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Twenty-five years after first playing the iconic role of Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Ewan McGregor was deservedly awarded a star on the legendary Hollywood Walk of Fame. Over the years, the Scot has worked with a who's who of great directors, starring in movies like Trainspotting, Moulin Rouge!, Cassandra's Dream and Black Hawk Down.

Portraying the younger version of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequels, McGregor had huge shoes to fill as he took over the legacy of Alec Guinness. A trilogy later, he had not only lived up to it but became just as synonymous with the legendary Jedi knight as his predecessor.

Despite the harsh backlash the prequel trilogy received at the time, one of the best things to have come out of it was the adorable camaraderie between McGregor and his co-star Hayden Christensen, who portrayed a young Anakin Skywalker From their...

Last week, The Hollywood Reporter reported that cinephiles were sharing “samizdat” links to Woody Allen’s latest film Coup de Chance from a French-to-Dutch-to-English translation, and New Yorkers were attending clandestine screenings at an East Village bar/event space. Today, THR can exclusively report that those who wish to see the 88-year-old’s latest project, which debuted at the Venice Film Festival in early September to (mostly) positive reviews, can do so without slinking around or needing secret codes.

MPI Media Group will release the picture, Allen’s 50th theatrically released feature film as a director, for North American markets on April 5, 2024. A digital/VOD release will follow on April 12.

The movie, shot in France in French, stars Lou de Laâge (Respire, The Mad Woman’s Ball) as a self-aware trophy wife who reconnects with an old chum from the Lycée Français in New York, played by Niels Schneider (Heartbeats,...

We have some very sad news to close out 2023, folks. Tom Wilkinson, one of the finest and most beloved character actors of this (or any other) generation, has died suddenly at 75. Deadline was the first to report the news. The twice Oscar-nominated co-star of Michael Clayton, Batman Begins, In the Bedroom, and many more films last appeared in Disney Plus’s sequel series to his breakout role in The Full Monty.

Between 1998 and 2018, Wilkinson was one of his generation’s most prolific character actors, with his output putting him up there with Brian Cox and Brendan Gleeson. He made over 65 movies and TV series in that twenty-year period, starring in everything from high-profile arthouse fare like Todd Field’s In the Bedroom to his role as Carmine Falcone in Batman Begins. He often played villains, such as in The Lone Ranger, but had the range to take on pretty much any part.

Woody Allen got a warm ovation from journalists at the press conference for “Coup de Chance” at the Venice Film Festival, where he managed to avoid any controversial questions about his stalled career and the sexual abuse allegations made against him by his daughter, Dylan Farrow. That was in large part thanks to his longtime cinematographer, Italian superstar Vittorio Storaro, who spoke for nearly a third of the press conference, while answering a single question.

When asked if he would consider making another film in New York, Allen said he’s got “a very good idea for New York.” “If some guy steps out of the shadow and says, ‘We’ll finance your film in New York’ and obeys all my restrictions — if some foolish person agrees to that, then I will make the film in New York.”

The press conference was also attended by Lou de Laage and Valerie Lemercier,...

Ewan McGregor not only received a lifetime achievement award, but also much love and adoration during a brief, but emotional ceremony at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on Saturday night.

During the event at the big cinema celebration in the Czech spa town, organizers and fans feted the Scottish actor, director and producer as the President’s Award for lifetime achievement was bestowed upon him. On Friday’s opening night of the fest, Alicia Vikander received the same award, while Russell Crowe was honored with the festival’s Crystal Globe.

A warm welcome to McGregor by a host was followed by a particularly well-received career highlights reel that repeatedly drew laughs and cheers for scenes from the likes of the Star Wars universe, I Love You Phillip Morris and, of course, Trainspotting.

“This is like a dream to see that,” McGregor told the audience at the Hotel Thermal, the...

Since beginning his career in the late 1990s, Irish actor Colin Farrell has been on a proverbial rollercoaster. Following a handful of early film and TV appearances, Farrell first gained the attention of Hollywood when he starred in Joel Schumacher’s 2000 war drama Tigerland. And his breakout role came in 2002 when he played Agent Danny Witwer in Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report. His excellent work, good looks, and onscreen charisma quickly positioned Farrell as a potentially huge leading man. But a string of moderate successes, outright failures, and mixed critical responses with films like Phone Booth, Daredevil, S.W.A.T., Miami Vice, and the universally derided Alexander cooled the actor’s jets for a while, while Farrell also rode out some personal relationship drama and a trip to rehab.

He came out the other end of that phase with more managed expectations, transitioning from standard leading man fare to more wide-ranging character...

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It was a typically sunny day when Woody Allen, Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell arrived at the 2007 Venice International Film Festival for the world premiere of Cassandra’s Dream, which screened as part of the fest’s Venice Masters sidebar. But the film itself proved to be one of Allen’s darkest efforts, the tale of two cockney brothers, down on their luck, who agree to commit a murder with tragic results.

Eschewing his usual laughs, Allen defended the grim drama, explaining at a press conference, “I have always felt that life itself is a tremendously tragic event, a real mess. It has comic moments in it. There are moments of pleasure and moments that are amusing, but basically it is tragic. I have always wanted to be a tragic writer — a writer of tragic material. It just so happened that my most obvious strengths have been comic.

The following contains spoilers for Perry Mason season 1.

Perry Mason ended its introductory season with a hung jury for the accused, and never got the chance to put the main culprit on the stand. And, boy did defense attorney Perry Mason (Matthew Rhys) want that. He fantasized about the confrontation, roleplaying it in front of an audience of legal authorities who all disagreed with his opinion. Mason wasn’t only robbed of a pure victory in the case, his true prey was stolen.

Detective Ennis was sentenced to death by his own partner, and with him went one of the most interesting characters on the series. This guy could have evolved into one of the great HBO villains, a bad cop who kept getting worse. The ends only justified the means but he wasn’t born mean. Andrew Howard brought more than moral ambiguity to the role. He captured the...

Reporting from the Cannes Film Festival. Two recurring themes in Woody Allen's filmography are murder and dangerous love affairs. His latest is Irrational Man and it continues this trend with mixed results. But mostly it will leave you with thoughts of revisiting Allen's better efforts like Crimes and Misdemeanors, Match Point and Cassandra's Dream. His latest film (which just premiered at Cannes) takes place in a concentrated college town where everyone seems to know each other and privacy is nonexistent. Insecure philosophy professor Abe Lucas (played by Joaquin Phoenix) has just been hired at the fictional Braylin College and it's treated like an atom bomb of gossip by the faculty and student body. Everyone has a theory about the professor before he's even reached the campus, with rumors flying of alcoholism, erratic behavior and sexual affairs with female students. It doesn't matter if the rumors are true, it's still...

The trailer for Woody Allen's new film, Irrational Man, sells it as a light entertainment where college professor Joaquin Phoenix finds himself reinvigorated by young student Emma Stone, so imagine our surprise at Cannes today when the film premiered and revealed one extra, essential wrinkle: It's yet another Allen film preoccupied by getting away with murder. Phoenix's potbellied prof finds himself consumed with the notion of committing the perfect crime against an obstinate judge whose rub-out might actually make the world a better place, and this theme of ordinary, murderous men circumventing justice is one that Allen has returned to so often — in films like Crimes and Misdemeanors, Match Point, and Cassandra's Dream — that a journalist at today's Cannes press conference straight-up asked Allen, "Have you ever considered murdering someone?"Allen peered at the man for a beat, then replied, "Even as you speak!"For many of his critics,...

Colin Farrell isn't ashamed to talk about his co-star Ewan McGregor's private parts.

In a new interview with Nylon Guys, the 38-year-old True Detective star -- who worked with Ewan in 2007's Cassandra's Dream -- is making it clear that the Scottish actor's not lacking down there.

"I don't think Ewan is as proud of his penis as most men who are as well-hung would -- or should -- or could be," Farrell jokes to the magazine. "I think that's the greatest demonstration of his innate humility, that he doesn't wear it like a badge of honor."

Photos: Stars In Their Underwear

Ewan, 43, is looking as handsome as ever on the cover of Nylon Guys, in which he also opens up about hanging with A-listers Angelina Jolie and Jude Law in the late '90s in London, when the actors were all on the brink of hitting the big time.

Nylon Magazine...

It's no secret that Ewan McGregor isn't afraid to bare all on the big screen. In fact, his penis has appeared in films such as Young Adam, Trainspotting, The Pillow Book and I Love You Philip Morris, to name a few. And if you've seen one of the aforementioned full-frontal scenes, then you're well aware that the 43-year-old is well-endowed—a fact which Colin Farrell had no trouble pointing out in a recent interview with Nylon magazine. "I don't think Ewan is as proud of his penis as most men who are as well hung would—or should—or could be," he joked of his Cassandra's Dream co-star. "I think that's the greatest demonstration of his innate...

Spilling secrets! Ewan McGregor spoke to Nylon Guys in its March 2015 cover story about his roles (past and present) and his wild Hollywood life, which somehow included commentary from a fellow celebrity, who had several (ahem!) gratuitous remarks about the actor. Colin Farrell, who costarred with the Scottish hunk in the 2007 thriller Cassandra's Dream, joked about McGregor being rather well-endowed. "I don’t think Ewan is as proud of his penis as most men who are as well hung would—or should—or could be," Farrell said, likening [...]...

Hayley Atwell was first introduced to Marvel fans around the world as the confident and crafty Agent Carter in 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger, but there's much more to the British-born beauty than meets the eye.

With her new limited series Marvel's Agent Carter now hitting the small screen (Tuesdays, 8 p.m. Et on ABC), People asked the actress, 32, for five things fans should know about the woman behind Peggy Carter.

1. She's actually half-American!

Though she grew up in London with a British mother, Atwell's father is actually from Missouri.

"I would spend all of my holidays from school in Kansas City.

Sneak Peek new images of Brit actress Hayley Atwell ("Agent Carter") in a recent issue of "Hunger" magazine:

Atwell's first feature film role was in the 2007 feature "Cassandra's Dream", followed by the 2008 film "The Duchess" and "Brideshead Revisited".

She appeared in the AMC 2009 miniseries "The Prisoner" and in 2010, she starred in the UK Channel 4 adaptation of author William Boyd's novel "Any Human Heart".

Atwell played 'Agent Peggy Carter' in Marvel Studios' "Captain America: The First Avenger", then voiced the character in the 2011 movie tie-in video game "Captain America: Super Soldier". She reprised the role in the 2013 short film "Agent Carter", the 2014 film "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and the TV series "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Atwell will continue in the 'Marvel Cinematic Unverse' as 'Peggy Carter' in ABC's "Agent Carter" and will reprise the character again in the 2015 release "Avengers: Age of Ultron".

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek Hayley Atwell.

Cate Blanchett is superb as a socialite fallen on hard times in Woody Allen's homage to Tennessee Williams

"Anxiety, nightmares and a nervous breakdown; there's only so many traumas a person can withstand before they take to the street and start screaming." Awards season is declared officially open as Cate Blanchett becomes an early frontrunner for best actress with this magnificent portrayal of a woman on the edge.

A former New York socialite whose life has imploded in the wake of her husband's imprisonment (à la Bernie Madoff), Jasmine has been forced to park her Louis Vuitton luggage in the incongruous surroundings of her adoptive sister's San Francisco apartment, with corrosive results. Attempting to "move on" and make a new start (she is a past master of reinvention), Jasmine is finally out of her depth as she careers between ill-fitting employment, ill-judged social climbing and abysmal interpersonal relations. Meanwhile,...

Feature Ivan Radford 30 Sep 2013 - 07:03

Ivan gives the soundtrack from Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine a listen, and provides a rundown of the filmmaker's 10 best music moments...

You can tell immediately when you're watching a Woody Allen movie. Not just from the opening credits (Windsor Light Condensed on black title cards) but from the music. Woody loves the stuff - he'd rather play clarinet with his band than go to the Oscars. He loves it so much that he joins the list of directors such as Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese who are known for using popular, pre-existing music in their soundtracks. The man has directed an astonishing 43 films in his career. Just seven of those have original scores.

Allen started his career with none other than Marvin Hamlisch, who would go on to score The Spy Who Loved Me. Working on Bananas after Take The Money And Run,...

Several Woody Allen's ago we began a very short lived series called "Familiar Faces" in which I surveyed repeat usages of the same actors in a director's ouevre. The series was short lived because my god do you know how long each post took? Nevertheless, I'd love to revive it if I've ever afforded the budget or time and I thought with Blue Jasmine, Woody Allen's 43rd complete directorial feature, rocking it at the box office the time was ripe to revisit and republish with a few minor adjustments. If you see a half point trust that it's from Play It Again Sam which Woody wrote and starred in but did not direct or New York Stories which he directed only one segment of. One of the key factors in why I don't think Woody Allen films are as strong as they used to be is his weird...

Podcast mate and friend Joe Reid polled several critics (including myself) for an article at Tribeca Film detailing Woody Allen's recent output as the critical hit Blue Jasmine hits theaters. I won't be able to see the new entry in his filmography until Sunday since I'm in Chicago for the weekend and limited release films only believe in Los Angeles and New York for their coming out balls. But since I took the time to write Joe notes on each film for this collective list, I thought I'd share them. I regret to inform that in doing this I have just been reminded that my proud familiar refrain "I've never missed a Woody Allen movie in the theater since I saw my first one in 1984!" is not technically true anymore. This article forced me to recall that I did not see and still have not seen Cassandra's Dream (2007) ... though I can't honestly remember why.

Like clockwork, the prodigious workaholic Woody Allen releases a movie each year. And every 12 months, there is the temptation to compare Allen’s latest with his past works, given that they tend to have formed a 31 flavors-like distinction over the last five decades. There’s the more recent trend towards to the romantic (“Midnight In Paris”) and globe-trotting (“Vicky Cristina Barcelona”), familiar existential comedic worries (“Whatever Works”), and even moral-dilemma-led thrillers ("Match Point," "Cassandra's Dream") but a recent theme emerging of late is an introspective examination at the past and regret also evinced in “To Rome with Love.” That motif is also explored in “Blue Jasmine,” Allen’s latest picture which possesses a script that is at times clunky and uneven, but features an outstanding firecracker turn from Cate Blanchett that has “Oscar-worthy” written all over it in flames. In many ways, “Blue Jasmine” just can’t hope to compete with Blanchett,...

Ignoring the fact that Colin Farrell's name sounds just about as Irish as it gets, there's still a shred of possibility that the southern drawl he spits as Jesse James throughout "American Outlaws" actually fooled a few theatergoers into thinking that this bushy-eyebrowed ladykiller was actually born a stars n' stripes yankee.

Let's face it: Farrell -- who currently stars in the new crime thriller "Dead Man Down" -- is a verbal chameleon, a man who has effortlessly toggled the fader on his pipes between his real Dublin-derived brogue and a convincing down-home All-American inflection throughout his two-decade-long career. Practically every role he's taken on has fit somewhere between those two points, but you'd have to subject yourself to a full-on Farrell filmography marathon to know just where each film ranks within his verbal spectrum. Accent charting clearly can't be accomplished overnight, especially when Colin Farrell is involved.

In...

Sally Hawkins has said that Woody Allen is "iconic", "amazing", "incredible", an inspiration and "a phenomenon". The actress appeared in Allen's 2007 movie Cassandra's Dream and is thought to play a larger role in the director's as-yet-untitled upcoming movie, which also stars Alec Baldwin, Cate Blanchett, Peter Sarsgaard and stand-up comedians Louis Ck and Andrew Dice Clay.

"He's lovely. He's got high, high expectations, more often than not of himself," Hawkins told Digital Spy. "It's a huge thing... you're like 'It's Woody Allen' and you can't ever stop thinking that because he's a phenomenon and has been for so many years." She added: "I grew up watching his films. He's iconic. It is amazing. I just hope that it's okay. (more)...

Pier, which appears in films including Brighton Rock and Quadrophenia, is taken off market by Noble Organisation

One of the most famous landmarks on the south coast, Brighton's Palace Pier, known to millions across the world from its many guest appearances in films, has been taken off the market by its owners.

The Noble Organisation, which has owned the pier since 1984, put it up for sale last year for an undisclosed guide price, but now says it forms part of the group's long-term plans.

A statement from the company denied that lack of offers in the throes of the recession and diabolical summer weather were to blame. "Last year's marketing exercise generated a great deal of interest in the pier and a number of substantial offers. However, a change in strategy led us to conclude that the pier will now form part of our longer-term group plans."

The Grade II...

No longer the drug-taking, whisky-swilling loudmouth, actor Colin Farrell has cleaned up his act and discovered yoga

Colin Farrell is giving someone a right ticking-off, gesticulating with one hand and prodding him in the chest with the index finger of the other. The fellow, a reporter, seems embarrassed but doesn't object; several pokes later he retreats into another room. Farrell follows him, maintaining a frown and daggering the man with suspicious glances. We're both here, in a Mexican hotel, to interview the actor, who is promoting his new film. Farrell has been chipper all day. I wonder what's got his goat.

A while later, when I sit down with him, he looks at me aghast. "Can you fuckin' believe what he said?" he asks with eyebrows arched. I presume he's referring to the poking scene and confess I don't know what was said. What is it, Colin? "Well, I couldn't believe it,...

I've never considered myself a fan of Woody Allen, which is likely a result of not having seen many of his early works. I respect Annie Hall much more than I like it, and that's embarrassingly the only pre-2000s film of his I've seen. But after watching and enjoying Match Point, Scoop, Cassandra's Dream, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Midnight in Paris, and now To Rome With Love, I think I've slowly but surely become a Woody Allen fan. 

Allen uses Rome as the backdrop for his latest film and captures the city's beauty in the same way he did with Paris and Barcelona in previous endeavors. He returns in front of the camera this time, too, joining the great ensemble cast and playing another slight variation on the neurotic archetype he practically defined. As a writer/director, he's able to both show the audience his love for a city as...

Despite the occasional film like "John Carter," the major studios are having a pretty good time of it in 2012. The box office is up all over, and films like "The Hunger Games," "21 Jump Street" and "The Avengers" have performed above expectations with both critics and audiences. There's plenty more to come in the summer, as we discussed yesterday in our blockbuster preview, but what of films of the non-explode-y variety in the warmer months?

While it may seem like there aren't that many options to compete with fare like "Prometheus" and "The Dark Knight Rises," there are some gems to look forward to; some of the best-received films of 2012 so far are making it to theaters in the next few months, along with a few others that we've got high hopes for. (And yes, we're cheating a bit with two studio movies in there, but they come from decidedly out-of-the-box...

The British actor will work with Allen to play a 'fun and rough-around-the-edges neurotic'

It's the acting equivalent of being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, or being selected for the Venice Biennale: Sally Hawkins has become the latest award-winning actor to be picked for a lead in a Woody Allen movie.

Hawkins has acted in an Allen production before, taking a small role in Cassandra's Dream – but that was before her breakout turn as Poppy in Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky in 2008.

According to Variety, Hawkins will play a "neurotic who's ... fun and rough around the edges" in the film, to be shot largely in San Francisco. Allen is aiming to cast Cate Blanchett as Hawkins' co-lead, a "sophisticated woman who has her life together".

As usual with projected Allen films, details are in short supply, but the plan is to shoot this summer, fitting around the...

Sally Hawkins is really a great actress with a wide variety of roles under her belt (LA4ER Cake, Happy-go-lucky, Never Let Me Go), and while she has already worked with Woody Allen once before in Cassandra's Dream there's the good chance she's about to work with him again.  Word is that she is currently in talks to join Allen's next film, one that is untitled but still scheduled to shoot this summer in New York and San Francisco.  Meanwhile, in semi-confirmation of a rumor...

We already know that Woody Allen likes working with certain actors more than once (see: Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz as recent examples). Made In Dagenham’s Sally Hawkins is now set to join the ranks of the Woody Repeat Performers Society with word that the writer-director wants her to play one of the leads in his next, untitled film.As is standard in Woody’s world, most of the details are locked away in his noggin for now, known only to trusted confidantes such as regular producer Letty Aronson. But Variety has learned that the film will see him returning to the States for the first time in years, with shooting scheduled for San Francisco and his old stomping grounds of New York this summer.Hawkins, who co-starred in Cassandra's Dream, is on to play a neurotic young woman who is nevertheless a lot of fun to be with.

For a moment there, it looked we wouldn't be getting our annual dose of Woody Allen next year. We figured that with the director busy with a rare acting gig in John Turturro's "Fading Gigolo" and preparing "Bullets Over Broadway" for Broadway in 2013, he wouldn't have time to get behind the camera as he does each summer. Turns out, Allen is sticking to the schedule and continues to build the cast for his next movie.

Variety reports that Sally Hawkins has signed up to play -- get this -- "a neurotic who's more fun and rough around the edges." That's some real stunt casting by Woody. But kidding aside, Hawkins is fantastic, and actually a pretty great fit for an Allen flick which as previously reported will be shot in San Francisco and New York City this summer, and will be (shocker) a "dramedy." For Hawkins, it will be...

Distributors Sony say 'international territories preferred a more globally understood name' than previous title Nero Fiddled

Woody Allen's latest film, his follow up to the Oscar-winning Midnight in Paris, has been renamed To Rome with Love. It has previously been titled Nero Fiddled and, before that, Bop Decameron.

Sony Pictures said the name had been changed to make the title easier for international audiences to understand. "Nero Fiddled, while an appropriate and humorous phrase in the Us, is not a familiar expression overseas, and many international territories preferred a more globally understood name," the company said in a statement. Sony added that the film's storyline followed "a number of people in Italy – some American, some Italian, some residents, some visitors – and the romances and adventures and predicaments they get into".

To Rome with Love will arrive in cinemas on 22 June in the Us but does not yet have a confirmed UK release date.

First for Woody Allen it was London (Match Point, Scoop, Cassandra's Dream), then Barcelona (Vicki Christina Barcelona), then back to London (You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger), then on to Paris (Midnight In Paris), while his most recent film Nero Fiddled was shot on location in Rome.  But why stop there? I know I sure as hell wouldn't.  In his last eight films Allen has been back to America once (Whatever Works), and considering the general quality of his European projects...

Woody Allen is not done with you yet Europe. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the director has his sites set on Copenhagen, Denmark, for the location of his next film.

The currently untitled movie would be Allen's second since the Oscar-winning "Midnight in Paris" -- before the Denmark tale gets underway, he has "Nero Fiddled," a story set in Rome. It stars Alec Baldwin, Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page, Roberto Benigni, Penélope Cruz and, in his first on-screen appearance since 2006's "Scoop," Allen himself.

As for the untitled Copenhagen flick, it won't begin production until 2013.

Since 2005, Allen's films have taken place in London ("Match Point," "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger" and "Cassandra's Dream), Spain ("Vicky Christina Barcelona"), as well as the previously mentioned Paris ("Midnight in Paris"), Rome ("Nero Fiddled") and Copenhagen.

So after Denmark, which European country will Woody head next? Make your best guess in the poll below.

Woody Allen is not done with you yet Europe. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the director has his sites set on Copenhagen, Denmark, for the location of his next film. The currently untitled movie would be Allen's second since the Oscar-winning "Midnight in Paris" -- before the Denmark tale gets underway, he has "Nero Fiddled," a story set in Rome. It stars Alec Baldwin, Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page, Roberto Benigni, Penélope Cruz and, in his first on-screen appearance since 2006's "Scoop," Allen himself. As for the untitled Copenhagen flick, it won't begin production until 2013. Since 2005, Allen's movies have taken place in London ("Match Point," "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger" and "Cassandra's Dream), Spain ("Vicky Christina Barcelona"), as well as the previously mentioned Paris ("Midnight in Paris"), Rome ("Nero Fiddled") and Copenhagen. So after Denmark, which European country will Woody head next? Make your best guess in the poll below.

The Oscars are so close that we can already smell the fresh-ironed shirts, the mascara wiped away by thwarted nominees, and the post-Governor's Ball vomit, but our preparation coverage continues. Yesterday we picked out the directors, cinematographers and other below-the-line titles that we thought deserved to be sitting in the Kodak Theater on Monday, but somehow missed out.

Below, we've done the same with the thesps: five actors and five actresses who we wish got more traction than they did. Any of your own favorites left out here?

Best Actress - Charlize Theron - "Young Adult"

Given how unsparingly unlikable protagonist Mavis Gary seemed on the page, we weren't surprised when Charlize Theron failed to get much awards attention for her turn in Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody's "Young Adult." But that doesn't take away from the quality of the performance, one that stands with, and arguably even surpasses,...

For a brief moment there, it seemed like Scarlett Johansson and Woody Allen were inseparable. Starring in (almost) three straight movies for the director--"Match Point," "Scoop" and "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (Allen also delivered "Cassandra's Dream" in that stretch)--the actress was part of the director's late stage career return to glory after nearly a decade marked by a series of increasingly bad films. But after that trio of pictures, they parted ways at Allen's insistence, fearing that the actress would become defined only by her work with him. “I have every intention of working with her again, but I just didn’t…...

Veteran director joins $100m club with his acclaimed new picture despite being written off by critics

Despite years of critical derision and a general perception that his career is in terminal decline, Woody Allen has confounded his critics by engineering a commercial renaissance – joining the $100m club in the process.

Allen's 41st feature as director, Midnight in Paris, which is due for release in the UK on Friday, is already his highest-grossing picture: its worldwide take stands at more than $107.4m (£68.7m).

Allen has not reached these heights at the box office since the mid-80s, when Hannah and Her Sisters took $40.1m in the Us, compared with Midnight in Paris's $54.4m. Manhattan (1979) and Annie Hall (1977) are the next highest, with $39.9m and $38.3m respectively.

The reasons behind the success of Midnight in Paris are open to debate. In recent years Allen's commercial credibility has been on the rise,...

He's turned 40, moved his family to Los Angeles and spends his time tinkering with motorbikes. Midlife crisis? No fear

In the corner of his regular haunt, a bustling restaurant in the posh suburb of Brentwood, Los Angeles, Ewan McGregor takes a break from his shrimp salad to consider the apocalypse.

"I'm not remotely worried," he says. "For all of the hurtling towards climate change, there's also a lot more understanding of it than there was when we were kids. They don't call environmentalists tree huggers any more, so there's hope!"

Doomsday would be an odd fixation for McGregor. After all, life is rather good. He has five movies coming down the pipe, and promising ones, too. There's Bryan Singer's sword-swinging fantasy Jack the Giant Killer and The Impossible, in which he and Naomi Watts face the 2004 tsunami. He also plays a stuffy scientist who falls for Emily Blunt in Salmon Fishing in the Yemen,...

Lensing on Woody Allen's Rome-set film, "Bop Decameron," is still in progress but it looks like the prolific director already has his sights set on the setting of his next film. Continuing his European adventures, Allen is reportedly eyeing a teaming with Bavaria Studios which would see him visit Munich, Germany next summer for his next, currently-untitled and as-always mysterious film. The budget would run at around $25 million. The stop off in Munich will follow Allen's recent ventures in Barcelona ("Vicky Cristina Barcelona"), London ("You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger," "Match Point," "Cassandra's Dream," "Scoop") and Paris ("Midnight…...

(from left) Alexa Davalos, Rosamund Pike and Hayley AtwellTHR's Borys Kit reports Paramount has been looking for a seasoned non-a-list actress to star opposite Tom Cruise in the crime thriller One Shot and the studio has narrowed their list to three names: Hayley Atwell, Rosamund Pike and Alexa Davalos.

Atwell is probably the most recognizable of the three at the moment thanks to her recent starring role in Captain America: The First Avenger. However, I'm not sure that film displays her true talent as I was far more impressed when I first noticed her several years ago in Woody Allen's little-seen Cassandra's Dream.

Fellow British actress Pike has garnered featured roles in everything from An Education and Barney's Version to Surrogates in recent years and coincidentally will take over the role of Andromeda in Clash of the Titans 2, a role previously portrayed by Alexa Davalos.

Davalos, on the other hand,...

[1] We've known for weeks now that Tom Cruise would be playing [2] Jack Reacher in Christopher McQuarrie's One Shot, adapted from Lee Child's bestselling crime novel. Now comes news on who might be playing opposite Cruise as the female lead. Over the weekend, at least three actresses reportedly met with McQuarrie and the studio to read for the part: Hayley Atwell, Alexa Davalos, and Rosamund Pike. If you're wondering what happened to Brit Marling, who was previously rumored [3] for the role, she's apparently out of the running due to scheduling issues. Read more after the jump. Reacher, who appears in several of Child's novels, is a former military cop who drifts from city to city throughout the U.S. (He's also described as being 6'5" and "hulking," but the casting of Cruise suggests we'll be taking a few liberties with the source material.) In One Shot, Reacher finds himself...

Three young actresses are in the running to play Tom Cruise's leading lady in his upcoming rogue hero film, "One Shot." In other words, three young actresses are competing for a chance at true, ubiquitous stardom.

Cruise will play Jack Reacher, the mountain of an ex-army cop who stars in the Lee Child's hit book series, in the big screen adaptation of "One Shot." Sent to investigate the mysteries behind five murders in a small Indiana town, Reacher's female opposite in the film is a lawyer and the daughter of the district attorney.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, up-and-comers Haley Atwell, Alexa Davalos and Rosamund Pike are auditioning for the role, as the studio searches for an under-the-radar potential star to play alongside Cruise.

Atwell is perhaps best known in America; the 29-year old played Peggy Carter, the tough love interest of Steve Rogers in this summer's hit,...

As far as old-school movie geeks are concerned, it is those who love Woody Allen the most who hold him to the highest standard. So when I offer the opinion that the outrageously prolific filmmaker has been a little "off his game" over the past few ... decades, it's a criticism that's laced with admiration, affection, and the certainty that Woody Allen is one of America's greatest filmmakers. Even when he's working overseas. Sure, Match Point was quite intriguing, and there were the low-key charms of Melinda and Melinda, Cassandra's Dream, and Vicky Cristina Barcelona ... but it will take a pretty long time to wash away the stench of the run that included Anything Else, Hollywood Ending, and The Curse of the Jade Scorpion....

After spending much of the last decade in some of the worst theatrically-released movies around ("Cassandra's Dream?" "Stay?" "Incendiary?" "Deception?" "Amelia?" "Angels & Demons?"), Mike Mills' "Beginners" seems to be the start of a new phase of Ewan McGregor's career. Not only is the film terrific, one of the years' best (read our review here), but McGregor's great in it, the best he's been in years. Because across these last few years, it's been easy to forget that McGregor seemed to be a real star find when he emerged, turning out a string of great performances at the end of…...

Ranked: Woody Allen Films from Worst to Best With Midnight in Paris hitting theaters this week, we look back at everything from Annie Hall to Match Point. by Zachary Wigon Woody Allen has written and directed forty-one films in the last forty-five years, making him one of our most prolific auteurs. He's also run the gamut between great and awful more perhaps than any other director. With his latest, Midnight In Paris, out this Friday, I sized up the man's formidable body of work, listed here from worst to best.   41. Cassandra's Dream (2007) Sometimes you really do wonder what goes through Woody's head when he's working on a script: "What should I recycle? A little murder from Crimes and Misdemeanors? A little guilt complex from same and Match Point?" An insipid retread of those two excellent films, Cassandra's Dream is a movie [...]...

With some awful London films under his belt, Allen has proved that he can't write British. But, as Cannes opener Midnight in Paris demonstrates, he knows how to do the American abroad

Midnight in Paris will get a lot of stick in some quarters for its tourist-eye view of the French capital; you lose count of the shots of the Eiffel tower in the opening montage alone. But here's the conundrum: Allen's best films of recent years – I mean this one and Vicky Cristina Barcelona – are both about tourists. Is that why they work?

It's safe to say that Allen, sadly, is not the force he was. Endless debates can be had as to his last "great" film. (My own opinion: 1997's Deconstructing Harry, with honourable mentions for 1998's Celebrity and 1999's Sweet and Lowdown.) Whatever else, since the turn of the millennium, we've had to drastically downscale our expectations.

Allen & Roberto Benigni Confirmed To Be Taking Acting Roles In Project Woody Allen's latest, "Midnight in Paris," unspools in Cannes tonight--in fact, its screening to the press on the Croisette is already over. And we're cautiously optimistic. While Allen's recent London and New York excursions have varied from the disappointing ("Whatever Works," "You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger") to the disastrous ("Scoop," "Cassandra's Dream"), but when he ventured to more exotic climes, for "Vicky Christina Barcelona," the prolific writer-director ended up producing his best work in years, and the promising trailer for the Paris-set picture suggests it's firmly…...

Excuse my excitement at the moment as we are now just over 12 hours away from the reveal of this year's Cannes Film Festival line-up. It's already been confirmed Gus Van Sant's Restless will open the Un Certain Regard selection, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides will be screened out of competition as will Kung Fu Panda 2. And of course, the big kahuna we all can't wait to see, Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life will also be screened as anticipation rises to a fevered pitch.

Opening the fest will be Woody Allen's latest Midnight in Paris featuring the likes of Owen Wilson, Marion Cotillard, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, Michael Sheen, Tom Hiddleston, Kurt Fuller, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Adrien Brody, Alison Pill and Lea Seydoux. Last year Allen's You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger landed with a bit of a thud so here's to hoping this year's showing is more impressive.

Taylor KitschUpon hearing the news that Taylor Kitsch ("Friday Night Lights," X-Men Origins: Wolverine) is being courted to star in Oliver Stone's next film, Savages, Cinematical's Jacob Hall posted an article asking "Is Taylor Kitsch the Next Sam Worthington?" And it makes sense. Kitsch has a similarly rugged and athletic look, and he's already set to star in two of 2012's biggest blockbusters: Battleship and John Carter of Mars. The latter is a Disney sci-fi epic being called "The Next Avatar" in some circles.

But, to me, the comparison to Worthington is to compare to the latest in a long line of fresh faces the major studios force down our throats, only for us to tire of them within a year or two. For the sake of this article, I'll call refer to this idea of the "next" big actor as the search for "that guy." Some of them,...

There are few things I would welcome more than another truly enjoyable movie by Woody Allen, who as writer, director, actor and musician gave me so much pleasure between 1969, when I fell about watching Take the Money and Run, and the early years of this century when he began running out of steam. There were occasional films I didn't care for, but I thought nearly all of them well crafted. Not until Match Point, however, did I find them embarrassing or wholly without merit. There was Scoop (which hasn't been released in the UK) and Cassandra's Dream and Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and I now find myself wishing I were elsewhere when the lights go down. Sadly few film-makers are granted more than a leasehold on their creative talents.

The old Allen is there at the beginning of You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger: the austere white-on-black credits, a...