australia’s tourism campaign tied in with the Baz Luhrmann movie was failing and now we have our answer – a resounding no. The romance starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman might have underwhelmed film audiences and critics alike, but it seems that the supporting campaign with adverts directed by Luhrmann has worked its magic on holiday-goers and travellers.

The local tourist board for the state of Western Australia, so significant in the movie and the promotions, has happily reported a big boost in the area’s profile. Roughly 70 percent of guests at Home Valley Station, a cattle station and tourism site 100km from Kununurra (one of the movie’s prime shooting locations) reported that they had heard about the place thanks to Australia and adventure tours in the vicinity are also seeing their numbers rise.

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Australia (Bluray Review)

11 May 2009 5:20 AM, PDT | From Atomic Popcorn | See recent Atomic Popcorn news

Main Feature I really wasn’t sure how I’d feel about this film. On one hand I’m a fan of Baz Luhrmann’s previous work especially Strictly Ballroom which I found so refreshing all those years ago and still do. On the other hand I’m not a fan of Nicole Kidman’s acting and from early interviews I couldn’t [...]

Tigervamp

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Hugh Jackman wants Beyonce movie

8 May 2009 2:25 AM, PDT | From Monsters and Critics | See recent Monsters and Critics news

Hugh Jackman wants to star in a musical with Beyonce Knowles. The 'X Men Origins: Wolverine' actor teamed up with Beyonce at this year's Oscars, where they performed a dazzling musical medley, and Hugh is keen to work with her again. He said: "Me and Beyonce. I will do anything. I am the one talking up all those rumours." The actor also revealed he would like the musical to be directed by Baz Luhrmann, the man behind 'Moulin Rouge!' and 'Australia', which Hugh starred in alongside Nicole Kidman. Meanwhile, the 40-year-old heartthrob says he was shocked at the success of 'X Men Origins: Wolverine' and feels privileged to have starred in it. Talking about the movie, which has

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Hugh Jackman Wants To Star In A Musical With Beyonce Knowles

7 May 2009 10:55 PM, PDT | From icelebz.com | See recent iCelebz news

Hugh Jackman wants to star in a musical with Beyonce Knowles. The "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" actor teamed up with Beyonce at this year's Oscars, where they performed a dazzling musical medley, and Hugh is keen to work with her again.

He said: "Me and Beyonce. I will do anything. I am the one talking up all those rumors."

The actor also revealed he would like the musical to be directed by Baz Luhrmann, the man behind "Moulin Rouge!" and "Australia," which Hugh starred in alongside Nicole Kidman.

Meanwhile, the 40-year-old heartthrob says he was shocked at the success of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and feels privileged to have starred in it.

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Gadget spot of the week: Stock saddle from Australia

30 April 2009 3:00 AM, PDT | From Boxwish.com | See recent BoxWish news

Here’s something a little bit different for this week’s gadget spot. Usually in this tribute to techie trinkets, we opt for something that is either plugged in or runs on batteries, but this time we’re ditching our mobile phones and computer wizardry to go old school and when we say old school we mean old school. We’re going back to World War II with Baz Luhrmann’s sweeping epic romance Australia starring Nicole Kidman and man of the moment Hugh Jackman (he’s got a film out at the moment called X-Men Origins: Wolverine – you might have heard of it) which is out now on DVD. Bringing you the stock saddle as used by Nicole’s aristocrat Lady Sarah Ashley.

And this is no lookalike, but an actual replica of the one used in the sumptuous period movie. It’s part of a collaboration between the filmmakers,

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Attention Academy: Hugh Jackman says he'd 'love' to return as Oscars host

30 April 2009 2:15 AM, PDT | From Hitfix.com | See recent Hitfix news

  Los Angeles (AP) — Hugh Jackman relied on his Wolverine alter ego to pack on muscle for the "X-Men" role, and he turned to the Oscars to slim back down. The 40-year-old actor trained for a year to achieve his character's look. "My goal was to make him look like an animal," a much leaner Jackman said recently. "I wanted people to be unnerved when they saw him." Among the first to be unnerved? "Australia" director Baz Luhrmann. Jackman was co-starring with Nicole Kidman in the epic love story when he started bulking up for "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." "Baz said,...

Sandy Cohen (AP)

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DVD release inspirations including Australia

27 April 2009 2:08 AM, PDT | From Boxwish.com | See recent BoxWish news

Good morning and welcome to the week Boxwishers and what a week it promises to be. The summer season of blockbuster movies starts here with this Wednesday’s cinematic release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Why on a Wednesday you ask and it’s a jolly good question. But frankly, we just don’t care. We’re so psyched about this mutated beast of a movie that we’re going to be brandishing our claws in celebration with some Wolverine-inspired features later this week. However, before we check out Hugh Jackman on action man form, let’s see him as a romantic lead in today’s big new DVD release Australia. And if you don’t fancy that, then it’s a good job we’ve also got some family comedy and cutting satire. Click over for more…

If you see… Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman in the sweeping epic romance directed by Baz Luhrmann,

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Celebrate Shakespeare's birthday with some Bard classics

23 April 2009 4:02 AM, PDT | From Boxwish.com | See recent BoxWish news

Today we’re raising a glass to toast the 445th birthday (and incidentally, the 393rd anniversary of the death) of that literary fellow we all know and love as William Shakespeare. Though academics argue that the actual date of when his mother, Mary Arden pushed the little fella out is unknown, 23rd April has commonly become regarded as his birthday and was also the day of his death 52 years later. And so to honour this day, we’re refraining from giving him the bumps and instead settling down to watch some of the best film adaptations of his many glorious plays.

If you fancy some Shakespearean tragedy…

Go all late 90s and weep your heart out over those star-crossed lovers Romeo + Juliet, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in the irreverent, colourful and utterly beautiful Baz Luhrmann modern classic. Reach for the Kleenex with Laurence Olivier’s unforgettable turn

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Il Divo Singer David Miller Going to Walk Down the Aisle Soon

17 April 2009 7:27 PM, PDT | From Celebrity Mania | See recent Celebrity Mania news

David Miller, one of the singers from international opera group Il Divo, is going to get hitched soon, Us Magazine reported. The 36-year-old singer has proposed to his girlfriend Sarah Joy Kabanuck, an opera singer and theater actress who played in Baz Luhrmann's "La Boheme" in Broadway.

David Miller and Sarah Joy Kabanuck have been dating for 6 years. The couple plans to tie the knot in David's hometown New York City in August.

Last year, David's fellow Il Divo singer Sebastien Izambard got married with former Sony BMG publicist Renne Murphy outside Paris. Sebastien currently is looking for home in New York City for Renne and their twins so he can visit them when his group performs in the city.

Il Divo is a musical quartet operatic pop vocal group that includes singers Carlos Marin, Urs Buhler, Sebastien Izambard, and David Miller. The band is formed by Simon Cowell,

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celebrity-mania.com

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10 Brief Blasts of Radiohead in Pop Culture

10 April 2009 7:49 AM, PDT | From ifc.com | See recent IFC news

[This article is part of our Radiohead Fanatic Fortnight -- check out our box set giveaway here.]

As this week's earlier list illustrates, Radiohead's music has inspired a number of videos shot with the artistry of a short film. Something about the band's dramatic, intensely emotional sound calls out to the screen, and a number of both film and commercial directors have responded. Below are some of the best and most notable uses of Radiohead's music in films and ads. (The band, big fans of Naomi Klein's "No Logo," don't license their music to big corporations, but they have donated songs to ads for non-profits, as well as the NBA.)

1. The image of Claire Danes holding a gun to her own head at the end of Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo + Juliet" inspired "Exit Music (for a film)," the song that plays over the credits of the film. Another Radiohead song, "Talk Show Host," figures in the film; the former was not allowed onto the soundtrack though the latter was.

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Michelle Orange

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Terrence Howard Takes 'Macbeth' to the Beach

7 April 2009 4:32 PM, PDT | From Cinematical.com | See recent Cinematical news

Can you ever successfully modernize Shakespeare? I've been thinking back to all of the 're-imagined' Shakespeare films I have seen over the years, and as someone who has spent more time than she would have liked studying the Bard, I have to tell ya, most of them are pretty darn bad. I don't claim to be an expert, but for some reason watching Ethan Hawke deliver To Be or Not to Be in a Blockbuster really didn't add much to the experience. Well, that's what I thought anyway when I read the news over at Sci Fi Wire that Terrence Howard has announced the start date for his very own 'Modernized Macbeth' which will be replacing the misty moors of Scotland with the Caribbean sun.

For those of you who skipped high school English, Macbeth was the story of a Scottish warrior who is so affected by a 'witchy prophecy'

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Jessica Barnes

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Streep & Streisand Snubbed Luhrmann's Oscars Number

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

Barbra Streisand and Meryl Streep snubbed moviemaker Baz Luhrmann and Hugh Jackman when the Australia duo asked the ladies to perform at the Oscars.

Luhrmann approached the divas and asked them to participate in the big musical production number he staged at the 2009 Oscars, according to website GoldDerby.com, but they both turned him down.

Sources tell the website Streep was asked to stand up from her seat in the audience and "belt out a few bars" of Mamma Mia! while Streisand was reportedly asked to appear onstage to sing Somewhere from West Side Story.

Streep declined the offer immediately, but Luhrmann even went to Streisand's home in Malibu, California in a bid to woo the singer/actress.

The source explains, "She dropped out at the last moment."

Luhrmann declined to comment about the report.

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Baz Luhrmann Looks To DiCaprio For ‘Great Gatsby’ Remake

30 March 2009 4:31 PM, PDT | From ScreenRant.com | See recent Screen Rant news

Ever since Baz Luhrmann announced his plans to do a remake of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, The Great Gatsby, there’s been tons of speculation on how he’ll choose to tell the story and how the roles will be casted. Most importantly, which two actors will Luhrmann choose to play the male leads, Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby.

There’s been some buzz about Luhrmann bringing back actors he’s collaborated with in the past to help tell the epic story of Jay Gatsby and his long lost love, Daisy Buchannan. However, Luhrmann says he’s not currently focusing on casting, but rather the overall direction of the film. If he is casting from a pool of actors he’s worked with before, though, there’s a chance that Leonardo DiCaprio may be brought in to play the film’s narrator, Nick Carraway.

If this is the case,

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Sabrina Cognata

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The Curious Case Of DiCaprio’s Button Man

30 March 2009 1:36 PM, PDT | From ScreenRant.com | See recent Screen Rant news

Maybe it’s because of a few commercial and critical disappointments that he has had lately (Revolutionary Road and Body of Lies) but Leonardo DiCaprio seems to be swimming in (slightly) more commercial waters for the first time since Titanic (let’s skim over Catch Me If You Can).

The actor has now signed up to a feature adaptation of John Wagner and Arthur Ranson’s Button Man. The comic (and film) follows a hired killer named Harry Exton who fights in an underground sport with other killers.

Each killer works for a Voice, a wealthy (but unknown) man who controls part of the game. The aim is simple - kill the other players or take the first three joints of their finger. If they lose three fingers then they are killed outright.  When Harry tries to leave he finds it more difficult than he anticipated.

This news on Button

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Niall Browne

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Australia - Blu-ray Review

27 March 2009 8:26 AM, PDT | From Monsters and Critics | See recent Monsters and Critics news

A big, unabashedly boisterous romance epic where director Baz Luhrmann tries to embrace all of the grandiose melodrama of pic's like 'Gone with the End', 'The African Queen' and 'Mogambo.' You can't complain of the stunning outback vista's, but for all the flash, the pic is decidedly detached. Despite a bumpy trip, I'm still surprised audiences didn't respond to its lofty, eager aspirations to please this past Fall when it barely eked out a 50mill theatrical gross compared to the eye-popping 150 million budget. I guess movie-going audiences can be discerning after all (wait, no, I take that back, 'Paul Blart' will shamefully end up making more than 'Watchmen'...). A lot doesn't work, particularly the first fifteen minutes

Frankie Dees

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2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998

1-20 of 103 articles from 2009   « Prev | Next »

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