Girls returns to HBO on January 13, 2013 and today the network’s revealed a first-look at what we can expect from this upcoming second season. And just in case you’re wondering, the music in the trailer is “Commerce, TX” by Ben Kweller and Ellie Goulding’s “Anything Could Happen.”
Watch the trailer:
The Details:
Created by and starring Lena Dunham, the show is a comic look at the assorted humiliations and rare triumphs of a group of girls in their early 20s. Dunham wrote and directed the pilot of the series, which she executive produces along with Judd Apatow and Jenni Konner. The cast also includes Jemima Kirke, Allison Williams, Adam Driver and Zosia Mamet.
Source: HBO
Girls Season 2 Trailer is Here
Francesca Eastwood is Miss Golden Globe 2013
“Francesca comes from a very talented family and we are delighted to have her be our Miss Golden Globe,” stated Takla-O’Reilly, HFPA President. “She is a budding actress and is a great addition as we celebrate the show’s 70th anniversary!”
Commenting on the honor, Francesca Eastwood said, “I am honored to have been chosen by the Hollywood Foreign Press to be Miss Golden Globe of 2013. I have watched the Golden Globes ceremonies since I was a little girl, and it means so much to me to be a part of one of Hollywood’s most illustrious events.”
The job of being Miss Golden Globe normally is given to the child of a celebrity, with Eastwood joining the ranks of Rumer Willis (daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis), Laura Dern (daughter of Diane Ladd and Bruce Dern), Joely Fisher (daughter of Connie Stevens and Eddie Fisher), Melanie Griffith (daughter of Tippi Hedren), Mavis Spencer (daughter of Alfre Woodard and Roderick Spencer), Gia Mantegna (daughter of Joe Mantegna) and Rainey Qualley (daughter of Andie MacDowell).
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will be co-hosting the 2013 Golden Globes airing on NBC on Jan. 13th at 5pm PT/8pm ET.
Background on Francesca Eastwood, Courtesy of HFPA:
Francesca Eastwood is the daughter of multi-Golden Globe Award winner Clint Eastwood and actress Frances Fisher. Born into the world of acting, Francesca has been acting alongside her parents since she was a young girl. Her film credits include True Crime and The Stars Fell on Henrietta. She recently wrapped the first season of E!’s Mrs. Eastwood and Company starring alongside her step-mother, Dina Eastwood, her younger half-sister, Morgan Eastwood, and the South African band Overtone. She currently resides in Los Angeles and is enrolled at the University of Southern California.
Source: HFPA
Guests Announced for ‘A Home for the Holidays with Rascal Flatts’
Rascal Flatts will be joined by American Idol‘s Phillip Phillips, Matchbox Twenty, Melissa Etheridge, and The X Factor‘s Rachel Crow as performers on the 14th annual A Home for the Holidays with Rascal Flatts TV special. Airing on CBS on December 19th at 8pm, the holiday special will also feature appearances by Wayne Brady, Kevin Frazier, and Jillian Michaels.
As with the previous years, A Home for the Holidays will feature true inspirational stories of adoption from foster case in order to “raise awareness for this important social issue.”
Here’s the scoop on the families featured on this year’s special, courtesy of CBS:
Crow Family (Los Angeles, Calif.)
“Everything I’ve done has been possible because of my family. They gave me the love and support to follow my dreams,” says 14-year-old recording artist and X Factor finalist Rachel Crow. Placed in foster care as an infant, she moved through three different foster homes in less than a year and faced an uncertain future until she was adopted by Kelly and Barbara Crow.
“Even as a toddler, Rachel had such spirit and drive to be the child she was meant to be, and before we knew it she became this little girl with the big voice,” says Barbara. Three years later, the Crows adopted their second daughter, Hannah. “The love I have for my girls is beyond anything,” says Kelly. Today 11-year-old Hannah is a straight-A student and Rachel has a recording contract with Columbia Records/Syco, a development deal with Nickelodeon and a recurring role on the comedy series Fred: The Show.”
Dunne Family (Tampa, Fla.)
If you met the Dunne brothers today you would never know they had been living apart, as they moved through 23 different foster homes in just five years. “Some nights I would try to hide under the covers because I was so scared,” says the youngest, John. Chris and Tammy Dunne had raised two daughters when they saw a picture of the four brothers in foster care. “My husband was adopted as an infant and I aged out of foster care without a family, so the boys really touched our hearts,” says Tammy.
“We wanted them to stay together, and made an instant decision to adopt all four,” says Chris. “You can’t think that no one will love you. There is someone and you just have to keep hoping,” says oldest brother Eric.
Burkett Family (Nashville, Tenn.)
“We met our son when he came to stay as a temporary foster placement. It started out as two days and turned into forever.” The Burketts always had a love for children and decided to become foster parents in 2009. “We wanted to bridge the gap between the uncertainty of a foster child’s past and the hope for an adoptive family in their future.” But fate had other plans. “The day after we met Anthony, we took him to his high school track meet and he politely said, ‘I’ll call you when I’m done.’ It broke my heart that he didn’t think we would cheer him on,” says Tahnesia.
“He had this shy smile of amazement when he realized we were there to watch him run and from that day on, we had a special bond,” says Brett. Now a star athlete, Anthony thrived in the care of his loving parents, and when the Burketts learned that Anthony had a sister in foster care, they adopted both children.
Moore Family (Long Beach, Calif.)
When Terri and John Moore married in 1988, they thought about having biological children, but instead decided to adopt. “We were very involved in our church and wanted to make a difference. Foster children need someone to champion them, and we knew we could give them the love they deserve.” The couple soon met 5-year-old Anthony and his 4-year-old brother Chris, who had been placed in foster care after being found homeless and abandoned.
“The boys just stole our hearts and that was the beginning of our wonderful family of six beautiful children,” says Terri. The Moores became an inspiration to their church, and today their congregation has fostered more than 50 children and more than 20 have been adopted.
Movie Review: Hitchcock Starring Anthony Hopkins
Reviewed by Kevin Finnerty
“You are intrigued, aren’t you? Killing off your leading lady halfway through the movie,” says Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins). “You shouldn’t kill her off halfway through, you should kill her after the first thirty minutes,” replies Alma Hitchcock (Helen Mirren) as the old married couple discuss the next film the great director Alfred Hitchcock is going to make in the dramatic film, Hitchcock.
With the big success of his film North by Northwest, Hitchcock is looking for something very different for his next project and his interest is piqued by the novel Psycho inspired by the horrific murders committed by Ed Gein in Wisconsin. It’s no surprise that no one is excited about Hitch’s choice, including his own wife Alma who would rather have him working on her friends Whitfield’s (Danny Huston) new screenplay. But Alfred is convinced that the moviegoing public is going to be drawn to the shock and horror of Psycho and is determined to make a film completely different from anything he has ever made before.
Charming and funny, Hitchcock is a film that tells a fairly interesting story but is elevated by strong performances. Sir Anthony Hopkins gives another Academy Award-worthy performance as the brilliant director who made what many consider one of the most horrifying movies of all time. He almost completely disappears into the role of Hitchcock, showing perfectly the man’s dry wit, strive for perfection, and humorous mannerisms.
Helen Mirren is wonderful as Alma Hitchcock, the devoted and at times under-appreciated wife and partner to the famous director. Mirren conveys both the deep feeling and respect she feels for Alfred and the contempt and jealousy for never quite getting any real credit for all the hard work and great ideas she brings to her husband’s films. The scene where Alma walks on set while Hitchcock is out sick, throws the movie studio’s producer with his fill-in B-grade director off the set and takes charge – improving on a scene her husband couldn’t get right and had struggled with days earlier – is a true delight.
Scarlett Johansson is the biggest and best surprise in the film, flawlessly portraying Janet Leigh. Looking almost identical to the beautiful and talented actress, Scarlett plays Leigh as an elegant, charming and determined actress who finds working with the iconic Hitchcock to be the highlight of her career and the filmmaker himself a sweet and unique man.
The production design and look of the film is great and captures the era of the late 1950s and 1960s perfectly.
The only flaw with the film is the tedious sub-plot of the ever-possible affair between Alma and Whitfield and Hitchcock’s growing suspicions of it. It adds nothing to the drama and struggle the great director went through to make his famous film and finally slows the pacing to an almost unbearable crawl before getting back on track.
Hitchcock is a humorous and clever film, with Hopkins capturing just enough of the eccentric, madness and wit of the man it’s based on to have the audience yearn to go back and watch some of the classics by the master of suspense – classics that include Rear Window (my personnel favorite), Strangers on a Train, and, of course, Psycho.
GRADE: B-
Hitchcock was directed by Sacha Gervasi and is rated PG-13 for some violent images, sexual content and thematic material.
Music Spotlight: will.i.am – Scream & Shout ft. Britney Spears
Britney Spears joins will.i.am for “Scream & Shout,” a dance club single off of will.i.am’s upcoming solo album. And while Britney does appear prominently in the video, she barely sings (talks, yes – sings, not so much) and never dances. Instead, she shows off how well she can pose and does a British accent – and that’s pretty much it.
The single is the latest release off of will.i.am’s 2013 album, #willpower.
Watch the video:
Things Get Scary Fast in the New Black Rock Trailer
Kate Bosworth, Lake Bell, and Katie Aselton star in LD Entertainment’s horror/thriller Black Rock coming to theaters on May 17, 2013. And in this new trailer for the 2013 release – which Aselton also directed – the three ladies have a nasty run-in in the woods with a scary group of men.
The Plot:
Black Rock follows three childhood friends who set aside their personal issues and reunite for a girls’ weekend on a remote island off the coast of Maine. One wrong move turns their weekend getaway into a deadly fight for survival.
Watch the trailer:
Visual Effects Oscar Contenders Narrowed to 10
The Amazing Spider-Man
Cloud Atlas
The Dark Knight Rises
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
John Carter
Life of Pi
Marvel’s The Avengers
Prometheus
Skyfall
Snow White and the Huntsman
The 85th Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center.
Source: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Movie Review: ‘Killing Them Softly’
Based on a novel by George V. Higgins, Killing Them Softly comes from screenwriter/director Andrew Dominik. It revolves around a fixer (Brad Pitt) who has to ascertain, and then rectify, the parties responsible for robbing his bosses’ illegal card game.
The film boasts an almost ridiculous wealth of acting talent. Pitt takes top billing but the quality of his measured approach to the character is mirrored by the rest of the cast. Scoot McNairy, who is almost a chameleon in his roles of late (Monsters, Argo, the upcoming Promised Land), delivers a superb performance; as do Richard Jenkins, James Gandolfini, Ray Liotta, and Ben Mendelsohn (another lesser known name but he was so good in Animal Kingdom). This is the kind of ensemble that should be spoken of in the same breath as Glengarry Glen Ross and 44 Inch Chest, where the mere collection of actors so skilled in their craft should be enough to draw true film fans into a theater.
Like those other films, this is a rather dark tale. It is, after all, about a couple of guys (McNairy and Mendelsohn) hired to rob a card game run by some heavy hitters. The mafia-like syndicate’s mouthpiece is Richard Jenkins, who gives the okays and hands out the money to people like Pitt who are there to protect their interests and standing amongst the criminal underbelly.
One of my biggest reservations about Dominik’s previous film, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, was the glacial pacing but the economy with which he charges through this story is one of the most impressive aspects, with Killing Them Softly coming in at 97 minutes. It is a somewhat simple story in terms of plot points but the discussions that take place between characters are fascinating and so well acted that watching them feels almost like a cinematic gift; even more so in 2012’s movie landscape.
Dominik also delivers on the grim aesthetic of the world populated by these criminals. You won’t find a lot of sunlight in this movie, the sound design is masterfully handled, and when violence erupts now and again, it’s handled with graphic precision and, at times, a visceral beauty that will leave its images stirring on your mind long after the credits roll. That’s not to say this is about huge, choreographed action sequences – far from it. Dominik’s screenplay is the underpinning that gives the actors such a strong foundation to develop their characters as their scenes play out. The movie is first and foremost a collection of discussions between the characters as they march towards what seem to be almost predestined outcomes, though that doesn’t stop the desperate among them from trying to claw their way out of their fate.
Another added element to the proceedings is juxtaposing the world these characters live in with the political rhetoric being bandied about at the time of the financial collapse. Throughout the movie, excerpts of speeches by former President George W. Bush, then Senator Barack Obama, and other politicians and pundits are interwoven into the proceedings. All of this blustering perfectly frames the proceedings of the movie and elevates the already great script.
Hopefully it won’t be another five years before Dominik’s next project, as he almost seems to be mimicking Terrence Malick in the frequency of his films (with the astoundingly good Chopper coming out in 2000 and Jesse James from 2007). This is the kind of quality work audiences should expect when plunking down $42 to see something in theaters these days. As long as you can handle violence and appreciate great acting utilizing such a carefully crafted script, Killing Them Softly ranks right up there amongst the best films of the year and should not be missed.
GRADE: A
Killing Them Softly hits theaters on November 30, 2012 and is rated R for violence, sexual references, pervasive language, and some drug use.
Robert Zemeckis Set to Receive Director of the Year Award
Announcing Zemeckis’ award, Film Festival Chairman Harold Matzner stated: “For 35 years, Robert Zemeckis has been creating some of the most iconic and indelible images in cinema, garnering international acclaim as a filmmaker of extraordinary vision. In his latest work, Flight, Zemeckis continues to tell fascinating stories by combining strong characters with groundbreaking visual effects, which includes one of the most memorable plane crashes in cinematic history, while following the compelling emotional journey of Denzel Washington’s character of an emotionally damaged man dealing with addiction. For these achievements the Palm Springs International Film Festival is honored to present the 2013 Director of the Year Award to Robert Zemeckis.”
Previous Director of the Year Award winners include Stephen Daldry, Ang Lee, Anthony Minghella, Alexander Payne, Sean Penn, Jason Reitman and David O. Russell.
The Palm Springs International Film Festival will take place January 3 – 14, 2013.
Source: Palm Springs International Film Festival
Hunter Hayes and The Who Set for Grammy Nominations Concert
The show will include a special performance by The Band Perry and Dierks Bentley who will be teaming up to pay tribute to Johnny Cash.
Luke Bryan, FUN., Maroon 5, and Ne-Yo were previously announced as performers, and LL Cool J and Taylor Swift will co-host the concert special. And as a special treat for ticketholders, Maroon 5 will be hanging out after the one-hour live telecast and putting on an exclusive concert.
The 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards will be broadcast live STAPLES Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013.
Source: The Recording Academy
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