Oscar-Nominated Italian Filmmaker Dies After Jumping Out of Hospital Window

Mario Monicelli, the Oscar-nominated director and screenwriter behind many of Italy's best-known comedies from the 1940s to the 1960s, died Monday at age 95 after he leapt to his death from a fifth-floor hospital widow.

The Italian media reported that Monicelli was under treatment at Rome's San Giovanni hospital for a tumor in his prostate that appeared to be terminal.

Monicelli spoke to The Hollywood Reporter as recently as Nov. 12, in the wake of the death of famed producer Dino De Laurentis at age 91. The two worked together on the Oscar-nominated film The Organizer in 1963.

In a brief telephone interview, Monicelli, speaking with a strong voice, said that De Laurentiis "told [him] to be brave. He said if you push forward, without fear, you can accomplish most things."

In addition to his Oscar nomination for The Organizer, Monicelli earned a second and final Oscar nomination for Casanova '70 in 1966. In a career that started in 1935, he worked with many of the biggest names in "commedia all'italiana," including Toto, Alberto Sordi, Vittorio Gassman and Marcello Mastroianni, who starred in Monicelli's popular Big Deal on Madonna Street from 1958.

The Tuscany-born Monicelli was active well into his 90s: His documentary homage about his adopted neighborhood in Rome, Monti, screened out of competition at the Venice Film Festival just two years ago. Monicelli was also a vocal critic of the politics and cultural impacts of media tycoon and current Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and he lamented what he saw as Italy's fading relevance as a producer of important films.

Monicelli's apparent suicide sent ripples throughout Italy, where state broadcaster RAI broke into scheduled programming to announce the news. Tributes rolled in from all corners of Italy, with former Rome mayor and International Rome Film Festival founder Walter Veltroni saying he was "profoundly hurt by his death" that he said would "weigh heavily on him."

Fellow director Michele Placido, a close friend of Monicelli's, said that if someone would have asked Monicelli why he chose to commit suicide, the director would have said, "'My reasons are my own,' and that is correct, they are. ... I think we have to respect the maestro's decisions."

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The 10 Biggest Turkeys of 2010

Happy Thanksgiving to all

What would this holiday be without family, food, football and reflection upon the things we appreciate most ... , that means some of the bird-brained celebs we've had the privilege of covering in the past year.

Without further ado, Top 10 Turkeys of '10 ...

Spencer Pratt Turkey

10. Barack Obama. The good will and immense popularity enjoyed by the President at the start of his White House term eroded fast, leaving in its wake a deeply polarized electorate and a Congress destined for partisan gridlock.

9. Jake Pavelka. Lame stints on The Bachelorette, The Bachelor and DWTS were enough to overcook this turkey, but his televised breakup special with fake fiancee Vienna Girardi was the year's reality TV douchepocalypse.

8. The Kardashians. Sure, they're harmless, but there's so darn many of these girls. Mix in a hearty helping of Scott Disick and we're just burned out.

7. LeBron James. The NBA's best player, who has never won a title, made this summer all about him and his decision on where to play next year. A "decision" that marked the most absurd, narcissistic, self-serving stunts in sports history.

6. Spencer Pratt. He's fallen off from 2008's Top Turkey status, but he's got staying power. Faking a divorce, getting married for a third time in as many years, blowing through $10 million and turning into a mountain man? Impressive.

5. Dancing With the Stars voters. Bristol Palin? Seriously people?

4. Lindsay Lohan. The definition of train wreck. Second only to ...

3. Charlie Sheen. His violent altercation with wife Brooke Mueller last Christmas combined with Capri Anderson dalliances this fall? Quite a year for Charlie.

2. Mel Gibson. Why? Just listen to his rants. Wow.

1. Tiger Woods. Today, or more accurately early tomorrow morning, is the anniversary of Tiger's car (and image) crash, following a blowout with Elin Nordegren, who learned of his affair with Rachel Uchitel and took a 9-iron to his face.

The months that followed revealed additional mistresses, worried voicemails, nasty text messages, sordid fantasies, ridiculous rumors and bad golf. It's a scandal that may never be equaled, and certainly worthy of Top Turkey billing.

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http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2010/11/thg-presents-the-10-biggest-turkeys-of-2010/#more

James Cameron Set to Make Avatar 2 and 3 for Fox

James Cameron has committed to making two sequels to his record-breaking 3D epic "Avatar" for Fox. The movies are scheduled for release in late 2014 and 2015, which means he won't direct other features for the next three or four years.

The writer-director had conversations with Columbia about directing "Cleopatra," starring Angelina Jolie, but that possibility is off the table, meaning the studio will have to look for another director.

But Cameron has two major projects he is producing during the next few years: Guillermo del Toro's "At the Mountains of Madness" for Universal and a remake of "Fantastic Voyage" that Laeta Kalogridis is rewriting for Fox and Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment.

For the time being, however, he will dive back into writing screenplays for more stories that take place on Pandora. His first film about that invented world and its natives' struggles for survival in the face of greedy Earth capitalists grossed $2.8 billion worldwide after it was released in December.

"We'll continue to follow the same people on the same planet," producer Jon Landau said Wednesday during Paul Kagan's 3D Media Markets conference in New York. But, he allowed, "We might go underwater."

The filmmakers plan to shoot the movies back to back with much of the same cast. Asked whether stars Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana had signed for the sequels, Landau said, "We won't have a problem."

The ongoing "Avatar" chapters will be the CAA-repped Cameron's ninth and 10th features as a writer-director; he also made "True Lies," "The Terminator," "Aliens" and "The Abyss."

Fox also is moving forward with converted 3D rereleases of Cameron's "Titanic" and George Lucas' "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace." Both are tentatively set for spring 2012 openings.

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'Fair' Fight: Sean Penn v. Liman v. Naomi Watts?

I've always had a belligerent sort of personality," Fair Game director Doug Liman tells Anne Thompson. When I gave Liman his first national coverage, 5,000 words in Rolling Stone in the '80s, I thought he was a peaceable college kid going places. Guess I was half right. Thompson says he so pissed off Sean Penn on the set, Penn boycotted promoting the film, which particularly needs buzz to counteract the impression that betrayed patriots Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson (played by Naomi Watts and Penn) are, as Karl Rove's attorney has said, "a little past their sell-by date." Thompson also speculates that Penn calculated its Oscar odds are low.

So Naomi Watts, the only one who's got an Oscar prayer for Fair Game, despite Penn's glowing reviews, is sharing campaign duties with Liman. She fields my call, getting up early in Thailand on the set of her second Summit Entertainment picture in a row featuring an irresistible force of nature, the tsunami movie The Impossible. "On set they got on absolutely fine," says Watts. "Sean and I had three weeks together -- there were no spats on the set then. But yes, we were all very passionate about the film."

What did happen was Watts' titanic artistic struggle with Liman, who told Thompson, "I've heard about how uncontrollable I was as an infant" and that, as director of Fair Game, "I would've been terrified of me."

"Doug and I got on very well," says Watts. "You expect to go through a few wrestling matches." Theirs was about how to play Plame, a personality so guarded she makes Steve Martin look like an oversharer. "She does have this otherworldly strength. She's such a hard character to play because she's hard to read, quite stoic. Not a hard person at all, just careful, dignified. As an actor, you want more drama, juicy meat. She was a person who didn't freak out, didn't get hysterical." Not getting to get hysterical can make an actress hysterical -- not that Watts did, but she felt she had to fight to convey Plame's inner trauma as the highest powers in the U.S. for which she risked her own and others' lives turned against her.

"As Woody Allen says, I believe there's a higher power watching over us -- unfortunately, it's the government," I tell Watts. "Did Woody Allen say that?" she says.

Watts talked to Plame. "I said, 'Cmon you must've broken at times.' In the film, she says, 'You can't break me, I'm unbreakable.' Of course there were moments where she felt the earth would eat her alive. Doug felt that she was made of steel." Inspired, he gave Plame's characteristics to Piper Perabo on his USA TV show Covert Operative, just as he'd populated The Bourne Identity with characters from his father Arthur Liman's investigation of the real-life Iran/Contra conspiracy.

Watts kept trying to crack through the character's carapace to the heart inside. "That's my job as an actor. I fought with Doug about that and most of the time he won. Finally I got some moment of victory, the moment in the bathroom where she's burshing her teeth and we were leaving [the location]." She demanded one take where she got to lose it a little. "I said, 'You don't have to use it, but shoot it!'

Watts likes the high-stress Liman process. "On most movies you're constantly waiting and trying to keep your energy at a certain level. He likes to move with great veracity -- I mean velocity." Both, no doubt. And if anybody gets an Oscar nom out of Fair Game, veracity and velocity will be the twin reasons.


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'Tangled' Unfurls $11.8 Mil Opening But 'Harry Potter' Still No. 1

Disney's Rapunzel tale reboot Tangled opened with a better-than-expected $11.8 million tally Wednesday but Harry Potter's box office magic could not be rivaled. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 maintained its No. 1 spell on moviegoers by adding an estimated $14.5 million to its coffers, bringing its six-day cume to $159 million.

Tangled, meanwhile, nabbed the day's second place spot and looks to be the overachiever of cinema's Thanksgiving holiday fare: the film will likely surpass its $40 million long weekend estimates by at least $10 million.

Sony/Screen Gems' Burlesque, starring Cher and Christina Aguilera, took the No. 3 spot Wednesday with a $2.8 million debut, followed by DreamWorks Animations/Paramount's Megamind at No. 4 and the Anne Hathaway/Jake Gyllenhaal romantic comedy Love and Other Drugs in fifth place with an estimated $2.2 million.

Another new film, the Dwayne Johnson actioner Faster, opened at No. 6 with a $1.6 million gross, while Unstoppable's $1.9 million kept it on track for a fifth place finish.

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"Thanksgiving Is A Celebration Of Murder," Says Actress Angelina Jolie, Allegedly

Millions will delight in Thanksgiving festivities tomorrow. Angelina Jolie is not one of them, electing not to commemorate the genocide of Native Americans.

"Angelina Jolie absolutely hates this holiday and wants no part in rewriting history like so many other Americans," a friend of the actress tells.

Valid point, but pumpkin pie just tastes so good ...

NO THANKS-GIVING: Angelina Jolie is not a fan!

"To celebrate what the white settlers did to the native Indians, the domination of one culture over another, just isn't her style," the friend says. "[Jolie] doesn't want to teach her multi-cultural family how to celebrate a story of murder."

Not sure how many of us toast to murder at the dinner table on this day, but she prefers to think of herself as a citizen of the world, not just America.

Always extremely sensitive to suffering throughout the world, she's going to great lengths to make sure the Jolie-Pitt brood doesn't honor it here.

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http://www.popeater.com/2010/11/24/angelina-jolie-thanksgiving/

HangOver 2 Plot Revealed

Warner Bros. has revealed a key plot-point for the upcoming Hangover II -- a seemingly innocent brunch will set the wheels in motion for the comedy.


The newly released studio press kit reveals how The Hangover crew of Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), Alan (Zach Galifianakis) and Doug (Justin Bartha) will find trouble when Helms gets married in the exotic setting of Thailand.

"After the unforgettable bachelor party in Las Vegas, Stu is taking no chances and has opted for a safe, subdued pre-wedding brunch," the release says. "However, things don’t always go as planned."

In the 'Hangover,' Las Vegas served as the location for the mayhem that followed a lost bachelor party evening. The sequel promises even more.

"What happens in Vegas may stay in Vegas, but what happens in Bangkok can’t even be imagined," the synopsis says.

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http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/details-hangover-ii-plot-revealed-49028

'Inception' Star Leonardo DiCaprio Initially Found Script 'Incredibly Confusing'

The making of Christopher Nolan's 'Inception' presented an immense technical challenge for the cast and crew -- even starting with comprehending Nolan's complex dream-caper script.

Star Leo DiCaprio tells that even he needed time to figure out the many layers of the story.

“I needed to know implicitly where we were," he says. "It got incredibly confusing at certain points in the beginning, but the more we talked, the more I understood.”

DiCaprio, who played the lead role of Dominic Cobb, spent weeks combing through the script with Nolan.

"The work (DiCaprio) did on his character with Chris made the movie less of a puzzle and more of a story of a character audiences could relate to," says Nolan's wife and producing partner, Emma Thomas.

Other technical people on the film had their own puzzles to figure out when they had the first view of the top-secret script. Each were locked in a room on the Warners lot where the script was sealed for their first view.

Visual effects supervisor Paul Franklin recalls the note in the script which called for the entire city of Paris collapsing and folding up.

The note on the script for that scene simply said: “The city begins to fold in half.”

“Working with Chris is absolutely great, but he’s very challenging, too,” Franklin says.


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Beatles on iTunes: 2 Million Songs Sold in a Week

A week after Apple's history-making announcement that the Beatles LP catalog would now be available digitally, iTunes announced Tuesday the first week numbers and they're, not surprisingly, impressive.

The Fab Four moved more than 450,000 full-length albums in that time and another two million songs, according to a rep for iTunes. The most popular download? "Here Comes the Sun," which was written by George Harrison for the Beatles' seminal 1969 album Abbey Road, which also landed at No. 6 on the iTunes album charts, wedged between Keith Urban's Get Closer at No. 5 and Taylor Swift's Speak Now at No. 7.

The specially-packaged Beatles Box Set, which includes the worldwide iTunes exclusive Live at the Washington Coliseum, 1964, the band's first ever U.S, show, also just made the top 10.

“It’s fantastic to see the songs we originally released on vinyl receive as much love in the digital world as they did the first time around," Paul McCartney said in the original Beatles on iTunes announcement from Nov. 16. Indeed, fans are still showing their love of the Beatles with their wallets.

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\Michael Brea Suspected of Decapitating Mother with a Samurai Sword

This is as bizarre and as heinous a story as we could possibly imagine.

Michael Brea, a small-time actor who once appeared on Ugly Betty, has been taken into custody for allegedly chopping off the head of his mother with a samurai sword.

According to police reports, cops arrived to an "extremely bloody" scene at Brea's Brooklyn home around 2:20 this morning and found the actor holding a bible. They had to subdue him via taser.

A neighbor recounted events, as he/she heard them, to WPIX 11: "I hear [Brea] chasing [his mother] through the house and he's just saying a bunch of [Bible] passages like, 'Repent, Repent, Repent.' I heard him chasing her through the house and I heard a loud scream and so I have my father call the cops."

The victim was found with her head sliced off. At the moment, Brea is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation and then will be handed over to the NYPD.

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http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2010/11/michael-brea-suspected-of-decapitating-mother-with-a-samurai-swo/

Clear the Road: Lindsay Lohan Regains License

Lindsay Lohan has regained the right to operate a motor vehicle. We are happy for her ... and scared bit for residents of Palm Springs, California.

The L.A. County Probation Department and officials at the Betty Ford clinic signed off this morning, so Lindsay can drive again. Special treatment?

Not so much. Officials allow this for people "at Lindsay's care and treatment level," though it's still odd, as her legal problems stem from driving.

SCARED? It's LiLo, we wouldn't blame you.

Meanwhile, Michael Lohan is so stoked about his daughter regaining her driver's license, dude gave her his own Mercedes Benz to tool around town in!

Not only is she planning on having Thanksgiving with dad, she's cruising around in the (very expensive) wheels MiLo lent her to prove his trust.

Michael dropped the convertible off Monday for her to drive as she pleases. How nice. We'd still keep a lengthy following distance ... but nice.

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http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2010/11/clear-the-road-lindsay-lohan-regains-license/

Royal Wedding Tabloid Coverage

What's the only development that will get tabloids in more of a frenzy than rumors of an engagement between Kate Middleton and Prince William? That's easy:

An actual Kate Middleton and Prince William engagement.

Following months of speculation over whether this couple was broken up or already wedding planning, trashy magazines scrambled this week to find some unique angle on the fact that Kate and William are simply happy, together and engaged. Let's see what they came up with:

From stories on the "real" Kate (newsflash: she wears a bikini sometimes!) to inside dish on how Middleton has been molded into a princess, these publications claim to have it all.

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Whitest Oscars in 10 years?

Will white be the only color on the red carpet at the 83rd Academy Awards?Although Oscar contenders are just lining up at the starting gate for the annual run for the gold, there's a real possibility that for the first time since the 73rd Oscars 10 years ago, there will be no black nominees in any of the acting categories at the February ceremony.

In fact, there are virtually no minorities in any of the major categories among the early lists of awards hopefuls."It's more difficult than ever to get a picture made with any serious subject matter -- let alone an ethnic-themed one," John Singleton, an Academy member and two-time Oscar nominee for 1991's "Boyz N the Hood," said of the current filmmaking environment, which has in turn narrowed Oscar's choices.

At the 82nd Oscars in March, it was a dramatically different story, thanks to "Precious." The gritty drama earned six noms, Gabourey Sidibe and Mo'Nique were nominated as best actress and best supporting actress, respectively, and Mo'Nique took home the prize. Geoffrey Fletcher became the first black winner of a screenplay Oscar. And Lee Daniels was just the second black director ever to earn a directing nom.

In addition, Morgan Freeman, a past Oscar winner for "Million Dollar Baby," picked up his fifth nomination for playing Nelson Mandela in "Invictus." Singleton points out, "Precious" defied the conventional wisdom that sees the industry steering away from serious black films. "It took home Oscars and, grossing $63 million worldwide, made a huge profit domestic and overseas.

This from a picture that was obviously deemed not commercial on arrival." This year, the early lineup, in a review of contenders by THR, is striking for its near-total absence of actors of color. "The King's Speech" focuses on the very proper British royal family; "Black Swan" is set among pale-skinned New York ballerinas; "127 Hours" details the survival saga of one (white) dude; "The Social Network," "The Kids Are All Right," "Hereafter" and "The Town" all feature fairly homogeneously Caucasian casts and key creative talent.

Actress Cecile de France, an early contender for "Hereafter," and Spaniard Javier Bardem, Cannes' best actor winner for "Biutiful," are in the mix, at least lending a couple of foreign accents. And it's still possible, of course, that a yet un-hyped movie could surface that will change the complexion of the race. several awards consultants said they can't figure out exactly where it would come from.

Tyler Perry's "For Colored Girls," an adaptation of Ntozake Shange's 1975 play "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf," is one of the few remaining question marks, since Lionsgate has not yet begun screening the movie, which opens Nov. 5. The cast includes one past Oscar winner in Whoopi Goldberg along with Thandie Newton, Anika Noni Rose, Kerry Washington, Kimberly Elise, Loretta Devine, Phylicia Rashad and Janet Jackson.

But while it marks a serious turn for Perry, who's known for his commercial comedies, it's unclear whether any of the individual performances could emerge from the ensemble to claim a nomination. (Jackson's best shot at a nom may be in the song category, since she's also co-writer of the tune "Nothing," which is on the soundtrack of Perry's "Why Did I Get Married Too?")"Perry is currently the only African-American with an ongoing concern at a studio, and he continues to, as black people say, 'Hold it down' with pictures that draw a core black audience as well as others," Singleton observed. "

But, sadly, this is a sector that most of the rest of the industry has neglected as of late with middling comedies." If the Oscar nominations, which will be revealed Jan. 25, do go to an all-white cast of actors, that's sure to put the Academy in an uncomfortable position since it's been making real efforts to ensure its own membership is more diverse."For the Academy to continue going forward, it has to be relevant and it has to be inclusive of everybody.

We're a worldwide organization. The only thing we missed last year was an international production for best picture," Tom Sherak, Academy president, told THR on Tuesday. "My hope is that we get more ethnicity in the Academy."

To that end, when the Academy issued its annual invite to new members in June, it included recent nominees like Mo'Nique, Sidibe, Daniels and Fletcher as well as "Avatar" star Zoe Saldana and "Hustle & Flow" producer Stephanie Allain. Over the past few years, invitations have gone out to Perry and such black actors as Ruby Dee, Jennifer Hudson, Viola Davis, Taraji P. Henson and Jeffrey Wright, as well as Latin performers like Adriana Barraza and Maribel Verdu.

But when it comes to bestowing Oscars, the Academy is at the mercy of whatever films are available."I haven't seen all the movies that are coming yet," noted Sherak. "But you can only work with what is given to you. There has to be something you are able to vote for.""It feels kind of circumstantial," one member of Hollywood's black community said about this year's lack of black contenders. "Maybe you could get some studio people to address it, but then there are no black studio executives, which is another story."

The last time the Academy was forced to confront the issue was the 68th Academy Awards, which took place in 1996. Although Quincy Jones served as the show's producer that year and Goldberg was host, the Rev. Jesse Jackson used the awards to protest "the paucity of nominations of people of color [which] is directly related to the lack of films featuring the talents of people of color." While he didn't target the actual ceremony at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, he called for a viewer boycott and protests at ABC affiliates.Jackson pressed his case in meetings with Academy officials and studio execs as well as union leaders.

But Oprah Winfrey, who was scheduled to interview celebrities on the broadcast, said at the time: "When I heard Jesse was asking people to boycott the Oscars, I got on the phone to Quincy and believe me, he was furious and so was I. Particularly because this isn't the year, if ever you were going to do it [since the broadcast promised to be] the most multi-ethnic Oscars show anybody's ever seen."Over the past decade, the issue has subsided, although the number of minority nominees has often depended on just one or two releases that changed the face of the noms dramatically.

For example, 2006's globe-trotting "Babel" secured supporting actress noms for Mexico's Barraza and Japan's Rinko Kikuchi. They became part of one of Oscar's most diverse group of acting nominees, joining Forest Whitaker ("The Last King of Scotland"), Will Smith ("The Pursuit of Happyness"), Penelope Cruz ("Volver"), Djimon Honsou ("Blood Diamond") and both Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy from "Dreamgirls."This year, though, the movies are looking a lot more monochromatic.

What happened?Minority actors certainly are finding work: They are featured prominently in nearly half of 2010's top 20 domestic-grossers, whether it's Don Cheadle and Samuel L. Jackson lending their muscle to "Iron Man 2," Eddie Murphy voicing Donkey in "Shrek Forever After," young Jaden Smith following in his dad Will's shoes in "Karate Kid" with the help of Jackie Chan or Jamie Foxx and Queen Latifah popping up in "Valentine's Day." But those aren't the kind of movies that generally win the Academy's respect.

It may be an effect of the [2007-2008] writers' strike," theorized one awards strategist. "The studios were all playing it cautious."Some Academy favorites also just didn't throw their hat into the ring this year. Two-time nominee Smith sat out the year without a new release. Two-time winner Denzel Washington opted for the apocalyptic "The Book of Eli," which ran into decidedly mixed reviews, and the upcoming action movie "Unstoppable." Spike Lee concentrated on his second documentary about New Orleans, "If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise," which bowed on HBO last month.

It was another story on the indie side."Diverse films are being made, but they are not necessarily being picked up for distribution," said Rebecca Yee, SAG national director and senior EEO counsel for affirmative action and diversity. Under SAG's low budget agreements, producers are allowed to increase overall budgets if they demonstrate they are achieving diversity goals. "A lot of producers come to us to use those incentives," Yee explained, but if their completed films don't attract the interest of distributors, "it's hard for them to get their movies seen."

"African-American-themed projects are now being relegated to specialty pictures -- as they were in the '80s before Spike Lee," Singleton said.Hollywood might not be taking full advantage of the potential audience: According to the MPAA, Hispanics comprise 15% of the U.S. population, but they buy 21% of the movie tickets; blacks, 12% of the population, buy another 11%.

SAG, which issues a report on minority casting every two years, is still collecting data on '09 and '10, which won't be released until next fall. In 2007, non-Caucasian performers in both film and TV hit a peak of 29.3%, falling marginally to 27.5% in 2008. "At this point, it's hard to tell where we are, but my feeling is that it's pretty much the same," Yee said.Those percentages are not likely to be reflected at this year's Oscars. Right now, barring a surprise entry in the race, the major categories are in danger of looking like a whites-only club.

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Lindsay Lohan Dumped For Malin Akerman In Matthew Wilder's Linda Lovelace Biopic

Malin Akerman (Couples Retreat, Watchmen, 27 Dresses) is now confirmed to replace Lindsay Lohan in Inferno: A Linda Lovelace Story from director/writer Matthew Wilder's script, which made the 2008 Black List. "My understanding is that Lindsay was dropped as she's impossible to insure and the producers loved Malin," an insider emails. Malin's upcoming credits include Wanderlust (Paul Rudd, Jen Aniston), Happythankyoumoreplease (Josh Radnor) and The Bang Bang Club (Taylor Kitsch, Ryan Philippe). She is also attached to star opposite Ethan Hawke in The Numbers Station. The Lovelace project (we really need another after Brian Grazer did one?) is based on the novel Ordeal: An Autobiography by Linda Lovelace with Mike McGrady. The producers include Chris Hanley of Muse Productions and Jordan Gertner.

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http://www.deadline.com/2010/11/lindsay-lohan-dumped-for-malin-ackerman-in-matthew-wilders-linda-lovelace-biopic/

Mark Wahlberg on Why Making 'The Fighter' Became an Obsession

Mark Wahlberg, who plays blue-collar boxer "Irish" Micky Ward in the upcoming film The Fighter, told CBS' 60 Minutes that making the movie was far from easy.

For four years, the actor underwent a grueling training schedule -- building a boxing ring in his own home and training eight to 10 hours a day -- not knowing whether the film would even get made as directors and co-stars came and went.

"There were certainly times where I would wake up at 4:30 in the morning, you know, my trainer would ring the bell, and, 'Oh God,' " said Wahlberg, who insisted on doing his own stunts. "I'm like, 'I better get this movie made.' You know, 'Kill somebody if I don't get this movie made.''

But Wahlberg persisted because he could see glimpses of his life story in Ward's; both are one of nine kids and grew up in working-class Massachusetts. He also was a huge fan of Ward's, calling him a "local sports hero."

Meanwhile, doing his own stunts in the movie resulted in him nearly getting his nose broken a couple of times.

Because when we shot the fights, the goal for me was always to make it as real as possible," he said in the 60 Minutes episode that aired Sunday.

The actor, who grew up in the Dorchester section of Boston, dropped out of school when he was 13 and used to sneak out of his bedroom window at night to drink and steal things including cars.

At age 17, he was sentenced to prison after attacking a man with a stick over two cases of beer; the man lost an eye.

"At first, I'm thinking, well, I'm one of the guys now. I made it. And then I just realized, well, this is what it means to be one of the guys. And I just wanted more out of my life," said Wahlberg, who served 45 days behind bars and says a lot of his childhood friends are "either dead or in jail."

After leaving prison, he turned hislife around, becoming a rapper and modeling for Calvin Klein in his underwear.

But Wahlberg nearly didn't pursue an acting career; he credits Penny Marshall with pushing him into acting. She called him while she casting her movie Renaissance Man.

"And when I sat down with her, I was like, 'Nah, I don't wanna act.' She goes, 'What do you mean? You're acting all the time, you're acting right now. You know, you're just acting like you're cool, you act like a tough guy. You know, take the pages. Go outside, look 'em over, and then come back in, and, and audition for one of the parts,'" Wahlberg said.

He ended up getting the job and went on to an acting career that has included starring roles in blockbuster movies as well an Oscar nom for The Departed. Wahlberg also has become a successful producer, with credits including HBO's Entourage and Boardwalk Empire.

Wahlberg says his biggest regret is not finishing high school.

"Imagine what I could have done with a real education; I'd be running whatever studio I work for now," Wahlberg said.

But he still realizes how fortunate he's been. Asked how he defines himself, the actor replied: "A lucky son of a bitch."

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TRON: LEGACY Behind The Scenes

Are you counting down the days till TRON: Legacy gets released? Do you wish you could have visited the set while the production was filming in Vancouver? Have you always wanted to see what really goes on behind the scenes when a movie is getting filmed?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, you’re about to have a geekgasm. That’s because Walt Disney has released the EPK for TRON: Legacy and included are 15 minutes of behind the scenes footage (B-Roll) from when the movie was getting made. Here’s just some of the stuff that’s included:

* Behind the scenes footage from the End of Line club
* Daft Punk in costume walking onto set
* Michael Sheen getting ready to film his scenes in the End of Line club
* Joseph Kosinski directing the actors
* Jeff Bridges wearing the special helmet to record his scenes as Clu
* Tons of footage of the practical sets and the actors getting ready to film
* Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde performing a scene and getting ready for some stunts
* Jeff Bridges house in the Tron universe and what it was like behind the scenes
* Cast goofing around behind the scenes
* Filming on location in Vancouver
* Behind the scenes footage from Flynn’s Arcade

But I’ve left out the best part…all the footage is set to the music of Daft Punk! Want to see and hear more? Hit the jump:

Finally, if you missed the 4 movie clips I just posted, click here. Also, here’s a link to all our previous TRON: Legacy coverage. We’ve got interviews, trailers, posters, a set visit, and so much more. Look for a ton of new interviews the week Tron gets released.



You’re going to love this behind the scenes footage:

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Tangled

Disney has a brand new princess. No damsel in distress, she’s adventurous and in 3-D!

In this revisionist take on the Grimms’ folkloric “Rapunzel,” the narrator tells of a good King and his ailing, pregnant Queen, whose life is saved by a magical flower. The plant’s restorative powers are transferred to the Queen’s infant daughter, Rapunzel, who is kidnapped by evil Mother Gothel (voiced by Donna Murphy, who seems to be channeling Cher). Determined to use the Princess’s powers to remain eternally young, manipulative Mother Gothel raises Rapunzel (voiced by Mandy Moore) as her own daughter, never cutting the girl’s long, golden hair and keeping her locked in a high tower in a hidden corner of the forest, often sarcastically reminding her that “Mother Knows Best.” As her 18th birthday approaches, Rapunzel yearns to explore the outside world, particularly the mysterious ‘lights’ she sees in the night sky that coincide with her birthday. (They’re lanterns floating up from the Kingdom’s annual commemoration of her disappearance.)

So one day, when a handsome, overly-confident thief, Flynn Rider (voiced by Zachary Levi), seeks refuge climbing up into her tower, she takes him hostage, negotiating a ‘road trip’ deal – with Flynn serving as her guide through the perilous outside world. But he soon discovers that savvy, strong, spunky Rapunzel, hauling around her 70-feet of hair and armed only with an iron frying pan, can totally take care of herself, outwitting thick-necked thugs and a band of hooligans.

Story honcho Mark Kennedy and screenwriter Dan Fogelman (“Cars,” “Bolt”) not only reinvent the story as fresh, witty and new but also add two, scene-stealing animal side-kicks: Pascal (a feisty, protective chameleon) and Maximus (a hilariously determined Palace horse). Directors Nathan Greno and Byron Howard utilize 3-D CGI to achieve spectacular visual effects, enhanced by new songs from Alan Menken and Glenn Slater. Like “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin” and “The Lion King,” it’s geared for urbane, contemporary audiences.

On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Tangled” is a total 10 – like awesome!

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Box Office Guru Wrapup: Harry Potter Enjoys Monster Opening

This weekend wizard fans united and sent the much-hyped fantasy sequel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 soaring to the number one spot with a massive opening weekend of $125.1M, according to estimates, making it the highest-grossing debut ever in the seven-film series. Launching ultrawide in 4,125 theaters, including a record 239 IMAX locations, the dark PG-13 adventure averaged a sensational $30,332 per site and ranks as the sixth best opening weekend of all-time behind The Dark Knight ($158.4M), Spider-Man 3 ($151.1M), The Twilight Saga: New Moon ($142.8M), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ($135.6M), and this year's Iron Man 2 ($128.1M). IMAX accounted for 10% of the opening weekend tally with $12.4M with many upcoming shows already sold out.

For the wizard franchise, it was the best debut of any kind. The highest Friday-to-Sunday opening before was $102.7M for 2005's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire which launched on the same November Friday while the top gross for the first three days of release was $107M for the last installment, 2009's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which bowed on a Wednesday in the summer. Ticket price increases helped set a new franchise record as Hallows, Goblet, and 2001's original Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone each sold roughly 16 million tickets on opening weekend. The fan base has remained relatively constant but moviegoers pay more for a stub with every film.

Still, it was a monumental performance and ranks as the second best ever outside of the busy summer tentpole season behind just New Moon which attacked this very weekend last year. Deathly Hallows even performed the same way throughout the weekend with a 37% Friday-to-Saturday drop compared to Moon's 42%. Both franchises are based on wildly popular books with fans obsessed with coming out on the first day, especially for Thursday night post-midnight shows. The new Potter banked an incredible $24M for those showtimes.

Looking at the daily journey, the first half of the two-part finale exploded on Friday with $61.2M including midnight shows, fell sharply to $38.2M on Saturday, and is estimated by Warner Bros. to slide by 33% to $25.8M on Sunday. The turnout was extremely front-loaded with the opening day tally accounting for a whopping 49% of the weekend haul. Similarly, New Moon's first day was 51% of the three-day figure and it tumbled by 70% on the second weekend despite it being the Thanksgiving holiday.

Reviews were mostly positive for the new wizard tale and cast and crew made the usual rounds for their global publicity push including glitzy premieres on both sides of the Atlantic in London and New York. David Yates directed as he did for the last two installments and his final offering, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is set to open next summer on Friday, July 15, in 3D two weeks after the third Transformers pic and a week before Captain America: First Avenger both of which will also be in 3D. The studio had wanted to make Part 1 in 3D but was unable to complete the conversion in time to make a product good enough for the fans.

Overseas, the latest installment was as gigantic as expected and grossed a colossal $205M from 54 countries and 91 markets resulting in a monstrous $330M global launch over the first weekend. The last film Prince bowed mid-week and debuted to $394M worldwide but over five days. Deathly Hallows set a new all-time opening weekend record in the U.K. with an estimated $28M haul. Other notable bows included $21.8M in Germany, $14.8M in Australia, $14M in Japan, $12.3M in Russia, $11.5M in Italy, $10.2M in Mexico, and $9M in China.

The 3D animated film Megamind was booted from the top spot after two weeks at number one and finished the weekend in a distant second place. DreamWorks Animation's latest hit held up reasonably well dropping 45% to an estimated $16.2M pushing the 17-day tally across the century mark to $109.5M. Paramount is still on a course to hit the $150M mark although Disney will unleash the rival 3D toon Tangled on Wednesday to give families another major option over the extended Thanksgiving holiday session.

Fox enjoyed an encouraging second weekend take for the Denzel Washington actioner Unstoppable which dropped 42% to an estimated $13.1M. The runaway train pic has taken in a solid $42M in ten days and is headed for the $75M vicinity.

Finishing in fourth place was the R-rated road trip comedy Due Date which declined by 41% to an estimated $9.2M. Warner Bros. has taken in $72.7M in 17 days and should end up in the $90-100M range depending on strength over the long Thanksgiving holiday.

Audiences gave the cold shoulder once again to Russell Crowe whose latest film The Next Three Days flopped opening to an estimated $6.8M. The PG-13 film about a teacher who desperately tries to break his wife out of prison averaged a weak $2,633 from 2,564 locations giving Lionsgate its worst debut in almost two years. Elizabeth Banks co-starred and Liam Neeson contributed a one-scene cameo while Oscar winner Paul Haggis directed. Crowe's last film - the expensive summer epic Robin Hood - barely inched its way over the $100M mark in North America and his recent adult dramas have mostly opened in the $13-14M range.

Paramount's TV industry comedy Morning Glory fell a moderate 43% in its second weekend grossing an estimated $5.2M to boost the ten-day total to a soft $19.9M. The Rachel McAdams film looks to end with $32-34M. Fellow sophomore Skyline completely fell apart thanks to poor buzz. The Universal release dropped 71% to an estimated $3.4M for a cume of $17.6M in ten days. With a reported production budget of $10M, plus plenty more for marketing, the alien flick could end with $21-23M. Summit's action hit Red grossed an estimated $2.5M, off 50%, for a $83.6M total.

Falling 63% to an estimated $2.4M was Lionsgate's For Colored Girls... which has banked $34.5M to date. Jumping into the top ten for the first time was the CIA thriller Fair Game which expanded in its third frame from 175 to 386 theaters collecting an estimated $1.5M. The average for the Summit release was a mild $3,808 and the sum rose to $3.7M.

The top ten films grossed an estimated $185.3M which was down 25% from last year when The Twilight Saga: New Moon opened in the top spot with $142.8M; but up 20% from 2008 when Twilight debuted at number one with $69.6M.

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Pamela Anderson Boosts Ratings in Bollywood

Former Dancing with the Stars contestant Pamela Anderson brought her fancy footwork, and big ratings, to Bigg Boss, India's version of Big Brother. According to The Toronto Star, ratings skyrocketed with her appearance on the show, which is making headlines for other reasons as well.


Due to content deemed "objectionable" by Indian officials Wednesday, the show was pushed to air after 11 p.m. This decision was overturned Thursday by a high court, with a final call deferred until a hearing on November 22. The content in question includes a female contestant dropping her towel, a passionate kissing scene, and derogatory language.

Anderson didn't have time to get fully settled in the house. She arrived on Wednesday and checked out on Friday. During her visit, the actress and model learned some words in Hindi, the only language spoken by her fellow housemates. Plus, she strapped her dancing shoes back on to learn a traditional Hindi dance.

Anderson's Bigg Boss wardrobe, including a saree and the salwar-kameez which consists of a loose shirt top and pyjama-style pants, were specially made by Mumbai-based fashion designer Ashley Rebello. “I was contacted by Colors (the Hindi TV channel owned by Viacom18) and only given a day to create a special Indian look for Pamela Anderson," Rebello said

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 2010

My, how they've grown. The adorable tots of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" are grim adolescents now, survivors in a world where death is omnipresent and swift to strike. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, having apprenticed alongside Britain's finest actors for a decade, ably carry the seventh film, a project clearly designed to let them take charge and shine. Their high-strung performances are the most impressive aspect of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I."



J.K. Rowling's event-packed narrative, as scripted by Steve Kloves, is rather a mess, a rambling series of incidents rather than a tightly plotted story. It's as if they threw ideas into the Hogwarts Sorting Hat and crossed their fingers. Even Potter devotees must admit this chapter has no dramatic shape; for the non-fan it's just this side of incomprehensible.

Marauders' Maps should be handed out at the door. Exposito Confundis. Stripped to its essence, the plot is classic Brothers Grimm: Young people get lost in the woods and struggle with a witch. In the Rowling version, the witch doesn't get pushed into the oven; the film concludes with the forces of evil magic more powerful than ever. Their families threatened by vile Lord Voldemort's occult forces and besieged Hogwarts School a fading memory, the three friends are isolated and homeless, camping out in freezing forests. The deeper they get into the woods the more Harry, Hermione and Ron confront the darkness in themselves.

Trapped in a situation that seems hopeless, they turn against each other, just as factions of the wizards' world are battling one another in conflicts that spill over into present-day London. Lots of gore The film begins on a note of Gothic horror as Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) convenes a meeting of his coven. They mostly ignore a struggling, agonized woman floating above the dining table like a chandelier. It's a fitting prologue for the gory maimings and murder to come.

This Potter is dominated by an atmosphere of permanent menace. It is all about the danger of being upright and truthful in a land ruled by corrupt government agencies and dishonest media cartels. There is a wonderful image of the misinformation industry manufacturing broadsheets of lies that go winging through the air like paper airplanes with minds of their own.

Rowling is not a writer of memorable dialogue, but director David Yates compensates with some eloquent visuals. Harry's silent leave-taking from the empty Dursley residence is quite affecting. If Harry's life with his obnoxious uncle was oppressive and limited, it was also secure and predictable. In a neat shot, Harry gazes at a pair of his old tin soldiers. One is upright, his saber raised, the other lying flat. The moment delivers a pang of nostalgia while foreshadowing Harry's imminent showdown with Voldemort.


The key to defeating the evil wizard is locating and learning how to destroy the seven Horcruxes in which he has preserved portions of his soul. When Harry and the others seize one of the medallions, they become spiritually possessed by it. Harry, still dealing with his childhood demons -- literally -- is beset by awful visions. Yates' daring shots are the visual equivalent of nightmarish psychological collapse. There are many stunning effects in the film, swirling creatures that coil like ink in water, and a haunting witches' folk tale presented in shadowy sepia animation.

The flood of visuals never overwhelms the characters, which I think is the key to "Potter's" worldwide success. Would-be series such as "Lemony Snicket," "The Golden Compass" and "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" boast remarkable graphics, but lack the Potter saga's engaging protagonists and ideally cast young actors. They don't do the showiest acting in the piece. Those honors go to Imelda Staunton as haughty, waspish Dolores Umbrage and Helena Bonham Carter, cackling like a hyena as the delightfully mad Bellatrix Lestrange. But Radcliffe, Watson and Grint, having literally grown up in their characters, are ready for their close-up. They earned it, they deserve it and they nailed it.

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http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/harry_potter_and_the_deathly_hallows_part_i/

Download Harry Potter Movie Torrents

http://isohunt.com/torrents/harry+potter


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‘True Blood’ House for Sale for $35 Million

The 1.52-acre Malibu estate, in which Evan Rachel Wood's character lives, features glass ceilings and walls lined with 500,000 seashells.


The home featured in True Blood, La Villa Contenta, has hit the market for $35 million.

It sits on 1.52 acres in Malibu -- but if you want the entire 8-acre parcel, it'll cost a cool $75 million, Yahoo! Real Estate reports.

The home, which served as the fictional abode to vampire Sophie-Anne Leclerq (played by Evan Rachel Wood), was also up for rent this summer for $250,000 a month.

La Villa Contenta is owned by real estate developer Richard E. Weintraub, who runs Weintraub Financial Services Inc. , and his wife, Liane, who rented it out while they traveled. They're reportedly building another mansion nearby.

The three-story, 12,045 home overlooking the Pacific Ocean contains four bedrooms and 8.5 baths. It also has a screening room, gym, tennis courts, and a guest house with two maid's quarters, loggias, decks and landscaping. It also has glass ceilings and walls lined with 500,000 seashells.

True Blood’s production designer Suzuki Ingerslev says of taping there: "After all the location scouting I have done over the years, in my opinion, nothing even comes close to the amount of detail that went into this pool house. We all just stood there and took the room in the first time we went there, and pictures don’t even begin to do it justice. The statues, chandeliers, chair rail and ceilings are all made out of a variety of various sizes of seashells and corals. It is astounding, and we could never accomplish this on our budget, and time frame. It is truly breathtaking and exquisite."

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'Toy Story 3' Best Pic Oscar: Yes, We Can! Or Not Quite Yet?

Blogger Pete Hammond's got a friend in Disney chairman Rich Ross, who gave him a story on the historic, characteristically massive, perhaps 20-ad campaign to make Toy Story 3 the first-ever animated best picture Oscar winner. Last year, Up won best animated film, but had to settle for a nom, but no win, in the best picture category.

Ingeniously, Ross reasons that if Silence of the Lambs broke Oscar's horror of horror movies, Lord of the Rings the anti-fantasy barrier and Godfather II the sequel aversion, why can't a film with 100% rave reviews by Rottentomatoes' Top Critics and grosses that could exceed the gross domestic product of Greenland beat the anti-animation barrier?

But hard as it is to find a critic who didn't like Toy Story 3, it's harder to find anyone outside the studio who thinks it can win best picture (or lose best animated feature). An actor or other human-dependent Oscar voter who votes for animation is like a turkey that votes for Thanksgiving, and Oscar is also bigoted against comedy, however grounded in deeper emotion. "When you do comedy, you're not sitting at the grown-ups' table," as Woody Allen said. Oscar voters want to feel awash in elevating emotion. It helps if a movie seems like some kind of artistic breakthrough, not just a superb extension of a franchise.

And yet, Ross' ad spend won't be wasted. By breaking into the enchanted best-picture nominee circle in 1991, Beauty and the Beast changed Academy presumptions. To make something happen, you first must convince people it can happen. And shocking things can happen when minds start changing. Who could've imagined how fast gay marriage or legally taxed marijuana became politically imaginable?

I would compare Toy Story 3's direct assault on the best picture castle to Shirley Chisholm's 1972 candidacy for president. She didn't win, but she ultimately made President Obama thinkable.

Toy Story 3 makers could paraphrase Chisholm's campaign announcement: "I stand before you today as a candidate for best picture.

I am not the candidate of animated Hollywood, although I am animated and proud.

I am not the candidate of Hollywood comedy, although I am funny, and I am equally proud of that.

I am not the candidate of any political bosses or fat cats or special interests. (Oops -- I guess I am.)

I am the candidate of the people of America. And my presence before you now symbolizes a new era in American entertainment history."

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http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/blogs/race/toy-story-3-pic-oscar-47201

World's Sexiest Couple

On Monday, GQ named Scarlett Johansson its Babe of the Year; On Wednesday, her husband, Ryan Reynolds, was crowned Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine, joining a distinguished list that includes John F. Kennedy Jr., George Clooney, Mel Gibson and Denzel Washington.

"There are a few people who might think this is a mistake," Reynolds said after the announcement. Calling himself a late bloomer, the buff actor said he looked "like sort of a very athletic girl up until I was about 21."

He and Johannson became legally required to look at each other's ugly mugs when they married in September 2008.


Read more: Meet Earth's sexiest couple

http://www.freep.com/article/20101118/ENT07/11180425/Meet-Earth-s-sexiest-couple#ixzz15csKhiHN

Palm Springs Festival Offering $100,000 Reward in Ronni Chasen Shooting

Organizers, who say the publicist played a big role in bringing celebrities to the event, are seeking information leading to the arrest and conviction of her murderer.

Because publicist Ronni Chasen, who was murdered in Beverly Hills early Tuesday morning, played a big role in bringing celebrities to the annual Palm Springs International Film Festival, the festival is offering a reward of $100,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of her murderer.

Festival chairman Harold Matzner announced the reward Wednesday.

"Famed Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen has been my partner in selecting all honorees and presenters for the Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala for the past 10 years," Matzner said in a statement. "Ronni handled all negotiations with the studios, and she and her team made all of the arrangements to bring the celebrity honorees to Palm Springs for the event. The honorees were Ronni's responsibility until they arrived in Palm Springs."

He added that Chasen was "a very good lady, a good friend and a genius at her craft. Her death is very, very sad and mystifying. ... She will be very missed by all in the festival family and by me especially!"

The festival is asking that anyone with information about Chasen's death contact the Beverly Hills Police Department Tip Line at (310) 288-2656.

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Denis Leary to Join Spider-Man Reboot November

Denis Leary is negotiations to play the father of Emma Stone in Columbia’s new Spider-Man movie.

Stone is playing the love interest of Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield) and Leary will play police captain George Stacy, her father who frequently came into contact with the web-slinging superhero.

In Marvel Comics lore, Stacy perished in an accident during a battle between Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus, an event that led Gwen Stacy to hate the hero.

Columbia and director Marc Webb are keeping the James Vanderbilt and Alvin Sargent-penned script under lock and key so it’s uncertain how faithful to the core story Leary’s version of the character will be.

Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach and Laura Ziskin are producing the movie, which begins shooting in December.

WME-repped Leary hasn’t appeared in a theatrical movie since 2002’s The Secret Lives of Dentists, although he has been starring in the acclaimed drama Rescue Me since 2004. He appeared in HBO’s Recount and has continued to voice the character of Diego the sabertooth in the Ice Age movies.

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http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/blogs/heat-vision/denis-leary-join-spider-man-46702

20 Years Home Alone

"I made my family disappear," says 8-year-old Kevin McAllister (Macaulay Culkin), upon realizing he's the de facto ruler of the roost in the unforgettable 1990 family hit 'Home Alone.' But many of the McAllisters -- as well as the colorful characters around them -- are still visible these days. You just have to know where to look. (And no, they're not in the attic.)

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of 'Home Alone,' Moviefone takes a fond look back at the film's hilarious cast and updates you on their current whereabouts.


Macaulay Culkin
Role: Kevin McCallister
Then: Mac's turn as precocious robber-bashing 8-year-old Kevin McCallister made him perhaps the most famous -- and definitely the highest-paid -- child star ever. But after a trio of box-office flops in 1994 and a very public custody battle between his parents in '95, he disappeared from the limelight.

Now: Now 30, Culkin resurfaced on 'Will and Grace' in 2001 and made the leap back into movies two years later as a homicidal drag queen (seriously) in 'Party Monster.' He also wrote the semi-autobiographical novel 'Junior' and, most recently, appeared on the short-lived NBC drama 'Kings.' He has been dating actress Mila Kunis since 2002.

Catherine O'Hara
Role: Kate McCallister
Then: Kevin's mom has many maternal skills ... but keeping track of her kid isn't one of them. O'Hara was a well-established performer before 'Home Alone,' having appeared as a regular on the Canadian sketch show 'SCTV' and co-starred as Winona Ryder's frenetic mother in 'Beetlejuice.'
Now: O'Hara might have been known in the U.S. primarily for 'Home Alone' if it weren't for Christopher Guest. Aside from starring in every Guest movie since 1997, she has a busy voiceover career and recently played Katherine Heigl's mother in 'Killers.'


John Heard
Role: Peter McCallister
Then: He was Kevin's distraught dad (okay, let's just say negligent) who was horrified to learn he and his wife had overlooked a little something when they left for their big trip. Prior to 'Home Alone,' Heard was probably most recognized for playing the closest thing to a villain opposite Tom Hanks in 'Big.'
Now: Heard's better known for his TV work these days: a crooked cop on 'The Sopranos' (for which he was Emmy-nominated); Governor Tancredi on 'Prison Break'; guest spots on 'Entourage' and 'CSI: Miami' ... you get the drift.


Devin Ratray
Role: Buzz McCallister
Then: In the early '90s, Ratray was the go-to guy for big-boned bullies, also appearing in films like 'Little Monsters' and 'Dennis the Menace.' As Buzz, the tarantula-grooming, red-headed bully of an oldest brother, he was like the Biff Tannen of his generation.
Now: In recent years Ratray has appeared in an episode of 'Law and Order' and the 2009 Bruce Willis sci-fi thriller 'Surrogates.' But his most interesting post-'Home Alone' credit is undoubtedly as himself in the mockumentary 'Courting Condi,' in which he examines his love for former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice by interviewing those close to her. Check out this recent Huffington Post interview with Ratray:



Angela Goethals
Role: Linnie McCallister
Then: The French-fluent actress (and great-great-granddaughter of Panama Canal chief engineer George W. Goethals) fittingly plays Kevin's haughty Francophile older sister Linnie, whose one main purpose is to assure Kevin he's incompetent. She's what the French call "les bitch."
Now: After skipping 'Home Alone 2' (in the sequel, Linnie was played by Maureen Elizabeth Shay, in her only film role) and taking time off to get her degree from Vassar, Goethals returned to acting in 2000. In addition to recent guest gigs on 'Law & Order' and 'Royal Pains,' Goethals frequently narrates audiobooks, including 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.'


Hillary Wolf
Role: Megan McCallister
Then: After a string of TV movies, Wolf (whose character miscounted McCallisters as they boarded the airport van) had a big 1990, also appearing in 'Waiting for the Light' with Shirley MacLaine.
Now: After 'Home Alone 2,' Wolf dropped acting to pursue judo, and made the U.S. Olympic team in '96 and '00. She's now married and lives in Colorado.


Michael C. Maronna
Role: Jeff McCallister
Then: In his first film role, the Rhode Island native played one of Kevin's older brothers and offered such motivational sound bites as "Kevin, you're such a disease."
Now: Maronna capitalized on his 'Home Alone' fame by grabbing the role of Big Pete in the popular Nickelodeon show 'The Adventures of Pete & Pete.' After that show's influential two-season run, he nabbed parts in '40 Days and 40 Nights' and 'Slackers' before switching to a career behind the scenes -- he is credited as an electrician on 'Sex and the City,' 'Notorious' and 'Cop Out.'


Gerry Bamman
Role: Uncle Frank
Then: He gave an odiously ingenious performance as ill-mannered, short-tempered Uncle Frank, a man who turns mooching into an art form.
Now: Two episodes of 'Law and Order' in 2004 and 2005 aside, he's kept mostly to the stage recently. He's currently playing the Duke of Venice opposite Al Pacino in a Broadway production of 'The Merchant of Venice.'


Kieran Culkin
Role: Fuller
Then: Mac's real-life younger brother made his big-screen debut as Kevin's bed-sharing -- and bed-wetting -- cousin Fuller, who simply refuses to go easy on the Pepsi.
Now: After earning a Golden Globe nomination for 2002's acclaimed indie 'Igby Goes Down,' he took time off from movies to act on the stage. But in 2010, he returned to movies with a vengeance, gaining raves for his turn as Wallace Wells, the "cool" gay roommate in 'Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World.'


Joe Pesci
Role: Harry
Then: Pesci was hitting his prime as 'Home Alone' opened, still soaking up kudos for his explosive turn in
'Goodfellas,' which would earn him an Oscar the following spring. Though he didn't win anything for his bumbling burglar Harry, he did prove he could take punishment as well as he could dish it.
Now: After a string of major roles in movies such as 'My Cousin Vinny,' 'Casino' and 'Lethal Weapon 4,' Pesci announced his retirement from acting to focus on his musical career. He finally resurfaced with a small role in pal Robert De Niro's 2006 directorial effort 'The Good Shepherd,' and was seen with Helen Mirren in the 2010 bomb 'Love Ranch' (they play the real-life couple who opened Nevada's first legal brothel).


Daniel Stern
Role: Marv
Then: Of the so-called "Wet Bandits," he's the dumb one (well, dumber one), who endures a tarantula on his head, an iron in his face and a nail up his nose. Stern had his breakthrough in 1983's 'Diner,' and by 'Home Alone' was two seasons into his role as the voice of the adult Kevin Arnold on 'The Wonder Years.'
Now: In 1991 came Stern's next-biggest movie role, that of Phil in 'City Slickers.' He was the voice of 'Dilbert' in the animated series, but since then has mostly appeared in short-lived sitcoms ('Danny,' 'Regular Joe') and straight-to-DVD movies ('Bachelor Party Vegas,' as -- earmuffs, kids! -- "Harry Hard"). He most recently played Ellen Page's dad in 'Whip It.'


Roberts Blossom
Role: Old Man Marley
Then: Considering the veteran actor had once played a lunatic killer in the cult classic 'Deranged,' it was inspired casting to have him portray Kevin's mysterious, possibly lunatic killer (albeit ultimately vastly misunderstood) neighbor, Marley.
Now: Blossom, who will turn 87 on New Year's Day, retired in 1999 to focus on his poetry and family. He now lives in California.


John Candy
Role: Gus Polinski
Then: Funnyman Candy had a bit part as Gus Polinski, one of the polka players who gives Mom a ride back to Illinois when her plane leaves her stranded in Scranton. He was a natural for the part, considering that one of his regular 'SCTV' bits was as two members of the polka-performing family the Schmenges.
Now: Sadly, the larger-than-life comedian and bankable movie star ('Planes, Trains & Automobiles,' 'Uncle Buck') suffered a fatal heart attack in 1994 while filming the comedy 'Wagons East.' His last film, Michael Moore's 'Canadian Bacon' was released posthumously in 1995.


Hope Davis
Role: French ticket agent
Then: In only her second film role (after a small part in 'Flatliners'), Davis played the French ticket agent who tries to help a frantic Kate McCallister get home to her son. If "help" means suggesting Kate try stand-by.
Now: She made a splash in 'The Daytrippers,' but it was 1998's 'Next Stop, Wonderland' that cemented Davis' reputation as a rising indie queen. Nominated for a Golden Globe for 'American Splendor' (2003), she appeared in Charlie Kaufman's 'Synecdoche, New York' and in the second season of HBO's 'In Treatment.'


Chris Columbus
Role: Director
Then: Though his earlier 'Adventures in Babysitting' was a well-reviewed family romp, 'Home Alone' was Columbus' breakthrough as a director. Why then would he return to the same well for 'Home Alone 2: Lost in New York' you might ask? Only Chris could tell.
Now: After some directorial hits ('Mrs. Doubtfire') and misses ('Bicentennial Man'), Columbus scored big when he was tapped to helm the first and second 'Harry Potter' installments. He produced the third 'Potter,' and recently directed a clone, 'Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.'


John Hughes
Role: Writer/producer
Then: Though he will forever be known for the Brat Pack films, Hughes achieved his biggest commercial success with 'Home Alone.'
Now: He quit directing after 1991's 'Curly Sue' and spent much of the rest of his career penning and producing kids' fare. He died of a sudden heart attack in 2009, at the age of 59.

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