Cinema Hype

Today would have been Jimmy Stewart’s 100th birthday.

I know somebody that thinks all (female) Cary Grant fans are mistaken: Women think they love Grant, she says, but they really love Stewart. Stewart was the kind of guy you’d bring home to your parents. I don’t know that a girl can’t keep a place in her heart for both—it’s all kind of a moot point now, after all—but over the years, I’ve gotten to see what my friend meant. Watch enough Jimmy Stewart movies and you’re bound to fall at least a little bit in love, or at least in like. Is there anybody you’d rather have spying on you with his binoculars? I didn’t think so.

In celebration of Jimmy Stewart and his lovability, I present, for your consideration, five of his best movies*:

You Can’t Take It With You (1938): Stewart’s first (of several) collaborations with Frank Capra, who outdoes himself in the areas of gentle humor and small-scale human drama. Also: Stewart is the best bewildered boyfriend a girl could want.

The Shop Around the Corner (1940): Before there was Tom, there was James, fighting/flirting it out with Margaret Sullavan. Who should be more excited to be share the role? Unclear.

The Philadelphia Story (1940): Never is Stewart gawkier, dorkier, or more handsome than as Macauley “Mike” Connor, literary snob turned journalist out to destroy the bourgeoisie. If you don’t love him by the end of the movie, well…you’re probably distracted by Cary Grant (or, to be fair, Katharine Hepburn). We won’t judge, but you’re missing out.

Harvey (1950): Warning: This movie is sadder than you think. But Stewart is wonderful in it—gentle, funny, and exactly the kind of guy an invisible six-foot rabbit would choose to pal around with. I would.

Rear Window (1955): Stewart solves a murder from his wheelchair (he’s recovering from a broken leg) without even leaving the house! EAT THAT, MACGYVER.

Happy birthday, Jimmy. Thanks for being so cool.

* This list includes neither It’s A Wonderful Life nor any of Stewart’s westerns. But these are my favorites. So there! You can sing “Buffalo Girl” to yourself, if it’ll make you feel better.

Jimmy Stewart, James Stewart, You Can’t Take It With You, Frank Capra, The Philadelphia Story, The Shop Around the Corner, Rear Window, Harvey, Alfred Hitchcock

Well, I should have known: as reader Heather said, “If you want to confuse a Trekkie, try a quote from #5. Nobody ever watches that one. Not more than once.” To think: I was so close. Curses! Foiled again!

Anyway, I lose. Reader/Star Trek aficionado Erik buzzed in on last week’s quotation, correctly tying this quotation:

“‘Permission to speak freely, sir?’
‘Granted.’
‘I do not believe this was a fair test of my command abilities.’
‘And why not?’
‘Because… there was no way to win.’
‘A no-win situation is a possibility every commander may face. Has that never occurred to you?’
‘No, sir, it has not.’
‘And how we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life, wouldn’t you say?’
‘As I indicated, Admiral, that thought had not occurred to me.’
‘Well, now you have something new to think about. Carry on.’”

to Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan. Also, I feel that I would be remiss if I did not inform the non-Trekkies out there that this scene plays out between William Shatner and one Kirstie Alley. Do the Trekkies not think that’s funny? Because…that’s funny.

So, kudos to Erik and his Trek knowledge! Your cheer, sir:

You got the quote at full warp speed!
You know your sci-fi films indeed!
But do you count it in your creed?
Either way, we love your breed!

And now for a new QS to kick off the weekend:

The Rules

I will post a quotation from a movie. The first person to comment with the character, actor, and film that contains this quotation gets a special eyelash batting and a tailor-made Cinema Hype cheer, which might actually rhyme, even if it doesn’t make any sense.

The Deadline

If somebody guesses correctly, the prize cheer goes up as soon as possible. If nobody gets it right, I’m off the hook cheer-wise, and the next quotation is posted on Friday (…or not, like this week, but Friday is the norm) (Actually, this is proving to be the case less and less often. We’ll say I’ll shoot for sometime around the weekend. Friday, Sunday, Monday…something around there.)

The Quotation

“‘What do you think, man? You think it makes me look tough?’
‘I think it makes you look different.’
‘What’d you mean, “different”?’
‘Well, you got a hole in your mouth.’”

Think you’ve got it? Leave it in the comments.

Quotation Sensation, movie quote game, movie quotes, Star Trek, Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, Wrath of Khan, William Shatner, Kirstie Alley

I can’t believe we haven’t talked yet about the trailer for Julie and Julia yet. It’s been out for, what, two weeks? Three weeks? Where have I been? The land of negligence, apparently. Here’s the trailer:

I really, really want to like this movie. I like the book, possibly more than it really deserves. I like the trailer, though I balk a bit at the cutesification of it, what with the pop music and the cutie husband and all (the husband in the book is what you’d probably call a mensch, but maybe not a hottie; menschhood is apparently not good enough for your everyday casting director). And I know how these things go: I’m going to chalk all of this up to the whims of the marketing department and not to writer/director Nora Ephron. Ephron’s had her share of stinkers in the past few years (Hanging Up, Bewitched), but somehow I trust her here. I have to believe that she’s working off of passion, and that we’ll see a little bit of that onscreen. (We’d better.)

I was, at one time, ambivalent about the casting of Amy Adams as Julie Powell; this trailer assuages some of my fears. To some extent, Adams will always be adorable, but here she’s not written as adorable, which is key—Powell herself is decidedly un-cutesy. The scene on the kitchen floor (”There’s STUFF ALL OVER THE FLOOR!”) indicates that all may indeed be well here; since Powell spends much of the book having freakouts of various scales and proportions, the collapsing and the moaning are pretty important. Also, the non-Disney-princess haircut doesn’t hurt.

And, to be honest, I hadn’t thought much about Meryl Streep as Julia Child; Julia is by far the lesser presence in the book (as far as direct “screentime” goes), and anyway, she’s Meryl Streep. What, you think she can’t pull of Julia Child? But now that I see her, it’s all lovely. She’s got the voice and the wonderful blowsiness of Child, but it’s more than that. From what we see here, I think she’s got a bit of Julia’s soul. I can appreciate that.

So…carry on, Julie and Julia. I’m ready when you are.

Julie and Julia, Julie/Julia, Julie Powell, Meryl Streep, Julia Child, trailers, Nora Ephron

I’ve sort of wanted to be BFFs with comedian/actor/woman-about-town Charlyne Yi for awhile now. You might remember her one-episode stint as Grace Park, Kenneth’s Jerry Maguire-misquoting love, on an old episode of 30 Rock (I tried to find an embeddable video of this, as it’s one of my favorite 30R moments ever, but was foiled by the weak-but-apparently-not-that-weak copyright law on the internets); she also pals around with Judd Apatow’s pack (”Apatown,” apparently) and turns up in the odd movie. Now her own movie, Paper Heart, has won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance, and is due out in August. It’s almost too coyly cute to be believed:

Doesn’t it look adorable, and yet also infuriatingly cute? The question here may be phrased in terms of another hipster touchstone movie: will Paper Hearts be like the first ten minutes of Juno (i.e. unwatchably twee) or like the last hour and a half (honest and funny and kind of a heartbreaker)? Alternatively, which will wear out first: Michael Cera’s charm or his penchant for playing awkwardly lovable young men? (You’d think we’d be getting towards the end of that particular rope, but the facts indicate otherwise.) I bet it also has a killer soundtrack.

Paper Heart is a “hybrid documentary”—not a mockumentary, but a mix of fiction and documentary. One assumes that the road-trip footage, and maybe the parts with her friends/crew, are the unscripted part, and that the Yi/Cera storyline (they play themselves) came with at least some forethought, though it’s hard to tell where that particular line sits—which is probably the point. Either way, I’m excited to see more of Yi’s work out there. And, hey, I still want to hang out. Even if you don’t like hair-braiding and boy-story-telling, I’m always up for a good script-polishing session! Call me!

Charlyne Yi, Paper Heart, Michael Cera, Sundance, Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, hipster movies, Juno

AHA! You thought you could get rid of me, but I just keep coming back. Yeah.

Okay. Maybe not. If you didn’t think you could get rid of me, I appreciate that. I wish I could say that I was off doing something exciting, or at least had planned a little blog vacation, but unless taxes and mild sleep deprivation count as something exciting, I’m going to have to disappoint.

So let’s have some catch-up time, shall we? Just a few things on my mind?

- It appears that Zac Efron has a movie coming out this weekend, which keeps confusing me when I see the TV spots and think, “You guys. HSM3 came out last fall! You can stop with the commercials!” Only recently did I discover that it’s a whole separate movie. Allegedly.

- I mostly find Efron sort of off-putting—something about his attempts to seem sexual while actually coming across completely asexual—but I do like him in the remake of Hairspray. Gotta give props for his rocking out, complete with knee-slide, on “Ladies’ Choice.” On a semi-related note, with two minutes and a proper pair of scissors, I could get his hair out of his face, once and for all. (I also say things like, “Get off my lawn!”)

- Just to be clear, the 2007 Hairspray is a movie I keep coming back to on account of its general delightfulness. I love everybody in it and everything about it, and every single one of you should see it. Amanda Bynes and the super-hot Elijah Kelley, in particular, make me happy when skies are gray. Like so:

- Did you hear that the Coen brothers are supposedly adapting Michael Chabon’s hardboiled Jewish-Alaskan detective novel The Yiddish Policemen’s Union? It’s just too perfect: the Coens’ particular brand of brutality mixed with humor should hit all the high points beautifully. It’s awhile off, but nothing bad ever came of ridiculously high expectations, right?

- While I sort of loathe Russell Crowe on a personal level—to the point where I often skip his movies, even though I get that he’s super-talented—I am excited about State of Play, which comes out this weekend. We could use something exciting in this sad little spring lull. That, and I like the idea that Helen Mirren hangs out in my neighborhood (fictionally). Very exciting!

- Speaking of Mirren, check out the cast on her upcoming adaptation of The Tempest (Mirren plays a gender-switched version of Prospero)! The Tempest has always been my least favorite of Shakespeare’s plays, but I might be tempted to show up for this.

Nice talking to you all. See you tomorrow. Promise.

Zac Efron, 17 Again, Hairspray, High School Musical, Amanda Bynes, Elijah Kelley, Coen brothers, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, Michael Chabon, Russell Crowe, State of Play, Helen Mirren, The Tempest

Did you know that there’s an actual A-list out there? It turns out that entertainment journalist James Ulmer sits down every once in awhile and works it all out mathematically using, naturally, the Ulmer Scale—a combination of factors that works out to the most bankable stars in Hollywood. Around here, we use the CH scale, meaning “how much I like certain actors,” which is obviously the epitome of precision.

I do have an personal A-list, though, a short list of actors I’ll schlep to the theater for, no matter what. Good movie? Awesome. I knew it! Such talent! Not-so-great career move? Doesn’t matter. I’ll be there the one Friday night it’s actually in the theater. I’m that kind of fan.

Here’s the A-list, CH-style:

- Robert Downey Jr.: Of course, everyone loves him now, but where were they when he was traipsing around San Francisco doing…something I don’t remember, but with a bunch of stranded souls? YEAH, THAT’S WHAT I THOUGHT. I was in junior high, and I loved that movie, and then he was Larry on Ally McBeal, and then he got sober and everybody noticed his fantastically wry line delivery, and now he really is A-list. But hey. I knew you when, RDJ.

- Amy Adams: She’s just so good, so consistently. Her recent string of great performances in good-to-great movies indicates a strange inability to hit a wrong note. Twice nominated at the Oscars (Junebug and Doubt), my money’s on a win before she hits 40, but if not, I’ll still see everything she does.

- Jimmy Stewart: Oh, Jimmy. You had me at “This is the voice of DOOM calling.” It all started with The Philadelphia Story and went from there—I don’t really want to see The Magic of Lassie, but you know what? For you? Anything.

- Edward Norton: I think I first discovered the joy of EdNo in Keeping the Faith—one of my all-time favorite movies—and then promptly learned that it’s completely unlike any other movie he’s ever made (see: sweet, funny). EdNo tests my loyalty a bit by generally appearing in incredibly intense and/or violent dramas…but, you see, they’re always really good intense and/or violent dramas. American History X? 25th Hour? The life-changingly good Painted Veil? He rarely disappoints. I’m here for you, EdNo.

- Lauren Graham: I don’t know that I ever officially placed Graham on the list (though I may have—Ms. L and I go way back), but I may as well have. Because I Said So? I was there. Flash of Genius? Yep, that one, too. The Pacifier? Well…no. But I would have. Honest.

So, readers, who’s on your A-list?

A-list, James Ulmer, Ulmer scale, Robert Downey Jr., Amy Adams, Edward Norton, Jimmy Stewart, Lauren Graham

Who says the Oscars are a waste of time? Apparently if you’re an adorable starlet/nominee who happens to secretly have quite a set of pipes, the ceremony itself can do wonders for your career: not a month after her “impromptu” singing performance during the Academy Awards opener, Anne Hathaway has been tapped for both the screen and stage versions of the Weinsteins’ Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland. Suspicious!

It’s actually all kind of perfect, isn’t it? Hathaway kind of looks the part, with the eyes and the lips and the face; if she put on some weight for the role (which she probably will, since weight and body image—and, more specifically, the drugs used to manipulate them—were a chronic issue for Garland), she’d fit right in. Ooh, and can I make a suggestion? With a little makeup, Garland’s daughter Lucille Austero Liza Minelli could easily play the older Garland. Do you think that’s too creepy? Maybe it’s too creepy. Forget I said anything.

Or maybe Hathaway could make a career out of being Oscar-nominated (and/or, dare we say it, Tony nominated?) for playing drug addicts. Not that I support typecasting or repetitive nominations (yeah, CATE BLANCHETT, I said it!), but I imagine adding a few (tragic) songs to the mix might up her chances—multitasking!—and Rachel Getting Married indicates that she’s got the chops where drug-induced instability is concerned. And we all know the Academy loves them some celebrity biopics. I can see this working out well for Hathaway, and, frankly, for the rest of us. I vote yes on the Hathaway/Garland issue.

Anne Hathaway, Judy Garland, biopics

Star of stage and screen Natasha Richardson passed away today after suffering a head injury during a ski lesson in Canada. She was 45.

Richardson is perhaps best known for her work on the stage—she won a Tony in 1998 for her performance as Sally in Cabaret and inhabited numerous other roles, to great critical acclaim—but she was also successful onscreen, most notably starring in The Handmaid’s Tale, Nell, the remake of The Parent Trap, and others.

Aside from her performances, Richardson was well-known for her family: the Redgrave clan on her mother’s (Vanessa Redgrave’s) side, and director Tony Richardson on her father’s. She was married to actor Liam Neeson; the two had two young sons.

natasha richardson, natasha richardson obituary

Okay, we’re in it for the long haul, gang. Not much longer now.

Awww, I kind of like the In Memoriam montage. And I like Queen Latifah. I feel like these two things make some kind of a weird literary juxtaposition, like I should write a poem about it.

Man, Paul Newman and Charlton Heston in the same year.

Slumdog Millionaire, 6.

Hee, Danny Boyle. If more people did cartoon-character imitations for their kids during the ceremony, I don’t think the Oscars would have ratings issues.

I have to say this: the extended dance-mix nominee listings aren’t exactly concise, but they’re kind of nice.

Geez, Halle Berry, way to make your speech to Melissa Leo ABOUT YOURSELF.

I think I would like to be Australian.

Well, Kate Winslet, you completely deserve this, just for being fantastic all the time (and, it must be noted, in The Reader specifically. You’re a classy dame.

AWW HER DAD WHISTLED. See? Now I love Mr. Winslet, too.

Heh, did you see Anthony Hopkins when the camera panned by? He’s all, “Why, yes, I AM awesome! Thank you for noticing. …What, you mean I’m here for some other guy?”

What?! WHAT. You guys, you can nominate Sean Penn whenever you want. It’s not like he’s never going to do this again. MICKEY, YOU WERE ROBBED. Besides, wouldn’t you rather hear Mickey Rourke talk than Sean Penn? I mean, come ON.

Okay, Academy. The entire nation is peeing their pants right now, and also wanting to go to bed. This MAY not be the time for a montage. I guess you’re just sadistic like that. But I love the Milk score in the background.

Slumdog Millionaire, 7.

It’s been a pleasure. I’m out.

ETA: Apparently, I…missed one of Slumdog’s awards? How did that even happen? So:

Slumdog Millionaire, 8.

There you go.

Slumdog Millionaire, Oscars, Academy Awards, Best Picture, Slumdog Millionaire Best Picture, Queen Latifah, Paul Newman, Charlton Heston, Danny Boyle, Halle Berry, Melissa Leo, Kate Winslet, Anthony Hopkins, Sean Penn, Mickey Rourke, Best Actor, Best Actress

Jessica Biel, why are you telling me about the scientific Oscars? Isn’t this sort of akin to the time Denise Richards played a nuclear scientist in that really bad James Bond movie?

I…think this short film is Judd Apatow’s way of crashing the Oscars. You know, dude, if you made a good movie, you might get to go for real.

Seth Rogen, I try to think that you are not cute, and fail every time. Why can’t I quit you?

It is possible that the reason there are no Chuck ads during this telecast is that we’re not actually on NBC.

I feel like this musical number is either awesome, or a lot like the time Jack Donaghy wanted to have fireworks midtown Manhattan. As in, “that’s gonna scare a lot of people.” Maybe if they were in the shape of cowboy hats?

You know, I have no problem with Beyonce, but doesn’t she ever just have a normal day, where she doesn’t appear at any internationally-broadcast events?

Oh, Baz Luhrmann. You WOULD design enormous musical numbers for the Oscars. And that is why I love you sometimes.

I didn’t know that Kevin Kline had moved on to a second career. Who knew that being actor would prepare him so well to own the General Store in Frontierland?

Well. Heath Ledger. You deserve it, and it’s a shame you’re not here to enjoy it.

You know, Academy, I appreciate your attempt to draw people into the filmmaking process. I do. But mini-films about mini-films may not be the way to cut down the length of your telecast. Just saying.

Oh, cute French man, you are so, how you say, adorable? But you should not say “Shortest speech in Oscar history” and then continue speaking for three more minutes. And…did you just balance something on your face?

I love that Wanted was nominated for an Oscar. What a wonderful world, or something? I don’t know. (If you must know, it was for Best Sound Editing, and it lost, but hey

Slumdog Millionaire, 3.

Slumdog Millionaire, 4.

La la la, Jerry Lewis. When’s Hugh going to sing again?

Michael “Violins of Doom” Giacchino does music for entirely too many of my favorite things. Also, this music is lovely.

Slumdog Millionaire, 5.

This is crap. How do you not give a Best Score award to a movie with no dialogue?

Oy. We’re not even through the acting awards yet. WRAP IT UP, ACADEMY.

Awww, I sort of thought we’d get to skip the awkward Best Song numbers. Then I thought maybe M.I.A. would come out and rock all of our universes with a live version of “Paper Planes.” Wrong on both counts. Aaand I think I must not be paying close enough attention, because I don’t know who these people are or why they’re singing. Hmm.

Back for Act III.

Oscars, Academy Awards, Best Song, Slumdog Millionaire, James Franco, Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen, Jessica Biel, Beyonce, Baz Luhrmann, Kevin Kline, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actor Heath Ledger, Heath Ledger, Heath Ledger Joker, Wanted, Michael Giacchino, Jerry Lewis

Well, here we are. The Superbowl of the film year, only with more sequins and fewer beer commercials. Are we excited yet?

This year, in an attempt to counteract the downward ratings spiral that has been the Oscar ceremony of late, the Academy is introducing a set of top-secret changes to the telecast—so secret, in fact, that we at CH aren’t sure what they are, except for the baffling rumor that the actual awards will be given “in narrative form.” We’ll…see how that turns out.

Here we go, as they happen:

Good eeeeeevening, Hugh Jackman. Do you know what would make this telecast the best in Oscar history? If you busted out with a set of titanium(?) claws right now, before you’ve even ruined everything by opening your mouth. If that happened, I would totally watch again next year, automatically.

Uh, I loved Australia. Just saying.

Siiiiing, Hugh! I do love how this is starting out. Jon Stewart is sitting home right now, thinking, “IF ONLY I COULD SING.” Actually, he’s probably not watching.

I’ve got to slow down this posting rate.

Just one more thing: If I were going to the Oscars, I would do my hair just like Anne Hathaway’s, and wish that I could sing like her and then kiss a sexy Australian. So…Hathaway’s my hero?

I never quite get the Penelope Cruz buzz. I was going for Tomei, personally.

I want to hate this screenwriting set-up, but I can’t put “Tina Fey” and “hate” in the same sentence.

…Oops.

Someone must have encouraged the winners to go beyond the list of thanks this year, as part of the big overhaul. They may regret their decision later, but hey, it’ll give us something to hate on tomorrow. Or…why wait?

Slumdog Millionaire, 1.

Whoops, did I just Tivo through the Best Animated Shorts? I feel strangely guilty about this. It’s like how you skip the curling part of the Olympics, even though you know those sweeping, shouting athletic devotees are Olympians just like everyone else. (Again, just me?)

Robert Pattinson, I cannot handle you, and I don’t even want to think about you in conjunction with any kind of award. At all. Amanda Seyfried, you can stay.

Why does Ben Stiller always get roped into these things? Oy.

Except…heh.

Slumdog Millionaire, 2.

Aaaaand that’s Act I. Act II will be up in an hour or two, assuming that time has not actually slowed down for this ceremony.

Oscars, Academy Awards, Oscar liveblog, liveblogging the Oscars, Slumdog Millionaire, Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Australia, Amanda Seyfried, Marisa Tomei, Penelope Cruz, Best Supporting Actress, Ben Stiller, Tina Fey

Hello and welcome to Oscar Week at CinemaHype.com—all week, we’ll be covering the run-up to the Academy Awards this Sunday. (Incidentally, this Sunday! Oscar season: sprint or marathon? Or, worse, both?) Put out the snacks, put your feet up, and start your betting pools. It’s time.

This year’s Oscar field is full of thorny questions, some of which we’ll be getting to this week. Today, we’re addressing one of the big ones, the kind of question that leaves its indelible mark on somebody’s legacy: will Heath Ledger win a posthumous Best Supporting Actor award for his performance as the Joker?

We at CH say: Yes, he will, and what’s more, he should.

First, as in most Oscar categories, it’s a matter of the competition. The other Best Supporting Actor nominees are fine actors who gave excellent performances in 2008. Individually, each of these guys could easily win, and heaven knows we at CH rarely bet against Philip Seymour Hoffman. But, among this field, the Joker is the role that comes the closest to carrying a film—fore better or for worse, it’s the closest to being a leading-man role. A villainous leading man, for sure, but Ledger carried The Dark Knight largely on his crooked shoulders. He makes the movie, in a way that isn’t true for, say, Robert Downey, Jr. in Tropic Thunder or Josh Brolin in Milk.

Does his passing increase his chances of winning? Maybe it’s crude, but…sure. Of course it does. Ledger was potentially one of the greatest actors of his generation—this is the Academy’s last chance to acknowledge his career, which already includes a snub for Best Actor in Brokeback Mountain. Additionally, any actor’s final complete performance (Ledger was in the middle filming of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus when he passed away) is likely to be scrutinized with extra care, and Ledger’s performance in The Dark Knight was so heavily hyped and so universally praised that it would be difficult to ignore under any circumstances.

But the question stands: Regardless of Ledger’s life and death offscreen, does this particular performance deserve to win? The straight-up answer is yes. Maybe the Joker is a show-off role, the kind of part that can make anybody look good; lots of crazy-person roles function this way. But the bombastic nature of the part doesn’t diminish Ledger’s performance. It’s not so much that he disappears into the Joker as that he takes him on, all the little tics that come with him, until his face paint isn’t so much a mask as his face as we know it. And THAT is a worth an Oscar.

Oscars, Academy Awards, Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight, Joker, Best Supporting Actor, Josh Brolin, Milk, Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder

As part of our CH Exclusive! series of fictional interviews, today we’re interviewing Miley Cyrus, also known as Hannah Montana, star of the hugely popular Hannah Montana television show and the upcoming Hannah Montana: The Movie.

Cinema Hype: So, Miley, why don’t you tell us a bit about the upcoming Hannah Montana movie?

Miley Cyrus: Well, the movie is really cool—it’s about this girl named Miley, and she has this alter ego named Hannah Montana, who sings and has a TV show. But she starts getting really famous and turning into kind of a…I don’t know, I guess you’d say kind of a diva? And she has this super-overprotective dad named Billy Ray, who used to be a singer, too, and…

CH: I’m sorry, Miley; what I meant was, could you tell us a little about the plot of the movie?

MC: I just did.

CH: No, the movie.

MC: …I did.

CH: You know, why don’t we just move on? Miley, can you tell us a little about the experience of making a feature film after all these years of television work?

MC: Well, I’m starting to get older, you know, and it’s just been such a great challenge, playing this character. I feel like the experience has really stretched my creative boundaries.

CH: Miley Cyrus, teen star, playing Miley Stewart, teen star, plus alter ego Hannah Montana.

MC: Yes. I just really identify with Miley in the movie, you know? She’s such a unique fictional person, and I wanted to get that across onscreen. I really hope my performance does justice to the strength of her character.

CH: Do you find that you identify with Miley, Miley?

MC: Yes! I mean, it’s actually kind of amazing, like she was written for me, or something!

CH: You don’t say.

MC: Yeah, because Miley is this huge star with this alter ego, and, like, I might get to be that way someday, you know? Because I have an alter ego, too! And I know that a lot of girls have dads who won’t let them leave the house, ever, and try reinvent themselves as Celebrity Dads, but sometimes it seems like Miley’s talking just to me. She’s just so universal and so personal, all at the same time. Sometimes, it’s like I can’t even talk about her because I’m her and she’s me.

CH: Well, it sounds like you and Miley are very close.

MC: I know! Isn’t it amazing? I’m, like, getting to be an adult. And I feel like Miley is really helping me grow a little bit taller and a little bit older every day.

CH: That’s so meta.

NOTE: This interview is a work of fiction, part of the CH Exclusive! series. Cinemahype.com has never spoken with Miley Cyrus or anybody associated with her.

Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana, Miley Stewart, Billy Ray Cyrus, Hannah Montana movie, CH Exclusive, fiction, fictional interviews, fake interviews

You know, sometimes we all want to be casting directors. Right? This is how we ended up with an internet full of “unofficial” (read: fan-concocted) versions of the Twilight cast last year (and if you didn’t run across those, or know where to find them, count your blessings). We at CH are not immune—you don’t even want to get us started on our list of (obviously superior) alternatives to Tom Hanks in The Da Vinci Code.

But today we have an extra-special version of Fantasy Casting-itis. It’s extra-special in the sense that it’s serial, and in the sense that it may actually be a Life Lesson for the 21st century. Are you ready? Here we go: No matter how hard you think about it, you cannot wish Megan Fox into your favorite action roles. She may be (apparently) the most lust-inducing action-girl star in the history of the catsuit, but saying that she will appear in upcoming films does not make it so. Mind-boggling. I KNOW.

Case in point: Lara Croft. A rumor started by a Latino Review recently stated that Fox would be taking over Angelina Jolie’s spot as the big-boobed, Daisy-Duke-wearing archaeologist (they may be khaki, but short shorts are short shorts, okay?). It’s a miracle that the internet didn’t simply implode then and there, especially since…it’s not true. It was a close call.

The same goes for Wonder Woman, a role that’s been attributed to approximately every brunette actress in L.A. over the years, and probably a few who are willing to experiment with a serious dye job (didn’t I hear Sarah Michelle Gellar awhile back?). A crafty Photoshopper somewhere distributed a hoax poster back in November, which had approximately the same effect as the Croft rumor. The truth: No golden lasso for Fox.

So let’s review: Fox will not be swinging from vines and butchering a perfectly good British accent; nor will she be flying an invisible plane. Anybody else want to throw something out there? Thundercats? The Smurfs? Go ahead. Fantasy-cast away. Which brings us to our final point: Most of us are not casting directors, though it would be fun if we were. Sometimes the actors we like do not take, or are not offered, or are not available for, the roles we think they were born to play, and sometimes that makes the world a tiny bit less sexy, or a tiny bit less right. But hey, there’s one bright spot here, and that is that nobody is reviving the role of Lara Croft. That’s got to count for something, right?

Source: io9

Megan Fox, Lara Croft, Angelina Jolie, Tomb Raider, Wonder Woman, fantasy casting

You’ll hear a lot of things about The Wrestler. You’ll hear that it’s kissing cousins with Million Dollar Baby, or maybe The Passion of the Christ (with an extra layer of Spandex). You’ll hear that it’s Mickey Rourke’s star re-maker. You’ll hear that it’s sad, that it’s depressing, that it’s hard to watch. These things are all true, or nearly true. But they don’t get at the heart of the movie, which is that essential, burning question of the 80s: is it better to burn out or fade away?

With a different cast, The Wrestler would still be good, but probably unheralded. With the exception of the wrestling scenes, it’s a soft, sad movie, the story of a man all too aware of his own decline—not a crowd-pleaser, maybe, but certainly resonant. Robert D. Siegel’s script threatens to get self-indulgent but mostly stays afloat—the ending is especially good—and Darren Aronofsky’s directing plays up its high points. They’re not very high, those heights, but it’s nice to see them acknowledged anyway.

The heart of the movie, what brings The Wrestler into the light, and into the awards-show arena at all, is Rourke. He’s basically living his own comeback story via his performance (so meta!): actor-turned-boxer loses both careers, then finds possible ticket back to glory. The rest of his story is going to work out for the best; he will likely win an Academy Award for his performance, and it will mostly be for the right reasons. His gentleness, his sense of resignation, are palpable, even as he lights up in the presence of others. In fact, it’s hard to say whether Randy’s spark comes from his own pleasure at the company of other people, or Rourke’s pleasure at the company of other actors. Either way, many of the most memorable scenes in the movie show Randy interacting with the strangers around him—seeing his ease with the people he doesn’t know (and his unease with some of the people he does know), it’s easy to believe that he’s done wrong, but it’s just as easy to believe that he wants to do right.

Standing in Rourke’s comback-kid shadow is Marisa Tomei, who gives a lifetime-caliber performance as the one person willing to come to Randy’s rescue, with questionable results. The character is, perhaps, cliched—stripper just trying to get by, possibly with a golden heart—but the way Tomei inhabits her feels real and dredges up some hope at a point where hope is lacking (with no promise, of course, that hope is fulfilled). An Academy Award would not be mis-bestowed on her, though Rourke may be the only winner this year. Less impressive is Evan Rachel Wood as Randy’s estranged daughter, who storms in and out of every scene without ever saying why.

The Wrestler isn’t a Best Picture kind of movie—performances aside, it’s not spectacular enough for that. But it’s very good, and it’s beautifully played by all.

The Wrestler, Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Robert D. Siegel, Darren Aronofsky, Academy Awards