Movies

Comedian Sacha Baron Cohen was already in hot water with members of the international community over his controversial (and extremely hilarious) Borat character, and now President George Bush himself is going to weigh in.

The government of Kazakhstan became infuriated with Cohen over his portrayal of Borat, a bumbling Kazakh TV reporter, at the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards in Lisbon. The upcoming movie, based on Borat's adventures in the US, has surely reopened the wound.

In the opening scene, Borat reportedly kisses goodbye to his sister (who he touts as one of the top prostitutes in all of Kazakhstan by the way) and sets off for America in a car pulled by a horse. The movie was hailed as a comedic gem when it debuted last week at the Toronto International Film Festival.

It's been more than three years since the Dixie Chicks sparked a media firestorm by announcing they were "ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas." Now, the embattled country stars are reigniting the blaze with a highly controversial documentary featuring lead singer Natalie Maines calling President Bush a "dumb f---."

Fonda, who co-stars with Lohan in the film "Georgia Rule," told "Today" she thought the letter issued to Lindsay about her lack of professionalism was cool, but added she loves Lindsay.

"It wasn't bad for someone to say tone it down, but when she was on the set she showed up, she was good, she was talented, she's smart ... I love her, she's wonderful." Of course, Fonda's a pro at this line of questioning, having co-starred with the diva-licious Jennifer Lopez in "Monster-in-Law."

William H. Macy had similar, though a bit more negative, things to say about the starlet last month when he told reporters Lindsay was constantly late while shooting the film "Bobby." He echoed Fonda's sentiments saying has a huge talent but added he worries for her future.

Lohan's professionalism first came into question after a letter from the CEO of Morgan Creek, the producers of "Georgia Rule," leaked to the press which said Lindsay "has endangered the quality of this picture."

Fresh off a huge "Best Actor" win at the Venice Film Festival for his role in "Hollywoodland," we caught Ben Affleck celebrating his victory with a little help from his tall, white faced, red haired, big shoe wearing comrade, Ronald McDonald.

After dropping wife Jennifer Garner off at the airport on Friday, Affleck made his way to the good 'ol McDonald's drive-thru. He couldn't even wait to get out of the parking lot before stuffing his face with one of their awesome sandwiches. Slow down Ben, savor the taste.

Though they play lovers in their new film "The Last Kiss," Zach Braff and Rachel Bilson jokingly exchanged blows while interviewing each other for Moviefone's "Unscripted" series.

The 25-year-old Bilson asked the "Scrubs" star "When was high school for you, like 20 years ago?" to which the 31-year-old Braff responded, "When was it for you, 10 minutes
ago? You still have some after-birth on your neck."

As part of Hollywood royalty, Drew Barrymore can have virtually anything she wants. But what she wants may surprise you.

Drew tells the October issue of Elle magazine, "I want to be terrified. I really want to do what I think I'm going to f--king fail at miserably."

Well, in her new movie "Lucky You," Drew gets to do what she has feared for most of her adult life -- sing.

Drew's phobia stems from being the only cast member in Woody Allen's 1996 musical "Everybody Says I Love You" to be dubbed. An incident which Drew says "was really an unfortunate incident in my life."

For her latest role, the 31-year-old worked with a vocal coach for five months to play a Vegas lounge singer opposite Eric Bana. Having a boyfriend who just happens to be the drummer in The Strokes (Fabrizio Moretti) probably didn't hurt her musical abilities either.

In the article, Barrymore also opens up about recently losing 20 pounds, which she says has made her "more confident and adventurous" with her outfit choices.

And despite her sometimes questionable fashion risks, Drew says "I don' t regret those moments because they're kind of what define you."

Whether talking about fashion, singing or anything else, that's an attitude worth phoning home about!

While in Toronto promoting his new film, Brad Pitt referenced Mel Gibson's recent DUI arrest as cameras snapped his photo. After cracking a funny face, the actor joked, "That's the picture that's going to end up when I have a breakdown or something ... when I get arrested for a DUI late at night, make racial slurs or something."

Pitt also talked candidly about his children with Angelina Jolie, worrying about them seeing his past films. "Oh my God, what did I do? What are they gonna see? Films from the past, I start making that list and ah, but it definitely colors what I'll approach in the future, I'll try to be a little bit more mature about my decisions."

While Maddox, Zahara and baby Shiloh probably won't be seeing Pitt's "Seven" or "Interview with the Vampire" anytime soon, it's Angie's repertoire he should be worried about -- "Original Sin" and "Gia," anyone?

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner made a rare public appearance together at the premiere of Ben's new movie, "Hollywoodland." Though the two arrived as a couple, Garner made a bee line for the theater while her hubby walked the press line.

The new film centers around George Reeves, the man who played the original Superman in the 1950s TV series, and his mysterious suicide. "He's got a warmth that you can't really fake," says Affleck of the late Reeves, "it made the story to me all that much more tragic - that here was a guy who spent a lot of time trying to make everybody else happy and, in fact, was quite unhappy himself."

Diane Lane, who's also in the film, says there's a good reason for the speculation about his suicide, "I don't think anybody wants to believe that George Reeves killed himself, especially me. I was a big fan, I still am a big fan, he's my favorite Superman. There can be only one, and it's George."

Every once in a while, we stop to marvel at the politics of Hollywood.

We're talking, of course,about Mike Judge's new satire, "Idiocracy," a $30 million film which Fox has unceremoniously dumped at the end of the summer with nary a bit of advertising or promotion.

So far, most of the coverage of its senseless burial has focused on what is the 21st century equivalent of sacrilege: Treating actual brands with disrespect on-screen. Admittedly, at Fox, that borders on the heretical: Last year's "Robots" lined up $100 million in promotional partnerships - which is to say about $25 million more than the movie actually cost to make.

As the U.K. paper "The Guardian" notes today,

"There is venomous anti-corporate satire throughout the movie, remarkable mainly because Judge names real corporations. I was astounded - and invigorated - by the sheer vitriol Judge directs at these companies, who surely now regret permitting the use of their licensed trademarks. Like fast-food giant Carl's Jr, which in 2006 sells 6,000-calorie burgers the size of dictionaries under the slogan, "Don't Bother Me, I'm Eating". In Idiocracy, this has devolved into "Fuck You! I'm Eating!" And every commercial transaction has been sexualized: at Starbucks you can get coffee plus a handjob (or a "full body" latte).

Idiocracy isn't a masterpiece - Fox seems to have stiffed Judge on money at every stage - but it's endlessly funny, and my friends and I will be repeating certain lines for months (especially while eating), a sure sign of a cult hit. And word got out fast: I saw it last Saturday in a half-empty house. Two days later, same place, same show - packed-out. There's an audience for this movie, but its natural demographic barely knows it's out there."

What's so odd in all this is that Judge's movie might be risque, but certainly no more so than Larry Charles' new brilliantly titled (and brilliantly acted) film, " "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" starring Sacha Baron Cohen, of "Ali G" fame.

As the "New York Times" observed yesterday,

"In one scene Borat insists on driving to California rather than flying, 'in case the Jews repeat their attack of 9/11.' As he tours the South, he becomes terrified when he learns that an elderly couple who run an inn are Jewish. When cockroaches crawl under the door of his room, he becomes convinced the innkeepers have transformed themselves into bugs, and throws money at them. In another scene Borat returns to his home village and participates in an annual ritual, 'The Running of the Jews,' complete with giant Jew puppets that the villagers beat with clubs."

Such satire is the stuff that keeps marketing departments awake at night, but its hardly unmanageable: "Borat" is getting a hefty push from Fox, unlike "Idiocracy" which hasn't screened for critics, has no print advertising, and is running on a handful of screens.

No, more likely is that Fox grew impatient with Judge after a June Esquire piece in which Fox was taken to task for meddling necessarily in the film's marketing. It contained lines like this one:

"...watching this hero of the wage-slave class acquiesce is a confusing and sad sight; after all, if the guy who made Office Space has to kowtow to his shithead boss, what hope is there for the rest of us?"

That couldn't have made life easier for Judge, who to hear talent agents speculate argued with, and plainly, lost, a battle with Fox chairman Tom Rothman over the ribald and iconoclastic content of the movie. Privately though, Fox insiders insist the decision to abandon ship came from the marketing department, not the production side.

Whatever the case, Judge isn't talking, and calls to Fox went unreturned at deadline.

In an effort to stay ahead of Apple's impending iTunes Movie Store, which will almost certainly be announced on September 12th, Amazon.com has launched its own Movie Download service today.

This means no more driving down to the video store to pick up the latest Will Ferrell flick or waiting for the mail carrier to deliver TMZ's Bergman films. Now, all it will take is broadband Internet connection and a computer to feed your movie watching addiction.

Prices for the new service vary depending on movie and the option of buying or renting the the film. Pricing for movie rental downloads are on a sliding scale while TV shows are at a firm $1.99. Consumers will also have the option to permanently own a program for a few dollars more.

Ellen DeGeneres is getting called up to the big leagues.

The popular daytime talk show host will host the 79th Annual Academy Awards, it was announced today. DeGeneres has previously hosted the Grammys twice and the Emmys twice.

The two-time Daytime Emmy winner for Outstanding Talk Show Host will follow in the footsteps of Jon Stewart, Chris Rock, Billy Crystal, Steve Martin and Whoopi Goldberg -- the last five Oscar hosts.

Movie buffs and perverts alike are chomping at the bit to see Josh Hartnett and Scarlett Johansson get down and dirty in "The Black Dahlia." But in a statement guaranteed to shock the majority of the male population, Hartnett says filming those sex scenes wasn't as easy as everyone thinks.

"It was very difficult for me," says Hartnett. "Those scenes are eternally awkward because you got a bunch of sweaty dudes sitting and watching you and you're just hoping to make it intimate, make it real."

Though the two are a couple off-camera, Hartnett was still a little hesitant about shooting the nude scene, which has already caused a stir at the Venice Film Festival. "Brian [DePalma, the director] didn't tell me about it until he'd shot a take ... and that take is in the movie and I'm like what are you doing man, you can't do that!"
"The Black Dahlia" opens September 15.

The star is back. A hot team of sequel scribes have turned in their script. The same producers are producing.

But for the love of Ra, please: Don't call it a sequel.

At least, that's the thinking at Universal Pictures, where the third installation of "The Mummy" is being readied to begin shooting early next year. TMZ has learned that Brendan Fraser has already agreed to return, but in a twist that reveals how high stakes the franchise movie business has become, the studio has actually promised potential directors that it won't be called "The Mummy 3."

Why?

Well, for starters, Sumner Redstone may have drubbed "Mission: Impossible 3" for coming up $150 million short in box office thanks to Tom Cruise's off-screen effectuation of "creative suicide," but the truth is, any movie with a number in its title begins its life with the press and the public betting against it creatively.

"Rocky 6"? Pah-thet-ic. "Rocky Balboa"? Intriguing.

"Superman 5"? A tired retread. "Superman Returns"? Count me in!

And if a studio waits too long between tentpole releases, as some speculate Paramount might have done with "Mission: Impossible 3 " and you can wind up on the wrong side of a demographic shift: Universal's original "Mummy" debuted in 1999, nearly eight years ago. The high school freshman who was popping zits on the night of its premiere is now looking for his first job out of college.

None of this has been lost on the folks at Universal, who hired "Smallville" creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar to reimagine the Stephen Sommers epic for a new generation that's never even heard of "The Mummy."

Currently, Universal has made an offer to Joe Johnston ("Hidalgo, "October Sky") a protege of George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg, to direct. He's not likely to do it, insiders familiar with the talks say, because "Joe's not a sequel guy."

Huh? Then why did Johnston direct "Jurassic Park III" and, why Joe he attached to "Jurassic Park IV"?

"Um, Steven Spielberg?" comes the staccato reply.

You see, sequels, unless they're produced by Steven Spielberg, are for suckers.

"The Mummy 3"? It's not a sequel, people. It's not even a trilogy. It's a reimagining.

Look for it in theaters soon.

"These kids never played, never ever played football," The Rock said of the real kids portrayed in the film. "And they had four weeks to prepare and to play some tough teams and to go on and play in the state championships is a special, special thing."

For The Rock, this movie and these kids hit very close to home. "I was one of these kids," he admitted at the film's premiere. "I know what it's like to be arrested numerous amounts of times ... could have easily been locked up, easily. And I'm lucky I had someone in my life that cared and wanted to invest a little time in me."

"Gridiron Gang" hits theaters September 15.

What's the status of J-Lo's new Spanish CD?

Adwin, Jennifer Lopez's all-Spanish album "Como Ama Una Mujer" should hit stores this fall. She is working with Estefano, a producer who worked with her husband Marc Anthony and who has produced both Spanish and English albums for the Latin megastar.

To read more and listen to a public squash on a very public rumor, click here. And for the JLo photo gallery, take a look at this!

Is Larry the Cable Guy dating?

Lindy, Larry the Cable Guy (aka Daniel Lawrence Whitney) is actually married with a child! "Larry" and wife Cara Whitney welcomed their first child, Wyatt, into their family back on August 2. Unfortunately for his "Git-r-done" fans, "Blue Collar TV" didn't make the CW cut, but re-runs can be caught up until the new network launches in mid-September.

Critics at the Venice Film Festival were extremely harsh to the Darren Aronofsky film "The Fountain." The audience was apparently left perplexed by the film and even booed the film at a screening.

Rachel Weisz, who co-stars with Hugh Jackman of "X-Men" fame in the film, had this to say to say at a press conference. "I think it's wonderful that this film is so different, I would love to work with Darren again." We hope so, as the beautiful actress has more than a professional interest in the film. She is engaged to Aronofsky and recently gave birth to the couple's son Henry in May.

The film, which chronicles a man trying to find the fountain of youth in order to save his wife, has had its share of production woes. Originally, Brad Pitt was attached to the project. Once Brad left the film, the budget was slashed to $35 million and multiple film studios passed on the project, according to the Hollywood trades.