Bradley Cooper stars as a struggling writer who finds an unpublished manuscript and claims it as his own work in the romantic drama, The Words. And in this video interview provided by CBS Films, Cooper talks about the many layers of the story and his character’s onscreen relationship with Zoe Saldana’s. He also discusses working with Jeremy Irons and working closely with his friends, writer/directors Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal. Cooper also shares his opinion on the written word in today’s culture.
Watch the video:
The Plot:
The Words centers on Rory Jansen, a talented writer with a beautiful wife and mounting internal and external pressure to achieve success. What he chooses to do in order to fulfill his ambition has the potential to cost him everything, and he soon finds himself repeating the mistakes of someone in the past. Now, the worlds of two men living in different times threaten to converge as both are forced to confront the steep price that must be paid for placing ambition before love.
Bradley Cooper Has Something to Say About The Words
‘Stars Earn Stripes’ Has a Season 1 Winner
And the Stars Earn Stripes winner is … not so fast. We won’t reveal the star who took home the top prize right off the bat, just in case you haven’t seen the final episode and accidentally started reading this article without thinking. We wouldn’t want to spoil your surprise!
So, if you’re watching the series and missed the finale, you’ve now had enough time to click on another link before learning the winner’s identity.
All right, now we can reveal the identity without worrying about ruining anyone’s viewing experience.
It came down to Nick Lachey, Picabo Street, Dean Cain, Todd Palin, and Eve Torres, and the winner of season one (will there be a season two?) is … drumroll please … WWE Diva Eve Torres. That’s right, the WWE star wound up the big winner of Stars Earn Stripes.
Torres earned $100,000 for her charity, the USO, by being the grand prize winner. She also earned $50,000 more during other challenges on the series, so the USO will be getting a donation of $150,000 total. Combined, more than $380,000 was raised by the ‘Stars’ for their charities.
Check Out Colin Firth in Arthur Newman
Colin Firth stars as a man attempting to start over and Emily Blunt co-stars as the woman who proves to be more than just a bump in the road on his way to a new life in Arthur Newman, a romantic dramedy from first time feature film director Dante Ariola and writer Becky Johnston (The Prince of Tides, Seven Years in Tibet). Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, a new clip has just come online featuring Firth and Blunt.
The Plot:
Wallace Avery (Firth) is tired of his life. Divorced, disconnected from his son, dissatisfied with his love life, he decides the time has come for a radical solution. He literally walks away from his life, buys himself a new identity as Arthur Newman, and sets out toward his own private Oz — Terre Haute, Indiana — where he believes he has a chance to work as a golf pro. Wallace’s idea of a second chance is to become a second person. His road trip is derailed by the entrance of Michaela Fitzgerald (Blunt), whom Arthur discovers passed out poolside at a motel. It takes her all of a couple hours to bust Arthur’s identity scam. It takes Arthur a lot longer to bust hers.
More Clips from Spartacus: Vengeance on Blu-ray and DVD
Have you entered our Spartacus: Vengeance – The Complete 2nd Season Blu-ray contest yet? Well, why not? Do it now before you miss out on the opportunity (Spartacus Vengeance Contest Details). Or, you could watch these two new bonus clips from the Blu-ray & DVD and then go enter the contest … it’s your choice.
Blooper Clip with Liam McIntyre and Manu Bennett:
Making Of: Costumes
‘Homeland’ Cast Interviews – LiveStreaming the Red Carpet
NowLive is providing viewers with a front row seat for the star-studded premiere of Homeland taking place at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York. The cast will be answering questions and showing off clips from the second season of the critically acclaimed Showtime series.
Among the cast and crew members expected to hit the red carpet are Claire Danes, Damian Lewis, Mandy Patinkin, Morena Baccarin, David Harewood, Diego Klattenhoff, Morgan Saylor, David Marciano, Navid Negahban and series executive producers Howard Gordon, Alex Gansa, Gideon Raff, Michael Cuesta, Alex Cary, Chip Johannessen, Henry Bromell, Meredith Stiehm, Avi Nir and Ran Telem.
‘Dredd’ Offers Up a New Clip
“Judgment is coming…in 3D”
Yes…yes, it is. Dredd 3D is coming to theaters on September 21, 2012 with Karl Urban in the title role. The sci-fi action film also stars Olivia Thirlby and Lena Headey (Game of Thrones) and was directed by Pete Travis (Vantage Point).
The Plot:
The future America is an irradiated wasteland. On its East Coast, running from Boston to Washington DC, lies Mega City One- a vast, violent metropolis where criminals rule the chaotic streets. The only force of order lies with the urban cops called “Judges” who possess the combined powers of judge, jury and instant executioner. Known and feared throughout the city, Dredd (Karl Urban) is the ultimate Judge, challenged with ridding the city of its latest scourge – a dangerous drug epidemic that has users of “Slo-Mo” experiencing reality at a fraction of its normal speed.
During a routine day on the job, Dredd is assigned to train and evaluate Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), a rookie with powerful psychic abilities thanks to a genetic mutation. A heinous crime calls them to a neighborhood where fellow Judges rarely dare to venture- a 200 story vertical slum controlled by prostitute turned drug lord Ma-Ma (Lena Headey) and her ruthless clan.
When they capture one of the clan’s inner circle, Ma-Ma overtakes the compound’s control center and wages a dirty, vicious war against the Judges that proves she will stop at nothing to protect her empire. With the body count climbing and no way out, Dredd and Anderson must confront the odds and engage in the relentless battle for their survival.
TNT Says Yes to Three New Dramas
King and Maxwell, Legends, and Trooper have been given the greenlight by TNT, with the network ordering pilots for each of the dramatic series. The three dramas are joining The Last Ship, the Michael Bay-produced action series, and will be heading into production soon.
TNT released these details on the three new projects:
KING AND MAXWELL
King and Maxwell follows Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, who aren’t the typical pair of private investigators. Both are former secret service agents, and their unique skill set (not to mention their razor-sharp chemistry) often gives them a leg up on suspects and conventional law enforcement.
King and Maxwell is adapted from characters created by bestselling author David Baldacci.
LEGENDS
Legends centers on a deep-cover operative named Martin Odum, who has an uncanny ability to transform himself into a different person for each job. But his own identity comes into question when a mysterious stranger suggests that Martin isn’t who he thinks he is.
Legends is based on a book by master spy novelist Robert Littell.
TROOPER
Trooper is a compelling procedural drama about a recently divorced female state trooper who is as unconventional at work as she is at home raising her three kids. Her partner on the job is a widowed father who has a much more by-the-book approach to policing.
Source: TNT
A Look Ahead: 2012 Fall Films
Written by Kevin Finnerty
With summer coming to a close and the kids going back to school, so also ends the big summer movie blockbusters season, making way for the films hoping to be noticed for Oscar consideration and the movies looking to cash in on the holiday moviegoing public. It’s time for the Fall Movie Preview! What can you expect this fall and holiday season up on the big screen? Films about time travel, coming of age, kidnappings, President Lincoln, a vampire family, and Secret Agent 007.
Plot: 15 year old Charlie, a shy but bright student, is struggling to try to make friends and find a real connection with someone in his freshman year when Sam and Patrick, two seniors, decide to take him under their wings and introduce him to fun, love and life.
Outlook: Based on the popular novel and starring Emma Watson from the Harry Potter films, Perks could be one of the best coming of age movies to hit the big screen in years. And, hopefully, it will help Emma broaden her career from the Potter franchise to becoming a lovely young leading actress, something she’s destined to be.
LOOPER – Starring: Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon Levitt
Plot: In 2072 when the mob wants to eliminate someone, they send him 30 years into the past where a hired gun awaits. When contract killer Joe is sent his final target…himself 30 years older…chaos and confusion ensue.
Outlook: With an original concept, a strong cast, and a story that’s a cross between Blade Runner and Back to the Future-assassin style, Looper might just be one of the better science fiction, noir, thriller movies to be released in years (and there aren’t too many of those around).
END OF WATCH – Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena
Plot: Two Los Angeles police officers get marked for death by a drug cartel after a routine traffic bust causes more damage for the cartel then they’re willing to put up with.
Outlook: This film will mostly depend on the chemistry and performances by Gyllenhaal and Pena to get the audience to care about the life and struggle of two cocky, dedicated cops who are in way over their heads.
THE MASTER – Starring: Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman
Plot: After returning from WWII and witnessing true horrors, an intellectual (‘Lancaster Dodd’) creates his own faith-based organization in order to create a place and a life for himself and all those who follow him.
Outlook: With Philip Seymour Hoffman playing the Lancaster role loosely based on L. Ron Hubbard, it’s quite possible he’ll receive an Oscar nomination.
HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA – Starring: Adam Sandler and Selena Gomez
Plot: Count Dracula created Hotel Transylvania so all monsters could have a safe haven from the dreaded humans who fear and hate them. However, when a lost and clueless traveler discovers the resort and falls head-over-heels for Dracula’s daughter, the Count goes into overprotective mode.
Outlook: If the film is as funny and original as the trailer, this will be the animated family film not to miss this fall.
Plot: During the Iranian revolution, a CIA exfiltration specialist sets out to free six Americans hiding in the home of the Canadian ambassador by posing as a film crew making a science fiction, adventure film.
Outlook: Based on a real declassified event, Argo promises to be one of the best films of the year and could be the movie that gets Ben Affleck nominated for Best Director come Oscar time.
TAKEN 2 – Starring: Liam Neeson
Plot: Retired CIA operative Bryan Mills and his wife are kidnapped while vacationing in Istanbul by the father of one of the men Mills killed saving his daughter from a sex slave ring. Bryan gets his daughter to help in the rescue of her mom and himself.
Outlook: This is a perfect example of how Hollywood makes bad, redundant sequels which are nothing more than carbon copies of the original film. Yawn.
PITCH PERFECT – Starring: Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow and Rebel Wilson
Plot: Becca, a Freshman at Barden University, reluctantly joins the Bellas – an all-girl singing group – and brings new energy and creativeness to the choir as they get ready for the big campus competition.
Outlook: It’s Glee – The College Years! GROAN!!
THE PAPERBOY – Starring: Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron
Plot: It’s 1969 and a young man heads back home to help his reporter brother look into the case of a man sitting on death row who may be innocent. He ends up falling for the convict’s sexy lover.
Outlook: Compared to other films of this genre, such as Body Heat and The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Paperboy seems all too familiar and unoriginal to be a must-see.
CLOUD ATLAS – Starring: Tom Hanks and Halle Berry
Plot: Multiple storylines with many different characters through a timeline and how their actions affect and impact each other.
Outlook: An extremely ambitious and convoluted film which may not be what moviegoers are looking for coming up to the holidays.
FRANKENWEENIE – Featuring the Voices Of: Martin Short and Winona Ryder
Plot: Young Victor experiments and brings his beloved loyal dog, Sparky, back to life. But his actions causes chaos and some scares for the people in his town, something he never intended.
Outlook: Directed by Tim Burton, Frankenweenie has the look and feel of another animated creepy classic, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Here’s hoping it’s just as funny and entertaining.
Plot: Bond’s loyalty to M is tested when her past comes back to exact revenge.
Outlook: With a strong cast, including Javier Bardem as the lead villain, this could be the film to get the franchise back on track and bring 007 back to being the ultimate action/adventure hero.
LIFE OF PI – Starring: Suraj Sharma and Irrfan Khan
Plot: The story of a Indian boy who finds himself in the company of a Bengal tiger after a shipwreck sets them adrift in the Pacific Ocean struggling to survive.
Outlook: Directed by Ang Lee and already creating Oscar buzz around the films visual effects, this could be the family adventure film to beat this winter.
WRECK-IT RALPH – Featuring the Voices Of: John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman
Plot: After 30 years of being the bad guy in a classic 1980s video game, Ralph deserts his game in the hopes of becoming a hero in a different video game.
Outlook: With a solid cast lending their voices to the video game characters and a very original script, Wreck-It Ralph might just end up being the holiday favorite this November.
LINCOLN – Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Plot: The 16th President of the United States leads the country during the violent and turbulent Civil War.
Outlook: Directed by Steven Spielberg and with an A-list cast including Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones, this is a film destined for Oscar nominations.
FLIGHT – Starring: Denzel Washington and Bruce Greenwood
Plot: An airline pilot saves a flight from crashing but during the investigation of what went wrong with the plane mechanically, questions come up regarding the pilot’s sobriety.
Outlook: Another film with an A-list cast as welll as perhaps the best plane crash put on film since Fearless, this could be the strongest drama to hit the big screen this fall.
ANNA KARENINA – Starring: Keira Knightley and Jude Law
Plot: In the late 19th century Russia, the aristocrat named Anna Karenina enters into a torrid affair with the Count Vronsky.
Outlook: Being yet another remake of the classic novel might leave audiences bored and wishing they had checked out the latest 007 adventure instead of this timeless, romantic bore.
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN PART 2 – Starring: Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson
Plot: After giving birth to their child and finally becoming a vampire, Bella is enjoying her new powers. However, her happiness is cut short when the Volturi plan to wipe out the Cullen family – especially her newborn daughter who they see as a threat to their very existence. The Cullen family must join forces with any allies they can to fight the ultimate battle with the Volturi.
Outlook: The final installment in the Twilight saga is sure to be a box-office smash. It’s also going to have the same terrible dialogue, horrible special effects, and deplorable acting that has been in the movie series since it began.
Plot: A Hobbit joins a crusade with a group of Dwarves and the wizard Gandalf in search of a treasure stolen by the powerful dragon, Smaug.
Outlook: Directed by Peter Jackson and bringing back many of the same cast who starred in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, this is guaranteed to be one of the biggest films of the year and the movie to beat this holiday season.
JACK REACHER – Starring: Tom Cruise
Plot: A homicide investigator looks into a military sniper who has shot five victims.
Outlook: This is Tom Cruise’s take on a hard, no-nonsense cop who doesn’t play by the rules. It’s Dirty Harry-lite, and your enjoyment should depend on how much of a Cruise fan you are going into the movie.
LES MISERABLES – Starring: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway
Plot: ‘Prisoner 24601’ Jean Valjean is finally released from prison but breaks parole in order to set up a new and decent life for himself. Pursued by the obsessed police Inspector Javier, Jean Valjean struggles to care for a young girl whose mother he feels responsible for having lost her position and thus falling into poverty. Set in Revolutionary France, the chase chronicles years of hiding in plain sight and struggling to be free of the determined Inspector once and for all.
Outlook: This has Oscar nominations written all over it, including a guaranteed Oscar nomination for Anne Hathaway as the doomed Fantine. You read it here first. Anne Hathaway will win an Oscar for this powerful performance and prove to the moviegoing public and the critics that YES she can sing. Les Miserables will bring the movie musical back to the big screen the way it was always intended – Via Spectacle!
Rihanna Announces North American Tour Dates
Hot on the heels of winning the night’s big award, Video of the Year at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards, Rihanna has revealed the North American portion of her Diamonds World Tour. The North American part of the tour will kick off on March 8, 2013 in Buffalo, New York and will include stops in 27 cities (more dates are likely to be announced).
Tickets will go on sale Friday, September 14th on LiveNation.com.
Rihanna’s LOUD Tour made the top 10 grossing tours of 2011 list at number seven. That tour, according to LiveNation, set a record for its 10 sold-out concerts at London’s 02 Arena as the first time that’s been accomplished by a female solo artist.
RIHANNA DIAMONDS WORLD TOUR
North American Itinerary 2013
Mar. 8 Buffalo, NY First Niagara Center
Mar. 10 Boston, MA TD Garden
Mar. 12 Baltimore, MD 1st Mariner Arena
Mar. 14 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
Mar. 15 Hartford, CT XL Center
Mar. 17 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
Mar. 18 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
Mar. 21 Detroit, MI Joe Louis Arena
Mar. 22 Chicago, IL United Center
Mar. 24 St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
Mar. 25 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre
Mar. 27 Edmonton, AB Rexall Place
Mar. 30 Calgary, AB Scotiabank Saddledome
Apr. 1 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
Apr. 3 Seattle, WA Key Arena
Apr. 6 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion
Apr. 8 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
Apr. 11 San Diego, CA Valley View Casino Center
Apr. 12 Las Vegas, NV Mandalay Bay
Apr. 15 Houston, TX Toyota Center
Apr. 16 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center
Apr. 19 Tampa, FL Tampa Bay Times Forum
Apr. 20 Ft. Lauderdale, FL BankAtlantic Center
Apr. 22 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena
Apr. 29 Washington, D.C Verizon Center
May 2 Ottawa, ON Scotiabank Place
May 4 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center
Movie Review: The Words
Although there’s a Bruce Willis action flick opening this weekend in 1,500 theaters, considering what commercials, campaigning and marketing have been going on its behalf, you wouldn’t even know it (I only found out when checking the release schedule that Willis’ movie even existed). That leaves only one major release hitting the marketplace today and depending on your take on the trailer for The Words, you’re either thinking this is a heavy drama or some Nicholas Sparks’ clone.
You’re both right.
In the film, Dennis Quaid plays a celebrated author promoting his latest book at a packed-house reading. A beautiful grad student (Olivia Wilde) finagles her way backstage and is intent on not only working the seduction angle but learning about the motivations for his book and how he really sees the end of it.
Sounds simple enough … Oh wait, there’s more.
The book that Quaid is reading is presented to the audience as a story within the story, with Bradley Cooper playing an author who must make a choice concerning a found manuscript that would make his name relevant enough to prompt publishing his own works in the future. He’s married to Zoe Saldana, who plays the male-fantasized image of a supportive and proud wife (but don’t expect to see her character developed beyond that). And in order to lend some stereotypical element of gravitas, enter Jeremy Irons as the author of the manuscript.
Okay, well, I suppose I can understand adding another layer to the plot … Oh wait, there’s more.
The story that captures Cooper’s attention so completely is also presented to the audience; as a story within a story within another story. Apparently, Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal (who also directed the movie together) wrote this screenplay over ten years ago, so while I don’t think they borrowed their ideas from any other project, it all felt very much like Inception meets The Notebook; only without the cinematic competency and somehow with the ability to make an hour and a half feel like two hours.
Throwing aside the cliché and oft-used romantic themes on display, the movie is simply rather poor filmmaking. Sure, most shots are in focus, and the places and people look pretty, but films are meant to be primarily a visual medium. The conceit of a movie concerning an author describing another author who’s fixated on yet another author’s work meant that much of the emotion and plot was delivered via narrated exposition. If I wanted to listen to a story, I’d turn on the speech function on my electronic reading device.
The story contained in the manuscript is the best cinematically, allowing its characters to tell their story far more visually than the others. Ben Barnes and Nora Arnezeder make the most of their opportunity, and had the movie simply been about them, this might have been something lovely and enjoyable. It also features the most complete arc of the three main stories, which helps sell it; that and having to compare it to the other two flat plotlines.
As it stands, The Words plays out like “Arthouse Films for Dummies” and I don’t mean that too pejoratively. I’m sure there will be fans of romance movies that will enjoy this because they’re not looking for anything deeper, don’t want anything other than the familiar, and want to escape real life. It need not ever be seen by audiences who need more than beautiful people tearing up to make the movie worth watching, and for anyone who enjoys the intense and thoughtful romantic themes that can be found far more often in foreign and independent cinema, this is the very definition of unnecessary.
GRADE: C-
The Words is rated PG-13 for brief strong language and smoking.
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