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At 75, Woody Allen is at a career high. His last movie, Midnight in Paris, was his largest financial success in his long and storied career, earning $107 million in worldwide box office.
While Allen shot Midnight in Paris in, well, Paris, France, his latest movie was shot in Rome, Italy, and was initially titled The Bop Decameron. Made up of four vignettes, the movie stars Alec Baldwin, Robert Begnini, Penelope Cruz, Jesse Eisenberg and Ellen Page and also has a new title. Allen told THR that The Bop Decameron, named after Giovanni Boccaccio's medieval allegory The Decameron, didn't register with most people so he changed it.
I couldn't believe how few people had heard of The Decameron even in Rome. And the few that did assumed the movie was based on Boccaccio's tales which it's not. Anyhow, I changed the title to Nero Fiddled, which is the first time I've changed a title since my last minute switch of Anhedonia to Annie Hall.
more about Allen's latest >> Posted 10.14.11 by Ryan -
Funny, we were relatively sure that the whole Pirates of the Caribbean series was supposed to be a trilogy — even when that made little sense. But then plots and common sense were never a big part of Pirates, considering that even Johnny Depp, himself, didn't understand what was going on in the second and third pictures. Still, it's the big release for the week and we'd be remiss if we didn't admit we were still going to see it for the following reasons.
5 Reasons to See On Stranger Tides >>
Posted 05.19.11 by reelz -
Entering the summer fray at the end of the month is Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. The previous three movies have been a multi-billion dollar industry for Disney, so there's really no surprise that a fifth and sixth installment were reported to be in the works at the end of last year. A month later, screenwriter Terry Rossio, who co-wrote all four Pirates movies with Ted Elliot, was hired to write a fifth Pirates.
As for the movies' popularity, the obvious culprit is Johnny Depp, whose character of Captain Jack Sparrow became an instant figure in pop culture. In an interview with HitFix, Depp admitted he was as surprised as anyone at the success of the Pirates trilogy.
It's not my fault. I did my best. Even to the point of trying to get fired on the first one, but they couldn't bring themselves to do it. No, it's kind of interesting to experience that kind of ride after, well, essentially 20 years of enjoying a career based on failures and then suddenly something clicks. The weird thing is I never changed a thing. The process is still the process as it ever was. The fact people decide to see a movie I was in was probably the most shocking thing I've ever been through.
Depp to play Sparrow for a long time >> Posted 05.06.11 by Ryan -
On Stranger Tides, the fourth installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is headed to theaters next month with Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush, and Ian McShane. Hollywood's Top Ten, the show where fans control the countdowns, wants to know your favorite swashbuckling action on the big screen. Vote now for your favorite pirate movies, then tune in to see if your picks made the cut.
Vote for your top 10 pirate movies >>
Posted 04.16.11 by reelz -
ReelzChannel Celebrity Rundown
After jazz singer Esperanza Spalding won Best New Artist at last night's Grammy Awards, Justin Bieber fans took their outrage out on Spalding's Wikipedia page, adding "Justin Bieber deserved it go die in a hole," and "Who the heck are you anyway?" to her entry, and changing Spalding's middle name to "Quesadilla." THR has compiled 7 Facts About Esperanza Spalding.
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Trying to top the meat dress she wore at last September's MTV Video Music Awards, Lady Gaga arrived at the Grammys inside a giant egg, but was upstaged by Rihanna in a revealing white-ruffled Jean Paul Gaultier gown. Not everyone was a fan, though, with the New York Post saying the 23-year-old star looked like "a slutty toilet brush."
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Eva Longoria was in attendance too, without new boyfriend Eduardo Cruz (yeah, that's Penelope Cruz's brother), who already has her name tattooed on his arm.
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Lindsay Lohan's attorney is taking Howard Stern's advice and if the "she didn't steal anything in the first place" defense does not work, will be arguing that the necklace she allegedly stole is worth far less than $2500 which would only rise to the level of a misdemeanor, not felony grand theft. Last week Stern tweeted that it was "one crummy looking piece of jewelry" and he would "get an appraisal on that piece of junk."
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Porn star Kacey Jordan is pregnant, but says the baby is probably not Charlie Sheen's since he wore a condom during their vodka and cocaine-fueled romp that resulted in Sheen's hospitalization and subsequent rehab stint. Meanwhile, Sheen cannot be fired from Two and a Half Men for doing drugs or hiring prostitutes because there is no "morals clause" in his contract.
Posted 02.14.11 by reelz -
ReelzChannel Celebrity Rundown
BABY UPDATE: Penelope Cruz and husband Javier Bardem celebrate the birth of her first baby, and it's a niño. It's a boy, too, for Mike Tyson and wife Lakiha Spicer Tyson, 18 months after Tyson's 4-year-old-daughter was killed in a freak treadmill accident.
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64, THE UNLUCKIEST NUMBER?: The 64-year-old singer Jimmy Buffett was hospitalized after he fell off a stage in Australia. He was unconscious for 5-10 minutes following the fall but is now in stable condition. Also, 64-year-old designer and fashion icon Diane von Furstenberg suffered a broken nose and slight facial fractures after a wipeout on the slopes of Aspen.
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OSCARS UPDATE: While most Americans are first discovering Best Supporting Actress nominee Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom), she's the toast of her native land, saying, "I'm just so relieved. Everyone in Australia would have been so disappointed if I hadn't been nominated." Meanwhile, 14-year-old Best Supporting Actress nominee Hailee Steinfeld was sleeping during the nomination announcement and awakened by her parents' screaming.
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Some sage advice from Michelle "Bombshell" McGee — the woman at the center of the Sandra Bullock-Jesse James divorce — who warns James' new fiance Kat Von D against marrying him because he's a cheater.
Posted 01.26.11 by reelz -
The latest issue of Entertainment Weekly reports that production on Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was anything but smooth sailing. Despite bad weather and the pregnancy of newcomer Penelope Cruz to contend with, spirits ran high and the recently released trailer showed that Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) was back to his usual shenanigans as he and Cruz work with the pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane) to find the Fountain of Youth.
With the fourth installment wrapped and preparing for its May 20 release date, the question is whether more Pirates movies are on the way. Last month, reports suggested that Disney was considering making a fifth and sixth Pirates installment which would be shot back-to-back, possibly as early as next year. The EW confirms that there are already "discussions" about a fifth Pirates, something Depp says he would "consider."
As long as we can put all the puzzle pieces together, I would most definitely consider it.
On Stranger Tides was directed by Rob Marshall from a script by Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio, who wrote the previous trilogy of Pirates movies. All three could be back for a fifth, though no formal announcement has been made by producer Jerry Bruckheimer, which doesn't seem too far away with Depp contemplating a return.
Posted 01.13.11 by Ryan -
Unless you're one of the lucky winners of Disney's "Pirates Fans First!" contest, you'll have to wait until next Friday to see the first trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. But, thankfully, Disney has just released a set of six new still images from the movie to tide over loyal Pirates fans. The fourth of what could turn into a six-chapter movie franchise, On Stranger Tides finds Capt. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) up to his old hijinks and in hot water when he runs across Angelica (Penelope Cruz), a seductive woman from his past who just so happens to be the daughter of the ruthless pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane). Written by Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio, On Stranger Tides was directed by Rob Marshall and also stars Academy Award-winner Geoffrey Rush as Captain Barbosa, Sam Claflin as Phillip and Kevin R. McNally as Joshamee Gibbs.
Posted 12.10.10 by BrentJS -
It seems that security on Disney's Hawaiian sets for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, is getting more and more lax. First, a few "spy" pics of Johnny Depp in full Captain Jack Sparrow regalia made their way online. Then, pics of Penelope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush, and Sam Claflin in costume as Angelica, Captain Barbosa, and Phillip, respectively, were leaked. Now, a whole series of spy videos have also popped up online.
See Blackbeard's ship and more in the 4 videos >> Posted 08.07.10 by BrentJS -
In the strange, fourth wall-breaking video message from Johnny Depp to the assembled masses at the San Diego Comic-Con, in which he appeared in character as Captain Jack Sparrow, Depp mentioned his Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides co-star, Penelope Cruz, by name. Almost as if on cue, several "spy pics" from the Hawaiian set of On Stranger Tides have surfaced online, offering up a first look of Cruz in costume as Angelica, a mysterious woman from Sparrow's past.
who else was spotted? >> Posted 08.03.10 by BrentJS