Just in time for the 20th anniversary of one of America's favorite sitcoms (yes, you're that old), rumors of NBC bringing the cast of Friends back for a "new" season have been swirling around. Even websites (like Star Media - really?) have come up with legit-sounding reports of the confirmation, but we at HIH would like to sit on this for a while and wait until we hear it straight from the mouths of our other friends -- at the peacock network itself. Specifically, someone with a snazzy-sounding title and sizable Hollywood cred.
And if it does turn out to be true, we will be sure to scream it from the rooftops. However, we do hear that fans should keep holding their breath...
Directing the Opening Ceremony for the 2012 Summer Olympics was possibly one of the most time-consuming and stressful jobs Danny Boyle has ever done. It was a far cry from filmmaking and being on set with his cinematographer and troupe of actors.
That's why working on his latest thriller, Trance, was an escape for him. Shot in London during summer weekends -- in between his Olympic duties -- Boyle was able to do to what he loves to do.
The film centers around an auctioneer (James McAvoy) who loses his memory when he gets tangled up in an art heist that goes horribly awry. With the help of a hypnotherapist (Rosario Dawson), he attempts to resolves his involvement witht he criminal mastermind behind it all (Vincent Cassel).
These three characters soon become unreliable protagonists as none of them are who or what they might seem at first meeting. "The story's got three excellent parts in it and they battle for who's at the center of the film," says Boyle. "That triangle is a lovely dynamic to have in place as you can play with the question of which character the story belongs to."
Taking the role of Simon is McAvoy, who felt a magnetic attraction to the film. "I was completely blown away by this mind-bending, genre-bending, psychological heist movie," he comments. "When I auditioned for Danny, he was incredible. I've rarely been directed in an audition so interestingly. That made me desperate to get the part. Luckily for me he phoned up and said, 'Would you like to do it?'"
Boyle was surprised by McAvoy. "I thought he might be a bit young for it, but when we met, it was really interesting because the part makes him seem older. It was fantastic the way he grew into it."
As for the role of hypnotherapist Elizabeth Lamb, Rosario Dawson loved that her character played as an equal in this male-driven mind game. "I've never played anyone even remotely like her," she says. "Elizabeth is totally different because she's hiding everything. You only get hints of her emotion through her doing things with with her hair to show her restraint, but when she lets her hair down, she really lets her hair down."
One of the most intriguing aspects of Trance for Boyle was the chance to present a woman as equal player in a crime thriller. "You make all these films, and you have great women in them, but they're basically about the guys...So what I love about this film is there's a woman most definitely right in the thick of it, holding her own."
Years ago, the ensemble drama to shock your system into thinking about today’s societial issues was Crash. It won awards and shocked audiences with its realistic view of how we all interact on a daily basis.
But that was eight years ago, and it's time for an update. Today, we’re all so caught in cell phone culture that the more we connect online, the less we seem to understand each other face to face. Times have changed, and it was time for a film to make us see that.
Disconnect, directed by Henry-Alex Rubin does exactly that. It takes a harsh look at how families, friends, and even strangers are affected by today’s digital world. Kids are bullied, families drift apart, and sex is more easily accessible than ever before -- and Disconnect makes you look up from your smartphone just long enough to realize that you’re guilty of it too. Andrew Stern wrote the screenplay when he noticed that everyone around the dinner table spent more time texting and emailing than connecting with each other. And what he came out with is a cast of characters who mingle and intertwine as they slowly realize how lost they all truly are in a world connected by technology.
HIH is thrilled to be invited to kick off summer with blogger extraordinaire and media dominatrix Perez Hilton in New York this June!
This year, Viva Diva Wines will be having its annual summer launch party poolside at NoMa Social in New Rochelle (Our hometown! What are the odds?), and it promises to be bigger and better than ever. On June 5th, the soiree will be hosted by the world famous blogger, and we can't even begin to imagine the photo opp potential.
General admission tickets are available in addition to limited VIP tickets, which include a photo with Perez. The event starts at 8pm, and we're looking forward to one memorable night.
For ticket information, visit the events page at Viva Brands USA.
And if you're bicoastal like us, come on down and (responsibly) join HIH and Bello Mag editor Hiko Mitsuzuka for a cocktail or two (or four).
And that's about it. After all, if you're not a Buffyverse follower -- or have no idea who those actors are listed above -- then you're not as rightfully pumped and geeked out over this black-and-white modern adaptation of Shakespeare's twisted comedy as we are.
If you thought the Scary
Movie franchise was dead and gone, surprise, it’s back! After a seven-year hiatus from the big screen, the fifth film brings
forth a fresh slew of movies, TV, and popular culture to spoof, skewer, and eventually run into the ground.
Director Malcolm Lee (The
Best Man, Roll Bounce) joins veteran producer/writer David Zucker in this
new effort. Scary Movie V continues
to follow the gag joke tradition as it’s chock-full of celebrities and actors
who play themselves and guest-star as drop-in characters.
Looking for a plot? Good luck: The film follows Jody (Ashley Tisdale) and her husband Dan (Simon
Rex) on a journey as new parents. They adopt Dan’s recently deceased brothers
three children and move into a new home while agreeing to have their
lives videotaped for a study. Once the children enter the home, Jody begins to
feel an unwelcome presence. The
maid feels this as well (hooray for Hispanic stereotypes!) and continually blesses the house, while Dan sees
nothing wrong. They begin to seek help from psychics and other outside sources
to rid them of the “demons."
Jody is a prima ballerina while Dan works in a lab trying to
increase the intelligence of apes. Now if any of this sounds familiar, it
should. It takes a playbook from every scary film made in most recent
years and spoofs them like there's no tomororw. It takes cues from Mama,
Paranormal Activity, Sinister, Planet of the Apes, Black Swan, Inception,
and last but not least, the more recent incarnation of Evil
Dead.
Although Scary Movie V is bereft of any conventional plot (any keen film major could easily tell some scenes were slapped together at the last minute), there
are some funny moments throughout the movie. The film takes pot shots at Black Swan and its intense camera
angles, which gets some giggles. When it breaks down Evil Dead, which is by far one of the goriest films of the year, it
manages to make it look light and comical. Also, the film manages to admirably snag a
dead ringer for Leonardo DiCaprio for the Inception scene.
With cameos from Charlie Sheen -- no stranger to the franchise -- Lindsay Lohan, Usher, and Mike Tyson, it’s seemingly refreshing to see stars making fun
of themselves, but let's face it: it's a paycheck for these spotlight-hogging celebs.
Ashley Tisdale does bring a bit of warmth and reality to the
film, while Simon Rex’s character is less appealing this time around. It isn't his
fault: he's just playing it as it's written -- and it's scripted as if a high school stoner with a lit agent got a hold of some producers and shot this thing with a trust fund check.
As long as you know you aren’t going to see a cinematic masterpiece and are willing to lose a few
brain cells in the process, then go right ahead and buy that movie ticket.
If you think bingo is for old ladies in church halls with tacky sweatsuits and even tackier nails, then you obviously haven't played the game in West Hollywood.
Hamburger Mary's, the place for a good burger and a killer martini, will be the place to be this week as Legendary Bingo (a.k.a. Drag Queen Bingo) celebrates its 15th Anniversary with a bevy of stars from shows like Suburgatory, Smash, and Golden Boy calling out numbers for a festive crowd of players. The three-night celebration continues tonight, and table reservations will be going as fast as the masacara running down a crying queen.
Founder Jeffrey Bowman (pictured above, center) will be on hand, emceeing the night, interacting with some of L.A.'s most famous drag performers, and making sure everyone is having a grand old time.
Join us, won't you? 8288 Santa Monica Boulevard in the 90046.
The trailer for the Channing Tatum-Jamie Foxx action-thriller, White House Down, has debuted this week, and if you're a fan of Roland Emmerich's tentpole films (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, 2012), I'm sure you'll be salivating over this one.
Washington D.C. gets attacked, and it's up to one man, a former secret service agent (Tatum), to protect the POTUS (Foxx) and save the day.
No, this isn't a reboot of this month's Olympus Has Fallen.
For all you trailer junkies out there, you may have noticed a formula regarding the previews for Emmerich's films. Step 1: Open with news soundbites of reporters announcing Something Big going down. Step 2: Reveal an iconic shot that will establish what we're dealing with. Step 3: Bring down the noise considerably so we can gather our thoughts and feel the tension mounting. Step 4: Remind us who Roland Emmerich actually is. Step 5: Cut to a series of well-paced shots of familiar faces. Step 6: Show that our hero must race against time to set things right...while embracing someone he loves. Step 7: Close out with more shit blowing up, this time accompanied by a minimalist score. Voila.
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