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Matthew and Camila Take the Premieres One at a Time

PopSugar — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:24:06 -0700

Camila Alves brought her baby bump out in LA last night to attend the premiere of One Peace at a Time with Matthew McConaughey. Little Levi sat this adventure out, after a fun-filled few weeks of shopping with mom and playing at home with dad. MM and Camila were joined by a refreshed-looking Billy Bob Thornton, as well as Dennis Quaid and his wife Kimberley. The Quaids avoided trouble on their way home from the screening when LAPD officers politely suggested that the duo call a taxi rather than drive after drinking.

To see more from the event, just read more.

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Happy 34th Birthday, Angelina Jolie!

PopSugarUK — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 11:06:17 -0700

Angelina Jolie turns 34 years old today, and with that in mind I thought it would be fun to take a look back over her career, starting at when she was just five years old, spanning all the way through to Cannes this year! Happy Birthday, Angelina!

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The Informers: Convoluted and Boring

BuzzSugar — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 13:30:51 -0700

Greed is good. Sex is easy. Youth is forever.

Or so goes the tagline for The Informers, a new film adapted from a collection of short stories by Bret Easton Ellis. You may recognize Ellis's name from the posters of several films in the past decade, namely American Psycho and The Rules of Attraction (there's also Glitterati, if that ever sees the light of day). If you're familiar with his work, you'll know, loosely, what to expect from his latest venture: Sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. There's plenty of all the aforementioned (hence the tagline), but, unfortunately the end result is more of a melodramatic mess than an examination of the excesses of the '80s.

Don't blame the actors, especially the more seasoned among them. A few - Kim Basinger, Mickey Rourke and to a slightly lesser degree Winona Ryder and Billy Bob Thornton - even give memorable performances in a movie that is anything but. The younger newcomers don't fare quite as well with the inane script that contains far too many storylines with far too many unlikeable characters. What's worse, the stories barely intersect, adding confusion on top of disdain.

Let me try to explain what goes down, when you read more.

If you break it down, there are five major plot pieces fighting for attention throughout the movie (apparently a vampire subplot starring Brandon Routh was cut). The most watchable of the bunch are the scenes with Thornton, Basinger, and Ryder. Thornton plays a TV exec who is trying to reconcile his marriage to Basinger's character, while still having an affair with Ryder. Basinger's open to reconciliation, but she's also currently sleeping with one of her son's friends. Which brings in plotline No. 2 involving most of the younger actors of the film. Austin Nichols, Jon Foster, and Amber Heard form a trio of friends who have nothing better to do than drugs and each other. Plot No. 3 has their friend Lou Taylor Pucci fighting off seedy seductions with his gung-ho father (Chris Isaak) in Hawaii. And finally plot No. 4 (don't even get me started on the fifth storyline) follows Mickey Rourke who is trying to sell a kidnapped kid to pedophiles, despite objection from his nephew played by the late Brad Renfro. Confused yet? I certainly was. Bored? That too.

Ultimately the film falters in its attempt to cover too much ground, spreading itself too thin with characters not worth caring about. And not that this movie needed another subplot, but a little vampire love could have added some bite to this film without a pulse.

Bottom Line: The Ellis fans out there may want to check out this first film for which he (co)-wrote the screenplay, but I'd skip the theatrical release.

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And the Billy Bob Thornton Parodies Start Flooding In...

GiggleSugar — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 03:00:00 -0700

As some of you may know, Billy Bob Thornton was recently outed as a major douchebag. He showed up with his band the Boxmasters to a live radio interview, and because the interviewer mentioned in his introduction that Billy Bob was (gasp!) an actor and not, I don't know, a Rock God - he sulked, stopped answering questions like a normal person, and in general acted like a petulant, self-important baby. Check out Michael Ian Black's inevitable impersonation. (As if the original were not a parody of itself already!)

Douchebag of the Day: Billy Bob Thornton

GiggleSugar — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 07:00:00 -0700

Waitresses who want to model. Models who want to act. Actors who want to sing. Is anyone happy doing the jobs they're in? Whatever the case, the actor-turned-wannabe-singer seems to be one of the douchiest strains of these hybrids. Take Billy Bob Thornton. I had no idea that this guy was a singer, musician, and according to him in this cringe-inducing interview he did with his band the Boxmasters - a "music historian."

Whatever Billy Bob might be, he's officially Douchebag Supremo in my book. Why? He gets furious with the affable and patient interviewer Jian Ghomeshi because Jian introduced him as an actor. His reaction? He stonewalls all Jian's questions with, "I don't know what you're talking about." His band looks embarrassed and miserable, he looks crazy, the interviewer looks baffled, and if you could see me - I look like I want to throw my shoe at the computer. Ugh! Quit taking yourself so seriously, Billy Bob. (Click here if you're a masochist and want to see BBT in all his DB glory for like 10 minutes.)

Morning Links!!!

PopSugar — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 09:30:00 -0700

WTF is going on in this Billy Bob Thornton interview? - I'm Not Obsessed
Paula compliments Scott as he gets sent home on American Idol - BuzzSugar
Jessica Stroup wants to be on Gossip Girl - Fox Pop Tarts
Did Bruce Springsteen break up a 17-year marriage? - Lifeline Live
Pink and Carey Hart are back together - Celebitchy
Kim Kardashian would like to join the Twilight cast - Popeater
Michael Phelps is enjoying his swimming exile - Deadspin
Katie Holmes to participate in DC Memorial Day reading - Us Weekly

Would You Be Surprised If Angelina Made Another Movie With Billy Bob?

PopSugar — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 12:00:44 -0800

Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie divorced a long time ago, but both have always had kind words to say about each other. In a recent interview Billy Bob said: "I'd like to do another movie with Angie, one of these days. We talk all the time. She and I keep looking for something to do together; we just have to find the right thing."

The actors met on the set of Pushing Tin, and we all know the history Angelina has of dating her costars. These days, however, she seems like a completely different person happy with Brad Pitt and their family. So tell us - would you be surprised if Angelina did another movie with Billy Bob?

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2009 Sundance Spotlight: Brooklyn's Finest, The Informers, 500 Days of Summer

BuzzSugar — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 16:30:39 -0800

While I won't be heading down to the 2009 Sundance Film Festival this year, I will be sorting through the humongous pile of festival entries to share with you some of the films I think look most promising. From quirky documentaries to talented young filmmaker debuts to a potential runaway hit, Sundance is filled with entertainment possibilities. Here are today's selections:

Brooklyn's Finest
Directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day), Brooklyn's Finest just became this year's first sale at Sundance. Apparently "Senator Distribution nabbed North American rights . . . on Saturday night, 24 hours after its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. . . Senator says it will release the film in the fourth quarter for awards consideration." According to Senator president Mark Urman, the company "went into aggressive pursuit right after Friday's screening." Wow! All of this spells good things for the cop drama which features a stellar cast (Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes, Ellen Barkin). The plot is described as: "Three unconnected Brooklyn cops wind up at the same deadly location after enduring vastly different career paths." The guy responsible for the screenplay has a unique and intriguing story himself (you can read about it here). No clips available just yet, but now that it's been purchased I'm sure we'll hear and see much more about this film in the future.

Two more great-looking movies, with talented folks like Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Mickey Rourke, if you read more.

The Informers
Well, the long-awaited movie adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's collection of short stories is upon us. The movie, starring a whole lot of people from the '80s and early '90s (most notably Mickey Rourke, continuing his amazing career comeback) is about LA in the '80s in all its beautiful, indulgent, moral-decaying glory. The Informers also includes Kim Basinger, Winona Ryder, Billy Bob Thornton, Chris Isaak, and the late Brad Renfro (his final role). I have mixed feelings about this movie, but then again, any trailer that includes a song by A Flock of Seagulls deserves a chance in my book.

FYI: The trailer for The Informers below is not suitable for work due to some topless ladies. Proceed with caution:

500 Days of Summer
Oh, man. Could these two be cuter together? I think not. I was so excited when this casting news first came out and I'm even more thrilled that the movie's premiering at Sundance (to not-bad reviews so far) and has a release date (July 24) and now has a super cute teaser trailer (see below!). At first glance, the movie's description sounds like a little tale of unrequited love (boy loves girl, girl doesn't believe in love) but here's the part that got me really curious: "energized by dance numbers, split screens, and two dynamic performances from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel." Dance numbers? Why not?! Check out the trailer below and for additional clips, click here.

Photos courtesy of Sundance

Sugar Bits - Tea and David's Split Possibly Due to Billy Bob

PopSugar — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:31:25 -0700

Rumor has it David Duchovny and Tea Leoni recently separated because of Tea's relationship with costar Billy Bob Thornton. David supposedly found "explicit text messages" from him on Tea's phone, leading to the split.- Daily Mail
Ryan and Redmond O'Neal were both charged with felony possession of methamphetamine, following the drug bust at their house, and will be arraigned on Nov. 13. - TMZ
Lisa Bonet and her boyfriend Jason Momoa are expecting another baby. This will be Lisa's third child and her second with Jason. - People
The rumored sex tape between Peter Cook and Diana Bianchi, the teen he cheated on Christie Brinkley with, supposedly exists. Bianchi's lawyer is considering suing since she did not give consent before being taped, while Cook claims not to know about the material. - NY Post
Nancy Reagan has been hospitalized after she fell and broke her pelvis and is expected to make a recovery in six to eight weeks. - AP
Jay Leno is being sued by the estate of Macy's heir John W. Straus, who alleges that Jay was illegally sold an antique car during a fake auction. - AP
Kevin Costner and and his wife Christine are expecting their second baby. It will be his sixth child. - Entertainment Tonight

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Eagle Eye: Absurd . . . ly Fun

BuzzSugar — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 05:30:28 -0700

The story of Big Brother watching and controlling all of the helpless citizens in Eagle Eye might be more effective if it weren't quite so preposterous. That said, this movie intends to thrill and entertain, and it succeeds on all counts. It holds your attention with all the plot twists and the bombardment of explosions, the kind of explosions that make a certain audience cheer. Eagle Eye will probably not be an award-winner, but it's great for when you want to totally escape with a loud, ridiculous, big ol' Hollywood popcorn flick.

For starters, the two leads are seriously likable. I so enjoy watching Michelle Monaghan in pretty much anything (even crap like Made of Honor) because she seems so comfortable on screen. She's like someone we all might know. Not average, really, but familiar in a comforting way - smart, nurturing, sweet, tough. And Shia LaBeouf is utterly adorable in this film. It doesn't ask much of him, but he delivers nicely nonetheless. He plays Jerry Shaw, a slacker living in Chicago and having trouble making ends meet. The sudden death of his estranged twin brother Ethan sets off a series of baffling occurrences for Jerry, starting with a strange woman contacting him on the phone just as he's being set up to look like a terrorist. Oh, this is only the beginning, though, so read more.

It turns out the strange woman is forcing Jerry to do her bidding or else get caught by the authorities. As long as he does what she says, he's safe from the police who have plenty of (planted) evidence to lock Jerry away for good. Single mother Rachel Holloman has been similarly summoned by this woman, and she and Jerry are thrown together on a crazy, mysterious chase at the instruction of a disembodied voice which, unbelievably, is able to manipulate any form of technology (making signs flash instructions to Jerry, turning all the traffic lights to green so they can rush through them, etc.) in order to speed up their journey and confound the police and FBI who are hot on their trail.
The woman's voice leads the two straight into an actual terrorist plot, an act of revenge for an impulsive and wrongful bombing of innocent people by the US. What follows is a convoluted string of twists, turns, and (usually) death-defying stunts, and all for what? The answer is pretty silly, but I won't spoil it for you here.

People always say that there's no original story left in Hollywood and that it all depends on how filmmakers reassemble old ideas. Eagle Eye completely borrows from other movies and churns out clichéd moments left and right. And yet, that doesn't diminish the fact that it's still compelling to find out how this technology controls and manipulates these humans, and how the humans desperately try to win anyway.

There's an attempt at some kind of political statement with this movie, but it doesn't quite make it. And that's fine. At some point you understand that this is pure entertainment and nothing else. It's one of those times when you can resign yourself to the silliness of it all and be swept away in the zooming car chases and frantic search for answers, or not. It's not artful, by any means, but as far as action movies go, it's not too shabby. Not too shabby at all.

Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures