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Watch: The 5 Worst Homemade 'Risky Business' Dance Videos
Filed under: Fandom, Tom Cruise, Trailers and Clips
One of the most iconic movie images of the 1980s is that of Tom Cruise, clad only in socks, underwear, dress shirt, and sunglasses, dancing to the strains of Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock 'n' Roll" in Risky Business. Guitar Hero recreated the scene for a series of commercials last year, which apparently put it into the heads of quite a few young people that they should do the same thing in their own homes. As the video evidence shows, this was approximately as bad an idea as it sounds like it would be. We've chosen five of the worst ones and posted them after the jump. The first is courtesy of BuzzFeed, and it's the best reminder that the film was called Risky Business for a reason. I love that even though the girl seems to be legitimately injured, they still posted it on YouTube. Why let a simple thing like a concussion keep you from Internet fame?
That one, and four other bad ones, after the jump.
Tom Cruise Not Attached to John Woo's 'Flying Tigers' ... Yet
Filed under: RumorMonger, Tom Cruise
Is John Woo going to work with Tom Cruise again? Quite possibly, and in a World War II setting to boot. Woo has been in a hold pattern over Hollywood ever since Paycheck came out, although he's recently struck gold with both audiences and the box office overseas with Red Cliff, which hits American shores on November 20th. Now he's circling Flying Tigers, a project about the first American volunteer group in the Chinese Air Force during WWII.
We spoke to Woo recently about Red Cliff, and you can read the full interview with him later this week. However, we couldn't resist sneaking in a question about Cruise, and you can read what we got after the break.
Johnny Depp Might Be 'The Tourist'
Filed under: Action, Drama, Thrillers, Casting, Sony, Scripts, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp
Sony's thriller The Tourist just keeps sending its talent packing. Originally set to be a vehicle for Tom Cruise and Charlize Theron, it shifted gears last month and was re-cast with Angelina Jolie and Sam Worthington. But once again, The Tourist finds itself without travel arrangements for a male lead as Variety reports that Worthington is out due to "creative disagreements" and Johnny Depp is in. Depp is still in talks to play the hapless American tourist, and with the way this film is going, one can't assume it's finalized. But if it is, it might just be the casting coup of 2010. A Depp-Jolie pair-up has been something dreamed about by a lot of producers and studios over the years. Once upon a time, rumor even had them attached to play Cathy and Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. People want to see them having onscreen sex. It'd be the hottest thing since ... well, Brad Pitt and Jolie having sex onscreen. (And off. Hey, I'm just being honest. There was a reason everyone wanted to see their offspring.)
The Tourist is also on the hunt for a director. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck was circling the project, but departed alongside Worthington over those whispery creative differences. Reportedly, a lot of directors are interested, including Alfonso Cuaron. While shake-ups can be be a sign of a bad film, I'd like to think that a thriller that winds up with Jolie, Depp, and Cuaron came together exactly as it was meant to.
Quick List: Celebrities With The Worst Reputations
Filed under: RumorMonger, Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom, Tom Cruise
Perception is everything, and I don't mean to get all metaphysical on you, but sometimes it's how the world sees us that can define who we are -- but what if the world thinks you're a psycho? In an interview with American Psycho director Mary Harron, she was reminiscing about the black comedy, and as it turns out, her star Christian Bale based his vision of the murdering yuppie on -- wait for it -- Tom Cruise. According to Harron, she and Bale had been collaborating on the character when "...he [Bale] called me and he had been watching Tom Cruise on David Letterman, and he just had this very intense friendliness with nothing behind the eyes, and he was really taken with this energy."
Actors take inspiration from all kinds of places, but you can't help but wonder if Bale saw something that we would all be made painfully aware of: the 'crazy' side of Cruise. And it was that same energy that worked so well in P.T. Anderson's Magnolia when Cruise played motivational speaker Frank T.J. Mackey. But for me, what made this story truly funny, is that who could have predicted that soon enough Bale would be dealing with his own troubled image in Hollywood as a rage-aholic and something of a bully? On the upside, though, maybe Bale's on-set rant will one day inspire another young actor (ahh, the circle of life).
These guys aren't the only ones to battle troubled reputations (whether or not they're deserved), and after the jump: a few more stars who have run their reputations into the ditch...
Jolie's 'Tourist' Set for 2011 with 'Lives of Others' Director
Filed under: Action, Drama, Thrillers, Casting, RumorMonger, Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie, Remakes and Sequels
Angelina Jolie's pet project The Tourist might finally have a director, according to Variety. Internationally acclaimed director and writer Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck "hasn't formally entered into negotiations," but it's looking likely that the man behind the critically hailed film The Lives of Others will be hopping behind the camera for this 2011 release.Jolie reportedly turned down the sequel of Wanted in favor of The Tourist (although the rumors of her return of the sexy tattooed assassin remain at large) but she was holding out on officially signing on to The Tourist until Spyglass found a director she approved of.
Strangely enough, Tom Cruise was originally set to costar but dropped out in favor of Knight & Day with Cameron Diaz. Jolie's latest film, Salt, was originally set to star Tom Cruise, but then he backed out, the writers did a quick fix-me-up on the script, and voila -- here's Evelyn Salt!
In any case, this remake of Anthony Zimmer is about an Interpol agent hot on the trail of a former paramour and criminal; the spy makes use of an American tourist to help find her. Sam Worthington (Avatar) costars as the tourist, and according to /Film, Jolie plays the ex. On the other hand, Variety is reporting that she plays the Interpol agent. Hollywood Reporter is taking the safer route and not saying what Jolie's role will be. Yikes!
2011 sounds like one of those things where the movie keeps getting pushed back more and more until the stars and director are all like, "Whatever, I have no idea what's happening with that any more." But remember when Angelina Jolie provided us guilty pleasure movies like The Bone Collector? I would be happy to see her as the spy or the criminal; what do you think?
Real-Life Romances On The Big Screen
Filed under: Thrillers, Deals, Mystery & Suspense, Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Lists, Nicole Kidman, Trailers and Clips
It's not that strange for two people who work together to fall in love, but it does seem to happen an awful lot in Hollywood (although to be fair, most of us don't spend our days rolling around half-naked with our co-workers). So even though it might be easy to fall in love at work, it isn't as easy for a couple to stay in love once they're spending every waking moment together -- and the latest celebrity couple who will put my theory to the test is Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer (better known as Sookie and Vampire Bill) from HBO's True Blood. The two fell in love (and got engaged) while working on the vampire soap, and now they're heading back to work together in the thriller, Open House.
According to IMDB, the story will center on a couple whose marriage is on the rocks, and are trying to offload their palatial home during a weekend 'open house'. But, things start to get a little weird when it turns out one of the potential buyers never left. The film was written by Paquin's brother Andrew (who will be making his directorial debut), and the cast will include Tricia Helfer (BSG), Rachel Blanchard (Spread), and Brian Geraghty (The Hurt Locker) in unspecified roles while the True Blood stars will play the married couple.
Moyer and Paquin aren't the first real-life couple who like to work together, and over the years plenty of Hollywood power couples have tried and failed to translate that relationship onto the big screen. After the jump: some other famous real-life couples on the big screen...
Tom Cruise's 'Wichita' Turns to 'Knight & Day'
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Thrillers, Casting, Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise has been in Boston (what, haven't you read the reports of Suri sightings in Beantown?) filming what was previously known as Witchita, a new film from Fox co-starring Cameron Diaz that is billed as a spy comedy romance thriller. Well, the film that has been blowing sh*t up in Massachusetts has the new title Knight & Day, as well as an impressive roster of new cast members.
In addition to Cruise, Diaz, Paul Dano, Maggie Grace, and Marc Blucas, Knight & Day has added Oscar nom Viola Davis, thespian Peter Sarsgaard, and sexpot Olivier Martinez to the cast.
As Jen Yamato pointed out, this sounds like it could be successfully aimed at the female audience, but can audiences accept the idea of Tom Cruise as a Clooney-type dreamboat? Can he still be funny? (Funny on purpose -- not funny like in Valkyrie.) Will female audiences be turned off by Diaz? James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma, Walk the Line) is directing, but the five (!) screenwriters include Dana Fox, who wrote Couples Retreat and What Stays in Vegas, and partner Scott Frank wrote Marley & Me and The Interpreter.
Color me skeptical. Cutesy title and a mixed bag of actors and writers? What do you think?
Local News Airs Set Explosion From Tom Cruise's 'Wichita'
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Romance, Newsstand, Tom Cruise, Movie Marketing, Images, Trailers and Clips
The last time Tom Cruise romanced Cameron Diaz on screen, some serious Fatal Attraction kind of s*** went down. So count us among those curious to see how their next pairing will turn out, especially considering this week's news that Paul Dano has joined the cast of their spy comedy-romance-thriller, Wichita. But while a handful of tame set photos have emerged from the Boston set, we can get a glimpse of what level action to expect thanks to one enterprising local news station that broadcast footage of an expensive-looking set piece filmed this weekend.
As Cinematical's Peter Martin reported earlier this year, the Diaz-Cruise starrer is being directed by James Mangold, who also did a script polish with Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island). Will it be anything like Mangold's only other romance-tinged film, Kate & Leopold? Let's hope not. Set for release in July 2010, Wichita joins a crowded 20th Century Fox summer slate but might just draw in that key summer demographic: the ladies.
Diaz stars as a Midwestern woman romanced by a secret agent (Cruise) who gets swept up in his globe-trotting secret agent shenanigans; Maggie Grace, Marc Blucas, and Paul Dano co-star. I'm guessing that this action-comedy might play a little something like True Lies, but I can't quite decide what I find the scariest: watching Tom Cruise try to be funny, watching Tom Cruise make it with Cameron Diaz, or watching Cameron Diaz do a Midwestern accent?
Now It's the 50 Best Movies of the Decade!
Filed under: Fandom, Tom Cruise, Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, Lists, Trailers and Clips
Earlier today we brought you Rotten Tomatoes' list of the 100 worst reviewed films of the decade. Now, though it might be a little premature (considering that we still have a little while to go before we hit our next decade), the good folks over at I Heart Chaos have decided to get the ball rolling on those end-of-decade lists by shoveling out what they believe are the Top 50 Movies of the 2000's. Usually these kinds of things start to gain in popularity towards the end of the year, but I guess the early bird does get the worm, so let's get right to the chase and find out who made the cut.
When you've got a a list of 50, there is plenty of wiggle room, and it's a pretty comprehensive list that manages to find room for cult faves and foreign flicks. But I'll admit, even though Chaos has put together a solid list, I was a little surprised that the #1 film for this decade is Quentin Tarantino's Samurai/Cowboy epic, Kill Bill -- though that's the beauty of a list, everyone wants to have a little friendly debate, I guess. You can read the entire list over at Chaos, but rounding out the top five are The Dark Knight, No Country for Old Men, and Kinji Fukasaku's adaptation of Battle Royale.
The great thing about a long list like Chaos' is that it makes room for all kinds of movies that sometimes you just don't have room for in streamlined lists of five or ten entries. But I love a challenge, so I decided to put together a list of my top films of the 2000s ... although I've cheated just a little.
After the jump: my nominations for the top films of the 2000s...
Will Robert Downey Jr. Be the Next Lestat?
Filed under: Horror, Romance, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, Universal, RumorMonger, Newsstand, Tom Cruise, Remakes and Sequels
Like everyone in the civilized world, I love Robert Downey Jr., and it's because I love him that I fervently hope that this fangbanger rumor hits sunlight, and bursts into flames. Bloody Disgusting reports that Universal is looking to cash in on the blood-sucking frenzy, and reboot Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles, and that Downey is in talks to play the famous Lestat de Lioncourt.Lestat was the hero of most of Rice's vampire novels. Blond, bisexual, and a blend of poetry and snark, his seductive powers led him into all kinds of scrapes. He seduced men and women, ran around with the Devil, swapped bodies with humans, seduced the first vampire (who just happened to be an Egyptian queen), and found time to be a rock star. At thirteen, he was one of the most wonderful literary characters I had ever met and by my 20s I found him pretty annoying. Your mileage may vary. But I was one of the few who actually liked Neil Jordan's Interview with the Vampire, and enjoyed Tom Cruise in the role, and was always disappointed that they didn't go on to make The Vampire Lestat together. I think Cruise could have done good things with that installment.
To bring it back now just feels wrong. It feels like a series that time has just passed by, and so much of Rice has been ripped off by every vampire series after that it's not going to really offer anything new. But if they go through with it (and with Twilight and True Blood winding everyone up, I have no doubt they will), they have to look elsewhere for Lestat, don't you think? Downey is wrong for the role, far more ill-suited to the Frenchman's fangs than Cruise ever was. Hopefully, it won't come to pass, and a new Chronicles will only happen in a universe where Alexander Skarsgard can take the role because he isn't on True Blood.
Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
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Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
Peter Jackson Says Spielberg's 'Tintin' is Done Filming, but...
Interracial Harmony: 'Ninja Assassin' vs. 'Blind Side'
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