Christoph Waltz

Django Unchained star Christoph Waltz was one of the first winners at this evening's Golden Globe Awards. At the podium, he thanked director Quentin Tarantino effusively, and backstage he was nothing but gracious. Check out his quotes:

How do you feel with this win? "Pretty good, I should say. I don't expect anything. I didn't expect this, either. When my name was called, my knees gave. It's unbelievable. [Working with Quentin] was a wild ride, a very wild ride. It was fantastic."

What was the hardest part of shooting Django? "Well, you know, riding the horse wasn't the challenge — getting off was. But I'm OK."

What do you do every day that keeps you grounded? "I get out of bed and I put my feet on the ground, and then for the rest of the day, I try to stay there."

What did you learn about the slavery message? "I learn something from everything I do. What you don't know, you have to find out. That's the valuable aspect to preparing for a part. Did I learn something? Absolutely, I found out this problem, which is still a problem, is still alive in the minds and heads of people of America. I thought it was as historical as it was for me."

On his favorite Django scene: "There's a favorite scene almost every other minute. It depends on for what: My favorite romantic scene is with Kerry [Washington]. My favorite action scene is when I have to jump off the horse. The favorite ending is when Jamie [Foxx] does this wonderful dressage. The whole movie is full of favorite scenes."

On the Django controversy: "If you choose a controversial subject, you better be ready for a controversial reaction. I think more movies should be that way."

In Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino mines the Western genre and a chapter of painful American history for a violent story of revenge and a tale of one of the most enjoyable friendships seen on the big screen. Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz play title character Django and bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz, respectively, who meet when Schultz frees and recruits the enslaved Django to help him track down his latest targets. The two team up, and when Django confesses his plan to find his enslaved wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), Schultz takes an interest in his tragic love story and decides to help Django find her. It's a surprisingly tender setup for the murderous adventures to come, and that juxtaposition is just one of the many crazy delights of Django Unchained.

Leonardo DiCaprio also stars as Calvin Candie, who owns a grand plantation called Candyland and who happens to be the current owner of Broomhilda. With his flamboyant dress, love of French culture, and charisma, Calvin is full of personality and is completely unpredictable. Calvin's far from the only dynamic character, though; each of Django's major players make this film as exciting as it is brutal. In exploring a new genre, Tarantino has created yet another mind-blowing, distinctive film. Find out what else makes this movie a must see after the jump.

The first trailer for Django Unchained solidified that this movie is Western done Quentin Tarantino style, and the new preview not only reasserts that, but things get even more familiar when the director's frequent collaborator Samuel L. Jackson shows up. As we learned before, the film follows a slave, Django (Jamie Foxx), who partners with a bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) to find his wife, who has been sold to cruel landowner Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). In this new trailer, we get a more extended peek at the interaction between the slippery Calvin and Django, and we meet several new characters — including Jonah Hill as an unmasked Klansman.

I was thrilled at the first trailer, but this one has me even more excited. There's more Tarantino-style humor, and I'm already loving the playful dynamic between Waltz and Foxx's characters. Django Unchained opens Christmas day, but you can watch the trailer after the jump.

Quentin Tarantino doesn't seem like the most likely director to take on a Western, but in the trailer for Django Unchained, it's clear that this movie is no traditional Western. Sure, everything seems conventional when we meet Django (Jamie Foxx), trudging in chains while a mournful Johnny Cash tune plays. But when he's recruited by bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) to help find outlaws, things get decidedly Tarantinian. Cue the soul music as Schultz and Django's journey leads them to plantation owner Calvin Candie, who's played by a curly-haired, Southern-drawling Leonardo DiCaprio.

DiCaprio is pretty cartoonish as what we suspect is the movie's villain, and his performance is my main reason for wanting to see this movie — which is saying a lot since I love Tarantino's work. I don't know whether this will top his last effort, the incredible Inglourious Basterds, but I'm excited to find out when the movie comes out on Christmas day. Watch the trailer and let me know what you think after the jump.