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Taylor's Shirtless Shoot, Glee's Madonna Tease, & Watch, Pass, or Rent!

PopSugarTV — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:28:10 -0800

Taylor Lautner takes his shirt off in a behind-the-scenes video for his Rolling Stone cover shoot, the Glee kids sing Madonna before the show goes on hiatus, and we review Me and Orson Welles and The Road in this week's Watch, Pass, or Rent!

Me and Orson Welles: A Likeable Film For Theater-Lovers

BuzzSugar — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:00:33 -0800

Zac Efron can act, people! Okay, so he's not going to win an Oscar for his performance in Me and Orson Welles, but he does take a step away from the tween territory of High School Musical and 17 Again to prove that he can hold his own among more experienced performers.

Efron stars as the "Me" in Me and Orson Welles, an over confident aspiring young actor named Richard whose only prior work includes a couple of high school productions - until he lucks into a bit part in Welles's stage production of Julius Caesar. Richard has a romanticized view of theater, but once he enters Welles's company, he's forced to learn the real nature of what goes on behind the scenes.

For more on the film, read more.

Ready to burst his bubble is his new mentor, Orson Welles (Christian McKay). A philanderer and liar with an inflated ego, Welles takes Richard under his wing but knocks him down at the same time. Throw into the mix Welles's tenacious assistant Sonja (Claire Danes) who makes goo-goo eyes at the young guy, and it's clear that Richard is in way over his head (even though he seems clueless about it).

British actor Christian McKay as Welles is larger than life - he plays the role as if the director is always acting and putting on a show, even in his personal moments. Welles could be an unlikeable character, but McKay makes him a guy you love to hate. Even though Efron is the more recognizable face and handles his role well, McKay's performance is the one most critics will talk about.

The film is enjoyable, but it fails to pull you in. My biggest concern is that it won't find an audience. Older viewers might appreciate Welles and the music of the era, but the appeal of Efron might be lost on them. On the other hand, Efron's fans might find the Welles element to be a snooze. Honestly, it's probably best suited to those who have a passion for theater. I enjoyed watching rehearsals with the Caesar cast (which features a ragtag mix of faces, including Ben Chaplin and James Tupper). The office politics and mini-breakdowns that take place before the curtain goes up make the film fun.

My advice? If you do choose to see it on the big screen, catch it quickly before it goes to rental.

If you'd like to review a movie you've seen recently, check out the Movie Reviews Group in community. I may even feature your critique on the site!

Rob & Kristen in LA, Rihanna Reunites With JT, and Kate Disses Jon & Hailey's Relationship

PopSugarTV — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:49:16 -0800

Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart land in LA together, Rihanna can't choose between Team Edward and Team Jacob while promoting her new music, and Kate Gosselin slams Jon and Hailey Glassman's relationship on the final episode of Jon & Kate Plus 8.

PopSugarUK Meets the Me & Orson Welles Cast Part Two: Christian Becomes Orson, Zac Talks Bad Auditions!

PopSugarUK — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:43:58 -0800

Following on from last week's part one of my interview with the Me and Orson Welles cast - Zac Efron, Claire Danes and Christian McKay - and director Richard Linklater, here's part two! Last night the cast attended a screening of the film in NYC alongside Claire's husband Hugh Dancy, Precious actress Gabby Sidibe and Stephen Dorff. In London last week, they discussed finding Orson Welles, knowing who he actually was (!) and Zac told us about his worst audition. Look out for part three later this week, but here's some more from Zac, Claire, Christian and Richard:

Christian, as a film newcomer were you nervous about playing such a strong character as Orson against old hands like Zac and Claire?

Zac, were you concerned that your largely teen fanbase wouldn’t have heard of Orson Welles?
Z - "Not concerned, I thought this was a good opportunity to reveal to them the genius that is Orson Welles. Perhaps the kids that don’t know about Orson will maybe have more of an opinion on him when they start to study him in school, have some more perspective, some insight into the life of this American icon."

To read about Zac's worst audition, just read more.

What was your worst audition?

Peter Pan

But it didn't put you off, you knew you wanted to do this?
Z - "Not at all, are you kidding?"
R - "A real actor... you can't ever... if a little rejection puts you off? Then you're not a real actor. That's so much a part of it, you know? It's got to be so much in your blood.
Z (deadpans) - "Because I was really acting at that point."

For more from the interview keep an eye on PopSugarUK later this week, where you'll hear more from director and stars!

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Claire and Zac Share Mutual Admiration

PopSugar — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0800

Zac Efron and Claire Danes were out and about in NYC yesterday to continue promoting their new movie Me and Orson Welles. The duo stopped by The Early Show for an interview and later met up again for a screening at night. Zac and Claire were full of compliments for each other as they make the rounds and have some cute back and forth banter during their morning appearance - watch it after the jump. This time Claire avoided any wardrobe malfunctions in her cute silver dress. Zac and Claire have been doing their promotional work - including chatting with PopSugar UK while in London - before the movie's release on Wednesday.

More photos of Claire and Zac at the premiere and video of their interview just read more.

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PopSugarUK Meets the Me & Orson Welles Cast: Zac Talks Footloose & Finding Seclusion, and Claire Talks Flirting!

PopSugarUK — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:53:19 -0800

Yesterday I was lucky enough to spend an hour with Zac Efron! He and his castmates in Me and Orson Welles, Claire Danes and Christian McKay, talked about their new movie in a Q&A session with UK journalists alongside their director Richard Linklater. Zac looked handsome and casual in a blue t-shirt and jeans, and fiddled with a bottle top on the table while talking, he was pretty self-deprecating, as was Claire who looked gorgeous and was really funny. Look out for more from this session right here next week, but without further ado - here's part one!

Richard, finding Orson must have been the key to the movie?

And once you found your Orson, it was time to find your “Me”?
R – "I was just really lucky that Zac had read the script and liked it and wanted to meet me. You know, Zac was being offered every film in town."
Z - (deadpans) "You were so lucky."
R – "It’s true! It’s never a given, and we sat down, and I was convinced about fifteen seconds in and I felt like I’d found Richard. Like I did when I found Christian. Even though Richard’s only 17 you see it through his eyes, he needed to be a leading man, he needed to go toe to toe with Welles. I just needed that quality that Zac has, that charisma and that kinda presence."

Zac, were you trying to break out from High School Musical box?
Z - "I recognised almost immediately that this was a pretty unique opportunity. I got the phone call that Rick had a script that he’d like me to read, and he wanted to have a conversation about it. And I was… so excited, I remember running home to read the script. And I read it and was pleasantly surprised that the role was pretty big. That’s not exactly what I expected. I was the “Me”, that was pretty cool. I was looking for that opportunity. Not necessarily to change my image or anything. But for a new role, that was a new challenge, and something interesting – and this was it."

To hear why Zac dropped out of Footloose, find out how his efforts to find seclusion on the Isle of Man went, and Claire's opinions on having to flirt with him, just read more.

Claire, your character hovers on the outside of things, organising things…

What was it like to flirt with Zac Efron?
C – (sighs) "Tough. Going." (Zac nods) "I don’t know... it was amazing. First of all the dialogue was very special. It’s very rare to find writing of this quality, very witty and engaging and I had a lot of fun with the flirty slang words and goofy vernacular. And the scenes, I thought, were very tender. And you know, Zac’s amazing."
Z (laughing) – "Yeah, the dialogue made me look really good."
C – "I was delighted to discover how fine an actor he is. And he can move very well. We took some dancing lessons for a brief scene in a dance hall, and that was very humbling. Zac was a much quicker study than I was, my god. A very coordinated guy."
Z – "It was the first time I actually led! It was great!"

Zac on dropping out of Footloose:
Z - "Footloose didn’t happen for a number of reasons, but...you know, I think it just felt like territory that I’d already explored. I felt like I’d already been there before. As opposed to trying something brand new, which is a bit riskier and it was a whole lot scarier, but so much more interesting, I think."

The cast on filming on the Isle of Man:
R – "We had a good time on the Isle of Man, we spent about three weeks working, we were just in the theatre the whole time."
Z – "It was great. No, I didn’t know where it was. I was looking forward to that seclusion. From what I’d heard it was a pretty quiet place, and there weren’t a lot of people there. You know? I can’t tell you how appealing that sounded."
R – "The girls did find out Zac was there and they showed up,"
Z – "Yeah… anyways… I found out there was a whole lot of people there. And we met… most of them. I mean, I felt pretty welcome."
C – "I don’t think anybody has been better received there."
Z – "It was funny, we couldn’t really go outside that much. We couldn’t really leave the theatre… we were there a whole lot. Day and night."
C – "Plus the theatre was literally next door, adjacent to the hotel we were staying in."
Z – "There was a tunnel from the hotel to the theatre."
C – "You didn’t have to go outside from your room to the set."
Z – "I didn’t. Didn’t go outside. It was great."

For more from the interview keep an eye on PopSugarUK next week, where you'll hear more from director and stars, including Brit newcomer Christian McKay.

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Zac and Claire Are UK Red Carpet Ready for Orson Welles

PopSugarUK — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:00:00 -0800

British fans have certainly had their screaming capabilities tested lately, as we got a visit from Robert Pattinson last week, and last night Zac Efron walked the red carpet in London! We caught him arriving at Heathrow yesterday, but last night was the big UK premiere of his new movie Me and Orson Welles, which is based on a fantastic book. Director Richard Linklater looked pretty casual at the premiere, while Zac was smart in his suit and costar Claire Danes looked stunning in her black dress. Claire's husband Hugh Dancy was also on hand looking handsome at the event, and other guests included Ali Bastian and Ben Chaplin.

I'm heading to a press conference with Zac, Claire and Richard today to find out all about the making of the movie. Stay tuned to PopSugarUK here and on twitter to find out how it goes!

To see more photos from the red carpet, just read more

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Zac Efron Takes Orson Welles to the UK

PopSugar — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:30:15 -0800

Zac Efron was on the go this morning as he made his way out of London's Heathrow Airport. He was in his signature shades on his way to a waiting car, before getting red carpet ready for the London premiere of Me and Orson Welles with costar Claire Danes. Zac was able to enjoy a little downtime in LA after recently wrapping up The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud, but now it's time for him to get right back to work with a press conference tomorrow - PopSugar UK will be Twittering the whole thing, so make sure to check them out!

There's lots more Zac when you read more.

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Zac Efron and Claire Danes Arrive in London!

PopSugarUK — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:18:45 -0800

Zac Efron and Claire Danes arrived in London today as they start their UK promotion for new movie Me and Orson Welles, which comes out on Dec 4. Zac's definitely bringing some manjoyment to London in his grey blazer and cool shades, while Claire wrapped up warm for the cold weather. I'm heading to a press conference with them tomorrow, so I'll bring you all the gossip from that and let you know what the movie is like very soon - check out the trailer now and decide if you think you'll see it or skip it!

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Who Was Most Fab at the 18th Annual Britannia Awards?

FabSugar — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 07:33:22 -0800

The 18th Annual Britannia awards brought out a gaggle of classy ladies. From fitted to voluminous, the following ladies radiated in their red carpet looks. Amy Adams (in Azzaro) and Minnie Driver went down the noir path, Freida Pinto showed sheer Valentino love, Emily Blunt dazzled in burgundy Basil Soda, and Claire Danes worked a classy black-and-white Oscar de la Renta number. All of them are spotlight-worthy, but who's most Fab?