Wednesday, April 25, 2012

The Awesome Aussie Likes His Shorts

Hugh Jackman has conquered the big screen, Broadway, the world. He has hosted the Tonys and the Oscars. And now, he’s going to draw attention to some shorts.

Short films, that is.

Oh yes, he will: The Awesome Aussie is going to play host with the most once again when he lends his considerably charming star power to Tropfest New York, the 20th anniversary of the worlds largest short-film festival.

“Im proud to be part of the festival as it expands its reach to the U.S. and brings its competition to New York,” Jackman said. “New York is a perfect host for a festival that empowers creative minds to try their hand at filmmaking.

The actor’s fee event is set for June 23 in Manhattan’s Bryant Park. Finalists will be screened and judged and a winner will be announced, capping a three-day celebration of film.

Are you thinking what I’m thinking?

Road trip! Especially because Jackman also will be showing a short – he appears as a version of himself in a 7-minute short titled Uncle Jonny.

Photo: IBTimes.com.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Harry’s Return

Prince Harry’s coming (back) to America.

Oooh, yeah, bitches and boys and who like boys – the supa-hot prince will be in Washington, D.C., on May 7, to accept the Atlantic Council’s 2012 Award for Distinguished Humanitarian Leadership.

And then, perhaps, Hottie Harry, you can come down to Miami? I would love to honor you for all the work you do for my imagination.

Photo: Telegraph.co.uk.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Officially Liz

OMG, our and her patience has paid off because it’s finally happening: Lindsay Lohan is getting ready to work again.

L2 will reclaim her role as an actual actress now she’s officially set to star as the late, great Elizabeth Taylor in Lifetime’s Liz & Dick, a chronicle of one of Hollywoods greatest love affairs penned by Christopher Monger, the same talent who wrote HBOs Temple Grandin.

The movie is scheduled to begin production in June. Fingers crossed Lohan can stay out of trouble until and beyond that point.

Speaking of, said Linds of scoring the part, “I have always admired and had enormous respect for Elizabeth Taylor. She was not only an incredible actress but an amazing woman as well. I am very honored to have been asked to play this role.

Hope La Lohan can make us proud and show us she’s worthy of my calling her that.

Photo: MTV.com.

Avon Gets Its Man

No Hugh Jackman? No problem.

Mark Wahlberg – who is so having a moment right now – is in talks to replace the Awesome Aussie as the lead in Avon Man, a comedy about a man who turns to selling the famous products door to door after he loses his job at a car dealership.

Jackman, who had to step away from the project due to a conflict with his shooting schedule (he will finally begin work on The Wolverine this summer), will remain on board as a producer.

I still think they ought to shoot this in Miami. I will be glad to open my door for Wahlberg.

Photo: Zimbio.com.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

The Whole Package

Charlize Theron is being shopped around as part of a package these day.

I guess that sex tape did what it was supposed to, huh.

Ha!

Nah...the Oscar winner is just part of a package deal for this new project titled Agent 13 that also has a locked director already, Rupert Wyatt, the guy who helmed Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

I’m going to guess this is some sort of spy thriller and say I can’t wait to see it...when it eventually gets made. Wyatt’s going to be busy for at least the next year making a follow-up to last summer’s surprise ape-sized hit.

Photo: MyFashionLife.com.

Friday, April 20, 2012

Taylor As Joni – Discuss

Her Eponine dreams dashed, it sounds like Taylor Swift has not set her sights on Joni Mitchell.

The singer-songwriter is hoping to play the legendary multi-hyphenate in a long-in-the-works project titled Girls Like Us, a drama about Mitchell, Carly Simon, and Carole King.

Note how I said Swift is hoping to score the part. The movie hasn’t gotten a green light from the powers that be.

Personally, I think gal pal should start small – why invite scrutiny in this way?

Again, nothing’s official...so don’t go hatin’ on Swift, ya hear.

Photo: Zimbio.com.

All About Kelly (Still) – But Team Brenda 4ever

Swoosh, swoosh!

Fans of original-flavor 90210, here’s a reason to celebrate: three of your favorites got together again recently.

But not for reunion or a return to the new 90210, but celebrate one of their own.

Shannen Doherty and Ian Ziering hit West Hollywood last night to celebrate Jennie Garth’s big 4-0 and support the launch of her new reality show on CMT, Jennie Garth: A Little Bit Country.

Awww! That really made me smile.

Photo: People.com.

Mission: Love


The lucky one? More like, the buff one.

I’m talking of course about how good Zac Efron looks in his new movie, The Lucky One, an adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel for which the actor packed on almost 20 lbs. of muscle poundage.

The actor plays Sgt. Logan Thibault like a golden retriever of a former Marine – a good thing since he spends a great deal of his time working in the family-run dog kennel of the object of his affection, which, btw, is located in the most picturesque setting of Louisiana Ive ever seen committed to film.

Like, I want to go to there.

Ah, but I digress.

As I was saying, Efron spends a lot of time working and then quietly wooing the kennel’s owner, a woman named Beth, nicely and quirkily played by the lovely Taylor Schilling, whom you may know as the once-upon-a-time-two-seasons-ago star of TV’s Mercy.

Beth is initially reluctant to hire Logan. I think she finds his inner life much too mysterious, and his chivalry rather off-putting (Logan is the kind of guy who says things like “please” and “thank you” and calls Beths doting grandmother – Blythe Danner, an earthy hoot as always – “maam,” while her ex is the son of a prominent local big deal and a cop with a short fuse). She’s wary of him as soon as he mentions he’s a vet and reluctant to hire him, but he ultimately gets the job (thanks, grandma!)

Obviously, it’s only a matter of time until she takes a shining to the guy. How could she not, after all? He’s got 20 lbs. of young Marine-ness on him, a killer smile (when he smiles), and baby blues that are as debunking as any I’ve ever seen. Surely, if she doesn’t want him....

Nah, I’m not going there. Anyway....

This being a (light) romantic drama based on a Sparks novel, know this meet isn’t happenstance. Logan came to find her because Beth is the woman in the photo he found while proudly serving his third tour of duty out in Iraq – a pic he came to think of as lucky charm for coming upon it quite literally saved his life.

Of course, this is the conflict of the story: Logan has a secret about Beth and her...significance to him, and as secrets do, this one eventually comes out, jeopardizing the couple’s burgeoning relationship and his bond with her adorable young son.

I won’t spoil how the whole thing unravels because, this being a Sparks novel, you probably know there’ll be some sort of tragic twist to the whole thing. So that leaves me with having to focus on the acting and the chemistry between Efron an Schilling.

Let’s start with the latter.

This most-photogenic pairs works well together. It’s no wonder there were short-lived rumors the two were hooking up off-set while making The Lucky One. But she looks a bit too old for him; try as he might, Efron's still got a mean baby face, and some scruff ain’t gonna cut it, buddy. Not that Schilling is that much older than him – a quick IMDb search said she’s only three years his senior. She just looks a lot more...wise than he does (which helps her character, but not the movie...it’s a bit distracting).

This brings me to the former topic of discussion, the acting.

Schilling shows off some nice potential-leading-lady chops, although I’m not sure she’s quite there yet, as in ready for the silver screen. Or maybe this just wasn’t the proper intro – having seen her on Mercy, albeit briefly, I know she has more in her than playing somewhat-suffering stock.

Efron, meanwhile, also acquits himself well as a leading man, but, again, he’s a zygote. I’m not sayin he should be playing 17 again (see what I did there, Efron fans?), but when he’s given material that has him doing a confessional and his acting comes off a bit Nicolas Cage-y...I’m not sure that’s good. Oh, and the movie loses points for not featuring the guy shirtless more. Twenty pounds of muscle.... Hello!

Still, though, The Lucky One, while not the best one, just might be a nice-enough date-night time. So check it out – if anything, it’ll give ya an idea for a future getaway. Otherwise, wait until you can watch it in the comfort of your own home with your lucky one.

My Rating **

Photo: Warner Bros.

Someone Import Thomas Beaudoin, Please

Canadian actor Thomas Beaudoin could make a shot of tequila sound good at any time of the day, it must be said.

The guy’s playing a beyond-H-O-T bearded fireman who loves saving kittens and really loves making a mean drink using Sauza tequila.

Click here to watch him action. Enjoy what happens at the 1:24 mark. It is good.

Can someone cast him on an American show, please? Preferably on something his smile is called upon often...or his shirtlessness.

Photo: Towleroad.com.

Franco Pulls a Sevigny

James Franco is boldly going where not straight guy really would – for his art.

He’s going downtown.

As in down down there. On film...on a dude.

How very Chloë Sevigny of him (GTS).

Like I said, though, he’s doing it for his art, which as we all know, he’s totally into.

Franco recently completed work on The Broken Tower, a biopic about Hart Crane, the gay poet widely known for his alcoholism and suicide at age 32. (he wrote and directed it – check out the trailer here). And to stay true to Crane’s sexuality, Franco included a scene in which he performs a job of the mouth variety – a scene he totally stands behind of because it “achieve[s] its effect.

Judge by yourself: The Broken Tower is now available On Demand.

Photo: NextMovie.com.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Did Somebody Call for a Little Magic?

The first trailer for this summer’s much-anticipated Magic Mike, so without further ado:

<.div>

Yeah, lest anyone should think it, the powers that be (un)wisely decided to highlight the love story between the titular character (Channing Tatum, on whose pre-acting experiences the sure-to-be-a-hit dramedy is based), a successful stripper with dreams of becoming a furniture designer, and his reluctant object of affection (newcomer Cody Horn).

So don’t expect anymore than passing strippin’ glances of Alex Pettyfer, Joe Manganiello, and Matthew McConaughey. Or any whatsoever, from what I can tell, of that beautiful creature we know as Matthew Bomer.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

On the Manhunt

Now, calm down, gays – Gerard Butler is looking to join the Manhunt, but that one.

The Scot is circling the starring role in this action thriller about a team of FBI agents hunting a most-wanted man out in the North Carolina wilderness. Hampering their efforts are the locals who have helped this dude, a domestic terrorist, elude capture while mounting attacks on the government.

The problem is the agents are way in over their heads, and this guy will not go down easy – he’s quite the survivalist this man, you see....

No word on which side of the law Butlers character will be, but production is set to get underway toward the end of the year, so more news should a-comin’.

Photo: BiteWallpapers.com.

R.I.P. World’s Oldest Teenager

One of television’s most beloved and consummate hosts, Dick Clark, a.k.a. the world’s oldest teenager, has died from a massive heart attack. He was 82.

Clark shot to fame in the 1950s as the host of the iconic and pioneering and seminal American Bandstand, although I knew him mostly as the man fronting that annual tradition known as New Year’s Eve Rockin’ Eve.

For decades, the guy kept going strong, weathering scandals and diversifying his business and nurturing new talent, like Ryan Seacrest, who paid tribute to his friend on last night’s American Idol.

Clark only began slowing down following a stroke in 2004, but had since returned to doing what he loved doing: hosting and bringing a smile to the faces of his many fans.

Click here to read how other celebs paid their respects to one of their heroes.

Photo: UsMagazine.com.

Wahlberg Still Makes ’Em Appetites Whet

I think it was about two decades ago that Mark Wahlberg showed the world how a man should fill a pair of tight Calvins when he first started to turn heads as a model/bad boy rapper (which did come first, do you know?).

These days, now an Oscar-nominated actor and family guy, Wahlberg’s showing us he’s still got it goin’ on.

And thank your lucky stars for that ’cause the guy’s a sight to be seen. Front and back.

Da-friggin’- yum!

Mark...Marky Mark, where exactly will you be shooting Pain and Gain in Miami this weekend?

Photo: SocialiteLife.com.

Who Ordered the Thighs!

Oooh, Ben Cohen – thank you.

The rugby star/LGBT award-winning ally has given his friend-of-friends fans a reason to do a double-taking by posing for Metrosource NY just like the guys like him: showcasing his bestest assets.

Y-O-U, you wanna, huh.

Well, soon you’ll be able to have a piece of Cohen. Of his underwear line, at least.

Evidently, the (straight) sex symbol has an underwear line coming up later this spring, and he promises that his campaign will be done “tastefully.

Well, alright – if you must.

Photo: BoyCulture.typepad.com.

Blunt on the Brink

These days, its good to be Blunt. Emily Blunt.

It is my opinion that the Brit has been happening for quite a bit now, but it seems Hollywood is (finally?) looking at the Adjustment Bureau star with just-as-not-more infatuated eyes as I do at the moment.

The actress is negotiating a co-starring role opposite none other than Tom Cruise in Doug Liman’s All You Need Is Kill, a based-on-a-graphic novel sci-fi thriller about a soldier who relives the same day over and over in order to become better and win a war against aliens. She would play a battledoer, too.

And, she’s also in the running to join Johnny Depp in the Thin Man reboot (Kristen Wiig and Emma Stone are also eyeing the part of Nora Charles).

This just makes me smile. I like it when the stars I like get lots of gigs because it makes the going to the movies that much more enjoyable.

Photo: Fashionising.com.

The Beek Is Officially, Totally Back

Well, well, well – it seems the return of the Beek is officially complete because James Van Der Beek’s TV comeback is already paying dividends.

Heck yeah!

The Don’t Truth the B---- in Apt. 23 scene-stealer is thisclose to booking a big-time movie role opposite Kate Winslet in Jason Reitman’s Labor Day, the story of a lonesome mother, her 13-year-old son, and the escaped convicted murderer (Josh Brolin) they take in while on the road.

Van Der Beek would play a detective investigating a missing person’s case in this adaptation of the Joyce Maynard novel.

Way to go, Dawson! I mean...James.

Photo: HollywoodReporter.com.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Sooo Want One of These

Meet David, the artificial life form that the oh-so-real (and oh-so-wish-I-he-was-mine-to-have) Michael Fassbender plays in Prometheus, Ridley Scott’s sort of prequel to Alien also starring Noomi Rapace and Charlize Theron:


I want one!

This video is the latest in a series of made-for-the-Web clips meant to promote the blockbuster’s arrival in theaters this summer. Last winter, the powers that be somehow treated us to a TED Talk from 2023, featuring Guy Pearce as the mysterious Peter Weyland.

Paranoia Takes Its Till

Liam Hemsworth is getting some pretty-boy company in Paranoia.

Lucas Till, from X-Men: First Class, is being courted for a supporting turn in the espionage thriller.

The casting of Till would bring the up-and-comer count for this Robert Luketic-directed movie to two.

Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman reportedly are thisclose to signing on the dotted line as well.

Photo: LoucasPorModa.blogspot.com.

Keane’s Shining Moment

Keane are back – and their new video is giving me the chills.

Well...not really, but the band is going for a horror-movie homage thing, and, in a way, it’s a good, fun visual for the sound of their latest single, “Disconnected,” off their latest album, Strangeland. Click here to check it out.

Are you getting that Shining vibe?

Anyway, the video was shot in a real haunted house in Barcelona and co-directed by Spanish directors Juan Antonio Bayona and Sergio G. Sanchez, the helmers of the 2007 horror movie The Orphanage.

Photo: Billboard.com.

Monday, April 16, 2012

The Gos’ Bang Moment

Ryan Gosling literally made me choke on a bite of my Pollo Tropical sandwich and let out an “Oh my God! through a mouthful earlier today when I saw this picture of him walking into LAX.

I mean, I know gun control is an issue in America – but not when it comes to the Gos’ arms.

Bang bang...he can shoot me down whenever he likes.

Dayum!

Photo: People.com.