Movies

The Santa Monica Pier was transformed Tuesday night into a drive-In straight out of the 1950s to celebrate the re-release of the legendary movie "Grease." TMZ cameras rolled as the original cast came out to show their support to all the fans, young and old. Fans in attendance got a special treat when Sha Na Na performed classic hits live like "At the Hop."

So how does Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson look after this many years? Um... it seems as if John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John had other plans and were not able to attend.

Adam Sandler and Kevin James are getting married... sort of.

Though the two are straight in the real world, their new film finds them playing heterosexuals pretending to be a firefighting gay married couple.

"I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" has the two posing as players for the other team to qualify for their fire department's domestic-partner benefits.

The film also stars Jessica Biel, as a love interest and possible complication for Sandler, and Steve Buscemi as a wary city official sent to keep an eye on the "couple."

"I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" will be released next summer.

Joe Eszterhas is a glutton for punishment.

Famous for writing such cinematic gems as "Basic Instinct," "Jade," and "Sliver," Eszterhas is now reportedly hoping to turn his most titillating work, "Showgirls," into a musical.

The film, which was supposed to make Elizabeth Berkley a star instead of a punchline, did succeed in raising the bar in the 'its-so-bad-it's-good' category at Blockbuster. "Glitter, "Gigli", and "Catwoman" send their thanks.

Despite the fact that the camp classic bombed at the box office when it was released in 1995, Eszterhas is now looking to take his ode to all things tacky and topless to Vegas.

Barring a minor miracle, the "Showgirls" musical is destined to recreate it's celluloid fate on the Sin City stage.

One thing the show does have going for it, according to New York magazine, is that Eszterhas hopes to resuscitate Nomi Malone with the help of producers from the musical "Urinetown."

Borat has touched down in Los Angeles and he's checking out everything America has to offer -- especially the women.

Borat, the character made famous by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, had a photo shoot in Hollywood yesterday and was snapped taking some pictures up a woman's dress at the Chinese Theater.

Cohen's new film, "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" (yes, that's the real title), is slated for a November release and is already garnering negative attention from the Eurasian nation over its portrayal in the film. While stunts like these probably won't help the situation much, we're hoping Cohen shows up as Borat in public more often.

First things first: "Yuma" had been ready to shoot over the summer at Columbia Pictures, but was put into turnaround last and was suddenly all hat and no cattle. That is, until Relativity Media agreed to finance it last month.

Then, late last night, a deal was inked for Lionsgate Films to release Mangold's new take on the classic Western, whose casting is rapidly firming up.

It's a major coup for Lionsgate, which has made piles of cash on low-brow fare like "Saw" and "Crank," but also won Oscars on more literate titles like "Monster's Ball."

By now, Mangold's probably used to this kind of drama in making serious films: His last movie, "Walk the Line" had been at Sony for years, but was ultimately dumped and then snapped up by Fox 2000, where it won Reese Witherspoon the Oscar for Best Actress last year.

Meanwhile, Mangold also recently sewed up the life rights to three characters from the wrenching-but-poignant doc about quadriplegics who play full-contact rugby -- in seemingly indestructable wheelchairs: Team USA wheelchair rugby captain Mark Zupan; Team Canada coach Joe Soares, and Christopher Igoe, Zupan's childhood friend.

For those familiar with the wrenching but fascinating doc, Zupan needs no introduction. A collegiate soccer star, the charismatic goateed athlete passed out drunk in the bed of his pal Chris Igoe's pickup. He was awakened by being plunged into a canal after his friend crashed the truck. His neck broken, Zupan would have to cling to a floating tree branch for fourteen hours before he could be rescued.

Facing life in a wheelchair, with only limited use of his four limbs, Zupan would battle years of agony and depression before transforming himself into a fearless athlete in a wheelchair rugby league and lead his Team USA to the Paralympics in Athens, Greece last year. Mangold also has the life rights to Joe Soares, one of the most winningest rugby players in the league, who famously defected to coach Team Canada after not making the cut on Team USA.

It's not hard to see how this all went down: Mangold is a mentor of sorts to "Murderball" co-director Henry Alex Rubin. Rubin had served as the second unit director on both "Cop Land" and "Girl, Interrupted." Having just directed Reese Witherspoon to an Oscar for her performance in his most recent film "Walk the Line," it was a cinch that Fox 2000 would jump on Mangold's latest idea.

Happily, you need not wait until Mangold wraps on "Yuma" to learn more about indomitable spirit of Mark Zupan: His new book, "Gimp" -- co-written by Premiere magazine West Coast editor Tim Swanson -- hits stores next month.

The film stars Zooey Deschanel as a rebellious young woman who has a chance encounter with a lonely older man.

Julia hopes the film expresses "how the seemingly simple act of getting dressed shapes one's identity."

The 25-year-old Columbia University grad admits she has been imagining this story for a while but "never in a million years thought I'd be directing."

"Raving" is the first in a series of original fashion based content that the mag has developed for TV, VOD, online and mobile phones.

The film will be available for viewing on Elle.com.

She might be the sweetheart of Namibia, but it looks like Angelina Jolie doesn't quite carry the same weight in Pakistan.

A Pakistani newspaper is reporting that a production crew from Jolie's upcoming movie "A Mighty Heart" was recently caught filming scenes in Karachi and Islamabad, as well as the Pakistani countryside, without permission from the government.

"A Mighty Heart," is based on Mariane Pearl's account of the terrifying and unforgettable ordeal of her late husband, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

A press minister from the government issued a statement to the Pakistan Daily Times saying, "No request by the film unit to shoot in Pakistan had been made to the embassy." He said all documentary and feature filmmakers must obtain permission and an appropriate visa from the Pakistani government before they begin shooting. Any unauthorized attempt to film without permission and without the knowledge of government authorities is "illegal and regrettable," he added. The minister said he would be making inquiries, starting today, both here and in Islamabad.

TMZ contacted Paramount, the studio producing the film. Our calls were not immediately returned.

Natalie Maines obviously isn't out to make friends with President Bush anytime soon -- expressing her embarrassment towards #43 and calling him a "dumb f**k" in a new documentary.

Though the Dixie Chicks initially set out to make a rockumentary, "Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing" quickly became more politically charged after the group's frontwoman told a London audience, "We're embarrassed that the President is from Texas," at a 2003 concert.
"We felt like it was time to have cameras follow us around for a little while and just show the next cycle of touring," says Emily Robison about the filming, "and then when Natalie said what she said it turned into a totally different animal. It was one of those things where we knew it was important to continue filming."

The documentary, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, depicts the backlash towards the Chicks and their new album, "Taking the Long Way," which had difficulty getting airplay on country radio stations. The film will open this month in limited release.

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."