HollywoodNews.com: Last night, stage and screen legend Shirley MacLaine was lauded with the 40th annual AFI Life Achievement Award – the highest honor for a career in film. Some of Hollywood’s most revered luminaries turned out to pay tribute to one of America’s most beloved artists. The gala, entitled “TV Land Presents: AFI Life Achievement Award Honoring Shirley MacLaine,” was taped at historic Stage 15 at Sony Pictures Studios last evening and will air on TV Land on Sunday, June 24 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.
The evening’s festivities kicked off with MacLaine entering the gala of over 1,000 attendees to “If My Friends Could See Me Now,” a song she made famous in the 1969 screen version of “Sweet Charity.” Immediately following dinner, Warren Beatty, MacLaine’s brother, Academy Award®-winning actor and fellow AFI Life Achievement Award recipient (2008), talked about how the AFI Life Achievement Award was established in 1973 to ensure that “the great masters of film may take their deserved place in history beside leaders in other arts” and introduced the award recipients in attendance to celebrate MacLaine and the award’s 40th anniversary – Sidney Poitier (1992), Jack Nicholson (1994), Steven Spielberg (1995), Meryl Streep (2004) and Morgan Freeman (2011).
Academy Award®-winning actress Julia Roberts took the stage to speak about MacLaine’s love for playing cards and “the boys” of her life – Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and even Chicago mob boss, Sam Giancana. Fellow “Steel Magnolias” star Sally Field paid tribute to MacLaine by saying, “She is generous beyond a fault, a one of a kind original and an extraordinary actor. She’s a renowned world traveler who collects people. They are her most valued treasures. And I’m very proud to be included in her lifelong collection.” Dakota Fanning (“I Am Sam”) and Katherine Heigl (“27 Dresses”) both spoke about how MacLaine had inspired them in their own journeys in Hollywood. John Travolta introduced an inspiring video with footage from “Sweet Charity” and described MacLaine as “a woman who does it all – but always first – a dancer.” He went on to say that she “fills the world with a presence never seen before.”
Last year’s AFI Life Achievement Award recipient, Morgan Freeman, recounted MacLaine’s impressive journey that led her to where she is today, and Elizabeth McGovern, who stars on “Downton Abbey,” shared a never-before-seen clip from [...]
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Shirley MacLain Receives AFI Lifetime Achievement Award
Philip Seymour Hoffman and Andrew Garfield in “Death of a Salesman”
By Roger Friedman
HollywoodNews.com: The greatest American play? Quite possibly Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman,” set in 1949 and revived last night on Broadway in a production that is outstanding. Mike Nichols directed and reinvented Miller’s classic, with Philip Seymour Hoffman as Willy Loman, Andrew Garfield (the new movie Spider Man) as Biff, Linda Emonds as Willy’s wife Linda, and Finn Wittrock as Happy. This is a historic production, quite possibly the best ever (and there have been many great ones starring Dustin Hoffman, Brian Dennehy, Lee J. Cobb, George C. Scott). Thursday night’s star studded opening was the second time I’ve seen this production, and it’s only gotten more devastating, deep, emotional, and overwhelming. Philip Seymour Hoffman is our generation’s Jason Robards. He is perfection as Willy Loman in all aspects–from Willy’s wrestling with his past (the father and brother who left him) to his denial about more current events, and his increasing mental in capacities. PSH has an Oscar for “Capote” but this is his Tony Award. He cannot be missed.
The whole cast is spot on. Considering it’s a play about fathers and sons, I was particularly moved by Andrew Garfield’s father’s reaction to seeing his son as the angry ne’er do well, Biff. At the party following the opening night at Bryant Park Grill, Mr. Garfield and Andrew just kept hugging and crying. The cast is extremely worn out emotionally after each performance. Even last night Mike Nichols, who’s sat through every preview to give “notes,” told me he was overwhelmed. Arthur Miller’s famous actress sister, Joan Copeland, t0ld me it was the best production she’d seen since the original. Martin Short told me that Tom Hanks had seen it a few days ago and declared it “the best thing he’s ever seen, period.” Columbia Pictures’ Amy Pascal came to congratulate her upcoming Spider Man.
Scott Rudin produced this extravaganza, and it made for quite a glittering night. In the audience were Nichols and Diane Sawyer, Paul Simon, Barbara Walters (who came with David Geffen), Julianna Margulies, Julianne Moore and Bart Freundlich, Catherine Keener, Amy Ryan, Spike Lee, Anjelica Huston, Meryl Streep and Don Gummer, and Garfield’s actress gf Emma Stone, Julia Roberts, plus “Saturday Night Live” star Bill Hader, who said he almost fainted when Nichols complimented his “SNL” work. It was kind of funny at one point seeing Streep, Gummer, Nichols, Sawyer and Huston all dining [...]
Oscars: Billy Crystal Was Far From His Best
By Michael Russnow
HollywoodNews.com: The Academy Awards was a lot better than last year’s offering and generally moved along pretty well. However, Billy Crystal’s performance was mixed. Sometimes he was spot on and in other instances resorted to forced humor that missed its mark.
After Morgan Freeman’s opening we saw Billy in an uninspiring repeat of what he’d done so well many times before, inserting himself into reproductions of well-known clips from the top films. Maybe it’s because he’s done it so many times. It’s true that he hasn’t been host since 2004, and we often enjoy an entertainer repeating his or her best work, but like an aging singer whose voice doesn’t hold up when the muscles sag, what was downright hysterical in past years, like when he came out as Hannibal Lecter in 1992, this go-around didn’t work too well for me in 2012.
The one exception was from The Descendants, when George Clooney recreated his visit to his comatose wife, played by Crystal lying in bed. Clooney’s kiss was so heartfelt it provided a big laugh. The Justin Bieber bit from Midnight in Paris wasn’t bad. Not so much the scene with Tom Cruise from Mission Impossible, nor was Crystal’s business spoofing The Help or Tintin particularly funny.
Oddly when he segued into his Oscar medley it worked better, with the lyrics sharp and engaging. After that, it was hit and miss. Sometimes very clever and other times flat. And when the latter happened he often responded defensively, at one point indicating the band in the pit liked the joke. He also was a bit insensitive regarding the age of some of the nominees as he mentioned octogenarians Christopher Plummer and Max von Sydow, followed by senility jokes at their expense. Considering that Crystal himself is pushing 64 and that ageism besetting Hollywood is rampant with many talented professionals unemployed, it’s just not funny anymore.
As the three hour ten minute show progressed, they whizzed through awards at a relatively rapid pace. Instead of starting with a celebrity award, such as supporting actor and actress, they began with Tom Hanks presenting Oscars for cinematography and art direction, both of which went on the scorecard for Hugo.
There was a montage of film clips that moved along all right, but, unless I missed one, it appeared that it was as if movie history began with 1969′s Midnight Cowboy, because none of the featured films [...]
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Young Adult open huge in limited release
By Scott Mendelson
HollywoodNews.com: In what one might call ‘the calm before the storm’, two middling wide releases debuted to relatively middling numbers. Next week sees a flurry of major wide releases over the last two weeks of the year, so this frame was a bit of a breather. The top film was New Year’s Eve, which debuted with $13.8 million. That’s one of the weakest #1 debuts of the year, and about $1 million less than Valentine’s Day grossed on its first day back in February 2010. That film scored the record for a romantic comedy debut with $56 million over Fri-Sun. Of course, that film had romantic comedy heavyweights like Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway, Queen Latifah, and Jennifer Garner. This film had a slightly lower-wattage cast, with only Katherine Heigl and Zac Efron qualifying as box office draws. The newbies this time around (Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, Hillary Swank, Jon Bon Jovi, Halle Berry, Lea Michele, etc) are names, but not actual ‘bring them to the theater’ movie stars.
Oddly enough, the film opened significantly lower than what Heigl, Efron, and Ashton Kutcher (who was also the lead in Valentine’s Day) bring in on their own (Jessica Biel was also in both, but she’s never been a draw). Which leads one to believe that this was a problem of ‘fool me once, shame on you’. Valentine’s Day was not very popular in the long run, earning $110 million after scoring $63 million in its four-day opening (that’s Green Lantern/Watchmen/Twilight Saga ‘legs’). The first film was somewhat of a novelty, a Love Actually with Americans and a massively star-packed romantic comedy about Valentine’s Day that opened over Valentine’s Day weekend. This just looked like a cash-in, which is what it probably was. The original cost $52 million while this sequel/spin-off/etc cost $56 million. Warner is going to have to hope for some holiday legs on this one, but as the only romantic comedy in the marketplace it may have some luck with that.
The only other wide release was David Gordon Green’s The Sitter. The Jonah Hill comedy, which was sold as an R-rated and more ‘extreme’ version of Adventures In Babysitting, debuted with just $10 million. This was the first real test of Jonah Hill’s ‘by himself’ star power, and as such it’s [...]
Julia Roberts boards workplace comedy “Second Act”
By Sean O’Connell
Hollywoodnews.com: Fresh off of her turn as an evil queen in the upcoming “Mirror, Mirror,” Julia Roberts looks to continue her comedic vibe by signing on to “Second Act,” a workplace comedy currently in development at New Regency.
THR, which broke the story, says the film’s premise “centers on a woman who has never worked and is forced to take a job.”
That has shades of “Larry Crowne,” Roberts’ underwhelming collaboration with fellow A-lister Tom Hanks, though this also sounds like it has the potential to go in several different directions.
At this moment, “Second Act” doesn’t have a writer or director attached, though with Roberts’ name on the concept, it’s sure to generate a flurry of interest. Roberts appears to be having a blast in the trailer for “Mirror, Mirror,” taking a broader comedic approach to the wicked queen than the bitchy turn Charlize Theron is displaying in “Snow White and the Huntsman.” Let’s see who Roberts can lure to the director’s chair for “Second Act,” which will go a long way toward revealing the expected tone and tenor of the comedy.
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“Mirror Mirror” trailer takes comical approach to Snow White
By Sean O’Connell
Hollywoodnews.com: Once upon a time, rival Snow White pictures race toward theaters to capture audiences’ attentions with their unique spins on a classic fairy tale. A-list talents – from Julia Roberts to Kristen Stewart – lined up to participate. Which effort would be the fairest of them all?
Days after Universal’s “Snow White and the Huntsman” — starring Stewart, Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron – revealed its first action-packed trailer, Relativity’s planned “Mirror Mirror” answered with a clip that suggests broad comedy … particularly from its seven dwarves.
We have it below.
In “Mirror,” director Tarsem Singh (“Immortals”) focuses on an Evil (and jealous) Queen (Roberts) who sets out to drain Snow White’s lifeblood through what appears to be Bollywood song-and-dance routines. Armie Hammer and Nathan Lane provide broad comic relief as a prince and royal servant, while Lily Collins of “The Blind Side” plays the maiden Snow White.
Singh’s visual inspiration, according to this clip, falls somewhere between Tim Burton and Terry Gilliam. But the tone of “Mirror Mirror” is completely different than “Huntsman” … and that might be good for both films.
“Mirror Mirror” will be in theaters on March 16, 2012. Here’s the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpLVO396eHs
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Julia Roberts was unsure about playing Ryan Reynolds’ mother
HollywoodNews.com: In the film ‘Fireflies in the Garden,’ Julia Roberts plays Ryan Reynolds’ mother, a role she wasn’t sure about at first.
The two are only nine years apart in age, but she had different concern, states UsMagazine.com. “[H]e’s so tall!” Robert commented.
Eventually, Roberts got comfortable with the role and had a good time in the end: “But it worked out all right. He’s a good boy!”
Do you think it’s an odd pairing?
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“Steel Magnolias” will be remade on Lifetime with all black cast
HollywoodNews.com: Let’s face it, the cast for the movie version of Steel Magnolias was perfect: Sally Field as M’Lynn and Julia Roberts as her daughter Chelsea. There was also Dolly Parton as Truvvy, owner of the local hair salon where all the ladies gather and Darryl Hannah as Annelle, the new girl in town hired by Truvvy as a hairdresser. And finally, you had the great Shirley MacLaine as the town grump Ouiser and Olympia Dukakis as her best friend Clairee.
I can do all of their line readings – especially Sally Field’s at her daughter’s graveside: “I’m fiiiiiiiiiinnnnne!!!!!!!”
Now comes word that Lifetime is cooking up a contemporary remake of the film with an all-black cast.
Oh, what fun!
Let’s explore the possibilities!
The casting of M’Lynn is key since she’s sort of the glue that holds all the women together. Sally Field was exceptional in the role and robbed of an Oscar nomination (only Julia Roberts was nominated for the film).
This is certainly a role Oscar nominee Viola Davis could sink her teeth into. She should be offered the part on a silver platter. But the star of The Help and Doubt certainly has her pick of parts these days. If she won’t do it, Angela Bassett or Alfre Woodard could nail it or even Halle Berry who is technically old enough to be a grandmother.
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“Snow White:” New Photos Released
HollywoodNews.com: I don’t usually post about every photo from every movie, but Relativity was nice enough to send me a batch of photos all in one handy file, so why not? Anyway, we get glances at Lily Collins as Snow White, Julia Roberts as ‘the Wicked Queen’, Arnie Hammer as ‘the Prince’, and all seven dwarves. While most of the pictures try to sell the ‘fairy-tale beauty’ and/or ‘virginal innocence’ of the title character, the best picture is the cast photo above.
Not only is Collins actually smiling, there is a sense of playful wickedness that is lacking from the other photos. Obviously the Tarsem Singh project will be visually scrumptious, and I’m all for films that actually have bright and bold colors, but I still fear for an industry that feels the need to have three (3!) Snow White projects coming out over the next year. Anyway, the other bazillion photos are after the jump. Enjoy.
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Julia Roberts’ “Fireflies in the Garden” is finally exhumed by Senator Entertainment
HollywoodNews.com: I don’t know why Senator Entertainment has finally exhumed “Fireflies in the Garden,” produced by Julia Roberts. They just announced that after three years, Americans can be exposed to this undercooked and rather dull “family drama.” Robert produced it for husband Danny Moder, who did the cinematography. But otherwise, she’s really not a major player in this minor offering.
“Fireflies” has already been released internationally, making a little over $3 million. It was very popular in places where English is a second language, like Germany and Italy. In the United Kingdom, where the audience could understand what was happening, no one went. I guess the idea now is that Ryan Reynolds, who stars in the film, has built up a following.
I thought by now “Fireflies” would be on DVD. I can’t believe it hasn’t been shown on airplanes and elsewhere. Roberts has not turned out to be a great producer. Earlier this year, her “Jesus Henry Christ” was released to general apathy. As for Senator, I thought they’d gone out of business.
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