Skip to main content

Sundance Interview: 'Hobo with a Shotgun's Rutger Hauer & Jason Eisener

By Jason Guerrasio (Subscribe to Jason Guerrasio's posts), Posted Jan 28th 2011 8:00PM
Filed under: Celebrity Interviews, Sundance Film Festival, Cinematical, Festivals

Though most will peg the 2011 Sundance Film Festival as the year Elizabeth Olsen came out of the shadow of her mega-famous twin sisters (and the buyers came back with a vengeance), it was also the year Rutger Hauer invaded Park City. Like Olsen, Hauer stars in two films. One is the beautiful 'The Mill & The Cross,' which literally brings the 1500s masterpiece The Procession to Calvary painting to life. The other, well, doesn't have the pedigree of a Bruegel work.

'Hobo with a Shotgun' finds Hauer playing a vagrant who takes it upon himself to bring order to a city held hostage by the antics of a psychotic taskmaster. Using his trusty shotgun he (literally) blows away the scum of the city.

The film is the creation of Canadian filmmaker Jason Eisener, whose fake 'Hobo With a Shotgun' trailer won Robert Rodriguez's 'Grindhouse' trailer contest in 2007 and put a 'Hobo' feature on the fast track to be made. But what Hauer brought to the role of the Hobo catapultes the film from cheesy homage to '70s grindhouse titles and '80s actions movies to being a legitimate cult hit with unapologetic gore and revolting violence by Eisener that will quickly make him a favorite of fanboys everywhere.

After barging into our interview with prop shotgun in hand, I calmed down Hauer long enough to get him to talk, along with Eisener, about the film as well as what keeps the Dutch acting legend motivated at age 67.
Continue Reading

Sundance 2011 Preview: 20 Movies to Watch For

By Jason Guerrasio (Subscribe to Jason Guerrasio's posts), Posted Jan 19th 2011 11:00AM
Filed under: Features, Sundance Film Festival


For independent filmmakers, a trip to Park City, Utah, at the end of January marks the culmination of years of hard work and the anticipation of making a deal that could potentially change their lives.

The Sundance Film Festival, which kicks off Friday and runs through January 30, is where dreams come true. It launched the careers of now-marquee directors Steven Soderbergh, Kevin Smith (who returns this year with 'Red State') and Morgan Spurlock (returning with 'The Greatest Movie Ever Sold'), while actors such as Ashley Judd, Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Clarkson and Ryan Gosling have raised their status after starring in films that made the trek to Robert Redford's little 10-day fest.

But with notoriety comes criticism. Sundance continues to try to shed its reputation of being a party stop for swag-addicted celebs. They've been doing this the last few years by putting the focus fully on the films. Its NEXT section, for example, highlights low-budget/no-budget films, and its Direct from the Sundance Film Festival gives five films from the fest the opportunity to be seen nationwide via VOD.

This year Sundance is even scrapping its glitzy opening night premiere gala for what they call "Day One," at which they will screen one narrative and one documentary from both the U.S. and World Cinema competition categories, as well as one shorts program.

Either way, it's sure to be an exciting ten days. Here, we highlight 20 films that, because of the names attached and/or the buzz around them, we believe will be on your must-see list in 2011.
Continue Reading

10 Best Coen Brothers Characters: The Dude, Barton Fink and Other Classic Roles

By Jason Guerrasio (Subscribe to Jason Guerrasio's posts), Posted Dec 22nd 2010 1:00PM
Filed under: Features

You can expect many things when watching a movie made by Joel and Ethan Coen: unusual storylines, beautiful cinematography, witty dialogue, a strange fascination with hair and, above all, unique characters.

In their latest, "True Grit," opening today, the brothers Coen put their signature twist on the Charles Portis novel's lead characters, especially on the aging, one-eyed drunkard Marshall Rooster Cogburn (the role that garnered John Wayne his only Oscar win, and played by Jeff Bridges here). Truer to the novel than the 1969 movie version, the Coens' influence on Portis' characters shine through, as their distinct banter and colorful traits are hard to miss.

But this is just the latest in a long line of characters fashioned by the Coens in their careers. Who could forget the creepy private eye Loren Visser in their 1984 debut feature, "Blood Simple," or Nicolas Cage's memorable performance as small-town crook H.I. McDunnough in "Raising Arizona." Coen characters are diverse and anything but, well, normal. Sometimes the brothers specifically choose their favorite actors, such as John Goodman, John Turturro and Frances McDormand (who's married to Joel), to flesh out zany characters, while other times they cast people you'd never think could pull off what they want, like Tim Robbins or Brad Pitt. Regardless, many of the characters have become fixtures in the minds of cineastes.

Here we've taken on the arduous task of selecting the 10 most memorable Coen brothers characters. Did yours make the cut?
Continue Reading

Natalie Portman Movie Performances: Her 10 Best (So Far)

By Jason Guerrasio (Subscribe to Jason Guerrasio's posts), Posted Dec 2nd 2010 11:15PM
Filed under: Features

Not many actresses have compiled as diverse a portfolio before turning 30 as Natalie Portman. From hanging with a hit man in her early teens to being the mother of a complex Jedi family by her mid 20s, we've not only watched her grow up on screen but seen her abilities elevate to a level that's made her one of the most sought after talents working today.

In her latest film, Darren Aronofsky's seductive psychological thriller 'Black Swan' (in theaters beginning Friday), her skills are showcased in a way we've never seen before as she plays Nina, a New York City ballerina whose obsessive drive to become the lead in her company's production of 'Swan Lake' pushes her to madness. As emotionally draining as it is sexually charged, her tour-de-force performance has been a nine-year journey in the making, and because of that dedication it has moved Portman into an award season front-runner; one of the few things she hasn't experienced yet in her career.

Talking about playing Nina constantly with Aronofsky since he first tried to make the movie in 2001, Portman, who was a ballerina up to age 13, trained on and off for years while financing was still being worked out. Then when the picture was finally greenlighted last year, Portman became as focused as the competitive character she plays, training every twirl, pirouette, turn out and contortion at least five hours a day with dancer Mary Helen Bowers for a year -- regardless where she was in the world. It's that kind of De Niro-like dedication to the craft that may get Portman a little gold man by early next year.

But this is hardly the first time Portman's work has wowed us. Here we've complied her 10 best performances.
Continue Reading

'Tron' Halloween Costume

By Jason Guerrasio (Subscribe to Jason Guerrasio's posts), Posted Oct 25th 2010 5:40PM
Filed under: Halloween, Sci-Fi

How to dress like one of the characters from 'Tron' for Halloween:

The Costume: The neon-lit "Users" from the 1982 Disney classic 'Tron,' who are inside a software system's mainframe fighting alongside human Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) to thwart the plans of the evil Master Control Program, which intends to break into military mainframes and control the world.

What You'll Need: If creating the most authentic, eye-catching 'Tron' costume is your objective then you've come to the right place. Thanks to the Internet meme, "Tron Guy," we have a starting point, but with the sequel 'TRON: Legacy' slated to open in December, many of you may want to upgrade.
Continue Reading

Patricia Clarkson Talks 'Cairo Time,' John Cena and Waiting for 'Motherlover 2'

By Jason Guerrasio (Subscribe to Jason Guerrasio's posts), Posted Aug 5th 2010 2:00PM
Filed under: Celebrity Interviews, Features, Summer Movies
Since the late 1990s Patricia Clarkson has been one of the darlings of independent film.

First coming on the scene in 1987 when she portrayed Eliot Ness' wife in 'The Untouchables,' Clarkson found notice with indie film fans 11 years later when she starred as an aging, drug-addicted German model in Lisa Cholodenko's debut feature, 'High Art.'

In 2003 Clarkson performed the unprecedented feat of starring in four(!) films at the Sundance Film Festival, including 'All the Real Girls,' 'The Station Agent,' 'The Baroness and the Pig' and 'Pieces of April,' for which she received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for playing a mother dying of cancer. She also gained attention on the small screen with her role as Sarah O'Connor in 'Six Feet Under.'

More recently she co-starred in 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona,' 'Whatever Works' and 'Shutter Island.' But perhaps the biggest sign of her progression as a star was her inclusion last year in Andy Samberg's Saturday Night Live short 'Motherlover,' along with Justin Timberlake and Susan Sarandon.

Now Clarkson will finally be carrying a film, as she plays the lead role in Ruba Nadda's love story, 'Cairo Time.'
Continue Reading

Kevin Kline on 'The Extra Man' and His Random Encounter With Jeremy Irons

By Jason Guerrasio (Subscribe to Jason Guerrasio's posts), Posted Jul 29th 2010 2:00PM
Filed under: Celebrity Interviews, Features, Summer Movies
There aren't that many actors working today who can segue seamlessly from playing legendary dramatic characters like Hamlet and King Lear to lighthearted fare such as a regular schmo impersonating the president or a teacher questioning his sexuality.

But for 30 years Kevin Kline has done just that, winning two Tony's for his work on stage and an Oscar for his hilarious role as Otto, a British-hating criminal in 'A Fish Called Wanda.' Now for his latest film, 'The Extra Man,' Kline combines his comedic and Shakespearean talents to create his most outlandish character yet.

Adapted from Jonathan Ames' novel and directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini ('American Splendor,' 'The Nanny Diaries'), the film follows Louis Ives (Paul Dano), a young playwright who moves to New York City's Upper East Side and comes under the spell of his new roommate, Henry Harrison (Kline), an eccentric bon vivant with no apparent source of income who spends his evenings as an "Extra Man," someone who escorts wealthy widows around town. Soon Harrison puts his new roomy under his wing and shows him the ropes of being an Extra Man, including the discrete way to urinate in public, how black shoe polish can be helpful when you don't have clean black socks and the art of conversing with another... which is to not.

Moviefone sat down with Kline at the posh Crosby Street Hotel in Lower Manhattan to talk about his career and why he had some explaining to do when he bumped into Jeremy Irons on the streets of New York while playing Henry Harrison.<
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Hot Topics

From Our Partners