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"I take no pleasure in taking a life if it's from a person who doesn't care about it."
Though we may never get to see Gary Oldman play Commissioner Gordon again now that Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy has ended — that is, unless the recent rumor that Warner Bros. is planning to use the Justice League movie as "a vehicle for Christian Bale to reprise his role as Batman" is true, in which case a cameo by Gotham’s top cop wouldn’t be out of the question — we will get to see him play a former police commissioner in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Add his stint as Sirius Black in the Harry Potter movies and his recently completed work as Norton in MGM's Robocop remake and that makes four major tentpole franchises for Oldman.
Long before Oldman became a staple of summer popcorn movies, he had already developed a strong cult following for playing deliciously dark (Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's Dracula), terrifyingly sadistic (Warden Glenn in Murder in the First) and mesmerizingly maniacal (Norman Stansfield in Léon: The Professional) villains. The man once dubbed "psycho deluxe" for his over-the-top bad guy roles plays the hero more often than not these days, but when he funnels the same energy and intensity into quieter performances they simmer, as in his Oscar-winning role as disgraced spy George Smiley in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Punk rocker, vampire, drug dealer, corrupt cop, good cop, shapeshifting wizard, spy — Oldman masterfully played each character with zeal, but which roles were his best?
Rate the Top 10 Best Gary Oldman Movies >>
Posted 03.12.13 by BrentJS -
This weekend sees the opening of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which is great news for Lord of the Rings who will get to see plenty returning characters such as the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) aids a young Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) and an assembly of dwarves in their quest to unseat the dragon Smaug from the treasure he's guarding. It's only the first of a three-part adaptation, which means there will be plenty more Gandalf to go around for the next few years, even if he will still be one appearance behind another literary-turned-cinematic wizard, Harry Potter's Dumbledore.
Speaking of Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore (first played by the late Richard Harris and then by Michael Gambon), this week's arrival of Gandalf got us thinking about our two favorite, long-bearded wizards and which of the two would survive the cybernetic cage that is our Character Cage Match! No doubt, fans of either J.R.R. Tolkien and J.K. Rowling may already have their minds made up, but we make a case for both and only you can decide which wizard will leave victorious!
check out the characters' strengths and weaknesses before voting >> Posted 12.14.12 by Ryan -
For more than a decade, Harry Potterphiles visiting England have made their way to many of the real-life places that inspired the books' and movies' locales. Now they can add the Leavesden studio to their pilgrimage checklist. The Making of Harry Potter opened last weekend, taking fans behind-the-scenes and showcasing a huge array of the sets, costumes, and props. We'll have TV coverage of the Warner Bros. studio tour on an upcoming Hollywood Dailies. In the meantime, enjoy this photo sneak peek at J.K. Rowling's imagination brought to life.
Photo Tour of The Making of Harry Potter >>
Posted 04.05.12 by reelz -
Actress Emma Watson, famous for her role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series of films, recently revealed that she would be taking a break from acting to attend college and that she may never return to the craft. However, her co-star, Daniel Radcliffe, who plays "the boy who lived," doesn't feel the same need to hit the books:
I didn't want to go [to university], it's as simple as that. I think most people go to establish their identity and what they want to do career-wise. I know what I want to do, more or less. Other people go to meet people from different backgrounds and that happens naturally on a film set. That's not to say I'm going to stop learning. I read a lot. I still have English lessons once a week, without the pressure of exams or essays. I have my own teacher and we basically chat about books and poems. In an ideal world that should be the way everyone learns. I don't fancy university in truth. I know exactly what I want to do — touch wood anyway.
There are still three Harry Potter movies yet to come. Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince, originally scheduled to be released November '08, debuts July 15th, while Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I comes out in November 2010 with Part II following in July 2011. David Yates, who directed Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, directs the remaining three films.
Posted 07.04.09 by BrentJS -
Even though David Yates, the newest director to bring the Harry Potter mythos to life, took the franchise on a dark journey in the previous installment, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the tone is much lighter in the next movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
Apparently, the new tone did not necessarily sit well with all of the cast members. In a recent interview, Daniel Radcliffe, who plays the titular character, said:
My favourite stuff is always the dark stuff. When I read scripts for the first time that's what I always lean towards and it's what I want to see included – even more so in Harry Potter movies, because we need the films to appeal to adult audiences. In fact one of the things I was disappointed about with the sixth Harry Potter movie was that there wasn't so much of that element.
Radcliffe said that he had a conversation with Yates about this and was told that it was important to give the audience some comedy. Radcliffe said:
There are huge opportunities for comedy in the sixth film and we use all of them, even though my natural inclination is not towards that. I love watching comedy but doing it is something else.
Yates will also be on board as director on the follow-up to Half-Blood, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which will be split into two movies.
Posted 07.02.09 by BrentJS -
Actress Emma Watson is just 19 years old, but she's earned an estimated £10 million from her recurring role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movie series. Surprised? Apparently, so is Ms. Watson. As a child actor, Watson's contracts and finances were out of her control and she preferred to pretend that the money didn't exist. It wasn't until she turned 18 that she discovered just how much money she had earned.
In a recent interview, Watson said:
My dad never told me how much money I was earning. Then, when I hit 18, he was like, "I want you to understand that your money isn't some kind of abstract concept. I want you to have a feel for what it's worth and what you can do with it."
Watson is currently promoting the sixth film in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and filming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but she plans on attending college in the fall. She called the start of her school life a "cut-off point" in her life.
It's going to sound dramatic, but I feel like it's going to be my life over as I know it. My whole life has been about Harry Potter and then all of that will shut down and I don't know what it will be like.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince also stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter and Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley.
Posted 06.30.09 by BrentJS -
It seems like professional suicide to step away from a successful acting career to attend college, but that's exactly what Emma Watson plans to do following the conclusion of her Harry Potter duties. Watson hasn't revealed which university she plans on attending, but in an interview with Teen Vogue, she said:
There's not, like, a burning passion in me that I have to act and I don't care what I do. Until something comes along that I feel as strongly about as I did Hermione – like, I felt that it was life or death – I don't want to act again.
Watson said that she will study English Literature and that she wants to be just like every other student, even sharing a dorm room:
I probably sound like a paranoid nut, but I'm doing this because I want to be normal. I really want anonymity.
Watson is currently promoting the sixth film in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and is currently filming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which will be split into two films. She reprises the role of Hermione Granger, which she has been playing for nearly half of her life, alongside Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter and Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley.
Posted 06.29.09 by BrentJS -
Harry Potter fans everywhere were exasperated when Warner Bros. pushed back the release of the film adaptation of J.K. Rowlings' penultimate novel, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from November 2008 to July 2009. Outraged fans expressed their displeasure in letter-writing campaigns and viral videos, but the long wait is nearly over and the stars of the latest installment in the Potter franchise are out promoting the film in force.
After a revolving door of directors, the franchise finally got some consistency in David Yates, who directed the previous installment, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and is currently working on the follow-up to Half-Blood, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In a recent interview with Wizard Magazine, Emma Watson, who plays Hermione Granger, was asked about the challenges of working with different directors and had this to say:
It was a lot of fun having new directors because there was more energy and you knew there would be something new every time. But David is a very good director and I think he's done a really good job with it. When you get to know someone, you can trust them and it gave him more a chance to try different things out.
Watson was only nine years old when she was cast in the role of Hermione and has been portraying the character for the past decade. When asked about portraying such a popular character in such a monumental franchise, Watson said:
The funny thing is I never realized that I was going to be famous. It never really occurred to me. When you're doing a movie you're kind of in a bubble and you don't really realize the impact it's having on the rest of the world.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince also stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley and Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore.
Posted 05.05.09 by BrentJS -
It's Daniel Radcliffe Day in DVD-land, with the lanky lad's two latest releases, summer blockbuster Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and charming indie December Boys, debuting on DVD today. Also arriving on DVD shelves are The Bourne Ultimatum, starring Matt Damon in his (presumably) final turn as the amnesiac rogue agent, Interview, starring Sienna Miller and Steve Buscemi, and High School Musical 2, starring non-threatening Zac Efron and internet star Vanessa Hudgens.
Posted 12.11.07 by reelz -
In her first US tour in seven years, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling addressed an audience at Carnegie Hall and informed them that the character of Albus Dumbledore was gay.
Although the character's sexuality was never explicitly addressed in any of the books or movies, Rowling revealed that she had always envisioned his relationship with Gellert Grindelwald--who is discussed in the final book of the series--as a romantic one.
Maybe that's why he is always dressed so well.
Source: Reuters
Posted 10.20.07 by reelz