May 18, 2012

The star of one of the hottest films at Cannes couldn’t be at the movie’s screening, because he’s currently serving time in prison for murder, according to reports.

Forbes reports that Aniello Arena, who stars in the Italian drama Reality, was plucked from his prison theatre troupe by director Matteo Garrone. Now, he’s the toast of Cannes.

With a skewed perspective on the effects of reality TV, Reality features Arena as Luciano, a fisherman invited to appear on the Italian version of the reality TV show Big Brother.

In actual reality, Arena is reportedly serving twenty years to life locked away in an Italian prison for murder, though publicists have declined to further explain his crimes or sentence.

Director Garrone explains that Arena was allowed out of his cell to shoot the drama as part of a work release program.

Now, word is the prisoner could find himself the recipient of the major French festival’s Best Actor award for his work on the film. Should he win, however, don’t expect to see Arena at the ceremony, as Italian officials refused the new star permission to travel to France for the festival.

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May 18, 2012

Brooke Shields is set to star in a new stage version of the 1970s Hollywood horror classic The Exorcist.

The Wrap reports that the Pretty Baby and Freeway star will join Richard Chamberlain in the production to be staged at the Geffen Playhouse.

Shields will reportedly play the mother of Regan, the possessed young girl at the centre of the story. Chamberlain will star as Father Merrin, the Exorcist himself. Emily Yetter will play Regan.

The theatrical show is playwright John Pielmeier’s adaptation of William Friedkin’s 1973 horror film which is itself an adaptation of William Peter Blatty’s 1971 novel.

Pielmeier says his play – directed by John Doyle – won’t try to compete with the film’s gruesome visual effects.

“The story of the battle between faith and evil needed no spinning heads or green vomit,” Pielmeier says. “The horror should unfold instead on a simple set with an incredible cast (which we absolutely have), and the central conflict between doubting Father Karras and the demon should be a series of debates, in which the young girl possessed is the least of the figures present.”

The Exorcist opens at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, July 11.

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May 18, 2012

Naomi Watts says she almost said no to playing Princess Diana in the upcoming drama Caught in Flight.

The beautiful Hollywood star tells the Press Association she thinks so highly of the late princess that she considered refusing the role out of fear. Watts will star in the film that focuses on the last two years of the beloved royal’s life.

“She is a part of our history, an incredible woman and fascinating but (suffered) a tragic ending,” Watts says. “The filmmakers came to me and it’s a good script and it’s very scary and I kind of wanted to say no but I couldn’t.”

The UK-born Australian actress says she’s always admired the late Princess of Wales.

“I saw the wedding and everything and she is a very inspiring woman and it’s kind of impressive how she sort of changed the whole gearing of the tradition of the royal family and opened it up and brought warmth to it,” she says.

Watts says she knows she’ll face a challenge capturing the charisma and grace of Diana, but hopes to do the best she can with the challenging role.

“I’m doing all the research and there is so much to read, I just hope we make a good film and people can learn something new about her that’s interesting… It’s going to be a tough one, it’s a big beast to take on, I just try to do my best.”

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May 18, 2012

The Dictator star Sacha Baron Cohen says he was almost stoned by an angry mob while visiting Jerusalem.

Australian newspaper The Daily Telegraph reports that Cohen says that while he was dressed as an over-the-top version of a Hasidic Jew in Israel – the sort of thing he does – he was chased by the enraged, stone-wielding mob.

“A bunch of Hasidic Jews ran after me with rocks and I ended up hiding in a bathroom store,” the funnyman says.

Cohen reveals he normally has an escape plan for such stunts, but that this time, his co-conspirators failed him. “Normally in dangerous situations I have a getaway car,” he says. “But as I ran towards the getaway car it drove away.”

The star says he attempted to placate the angry crowd by revealing that he himself is Jewish.

“I found myself running down the street, running for my life, and being chased by these Hasidic nutcases,” Cohen recalls.

“I turned round to calm them down, and I shouted in Hebrew ‘I am Jewish’, which apparently is the worst thing ever you can tell Hasidic Jews. It was then they decided that they wanted to really kill me.”

Fortunately, the start escaped with his life.

The Dictator is in theatres now.

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May 18, 2012

The screenwriter of the original Blade Runner is gearing up to re-team with director Ridley Scott on a sequel to the 1980s sci-fi masterpiece.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hampton Fancher has entered into negotiations to develop an idea he’s got for the follow-up to the Harrison Ford cult classic. Scott has already signed on to helm the pic some thirty years after directing the original.

Based on the Phillip K. Dick story Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the original script was attributed to Fancher and writer David Peoples.

Neither Scott nor Fancher are talking about their plans for the follow-up, except to say the story will be set “some years after the first film concluded.” Star Wars star Ford played “blade runner” Rick Deckard in the original, though there’s no word yet on whether or not he’ll return for the sequel.

Set in a dystopian future where rogue robots called “replicants” are hunted down by the “blade runners,” the original film was a box office disappointment upon first release, though it’s acquired a huge following since and today is recognized as one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time.

Scott seems to be having fun returning to his past work lately. In addition to Blade Runner, the director just revisited his other 1980s sci-fi classic, Alien, with his new blockbuster Prometheus.

(Image: Warner Bros.)

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May 17, 2012

Matthew McConaughey says he didn’t need a stand-in posterior when it came time to doff his duds for his upcoming male stripper movie Magic Mike.

The Hollywood hunk tells The Advocate he was frightened at first at the thought of getting up on stage to shake his stuff and shed his clothes. But the star soon found himself addicted to the excitement of stripping for an audience of screaming women.

“I would regret it for the rest of my life if I was in a male stripper movie and didn’t get up there and strip myself,” McConaughey says. “At first it was scary as hell, but then it became like a drug, and I couldn’t wait to do it again.”

The 42-year-old actor promises that what appears on the big screen is one hundred percent the real deal and that he didn’t require a body double for any of the close-ups.

“That’s all me up there,” he says. “I don’t need a stunt a–.”

McConaughey says that he knew he couldn’t compete with co-star Channing Tatum when it came to dance moves, so he had to employ a different strategy.

“Look, I love to dance, but I’ve never been a stripper. Channing’s one of the best hip-hop street dancers I’ve ever seen, and I didn’t want to challenge his style, so I worked on my own strengths. I also knew that my dance had to be the dirtiest. It had to be wonderfully filthy.”

Audiences can judge who’s the better dancer when Magic Mike struts onto theatre screens everywhere June 29.

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May 17, 2012

Tom Cruise goes full rock star in the upcoming big screen adaptation of the Broadway smash Rock of Ages.

The Top Gun star plays fictional ‘80s rocker Stacee Jaxx in the musical. To immerse himself in the role, Cruise says he first concentrated on nailing the character’s voice.

After he had that mastered, Cruise says he began to imagine other elements of the character that would allow him to really bring Jaxx to life.

“After working for weeks on Stacee’s technical skills, I was thinking about the character, and I said, ‘You know what? I need a monkey,’” Cruise tells W Magazine. Director Adam Shankman, however, wasn’t sure what to make of Cruise’s idea.

“[Shankman] said, ‘What the f— are you talking about?’ And I said, ‘I’m serious – I need a monkey.’”

Cruise says he concocted an elaborate backstory for Jaxx that brought a new level of depth to the big-haired rocker.

“When Stacee’s not onstage, he’s kind of sad,” he says. “And I thought, This guy has to have a monkey that’s his best friend. Adam found this baboon. He sent me the baboon’s audition tape, and I said, ‘The baboon’s name has to be Hey Man.’ Stacee Jaxx doesn’t work without Hey Man.”

Audiences can check out Cruise and Hey Man when Rock of Ages explodes onto theatre screens everywhere June 15.

(Image: Warner Bros.)

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May 17, 2012

Former tween queen Selena Gomez says she had to learn to smoke for her role in the upcoming sure-to-be-controversial teen flick Spring Breakers.

Gomez – a pop star and actress who is still perhaps best known for being Justin Bieber’s girlfriend – will attempt to shake off her image as a Disney girl by playing a college student on a crime spree in the new movie.

“I was getting kind of repetitive in terms of the roles I was picking, and I really wanted to do something that was completely different,” Gomez tells Interview magazine.

“It was a mark thing for me – like, ‘This is what I want to be doing.’ I want to be taking myself seriously as an actress.”

To nail the part, Gomez says she needed to step out of her comfort zone and learn how to smoke. Though it may not sound like much, the starlet says it wasn’t easy.

“This was definitely a stretch,” she says. “I mean, I’d never smoked a cigarette before in my entire life. It was really funny – they had to show me how to do it.”

Gomez stars with James Franco, Glee’s Heather Morris and fellow former Disney girl Vanessa Hudgens in the flick, which is set to land in theatres later this year.

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May 17, 2012

Will Smith says his Karate Kid son quizzed U.S. President Barack Obama about the existence of aliens from outer space.

EW reports that the Men In Black star – who knows something about aliens himself – recently told BBC radio that his 13-year-old movie-star son Jaden took advantage of a recent trip to the White House to raise the issue with the leader of the free world.

“I was at the White House with my family and we were getting a tour,” Smith says. “The night before, Jaden had said to me, ‘Dad, I gotta ask the president about the aliens,’ and I was like, ‘Dude, no, no, it’s not cool! Do not ask the president!’”

Despite his request for Jaden keep his questions about ET’s to himself, the inquisitive youngster was apparently unable to bite his tongue.

“So we get into the Situation Room and Jaden gets the look in his eyes and he leans over and he says, ‘Dad, what’s my punishment?’ And I was like, ‘Jaden, do not…’ and Barack is talking about the Situation Room, and Jaden says, ‘Excuse me, Mr. President?’ And Barack said, ‘Don’t tell me.’ And in perfect form—like, this is why he’s the President—he stopped and looked at Jaden and said, ‘The aliens, right?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, shoot!’”

Smith says Obama handled the situation diplomatically, without revealing whether or not the truth really is out there.

“He said, ‘Okay, I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of extraterrestrials but I can tell you if there had been a top secret meeting and if there would have had to have been a discussion about it, it would have taken place in this room.’”

The existence of real-life aliens may remain a mystery, but fans looking forward to watching Smith clash with Hollywood space creatures need only wait until May 25, when MIB3 lands in theatres everywhere.

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May 17, 2012

Michael Caine spent the night locked in an attic after falling asleep on the set of his latest film.

The Daily Mirror reports the 79-year-old Hollywood legend had been shooting scenes for his upcoming action thriller Now You See Me, before he retired to his dressing room – located in the attic of an old theatre.

The star opted to take a nap, but crew on the flick thought he had gone home and locked up – leaving the Dark Knight star trapped in the room.

“It had been a long day of filming and Michael decided to slip upstairs to a makeshift dressing area and catch 40 winks,” and insider tells the UK paper.

“Unfortunately, he was asleep for some time and failed to hear directors calling a wrap. Production all assumed he was safely outside in his trailer and therefore locked up for the night,” says the source.

Making matters worse, Caine was without his cellphone and therefore left to his own devices when he awoke, hours later.

“His mobile phone was in his trailer and there was no electricity in the attic, meaning he couldn’t see a thing. It was pitch black. Michael started shouting for help but no one could hear him.”

Caine co-stars with Morgan Freeman, Isla Fisher and Avenger Mark Ruffalo in Now You See Me, the story of a group of magicians who rob banks during their shows and distribute the stolen loot to their audiences.

The picture appears in theatres everywhere March 15, 2013.

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