In Cloud Atlas, the ambitious adaptation of David Mitchell’s sprawling novel by the Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer (out tomorrow), six interlocking but initially unrelated stories are told, decades or even centuries apart, and to further the film’s everything-is-connected theme, the filmmakers had most of their cast take roles — large and small — in each of the stories. Some do it more successfully than others (Hugo Weaving is as versatile as ever, but Tom Hanks’ Cockney gangster is, erm, a bit of a stretch), but it’s an endurance test that actors love to take, the kind of challenge that makes a thesp’s mouth water. Cloud Atlas marks one of the few occasions that multi-role performances (and by that we mean more than two) have been taken on in service of a serious film, however; it’s usually, but not always, a gimmick for character-based comedians. At any rate, we’ve assembled a few of our very favorite performances by actors who decided to flex their chameleon muscles; check them out after the jump. … Read More
Michael J. Fox
The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories
1. While sources yesterday suggested that director Tony Scott, who died in an apparent suicide Sunday, had inoperable brain cancer, his family has denied those reports. [via LA Times]
2. You know that new Michael J. Fox sitcom that’s caused a bidding war among major netowkrs? Increasingly desperate NBC has won the series… Read More
Video Essay: “All of Woody’s Surrogates”
Woody Allen’s flawed but funny new film To Rome with Love opens this Friday, and while it marks his first acting appearance in one of his movies since 2006′s Scoop, he plays the role of a retired father while continuing his tradition of writing his leading man as a “Woody Allen role” — played, in this film, by Jesse Eisenberg. In his early works, Allen would occasionally engage a young actor to play himself as a child, but as he got too old to play the leading man (okay, let’s face it, after he’d gotten a little too old to play the leading man), he began putting younger actors in roles that were still distinctively Woody-esque, and which said actors played as varying degrees of imitation. We’ve assembled a montage of those actors and some of their most Allen-inspired moments; check out our latest video essay after the jump. … Read More
12 of the Greatest Movie Roles Almost Played
The weekend’s big movie, as you well know, was The Hunger Games, while DVD and Blu-ray players have been firing up Fincher’s Girl with the Dragon Tattoo since its release last week. The two films have a lot in common: powerful female protagonists, adaptations of bestsellers, probable franchise kick-offs. As such, they were also each objects of carefully considered casting. It’s become part of the pre-production process, the bandying about of potential name actors for high-profile roles; Fincher reportedly talked to Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, Anne Hathaway, Natalie Portman, Kristen Stewart, and Scarlett Johansson before settling on Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander, while Hunger Games director Gary Ross’ alternate Katnisses included Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, Emma Roberts, Chloe Moretz, and Saoirse Ronan.
Contemplating proxy casting choices is a fun parlor game for movie fans (perhaps second only to considering movies that never came to pass at all). After the jump, we’ll take a look at a dozen iconic movie roles, and the actors who almost, almost filled them. … Read More
10 Entirely Unwelcome Movie Sequels
As you’ve surely noticed from the lines of ecstatic moviegoers camped out on the sidewalks of your local cineplex (/sarcasm), Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is out tomorrow. Try to contain your excitement. Yes, in their infinite wisdom, Hollywood has spent $75 million to grind out a sequel to Ghost Rider, a film that nobody liked and nobody wanted to see more of. So why on earth does Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance exist? Ah, here we go: because beloved or no, the first film grossed $115 million, and while that may be a meager profit on a reported $110 million budget (seriously? SERIOUSLY?), it pretty much doubled that gross overseas. As they say, it’s show business, kids, and if there are that many ticket buyers who’ll pony up once to see Nicolas Cage flambé motorcycling around for justice, maybe they’ll do so twice. (Not to worry, though: the sequel is directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, who did Crank and, um, Crank 2. And, oh dear, Jonah Hex. Enjoy, moviegoers!)
GR:SOV (as the kids are calling it) is just the latest in Hollywood’s long, long, long history of churning out utterly inexplicable sequels. Look, let’s be clear, we’re not cinema snobs, railing against sequels on general principle: movies from Godfather II to Aliens to The Dark Knight to Harry Potter 3-7.5 have proven that you can follow up a film with equal (or even advancing) returns. But there has to be a compelling reason for it to exist: a story worth returning to, say, or even a general positive opinion of the initial outing. After the jump, we’ll take a look at a few occasions where we got a sequel, whether we wanted one or not. … Read More
What’s On at Flavorpill: The Links That Made the Rounds in Our Office
Today at Flavorpill, we learned how Matthew Weiner is planning to end Mad Men. We wanted to take a bite out of these adorable Muppets Cake Pops. We went inside of the personal libraries of some of our favorite authors. We couldn’t believe that a high school… Read More
Wanted: Marty McFly's 2015 Air Mags
Forget tales from Fashion’s Night Out, today brings us even bigger news — at last, Nike Air Mags are upon us! The light-up, powerlace kicks made their big-screen debut in 1989’s Back to the Future Part II, when Marty McFly found himself saving humanity in the year 2015. Now you can have your very own piece of Hill Valley four years ahead of schedule. The rules of the game are explained over at Nike’s eBay page — basically, we have ten days, 150 pairs of Mags auctioned off each day, and all proceeds go to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. The eBay site even has an accompanying video, starring Bill Hader and Kevin Durant, to answer the question we’ve all been wondering. … Read More
Watch a Guest Star-Packed ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ Season 8 Promo
Ana Gasteyer, Michael J. Fox, and Rich Sommer (a.k.a. Harry Crane from Mad Men) are among the celebrity guest stars who turn up in a brand-new, 52-second trailer for Season 8 of Curb Your Enthusiasm. As you may remember, this season will find Larry David back in New York, the city that made his Seinfeld-era career. Although we don’t learn much about the plot from the clip, we do see a lot of David yelling and characters calling him names, so we’re not expecting a major departure from the Curb we know and love. But, being New Yorkers, we are hoping his city-specific conflicts will be cathartic — and the scene that has him fighting over a cab is mighty promising. The show debuts July 10th on HBO. … Read More
Behind the Lens with Noted Photographer Steve Pyke
New York-based British photographer Steve Pyke — an artist known for his dramatic take on portraiture — has been staff photographer at The New Yorker since 2004. While his roots are in the late ’70s music scene, by 1980 Pyke had abandoned rock ‘n roll for the visual arts. His early work was featured in publications like The Face and NME, and in the ’90s his reputation grew thanks to a number of personal projects, specifically a series on Philosophers. His photographs are included in many permanent collections, including the National Portrait Gallery, the Imperial War Museum, the V&A in London, and the New York Public… Read More
The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories
1. Showtime is reviving The L Word as a reality show about six women living in LA — “a lesbian answer to Bravo’s Real Housewives franchise.” [via Variety]
2. Virgin Mobile FreeFest 2009 in photos [via Stereogum]
3. Sarah Palin’s dad says that she has been off the radar for the… Read More
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