Evangeline Lilly

Evangeline Lilly Reveals Character Details Regarding THE HOBBIT; Says She Appears in the Second Film More Than the First

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 25th, 2012 at 10:15 am

To say Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Hobbit is an ambitious undertaking is a bit of an understatement. What began as a fairly straightforward one-film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkein’s classic novel quickly morphed into a sprawling epic told across two feature films. We know that this isn’t necessarily a page-to-screen feature film version of the novel, as Jackson is bringing back many characters from The Lord of the Rings that don’t appear in The Hobbit. Included in this ginormous ensemble is a brand new character created for the film named Tauriel. Lost star Evangeline Lilly plays the character, and she recently spoke quite a bit about what to expect from Turiel, how much she appears in the adaptation, which of the two films she figures into the most, and how long she’s had to be onset. Hit the jump to see what she had to say.

Director Shawn Levy Interview REAL STEEL

by Christina Radish    Posted: October 7th, 2011 at 12:13 pm

Real Steel is a true underdog tale that combines the grand spectacle of robot boxing with the grounded story of three abandoned beings – a father, a son, and a discarded robot – who, together, have the chance to become real heroes. In 2020, boxing fans have become bored with watching human beings fight each other, so the sport has evolved to the point where robots pummel each other to the death. Washed up, former heavyweight Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) begrudgingly teams up with his long-abandoned son (Dakota Goyo) to turn a junkyard robot into the champ they believe he can be.

At the film’s press day, director Shawn Levy talked about the challenge of getting the robots to work, the decision behind not giving his star robot Atom a face, why he feels he is able to direct kids so easily, creating his own version of the year 2020, the Simul-Cam B technology used to shoot the film, and his personal philosophy for directing. Check out what he had to say after the jump.

REAL STEEL Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 7th, 2011 at 6:09 am

The greatest achievement in Shawn Levy’s Real Steel is building the world of robot boxing.  The term “robot boxing” sounds incredibly stupid when you hear it and flashes of Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em Robots and the failed TV show Battlebots come to mind.  But Levy does a tremendous job for showing not just the hi-tech wonder of the World Boxing Organization (WBO), but he takes us to the back-alleys, run-down theme parks, and country fairs where a punching robot and its owner can make some cash and win some glory.  Paired with well-choreographed fights that wisely make heavy use of animatronics and practical effects, Real Steel almost has an unbeatable combination.  But the clunky storytelling and awful performance from child actor Dakota Goyo stop the movie from landing a knock-out punch (I promise I’ll try to keep the boxing puns to a minimum).

Watch Evangeline Lilly Speaking Elvish and Discussing Her New Character in THE HOBBIT

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: October 3rd, 2011 at 9:47 pm

Evangeline Lilly is working on the transition from the end of Lost into features.  Step 1 is Real Steel, which based on early buzz, should bolster her rep.  The role after that, though, has the potential to be something iconic—at least in certain realms of fandom.  Lilly is shooting The Hobbit films in New Zealand; while on a break for the Real Steel premiere, she discussed her role as the Woodland Elf, Tauriel.  That name will be unfamiliar even to the most devoted Hobbit fan because the character was invented for the movies by director Peter Jackson and his screenwriting partners Fran Walsh and Phillipa Boyens.  Lilly vouched for their work:

“I believe [Tauriel] is truly authentic, because Tolkien refers to the Woodland elves.  He just doesn’t talk about who they are specifically… [Jackson,  Walsh, and Boyens] know that world so well.  They are not going to create a character that’s not true to Tolkien’s world.”

Lilly certainly looks the part of an elf, and manages to voice her respect for the material her without condescending or pandering.  The highlight amid discussion of fan response and script security was Lilly whipping out a couple of Elvish phrases.  Watch the clip after the jump.

7 Clips from REAL STEEL

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: September 23rd, 2011 at 8:58 pm

With director Shawn Levy’s Real Steel getting released October 7th, DreamWorks has sent over seven clips.  Produced by Steven Spielberg  and starring Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, Anthony Mackie, Kevin Durand, Hope Davis, and Dakota Goyo, the film is set in near future when robot-boxing has become the most popular sport in the world.  The pic centers on Charlie (Jackman) a former boxer who is attempting to mentor/program a robot to the top of the android-boxing ranks along with his estranged son.

I got to see a screening a few days ago and have to say…the movie is pretty great and the effects are incredible.  It definitely has the Spielberg magic and I think a lot of fathers and sons are going to really enjoy it.  Also, Levy does a great job with the material and I really think this is his ticket into fandom’s hearts.  Trust me, after this opens, you’re going to see a lot of people talking about Levy in a new light.   It won’t surprise me when people start mentioning his name on some high profile projects.  Hit the jump for the clips and look for new interviews with the cast very soon.

Japanese Trailer for REAL STEEL

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: June 22nd, 2011 at 1:35 pm

A new trailer for Rock ‘Em Sock—er—Real Steel has been released. This one’s the Japanese version and gives us a look at some more footage (with super-serious Japansese narration!). While the visual effects on the robots looks fantastic, the story still comes off as incredibly ham-fisted. I’m still waiting for something about this film to look appealing besides “the robots look cool.”

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. The film stars Hugh Jackman, Anthony Mackie, Hope Davis, Kevin Durand, and Evangeline Lilly.  Real Steel opens October 7th.

Evangeline Lilly and Barry Humphries Join THE HOBBIT

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: June 20th, 2011 at 7:58 am

Peter Jackson has added two more to the cast of The Hobbit. Evangeline Lilly (Lost) and Australian actor Barry Humphries have joined the cast of the two-part adaptation, currently filming in New Zealand. Lilly will be playing a new character—The Woodland Elf, Tauriel. Beyond the name, Jackson is remiss to reveal any other information about the role. Humphries, a talented voice actor and comedian, will be playing the Goblin King using motion-capture, akin to Andy Serkis’ performance of Gollum.

Hit the jump to read Jackson’s fully statement on the casting news. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will be released on December 14^th, 2012, with The Hobbit: There and Back Again hitting theaters on December 13^th, 2013.

New Trailer for REAL STEEL Starring Hugh Jackman

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 10th, 2011 at 9:24 am

DreamWorks has released a new trailer for Shawn Levy’s Real Steel.  The film stars Hugh Jackman as a washed-up boxer who reconnects with his estranged son (Dakota Goyo, who played Lil’ Thor in Thor) as they build and train a fighting robot to fight in the World Robot Boxing championship.  I’m trying to cast aside cynicism on this project, but I can’t get past Levy.  His films tend to be lowest common denominator family fare and judging by this trailer, it doesn’t look like Real Steel is going to break that trend.  It looks too saccharine to be fun and too silly to be taken seriously.  Hopefully I’m wrong and I’ll finally like one of the guy’s films because he’s certainly not going away anytime soon. It’s worth mentioning that Steven Spielberg was heavily involved in the project and fought to keep the project at DreamWorks when the studio broke away from Paramount.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  Click here to check out Steve’s visit to the editing bay.  He thinks the film is going to be good.  Based on what I’ve seen (and granted, he’s seen more of the movie than I have), I beg to differ. Real Steel also stars Anthony Mackie, Hope Davis, Kevin Durand, and Evangeline Lilly.  The film opens October 7th.

First Trailer for Shawn Levy’s REAL STEEL

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: December 9th, 2010 at 10:08 am

The first trailer for Shawn Levy’s Real Steel has leaked onto the net and you can check it out after the jump.  Originally the trailer was going to premiere on ESPN tonight, but as is often the case, it leaked early.  As you might have just seen, I visited the editing room of Real Steel earlier this week and saw about ten minutes of the film and interviewed Levy.  I learned that none of the effects in the teaser are final, and the footage you’re about to watch only skims the surface in terms of story and what the movie is about.

I’ll be honest, I think the teaser is decent, but not a home-run.  I say this because after watching ten minutes of footage, there is a lot more to Real Steel than what’s in this teaser and I really think this film is going to surprise audiences when it gets released in October, 2011.  Hit the jump to check it out for yourself and make sure to read my edit bay visit!

REAL STEEL Edit Bay Visit; Steve Watches 10 Minutes of Footage and Interviews Director Shawn Levy

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: December 9th, 2010 at 9:46 am

When I first heard that director Shawn Levy was making a robot boxing movie, I’ll admit to thinking it sounded like a really stupid idea.  After all, the guy who made Pink Panther and the Night at the Museum movies taking on robot boxing?  Um…no thanks. But after sitting in the editing room the other day with Levy and having him show me (along with a few other reporters) about ten minutes of the movie, consider me ready to enter the ring to fight alongside Hugh Jackman.

While I’ll explain what the movie is about and have a lot more details about what I learned after the jump, I want to immediately talk about something that absolutely floored me during the presentation.

Like all of you, when I watch a movie, I can tell when an effect is done by computers and when it’s real.  Meaning, when it’s been done practically.  However, for the first time in my life, I saw some footage that made me lose track of what was real and what was created in a computer.  I had to pick my jaw off the floor after watching it.  And Levy told us it was only 80% completed.  Hit the jump for more:

LOST: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION Blu-ray Review

by Jeff Giles    Posted: August 29th, 2010 at 10:53 am

We’ve heard a lot about dirty shenanigans in the financial sector over the last few years, but if you really want to know about a high-risk investment that hardly ever pays off, forget about the Ponzi scheme — look no further than the serialized television drama.

Much as we all love to snigger at the stereotype of the housewife or credulous college student weeping over her soap opera, there are good reasons that shows like General Hospital have lasted for decades, and chief among them is the unique pleasure of following characters and storylines over an extended period of time. The networks dress it up in different outfits each fall, but it’s that same enduring promise that lures viewers into new serialized series every year, and if you’re any kind of television fan, you’re well acquainted with the pain of giving yourself over to a show’s arc, only to watch it land with a thud — or worse, find that the show’s been canceled before it can reach a satisfying conclusion. (This writer is still smarting over the way NBC pulled the plug on Journeyman under cover of the writer’s strike.) Read more about Lost: The Complete Collection after the jump:

First Image of Hugh Jackman in Shawn Levy’s REAL STEEL – Updated With High-Res and Official Synopsis

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: June 14th, 2010 at 8:12 pm

The first image from director Shawn Levy’s Real Steel has been released via USA Today.  While the movie only started principal photography earlier today, Touchstone Pictures decided to stay ahead of any leaks by releasing the first image of Hugh Jackman and a robot today.  And you know what…it’s a very smart move as this image looks great.  Disney has also released the official synopsis:

A gritty, white-knuckle, action ride set in the near-future, where the sport of boxing has gone hi-tech, “Real Steel” stars Hugh Jackman as Charlie Kenton, a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 2000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring. Now nothing but a small-time promoter, Charlie earns just enough money piecing together low-end bots from scrap metal to get from one underground boxing venue to the next. When Charlie hits rock bottom, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son Max (Dakota Goyo) to build and train a championship contender. As the stakes in the brutal, no-holds-barred arena are raised, Charlie and Max, against all odds, get one last shot at a comeback.

UPDATE: Disney has sent over a high-resolution uncropped version of the image which let’s us see the head of the robot.  Also, the robot is called Noisy Boy.  More after the jump:

Anthony Mackie and Evangeline Lilly Join REAL STEEL Starring Hugh Jackman

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 12th, 2010 at 9:52 am

Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker) and Evangeline Lilly (Lost) have joined the cast of Shawn Levy’s robot-boxing drama Real Steel.  The film centers on a former boxer (Hugh Jackman) who reunites with his estranged son (Dakota Goyo) to train a robot for the robot boxing championship once the world decides that it finds fighting more entertaining when done by robots instead of humans.  Presumably, the film takes place in an alternate reality where BattleBots was the most successful show of all-time.

According to Variety, Mackie will play a boxing promoter while Lilly will play a friend of Jackman’s character.  Shooting is set to begin this June and the film has penciled in November 18, 2011 as its release date.

The Final Season of LOST Premieres on Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 9PM ET

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 19th, 2009 at 2:28 pm

[Obviously, if you've never seen Lost and are waiting until the entire series is available on DVD, stop reading now]

Let the official countdown begin.  In 74 days, Lost one of TV’s best shows will begin its final season.  Starting with a two-hour season premiere on February 2, 2010 at 9pm E.T., we begin (or hope) to unravel the island’s final mysteries: the smoke monster, time jumping, the statue, the temple, the island’s healing power, why the dead appear to the living, and so many other questions.  It’s all come to this and 74 days seems like an eternity and yet by the time the series finale airs sometime in May 2010, it will feel like it was over too fast.

After its two-hour premiere (which will follow the inevitable yet likely helpful one-hour recap show), Lost will begin airing at its regular time slot of 9-10pm ET on Tuesday nights beginning the following week, February 9th.  So grab your constant, blow the hatch, and get ready for the end.  If you’d like to read the press release ABC sent us, hit the jump:

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