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by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
When the mantle is passed, Hollywood usually makes a show of it. Consider Julia Roberts' crown going to Anne Hathaway, or Katharine Hepburn grudgingly making way for Meryl Streep. With Woody Allen's late career opus, Blue Jasmine, the mantle has just passed from Meryl Streep to Cate Blanchett, and she is phenomenal.
There are subtleties Blanchett taps into here that evoke a little bit of Vivien Leigh, Susan Hayward...
by Quendrith Johnson
When Ellen Page tells you she "was playing it cool on the inside" meeting with Brit Marling ("Arbitrage") and Sundance darling director Zal Batmanglij, you have to wonder what all the fuss is about.
To hear Zal tell it, "when I heard Ellen Page wanted to meet with us..." The movie in question, "The East," premiered last night in Hollywood at the ArcLight to an adoring hometown crowd, uh, hometown of Hollywood,...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
If you don't listen to Moby, the magical musical wizard of performance/DVD/scores, Moby will listen to you. And that's exactly what happened at last night's LA star premiere of "At Any Price," starring Dennis Quaid ("The Words"), teen idol Zac Efron, Heather Graham ("Hangover"), Kim Dickens (HBO's "Treme"), and killer newbie Maika Monroe.
"At Any Price" has a scor...
Intro by Quendrith Johnson
Doomsday scenarios are a favorite pastime for depressives in Spring... hold on, wait a minute! That's just an alternative opening paragraph to the reality we are presented in Director Pasha Roberts' debut feature "Silver Circle."
Here's the conventional opener -- Director Pasha Roberts feature debut animated film "Silver Circle" opens April, 5, at the Laemmle, NOHO.
Don't miss this missive-in-a-screed for the ...
by Quendrith Johnson
Since actor/producer Jamie Kennedy was in David O. Russell's Persian Gulf war movie "Three Kings," it seemed only fitting to catch up with him and get his reaction to Russell's recent Oscar success with "Silver Linings Playbook." "I'm not surprised," Kennedy said, "and I'm really excited for him. He's so hot right now."
While you may know Jamie Kennedy from his comedy performances (as in: The Jamie Kennedy Exper...
by Quendrith Johnson
Since Daniel Day-Lewis, of late portraying "Lincoln," declined to speak to reporters last week on the red carpet while he was in town to accept the Montecito Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, it seems only fair to give him a bit of the "treatment" as the Irish would say. The title card would have read: 'Tonight, Daniel Day-Lewis will be playing Himself: Socialist Shoemaker from Wicklow, Ireland, Province of Leinster.&#...
by Quendrith Johnson
Cinema history was made at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival last night, when none other than Kirk Douglas presented his namesake award for excellent to Robert De Niro.
"They asked me who was going to present the award. And I said 'Are you calling me, are you calling me?'," the spry 96-year-old mimicked De Niro's signature "Taxi Driver" line. Hollywood's elder statesman managed to hold the podium during the ma...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
While Kim Ki-duk has been building an international presence for years with films that are often crushing in their ability to communicate the human condition, PIETA, his 18th film may very well mark his breakout in the American market.
For PIETA, which screened at AFI's Film Fest on Nov. 2, Kim surfs the zeitgeist of global unrest in a tumultuous economic climate with an exploration of an unusual 'mother-son' dyn...
By Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles CorrespondentEXTRA: Yes, Katie Holmes did show up to raves (without Tom Cruise in tow or Suri) for Closing night of 2011 LAFF. She looked great, ps. What might be best remembered from the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival is the endearing pairing of Shirley MacLaine and Jack Black in a lovefest on their panel, but then again, Ryan Gosling breaking the screaming hot barrier in Nicolas Winding Refn's DRIVE also stands out. Then there is John C. Reilly's new mov...
By Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
"Do You Know Who I Am," is the Los Angeles Film Festival panel moderated by Leonard Maltin that was supposed to have a "game show format," whereby Shirley MacLaine and Jack Black answered questions about their acting careers.
But when Shirley and Jack, who star together in the coming release BERNIE in which Jack Black plays a fastidiously dressed funeral director, get in a room together anything goes. And no more "of th...
By Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
That Sidney Lumet acted when he was a child is not surprising, but that his gut-driven hard-nose for stories included giving a first job in scoring to someone like Quincy Jones who given up on film music, is surprising. Lumet's off-camera gift was that he could recognize someone's talent often before they knew it themselves.
During LAFF's "Remembering Sidney Lumet" tribute hosted by Los Angeles Times' film guru K...
By Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent Last night two of the biggest stars from the TWILIGHT franchise, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, made a surprise appearance on the red carpet for the world premiere of Summit Entertainment's A BETTER LIFE at Los Angeles Film Festival. Half the folks crowded outside were probably there just for TWILIGHT reasons, but this won't bother the director of A BETTER LIFE, Chris Weitz, since he helmed NEW MOON. Both Kristen and Taylor...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Diablo Cody summed up being a female screenwriter in Hollywood at yesterday's LAFF Screenwriter Panel in two sentences. Ready? "If someone (in the press) says 'your legs are fat,' it's not going to help you write. That kind of criticism, that's what happens when you're a lady."
She was on a panel with Josh Olson (HISTORY OF VIOLENCE), Dustin Lance Black (MILK) and the co-writers of CAPTAIN AMERICA, Chris ...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Later on, we'll carry an exclusive interview with THE HANGOVER's Rachel Harris who jumps off the screen into a new "Leading Lady" phase in her career in NATURAL SELECTION. But right now this movie, director Robbie Pickering's autobiographical valentine to his mother, demands some attention.
Invoking Darwin in the title, NATURAL SELECTION presents a universe where a "Lady" who does everything rig...
By Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
OMG. Can Ryan Gosling do anything wrong on screen? DAY 2 at LAFF, his movie DRIVE, directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, unspooled to a packed house, almost SRO (standing room only) with a crush of fans waiting to see the power house Canadian-born actor and cast.
New star Carey Mulligan, Christina Hendricks (AMC's "Mad Man"), Albert Brooks, Ron Perlman, Bryan Cranston, and Oscar Issac were there in support of the ultra-vio...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Already the Los Angeles Film Festival, now 17 years old, is acting like a teenager. First, last night they opened BERNIE, the much-anticipated Jack Black-Shirley MacLaine starrer by Richard Linklater so fast that anybody who made it from the parking structure in time felt lucky. PS, There's a dead guy in it. Then, they are calling it a "Festival Village," like some Olympians may wander in confused, drawn in by universally fam...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
While the First Lady Michelle Obama has always been seen as a chic marketeer, her role as a liaison between Hollywood and the US Military might come as a surprise. But on June 13, with filmmaker/moderator JJ Abrams, the First Lady breezed through a heartfelt meeting on the subject of how Hollywood portrays our military in film/media.
Thanks to Gregg Mitchell of the WGA for this recap, and to Mchael Jones for the stellar p...
By Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Here's what happens backstage at the Oscars, actors routinely forget what they said on stage when they accepted their statutettes. Live from the Press Pool at the 83rd Academy Awards Presentation, get close up as Christian Bale lets his hair down:
CHRISTIAN BALE: I've got a question for you guys, actually. You know, you get up there and you're giving your speech, and I hope to God that I said Mark and Melissa and Amy and Jack. Did I...
By Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
If you wonder what people inside the industry are thinking tonight, get this: The 83rd Annual Oscar presentation was very... independent. In fact, while many derided the indy-minded Spirit Awards for cold weather and water-logged press tents, the Oscars were roundly applauded for their brave indie choices... warm green rooms, and great Wolfgang Puck food, of course.
Here's proof from our friends at IFTA:
INDEPENDENT FILMS...
By Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
James Franco: Wins Big for 127 HOURS
Braving the Santa Monica cold front, Spirit Award nominee Jesse Eisenberg of THE SOCIAL NETWORK just strolled by the press tent at the show with his handlers. Natalie Portman, pregnant and radiant in a yellow lace short sleeve gown, just mentioned there was no medic on the BLACK SWAN set. Her presence in advance of the Oscars tomorrow night is an act of bravery, considering the cold wind and stress level...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Celebrity arrivals are just beginning on the red carpet for the Spirit Awards. LIVE arrivals footage can be seen on www.screenmancer.tv -- the show is expected to outshine the 83rd Annual Oscars this year because media attention is on the independents. James Franco, Oscar host, is expected to arrive shortly. IFC will air the 2011 show at 10 pm. (More coverage coming, including a Winner's List.) Joel McHale is MC for the awards presenta...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
If you haven't seen Candice Bergen lately, she remains an elegant force to be reckoned with. This was made clear recently when she presented "Murphy Brown" show-runner Diane English with the WGA's Paddy Chayefsky Award.
Together they earned 62 EMMY nominations, with 18 wins, over the 10-year run of "Murphy Brown." Diane also won a Golden Globe for the show in 1990.
Candice and Diane...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
TWILIGHT's Peter Facinelli: Making His Own Movies
While worldwide audiences may credit Summit Entertainment's TWILIGHT franchise with introducing the world to Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and highest-paid teen acting sensation Taylor Lautner, the clutch of vampire movies based on Stephenie Meyers' best-selling books is also responsible for launching independent production companies for Peter Facinelli and series scr...
by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Aaron Sorkin. The Social Network: Wins Best Adapted
Last night, writers Aaron Sorkin and Christopher Nolan took top wins at the 2011 WGA Awards in Best Adapted and Best Original Screenplay respectively. While the show at the Renaissance Hollywood Grand Ballroom included special awards for Diane English and Steve Zaillian, the wins by Sorkin for SOCIAL NETWORK and Nolan for INCEPTION ring the bell for the upcoming Oscar race. (Although THE...
By Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
Oscar 2011: Expect Natalie Portman & Colin Firth to Win Today the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences announced this year's Oscar(r) nominations. With few surprises, Colin Firth's festival run in THE KING'S SPEECH, written by David Seidler, is poised to take most of the honors with a record-vying 12 nominations. Fourteen (14) is the record for Oscar noms (i.e.; TITANIC), but if this picture wins in every ...
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