Captain Americas attire, Lost meets The Avengers, Charlie Sheens jail time and other celebrity criminals, Tupac biopic, new trailers, and more!

Big news dropped yesterday with Guillermo del Toro's departure from the much publicised Hobbit movie. It was scheduled for a Christmas 2012 release although it was switched to a 2-part release with the second part coming along in 2013. According to del Toro the studio hasn't even signed off on the film officially though. Which is really bad news for Tolkien fans. They were surely hoping that with del Toro onboard and Peter Jackson involved as a producer capacity that the film would get the greenlight and turn up trumps. No such luck. It seems that MGM isn't willing to spend the cash on something that they consider a risk. Especially with their own future unsettled by their deepening financial crisis. So, bad news for movie fans. If a sure-thing like The Hobbit isn't within the realms of affordability then what chance do other ambitious projects stand?

NEWS!

Yahoo Non-news

The two major news stories on Yahoo's movie news this morning were the announcement of a sequel to Sherlock Holmes, which everyone else has known about since March, and the Superman re-boot, which was announced in February. Apparently they have an official release date of December 2012 now. Odd how that release date coincides with The Hobbit removing itself from the same slot. The film will be entitled Superman: Man of Steel and will be written by David S. Goyer. The entire project being overseen by Chris Nolan as part of his deal with Warners to make sure they don't balls up their other superhero projects.

Captain America rumours persist

Now that Cap has been cast, along with everyone else, the big rumbling around the movie is the costume. Cap has one of the more iconic costumes in superhero history and seeing as most of Marvel's main hero characters have retained the essence of their costumes it stands to reason that Cap will too. Mike Sampson over at JoBlo.com has seen the costume however. He describes it as a military based costume. The traditional hood is replaced with a helmet bearing the familiar "A". Which means no wings and hence no "Winghead". Much of the rest of the costume will have elements of the original comic book version but won't look entirely the same. It seems to be a functional military uniform, which isn't drastically different to some of the things Cap has taken to wearing in the comics for military missions in the past decade. Utility belts, army boots, straps and so on. You have to keep in mind this is the WWII version of Cap who was designed for military purposes. So it does make sense. Apparently the shield, which is perhaps even a bigger symbol than the costume, is as normal. Before everyone goes mental and cries foul Marvel have generally gotten costumes looking right before they start shooting and based on the description this does sound like it might be ok. I was most concerned for the shield if I'm honest and that seems largely untouched by the changes to make this a more realistic superhero costume. The big questions may come when Cap makes his way into a more modern setting. Will he be in the classic' attire then? Or will he be scaled back like X-Men? Time will tell.

Oh, Charlie Sheen, will you never learn?

TMZ.com, those lovers of scandalous celebrity behaviour, have been long-term fans of the antics of Charlie Sheen. Going back to May 26th they broke the story that Sheen would face jail time because of an incident last December where he threatened his wife with a knife. Sheen decided to take 30 days in an Aspen jail over probation because he just can't stay out of trouble. He should be out in 17 days with good behaviour and this reflects an increasing trend of celebrities actually getting sent down. Gone are the times where celebrities were above the law and could behave any way they pleased. In this modern age of the internet and fast moving news it's near impossible for the big studio lawyers to keep everything under wraps. You think Howard Hughes could get away with shooting Thomas Ince nowadays if someone uploaded the video to YouTube from the boat? Seeing as Sheen is about to be incarcerated here's my favourite celebrity jail sentences

She did 23 days for violation of her original charge in 2007. She had her driving licence suspended for drunk driving and persisted in driving, and badly at that, for months afterwards. It seemed to be a new dawn in actual celebrity punishment although Paris made a point of arguing her sentence all the way and tried to get herself transferred during her 23 days because she couldn't hack it.

2. Vince Neil. Although this was another drink driving offender Vince, lead singer of Motley Crue, went one further and actually crashed his car into oncoming traffic. His passenger, and Hanoi Rocks drummer, Nicholas Dingley was killed. Neil was given 30 days (!) for vehicular manslaughter and got out in just 15 days. 15 days for killing someone! Kiefer Sutherland did 48 days for driving after too many beers. It's tales like this from the 80s that reveal where the ire of the general public at celebrity behaviour stemmed from. Celebrities shouldn't be allowed to get away with breaking the law to THIS degree. The family of the victim were paid $2.6M by Neil as part of his punishment.

3. Robert Downey Jr. Hollywood loves a comeback and Downey Jr had a hell of a place to come back from. In the late 90s he was a punchline. He was first arrested in 1996 in possession of Class A drugs and a firearm while speeding! What a combination! He was arrested again for trespassing after getting high and wandering into his neighbour's house to go to sleep. In 1997 he finally went to jail after missing a mandatory drug test. He served 4 months but failed to turn up for another drug test in 1999 and ended up in jail for a year although he spent most of that in a substance abuse facility getting clean. He was arrested two further times for being under the influence and possession of cocaine. His last arrest was in 2001 and since then he's turned his career around.

4. Kiefer Sutherland. Another to fall afoul of drink driving, perhaps not a shock considering Kiefer's legendary drinking sessions, he served 48 days in jail in 2008. Originally he'd planned to spread his jail term out around 24 but the writer's strike allowed him to do all his bird in one go. And without any complaints. Good man.

5. Michelle Rodriguez.

Another fan of drunk driving she's been in jail on three separate occasions for drink driving and also has a tonne of tickets for speeding. She's been released every time she's been to jail early because of overcrowding. Even her 60 day sentence saw her serve less than 24 hours. She's also been guilty of other driving offences including a hit and run and escaped an assault charge back in 2002. Michelle, when will you learn?

I would include Wesley Snipes here but he's not actually gone to jail yet despite being sentenced to 3 years for failure to disclose earnings and avoiding tax in 2008. He's still out of jail on appeal and is allowed to travel for his job. Maybe the system isn't quite so slick after all.

Nick Nolte also hasn't been inside despite being arrested in 2002. He received a suspended sentence and surprisingly kept his nose clean since. Christian Slater also avoided a lengthy spell inside despite fondling a woman on the street and making drinking a way of life. In 1998 he very nearly went inside after trying to pick a fight with the cops after duffing up his girlfriend. Oops.

Fuqua tackles Tupac

According to Digital Spy acclaimed director Antoine Fuqua will be doing a biopic of rap legend Tupac Shakur as his next project. Good news if you're an up and coming actor/rapper as well. He's looking for an unknown to take the lead role. He's planning on taking his casting sessions to "the streets" in search of his Tupac. Fuqua made a name for himself shooting music videos for artists like Prince, Stevie Wonder, Toni Braxton and Arrested Development. His first movie was 1998's Replacement Killers; Chow Yun Fat's attempt to crack Hollywood. 3 years later Fuqua became a well known and respected director for his work on Training Day. Denzel Washington won an Oscar for his crazy OTT portrayal of LA cop Alonzo Harris. "King Kong ain't got shit on me". His career faltered since but he returned to his roots to make Brooklyn's Finest and is also in pre-production on Consent to Kill another action thriller. He is also linked to Bruce Willis prison drama The Tomb.

Ken Watanabe to step behind camera

Cinematic tough guy Ken Watanabe looks set to follow in the footsteps of another cinematic bad ass Clint Eastwood and take up directing. The movie in question is called 442nd and is about a squadron of American/Japanese soldiers used in virtual suicide missions in Nazi Germany during World War II. I like Watanabe and he seems fairly strong willed and determined, which are great characteristics for someone who wants to direct. He's seen a master at work too having starred in Eastwood's Letters From Iwo Jima; the excellent WWII movie about conditions on Iwo Jima for the Japanese soldiers ahead of and during the American invasion of the island. Watanabe has been making a name for himself in the Western world of movies lately. He starred in Last Samurai opposite The Cruiser. He also appeared in Batman Begins battling the titular hero. He's also starring in the upcoming Inception; the latest from Batman director Christopher Nolan due out next month.

And the Avengers movie rumours begin

Josh Holloway

Just when you thought it was safe and all the Avengers casting was pretty much done (Cap, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk and Nick Fury are all taken care of) here comes the latest batch of rumours and we'll be hearing them for a long, long time. With the Avengers movie still 2 years away it seems as if Marvel are keen to get a cast ready. The latest name to be mentioned in connection with the ensemble is Josh Holloway. People who didn't watch Lost would perhaps be forgiven for going "huh"? at the name. Holloway played Sawyer, one of the most popular characters, on Lost and with the show over is looking for something to do. The rumour mill has him being lined up for a part. But which one? Potentially it could be anyone but Avengersnews has him lined up as Hawkeye, Ant-Man or Dum Dum Dugan. Personally I'd rather they kept the cast as small as possible in order to get all their heavyweights onscreen for sufficient screen time but if they do add another hero I'd love it to be Hawkeye. I'm a total mark for Clint Barton. Nathan Fillion has also been connected to the production but that's to be expected with Joss Whedon in charge.

Not forgetting X-Men: First Class

James McAvoy

We already know two major pieces of news regarding XM:FC but here's an interesting footnote connecting them. Matthew Vaughn was hired to direct a while back and this week we got confirmation that James McAvoy will play a young Professor Charles Xavier. And who should be photographed taking lunch with both of these people just before the McAvoy announcement? Aaron "Kick-Ass" Johnson! I personally think McAvoy is too young to even play a "young" Professor X but could Johnson be tapped up to play Cyclops? Again this is pretty tenuous. They might just have been getting something to eat and both needed a word with Vaughn but doesn't the timing seem strange? These things do happen in the world of movies.

TRAILERS!!

The Cruiser talks Knight and Day. Looking forward to it.

Scott Pilgrim Vs the World. This looks completely mental but I must keep faith in Edgar Wright. He's not steered me wrong yet although he does normally have Simon Pegg knocking around to help dish out fried gold.

13 Assassins. The latest from Takashi Miike. Well, probably not the latest, he's probably directed 6 movies since he made this.

CHART WATCH

We always get the run-down on the top 10 movies in the US. 411 does a post updating it every weekend and it's covered in other news columns at the head of the week. With Chart Watch I thought I'd take a look at how certain movies are doing on the all-time lists. Here's this week's Chart Watch;

Please note that this information was compiled on Monday before Monday's figures were available. Seeing as I don't live in America I'm not used to Memorial Day weekend. I'll try and amend that next year. Four day weekend figures had Prince of Persia ahead of Sex and the City 2 and Shrek 4 on a gargantuan $57M.

2010 Releases;

Iron Man 2 has tagged another $50M on its gross worldwide. So $550M so far. That's still way off Alice in Wonderland (at over a billion dollars now), which seems to have had success during a time of the year where there were no other major releases. Its looking increasingly like a fine gambit from The Mouse to get it out there in the hole between Avatar and the summer months. Robin Hood is up to $237M globally, which puts it in 6th place just behind Shutter Island on the year. Shrek 4 has cracked the top ten but only has $158M worldwide so far. In the US the failure of this weekend's two big releases has allowed Shrek 4 to calmly rake in $133M. That's good enough for 5th spot on the year if you're just going on US box office. Iron Man 2 is seeing some movement here as it aims to take down Alice and is up to $274M, which puts it ahead of Iron Man in the same timeframe. Iron Man finished with $318M so its not unreasonable to suggest that Iron Man 2 will beat Alice's US tally and in the process become the biggest movie of 2010so far.

All Time!!

Iron Man 2 has claimed 6 spots on the chart this week climbing to #45. That puts it ahead of Shrek and Harry Potter 2. The Hangover is at #44 with $277M, which is just another $3M on IM2's current score. The original Iron Man sits at #24 and I think we're looking at this movie beating that total. Top 20 is definitely a possibility. I would suggest Spider Man 3 and its $336M are in Tony Stark's sights. If you wondering how this compares overseas; Iron Man 2 has clocked up $550M, which is the same as King Kong (Peter Jackson version) and good enough for #60 on the all time chart. The original Iron Man only did $585M for its entire run globally. So IM2 is looking to beat that quite substantially.

May

May continues to shock and surprise with its underachieving pictures. Sex and the City 2 wasn't a big success and despite a 90% female turnout the picture debuted to $32M and the story wasn't any brighter for the considerably more expensive Prince of Persia, which started out with $30M. The movie was a hard sell because no one wants to see video game adaptations (they suck) and no one wants to see a movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal (his movies average $36M gross) and no one wants to see a movie set in the desert. It was a tough sell. So why spend $200M on it? I guess Disney was hoping to recreate the Pirates of the Caribbean vibe with a big budget movie from something not normally considered worthwhile. After all Pirates was based on a theme park ride. BUT Pirates also had Johnny Depp and it was funny and exciting. The big winners out of all this failure are Iron Man 2, retaining 60% of its audience, and Shrek 4, which had an even better hold. $43M banked this weekend alone. Keep in mind that if you include Thursday then Sex and the City 2 would have $46M. Which doesn't look quite so bad and is closer what people were expecting. POP is staring disaster in the face though.

Movers and Shakers

Ok, lets try and find something positive before Jake Gyllenhaal shoots himself. The desert adventure movie is a hard sell, we've established that, so lets look at how POP fares against other desert based movies. For an opening weekend its not far off Scorpion King, which ended up taking $91M. That would only represent a loss of $109M-ish. Eddie Murphy does that all the time. Its already topped $45M budgeted action drama Flight of the Phoenix. POP has already doubled the total for Ishtar as well! See, its doing ok. Those who say movies set in the desert don't take any money need only look at The Mummy and Mummy Returns; both of which banked huge dollar.

We've also been told that movies set in medieval times don't make any money. So isn't it weird that Hollywood totally went with a desert movie for $200M and also this medieval set film for $200M. It seems like a waste of a perfectly good $400M! Robin Hood started out quite badly so it should be pleasant news for POP fans that it has $86M banked so far. That's more money than Braveheart ($75M), Ever After ($63M) and Willow ($57M). These are basically the most successful medieval films that don't feature Robin Hood. Most other films set in medieval times feature King Arthur, the legend of Excalibur and other assorted knight-based antics. The bad news for Robin Hood is that Kevin Costner's attempt at the same legend Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves took a princely $165M and that was in 1991. Plus Bryan Adams made a couple of quid flogging singles on the side. This movie has a long, long way to go before it hits that level of success. It'd need impossible holds for the rest of the summer. Not going to happen.

Seeing as someone asked I figured I'd take a look at where Just Wright sits compared to Hoosiers in terms of basketball movies. Just Wright has $18M so far. Hoosiers took home $28M. That places it 8th in terms of basketball movies. Here's the basketballin' top ten

1 Space Jam $90M 2 White Men Can't Jump $76M 3 Coach Carter $67M 4 Like Mike $51M 5 Glory Road $42M 6 Semi-Pro $33M 7 Eddie $31M 8 Hoosiers $28M 9 Love & Basketball $27M 10 Air Bud $23M

If it gets lucky Just Wright might even force its way onto the scoreboard. Its currently sitting 14th. Meanwhile Letters to Juliet continues to successfully net box office dollars climbing to $36M. As far as Italian travelogue movies go it's the 4th biggest earner of all time. Beaten by Talented Mr Ripley, Under a Tuscan Sun and The Lizzie McGuire Movie. The last one was Disney and starred Hilary Duff in case you were wondering.

Worst performer compared to last week? MacGruber! And lets face it, the debut last week wasn't a strong one. 63% down on last week and there is a danger that it might not even scrape back that $10M budget. Oh boy! Its still in over 2,500 theaters! That makes for an average of $580 per theater, which is terrible. They literally forced this one down people's throats and they've puked it back up. I expect every theater with any sense to dump it next weekend to make room for absolutely anything else. BOMB!

Nightmare on Elm Street and Furry Vengeance both coughed up a load of screens this weekend to make space for new releases. Elm Street was pretty much done anyway with $61M. Not a bad haul although like most horror movies it dropped off sharply after the opening weekend. FV meanwhile has taken $16M, which should just about take care of Brendan Fraser's salary. It'll lose about $20M. People just hated this movie.

Next Week

There's a tonne of movies out this weekend. Get Him to the Greek is the big release. Chances of it toppling Shrek 450/50. Also out are Marmaduke, which should capture the kiddy summer crowd, Splice and Killers. If Get Him to the Greek gets top spot it'll probably be a surprise what with Shrek 4 retaining so much of its audience. Shrek 4 retaining audience would also be bad news for Marmaduke, which would have been hoping for that movie to die off before this weekend. Not happening. Shrek 4 can keep rolling in cash until A-Team on June 11th. Smooth move from DreamWorks. Especially considering how badly the movie opened.

You can follow 411 on Twitter

TWITTER

http://www.twitter.com/411mania http://www.twitter.com/411wrestling http://www.twitter.com/411moviestv http://www.twitter.com/411music http://www.twitter.com/411games http://www.twitter.com/411mma

Movies Roundtable for June. I contributed along with Shawn Lealos, Joseph Lee, Bryan Kristopowitz and Jeremy Thomas. Big up to JT for continuing to compile this 411 office tradition.

Les Grossman's production values rock.

One for the road. What are you having Kyle?

Until next time, I'm Arnold Furious and you're not.

Post Comment (4)  |  Email Arnold Furious  |  View Arnold Furious's 411 Profile

Furious Movie News 06.03.10: The Pabst Blue Ribbon Edition

Replacing the federal agents' guns with walkie-talkies in the re-release of E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial was dumb.Just because you had kids in real life doesn't mean that you can't threaten fake kids with shotguns. It's not reality, it's a movie, and it teaches kids watching not to mess with the feds. If kids thought law enforcement officials only carried walkie-talkies, we'd be living in Logan's Run by now.

A.I.: Artificial Intelligence should have ended 15 minutes earlier. Not only was it kinda long, but the whole ending with the crazy futuristic robots chipping through the ice to find David, as well as their re-creation of David's house and cloning of his mother, totally took away from the real happy ending: the freezing of Haley Joel Osment for eternity.

You totally cheated in Saving Private Ryan. By starting out with the old man's eye remembering the beaches at Normandy, then showing Tom Hanks' eyes, you made it seem like the old man was Hanks. Then you had it turn out to be Matt Damon, who wasn't even at Normandy, and on top of that you killed Hanks. You owe us $10 and a box of Jujubes.

Whatever the Lost Boys were eating in Hook was gross. It looked like food, but everything seemed to be made of frosting. We think it might have been imaginary (it's not really explained how they wish it into being), but it must have been partially real to be effective, and it therefore had us concerned about those kids' caloric intake. Just look at Thud Butt — that boy is headed for a coronary.

Why did you never make a big-screen Even Stevens movie? The TV show starred the handsome and outspoken Shia LaBeouf, one of the greatest, most sensitive artists in the world, and it could have launched him to stardom years before Disturbia, which he was also great in. The guy is clearly a genius, so way to drop the ball.

The Terminal was really boring. No further comment, really. Just thought you should know.

What do you think of Shia's commentary? Put your foot in your mouth below, and then see our guide to the Most Unnecessary Sequels!

Want to immediately access TWoP content no matter where you are online? Download the free TWoP toolbar for your web browser. Already have a customized toolbar? Then just add our free toolbar app to get updated on our content as soon it's published.

Shia LaBeouf: More Complaints About Steven Spielberg

Tonight's tribute provides an opportunity to reconsider Lewis, whose neglected work seems largely to be considered tragically unhip by contemporary academics. If Lewis (pictured above at right at MGM with John Erskine, Michael Arlen and John Van Druten) is remembered at all by the public, he's often confused with the similarly named Upton Sinclair, the source for "There Will be Blood."

It's not as if Hollywood always showed Lewis respect even when he was alive and a best-selling novelist.

Take the seldom-seen "Babbitt" (1934), which kicks off the evening at 8 p.m. EST. Very loosely based on Lewis' almost plotless 1922 classic, it's a vehicle for Warner Bros. stalwart Guy Kibbee, usually seen in supporting roles in "A" pictures. Kibbee was born to play Lewis' glad-handing realtor, who in this version is caught in both a breach of promise suit and a real-estate scandal.

The wonderful Aline McMahon, often cast opposite the much-older Kibbee (most notably in "Golddiggers of 1933") is top-billed as Babbitt's long-suffering and much smarter wife, who frequently gets him out of jams. Despite the novel's fame William Keighley's much more lighthearted movie (which ditches most of the novel's satire and all of its cynicism) was advertised as a followup to an earlier McMahon-Kibbee teaming, "Big Hearted Herbert."

The character of Babbitt (who became such a synonym for mindless boosterism that you can see the musical number "The Babbitt and the Bromide" with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly in "The Ziegfeld Follies" and "That's Entertainment!") reappears, perfectly played by ace character actor Edward Andrews, in "Elmer Gantry," perhaps the best-known Lewis film adapation these days (and the most recent to date), which is almost perversely not included in tonight's tribute.

John Cromwell's more faithful adaption of "Ann Vickers" (also 1934), starring Irene Dunne and Walter Huston as a social worker and a married judge follows.

Huston also stars in the finest of the films derived from Lewis, William Wyler's "Dodsworth" (1936) with Ruth Chatterton and Mary Astor outstanding as his wife and mistress in this quintessential story of idle, rich Americans abroad. Gregory Peck tried unsuccessfully to mount a remake in the early '80s, which tells you how far out of fashion Lewis had fallen by that point. Even producer Samuel Goldwyn Jr., who fabled father produced the original, told me he thought the film was dated.

But Lewis was a huge deal when John Ford, no less, brought "Arrowsmith" (1930) to the screen for Goldwyn Sr. Ronald Colman plays the crusading doctor, Helen Hayes his wife and Mryna Loy has one of her first good roles as the woman who tempts him. Unfortunately, the film apparently only survives in prints from post-Code reissues.

George Sidney's glossy MGM melodrama "Cass Timberlane" (1947) from one of Lewis' later works, stars Spencer Tracy as a judge who courts gossip when he marries a younger woman (Lana Turner) from the wrong side of the tracks.

"I Married a Doctor" (1936), tonight's last film, is an alias for the second screen version of Lewis' "Main Street," which had been filmed as a silent. The 1934 "Babbitt," also a remake, had not been a box-office success, so Warners downplayed the Lewis byline for this version with Pat O'Brien and Josephine Hutchinson, directed by Archie Mayo. Even if Lewis won a Pulitzer for this novel.

DVR alert: Sinclair Lewis in Hollywood

Just a few months after I started this site, I got the opportunity to meet Dennis Hopper in New York. I had just flown in to cover the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, and attended a rare screening of a restored version of Curtis Harrington's Night Tide (1961) that evening. Hopper surprised all of us by making an appearance to give an impromptu discussion on the film, his first as a lead. As I recount elsewhere, the screening of this surreal love story between a sailor and a mermaid took a turn for the stranger due to some inadvertent rearranging of the film's second and third reel. Hopper seemed fairly irritated, but as I braced myself for the actor-director to explode in a rant derived from some bizarre melding of his photojournalist character in Apocalypse Now with Blue Velvet's deranged Frank Booth, I was instead pleasantly surprised to see the actor-director take a breath and begin to get us up to speed on the plot points we'd missed from the misplaced second reel.

The younger iconoclastic Hopper got to work with an eclectic list of directors, including Nicholas Ray (Rebel Without a Cause), George Stevens (Giant), and Andy Warhol (Tarzan and Jane Regained… Sort Of), before directing Easy Rider (1969), a pivotal film which helped propel American cinema into one of its most fertile periods. Offscreen, the same rebellious reputation he fostered with drug-induced escapades slowly made him radioactive careerwise: sometimes wrongly, like when he and director Ray collided over Ray's affair with Hopper's then-girlfriend Natalie Wood while shooting Rebel, or passively provoked the right-wing John Wayne into chasing him around with a gun on the set of True Grit(1969) simply because of his association with the radical left; but more often than not rightly, like when he allegedly pulled a knife on actor Rip Torn on the set of Easy Rider before replacing him with Jack Nicholson. With his newfound success, though, came a growing maturity. Rarely one to hold grudges, he would later help Ray secure a teaching job after the elder director had fallen on hard times.

It wasn't until many years later that Hopper's standing as both an actor and director would solidify. Francis Coppola's rehiring of Hopper on Rumble Fish (1983) after his manic, improvised performance onApocalypse Now (1979) seemed to point the way as to how to best use the actor. But 1986's one-two (three if you count his minor role in River's Edge) punch as the horrifying Booth in David Lynch's masterpiece Blue Velvet and as the town drunk Shooter in Hoosiers proved a disciplined Hopper had the range to ply his craft in ways he hadn't demonstrated before.

The Eighties also gave us some underrated films by Hopper the director. Nominated for the Palme D'Or at Cannes, Out of the Blue (1980) is just about the grimmest character study I've ever seen, benefitting greatly by the inspired casting of Linda Manz (Days of Heaven). 1988's Colors is an early look at the realities of gang life in South Central L.A. with two solid performances by the unusual team of Robert Duval and Sean Penn. But his most assured film came in 1990, The Hot Spot, a neo-noir with a Southern hothouse twist, that stars Don Johnson, Virginia Madsen and Jennifer Connelly (with a superb soundtrack by Miles Davis and John Lee Hooker). 

Hopper's later performances in Carried Away (1996) and Elegy (2008), reflected a certain acknowledgement of his mortality. In the former, he plays a crippled schoolteacher who sees a chance at redemption in the attentions of one of his young students. In the latter, his deathbed scene resonates quite strongly with his equally aged but immature friend played by Ben Kingsley, and I suspect the scene's resonance has only increased with Hopper's passing.

This seasoned Dennis Hopper is the one who most fascinated me, a contrast between the Republican art collector he had become and the impish auteur he used to be. It was why I felt comfortable approaching him to share a handshake and a few words after initially fearing the worst. This was the Hopper I encountered at Tribeca in a nutshell; a man with some wildly acquired mileage who had mellowed into a revered artist, and more importantly, a professional of some renown.

He died May 29th at the age of 74.

Dennis Hopper: Actor, Director, Artist, American Iconoclast

HollywoodNews.com: Looking back at the last few years, Jonah Hill has been busy: he’s played 12 different characters in just the three years since he starred in Superbad, written for an episode of Saturday Night Live (in which he appeared), and executive produced Sacha Baron Cohen’s Bruno. But on the eve of his second starring role in Get Him to the Greek – as well as his third, in the acclaimed independent dramedy Cyrus – Hill wants audiences to view him based on these performances rather than the ones which initially earned him the stardom he now enjoys. “

I think [people should] judge me on this year and judge me on next year,” Hill said during a roundtable interview Sunday in Hollywood, Calif. “Because between Cyrus and this movie, I think both characters are completely unrecognizable from my characters in Superbad and Knocked Up.” Hollywood News joined a sizable but thankfully intimate group of reporters to talk to Hill about his turn in the new film Get Him to the Greek. In addition to talking about squaring off against his former Forgetting Sarah Marshall co-star, Russell Brand, Hill offered some updates about his other future projects, and reflected on where he’s at in his career and where he wants it to go.

Hollywood News: How did you wrap your head around this character?

Jonah Hill: I don’t know. I watched My Favorite Year a lot and I watched Midnight Run a lot, and Almost Famous. Those were kind of the three movies that I would watch a lot to prepare. But a big correlation to me was I thought about what if I was 18 and with one of my heroes, so I would often replace Aldous Snow in my head with Bill Murray or Martin Scorsese and just imagine what it would be like to be a young guy and getting to ask them any question that you wanted. [I thought of] Neil Young, and I just kind of thought about my heroes and what it would be like to be around them and get to spend time with them. The movie’s kind of the ultimate fantasy in that way – like who hasn’t fantasized about going on the road for 72 hours with your favorite rock star at some point in your life? That’s every kid’s dream.

Hollywood News: What rock star would it be for you?

Hill: Probably Neil Young. Maybe Jay-Z. I like Jay-Z a lot. I have very eclectic musical tastes. Mozart (laughs).

Hollywood News: Philip Glass.

Hill: Yeah, I love Philip Glass. There’s a great documentary about Philip Glass I just watched – it was fantastic.

Hollywood News: What has the last week been like for you – this nonstop promotional blitz?

Hill: Honestly, it’s been great. I was saying [in another interview] my year this year with Cyrus and Get Him to the Greek, between those two films I literally could not be more proud of them, so it is such a delight and blessing when a movie turns out good. I’m sure I’ll be sitting in front of you one day with a sh*tty movie one day, and I’m going to have to smile through a bunch of lies. But the fact that Cyrus and Get Him to the Greek are awesome, good movies, it’s a joy to go out and talk to people about them because you’re saying, “hey, I worked hard on this and it actually turned out good.” I’m super lucky to have this job; I tell you guys every time that I’m super-appreciative about that. It’s fun and it’s a good group of people and it’s been tiring but it’s been super enjoyable.

Hollywood News: This movie and Cyrus and coming out a couple of weeks apart, and neither of these characters are what you might assume are a typical “Jonah Hill character.” Is that important to you to have these films where you play something that isn’t the sort of foul-mouthed wacky slacker kid you’ve played in the past?

Hill: That’s a really good question because I think, you know, I’ve only starred in one other movie, which is Superbad, where I’m a foul-mouthed, loudmouthed, obnoxious, horny teenager in that movie, which is completely appropriate for that movie. I think the misconception is that because that’s the only movie I’ve starred in, that’s what I’m like as a human being, and fortunately or unfortunately, probably fortunately, that’s not the case. Since then I’ve done a lot of cameos and side characters and stuff, and have definitely been written off as one type of thing. I understand that completely and it totally makes sense and I’d probably do the same thing, but the truth is I think [people should] judge me on this year and judge me on next year, because between Cyrus and this movie, I think both characters are completely unrecognizable from my characters in Superbad and Knocked Up.

Hollywood News: Oh, absolutely.

Hill: I really appreciate that compliment, and even between these two movies, they just don’t seem like the same character at all – they’re unrecognizable from each other, and I’m really prideful about that. I work really hard and I could have sold out a thousand times between now and Get Him to the Greek and Cyrus, and chose not to out of respect and appreciation for my career, which I value. And next year it’s the same thing – Moneyball, which is a straight-up drama with Brad Pitt and myself and Philip Seymour Hoffman, and then The Sitter with David Gordon Green, which is like an R-rated, f*cked-up Adventures in Babysitting-type of movie. Those two years to me are like all four characters will be unrecognizable from one another, and I’m really prideful about that. I hope that didn’t sound dickish (laughs). But I am super excited to take people’s expectations and change them.

Hollywood News: What kind of pressure professionally is there on you to take a role that’s just for money – an easy comedy?

Hill: Boner Party 6 is what I call it (laughs). Titty School, Titty School 5. My agents are cool and the studios, they offer you stuff, [but] look – this position could be over tomorrow that I am currently lucky enough to be in, and I recognize that. so I looked at the careers of all of the people that I loved and respected and I said, they didn’t do a good movie and then immediately do a sh*tty movie, and I don’t need to be super rich or super famous. That’s not why I did this. I probably would have gone into finance or something like that out of college if that’s what I wanted to do. I really care about this stuff, I care about movies, and you just have to be strong and don’t be stupid; freedom of choice is a big responsibility, and I’m lucky enough not to have to just take any movie to pay the rent, so there’s no need to be greedy. So just do something that’s going to be good, and I really put a lot of meticulous thought into these decisions.

Hollywood News: You also have the advantage of being a writer yourself, right?

Hill: Yeah, and that’s been a great [thing]. I think a lot of actors, sometimes what happens I think is that actors finish a movie and they go, oh my god, I’m never going to work again, even big huge actors, and so they’ll take something thinking that something else will never come along. But for me, I freak out – because I’m a bit of a workaholic – the second I finish a movie going oh my god, what am I going to do, but I can start writing the next day so it doesn’t force me to make a bad choice acting-wise. So if I have to take a year off and write, I’ll do that.

Hollywood News: Are you working on different stuff besides The Adventurer’s Handbook?

Hill: Yeah, we’re getting 21 Jumpstreet into shape and we’re going to start that early next year. Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who directed Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, are directing that, and they just had an amazing take on the movie.

Hollywood News: He was Tweeting from a prom, wasn’t he?

Hill: Yeah, they did. Mike Bacall and Phil Lord and Chris Miller went to like two different proms and talked to all of these kids in high school, and they’re just amazing. The best thing that movie has going for it is that people’s expectations for it are so low that our movie is already so much better than what sh*t-talkers on the internet think it is. So we’re just high-fiving because that’s like the best thing you can have – people think your movie sucks and then it turns out being pretty awesome. Like Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, I would have written it off before seeing it, and I was like, this movie is great! So I think Phil and Chris just had a great take on the movie.

Hollywood News: What is your character going to be like?

Hill: Well that one is, uh – he’s, well, I don’t want to get too much into detail, because I don’t want to give you the grand, total 45-minute pitch of the movie, but basically we want to make a really funny, grounded high school movie with action set pieces in it. To me, that’s really cool. When they asked me to remake it, I initially went, “pfft, f*ck that – I’m not doing that. It’s stupid.” Then I thought about it and I watched the show again and revisited it, and the thing I responded to was the concept, because to me there’s a real Back to the Future element in that you get to go back and relive a very important time period in your life, and that’s what I found fascinating. And then, the big idea I had which Mike Bacall and I cracked was that these guys are cops in their mid-20s, and they’ve gained all of this confidence since high school, and then they go back to high school and they immediately revert back to insecure high school students again. That to me was sort of the big idea that we cracked that I really fell in love with about the movie.

Hollywood News: They also take it very seriously in the show, which is why it’s funny now.

Hill: Yeah, but it’s not a spoof of the show. It’s honestly not. It’s not a spoof of the ‘80s, but to me it’s great. If I didn’t know about it I would talk sh*t about it like people on the internet do, but in my opinion, that’s the best thing we have going for us.

Hollywood News: I understand the guys turned in a script last week or are going to this week, maybe?

Hill: Yeah – we turned in a draft like to ourselves, basically. Mike finished a great draft. No, yeah, we’ve been working, and Mike Bacall is the man – he’s a good writer.

Hollywood News: In Get Him to the Greek, Russell is the guy who gets to go big, while by comparison you’re the straight guy.

Hill: Normal guy and crazy guy.

Hollywood News: Yeah, so how is that for you to sort of do the straight-guy thing, but make sure you’re getting fun stuff to do?

Hill: Well, you know, I think in a way Bill Murray was a lot of times the straight guy and he’s the funniest guy ever. Or another example is Gene Wilder; he was often a straight guy but to me made me laugh harder than anybody. And [Ben] Stiller, think about Stiller in Flirting With Disaster or Something About Mary – there are a lot of his movies where he [is the straight guy]. Meet the Parents. I think those are great classic comedy performances where things are happening crazy around him and it’s his reactions that are garnering laughs, but he’s the emotional anchor of the movie. So I think being uncomfortable and sort of being out of your element, being a fish out of water garners a lot of laughs but also I really enjoyed that challenge of having to be the person keeping the story moving as well as having to be funny as well. I really enjoyed it, and I was actually really pleased with that element of the movie where I do get laughs and am technically the straight man. Russell gets to do this grandiose performance which is really great and it was an interesting challenge for me. Michael Sera is a great straight man, you know what I mean? He’s another great straight man, and [Paul] Rudd, Rudd’s often a great straight man. So I think there’s tons of examples of comedic people I respect who often do that.

Hollywood News: But is it tough when Russell gets to go so big and you’re like, man – he’s having a lot of fun!

Hill: No, I mean, look – I shove a balloon of heroin up my ass (laughs). I get a dildo shoved in my mouth. I had my fair share of – I had a threesome! I have my fair share of comedic fodder in this film.

Hollywood News: Nicholas said they tried to work in the anal-cam for the balloon sequence.

Hill: That was my idea; I take full credit for that. because Nick had the brilliant idea for the tongue-cam that he invented, and then Bob Yeoman, who shot the movie and shoots all of Wes Anderson’s films and is a brilliant guy, was trying to figure out how to do the tongue cam, and I was just thinking one day when we were doing the scene when he grabs it out. I was like, what if there’s a POV from my asshole shot where you see the balloon inside and you see a hand reach up and pull it out. I guess that never came to fruition, but that was something that was oft-discussed.

Hollywood News: What was the hardest part to shoot?

Hill: I think the threesome was probably the hardest – or the Vegas suite was pretty difficult to shoot, I would say. We shot for a long time; that sequence took a very long time to shoot, there’s so many characters, there’s a fight to be choreographed, and they built that suite on a stage and it was really surprisingly hot and small for how it looks on film.

Hollywood News: And the furry wall.

Hill: The furry wall, yeah. I have a piece of the furry wall in my house.

Hollywood News: What was tougher to choreograph, the fight scene or the sex scene?

Hill: The sex scene, definitely. Because when you’re in that situation, and not to give a boring answer, but Russell and I could handle it, obviously, but you really want to be respectful to the actress in the scene to make sure she feels safe and comfortable or not disrespected or uncomfortable in any way. So we did a lot of blocking to make sure Elizabeth [Moss] felt cool with everything.

Hollywood News: What happened to Adventurer’s Handbook?

Hill: Basically, we got greenlit and then we had scheduling conflicts because of Jason Segel and Jason Schwartzman’s television shows. We basically had to fit it into this window and their shows went over [schedule] or whatever and we just couldn’t do it, and then luckily I got offered Moneyball shortly after that.

Hollywood News: What do you think will happen with it now?

Hill: Well, I think we got so lucky in that everyone we wrote it for said yes, which very rarely happens. And especially Schwartzman’s role is so, I just can’t imagine anyone else playing Schwartzman’s role. It’s just built for him, you know what I mean? So I’m going to make Moneyball and The Sitter with David Gordon Green and then Jumpstreet and then after that, I want to find the first movie to direct. That’s my goal, so Adventurer’s is something that we still love and we aren’t disregarding doing it, but we have got to see how it comes back together.

Hollywood News: You’ve been talking about wanting to direct for a while. Is there a certain genre that you think will sort of be your first choice?

Hill: I don’t want to discuss it in that way because it could end up being something totally different. I have to find something that – being a recognizable actor, I understand that when I do direct a movie, people such as yourselves are going to judge the sh*t out of me, so whether I like it or not, it’s going to be an extra-harsh judgmental endeavor. So for me, I want to make sure it’s done correctly; I’m not going to just throw together some sh*tty mlovie. This is where I want my career to end up, so for me, I think a lot of ways I think about it is I just go quality over genre; I just want it to be good.

Hollywood News: You should just go right into hardcore science fiction.

Hill: Right, exactly. But the point is, and I was thinking a lot about it, the way that movies are heading, the studios are going to make these big, huge movies no matter what, and I was reading on this website the other day that people were saying, oh, why is David Fincher maybe directing 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea? And I was like, that’s f*cking great that David Fincher is going to direct 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Because they’re going to make that movie no matter what, so if I’m going to see it I’d rather have David Fincher directing it than some guy who sucks! To me, that’s the way things are going, so to me it might be interesting to direct a bigger movie. I don’t know, but I really don’t want to commit to anything, but I’m happy when good directors sign on to big crazy Hollywood movies because that’s all they’re making because that’s all they’re seeing profits on. And comedies, hopefully.

Hollywood News: Are you planning to star in that film or would you stay behind the camera?

Hill: I don’t know. It’s going to be circumstantial.

Hollywood News: Can you compare and contrast your approaches to Cyrus and Get Him to the Greek, which are dramatically different characters?

Hill: Cyrus was such a clearly-defined character in the script, and then Mark and Jay [Duplass] and I talked about it so much for so long that I just knew who the guy was and he was so specific. Every joke in that movie, anything that gets a laugh in that movie, comes from character. It’s just a character movie. So all of my effort in that movie went into remaining true to that character that we had talked about; I would never riff a joke or do something that would be out of character. And the same with Greek, but in Greek, these are big R-rated comedies and with a big press junket and all of that, you have a responsibility [because] the fans of this movie are the reason I get to do any of this, and I am completely appreciative and respectful of that. So as well as Greek being grounded in reality and create a really interesting character, you also have a responsibility to make the audience laugh every few seconds, so there’s a lot more riffing comedically in a movie like this than in Cyrus. Because Cyrus, it’s okay if the scene plays long and you get to stay in weird moments and explore things like that; that’s the nature of that kind of movie. In this movie, we have a responsibility to our fans who go see this stuff and we’re going to make you laugh your ass off every few seconds.

Hollywood News: What’s the next awful thing that Carla Gallo’s going to do to you in a film?

Hill: I don’t know (laughs). Carla, we took a respected actress from like Mad Men and Carnivale and had her have her period on my leg and shove a dildo into my mouth. Carla is amazing; I don’t know if you watched Carnivale, but she was amazing in it, and the same thing with Mad Men and Undeclared. She’s a really talented actress, and we’re really grateful that she comes in to do these cameos for us because she’s so incredibly talented.

Hollywood News: They seem reserved for her.

Hill: We always audition people other than her because we assume she will be busy since she’s a really good actress, and then it’s just we have to beg her because no one’s as funny as she is.

“GET HIM THE TO GREEK” TRAILER

Related Articles

• Watch now: the first 5 minutes of “Get Him To the Greek”
• Katy Perry shows off her figure at the gym
• Hollywood Movie Roundup: ‘Killers,’ ‘Splice,’ ‘Marmaduke’
• Russell Brand on ‘Get Him to the Greek,’ getting over addiction, and getting on with his career
• Russell Brand and Jonah Hill celebrate “Get Him to the Greek” Window Party

Jonah Hill on 'Get Him to the Greek', '21 Jumpstreet', and his directorial debut

‘Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time’

Action movies come in two flavors; the difference lies in the fight scenes. If the camera is pulled back with minimal cuts, it’s generally showcasing the fight itself. If the camera is painfully zoomed in with a cut every half second, then it’s mostly to hide the inexperience of the actor or the fact it’s a stunt double. I can usually tell what type of movie it will be when I see a preview for it, and I’ve come to know what to expect from the latter, which ends up being most U.S. films.

“Prince of Persia” is based upon a series of games I have not played, so I can’t comment on whether or not it’s an accurate adaptation or anything. When I say ‘produced by Jerry Bruckheimer,’ that’s all you really need to make an accurate guess at the film’s quality: not quite as stupid as a Michael Bay movie, but it’s not necessarily a good movie either.

The titular Persian prince is Dastan, played by Jake Gyllenhaal. With his two brothers, he leads an attack against the sacred city of Alamut, under the pretense they are supplying Persia’s enemies with weapons. During a post victory celebration, Dastan is framed for the murder of his adoptive father, King Sharaman. He escapes with Alamut’s princess, Tamina (Gemma Arterton), and a mystical dagger that can reverse time for its holder. Next is an hour and a half of swashbuckling as Dastan tries to set things straight.

During this the plot twists a few times, and there’s some fighting. Ben Kingsley, as the dead king’s brother, orchestrates most of this, and a shifty ostrich-racing merchant played by a Johnny Depp-channeling Alfred Molina further complicates things. Performances all, while not being good, aren’t atrocious either. Kingsley stars as his usual sober self before he ramps it up a notch towards the end, and Molina overacts his merchant, almost like he’s excited to return to a “Spiderman 2” size budget. Arterton’s princess doesn’t fare as well, and it’s not long before this once noble princess whines her way to annoying. Gyllenhaal fares better; his seems prince is quiet and reserved, despite all that’s happened to him.

Coming back to the original topic, the action here is so-so. The combat would be more enjoyable if it weren’t for the hack and slash editing; I know none of these actors are Jackie Chan, but come on guys… pull the camera out a bit. Movies like this can counterbalance these faults by making the combat interesting or unique, though here it’s mostly run of the mill.

There is a nice knife throwing standoff. And I don’t know where in these deserts Dastan picked up parkour, but he spends a good bit of time running and jumping across rooftops. Interesting. Though I wish the time reversing aspect, which I know played a good part in at least some of the games, was used more. That would have been more interesting.

I should have seen the ending coming. 3/5

'Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time'

read these great paul young desperate housewives headlines and other paul young desperate housewives info. Check back often for more of the hottest update on paul young desperate housewives.

‘Tis the Season for TV Season Finales‘Desperate Housewives,’ ‘Brothers & Sisters’ kick off week of season finales for popular television series such as ‘Lost,’ ‘24′ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’ DesperateHousewives – Brothers & Sisters – Lost – Television program – DramaRead more on ABC News

‘Tis the Season for Season Finales: When to Watch What‘Desperate Housewives,’ ‘Brothers & Sisters’ Kick Off Week of Season Finales DesperateHousewives – Brothers & Sisters – Drama – Arts – TelevisionRead more on ABC News

paul young desperate housewives latest Q & A:Question by aqacommish@verizon.net: As for tonight’s episode of Desperate Housewives, does any think Edie’s new husband could be Paul Young?

Best answer:

Answer by poohbearI’m not sure who it could be.. but I thought tonight’s episode was just strange. I had a hard time following it…

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

'Tis the Season for TV Season Finales

Franklin Township officials are hoping to make a winner,possibly without the chicken dinner, out of a shutteredpoultry plant that ended up being a loser.

The township is working with a developer to get the formerMeredith Farms poultry plant site restarted as some kind offood processing facility, with or without chickens. PatriciaKnobloch, the township's community developmentdirector, and the redeveloper, Stanker & Galetto Inc. ofVineland, say the Route 40 property has potential because ofits on-site food waste handling capability and itsconnection to the Landis Sewerage Authority's treatmentcapacity.

When Meredith Farms went bust in 1999, it left a trail ofunpaid bills and 50 tons of rotting chicken carcasses. (Theelectricity had been turned off.) Franklin Townshiptaxpayers ending up owning a 50-acre chunk of the 70-acresite because of liens.

There have been redevelopment attempts at the site before.It would be nice to see ugly memories finally erased, with anew food industry employer who could put people to work andtake advantage of the surrounding agricultural community.Good luck to the renewed effort.

Plucking growth from adversity – Gloucester County Times

Douglas Hodge is this year's recipient of the 2010 Drama Desk Award for Best Actor in a Musical for LA CAGE AUX FOLLES.

Douglas Hodge makes his Broadway debut with La Cage aux Folles, for which he won the 2009 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical. National Theatre: A Matter of Life and Death, Betrayal, Blinded by the Sun, Pericles, King Lear. West End: La Cage aux Folles (Playhouse), Guys and Dolls (Donmar/Piccadilly – Olivier nomination), Dumb Show (Royal Court – Evening Standard nomination), The Caretaker (Olivier nomination), Titus Andronicus (Globe), Three Sisters, No Man's Land (Almeida), Moonlight (Almeida / Comedy), The Collection/The Lover (Donmar), A Winter's Tale (RSC / Roundhouse), Coriolanus (Almeida), Hamlet (Bolton Octagon), Romeo and Juliet (Birmingham Rep), The Norman Conquests (Nottingham Playhouse). TV: "Outnumbered," "Skins" (series 4), "Unforgiven," "Whistleblowers," "Spooks," "Lift," "Mansfield Park," "Redcap," "The Way We Live Now," "The Russian Bride," "Only Fools and Horses," "Dance," "Bliss," "Open Fire," "The Scold's Bridle," "It Could Be You," "True Love," "Men of the Month," "Middlemarch," "Anglo Saxon Attitudes," "A Fatal Inversion," "Capital City," "Behaving Badly." Film: Ridley Scott's new (as yet untitled) Robin Hood adventure, The Descent 2, Scenes of a Sexual Nature, Vanity Fair, Diamond Skulls, The Trial, Salome's Last Dance and Saigon Baby.

LA CAGE AUX FOLLES opened on Broadway to rave reviews on April 18. The production has been nominated for 11 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical, Best Actor in a Musical (Kelsey Grammer), Best Actor in a Musical (Douglas Hodge), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Robin De Jesús), Best Direction of a Musical (Terry Johnson), Best Choreography (Lynne Page), Best Scenic Design of a Musical (Tim Shortall), Best Costume Design of a Musical (Matthew Wright), Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Nick Richings), Best Sound Design of a Musical (Jonathan Deans) and Best Orchestrations (Jason Carr).

LA CAGE is the winner of four Outer Critics Circle Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical, Best Actor in a Musical (Douglas Hodge), Best Director of a Musical (Terry Johnson) and Best Costumes (Matthew Wright) and has also been nominated for seven Drama Desk Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical and three Drama League Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical.

LA CAGE AUX FOLLES features music and lyrics by Jerry Herman and book by Harvey Fierstein, based on the play by Jean Poiret. This freshly reconceived production is choreographed by Lynne Page and directed by Terry Johnson.

LA CAGE AUX FOLLES stars five-time Emmy Award-winner Kelsey Grammer as Georges and Olivier Award-winner Douglas Hodge as Albin, and also stars Fred Applegate as Edouard Dindon/M. Renaud; Tony nominee Veanne Cox as Mme. Dindon/Mme. Renaud; Chris Hoch as Francis; Elena Shaddow as Anne; A.J. Shively as Jean-Michel; with two-time Tony Award nominee Christine Andreas as Jacqueline; Tony Award nominee Robin de Jesús as Jacob; with Heather Lindell as Colette; Bill Nolte as Tabarro and David Nathan Perlow as Etienne. Also starring as the notorious and dangerous Cagelles are Nick Adams as Angelique, Sean A. Carmon as Phaedra, Nicholas Cunningham as Hanna, Sean Patrick Doyle as Chantal, Logan Keslar as Bitelle and Terry Lavell as Mercedes. The production also features Christophe Caballero, Todd Lattimore, Dale Hensley, Caitlin Mundth and Cheryl Stern.

Douglas Hodge and Nicholas Cunningham are appearing with the permission of Actors' Equity Association. The producers gratefully acknowledge Actors' Equity Association for its assistance to this production.

Georges (Kelsey Grammer) is the suave owner of a glitzy drag club on the French Riviera. Partnered romantically with his high-strung star performer, Albin (Douglas Hodge), the pair live a charmed life-until Georges' son announces his engagement to the daughter of a conservative right-wing politician who's coming to dinner.

The original production of LA CAGE AUX FOLLES was one of Broadway's biggest hits of the 1980s. It opened August 21, 1983 at the Palace Theatre, where it played for over four years and 1,761 performances. The show won six Tony Awards in 1984, including Best Musical, Best Score (Jerry Herman) and Best Book (Harvey Fierstein).

The new production of LA CAGE AUX FOLLES played from November 23, 2007 to March 8, 2008 at the Menier Chocolate Factory, earning across the board raves and moving to the West End's Playhouse Theatre On October 30, 2008, where it was nominated for seven 2009 Olivier Awards, winning for Best Musical Revival and Best Actor in a Musical for Douglas Hodge and won the 2009 Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Musical.

"A glorious night of showbiz razzle dazzle!" exclaimed Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph. "At last a musical to sweep away those credit-crunch blues. This joyous show deserves every hurrah and standing ovation it receives." "Suddenly, the West End sparkles," cheered Sam Marlowe, The Times. "Sew on a sequin, slip into some heels and go."

The production features set design by Tim Shortall, costume design by Matthew Wright, lighting design by Nick Richings, sound design by Jonathan Deans and wig and makeup design by Richard Mawbey. Musical supervision, orchestrations and dance arrangements are by Jason Carr. Musical director is Todd Ellison.

LA CAGE AUX FOLLES is produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, David Babani, Fran and Barry Weissler and Edwin W. Schloss, Bartner/Tulchin, Broadway Across America, Matthew Mitchell, Raise the Roof 4 Richard Winkler/Bensinger Taylor/Laudenslager Bergère, Arlene Scanlan/John O'Boyle, Independent Presenters Network, Olympus Theatricals, Allen Spivak, Jerry Frankel/Bat-Barry Productions, Nederlander Presentations, Inc/Harvey Weinstein.

Tickets ($132.50 – $36.50; Premium $251.50; Table Seating $251.50) are on sale through Telecharge.com at 212-239-6200, online at www.telecharge.com/lacage and at the Longacre Theatre box office (220 West 48th Street). Performances are Tuesday through Saturday at 8:00 PM, Sunday at 7:00 PM, with matinees Wednesday and Saturday at 2:30 PM. Special Sunday matinee time on June 13 at 2:00 PM. Beginning June 20, Sunday matinees are at 3:00 PM.

www.LaCage.com

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.

Hodge Wins Drama Desk Award for Best Actor in a Musical for LA CAGE!

Even "Robin Hood," the Russell Crowe vehicle and one of the season's most anticipated films, seems like a remake of sorts. The mythical hero has brand recognition, having been adapted for the screen countless times since the early 1900s with Errol Flynn, Douglas Fairbanks and Kevin Costner, among others, stepping into the role.

As always, testosterone-fueled action flicks and comedies dominate the summer pack: Christopher Nolan's enigmatic "Inception" and Will Forte's "MacGruber" (based on his "Saturday Night Live" skits) will top many dudes' must-see lists. But there's also an unusual mommy-track of movies, including two artificial-insemination comedies ("The Switch" and "The Kids Are All Right") and a much-hyped documentary called "Babies" that could be this year's cuddly "March of the Penguins."

Here are the 30 must-see movies of the summer, from family fare to more grown-up pleasures — and probably some guilty ones as well.

  ACTION, ADVENTURE AND FANTASY:

"IRON MAN 2" (now playing)Robert Downey Jr. returns as good-guy munitions dealer Tony Stark, whose now-public identity as Iron Man is causing some problems. Gwyneth

Paltrow again plays his fetching assistant, Pepper Potts; the cast of villains includes Mickey Rourke as Whiplash, Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer and Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow.

"ROBIN HOOD" (now playing)Ridley Scott's long-awaited adventure film features Russell Crowe as the medieval freedom fighter and Cate Blanchett as Lady Marion. With William Hurt, Mark Strong, Danny Huston and rising British actor Matthew Macfadyen as the Sheriff of Nottingham.

"PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME" (opening Friday) Showing off the pectorals we didn't know he had, Jake Gyllenhaal lands the lead in this big-budget action-adventure about a young prince who must protect a mystical dagger. Based on the popular video game. Mike Newell ("Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire") directs.

"THE A-TEAM" (June 11)

The lighthearted action series comes to the big screen with Liam Neeson as Special Forces team leader Hannibal Smith, Bradley Cooper as pretty-boy Templeton "Faceman" Peck and Sharlto Copley, the South African actor from last year's "District 9," as the wacky "Howling Mad" Murdock.

"JONAH HEX" (June 18)

Josh Brolin, Megan Fox and John Malkovich mix it up in a supernatural Western. Adapted from the graphic novel by pulp maestros Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor ("Crank").

"KNIGHT AND DAY" (June 25)

This action-comedy almost starred Gerard Butler, Adam Sandler or even Chris Tucker, but Tom Cruise landed the role of a slippery secret agent on a dubious mission. That's Cameron Diaz clinging to the back of his motorcycle.

"THE LAST AIRBENDER" (July 2)

M. Night Shyamalan writes, directs and produces this fantasy film based on the Nickelodeon series. Like "Clash of the Titans" and the upcoming "The Green Hornet," it's getting an after-the-fact 3-D makeover.

"INCEPTION" (July 16)

Warner Bros. is being stingy with plot details, and the trippy trailer — full of tilting floors and midair fisticuffs — provides no answers. But some tidbits have leaked out: Leonardo DiCaprio plays a corporate spy who steals dreams, and director Christopher Nolan is comparing it to "The Matrix." With Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard and Michael Caine.

Filmed partly on Long Island, this espionage thriller stars Angelina Jolie as Evelyn Salt, a CIA agent accused of being a Russian spy. With Liev Schreiber and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

"JUST WRIGHT" (May 14)

Queen Latifah stars, but it's Common who's making the big leap from sidekick roles to romantic lead. She's a physical therapist named Leslie Wright, he's a hunky NBA All-Star; Paula Patton makes it a love triangle.

"MACGRUBER" (now playing)

Will Forte's split-second "Saturday Night Live" skits, which spoof the improbable action-series "MacGyver," have spawned an entire movie. Look for Ryan Phillippe, Val Kilmer and two "MacGruber" veterans, Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph.

"GROWN UPS" (June 25)

Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, David Spade, Rob Schneider and Kevin James play childhood friends who reunite with their families in tow. Sandler cowrites; Dennis Dugan ("You Don't Mess With the Zohan") directs.

"DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS" (July 23)

The annual Dinner for Extraordinary People is actually a cruel joke: Who can bring the biggest loser? A successful businessman (Paul Rudd) thinks he's found a winner (Steve Carell).

"THE OTHER GUYS" (Aug. 6)

Will Ferrell plays a gun-shy forensic accountant reluctantly assigned to a tough-guy partner (Mark Wahlberg). Also with Eva Mendes, Michael Keaton, Steve Coogan and Dwayne Johnson. Directed and co-written by Adam McKay ("Step Brothers").

"SHREK FOREVER AFTER" (now playing)

The fourth and reportedly final installment in the animated "Shrek" franchise finds the green ogre in midlife crisis and longing for his carefree days. As the saying goes: Be careful what you wish for. With the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and Antonio Banderas.

"TOY STORY 3" (June 18)

It's been 15 years since the original, and little Andy is heading to college. After Woody, Buzz and the toy gang are donated to a chaotic day care center, they plan their escape. Look for some new characters, including Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear (Ned Beatty) and Barbie's Ken (Michael Keaton).

"DESPICABLE ME" (July 9)

This computer-animated comedy features Steve Carell as the voice of Gru, a second-fiddle supervillain constantly outsmarted by snotty young Vector (Jason Segel). The voice cast includes Russell Brand, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig, Danny McBride and Julie Andrews.

"THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE" (July 16)

Named after the famous segment from Disney's "Fantasia," this action film stars Nicolas Cage as a wizard who arrives in Manhattan and recruits a local college student (Jay Baruchel) to battle a nefarious villain (Alfred Molina). Look for an update on the magical-mop sequence.

"RAMONA AND BEEZUS" (July 23)

Two adventure-prone sisters (newcomer Joey King and Disney Channel veteran Selena Gomez) embark on a mission to save their family's home. It's the first feature-film based on Beverly Cleary's enduring children's book series, which launched in 1968 with "Ramona the Pest."

  TEENS AND TWEENS

"THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE" (June 30)

Another "Twilight" film, another director — this time it's David Slade, whose edgy indie drama "Hard Candy" helped launch Ellen Page's career. Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner continue their supernatural love triangle.

Cute, popular Kyle (Alex Pettyfer) crosses Goth-girl Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen) and finds himself transformed into a gruesome creature who must learn the true meaning of love. Also with Vanessa Hudgens and Neil Patrick Harris.

"SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD" (Aug. 13)

Indie darling Michael Cera stars as a rock-band bassist who falls for rollerblading Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). His challenge: to defeat her seven evil ex-boyfriends. Based on the comics by Bryan Lee O'Malley.

"BABIES" (now playing)

This documentary follows four babies around the world — Mari in Tokyo; Bayarjargal in rural Mongolia; Ponijao in Opuwo, Namibia; and Hattie in San Francisco — from birth to first steps.

"THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT" (July 7)

Two teens (Mia Wasikowska of "Alice in Wonderland" and Josh Hutcherson of "Cirque du Freak") track down the sperm donor who sired them. Their lesbian parents, played by Julianne Moore and Annette Bening, aren't thrilled. Co-written and directed by Lisa Cholodenko ("Laurel Canyon").

"THE SWITCH" (Aug. 20)

A single gal (Jennifer Aniston) gets pregnant, thanks to a charming donor (Patrick Wilson). Or so she thinks. With Jason Bateman, Jeff Goldblum and Juliette Lewis.

  SEQUELS, REMAKES AND SPINOFFS

"SEX AND THE CITY 2" (May 27)

When Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and new hubby Mr. Big (Chris Noth) hit a rough patch, she bumps into an alluring old flame. Which one? Hint: He's played by John Corbett. With Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon.

"GET HIM TO THE GREEK" (June 4)

Russell Brand reprises his "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" role as a dissolute rocker; Jonah Hill plays his hapless handler. Look for Sean Combs as a record mogul.

"THE KARATE KID" (June 11)

This overhaul of the 1984 crowd-pleaser replaces Ralph Macchio with tweener Jaden Smith (son of Will and Jada) and puts Jackie Chan in the sensei role originated by Pat Morita. Despite the film's title, the new setting is China and the sport is kung fu.

"GREASE SING-ALONG" (July TBD)

Not quite a remake, but not merely a reissue: It's the 1978 musical "Grease," starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, with on-screen lyrics to encourage audience participation. Could be the summer's most cost-effective profit-maker.

"NANNY McPHEE AND THE BIG BANG" (Aug. 20)

Emma Thompson is back as a nanny with magical, if unorthodox, child-rearing methods. Maggie Gyllenhaal stars as a mother managing her brood while dad is away at war. With Rhys Ifans and Maggie Smith.

"SOLITARY MAN" (now playing)

Michael Douglas plays a womanizer with a shady past; Jesse Eisenberg is the college-kid who befriends him.

Director Neil Jordan turns in a fairy tale of sorts, with Colin Farrell as an Irish fisherman who nets a beautiful creature (Alicja Bachleda).

Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley are genetic scientists who create a whole new life-form. And it's hungry.

"JOAN RIVERS — A PIECE OF WORK" (June 11)

This documentary takes an up-close look at the nipped-and-tucked comedienne.

"THE KILLER INSIDE ME" (June 18)

Casey Affleck plays a small-town sheriff with a mean streak. Based on Jim Thompson's classic noir novel.

"THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE" (July 2)

Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist reunite as detectives (and unlikely lovers) in this sequel to the Swedish art-house hit "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."

"LIFE DURING WARTIME" (July 23)

Todd Solondz's sort-of-sequel to "Happiness" revisits the whacked-out Jordan family. With Allison Janney, Ally Sheedy and Paul Reubens.

"EAT PRAY LOVE" (Aug. 13)

The best-selling travel memoir by Elizabeth Gilbert hits the screen with Julia Roberts, James Franco, Billy Crudup and Javier Bardem.

Summer movie preview: Sequels and remakes dominate the lineup

Oct. 08–TORONTO — Zach Galifianakis sometimes rattled — but never intimidated — teenage co-star Keir Gilchrist during the making of "It's Kind of a Funny story."

They play patients in a hospital psychiatric ward and, at one point, the man angrily starts to pitch objects off shelves and turn a room upside down.

"When he went for it, the first time, I had to go out and sit in the hall for a little while and just regroup because to see that happen in the same room as you and to feel the energy that he was giving off in that scene was really rattling, actually," the 17-year-old said.

"I wouldn't say I was intimidated but I had to get ready to go wherever he wanted to go," during comic moments that lent themselves to improv or to scenes grounded in deeper, darker emotions.

the teen who plays the gay son on "United States of Tara" here is Craig, a bright 16-year-old buckling under suicidal thoughts, academic expectations, a crush on his best friend's girl, stress vomiting and pretty much everything in life.

He shows up at a Brooklyn hospital one Sunday morning and ends up being admitted. among the fellow patients are Bobby, portrayed by the "Hangover" star, and teen Noelle (Emma Roberts), who cuts herself.

It's a dramedy based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Ned Vizzini. it reminds people that they may assume they're the only ones who feel depressed or alienated, but they're not.

"I think this movie's about just realizing everybody goes through those feelings," Keir said. "It's a story about hope."

to prepare the cast for the sort of tone they hoped to strike, co-directors Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden ("Half Nelson," "Sugar") rented a theater and screened "The Breakfast Club."

"They really wanted to show it to us as a group, to really bring us together and help us all realize what kind of film they were interested in making," Keir told a handful of reporters. "We all left feeling really confident and ready to go."

Keir, two of his co-stars and the directing duo did the publicity roundelay, moving from room to room at the Park Hyatt hotel every 20 minutes during the Toronto International Film Festival.

Topics ranged from pressure, which factors into a show-stopping musical number, and why Rachel McAdams is a career model for Ms. Roberts to how mr. Galifianakis had such a loving dad that he would kiss him when dropping him off at high school.

"The Hangover" star, who suggests people can be born with a comedic mind much like a mathematical mind, grew up in a comedic environment where he and his brother and sister would do Iran-Contra sketches for their parents.

"I'm the unfunny one of my family, so that's the way we communicate, through humor. I think it's a little bit weird when we bring someone into the fold. … It's a lot of insults, a lot of heated political discussions that turn into humor.

"It's just the way I was raised. I don't know if it's a Greek thing … also coupled with an extreme amount of love," which was the opposite of friends whose parents were divorcing. "My dad cries at everything. Not out of sadness, out of love and emotion," he said.

mr. Galifianakis, funny, polite (sharing a plate of pastries with reporters) and candid, said he tries not to overthink things. when you worry and imagine how people might perceive what you do, it gets in the way of creativity, the bearded actor said.

that has given him freedom to do stand-up or to act, and he also has the invaluable ability to "remember how I felt about a particular thing in my past and bring it right up."

mr. Galifianakis knew from an early age what he wanted to do but promised his parents he would have something to fall back on.

"I had a nervous breakdown in college and then I quit and went to new York with the intention of trying to be in show business but I had no idea how to go about it. It's really desperate, it's really hard."

He tried acting classes but they seemed like therapy sessions for other students who ended up weeping. He started doing stand-up in the back of a Times Square hamburger restaurant, while working as a busboy in a strip joint.

"Acting class wasn't working, I couldn't get an audition," so stand-up it was. After "The Hangover" grossed more than $268 million in North America, the 41-year-old North Carolina native wanted a project "not exactly in the same heartbeat."

Enter "It's Kind of a Funny story."

"So, it was a conscious thing, plus those directors are great directors and I'd seen their movies and I was very flattered they would ask somebody like me that's probably known for a little more outlandish stuff to be in their movie."

asked what it was like to work with mr. Galifianakis, the teen said, "Everyone really wants to know what goes on with that guy in his head. I don't really know," and he spent a month and a half with him.

After categorizing him as hilarious, down to earth and a fantastic actor, Keir hit upon the adjective of unpredictable. He might throw out unexpected comedic lines but take emotional scenes to a new place, too.

the production spent most of its time on two floors of a hospital in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn.

"It did get a little claustrophobic. A month and a half in a hospital and I was working every single day and not seeing daylight sometimes," Keir said. "I think it probably added to my performance."

Keir and mr. Galifianakis had to ad-lib while playing basketball and the teen said, "I love that scene but it's so long and we were improvving and trying to make it all come together and make the scene flow, while at the same time going off on these different tangents."

but because his first television show, "The Winner," was opposite Rob Corddry on Fox in spring 2007, he knows how to go with the funny flow.

Keir, who said his parents insisted he could pursue acting only as long as he kept up his grades, has felt the weight of career pressure and tried to bring some of that to his role.

As for how he keeps from crumpling, he said, "Music's a great coping strategy and I think the musical number in the film really speaks to that. How powerful it is, to just bring people together and make music or listen to music," although he called himself a terrible singer.

A slender Ms. Roberts, clad this day in a checkered blouse, dark jeans and platform wedges, was back to being a brunette after lightening her hair for the role.

"I didn't want to play Noelle as the typical androgynous goth girl, I didn't want her to be a stereotype of 'I'm moody and gothic and that's why I'm doing this to myself,' " she said, of the cuts her character inflicts on herself.

she wanted Noelle to look like a cheerleader or your sister or an Everygirl who wears her scars along with her sarcasm and (when ticked at Craig) her "I hate Boys" T-shirt.

"She'd walk into a scene and you never really knew what to expect," Ms. Roberts, 19, said of her character. "Is she going to be mean to Craig? Is she going to be funny? Is she going to be vulnerable? Is she going to open up? I like that she was a bit of a wild card."

Ms. Roberts forgot about the fake facial scars she left on after a long day of shooting.

"I actually went out to dinner with my friends one night and I'm like, I don't understand. why are these people looking at me? Maybe they recognize me, maybe it's the people I'm with," she mused, and then realized it was the makeup.

although you might expect the niece of Julia Roberts and daughter of Eric Roberts to name a relative when asked for a career role model, she picked Canadian actress Rachel McAdams because she "changes her look in every film and does so many different kinds of movies and, I don't know, I think she's just fabulous."

As though borrowing a page from that strategy, Ms. Roberts next will be seen in the quirky, dark "What's wrong With Virginia" alongside Jennifer Connelly and Ed Harris, a romantic comedy titled "Homework" with Freddie Highmore and "Scream 4," which left her with a broken blood vessel in her eye (proving how loud she could scream) and feeding her love-fear relationship with horror movies.

"I get scared when we're filming pretty much all the time but it's fun."

Movie editor Barbara Vancheri: bvancheri@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1632. Read her mad about the Movies blog at post-gazette.com/movies.

—–

to see more of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.post-gazette.com.

Copyright (c) 2010, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail services@mctinfoservices.com, or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544).

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.

President Obama starred Friday at the largest political rally of California's 2010 election season, imploring a raucous crowd of 32,000 to vote and telling them, "You have the chance to set the direction of this state, and this country – just like you did in 2008."

"You can defy the conventional wisdom that says young people are apathetic," Obama told an adoring throng at the University of Southern California's Alumni Park. "You have a chance to say, 'Yes we can,' " he said, as Democrats enthusiastically took up the chant.

But while Obama's 55 percent approval rating in California is higher than his 42 percent national figure, some analysts say it will take more than a few high-profile appearances to turn out the 1.1 million "Obama voters" in California. this group, which party officials define as Californians who voted for the first time in 2008, is dominated by people under 35 years old, people of color and women.

The problem for Democrats: Recent polls say too many of them are undecided this year.

Obama's visit "can help some, sure, but it has to be accompanied by one-on-one personal contact with young voters – that's what research says they respond to the best," said Elizabeth C. Matto, an assistant research professor of political science at Rutgers University and an expert on youth voting. "And that type of operation is not thrown together in a week."

This week, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and top Democratic consultant Garry South criticized statewide Democratic candidates for having anemic ground operations, a claim that campaign and party officials denied.

"While both parties talk up their ground operation, I haven't seen much evidence of it," said Louis DeSipio, a professor of political science at UC Irvine and expert on Latino voters.

Among voters under 35 – traditionally a left-leaning group – 27 percent remain undecided in California's U.S. Senate race between Sen. Barbara Boxer, a Democrat, and Republican challenger Carly Fiorina, and 18 percent don't have a favorite in the governor's contest between Democrat Jerry Brown and Republican Meg Whitman, according to a Public Policy Institute of California poll released this week.

At the same time, 17 percent of voters earning less than $80,000 a year don't know who they're going to vote for in the Senate contest, while 18 percent of that group haven't chosen a candidate in the governor's race. one in 4 Latino voters is undecided in the Senate race, while 1 in 5 hasn't decided whom to back in the race between Attorney General Brown and Whitman, the former eBay CEO.

"We've got to get people mad again," said Reggie Jones-Sawyer, the highest-ranking African American official in the California Democratic Party and a top labor leader in Los Angeles. "We, as Democrats, have not done a good job of letting our people – and independents – know all the things that President Obama has done."

Neither party "has done a good job of addressing the issues that matter to Latino voters," DeSipio said. Undecided Latinos at this point "are probably not that committed to voting."

In Los Angeles, thousands of people lined up before dawn Friday for a chance to see Obama, who arrived in the voter-rich metropolis after three fundraisers in the Bay Area on Thursday. the president's visit to the USC campus wrapped up a two-day fundraising and campaign trip to California, a reliable political ATM and state considered a crucial test of his political coattails in the midterm elections next week.

A jacketless Obama appeared energized by the enthusiasm of the overwhelmingly young throng, which greeted him like a rock star. with Californians already casting ballots by mail, Obama responded to screams of "I love you" by yelling "I love you back." he appeared with Brown, Boxer, attorney general candidate and San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris and Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx.

"This is the Obama who should have been put out there much earlier," said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a USC political analyst, as she watched the rally. but the president's election-year message has been diluted by a too demanding and somewhat unfocused agenda, she said. "Now he has to explain. Change is always hard."

Before taking the stage at USC, Obama headlined a luncheon – starring singer Stevie wonder – that raised $500,000 for Boxer, who is in a toss-up race with Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO.

Friday's rally also featured Brown, who has pulled ahead of Whitman in the governor's race.

"We're going to win this election," said Brown, facing a sea of students chanting, "Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!"

Andrea Jones Rivera, spokeswoman for the Whitman campaign, dismissed the events by Obama on behalf of Brown and other candidates as "more of the same while at the same time Californians are feeling the pain of a 12.4 percent unemployment rate."

Campaign check: "Lies, half-truths and contradictions" by candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, Oakland mayor and the U.S. Senate. C3

This article appeared on page C – 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

By KEN RITTER Associated Press Writer Sep 30, 2010 12:26PM

• Share
• E-Mail
• Print

Article Extras

HENDERSON, Nev. — Tony Curtis shaped himself from a 1950s movie heartthrob into a respected actor, showing a determined streak that served him well in such films as “Sweet Smell of Success,” “The Defiant Ones” and “Some like It Hot.”

The Oscar-nominated actor died Wednesday evening at age 85 of cardiac arrest at his home in the Las Vegas-area city of Henderson, Clark County Coroner Mike Murphy said Thursday.

Curtis began in acting with frivolous movies that exploited his handsome physique and appealing personality, but then steadily moved to more substantial roles, starting in 1957 in the harrowing show business tale “Sweet Smell of Success.”

In 1958, “The Defiant Ones” brought him an Academy Award nomination as best actor for his portrayal of a white racist who escaped from prison handcuffed to a black man, Sidney Poitier. the following year, he donned women’s clothing and sparred with Marilyn Monroe in one of the most acclaimed film comedies ever, Billy Wilder’s “Some like It Hot.”

His first wife was actress Janet Leigh of “Psycho” fame; actress Jamie Lee Curtis is their daughter.

“My father leaves behind a legacy of great performances in movies and in his paintings and assemblages,” Jamie Lee Curtis said in a statement Thursday. “He leaves behind children and their families who loved him and respected him and a wife and in-laws who were devoted to him. he also leaves behind fans all over the world.”

Curtis struggled against drug and alcohol abuse as starring roles became fewer, but then bounced back in film and television as a character actor.

His brash optimism returned, and he allowed his once-shiny black hair to turn silver.

Again he came back after even those opportunities began to wane, reinventing himself as a writer and painter whose canvasses sold for as much as $20,000.

“I’m not ready to settle down like an elderly Jewish gentleman, sitting on a bench and leaning on a cane,” he said at 60. “I’ve got a helluva lot of living to do.”

“He was a fine actor … I shall miss him,” said British actor Roger Moore, who starred alongside Curtis in TV’s “The Persuaders.”

“He was great fun to work with, a great sense of humor and wonderful ad libs,” Moore told Sky News. “We had the best of times.”

“Tony Curtis and Eddie Fisher in the same week. It’s very sad,” said actress and activist Marlo Thomas, who starred in the late-1960s sitcom “That Girl” and won Emmy, Golden Globe, Grammy and Peabody awards.

“He was funny, so very funny, very talented and a great spirit,” Thomas said of Curtis. “I found him to be a darling guy.”

Curtis perfected his craft in forgettable films such as “Francis,” “I was a Shoplifter,” “No Room for the Groom” and “Son of Ali Baba.”

He first attracted critical notice as Sidney Falco, the press agent seeking favor with a sadistic columnist, played by Burt Lancaster, in the 1957 classic “Sweet Smell of Success.”

In her book “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” Pauline Kael wrote that in the film, “Curtis grew up into an actor and gave the best performance of his career.”

Other prestigious films followed: Stanley Kubrick’s “Spartacus,” “Captain Newman, M.D.,” “The Vikings,” “Kings Go Forth,” “Operation Petticoat” and “Some like It Hot.” he also found time to do a voice acting gig as his prehistoric lookalike, Stony Curtis, in an episode of “The Flintstones.”

“The Defiant Ones” remained his only Oscar-nominated role.

In 2000, an American Film Institute survey of the funniest films in history ranked “Some like It Hot” at No. 1. Curtis — famously imitating Cary Grant’s accent — and Jack Lemmon play jazz musicians who dress up as women to escape retribution after witnessing a gangland massacre.

Marilyn Monroe was their co-star, and he and Lemmon were repeatedly kept waiting as Monroe lingered in her dressing room out of fear and insecurity. Curtis fumed over her unprofessionalism. when someone remarked that it must be thrilling to kiss Monroe in the film’s love scenes, the actor snapped, “It’s like kissing Hitler.” In later years, his opinion of Monroe softened, and in interviews he praised her unique talent.

After his star faded in the late 1960s, Curtis shifted to lesser roles. with jobs harder to find, he fell into drug and alcohol addiction.

He recovered in the early ‘80s after a 30-day treatment at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

“Mine was a textbook case,” he said in a 1985 interview. “My life had become unmanageable because of booze and dope. Work became a strain and a struggle. Because I didn’t want to face the challenge, I simply made myself unavailable.”

One role during that era of struggle did bring him an Emmy nomination: his portrayal of David O. Selznick in the TV movie “The Scarlett O’Hara War,” in 1980.

He remained vigorous following heart bypass surgery in 1994, although his health had declined in recent years.

Curtis took a fatherly pride in daughter Jamie’s success. They were estranged for a long period, then reconciled. “I understand him better now,” she said, “perhaps not as a father but as a man.”

He also had five other children. Daughters Kelly, also with Leigh, and Allegra, with second wife Christine Kaufmann, also became actresses. His other wives were Leslie Allen, Lisa Deutsch and Jill VandenBerg, whom he married in 1998.

He had married Janet Leigh in 1951, when they were both rising young stars; they divorced in 1963.

Curtis was born Bernard Schwartz in the Bronx in 1925, the son of Hungarian Jews who had emigrated to the United States after World War I.

Today is Sunday, Oct. 10, the 283rd day of 2010. there are 82 days left in the year.

On this date in:

1845: The U.S. Naval Academy is established in Annapolis, Md.

1913: The Panama Canal is effectively completed as President Woodrow Wilson sends a signal from the White House by telegraph, setting off explosives that destroy a section of the Gamboa dike.

1935: The George Gershwin opera “Porgy and Bess,” featuring an all-black cast, opens on Broadway; it runs for 124 performances.

1943: Chiang Kai-shek takes the oath of office as president of China.

1967: The Outer Space Treaty, prohibiting the placing of weapons of mass destruction on the moon or elsewhere in space, enters into force.

1973: Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, accused of accepting bribes, pleads no contest to one count of federal income tax evasion, and resigns his office.

1985: U.S. fighter jets force an Egyptian plane carrying the hijackers of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro to land in Italy, where the gunmen are taken into custody.

Actor-director Orson Welles dies in Los Angeles at age 70; actor Yul Brynner dies in new York at age 65.

1985: Benny Hinn, the charismatic evangelist, is speaking at two evening services at Calvary Assembly of God, 7580 Glenwood Ave.

Mahoning County commissioners approve a three-year contract with sheriff’s deputies that will increase a deputy’s salary from $14,629 to $18,426 over the course of the contract.

A Newark, N.J., man, Ronald Maines, who hasn’t heard for 20 years, has his hearing restored with a new procedure, a cochlear implant, performed by Dr. William Lippy at St. Joseph Hospital in Warren.

1970: The Warren-Trumbull Council of Economic Opportunity is awarded a grant of $71,525 for its Head Start program that is in its second year.

Consumers Water co. of Portland, Maine, begins a financial move to acquire the Ohio Water Service co. of Struthers, operator of Ohio water systems, with about 50,000 customers.

The Mahoning Valley Regional Mass Transit Authority is seeking a capital grant of $1.2 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

1960: The Wilkoff co., founded by Samuel Wilkoff, a Russian immigrant who landed in the United States with two cents in his pocket, celebrates its 75th anniversary as a multi-million dollar operator in the huge scrap industry. It recently dedicated a $300,000, 600-ton hydraulic scrap cutting machine.

Douglas Mueller, assistant to the president of Seiberling Rubber co. in Akron, will be the keynote speaker at the Community Chest kickoff campaign that has set a goal of $1.2 million for the support of 39 Red Feather agencies.

Sen. John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts, the Democratic presidential nominee, leaves Youngstown for Warm Springs, Ga., where he praises president Frank D. Roosevelt for helping “open doors to the Negro.”

The Pittsburgh Pirates win the fifth game of the World Series, beating the new York Yankees 5-2, to take a 3-2 lead in the series.

1935: Faced with the possible closing of Ohio State University in 10 days, Gov. Davey suggests an investigation by “a high class committee of competent men” of the university’s spending. Davey had cut $1.2 million from the OSU budget.

Fred J. Warnock, a local attorney and former Youngstown mayor, is elected eminent grand warden for Ohio during the 93rd annual conclave of the Knights Templar of Ohio meeting in Youngstown. Thousands of Youngstowners attend the downtown parade that was part of the convention.

Copyright 2010 Associated Press. all rights reserved. this material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Read our edited version of the interview below, and for a longer version (in which you will get to hear why Apatow will never do a re-make and the new Pee Wee Herman movie) watch the video after the jump. For more video awesomeness, subscribe to SFWeekly TV.

C: so I won a contest to interview you.

J.a.: You did. That's how most people get to interview me.

C: I thought I was special. so I feel a bit like a make a Wish Foundation kid right here.

JA: well …

C: I'm not dying.

JA: Yet.

C: I heard when you were young you knocked on Steve Martin's door?

JA: I didn't — I drove by his house and saw him out washing his car or something and asked for his autograph. I use to chase after people. Once I saw Robert Conrad, the actor, when I was on vacation in South Carolina and I chased after him on bicycle for three miles. I was all about seeking out people. I use to write letters to everyone on television to see who would send me an autograph back. I would write, "Dear Merv Griffin, You are the best talk show host in the world, please send me an autograph," and then I'd take out another piece of paper [and write], "Dear Mike Douglas, You are the best talk show host in the world please send me an autograph." And I would do it  for years, every night, as many letters as I could. I still have a big stack of Jack Klugman autographs at home.

C: You also had an interview show when you were young?

​

JA: I did. I used to interview comedians in high school for a high school radio station. I interviewed like 50 people, all just people I wanted to meet. I created an interview show just so there'd be a reason for people to give me their time. This was in 1983, 1984, and I interviewed [Jay] Leno and John Candy and [Jerry] Seinfeld, Howard Stern, "Weird" Al Yankovic, Steve Allen, Henny Youngman, Sandra Bernhard … anybody that I liked. I would trick them into thinking that I was a real interviewer.

C: I want to move on to some of your movies. … I saw funny People, and I wanna say it's really stuck with me. It feels kind of like a movie from the '70s. They don't really make movies like that anymore. It felt very personal, is what I'm saying. JA: well, it definitely felt like a moment where I'd be allowed to make a movie like that that I might not be allowed to make again. There's one moment where you have enough success where you can do something a little more personal. It's not like the world was screaming for a "comedian-who-has-a-fatal-disease" movie. but there are a lot of things that I wanted to say about my journey in comedy, and all the questions that are raised, [like] "What's the purpose of all this?" and how even when terrible things happen to people how difficult it is to change and evolve even in the face of something terrifying, like a fatal disease. C: Are we gonna see more of the writer-director point of view in the future? is it going to get smaller and more intimate and personal, or are we just gonna go balls-out crazy? JA: I try to do both at the same time, so if I'm directing I tend to do things that are more personal because I feel like if I do something that's just silly there's a lot of people who could direct that really well … but the things that are just about me or my feelings about certain things are things I don't feel like I could pass off to somebody else where they would understand … but that doesn't mean there's not a thriller in my future. maybe a ghost story, a house that's really scary, or maybe a lot of people get chained together and have to kill each other. C: I wanna talk about the book. The title is I Found This funny: my Favorite Humor Pieces and some that May Not Be funny at All — is that true? JA: The book is an anthology of humor and articles about humor and poetry and cartoons and short stories and just things that I like, and after I re-read it I thought, "Wow, a good third of this is not funny at all." … maybe odd funny, but not ha ha funny. … I'm really oddly proud of it. I feel like I wrote it. I didn't actually write it.  C: is there a foreword by you at least?

JA: There's a very brief foreword. I may have written the entire forward on a BlackBerry while in the bathroom. … It's perfect for the bathroom, it's perfect for an airplane, it's perfect if you're going into a dentist's office and they make you wait for an hour. C: You want to tell me what the funniest one is?  JA: I find hilarious Simon Rich, who's a writer for Saturday Night Live and has a lot of short humor pieces that are in there. … There's a hilarious sketch from Adam McCain and Tom Janice that they wrote for Saturday Night Live that Alec Baldwin was in … The "Look well Pilot," that was a pilot that Robert Smigel and Conan O'Brien wrote for Adam West in the mid-'90s … where he plays a guy who's an actor on a television show who was a detective and now the show is over and he has a badge in Lucite, like an honorary badge from the city of Beverly Hills or something, and he tries to solve crimes. There's also a Raymond Carver story, and Flannery O' Connor and F. Scott Fitzgerald — basically I made the book just so I could put my friends' work next to Hemingway's.

___________________

C: do you like it here in San Francisco, or do you think it's a shithole? JA: why would you use the word "shithole"? … does anyone think of San Francisco as a shithole? C: Certain parts.

JA: where you live? C: Yes. JA: You live in the uh, Mexican Jewish section?  C: There's lots of delis and burritos. 

___________________C: You're one of the good guys, Judd … to all Mexican schlubby Jewish guys out there … you're a superhero.

JA: You're a subdivision of the schlubby Jew, because there's the schlubby Jew and then there's the schlubby Mexican Jew, there's the schlubby Asian  Jew, the scrubby Brazilian Jew … C: well you're kind of like our Miles Davis. JA: I'm the schlubby Turkish Jew. … I feel like I'm getting a lot of guys like you laid. … like it used to be embarrassing to have sex with guys like us, but now it's kinda almost a cool thing to do. C: thank God in 2010 for a man like you to get me laid. Nice meeting you, Judd.

Follow us on Twitter @SFAllShookDown

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Actor Charlie Sheen filed for divorce on Monday to end his third, short-lived marriage that was marred by a criminal conviction for assault on his wife and a recent, scandalous escapade in new York City hotel.

The popular star of TV comedy "Two and a half Men" filed papers in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday seeking to end his 2008 marriage to real estate investor Brooke Mueller. The couple have 19-month old twin sons.

According to documents obtained by celebrity web site TMZ.com, Sheen cited irreconcilable differences.

The couple have been living apart since December 2009, when Sheen was arrested in the ski resort of Aspen, Colorado, on charges of pulling a knife on Mueller during an alcohol-fueled Christmas Day argument.

Sheen, 45, pleaded guilty in August to assaulting Mueller and was ordered to serve 30 days in drug and alcohol rehabilitation in California and given three months probation.

Both Mueller and Sheen have since spent time in rehab.

Last week, new York police reported finding Sheen drunk and incoherent in the city's posh Plaza Hotel, and he was taken to a hospital where he spent much of the day. Media reports told of an angry tirade by Sheen and a trashed hotel room, and a porn actress has claimed to have been with Sheen. None of the reports could be confirmed independently.

Sheen's publicist said the actor merely suffered an allergic reaction to an unspecified medication. Sheen was not arrested in the incident and returned home to Los Angeles.

The actor's personal life has had little effect on his career. The CBS show "Two and a half Men" remains the most-watched TV comedy in the United States and in May Sheen won a pay rise to a reported $1.8 million an episode, making him the highest paid actor in the TV industry.

Sheen, the son of "West Wing" actor Martin Sheen, has been divorced twice before. his four year marriage to actress Denise Richards ended in 2006 and his first union, with Donna Peele, lasted for about a year.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

People magazine says the troubled two and a half Men actor will file papers to end the marriage on Monday.

The couple — who married in 2008 and have twin 1-year-old boys — have been living apart since April following a Christmas fight that landed Sheen in jail.

Sheen, 45, and Mueller, 33, have both since entered rehab in separate programs. Sheen was also placed on probation and sentenced to domestic violence counseling.

Tags: brooke mueller, charlie sheen

Hollywood actor Morgan Freeman is to receive a lifetime achievement award from the American Film Institute (AFI).

The 73-year-old Oscar winner will be presented with the award on 9 June.

AFI chair Sir Howard Stringer called Freeman "an American treasure" who brought a calm authority to his roles, "whether playing a prisoner, a president or God."

Freeman won an Oscar for his role in Million Dollar Baby in 2005. his next film is the thriller Red.

He was also nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar for 1997's Street Smart, and has garnered three Academy nominations for best actor for Invictus, Driving Miss Daisy and The Shawshank Redemption.

His other credits include Bruce Almighty and Nurse Betty.

He will be the 39th recipient of the AFI Lifetime Achievement award. others include Jack Nicholson, Steven Spielberg, Barbra Streisand, Elizabeth Taylor, Alfred Hitchcock and Martin Scorsese.

Stringer said Freeman had an "unmistakable voice that echoes through the hearts and minds of movie lovers around the world".

The AFI's Lifetime Achievement award is considered one of the highest honours in the US for a film actor.

Freeman's ceremony will take place in Los Angeles – it will be broadcast on US TV towards the end of June.

During a career which spanned seven decades, Sir Norman Wisdom went beyond clowning and slapstick to star in 19 movies.

His knighthood, which came in 2000, put the diminutive comic on a footing with the likes of Sir Ralph Richardson, Sir John Gielgud and Sir Alec Guinness.

But Sir Norman's lofty and cherished status among the British public could never have been imagined at the time of his birth in February 1915.

His parents divorced when he was nine and his violent, drunken father abandoned him and his brother Fred.

Sir Norman headed for a career first in the Merchant Navy and then the Army, where he found a platform for developing his showman's talents.

He became a bandsman, graduated to concert parties, and honed his comic skills.

After World War II, the British actor Rex Harrison advised Sir Norman to become a professional entertainer after seeing him in a Forces revue.

He was soon touring the country as straight man to the magician David Nixon and his perennial character, The Gump, was born.

Playing the fool

He signed to the Rank Organisation and made 19 films during the 1950s and 60s, each of which followed the same pattern.

Sir Norman played the fool in his shrunken jacket and flat cap, defying fate and mr Grimsdale, to get the girl in the final frame.

Some called his work childish and trite and his films were certainly basic.

But Sir Norman's breath-taking physicality and cheery manner endowed them with a charm still recognised by people of all ages.

Charlie Chaplin said Sir Norman was his favourite clown.

Wisdom wowed Broadway in the 1960s and, was praised for his role in The Night They Raided Minsky's, a spirited evocation of the glory days of American burlesque theatre.

Deceptively simple

The slapstick nature of his films brought Sir Norman a worldwide following. Crowds in Hong Kong flocked to a 24-hour screening of his films.

He was a particular favourite in Albania. during the height of the cold War, the country's Stalinist rulers decreed that his films were politically acceptable.

The Rank studio signed Sir Norman up for 19 films in the 1950s and 1960s

It allowed their subjects a taste of the West and Sir Norman was mobbed when he visited the country to be awarded the Freedom of Tirana.

The apparent simplicity of Sir Norman's act sometimes hid the depth of his abilities.

Those who might have otherwise scoffed at The Gump would have been won over by his moving portrayal of a terminally ill cancer patient in the Bafta-winning 1981 TV adaptation of Going Gently.

His wife of 22 years left him in 1969, and he brought up his children alone. but the stage shows, cabarets and pantomimes continued to pull in the crowds.

He later made his mark in evergreen sitcom Last of The Summer Wine, and made an appearance in Coronation Street in 2004, playing elderly fitness fanatic Ernie Crabbe.

A comic craftsman

He retired to the Isle of Man but continued to perform well into old age, being cited as a formative influence by another diminutive and physical British comedian, Lee Evans.

Sir Norman believed that the key to his success was a simple one.

Sir Norman was knighted in 2000

"My comedy is for children from three to 93," he once explained. "You do need a slightly childish sense of humour and if you haven't got that, it's very sad."

Although no creator of high art, Sir Norman Wisdom was a true craftsman who demanded much from himself.

Where some gained huge reputations and salaries through painting and sculpture he, along with a very select group, simply made the world smile.

MINNEAPOLIS (CAP) – Authorities have charged a local couple with child endangerment after neighbors reported they let their 7-year-old son sleep in a pumpkin patch alone on Halloween night.

Fred and Nancy van Pelt of Roseville, a suburb of Minneapolis, were arrested at their home after their son, Linus van Pelt, turned up at the James Street Elementary School still suffering from the effects of hypothermia and muttering under his breath about being forsaken by a "Great Pumpkin."

"The poor kid – he was clearly delirious," said Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fincher, who referred the case to the county's Child Protective Services department. "He had an old ratty blanket that he had wrapped around himself, and he was just shaking and mumbling."

Residents said they spotted the boy several times in a neighborhood pumpkin patch the night before, sitting among the pumpkins as his friends were enjoying tricks-or-treats. he was primarily alone, but was seen for a time accompanied by a neighbor, Sally Brown, 5, who is now being questioned by police psychiatrists.

Neighbors told CAP News that the boy believed he would be visited in the pumpkin patch by a so-called "Great Pumpkin," who would present him with toys. his parents may have fostered this charade as a form of psychological torture, authorities believe.

Ownership of the pumpkin patch has not been determined, but several local residents have noted that it has always seemed "extremely sincere."

Police are also looking into the well being of other area children who, after tricks-or-treats, apparently attended a Halloween party with no adults present. There, several girls allegedly drew a jack-o-lantern face on the head of a local bald boy; they are now facing charges under Minnesota's new bullying law.

One of the girls in question, whom authorities declined to name, described their victim as a "stupid blockhead," apparently showing no remorse.

Sheriff Fincher says the same boy may have been the victim of a conspiracy among neighborhood parents to give him rocks instead of candy when he came to their doors on Halloween. "I can't imagine what kind of sick, twisted person would do that to a poor child," said Fincher, "even if his baseball team did go 0-20 and give up 3,040 runs this year."

as for Linus van Pelt, he and his siblings have been removed from their parents' custody and been placed temporarily in the care of a teacher at James Street Elementary, Miss Jane Othmar. "Frankly, [Linus] seemed thrilled about it," said Fincher.

the van Pelt parents were later released on their own recognizance, according to authorities. when reached by CAP News, they declined to comment in comprehensible English, instead making a series of "MWA MWA MWA" noises, not unlike a muffled trombone.