Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen form the most unlikely comedic pair in The Guilt Trip. Movie Fanatic sat down with the comic star and the pop culture icon to get inside their hilarious and heartwarming chemistry and why the legend has her son to thank for finally agreeing to do the fantastic film after Rogen and director Anne Fletcher (The Proposal) passionately pursued her.

Movie Fanatic: Since this movie is about sons and mothers, Barbra, how crazy do you drive your son? And Seth, how zany does your mother drive you?

Seth Rogen: Probably the same answer -- very! I think my mom drives me crazy sometimes. I have a good relationship. But, it's like in the movie. For no reason, I get annoyed. I'll just find myself kind of reverting back to like a mentality of like a 14-year-old kid who just doesn't want to be around his parents. It's one of the things I related to most in the script, honestly. It was just that dynamic where your mother's trying, and the more she tries, the more she bugs you. And the more it bugs you, the more she tries. That is very, at times, real to my relationship with my mother.

Barbra Streisand: I probably touch his hair too much!

Movie Fanatic: We understand your son Jason played a huge part in you accepting this role. How so?

Barbra Streisand: He was very important in my decision to make the movie because he was recovering from back surgery. So he was in bed for a few days after.

Seth Rogen: He couldn't escape [laughs].

Barbra Streisand: I brought the script over and read it out loud. It was interesting actually. His father (Elliot Gould) was in the room, too. Isn't that funny? We were both coddling our son. So he became the audience, and Jason was reading all the parts with me. And he said, “I think you should do it, mom.” I really trust his integrity and his opinion. He clinched the deal.

Movie Fanatic: Barbra, the film’s title, The Guilt Trip, plays into the guilt that some mothers are really good at giving…

Barbra Streisand: Mothers develop guilt trips, I mean, when I was working a lot, and I felt guilty as a parent that I couldn't pick up my son every day from school, bake him cookies -- that kind of thing. I know that feeling. So I thought it was interesting [in the movie] to investigate this trying to be my son's friend, versus a mother.

Movie Fanatic: Is it true that if Barbra said no, you weren’t going to do the movie, Seth?

Seth Rogen: I was open to Shirley MacLaine.

Barbra Streisand: Is that what you said to them?

Seth Rogen: [Laughs] No. That's not true. I only would have done it if Barbra was doing it. They said, "They want you to do this movie with Barbra, and Barbra's not sure if she wants to do it." And I was like, "Well, just let me know if she says yes." And then I literally made like two movies during that time. And we were editing 50/50, and I got a call, "Barbra said yes!"

Barbra Streisand: It's great to feel wanted.

Movie Fanatic: How did you guys first get together for The Guilt Trip?

Barbra Streisand: Meeting each other for the first time? Well, Seth sussed me out.

Seth Rogen: I did.

Barbra Streisand: So he called people from the Focker movies, right? Tell it.

Seth Rogen: Yeah, I think I was actually working with John Schwartzman, who was the cinematographer on Meet the Fockers at the time this came up, and I think I asked him what he thought of Barbra, and he said she was great. I know Jay Roach (Fockers director), so I asked him. I think he said that she was awesome too.

Barbra Streisand: You called Ben Stiller…

Seth Rogen: Ben Stiller, I think I might have run into and asked. Yeah, everyone -- she checked. This Barbra Streisand lady checked out. So I thought I'd give her a shot.

Movie Fanatic: Who made who crack up the most on The Guilt Tripset?

Seth Rogen: She cracked me up quite a bit.

Barbra Streisand: Because it was more unexpected from me, probably, and I'm more serious.

Seth Rogen: Very serious woman, this lady, incredibly serious. The way we talk in real life is not entirely different than our rapport in the movie in some ways. We were getting along. It’s a lot of me trying to explain things to her about modern times.

Barbra Streisand: That's right.

Seth Rogen: And her trying to feed me (expletive) I don't want to eat.

Barbra Streisand: And yet, he copied my iPhone. I was the one with the iPhone.

Seth Rogen: She had an iPhone before me. I had a Blackberry. And then she was always playing games on her iPhone. I was like, “I've got to get one of these. If Barbra can work an iPhone, it's got to be fun.”

Barbra Streisand: But he would show me things like, yesterday, he asked me if I had a Twitter account. I said, "I don't know."

Seth Rogen: And I showed her that she did.

Barbra Streisand: Which I only use for political purposes. So I didn't know it was beyond that. I wouldn't know how to find it on my phone.

Seth Rogen: I'll show you. I change her clocks during daylight savings. I do all that.

Barbra Streisand: He's very handy.

Isla Fisher (Rise of the Guardians) stars in the first character poster from The Great Gatsby, featuring a quote from the book describing the character, which is a pretty cool way to pay homage to the origins of the project.

We will surely see some more in the coming days or weeks, given that there are at least four bigger characters in the movie. Until then, though, Fisher's poster gives us an excellent look at her "continually smouldering" character. Check it out:

Tobey Maguire stars as the book's narrator Nick Carraway, with Leonardo DiCaprio (Django Unchained) as the wealthy socialite Jay Gatsby. When Carraway meets Gatsby he is instantly charmed by his lifestyle, but the more he gets to know him, the more he learns that it's all a facade.

Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, and Jason Clarke also star in the film, which is directed by Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrmann. The Great Gatsby premieres May 10, 2013. Check out some The Great Gatsby stills for more!

Kristen Stewart has left Twilight behind and is hitting the highway on the big screen version of the iconic book by Jack Kerouac, On the Road. She stars with Garrett Hedlund and the duo sit down with Movie Fanatic to take us inside their film's long journey to fruition and even clue us in to what makes a good road trip.

"What I love about road trips is that, if you don't have a time frame or a destination, what could derail it is a passenger! But, for this film, Walter (Salles) and I got to take the 1949 Hudson from New York all the way to Los Angeles, which was awesome. The greatest thing about that was that we didn't have a time when we had to get home," Hedlund said.

Easily seen in the On the Road trailer, filming a movie -- literally -- on the road also proved challenging because of that old car. "We broke down over nine times across the country, in different locations, and met some of the most wonderful mechanics across the States!"

Of all their travels filming the movie -- from New York to California and even a jaunt into South America -- each had a special place in the stars' hearts. "New Orleans was incredible, as well. We went out to the Bayou, and that was special," Hedlund said.

"Just being in the city there was amazing," Stewart concurred.

"All the locations were all unique," Hedlund continued. "We were on such a move, right off the bat. We got to catch the snow in the winter in Chile, and then book it down to Argentina and head over to Patagonia and up into No Man's Land."

The iconic book has been toyed with becoming a movie for decades since it was released in 1957. Stewart appreciated how the author took the reader on a first person journey.

"When you can literally Google anything, you don't feel like you have to go see it in person. You can do a lot of traveling in your bedroom, but you're not touching anything and you're not feeling it," Stewart said.

The characters in the book, which were based on Kerouac and his traveling companions, had such an eagerness to express everything from deep inside their souls that comes across on every page. "That's what I think everybody was attracted to. It was a feeling of being more honest than you've ever been and more free. You have to shed inhibitions and fears, to approach life that way," Hedlund said.

Stewart's character Luanne, also called Marylou, was ahead of her time. She was living the sexual revolution years before it commenced.

"She had this capacity to live many lives. She was not above emotion. She was above jealousy, but not above feeling hurt. Maybe if this movie was made back in the day, as opposed to now, people would be so shocked and awed by the sex and the drugs that they would actually miss what the movie's about," Stewart admitted.

During her time, Luanne would be defined by different parameters. "Now, it's not so shocking to stomach. Sure, times have changed, but people don't change. That's why the book has never been irrelevant. There will always be people that want to push a little bit harder."

Since On the Road is so free with the drugs and sex, it could have been an uncomfortable scene having Stewart and Hedlund witness the film with their parents. "My mom came to Cannes. She was really proud. It's funny to talk about from an outsider's perspective. It's like, 'It must be weird to sit down and watch your ass with your mom,'" Stewart said and laughed. "But it is so weird!"

For Hedlund, his parents are simply relieved they don't have to watch him perish on screen... again! "I think the only thing harder for a parent is watching you do a dying scene. I've died in three films, and my mom begs me, 'Just tell me you don't die at the end,'" Hedlund said.

"To get her to go watch I Am Sam, I told her it was a comedy. She came back with her best friend and pockets full of Kleenex and said, 'You son of a bitch!'"

Stewart, after finishing The Twilight Saga, now has two distinct books she has brought to the screen. She admitted her interactions with fans of the two novels are quite different.

"I don't get to have very many involved conversations with Twilight fans. Sometimes the girls that run the fan sites will come in and do an interview, and I absolutely love doing that," Stewart said. "I've gotten to talk to a lot of passionate On the Road fans. The difference is that there's a lot to feel in Twilight. But with On the Road, there's a lot to talk about."

Lastly, we wondered how life is for Stewart now that Breaking Dawn Part 2 has come and gone and she has forever said goodbye to Bella.

"I have a weight lifted and I want it back. I don't have to worry about Bella anymore, which is so weird," Stewart said. "She's not tapping me on the shoulder anymore."

Movie Fanatic's list of the Top 100 Films keeps chugging along this week, with numbers #70-61. This week's installment features two films from a popular English filmmaker, as well as yet another Steven Spielberg effort.

Read through #100-91, #90-81, and number #80-71, then check out this weeks list and let us know what you think in the comments section below. Be sure to come back every Monday for a new ten films in our countdown to the best film of all time!

70. Alien
Ridley Scott set out to make a horror movie in space in 1979, and succeeded beyond belief. Melding the sci-fi and horror genres Scott created an aesthetic and deeply psychological disquiet that terrified audiences to the core. The film won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for such iconic scenes as the “facehugger” and “chestburster.” Check out our Alien quotes page for more.

69. The Bridge On the River Kwai

The 1957 British film is considered one of the best war movies of all time. It is directed by the master of the epic, David Lean (Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago) and swept the 1958 Oscars taking Best Picture, Best Director, Best Acting and Best Adapted Screenplay. The film follows a U.K. troupe as they construct a bridge in Burma that is vital to turning the tide of the war. Suspenseful, thrilling, emotional and visually astounding, even with technological advances in cinema, The Bridge On the River Kwai still stands toe-to-toe with the Saving Private Ryans of the world.

68. Deliverance
A landmark film based on the novel by James Dickey, deliverance sends a young Jon Vought, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox into the backwoods of Georgia, where they encounter some nefarious mountain men. Best known for the “dueling banjo” scene and the graphic “squeal like a piggy” scene, Deliverance has entered into history as one of the most important films of all time. Check out some Deliverance quotes for more.

67. Blade Runner
After he triumphed with Alien, director Ridley Scott stayed in sci-fi and produced the second of his one-two punch that would define his early work. The movie starred Harrison Ford as a Blade Runner, someone who is assigned to assassinate “replicants” gone rogue. In the future, we have robots to help us with everything imaginable. The only thing is sometimes these machines that look too human, can go a little violent. Blade Runner is as stylized as a film can be and is not only one of Scott’s greatest, it is also his second film in this week’s countdown of Movie Fanatic’s greatest of all-time. Read through our Blade Runner quotes for more.

66. West Side Story
The second musical to make our Top 100 list so far, West Side Story is based on the stage musical, which in turn is based on Romeo and Juliet. One of the most revered musical films of all time, the Natalie Wood starrer won ten Academy Awards including best picture, and featured iconic songs from Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim like “Maria,” “I Feel Pretty” and “America.” Check out some West Side Story quotes for more.

65. American Graffiti
Before George Lucas wielded a light saber with Star Wars, he chronicled the car-obsessed culture of his Southern California youth. Ron Howard starred and the world got to know a little actor named Harrison Ford. Between the soundtrack, and how Lucas manages to capture to reality of his 1950’s youth, it is a monument to period pieces that can stand the test of time. Check out some American Graffiti quotes for more.

64. Seven Samurai
One of the most famous Japanese films of all time, Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece served as the basis for the classic Western The Magnificent Seven. The film tells the story of a small village that assembles a team of samurai warriors to combat an incoming barrage of bandits. The stunning visuals and epic storyline help to make this one of the best films of all time.

63. North by Northwest
Alfred Hitchcock was beginning a streak of excellence when he released North by Northwest that has not been matched since. After the thriller that starred Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint, he went on to make Psycho and The Birds. But it was this spy thriller, released in 1959, that set the standard for espionage thrillers that lasts to this day. Everyone remembers the crop duster scene where Grant is running away, but for Movie Fanatic, the nail-biting finale at Mount Rushmore is our most memorable moment. Head to our North by Northwest quotes page for more.

62. Jaws
It’s no surprise that Steven Spielberg is showing up on our list quite a bit. The film that launched Spielberg into the national spotlight, Jaws has served as the prototype for almost all horror thrillers to follow, and launched a tradition of high-concept summer blockbusters that still thrives today. Richard Dreyfus stars, with unforgettable music by John Williams. Read through our Jaws quotes page for more.

61. The Conversation
We think The Conversation is Gene Hackman’s best. Even with his great lifetime of work, it could be argued that the film is also director Francis Ford Coppola’s best as well. The 1974 film is a quintessential psychological thriller and has been selected by the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for preservation for "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Hard to argue with that! Check out some The Conversation quotes for more.

The Oscar field is narrowing more and more, in anticipation of the Nomination announcement on January 10, 2013. Today, the Academy released a list of 7 films in the running for nomination in the Hair and Makeup category. Three films will escape the narrowing process to be nominated.

This year saw a few major period pieces, some epic fantasy, and a lot of aliens (Men in Black 3, The Watch, Prometheus, Battleship, the list goes on), so there is plenty of complex makeup to choose from. Check out the list of seven below, and watch the Academy Awards on February 24, 2013.

Academy Award Finalists for Hair & Makeup:

Hitchcock
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Miserables
Lincoln
Looper
Men in Black 3
Snow White and the Huntsman

2012 can be seen as the year in which comedies scored huge box office (such as Ted and its $250 million take) and simultaneously took the form of "alternative" forms of humor as opposed to the straight funnyman version, a la Adam Sandler or Sacha Baron Cohen. This year, the comedies that scored came in form of the violent (Seven Psychopaths), the unexpected TV to big screen update (21 Jump Street) and even found footage (Project X).

Movie Fanatic proudly presents our Top 10 Comedies of 2012... who's number one?

10. Wanderlust
Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd got Wanderlustand proved a relationship comedy could work in the modern era. The key was getting creative with the romance. With the backdrop of a married pair seeking to let everything go, Aniston and Rudd are a classic cinematic couple thrown into the most cult-like of situations.

9. Here Comes the Boom
Kevin James is an acquired taste. But, in Here Comes the Boom, the comic actor is able to channel a little drama and sports movie cheering possibilities into his latest. The film follows James' teacher as he seeks to raise money for the orchestra at the school where he's a teacher. Henry Winkler further shows why he's an icon as said instructor and James is able to stretch his range a bit in this surprising not-so-sappy funny film that will also warm your heart.

8. Project X
It is not easy for a found footage film to be funny. Short of comedians riffing on each other, putting a group of actors together to map out scenes that are meant to feel "natural" aren't exactly conduits for comedy. Yet in Project X, producer Todd Phillips managed to achieve the most unlikely of feats. The Hangover creator/producer/director got behind a film that melds a large amount of the funny with the extraordinary events surrounding a high school party gone global.

7. The Campaign
The Campaign had Movie Fanatic with its casting. Will Ferrell and Zach Gallifiankis in the same movie? Count us in! Then as the idea of how these two comic geniuses began to be flushed out, anticipation furthered. It's easy to capture comedy in a trailer, yet a fully flushed out film based on that trailer is much more difficult. In the hands of Gallifiankis and Ferrell, each would play opposing political rivals, hell bent on winning a Southern Congressional seat.

The performers take the material provided for them from director Jay Roach (Meet the Parents, Austin Powers movies) and each achieves an enormous and hilarious victory. Want reason to vote for the flick? Check out this The Campaign dinner scene and try not to laugh!

6. Pitch Perfect
October found Anna Kendrick announcing to the world that she could sing like nobody's business. Her solo, turned duet, in the shower belting out Titanium is both astounding in its musical prowess, the scene is equally as funny. As we state in our Pitch Perfect review, the film is exactly that on so many levels. It is keenly aware of itself as a musical movie and interjects so much comedy that the audience is continually challenged as to how the film will play out. And therein lies the most unexpected of comedic moments.

5. Butter
Jennifer Garner should get Oscar consideration for her role in Butteras an Iowan housewife with dreams of keeping her family's stature in tact. See, her husband in the almost unbeatable repeating champion of the state's annual butter carving compeition. When is forced to step down, Garner's character steps in... determining to win at all costs. Its ability to meld the real-life Iowa Caucus between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in 2008, Butter scores all the right points.

4. Bernie
Jack Black as a killer? It's still got to be funny... and Bernie is in the most unlikely and sometimes uncomfortable of ways. The true story follows Black as an ultra friendly and popular fellow in a small town in Texas who is ultimately charged with the murder of an elderly acquaintance of his. The fact that Black scored one of the Golden Globe nominations as a Best Actor, Musical or Comedy shows that truly something happens in the world of Bernie.

3. 21 Jump Street
Probably the biggest comedic surprise of 2012 was how side-splitting and still heartwarming 21 Jump Street managed to be. The film, based on the wildly popular 1980's TV show that made Johnny Depp a star even scored The Pirates of the Caribbean captain in a cameo that was legendary. At the end of the day, the success of the film lay in the comic chemistry between Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum.

Witnessing those two together was that rare moment where the unexpected chemistry of comedy proves to be its biggest asset towards box office success. Check out these amazing 21 Jump Street quotes for further proof how the film is top-notch from top to bottom.

2. Seven Psychopaths
There is maybe one redeemable character in Seven Psychopaths, well except that cuter than hell Shih Tzu. An explosive world of criminals, aspiring movie screenwriters and the most unlikely of civil rights fighting veterans come together in a story that is equally as thrilling as it is hilarious. The film is well written in such a deep way that the humor bleeds through every single scene. Sam Rockwell pushes the envelope and Woody Harrelson turns in a performance that is his best since Natural Born Killers.

By the end of the film, it is Christopher Walken who steals the show. As seen in the Seven Psychopaths trailer, when he is held at gunpoint and refuses to put his hands up... it is a moment that is so tense and carefully crafted... that in the end all you do is laugh.

1. Ted
Seth MacFarlane knows how to weave a web of the ridiculously raunchy, heartfelt and yes... hilarious. He's been doing it for years on Family Guy. Given his first real chance at cinematic success, he turns in Ted and scores not only a box office smash, but also a critical darling. As we report in our Ted review, MacFarlane has put together a Boston-based world that pulls at your heart, warms your soul, repulses your instincts and above all else... makes you laugh for hours while watching an instant comedy classic, but also for days after from merely think of it.

What's the one thing missing from Ricky Gervais' unique brand of comedy? If you said puppets, you're correct. You win nothing, though. I'm sorry.

Well, that glaring void may soon be filled, as Gervais is reportedly in the running to star in the upcoming Muppets sequel.

The Muppets, which came out last year, was co-written by Nicholas Stoller, and Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), who also starred. Segel has long since stated, however, that he will not be involved in the sequel. Stoller is co-writing the script with returning director James Bobin.

Earlier this month, Ty Burrell joined the cast of The Muppets 2, replacing Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained), who was believed to be in talks for the role of an Interpol Agent. Nothing much else is known about the production, except that it will be set throughout Europe.

Gervais is best known for creating and starring in the original U.K. version of The Office, though he has starred in such films as Ghost Town and The Invention of Lying, which he also wrote and directed. Gervais was supposed to have a cameo in The Muppets, though his scene was apparently cut. The Muppets 2 is set for a December 20, 2013 release.

Ewan McGregor achieves the impossible in The Impossible. He is charged with playing the paternal leader of a family caught in the middle of the worst tsunami in history. As chronicled in The Impossible trailer, he, Naomi Watts and their three young co-stars are charged with capturing the unthinkable as it really happened to a family of five in Thailand in 2004. "It was important to me," McGregor said of getting it right.

With thousands of lives lost, the story of The Impossible may be one family's struggle, but it reflects the vastness of the disaster and the cast felt a need to portray it in such a way that gave those who died their rightful due onscreen... as seen in this The Impossible clip. Through his portrayal of Henry, McGregor sought to personify those who survived. "He's a very gentle man, and quite calm. He dealt with things in a very pragmatic way."

 

Ewan McGregor Exclusive Interview

McGregor also spoke about the massive effort to cinematically capture the tsunami itself as realistically as possible, without putting the actors in harm's way. "I was never worried for my safety," he admitted. "But, how do you visually create the tsunami using real water? Now, I wonder how he [director Juan Antonio Bayona] did it. The tsunami sequence in the film is absolutely brutal to watch."

Yes, Paradise Lost is already a thing (a 17th-century epic poem about the Fall of Man type of thing, to be exact), and that thing has seen attempts to turn it into a movie. But this is not that thing.

This Paradise Lost is the debut film from Andrea di Stefano (who acted in Life of Pi), about infamous Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. The Hunger Games star Josh Hutcherson has just signed on to  play a young man named Nick, who falls in love with a girl named Maria on a trip to Columbia, only to learn Escobar is her uncle.

Benicio Del Toro (Savages) will portray the drug lord in the film, which is based on true events. Production is set to begin March 2013, in Panama.

Anne Fletcher is in a groove. Her last film achieved huge success -- and great The Proposal quotes. Her latest, The Guilt Trip, scored one of the biggest entertainment icons in the world as its star, Barbra Streisand. Of course having comic champ Seth Rogen playing son to Streisand’s mother and having the two hit the road in Dan Fogelman's hilarious script, it looks quite likely Fletcher is about to have another heartwarming hit.

Movie Fanatic sat down with Fletcher for an exclusive interview where we immediately wanted to know what it was like to woo the great Barbra Streisand for her movie.

“I have intense instincts. I feel intuitive. I felt like I knew her before I met her. And I’m usually right,” Fletcher said. “I remember going to her house to have my first meeting with her. Within the first two minutes it was very clear who she was, who I was with her and who we were together. She is so grounded and real.”

The legend even took her into one of her house’s most interesting rooms. “I went into her room of couches! She says all the time that she didn’t have any couches growing up. It’s cozy and comfortable, just her, me… and her dog Sammy," Fletcher said.

And just like Streisand’s mother character does to Rogen in the film, she is nurturing and tries to feed Fletcher. “She’s like, ‘You want any food?’ With her, it’s always about the food,” she said and laughed. "The crudite came out, and by the way I didn’t eat mine because I was so nervous, but she ate mine!”

What impressed her most was Fletcher felt she had not only achieved the opportunity to work with one of her idols, but she would have a true collaborator once they hit the set. “One of the biggest things that I got from her is that she demands and expects honesty and truthfulness. Be straight up with her. She tops my instincts. It was a great relief honestly when I met her,” she admitted.

“I think when you’re who she is, which I could never even imagine, you have a lot of crap being thrown at you and you have a lot of 'yes' people. She really wants people around her who make her a better person.”

As seen in The Guilt Trip trailer, the story follows Rogen’s Andy and Streisand’s Joyce as the son has asked his mother to accompany him on a cross country trip as he tries to sell a new product he invented. The line between annoying mother and resentful son had to be carefully negotiated.

“It’s important because it’s only the words. We don’t have any flash in our movie. It’s just two talking heads. The material itself has to be the most important which equates to their performances being spot on,” Fletcher said.

“We played with levels with each. Be a little mean, be a little softer. I kept pulling Barbra back. We need to love her. If she goes off on any false notes, we lose her. People want to identify with the child, but we don’t need him to go too crazy. Plus, we love Barbra too much. People aren’t going to go for it.”

Fletcher believes that there is no one who cannot identify with her latest film. We all have a mother and as the relationship can run the gamut from testy to tried and true, the director finds its themes universal.

“In the film, the relationship between the mother and son, it was like my relationship with my mom -- or her relationship with my brother. Moms can push us to no end. We can scream at them and they take it,” Fletcher said. “Dads love us, but moms have such a unique type of love for their child. It’s one of a kind.”

As shown in this The Guilt Trip clip, we can push, but what happens when moms push back?

“There is a breaking point for moms. You never know when it’s going to come,” Fletcher said and laughed. “Moms will either scream or cry their heads off, or both! You know in the moment you have done the worst possible thing.”

Fletcher arose through the Hollywood ranks as a dancer, then choreographer. She became BFFs with Rock of Ages director Adam Shankman, who gave her the opportunity of a lifetime.

“When Adam went to direct his first movie, I started choreographing for him. Then he called me one day and said, ‘I got a call from a producer asking who’s the next you -- a choreographer turned director -- and I threw your name in the hat. It’s going to be for this movie, Step-Up,’” she recalled and smiled.

Her dance background had led her to film and the work she did on that dance movie smash led to opportunities like The Proposal and now The Guilt Trip. Fletcher believes it’s all interrelated. “It all started with dance. Through that, I could see how the moving parts worked in moving a story forward,” Fletcher said. “In the end, it’s all just a dance.”

A new trailer has hit the web for Identity Thief, emphasizing the hilarious relationship between the two main characters. Take a look:

 

Identity Thief Movie Trailer

Jason Bateman stars as Sandy Bigelow Patterson, a family man from Colorado who learns that a Florida woman, played by Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids) stole his identity. With no other options, Sandy travels to Florida to find her and bring her back to Denver.

Genesis Rodriguez, Amanda Peet, Jon Favreau (Iron Man), Maggie Elizabeth Jones, Jon Cho (Star Trek Into Darkness), Clark Duke, and T.I. also star.

Identity Thief is written by Craig Mazin and directed by Seth Gordon. It opens February 8, 2013.

A new character poster for Oz: The Great and Powerful has dropped from Cine1, featuring Mila Kunis (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) as the Wicked Witch of the West. Take a look:

James Franco (Pineapple Express) stars as Oscar Diggs, a corrupt circus magician who finds himself in the Land of Oz, whose inhabitants think he is the Wizard of legend. Enjoying the spoils of his unexpected fame, Diggs is eventually dragged into an age-old war, when his heart is changed and he is transformed into the Wizard.

Kunis, Rachel Weisz, and Michelle Williams star as three witches. Zach Braff, Joey King, Abigail Spencer, and Bruce Campbell (The Evil Dead) also star.

Sam Raimi directs the film, which acts as a prequel to The Wizard of Oz. Fans can catch it in theaters March 8, 2013.

Jean Valjean is shown some mercy in this new clip from Les Miserables (is it just me, or do those candlesticks not look nearly as valuable as a giant bag of silver?):

 

Les Miserables Monsignor Clip

Hugh Jackman plays Valjean, the paroled prisoner on the run from Inspector Javert, played by Russell Crowe (Man of Steel). Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises), Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Helena Bonham Carter, and Sacha Baron Cohen also star.

Tom Hooper directs the film, which is based on the stage musical, which in turn is based on the novel by Victor Hugo. Hooper used an unconventional method to record the music, having the actors sing live during the filming in order to achieve a more realistic quality.

Les Miserables opens Christmas Day. Check out the Les Miserables poster for more.

We promised it would happen after yesterday's Isla Fisher Great Gatsby character poster, and it has! A new character poster has dropped, this one starring Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker. Take a look:

Baker is a professional golfer, and best friend of Daisy Buchanan, played by Carey Mulligan (Drive). In the book, Baker is the casual girlfriend of the narrator Nick, played by Tobey Maguire in the film.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Jay Gatsby, the millionaire at the center of the story. Joel Edgerton, Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty), and Adelaide Clemens also star.

Baz Lurhmann directs the film, co-writing the script with Craig Pearce. The film hits theaters May 10, 2013.

Christmas must be coming because there is something for everyone with this week of new Blu-Ray and DVD releases. Also, a slew more will hit before the holidays -- check back December 21 for a half-dozen more that Movie Fanatic reviews!

The Blu-Ray/DVD preview this week focuses on Anna Kendrick finding her voice in Pitch Perfect and Bradley Cooper forgetting his in The Words. Speaking of forgetting, it seems Colin Farrell has no memory of his past until he visits Total Recall. And finally, Clint Eastwood makes a baseball movie that is very much a father-daughter warming-up tale.

Trouble with the Curve: Clint Eastwood acts in a film he did not direct for the first time in 20 years. The story follows Eastwood's aging baseball scout who is on the verge of losing his position to a driven computer savvy scout (Matthew Lillard) unless he scores a huge prospect. His health is fading. His relationship with his daughter (Amy Adams) is strained.

 

Trouble with the Curve Trailer

But if he can just sign this young baseball talent, all may be OK. Worried for his friend's health, John Goodman's Braves exec enlists the help of Adams to go with him on the scouting trip. The Trouble with the Curve poster may have you thinking this is just a baseball movie, but it is so much more.

Total Recall: Director Len Wiseman took on a tough task when he decided to reboot the classic Arnold Schwarzenegger film Total Recall. But, as we stated in our Total Recall review, the man succeeds in producing a version of the short story that is much closer to the original material's tone. Farrell is fantastic as an everyman working in a future that doesn't leave much room for hope. When he visits a place where they inject "new" memories into your brain (the future's version of a vacation), it goes horribly wrong and suddenly everyone in the government is out to get him.

 

Total Recall Trailer

The supporting cast is stellar, including Bryan Cranston, and that proof comes in many of the Blu-Ray/DVD's bonus features as the director's commentary has never been so complimentary of its acting troupe. The seven behind-the-scenes action featurettes also gives insight into the magical mind of the filmmaker. Surprising, given the seriousness of the sci-fi film, the gag reel is bloody brilliant. And for fans of the genre, a don't-miss documentary is Science Fiction vs. Science Fact.

Pitch Perfect: Anna Kendrick leads an up-and-coming cast in the story of a university where the battle for a cappella supremacy trumps all. Kendrick's aspiring DJ is literally too cool for school. Her professor father promises to pay her way to Los Angeles to follow her musical aspirations if she dives into her school and joins some sort of activity. Long story short, she gets sucked into The Bellas and her presence transforms everyone involved.

 

Pitch Perfect Trailer

The film landed on our Top 10 Comedies of 2012 and we have to admit that some of the bonus features on the Blu-Ray/DVD are even funnier. We can see why some of the deleted scenes were cut for material, but it's fascinating to witness them... even out of context. The Starship music video is included, as is the don't-miss of the entire set: On the Set Burrito Drive By with Rebel Wilson's Fat Amy. It's priceless.

Also, it must be pointed out that Pitch Perfect is the perfect stocking stuffer for any music fan, teenage girl and well... anyone who likes movies!

The Words: Bradley Cooper stars as a struggling writer who is not so happy about where he is at in his career. He's pleased in his marriage to Zoe Saldana, but professionally, he feels he is falling short. When he comes across a satchel in an antique store, inside he discovers a manuscript. It is not just any regular piece of literature, it is an earth-shaking piece of work. Desperate, he sells it as his own and becomes an international superstar. When the book's true author (Jeremy Irons) comes forward, things get complicated.The film's strong literary feel seeps even into The Words poster.

 

The Words Trailer

The Blu-Ray/DVD pack Movie Fanatic received to review contained two versions: The theatrical and an extended cut. It's actually fascinating to see the extended cut, it is the film as director Brian Klugman intended and slightly different than what we saw for our The Words review.

Bonus features abound, but the most enticing are the director's commentary, especially given the two versions of the film here. Also should be seen is A Gentleman's Agreement, which is a fascinating doc that looks at how Klugman and Cooper found The Words.

When a tragedy happens, it's only natural to seek answers. In the wake of the unthinkable events in Newtown, CT on Friday, the question of whether or not violence in movies has a negative influence on greater society has once again been raised.

Django Unchained director Quentin Tarantino answers with a resounding "no." Speaking at a junket in New York on Saturday, Tarantino that "there's violence in the world, tragedies happen," and that he is tired of having to defend his films.

The director has a reputation for excessive, stylized violence in his films. His most recent films, including Django, Inglorious Basterds, and Kill Bill, have all involved the playing-out of revenge fantasies in response to immense evil.

Defending his latest, Tarantino said, "It's a Western, give me a break," and that blame for violence should be put solely on the perpetrator. Do you think Tarantino is right? Or do depictions of violence in film and television effect our society negatively? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

No one needs to be guilted into seeing The Guilt Trip. The Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand starring comedy vehicle follows the mother-son tandem as they head out on a cross country car ride. The first Streisand movie in years is a welcomed surprise.

The road trip comedy is a well traveled avenue and it has never felt fresher than with Rogen and Streisand at the wheel, as so brilliantly teased in The Guilt Trip trailer. The pair could not have been better cast. Their comic chemistry is heartwarming while still hilarious.

Andy (Rogen) is a chemist who believes he has created an environmentally friendly, all-natural cleaning product. He flies back east from his west coast home in order to rent a car and drive cross country hitting major buyers along the way in hopes of selling the next big thing. First off... he has to visit his mother. When he arrives, immediately the audience is clued into the relationship between Rogen and Streisand.

First Fletcher gives us a series of phone messages back and forth, mostly from mom, and we know this lady. If she isn't representative of your own mother, you know someone whose mother is Streisand's Joyce.

Even as she greets him at the airport and futzes over his blazer, that he had on purpose left the tag on with the intention to return the expensive coat when his business trip was over. Mom is impressed with the jacket, opens it up and realizes the tag is still there. "You left the tag on," she says as she tears it off. In a matter of minutes, the cast and filmmakers have captured their relationship without a single cliche.

Andy gets a crazy idea and in a fit of well-meaning, invites his mother on the trip.

The actress could have crafted a maternal character that was over the top and even shrill, but she is all about love -- like in this The Guilt Trip clip. And Rogen may have chosen a route with his Andy as someone who was so tired of his mother's opinion and care that it came off as mean. But it is not the case. These two may have their differences, but that is what fuels the comedy. And everything they do to and say to each other, there still lays a love at the heart.

Our The Guilt Trip review has to finish with the fact that Anne Fletcher, who most recently gave us the Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock starring film, you know... the one with all The Proposal quotes you'll never forget -- could not have been a better choice to helm the movie. Her expert hand gets the best out of her actors in a way that both serves her performers' characterization and the story. Her movie could have drifted into areas that felt like a son breaking free of his mother tale.

Instead, when leaving the theater, the need to call your mother and hear her voice will be immense.

Kathryn Bigelow has returned to action in Zero Dark Thirty. It is her first work since sweeping the Academy Awards in 2009 with The Hurt Locker. Her thrilling tale of the manhunt for Osama bin Laden may possess a war-like feel like her last movie, but it goes so much deeper than that.

Jessica Chastain is Maya, a character based on the real-life CIA operative who spent ten years tracking down the most wanted man in the world. Not only does she give one of the Top 10 Movie Performances of 2012, but Chastain easily leaps for us to the front of the class to win Best Actress at this year's Oscars. Watching her character arc progress as her emotions and conflicting morals waver is spellbinding. That is largely due to the work the actress turns in, but clearly the story that screenwriter Mark Boal and director Bigelow has given her as well.

The movie is an immense gift, not only to Chastain who gives the performance of her already decorated career, but to American audiences specifically. Bigelow has, somehow, managed to take a manhunt movie and simultaneously given viewers something to debate (its prevalent use of torture), while presenting the horror of 9/11 through the most subtle, but powerful of means and given a country a sense of closure to a national nightmare that ends with good winning over evil.

That's the other thing that is so dazzling about the film, as teased in this Zero Dark Thirty clip. We know what happens. Not only is it history, it is recent history. Yet, there is not a single inch of film that does not compel us with an avalanche of information, action, psychological game-play and everything that encompasses why we adore the movies. 

The Zero Dark Thirty TV spot shows us how Bigelow's supporting cast raises their game and it's clear that everyone involved in this production knows the importance of this picture. Kyle Chandler is Chastain's CIA boss and is equally as steely as he is intrigued by her theories. Joel Edgerton and Chris Pratt kill it as two of the Navy SEALS charged with carrying out the iconic mission. And Jason Clarke should be earning some serious Oscar buzz for his portrayal of a colleague of Maya's who indoctrinates her into the world of fighting terror.

Our Zero Dark Thirty review states that, not only is it a riveting piece of cinematic joy, but it is a priceless capturing of a moment in time -- a period that, through the film, can compliment the history books in teaching our children about the senseless murder that happened that awful day in 2001 and how the United States never stopped searching for justice.

Terrence Malick follows up last year's Tree of Life with his new film To the Wonder. As always, it looks beautifully shot, and mostly at dusk. Check it out:

 

To the Wonder Trailer

Ben Affleck and Olga Kurylenko star in the film, which follows a man who reconnects with a woman from his hometown, causing his European wife to rethink their relationship. Rachel McAdams (Wedding Crashers) and Javier Bardem (Skyfall) also star.

Maliick, who is one of the most respected directors of all time, returned to filmmaking after a 20-year hiatus with 1998's The Thin Red Line. Since then, he has directed only two movies, with Tree of Life and To the Wonder being the shortest time between release dates in his career.

To the Wonder premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in September of this year. It will hit theaters April 12, 2013.

Mirror, mirror... who is the evilest in movie land? Well you'll just have to read our Top 10 Movie Villains of 2012 to see who is the worst of the worst, and we mean that in the most loving of ways. This year's evil-doers run the gamut from the classic (Russell Crowe's Javert from Les Miserables) to the comically crazy (Woody Harrelson's Charlie Costello from Seven Psychopaths) and then there is that guy who runs the teens-fight-to-the-death event called The Hunger Games.

As Movie Fanatic counts down the Top 10 Movie Villains of 2012, who is number one?

10. Charlie Costello from Seven Psychopaths
Teased in the Seven Psychopaths trailer, Harrelson turned in his best performance in years (and that is saying something considering the work he has done lately) as a Los Angeles gangster who has come a little bit unhinged thanks to a few dog-nappers (Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell) who have stolen his beloved Shih Tzu. As the owner of a Shih Tzu, this writer cannot blame Charlie for all the hoops he goes through to retrieve his pup... and the benefit of that psychotic passion is the audience. Harrelson's off the rails, violent insanity is sprinkled with just the right amount of hilarity that produces a performance for the ages.

9. The Evil Queen from Snow White and the Huntsman
As we state in our Snow White and the Huntsman review, the best thing about the film is Charlize Theron and her Evil Queen. This is not your grandmother's Snow White and that is largely due to the depths of evil that come out of the one who seeks to be the fairest of the land.

8. Killer Joe from Killer Joe
Matthew McConaughey looms large over the Killer Joe poster and it's easy to see why. The depths to which McConaughey goes to in Killer Joe to get his way makes him one of the lowest of the low on this list. The way he manipulates the family at the heart of the story to ensure his livelihood continues as a Texas lawman who is absent of any morals is as devious as we've seen onscreen in 2012.

7. Charlie Rakes from Lawless
Guy Pearce had quite a year, what with his turns in Prometheus and headlining the sci-fi thriller Lockout. But it is his performance as Charlie Rakes in Lawless that is his best work of 2012. Like McConaughey's Killer Joe, he is a lawman without remorse, and that makes him the most dangerous person around. All in the name of enforcing Prohibition, he uses whatever means necessary to uphold the law and in the process strikes fear in all of those who cross his path. Except of course, Tom Hardy... who actually fights back. Want more proof of Rakes and his evil mission... check out these Lawless quotes and read firsthand his smarmy evil.

6. Javert, Les Miserables
Russell Crowe may be singing for his supper in Les Miserables, but don't misrepresent his love of song for an ounce of compassion. We get a taste of his maddening methods in this Les Miserables extended trailer that only teases the way he goes after Hugh Jackman's Jean Valjean. It is nothing short of ruthless and heartless. Knowing that Valjean has served years in jail for merely stealing a loaf of bread to feed his hungry family does not even register on Javert's radar. For some reason, he simply wants to put this guy away for life. Crowe channels the character every bit as evil as it was first seen onstage and even more so... the character that ruled Victor Hugo's pages.

5. Calvin Candie from Django Unchained
Leonardo DiCaprio could easily win his first Academy Award for his role as the plantation owner who is keeping the lovers (Jamie Foxx and Kerry Washington) at the heart of Django Unchained from living happily ever after. Since the Oscars have taken a liking to awarding Best Supporting Actor trophies to villains of late (Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, Christoph Watlz in Inglourious Basterds, Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men), look for Leo to take his badass Candie-man all the way to Academy history. In this Django Unchained clip, Foxx wonders what makes DiCaprio so curious and in the process, we get an insight into his evil.

4. President Snow from The Hunger Games
President Snow may not have created the brutal yearly kill-fest at the center of The Hunger Games, but he ensures each edition goes off without a hitch with an iron fist. Immediately, he notices something special about Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss and sees her as a threat to his entire administration. In the hands of Donald Sutherland as President Snow, he is equally cool, calculating and all-consuming evil.

3. Raoul Silva from Skyfall
Bardem's Silva deserves to be at or near the top of the list of best Bond villains ever. Silva is slippery in his death dealing, yet ever so calculating. His mission of revenge aimed at Judi Dench's M is nothing short of a masterwork in the hands of the Spanish actor. The way he comes at MI6 is nothing short of vengeance personified.

2. Loki from The Avengers
In our 2011 Top 10 Movie Villains, Loki landed at number four. In 2012, he moves up two spots for his wicked work in The Avengers. Tom Hiddleston commands Joss Whedon's film as he unleashes hell on Earth and serves as the reason our team of superheroes comes together. Thor's brother commands respect, or so he thinks, and it is his enormous ego that may be what leads to his downfall... that and an enormous green beast that tosses him around like a rag doll.

Like the Loki? Be sure to download his The Avengers wallpaper and stare at that evil glare all day!

1. Bane from The Dark Knight Rises
When Christopher Nolan sat down to start brainstorming for his final chapter in the Dark Knight trilogy, he knew he needed a villain for The Dark Knight Rises that could at least match the venom extolled by the Oscar-winning turn of Heath Ledger as The Joker. He found it and showed it off with this Bane Dark Knight Rises poster featuring Tom Hardy as his new villain. The uniquely voiced menace sought to start a revolution on the streets of Gotham and in the process, sent our Caped Crusader to within inches of his death. 

Honorable mentions: Bobby Monday (Michael Shannon) from Premium Rush, Elena (Salma Hayek) from Savages and the wolves from The Grey.