Interviews
Nicolas Cage & Idris Elba Interview For ‘Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance’
Aug 3rd
It has been several years since making a deal with the Devil and Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage), living in self-imposed isolation, finds himself as the only person who can help save 10-year-old Danny – and ultimately the world – thanks to his unwanted and uncontrollable power – his ability to transform into the hell-on-wheels monster known as The Ghost Rider. Directed by Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine (Crank, Gamer), the action flick ‘Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance’ opens February 17th, 2012. The film stars Nicolas Cage, Idris Elba, Johnny Whitworth, Ciarán Hinds, and Violante Placido. Check out what Cage and Elba had to say about the film below.
What new things were you able to add to Ghost Rider this time?
Nicolas Cage: An interesting story is that, when I was trying to think with Brian Taylor and with Mark Neveldine about how the Ghost Rider would move, because they both really wanted me to play Ghost Rider in this, I was thinking about trying to find something really weird, which would be like levitating in circles. We called it “the compass” together, to mess with how he would attack his enemies. And then, I looked up in the dictionary, and the word weird literally means ‘to turn around,’ so I thought that was an interesting thing. But it was like trying to design a body language from another dimension. We worked in a room together and looked at different animals – like cobras and insects, and tried to find ways of moving that would hopefully scare you and entertain you.
James Franco Interview For ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’
Aug 2nd
‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ combines fantastic storytelling with the next leap in Visual Effects for an emotional and action-packed motion picture experience unlike any other. Man’s arrogance sets off a chain of events that leads to intelligence in apes and a challenge to our place as the dominant species on the planet. Caesar, the first intelligent ape, is betrayed by humans and rises up to lead his species’ spectacular race to freedom and the ultimate showdown with Man. In Caesar, WETA – the Oscar-winning visual effects team behind Avatar – have created a CGI ape that delivers a dramatic performance of unprecedented emotion and intelligence.
Directed by Rupert Wyatt, ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ arrives in cinemas August 5th in the US and August 11th in the UK. The film stars the likes of James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Tom Felton, Tyler Labine, David Oyelowo, Brian Cox and Andy Serkis. Check out what James Franco had to say about the film below.
Can you tell us a little bit about your character and the ethical dilemmas he faces in the film?
James Franco: My character is a man named Will Rodman, he’s a scientist who’s looking for a cure to Alzheimer’s. He’s very set on finding this cure – partly because he has a personal stake in this discovery, because his father has Alzheimer’s. Ethically he does some questionable things. He brings his work home. Because he is emotionally wrapped up in this search for a cure he does a couple things that are a little rash. I guess it goes back to the old rule that a surgeon shouldn’t operate on a family member because you are emotionally wrapped up in the out come. My character Will does get wrapped up emotionally with his Fathers recovery so he does a couple ethically questionable things.
Ryan Reynolds Interview For ‘The Change-Up’
Aug 2nd
Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman star in ‘The Change-Up,’ from director David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers), writers Jon Lucas & Scott Moore (The Hangover) and producer Neal Moritz (Fast & Furious, Click). The R-rated comedy takes the traditional body-switching movie, ties it up tightly and throws it off a cliff. Growing up together, Mitch (Reynolds) and Dave (Bateman) were inseparable best friends, but as the years have passed they’ve slowly drifted apart. While Dave is an overworked lawyer, husband and father of three, Mitch has remained a single, quasi-employed man-child who has never met a responsibility he liked. To Mitch, Dave has it all: beautiful wife Jamie (Leslie Mann), kids who adore him and a high-paying job at a prestigious law firm. To Dave, living Mitch’s stress free life without obligation or consequence would be a dream come true. Following a drunken night out together, Mitch and Dave’s worlds are turned upside down when they wake up in each other’s bodies and proceed to freak the &*#@ out.
Despite the freedom from their normal routines and habits, the guys soon discover that each other’s lives are nowhere near as rosy as they once seemed. Further complicating matters are Dave’s sexy legal associate, Sabrina (Olivia Wilde), and Mitch’s estranged father (Alan Arkin). With time not on their side, Mitch and Dave comically struggle to avoid completely destroying each other’s lives before they can find a way to get their old ones back. ‘The Change-Up’ hits US cinemas August 5th, it’s set for release in the UK September 16th. Check out what Ryan Reynolds had to say about the film below.
Can you tell us a little bit about the story and Mitch and Dave‘s dynamic?
Ryan Reynolds: They go out and have a beer, they both really see how green the grass is on the other side of the fence. They both look at each others lives and covet them, in some way, more Dave with Mitch. Dave is a guy married with kids, he’s just work, work, work. He’s been busy straight out of High School. I think he sees Mitch’s life as a perpetual vacation, something he really desires. It’s a life filled with women and free time, indulgence, it’s something he really wants. So these guys get together, they probably drink a little bit too much and come up with the worst wish ever. It’s just said as a joke, none of these guys want to switch bodies – but I think that’s the beauty of it, it’s all in the execution, it’s done in such an interesting way that you really see how polarizing these two guys are. You really see how damaging it would be if one was in the others life for even a short period of time.
Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard & Damon Lindelof Interview For ‘Cowboys & Aliens’
Aug 1st
1875. New Mexico Territory. A stranger (Daniel Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford). It’s a town that lives in fear. But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known. Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he’s been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveller Ella (Olivia Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents – townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors – all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival. ‘Cowboys & Aliens’ is out now in the US, and August 17th in the UK. Check out Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard and Damon Lindelof had to say about the film, the three were on-board as with producers, with Lindelof also apart of the screenwriting team.
As directors yourselves, what are your thoughts on Jon Favreau and how he approaches filmmaking?
Steven Spielberg: I think what grounds Jon is that he comes at everything based on behavioural approaches. How would these characters behave, how could I make this more authentic? The more the genre imposes the limitations on the filmmaker, Jon is certainly able to take those limitations and turn them into tremendous advantages – based on his complete knowledge of acting, directing actors, writing great parts for himself (laughs). Jon is really like those old fashioned directors who came out of old Hollywood, he really understands theatre, understands drama, understands comedy, and then he combines them in an eclectic way. So every time he makes a movie you have to say, “Wait a second! Is that the same Jon Favreau who directed that film?”
Andrew Garfield & Emma Stone Interview For ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’
Jul 31st
Based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, the highly anticipated 3D action-adventure, ‘The Amazing Spider-Man,’ will be swinging onto the big screen July 3rd 2012. The film stars Andrew Garfield ( Peter Parker/Spider-Man), Emma Stone (Gwen Stacy), Rhys Ifans (Dr. Curt Conners/The Lizard), Denis Leary (George Stacy), Campbell Scott (Richard Parker), Irrfan Khan (Nels Van Adder/Proto-Goblin), Martin Sheen (Ben Parker) and Sally Field (May Parker). ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ is directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves. Check out what Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone had to say about the film below.
How long did you know you had this role before it was announced to the public?
Andrew Garfield: I think it was about 30 minutes (laughs). They organized a pretty terrifying ruse. I was in Cancun at the Sony press junket for ‘The Social Network,’ I was waiting to hear about whether or not I would be able to fulfill a childhood dream, which wasn’t annoying at all – to be waiting for that knowledge. I was surrounded by people who probably knew, and I was reading every single eyebrow twitch or lip curl that might have given away whether or not I had gotten the role, and everyone was being incredibly poker-faced. At the end of a press day of talking about ‘The Social Network,’ Amy Pascal’s assistant came and got me from the room I was in. He was stone-faced and said, “Amy wants to have a quick word with you up in her suite.” I was like, ‘Oh…okay, fine, she’s going to let me down easy. That’s really sweet of her. She’s going to tell me personally that I didn’t get the role. That’s incredibly lovely.”
Olivia Wilde Interview For ‘The Change-Up’
Jul 29th
Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman star in ‘The Change-Up,’ from director David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers), writers Jon Lucas & Scott Moore (The Hangover) and producer Neal Moritz (Fast & Furious, Click). The R-rated comedy takes the traditional body-switching movie, ties it up tightly and throws it off a cliff. Growing up together, Mitch (Reynolds) and Dave (Bateman) were inseparable best friends, but as the years have passed they’ve slowly drifted apart. While Dave is an overworked lawyer, husband and father of three, Mitch has remained a single, quasi-employed man-child who has never met a responsibility he liked. To Mitch, Dave has it all: beautiful wife Jamie (Leslie Mann), kids who adore him and a high-paying job at a prestigious law firm. To Dave, living Mitch’s stress free life without obligation or consequence would be a dream come true. Following a drunken night out together, Mitch and Dave’s worlds are turned upside down when they wake up in each other’s bodies and proceed to freak the &*#@ out.
Despite the freedom from their normal routines and habits, the guys soon discover that each other’s lives are nowhere near as rosy as they once seemed. Further complicating matters are Dave’s sexy legal associate, Sabrina (Olivia Wilde), and Mitch’s estranged father (Alan Arkin). With time not on their side, Mitch and Dave comically struggle to avoid completely destroying each other’s lives before they can find a way to get their old ones back. ‘The Change-Up’ hits US cinemas August 5th, it’s set for release in the UK September 16th. Check out what Olivia Wilde had to say about the film below.
Can you tell us a little bit about her character and how she links within the story?
Olivia Wilde: Sure, Sabrina is an associate at the law firm where Dave Lockwood works – Jason Bateman, also played by Ryan Reynolds. She’s been there six months, she’s kind of a new associate, a new employee, working closely with Dave. She’s a really ambitious lawyer, very smart but also kind of wild in her own time. She has a little bit of a crush on Dave. This is where it all happens, he notices her but she’s sort of the forbidden fruit, until he switches bodies.