Rampart, Owen Moverman’s tough urban drama featuring Woody Harrelson as a somewhat less than principled LA police officer, goes into limited release tomorrow (following a brief Oscar-qualification run in December), and while the movie itself is pretty good, we must take some exception to its bold poster and trailer tag line: “The most corrupt cop you’ve ever seen on screen.” Well, that is a might tall claim. After the jump, we’ll run down ten previous movie cops who could give Harrelson’s Dave Brown a run for his money.
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1. Beyoncé threw on a form-fitting red dress and made her first post-pregnancy public appearance last night at Carnegie Hall, where Jay-Z was performing for the first time. [via Daily News]
2. Alcon Entertainment’s Andrew Kosove is “adamantly denying” rumors that Harrison Ford is in talks to join the cast of the Blade Runner sequel. “To be clear, what we are trying to do with Ridley [Scott] now is go through the painstaking process of trying to break the back of the story, figure out the direction we’re going to take the movie and find a writer to work on it,” he says. “The casting of the movie could not be further from our minds at this moment.” [via Slashfilm]
3. “I am certainly not politically affiliated with Mr. Obama. It was meant to be a message about, just about job growth and the spirit of America. I think all politicians will agree with it. I thought the spirit was OK.” — Clint Eastwood responds to the controversy surrounding his Super Bowl ad.
4. Due to time constraints, it sounds like neither one of the two nominees in the Best Original Song category will be performed at this year’s Oscars. We’re curious: What does the Academy have against a domesticated macaw and the Muppets? [via Deadline]
5. Theater columnist Michael Riedel was OK with being referred to as “a Napoleonic little Nazi who writes for the Post” in last night’s premiere episode of Smash. “Well, of course I was flattered to be mentioned,” he tells Vulture. “But to be perfectly arrogant about it, I don’t think you can do a TV show about the Broadway world without including a powerful and notorious Broadway gossip columnist. And who better to play that role than moi?”
Bonus Buzz: 10 “Health Foods” That Aren’t As Healthy As You Think
In the days leading up to the Super Bowl, we witnessed the usual chatter and previews of the high-dollar car ads for the big game: a Ferris Bueller-channeling Matthew Broderick for Honda, the return of Volkswagen’s Darth Vader kid, Audi’s teen vampire killer, etc. But the game’s most memorable — and thought-provoking — ad came at halftime, as an American movie icon fronted a Chrysler spot that was part car commercial, part pro-Detroit PR clip, and part political campaign ad. We’ll take a closer look at what it says (and doesn’t say) after the jump.
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Last weekend, two new films opened by famous filmmakers who are, to varying degrees, getting the hell out of the film business. Haywire director Steven Soderbergh has been teasing his early retirement for months now; it’s somewhat comical, actually, the way he keeps adding in projects that he wants to do before his self-imposed exile. George Lucas, who spent decades getting Red Tails made, told The New York Times that he was retiring, at least from the business of making blockbuster films (maybe).
Soderbergh is 49. Lucas is 67. Making movies doesn’t have a mandatory retirement age, like fighting fires or flying planes. But should it?
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[Editor's note: While your Flavorwire editors take a much-needed holiday break, we're revisiting some of our most popular features of the year. This post was originally published August 10, 2011.] Earlier this summer, a shocking number of our readers flocked to read (and amend) our list of the harshest author-on-author insults in history. But you know who is even more childish, trifling, vindictive, and nasty than your favorite scribes? Your favorite filmmakers. These directors may not have quite the same precision with the written word as those rancorous authors, but when it comes to pettiness, they can’t be beat. After the jump, we’ll run down 30 of our favorite slights, slanders, and cheap shots from filmmakers both classic and contemporary; we’d love to hear yours in the comments.
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This week, we read about one of Rooney Mara’s first acting gigs, as a guest on Law & Order: SVU. She’s not proud of the moment, calling the role “ridiculous,” which, let’s be honest, it probably was. But there’s not necessarily any shame in that. After all, many great (or at least famous) actors started out doing bit parts in cheesy movies and TV shows, especially in horror flicks, crime procedurals and soap operas. Inspired by Mara, we’ve decided to take a look at some of the most notorious (and unknown) early roles of actors and actresses who have stood the test of time. Obviously, every actor has to start somewhere, so there are an unlimited number of these, but these are our personal favorites — be sure to chime in with your own in the comments! Read More »
There’s been talk about a possible updating of Mary Harron’s American Psycho — based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis — for some time now. Word has arrived that Lionsgate is actually pushing forward with a remake of the twisted classic. The studio has brought on screenwriting unknown Noble Jones to update the story about yuppie psychotic, Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), who slaughters his way through the 1980s. The studio will be hard-pressed to find another actor that can fill Bale’s (very expensive) shoes for the now famous role that became the symbol of cultural narcissism, materialism, and greed. Bale’s performance embodies everything Ellis set forth in his novel so perfectly, we think it will be impossible to top. What other iconic movie roles can never be remade? Click through to check out our picks, and leave yours in the comments below. Read More »
Welcome to “Trailer Park,” our regular Friday feature where we collect the week’s new trailers all in one place and do a little “judging a book by its cover,” ranking them from worst to best and taking our best guess at what they may be hiding. We’ve got ten new trailers this week, from biopics to historical epics to documentaries to thrillers; check ‘em out after the jump.
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Woodstock. McCabe and Mrs. Miller. Klute. Dirty Harry. A Clockwork Orange. What’s Up, Doc? The Candidate. Deliverance. Super Fly. Scarecrow. Enter the Dragon. Mean Streets. Badlands. The Exorcist. Blazing Saddles. Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Uptown Saturday Night. Night Moves. Dog Day Afternoon. The Man Who Would Be King. All The President’s Men. The Outlaw Josey Wales. The Late Show. Oh God! The Goodbye Girl. Straight Time. Superman. Going In Style. The Great Santini. That astonishing list of 1970s films — iconic, intelligent, commercial yet daring — is much of the legacy of John Calley, who died Tuesday morning at age 81.
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Since the days of Andy Warhol, the art world has openly engaged with the cult of celebrity. It’s not uncommon for an artist to use celebrities’ likenesses in their pieces — Daniel Edwards has made a career out of sculpting public figures like Britney Spears in provocative positions — yet rarely does one see works as lifelike and simple as Carmen Ortiz’s illustrations. A self-taught artist, Ortiz creates pencil portraits that are remarkably detailed and beautifully shaded. With the increasing popularity of digital artwork, her hand-drawn portraits are a refreshing change. Click through to see some of our favorite portraits of actors and musicians, including Thom Yorke and Anne Hathaway. If you’re interested in seeing more of her work or purchasing a print, head over to Ortiz’s website.
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