The latest The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water trailer is here!
The animated TV star is making the leap to the big screen and the adventure takes place under the sea in a fully animated world and above the sea where we get to see SpongeBob like never before!
Paramount also released the latest poster for our favorite underwater sponge. Check it out in the photo gallery below and look for The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water in theaters on February 6, 2015.
Fox has premiered two new TV spots for their Ridley Scott biblical epic, Exodus: Gods and Kings.
We were supremely impressed from the Exodus: Gods and Kings footage presentation and much of it is teased in the below TV spots that debuted online today.
The two teasers’ monikers could not be more appropriate and fitting for the entire film that stars Christian Bale as Moses and Joel Edgerton as Ramses -- Two Brothers and Something Is Coming.
Two Brothers paints a picture of two men who were raised like brothers. One is the blood line to royalty, the other was raised like a royal after he was adopted. And we all know how this story ends, but do you know how we got there?
That aspect truly came to life for us in the footage we saw, you know… the plagues!
That is teased in the second spot, Something Is Coming. The rest of that sentence is delivered by Bale as Moses when he says, “Something is coming, and even I can’t stop it.”
Look for Exodus: Gods and Kings in theaters December 12.
After his turn in The Woman in Black and now with Daniel Radcliffe starring in Horns, the former Harry Potter star has officially gone to the dark side. Well, sort of. Horns is not a horror movie, but it doesn’t exactly paint the world in broad strokes of color and joy. This is a dark movie and its themes explore the human notion that every single one of us has a little bit of the devil inside. But, is that part of us capable of murder?
Radcliffe is Ig Perrish (great last name) and he and Merrin Williams (a delightful Juno Temple) are madly in love. In fact, their love is the only amour each has ever known. They were childhood friends who became early teenage lovebirds. As teased in the Horns trailer, Ig awakes after a drunken night and doesn’t remember anything -- except the entire town is in an uproar because they believe that he killed Merrin.
Horns is told through a whole lot of back and forth with time. The viewer sees the love affair, and the aftermath of a courtroom trial that went nowhere when evidence burned in a suspicious fire. Ig is free and nobody in this small town is happy about it. Even worse, the entire murder has captivated the nation and the media follows Ig’s every move. We also get clues handed to us throughout with these time-shifting plot lines that add up to an interesting who-done-it.
Complicating things is the fact that Ig awakes one morning with the titular appendages. I mean, if he looks like the devil, he must be the devil.
Director Alexandre Aja (The Hills Have Eyes and Mirrors) has another dark triumph that doesn’t quite fit into one genre and that’s just as well. When you see an Aja movie, you know exactly who wielded the camera. And he’s working from a script by Keith Bunin that does a solid job of capturing the spirit of Joe Hill’s bestselling book.
Radcliffe continues to impress us with his post-Harry Potter work. He has grown into a fascinatingly complex adult actor and to see him stretch himself and portray someone who is not all that likable, so it seems, yet is capable of such life-spanning love, is a true story in nailing character contradiction.
In many ways, Radcliffe plays Ig like he’s one of us and the questions he asks himself of what he, deep down, is capable of doing is an interesting discussion to have in your own mind on the way home.
Our Horns review believes it is not a perfect movie, but it’s pretty darn impressive.
There are plot misdirections that aren’t handled as smoothly as they should be and with the story crossing time between present and past so frequently, there are moments that are clumsily handled. But, the cast and the director elevate the material to a solid mystery that in the end has higher concerns than asking if Radcliffe is the devil or, is he a murderer?
It is more a philosophical trial surrounding the nature of humanity as a whole.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays Louis Bloom in Nightcrawler and in the beginning, he is a lost soul making a living stealing spare pieces of metal and selling them for change. Fate is a funny thing and one night while driving home, he comes across a terrible car accident and there shooting it with his camera is Joe Loder (Bill Paxton) who informs Lou that this will be on the morning news.
No, Lou is not a photojournalist. He is a stringer, or a Nightcrawler -- so called because of how they criss-cross the streets and highways of Los Angeles after the sun goes down for the most tantalizingly horrible footage that airs on the local news when the sun comes up. Lou has an idea and it’ll be the best one he has ever had.
After trading some stolen items for a video camera and a police scanner at a pawn shop, he is in business. But, his dream doesn’t become a reality until he gets a decent shot at a crime scene and walks into a local news station and meets producer Nina Romina (Rene Russo). She takes a look at the footage, buys it and gives him some tips as to how to make it better. And even more specifically, what types of horror on film they are looking to air. Hey, it’s what gets ratings.
Dan Gilroy wrote and directed Nightcrawler and it is a stunning piece of work that grabs the viewers by the lapels and not only doesn’t let you go, but it shakes you to your core until the credits roll. To this day, the film is still haunting me and it is a Halloween scare that is utterly and completely welcome. Gilroy paints his canvas with broad strokes that not only provide a role that allows Gyllenhaal to do the best work of his career (Oscar better call), but it also firmly puts a mirror up to our society, circa 2014. What we see -- honestly -- is not all that pretty.
Gilroy has us feeling like we’re in the scene with his star as Gyllenhaal. He carries the film with a power and command of this character that it should go down as legendary. The director puts us in the driver's seat as he races around town with his intern (it’s a delightful, and powerful storyline that will get no details divulged here) capturing the worst of society.
By the end, the audience may be asking, who’s worse? It is those who commit the crimes, the guy who films it or even crazier still -- the people who line up to watch it?
Russo meets Gyllenhaal’s brilliance, note for note. She plays her television producer with such desperation that you feel that she’s drowning and her only line of rescue comes from this man who literally walks off the street with a life preserver in the form of videotaped mayhem.
Then, there is the force of nature that is Gyllenhaal (want a tease, check out the Nightcrawler red band trailer!). It is a performance so electric that it makes you wonder where the actor ends and the character begins. He plays Lou like he’s a snake oil salesman in modern times who is as well versed as a university business professor with the verbal skills of a Harvard debate team captain.
And what is so incredible, our Nightcrawler review finds, is this character is all self taught. It is also what is so frightening. All this information is out there for another Lou, a real life Lou, to be born. And that frankly, may be the scariest and most riveting triumph of Gilroy’s fantastic film.
DreamWorks Animation has given us a true treat this Halloween. It’s a video compilation of the top 10 scariest moments from their incredible and award-winning roster of movies.
We’ve got scenes from movies that you can see when you watch Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted online and even a few spooky lines from those Shrek quotes!
It’s a perfect mix of clips for this day that celebrates the spooky, and sure, it’s not from the 11 horror movies that still scare us, but there’s still plenty of time for those!
Happy Halloween from Movie Fanatic! And here’s a suggestion… more scary moments in movies. The slideshow below chronicles movies so scary, we can never see them again.
Who made the list?
If you are one of those Movie Fanatics who adore Once, then do we have a true treat for you, Begin Again. The filmmaker behind the Irish set musical love story, John Carney, returns with a love letter to music itself and now that Begin Again is available on DVD, Blu-Ray and digital download, the whole world can share in its music movie mastery.
Keira Knightley stars as a singer songwriter who comes to America with her boyfriend (Adam Levine) to make it in the music business. As soon as his career starts heating up, he leaves her.
Stagnant, alone and depressed, she seems to leave the world of music behind and just make it through her days. Then, a fellow musician friend calls her up on stage at a local club and once the crowd starts encouraging her, there’s no saying no. She’s not happy about it. But, she obliges.
In the crowd is Mark Ruffalo’s music executive and he’s in need of a new artist to save his career, and in lots of ways… his life.
As teased in the Begin Again trailer, the film features an incredible soundtrack, just like Once, but here the songs don’t help drive the story as much as they provide the material for what will be the album that Knightley and Ruffalo are making.
We could go on and on about this movie as it is one of our Top 13 movies of 2014 so far, for more on our thoughts, check out our theatrical Begin Again review. But what sets this home video release apart is the bonus feature on the making of Begin Again.
If you’re a lover of music, who also has an equally strong passion for film, The Making of Begin Again will be as much of a need to see repeatedly watch as the movie itself on the Begin Again DVD, Blu-Ray and digital download. It truly hit all the high notes.
There’s experiencing the making-of a movie from the point of view of a filmmaker charged with chronicling the film and then there’s The Making of Begin Again featurette that truly takes us inside not only the making of the movie, but also the interweaving power of music that permeates this entire project.
Just watching Carney’s Once and Begin Again, it’s easy to see that the writer-director has a passion for combining his two loves, music and movies. But in the making of documentary, we get into the heart of what makes this man’s creative juices tick and it is nothing short of brilliant. It also, leaves us beyond excited and with breathless anticipation for what he does next.
We can guarantee one thing -- it will sing. Begin Again sure does, like the most beautiful of vocalists.
And lastly, for fans of Levine, you will truly appreciate his music video additions to the Begin Again DVD, Blu-Ray and digital download.
Watch Begin Again online right now and prepare to witness a combination of music and movies that is a masterpiece.
The latest TV trailer for Mockingjay Part 1 is here and it features nothing but images from the highly anticipated film, and a monologue by Josh Hutcherson’s Peeta, who speaks to his love on TV.
“They’re coming, Katniss,” he says as a single tear falls from his eye.
Hot on the tail of that final Mockingjay Part 1 trailer, the airing of the TV trailer means one thing: That the release date is almost here! November 21 is right around the corner and one of the most anticipated movies of the year is weeks away from its premiere.
Watch Catching Fire online and to say it ended on a cliffhanger is an understatement. We’re dying to see where this story goes next as it steamrolls towards its thrilling conclusion.
Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games series could not have asked for a better cast, and a better director in Francis Lawrence for its final three films based on her riveting blockbuster books.
The Weekend Movie Preview for this last day of October, Halloween (!), presents two new movies and each are scary in their own way.
We’ve got Daniel Radcliffe channeling the devil himself (or is he?) in Horns and Jake Gyllenhaal exploring the devilish underbelly of Los Angeles in Nightcrawler.
Let’s break it down…
Nightcrawler: Gyllenhaal gives the performance of his life (and surely will get an Oscar nod) as the titular character, a person who prowls the streets of LA seeking to videotape the murders, mayhem and utter chaos that will air live on the local morning news.
As we stated in our Nightcrawler review, this is a five-star brilliant piece of filmmaking by writer-director Dan Gilroy. Rene Russo rivets as the producer who enables Gyllenhaal’s actions, and all told, this is a movie that is as frightening as it is fantastic.
Horns: Radcliffe plays Ig, a man who is living the love affair of a lifetime with Juno Temple’s Merrin. When he awakes one day after a hard night of drinking, he remembers nothing, but his beloved has been murdered. He’s suspect number one and the entire small town believes he did it… and so does the national media. When he grows horns, that certainly doesn’t help things.
Our Horns review found that Radcliffe continues to amaze us with his post-Harry Potter choices. And we appreciate this tale as everything is not painted in black and white. It is a whole lot of in between, and by the end, it will have the audience looking in the mirror wondering if we have the devil inside us too.
Feel like staying in this weekend? A horror film has landed on digital download this week, and might we suggest an instant classic horror movie for this Halloween night too?
Watch Deliver Us From Evil online and there’s a solid fright fest! And for an instant classic sure to bring the horrors this Halloween, watch The Conjuring online and you know you’ll be scared silly.
There are only two months left in the movie calendar for 2014 and the second-to-last one features an explosive combination of eagerly awaited blockbusters, like Mockingjay Part 1, and films that will surely contend for Oscar gold.
Then, there’s the return of Christopher Nolan in a sci-fi adventure that promises to send our senses into the stratosphere.
It’s been two decades since those Dumb and Dumber quotes became iconic, and the Farrelly brothers hope to recreate magic with the arrival of their sequel.
And watch Catching Fire online, and see how it ends on such a cliffhanger? Well, on November 21, we finally get to see what Katniss and her revolutionaries do next!
Watch Horrible Bosses online and you may wonder how Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day and Jason Bateman could possibly wind up with another group of sinful superiors. Well, they do -- and hilarity should ensue.
Click through the slideshow below and discover our 11 must-see November movies.
We adore Christopher Nolan’s work and routinely return to his films, such as Memento and Inception for repeat viewings. But, it was his The Dark Knight trilogy that truly endeared him to the masses, banking $2.5 billion worldwide when The Dark Knight Rises closed his superhero trilogy.
Now, Nolan is back filming a non-superhero movie with Interstellar. While out talking about that sci-fi flick, starring Matthew McConaughey as a man going into deep space to try to find us a new home, the subject was broached about whether he could ever see himself returning to make a superhero movie.
After all, watch Man of Steel online and he’s the executive producer!
"I think I had a great experience with the superhero genre and got to explore a lot of things,” Nolan told TimeOut.
“It was a good decade of my life and I find it hard to imagine returning to it -- but never say never."
We’ll take that as a maybe!
Check out our favorite of the three Batman films and watch The Dark Knight online.
And speaking of that astounding piece of work, click through and discover nine things that Heath Ledger did that made his Joker iconic for Nolan.
For those passionate about the original The Crow, starring Brandon Lee, the idea of The Crow remake has fans utterly upset. But, not to worry, as the creator of the anti-hero has said that the new version of the crow will not even try to redo a movie that is already “perfect.”
James O’Barr, the artist who gave us The Crow, is talking about the new version and promises that director F. Javier Guitierrez has told him that “I don’t want to remake that film, that is perfect as it is. I want to do your book, literally page-for-page adaptation.”
Sounds good to us! And O’Barr believes it could work and uses an example of one of the most beloved stories ever written and the two distinct versions of it that hit the screen -- both adored and treasured.
“We’re not remaking the movie, we’re readapting the book,” O’Barr said to Korsgaard’s Commentary. “My metaphor is that there is a Bela Lugosi Dracula and there’s a Francis Ford Coppola Dracula, they use the same material, but you still got two entirely different films.”
He also says that the Luke Evans-starring The Crow will also feel much different than Alex Proyas’ The Crow. “This one’s going to be closer to Taxi Driver or a John Woo film, and I think there’s room for both of them,” he said. “Part of the appeal of the Crow comics after all is that they can tell very different stories after all.”
And O’Barr admitted too that he’s seen Evans in the full The Crow makeup. And?
“He looks great!”
Watch The Crow online to see the original, and isn't that a perfect film for Halloween?!
Clearly, when the movie is called Horns, star Daniel Radcliffe knew he would have to sport a pair for a large part of the shoot.
"The first time I saw them on it was a combination of relief because they looked fantastic and excitement, because when you have something stuck to your head that can go either way,” Radcliffe said.
Fanatic.
“They looked really normal. It has the potential to look silly. They only took like 20 minutes to put on. They were really fast and really light. They’re a very functional piece of headwear as well.”
Another aspect of portraying a devilish character (which Radcliffe really likes) is that his Ig had to surround himself with many, many snakes. “They were fantastic,” Radcliffe admitted. “I didn’t know before doing the movie if I was comfortable with snakes. It turns out I’m extremely comfortable with snakes. I may have been completely projecting human emotions onto this creature, but I became completely convinced that she was very affectionate.”
Radcliffe, in fact, learned that that was just snakes being snakes. “They get cold. Snakes aren’t cold-blooded. This is my favorite word I learned on the shoot -- they’re poikilothermic, which means they can’t control their body temperature so whatever temperature it is outside -- they will be,” he said.
“They’re freezing and you’re already warm so they just love you and hug you -- but in a constricting kind of way. We had one scene with 100 live snakes, which was awesome.”
As teased in the Horns trailer, Radcliffe’s Ig is madly in love with his girlfriend, played by Juno Temple. After a night of hard partying, he awakes and she is dead and suspect number one in her murder. When he starts growing horns that does not do anything to help his effort to prove his innocence.
What’s fascinating about the film it is follows Temple and Radcliffe’s love affair from when they were kids and the actor had great fun with how the younger actor got to look a little bit like his hero.
“Mitchell (Kummen) is like I was when I was like thirteen. He’s a kid. He’s from Winnipeg, and he’s incredibly sweet,” Radcliffe said. “When he went back to his hotel in Vancouver, one of the girls at reception said, ‘Oh you look like Harry Potter’ and that made his day!”
Radcliffe spends most of Horns driving around in an old AMC Gremlin. Believe it or not, the superstar does not have a driver’s license. He promises he’s close.
“I loved that car. To me, that’s a really cool car. I’m not going to be one of these people that when I do pass my test gets a crazy fast elaborate car just because it was a good piece of advice I was given once -- When you buy a car, you should buy a car you feel comfortable sitting in traffic in. And if you’re in a Ferrari in traffic, you’re not going to look cool,” he said.
And he even had to drive with one of those snakes around his neck, which provided a challenge for all those involved.
“That was actually one of my favorite moments from any film that I’ve ever done. We had this one shot in the movie where I’m driving along, the snake is around my neck, and I pull up, get out of the car, walk over to the cop car and do a scene with them. But I couldn’t drive with the snake around my neck because the snake latches onto the gearstick and the steering wheel. So we had to have somebody in the back of the car who would put the snake around my neck before I got out,” Radcliffe said.
“A production assistant had to hide down in the back of the car with a python. I remember him getting into the back of the car with the snake and us getting into our first position and I just turned around to him and was like, ‘I should probably tell him.’ I was like, ‘Just so you know. I don’t have a license. I don’t drive.’ And he was like, ‘Oh that’s fine. I’ve never handled snakes before.’”
The Furious 7 trailer is here after months of anticipation -- we are finally get our first look at the latest installment of one of the most successful franchises in Hollywood history.
So, what did we see? Well, before we comment too much on this brilliant piece of cinematic marketing. Take a look for yourself…
We are supremely thrilled with what director James Wan has done, stepping away from the horror genre that he has so masterfully made movies in and into an action franchise that shows this guy is the real deal. These action sequences -- which are merely a tease for what we’re in for when the film lands next year -- are truly mind-blowing. Well done, Mr. Wan, well done.
The other thing that is striking is how much we truly miss Paul Walker. We will never forget him, but seeing him in action in the franchise he helped found is, honestly, a little depressing. But, he leaves us with his movies, and none meant more to him than Furious 7 and the ones that came before.
Oh, and we would be remiss not to mention how awesome Jason Statham looks as our villain. After playing so many good guys over the years, it’s nice to see him go bad!
Watch Fast and Furious 6 online to get ready for the big sequel that lands April 3, 2015.
Idris Elba either has confidence that he can say what he wants at this point in his career, and we think he does.
Or, he’s just so excited about appearing in Avengers: Age of Ultron that he let it slip. And not only did he let it out during an interview with Britain’s The Telegraph, he admitted that he and Tom Hiddleston’s Loki will share a scene in the flick with Chris Hemsworth’s Thor!
"I'm in Avengers," Elba said.
"And I'm doing a scene with Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston, and they're like, [whispers] - 'Aren't you [meant to be] in Ibiza?'"
That latter Ibiza comment is in reference to Elba's spending time this summer DJing in the island paradise.
So not only do we get the debuts of Aaron Taylor Johnson’s Quicksilver and Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch, but the return of all our favorite Avengers and two Thor-movie based characters? If anyone can handle an ensemble of this size, it’s writer-director Joss Whedon.
Judging by what we saw in that Avengers: Age of Ultron teaser trailer, he still can do nothing wrong.
Look for Avengers: Age of Ultron in theaters May 1, 2015 and watch The Avengers online to get all sorts of caught up.
Hollywood is not a big fan of when Halloween falls on a weekend. One would think that the horror movie industry would love it, but that is so not the case. People are usually too busy getting dressed up and going out to be heading into the theaters, so it is not a surprise that this weekend’s box office was quite quiet.
Even still, Jake Gyllenhaal and everyone behind Nightcrawler has to be pleased. The thriller that earned major critical raves (check out our Nightcrawler review) took the top spot, barely beating out Ouija, speaking of horror movies.
Last week’s number one movie, Ouija, finished second with $10.9 million to Nightcrawler’s $10.909 million in one of the closest finishes we’ve seen in some time.
Brad Pitt’s World War II tank movie Fury, another former number one flick, added another $9.1 million to its bank of $60.4 million. Meanwhile, Gone Girl landed in fourth with $8.8 million, further pushing the David Fincher drama higher on his all-time moneymaker list with its cume of $136.6 million.
Closing out the top five is the animated The Book of Life. Considering the film is about the Day of the Dead, one cannot be surprised that it stayed in the top five with its $8.3 million, bringing its total to $40.5 million.
Box Office Top 10:
1. Nightcrawer, $10.9.09 million
2. Ouija, $10.9 million
3. Fury, $9.1 million
4. Gone Girl, $8.8 million
5. The Book of Life, $8.3 million
6. John Wick, $8.1 million
7. St. Vincent, $7.8 million
8. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, $6.5 million
9. The Judge, $3.4 million
10. Dracula Untold, $2.9 million
It’s been a long time coming for Star Wars fans, but the hard work has paid off for the cast and crew of Star Wars: Episode VII. They’re done! It’s a wrap! J.J. Abrams posted a thank you note that went out to the entire cast and crew of Star Wars: Episode VII as principal photographer for the sci-fi epic is officially done. Now, it’s time for editing, music and special effects works. But first… it’s time to party!
Star John Boyega posted a pic from the party, and we’ve also got a shot of the note that went out to everyone.
To the Extraordinary Cast and Crew of Episode VII:
It is a true honor and absolute joy to come to set every day and work alongside each of you. Your professionalism, passion and patience is more deeply appreciated than we could ever express. From the deserts of Abu Dhabi, to the Forest of Dean, to the stages of Pinewood, you have risen to every challenge and been as wonderfully kind as you are brilliantly talented. Our ambition here is large, of course, and it must be: we are here to make a film that entertains millions of people, of all ages, for generations. To create an experience people will cherish watching as much as we will cherish having made it, together. How lovely it would be if you had, in addition to your name on the screen, some actual real tangible proof that you were part of it! Here, then, is that proof. Wear it well, wear it healthily, wear it proudly. But, mostly, thank you.
With Love, JJ Abrams Kathleen Kennedy Bryan Burke
We love the part about how JJ says “how lovely it would be if you had… some actual real tangible proof that you were part of it! Here, then, is that proof.”
So, a note is proof?! Gotta love that man’s sense of humor.
Look for Star Wars: Episode VII on December 18, 2015. And in the meantime, here are the 9 things we want from Abrams’ latest flick!
After seeing that Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer, it may seem like Robert Downey’s Jr.’s Tony Stark is a bit wistful that the end is near. We all know when it comes to playing Iron Man, the opposite is clearly true.
Downey is set to play Stark/Iron Man in Captain America: Civil War, and then he is under contract through the second part of the two part Avengers: Infinity War.
But, what about beyond that?
Sure, we know -- according to Downey -- that there will be no more Iron Man movies. But, he will clearly be playing the superhero for Marvel again. So, Robert, how many times?
"You know, it may verge on double digits,” Downey told Entertainment Weekly at a BAFTA event in London. “But it will probably wind up being a little shy."
So, let’s count. Three Iron Man movies, three (or four, depending on how you count) Avengers movies and a Captain America movie adds up to seven (or eight, again depending on if you count that Avengers 3 as two movies or one). That leaves at least two more movies to hit double digits.
That works just fine for us! Watch Iron Man 3 online to see the man in action and check out the slideshow below to see him as Iron Man in his next work in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Mark Strong plays a central role to solving the mystery at the heart of the thriller teased in the Before I Go To Sleep trailer. Strong is the psychiatrist who is secretly meeting with Nicole Kidman to help her with her amnesia that has her forgetting everything about her life as each night turns to day. See, Colin Firth plays her husband, who greets her each day and tells her who she is and what came before. But, is he telling the truth?
We caught up with Strong for an exclusive interview where the esteemed actor let us know the many challenges of playing a character in a movie shrouded in mystery. He also dished how after several films, what role the book that the film is based on plays in him forming the characterization. Here’s a fascinating tease, guess which one helped the most -- The Green Lantern!
Movie Fanatic: What your character does in the world of neural work with Nicole Kidman’s amnesia character, what kind of research did you do to truly grasp your part in this psychological thriller?
Mark Strong: I had to find out exactly what he is, how he works. Neural psychiatry and neural psychology are at war with each other, a little bit. The kind of guy that Nash is it’s almost like he’s the herbal medicine in the world of medicine. His kind of psychology is viewed with suspicion by the medical establishment. I had to find that out. I had no idea. It governed how I chose to play him. It governed what I chose for him to wear and how I deal with her. I thought he was a little rough with a bit of stubble and I gave him an academic look in corduroy, rather than a shirt and a tie looking all smart.
Movie Fanatic: As an actor doing a scene with an actress, Nicole Kidman here, there is a history there that builds from character to character. But, with her, she is a blank slate every day. Was that a challenge to play?
Mark Strong: You’re responsibility is to your own character. You have to maintain the truth for him in the world that he’s in. Nicole had the difficult task of trying to piece the jigsaw of her journey together over the course of the film as she slowly begins to learn more and more. It was tricky for us because I remember early on; we started with the most intimate scenes – like where she grabs his hand, that was the first scene we did together which is quite far along in the relationship. That’s your job as an actor. You have to chart your progress over the course of the film and then on any given day at that point on the graph that you’re filming, you have to zero in on where he is at that time. You have to make sure your head space is right. Nicole is such a professional, it makes it so easy. We charted it very carefully.
Movie Fanatic: Speaking of charting the progress, I just spoke to your director, Rowan Joffe, in person and I was struck by the detail he had to take to keep all these balls in the air for Before I Go to Sleep. I’m curious what kind of help was he and what most impressed you by him?
Mark Strong: He is incredibly specific. You met him in person, so you can see how carefully he chooses his words. He tries to absolutely communicate the very thought he is communicating in the most economical way as possible. That’s how he is as a writer and director. He’s quite ordered and I think he was specific in the notes, not a lot of them, but when he did, they were sharp and to the point.
Movie Fanatic: It’s such a brilliant script that is rich with emotion and power. But, it was based on a book. Did you go to the book at all before filming to fill in any blanks, or would that have been a distraction?
Mark Strong: I’ve done a few films now based on novels, and what I’ve learned is to not look at them until after the film is done. You can cause yourself problems by finding things in the novel that aren’t apparent in the script that give you hang-ups. You might give yourself issues by trying to demonstrate things while you’re performing that weren’t in the script, but that were in the book. All you’re dealing with is the script, the narrative that has been written for you. That is first and foremost the story you’re telling.
Movie Fanatic: Did you do that with Sinestro in Green Lantern?
Mark Strong: Actually, what I did I was I went back to the comics. But, I had to do that in order to find out what kind of character this guy was. I got an understanding of where he was in the world of comics, but then I had to throw it all out when I did the film and play him as he’s written in the film. I could have gone to the novel for Before I Go to Sleep, but I was just worried that I would miss elements that were in the book that we couldn’t have in the film. I read it after we did the film and in hindsight, I was right to do that.
Movie Fanatic: You mentioned Green Lantern, and you’ve done such a varied list of films. What are the elements of projects that appeal to you?
Mark Strong: Like anything you read, a newspaper article or a script, you have to be engaged. You have to feel like you know what is going to happen. You have to feel like you’re dealing with some good writing and lose yourself in it. It’s like a good painting. If a script is good, that’s the first port of call. Then, the character -- it’s important to me that a character has something about them that I feel that I can work with. I’ve turned lots of characters down that I felt that the writer didn’t give me enough that I could relate to. It’s sometimes indefinable. It just clicks with me.
Movie Fanatic: I can’t wait to see Kingsman, you appear with Colin Firth in that too, like Before I Go to Sleep. But in this film, you don’t share a scene with him. Do you share scenes with him in Kingsman: The Secret Service?
Mark Strong: We have a couple of small bits together. But, the director -- Matthew Vaughn (check out one of his best and watch X-Men: First Class online) -- is one of my favorite directors, if not my favorite director. We’ve done a few films together now and I too cannot wait to see Kingsman: The Secret Service.
After becoming a $225 million smash at the box office and having its sequel, The Scorch Trials, green lit, Fox has announced plans for The Maze Runner to come home on DVD, Blu-Ray and digital download.
Look for the big screen version of James Dashner’s hit book (it was on the New York Times bestseller list for 100 weeks) to land on DVD and Blu-Ray on December 16, just in time for Christmas!
Dylan O’Brien supremely impressed us with his lead role as Thomas (as we reported in our The Maze Runner review). O’Brien awakes on an elevator heading to the surface and when he gets there, it’s a shock. He has no idea who he is and all he knows is that everyone who has been sent there is standing around looking at him. Many of them have been there for years, and the reason they cannot get out: There’s a giant maze that surrounds them.
The Maze Runner will land on home video in a two-disc combo pack that features over two hours of bonus features that will surely please all those who adored the book and of course those who cherished the movie.
Those bonus features will include:
Stay tuned for more as this release date gets ever closer.
We could not be more excited for the world to finally see Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar.
It’s a broad stroke of passion for the filmmaker, and there are clear influences to what he put on screen, teased in the Interstellar trailer.
Watch Gravity online, and that film will put you in the mood to head into the depths of space with Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway.
And many have described Interstellar as Inception meets Gravity, so why not watch Inception online and you’ll be more than ready for Nolan’s next great sci-fi flick.
We found nine movies that you need to see before you head into the theaters this weekend.
Click through and discover our 9 movies that need to be seen before Interstellar.
