Movies

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) -- Anthony Michael Hall, who played the awkward geek in '80s teen movies "Sixteen Candles" and "The Breakfast Club," says he doesn't try to forget his early career.

"To be part of some films that people have grown up with -- it's amazing," the 38-year-old Hall told reporters recently, according to AP Radio. "I'm often stunned by it. It's actually very humbling."

More than 20 years later, Hall has gone from geek to reluctant psychic as the star of USA's "The Dead Zone." The series' fifth season starts Sunday (10 p.m. EDT).

Call it car-ma: 'Cars' has met an 'An Inconvenient Truth.' It won't be the panacea for Hollywood's box office malaise. The Pixar film's $62.8 million opening weekend was less than Hollywood was expecting (maybe because it failed to feature any hybrids?) but it's paltry only when compared with what the last two Pixar movies have done.

Of course, that won't stop a few snarky comments from being uttered about the movie's slightly-under-expectations opening, as you can see in the Los Angeles Times today: "Pixar is like the parent who has a straight-A student: One day the child comes home with a B-plus," said Anthony Valencia, an analyst at money management firm TCW in Los Angeles.

But what's really vexing Hollywood isn't opening weekend -- it's the weekend after that.

Cleese, one of the founders of the comedy troupe Monty Python's Flying Circus, said he plans to write a history of stage, film and TV comedy, from silent screen classics to the workplace sitcom "The Office."

"I'm too old to write new comedy," Cleese, 66, was quoted as saying Monday by The Times newspaper. "I can never do better than 'Fawlty Towers,' whatever I do. Now I very much want to teach young talent some rules of the game." Cleese told the newspaper the book would range from "the greats of silent cinema to Ricky Gervais, who is the height of modern entertainment."

The British comedian, who now lives in Santa Barbara, Calif., said too much TV comedy today is targeted at "American teenage kids." "My generation prized really fine acting and writing," Cleese said. "Sometimes you have to go back to the basic principles which underpin great visual comedy."

TMZ talked with Hollywood's heavy hitters Thursday night at The Recording Academy Honors to find out when was the moment they knew -- without a doubt -- they had officially made it to the big time. Randy Jackson, Bow Wow and 'X-Men: The Last Stand' director Brett Ratner revealed their defining moments.

Despite a lucrative career, hit films and A-list status, Reeves has seen his share of heartache.

His best friend and fellow actor, River Phoenix, overdosed at 23. Reeve's baby daugher was stillborn at 8 months. Then the baby's mother, whom he loved dearly, died in a tragic car accident a few years later. And now his younger sister is fighting leukemia.

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Keanu & Sandra Bullock Reunite

Twelve years since igniting screens and defying LA freeway traffic in the action thriller 'Speed,' Bullock and Reeves attempt to recapture movie magic in the supernatural romance 'The Lake House.' The film is about- get this - a mystical mailbox that brings together two lonely hearts who happen to live two years apart.

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What if your kid were the Antichrist?

On a day that fills occultists, astrologists, and pretty much anyone who's ever seen a horror flick with dread, TMZ has crunched some 6-6-6 numbers and found that Hollywood may be hiding some devastating - nay, world-ending - secrets

Liev Schreiber steps into the role of Robert Thorn, who doesn't tell his wife (played by Julia Stiles) that their biological baby died after child birth. He lets her believe Damien is their own flesh and blood. Little do they know, their child is actually the anti-Christ, destined to create hell on Earth.

Schreiber believes the remake is certaintly warranted and will still resonate with audiences, saying, "I think this film freaked so many people out in 1976 and I think that it will freak as many people out again in 2006, and that is because I think it does tap into something cultural."

Mia Farrow also stars in the film, taking on the role of Damien's creepy nanny and willing servant, Mrs. Baylock. This marks a vast departure from her role in Roman Polanski's demon-seed flick 'Rosemary's Baby,' where she played the unwitting mother of Satan's spawn.

The film, which premiered Wednesday night in New York, opens June 6 (the sixth day of the sixth month in the sixth year, 666, get it?).

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Damien Gets a Makeover
'The Omen' Returns

Yes ... Hollywood is the land of the megastar. You know, those instantly recognizable celebrities like Tom Cruise and Angelina Jolie. But it also plays host to the "That Guy" -- actors who have found a way to consistently work, but somehow always stay just beyond the limelight.

TMZ caught up with the ultimate Hollywood "That Guy" actor, Stephen Tobolowsky, who among dozens of other roles, played insurance salesman Ned Ryerson in 'Groundhog Day.'

Videos

• Stephen Hits the Streets
• Stephen Talks About Being 'That Guy'
• Insider Hollywood Secrets

Beyoncé was in Cannes this week for a special sneak peek of her latest film, an adaptation of the Broadway hit 'Dreamgirls.'

"It feels like old Hollywood," Knowles says about the festival, "it's really kind of chilling and makes me a little nervous but it's beautiful and I'm honored to be here."

As the most bootylicious member of Destiny's Child, Beyoncé is used to stepping into the spotlight, but her role as "Deena" in the musical forced her to shy away from the fierce diva she becomes during concerts.

Charlie Sheen was at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday for a special 20th anniversary screening of the hit film, 'Platoon.' A new DVD edition hits stores May 30.

Sheen was asked what life was like for him when the film was made 20 years ago.

Beyoncé and Jamie Foxx were in Cannes to promote their upcoming film 'Dreamgirls.'

Foxx praised Beyonce's acting and singing by telling 'EXTRA' her talents were going to "knock your wig off."

The Broadway hit turned movie is set to hit theaters in December 2006. Check local listings for when 'EXTRA' airs.

Check out the red carpet.

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Steve Carell says that his new role as a squirrel is the perfect setup for his ultimate goal -- a stint in Playgirl.

Carell jokes to 'EXTRA' as he makes the rounds promoting his new movie, 'Over the Hedge.' The '40 Year Old Virgin' star plays Hammy, the neighborhood squirrel, in Dreamworks' new animated feature.

Carell deadpans that the producers of 'Hedge' are lucky they signed him to the movie four years ago, before he hit it big. "Yeah, I'm a jerk now," Carell kidded. "I would have NEVER done this movie now. I can't even believe I'm promoting it."

Carell continued to joke with Jon Kelley about his $18,000 jeans and his next big project -- posing for Playgirl.

What does it say about 'The Da Vinci Code' when the best thing about the movie is supermodel Eva Herzigova's dress at the premiere?

It says that one of the most-anticipated flicks of the year is a bomb. Critics who have seen the movie at screenings in recent days have been brutal. "You know a movie's a dud when even its self-flagellating albino killer monk isn't any fun," wrote the critic for the Commercial Appeal in Memphis. "Duller than watching Da Vinci's paint dry," wrote another critic online.

All this is why Herzigova's gold dress, slit to the waist with a cut-out at the hip, is such a salvation.