hollywood

The Army Finds Your Movie Lacking In Nuance

Hamilton Nolan · 07/07/08 12:44PM

Movies about war: even more important than war itself! The Army has never been able to quite get this whole Iraq business to go well, but it's damn sure not going to sit back and allow moviemakers to make their films about this Iraq business without the extensive input and assistance of the US Army. They've always used their leverage-cooperation in filming-to try to influence movie scripts. But they're having a darned hard time with this most recent crop of war movies, which seem to present the Iraq war as big problem. The military's problem with films like In The Valley Of Elah or Redacted? They're just not nuanced enough, you see:

Before Harvey's Greed, Resentment

Hamilton Nolan · 07/02/08 01:14PM

Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has always resented the fact that peers made more money than him with what he deemed to be inferior films. These days, he's obviously overcome this problem by milking reality shows for millions to prop up his more artsy products; but he couldn't always be so sanguine. Here we have a priceless and EXCLUSIVE classic from the archives: a recording of a phone call between Weinstein and Disney exec Joe Roth, taped shortly after Michael Ovitz-a spectacular failure as head of Disney-was paid more than $100 million to leave the company in 1996. Weinstein is galled beyond belief (and perhaps a bit envious). "Let's quit today!" he jokes. Why, he works his ass off and what does he get? A fucking lecture. "Joe, you're a success, so therefore you're a failure in this business," Weinstein complains. Then he insults his fellow moguls: "Between Peter Guber and Mike Ovitz and everybody who fucked up...Everybody got wealthy on failure." Weinstein just cares too much about the films, you see; "We have character flaws that must be overcome," he sighs. Thanks to Project Runway, he's done so. Click to listen to the titan of Hollywood in all his expletive-spitting glory.

Way Smart Ex-PR Guru To Make Crazy Movie Version Of Crazy Documentary

Hamilton Nolan · 06/27/08 09:22AM

Dan Klores is the smartest man in PR. That's because he's not in PR any more. He founded his eponymous agency, which made (and still makes) him a ton of money, and then decided, "You know what? Fuck this shit. I'm gonna make movies." Now he spends all his time making (actually good!) documentaries and hosting soirees for various power brokers, without ever having to deal with the actual PR industry much. And he's about to move further up the entertainment industry food chain, because HBO has signed him to direct a movie version of his Believe-it-or-not psycho documentary Crazy Love. This, I will watch.

A Brief Field Guide To Raffaello Follieri, Dumped Swindler

Hamilton Nolan · 06/17/08 12:00PM

Just last week we asked when button-cute actress Anne Hathaway would break up with her troublesome, scandal-plagued boyfriend of four years, Raffaello Follieri. She's reportedly "devastated," about it but hey, about time. He was a pretty sleazy character. After the jump, a field guide to the dumped Italian playboy:

'Crying Men' by Sam Taylor-Wood

ian spiegelman · 06/15/08 02:16PM

"'Crying Men' is a collection of photographic portraits of famous film actors by Sam Taylor-Wood showing what it looks like when Hollywwod men cry. Taylor-Wood explains, 'Some of the men cried before I even finished loading the camera, but others found it really difficult. People can decide for themselves which they think are the authentic tears and which they think are fake. It's about the idea of taking these big, masculine men and showing a different side.'" More after the jump.

Tom Cruise Will Pay To Be On Your Blog

Hamilton Nolan · 06/12/08 02:30PM

It's not like Tom Cruise can just sit back relaxing, sipping secret anti-aging formula and reading L. Ron Hubbard books and waiting for the world to stumble onto his awesome new website. So he's out there working with Google AdSense to direct your attention to his important site, chock-full of Tom Cruise-approved Tom Cruise information! Click to enlarge this screengrab of the wacky star's internet marketing plan in action.

Is Harvey Weinstein On The Ropes?

Nick Denton · 06/11/08 12:28PM

The Weinstein brothers' strip-mining of Project Runway-the powerhouse fashion contest they own-is in keeping with the guiding principle they've stuck with since their heyday at Miramax. Harvey's critical successes were funded by profits from his brother's B-movies; and now the irascible film producer is milking reality television for the same purpose. Fine-except the Weinsteins' demands for payment from Marie Claire for the privilege of association with Project Runway (which we reported yesterday) are extreme even for them. And their motives may have less to do with greed and more with desperation. Hollywood insiders speculate the brothers' $1bn launch financing isn't as much of a buffer as it seems: the investment bank and other investors may pull some of the funds at the end of the year.

Paul Newman's Illness

Nick Denton · 06/10/08 08:54AM

Even for a supermarket tabloid, The Globe has a reputation for inaccuracy. But that doesn't mean every item in the gossip rag is wrong. In news that other shinier papers won't touch-like depressing celebrity decrepitude-The Globe has carved out something of a niche. Its story about actor Paul Newman's lung cancer has spread to the UK's Daily Star and now one of the Los Angeles Times blogs-not that replication of a lightly sourced item represents conclusive proof. [Defamer]

Mike Sitrick, Ninja Master Of The Dark Art Of Spin

Hamilton Nolan · 06/09/08 01:13PM

A lawyer named Jeremy Pitcock got fired last year, and his firm put a fine point on his dismissal: they issued a press release attributing his firing to "extremely inappropriate personal conduct." That's, uh, not considered a good thing to have on your resume in the legal world. Turns out that the law firm crafted the release with the help of Sitrick & Co., the super high-powered PR firm run by shadowy, high-priced crisis guru Mike Sitrick. Now Pitcock is suing Sitrick and his old firm for $90 million, charging them with ruining his reputation over what he says was simply a misguided and consensual kiss after a drunken night at a bar. The bigger question is, doesn't Sitrick have more important things to do than get embroiled in a petty sexual harassment dismissal? Answer: not really!

Martin Bashir—Like Many—Will Work Through The Cancer

Hamilton Nolan · 06/09/08 11:07AM

Martin Bashir, the current Nightline broadcaster, just announced that he has a "potentially life-threatening" brain tumor. Bashir, who made his name with big, probing, salacious TV interviews of Princess Diana and Michael Jackson, said that he plans to "get on with his life" and continue working. In that, he is hardly unique; among many cancer victims, the urge to continue with one's career is a powerful one. And that goes double for those in entertainment and the media, where many personalities are so intimately tied to a very public line of work.

Liev Schreiber Can't Save Iraqi Kid from Jerkdom

Hamilton Nolan · 06/05/08 04:26PM

A new documentary opening this week called Operation Filmmaker explores the question: Why won't these ungrateful Iraqis be nice? The film centers on Muthana Mohmed, a young Iraqi man rescued from his war-torn country by stolid actor Liev Schreiber, who wants to help the kid break into the movie business. But despite the do-gooding of billions of watts worth of Hollywood stardom, Mohmed turns out to have some personal problems. Apparently he's a bit of jerk sometimes, which makes him like most young people, but also makes him an "essential study in intercultural communication and the ways it can go very wrong." The lesson: Hollywood liberals are to blame for Iraq's problems. Or something! Watch the trailer, after the jump:

Gay Hip Hop Author X'poses Himself In Film

Hamilton Nolan · 06/04/08 03:36PM

Didn't get enough gay hip hop blind items in the new Terrance Dean tell-all book Hiding In Hip Hop? It's your lucky day, because there's a follow-up documentary on the way! The entertainment industry vet and former down-low brother Dean tells us the entire film—catchily named "X'pos'D" —will be going up on YouTube soon, and that the LOGO network has "expressed interest" in it. It will explore "why the black community is afraid to address the taboo of homosexuality." Maybe because they'll be X'pos'D! The trailer, featuring a veritable library of gay slurs, is below.

Seth Rogen's Fake Weed Stunt: Fake, Sort Of!

Hamilton Nolan · 06/03/08 11:03AM

The question that has kept an anxious nation on tenterhooks for the last two days—"Did stoner movie star Seth Rogen light up a real spliff on stage at the MTV Movie Awards last weekend?"—has finally been resolved. According to the AP, the stunt was a big fake; but they also say that Rogen and Pineapple Express costar James Franco weren't supposed to do it at all! Is anyone here telling the truth? Such a web of deception!

The Top Five Celebrity Cocaine Mistakes

Hamilton Nolan · 06/02/08 11:27AM

If you're famous, and you want to do cocaine (or smoke crack), our best advice is: don't do it, because you're a role model. Ha ha. But seriously, hopeless crackhead celebrities; if you're going to do it at least don't be an idiot. Coke is hardly even frowned upon in Hollywood, but getting busted while acting like a maniac can seriously impair your image and earning ability in middle America. So learn from your more unfortunate peers' mistakes; after the jump, five cases of cocaine-fuelled idiocy, and how not to reproduce them.

Tatum O'Neal: Surprisingly Bad At Buying Drugs

Hamilton Nolan · 06/02/08 09:20AM

Tatum O'Neal, the child actress who won an Oscar at age 10 and then got heavily into drugs, booze, and self-destruction, was arrested last night for trying to buy coke not far from her Lower East Side apartment. Her situation is sad—she's struggled with serious addiction for a long time, but has reportedly been clean for two years. The second thing to be said, though, is: A veteran wealthy druggie was "spotted handing money to a street dealer," seriously? That method is far too gauche for the sophisticated cokehead.

Hollywood's New China Rule

Hamilton Nolan · 05/29/08 09:24AM

Sharon Stone has finally apologized for her "inappropriate" comment that the recent massive Chinese earthquake was a product of "bad karma" for the country for its treatment on Tibet. She's sorry, okay! Nevertheless, fashion house Christian Dior announced that it's pulling all of its ads featuring the actress from all department stores, and the entire country of China. Though the comment itself was stupid, Stone's hasty retreat from her brash Tibet-championing—and Dior's even harsher public rebuke of her—are a great illustration of what is becoming the New China Rule: "Do Not Talk About The New China Rule." It's been de rigeur for top stars to prove their class by endorsing luxury brands, and to prove their morality by pontificating about Tibet. But guess what: pretty soon you're going to have to pick one or the other, Hollywood. And it's not looking good for the Dalai Lama.

Josh Hartnett stars as dot-com entrepreneur in "August"

Jackson West · 05/27/08 05:20PM

Hollywood's taking a stab at bringing sexy back to the world of the Valley in August, which posits Tom Sterling (Josh Hartnett) and brother Joshua (Adam Scott) as founders trying to keep their fictional Silicon Alley startup Razorfish Landshark afloat amidst 2001's dot-bomb. Androgynous rock legend David Bowie even has a cameo as an investor trying to wrest control of the company from the founders. Never have term sheets and board meetings been so exciting! More surprising? Andre Royo, best known for his gritty portrayal of the junkie with a heart of gold Bubbles on HBO's The Wire has a supporting role. And that, more than than the action-packed, fast-paced trailer, actually makes me want to see it.

You Can't Afford To Go To The Movies. Thanks, Ethanol!

Hamilton Nolan · 05/19/08 09:53AM

Going to the movies is already way too expensive. In Manhattan, two tickets, a large popcorn, and a drink will run you more than $30. And since most movies suck, it's a hefty gamble. But "the price of movie tickets is expected to skyrocket by as much as 30% this year." What? Shouldn't competition from the internet and Netflix be driving the price of tickets down? How the hell can this happen? Besides the fact that Adam Sandler ain't getting any cheaper, this cinematic economic time bomb all comes down to one thing: precious, precious corn.

Hills Pretty Boy Is One Expensive Bouncer

Hamilton Nolan · 05/14/08 12:15PM

Don't expect to roll mobb deep to the club with Hills star Spencer Pratt unless you're ready to spread around some serious cash, my friend. In his closely-read advice column in Radar this week, the boy wonder responds to a needy fan—whom we envision wearing a tight shirt and a year-round tan—who's in anguish over only being able to hit the town with five of his boys at a time. "You can't roll in anywhere with more than five guys holding your hand," he explains. How can he satisfy all of his other homeboys who want to hold his hand in the club? Spencer says: Money money money money, monnneeeeyyyyyyy: