OSCARS Q&A: Hugh Jackman

Hugh Jackman has carved out an image as a major movie star who can easily switch gears from action to drama to comedy and all things in between. But until now the man who made Wolverine a household name has never done a movie musical. That’s a bit surprising since Jackman also happens to be a classically trained musical star outside of movies. He’s starred in stage classics like Oklahoma!, won a Tony on Broadway as Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz, an Emmy for hosting the Tonys, and worldwide recognition for his singing and dancing as host of the Oscars. He recently did a one-man musical show on Hugh JackmanBroadway, and that’s one of the reasons he says he is even in Les Misérables and making his long-overdue debut as star of a musical on the big screen.
AwardsLine: Would you consider this to be one of the toughest screen roles you’ve done?
Jackman: For sure. There is not an element that really wasn’t the toughest. One of the reasons I did the Broadway show was to make sure I was vocally fit to not only sing it, but sing it all day long, wake up the next day, and have another 12 hours of it. I put on 29 pounds from beginning to end. Tom (Hooper) told me, “I want people to worry, I want your friends to think you’re sick.” The physicality, the emotional (aspect) acting-wise, was tough.
AwardsLine: You rarely see musicals of this size anymore.
Jackman: That’s true. It’s a big risk. I’m not surprised it’s taken 27 years to get there.

AwardsLine: Despite the fact that the actors in the film are very well-known and talented, I understand everybody auditioned for it.
Jackman: Everybody, and by the way, when I auditioned Tom wasn’t signed to the movie, but there looked like there was going to be a clash between The Wolverine and this. I rang up Tom and told him I really wanted to do this part. He said I’d be a perfect shot, but (that) he wasn’t even signed on to it but was thinking about it. I asked him if I could audition for him anyway, in case he would sign on to the film. I sang him three songs, and he just sat there for a few minutes and gave me feedback. I could see the director in him. Three hours passed, and I had to put my hand up and tell him, “Tom, I have to put my kids to sleep.” So I auditioned very early on, and everyone auditioned. 99% of what is shot is live, just the beginning with the water (was not) because you couldn’t put microphones in that much water.

Arnold Schwarzenegger on The Last Stand

Arnold Schwarzenegger talks about his action comeback in the new issue of Total Film magazine (out now, and available for just £1.99 on your iPad).Inside the issue, we go in depth with Arnie, who’s back to reclaim his action-icon status after eight years in politics, and we also get the lowdown on the big man from Jaimie Alexander and director Kim Je-woon.Here’s a sneak peek at what the Governator had to say about The Last Stand:“It’s kind of a film about the little guy, though it’s funny for me to be called ‘little guy’, right?” he told us.“He’s the guy that is about to retire and he has a few people in his station that are young kids, and the station is not equipped for big challenges. All of a sudden, a vicious gang of warriors hits the town. They are trying to usher one of the top drug criminals back to Mexico.“I mean, it’s a bunch of trained military guys, 20 of them. This shit is happening and we have no idea how to get out of it.”The Last Stand opens on 25 January 2013.For much more from Arnold Schwarzenegger, pick up issue 202 of Total Film magazine, which is out now. You can save 50% on the cover price if you subscribe with our winter 2012 offer!

'This Is The End' Redband Trailer: Seth Rogen & Co. Will Help Us LOL Through The Apocalypse

Seth Rogen This Is The End
                    If you read World War Z, your favorite chapter might be the one where a bunch of insufferable celebrities move into a heavily fortified compound together to ride out the zombie apocalypse in high style. Given that they're all basically awful people, things don't go so well and they all die. Alas, Mark Forster's movie version probably won't include that moment, but Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel and Pineapple Express team is giving us the next best thing, with This Is The End, a raunchy comedy that asks 'what would happen if almost everyone who works with Judd Apatow survived a worldwide apocalypse?' Well, not everyone (alas, poor Michael Cera,), but enough people to populate the next ten years of dude-oriented R-rated comedies.

The newly released red band trailer is gosh darned hilarious, especially Danny McBride critiquing his friends' ability to convincingly sell the end of the world to him. It's kind of like if every moment in Zombieland was the section with Bill Murray, or better yet, given the likelihood of an insane amount of cameos, more like the Cannonball Run of apocalypse movies. Yeah, in fact, the foreign language title needs to be Cannonball Apocalypse.

This trailer alone is funnier than every single FB update about the world ending that we're going to read tomorrow, guaranteed. This is the End will roll into theaters summer 2013 — that is, if we're all still here.

Gérard Depardieu Says He’s Giving Up French Passport After Prime Minister Calls Actor’s Tax Exile “Pathetic”

Gérard Depardieu has made headlines for things other than his acting before, but his decision to move to Belgium has taken the media – and French political circles – by storm. Although it is unlikely to affect his career, the Oscar nominee, in a letter published in today’s Journal Du Dimanche, says he is returning his French passport after being called “pathetic” by French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault. The new French government has imposed a controversial 75% income tax on individuals earning more than 1M euros and Depardieu recently purchased a property across the French border in Nelchin, Belgium where taxes are lower. This prompted Ayrault to tell France 2 television last week, “I find it quite pathetic to go just over the border. All this in order to not pay taxes.” There is no word as to whether Depardieu has requested a Belgian passport which would normally allow him to continue working in France under European Union rules. The actor is France’s best paid and perhaps most prolific. For 2012 and 2013, there are at least 10 films on his dance card and he may play a French politician embroiled in a sex scandal for Abel Ferrara later this year. Depardieu’s colorful reponse to Ayrault is excerpted below:
“Pathetic, you said ‘pathetic’ ? Now that’s pathetic!… I have always paid my taxes whatever the rate under all of the governments in power… The historical films in which I have participated demonstrate my love for France… Unfortunately, I have nothing left to do here, but I will continue to love the French people and the audience with whom I have shared so many emotions!… I am giving you back my passport and my social security… We no longer have the same country. I am a true European, a citizen of the world as my father always taught me… I’ve paid 145M euros in taxes in 45 years, I employ 80 people… I am not here to complain or to boast but I refuse the word ‘pathetic.’ Who are you to judge me this way, I ask you M. Ayrault… I ask you, who are you? Despite my excesses, my appetite and my love of life, I am a free man, sir, and I am going to remain polite.”

Watch Breaking Dawn Part 2 - Just Say No

I have browse the books... I have seen the films. Some helped me cringe (Twilight), others left me really smiling after i left the theater (Eclipse & Breaking Dawn Part 1). However I have never witnessed a movie before which i felt so effective about this I needed to write an evaluation until tonight, after i saw Breaking Dawn, Part 2.

Inside the first a few minutes from the movie, I requested my pal when we it had been a tale and also the real movie would soon begin and she or he assured me it was the particular movie. When she stated that, I understood I had been set for a lengthy 2 hrs.

There is no beating round the rose bush here - it had been awful. So awful which i remained with the credits 1000 Years" by Christina Perri since it signified the finish from the worst lost chance I have even observed in a movie.

I understand it is a sappy love story in regards to a clumsy girl who falls deeply in love with a misinterpreted and soulfully tortured vampire while her closest friend must watch from afar with only his rock solid abs to console him. However when Bella is converted into a vampire, there is an amazing chance for many amazing effects. She's strong, beautiful, elegant and filled with capabilities she's didn't have before. She will mix miles within minutes, destroy trees with swipe of her hands and crush big chunks of rock using the touch of her finger. She's a awesome ability too and thus do all her new buddies. Unforuntaely the Bella i was treated to was outfitted with absolutely none of those characteristics.

Yes, she could run, in slow mode apparently designed to make her appear faster than sensational looking only helped me understand that I'd like to watch Breaking Dawn Part 2 that looked more realistic. It had been like watching two plastic dolls running through twigs and grass. She could scale a mountainside effortlessly but simply wound up searching just like a stilted animated toy being controlled with a two year old. She shown her capability to crush a boulder, except the boulder was constructed of paper. Even though we are about the boulder, why on the planet was Emmett's face so pale in this movie? It did not even blend using the relaxation of his body and you can practically begin to see the whitened line where his makeup ended. Really, the majority of the stars had a general plastic quality for their look, using the exception, obviously, of Bella and also the couple of selected ones.

Plus there is Renesemee. The youthful actress who performed Renesemee, the kid, was adorable. Because the character conveyed mostly through touch, finding an actress who looked the part was extremely important. I felt this youthful lady was not far from Renesemee's description within the book, and I must offer her props for hanging inside. Nevertheless the "baby Renesemee" just must have been left around the cutting room floor. It had been this type of poor simulation of the real baby which i blurted out "Are you currently kidding me" initially when i first first viewed it.

There have been allot of "Are you currently kidding me" moments in Breaking Dawn Part 2 which list isn't all-inclusive - it simply consists of things i haven't handled to get rid of from my memory yet: 1. Bella's awakening 2. Bella's first hunting trip 3. Baby Renesemee 4. The "boulder scene" 5. The Volturi (particularly when Aro squealed in delight over Renesemee) 6. Bella's "shield" 7. The battle moments (select one, anyone... really it's really no contest - I have seen more suspense and horror on daytime cleaning soap operas in the eighties) 8. The be-titles - not a chance, you cannot call individuals be-titles. It had been a lot more like tugging the mind off your child toy. No muss, no fuss.

Hold on... there's more. I believe there have been stars who did not utter just one word. They simply communicated potency and efficacy and energy through laughable makeup, protruding, glaring eyes made cartoonish by using contacts, heavy mascara and a lot of eye liner or by sneering with bloodstream red-colored lips. However they were the luck ones. Other stars had actual lines, even when it had been only one word.

I understand, I compensated to determine this movie. And That I taken care of things i had wished could be a minimum of well worth the $20 I paid out, including popcorn and coke therefore it would be a relatively cheap date. However ,.. This did not even compare to being well worth the money I spent.

Knowing this franchise includes a large group of followers, there needs to happen to be quite a lot of money produced in the books, movies, add-ons, etc. But you didn't use whatever of this money committed to Breaking Dawn Part 2. It had been inexpensively made, poorly behaved and I am still in shock this was the ultimate cut.

Now, The truth is that I loved the twist installed directly into justify the fighting scene. The audience's response to the way the scene ended had me exclaiming "Are you currently kidding me?" again. I can not remember if the scene was part from the book or otherwise, however my daughter is adamant that it hadn't been. I figured it added a much better option to just watching everybody attempt to glare one another to dying. On second thought, when they had just glared at one another the movie might have ended sooner so perhaps not....

So save the cash and lost time. Grab your children's plastic dolls, use the backyard and pretend such as the dolls are playing around. Then add grunts, mumbling and pitched squeals (only for the audience's response to Jacob's undressing scene) and you've got designed a better movie than what you will have experienced.

Just call me disappointed within the south.... I'll watch some TV rather. A minimum of then I am guaranteed I'm able to have some quality entertainment (Thanks AMC, TNT and USA).

Dan Aykroyd talks Ghostbusters 3

Dan Aykroyd has long been talking up the prospects of making Ghostbusters 3, but in a recent interview with Esquire he dropped some interesting nuggets about Bill Murray’s non-involvement, before challenging Sony to make the film before it’s too late.“I’ve worked on every draft in the last three years, as Ivan has,” says Aykroyd, “and now we have a story and a draft that everybody seems to agree would make the third movie. At this point, I think we’re closer than we ever have been.”And while it had previously been thought that Bill Murray would have to sign on in order for the thing to be made at all, Aykroyd reveals that some contractual small print might mean that’s no longer the case.“I’m not sure Billy [has to sign on] anymore, since he abrogated his rights by sort of saying, two years ago, “I don’t want to be involved.” The picture company I think had some clause in there that if he actually passed on the third of fourth offer, he no longer has a view of the franchise.“We have to move on, but we’ll always leave a hole for him. He’s always there. He can always come back at any time and be rebuilt into it, as far as I’m concerned. That’s up to his lawyer and the picture company to work out, but creatively, he will always be a part of it.”And as for the picture company, Aykroyd is unequivocal in how he wants them to move things forward.“I’ll be moving on to other things, as will Ivan,” says Aykroyd. “We can’t wait forever. And now’s the time to tell the picture company, and I’d say this quite publically, it’s time now to sit down and make this movie, or you will lose your main principals, and you won’t be able to make it without us, because we have rights, and now is time to make the movie.”

Former ‘X-Factor’ Judge Cheryl Cole Sues Producers For $2.3M

Short-lived X-Factor judge Cheryl Cole today sued producers Blue Orbit Productons for more than $2.3 million. Even though she was dumped from the show before it debuted Stateside, Cole claims that she is owed the money under the pay or play contract she had. The British host and singer says in her Breach of Contract suit (read it here) that while she was paid $1.8 million for season one of the U.S. X-Factor, it is the money for season two that she is seeking now. Cole served as a judge on the UK version of X-Factor and was imported by Simon Cowell to serve as judge for the debut season of the American version of The X-Factor. That never really ended up happening. Cole was replaced by Nicole Scherzinger before the show even went to air. “On June 5, 2011, Blue Orbit formally elected to exercise its pay or play right pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, such that Cole was not required to perform any services as a judge on The X Factor series,” says the complaint. Besides her $2 million fee as a judge for season two, Cole is seeking the additional $300,000 in damages for wardrobe allowance, a stylist allowance, hotel/apartment in LA allowance and a $2,500 per month living allowance from season one that she says she was entitled to. She is also seeking interest and the usual “for such other and further relief as the Court may deem just and proper.” The X-Factor is currently in its second season with Scherzinger having herself been replaced by Britney Spears as a judge on the show. Cole is represented by Allen B Grodsky of LA firm Grodsky & Olecki.

'The Hobbit' At 48 FPS: A High Frame Rate Fiasco?

The biggest question surrounding Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings prequel The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, has nothing to do with its strength of story, its Oscar chances, or whether or not Tolkien fans will embrace yet another uber-ambitious adaptation of their beloved fantasy world, but rather: How does it look?
Specifically, how will Jackson's 48 frames-per-second gamble play after months of talk and one particularly disastrous Cinema Con debut? I'll tell you this: The grumblings and rumblings after my screening of The Hobbit - in bold, daring, frustrating 48 frames-per-second 3-D - were decidedly not raves. And that's a very bad sign for Jackson & Co.

One colleague couldn't believe how poor the 48 fps presentation looked, insisting - or hoping, more like it - that something must have been wrong with the projection. Jackson's big, game-changing crusade for a frame rate that would part the heavens and open humankind's hearts and minds and brains to a new way of watching film couldn't possibly look so unpleasant. Could it?
I was curious if, back in April when The Hobbit's 48 fps preview bombed at Cinema Con, the journalists and industry folk who recoiled from the hyper-clarity of the picture onscreen were just overreacting to Jackson's new cinematic order. "After a minute or two of adjusting," wrote The New York Daily News' Ethan Sacks in his embargo-skirting first review, "the higher resolution is eye-popping, similar to discovering HD television for the first time."
HD TV did look rather freaky at first, I'll give him that, and there's a shared quality of too much visual information that The Hobbit's 48 fps shares with high-def television. But it didn't take a few minutes of adjusting to get used to it; even two hours and 40 minutes later my brain was rejecting the look of it. It felt like watching daytime soaps in HD, terrible BBC broadcasts, or Faerie Tale Theater circa 1985, only in amazingly sharp clarity and with hobbits.
Part of the problem is there's too much detail in every frame that the magical filter of cinema that makes most 24 fps film so pleasing to the eye is gone; every prop on a set too clear, and even a performance by someone like the very fine Ian McKellen looks embarrassingly, unnaturally theatrical. Moving images, especially walking Hobbits and dwarves - not as much the CG creatures, for what it's worth - flit at odd speeds that just never look right.
With the exception of a handful of scenes, mostly enhanced by CG vs. shot on interior sets, the 48 fps had me imagining how gorgeous everything might look in 24fps. Those who've seen it in 24fps seem much happier with the visual presentation, even if 3-D feels superfluous. As Bilbo made his way along his adventure through Middle Earth, the look of The Hobbit and the accelerated barrage of information prompted a flurry of other films and shows to pop into mind, none of them flattering comparisons.