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Schwimmer Puts Trust in Catherine Keener and Clive Owen

BuzzSugar — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:30:21 -0700

Behold, another project from a Friends alum: David Schwimmer will direct the upcoming film Trust, a drama about two parents dealing with the aftermath when their daughter becomes the target of an online sexual predator. Clive Owen and Catherine Keener will play the parents; newcomer Liana Liberato will star as their daughter.

This will be Schwimmer's second time in the director's chair, though the subject matter is a far cry from Run Fatboy Run. The plot sounds both intense and timely, and I have full faith that Keener and Owen will bring the required solid performances - especially after seeing Clive shine in a fatherly role in The Boys Are Back.

Are you glad that Clive is continuing to pick up deeper projects, or would you prefer he go back to playing the dark and mysterious guy we met in movies like Sin City? Be sure to check out my exclusive interview with Clive, and if you love Friends, explore the group dedicated to the show in the Buzz Community!

The Boys Are Back: A Quiet Film With a Few Heart-Tugs

BuzzSugar — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 08:30:26 -0700

Has Clive Owen - a man who's best known for playing con artists, spies, and other brooding alpha males - gone soft? It appears so, and he's surprisingly good at it. In The Boys Are Back Owen plays Joe Warr, a recently widowed sports reporter raising two boys in the Australian wilderness. And thanks to his understated performance, what could've been an overwrought tearjerker worthy of a made-for-cable movie turns into something quietly moving.

Based on the memoir The Boys Are Back in Town by Simon Carr, the film opens with Joe driving on the beach with his son Artie. Did I mention Artie is sitting on the hood of the car with Joe at the wheel?! Parental guidelines haven't been a priority in the Warr household ever since Joe's wife passed away from cancer. Now, he has to explain her death to Artie, while his older son Harry from his first marriage moves into the house. Left to their own devices, the two boys play soccer in the hallway, zip line across the yard, and even defrost a chicken in the bathtub.

Typical parenting? Not so much. For more on the film, read more.

These moments of chaos are fun to watch and add levity to the heavier subject matter, but the movie really shines in the conversations that Joe has with his sons as he helps them grieve - Artie for his mother; Harry for a childhood void of a father. Neither boy really knows how to mourn his loss, but then again, neither does Joe. Instead, he relies on the parental guidance of his deceased wife in the form of visions and voice-overs to help rebuild his family. (This felt very heavy-handed to me, but luckily it was really the only part of the film that crossed over into overly contrived.)

Does it seem out of place to have man's man Owen pillow fight with a 6-year-old and shed tears? A bit. But because he almost seems uncomfortable with the sentimentality, he ends up playing the role with the light touch needed for the part.

The young actors who play his sons are brilliant, even at times stealing the spotlight right out from underneath him. (Not an easy feat when you act - and look - like Owen.) Their performances feel very real despite their ages, and they give us some of the film's most tender moments.

I also must mention the fourth character of the film: the Australian landscape. Oscar-winning director Scott Hicks (Shine) beautifully captures the countryside from sweeping fields to oceanside beaches strewn with rocks, and when paired with music by Icelandic group Sigur Ros, every frame feels almost like a sleepy dream.

All in all, The Boys Are Back is a nicely done portrait of the relationships between fathers and sons. It's not out to be a huge blockbuster, but if you appreciate a good character study kind of film, it's a solid choice for a subdued Saturday afternoon.

Photos courtesy of Miramax Films

Design Ideas to Steal From the Set of the Boys Are Back

CasaSugar — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:00:31 -0700

While I'm pretty much guaranteed to cry all over this film, that possibility isn't deterring me from heading to the theaters later this month to watch The Boys Are Back. And yes, it also doesn't hurt that one of my favorite actors, Clive Owen, is starring. Following the journey into fatherhood that Owen experiences after the death of his wife, this film, from director Scott Hicks (Shine), is filmed in South Australia at a home, and a property, that are absolutely gorgeous. See some of my favorite design ideas from the film.
Images courtesy of Miramax

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Duplicity: See It or Skip It?

PopSugarUK — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 23:00:00 -0800

We've seen Julia Roberts and Clive Owen filming Duplicity in New York, in Rome and in London, and now we've got the trailer for their latest film together. The pair play corporate spies who were once romantically involved in this spy thriller by writer/director Tony Gilroy of Michael Clayton fame. Rather than join the big name films released in December, it's not due out until 20 March 2009, but the trailer has now been released. Take a look below and tell me: do you plan to see it or skip it?

Source

Link Time!

PopSugarUK — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:01:00 -0700

Clive Owen is at the London Film Fesival for The Boys Are Back - ITN
Britney's started a healthy new diet - Company
Amanda Holden says Alex Reid is charming - Handbag
Angelina Jolie might star in Gucci movie - Elle UK
Rachel Bilson works spots and stripes - InStyle UK
Guess the celebrity tattoo! - Cosmopolitan UK
Here's Chris Brown's new single "Crawl" - Hecklerspray
Adrianne Curry dresses up as Amy Winehouse with heroin for Halloween - Holy Moly
Pearl Lowe talks parties and Peacocks - Grazia
In his own way, Robbie Williams hasn't changed - PopJustice

Rewind: This Week's Buzz

BuzzSugar — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 07:30:00 -0700

Clive Owen had a big week: He landed a new project, and he was promoting his current film The Boys Are Back all over the place. I snagged an interview with him - and I have the video footage to prove it!
The New Moon soundtrack just came out, so I poured over it to choose a few favorite songs.
Before you hit the theater, check out my reviews for Law Abiding Citizen, New York I Love You, and Where the Wild Things Are.
Love a good bromance? Check out my top 12 favorites!
The fourth (and final) round of my Scariest Movie Bracket just started, so vote!
Channing Tatum gave us a misty-eyed performance in the trailer for Dear John - and Buzz and Woody are back for Toy Story 3!
Hollywood was giddy over a new film in the Jack Ryan series with Chris Pine, so I rolled out a few picks for the Hollywood men I'd like to see in the famous role.
My Caption It feature moved over to our BuzzSugar Community, so check it out!
As a spinoff to last week's 10 Most Influential Male Characters on TV, I gave you my picks for the 10 Most Influential Women. Take a peek at the list.
Ironically enough, I asked you which So You Think You Can Dance judge you were going to miss - and then Mia Michaels up and left.
Speaking of SYTYCD, don't miss your chance to go the finale! Take this quiz to win.

Clive Owen Heads Hotly Back Into Town

PopSugar — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:00:05 -0700

Clive Owen was decked out in a suit yesterday for a walk in NYC with a pal. He's out and about starting promotion for his upcoming film The Boys Are Back, which we caught a glimpse of him filming late last year. Unlike many of Clive's typical thriller movies, this one seems like it might be a tearjerker judging by the trailer. One way to keep the audiences happy would be a nice Clive shirtless scene - it's been a while since we enjoyed that sight!

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Clive Owen Just Wants You to Believe Him

PopSugar — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Clive Owen and his sexy smirk are on the cover of October's Details, as he begins promoting his latest movie, The Boys Are Back. The film centers on a sportswriter who loses his wife to cancer and has to raise his two sons on his own. Clive talked about his own childhood and mentioned he's not working on much else because he hasn't read any good scripts lately. Here's more:

On being raised by his mother and stepfather, then meeting his biological father at age 20: "It was a very, very working-class family. It was fine. It wasn't an unhappy experience - everybody struggled. . . [Meeting my father after a 17-year absence] was a very bizarre experience, looking at someone you've never known and going, 'Oh my God, that's my father.'"
On meeting his wife when he played Romeo and she was Juliet: "Yes, a cliché. I fell in love with her the minute she came in. She was late, she had these glasses and a pile of secondhand books, and there was something about her straightaway. There's no regret or resentment [now that she's given up acting to become a therapist]. She always smiles and looks at what acting can be like, and it's a relief to her that she's not doing it."
On how he wants people to think of him: "I got in a cab in Glasgow years ago, and this quite surly cabdriver says to me, 'You're that actor, aren't you? You get paid to lie, don't you? That's what actors are, aren't they? Professional bullsh*tters.' It had quite an effect on me. I f*cking get paid to lie. . . . I walked out of there and I spent a bit of time thinking about it. And then I realized I think it's the opposite: It's an opportunity to tell the truth. I try to do that in everything I do. And whether you like a movie I'm in or not, I want you to believe me. More than admire me or think I was brilliantly skillful, I want you to believe me."

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Link Time!!!

PopSugar — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:00:49 -0700

Beauty secrets from the Twilight girls - Glamour
Movie preview: Clive Owen in The Boys Are Back - BuzzSugar
Guess which celeb couple might be getting back together for the press? - Wonderwall
Christian Siriano does makeup for Victoria's Secret - Pink Is the New Blog
Kanye cracks a smile with Amber! - Lainey Gossip
Even Snoop Dogg has a personal umbrella holder - D-Listed
More of Britney showing off her bikini body - Egotastic
Are Paris and Doug getting romantic in Fiji? - The Superficial
Tila Tequila's back - Hollywood Tuna
Milla Jovovich has a premiere - Hollywood Rag
Get Antonio Banderassed - cityrag
Lots more fierce Tyra on the GG set - popbytes
Meet Roger Federer's twin girls! - JustJared

Even George Clooney Is Obsessed With Clive Owen

PopSugar — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:00:31 -0800

Clive Owen looks seriously sexy for the March issue of Esquire. He's been making the rounds promoting The International with Naomi Watts and up next, Clive will start working on Duplicity press with Julia Roberts. In the magazine, he talks about his family yet again while Julia reveals what she thinks makes her costar so lovable. Here are some highlights:

On why he likes soccer: "Outside of being home with my family, I prefer a crowd. At a soccer match, the big crowd, the singing, rocking around, it's urgent as hell. There's a ritual to it. I want to be in that mess. And no one bothers me. At a soccer game, everyone's eyes are on the pitch, aren't they? They don't care about some f***ing movie star. They have their eyes on the right thing. They watch the battle."
On preparing for a role: "I do a lot better if I sit around and think about a character for a couple of months. Before I climb into him for a run, I've just sat on my a** thinking about him, just reading, plodding around my house, driving my girls to school, fixing eggs. Like that. There's not a lot of transformation in it. I'm still just a driver to my children."
Julia Roberts on Clive: "George Clooney is obsessed with Clive. Every good-guy actor talks about Clive as one of their very favorites. Because he's English, because his successes have stood on the shoulders of his talents alone, because he hasn't just been carried away by popular culture. He's almost the most free of all of those guys. [...] The only surprise about Clive was how absolutely ferocious he could be on camera. When we shot Closer, he used to make me cry. He's a kind of emotional terrorist, so vicious. The thing about Clive is the happiness and security he has in real life is what allows him to go into a room and grab everyone's attention effortlessly. The secret is, everyone is really attracted to contentment."

Clive may prefer to blend in as a doting dad than to stand out as a movie star, but it has to be at least a little flattering to know he's raising the bar for his fellow A-listers like Clooney.

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