Diane Kruger and Quentin Tarantino at The 82nd Annual Academy Awards on 7th March 2010.
What Tarantino Owes to 'Greenberg':
Two years later “Pulp Fiction” came out and changed everything and I got a strange phone call -- from the editor at the Times. Turns out she was retiring -- she explained that, after falling on her sword for Quentin, when the movie bombed there were rumblings they wanted to let her go. She refused -- until “Pulp” hit. Now, she felt, she could leave with her head held high.
I asked her one question: Given the heat she’d taken to get the story published (launching Quentin’s career), why?
She told me she had a son in Hollywood who’d been working on his first movie for Trimark (another defunct movie company, like LIVE) and he had assured her (not me) that Quentin was the real deal. His name was Noah Baumbach. And you can look it up". Source: www.thewrap.com
Episode 8: Zach sits down with Ben Stiller, star of the 'Meet the Fockers' series as well as the new movie, Greenberg.
Ben Stiller stars in "Greenberg" (2010).
Roger, a failed musician recently released from a psychiatric hospital and still holding on to an image of himself as a young rebel while his peers have grown up and settled down, is so self-involved that his wallowing plays as aggression. Florence, searching for an honest connection but stuck in a self-destructive pattern of "doing things just because they feel good", is drawn to what seems like vulnerability in Greenberg, hooked by his wild vacillation between neediness and cruel disinterest. "Hurt people hurt people", she tells him, wryly, resigned to this vicious cycle. Ben Stiller and Jennifer Jason Leigh in "Greenberg". Jennifer Jason Leigh and husband Noah Baumbach.
Baumbach says elements of Greenberg "kept popping up" in his writing, but a long gap between the wrap of his last film, Margot at the Wedding, and its fall 2007 release gave Baumbach time to flesh out a script. "I wasn't even sure who this guy was, but I knew he was so actively his own worst enemy. I see this in myself and I see it with a lot of people, but with Greenberg it's much more overt." Greta Gerwig plays Florence Marr in "Greenberg".
The Florence character has tones of what's come to be known as the Manic Pixie Dream Girl (MPDG) — a young, eccentrically costumed sprite who saves a lovable loser from himself. Think Natalie Portman in Garden State, or Zooey Deschanel in anything. But while most modern indies use their MPDG as a catalyst for fairy tale–perfect romance, Greenberg offers up how such a character would function in real life.
"Those characters are always presented as saviors, but the reality is, they're getting some neurotic, perverse fulfillment, or lack of fulfillment, by getting involved with this asshole", Baumbach notes. And for a man caught in a real-life Florence's web, "those women are generally much more interesting because they're depressed and fucked up." Greenberg gives Gerwig, the leading ingénue of recent American no-budget cinema, her inaugural role in a high-profile release. Baumbach first saw the actress starring in Hannah Takes the Stairs, Joe Swanberg's introspective, entirely improvised romantic roundelay, the linchpin of the micro-indie "mumblecore" movement. Though Baumbach's films often have a conversational realism that resembles improv, they're actually tightly scripted, and the filmmaker wondered whether Gerwig could work under such constraints. Greta Gerwig plays Tamera in "Une aventure New-Yorkaise" directed by Olivier Lécot.
"Clearly she had talent, but they're all making these lines up, and I didn't know how much of that was her doing herself. Could she do this with scripted stuff?" An audition in Baumbach and Leigh's New York apartment confirmed that she could. "She'd memorized the whole thing." Ben Stiller and Greta Gerwig in "Greenberg".
Gerwig's performance is short on actorly flourishes, and with her imperfect skin and unsculpted physique, her appearance on-screen is unlike that of the standard starlet. It was Baumbach's intention to present Florence as a realistically awkward young woman, somewhat out of place in the capital of superficiality, but perhaps he and his actress did too good a job. The Variety review published after Greenberg's Berlin Film Festival premiere described Gerwig as "a big young woman who's attractive enough," and expressed skepticism as to whether or not Gerwig was acting at all". Source: www.laweekly.com
"As for women, Fowles says the first step in confronting the MPDG is realizing, like all the scary creatures hiding under your bed, that she doesn’t exist.
“As long as you understand that this is entertainment, it’s OK to watch these movies, step back and think, ‘Why do we need these characters?’ I have no problem with escapism. I just have a problem with people watching these films and believing that the stereotypes are real.” Natalie Portman and Zach Braff in "Garden State" (2004).
"The harsh truth of indie-mixtape cinema like Garden State is that terrified men and amazing girls are meant for each other. Everyone wants to be able to give and receive love, no matter how unready or undeserving they think they might be — and they want to do it minutes to boarding a flight, your name called over the airline speaker as your previously clueless boyfriend tells all those flying to Wichita that he’s made the “biggest mistake of his life.” (See Noah Baumbach’s Kicking and Screaming for a nice reversal of this fantasy — the man too traumatized to bring his passport.)" Source: www.eyeweekly.com
Kirsten Dunst as Claire Colburn in "Elizabethtown" (2005).
1. Elizabethtown (Kirsten Dunst) Ah, the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, that sentient ray of sunshine sent from heaven to warm the heart and readjust the attitude of even the broodiest, most uptight male protagonist. In his My Year Of Flops entry on Elizabethtown, Nathan Rabin coined the phrase "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" to describe that bubbly, shallow cinematic creature that "exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures." In Elizabethtown, Kirsten Dunst plays the archetypal Manic Pixie Dream Girl, a flirty, flighty chatterbox stewardess who razzles and dazzles brooding sensitive guy Orlando Bloom. Coked up, or merely high on life? You be the judge. Though Dunst in Elizabethtown and Natalie Portman in Garden State epitomize the contemporary Manic Pixie Dream Girl, the strangely resilient archetype has its roots in the nutty dames of screwball comedy. For every era, there's a Manic Pixie Dream Girl perfectly suited to the times". Source: www.poormojo.org
Michael Cera in "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist" (2008).
"Scott Pilgrim" big screen adaptation, opening in theaters on Aug. 13, stars Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Chris Evans, Anna Kendrick, Alison Pill, Brandon Routh and Jason Schwartzman."Well, we love the tagline – “An epic of epic epicness” – and the way the logo is formed from the energy-lines blazing out of Scott Pilgrim’s bass. It’s by no means a conventional poster – there’s little here to actually tell non-Pilgrims what the film’s about (namely, a slacker is forced to battle his new girlfriend’s seven evil exes, while grappling with the mysteries of love, life and something else beginning with ‘L’), and it’s interesting that Michael Cera’s face is being withheld, for the time being at least. Overall, though, the impression is that this is going to rock, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Expect the campaign to start ramping up soon-ish, with the film’s August 6th date looming large". Source: www.empironline.com
More rocking guys/girls who happen to be actors: Rufus Wainwright with Jake Gyllenhaal.Sean Penn.Jesse Eisenberg.Chris Pine.Patrick Fugit.Shannyn Sossamon.James Franco.Jenny Lewis.Lindsay Lohan.Joseph Gordon-Levitt.Kirsten Dunst.Joan Jett.Kristen Stewart.Robert Pattinson.TV presenter Pilar Rubio.
"Walt Disney Pictures has released a brand new featurette for "Prince of Persia: Sands of Time" which is aimed to explain the background of Dastan. Beside sharing the making of adventure scene undergone by the street kid, the snippet also gives preview to how the brave young boy grows up as the Prince of Persia.Jake Gyllenhaal in "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" Featurette - Destiny.
Set in the mystical lands of Persia, the film follows a rogue prince named Dastan who finds himself reluctantly joining forces with a mysterious princess named Tamina as the fate of the world is in grave danger. Prince of Persia's dagger.
Together, they race against dark forces to safeguard an ancient dagger capable of releasing the Sands of Time, a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world". Source: www.aceshowbiz.com
"The versions for Wii, Nintendo DSi and DS and PSP will differ from the versions for Xbox 360 and PlayStation3. How? We will let you know when we know.
It is set between Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Prince of Persia: Warrior Within.
Ubisoft's website says The Forgotten Sands has the prince visiting his brother’s kingdom only to find the royal palace under siege from a mighty army bent on its destruction. When the decision is made to use the ancient power of the Sand to save the kingdom, the prince embarks on an epic adventure that teaches him true leadership and and how great power often comes with a great cost". Source: www.heraldsun.com.au
Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning sound off on playing real-life rock stars, how they prepared for their roles and more! "She's really hot," Kristen Stewart told MTV News about Gaga. "She's got a look."
Co-star Dakota Fanning concurred: "I am a fan of Lady Gaga because I think she's a really good singer and a really great entertainer and when you watch her perform, you know it's going to be a show. I think that's really cool."
The women might be Gaga fans, but don't expect the duo to ever belt out a line from "Poker Face" or "Bad Romance" in public. While they played rock stars onscreen, both confess to being deathly afraid of karaoke.
"I would never karaoke," Fanning said. "I am so scared. That is the scariest thing. Getting up in front of a room of strangers and singing songs — that is so scary to me."
"I would never karaoke either," Stewart echoed. "Every time I've even tried to do that, I've regretted it two lines in, and I end up talking [the lyrics]. It's making me embarrassed talking about it." Source: www.mtv.com
"Twilight" stars Robert Pattinson and Peter Facinelli have told MTV News that their ideal director for "Breaking Dawn," the still-announced adaptation of the final volume in the vampire series, would be two-time Oscar-nominated director Gus Van Sant. An Entertainment Weekly report on Tuesday suggested that Van Sant ("Milk") is in fact one of three high-profile directors who have been approached to helm the film, along with Sofia Coppola ("Lost in Translation") and Bill Condon ("Dreamgirls").
Now MTV News has received exclusive confirmation about the development from Kristen Stewart herself. "I'm glad that's out and about," she said about the outreach to the directors. "I didn't know that was something that people knew."
EW had previously confirmed the anonymous report with Van Sant's rep but hadn't yet received word from Coppola's or Condon's spokespeople. Summit Entertainment declined to comment on the report.
While any directorial decision will reportedly have to wait until Melissa Rosenberg hands in a detailed draft for the script — and there is still no word about if "Breaking Dawn" will be split into two separate films — Stewart professed her excitement about any of the three directors helming the movie.
"I think it's awesome," she said. "I think it's so cool that they're reaching. I think anyone of those people would be great."
Previously, Pattinson told us that Van Sant would be the perfect pick because of the setting and the content of many of his previous films — which include "Good Will Hunting," "My Own Private Idaho" and "Elephant."
"He shoots everything in Portland. He's good at making it look beautiful," Pattinson said, adding of "Breaking Dawn," "It's all about teenage love and obsessions. I think Gus Van Sant would be great."
New still of Jake Gyllenhaal as Prince Dastan in "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time".
-Was Jake Gyllenhaal his first choice to play the title character and what was it about him that got him the part?
-“You had to have someone of a certain age,” answers Newell. “The prince had to have a command of the screen, which Jake obviously does and is partly what makes Jake a very interesting actor. I looked around and Jake was the first name that came into my head. And though I did meet lots and lots of other actors, I kept coming back to him.” Opening soon across the Philippines , “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International". Source: www.mb.com
Robert Pattinson
Shrieking, ululating, OMG-ing teen girls aren't usually the best arbiters of men's style. (See: Cassidy, David; Mark, Marky; Boys, Backstreet.) So give the nearest tween a high five for freaking out over Robert Pattinson, the British sensation who stars in gossip columns, gossip sites, and oh yeah, a little billiondollar franchise called Twilight. Young Rob's probably got the best head of hair since James Dean, and he lets it do the talking. He also lets it fly: no pompadour, no side part… As far as we can tell, he just runs his hands through it every five minutes. And the clothes? What clothes? A pair of jeans, a T-shirt, an unbuttoned and untucked plaid shirt…That's it. He dresses his age (23); he dresses to his strengths; he dresses so you don't give a damn about how he's dressed. —WILL WELCH
James Dean There's a reason why young guys like Robert Pattinson and James Franco are still channeling James Dean: James Franco on the cover of "GQ" magazine.
The man was a master at the art of looking good while appearing not to give a damn. Sure, his efforts were aided by criminally good genes, but he also had an unparalleled gift for making learned actions—like flinging a jacket over his shoulder or dangling a cigarette from his lips—seem innate. And while his personal life was infamously chaotic, Jimmy, in his short twenty-four years, had his sense of style pretty well sorted out. His mumbled speech, his stumbling walk, his trademark slouch—they were all branded with the same pensive recklessness. In a T-shirt and jeans or decked out in a tux and chunky eyeglass frames, he brooded just the same. —ANDREW RICHDALE
Johnny Depp After more than a quarter century in front of the camera, Johnny Depp has shown us everything but himself. Not an easy task when you've got those cheekbones, that tousled hair, and an unmitigated youthfulness, which Depp has worked hard to cloak by playing reclusive savants and rock 'n' roll pirates. Johnny Depp in "Benny & Joon" (1993).
But we keep searching, trying to nail down his hobo chic—a style that derives from a life spent kicking around the dusty South and the French countryside. "I don't think he's remotely interested in fashion. He's a complete instigator of fashion," says Penny Rose, the costume designer who collaborated with the actor to create Pirates of the Caribbean's randy Jack Sparrow. "His look is always eye-stopping, clever, and completely individual." Or, like the last two drags on one of his hand-rolled cigarettes, raw and unapologetically gratifying. —HILARY ELKINS Source: www.gq.com
Chris Cooper and Emilie de Ravin in "Remember Me" (2010).
"Remember Me" Robert Pattinson's attempt to branch out from his trademark lovelorn-vampire role (to a lovelorn regular-guy role), was only a modest performer at the box office this weekend, earning $8.3 million. But the film offers several notable attributes; in addition to Pattinson's first turn as a leading man in a mainstream release not titled "Twilight", it's a mid-budget drama in a time when such films are an endangered breed. And it came from Summit, a company that has flirted with a number of genres, but never this one. Kristen Stewart as Bella and Robert Pattinson as Edward in "Twilight" (2008).
-So this was before the 'Twilight' phenomenon took hold? Kristen Stewart in Eva Magazine April 2010.
-NO: It was right around the time of Comic-Con, when they started to realize how big a movie they had on their hands. But we needed to get Rob interested too. He had read a lot of scripts. He was at the Oakwood Apartments and he would drive to the In-N-Out Burger every day and read scripts in the back of his car. And he eventually read ours and said he wanted to do it. Then we had to put together a budget that made sense [about $16 million] before we could get going. -Do you think the fan frenzy ever gets to Pattinson? NO: I have a great respect for him. The attention he's gotten over "Twilight" is incredible and he handles it with such grace. I've never seen him in a bad mood about it. The paparazzi do get to him a little, I think, going back to Britain has been a lot easier for him. He told me a story the other day that he was in a pub and after two hours of sitting there the bartender said, "You know, you look just like the kid from 'Twilight.' '' And then the bartender said, "Oh my God, you are that kid."' And then they kind of walked away. [We] Brits are like that. [We're] more self-effacing. A Brit sees a famous person and he almost crosses the street. Did you see anything from Emilie or Rob that gives you the sense they have seriously bright acting careers ahead of them? NO: They both take their craft so seriously. There's a soulfulness to them too. And I think Rob really wants to be a serious actor. The other stuff is just part of the job". Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com
Diane Kruger and Quentin Tarantino at The 82nd Annual Academy Awards on 7th March 2010.
His name was Noah Baumbach. And you can look it up". 
Ben Stiller stars in "Greenberg" (2010).
Ben Stiller and Jennifer Jason Leigh in "Greenberg".
Jennifer Jason Leigh and husband Noah Baumbach.
Greta Gerwig plays Florence Marr in "Greenberg".
Greenberg gives Gerwig, the leading ingénue of recent American no-budget cinema, her inaugural role in a high-profile release. Baumbach first saw the actress starring in Hannah Takes the Stairs, Joe Swanberg's introspective, entirely improvised romantic roundelay, the linchpin of the micro-indie "mumblecore" movement. Though Baumbach's films often have a conversational realism that resembles improv, they're actually tightly scripted, and the filmmaker wondered whether Gerwig could work under such constraints.
Greta Gerwig plays Tamera in "Une aventure New-Yorkaise" directed by Olivier Lécot.
Ben Stiller and Greta Gerwig in "Greenberg".
"As for women, Fowles says the first step in confronting the MPDG is realizing, like all the scary creatures hiding under your bed, that she doesn’t exist.
Natalie Portman and Zach Braff in "Garden State" (2004).
Kirsten Dunst as Claire Colburn in "Elizabethtown" (2005).
In Elizabethtown, Kirsten Dunst plays the archetypal Manic Pixie Dream Girl, a flirty, flighty chatterbox stewardess who razzles and dazzles brooding sensitive guy Orlando Bloom. Coked up, or merely high on life? You be the judge. Though Dunst in Elizabethtown and Natalie Portman in Garden State epitomize the contemporary Manic Pixie Dream Girl, the strangely resilient archetype has its roots in the nutty dames of screwball comedy. For every era, there's a Manic Pixie Dream Girl perfectly suited to the times". Source: www.poormojo.org
