Ben Kingsley

IRON MAN 3 News: Jon Favreau to Return as Happy Hogan, Adds “Firepower” with Ashley Hamilton

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: May 24th, 2012 at 5:12 pm

We recently reported that Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale) would be joining Tom Hiddleston as a baddie in Thor 2, so Iron Man 3 went ahead and added their own firepower.  In this case, “Firepower” is actually the villain that Ashley Hamilton (Sunset Beach) is in talks to play.  In the Marvel universe, Hamilton’s character was the pilot of a “power suit” prototype built by the government (likely, S.H.I.E.L.D.) under the codename “Project: Firepower.”  And we all know that, once you’ve strapped on a suit of battle armor, it doesn’t take too long before you challenge Tony Stark/Iron Man himself (Robert Downey Jr.).  Also returning, in a producer capacity, will be Jon Favreau.  But it looks like fans will be able to see the Iron Man director on screen as well.  Hit the jump for more.

Ben Kingsley, Stellan Skarsgard and Tom Payne to Star in THE PHYSICIAN

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 21st, 2012 at 12:40 pm

Sir Ben Kingsley is apparently itching to be in as many films as humanly possible.  He’s currently filming Ender’s Game, he’s set to play the villain in Iron Man 3 which begins shooting next month, he’ll film the crime thriller Cut Bank this fall, and he recently signed on to star in the indie sci-fi comedy Convention.  Now comes word that Kingsley will star alongside Stellan Skarsgard, Tom Payne (Luck), and Olivier Martinez (S.W.A.T.) in the medieval period drama The Physician.  The film is based on Noah Gordon’s novel and centers on a healer traveling across Europe in the 11th century.

Payne will take the lead role of Rob Cole, a physician searching for “the scientific truth of illness and healing in a medieval world dominated by religion and superstition.”  Kingsley will play the so-called “doctor of all doctors” while Skarsgard will play Cole’s first mentor.  Hit the jump for more, including a synopsis for the book.

Sir Ben Kingsley and Mark Duplass Star in Sci-Fi Comedy CONVENTION; Jennifer Aniston Circling Role

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: May 18th, 2012 at 4:51 pm

Now that convention season is officially upon us, it seems appropriate to turn our sights to the most anticipated of all conventions: the national box convention.  That’s right my friends, Sir Ben Kingsley (Hugo) and Mark Duplass (Safety Not Guaranteed) will star in the indie pic, Convention, a sci-fi comedy centered around a box convention, at which an intrepid inventor (Duplass) premieres his creation: a five-sided box.  His revolutionary design seems destined to turn the world of folded boxes on its end until  he learns that his production process alters the space-time continuum.  Commercial director Justin Reardon will make his feature debut in Convention, with a script from Christopher Painter.  Hit the jump for more on Convention.

ENDER’S GAME Updates from Producer Roberto Orci; Talks About Kubrick Influence, Favorite Scene, Zero G Battles and More

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: May 17th, 2012 at 8:38 pm

Harrison Ford reportedly called Ender’s Game, “one of the most emotional science fiction movies he has ever seen.”  If you’re a fan of Orson Scott Card’s award-winning novel, this article should let you breathe a little easier about the upcoming Gavin Hood adaptation.  While I was a bit leery about Hood’s attachment to my beloved property (see X-Men Origins: Wolverine), the Ender’s Game production blog has been shedding some interesting light on the filmmaker’s approach.  Hood and producer Roberto Orci (Star Trek) really seem to get the gist of the novel; that should elicit a sigh of relief followed quickly by a jolt of excitement from fans.  Orci recently participated in a Q&A on the blog in which he commented on the tone of the picture, the relationship between Colonel Hyrum Graff (Harrison Ford) and Ender (Asa Butterfield), as well as his favorite scenes.

Ender’s Game tells the story of Andrew “Ender” Wiggin, a young boy sent away to Battle School to hone his military skills and, hopefully, save the world from an impending alien invasion.  Also starring Abigail Breslin, Sir Ben Kingsley, Hailee Steinfeld, Nonso Anozie and Viola Davis, the picture opens November 1st, 2013.  We’ve also got some images from the production, so hit the jump to check it out!

THE DICTATOR Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 15th, 2012 at 8:33 am

Anyone can be offensive.  The skill comes with trying to get people to laugh at it.  Sacha Baron Cohen, the mind behind the semi-scripted comedies Borat and Bruno, has shown a great skill at getting audiences to laugh at light comic fodder like incest, rape, anti-Semitism, screaming dickholes, and carrying bags of shit to the dinner table.  He also tends to throw in a little social criticism for some spice.  The Dictator marks his first feature-length, fully-scripted film, and while the blade may be a bit more polished, the edge remains razor-sharp.  Despite a slapdash plot and a cop-out ending, The Dictator is brilliantly irreverent, juvenile, cartoonish, and it will have you laughing, feeling guilty about laughing, and then laughing even harder.

New Photos from THE DICTATOR Feature Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris and Megan Fox

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: May 2nd, 2012 at 8:48 am

Sacha Baron Cohen’s The Dictator has released a few images of Megan Fox and Anna Faris to drum up interest for their May 16th release date.  Having been buried under coverage of some sort of blockbuster superhero movie, The Dictator will have to pull a few more tricks out of his sleeve to grab headlines.  We’ve already seen the trailer, the opening of the film, a poster for General Aladeen’s (Cohen) visit to New York and the spilling of Kim Jong-Il’s ashes on the red carpet. The Dictator also boasts a solid supporting cast with John C. Reilly, Sir Ben Kingsley, B.J. Novak and J.B. Smoove. But, pictures of Megan Fox and Anna Faris certainly don’t hurt.  Hit the jump to check them out along with a few other actors from The Dictator.

Armie Hammer, Sir Ben Kingsley, John Malkovich, Michael Sheen and Teresa Palmer to Lead CUT BANK

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 24th, 2012 at 9:44 am

An incredibly solid cast has been lined up for the crime thriller Cut Bank.  Deadline reports that Armie Hammer, Sir Ben Kingsley, John Malkovich, Michael Sheen and Teresa Palmer (I Am Number Four) will lead the thriller, based on a Black List script by Roberto Patino.  Television director Matt Shakman (Mad Men, House) will make his feature directorial debut on the project, which takes place in Cut Bank, Montana.  The story centers on “a young auto mechanic and former high school football star who wants to get the hell out of this tiny town frozen in time.  His attempt to do so sets in motion a series of events that will change his life, and the life of Cut Bank, forever.”

Presumably Hammer will be playing the protagonist, but no details are given on what roles the other actors will take on.  I have to say, though, that this cast is incredibly encouraging and I look forward to hearing more about the project.  Hammer is currently filming The Lone Ranger with Johnny Depp, and Sir Ben Kingsley has nabbed himself a handful of high profile roles as of late including Ender’s Game and the villain in Iron Man 3.  Production on Cut Bank begins this fall.

New Images from ENDER’S GAME Production Blog Include First Look at Ender’s Monitor

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: April 18th, 2012 at 4:26 pm

Inventions dreamed up in science fiction novels have preempted the availability of practical technology numerous times (ie submarines, military drones, the internet); Ender’s Game is no exception.  Author Orson Scott Card wrote about multimedia tablets, the power held by the written word on the internet and electronic monitoring devices in his 1985 novel.  These things are, more or less, commonplace today.  So it’s fitting that these new images from the Ender’s Game film production show this technology not as obtrusive, but as practical.  One of the understated but necessary devices is “the monitor,” an implant that connects Andrew “Ender” Wiggin to his overseers.  We’ve got a first look at that piece of technology, as well as more images from the production for you to check out.  Ender’s Game, starring Asa Butterfield, Abigail Breslin, Harrison Ford and Sir Ben Kingsley and directed by Gavin Hood, opens November 1st, 2013.  Hit the jump to check out the new images.

Sir Ben Kingsley in Talks to Play the Villain in IRON MAN 3

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 9th, 2012 at 2:50 pm

The release of The Avengers is now less than a month away, but Marvel is gearing up to start production on their first post-Avengers pic, Iron Man 3.  Though little is known regarding the plot, Marvel and director Shane Black have apparently settled on their villain.  Variety reports that Sir Ben Kingsley is now in final negotiations to take on the antagonist role in the third Iron Man pic.  Though Iron Man and Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau had been setting up the Mandarin as the villain for Iron Man 3, insiders apparently denied that Kingsley would be playing the brilliant and wealthy Chinese scientist.  So who exactly will he be playing?  Hit the jump for more.

Producer Roberto Orci Talks ENDER’S GAME, Plus a New Photo from the Set

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: April 3rd, 2012 at 6:48 pm

At the newly up-and-running production blog for Ender’s Game, the producers have teased a glimpse of Ender’s world at the Battle School and have promised us more to come in the weeks ahead. If that’s not enough to whet your appetite, producer Roberto Orci also dropped a few comments in response to fans’ fears about how the filmmakers were treating the source material and questions about potential sequels as well as author Orson Scott Card’s involvement in the project. Ender’s Game, based on the award-winning novel by Card, follows a young student training in military school who may be the last hope for humanity in a futuristic war against a hostile alien race. The movie, directed by Gavin Hood, stars Asa Butterfield, Abigail Breslin, Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis and Hailee Steinfeld. Fans will definitely want to hit the jump to check out the new photo and to see what Orci had to say.

New Trailer for THE DICTATOR Reveals Plot Twist [UPDATED]

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: March 27th, 2012 at 12:45 pm

A new French trailer for the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy The Dictator has gone online, and it reveals what looks to be the crux of the plot for the film. Though I’m fairly certain this plot twist will be unveiled in the next domestic trailer, I’ll keep things spoiler free here on the front page just in case. I’ll simply say that the twist shows huge comedic promise and I can’t wait to see where Cohen takes the rest of the film.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. The film also stars Ben Kingsley, Anna Faris, John C. Reilly and Megan Fox. The Dictator opens on May 11th. [Update: As expected, this was exactly the same as the new domestic trailer. It appears we're now getting an idea of the expanded plot and what to expect from the actual film. We've updated the article with the US version of the trailer, which is the same as the French one save for the subtitles.]

HUGO Blu-ray Review

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: March 5th, 2012 at 11:00 am

Martin Scorsese loves movies. You don’t even have to watch Scorsese’s films to know that he’s as movie mad as they come, it’s part of what defines him as a human being. Where Quentin Tarantino has made himself the king of cinema from 1970 on, Scorsese’s love seems to cover the entirety of cinema. And to enjoy Hugo, his love letter to early cinema, it probably helps to be a little movie mad yourself. Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, Chloe Grace Moretz, and Sacha Baron Cohen star in Hugo, and our review of the Blu-ray follows after the jump.

Sacha Baron Cohen Banned from the Oscars?

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: February 22nd, 2012 at 5:04 pm

Sacha Baron Cohen is not someone you would describe as uncontroversial. Now, his over-the-top antics may have gotten him banned from the 84^th Annual Academy Awards. He’s been a British hip-hop artist (Ali G Indahouse), a Kazakhstani immigrant (Borat) and a flamboyant Austrian fashionista (Bruno), each one more polarizing than the last. Apparently his new character from The Dictator, General Aladeen, is not welcome at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ annual awards show. Hit the jump to find out what got The Dictator banned and to see why this might all just boil down to a publicity stunt one way or another.

Super Bowl TV Spot for THE DICTATOR Starring Sacha Baron Cohen

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: February 1st, 2012 at 10:52 am

The advertising for the ads during the Super Bowl are almost getting more marketing than the actual game itself. We’ve already seen previews from a bevy of the commercials set to debut during the big game, and today you can add The Dictator to that pile. The Super Bowl spot for the film doesn’t contain any new footage besides the intro (with a nice nod to NBC), but this will most likely be the first time many people hear about the new pic from Sacha Baron Cohen. Cohen reunites with Borat director Larry Charles for The Dictator, and the film looks to be sufficiently ridiculous. He’s assembled an impressive cast here and I’m excited to see what else Cohen has in store besides gun-infused track races and sex with Megan Fox.

Hit the jump to check out the Super Bowl spot. The film also stars Ben Kingsley, John C. Reilly, and Anna Faris . The Dictator opens May 11th.

First Trailer for THE DICTATOR Starring Sacha Baron Cohen [Updated with Poster]

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 14th, 2011 at 6:52 am

Paramount has released the first trailer for the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy The Dictator.  Cohen stars as a despot who “risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed.”  The trailer has a lot of great jokes.  Cohen is like Mike Myers if Myers was still funny, relevant, had smarter comedy, and–most importantly–was willing to offend the shit out of people.  This trailer doesn’t pull any punches and I love that it’s a green band that will play to families across America this holiday season.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley, J.B. Smoove, and John C. Reilly.  The Dictator opens May 11, 2012. [We've updated the story with the teaser poster, which you can also check out after the jump.]

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