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Coogan: Perchance to dream
British import Steve Coogan plays a frazzled movie director in the hit action comedy "Tropic Thunder." He also has a starring role in "Hamlet 2," a comedy in which he plays a high school drama teacher who stages a musical sequel to "Hamlet" in Tucson, Ariz.
Q&A: Guy Pearce
As a boy in Australia, Guy Pearce knew that he wanted to be an actor. He participated in various theater productions then segued into television after high school. His role as Mike Young in the widely popular Australian TV soap "Neighbours" gave him a taste of celebrity. But Pearce was more about his craft.
Actors, advertisers extend commercials contract
Two actors unions and the U.S. advertising industry said Wednesday they agreed to extend a contract covering commercials on TV, radio, the Internet and other new media by six months through March.
Coen comedy premieres at Venice fest
The Coen brothers wrote their dark comedy, "Burn After Reading," with stars George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand in mind. Not necessarily a compliment.
Q&A: Do early releases create buzz?
Question: Movies used to come out on Saturday. Then Friday. Now it's Wednesday. What gives?
YouTube screens 'No End' documentary
Filmmaker Charles Ferguson is bringing his documentary "No End in Sight" to YouTube.
Germ of idea took years to catch on
When you meet Rodger Grossman, he doesn't exactly scream "punk rock." He's puckish but professorial; a nice Jewish guy from a wealthy West Coast family.
A spritz of 'Chanel' for Tautou
Warner Bros. has come aboard to produce and distribute the Audrey Tautou-toplined biopic "Coco Before Chanel."
Merlot lovers strike back in new film
Famously smeared in the 2004 movie, "Sideways," merlot may be poised for a cinematic comeback thanks to a new film called "Merlove."
Cheadle's passions: Movies, politics
Don Cheadle never disappoints. Even if the movie he's in isn't compelling, he always is. Luckily, with his latest release, "Traitor," the film is good as well. Cheadle plays a man with a lot of Middle Eastern contacts that may be, as the title implies, a traitor - a terrorist. Or maybe not. Part of the fun is in the finding out, and it's a lot more complicated than it sounds.
Woody Harrelson vs. the zombies
Woody Harrelson is set to bash some brains and battle zombies. The actor has signed on to star in the horror comedy "Zombieland," which Ruben Fleischer is directing for Columbia Pictures.
Goody's top 10: Up with downers
Deeply depressing movies don't often work their way to the lead spot in our Top 10 list.
National Lampoon targets 'Maximus'
National Lampoon is moving forward with its next production, "National Lampoon's The Legend of Awesomest Maximus," a spoof of sword-and-sandal flicks such as "Gladiator," "300" and "Troy." "Mad TV's" Will Sasso will lead a cast that includes Kristanna Loken ("Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines"), Ian Ziering ("Beverly Hills, 90210"), Sophie Monk ("Date Movie"), Tony Cox ("Bad Santa") and Rip Torn ("Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story"). The script was written by Jason Burinescu. "Revenge of the Nerds" helmer Jeff Kanew will direct.
Michael Moore's pals make docs, too
They make movies that deal with unpleasant topics such as war and racism, yet are entertaining and even humorous. They're passionate, mischievously creative, politically liberal.
Leslie Caron to visit stateside
Leslie Caron, one of the few who started out in Hollywood's so-called Golden Age still active in today's world of moviemaking (though not as active as Hollywood should be keeping her), does not make many visits to this side of the Atlantic from her home in Paris. But she is about to return to the U.S. for the first time since last year, when she picked up her guest actress Emmy for her striking performance as a rape victim on "Law & Order: SVU."
Clooney, Pitt arrive in Venice for fest
George Clooney and Brad Pitt, whose schedule now includes the care of newborn twins, were expected to make two appearances at the Venice Film Festival this week.
Clooney, Pitt walk for charity
VENICE, Italy - George Clooney and Brad Pitt will make two appearances at the Venice Film Festival this week. They were slated to appear Tuesday night at a fundraising event for their charity, Not On Our Watch. Then they were to return to the red carpet Wednesday when the Coen brothers film "Burn After Reading" opens the 65th edition of the festival, which runs through Sept. 6.
'Duchess' trailer angers Knightley
Keira Knightley has denied her character in The Duchess reflects Princess Diana. The actress, who plays Georgiana Spencer, Duchess of Devonshire in the 18th century period drama, has blasted a trailer for her latest film, which compares her character to the late royal.
'Toy Story 3' hires Keaton
Michael Keaton is set to play toy doll Ken in the next Toy Story movie. ittle is known about the plot of the film, other than it will feature characters from the first two films - including cowboy Woody and spaceman Buzz Lightyear - dumped into a day care centre, after their owner Andy leaves for college. Tom Hanks returns to voice Woody, while funnyman Tim Allen will bring Buzz Lightyear to life again.
Kevin Smith on 'Zack and Miri'
Hari Puttar vs. Harry Potter
MUMBAI, India - Let's see Hari Puttar get out of this one. Bollywood producers set to release a film called "Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors" are working to fend off a lawsuit filed by Warner Bros. that claims the movie title hews too closely to their mega-famous boy wizard franchise. While Bollywood films often borrow liberally from Western movies, producers of "Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors" say their movie bears no resemblance to any film in the "Harry Potter" series.
Herzog 'encounters' nature
Warner Herzog describes his new nature documentary, Encounters at the End of the World," as a comedy.
Kevin Covais debuts in 'College'
MELVILLE, N.Y. - The last time most of us saw Kevin Covais, he was a pale-faced, adorably scrawny 16-year-old running the gauntlet of Simon, Paula and Randy on Fox's ''American Idol'' in 2006. The man - at 19, no longer a boy - is on his own for the first time, sharing a pad with roommates in Los Angeles. Visiting New York last week, he talked about his film debut in the comedy ''College,'' and it's no kiddie flick.
'Magic Flute' may go DVD
HOLLYWOOD -- On Jan. 1, 1975, Swedes huddled around their television sets. The overture of "The Magic Flute" began, and the camera panned across the audience of a Baroque theater, finally landing on a child. Hundreds of thousands of hearts were warmed on that cold Nordic night as the camera periodically returned to the little girl documenting her involvement in Mozart's opera. Since then, countless more hearts have been warmed by Ingmar Bergman's "The Magic Flute," commonly considered the greatest opera film of all time.
Astin, Weston, join 'Demoted'
HOLLYWOOD - Sean Astin, Celia Weston and Sara Foster are being promoted to work alongside Michael Vartan and David Cross in the indie comedy Demoted.
Raunchy songs add to 'Hamlet 2'
SAN DIEGO - "Rock Me Sexy Jesus." "You're As Gay As the Day is Long." "Raped in the Face." These aren't insults. They're song titles from the new film "Hamlet 2," which opened over the weekend. (Read our review.) The movie follows an eternally optimistic but marginally talented high school drama teacher as he mounts an ambitious musical sequel to "Hamlet" that he hopes will save the school's drama department. The irreverent songs come as choreographed musical numbers in the student production, which closes the film.
'Thunder' reigns again with $16.1M
The action comedy "Tropic Thunder" weathered a rush of new movies to remain No. 1 for a second-straight weekend with $16.1 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Documentaries walk fine line
As audiences flock to tales of dark knights and bungling in the jungle, summer has also emerged as a hot time for documentaries. Though superheroes get most of the attention, an alternative universe of documentaries is having a big summer - at least in the number of releases. More than two dozen documentaries have hit theaters, and most are slowly making their way across the country.
McPhee's star rises
HOLLYWOOD -- On a hot summer afternoon in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley, American Idol finalist Katharine McPhee talks about her recent switch from singing to acting and boils down her role in The House Bunny, which opens Friday, to two words: preggie suit. "That's what they call it," she says, laughing at the memory of playing Harmony, a very pregnant hippie throwback who totes around a tub of peanut butter, spoon at the ready, and wears flower-child dresses. Directed by Fred Wolf, a former Saturday Night Live writer, the movie stars Anna Faris as Shelley Darlingson, a Playboy bunny who gets kicked out of the mansion, left with her tan and the platform shoes on her feet, and becomes "house mother" to the un-cool Zeta Alpha Zeta sorority.
Nicolas Cage in 'Kick-Ass'
HOLLYWOOD - Nicolas Cage, Aaron Johnson and Lyndsy Fonseca are set to star in "Kick-Ass," Matthew Vaughn's adaptation of the violent Mark Millar comic book.
Trailer talk: The word on 'W.'
Ha. W. is going to tick some people off.
Best-reviewed films in theaters
We give you our list of the movies with the best reviews that are currently playing in Valley theaters.
Scarlett raises cash for Obama
Scarlett Johansson is scheduled to visit Phoenix today for a fundraiser for Democratic Party's presumptive presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama.
Brit Coogan revels in comedies
In his native England, Steve Coogan is a big star, known for his hilarious portrayal of nitwit radio presenter Alan Partridge, among other characters. He also has appeared in the United States as a guest on such TV shows as Curb Your Enthusiasm, as well as in Night at the Museum and other films. But it's hard to imagine a bigger couple of weeks for Coogan. He appears as the desperate director in the huge comedy Tropic Thunder and has the lead role in the decidedly smaller (but still hilarious) Hamlet 2, about a failed actor, now teaching drama in Tucson, who writes a sequel to Shakespeare's masterpiece to save the school's drama department.
'Austin Powers' goes Blu-ray
All three Austin Powers movies will debut Dec. 2 on Blu-ray Disc when Warners ships to stores the Austin Powers Collection: Shagadelic Edition, Loaded With Extra Mojo.
'Island' stays atop DVD charts
DVD buyers and renters had island fever for the second consecutive week. With no big new theatrical features hitting stores, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment's Nim's Island starring Jodie Foster and Abigail Breslin remained on top of the national video sales and rental charts in its sophomore week.
Goody's top 10: Thick skin is in
If you like your comedy inoffensive, hmm, perhaps this week's top 10 list isn't for you.
Leguizamo's 'Shoes' to IFC
IFC Films has acquired North American rights to the John Leguizamo-toplined drama Where God Left His Shoes.
Q&A: Alan Rickman
Alan Rickman's newly released film Bottle Shock, the actor is called upon to create an entrepreneurial and rather uncomfortable life for his character. The film tells the real-life story of Steven Spurrier, a British expat wine purveyor living in Paris in the mid-1970s. Spurrier is someone only Rickman could play: an open-minded snob, ripe for introduction to the upstart California wine industry. Also required by the role: Rickman must eat KFC and drive a Gremlin.
'Hobbit' duo adds writing duties
Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro's search for writers for "The Hobbit" and its companion film has ended, with the filmmakers deciding that no one is better suited for the task than they are.
'Poltergeist' remake grabs 2 writers
Juliet Snowden and Stiles White are going into the light.
'Rocker' star on a roll: Scottsdale's Emma Stone enjoys early Hollywood success
Scottsdale native Emma Stone's first film was Superbad, one of the funniest films in ages. She's appearing now in The Rocker, with Rainn Wilson, as a sulking bass player. After that, it's The House Bunny, with Anna Faris.
Academy to honor Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple is probably the most popular child star in cinema history. During the 1930s, the golden-haired mop top sang and danced the Depression blues away in a series of musicals.
An apocalypse you can bear
Screenwriter Joe Penhall's adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's bestselling novel opens with the two survivors of some unspoken earthly catastrophe enduring an earthquake, witnessing a forest fire, stepping around a severed human leg and discovering a family of three who have hanged themselves -- all before Page 8. In Penhall's script, father and son also encounter a man stumbling along in near blindness, his hair singed, his flesh charred; run from a pack of gun-toting cannibals; and find a crudely painted billboard proclaiming, "Behold the Valley of Slaughter."
Ask a critc: Lowdown on IMAX
Question: I'm curious how it works watching a feature film in an IMAX theater. It's my understanding that the aspect ratio of an IMAX screen is almost square, sort of like older TV sets. Since most feature films are distributed in widescreen, it seems the images would be cut to fit the IMAX screen. Is that what happens? Or does IMAX use some sort of masking process to show the entire image? And, if that's the case, do feature films appear smaller than regular IMAX movies?
Director moves on from Mormon roots
Richard Dutcher didn't set out to become a filmmaking messiah. Before he became known as "the father of modern Latter-day Saint cinema," Dutcher was a writer-director-actor hustling for movie work in late 90s Los Angeles. That is, until the devout Mormon took stock of an underserved filmgoing community -- his own.
McAvoy, Blunt eye Bard adaptation
James McAvoy and Emily Blunt might soon discover the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence - if you're a garden gnome in love.
Son faults Billy Graham movie
Franklin Graham has criticized the new feature film about his famous father, saying "Billy: The Early Years" includes a few scenes that never happened in real life and others that are "greatly embellished."
UN-backed film to premiere at Rome fest
A U.N.-backed movie on poverty made of eight segments by directors including Jane Campion and Wim Wenders will make its world premiere at the Rome Film Festival later this year, organizers said Aug. 20.
'The Rocker' shows the Dwight stuff
Rainn Wilson is not America's sweetheart.
Cast set for 'Maneater'
Michael Emanuel has cast Dean Cain, Conrad Janis ("The Cable Guy"), Stephen Lunsford ("Bratz"), Walter Phelan ("House of 1000 Corpses"), Maximillian Roeg ("7th Heaven") and Lacy Phillips ("Pushing Twilight") in his directorial debut, "Maneater."
Clooney, Pitt join Toronto fest lineup
Movies featuring Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Kate Beckinsale, Edward Norton and Colin Farrell and a documentary about Paris Hilton have joined the lineup for the Toronto International Film Festival.
Moore: Being Bond could be scary
Roger Moore, who starred in seven Bond films in the 1970s and 1980s, recounts his days as the dashing super-spy in his upcoming memoir, "My Word Is My Bond," and says things weren't always as they seemed.
Tom Cruise wakes up 'Sleeper'
As Tom Cruise goes about writing the next chapter in his career, he's developing an interest in comic books.
'Goosebumps' for two scribes
Writers Larry Karaszewski and Scott Alexander are in negotiations to write the live-action big-screen adaptation of the children's horror series "Goosebumps" for Columbia Pictures.
'Potter' pulls vanishing act on EW cover
Maybe Harry Potter should have brought a note from his parents saying he would be missing school.
14th Sarajevo fest opens with 'Snow'
The 14th Sarajevo Film Festival kicked off Friday with a screening of Aida Begic's debut feature "Snow," about life in a village in postwar Bosnia.
Ledger's final movie a tough sell
Heath Ledger has helped propel "The Dark Knight" to the top of the box office. His presence might have a less beneficial effect on his next and final film, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus."
Vader love triangle? Chemistry in 'Clone Wars'
Darth Vader: Sith lord, murderous imperialist, deadbeat dad ... dirty old man?
'Thunder' rumbles past 'Dark Knight' with $26M
The DreamWorks-Paramount comedy "Tropic Thunder" - with Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black and Tom Cruise - debuted at No. 1 with $26 million, bumping "The Dark Knight" to second place after four weekends on top, according to studio estimates Sunday.
‘Twilight’ takes ‘Harry Potter’ spot in theaters
Fans can now rejoice as the highly anticipated adaptation of the vampire teen romance novel Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, has moved up its December 12 release to November 21.
'Harry Potter' moves to summer '09
LOS ANGELES - It's summer school for Harry Potter. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the sixth installment in the blockbuster film franchise about boy wizard Harry, is moving from its planned Nov. 21 release to July 17, 2009, distributor Warner Bros. said. The move was made to take advantage of an open weekend in Hollywood's busy summer season, said Alan Horn, Warner Bros. president and chief operating officer. The film had been on schedule, and the change was not due to any production snags, he said.
Claire Danes circles autism biopic
HBO's long-gestating Temple Grandin project is moving forward with Claire Danes in negotiations to star and Mick Jackson set to direct the biopic.
Laughter, sadness over Mac's lion in 'Madagascar'
It was a bittersweet morning Wednesday at DreamWorks Animation, as the makers of "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" showed off the first footage of the film - much of it highlighted by a lion voiced by the late Bernie Mac.
Best-reviewed films in theaters
We give you our list of the movies with the best reviews that are currently playing in Valley theaters.
'Nim's Island' tops sales, rentals
Nim's Island captured the top spot on both the national home video sales and rental charts the week ending Aug. 10, proving that there's no time like the summer to release a family film.
'Thunder' offends; that's the point
Long before anyone had seen it, Tropic Thunder was stirring controversy. Now that it's opened, the controversy's not going away. It's just shifting.
Ganis back as academy president
Sid Ganis was elected to a fourth consecutive one-year term as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the group announced Wednesday.
Goody's Top 10: 'Thunder' roars
As it happens, we don't run our weekly top 10 the way they do polls for college football and such.
Lionsgate goes for 'Conan'
Dirk Blackman and Howard McCain are trying to corner the market on sword-swinging fantasy adventures. The pair have been hired to write a new script for Conan, as in the barbarian, for Lionsgate. And the writing team's action-adventure screenplay Amazon, an epic about female warriors to which Scarlett Johansson has been attached, is sailing toward Lionsgate as well.
Luke Wilson on playing 'Poole'
HOLLYWOOD - Luke Wilson is best known for his work in broad comedies like Legally Blonde and Old School, as well as in the more sophisticated comedies of his brothers Andrew and Owen Wilson and their friend Wes Anderson. But after watching Wilson's performance in the 2005 dramedy The Family Stone, filmmaker Mark Pellington saw something deeper in the Dallas-born actor - a certain "inner light" - that made Wilson the right actor to play the title character in the poignant comedy Henry Poole is Here. (Initially, Jim Carrey was attached to the role but dropped out.)
Olympians struggle in showbiz
Sure, Michael Phelps has racked up more medals than any other Olympian in history, but turning his gold into Madison Avenue or Hollywood cash will be far trickier. The advertising world has long had an ambivalent relationship with Olympic athletes; though coverage is saturated during the Games, interest in the quadrennial competition fades once its torch is extinguished.
What Cruise needs: Applause
For Tom Cruise, the off-beat role in Tropic Thunder is just what fans and critics were looking for. Other stars have also found themselves looking for a comeback role after a spate of bad choices or bad publicity.
Wilson's mild fashion sense
LOS ANGELES -- If the clothes make the leading man, Luke Wilson is angling to play the handsome high school lit teacher -- you know, the one who made you cry when he read aloud from "A Separate Peace." He rarely veers from his Kennedy-era haircut and typically shows up at events in rumpled khakis or cords and a preppy blazer. Then, there's that squint. More musing than macho, Wilson has perfected a studied squint -- or is it a wince? -- that precedes his answers to tough questions.
'Clone' director is fanboy first
George Lucas, looking overheated under the midday sun, gamely worked the red carpet recently at the world premiere of the latest cinematic installment to his space saga, "Star Wars: The Clone Wars." At one point, Lucas was photographed with one of his most avid fans, a grinning, chubby fellow from Pennsylvania who showed up at Hollywood's Egyptian Theatre wearing two-day stubble, a sweat-stained shirt and a brimmed frontier hat that Indiana Jones would admire.
Actors group unveils A-list backers
An actors group seeking to unseat the leadership of the Screen Actors Guild over its handling of contract talks with studios has revealed a group of A-list backers that includes Tom Hanks and Sally Field.
Anna Faris: 'Bunny' business
Can Anna Faris become the next Reese Witherspoon?
Blobtown: Movie memories revitalize a community
There is a man. He carries a can, and inside it is a weird, blood-red hunk of goo the size and consistency of a generous bowl of lumpy raspberry Jell-O.
Director reflects on the faces of horror
When horror spoofs itself -- sacre bleu! -- French director Alexandre Aja gets mad.
Gabriele Muccino falls for 'Love'
Gabriele Muccino, the Italian director and Will Smith collaborator, is setting up a new project.
Hilary Swank nabs 'Women'
Hilary Swank and her producing partner, Molly Smith, have picked up the rights to the bestseller "French Women Don't Get Fat," setting Heather Hach to adapt.
Josh Turner finds higher calling
Josh Turner is heading into the third single from his 2007 album "Everything is Fine," but right now he's most excited about his role in "Billy: The Early Years," a film about evangelist Billy Graham's start that's due out Oct. 10.
Korean provincial government to invest in movies
The South Korean province of Gyeonggi plans to announce a 100 billion won ($98.5 million) fund to promote joint ventures between Hollywood producers and graphic artists based in Seoul.
Lionsgate goes for the blitz
It's something that few film distributors would ever consider -- premiering four new movies in wide release over four consecutive weekends. But Lionsgate doesn't usually abide by industry custom.
Paris Hilton sued over lack of publicity for film
Paris Hilton didn't do enough pledging for a 2006 sorority comedy, according to a lawsuit filed Aug. 12.
Penelope Cruz is poised for breakout with 2 new films
Hot on the heels of her first best-actress Oscar nomination, Spain's Penelope Cruz is basking in some very sweet reviews for playing a stormy artist in Woody Allen's dramedy "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" and a composed college student involved with her ambivalent professor in the drama "Elegy."
Q&A: Keke Palmer
Best known for her breakout performance in "Akeelah and the Bee," Keke Palmer has since enjoyed a deluge of work from TV shows, guest appearances and movie roles.
Woody Allen reigns in Spain
He's considered an artistic genius. But Woody Allen's choice of Spain as the setting for his new comedy, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," was a practical one. A group of financiers agreed to put up $15 million if he'd make his movie there.
10/14: 'Crystal Skull' on DVD
LOS ANGELES - Indiana Jones entered the atomic age in his latest movie. Now he's joining the Blu-ray era. The blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull arrives on DVD and Blu-ray high-definition disc Oct. 14, distributor Paramount announced Tuesday.
3-D's newest heyday
Say the words "3-D movie," and people of a certain age envision clunky red-and-blue glasses and cheesy monster films - and possibly a bad headache. That's not always going to be the case. DreamWorks Animation and Pixar Animation Studios have announced that all their future animation projects will be produced in 3-D as well as 2-D.
8/15-18: OneNightCinema
OneNightCinema is almost a one-man operation. The foreign- and independent-film series that showed at Pollack Tempe Cinemas intermittently during the past four years is the brainchild of Ahwatukee Foothills resident Randy Montgomery. He works feverishly behind the scenes to show quirky American indies, films from around the world that highlight various cultures and thought-provoking documentaries.
Cruise eyes new comedy role
With buzz surrounding his comedic turn in Tropic Thunder, Tom Cruise is eyeing an even bigger humorous role. The actor is loosely attached to Food Fight, a warmhearted comedy about a snooty New York chef who is forced to cook meals at a school cafeteria, with Cruise playing the role of the chef. The project is set up at Universal-based Working Title.
Disability groups protest 'Thunder'
LOS ANGELES - Tropic Thunder is pushing the envelope too far for groups representing the mentally disabled. Dozens of people from organizations such as the Special Olympics and the American Association of People with Disabilities protested the movie-industry spoof across the street from the film's Los Angeles premiere at Mann's Bruin Theatre on Monday. The protesters held up signs with slogans such as "Call me by my name, not by my label" and chanted phrases like "Ban the movie, ban the word."
J.J. Abrams in quake film
.J. Abrams wants to make the earth move for you. The producer and David Seltzer, the screenwriter of the original Omen, are working together to shake up audiences with a disaster flick for Universal involving an earthquake.
Jolie may swap with Cruise
Edwin A. Salt is getting a sex change. Angelina Jolie is in negotiations to replace Tom Cruise in the Columbia spy thriller.
Kikuchi to star in 'Map'
Two years after Babel put her on the Hollywood map, Rinko Kikuchi soon could have a map of her own. The Oscar nominee is in talks to star in Map of the Sounds of Tokyo, a dual-identity drama written and directed by Isabel Coixet.
Notable dates in movie history:
Notable dates in movie history:
Stiller's 'comedy death camp'
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Ben Stiller handed them out to cast and crew at the conclusion of a punishing 13-week location shoot as a gesture of thanks, but also contrition: T-shirts that read "I SURVIVED BEN STILLER'S COMEDY DEATH CAMP." Sitting at a restaurant in Vancouver, where he's currently filming Night at the Museum 2, Stiller -- who co-wrote, directed, co-produced and stars in the ensemble action-comedy Tropic Thunder -- waved it away as a joke, a riff on marquee star Robert Downey Jr.'s acerbic nickname for the production, most of which unfolded in the steaming jungles of Kauai last year.
Trailer talk: 'Vicky Cristina'
OK, let's get the salacious part out of the way up front. Yes, as rumored, we see Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz kiss in the trailer for Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Certainly a selling point in some circles.
Big buzz for 'Pineapple Express'
are riding high nowadays. Fans are buzzing about the reunion of Cheech and Chong after a long feud, and a couple of tokers are lighting up the box office with Pineapple Express. From the pot partakers and dealers of Weeds to Harold and Kumar to Sean Penn's dude in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, stoners have been a beloved subset among Hollywood fringe players.
Docs now playing in Phoenix
Documentaries playing in Phoenix, or coming soon:
Trailer talk: 'Happy-Go-Lucky'
If it's happiness you're after, then the trailer for Happy-Go-Lucky ought to do the trick. Mike Leigh's film about a teacher with a sunny disposition - that compresses the story considerably, but it is just a trailer we're talking about - is positively delightful.
