stephenckane

Happy 31st Birthday, Jake Gyllenhaal!!

2011-12-19T06:02:00.000-08:00

Jake Gyllenhaal, here in Weirdland we hope your #31 birthday is filled with joy in company of your most beloved ones and friends!

Jake Gyllenhaal running errands pre-birthday

2011-12-17T17:24:00.000-08:00

Actor Jake Gyllenhaal spotted out running some errands in West Hollywood, CA. (December 16, 2011)

The ever adorable Jake Gyllenhaal will celebrate his 31st birthday on Monday and continues to be busier than ever. He is currently working on a crime drama film End Of Watch with Amerhca Ferrera and Michael Pena.
Gyllenhaal looks great in a casual pair of green khaki cargo pants, a navy blue sweat shirt and a growing beard.

John Garfield (You don't need to be more than yourself) video

2011-12-17T17:06:00.000-08:00

John Garfield (You don't need to be more than yourself) video featuring pictures, stills and scenes starring John Garfield: "Four Daughters" with Priscilla Lane, "They Made Me A Criminal" with Gloria Dickson, "Castle On The Hudson" with Ann Sheridan, "The Sea Wolf" with Ida Lupino, "The Postman Always Rings Twice" with Lana Turner, "Body & Soul" with Lilli Palmer, "We Were Strangers" with Jennifer Jones, "Pride of The Marines" with Eleanor Parker, "Humoresque" with Joan Crawford, "The Breaking Point" with Patricia Neal, etc.

Songs "All American Boy" by Bobby Bare, "California Stars" by Wilco & Billy Bragg, and "You don't need to be more than yourself" by Elliott Murphy

"Pulp Fiction" in chronological order & boxing dramas (The Set-Up, Body & Soul)

2011-12-16T07:31:00.000-08:00

The legendary movie "Pulp Fiction" (1994), directed by Quentin Tarantino (starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman) placed into chronological order.

“Tarantino works with trash, and by analyzing, criticizing, and formalizing it, he emerges with something new, just as Godard made a lyrical work of art in Breathless out of his memories of casually crappy American B-movies. Of course Godard was, and is, a Swiss-Parisian intellectual…. Pulp Fiction, by contrast, displays an entertainer’s talent for luridness.” -David Denby, New York

The complex narrative organization of Pulp Fiction plays with temporal sequence, so that it is difficult to understand the causal connection between events. Most jarringly, Vincent, a leading character, is killed halfway through, only to reappear and play a significant role later in the film—but earlier in the temporal sequence of events.

Robert Ryan as Stoker Thompson in "The Set-Up" (1949) directed by Robert Wise. Like many noir protagonists, Stoker is looking for the decisive lucky break that'll put him in the big time. But he's doomed without knowing it. His manager, who expects him to lose anyway, has agreed for him to take a dive in the third round. He just hasn't told Stoker. "Yeah, top spot. And I'm just one punch away" -Stoker Thompson.

John Garfield as Charley Davis in "Body & Soul" (1947) directed by Robert Rossen

There can hardly ever have been a face so perfectly suited to the compromise, suffering and hard-won understanding at the heart of the big-screen boxing lesson than the star of ‘Body and Soul’, John Garfield. While Paul Newman looked plaintive and martyred in ‘Somebody Up There Likes Me’ (1956) and Robert Ryan skulked, complicit, through ‘The Set-Up’ (1949), Garfield’s fallen-angel countenance offers a far more complete portrait of hope and frustration.

Garfield’s performance alone is enough to elevate it into the highest echelons of sporting dramas. Its few, brutal fight scenes are a clear inspiration for the purgatorial pummelings of ‘Raging Bull’, and Garfield’s eventual predicament even foreshadows that of Bruce Willis’s wilful slugger in ‘Pulp Fiction’. A poem that has no time for poetry and a parable with little taste for allegory, ‘Body and Soul’ forgoes the butterfly for the bee every time, yet still soars. Source: www.timeout.com

Marlon Brando as Terry Malloy in "On The Waterfront" (1954) directed by Elia Kazan

After the war, "Body and Soul" returned Americans to the issues posed in "Golden Boy" and developed them with renewed eloquence in the noir style. "On the Waterfront" (1954) featured a retired boxer, haunted by his fall.

Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino; Miramax, 1994) Written by Quentin Tarantino; cinematography by Andrzej Sekula; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames, Uma Thurman, Rosanna Arquette, Steve Buscemi, Christopher Walken, Harvey Keitel, Quentin Tarantino

"Body and Soul" (1947) and "The Set-Up" (1949), both feature a boxer who is under the influence of shady organizations that operate in the underworld of boxing world. But in general, boxing became a common profession for the noir loner, as seen in films like "The Killers" (1946) directed by Robert Siodmak and "Killer’s Kiss" (1955) directed by Stanley Kubrick.

Butch the boxer and Julius the hit man in Pulp Fiction (1994) strive to escape from death in the underworld, but the ironic play of pop culture toys with the earnestness of their quest. These films engage with the body and soul conflict, offering up fresh perspectives that bear witness to the fertility of the genre in addressing the deepest concerns of its audience.

Message from Jake Gyllenhaal to the troops

2011-12-16T05:18:00.000-08:00

WWE Tribute To The Troops 2011 - Special Message From Jake Gyllenhaal

Jake Gyllenhaal arriving at LAX Airport, on 13rd December 2011

December 13 - Arriving At LAX Airport
Jake Gyllenhaal leaving Murakami Sushi Restaurant in Hollywood on 13rd December 2011

Jake Gyllenhaal at a Jay-Z Kayne West concert in L.A., on 13rd December 2011

Michelle Williams channels Marilyn Monroe

2011-12-15T16:09:00.000-08:00

Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in "My Week With Marilyn" (2011) directed by Simon Curtis

Nominations for the Golden Globe Awards were announced this morning. "My Week With Marilyn" received three nominations, including a Best Actress nomination for Michelle. The awards will air January 15 on NBC. Source: www.goldenglobes.org

In this interview, likely Oscar nominee for her performance in "My Week with Marilyn" Michelle Williams talks about the script, about taking on the role of this iconic blonde, what audiences should take away from the film, and what it was like to work with Eddie Redmayne and Kenneth Branagh.

Michelle Williams channels Marilyn Monroe.

See behind the scenes on our December cover shoot where we caught up with Michelle Williams.

Ida Lupino (with Humphrey Bogart, John Garfield, Robert Ryan) & her films

2011-12-15T02:49:00.000-08:00

Ida Lupino does her Christmas shopping circa 1939

For Stanley and Connie Lupino, the brightest momdnt of the war years was the birth of their daughter Ida. They had almost named her Aida, after the princess of the Verdi opera, an appropriate suggestion of theatrical royalty. Ida's sister, Rita, was born in 1921. Both children soon learned that emotions were for display; laugh, cry, speak boldly and beautifully. Emotional restraint was not for the Lupinos. Ida never had a normal childhood because of her parents' touring and late hours.

"Her self-confidence is utterly sumptuous". -Reporter Alma Whitaker about Ida Lupino

Ida Lupino in "Ready For Love" (1934)

Calling herself Ida Ray, Lupino obtained an agent and immediately landed a part. A German director who had seen her on the set of "Love Race" hired the girl with luminous blue eyes and milk-white skin. Ironically, she was dropped from her only scene for fear her attractiveness would overshadow the lead actress. After this happened several times, Ida became known as "the girl who was too good-looking." In January 1932, Ida officially enrolled in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Student life was crowded with activity and admirers flocked around. Ida had her first boyfriend, a fellow student named Johnny, who nicknamed her "Loops." They spent their free hours together chatting before the fire in Ida's room.

George Bernard Shaw, regarded as the greatest living playwright of the English language said of Ida: "She is the only girl in the world as mad as I am."

Ida Lupino and Richard Arlen in "Ready For Love" (1934)

Paramount decided that Lupino's screen debut would be in "Search for Beauty", a romantic comedy about Olympic champions who became entangled with con men. Ida had a knockout scene: dressed in silk pajamas, she danced a snakehips atop a table to save voluptuous Toby Wing from a roomful of evil-minded drunks. Toby Wing became Ida's friend. She found Ida full of fun. Ida's second Paramount release was "Come on Marines", in which Richard Arlen gallantly leads an armed squad into the jungle to rescue beauties from a Paris finishing school. Ida scoffed at reports that she had come to America just to play "Alice in Wonderland". "You cannot play naive if you're not. I never had any childhood", Ida said. About her friends, she said: "I cannot tolerate fools, won't have anything to do with them. I only want to associate with brilliant people".

Since her boyfriend Johnny's death, Ida had experienced an intense emotional emptiness.

The initial encounter of Lupino and Hayward had produced "tangible hostility." While studying a script on the set of "Money for Speed", Ida had looked up to see a stranger watching her. When they were introduced afterward, Ida was icy. "He bored me to extinction," she later recalled. "It was strange but the dislike for each other amounted to contempt." Hayward sized her up as "just another dizzy blonde." He came to America and found success on Broadway, winning the 1934 New York Critics Award. Soon he began a film career in Hollywood.

On her sixteenth birthday, Howard Hughes arranged a party for her. He asked her what she wanted. "Binoculars", answered Ida. "What on earth do you want binoculars for?" "To look at the stars", she replied. Hughes gave her the most expensive pair he could find. But presents never won her heart.

Ida admired the press-shy Garbo. "I am a fan. Not because she is a great actress, but because she has dared the wolves and kept her splendid isolation".

Ida Lupino in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)

She was asked to return to Los Angeles for a dramatic role in "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes", starring Basil Rathbone. Ida portrayed a terrified woman who comes to Holmes with a strange drawing that threatens her brother with death. Cinematographer Leon Shamroy captured the eerie atmosphere, which was enhanced by the music of Cyril J. Mockridge, who composed a haunting Inca funeral dirge. A crucial scene in which Ida weeps over the body of her slain brother was beautifully played. As she sobs, she hears the faint tones of the frightening Inca dirge, the harbinger of another murder; fear, then stark terror, sweep over her, culminating in a shrill, blood-curdling scream.

Ida Lupino in "Life Begins at Eight Thirty" (1942)

Ida felt that Louis Hayward was one of the few people who truly understood her. She defined her concept of love as "blind devotion." In interviews, she said she had few illusions about life but simply followed the conscious instinct of self-preservation. But she was deeply in love with Louis Hayward. Louis was certain that his agent, Arthur Lyons, could get Ida's career moving again. Lyons had for years been the dynamo who made success stories happen. From his plush office at 356 North Camden Drive in Beverly Hills, he directed one of the most affluent artist agencies in show business. Lyons represented such stars as Jack Benny, Joan Crawford, Lucille Ball, Ray Milland, Sydney Greenstreet, John Garfield, Hedy Lamarr, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, and Eugene O'Neill.

Lyons promptly swung into action. He sent Ida to see Harry Cohn, who ran Columbia Pictures. The tough, crude, astute boss was blunt: "You are not beautiful, Ida, but you've got a funny little pan." Ida must have winced at the comment but eagerly signed a two-picture contract. Ida's depression vanished. Louis proposed, and she accepted. On November 17, 1938, Ida became Mrs. Louis Hayward in a quiet civil ceremony held in the Santa Barbara courthouse. Their new home, discovered by accident and purchased on impulse, was at 1766 Westridge in Brentwood.

Lupino was summoned to Warner's office and offered a seven-year contract. He told her she would be "another Bette Davis." Ida recognized Warner's transparent strategy. If the queen of the lot refused to do a picture or caused trouble, Lupino would be at hand. On May 3, 1940, she signed a one-year contract with Warner Bros. that permitted her to freelance elsewhere. Her salary would be two thousand dollars a week for two pictures.

Publicity still of Ida Lupino and Humphrey Bogart in "They Drive by Night" (1940) directed by Raoul Walsh

"They Drive by Night" was completed in thirty-three working days, for $498,000. Even before its release, Warner Bros. knew it had a winner, thanks mainly to Ida Lupino. Hal Wallis, head of studio production, wanted her signed for a third film. On July 8, a preview was held at the Warner Theater on Hollywood Boulevard. Ida ignited the screen; she projected a fascinating blend of beauty, danger, and deceit. Variety reported that the audience had twice broken out with applause. Newsweek proclaimed, "Raft and Bogart honest men, but Lupino steals picture."

Other reviews were equally laudatory: "Miss Lupino goes crazy about as well as it can be done," noted the New York Times. The World Telegram stated that she finally had gotten the break she deserved "and the result is a performance so superb that she immediately becomes one of the screen's foremost dramatic actresses."

Humphrey Bogart and Ida Lupino in "High Sierra" (1941) directed by Raoul Walsh

Mark Hellinger chose Lupino for his next film, which he described as "a great yarn." Despite the restrictive guidelines, W.R. Burnett and John Huston completed a masterful script-the simple yet compelling story of an Indiana farm boy who turns to crime. Bogart plays Roy "Mad Dog" Earle, and Ida plays Marie, a young woman picked up at a dime-a-dance joint, who begs to stay with Earle because she has nowhere else to go.

Production began August 5; the company assembled for exterior scenes at the mountain resort of Big Bear. Initially, the relationship between Lupino and Bogart was cool. As she later disclosed, "I have a way of kidding with a straight face; so has Bogie. Neither of us recognized the trait in the other".

Matters were complicated by Mayo Methot, Bogart's wife. As the picture progressed, Ida and Bogie established an onscreen rapport and an off-camera friendship. The volatile Mrs. Bogart constantly hovered about the set, making her husband nervous. Dialogue director Irving Rapper knew why Mayo was there, as did everyone else. "Mayo was very jealous of Ida," says Rapper.

The script called for Lupino to cry, but the tears wouldn't come. Bogart took her to the side and, glancing at director Walsh, told her: "Listen, doll, if you can't cry, just remember one thing -I'm going to take this picture away from you." Ida laughed, just as Bogart had wanted. "All right," he said, "now you're relaxed. If you can't relate it to me or the character go back to your childhood," he counseled. "Can you remember when you had to say goodbye to somebody, somebody you loved? And you thought you weren't going to see them again?" "Yes", responded Ida. "Well, think of that, baby, think of it!" Ida saw tears in his eyes. The final scene of High Sierra is powerfully moving. Marie's tears of sadness are transformed into tears of elation as she realizes that the tortured soul of Roy Earle is finally free.

"High Sierra" was to remain one of the greatest pictures of Ida's career and quite memorable personally for her experience with Humphrey Bogart. Initially, Ida had found Bogart's pleasure in needling people upsetting, but by the film's end, she understood that he, like herself, was a person with many sides, some of them contradictory. She grew to like Bogart and never forgot his unexpected support when the tears wouldn't come. As she was to remember: "He was the most loyal, wonderful guy in the world."

Ida Lupino and John Garfield in "The Sea Wolf" (1941) directed by Michael Curtiz

Ida rehearsed daily with co-stars Edward G. Robinson and John Garfield. Robinson considered twenty-sevenyear-old Garfield one of the best young actors he had ever encountered. Ida was also enthralled. "His real name was Julius Garfinkle. He was wonderful and I loved him. He and I were like brother and sister." She admired her new friend and the passionate political beliefs that led him to champion the economically disadvantaged. Garfield's political boldness and his cocky spirit matched Lupino's innate rebelliousness.

As expected, Robinson, as the bestial yet intelligent Wolf Larsen, dominated the picture. "I'd rather rule in hell than be a servant in heaven," he says. One reviewer called the picture "Little Caesar at sea."

Though overshadowed by Robinson's masterful acting, Lupino was praised as "excellent... the girl with a past. Her intelligent and forthright playing gives complete conviction to the role." Author William Saroyan was so impressed that he wrote, "Give Miss Lupino something to act in and there's a fifty-fifty chance that she will be the finest actress in the world."

Ida could be wickedly funny herself, but she publicly acknowledged her "terrible temper," and explained that she tried to control it but found that "keeping it back sometimes upsets me." Louis discovered he could lure his wife from her black moods by laughter, but her volatile fits and evanescent rages caused slammed doors and marital scars. Ida felt more comfortable around men. The distance she kept from her fellow females masked a grave insecurity and a fear of competition. But for Ida, women, especially actresses, were a curious breed: "A woman in show business isn't honest with herself... so how can she be honest with another woman? We are all of us acting every minute of the day and night."

“There was a certain kind of fantasy, a certain imagination that is not accepted now. The world is too small. Those were glamorous days.” ~Ann Sheridan about her time in Hollywood

Ida Lupino & Ann Sheridan dancing on the set of "They Drive By Night" (From the book "Here’s Looking at You Kid: 50 Years of Fighting, Working and Dreaming at Warner Bros." by James R. Silke)

Despite her comments, Lupino's contradictory nature brought exceptions. Ann Sheridan was always a dear chum because she was "honest, feminine and yet had masculine directness."

After fourteen months of marriage, Howard said goodbye. He was barely out the front door when Louella Parsons had the story in print: "The strangest separation of all time is that of Ida Lupino and Howard Duff... there had been no quarrel, no trouble of any kind, and Ida thought everything was going along smoothly when Howard walked out of the house. He said he was leaving and was through."

When Barbara Stanwyck turned down the role of Stella Goodwin in "Out of the Fog", Ida jumped at it. Producer Henry Blanke asked George Raft to play the heavy, but he declined. Bogart asked for the role, but Lupino used her influence and Blanke agreed that her pal John Garfield would play the extortionist.

Ida Lupino and John Garfield in "Out of the Fog" (1941) directed by Anatole Litvak

Anatole Litvak, highly regarded at Warner Bros. for such successes as "City for Conquest" and "Confessions of a Nazi Spy", would direct. Ida pored over her script, quite excited by the fine writing and drama in Shaw's play-an honest depiction of social injustice, a study of "gentle people" who are pushed so far they rise up to exterminate the aggressor. The screenplay by Robert Rossen, Jerry Wald and Robert Macaulay remained true to the play, maintaining as much realism as possible.

On the film's release, the publicity department proclaimed "Lupino and Garfield-Most Exciting New Screen Team!". "Out of the Fog" opened to good reviews. "A moving and thought-provoking drama... Lupino created another outstanding character in her repertoire of tragic and oblique women, etches unforgettable. John Garfield makes his satanic portrayal the essence of symbolic villainy," said Variety.

After his difficulty obtaining film work, Garfield returned to his roots, the New York stage. He was a smash in "The Big Knife", "Peer Gynt" and "Golden Boy". Garfield had sent Ida tickets to see him onstage. She arrived at his apartment with a writer friend from the New York Times for a toast before the performance. Garfield opened the door in his dressing gown. Ida was taken aback by his haggard appearance. "Hi, doll," she greeted him. "Oh, it's good to see you, Lupi." Ida introduced her escort, then Garfield prepared cocktails. "I have a little present for you, Lupi." He glanced at Ida's friend, then said: "I'm going to ask her to come into my bedroom but not for what you think." As Ida followed him, she felt uneasy. Garfield looked deathly ill, and he lacked energy and exuberance. He pointed to a basket of flowers, champagne and glasses.

Ida read the note: "To my favorite sister. Sorry, I'm not going to make it tonight but I've always loved you, kid. Julie." Ida was perplexed. "What do you mean?" she asked. "I'm not going to make it tonight or any other night," answered Garfield. "I'm booked." Ida was shocked. "I'm glad you gave me a good stiff drink. Now I have a present for you. All that junk about you being a Communist has been cleared up." Ida and her friend declined to see the play, since Garfield wasn't appearing. Ida, as she had promised, returned to Garfield's place to say goodnight. She was still worried about her friend. She tapped softly at the door and found it open. The living room was dark. In his bedroom a single lamp on a nightstand fell on Garfield, propped up on pillows sleeping. "Goodnight, Johnny. We all love you," Ida whispered. He opened his eyes and thanked her. She leaned down and hugged him. "Would you mind holding my hand till I drop off?" he asked. The words sent a chill through Ida. "You bet," she told him. "I'll sit here till daylight if you want." She held his hand until he was sound asleep.

Ida Lupino & John Garfield in "Out Of The Fog" -We Don't Believe In Pirates (Movie Clip)

-Ida Lupino (Stella): All I know is that when he talks, I feel like I'm burning. He knows it, too, and even so, he laughs, and then I get hot and cold all over, and I feel like yelling. Nothing that ever happened to me before made me feel like this.

What lay behind the penetrating blue eyes? I was curious. She craved solitude and attention simultaneously, just as her entrancing eyes harbored both fire and ice, love and hate, brilliance and wildness. The rays of emotion she emitted were intense, like those of a revolving prism, unique and exceedingly bright. -"Ida Lupino: A Biography" by William Donati (2000)

Robert Ryan and Ida Lupino in "Beware My Lovely" (1952) directed by Harry Horner

Ida Lupino plays a pretty widow who impulsively hires a handyman (Robert Ryan) to look after her house. She soon learns Ryan is a dangerous schizophrenic, but by the time she comes to this realization she is unable to escape her house. The tension mounts apace, leading to an unexpected but quite logical finale. Produced by Lupino's then-husband Collier Young, "Beware My Lovely" was released by RKO Radio. The tension in the film is similar to what you would get in a Hitchcock film. This film is basically Robert Ryan versus Ida Lupino. These two great actors do an excellent job handling the bulk of the work. Lupino is one of the best looking old maids you will ever see and Ryan looks like his head is going to explode any minute, of course he made a living in those roles. In this role, however, Ryan is much more vulnerable than normal but just as volatile.

Ida Lupino and Robert Ryan in "On Dangerous Ground" (1952) directed by Nicholas Ray

"One of the loveliest of Nick Ray's movies... a harsh film noir [that] gradually shifts to an ethereal romanticism reminiscent of Frank Borzage."—Dave Kehr

Perhaps the purest expression of Ray's belief in the transformative power of love and a classic of its genre, "On Dangerous Ground" is among his most beautiful and moving works. Written by A. I. Bezzerides of "Kiss Me Deadly" fame, the film opens in the harsh urban world of noir, Bernard Herrmann's score flaying nerves as Robert Ryan's coiled cop takes to the mean streets as a semi-psychotic avenging angel ("Why do you make me do it?" the tormented Ryan screams at the latest lowlife he pummels within an inch of his life). It is hard to say what is more stirring: Ryan's forsaken aloneness or Lupino's isolate vulnerability. The daring stylistic and tonal contrasts between the film's two halves, and the theme of the difference between moral and physical sight, intensify the film's tragic irony; in the end, all ground seems dangerous. Lupino actually directed some scenes when Nicholas Ray became ill during the shoot.

“I’d love to see more women working as directors and producers. If Hollywood is to remain on the top of the film world, I know one thing for sure —there must be more experimentation with out-of-the-way film subjects”. -Ida Lupino

“She was a woman director of real personality; her pictures are as tough and quick as those of Samuel Fuller. She was a pioneer for women, especially because she carved out her own territory instead of just waiting to be asked… She proved herself a competent director of second features, and an early discoverer of feminist themes. Thus 'The Bigamist' is not just melodrama, but a critique of woman’s vulnerability.” - David Thomson (The New Biographical Dictionary of Film, 2002)

“She was so real, offbeat and just lots of fun.” — Cornel Wilde [Actor]

“She wasn’t always easy, but she was worth it.” — Vincent Sherman [Director]

“She is a very warm, very sensitive, very intelligent lady.” —Claire Trevor [Actress]

“She was electric. She never had the popularity she should have had. She was a fine actress. She was beautiful. She had a fabulous figure and was a great director. Maybe she was too strong for those days.” —Sally Forrest [Actress]

James Dean as Jett Rink striking oil in "Giant"

2011-12-15T02:24:00.000-08:00

One of James Dean's greatest scenes (along with the birthday scene from Elia Kazan's "East of Eden") in "Giant" directed by George Stevens. Jett Rink is a great rise-and-fall story, embodied by a 24-year old Dean in his swan song. He would infamously die just 2 weeks after wrapping up his scenes for this movie. Film legend James Dean in his final role as Jett Rink, here taking stock of the little piece of Texas land left to him by Luz Benedict. Set magnificently to music by (the also legendary) Dmitri Tiompkin. "James Dean's talent glows like an oilfield flare.

When James Dean’s character Jett Rink strikes oil as a wildcatter in George Steven’s 1956 epic, "Giant", he goes up to the big house where Liz Taylor lives in order to laugh and drip oil all over the front porch. Covered in West Texas Intermediate crude (later to become the benchmark grade, traded in New York) he gets, shall we say, a little forward with Liz. That’s when Rock Hudson steps in, and decks him.

Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson in a publicity still for 'Giant' (1956), George Stevens' mammoth tale of oil men in Texas.

Jack Warner tried to have certain scenes modified in "Giant". Namely, the reference Elizabeth Taylor makes to the oil depletion allowance which favored oil companies. Something like, "How about an appreciation for first class brains?" The oil interests put pressure on the studio, and Jack Warner begged George Stevens to take the line out. George said, "No dice."

James Dean as Jett Rink, soaked in oil in "Giant" (1956) directed by George Stevens

Giant and Texas Oil Tycoons: Through the years Bick attempts to buy the parcel in order to consolidate his land, but the stubborn Jett Rink refuses to sell. Jett's parcel later produces black gold, making him fabulously wealthy as a Texas oil driller. Bick, however, prefers to remain a rancher up until World War II, where he grudgingly begins to drill for oil on his property in order to support the war effort.

When Jett Rink strikes oil and runs in triumph to the Benedict house, Edna Ferber (author of "Giant" novel in 1952) writes: "his face was grotesque with smears of dark grease and his damp bacchanalian locks hung in tendrils over his forehead. He came on, he opened the door of the screened veranda, he stood before the company in his dirt and grease, his eyes shining wildly... The man stood, his legs wide apart as though braced against the world. The black calloused hands with the fingers curiously widespread as they hung, his teeth white in the grotesquely smeared face".

Considerating the differences between the times when "Giant" was filmed and the modern oil field tools, we can trace a history of advancing drilling techniques in this field. "Giant" was set in the 1930′s, a time when the price of oil was controlled by the Texas Railroad Commission because of overwhelming supply. The timeline on the price of oil during this period is actually a story worth tracking. Using the BP Statistical Review’s larger database on the price of oil going back to 1861, it appears that by 1920, the production of the Model T may have triggered enough oil demand to finally get prices over 3.00 a barrel (about 34.00 in today’s dollars). But then the Black Giant of East Texas was discovered. And that sent prices back down to uneconomic levels.

Ideal Star: Gloria Dickson (1939), Jennifer Anniston (2011)

2011-12-13T06:56:00.000-08:00

Gloria Dickson (1916–1945) Birth Name: Thais Dickerson

Gloria Dickson was established early as one of Warner Brothers leading ingenues. She married Perc Westmore, Warners’ Make-up Artist, and a member of the famous Westmore Cosmetics Family. She began to drink heavily. Perc too was a heavy drinker.

Gloria Dickson and John Garfield had a torrid affair. [while filming "They Made Me A Criminal" directed by Busby Berkely in 1939]

Gloria and Perc divorced. Her physical appearance had changed, and soon she was doing character roles. She married twice more; her last husband, an ex-middleweight boxer, was the former bodyguard to Jean Harlow. Tragically, Gloria Dickson died in 1945, just months shy of her 29th birthday in a house fire. Source: classicalmoviechat.com

14 September 1938 on the set of 'They Made Me a Criminal': "I found that a window in one of the walls built on the sound stage offered the best view of a scene being played by John Garfield, Gloria Dickson and some of the Dead End kids. Soon I was joined by Perc Westmore, head of the makeup department and husband of the actress. We watched several unsuccessful takes of a different scene that was supposed to end in a tender cinch between Miss Dickson and Garfield.

The latter finally came to the window and said, ‘Perc, please get away from there. I can’t make love to a gal while her husband is peeking though a window at us.’ But Westmore wouldn’t move. We both moved, though, when an irate cameraman told us we were in the scene. And sure enough we were —reflected by a mirror on the opposite wall of the set. If any of the earlier takes had been approved, astonished audiences would have noticed a couple of complete strangers peeking through a window and smirking at a heavy love scene." Source: www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com

LIFE magazine (January 2, 1939) Ideal Star: "This breathtaking morsel of feminine loveliness, this surpassing goddess of men's dreams is Hollywood's idea of the Ideal Movie Star. Mr. Westmore (Warner Bros' commissar of beauty) with the help of a studio artist he conconcted his Dream Star from parts of four real Warner goddesses: the hair of Gloria Dickson (Mrs. Perc Westmore), the nose of Olivia de Havilland, the lips of Ann Sheridan and the eyes of Priscilla Lane. This composite Venus would be worth at least half a million dollars a year -if she could act". -Oliver Hotspur (Hollywood, CA)

Gloria Dickson

Olivia de Havilland

Ann Sheridan

Priscilla Lane

Myrna Loy as Nora Charles in "Shadow of the Thin Man" (1941) directed by W.S. Van Dyke

Bronx native Irving Brecher (1914–2008) wrote and co-wrote such titles as 'Shadow of the Thin Man' and 'Meet Me in St. Louis' (which earned him an Oscar nomination), 'Somebody Loves Me' in 1952 and the iconic pilot for 'The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis' in 1959.

Ann-Margret as Kim MacAfee in "Bye Bye Birdie" (1963) directed by George Sidney, screenplay by Irving Brecher & Michael Stewart

For his last script, Brecher adapted the satiristic musical 'Bye Bye Birdie' for the screen in 1963. He then retired from show business, eventually writing a memoir detailing his experiences in Hollywood, including his encounters with Milton Berle, Judy Garland, and Fred Astaire. Source: movies.nytimes.com

-Hank Rosenfeld: "I watched a documentary about the actor John Garfield on Turner Classic Movie channel, and it said he died at 39 when the House Un-American Activities Committee hounded him because his wife was a Communist and he refused to name names".

-Irving Brecher (screenwriter, director, jokester): "Fuck Turner (TCM), Garfield was on top of a hooker." -"The Wicked Wit of the West: The last great Golden-Age screenwriter shares the hilarity and heartaches of working with Groucho, Garland, Gleason, Burns, Berle, Benny and many more" by Irving Brecher & Hank Rosenfeld (2009)

Jake Gyllenhaal and Jennifer Aniston as Holden and Justine in "The Good Girl" (2002) directed by Miguel Arteta

-Holden: "You're a hooker, you hooker".

-Justine: "Holden, calm down! Alright?"
-Holden: "I can't calm down! Easy if I was a hooker like you then I'd calm down all over town!"

Jennifer Aniston attends the 'Meine Erfundene Frau' (My Imaginary Wife) photocall at Hotel Adlon on February 21, 2011 in Berlin.

Here are some highlights from the newly crowned sexiest lady...

-MH: If you could name one woman the sexiest of all-time, who would you have picked?

-Jennifer: It's a tie between Brigitte Bardot and Gloria Steinem. But if I had to choose one, I'd say Gloria because, well, she's the full package. That's sexy.

Marilyn Monroe in "How To Marry A Millionaire" (1953) directed by Jean Negulesco

Also rounding up the top five were Raquel Welch, Marilyn Monroe, Britney Spears and Madonna. Ursula Andress came in at number six with Bettie Page, Pamela Anderson and Jane Fonda taking the next few spots. Source: extratv.warnerbros.com

Jennifer Aniston is a beautiful woman with an amazing body and an envious lifestyle. But it comes to some amazement that the 42-year-old actress has been named Sexiest Woman of All Time. Men's Health readers voted the former Friends star to the top of the list above many other screen sirens before her who had more bombshell qualities.

The 42-year-old actress starred in her most sexual role this year in the movie 'Horrible Bosses' where she played the flirtatious dentist with the filthy mouth. Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

Kristen Stewart & Robert Pattinson (Breaking Down HQ stills)

2011-12-13T03:20:00.000-08:00

New Twilight Saga "Breaking Dawn" Pictures Of Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart in Their Dream Sequence Wedding

Happy Anniversary, Frank Sinatra!

2011-12-12T08:11:00.000-08:00

Frank Sinatra won an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and Donna Reed won Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Alma 'Lorene' Burke) in "From Here To Eternity" (1953)

From Here To Eternity -Barfight scene starring Frank Sinatra as Pvt. Angelo Maggio in "From Here to Eternity" (1953) directed by Fred Zinnemann

From Here to Eternity Rehearsals with Frank Sinatra Burt Lancaster and Montgomery Clift. Silent footage. Public Domain. From the National Archives.

Hemingway's Heroes in film: Humphrey Bogart and John Garfield

2011-12-11T07:16:00.000-08:00

John Garfield, Ida Lupino and Edward G. Robinson in "The Sea Wolf" (1941) directed by Michael Curtiz

THE SEA WOLF (1941): "Some of the more memorable sea captains include Captain Ahab in 'Moby Dick', Captain Bligh in 'Mutiny on the Bounty', and Captain Queeg in 'The Caine Mutiny' (played by Bogart). But none of these misguided authority figures can match the sadism and brutality of Wolf Larsen, the megalomaniac captain of Jack London's novel, 'The Sea Wolf'. Larsen is a fascinating enigma - a mystic and a philosopher but also a dangerous manic-depressive who subjects his crew to outrageous acts of cruelty; at one point, Larsen decides to give the ship's cook a bath by towing him in the schooner's wake - an action that results in the cook losing his foot to a shark.

Sylvia Sidney and Humphrey Bogart in "The Wagons Roll at Night" (1941) directed by Ray Enright

Michael Curtiz tried to draft Humphrey Bogart for the part but he was committed to another picture ('The Wagons Roll at Night') so John Garfield, who had made his screen debut in 'Four Daughters' (1938), also directed by Curtiz, was tapped for the role.

It was a personal triumph for John Garfield who counted Jack London among his favorite authors but it was an even bigger honor for Edward G. Robinson who had been a fan of the novel since he first read it at age eleven.

In his autobiography, 'All My Yesterdays', Edward G. Robinson recalled: "I had no idea at the time that the domineering Captain Wolf Larsen was to be characterized by critics as a Nietzsche superman; I just considered him to be a wonderful character. And that's how I played him, with John Garfield playing George Leach.

John Garfield was one of the best young actors I ever encountered, but his passions about the world were so intense that I feared any day he would have a heart attack. It was not long before he did."

George Leach, who was drowned in the original novel, becomes the central love interest in this version, escaping to safety with Ruth Webster. All of these changes actually strengthened the film on a dramatic level and were further enhanced by Sol Polito's atmospheric cinematography and Anton Grot's art direction - both heavily influenced by the look of German Expressionist cinema". Source: www.tcm.com

Film Noir and Existencialism:

Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner in "The Killers" (1946) directed by Robert Siodmak, based on a short story written by Ernest Hemingway. The prototypic Hemingway hero must face evil, futility, and the nothingness of existence alone and unaided. Defeat is inevitable and unavoidable; only defeat with dignity offers hope of redemption.

Arthur Schopenhauer cited those very features of the human condition that pessimism takes as its point of departure: “The vanity of existence is revealed in the whole form existence assumes... in the contingency and relativity of all things; in continual becoming without being; in continual desire without satisfaction; in the continual frustration of striving of which life consists.”

Schopenhauer presents a “moral” critique, one that fastens on the vanity of human wishes, on the spectacle of human folly and wickedness, and, more ominously, on the ill will, malice, and cruelty of other people, whom Schopenhauer likens to a “den of sharks and swindlers.” As Jean-Paul Sartre writes in 'Being and Nothingness': “For human reality, to be is to choose oneself.”

“How do you get through nights if you can’t sleep? I guess you find out like you find out how it feels to lose your husband. I guess you find out all right. I guess you find out everything in this goddamned life. I guess you do all right. I guess I’m probably finding out right now. You just go dead inside and everything is easy. You just get dead like most people are most of the time. I guess that’s how it is all right. I guess that’s just about what happens to you. Well, I’ve got a good start. I’ve got a good start if that’s what you have to do. I guess that’s what you have to do all right. I guess that’s it. I guess that’s what it comes to. All right. I got a good start then. I’m way ahead of everybody now.” -To Have and Have Not (1937) novel by Ernest Hemingway

Patricia Neal as Leona Charles and Phyllis Thaxter as Lucy Morgan in "The Breaking Point" (1950) directed by Michael Curtiz

"The Breaking Point" was based on the Ernest Hemingway novel's "To Have and Have Not". A movie with that title, in 1944, was generally thought to be the film version of the book, but William Faulkner -who disliked Hemingway- wrote an original script, keeping only the title and the name of the lead character.

Humphrey Bogart as Harry Morgan and Lauren Bacall as Marie 'Slim' in "To Have and Have Not" (1944) directed by Howard Hawks

It was the movie that introduced Lauren Bacall to both the screen and Humphrey Bogart. Our film was, in fact, a very faithful version of the novel. Hemingway glanced up and winked at me. "I write goddamned good books, you know!" I knew he liked me. He told me he thought 'The Breaking Point' was the best film made from any of his books.

I played a loose woman who is mixed up with gun runners and John Garfield, whom I lure away from his wife, played by the delicious Phyillis Thaxter. In the end John goes back to Phyllis and I get what I deserve. My last lines in the film still give me a kick: 'I guess I sould have swam back to port. Or is it swum?'

John Garfield always projected a strong male animal quality in his films. It was not an act. He had an eye for the ladies and did not waste time. 'I want to talk to you', he commanded when we met. 'You know, you're a whore?' I looked at him aghast. 'In the picture I mean. You are all whore'. He took my hand and smiled ever so slightly. 'You know what I mean? You understand me?' I understood exactly what he meant. -"As I Am: An Autobiography" by Patricia Neal

John Garfield played Hemingway's hero Harry Morgan in "The Breaking Point" (1950)

"Patricia Neal displays her smarts and sensitivity. In Michael Curtiz’s 'The Breaking Point' (1950), opposite the great John Garfield, Neal gives my favorite of her performances, as a high-class whore. She is not only slinky, bad-girl fun in the part, but she gives this familiar “tramp” type a penetrating depth and humanity. Plus, her chemistry with Garfield is electric". Source: screensaversmovies.com

'Touch of Evil' and Redemptive Dames

2011-12-10T06:17:00.000-08:00

Kristen Dunst in "Touch Of Evil" videoclip from The New York Times, December 2012

A video gallery of cinematic villainy, inspired by nefarious icons and featuring the best performers from the year in film. Source: www.nytimes.com

Marlene Dietrich as Tanya in "Touch of Evil" (1958) directed by Orson Welles

"Perhaps the most extreme variation on the redemptive femme fatale, however, occurs at the end of the film noir cycle in 'Touch of Evil'. When corrupt police chief Hank Quinlan (Orson Welles) is pursued by UN narcotics agent Mike Vargas (Charlton Heston), he finds temporary refuge in a brothel that he used to visit regularly.

There, Marlene Dietrich's madame — like the good woman of earlier noir films — represents for Quinlan an idealized and unattainable past. Tanya has all of the surface characteristics of a mysterious spider woman: long, dark hair, earrings, a foreign accent, heavy makeup, and an ever-present cigarette trailing smoke that obscures the jaded expression on her face. Yet, as each of Quinlan's friends abandons him, Tanya alone remains true to Quinlan and at least for a moment - helps him escape both from Vargas and from his own self-created demons. The film implies that she loved him, and indeed she is the only person who appreciates the tragedy of his fall and seems moved by his death. In contrast to Dietrich's redemptive prostitute,

Suzy Vargas (Janet Leigh) embraces her traditional role within the status quo family.

But in this film, as in Pitfall, D.O.A., The Big Heat, and Kiss Me Deadly, the traditional woman has become a source of danger, vulnerability, and restraint rather than redemption. Source: www.lib.berkeley.edu

Quinlan: Come on, read my future for me.
Tanya: You haven't got any.
Quinlan: Hmm? What do you mean?
Tanya: Your future's all used up.
– "Touch of Evil" (1958)

John Garfield, Janet Leigh, Gene Kelly and Joseph Cotten in a photo issued as publicity for the 'Hollywood Players' radio show (1947)

John Garfield and Shelley Winters in "He Ran All The Way" (1951) directed by John Berry

Norman Lloyd plays John Garfield's partner in crime in "He Ran All The Way" (1951). Lloyd worked with Orson Welles and John Houseman and later with Hitchcock. He was twice nominated for an Emmy and his film credits include "Saboteur" (1942) and "Spellbound" (1945). John Berry, "He Ran All The Way"´s director, got his start working with Orson Welles and John Houseman and was active in the late 40s. Shortly before making this film he made "Hollywood 10" (1950) about the persecution of actors and directors by HUAC, and this earned him a place on the blacklist and virtually ended his career in the US.

John Garfield entertains a USO show at the Hollywood Canteen

"All he (John Garfield) cared about was acting and dames." -Actor Dane Clark

President Roosevelt invited John Garfield back to the White House early in 1944 to thank him for his efforts in support of the country's war drive, from his bond-raising tours to the formation of the Hollywood Canteen. Though the meeting lasted for less than a halfhour, Garfield was honored. "There I was, a kid from the Bronx, meeting with the President," he later recalled. "That's democracy -that's wonderful." The State Department had cleared the way for a USO Tour of North Africa and Italy. Garfield signed on to emcee the tour, which included comedian Eddie Foy Jr., dancer Sheila Rogers, accordionist Olga Klein, and actress Jean Darling. The group called themselves the USO Camp Show Troupers.

John Garfield and Phyllis Thaxter in "The Breaking Point" (1950) directed by Michael Curtiz

Garfield's willingness to join the tour was due to more than just patriotism. He still had that need to prove himself; the same need that stoked his desire for women. The tour was scheduled to depart New York in February 1944.

Jake Gyllenhaal leaves his longtime manager Evelyn O'Neill

2011-12-10T03:38:00.000-08:00

Jake Gyllenhaal out with a friend in Beverly Hills, on 3rd December 2011

EXCLUSIVE: Management 360′s Evelyn O’Neill tells me it’s a “very amicable parting” and she hopes he comes back since she and Jake Gyllenhaal go back such a long time — 8 years. “Sometimes people like change in their life. I think he’s amazing, I’m very proud of the work he did together, he was nominated for an Oscar, I want him back, and the door is always open. It is what it is.” I understand Gyllenhaal is not leaving for another manager and he’s not leaving his talent agency CAA. I have a feeling this may be the start of a trend as the movie biz is so muddled with the box office slump that stars who can’t put people in theater seats will see projects falling apart one after another. Rough sledding for the rep business. Source: www.deadline.com

Robert Rossen: 'Body & Soul' (John Garfield) , 'The Hustler' (Paul Newman)

2011-12-07T03:26:00.000-08:00

John Garfield is said to have been the first student of "The Method" to succeed in Hollywood, and in so doing changed the face not just of American acting, but the standard of film acting as well. Garfield was more than just an actor who played defiant rebels from the wrong side of the tracks. His natural style brought the internal rhythms and emotions of a character to the fore. While Edward G. Robinson and Paul Muni had played the first tier of such characters on screen (and have been rightly heralded as two of the greatest American actors of all time)

John Garfield's interpretation of the same sort of anti-heroes could break through sans expressionistic lighting and sound and was cloaked in a sexual energy that neither Robinson nor Muni had.

Gene Kelly with John Garfield (two of most notorious Hollywood's ladies men)

Garfield got a part in the Broadway production of 'Lost Boy' (1932), and was first credited as Jules Garfield. He then appeared in 1932's 'Counsellor-at-Law' in Chicago. He became a member of the Group Theatre in 1934 and is legendary for his stage portrayals. He rose to prominence in 1935 based on his work in two Clifford Odets plays, 'Waiting for Lefty' and 'Awake and Sing!', both directed for the Group Theatre by Harold Clurman.

While playing the role of Henry Suskind in 'Counsellor-at-Law' in Chicago, Garfield found out that the local chorus girls and bit players were competing to see who could get him into bed first. One of them finally succeeded, pulling him into a spare bedroom during a cast party. It may have been his first time, but he was smart enough to use a contraceptive. (His wife Robbe recalled having been provided with one of the Margaret Sanger diaphragms when they made love for the first time.) He was just past 19 years old, and as with acting, Garfield was a quick study when it came to the opposite sex.

And also as with acting, he got hooked. He may not have seen his one-night stand as being unfaithful to Robbe, for the two hadn't officially consummated their affair. Sex was something he was good at, and it reassured him that he had talent. That was something no one could take away from him.

John Garfield as Joe Morse and Beatrice Pearson as Doris Lowry in "Force of Evil" (1948) directed by Abraham Polonsky

"Doris, too, is nearly destroyed by the darkness of business, the desire for the "ruby" of money. Newcomer Beatrice Pearson plays her character in a naive, ingenue way, and represents the force of evil within us all. As a young worker at Leo's bank, she denies her own guilt in the shady business, but when quick-talking Garfield accuses her of being in on a "Policy" racket that takes nickels from hard-working folks who should be paying their weekly insurance premiums, she quits. Morse's words make her realize the truth, but she gets too comfortable in her easy transition to knowledge, and assumes, through the power of quitting, that she understands more than she does. He later asks her out, buys her flowers and offers her a metaphorical "ruby." She finally accepts his attractive wickedness and tries to work from within it, being neither naive or judgmental. At the night club, she confesses her redemptive love, "Oh, Joe, I don't want this money. Nobody wants it. I want to somehow to get you, Joe, to save you for yourself and myself. Somehow you're wild and crazy and stuck in a trap and somehow you won't fight to get out," she pauses, grabbing his face, the repetition of "somehow" suggesting the chaotic randomness of their love. "And somehow I love you." She kisses him and helps move the tarnished hero towards grace". Source: www.imagesjournal.com

"In 'Body and Soul', John Garfield stars as the young boxer Charley and Lilli Palmer plays his love interest Peg Born. At a celebration dinner, he meets and dances with Peg and falls for her right away. As his need for cash increases his morals decrease. He gets involved with the gold-digging Alice at the expense of his relationship with Peg.

German actress Lilli Palmer was cast as the boxer's lover, Peg (the "soul" of the title).

Newcomer Hazel Brooks was the "body". Brooks, a model from Cape Town, was the wife of Body and Soul's art director Cedric Gibbons. Brooks wanted to wear a light colored sweater to show off her ample bosom. Rossen ordered her to wear a black sweater.

"A black sweater doesn't bring out your bosom", Brooks told the press. "Why wear one? I told the jerks to make it light gray." One of the "jerks," Rossen, tried to explain to Brooks that not all men were interested in looking at her breasts. "I didn't think we were appealing to that group", she responded.

John Garfield as Mickey Borden and Priscilla Lane as Ann Lemp in "Four Wives" (1939) directed by Michael Curtiz.

Garfield gets to inject a little Mickey Borden into the proceedings when he says to Lilli Palmer, "You think I like standin' around waiting for the world to decide what to do with me?"

Polonsky's transitions are a bit abrupt, and Garfield is asked to work extra hard as an actor to make those transitions successfully work.

Lilli Palmer and John Garfield in "Body & Soul" (1947) directed by Robert Rossen

To his credit, he does make them work as he moves from it 20-something kid to a disillusioned middle-aged man in the course of about 30 minutes of screen time.

"Body and Soul" is the only film to allow Garfield's screen character to mature over the course of ten years (though none of the other actors seem to age a day). He plays a weak, amoral character, a surprisingly unsympathetic man who is roused out of his slumber not by pride or morals or love but by an unexpected blow to the head. Garfield claimed to understand Charley Davis well. "I didn't have to do much probing into Charley's life and aims," he wrote in 'Opportunity: Journal of Negro Lift', magazine. "It was all too clear to me because my own boyhood had been so similar." -"He Ran All The Way: The Life of John Garfield" (2004), by Robert Nott

Piper Laurie and Paul Newman as Sarah Packard and Eddie Felson in "The Hustler" (1961) directed by Robert Rossen

“Then we twisted it, didn’t we, Bert? Of course, maybe that doesn’t stick in your throat, ‘cause you spit it out just the way you spit out everything else. But it sticks in mine. I loved her, Bert. I traded her in on a pool game. But that wouldn’t mean anything to you because who did you ever care about. ‘Just win,’ ‘Win!’ you said, ‘win, that’s the important thing.’ You don’t know what winning is, Bert. You’re a loser. ‘Cause you’re dead inside and ya can’t live unless you make everything dead around ya! Too high, Bert - the price is too high.

If I take it, she never lived. She never died. And we both know that’s not true, Bert, don’t we, huh? She lived, she died. Boy, you better, you tell your boys they better kill me, Bert. They better go all the way with me, but if they just bust me up, I’ll put all those pieces back together again, then so help me, so help me God, Bert, I’m gonna come back here and I’m gonna kill you.” —Fast Eddie, The Hustler (1961).

"In 'The Hustler', Robert Rossen tried to grapple with some of John Garfield's story, the texture of failure and success, all the peculiar twists of talent, and the kind of vulturous deadness that attaches itself to talent, eats it alive. This is a different Newman, not an acting mask. He's lithe. And the laziness is gone. He's not a beautiful sleepwalker. He's full of danger now. Perhaps it's Eddie's own deep flaw, his need to wound himself, that touched Newman, opened up his wounds. 'The Hustler' was almost a companion film for 'Body & Soul' and has the courage to investigate cowardliness and those dark corners of the psyche where few American directors had gone before. It's a film about human dirt". -"Movieland: Hollywood and the Great American Dream Culture" by Jerome Charyn (1996)

Marlon Brando's Ultimate Hustle: "A Streetcar Name Desire" by Elia Kazan

2011-12-07T02:47:00.000-08:00

Jessica Tandy & Marlon Brando-A Streetcar Named Desire (Radio Version): Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire" wins the Drama Critics' Award and Elia Kazan and Irene Selznick accept.

The original Broadway cast (Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter, Jessica Tandy) performs. When the curtains closed on the play's first night on Broadway, on December 3, 1947, the crowd shared a moment of stunned silence, then burst into applause that lasted a full 30 minutes.

With Jessica Tandy under Kazan’s direction, Blanche became a symbol of a dying tradition, and we welcome Stanley’s hostilities.

With Clurman as director, Uta Hagen made Blanche the victim of Stanley’s destructive society, Hagen’s Blanche under Clurman’s direction left audiences feeling they had watched a delicate woman driven insane by a brutish environment epitomized by Stanley Kowalski. Tandy’s Blanche under Kazan’s direction left audiences feeling that a madwoman had entered an alien world and after shaking that world had been successfully exorcised.

"Williams said from that apartment he could hear that rattletrap streetcar named Desire running along Royal," Kenneth Holditch says, "and one named Cemeteries running along Canal. And it seemed to him the ideal metaphor for the human condition."

Jessica Tandy photographed on 24th April, 1949, as Blanche DuBois in "A Streetcar Named Desire".

That metaphor finds its expression within the play in the character of Blanche DuBois -- originally played by Jessica Tandy -- a fragile southern belle who visits her sister Stella, played by Kim Hunter

The starting point for most studies on symbolism in Streetcar is the play’s epigraph, taken from Hart Crane’s last great poem, “The Broken Tower”: "I entered the broken world to trace the visionary company of love". Antithetical to these studies is Deborah Burks’s "Treatment Is Everything: The Creation and Casting of Blanche and Stanley" which focuses mainly on the development not of Blanche but of Stanley.

Burks says that during the play’s preparation for the Broadway stage, Williams did not know how Stanley was to function in opposition to Blanche. Burks reprints Williams’s 29 August 1947 letter to Audrey Wood where he praises the discovery of Marlon Brando. In Brando’s reading for the part, Williams found what had been lacking all along in his vision of Stanley —humanism. Williams articulates this newly discovered balance thus, “I don’t want to focus guilt or blame on any one character but to have it a tragedy of misunderstanding and insensitivity to others”.

This first school of critics who argue that 'Streetcar' is a social drama of naturalistic determinism and Blanche and Stanley cultural or human nature types may seem often at either ends of a philosophical continuum. Indeed, scholars cannot seem to agree if Williams is interpreting Strindberg, Chekhov, Nietzsche, or Darwin. But all have the common denominator that 'Streetcar' is essentially a social drama with its characters representing some philosophical or political credo.

The second school, who views 'Streetcar' as a sociodramatic study of victimology, eschews this philosophical base, stressing instead that Blanche and Stanley are unique individuals and we are witnessing a private battle between them. Unfortunately, this school, too, cannot agree upon what it is that we are in fact witnessing. The neutral party finds Williams unbiased, supplying us simply with a study of Lawrentian blood knowledge or the Eros/Thanatos life/death drive. Therefore, several studies, including a book-length one by Norman Fedder, have focused on the Lawrentian elements in Williams’s plays.

It is not surprising, then, to find several references to the Blanche-Stanley conflict as Williams’s study of the Eros/Thanatos instinct made famous in Lawrence’s fiction. And while Jack von Dornum sees Stanley as “D.H. Lawrence’s natural man”, Robert Brustein perceives Stanley as the Lawrence hero “whose sexuality, though violent, is unmental, unspiritual, and, therefore, in some way free from taint.” Brustein also sees the conflict between Stanley and Blanche as an allegory of the struggle between “effeminate culture and masculine libido.”

But it is Christopher Bigsby in “Tennessee Williams: Streetcar to Glory” and Arthur Ganz in “The Desperate Morality of the Plays of Tennessee Williams” who offers the most cogent analyses along these lines: Bigsby, in discussing Williams’s Promethean Man in characters like John Buchanan and Stanley Kowalski, both of whom survive at the expense of the delicate, romantic people; and Ganz, in tracing the “neo-Lawrentian” elements in Williams’s plays prior to 1962. Bigsby argues that of all of Williams’s earlier plays which preach “the Lawrentian sermon on the dominance of the physical over the spiritual”, it is not until 'Streetcar' that Williams “managed fully to digest his Lawrentian lessons and incorporate them into his own perception of an American caught in transition from genteel sterility to brutal indifference”.

Philip Kolin, a professor of English and author of several books on Streetcar, puts the magnitude of the play in perspective. "People have said that Williams absolutely invented the idea of desire for the 20th century," he says. "It was a play that dealt with for the very first time on the American stage, female sexuality and male sexuality."

From his private director’s notebook, published for the first time in 1976, Kazan informs us as to where his sympathies lay. Although he identifies with Blanche’s plight, his support is with Stanley.

In his Stanislavskian reading of Streetcar, looking for the “spine” of each character, he concludes that Stanley’s “spine” is to keep things his way, that he must fight off the destructive intrusions of Blanche who “would wreck his home,” Blanche is dangerous. She is destructive. She would soon have him and Stella fighting. He’s got things the way he wants them around there and he does not want them upset by a phony, corrupt, sick, destructive woman.

Kazan’s direction heavily favored making Stanley the victim of Blanche’s onslaughts against his name, his heritage, his masculinity, and ultimately his family. It was not until Harold Clurman took over as director of the road version of the play that a shift to Blanche as victim took place, a shift which would inaugurate the timeless debate over Streetcar’s meaning.

Vivien Leigh (Blanche DuBois) lunches with Marlon Brando (Stanley Kowalski) and Kim Hunter (Stella Kowalski).

The opposition between Blanche and Stanley is not between cultural types, but between human types. Thus, whereas one side argues that Williams is creating a Blakean chiaroscuro as embodied in Nietzsche’s Apollonian/Dionysian personality types, the other side finds in 'Streetcar' the simple display of Darwinian natural selection which Tennessee Williams himself emphasizes. In his 'Birth of Tragedy', Nietzsche describes an archetypal struggle between restraint (Apollonian) and passion (Dionysian). In his analysis of 'Streetcar', subtitled “Nietzsche Descending”, Joseph Riddel asserts that Williams borrowed from Nietzsche “in great chunks, often undigested”. The Apollonian figure is characterized by restraint and order, the Dionysian by passion and metaphysics.

Riddel points out that Blanche is Apollonian and Stanley Dionysian, but the reason 'Streetcar' fails is because Williams misinterpreted Nietzsche. By suggesting that Dionysian behavior often dominates the Apollonian, Nietzsche did not mean that passion defeats restraint, as Williams thought, but that order moves inevitably toward chaos. Joseph Riddel is not the only critic to make the Nietzschean connection. Judith J. Thompson describes 'Streetcar'’s mythos as a “dramatic agon” between Stanley (Dionysus) and Blanche (Pentheus), based on Euripides’ 'The Bacchae'.

Britton J. Harwood in his “Tragedy as Habit: A Streetcar Named Desire” also finds the Apollonian/Dionysian dialectic in the Blanche-Stanley conflict, but Harwood sees the struggle better described in Rudolf Otto’s terminology: Self versus Other. Harwood sees the crux of 'Streetcar' as a code of loyalty both upheld and betrayed. -"CRITICISM ON A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE - A Bibliographic Survey" (1947-2003) by JOHN S. BAK

Marlon Brando as Johnny Strabler in "The Wild One" (1953) directed by Laslo Benedek

"An actor is at most a poet and at least an entertainer". -Marlon Brando

"If you want something from an audience, you give blood to their fantasies. It's the ultimate hustle". -Marlon Brando

stephenckane

2011-09-26T23:34:00.001-07:00

stephenckane

Jake Gyllenhaal - Jimmy Kimmel Live interview

2011-03-24T12:15:00.000-07:00

Jimmy Kimmel Live - The first part of Jimmy's interview with Jake Gyllenhaal talking about Source Code

Jimmy Kimmel Live - The second part of Jimmy's interview with Jake Gyllenhaal

Jimmy Kimmel Live - The third part of Jimmy's interview with Jake Gyllenhaal

Jimmy Kimmel Live - The fourth part of Jimmy's interview with Jake Gyllenhaal

'My mum went to try and find Banksy when she was in London,' said Gyllenhaal in the animated interview on US TV show, Jimmy Kimmel Live. 'That's like trying to find the Unabomber', said Kimmel.'She went to places she thought he might be in London… and I can imagine my mother, because she really is pretty badass, just throwing thugs against the wall and being like 'where’s Banksy, I know where you hide him?'' he joked.The Brokeback Mountain star also said that he still gets people assuming he is gay. 'It's because my manager and all these people walked in while my friend was doing up my tie once', he recalled. Gyllenhaal said the fires of suspicion were stoked further when the same friend shouted out 'Yeah Baby!' when he won his Bafta. 'Everyone in the crowd just looked at him and whispered 'did he just call him baby?' he joked". Source: www.monstersandcritics.com

Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson on the cover of Entertainment Weekly

2011-03-24T12:06:00.000-07:00

While they always try to keep their personal life as private as possible, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart certainly showed their affection towards one another in newly released private photos. The "Twilight" co-star couple looked ever-so lovey-dovey as they both attended a mutual friend's wedding this past year. Source: www.celebrity-gossip.net

Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, April 2011

Mark Ruffalo's directorial debut "Sympathy for Delicious"

2011-03-24T03:31:00.000-07:00

Mark Ruffalo and Jake Gyllenhaal as Inspector David Toschi and Robert Graysmith in "Zodiac" (2007) directed by David Fincher

SYMPATHY FOR DELICIOUS TRAILER

Description: Recently paralyzed DJ "Delicious" Dean battles the mean streets of Los Angeles, struggling to survive in his wheelchair. Yearning to walk again, and fighting to spark the ashes that were once his career, Dean turns to the dubious world of faith healing and gets much more than he bargained for. Lured by easy money and the heat of fame, Dean sells out to an unstable rock band, stomping the dreams of so many who see him as their only hope. World-famous DJ "Delicious" must now tackle his own worst demon—himself—if he is ever to conquer his “handicap” and find true healing.

Jake Gyllenhaal backs out Doug Liman's "Moon"

2011-03-24T03:18:00.000-07:00

Jake Gyllenhaal at 'Source Code' Press Conference in Beverly Hills, CA on 18th March 2011

"Jake Gyllenhaal wants to start directing films. The Oscar-nominated actor recently said that while he doesn't plan to quit acting any time soon, he does want to try and helm his own film projects in the future.

"Well, I do have a number of things that I'm developing," he said. "That's probably where the future lies for me - but I'm not going to give up the day job just yet. I'd like to see where it goes."
"You're always wondering how long this will last. It's a piece of being an actor. There's always someone more talented or younger than you. But I also like to write. In years to come, I think that will expand. I won't just be scrapping for the next job. Maybe I'll create something for myself". Source: www.411mania.com

"Director Doug Liman’s film MOON is finally moving forward with a slew of actors and actresses up for roles. Publicity still of Jake Gyllenhaal in "Love and Other Drugs" (2010)

Originally the male lead was to go to Jake Gyllenhaal but he has since backed out and now the three actors up for the male lead include: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN’s Andrew Garfield, INTO THE WILD’s Emile Hirsch and STAR TREK’s Chris Pine. For the female lead we have a bit more of a diverse group of women that include: Megan Fox, Rachel McAdams, Rosario Dawson, Eva Mendes, Zoe Saldana and Olivia Wilde. The story follows a group of renegade space employees lead by a woman (yay!) who are gathering some space equipment, along with an ex-NASA employee, to go to the Moon and steal an energy source. Sounds intriguing, no?" Source: www.flix66.com

Beautiful Boy Trailer (Michael Sheen and Maria Bello)

2011-03-23T16:42:00.000-07:00

“Beautiful Boy” starring Michael Sheen (Unthinkable, Frost/Nixon) and Maria Bello (A History of Violence) who play parents in a normal neighborhood and live normal lives. Their world gets turned upside down when they find out their son who is in college, was involved in an on-campus shooting. It’s a very touchy subject with Columbine, Virginia Tech and more school shootings in recent memory.

Beautiful Boy centers on the parents who might on the heist of separation but when they heard their son killed him self on shooting other students at school things turn around for them. Directed by Shawn Ku starring Michael Sheen and Maria Bello

Jake Gyllenhaal charity auction for Short Hills' New Eyes For the Needy'

2011-03-23T15:31:00.000-07:00

Jake Gyllenhaal at 'Source Code' Press Conference in Los Angeles on 18th March, 2011, Beverly Hills, CA

"Buy your tickets today and come see Jake Gyllenhaal. He’ll be on hand to kick off the silent charity auction for Short Hills' New Eyes For the Needy, See for Change event being held Thursday, March 31 6:00 - 10:30 p.m. at La Pomme, 37 W. 26th St., New York. New Eyes For The Needy recycles used eyeglasses and sends them to needy people all over the world . Bring a pair of your glasses to donate". (617) 817-4662. Source: millburn.patch.com

Jena Malone in "Sucker Punch", Jimmy Kimmel, Nylon photoshoot

2011-03-23T10:56:00.000-07:00

Jena Malone and Abbie Cornish strikes a pose on their own covers for Nylon’s April 2011 issue.
Abbie Cornish and Jena Malone play sisters Sweet Pea and Rocket in Sucker Punch (2011)

“Abbie was a badass. I was scared of her”, Jena told the mag about her first impression of her Sucker Punch co-star. Source: www.nylonmag.com

Jimmy Kimmel Live - The first part of Jimmy's interview with Jena Malone

Jimmy Kimmel Live - The second part of Jimmy's interview with Jena Malone

New 'Blue Valentine' Clip with Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams

2011-03-23T10:30:00.000-07:00

Funny clip from the new movie Blue Valentine, starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams.

R.I.P. Elizabeth Taylor

2011-03-23T06:50:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth Taylor (27 February 1932, Hampstead, London, England, - 23 March 2011, Los Angeles, California)

"Elizabeth Taylor, the iconic actress, activist and Hollywood legend, has died at age 79, according to BBC News. She had been hospitalized several times in recent years for congestive heart failure and was admitted to a Los Angeles hospital in February for monitoring; congestive heart failure is listed as the official cause of death.
Her first screen appearance came when she was nine years old, and by age 12 she was a bona fide star thanks to National Velvet the saga of a girl and her beloved horse that became a massive hit. Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift, co-stars in "A Place in the Sun" (1951)James Dean with Elizabeth Taylor during the filming of "Giant" (1956)Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor in "Cat on a hot tin roof" (1958)

From there she went on to become one of the biggest stars the industry had ever known then or has since, a woman capable of leading both the era's most expensive and bloated movie, Cleopatra, and completely baring her soul in Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf, the film for which she won her second Oscar. She was nominated for that award four times in a row at the peak of her fame in the late 50s and early 60s, winning first for 1960's Butterfield 8. With her immense fame came scandal and rumor; Taylor was married eight times, twice to her frequent co-star Richard Burton, and even sparked rumors as recently as 2007 that she might be planning a ninth wedding.
Taylor's poor health in the last few years had kept her out of the spotlight, but when she turned 79 on February 27 her spokesperson released a statement announcing she'd be watching the Oscars ceremony from her hospital bed--the only imaginable thing to do for a Hollywood luminary of her status, whose passing certainly marks the end of an era; she didn't star in a movie after 1980, but for decades after that, even children could immediately recognize Elizabeth Taylor". Source: www.cinemablend.com

One of my favorite scenes (and there are oh so many) from the film adaptation of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"

For the longest time, I thought I'd hate this movie based on the title alone. On watching it, I was completely blown away. I never did understand why people always made such a fuss about Elizabeth Taylor, until I saw her in this film.

Source Code Infographic, Vera Farmiga SXSW interview

2011-03-22T18:49:00.000-07:00

Spoilers ahead: The initial studio-released plot description of Source Code avoids spoiler-y talk of the fictional science within the film, simply noting that Jake Gyllenhaal’s character “cross[es] over into another man’s identity in the last 8 minutes of his life” in order to avert a terrorist attack. But in the weeks leading up to the film’s April 1 release, Summit has increasingly emphasized Source Code’s parallel reality science, and a new poster seems to reveal a few too many clues to what happens in the film.
As depicted in the poster, eight parallel train tracks curved into the same S-shaped path (S for Source Code!) head toward an explosive destination at the eight-minute mark. Ostensibly, the trade-off in hinting at these concepts is that audiences will realize Source Code isn’t just about time travel, a sci-fi conceit that’s been explored exhaustively in other films that have come before. (According to screenwriter Ben Ripley, Source Code’s science is much closer to what real life theoretical physicists suggest is possible.) And of course, how the characters within the film negotiate these parallel tracks and get to the end is what the filmmakers hope will draw audiences in — that, and the prospect of watching Jake Gyllenhaal charm/save his way through the same 8-minute loop for 90 minutes" Source: www.cinemablend.com

It's difficult enough for an actor to work off of another highly animated actor. It is another thing entirely to have to act the majority of a film off of a camera alone. That is where actress Vera Farmiga (The Departed, Up in the Air) found herself in Duncan Jones' Source Code. Vera Farmiga as Carol Goodwin in "Source Code" (2011)

She plays Goodwin - Jake Gyllenhaal's guide and connection to the "outside" as he attempts to uncover first-hand who bombed a train. I had the honor of sitting down with Farmiga at SXSW to discuss working with Duncan, her character, not wanting to look into the camera, and the straight-man approach she took working against Jeffrey Wright's crazy eccentricities. Source: www.firstshowing.net

Jake Gyllenhaal "You can pay for a little piece of me" Exra TV interview

2011-03-21T18:23:00.000-07:00

"Extra's" Renee Bargh chatted with hunky "Source Code" star Jake Gyllenhaal about the intense action thriller that focuses on a soldier who wakes up in another man's body.

When asked if he's still "on the market," Gyllenhaal slyly answered, "By 'on the market' or 'off the market', do you mean I am a fresh vegetable or am I canned? Can you pay for me at the checkout? Is that what you mean? You can definitely pay for a little piece of me if you go see 'Source Code'. Source: extratv.warnerbros.com

Duncan Jones won't direct 'Blade Runner' prequel/sequel

2011-03-21T17:42:00.000-07:00

Chat video with Duncan Jones - "Source Code" interview

"For Jones this was his first directorial outing for a major studio off a script he didn't write, but all you need is 10 minutes of 'Source Code' to convince you this guy is the real deal; a director we'll definitely want to keep an eye on in the years to come. Still of Jake Gyllenhaal as Colter Stevens in "Source Code" (2011)

'Source Code' stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a soldier who wakes up to find himself in the body of some random dude who's eight minutes away from blowing up -- along with the train he's riding on -- thanks to a terrorist's bomb that's planted somewhere onboard.
A new experimental military program called 'Source Code' is what allows this soldier to take over the body of someone else, and it's up to him to try to identify the bomber (in eight-minute chunks) before he bombs someplace else. Cinematical sat down for a few minutes at SXSW with Duncan Jones, and spoke to him about the film, what he enjoyed most about making it, and where we can expect to see him go from here (hint: it won't be to one of those 'Blade Runner' prequels or sequels)". Source: blog.moviefone.com

Harrison Ford and Sean Young as Rick Deckard and Rachael in "Blade Runner" (1982) directed by Ridley Scott

"They don’t have a script, haven’t cast a star, and are still thinking about who to hire as a director. They don’t even know if it will be a prequel or a sequel (or if it’ll have voice-over narration). But Alcon Entertainment, producers of The Blind Side and The Book of Eli, have purchased the rights to make a movie based on the characters and settings of Blade Runner, the 1982 sci fi classic about a replicant-killing cop who falls for a fembot". Source: insidemovies.ew.com

Source Code Mission, Social Media

2011-03-21T14:58:00.000-07:00

Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan attending a Press Event for the film "Source Code" - SXSW Interactive 2011

"As you might expect for a movie called Source Code, there’s a big digital component to the film’s marketing campaign. In a first for Summit Entertainment, the studio behind the Jake Gyllenhaal thriller, Source Code will have a social media game called Source Code Mission that can be activated by Microsoft Tag technology within the movie poster. That bit of code, which any smartphone can read, will lead to a game that takes 10 to 20 minutes and is based on the movie’s plot, which features Gyllenhaal returning to the scene of a bombing of a Chicago commuter train and trying to change the outcome. Summit worked with The Visionaire Group on the game". Source: news.yahoo.com

"Social media became one of the leading sources of information during both the 2008 US presidential election and the 2010 UK general election. This was used by both the general public and political figures themselves. In the UK 600 political candidates used Twitter during their campaigns, countless journalists and party workers also tweeted daily about breaking stories and information.
Celebrity Culture: Celebrities find themselves turning to social media for additional promotion. None more so than Charlie Sheen, who recently turned to an online celebrity endorsement company called Ad.ly. E-consultancy have written an excellent blog on the Sheen’s endeavours at generating online publicity for his own gain. In Charlie Sheen’s case, he broke the record of receiving the most followers in 24 hours, all one million of them". Source: www.impactmedia.co.uk

Most of internet users visit daily social sites as Facebook or Twitter. Over 90% of Internet users worldwide find websites through search engines. Over 90% of visitors do not look beyond the first page of search engine results, so if you look for social media marketing in order to promote properly your site and benefit from a potential number of visitors, the SEO services can lead your site on the first page of the search results, genrating more traffic to your page.
Their seo services use areas of expertise that include Link building, Social Media, PPC management, etc. which increase the likelihood of keyword algorithm conversions and high ROI (return on investment) with long term results, delivering 1st page rankings across multiple search engines.

Charlie Sheen ("Life on Mars" - "Neon Tiger") video

2011-03-21T14:55:00.000-07:00

A video featuring stills and pictures of Charlie Sheen and scenes from "The Chase" with Kristy Swanson. Songs "Life on Mars" by David Bowie, "Wild Child" by Lou Reed and "Neon Tiger" by The Killers.

Robert Pattinson: "Breaking Dawn" will be more like a horror film

2011-03-21T10:43:00.000-07:00

"Robert Pattinson tells Total Film that the scene where his character performs a caesarean with his teeth on wife, Bella (Kristen Stewart), has been filmed for the final part of the Twilight franchise, Breaking Dawn.
"Yeah, I’ve done it," RPattz laughed, "I’ve chewed it, spat it out!"
Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson at "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" Premiere in Los Angeles Film Festival 2010

Though he's not allowed to give much more away (joking with Ryan Seacrest recently that he gets 'beaten' for revealing details), Pattinson promises that Breaking Dawn will be "very different to the other films - more like a horror film."
"Just some of the source material makes it inevitably more different. It's completely nuts, the book."
Water For Elephants opens on May 4.
Source: www.totalfilm.com

Portraits of Jake Gyllenhaal at 'Source Code' L.A. Press Conference

2011-03-21T04:57:00.000-07:00

Jake Gyllenhaal at 'Source Code' Press Conference in Los Angeles on 18th March, 2011, Beverly Hills, CA

Jake Gyllenhaal tells Access what he would do if he could time travel like his character in his new movie, “Source Code.” Also, Jake chat about having the same “crude sense of humor” as co-star Michelle Monaghan.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt to play Falcone in The Dark Knight Rises?

2011-03-20T07:24:00.000-07:00

Still of Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Malin Akerman in Elektra Luxx (2010)

EXCLUSIVE: "Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in talks to reunite with his Inception director Christopher Nolan in The Dark Knight Rises for Warner Bros. I'm not sure what role he'll play, but I'm told that he will be in the movie when Nolan starts production this spring. Natalie Portman and Joseph Gordon Levitt as Nicole and Hesher in "Hesher" directed by Spencer Susser

Gordon-Levitt will be done shooting the Rian Johnson-directed Looper with Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt by then. Gordon-Levitt has the indie Hesher coming out this spring, as well as Live With It, the Jonathan Levine-directed pic about a 27-year old who tries to overcome a cancer diagnosis. CAA-repped Gordon-Levitt established himself with indie films like Brick, the underrated Scott Frank-directed The Lookout, and the Marc Webb-directed (500) Days of Summer. Nolan keeps his films shrouded in secrecy, though he did lift the veil recently to disclose that Anne Hathaway would play Selina Kyle (Catwoman) and Gordon-Levitt's Inception co-star Tom Hardy will play Bane". Source: www.deadline.com

According to Variety, the newly confirmed Gordon-Levitt will play the gangster Alberto Falcone, known in the comics for being the so-called Holiday Killer. The character is the son of Mafia crime boss Carmine Falcone, portrayed in Batman Begins by the English actor Tom Wilkinson.

"But a source close to the situation says that recent reports that Gordon-Levitt will play Alberto Falcone (a.k.a. the Holiday Killer) — the son of former mob kingpin, Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson) — are incorrect". Source: insidemovies.ew.com

New "Water for Elephants" clip

2011-03-20T07:20:00.000-07:00

Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon in "Water for Elephants"

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

New "Water for Elephants" clip

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

MTV Interview with Robert Pattinson

Jake Gyllenhaal and Duncan Jones "Source Code" interview in Austin

2011-03-19T23:30:00.000-07:00

Jake Gyllenhaal arriving at a screening of 'Source Code' at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas on Friday, March 11, 2011

Duncan Jones and Jake Gyllenhaal - 'Source Code' Panel at The SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas

"More so than for any movie I've ever been involved in. Maybe the only movie that I've been involved in that I think something like this could work really well with and where a site really added to your experience was "Donnie Darko", where you participated after you saw the movie, you got clues from the movie in the site, and the game provides those same types of clues, and what they've done which I think is cool is open an opportunity after the movie opens when people are asking the types of questions that the movie poses to have somebody like Duncan and the producers of the movie, and the other people that made the movie, start to explore other avenues of story lines and things that come off of it, like where Coulter goes, where you could make him go. That's fascinating to me. To me, that's exactly why I wanted to make the movie, the fact that nothing works in a linear way, and there are tangents off of everything, tangents to reality and tangents to storytelling.

Do you see this as integral to storytelling going forward? I think it really depends on the movie. And to me, what frustrated me is when people use something as a marketing tool, not as a storytelling tool. And this is being used primarily as a storytelling tool. That was always what I thought was cool, was because of that, because people who come up with games based off of other ideas are storytellers, so it just depends on how cool the story is that they want to tell. And you know when you have somebody who's as talented as Duncan involved in that as well". Source: www.zdnetasia.com

While in Austin to promote their supernatural thriller 'Source Code', director Duncan Jones and dreamy star Jake Gyllenhaal sit down for a chat and check out the amazing Blackberry Playbook! The fellows discuss the pros and cons of modern technology! Hosted by Kinsey Schofield.

"Raw Deal" scene, directed by Anthony Mann

2011-03-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

"Raw Deal" scene starring Claire Trevor and Dennis O'Keefe, directed by Anthony Mann in 1948

Charlie Sheen & Kristy Swanson in "The Chase" (make-up clip)

2011-03-18T22:41:00.000-07:00

Charlie Sheen & Kristy Swanson in "The Chase" (make-up clip)

"The film opens at a gas station, where an escaped prisoner named Jack (Charlie Sheen) is cornered by a couple of cops who suspect he's driving a stolen car. Using a Butterfinger bar as a fake gun, he takes a hostage and her car, a bright red BMW, and speeds off with the police hot on his tail. The hostage, named Natalie (Kristy Swanson), turns out to be the daughter of "the California Donald Trump", and of course everyone assumes Jack intended to kidnap her.
Actually, it's just the latest chapter in a comedy of errors which began when Jack, who worked as a clown, got mistaken for the Red Nose Bandit and was sentenced to 20 years for bank robbery.
With the exception of brief scenes at the beginning and the end, Sheen and Swanson spend all of the movie in the front seat of the car, which does not prevent as many activities as you might think.
While they get to know one another, and she decides he is an innocent man wrongly accused, the chase develops into a media circus - and it's here that the movie has the most fun.
The movie develops as kind of a "Sugarland Express" Lite, helped enormously by Swanson's unaffected charm and Sheen's ability to play an almost impossible role in a fairly straight style". Source: rogerebert.suntimes.com

Charlie Sheen (Old time rock and roll) video

2011-03-18T06:22:00.000-07:00

A video featuring scenes starred by Charlie Sheen in "The Wraith" with Sherilyn Fenn, "Terminal Velocity" with Nastassja Kinski, and "Platoon", pictures with ex-girlfriend Kelly Preston, ex-wives Denise Richards and Brooke Mueller, Natalie Kenly, etc.

Songs "Old Time Rock and Roll" by Bob Seger, "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" by Johnny Cash/Carl Perkins and "Rock and Roll music" by The Beatles

Reese Witherspoon plans wedding with boyfriend Jim Toth

2011-03-17T21:35:00.000-07:00

"Reese Witherspoon will be saying "I do" for a second time on March 26, and we have all the new details for when she marries talent agent Jim Toth. A friend of the actress tells me Reese will be glowing in a white Monique Lhuillier dress and that both her kids, Ava and Deacon, will be in the wedding party.
"It's not going to be a big Hollywood wedding packed with celebrities and people they hardly know, but rather a much more intimate private wedding with only close friends and family," the source says.
The nuptials are taking place in a field house behind her house in Ojai, California.

Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal at the premiere of "Rendition" on 7th September, 2007 in Toronto

The couple has been together since January 2010 after Reese's romance with Jake Gyllenhaal fizzled. The very private couple is known for trying to keep their lives and future together out of the spotlight, but Reese did surprisingly admit more children are absolutely in her future. "I just love having kids," she said. "I just love having kids", she said.Reese Witherspoon on the set of Water For Elephants in LA (14th January 2011)

Other details we know about the special day: attendees will see lots and lots of white flowers (she adores them), but don't expect any sightings of Jake or ex-husband Ryan Phillippe.
This will be the first marriage for Jim and the second for Reese, who ended her seven-year marriage to Ryan in 2007.
Congratulations, Reese. We can't wait to see pictures of that dress! Source: www.popeater.com

Zooey Deschanel for Rimmel London : Behind the Scenes

2011-03-17T18:33:00.000-07:00

Zooey Deschanel for Rimmel London : Behind the Scenes

"Fun, pretty and hip." This is how charismatic Zooey Deschanel describes "the London look". Gorgeous Zooey Deschanel was named brand ambassador of Rimmel London in March last year. Now, the famous British beauty company has released the new Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick ad with the beautiful singer/actress looking absolutely adorable, girlish, yet very seductive wearing the Heart Breaker shade.
The "(500) Days of Summer" star was considered as being the perfect image for the label. "We wanted to add an American voice. We have an American beauty with London confidence," said Rick Goldberg, vice president of marketing for Rimmel London.
Zooey Deschanel, who is the face of a new lash accelerating mascara, a perfecting powder foundation and of the lasting lipstick, said that, "I love makeup. I’ve been wearing different beauty products for years. I shop everywhere and I love the fact you can get such great looks at a reasonable price. I want to be associated with products that are accessible for everyone." Source: www.make-up.becomegorgeous.com

Tech Crunch TV interviews Jake Gyllenhaal and Duncan Jones at SXSW

2011-03-17T18:22:00.000-07:00

Tech Crunch TV interviews Jake Gyllenhaal at SXSW festival

Tech Crunch TV interviews Duncan Jones at SXSW festival

Corporate satire: Love & other drugs, Charlie Sheen, Wilco

2011-03-17T07:16:00.000-07:00

Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal in "Love and Other Drugs" (2010)

"Love and Other Drugs" is a corporate satire, a romantic comedy, a weepy melodrama with Judd Apatow-influenced lewdness. Written by Zwick, Charles Randolph and Marshall Hershkowitz, it begins with college drop-out Jamie Randall (Jake Gyllenhaal) charming the pants off every woman he meets. He’s smart and glib. Naturally, he bags a job selling anti-depressant drugs to doctors. He also bags artist Maggie Murdock (Hathaway).She’s at least as smart as him. She’s sharp and sarcastic. And she’s in no hurry to settle down in a relationship. Everything is terrific: his career – boosted by his company bringing Viagra on to the market – and their sex life". Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Charlie Sheen’s Covert Operation spoof short intruding the CBS lot, leading a band of soldiers known as “Strike Team Five”.

"To Empire gatekeepers, Charlie Sheen seems dangerous and in need of help because he’s destroying (and confirming) illusions about the nature of celebrity. He’s always been a role model for a certain kind of male fantasy. (I don’t know any straight men who fantasize about Tom Cruise’s personal life). Sheen has always been a bad boy, which is part of his appeal—to men and women. There’s a manly mock-dignity about Sheen that both sexes like a lot. What Sheen has exemplified and has clarified is the moment in the culture when not giving a fuck about what the public thinks about you or your personal life is what matters most—and what makes the public love you even more (if not exactly CBS or the creator of the show that has made you so wealthy).
The midlife crisis is the moment in a man’s life when he realizes he can’t (or won’t) any longer maintain the pose that he thought was required of him. Tom Cruise had a similar meltdown at the same age in the summer of 2005, but his was more politely handled (and, of course, he was never known as an addict). Cruise had his breakdown while smiling. Cruise is still that altar boy from Syracuse who believes in the glamour of Empire earnestness, and this is ultimately his limitation as a movie star and as an actor.
Arrests. Accidental overdoses. Halfhearted stints in rehab. Martin Sheen’s teary-eyed press conference. The briefcase full of coke. The Mercedes towed out of the ravine. The misdemeanor third-degree assault on the third wife, who also went to rehab. Sheen chain smoking on TMZ. The priceless dialogue. (On CBS executives: “They lay down with their ugly wives in front of their ugly children and look at their loser lives.”) The September 11 conspiracy theories. Shooting Kelly Preston in the arm. Fucking porn stars Ginger Lynn and Heather Hunter and Bree Olson.
It’s thrilling watching someone call out the solemnity of the celebrity interview, and Sheen is loudly calling it out as the sham it is. He’s raw and lucid and intense: the most fascinating person wandering through the culture. We’re not used to these kinds of interviews. It’s coming off almost as performance art and we’ve never seen anything like it—because he’s not apologizing. It’s an irresistible spectacle.
Charlie Sheen kissing ex-wife Denise Richards at the 59th Golden Globe Awards, 20th January 2002

What do people want from Sheen? I’m not denying he has drug and alcohol problems—or even that he might struggle with mental illness. What fascinates us is the hedonism he enjoys and that remains the envy of every man—if only women weren’t around to keep them liars. Do we really want manners? Civility? Empire courtesy? Hell, no. We want reality, no matter how crazy. And this is what drives the Empire to distraction: Sheen doesn’t care what you think of him anymore, and he scoffs at the idea of PR". Source: www.thedailybeast.com

"I had written a story in my head that if I ever got famous, I would bring in a taste of old Hollywood", he says. "Everything was too conservative. I was still carrying the flag and leading the charge, but there was nobody else out there."
His rebellion, Sheen says, was driven by drugs and alcohol. "I didn't intend the reputation to get as out of hand as it did. Once it caught on, I thought, "OK, now I have got to fuel this fire. 'This is what I do and this is who I am' which is the complete opposite of who I am. I am a pretty shy pretty introverted, mellow guy." His high life came to a halt in May 1998, when he nearly died from a drug overdose".
Source: home.comcast.net

"Trust not your evil overlords, they will discard you and then abandon your precious family. Liars and fools all of them. Get out while you can, good sir.
Hiya Chuck-E-Cheeseball. Where ya hiding, silly clown? Behind your narcissism? Your greed, your hatred of yourself or women? Which personality are you cowering beneath for transparent cover? I see you, you little worm. I see you behind your plastic smile, your bitchy pout and your desperate need to be liked. Forget love, that ship sailed when you were born. Think of me often, loser, during your most quiet moments. Think of me as you pray to the silly God of AA.

Let’s do a scene, maggot. I speak first, DUH.

Me: Are you an assailant?
Fuck Borre: I’m a show runner
Me: You’re neither. You’re an ugly clown sent by corporate fools to collect your fill.

The scales of justice are in a state of radical disarray. Together, we must right this infantile wrong. One final note, Sheen’s Korner is now for sale as a sports bar. You know where to find me, so I bid you adieu. Stay tuned good soldiers, I’ll see you all very soon on the battlefield". Source: earsucker.com

"I won’t live in the middle anymore. That’s where you get slaughtered. That’s where you get embarrassed. From the prom queen" -Charlie Sheen

Jeff Tweedy performing with Wilco at The Grand in Wilmington (2008)

I Am Trying to Break Your Heart - A Film About Wilco (part 5), directed by Sam Jones in 2002

"Both Nonesuch and Reprise are owned by AOL Time Warner. In other words, the same suits who supposedly found Wilco's approach too artistic to tolerate when the band was working for one part of the company apparently found it commercially viable when the band was working for another part. In the movie, this comes across as simply an ironic twist of fate. But it's more than that. In fact, Nonesuch's move makes the whole "victim of multinational capitalism" narrative look rather suspect. After all, if Reprise's axing of Wilco was really the inevitable result of a corporate ethos that privileges commercial appeal over artistic integrity, then Nonesuch's decision makes no sense". Source: www.slate.com

ET Exclusive First Look 'Sucker Punch'

2011-03-17T00:59:00.000-07:00

ET Exclusive First Look 'Sucker Punch starring Jena Malone, Abbie Cornish, Vannesa Hudgens,

Michelle Monaghan says Jake Gyllenhaal is funny and fabulous

2011-03-16T18:06:00.000-07:00

"Jake Gyllenhaal may be of Swedish descent, but his inner chef is definitely French, his costar in Source Code tells PEOPLE.

Michelle Monaghan and Jake Gyllenhaal at the Source Code - SXSW Premiere on 11th March, 2011

"Jake's an incredible impersonator with great accents", Michelle Monaghan said at the film's world premiere at the South By Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas, this weekend. "We shot in Montreal, and [off-set] Jake played this sort of old, funny, French foodie chef – and talked a lot about food, because we ate a lot there."
"Jake's really, really funny," Monaghan, 34, says. "And I'd never seen that side of him in his films. To have the opportunity to spend time with him was so much fun. He's fabulous."
Of course, Gyllenhaal, 30, has a serious side, as well. Talking about his character, the actor shared his thoughts about what he would do if he were given the opportunity to cross over to another man's identity – and it has nothing to do with French cuisine.
"If I were to go into someone's body whose life I felt was cut too short," he said at the premiere, "there are a number of circumstances I can think of. In fact, it's kind of hard right now to be at a movie premiere at a festival when you think about what's going on in Japan. To be able to change things like that."
Gyllenhaal continued: "Or how great would it be to be able to go into Martin Luther King's body? And to be able to tell him: 'Don't do this. Don't go there.' That would be an amazing opportunity." Source: www.people.com

Kate Winslet and Evan Rachel Wood in "Mildred Pierce" HBO series

2011-03-16T17:29:00.000-07:00

"Mildred Pierce" opens in noir fashion with Monte Beragon (Zachary Scott) being shot. He murmurs the name "Mildred" as he collapses and dies. The police are led to believe that the murderer is restaurant owner Mildred Pierce's (Joan Crawford) first husband, Bert Pierce, who under interrogation confesses to the crime. In flashback we see housewife Mildred unhappily married to unemployed Bert Pierce (Bruce Bennett). Beragon at the time was a real estate partner of Wally Fay (Jack Carson), and propositioned Mildred after learning that she and Bert were about to divorce. In the divorce, Mildred obtained custody of her two daughters: 16-year-old Veda (Blyth), a snobbish social climber and aspiring pianist, and 10-year-old Kay (Jo Anne Marlowe). Joan Crawford won an Academy Award for her portrayal of the titular heroine in "Mildred Pierce".
"Starting with the last gasp of the Victorian era, women bounced like pinballs through the suffrage movement, the liberated Jazz Age, the Depression, the era of WACs, WAVES, and factory work, and finally the '50s, when Rosie the Riveter exchanged her coveralls for Betty Crocker's apron. Chaperoning American women through these somersaults, Hollywood undertook a series of re-education campaigns disguised as entertainments. The "woman's picture" of the '30s and '40s established strong, eccentric actresses as role models for the female audience. Together, they constitute a dictionary definition of the elusive term "bitch-goddess". Playing nice, they're unremarkable; playing tough, they're stars. The documentaries and featurettes on The Bette Davis Collection and The Joan Crawford Collection repeat anecdotes about the stars' larger-than-life off-camera personalities.
George Cukor's The Women, with its all-female whirl of gossip, divorce, affairs, and catfights, sets the tone for both sets. Crawford plays a perfume salesgirl who dallies with Norma Shearer's husband, and the 1939 movie typecast Crawford for a time as a low-caste shop-hand with champagne dreams". Source: www.avclub.com

Vogue US March 2011: Evan Rachel Wood in “Pure Country” photoshoot

Mildred Pierce with Kate Winslet and Evan Rachel Wood in Todd Haynes's remake of the 1945 Joan Crawford classic, as a five-part mini-series on HBO, beginning on 27th March 2011

3. Kate Winslet Convinced Evan Rachel Wood To Get Naked For The Show
It's exactly what it sounds like. For the TL;DR crowd: Evan Rachel Wood was a tidge nervous, and Kate Winslet essentially sat her down and said "Listen, I've been naked on camera eight-million times. It's like a club."
4. Kate Winslet Is In Every Damn Scene
Kate Winslet, who looks pleasantly like a real woman who has lived and aged and eaten things that are meat, is in every friggin' scene. Considering that shooting schedules are generally twelve hour days every day, this is kind of like running a marathon, except the marathon lasts the amount of time it takes to shoot a five hour miniseries. In the words of costume designer Ann Roth, "She had sixty-six [costume] changes in this. That's more than a person can deal with."
5. The Lead Characters Are Both Women

Strong women! Strong, well-written women! Mildred and Veda are like two sides of a self-possessed coin. Mildred is a self-made woman with a weakness for the people she loves. Veda has little love for anyone, but her charisma has its own gravitational pull. Men are ancillary in this story, a big-budget HBO-stravaganza, and that is refreshing". Source: www.ology.com

Arrested Development (Make Me Smile) video

2011-03-16T17:14:00.000-07:00

A musical video featuring some scenes from "Arrested Development" starring Michael Cera, Alia Shawkat, Justin Bateman, Portia De Rossi, Mae Whitman, etc.

Song "Make me smile" by Steve Hurley

io9 interviews Jake Gyllenhaal for Source Code

2011-03-16T16:04:00.000-07:00

io9.com interviews Jake Gyllenhaal for Source Code

-"Did you study the science behind the film?
-Gyllenhaal: Particularly my job is more about, what would be the emotional effects of something like this? What would it be like if I found myself there. If I had a background in the army and in flying helicopters. If I was put in this situation, how would I respond? To me it was the human behavior aspect of it that I was fascinated with.
Duncan sent me lots of different videos. And one of them was pilots in pilot traininf school, when they do G-force training. And their responses to the first time they go into G-force, because they have a simulator that they go into. It's actually relatively funny, because a lot of them lose consciousness, and then come to and don't know what happened. That's what I was into. This is a similar experience. When he wakes up at first (and I don't know if this is in the final version of the movie) but we did say, the first time, "Did I A-lock?" which is a common response when you lose consciousness when you go into G-force. He comes to and he's like "whoa am I just tripping out am I hallucinating did my helicopter go down?" Nope, you're on a train sitting next to a woman saying she knows you and you have no idea who she is. And you're in somebody else's body". Source: io9.com

Jake Gyllenhaal and Pee-wee Herman Video

2011-03-16T02:58:00.000-07:00

Pee-wee Herman & Jake Gyllenhaal met up at SXSW to explain each others' new movies and Broadway projects!

Duncan Jones and Jake Gyllenhaal talk Source Code at SXSW

2011-03-15T23:42:00.000-07:00

Director Duncan Jones and star Jake Gyllenhaal talk Source Code at SXSW Festival Part One

Duncan Jones and Jake Gyllenhaal discuss Source Code Part Two

Duncan Jones and Jake Gyllenhaal discuss Source Code Part Three

Jake Gyllenhaal no fan of toilet cam (video recreation) at SXSW

2011-03-15T18:10:00.000-07:00

ake Gyllenhaal was at the South by Southwest festival promoting his new film.

But the publicity for "Source Code" has been overshadowed by an incident that occurred when a crazy fan photographed Gyllenhaal going to the bathroom.

Reports of an angry Gyllenhaal coming to blows with the fan ran rampant. He merely requested the fan to delete the picture, making the story less interesting.

Jake Gyllenhaal's on "Shalom Sesame" Street Appearance

2011-03-15T18:07:00.000-07:00

Jake Gyllenhaal : Afikomen Our friend Jake Gyllenhaal is so silly! Can you help him find the afikomen so we can finish the seder?

Jake Gyllenhaal has many talents. Hiding things may not be one of them.
The "Source Code" star made a guest appearance on "Shalom Sesame" a version of Sesame Street produced to introduce Hebrew and Jewish culture to Jewish children. He was explaining to viewers about the Afikoman -- the piece of matzoh hidden for children on Passover.

Turns out he's not so "super" at hiding things. But that's for the kids to revel in finding out. Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Japan's crisis: World support for Japan

2011-03-15T18:02:00.000-07:00

World leaders have expressed their solidarity with the people of Japan as they recover from last week's earthquake and tsunami.

Nuclear Crisis in Japan - Government reconsidering Jaitapur Nuclear Plant

2011-03-15T17:59:00.000-07:00

The nuclear crisis in Japan has made India rethink its nuclear energy options. The government has now said that they are reconsidering the Jaitapur Nuclear Plant.

New publicity stills of Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan in "Source Code"

2011-03-15T15:34:00.000-07:00

Michelle Monaghan and Jake Gyllenhaal attending 'Source Code' Press Junket at the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas

Jake Gyllenhaal - 'Source Code' Press Interviews at The SXSW Festival

New publicity stills of Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan in "Source Code" (2011)

Charlie Sheen (Winner's Blues)

2011-03-15T06:16:00.000-07:00

A video featuring stills of Charlie Sheen and scenes from "Wall Street" directed by Oliver Stone, with Martin Sheen and Daryl Hannah. Also pictures with ex-girlfriend Kelly Preston, goddess Natalie Kenly and ex-wives Denise Richards and Brooke Mueller.

Songs "Winner's Blues" by Sonic Youth and "They are winning" by The Walkmen

Source Code is great solid sci-fi raw material

2011-03-14T21:39:00.000-07:00

"The general reaction to this film , when it premiered at Austin’s SXSW film festival this week, was amazing. Not only did the audience applaud the film when it wrapped up, but it seems like Source Code is on everyone’s lips. I always appreciate fresh ideas when it comes to sci-fi movies. There’s a lot out there right now, less re-imagined and more re-hashed. Source Code is smart and new without relying too much on what has come before it.That being said, it does deal with quantum physics and parallel dimensions and all that great solid sci-fi raw material. Where it really excels though is in the well-written, smart script and the touching emotional aspects of the story. Source Code is one of those films that will keep you thinking long after you’ve left the theatre. It reminded me a little bit of 12 Monkeys as far time travel and predestination themes, but it came across as less bleak. Either way, the film is a real treat and is a must see". Source: wegotthiscovered.com

EW: Why was Duncan the right fit?

JG: What always scares me is people tend to lose character and a sense of “Why?” on a behavioral, human, psychological level when they’re dealing with something that can be entertaining. When you deal with something that is potentially commercial people just say “Oh, we’ll get to that later.” The movie was not anything I wanted to make unless it was with someone who was a real visionary. And humor too. Duncan has a great sense of humor—dirty and dark and great. I think the great thing about sci fi is there’s a little bit of a campy quality always. I don’t think anybody should take themselves too seriously in time continuum.
Jake Gyllenhaal smiling at "Source Code" SXSW Festival Premiere, 11th March, 2011, Austin, TX

EW: Did you stay to watch the movie?
JG: I did. My best friend lives in Austin and he came with his girlfriend. Literally he grabbed my leg at one point and then at another time, in that scene where I jump off the train, he was like “Oh my god, what the hell?!” I was like “Yes!” Source: insidemovies.ew.com

Pee-wee Herman, Jake Gyllenhaal and Duncan Jones at SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, March 12, 2011

"Only at SXSW will you see Jake Gyllenhaal and Pee-wee Herman teamed up. While attending the ongoing festival in Austin, the two recently paired up to create short videos explaining each other’s projects. Herman explains what Gyllenhaal’s new film Source Code is about, while Gyllenhaal attempts to explain what The Pee-Wee Herman Show on Broadway is about. Pee-wee’s Broadway show will be airing on HBO Satuday, March 19th, while Source Code is set to hit theaters on April 1st". Source: collider.com

Jake Gyllenhaal kicked off the South by Southwest interactive festival with the premiere of his new movie Source Code in LA on Friday night. The actor chatted about the film and also teased a top-secret upcoming project (the new Bourne film, perhaps?), but an awkward run-in with a fan who tried to snap a picture of the star in the bathroom almost put a damper on the evening. Get the scoop on Jake's bad SXSW encounter! Source: www.popsugar.com

"Source Code" first five minutes - Scans of Jake Gyllenhaal in Men's Journal

2011-03-14T15:38:00.000-07:00

Watch the first five minutes of Duncan Jones’ SOURCE CODE via Yahoo! Movies. This past Friday evening, SOURCE CODE had it’s world premiere as it opened the 2011 SXSW Film Festival. In this opening sequence to the film, Capt. Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up on a train with a woman he doesn’t recognize and a face that isn’t his.
Plus take a look at this new featurette where Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan discuss the film and their characters.
Source: wearemoviegeeks.com

When decorated soldier Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up in the body of an unknown man, he discovers he's part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train. In an assignment unlike any he's ever known, he learns he's part of a government experiment called the "Source Code", a program that enables him to cross over into another man's identity in the last 8 minutes of his life. With a second, much larger target threatening to kill millions in downtown Chicago, Colter re-lives the incident over and over again, gathering clues each time, until he can solve the mystery of who is behind the bombs and prevent the next attack. Filled with mind-bending twists and heart-pounding suspense, Source Code is a smart action-thriller directed by Duncan Jones (Moon) also starring Michelle Monaghan (Eagle Eye, Due Date), Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air, The Departed), and Jeffrey Wright (Quantum of Solace, Syriana).

Interview and Scans of Jake Gyllenhaal in Men's Journal

'Source Code" doesn't die at third act - Gyllenhaal is the glue

2011-03-14T00:24:00.000-07:00

Duncan Jones and Jake Gyllenhaal attending 'Source Code' Panel at The SXSW Festival on 12th March, 2011 in Austin, TX

"Duncan Jones, in his sophomore effort, has crafted the best film of 2011 thus far, and though that doesn’t sound like much of a stretch, the bar has been set incredibly high. In defense of my praise, this movie lands perfectly in my strike zone as a moviegoer and a filmmaker. With a sci-fi premise, cerebral and sophisticated mysteries that are handled with confidence and skill, an ever-accelerating plot with an adrenaline-fueled rush allows Source Code to do the near impossible by leaving you satisfied when the credits roll. Where counterparts like The Box and Adjustment Bureau faltered, Jones sticks the landing, something increasingly difficult as audiences become more tech and plot savvy. You can only build up your big reveal so much before the revelations start feeling like thinly veiled misdirection. Source Code sidesteps third act deflation by making the whole exercise feel like part of a much larger whole. It’s unexpected in a Hollywood film, and makes the viewing that much more memorable.
Gyllenhaal is the glue that holds the film together, as well as the audience’s main source of empathy and pathos. Without a strong showing from him, no amount of special effects wizardry or extraordinary surprises would have kept the narrative afloat. Given such a high level of expectation, he succeeds across the board, giving his most dynamic and nuanced performance to date. He makes everyone else better, and even the scenes where he’s playing off a computer screen have a lot of emotional charge. Michelle Monaghan continues to put in strong performances, believably connecting to Gyllenhaal, even if only for ten minutes at a time. Vera Farmiga and Jeffrey Wright are terrific, as expected, and give the government a voice worth listening to throughout. It’s only when you discover the full extent of their involvement that you appreciate the subtleties in earlier lines. From an editing and special effects standpoint, the movie is top notch. The pace is quick, yet also slows appropriately before launching back into full throttle. The budget, though small for this type of film, has been pushed to the limits here, delivering on all the eye-catching moments you’ve come to expect from your popcorn entertainment. The surprise will be the way the film conveys larger ideas and themes within constraints set upon it, and how it uses its few locations to give you a sense of a much larger world. The stakes are very real, without us ever actually getting out to see them, and the story makes that acceptable. You’re ultimately satisfied with the choices that were made, and which is an achievement I find hard not to keep reiterating. Third acts are where potentially great thrillers go to die, and Source Code is the rare anomaly that doesn’t back down". Source: www.climbinghigherpictures.com

Duncan Jones and Jake Gyllenhaal attending 'Source Code' SXSW Panel

2011-03-14T00:10:00.000-07:00

Duncan Jones and Jake Gyllenhaal attending 'Source Code' Panel at The SXSW Festival on 12th March, 2011 in Austin, TX

"When a reporter asked about the “rather heated scuffle in the theater bathroom last night as a fan tried to take your picture at an inelegant time”, Jake laughed and said, “That’s true. I think it’s an appropriate space to keep privacy. I hope that people wouldn’t disagree with me on that.” Jake is in town promoting his new movie Source Code and also playing panelist at the fest". Source: socialitelife.com

Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan at 'Source Code' Panel - SXSW Festival on 12th March, 2011 in Austin, TX

Jake Gyllenhaal - Source Code' Press Interview portraits at The SXSW Festival 2011

When EW brought up rumors of his "rather heated scuffle" with a fan in the theater bathroom as the fan tried to take his picture at the urinal, the "Love and Other Drugs" actor responded, "That's true." He added, "I think it's an appropriate space to keep privacy. I hope that people wouldn't disagree with me on that."While Jake didn't go into details, his representative ruled out that the 30-year-old actor went physical with the fan during the incident. "There was no scuffle, it was an excited fan who tried to take his picture in the restroom," the rep explained to E!. "He asked the guy to please delete it and he did!" It was further stressed that there was "no drama".
In "Source Code", Jake stars as Captain Colter Stevens, a decorated airman who wakes up in the body of an unknown man. He stars opposite Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga and Jeffrey Wright under the direction of helmer Duncan Jones. This techno-thriller film is scheduled for release in the U.S. on April 1". Source: www.aceshowbiz.com

Fueling Charlie Sheen's breakdown? - "Ace in the hole" media satire by Billy Wilder

2011-03-13T23:28:00.000-07:00

Famous ending of "Ace in the hole" directed by Billy Wilder (1951), starred by Kirk Douglas and Jan Sterling.

Unscrupulous reporter Chuck Tatum (Kirk Douglas) delays the rescue of a man trapped in an ancient Indian mine to grab a big story, literally creating a media circus. Tatum, the sheriff, and even the man's wife (Jan Sterling) are out to make a buck from his misfortune.Billy Wilder's acid media satire forever branded him the sometimes overstated label of "cynic". Ace in the Hole was too acerbic for 1951 movie-goers and reviled on its release. It has since garnered critical acclaim and a cult following.

"Fame is a fickle mistress. It's very deceiving. It looks really bitchin' from the outside, and then you get it and it's very confusing professionally, socially, emotionally. It's confusing because you're so worried about how you're perceived. A lot of my exploits were guilt-driven, shame-driven. And all this because one day I was a working actor, just trying to pursue something I enjoyed and trying to make a living, and the next day I was a commodity" -Charlie Sheen

Are the media fuelling Charlie Sheen's breakdown?

"Solid World Health Organisation data shows that an American is 14 times more likely than a mainland western European to suffer from the kind of personality disorder that seems to be afflicting Charlie Sheen. There are many reasons, but the media and consequent celebrity culture are significant.Natalie Kenly (goddess) and Charlie Sheen (Media Warlock)

In this culture, as Erich Fromm put it, they are encouraged to be a "marketing character". Rather than as people, they see themselves as commodities whose value they seek to increase by any means possible.
Sheen's value can be increased by "sick" behaviour. His antics have recently attracted 2 million Twitter users, from which he can make significant advertising revenues.
Sheen, son of the famous Martin, doubtless had a troubled childhood in his celebrity home.
It helps to explain why we are twice as likely as Europeans to suffer a mental illness. As long as you are rich or famous, it does not matter how desperate and miserable you are. There are shades of George Best in Sheen's comment that: "The partying has been epic – what I can remember of it. It was entertaining as hell."
Sheen's case is an extreme example of how the media peddle a toxic materialistic ideology. The (nearly all rightwing) media in America, and in this country too, have been only too happy to sell papers or broadcasting space by reporting his disturbance. But these stories only sell because people in the UK and US have become addicted to the media's continuous recycling of materialist values. There is now no doubt that the kind of person who seeks celebrity is more likely to have a pre-existing potential for narcissistic, self-aggrandising behaviour. This was proved by a recent study of 200 US celebrities, while a 2006 study showed that, as a whole, Americans are six times more narcissistic than they were 50 years ago.
Sheen's disturbance has been exacerbated by the media. That he wants the coverage is one of his psychiatric symptoms. That we consume stories about him is a sign of just how sick our society has become". Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard at the BAM Theater Gala

2011-03-12T14:28:00.000-08:00

Brooklyn was bumping with celebrities last night! Blake Lively, Geoffrey Rush, Hugh Jackman, Claire Danes, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard and many more were all in attendance for the 2011 BAM Theater Gala.
"Peter Sarsgaard and Maggie Gyllenhaal make it a date night Thursday, attending a gala at New York's Brooklyn Academy of Music. The gala held at the Brooklyn Academy of Music was celebrating Geoffrey Rush in The Diary of a Madman. Despite the severe rain in the Big Apple yesterday, the stars braved the wet streets for the event. Married in 2009, the couple has one child together, Ramona". Source: www.okmagazine.com

Jake Gyllenhaal at 'Source Code' SXSW: 'possibilities are endless'

2011-03-12T00:16:00.000-08:00

Duncan Jones, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga and Jake Gyllenhaal at SXSW Festival Premiere on 11th March, 2011 in Austin, TX

"WebProNews spoke with the film’s star, Jake Gyllenhaal, as well as co-star Michelle Monaghan and director Duncan Jones about the film and the campaign.
In the movie, Captain Colter Stevens (played by Gyllenhaal) has 8 minutes to find the bomber of a train, and in the game (which utilizes Facebook Connect), the player helps him gather clues by completing various tasks.
“What I think is cool about Source Code Mission is that the idea of the source code in the movie is that it’s a computer game, and you know, off that computer game, different tangents are created,” Gyllenhaal told WebProNews. “And you affect the world as a result of that game. And the computer game that’s actually in reality – this reality – that’s on the Internet – is that same sort of idea, and is a tangent off the movie – that you can actually create other realities, and based on where you are, and the potential for the game is… just beginning now, but I think the user will create whatever it’s supposed to be.”
“To me, normally, you have a lot of games with movies [as] a way of marketing movies, and this feels like a way of creatively telling another story based on the story that was already told,” he added. “I just have all of these crazy, amazing ideas based on it, because what if we can get people on the Internet involved in the story after they’ve seen – or even before they’ve seen the movie, but particularly after they’ve seen the movie, there are so many possibilities… the possibilities are endless…”
“We’ve got this amazing interactive game, where you can take something – you can take a bus, a poster, anything like that, and you can really get a jump start on being part of the film,” said Monaghan. “Before you see it, you can go online, and you can be [on] Facebook, and you’ll have your own sort of identity and you’ll go through the five steps – you can kind of go on the mission as Captain Colter Stevens.”
On premiering Source Code at SXSW, Jones told us, “I love this festival. I came here two years ago with my fist film Moon, and immediately fell in love with it.” Source: www.webpronews.com

Michelle Monaghan wore a khaki outfit by Isabel Marant

Jake Gyllenhaal Talks Social Gaming at SXSW, 12th March, 2011

"In an exclusive interview with WebProNews on the night of the film’s premiere, Gyllenhaal said the game gives users a valuable opportunity to create their own story.
“This, to me, feels like, a way of creatively telling another story based on the story that was already told,” he said.
He went on to say that he believed the “coolest aspect” of social gaming is the concept of seeing fans inspired enough to create their own content that could potentially be better than the original". Source: videos.webpronews.com

Jake Gyllenhaal at SXSW Festival In Austin, TX (c) Source Code Facebook Page, peeweeherman March 12, 2011

Michelle Monaghan and Jake Gyllenhaal at 'Source Code' Cocktail Party - SXSW Festival 2011

“Gyllenhaal apparently grabbed the dude mid-photo, threw him against the wall and was like, ‘are we really gonna do this right now?” Tweeted Cinematical’s Erik Davis.
And JoBlo, who reportedly was in the men’s room when the “fight” occurred, updated, “Guy just tried to take Jake Gyllenhaal’s picture while he was taking a leak. Cops came. Brouhaha ensued.” Source: www.hollywoodnews.com

EW: There are rumors that there was a rather heated scuffle in the theater bathroom last night as a fan tried to take your picture at an inelegant time?
JG: (laughs) That’s true. I think it’s an appropriate space to keep privacy. I hope that people wouldn’t disagree with me on that.

EW: Why was Duncan the right fit?
JG: What always scares me is people tend to lose character and a sense of “Why?” on a behavioral, human, psychological level when they’re dealing with something that can be entertaining. When you deal with something that is potentially commercial people just say “Oh, we’ll get to that later.” The movie was not anything I wanted to make unless it was with someone who was a real visionary. And humor too. Duncan has a great sense of humor—dirty and dark and great. I think the great thing about sci fi is there’s a little bit of a campy quality always. I don’t think anybody should take themselves too seriously in time continuum.
EW: Did you stay to watch the movie?

JG: I did. My best friend lives in Austin and he came with his girlfriend. Literally he grabbed my leg at one point and then at another time, in that scene where I jump off the train, he was like “Oh my god, what the hell?!” I was like “Yes!” Source: insidemovies.ew.com

SockyTX caught a glimpse of Jake Gyllenhaal at the Paramount Theatre For the premier of Source Code at SXSW Festival

A WICID exclusive interview with the uber talented director of Source Code, Duncan Jones. At the World Premier of his latest film Source Code, Catrin Southall asks Duncan (famous for his amazing psychological sci fi "Moon") about his latest blockbuster and what it takes for a young person to become a film director!

Red Riding Hood: Amanda Seyfried, Reese Witherspoon, Anna Paquin, Christina Ricci

2011-03-11T10:29:00.000-08:00

Amanda Seyfried and Catherine Hardwicke attending the premiere of "Red Riding Hood" on 7th March 2011 in Los Angeles

In this weekend's Red Riding Hood, Amanda Seyfried stars as a more grown-up version of the titular lady in red. We recently chatted with Seyfried about the film, which she joined thanks to Catherine Hardwicke's directorial prowess on Twilight as well as Leonardo DiCaprio's involvement as producer. Find out what Seyfried had to say about her costars Max Irons and Shiloh Fernandez, including which actor she had better chemistry with.

Check out "Amanda Seyfried’s eerie acoustic cover of Sam the Sham & The Pharoahs’ “L’il Red Riding Hood” at EW’s Music Mix: Much like that folk tale, this song is probably stored somewhere in the recesses of your mind. Just think, "Hey there Little Red Riding Hood, you sure are looking good" sung in the voice of the "Woolly Bully" guy" Source: music-mix.ew.com

"The Twilight films have proven that audiences go crazy over hot, supernatural, cross-species action. This Friday, the doe-eyed Amanda Seyfried will attempt to grab a piece of that box office gold with her starring role in Catherine Hardwicke's Red Riding Hood, a dark, sexy take on the classic fairy tale. Seyfried is hardly the first starlet to have played a version of Little Red. In fact, several of Hollywood's biggest young actresses have used the role as a stepping stone in their careers. Here are five who've donned the iconic crimson cape.

In 1996, Reese Witherspoon was still best known as the sweet girl who'd been in The Man in the Moon and Jack the Bear. A few years before she would hit her dark, twisted stride with Cruel Intentions and Election, she made Freeway. In this cult favorite, Witherspoon plays Vanessa, a prostitute's daughter who gets picked up by a serial killer and rapist on her way to her grandmother's trailer park. The psychopath's name? Bob Wolverton. Best part of the trailer: Watching Witherspoon pretend to be illiterate, and then hearing her ask Kiefer Sutherland, "Are you going to do sex to me now?"

Anna Paquin as Laurie/Red Riding Hood in "Trick 'r Treat" (2007)

In 2007—the year before she became the belle of Bon Temps on True Blood—Anna Paquin starred in a direct-to-video horror-comedy called Trick ‘r Treat. In one of the film's four Halloween-set storylines, Paquin plays a virgin who gets lost in the woods while costumed as Little Red Riding Hood. But—spoiler alert—this damsel has a secret.

Ellen Page as Hayley Stark in "Hard Candy" (2005)

Hard Candy was essentially Ellen Page's debut. Two years before Juno, she played a 14-year-old girl who goes all vigilante against a man whom she's convinced is a pedophile. Her character wears a red hoodie, but the filmmakers claimed that any resemblance to the fairy tale was strictly coincidental. ("The hood was red," said Page, "and I like to put my hood up.") Still, like Freeway, Hard Candy fits neatly into the Little Red-Strikes-Back school of revisionist fantasy.

In 2005, the year before she made her breakout hit The Devil Wears Prada (as another girl who makes some striking fashion choices), Anne Hathaway provided the voice of Amanda "Red" Puckett in Hoodwinked, an animated whodunit inspired by Charles Perrault, Rashomon, and The Usual Suspects.

Remember when Christina Ricci was a weird little moon-faced Goth girl? In 1997, she starred in an 12-minute black-and-white adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood. (Actually, it owes more to the version known as "The Tale of the Grandmother.") In director David Kaplan's ode to the silent film era, Wednesday Addams engages in cannibalism, performs a way-too-knowing striptease, and outwits the wolf—who bears a striking resemblance to Magical Mr. Mistoffelees"
Source: www.slate.com

Duncan Jones talks Jake Gyllenhaal in Source Code, Moon, Inception, etc.

2011-03-10T23:19:00.000-08:00

Wired.com: Source Code takes place basically inside the hero’s head. In that regard, the film resembles the mind-twisting dream world that Inception explored with such great success last year. Were you aware of Inception as you filmed Source Code?
Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page in sci-fi action film INCEPTION

Jones: "I knew nothing about Inception when we started working on it but I have to admit: When we heard Inception was coming out, there was a lot of nervousness on our part, not because of the subject matter, but because we wondered, “Is there an audience out there for this kind of film?”
So when Inception became such a big movie, it gave us an awful lot more confidence to push things even that little bit more and make the film even a little more surreal in places than we had originally intended.
<` onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PmqqRm8D2PM/TXnRYQkrA2I/AAAAAAAA9hQ/4rlucGVKRZ0/s1600/068.jpg">Wired.com: You talked about initially wanting to pitch Gyllenhaal a movie that you’d written yourself, but for this project you’re working basically as a Hollywood director for hire. What’s that adjustment been like for you?
Jones: This is a tricky one. Moon was obviously a huge labor of love for me and the people who worked on it. We also have other projects that we care with equal passion about getting made.
Hopefully, audiences like this movie enough that I’ll get an opportunity to make some more of my own films and then go back and forth between working on other people’s projects and doing things that are real labors of love.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays a military man who enters the body of another person for the last eight minutes of their life in "Source Code"

Wired.com: Can you give a hint about what this new project is going to be about?

Jones: Other than the fact that it will be another science fiction piece, the story has a very different approach than Source Code, since I will have written it.
Wired.com: And Sam Rockwell — you have him on speed-dial?

Jones: Absolutely. If I get to do another one and it’s mine, I will by hook or by crook get Sam in there somehow. I also think I made a good deal with Jake: When the time is right hopefully he’ll help me out on one of my films.
Wired.com: Thinking of Moon and Inception, and now Source Code, it looks like there’s a resurgence of brainy sci-fi that goes beyond exploding robots and superpowered men in tights. Do you think we’ll continue to see more cerebral types of sci-fi movies coming out of Hollywood?
Jones: There’s absolutely a robust future for technology-themed movies in Hollywood. I remember when Jurassic Park came out, a microbiologist friend constantly told me how outlandish it was, but within a few years, he said it was interesting how far things have come". Source: www.wired.com

Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan in "Source Code" clips

2011-03-10T20:05:00.000-08:00

Jake Gyllenhaal plays Colter Steven in "Source Code"
Michelle Monaghan plays Christina in "Source Code"

In the first clip, Gyllenhaal pauses in his bomb-sniffing duties long enough to get a little sugar from fellow train passenger Michelle Monaghan. Who says there's no time for a little romance when you're on a train loaded with explosives and you've shuttled back in time to save the day?

In the second clip, Gyllenhaal and Monaghan again share an intimate connection, this time centered on that eternal question, What would you do if you knew you only had a brief period left on this earth? Many of you, we have a feeling would answer, Hang out with Jake Gyllenhaal! Source: moviesblog.mtv.com

In next month's Source Code, Jake Gyllenhaal plays a man who tries to prevent a commuter train from crashing by going back in time and boarding the train as many times as it takes to accomplish his mission. Even though the movie is an action flick, there's romance, too, as the stakes are raised when Gyllenhaal falls for a passenger, played by Michelle Monaghan. Before the movie comes out April 1, watch this behind-the-scenes look at the movie's love story, and hear what Gyllenhaal and Monaghan have to say about their characters' connection! Source: www.buzzsugar.com

Jake Gyllenhaal covers Men's Journal April 2011

2011-03-10T16:23:00.000-08:00

Jake Gyllenhaal covers the April 2011 issue of Men’s Journal. What a dreamboat! Grooming by Molly R. Stern for Starworks Artists Source: starworksartists.tumblr.com

Jake Gyllenhaal jogging at Runyon Canyon at 4th March 2011

"Jake Gyllenhaal is something of a cardio monster. You might not guess this at first glance. At 6 feet and about 180 pounds, the 30-year-old is visibly in shape, but he doesn’t sport the typical road-biker, my-body-fat-is-lower-than-your-mortgage-rate frame. For his past two action roles, as the title character in Prince of Persia last spring, and as Captain Colter Stevens in the new thriller Source Code, he’s cultivated more of a military build. But left to himself, what he likes to do is run or bike. Inevitably, though, he pushes hard, even too hard. He says he suffered shin splints before he started barefoot running. “I’ve had to teach myself to slow down a bit,” he confesses. “Because I get so into it, it becomes a real addiction. But it’s like a New Year’s resolution.”“To sit down and read a book. Life’s not a bike ride. I wouldn’t say exercise less, but sit with myself.” Good thing there’s the action-star loophole — Jake believes he can “sit with himself” while he’s running. “It’s not: ‘I’m having a shitty day and I’m going to go for a run,’ but ‘I’m having a shitty day and I’m going for a run and I’m going to try to work out what’s going on.’ Not just get my serotonin levels up and feel good. I’m going to think about things. And the only way you can do that is to slow the pace down.”
“I like to think of my toes as always moving forward,” he says. “Don’t push down. Try to even out the forces between pushing and pulling. Find a cadence and stay in it.” This works almost instantly; I close in on him and feel the way up the road getting easier. “Stay relaxed. You ever see the riders in the Tour de France getting up in the saddle? They’re not rocking from side to side. Their spines are loose, and they look like fish.” He stands on his pedals and turns to me. “When I start getting tense, I breathe out.” Source: www.mensjournal.com

Duncan Jones's "Source Code" featurette with Jake Gyllenhaal

2011-03-10T15:48:00.000-08:00

"Summit has debuted a new featurette on Apple for Duncan Jones' Source Code, the upcoming time-travely sci-fi thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan (trailer) that's premiering at the SXSW Film Festival this weekend. Not only is great to explore the concept of Source Code with the writer, producer and cast, but this video includes an appearance by the awesome theoretical physicist Dr. Michio Kaku (his website) talking about the kinds of cool stuff physicists talk about. This video is pretty much straightforward explanation as to the plot and dynamics, so if you don't want any of it ruined, stay away.
Watch the new "What is the Source Code?" featurette for Duncan Jones' Source Code:

Source Code "What Is The Source Code?" (Featurette)
Director: Duncan Jones
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright Writers: Ben Ripley

Alamo Drafthouse & Mondo present the Source Code SXSW poster from Olly Moss

Source Code is directed by one of our very favorite up-and-coming British filmmakers, Duncan Jones, son of David Bowie whose feature debut was the brilliant sci-fi film Moon. The screenplay was written by TV writer Ben Ripley, making his feature debut, and was featured on the Black List a few years ago. Vendome Pictures and Mark Gordon produced. Summit Entertainment is bringing Source Code to theaters everywhere starting April 15th this spring".
Source: www.firstshowing.net