Earlier this week I had the good fortune of talking to Sharlto Copley while he was in London promoting the UK release of The A Team. The South African actor was undoubtedly the breakout star of 2009 due to his leading role in Neill Blomkamp’s Oscar Nominated film District 9. He again thoroughly impresses in The A Team playing Howlin’ Mad Murdock (he’s as mad as a bottle of chips in the film). Check out what he had to say for himself below.

What was it like being asked to play Howlin’ Mad Murdock?

Sharlto Copley: I suppose it was moving in a way. The show was a big part of my childhood, Murdock was a character who particularly had an influence and was an inspiration for me to get into film in the first place. I started making little movies with my friends when I was ten years old, so it was a real honour, you know. I just tried to play a Murdock I would like – because I was such a big fan. I just wanted to do the best with the character I could.

You’ve got some hilarious scenes in the film, were they improvised? It looks like you had a blast, the Braveheart moment was great!

Sharlto Copley: There was a lot of improvisation and that was one of the reasons why I wanted to do the movie. When I spoke to Joe and after I sent him an audition tape that I’d made in my hotel room completely improvising, he made it clear to me he was very comfortable in that world. Bradley and Rampage are amazing improvisers and it really surprised me. I think some of my best moments in the film are with me improvising or with the rest of the cast improvising.

How did you find the accent?

Sharlto Copley: One of the things that always interested me was actors who did different characters, or more so caricatures, guys like Robin Williams, Dwight Schultz and Eddie Murphy. I think I had a fascination with that type of thing at a very early age. Actually because I wasn’t pursuing acting as a career I had slacked off from it, but when I was in school from about the ages of 10 and 19 years old I used to do it regularly, I could probably do 20 or so different caricatures dialects, I had been starting to get back into that so I find that stuff very interesting. I studied speech and drama in school, I’m very interested in phonetics and understanding dialects from a creative point of view and a technical point of view.

Dwight Schultz has a cameo in the movie, what was it like working alongside him?

Sharlto Copley: It was a pretty moving experience for me because I had just come off District 9, I had just started meeting Hollywood people, meeting someone who had been such a part of my childhood was a really moving moment. We actually had lunch and we were really getting along great, so I thought he’s not going to see much of what I’m doing with his character today, so I showed him the test footage I had shot, which was basically me improvising and doing different voices and using props in the hotel. The same audition tape I had sent to Joe. He turned to me and he had tears in his eyes as he gave me a hug and said you are Murdock. Then he posted on his website Murdock is dead, long live Murdock, which for me very moving. He called me after the film and he said how happy he was to see the character come to life again. It meant a lot to me.

So what was on this tape? I’m intrigued now.

Sharlto Copley: It was a couple of scenes that wouldn’t end up in the film. It was just different stuff, lots of different examples and a whole bunch of different scenes. One for example was a range of different characters with some stuff being very close to what the original Murdock was doing. Like he would have hygiene issues when he was in the bathroom, he would get paranoid about being stuck in a bathroom and having to call BA on one of those bathroom phones. He’s having this conversation with BA and BA is being difficult and telling him to call the house-keeper, but he doesn’t want to call the house-keeper. Stuff like talking to a plant and he could hear voices. There was an invisible dog that kept barking at BA and he thought the dog was racist (Laughs). They wouldn’t put that in the movie. BA was playing rap music next door and that was irritating him, so he phones BA as the manager and puts on a voice. Just stuff like that (Laughs).

Check out my Liam Neeson, Rampage Jackson & Director Joe Carnahan Interview For The A Team

Holy hell and sh*t fire, this trailer is grade A badass motherf*ckery!!! If you like no hold barred carnage, this film is most certainly for you, in the trailer Danny Trejo (Machete) uses intestines as a rope……INTESTINES AS A ROPE! I really don’t know what to say, it’s just nuts, it looks like so much fun though. Warning this trailer is very NSFW.

Robert Rodriguez wrote the script and co-directed the movie with his longtime editor Ethan Maniquis. The action/exploitation film follows Danny Trejo as a badass Mexican out to mess with The Man. Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez and Lindsay Lohan co-star. 20th Century Fox is releasing the film on September 3rd in the US and October 29th in the UK.

Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz and director James Mangold were in town last night for the UK premiere of their upcoming flick Knight and Day. You can check out what they had to say for themselves on the red carpet below. Also if you’ve got a thing for hearing hundred‘s of women (and men) shout WE LOVE YOU TOM, this video is a must!  The response to this flick in the states has been pretty mixed, I’m still looking forward to it myself, it looks like it could be good popcorn fun – in an insanely over the top way. I’m an admirer of Director James Mangold as well, he’s made some great films – Walk The Line, 3:10 To Yuma, Girl, Interrupted and Identity. Knight and Day is in UK cinemas the 6th of August.

Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz star in the action-comedy KNIGHT AND DAY. During their glamorous,
globetrotting and sometimes deadly adventure, nothing and no one – even the now fugitive couple – are what they seem. Amid shifting alliances and unexpected betrayals, they race across the world with their survival ultimately hinging on the battle of truth vs. trust. Directed by James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma, Walk the Line, Girl, Interrupted), KNIGHT AND DAY stars Tom Cruise (Mission Impossible franchise, Tropic Thunder, Jerry Maguire) and Cameron Diaz (Charlie’s Angels franchise, There’s Something About Mary,), alongside Peter Sarsgaard (An Education, Orphan), Maggie Grace (TV series ‘Lost’, Taken), Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood, Little Miss Sunshine), Marc Blucas (Meet Dave, First Daughter), Viola Davis (Law Abiding Citizen, State of Play) and Jordi Mollà (Che Part 2, Bad Boys)

This film looks like it will be ten kinds of awesome, it looks so intense! The people behind the film are definitely going for the Hitchcock suspenseful mystery angle with the marketing. Buried is easily one of my most anticipated films of 2010, the buzz from the Sundance Film Festival was glowing and as I’ve stated before I’ve loved the marketing for the film, hopefully it will live up to my great expectations. Buried is set for UK release October 1st 2010, while the US get’s it September 24th 2010.

Paul Conroy is not ready to die. But when he wakes up 6 feet underground with no idea of who put him there or why, life for the truck driver and family man instantly becomes a hellish struggle for survival. Buried with only a cell phone and a lighter, his contact with the outside world and ability to piece together clues that could help him discover his location are maddeningly limited. Poor reception, a rapidly draining battery, and a dwindling oxygen supply become his worst enemies in a tightly confined race against time – fighting panic, despair and delirium, Paul has only 90 minutes to be rescued before his worst nightmare comes true.

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MTV have got their hands on a trio of behind-the-scenes featurettes from the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows films. These two film’s looks so much better than the previous Potter films, I’ve never been the biggest fan of the series but with these two films I’m stoked as a goat!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I will hit cinemas November 19th, while Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II is slated for release July 15, 2011. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Jim Broadbent, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Timothy Spall, David Thewlis, Julie Walters and is directed by David Yates.

Biutiful is the first film from Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu since 2006’s Babel, and I for one am stoked as a goat, the film looks like an emotional journey. Biutiful premiered at Cannes back in May to great acclaim, Javier Bardem won the prestigious Best Actor prize at the festival for his role in the film. With a January 2011 release I’m sure this will generate some Oscar buzz. Check out the trailer and synopsis below.

A man involved in illegal dealing is confronted by his childhood friend, who is now a policeman. At the heart of Biutiful is the intimate, powerful story of Uxbal, a man who finds himself desperately alone, trying to maintain his balance between survival in a marginal neighborhood and safeguarding the future of his young children who are floating aimlessly through life.

Source: Empire

Yahoo have debuted a great new clip from Angelina Jolie’s Salt. Salt looks set to be one of those head scratching, who, what, where, why and when spy thrillers. From the looks of this clip and the trailers it reminds me of the Bourne movies, but with lipstick and a skirt – which can only be a good thing!

Angelina Jolie stars in Columbia Pictures’ Salt, a contemporary espionage thriller. Before becoming a CIA officer, Evelyn Salt (Jolie) swore an oath to duty, honor, and country. She will prove loyal to these when a defector accuses her of being a Russian sleeper spy. Salt goes on the run, using all her skills and years of experience as a covert operative to elude capture, protect her husband, and stay one step ahead of her colleagues at the CIA. Salt comes to theaters July 23rd, 2010 and stars Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Zoe Lister Jones, Yara Shahidi, Gaius Charles, Victor Slezak, Daniel Olbrychski. The film is directed by Phillip Noyce.

By the blood of a whore this looks dark, bizarre, charming and utterly fantastic! Get Low has received a number of glowing reviews from the film festival circuit, and from this trailer I can certainly see why. The cast is exceptional, I’m a huge fan of both Bill Murray and Robert Duvall in particular, Duvall looks like he gives a powerhouse performance in this. If you could have a sneak peak at my my most anticipated films list, you would see this sitting pretty right at the top, I fully expect this to be stunning.

For years, townsfolk have been terrified of the backwoods recluse known as Felix Bush. People say he’s done all manner of unspeakable things — that he’s killed in cold blood; that he’s in league with the Devil; that he has strange powers — and they avoid him like the plague. Then, one day, Felix rides to town with a shotgun and a wad of cash, saying he wants to buy a funeral. It’s not your usual funeral for the dead Felix wants. On the contrary, he wants a ‘living funeral,’ in which anyone who ever had heard a story about him will come to tell it, while he takes it all in. Sensing a big payday in the offing, fast-talking funeral home owner Frank Quinn enlists his gentlemanly young apprentice, Buddy Robinson to win over Felix’s business. Buddy is no stranger to Felix’s dark reputation, but what he discovers is that behind Felix’s surreal plan lies a very real and long-held secret that must get out. As the funeral approaches, the mystery – which involves the widow Maddie Darrow, the only person in town who ever got close to Felix, and the Illinois preacher Charlie Jackson who refuses to speak at his former friend’s funeral – only deepens. But on the big day, Felix is in no mood to listen to other people spinning made-up anecdotes about him. This time, he’s the one who is going to do the telling about why he has been hiding out in the woods. Get Low stars Bill Murray, Robert Duvall, Lucas Black, Gerald McRaney, Sissy Spacek, Bill Cobbs, Andrea Powell, Lori Beth Edgeman and is directed by Aaron Schneider. Get Low is released in the US 30th July. No UK release date yet.

 I didn’t realise this film was coming out so soon (October 22nd in the US), that does scream quick cash in, but I have to say this teaser is pretty creepy. I actually enjoyed Paranormal Activity, people were sh*tting bricks in the press screening, the lady sitting next to me was in hysterics. I hope this isn’t full of cheap thrills, the last one built the tension up brilliantly. Also poor dog……………………….and baby.

Warner Bros have finally liberated the first trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. To be honest I’m not the biggest Harry Potter fan, yet even I have to admit this trailer is two and a half minutes of pure awesomeness! Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I will hit cinemas November 19th, while Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II is slated for release July 15, 2011. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Jim Broadbent, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Timothy Spall, David Thewlis, Julie Walters and is directed by David Yates. Check out http://www.facebook.com/HarryPotterUK for more details.