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Dominic Cooper on 'The Devil's Double,' Playing Iron Man's Dad and Being the Next Vampire Heartthrob

By Jason Guerrasio (Subscribe to Jason Guerrasio's posts), Posted Jul 27th 2011 7:00PM
Filed under: Celebrity Interviews, Summer Movies, New Releases

It's hard to imagine someone in Iraq during the early '90s more evil than Saddam Hussein, but there was... his eldest son Uday. His psychotic antics and hard partying ways became legendary in the Middle East during the lead up to the Gulf War making him not as powerful as his father, but certainly more feared. Then with war with the U.S. on the horizon, Uday did something his father was legendary for, he brought on a "fiday" or body double. The lucky one chosen? His old schoolmate, Latif Yahia.

In a tour-de-force performance that many are calling Tony Montana in the Middle East, Dominic Cooper plays both Uday Hussein and Latif Yahia in Lee Tamahori's 'The Devil's Double.' Loosely based on Yahia's book of the same title, the film recounts Latif's entrance into the Hussein regime and witnessing Uday's insanity that included trolling the streets looking for underage girls and ripping out the intestines of one Saddam aid who teased him.

Moviefone sat down with Cooper to talk about his transformation from British heartthrob to Middle Eastern madman (which included him donning false teeth and speaking in a high pitch voice), the magic done in post production to seamlessly place him as Uday and Latif in the same shots and his more glamorous roles as Howard Stark in 'Captain America' and vampire Henry Sturges in the much buzzed about adaptation of 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.'
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'Beginners' Director Mike Mills Talks About Taking on the Summer Blockbusters

By Jason Guerrasio (Subscribe to Jason Guerrasio's posts), Posted Jun 3rd 2011 3:15PM
Filed under: Celebrity Interviews, Summer Movies, New Releases

Six years after his entertaining and intimate debut feature 'Thumbsucker' hit theaters, graphic designer-artist-filmmaker Mike Mills returns with 'Beginners,' a personal exploration of his relationship with his father and the people who've touched his life.

Set in 2003, the film stars Ewan McGregor as Oliver, a graphic designer recounting the final years with his father Hal (Christopher Plummer), who at 75 reveals he's gay and has been diagnosed with cancer. Left with more questions than answers after his death, Oliver, with his father's adorable Jack Russell terrier in tow, meanders through life until meeting French actress Anna ('Inglourious Basterd''s Mélanie Laurent). Beginning a relationship with her, Oliver thinks back on his time with his dad while trying to understand the relationship his parents had; conflicted if love is really possible with Anna.

Here Mills talks about the plight of the indie filmmaker, why any similarities between he and his wife's work, artist-director Miranda July, is purely coincidental and how he feels about opening alongside 'X-Men: First Class' this weekend.
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15 Most Memorable Actresses From Woody Allen Movies

By Jason Guerrasio (Subscribe to Jason Guerrasio's posts), Posted May 19th 2011 5:30PM
Filed under: Features, Video, Summer Movies, New Releases

In a 45-year career that's been filled with screwball comedies, touching love stories and the occasional serious drama, there's one thing that's been a constant in Woody Allen's filmography: his love for the ladies.

"My heart is in it more when I'm writing for women," Allen said once in an interview, and he's certainly given us some of the most memorable female characters in movie history. (Credit must also be given to Allen's longtime casting director Juliet Taylor.)

Often starring opposite a neurotic schlub (played by Allen until recently), the
Allen female character knows how to deliver a joke, exudes sexuality, and amidst adultery, arguments and other relationship problems is almost always clearer on what she wants than her male counterpart.

Allen's latest film, 'Midnight in Paris' (his 41st!), which opened this year's Cannes Film Festival and will be released stateside this weekend, the newest on-screen incarnation of Allen, Owen Wilson, is torn between two women (and two eras). Inspired by the beauty of Paris while on vacation, Gil (Wilson) must decide if he still wants to marry his hottie fiancée (Rachel McAdams) or run away with a French beauty (Marion Cotillard) he met after magically being swept back to the 1920s.

Following Allen's nostalgic state of mind, we decided to look back on our favorite actresses from his films. Here are 15 with whom we'd love to have a rendezvous in the City of Light.
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Tribeca Film Festival 2011 Preview: 20 Movies to Watch For

By Jason Guerrasio (Subscribe to Jason Guerrasio's posts), Posted Apr 18th 2011 12:30PM
Filed under: Features, Documentaries, Tribeca Film Festival, Coming Soon, Festivals

Ten years isn't a long time in the world of film festivals. Take, for example, the Cannes Film Festival which will celebrate its 64th year next month, or Venice, which is pushing 68 this fall. But in a decade's time the Tribeca Film Festival has been able to impress many as it has nudged itself into the extremely crowded spring festival season.

As you probably know by now, the festival was created in 2002 by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff as a four-day fest to bring business back to Lower Manhattan after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Since then it has grown to 12 days filled with red carpet premieres, panels, outdoor screenings and a day-long kids fair, while expanding from its original eponymous roots to the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan as well as the Lower East Side.

In celebration of Tribeca's 10th anniversary taking place April 20–May 1, the opening night film -- Cameron Crowe's documentary on Elton John, 'The Union' -- will have a free outdoor screening in Manhattan's Financial District as well as a performance by the Rocket Man himself. (Learn more about attending opening night here.) And if you can't make it to New York to see the fest firsthand, Tribeca has you covered. This year they've created Tribeca (Online) Film Festival, where you can watch select films online as well as video streams of live events. Select titles will also be available on video-on-demand.

Here's 20 films that's worth checking out at this year's fest. Which are you most excited to see?
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EXCLUSIVE: Robert De Niro on 'The Irishman,' Possible 'Good Shepherd' Sequel and Another 'Midnight Run'

By Jason Guerrasio (Subscribe to Jason Guerrasio's posts), Posted Mar 14th 2011 6:00PM
Filed under: Celebrity Interviews
If you had 15 minutes with a legend, what would you ask?

That was our conundrum when we sat down with Robert De Niro as he promoted the thriller 'Limitless' (an apropos title, seeing the number of topics we were allowed to bring up to the two-time Oscar winner).

It would be easy simply to revisit one of the greatest acting careers of all time, seeing as how De Niro received the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award at the Golden Globes and how this year marks the 35th anniversary of 'Taxi Driver.' But the actor, at 67, only looks forward, and 'Limitless' is a prime example of that.

De Niro plays Carl Van Loon, a Rupert Murdoch–type business mogul betting on hot shot Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper), who becomes the toast of Wall Street while using an experimental drug that has caused his I.Q. to soar. De Niro only has around 15 minutes of screen time. As with Robert Rodriguez's 'Machete' last year, De Niro took the role not for the size of the part, but because he was interested in the filmmaker -- in this case director Neil Burger ('The Illusionist'), with whom De Niro hopes to team someday in a much larger capacity.

But don't let De Niro's string of supporting roles and comedies like 'Little Fockers' fool you -- he's not short on pet projects. There's his next film with Martin Scorsese, 'The Irishman' (based on the book 'I Hear You Paint Houses') in which he'll co-star with Al Pacino and Joe Pesci and play Frank Sheeran, the prime suspect in Jimmy Hoffa's murder. There's talk of an ambitious Scorsese collaboration which De Niro compares to Fellini's '8 1/2.' And there's always the possibility that he'll find time to direct another movie.

Moviefone was the only online outlet to have a one-on-one sitdown with De Niro. We touched on these topics and others while chatting in the swanky Trump SoHo on his home turf of Lower Manhattan earlier this month.
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Worst Best Picture Oscar Winners: 10 Movies That Shouldn't Have Won

By Jason Guerrasio (Subscribe to Jason Guerrasio's posts), Posted Feb 23rd 2011 4:00PM
Filed under: Features, Oscar News, Awards

Time heals all wounds. It also changes our perceptions of a movie. As the years pile up, some films just don't stand the test of time; others, like a fine wine or bourbon, age magnificently, allowing us to better appreciate its wares.

The Academy Awards, whose 83rd edition airs Sunday, is no exception. Time has cemented some of the Best Picture winners into an elite class of essential viewing, while some films haven't done so well. Those latter films we can often chalk up to a weak overall year for nominees or just plain stupidity by Academy voters.

After hours of deliberation, we've narrowed down what we think are the 10 worst Best Picture winners in the history of the Oscars.
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John Hawkes on His Surprise Oscar Nomination and Sundance Hit 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'

By Jason Guerrasio (Subscribe to Jason Guerrasio's posts), Posted Jan 30th 2011 3:00PM
Filed under: Celebrity Interviews, Features, Sundance Film Festival, Cinematical


The name John Hawkes may not ring a bell, but his face should. The 51-year-old character actor has starred in TV shows like 'Deadwood,' '24,' 'Lost' and most recently 'Eastbound and Down,' while his movie credits include 'The Perfect Storm,' 'Me and You and Everyone We Know' and 'American Gangster.'

But now recently receiving a Best Suppoting Actor Oscar nomination for his jarring performance in 'Winter's Bone,' the soft-spoken Hawkes has been jettisoned into the spotlight.

Starting out in Austin, TX, where he acted and was a musician, Hawkes has built his career by playing the dark, gruff everyman. However, in Debra Granik's 'Winter's Bone' (which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance last year), Hawkes' powerful performance as Teardrop -- a cocaine-snorting bad-ass who's out for blood after his brother disappears in the methamphetamine underworld of the Ozarks -- is one of the most memorable of 2010 (equal to his cast mate in the film, Jennifer Lawrence, who is also nominated for an Oscar).
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