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The screening of the Jason Statham-Jennifer Lopez film, directed by Taylor Hackford, also honored the winner of ‘The Art of the Heist’ competition

By DannyMiller Jan 23, 2013 6:47PM

It’s not every day that I get an invitation to the Playboy Mansion in L.A.’s  ritzy Holmby Hills. The press event was to screen the new crime thriller “Parker,” directed by Oscar winner Taylor Hackford and starring Jason Statham and Jennifer Lopez. Based on a series of novels by Donald E. Westlake, “Parker” is a rollicking, high-octane tale of a professional thief (Statham) who lives by his own personal code of ethics: Don’t steal from people who can’t afford it and don’t hurt people who don’t deserve it! But when he is double-crossed by his own crew after his latest heist, Parker is determined to get back at them and he follows the group to Palm Beach, Florida, where they are planning their biggest heist yet. Donning the disguise of a rich Texan, Parker takes on an unlikely partner named Leslie (Lopez), a local insider who’s short on cash but big on looks, smarts, and ambition. Together, they devise a plan to hijack the score, take everyone down, and get away clean.  “Parker” also stars Nick Nolte, Michael Chiklis, Wendell Pierce, and Patti LuPone.


Arriving at the door of the stunning 1927 Gothic-Tudor mansion, we were greeted by a gaggle of Playboy Playmates. My group was given a tour of the home and grounds by lovely Raquel Pomplun, Miss April 2012. Did you know that once you appear in a centerfold, you are forever known by your month and year? Miss April 2012 showed us many rooms in the 21,987-square-foot house along with key spots on the more than five-acre grounds including the infamous swimming pool and grotto, site of endless parties hosted by a pyjama-clad Hef, as well as the small zoo and fully-stocked aviary. 86-year-old Hugh Hefner was supposed to join us for the screening but we were told he was upstairs with the flu, being cared for by his new 26-year-old wife, Crystal (aka Miss December 2009). Hef and Crystal had been dating for a few years, even while she was appearing on Playboy’s “The Girls Next Door” reality show, shot inside the mansion, but it was only this past New Year’s Eve when those two crazy kids walked down the aisle. When I asked Raquel who actually lived in the Playboy Mansion these days, she said “Mr. Hefner, his new bride, and two of his other girlfriends.” Hey, whatever works! A bunch of the newer Playmates live right across the street in the “Bunny House” so they spend a lot of time at the mansion, especially at the pool and in the fully-stocked game room complete with Playboy-themed pinball machines, a pool table, and no end of amusements. How Raquel and the other Playmates were able to maneuver across the cobblestone paths in their five-inch heels was a mystery to me, and I guess it was a sign of my status as a dad that I wanted to search the grounds for some sweatshirts to protect the mini-dress-clad women from the chilly L.A. evening! But you couldn't have asked for a sweeter group of hostesses in Hef's absence. 


Bing: 'Parker' | Jason Statham

 

The evening was also a celebration of the recently completed “Art of the Heist” competition that was held in conjunction with the opening of “Parker.” Aspiring street artists from across the country were invited to send in their “Parker”-inspired submissions. Click here to view the art from the finalists as well as the winning entry from artist Jeff Farris, who was flown to Los Angeles and attended the event at the Playboy Mansion. In addition to a cash prize, Farris’s art was painted by legendary artist Mark Dean Veca on a huge mural at La Brea and Melrose for all of Los Angeles to enjoy. Watch the video below (after the break) to see Veca in action:

 

Bruises, dream cars, chipped teeth and how the audience is the final ingredient ...

By James Rocchi 11 hours ago

Considering that many of the "Fast and Furious" gang have been working together for up to a decade, it's got to be a trick to find the right actors to comfortably jump on board a vehicle that already has plenty of passengers and more than a little velocity. But this time, the new additions are perfect fits -- specifically, Luke Evans, who plays bad guy Shaw, and Gina Carano, the MMA-fighter and actress who plays Riley, the right-hand woman to Dwayne Johnson's hard-charging globo-cop Hobbs. We spoke with Evans and Carano in London about bad guys, fist-fights, fast cars and joining the party ...

 

MSN Movies: How great is it to come onboard a series where people are actually excited about a part six? That's pretty rare in Hollywood. By the time you get to part six it's usually lather, rinse, repeat. But your characters are a new shot to the arm of the series. How does it feel to enter this kind of weird film family of actors and creators?

 

Luke Evans: Well, you sort of answered the question really. It's a fantastic place. It's very rare to see a franchise in its sixth installment still creating a buzz ... but not just a buzz, the biggest buzz of the whole franchise. I mean they've built and built and built, and it's coming off the back of "Fast Five," which I thought was a fantastic movie. They've brought back the fantastic Justin Lin, the brilliant director who had an amazing idea, some crazy stunts, some ideas for cars, and wanted to bring a leading antagonist into the movie this time, an antagonist that wasn't just going to be helping the plot move along but actually was part of the story and the plot. And so yeah, and what is created is a new generation. This is a new, like you said, it's like a shot in the arm. They've added something to the mix.

 

But also he's created a film where, Ms. Carano, you get to do a 360-spin kick in the belly of a Russian cargo plane.

 

Gina Carano: Yeah.

 

I mean when you see that level of ambition, is it exciting on the page, never mind when you do it on the day?

 

Carano: It's just, it's fun. I get to play.

 

Yeah?

 

BING: More on Luke Evans l BING: More on Gina Carano


Carano: I mean that's a plane, and I get to do that, and experiment with my body and see where I can take it as far as action and other people's bodies. That sounds kind of strange, but, yeah. Violently.

 

We'll keep it in context.

 

Carano: (Laughs) Yes.

 

 

The acclaimed writer/director continues to explore the foibles and complexities of the human experience

By DannyMiller 14 hours ago

Though Noah Baumbach’s new film, “Frances Ha,” opened in only four theaters last Friday (in New York and Los Angeles), it was the #1 film in the country in per-screen averages, bringing in almost twice as much per theater as “Star Trek Into Darkness.” True, it’s a bit crazy to compare small, introspective films like “Frances Ha,” co-written by and starring the delightful Greta Gerwig, with huge studio juggernauts like “Star Trek into Darkness” which opened in nearly 4,000 theaters nationwide—talk about apples and oranges! Still, it’s nice to see that audiences for such a limited release were chomping at the bit to see this funny, poignant tale of a socially awkward 27-year-old dancer in New York who is struggling to figure out how to live her life. The well-received film, shot in glorious black and white, features a talented ensemble cast that includes Mickey Sumner, Charlotte d’Amboise, Adam Driver, Grace Gummer, Michael Zegen, Juliet Rylance, and Josh Hamilton. Since his first film, 1995’s “Kicking and Screaming,” Noah Baumbach has become one of the most respected writer/directors working in independent films. I spoke with him in Los Angeles.

 

MSN Movies: This is such a great collaboration between you and Greta Gerwig. Because she had such a big hand in developing the character, were there ever moments during the filming where she felt something didn’t feel right for Frances?

 

Noah Baumbach: Part of what’s so unique about Greta as a writer and an actor is she can really separate the two. When she was playing the part, there was very little indication that she had written the lines. She was just very present as an actor and she wanted to be directed. We were very rigorous on this movie. We did many takes so it was kind of strenuous—I guess you could say it took a lot of effort to make it look so joyful and breezy! It’s the same thing for me as a writer/director—once I’m directing, I’m treating the text as something that I’m interpreting, even though I also invented it.

 

All of your films feature such interesting female characters—complex, real women who are dealing with some heavy emotional issues. How do you think Frances falls in line with Joan in “The Squid and the Whale,” Pauline and Margot in “Margot at the Wedding,” or Florence in “Greenberg?”

 

In the context of my work, Frances is one of the easiest characters to like! I just loved her— she’s so understandable as a person and she has such goodness. Frances has this kind of joyful and hopeful approach to life despite all the crap that life can bring you. I felt like I was inspired in a way, both in writing and directing, to protect her but at the same time give her the opportunity to grow. What I really liked about making this film is that it’s a movie about the romance of practicality and Frances was the perfect character to document that.


Bing: More on Noah Baumbach | More on Greta Gerwig

 

I was inspired by Frances’s unique way of accepting reality, even if it sometimes takes her a while to do so. Greta Gerwig is so great in this part, but so are all of the actors in the film, even those who only appear for a minute or two.

 

I like that about the movie, too. I feel like it’s a great snapshot of some of the best actors who are in New York right now. Some of them have already broken out in other things. When we made the movie, for example, Adam Driver was still filming “Girls,” it hadn’t happened yet. I think we’ll more of the other actors in big things coming up.

 

It’s hard not to compare the world of this movie to Lena Dunham’s “Girls” even though they’re very different. How do you respond to such comparisons? I also hear the movie discussed in the same breath as Woody Allen’s New York-based films.

 

I think it’s cool that there is more than one thing going on about young women in New York—there’s no reason that they can’t both exist happily together. Lena’s great, and I think what’s she’s doing is great. As for Woody Allen, I can only take that as a compliment. I think his movies are brilliant.

 

And speaking of Woody Allen, I so admired the gorgeous black-and-white cinematography in this film. Is that still a hard sell these days?

 

On cars and scars and stunts and kids ...

By James Rocchi 19 hours ago

 

Star-crossed lovers with big hearts on their sleeves and heavy feet on the gas pedal, Paul Walker and Jordana Brewster have been mainstays of the 'Fast and Furious" films. Walker is FBI-agent-turned-criminal Brian O'Conner, while Brewster is Mia Toretto, the little sister to Vin Diesel's bigger, badder Dom. We spoke with the two in London about real driving, real stunts and moving on without franchise director Justin Lin ...

 

MSN Movies: A lot of the time these well-received series, they can have a revolving door in the director's chair, but you guys have been working with Justin Lin for so long. Is that great in terms of being able to just really work on the characters and the ongoing relationships with him?

 

Paul Walker: Yeah, for me obviously ... I think what he's done , people realize. He's a champion. But what people don't see that we see is that he matches that with heart. He just comes from the right place, he's a team player, he wants everyone to feel valued, and he wants everyone to feel like they're important. And I respect him for that. I just think he's a really good team captain. Moving forward, we're talking about "Seven" without him...

 

It's going to be difficult, right?

 

Walker: I mean we've been there before.

 

Right, certainly.

 

Walker: We've seen this transition before, and I've had a conversation with James Wan already, and there's my read on people is pretty on point. And I think we've got a winner in him, too. So I'm excited. After that conversation it made it a little bit easier. But yeah, Justin's always going to be missed and appreciated. He's a champ.

 

And Ms. Brewster, in "Fast Five" it was revealed that your character's pregnant, and in this film you actually have the child. What's it like playing a mom in the classic North American action film? Is that a different set of challenges?

 

BING: More on Paul Walker l BING: More on Jordana Brewster


Jordana Brewster: I didn’t view it as a challenge. I thought it was sort of a very organic, natural progression in Mia and Brian's life. So when I saw (the baby scenes) I thought they were very sweet, and it's kind of like the moment where the film gets a little more grounded after, and it's all this crazy action. So it's really easy.

 

Is it nice being in an action film where the laws of physics get bent but not broken, in that there's nothing superhuman or science fiction-y about it? It's all extraordinary, but still relatively real.

 

Walker: Yeah, I want it completely real. That's just my personality. And I think a lot of people, for a lot of people it's just not enough.

 

 

Two box sets, one classic and one contemporary, of gangster movie landmarks on Blu-ray

By SeanAx 20 hours ago

Back in the thirties, as sound remade the movie industry, Warner Bros. blasted into the new decade as the studio of scrappy, snappy, street-smart movies, full of wise-cracking reporters, blue-collar hustlers, and hard-luck guys and dolls struggling to get by in the hard times of the depression. They were also the godfathers of the gangster movie, launching the genre and its two most famous icons with early sound movie landmarks "Little Caesar" (1931) with Edward G. Robinson and "The Public Enemy" (1931) with James Cagney.

 

Both of those films debut on Blu-ray this week in "Ultimate Gangsters Collection: Classics" (Warner), which arrives with its companion set "Ultimate Gangsters Collection: Contemporary" (Warner). Together they present nine films on Blu-ray, from 1931 to 2006, and a bonus documentary on DVD.

 

Enter to win a copy of both volumes in a giveaway from MSN and Warner Home Entertainment.

 

"Classics" is the more exciting of the two releases, as the four landmark gangster movies from Warner Bros. all make their respective Blu-ray debuts this week (they also debut in individual volumes on Blu-ray). Along with "Little Caesar" (1931), which established the classic rise-and-fall arc of the gangster thriller, and "The Public Enemy" (1931), which unleashed dynamo Cagney in a star-making turn, is "The Petrified Forest" (1936), which gave supporting player Humphrey Bogart his breakthrough role as a mad dog of a fugitive killer, and "White Heat" (1949), with Cagney in an explosive performance as the most psychotic gangster in classic cinema: “Made it, ma. Top of the world!” 


Continue reading at Videodrone and see clips of Cagney from two films


For more releases, see Hot Tips and Top Picks: DVDs, Blu-rays and streaming video for week of May 21

 

It's blood-free, but certainly not scare-free

By Kate Erbland 20 hours ago
Kudos to whoever put together this green band trailer for the second entry in the "V/H/S" horror franchise, because they've managed to pack two minutes of marketing with enough scares and screams to ensure that the faint of heart won't even go near the film's red band trailer, let alone the finished project. 

Strangely, we mean all of that as a massive compliment.


"V/H/S/2" is the first follow-up to last year's "V/H/S," a loosely strung-together collection of horror shorts crafted by some of the genre's brightest rising stars. "V/H/S/2" continues the tradition, using a wraparound story about some (apparently haunted?) VHS tapes that all depict some truly horrific events and run the full gamut of horror tropes. 


Do you want zombies, aliens, monsters, creepy schoolgirls, and cults? "V/H/S/2" has got all of that (and so much more), and they're all coming to you from such writers and directors as Simon Barrett, Gareth Evans, Jason Eisner, Adam Wingard, and Eduardo Sanchez (and, yes, so many more). If you're at all a horror fan or you're just looking for some fresh filmmaking talent, do yourself a favor and check out the "V/H/S" franchise. Oh, and also? Do yourself another favor and bring someone you can totally cling to during the scary parts.

Check out the green band trailer for the decidedly not green band "V/H/S/2," thanks to Bloody Disgusting, after the break.
 

Remakes of 'Endless Love' and 'About Last Night' set for same day release

By Kate Erbland 21 hours ago
The eighties are back and they're coming for your heart.

Deadline Hollywood reports that yet another remake of an eighties-era cult classic romance will arrive in theaters just in time to ensure that couples everywhere have something to argue about on the day of love, as "Endless Love" will join "About Last Night" when they both open on Valentine's Day of next year. 


The "Endless Love" remake is coming to us from director Shana Feste (of "Country Strong" fame), who will attempt to top Franco Zeffirelli's original 1981 film that starred Brooke Shields and Martin Hewitt and which was over-the-damn-top in every way possible. Teens, if your parents are cagey about you dating and you don't quite get why, give the first "Endless Love" a watch - you'll soon understand where all their worst case scenarios came from (hint: they involve fire and jail). How nutty is "Endless Love"? The first film's official tagline was "The love every parent fears." No, really.

Feste's film stars Alex Pettyfer and Gabriella Wilde. We truly hope this new version is just as bonkers as the first.


For fans of the eighties and love stories, the also-releasing-on-Valentine's-Day remake of "About Last Night" may add just a touch of levity to the box office landscape. A remake of Edward Zwick's 1986 adaptation of the David Mamet play, the new "About Last Night" features an all-black leading cast to change things up a bit, including Kevin Hart, Paula Patton, Joy Bryant, and Michael Ealy. While it may not be as chuckle-heavy as "Endless Love," it should be far more traditionally funny. 

Other Valentine's Day releases include "The Maze Runner" and "Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters," so young readers will also have choices when it comes to movie-going. Missing from the box office, however? A new Nicholas Sparks film, a V-Day treat we'd been starting to get with some regularity, thanks to the holiday releases of "Safe Haven," "Dear John," and "Message in a Bottle." We think we'll live without a new Sparks, though, maybe.

Want more Movies? Be sure to like MSN Movies Facebook and follow MSN Movies Twitter.

 

Two gals, a road trip, and some bad dudes (and, yes, belly dancing)

By Kate Erbland 21 hours ago
When Ridley Scott's "Thelma & Louise" hit theaters in 1991, it hit theaters like a damn freight train (or, alternately, like a 1996 Thunderbird convertible careening off a cliff after an ill-fated chase with a mess of cops), irrevocably changing modern feminist cinema and what a "chick flick" could be. Of course, it also spawned its fair share of imitators, but few "Thelma & Louise" wannabes look as close to the original material as Rachid Bouchareb's "Just Like a Woman," which does at least benefit from the injection of a subplot involving belly-dancing, of all things.


Like "Thelma & Louise," Bouchareb's ("Days of Glory," "Outside the Law") film centers on a pair of unhappy housewives, here played by Sienna Miller and Goldshifteh Farahani, who decide to hit the road after a series of personal disasters. Miller's Marilyn is running from a cheating husband and a recently lost job, while Farahani's Mona is struggling with an arranged marriage to a man she doesn't love. The dangling carrot at the end of their trip is a belly dancing competition in Santa Fe, New Mexico that Marilyn is eager to compete in.


Yes, it all sort of sounds like the Mad Libs of female-centric road trips movies - a little "cheating husband," a dash of "belly dancing competition," some "Santa Fe" - but even the film's first trailer can't hide the one thing that just might make "Just Like a Woman" stand out, which is a lovely chemistry between Miller and Farahani. If the film really wants to plumb the depths of female friendships, that sort of rapport is a start, and we're eager to see if it actually pans out.

After the break, check out the first trailer for "Just Like a Woman," thanks to Yahoo! Movies, after the break. 

Emma Thomson and Emmy Rossum talk about the two worlds in the fantasy drama

By MSN Movies 21 hours ago

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This supernatural love story set in the South, “Beautiful Creatures” is a tale of two star-crossed lovers as they uncover dark secrets about their families, their history and their town. 

 

Bing: More on Emmy Rossum

 

To celebrate the release on Blu-ray and DVD we’re giving away copies of “Beautiful Creatures.” Watch this exclusive as Emma Thompson and Emmy Rossum takes you behind the scenes and enter to win a copy of the movie!

 

"Beautiful Creatures" is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.

Here’s how you enter the giveaway!

 

1. Like MSN Movies Facebook and follow MSN Movies Twitter.

 

2. Share the giveaway on your Facebook with friends and tweet and comment the following message: I want to win the @MSNmovies #BEAUTIFULCREATURES giveaway!

 

3. Email msnmovies@hotmail.com with the following message: I want to win the @MSNmovies #BEAUTIFULCREATURES

 

4. Stay in touch with MSN Movies Facebook to see if you've been selected as the winner.

 

Entries are accepted until Tuesday, May 28. Good luck, MSN Movies fans!

 
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