This one is likely to be making an Oscar run in 2014, but the first trailer is here nevertheless, despite not being released until next September. Based on the bestselling novel, a visionary sheik (Amr Waked) has a big dream – to bring salmon fishing to the desert. Willing to spare no expense, he instructs his representative (Emily Blunt) to turn his dream into reality, an extraordinary feat that will require the involvement of Britain’s leading fisheries expert (Ewan McGregor), who happens to think the project both absurd and unachievable. That is, until the Prime Minister’s overzealous press secretary (Kristin Scott Thomas) latches on for its potential as a ‘good will’ story. Now, this unlikely team will put it all on the line and embark on an upstream journey of faith and fish to prove the impossible, possible. Lasse Halstrom (Chocolat) directs.
First Pic Of Stallone In Bullet To the Head
The first image of Sylvester Stallone in Bullet To The Head has been released and certainly wants to prove that despite recently reaching pensionable age, the actor shows no signs of slowing down or shying away from full-on action. However we would like to point out that fighting with axes is just a bad idea.
In the film he’s teamed with a young NYPD detective in a high-stakes investigation that leads from the dingy back alleys of New Orleans all the way to the power corridors of Washington, D.C. The unlikely duo, brought together by two vicious murders, take on all who stand in their way, and are willing to sacrifice everything to exact revenge.
And while we’re feeling the Stallone vibe, take a look at a new official poster for The Expendables 2 below, which is due out in August.
General movie news courtesy of Movie Muser
James Frain On For The Lone Ranger
It seems that The Lone Ranger is keen not to depart from the old Hollywood standby of casting Brits as villains. Tom Wilkinson is already installed as the main baddie in the film, and now THR reports he has some company in the form of James Frain.
Frain is one of those actors where you probably know the face even if you don’t know his name, as he often pops up in guest spots on American TV shows and has appeared in the likes of Tron: Legacy and Water for Elephants). In the Lone Ranger he’ll portray a foreman who oversees Chinese and Native American railroad workers for the villainous Latham Cole (Tom Wilkinson).
Armie Hammer will play the title character, with Johnny Depp as Tonto. Helena Bonham Carter, Ruth Wilson, Barry Pepper, James Badge Dale, are also onbarod Dwight Yoakam also star. After ruction over the budget that caused filming to be delayed, dhooting is due to start on February 13th with Gore Verbinski directing.
General movie news courtesy of Movie Muser
Clive Owen May Be Oldboy’s Villain
If you’d been hoping Colin Firth would play the bad guy in Spike Lee’s reimagining of Oldboy, you’re out of luck, as while he was in talks for the role last month, he recently passed on the project, and now Twitch reports Lee has offered the role to Clive Owen instead.
Lee previously worked with Clive Owen on the 2006 heist thriller Inside Man, which may work in favour of the actor signing on, although there’s no info on how interested Clive is. Twitch, which seems to have the inside track on the production, also reports Mia Wasikowska has been offered the female lead in the movie.
Although many still feel it’s sacriledge to touch Park Chan Wook’s movie, it seems it’s going to happen anyway. The original followed a man seeking revenge against those who kept him in confinement for over 15 years.
General movie news courtesy of Movie Muser
Eva Green Joining 300: Battle Of Artemesia
After Casino Royale, it seemed the world was at Eva Green’s feet, but she made the choice to make more interesting, arty projects, rather than jumping headlong into the mainstream. However now she’s planning another full-on Hollywood role, as THR reports she’s in talks to star as the title character in 300: Battle of Artemisia, Warner Bros.’ prequel to the 2007 blockbuster.
Eva Green will play Artemisia, a wicked goddess who persuades Xerxes to assemble his army and lead them into battle against the Greeks. Last month it was revealed that Joel Edgerton was in talks to star as Themistokles, the Greek general who leads his soldiers into battle against Xerxes. It seems that a deal was never reached, as it appears studio is still searching for the male lead.
It should also be noted that 300: Battle Of Artemesia is still very much a working title. Noam Murro (Smart People) is directing from a screenplay by 300 director Zack Snyder and Kurt Johnstad. The hope is to start filming 300: Battle of Artemisia in the first quarter of 2012.
General movie news courtesy of Movie Muser
Sherlock Holmes 2 Tops The US Box Office
If Hollywood was hoping for a little pre-Christmas cheer, it didn’t get much over the weekend, after disappointing debuts for two movies there’d been high hopes for. Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows topped the chart with $40 million, more than $20 million down on the first movie’s take during Christmas 2009. It’s even lower than Tron: Legacy, which opened to weak reviews this weekend last year.
As A Game Of Shadows had good reviews and strong word of mouth, it’s not certain what happened to the audience (Warner Bros had been expecting a $50 million+ opening), but it does suggest it’s not just a dearth of decent films that’s causing people to stay away from the multiplex.
Doing even worse was Alvin & the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, which took $23.5 million, less than half what it’s predescessor made.
The one bright spot at the US box office was Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, which took $13 million in limited released on only 425 IMAX and large screens cinemas. While it suggests the film will do well when it expands onto normal screens later this week, some may worry that the IMAX numbers were heavily skewed by the inclusion of a six-minute prologue to The Dark Knight Rises, and that without that (it won’t be included in normal cinemas), it’s still difficult to know just how well the new Mission: Impossible movie will do.
Hollywood is likely to be worrying a lot at the moment. Studios have spent more than $600 million on movies being released in December, and so far every weekend has been significantly down on the comparable weekend from a year ago. They’re going to be hoping for a stellar period between Christmas and New Year to make up lost ground or it’s going to be a very bad end to a very up and down year.
| Rank | Title | Weekend Gross (millions) |
Total Gross to date (millions) |
| 1 | Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows |
$40.0 | $40.0 |
| 2 | Alvin & the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked |
$23.5 | $23.5 |
| 3 | Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol |
$13.0 | $13.6 |
| 4 | New Year’s Eve | $7.4 | $24.8 |
| 5 | The Sitter | $4.4 | $17.7 |
| 6 | The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 |
$4.3 | $266.4 |
| 7 | Young Adult | $3.6 | $4.0 |
| 8 | Hugo | $3.6 | $39.0 |
| 9 | Arthur Christmas | $3.6 | $38.5 |
| 10 | The Muppets | $3.4 | $70.9 |
General movie news courtesy of Movie Muser
BGPS’s Advent Calendar Of Buff Blokes: Day 18 – Tom Hardy
Tom Hardy has fast become a favourite both of Hollywood and admirers of hunky men and in putting this Advent Calendar gallery together I have to say I was spoilt for choice, as he has little difficulty looking good and doesn’t seem that bothered whether he’s wearing clothes or not.
Having made his screen debut in Band Of Brothers back in 2001, Hardy took roles in the likes of Black Hawk Down, Marie Antoinette and Layer Cake before really getting the attention of Hollywood in 2007 playing the title role in Bronson and playing gay as Handsome Bob in Guy Ritchie’s RocknRolla. Since then his career’s gone stratospheric with Inception, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Warrior, and he’s likely to get onto the a-list proper in 2012 with This Mean War and most prominently playing the villainous Bane in the much anticipated The Dark Knight Rises.
But why we should love him most is how open he’s been in interviews, admitting to past gay liasons, and treating it in a wonderfully blase fashion. In an interview a while back with Now Magazine, he told them “As a boy? Of course I have. I’m an actor for f**k’s sake.
“I’m an artist. I’ve played with everything and everyone. But I’m not into men sexually. I love the form and the physicality, but the gay sex bit does nothing for me… To me it just doesn’t compute now that I’m into my thirties and it doesn’t do it for me. I’m done experimenting.
“There’s plenty of other stuff in a relationship with another man, especially gay men, that I need in my life. A lot of gay men get my thing for shoes. I don’t think I’m metrosexual but I’m definitely my mother’s son. I have definite feminine qualities and a lot of gay men are incredibly masculine.”
However if you’re hoping to turn him back, he’s got a girlfriend, so you’ll have to just wait and pray he changes his mind one day.
Tom’s also incredibly active in charity work, helping disadvataged youths. In fact, he may just be the perfect man. Click on the pics below and enjoy the often half-clothed wonderment that is Tom Hardy. [Read more…]
Michael Fassbender Talks About Gay Sex In Shame
Michael Fassbender has garnered an awful lot of praise for his performance as a sex addict in Shame (out in the UK on January 13th). While the character is largely heterosexual, at one point he ends up in gay bathhouse, a situation Fassbender recently addressed in an interview with Time Out Chicago.
After being asked whether the slightly ominous scene was equating the character having gay sex with his descent into depravity, Fassbender said, “It doesn’t become about homosexuality or heterosexuality, it becomes about a fix, and where can I get my fix? That is a real scenario for many addicts that are predominantly heterosexual and they end up with a guy. You put yourself into a scenario that you wouldn’t do in a normal situation because your choice is gone.”
Fassbender also noted that he’d done a lot of research in sex addiction and was grateful to “one man in particular, his honesty gave me great insight into the gravity of the situation. When you’re imprisoned by these compulsions, what makes it different to the other addictions, it’s part and parcel of us. Alcohol is an extremity you’re adding into your life. But sex is something that most of us do. It’s a very strong primal instinct.”
While there’s been a lot of Oscar buzz over Fassbender’s performance, many believe he’ll miss out not because he doesn’t deserve it, but because the sexually frank themes and nature of Shame (along with its liberal inclusion of Michael Fassbender’s penis) are distasteful to the Academy’s old guard, who still hold a lot of sway over the awards. We’ll have to wait and see if that turns out to be true.
BGPS’s Advent Calendar Of Buff Blokes: Day 17 – Luke Evans
Brit actor Luke Evans is certainly climbing the ladder of fame. He slightly came out of nowhere in 2010 with roles in Clash Of The Titans, Robin Hood and Tamara Drewe, and he’s followed that this year with major parts in Blitz, Immortals and The Three Muketeers.
What’s less certain is where he sits of the Kinsey scale. His first notable role was the lead in the West End production of Boy George’s musical Taboo, and in interviews at that point he seemed pretty certain he was 100% gay. However in recent years there’s been talk of relationships with women. Whether he’s going back in the closet to help his career or if he swings both ways, I’m not 100% sure, but he’s cute, so let’s not worry about it too much.
Click on the pics below to enjoy a bit more of Luke. [Read more…]
BGPS’s Advent Calendar Of Buff Blokes: Day 16 – Chris Evans
There are many reasons to love Chris Evans, and one of the best is how little he seems to like wearing shirts. I don’t think he’s ever managed to get through an entire movie with his top on, and quite frankly, that’s fine by me.
However there are more reasons to love him than just his cute face and incredible bod. Even if you’re not a big fan of his wisecracking acting style, he gets major points for being incredibly gay friendly, which probably comes from having a gay younger brother called Scott.
Click on the pics below to enlarge them and enjoy the shirtless buffness of Chris Evans. [Read more…]
Paramount Logo Gets A Centenary Makeover
Hollywood is becoming an antique, literally, as the oldest of Hollywood majors (and yes we know there are various arguments about which is really the oldest), Paramount, turns 100 in 2012. Founded in 1912 by Adolph Zukor as the Famous Players Film Company, the Paramount Pictures Corporation was set-up later that year to distribute movies made by Famous Players and the Lasky Feature Show Company.
The famous logo hasn’t actually changed all that much since almost the very beginning (it was designed in 1914 and used from 1916), although in recent years it’s certainly gotten a lot more realistic. For the 100th Anniversary the logo’s got a new makeover, and it looks great. It’ll first be seen in front of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and continue throughout 2012. After that the logo will remain but it’ll lose it’s 100.
Jack The Giant Killer Trailer – Plus the first poster for the fantasy
With all the fuss over the likes of The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises, it’s easy to forget there are some other big movies coming next summer and a few of them aren’t even based on comic books! Nope, they’re based on fairy tales instead. Along with two Snow Whites, we’ve got Bryan Singer’s mega-budget take on Jack & The Beanstalk, called Jack The Giant Killer. While the original tale is a bit silly and fun, this first trailer suggests Singer’s taking it all fairly seriously, but with plenty of fantasy action to keep us interested. Nicholas Hoult takes the title role, with the movie due in UK cinemas on June 15th. And take a look at the first poster below.
