Tag Archives: Josh Brolin

Big K.R.I.T. Reaches Out To Spike Lee To Direct New Video, Gets A Response

Posted on by

FROM MTV NEWS

If you caught this week’s episode of “RapFix Live,” you saw what may be the start of a beautiful working relationship. Big K.R.I.T. sat down with Sway to talk about some recent tweets the artist had sent out to director Spike Lee.

K.R.I.T. desperately wants Lee to direct the video for his song “Praying Man,” which features vocals from blues legend B.B. King, and pleaded his case live on RapFix. “Spike: Where you at, man?” K.R.I.T. said. “Spike, I know you’re going to the games and I know you’re focused on the playoffs and the Knicks. Please do this video.”

Well, the campaign may have paid off. Yesterday, Lee tweeted out instructions for K.R.I.T. to call him.

We’ll have to see if anything comes out the tweets. Until then, Lee’s next joint, “Oldboy” starring Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Olsen, opens on October 11.

Frank Ocean Gets Fashionable For Band of Outsiders Campaign

Posted on by

Frank Ocean Gets Fashionable For Band of Outsiders Campaign

By Driadonna Roland

Frank Ocean hasn##Q##t left his Odd Future gang, but he has joined a ##Q##band.##Q## Fashion label Band of Outsiders dropped five sun-soaked Polaroids of the singer/songwriter, the first set of 23 pictures that will be unveiled Wednesday through Sunday.

Ocean gets rather dapper, posing in a tuxedo in various locations around the Los Angeles Times building. The brand##Q##s founder and creative director Scott Sternberg snapped the shots himself. But Band of Outsiders is in for the slow reveal. You##Q##ll have to drop by the label##Q##s Tumblr and Instagram (@thisisbandofoutsiders) throughout the week to check out Frank sporting looks from the spring and summer 2013 campaigns.

Ocean joins the likes of Josh Brolin, Amy Adams and Michelle Williams, who are decidedly un-hip-hop, as Band of Outsiders models. (However, rapper Kendrick Lamar did pose for the brand##Q##s fall 2012 campaign.) But it##Q##s been a huge crossover-type season for Ocean, who was nominated for six Grammys and garnered praise from the far reaches of Hollywood for sharing that his first love was another man.

A while back Ocean mentioned an interest in tapping into other facets of his creativity. Modeling wasn##Q##t the first outlet that came to mind, but Frank is no stranger to Band of Outsiders. After all, the designer is responsible for the banana yellow suit he donned for his

Grammy performance of the channel Orange song “Forrest Gump.”

And while you revel in Frank##Q##s fashion sense, don##Q##t think he##Q##s too far gone. In February he said in an interview that he was well into recording his sophomore album.

‘Sin City: A Dame To Kill For’ Preview: Reliving In Sin

Posted on by

Because of the seven-plus years we suffered through countless rumors, it’s still difficult to believe that “Sin City: A Dame To Kill For” is moving forward with a release date and an embarrassment of riches in its A-list cast.

Adding further fuel to our excitement is a recent chat we had with director Robert Rodriguez, as part of MTV News’ preview of our most-anticipated films of 2013, who seemed as giddy as we are to get his Frank Miller-inspired gang of characters back together again.

Going Back to Sin City
As it turns out, the “Machete” director was just as antsy to adapt another chapter of Miller’s “Sin City” for the big screen, but busy schedules kept getting in the way. “It’s very refreshing that we’re finally doing it,” Rodriguez said when asked if he’s happy he no longer has to answer questions about when he’ll be making the sequel. “It was a process to get it there, but then when it happens, you realize it’s perfect timing. We had a great cast, and it keeps getting better by the day. It’s a fun movie people still have an appetite for. Whenever I go anywhere, that’s what I always get asked: ‘When are you going to do another “Sin City“?’ and it’s been years. It’s amazing that it’s still that popular with people.”

Sin Looks Better in Three Dimensions
Yes, “A Dame to Kill For” will be in 3-D. But fear not, film purists: Rodriguez has experience with this format, plus they’re using James Cameron’s fancy cameras to get the job done. “The biggest difference, I haven’t really spoken about this, is that we’re shooting it in 3-D,” he said. “So if you know that world, it’s so stylized and abstract, but when you see it in three dimensions, even Frank [Miller], he’s totally gotten into it. We’re using Jim Cameron’s new cameras, and they’re just fantastic. It’s really stunning to be in that stylized of a world and dimensions and feel like you’re in Sin City. It’s going to be a very immersive experience into a very bizarre world. I think this is one that people will say, ‘You have to see this one in 3-D,’ because it’s really going to pop in a different way that couldn’t be in a traditional film.”

Josh Brolin Is Dwight McCarthy
Fans of the comic already know why it makes sense for Josh Brolin to take over the role of hero Dwight McCarthy from Clive Owen, a story line Rodriguez always intended on including in the sequel. “There was always a different actor to be played for Dwight; that’s how it was in the book. He had a complete facial reconstruction,” Rodriguez explained. “Clive even mentions that in ‘Sin City,’ that he had gotten his face changed and you don’t know what he’s talking about. Well, this explains what he’s talking about.” Rodriguez said Brolin is perfect in the role and expects fans to love his performance. “We’re going to have a blast. He is so pumped, he’s so excited,” Rodriguez said. “He’s so much fun. I worked with him before and haven’t worked with him since. What a professional, what a great guy.”

Frank Miller’s Stamp of Approval
“It’s an incredible world that Frank Miller created, with such a cast of characters throughout the books that intertwine,” Rodriguez said of his co-director and “Sin City” creator Frank Miller. “And that’s why I loved the books for 10 years before I made the movie. I loved how one character would show up in another character’s story and how all the stories would intertwine, prequels, sequels, back and forward in time, and to get to do that in a movie and put these people together and to see Frank respond to something he sat in a room drawing years and years ago, to see the performer step in in costume and have come from his imagination and to see him just smile really big, that’s the best gratification you can get, to watch him see it come to life.”

When We’ll See Some Teaser Footage
Of course, we can’t be fully satisfied with the knowledge that filming is taking place: We need to see proof in the form of some teaser photos or footage. Unfortunately for us, we might have to wait on that for a few months because Rodriguez hasn’t yet figured out the perfect timing to release a teaser trailer. We politely suggested that he think about unveiling a sneak peek for San Diego Comic-Con or the South by Southwest film festival. “It might be around that time,” he said, mulling a Comic-Con tease in July. “We come out in October, so that could be about right. That’s when we did the first one. [Maybe] SXSW [in March]. If we can put something together soon enough, that would be cool.”

“Sin City: A Dame to Kill For” hits theaters October 2, 2013.

Check out everything we’ve got on “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.”

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

Ryan Gosling Explains Why ‘Gangster Squad’ Isn’t All That Gangster

Posted on by

From all its outward appearances, “Gangster Squad” is a movie about gangsters.

In seeing the photos and footage, the film finds Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin and Sean Penn making the most of the period setting and mob-movie staples like fedoras, pinstriped suits and Tommy guns. But when MTV News caught up with Gosling at the L.A. premiere of the film, we asked him what we should know about being gangsters from his perspective, but as it turned out, he wasn’t focused on the gangster element as much.

“Well I guess I don’t really know. We were playing cops, ultimately,” he said about not knowing how to act like a gangster. “And cops who had to sort of behave in way that they wouldn’t necessarily choose to but they had no choice, but it was incredible — this is very different from the real story, in some ways the real story is even more surreal and unbelievable because these men actually did this.”

The Ruben Fleischer-directed crime drama is “inspired” by the true story of a real-life gangster squad comprised of a group of cops who worked in secret to eradicate organized crime from Los Angeles. The film also marks the second romantic pairing of Gosling and Emma Stone, and given the amount of fun the two actors have together, we asked Gosling what kind of movie we can expect to see them together in next.

“Whatever it takes to get my money back, because she owes me money and I won’t forget about it,” Gosling revealed, adding that he’ll happily take on whatever role required to be reunited with Stone in order to settle this mystery debt.

Check out everything we’ve got on “Gangster Squad.”

‘Gangster Squad’ Featurette Goes To The Next Level

Posted on by

ea411 Gangster Squad Banner Gangster Squad Featurette Goes To The Next Level

by Hannah Soo Park

It’s time to move on from the classic gangster flicks we’ve come to know and love. Because if there’s one message we took away from the new “Gangster Squad” featurette, it’s that the movie will be our generation’s defining gangster film.

The video, which hit the web yesterday (via Apple), features a few never-before-seen scenes from the film, with the same gunplay and fedoras we’ve already seen in previous trailers. But what truly makes it fresh are the behind-the-scenes clips of cast and crew interviews, and on-set action footage.

Director Ruben Fleischer and a few members of the film’s all-star cast, including Ryan Gosling, Anthony Mackie and Giovanni Ribisi, discuss their hopes that the period crime drama will join the ranks of “The Godfather,” “The Untouchables,” and other iconic gangster masterpieces. “It’s taking gangster films to the next level,” says Ribisi in an interview snippet. They make some pretty bold statements here, but judging from the impressive cuts we’ve seen so far, we’re not ready to rule their claims out just yet.

Set in Los Angeles during the 1940s and 1950s, “Gangster Squad” follows real-life mobster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) as he evades the Los Angeles Police Department task force that’s out to get him. The movie also stars Josh Brolin, Nick Nolte, Emma Stone, Mireille Enos, Michael Patrick and Michael Peña.

The movie’s original summer 2012 release was pushed back following the Aurora shootings. A scene which involved mobsters opening fire on an audience in Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard was reshot.

“Gangster Squad” opens on January 11, 2013.

Tags

‘Men In Black’ Shoot Down ‘Avengers’ At Holiday Weekend Box Office

Posted on by

It wasn’t Loki, an army of otherworldly Chitauri nor any other super-villain that finally defeated Captain America and his pals. A satiric adaptation of a 1970s soap opera and a big-budget action flick based on a board game tried and failed. Ultimately, it was another franchise with comic book roots that ended the nearly month-long reign of “The Avengers” at the top of the box office, as “Men in Black 3″ became the #1 movie in America with an estimated $70 million debut over the four-day Memorial Day weekend.

The third entry in the Will Smith/ Tommy Lee Jones franchise, based on a short-lived comic series from the early 1990s, took in another $133.2 million overseas, giving it a worldwide total of $203.2 million. Box-office prognosticators had predicted a somewhat stronger opening for the 3-D film, which carried a reported production budget near $250 million. Enthusiasm and nostalgia for the 1997 original, about a pair of criminal-alien-busting special agents, remains high. But the 2002 sequel was poorly received by critics, who were a bit kinder to “MIB 3,” which added Josh Brolin as a younger version of Jones’ character in time-travel scenes. The first “Men in Black” made $589 million around the world. Its follow-up trailed behind with $442 million. The opening weekend for “MIB 3″ wasn’t far off from “MIB 2.”

Will Smith, top-billed in hits like “Hancock” and “I Am Legend,” broke a four-year hiatus from the screen with “Men in Black 3.” The film received a 67 percent score on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.

“Chernobyl Diaries” was the only other widely released new film over the holiday weekend. The low-budget horror tale was #6 with just $9.3 million. Critics were not kind — the film had a 26 percent score at Rotten Tomatoes — and audiences who saw the movie assigned it a D-plus CinemaScore.

“Men in Black 3″ was able to do what “Dark Shadows” and “Battleship” failed to do in recent weeks by knocking “The Avengers” to #2, though Marvel’s superhero team-up flick still generated gigantic numbers considering how long it’s been in theaters. “The Avengers” earned another $46.9 million over the four-day weekend (and crossed the $500 million mark on Saturday, making it the fastest movie to ever do so) for a total of $523.6 million. Not adjusted for inflation, “The Avengers” is now the fourth-biggest movie of all time, behind “Avatar,” “Titanic” and the final entry in the “Harry Potter” movie franchise.

“Battleship” sunk even further at the box office, dropping 57 percent to #3 after a less-than-impressive debut last weekend. The blend of high-seas action and sci-fi made $13.8 million over the holiday for a domestic total of $47.3 million. “Battleship” has made $232.7 million overseas but has earned even less than Taylor Kitsch‘s last film, notorious big-budget bomb “John Carter,” over the same amount of time in theaters. “The Dictator” was #4 during its second weekend with $11.8 million for a $43.6 million total.

“Dark Shadows” was #5 with $9.4 million for a total of $64.9 million. The latest Johnny Depp/ Tim Burton collaboration won’t make anywhere near the box-office coin of films like “Alice in Wonderland,” though it did manage to pass “Sweeney Todd” over the weekend. The movie carried a reported production budget of $150 million.

In the limited-release world, “Moonrise Kingdom” collected $669,000 from just four theaters over four days. That estimate puts it ahead of “Dreamgirls” with the highest per screen average debut of any live action film. That number is also higher than filmmaker Wes Anderson‘s previous best, “The Royal Tenenbaums.” Also in four theaters over the weekend: “The Intouchables,” a French film that has already made $340 million worldwide, grossed $137,438 through Monday.

One of the stars of “The Avengers,” Chris Hemsworth (Thor), will appear in theaters again this weekend as one of the title characters in “Snow White and the Huntsman.” The movie co-stars Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron as the evil queen. It was directed by newcomer Rupert Sanders.

Check out everything we’ve got on “Men in Black 3,” “The Avengers” and “Battleship.”
For young Hollywood news, fashion and “Twilight” updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.

‘Men In Black 3,’ ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ And More: Double Feature Friday!

Posted on by

d7790 Men In Black Three Burials Men In Black 3, Moonrise Kingdom And More: Double Feature Friday!

This week in theaters, Tommy Lee Jones gets a little help from Josh Brolin, letting him do most of the Tommy Lee Jones-ing in “Men In Black 3,” and Wes Anderson unveils his ode to Wes Anderson with “Moonrise Kingdom.” If you’re looking for wonderful cinematic pairings then look no further than Double Feature Friday!

“Men In Black 3″ “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada”
Tommy Lee Jones doesn’t like a lot of things. I doubt he likes making “Men In Black” movies. He probably doesn’t like you very much, but he does like making westerns. TLJ even directed his very own western in 2005 with “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada.” Very much in the vein of a novel by Jones’ favorite writer, Cormac McCarthy, “Three Burials” follows Pete Perkins, a rancher, who must fulfill a promise he made to his former employee Melquiades. When a border patrol agent kills old Mel, Pete kidnaps the agent (played by Barry Pepper) and forces him to come along on his journey to bury his friend in Mexico. The film received some minor praise in 2005 but went largely unseen.

“Moonrise Kingdom” “Breathless”
There are few better examples of a Wes Anderson-esque film than the Wes Anderson-directed “Moonrise Kingdom.” The Texan auteur’s latest film unapologetically wears his signature style on its sleeve, making for probably the clearest example of the look and feel of a Wes Anderson movie. Like many stylists from his era, Anderson’s look comes from a hodge-podge of cinematic influences, the most significant of which is probably the French New Wave of the 1960s. If this is a period you’re unfamiliar with, the best entry point would be Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless,” the era’s best known film. The iconic film features Jean-Paul Belmundo and Jean Seberg as a crook and his lover as they spend a few lazy days together on the run.

“Chernobyl Diaries” “Paranormal Activity”
Each and every ad for the “Chernobyl Diaries” boasts “From Producer of ‘Paranormal Activity‘ Oren Peli.” It’s a credit that has been thrown around often since the filmmaker burst onto the scene with the original demonic found footage film, but “director Oren Peli” is something we do not see anymore. Peli has been working on his “Paranormal” follow-up “Area 51″ for what seems like ages with no release date in sight, so in the meantime, go back and watch “Paranormal Activity,” if you can with the original ending. It’s more tragic than the one suggested by Steven Spielberg and would have stopped the series’ current arc dead in its tracks.

What are you watching this weekend? Let us know in the comments below and on Twitter!

If one movie is never enough for you and you’re looking for a flick to get you in the mood for this week’s new release, Double Feature Friday is here to help. Every week we break down the new releases and pair them with older movies that you should catch before heading out to the theater. Or just skip the new movie and check out the classic we recommend.

Tags , , ,

Five Reasons To See ‘Men In Black 3′

Posted on by

09127 mib3 1 Five Reasons To See Men In Black 3

The “Men in Black” are back with the third installment of their popular franchise. The movie centers on our favorite men in black, Agent K and Agent J, as they trail a one-armed alien named Boris the Animal who escapes from his confined prison on the moon. K shot his arm off back in the sixties and Boris wants his revenge. He travels back in time to 1969 and kills K so that his arm is restored and the world is left unprotected from alien invasion. J must follow Boris to the past to save K’s life and discover the secrets of the universe.

While critics suggest the franchise didn’t need a third film, the three-quel is on par with the first “MIB” movie that sparked audiences’ attention. It keeps its viewers entertained and will delight fans who loved the first flick. Here are our five reasons to see it this weekend.

Will Smith‘s Humor
Agent J is back and he’s as funny as ever. He continually banters back and forth with the present Agent K, skeptically questioning all of K’s moves as they bicker on how to handle situations. He’s the same smooth-talking character that engaged audiences in the first film. From his explanations after erasing bystanders’ memories on the scene of a crime to stealing a car and trying to convince two racist cops that it’s not because of his skin color, he keeps the audience laughing throughout the film.

Josh Brolin‘s Performance
“The Goonies” actor completely nails the role of Agent K. His accent, mannerisms, facial expressions, body language—everything reminds us of Tommy Lee Jones. Smith even told MTV News that Brolin’s performance completely shocked him. “It is really amazing what he’s able to do. And it’s crazy—it’s so amazing that he’s not gonna get credit for it because he just seems like young Tommy Lee Jones.” And Smith is right. Brolin is able to trick us into thinking Agent J really did go back in time and we’re not seeing a different actor on screen, but Jones in his younger years. When one actor can completely embody another, that’s a performance worth noting.

The Aliens
All three “MIB” films star extraterrestrials that were born in the mind of Rick Baker, legendary monster make-up artist. He introduces us to a whole new set of awesome looking aliens in the third movie that make audiences squirm and laugh. The most notable creature causing the former reaction is Boris the Animal. His teeth are jagged and gross (go to the dentist kids!), and the skin around his eyes opens to show what almost looks like fingers holding his goggles in place. His feet and hands have the same function (all the better to hold you with, my dear?), but his hands also have an added bonus. There’s a creepy spider-like creature that shoots pointy nail-like structures into its victims, and would like to know where that lives? Inside Boris’ palm! We cringed—a lot.

The Nostalgia
It’s been 15 years since we were introduced to the secret organization protecting earth from alien life. We can remember why the word “sugar” can still make us laugh and why Jones and Smith are the perfect duo. As the film goes back in time, it’s littered with scenes that recall our memory of K and J in the early stages of becoming partners. The most notable scene is when the younger K refuses to give J the gun he time jumped with, handing him a pistol instead. We are instantly reminded of J’s initial reaction in the first film when K handed him the tiny firearm with big power that threw him across the room with one blast. It’s scenes like that that make this three-quel worth checking out.

An Unexpected Ending
Without giving too much away we can say the ending holds an unexpected twist that ties all three films in the franchise together. It’s shocking and sweet and our eyes might have filled with tears at one point (but if you tell anyone that we’ll deny it).

Are you heading out to see “Men in Black 3″ this holiday weekend? Tell us why in the comments and on Twitter!

Tags , , ,

‘Men In Black’ Star Will Smith’s Energy Needs To Be ‘Harnessed’

Posted on by

No matter what you love most about the “Men in Black” franchise, the most compelling aspect of the sci-fi/action films — despite all their otherworldly and impressive visual effects — is the charm of their star and all-around likable actor Will Smith as Agent J. The former “Fresh Prince” is known for being a ball of excitable, positive energy on set, but according to “Men in Black 3″ director Barry Sonnenfeld, sometimes that energy can get a little dangerous.

“Usually, while I’d be turned here directing Josh Brolin, Will Smith would be punching me in my kidneys,” he told MTV News recently. “In fact, at the end of this movie, I went into the hospital because Will had torn my rotator cuff. On ‘Wild Wild West’ he broke my hand in five places, so Will’s gotta have his energy harnessed a little bit, at least when he’s working with me. I don’t think he ever went around punching Michael Mann [who directed Smith in 2001's 'Ali'], let me just say that.”

We then asked Sonnenfeld if there were any repercussions for Smith with all this on-set abuse.

“I told him that if he didn’t stop hitting me that I would direct ‘Men in Black 4′ and hire his son to play young Agent J,” Sonnenfeld joked. “So maybe that will make him calm down a little bit.”

It should also be known that Smith’s acting skills were a little rusty when he arrived on set to begin work on “MIB 3,” which required some lighthearted finessing from Sonnenfeld and extra practice from Smith.

“On the first day of photography, we filmed Will on a blue-screen stage having to jump down [from the top of the Chrysler building], and what was great about it was that he hadn’t acted in three years and was really bad,” Sonnenfeld recalled of one of his favorite moments during filming. “Luckily, we cut out the bad stuff, but that first take we did after he hadn’t acted in three years, I was sweating because he was no good. After I yelled, ‘Cut!’ Will said, ‘Baz, I can do better! I’m really terrible. I haven’t acted in three years, I’m really rusty!’ And within a day or two, it all worked out fine. But man, it was interesting. You know how they say ‘Once you learn how to ride a bicycle, you never forget?’ Well, Will forgot how to act for the first day or two. Luckily he wasn’t acting with other actors or it would have been really embarrassing.”

Check out everything we’ve got on “Men in Black 3.”

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

‘Men In Black’ Stars Pit Tommy Lee Jones Against Josh Brolin

Posted on by

NEW YORK — Even if the cast and crew of “Men in Black 3″ can’t exactly wrap their heads around time travel, the mind-boggling plot device was well worth executing if only for one reason: the creation of Young Agent K, played by Josh Brolin. The actor delivers a shockingly spot-on turn as a younger version of Tommy Lee Jones’ iconic man in black, to the point that co-star Will Smith was “shocked” at Brolin’s “amazing” work.

Brolin’s incredible performance aside, however, it’s widely believed among the “Men in Black” family that given the right circumstances, Jones’ Agent K would kick the ever-loving slick out of Brolin’s younger version. At the “Men in Black 3″ red carpet in New York earlier this week, MTV News asked Smith, director Barry Sonnenfeld and more to weigh in on the hypothetical battle of the Ks, and the votes were almost unanimously in Jones’ favor.

“At the end of the day I’m going to go with Tommy Lee Jones,” said Sonnenfeld. “You gotta go with the original, and I just would not mess with Tommy. He knows some mean moves.”

Smith agreed: “When Tommy Lee Jones comes up [to you], feel his arm. That’s a cattle man right there. You don’t want to creep up on Tommy Lee Jones.”

But even as the odds-on favorite to win against his younger counterpart, Jones himself wasn’t so sure of who would come out on top. Asked to weigh in on the theoretical clash, Jones was taken aback. “I don’t know. I don’t know how to answer a question like that.”

With Jones unable to endorse his K over his ’60s-era self, the stage was set for a Brolin comeback. Alice Eve was the first to cast her vote in the future “Oldboy” star’s favor.

“Josh Brolin, obviously,” she said. Even when it was pointed out that everyone else had thrown their support behind Jones, Eve remained committed to her pick. “I’m right. Have you met Brolin? Look at him!”

When it came time for Brolin to toss out his two cents on the K-on-K action, we expected him to stump for his version of the straight-laced alien-investigator. To our surprise, he sided with Smith and Sonnenfeld’s opinion.

“Older K for sure,” he grinned. “He’s got the experience, he’s got the moves, and he’s got the look. I’m a dilettante compared to him.”

Which Agent K would win in a fight, Brolin or Jones? Let us know in the comments section below!
Check out everything we’ve got on “Men in Black 3.”

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.