Woody Harrelson Talks RAMPART, SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS, HUNGER GAMES, and Whether or Not He Can Still Dunk a Basketball

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: February 9th, 2012 at 7:50 pm

Opening tomorrow, in limited release, is director Oren Moverman‘s (The Messenger) fantastic new movie, Rampart.  Led by a brillaint Woody Harrelson, Rampart is about a corrupt cop whose past is finally catching up with him in the wake of a department-wide corruption scandal.  The film also stars Sigourney Weaver, Robin Wright, Steve Buscemi, Cynthia Nixon, Ben Foster, Anne Heche, Ice Cube, and Ned Beatty.

Recently, I got to speak with Harrelson. We talked about how he got involved in the project, what is was like to try and stick to the script while also finding the truth in the moment, what did he think of the film when he first saw it, filming on location in Los Angeles during the day, karaoke (he sings some Queen), and whether or not he can still dunk a basketball.  In addition, Harrelson talked about The Hunger Games and Martin McDonagh‘s Seven Psychopaths.  Hit the jump to watch.

STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE 3D Interview with Joel Aron (CG Supervisor THE CLONE WARS)

by Steven Shaw    Posted: February 9th, 2012 at 6:33 pm

With the release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D this weekend, Twentieth Century Fox recently hosted a press junket at Skywalker Ranch and Lucasfilm.  In an effort to promote the experience for the next generation, my seven year-old daughter, Cyan, interviewed four people who helped bring George Lucas’ vision to life.  Her final interview was with Joel Aron, CG Supervisor for Star Wars: The Clone Wars the animated series.  They discussed how Darth Maul could come back if he’d been cut in half, the most rewarding part of working on Star Wars, who his favorite character is, his Sith name, and more.  Hit the jump to watch.

STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE 3D Interview with Supervising Sound Editor Matthew Wood

by Steven Shaw    Posted: February 8th, 2012 at 1:45 pm

With the release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D this weekend, Twentieth Century Fox recently hosted a press junket at Skywalker Ranch and Lucasfilm.  In an effort to promote the experience for the next generation, my seven year-old daughter, Cyan, interviewed four people who helped bring George Lucas’ vision to life.  Her third interview was with Matthew Wood, a supervising sound editor with Skywalker Sound who worked to secure Academy Award nominations for Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing for The Phantom Menace.  In Episode I, he is the voice of all the droids and in Episode III and The Clone Wars animated series he is the voice of General Grievous.  Hit the jump to watch the interview.

Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum Talk THE VOW, Memorable First Dates, and More

by Heather Warburton    Posted: February 8th, 2012 at 10:14 am

Poised for Valentine’s Day, the Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum love story The Vow opens this weekend. The pair play young newlyweds who are fiercely in love until a car accident leaves McAdams’ character with such severe memory loss that she cannot remember her husband. While her husband tries to make her fall in love with him all over again, she must decide if she wants her old life back.  Based off a true story, the film is absorbing and hits deeply on a variety of emotions. With an excellent supporting cast—Scott Speedman, Sam Neill, and in particular Jessica Lange, the film is an engaging and satisfying love story, and also one that deals with the intricacies of family dynamics. Also, McAdams has a way of injecting believability into all her roles, and she was great in this.

At the film’s press junket, I sat down with the charming duo where we discussed how they got involved in the project, if they met the real life couple, and their favorite dating stories. Hit the jump to watch.

STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE 3D Interview with Stunt Coordinator ObiShawn; Plus Lightsaber Training

by Steven Shaw    Posted: February 7th, 2012 at 6:07 pm

With the release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D this weekend, Twentieth Century Fox recently hosted a press junket at Skywalker Ranch and Lucasfilm.  In an effort to promote the experience for the next generation, my seven year-old daughter, Cyan, interviewed four people who helped bring George Lucas’ vision to life.  Her second interview was with ObiShawn, a lightsaber stunt coordinater with Lucasfilm.  After a lightsaber battle, they talked about what martial arts he studied, which fight sequence was the most difficult, and what other training a Jedi would need.  Hit the jump to watch.

Director Colin Trevorrow and Screenwriter Derek Connolly Talk SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED at Sundance

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: February 7th, 2012 at 6:05 pm

One of the many films that premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was director Colin Trevorrow‘s Safety Not Guaranteed.  Written by Derek Connolly, the film’s about a trio of magazine employees investigate a classified ad that seeks a partner for time travel. One employee develops feelings for the paranoid but compelling loner and tries to discover what he’s really up to.  It’s based on a real ad that was passed around the internet in 2005 and the movie stars Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson and Karan Soni.  Shortly after premiering, FilmDistrict bought the film, so you can look forward to seeing it at some point in the future.  For more on the film, you can read Matt’s review.

After seeing the movie, I got to sit down with Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly for an extended interview. We talked about premiering at Sundance, how they first met, casting, how they secured financing, filming multiple endings, using the brand new Sony F3 to shoot the film, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch the interview.

Rosemarie Dewitt Talks NOBODY WALKS, NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH, THE ODD LIFE OF TIMOTHY GREEN, and More at Sundance

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: February 6th, 2012 at 8:50 pm

Nobody Walks, directed by Ry Russo-Young (You Won’t Miss Me), was one of the many films that premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.  Written by Lena Dunham and Russo-Young, the ensemble drama stars John Krasinski, Olivia Thirlby, Rosemarie DeWitt, India Ennenga and Justin Kirk.  In the film, “Krasinski plays Peter, a Hollywood sound designer who’s agreed to help Martine (Thirlby) with her experimental art film as a favor to his wife (DeWitt). Martine, a beautiful and driven 23-year-old artist, comes to stay in the family’s pool house at their posh Silver Lake home, and her arrival ignites raw emotions and desires throughout the entire family.” Ennenga plays the daughter.  Since premiering, Magnolia picked up the film for domestic distribution, so you’ll be able to see it at some point down the road.

During my interview with Rosemarie Dewitt we talked about being at Sundance, who she plays in Nobody Walks and what it’s about, how the story changed along the way, karaoke and more.  In addition, since Dewitt just finished shooting Neighborhood Watch (which stars Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, and Richard Ayoade), she talked about who she plays and what it’s about.  We also talked about Your Sister’s Sister and The Odd Life of Timothy Green. Hit the jump to watch.

STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE 3D Interview with John Goodson; Talks PODRACING, Destroyer Droids, Concept Models, and More

by Steven Shaw    Posted: February 6th, 2012 at 7:15 pm

With the release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D this weekend, Twentieth Century Fox recently hosted a press junket at Skywalker Ranch and Lucasfilm.  In an effort to promote the experience for the next generation, my seven year-old daughter, Cyan, interviewed four people who helped bring George Lucas’ vision to life.  Her first interview was with John Goodson, a digital artist with Lucasfilm who worked as a concept model artist on The Phantom Menace.  They talked about the kind of training he needed to become a concept artist, his favorite creation, podracing, his favorite Star Wars character, Destroyer Droids, and more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Mark Duplass Talks SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED, Alex Kurtzman’s WELCOME TO PEOPLE, THE SKELETON TWINS, THE DO-DECA PENTATHLON at Sundance

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: February 4th, 2012 at 10:56 am

One of the many films that premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was director Colin Trevorrow‘s Safety Not Guaranteed.  Written by Derek Connolly, the film’s about a trio of magazine employees investigate a classified ad that seeks a partner for time travel. One employee develops feelings for the paranoid but compelling loner and tries to discover what he’s really up to.  It’s based on a real ad that was passed around the internet in 2005 and the movie stars Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson and Karan Soni.  Shortly after premiering, FilmDistrict bought the film, so you can look forward to seeing it at some point in the future.  For more on the film, you can read Matt’s review.

After seeing the movie, I got to sit down with Mark Duplass for an extended interview. We talked about being at Sundance, how he got involved in Safety Not Guaranteed and what it’s about, what it was like to watch the film for the first time with a big crowd at Sundance, and how the film changed during production.  In addition, since Duplass is involved in a number of other projects, we talked about the directorial debut of Alex Kurtzman (Welcome to People), The Skeleton Twins (Bill Hader and Anna Faris as twins), Jeff Who Lives at Home, The Do-Deca-Pentathlon, The League, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch the interview.

John Hawkes Talks THE SURROGATE, LINCOLN, Working with Daniel Day-Lewis, and More at Sundance

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: February 4th, 2012 at 10:23 am

Led by a truly remarkable performance by John Hawkes, writer-director Ben Lewin‘s The Surrogate blew me away at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.  The film’s based on the true story of Mark O’Brien, a 36-year-old poet and journalist with an iron lung, who decides that he no longer wants to be a virgin.  With the help of his priest (William H. Macy) and a professional sex surrogate (Helen Hunt), we follow his amazing journey.  Trust me, The Surrogates is great on so many levels (which explains why there was a bidding war; Fox Searchlight won), and it’s definitely going to be a contender at the 2013 Academy Awards.  For more on the film, here’s Matt’s review.

Shortly after seeing the film, I sat down with John Hawkes for an extended interview.  We talked about being at Sundance, how he prepared for The Surrogate, the responsibility of playing a real person, his preference between a few takes or a lot, and so much more.  In addition, since Hawkes just worked with Steven Spielberg on Lincoln, he talked about how Tony Kushner‘s screenplay drew him to the project and what it was like to work with Daniel Day-Lewis.  Hit the jump to watch.

William H. Macy Talks THE SURROGATE and SHAMELESS Season 2 at Sundance 2012

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: February 3rd, 2012 at 9:50 am

Led by a truly remarkable performance by John Hawkes, writer-director Ben Lewin‘s The Surrogate blew me away at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.  The film’s based on the true story of Mark O’Brien, a 36-year-old poet and journalist with an iron lung, who decides that he no longer wants to be a virgin.  With the help of his priest (William H. Macy) and a professional sex surrogate (Helen Hunt), we follow on his amazing journey.  Trust me, The Surrogates is great on so many levels (which explains why there was a bidding war; Fox Searchlight won), and it’s definitely going to be a contender at the 2013 Academy Awards.  For more on the film, here’s Matt’s review.

Shortly after seeing the film, I sat down with William H. Macy for an extended interview.  We talked about being at Sundance, his reaction to seeing the film with an audience for the first time, how he prepared for The Surrogate, his philosophy as an actor, karaoke, and a lot more.  In addition, with Macy currently starring on the hit Showtime series Shameless, we talked about what’s coming up on the second season, how he wrote the sixth episode, the writers room, how the second season is completely different than the BBC version, and what do people always want to talk to him about when they meet him.  Hit the jump to watch.

Bradley Cooper and Co-Director Brian Klugman Talk THE WORDS, TRON: LEGACY, PARADISE LOST, THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES, and More at Sundance

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: February 3rd, 2012 at 8:53 am

One of the best films I saw at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was writer-director Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal‘s first feature, The Words. The film stars Bradley Cooper as a writer who, after discovering an extraordinary lost manuscript, passes the work off as his own and receives overwhelming critical acclaim.  Jeremy Irons plays the man who originally wrote the manuscript, and the film weaves multiple narratives to tell the story.  The Words also stars Zoe Saldana, Dennis Quaid, Olivia Wilde, Ben Barnes, and JK Simmons.  CBS Films bought the film after its first screening and they plan to release it later this year.  It’s definitely a film you should be excited to see.  For more on The Words, here’s Matt’s review.

Shortly after seeing the film, I did an extended interview with Bradley Cooper and co-writer-director Brian Klugman.  We talked about being at Sundance, how the project came together and how it changed along the way, deleted scenes, how the two of them became friends (they’ve known each other for decades), karaoke, film versus digital, and a lot more.  In addition, Klugman talked about his early draft of Tron: Legacy, and Cooper talked about what it was like to work on director Derek Cianfrance‘s The Place Beyond the Pines, and the status of Paradise Lost (it’s hopefully filming this June).  Hit the jump to watch.

Aubrey Plaza Talks SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED, THE TO-DO LIST (THE HAND JOB), PARKS AND REC, and More at Sundance 2012

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: February 3rd, 2012 at 8:25 am

One of the many films that premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was director Colin Trevorrow‘s Safety Not Guaranteed.  Written by Derek Connolly, the film’s about a trio of magazine employees investigate a classified ad that seeks a partner for time travel. One employee develops feelings for the paranoid but compelling loner and tries to discover what he’s really up to.  It’s based on a real ad that was passed around the internet in 2005 and the movie stars Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson and Karan Soni.  Shortly after premiering, FilmDistrict bought the film, so you can look forward to seeing it at some point in the future.  For more on the film, you can read Matt’s review.

After seeing the movie, I got to sit down with Aubrey Plaza for an extended interview. We talked about being at Sundance, karaoke, what’s the last video game she’s played (Batman: Arkham City and Braid), 3D gaming, how she got involved in Safety Not Guaranteed and what it’s about, and what it was like to watch the film for the first time with a big crowd at Sundance.  In addition, she talked about Parks and Recreation, working with Bill Murray on director Roman Coppola‘s A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, and director Maggie Carey‘s The To-Do List (aka The Hand Job), in which she plays a recent high school graduate intent on losing her virginity before going off to college.  She said filming some of it bordered on pornography.  Hit the jump to watch the interview.

Alex Russell CHRONICLE Interview

by Tommy Cook    Posted: February 3rd, 2012 at 7:48 am

In Chronicle, newcomer Alex Russell stars as Matt, the faux “poet laureate” prone to namedropping Jung and Plato, the better to woo ladies and prove intellectual superiority – and this is before the guy even gets superpowers. But instead of becoming more braggadocious after the discovery, Matt’s newfound abilities humble him (well – his inability to use telekinesis properly humble him). Matt soon becomes the voice of reason for the film – warning his friends to use their powers sparingly and never to hurt any living thing with them. Ironically enough – the poser philosopher inadvertently becoming the wise man he always pretended to be….

In the following interview with Alex Russell, he discusses (not) researching philosophy books for the character, how to perfect an American accent (he’s Australian) and the rehearsal process for Chronicle. To watch the full interview, hit the jump.

Mike Shinoda and Joe Trapanese Talk About Doing the Music for THE RAID at Sundance; Plus a Linkin Park Update

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: February 2nd, 2012 at 3:30 pm

Let me be very clear: director Gareth Evans’ The Raid, an Indonesian martial arts epic that tracks a SWAT team sweeping through a highrise infested with drug dealers, is a phenomenal action movie that demands to be seen.  Thankfully, Sony Pictures Classics will be releasing it on March 23, so everyone needs to circle their calendars right now.  Trust me, once you see this, you’ll understand why every critic at TIFF and last week’s Sundance Film Festival was raving.  It also explains why Screen Gems acquired the remake rights.  It’s really that good.

While at Sundance I was able to speak with with composers Mike Shinoda of “Linkin Park” and Joe Trapanese, collaborator with Daft Punk and M83, about the soundtrack. They talked about how they got involved in the project, the origin of their collaboration, Sundance, working with Gareth Evans, the programs they used (Pro Tools, Logic and Maschine), how they used “vintage toys” and external hardware for a more organic sound, and a lot more.  In addition, for fans of Linkin Park, I asked Shinoda what’s up with the band.  Hit the jump to watch.

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