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 »
If artist Rick Fortson didn’t sign his pencil drawings of film and television’s biggest celebrities, you’d have no idea that they were works of art instead of film stills or publicity photos in most cases. The incredible portraits are so realistically rendered, they mimic crisp black and white snapshots. Amazingly, Fortson is a self-taught artist, and his creations take anywhere from seven to 17 hours per piece. Head past the break to be blown away by Fortson’s amazing celebrity portraits. Read More »
Diane Keaton’s memoir, Then Again, is out today, and that’s about all the excuse we need to sing the praises of one of our all-time favorite leading ladies. In 50 films over the course of 40-plus years, Keaton has assembled a body of work that is unique in today’s cinematic landscape: she’s crafted a distinctive and memorable onscreen persona, without repeating herself or wearing out a tired shtick. After the jump, we’ve selected ten of our favorite individual moments — a scene, a conversation, even a look — from her career; add your own in the comments. 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 six new trailers this week, including new vehicles for The Rock, Kristen Stewart, and Jonah Hill (and an old one for Eddie Murphy); check ‘em out after the jump. Read More »
Where can you spy Paul McCartney and his late wife Linda making silly faces, a brunette Madonna playing hide-and-seek, and Rob Lowe rocking adorably geeky glasses? At the Hollywood parties, art openings, and clubs of the late-‘80s and early-‘90s, of course! Photographer Stephen Jerome covered the underground social gatherings and lavish soirees Tinseltown had to offer during that era, immortalizing movie stars, musicians, and fashion designers as they drank cocktails and schmoozed with other famous party-goers. Click through the jump to see some of our favorite photos from his collection and visit Jerome’s site for more old-school celebrity party shots. Read More »
Hollywood has a way of telling us who we are and who we should be, and there’s no one more amenable to its requests than its own biggest commodities — actors. The handful of molds are generally unchanging: the blonde bimbo, the unmarriageable brunette, the debonair gentleman, the dopey, dorky friend. Any number of people can fill these steadfast forms — Jean Harlows are replaced by Grace Kellys are replaced by Marilyn Monroes are replaced by Madonnas. But once an actor has been molded into an archetype, it’s often difficult for them to be anything else. Still, even those who get caught in the quicksand of typecasting can sometimes eventually make it out, like these pigeonholed actors, who, for better or for worse, finally played a kind of different role.
1. After spending the past seven years fighting Mark Zuckerberg, the beefy Winklevoss twins have decided not to take a challenge to their $65 million 2008 settlement to the Supreme Court. Facebook’s rather glib response to the news: “We’ve considered this case closed for a long time, and we’re pleased to see the other party now agrees.” [via Consumerist]
2. James “Whitey” Bulger, the legendary Boston crime boss who inspired Jack Nicholson’s crazy character in The Departed and was one of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted, has been arrested in Santa Monica after spending more than 15 years on the lam. [via Gawker]
3. Last night’s 100th performance of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying was canceled when a 29-year-old stagehand died from a heart attack that police are saying was related to a drug overdose. [via NYT]
4. According to Digital Spy, Emma Stone has been offered the lead role in the Craig Gillespie-helmed film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Natalie Portman, who was previously rumored to be playing Elizabeth Bennet, is still a producer on the project.
5. Here’s the first photo of Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit, courtesy of this week’s issue of Entertainment Weekly. Tolkien fans: Is it everything that you’d hoped it would be?
Well kids, Father’s Day is Sunday, so we hope you’ve bought your tie or drill or whatever. Dads always get the shaft in the holiday sweepstakes; mothers get flowers, candy, elaborate gifts, songs written for them, shout-outs on television, and, let’s face it, fathers sorta get taken for granted. But if the movies have taught us one thing, it’s that the potential for being a terrible father is limitless. We’ve compiled a list of the worst fathers in movie history; check it out after the jump, and maybe give Dad an extra hug on Sunday.
The entertainment news cycle brings no shortage of casting announcements, but only rarely do we actually get excited about the news that a certain actor has been matched with a certain role. For instance, we were thrilled to hear, earlier this week, that Chloë Sevigny is slated to play Lizzie Borden in an HBO miniseries — and that she has, in fact, been staying at the bed and breakfast in Fall River, MA where Borden may or may not have killed her father and stepmother. Who better to take on such a morally ambiguous role than the woman who is just finishing her run as a delightfully selfish, short-fused (but ultimately well-meaning) character on Big Love?
Sevigny, we concluded, was born to play dark, fascinating roles. And that got us thinking about other actors who are at their best when portraying villains. Our top ten is after the jump.
Jack Nicholson has been an enigmatic figure for his entire career, from his early days in counterculture classics like Easy Rider and Psych-Out to his ’70s heyday to his more recent, grumpy-old-man days (As Good As It Gets, About Schmidt). He’s palled around with some of pop culture’s most divisive icons, including Keith Richards and Roman Polanski. And he’s probably slept with more women than we’ve even met.
Nicholson really opened up in a recent interview with The Daily Mail(unlikely, we know). At 73 years old, he seems to have reflected a great deal on the life he’s led, and his insights are truly impressive. The entire piece is a great read, but we’ve picked out some of Nicholson’s greatest nuggets of wisdom — on women, debauchery, legalizing pot, and growing old — after the jump.
