PopSugar

Movie Preview: Amanda Seyfried in Letters to Juliet

BuzzSugar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:30:33 -0800

Amanda Seyfried's latest film Letters to Juliet looks like a mash up of her other work. First off, her character's name is Sophie, which brings Mamma Mia to mind, as does the romantic foreign locale. But even the title itself made me do a double-take - wait, isn't she already doing a book-turned-film about letters called Dear John?! Still, I'm not writing it off just yet. (No pun intended). I can be a sucker for a love story, even if it's a bit sappy.

The film follows Seyfried as an American tourist who discovers an unanswered "letter to Juliet" while on a trip in Verona, Italy. (The notes are left by visitors asking for help from Shakespeare's famous heroine.) She responds to the plea, and then sets off to find its author (Vanessa Redgrave) and reunite her with the man she left decades before. Of course, there's a triangle in there too, as Sophie begins to question her own relationship with her fiance (Gael Garcia Bernal) and falls for the woman's grandson (Christopher Egan).

The trailer pretty much gives away the whole movie, but this sort of storyline is usually predictable so I'll forgive the studio for it. Bonus for Taylor Swift fans: her "Love Story" is the theme song. The film doesn't arrive in theaters until May, but check it out and tell me what you think when you read more.

Movie Preview: Michelle Williams in Mammoth

BuzzSugar — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 10:30:38 -0800

Sometimes it's still hard to believe that Michelle Williams was once Jen Lindley on Dawson's Creek. She's completely broken out of that mold with her ongoing string of indie films like Wendy and Lucy and Synecdoche, New York, and now comes yet another dark choice to add to her resume.

Williams stars opposite Gael Garcia Bernal in the upcoming drama, Mammoth, which follows a young family whose world begins to crumble after a few bad decisions. Leo (Bernal) is a website mogul off on a trip to Thailand, Ellen (Williams) is his doctor wife, and the film spotlights their daughter's nanny, Gloria, as well. Judging by the trailer, things begin to implode after Leo goes to a club and takes up with a prostitute - and everyone, even Gloria, feels the consequences.

I'm already mentally preparing myself for Mammoth. Thanks to its global, interconnected stories set up, I'm thinking it will be on the same intensity scale as a Babel or Crash. (Which means it's probably a downer that I'll need to decompress from later). Still, that sort of riveting drama can make for a great watch - albeit stressful - and Williams and Bernal's performances look exceptionally good in this one. It comes to theaters November 20, but watch the trailer and tell me if you agree with my assessment when you read more.

Gael Garcia Bernal Is Earthbound With Kate Hudson

BuzzSugar — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:45:45 -0700

Kate Hudson's career was off to an amazing start with her award-worthy performance in Almost Famous so many years ago, but somewhere along the way she veered into the romantic comedy world and got stuck there. She's been fighting her way out of her pigeonhole with roles in Nine and The Killer Inside Me, and her next romance sounds more serious and less slapstick. She'll star in Earthbound, playing a woman who falls in love with her doctor as she battles a terminal illness.

The subject matter is obviously sad and it still seems like it has the possibility for soapiness, but here's some good news: Gael Garcia Bernal is in talks to join the project. I know that most Bernal fans are collectively groaning at this news, but perhaps a costar like Bernal is exactly what Kate needs to reestablish herself as a serious actress. Maybe it's just me, but I'm hoping to see Hudson shine in her next films and beyond now that she's finally put a little distance between herself and Matthew McConaughey.

Cute Movie Couple Alert: Amanda Seyfried, Gael Garcia Bernal

BuzzSugar — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:15:12 -0700

How cute is this? Amanda Seyfried and Gael Garcia Bernal are teaming up to play a couple in the Italy-set romantic movie Letters to Juliet. They're joined in the cast by Vanessa Redgrave and Franco Nero. The story is based on a book "about the letters written by the lovelorn to star-crossed lover Juliet Capulet." Here's more:

Story follows a couple (Seyfried, Garcia) who take a trip to Italy and receive a note meant for Juliet written by a woman (Redgrave) searching for a young man who romanced her during a long-ago vacation in Italy. The young woman scours Tuscany to find the older woman's long-lost love (Nero).

The production company behind the project is none other than Summit, home of the Twilight movie franchise, so we know those folks are no strangers to the whole star-crossed lovers thing. What do you think about yet another story loosely based on Romeo and Juliet? Do you think Amanda Seyfried and Gael Garcia Bernal make a sweet couple?

Source and Source

Rudo y Cursi: Soccer, Fame, and Brotherhood

BuzzSugar — Sun, 10 May 2009 13:30:48 -0700

Written and directed by Carlos Cuarón, Rudo y Cursi is a quirky satire with a dark twist. The story follows two brothers named Beto (Diego Luna) and Tato (Gael García Bernal) on a familiar journey that takes them from humble roots on a banana farm all the way to professional soccer super-stardom.

Nearly seven years after Luna and García Bernal went road-tripping together in Y Tu Mamá También (also written by Cuarón and directed by his brother Alfonso) the two stars hardly look like they've aged and it's clear they had a good time reuniting on the set. However, while both actors deliver exuberant and forceful performances, their energy can't quite keep Cuarón's narrative on track. The result is a movie that is a joy to take in, but muddled in tone. To see what I mean, read more.

The boys are discovered by a talent scout named Batuta, who also narrates the film via voiceover. At first he can only take one of the brothers with him to Mexico City and he chooses Tato. Beto begrudgingly stays behind, tending to his wife and family, while Tato endures the brutal hazing practices of the soccer team. Eventually Beto does join his brother in the city and both become famous soccer players known by their nicknames Rudo and Cursi (roughly translated as tough and corny).

The movie has many comedic moments that work well. For example, García Bernal's character is more interested in a singing career than soccer, and the video he shoots for his cover of "I Want You to Want Me" is completely awesome. But when Diego's character gets to the city and grapples with a gambling problem, the brothers' relationship is tested, and the movie starts to drag. This disturbing undertone to the film doesn't quite jibe with the tongue-in-cheek satirical tone of the first half of the movie.

It's clear Cuarón has something to say about fate and love and even consumer culture, but his movie isn't executed quite well enough to figure out what that is. Still, the writing is witty and the tale is told with such vigor that you can't help but get swept away in it all.

Photos courtesy of Sony Picture Classics

Buzz Interview: Gael and Diego Reunite and It Feels So Good

BuzzSugar — Fri, 08 May 2009 05:30:56 -0700

I still remember the first time I saw Y Tu Mamá También and I became just slightly obsessed with the lead actors of the 2001 Mexican film. Since then, actors Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal have become global stars, and both have gone on to work with a variety of talented directors including Jim Jarmusch and Gus Van Sant.

Now the two are reuniting onscreen in Rudo y Cursi (opening today) as brothers from the countryside who are recruited to play professional soccer in the big city. I was lucky enough to sit down with them here in San Francisco to talk about acting together, why we don't actually see either of them play any soccer in a soccer movie, and Gael's singing voice. Here are some highlights:

On reuniting as actors for this movie:
Diego: Reuniting? It's just that it's . . . I mean, we're not reuniting.
Gael: It's not like Menudo . . .
Diego: It's not like Menudo reunited. Like we tried to go single and then we go "Oh man, no one's heard our music. Let's do another hit together." We've been working all those years, we have a company together, we have a film festival. I'm a producer of his films, he's a producer of mine. We've been collaborating a lot. But what's cool was, yeah, to be actors - just actors - again.

Lots more coming up, so read more.

On Y Tu Mamá También helping to start this decade's Mexican movie renaissance:
Gael: There were other films also.
Diego: There were, I think - and [Gael's] not going to say it - I think it was Amores Perros. I remember I was in Cannes the year of Amores Perros and just watching what was happening and just saying, "F*ck this is new. This is different. This has not happened with a Mexican film." And that happened a year before Y Tu Mamá También. I think Amores Perros was really the one that opened the doors for this kind of new talent that was coming out from Mexico.

In the movie, the camera often cuts away from the soccer field and as a result we don't see either Gael or Diego really play. I asked them if they wanted to play soccer onscreen in this movie:
Diego: Look at us? Come on. That is a very smart decision [the director] Carlos [Cuarón] made. We were thinking there is not a single film that is good that shows [soccer] and Carlos has a theory that is because it's not very dramatic you know? It lasts for 90 minutes, there's no pauses, there's no moments like in American football, baseball, where you have the pitcher thinking and changing and making a choice every five seconds, you know? In [soccer] it just happens and it's beautiful as it is so you cannot break it. It would be stupid.
Gael: When you see a film you want to see the emotional journey of the characters. You don't want to see the play strategy that they did.

I asked if they decided which one of them would play Rudo and which would play Cursi based on singing because Gael's character does a lot of singing and even performs in a video:
Diego: Obviously not!
Gael: (Laughs) Carlos decided . . .
Diego: Carlos was very smart. He wanted to change the dynamics of our relation[ship] and the relation[ship] we had in Y Tu Mamá También, so he decided to give me the older brother - I'm younger than Gael - and that did kind of affect the way we approached these characters and their relation[ship] and it made it a very different film.

On making career choices:
Diego: I do see many people in the States making their careers like that, saying, "OK I'll do a film with dogs - with real dogs! - and with kids! That'll get me an agent. That'll get me a publicist and they'll get me closer to the films I want to make." And sometimes that works. The cinema we shoot in Mexico is because the director really wants to tell one story and he's willing to give up everything and he gets his team. And the size of the movie depends a lot in how excited people get by reading the script.
Gael: If you don't have Julie Roberts and you do it in Spanish then it does not take. That's why the stories in Latin America, the good ones, are the ones that don't obey any of these rules. It's an interesting moment when a film like Sin Nombre [a movie on which Gael and Diego were executive producers] with no well-known stars at all can be incredibly successful. There's no formula to Sin Nombre but it's proven to be a commercial success also, so that's fantastic. If we try to do a formula it for sure will fail.

On working together again in the future:
Diego: We talked about it and probably it's not going to happen soon. And if it happens soon might be more in theater.
Gael: Yeah, something that's more easy for us to make with our hands because with films it requires a lot of people, a lot of money -
Diego: - a lot of confidence!

Rudo y Cursi photo courtesy of Sony Picture Classics and Source

Movie Preview: The Limits of Control

BuzzSugar — Sun, 03 May 2009 07:30:54 -0700

Director Jim Jarmusch comes from a fruitful era of independent film in the '80s, when directors including Spike Lee, Steven Soderbergh and Gus Van Sant were young filmmakers just beginning to make their mark in cinema. Where the others have gone on to enjoy some variation of mainstream success, Jarmusch has continued on with business as usual, making art-house films that often attract a cult following.

His newest film, The Limits of Control, is out now in limited release and stars Tilda Swinton, Isaach De Bankolé, Gael García Bernal, and Bill Murray. It's not getting the greatest reviews, but even when Jarmusch goes wrong, it's wrong in an interesting way. This film is described as essentially plot-less and simply follows a lone hit man. Visually, it looks gorgeous. To take a look for yourself, read more.

Source

Movie Preview: Rudo y Cursi

BuzzSugar — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:30:03 -0700

I talked a little bit about director Carlos Cuaron's comedy Rudo y Cursi when I was spotlighting movies to keep an eye on at the Sundance Film Festival, but at the time there was no trailer with English subtitles. Now there is, though, so I'm so excited to be able to share another look at this movie that reunites Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna, the stars of 2001's Y Tu Mamá También.

I love each of these actors individually, and together they have great chemistry. In Rudo y Cursi they're two brothers who leave their small Mexican village to become soccer superstars and deal with all the repercussions that come with fame and fortune. The new trailer captures the touching and funny spirit of the movie (I've seen it - stay tuned for my review). Rudo y Cursi opens May 8, and to see what it's all about, just read more.

Source

Buzz News Roundup, 2/2

BuzzSugar — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 13:30:01 -0800

Daniel Day-Lewis, Benicio Del Toro, and Gael Garcia Bernal are reportedly circling Martin Scorsese's next drama Silence, based on the Shusaku Endo novel. - Variety
TNT has renewed Leverage for a second 15-episode season, which should air later this year. - TV.com
Kung Fu Panda swept the Intnl. Animated Film Society's Annie Awards this year, while Wall-E went home empty-handed. - Variety
Meanwhile, Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle won the top award from the Directors Guild of America this year. - AP
And speaking of Slumdog Millionaire, star Dev Patel is joining the cast of M. Night Shyamalan's live-action film The Last Airbender. - ComingSoon
Kristen Johnston is "99.9 percent" going to play Patsy in Fox's Absolutely Fabulous remake pilot, while Kathryn Hahn is on board as Edina. - Entertainment Weekly
Both Faith Hill and Jennifer Hudson recorded their Super Bowl performances in advance. - New York Times
ABC Family has renewed Greek, cut Kyle XY, and picked up three new shows, including the series based on 10 Things I Hate About You. - TV Guide

Source

2009 Sundance Spotlight: An Education and Rudo y Cursi

BuzzSugar — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:30:35 -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:

An Education
Actress Carey Mulligan is getting a lot of attention at Sundance this year, as she's promoting not one but two films that both are receiving good buzz. I've already mentioned one of those films, The Greatest, but the other film seems truly destined for big things: An Education. The cast includes Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina, and Emma Thompson and the screenplay comes from About a Boy scribe Nick Hornby. The movie, about a girl coming of age in 1960s London, has already been picked up by Sony Pictures Classics and critics are raving.

A gallery of photos from this hot flick and a rundown of another big Sundance film follow after the jump. Just read more.

View 5 Photos ›

Rudo y Cursi
The silver screen reunion du jour is Kate and Leo in Revolutionary Road but I'm personally giddy about the opportunity to see the stars of Y Tu Mamá También acting together again. Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna are two of my favorite actors, and I find them totally irresistible together. They're starring in a movie about two brothers who leave their small Mexican village to become soccer superstars. It's getting mixed buzz, but most seem to think it's cute. One reviewer said that it "scores from every angle: comic, personal, and cross-cultural."

The following trailer is not subtitled but, no matter: It's a tale that unfolds visually even if you can't understand the words:

Photos courtesy of Sundance