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Elizabethtown (2005) More at IMDbPro »

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14 Facts about Paula Deen

24 September 2009 10:45 AM, PDT | Momlogic | See recent Momlogic news »

Pull up a chair and dig into these facts and trivia about everyone's favorite southern belle, Paula Deen.

14 Facts about Paula Deen1

In 1989, Paula, recently divorced with two young children and living in Savannah with only $200 to her name, launched a small catering company called The Bag Lady, for which she prepared sandwiches that she and her sons went out and sold.

Paula, a self-professed "late bloomer," didn't get the idea to be a professional cook until she was 42 years old.

Paula often cooks with what she calls one of her favorite ingredients: butter.

Both Paula's parents died by the time she was 23. She says their deaths led to a fear of death, and eventually brought on her battle with chronic agoraphobia. Her fear of leaving the house became even more intense when she was held up at gunpoint when she was a bank teller. Eventually she was able to overcome her illness without therapy. »

See full article at newser.com »

Awol: Orlando Bloom's Career

18 September 2009 8:40 AM, PDT | newser.com | See recent newser news »

He “has a record six movies that have grossed $300 million+ in the Us,” has worked with hugely successful directors, and was once “a big-league heartthrob whose poster adorned the walls of many a teenage girl,” writes Scott Mendelson for the Huffington Post. So why is Orlando Bloom “nowhere to be seen in today’s filmmaking landscape?” Blame it on his daring to “put the movie first and stardom second.” The big problems: “Taking major roles in films that looked great on paper but ultimately floundered through no fault of his”—see Elizabethtown and Kingdom of Heaven —and “being critically torn... »

See full article at Movieline »

Meet 2009's 'Manic Pixie Dream Girl': The 'Sphinx Minx'

16 September 2009 1:15 PM, PDT | Movieline | See recent Movieline news »

For a while there (think Kirsten Dunst in Elizabethtown and Natalie Portman in Garden State), cinematic love interests seemed to come in only one, ostentatiously quirky variety: the "Manic Pixie Dream Girl." As writer Nathan Rabin explained after coining the term: "The Manic Pixie Dream Girl exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures."

This year, though, the Manic Pixie Dream Girl has been replaced by the very "infinite mystery" she once helped our heroes find. Meet 2009's unknowable-but-irresistible variation on the formula: the "Sphinx Minx." »

See full article at ifc.com »

Toronto 2009: "Up in the Air" Flies High

12 September 2009 8:23 AM, PDT | ifc.com | See recent IFC news »

Four years ago, a friend of mine came home from Toronto disappointed by the premiere of "Elizabethtown," Cameron Crowe's ill-fated, deeply personal story of a man coming home to bury his father. The director of "Almost Famous" and "Jerry Maguire," Crowe was a true heir to Hal Ashby when it came to making melancholy and emotionally moving mainstream entertainments, yet when his cut of "Elizabethtown" (that was ultimately trimmed down in running time) failed to win over audiences here, it was hard to imagine when someone would attempt tp do so again.

"Up in the Air" will be easy to overpraise -- it touches on larger themes of mass unemployment, cultural alienation and technology as a crutch. But ultimately, it's really an expertly done character study that's a dramatic change of pace from director Jason Reitman's previous two films, "Thank You for Smoking" and "Juno," comedies that led »

- Stephen Saito

tMF Talkback: Anatomy of a Good Actor - The 'case' between Orlando Bloom, Ben Barnes and Johnny Depp

4 September 2009 8:01 AM, PDT | The Movie Fanatic | See recent The Movie Fanatic news »

What constitute good acting? What makes a good actor? Are there certain steps one must follow in order to become an actor or is it a gift or a natural talent and requires no formal training? These are the questions we'll try to answer - and before we begin, let me just say, I have been patiently waiting for an 'opportunity' like this, and I would like to thank one tMF viewer for the vigorous and insightful comments on 'good acting' and the case between Ben Barnes, Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp.

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Backgrounder: There is an upcoming movie based on Oscar Wilde's book entitled Dorian Gray starring Ben Barnes. In order to relate this particular article elsewhere in the blogosphere, I refer to a cinematical post about the new movie, and in reaction to cinematical's comment that Ben Barnes might be the next Orlando Bloom. »

tMF Talkback: Anatomy of a Good Actor - The 'case' between Orlando Bloom, Ben Barnes and Johnny Depp

4 September 2009 8:01 AM, PDT | The Movie Fanatic | See recent The Movie Fanatic news »

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tMF Talkback: Anatomy of a Good Actor - The 'case' between Orlando Bloom, Ben Barnes and Johnny Depp

4 September 2009 8:01 AM, PDT | The Movie Fanatic | See recent The Movie Fanatic news »

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See full article at EmpireOnline »

Judy Greer In Love & Other Drugs

21 August 2009 12:40 AM, PDT | EmpireOnline | See recent EmpireOnline news »

Judy Greer has joined the cast of Ed Zwick's Love and Other Drugs, according to Variety.Greer's biggest recent appearance was in 27 Dresses alongside Katherine Heigl, but she's also turned in sterling work in indies like Elizabethtown and In Memory of My Father.In Zwick's adaptation of Jamie Reidy's drug-industry kiss-and-tell Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman, she'll apparently be playing "a pharmaceutical company trainee instructor". She joins Jake Gyllenhall as the protagonist pharma-rep, Josh Gad as his irritating brother, and Anne Hathaway as a Parkinson's Disease sufferer who leads Jake to question his career.Filming starts next month. »

Cinematical Seven: Navel-Gazing Comedies

4 August 2009 7:02 PM, PDT | Cinematical | See recent Cinematical news »

Sometimes navel gazing is a good thing, if an artist looks truly and honestly inside him or herself for material. If they're truly gifted, and can tap into something universal or human, the result can be a masterwork. But if the artist finds himself too far removed from everyday life, or if their visions and ideas are too close to home to find a logical shape, the result can be something of a mess. Navel-gazing dramas are a dime a dozen, but it takes a special talent to try it with comedy. Judd Apatow's Funny People was the #1 movie in a very slow week, which shows that audiences were probably about as fond of it as critics were. I would bet the main complaint across the board was the same: it's too long. Either way, there's usually something interesting about these projects.

1. Elizabethtown (2005)

Though Apatow is catching up, Cameron Crowe »

- Jeffrey M. Anderson

See full article at Rope of Silicon »

134 New Names Invited to Join the Academy

1 July 2009 1:08 AM, PDT | Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news »

Yesterday came the yearly announcement from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as it extended 134 invitations to several artists and executives "who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures" read the press release. Of course all of them can decline, but I wouldn't necessarily expect that to happen as all who accept the invitation will be the only additions in 2009 to the Academy's roster of voting members. "These filmmakers have, over the course of their careers, captured the imagination of audiences around the world," said Academy President Sid Ganis. "It's this kind of talent and creativity that make up the Academy, and I welcome each of them to our ranks." The list follows below and reading around the best analysis I saw of it came from Nathaniel Rogers at The Film Experience who, among other things, pointed out the addition of longtime Darren Aronofsky's »

- Brad Brevet

Scenes We Love: Pearl Jam and Cameron Crowe

16 April 2009 1:15 PM, PDT | Cinematical | See recent Cinematical news »

The realm of music documentaries is about to get a little grungy. Billboard reports that Pearl Jam is itching to get a documentary made about themselves, and they want old friend Cameron Crowe to do it: "We're building up to our big 20th anniversary," McCready said. "We're trying to have a little campaign of building rereleases with new mixes and new outtakes up until that time. We're trying to do a movie with Cameron Crowe with all of our existing footage."

In other words, a sort of reunion movie with the man who gave us Singles all the way back in 1992. As you might remember, the members of Pearl Jam acted as the rest of Matt Dillon's "Citizen Dick" band, which leads me to this Scenes We Love clip -- Dillon's Cliff all eager to hear only the good things in a review of their band, which results in »

- Monika Bartyzel

Discuss: When Movie Music Becomes Distracting

11 March 2009 10:32 AM, PDT | Cinematical | See recent Cinematical news »

This just in: Zack Snyder's use of Leonard Cohen's Hallejuah made moviegoers around the world forget they were watching Dan and Laurie get it on. I don't know where their minds were yanked to, but everyone found it distracting.

I was one of the few who didn't. In fact, I would say John Cale's version in Shrek was more distracting, considering the sexual themes of the song and the movie it was playing in. Then again, Shrek was full of adult moments, and Hallejuah was probably just another thing for the parents to enjoy.

But as always, we like to take such mildly combative subjects and put them up for discussion here. Surely there's a ton of moments in movie music history that yanked you right out of the film and left you giggling, wincing, or rolling your eyes.

On the goofy end of the scale, I would offer Top Gun, »

- Elisabeth Rappe

Discuss: The Manic Pixie Dream Girl - Love Her or Hate Her?

12 February 2009 9:02 AM, PST | Cinematical | See recent Cinematical news »

So we've all heard of the Hooker with a Heart of Gold, right? Well step aside Ms. Thang, because there's a new clichéd sheriff in town, and this time she's equal parts cute, cuddly and quirky. Before I get started, I just want to make sure you know I think Natalie Portman, Kirsten Dunst, and Penelope Cruz are wonderfully talented actresses. Unfortunately, I also happen to think these gals have perpetuated one of the most cloying and sickeningly adorable characters to ever grace the screen: The Manic Pixie Dream Girl (it's a mouthful, but bear with me...).

Maybe the easiest way to define an Mpdg is to leave it to the originator of the term, Nathan Rabin, who first used it when reviewing Elizabethtown. According to Rabin, the Mpg is "that bubbly, shallow, cinematic creature that exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young »

- Jessica Barnes