Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Downton Abbey's Dan Stevens gets Interviewed



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FLOPCHIN STOVENS INTERVIEW

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Dan Stevens looks shaken. We are in an empty restaurant in New York and I have justbecome the first outsider he has ever told about his death in Downton Abbey.
“It is very odd,” he says.



After the Christmas special yesterday, the entire world knows that honourable, handsome,happy Matthew Crawley has died at the wheel of his car, reducing a nation to
tears of dismay and disbelief. At the time of our interview last month, there
was a lot of speculation, but no actual confirmation. “It is very strange to
make it official especially since we are talking about it in the future
perfect,” he says, with a laugh. “I am not sure exactly what tense it is, but
it is something very weird.”



That is an almost perfect Dan Stevens joke. He is the charming, well-spoken,Cambridge-educated actor who has become as famous as any movie star thanks to
his role as the romantic lead in Downton. But his literary aspirations, his
desire to be more than just another TV sensation, meant that though his fans
wanted him to stay, they knew that he would probably choose to go.



In fact, he made the decision in February before he even started filming the thirdseries. “We were always optioned for three years,” he explains. “And when that
came up it was a very difficult decision. But it felt like a good time to take
stock, to take a moment. From a personal point of view, I wanted a chance to do
other things.



“It is a very monopolising job. So there is a strange sense of liberation at the sametime as great sadness because I am very, very fond of the show and always will
be.”



As yet, he can’t say what future projects he will take on, though “there are some excitingopportunities”. Until February, he is on stage in New York, playing opposite
Jessica Chastain and David Strathairn in The Heiress, an adaptation of Henry
James’s Washington Square. Stevens is Morris Townsend, who may or may not be a
fortune hunter. He has sideburns and an American accent and when he walks on
stage, there is the strange frisson of seeing him play someone who is notMatthew Crawley – and convey the ambiguities of a darker character very well.



This ambition to do something different is what has spurred him on. “It is a desirefor freedom really,” he says. “I don’t see money or a particular status as an
actor as a goal but I want to do the best work I can in as interesting a range
of roles as I can. And I think a moment like this is quite unique and presentsthose opportunities more than ever before.



“That may not be the case,” he adds, with another laugh. “I genuinely don’t know exactlywhat is around the corner but I hope it will be something a little bit
different. Morris Townsend is a little bit different, and that for me is good
enough.”



His voicetrails away, and he looks down at his hands. When he is talking about books or
theatre, there is no stopping him. When he talks about Downton, he is more
cautious. At the time he signed up, Stevens was mainly a theatre actor familiar
on television for his part in Alan Hollinghurst’s The Line of Beauty. But he
was neither a household name, nor a heartthrob. Downton, playing on his boyish
handsomeness and his passionate affair with the stand-offish Lady Mary, has
made him a star, both in the UK and America. When he walks on stage in New
York, he commands a round of applause just as great as that of his movie-making
co-stars.



‘None of us had any idea of how successful Downton was going to be,” he says. “I thoughtI was signing up for another period drama that had a slightly modern feel. It
had a freedom about it because it was coming out of the head of Julian Fellowes.
Anything could happen and generally did.”



Its appeal, from the first, was its company feel – rare in TV. “There was no maincharacter. Everybody owned their storyline. And it was fun. It had a tongue in
cheek element which set it apart. I had done quite a few period dramas at that
point and I was ready not to do another one and then these scripts came along
and the Matthew/Mary relationship was just such fun – I am really glad I didn’t
turn it down.”



Stevens’s affection for Downton is unmistakable – he generally tweets “Hound’s bum abbeytime” as each episode starts, a reference to the dog’s bottom that opens the
credits. “In terms of its popularity,” he explains, “there is a kind of ironic
enjoyment as well as a serious enjoyment. One of my ways of coping with the
attention that it has received is to join the ranks enjoying the mania of
Downton rather than take the whole thing too seriously. But that is my way with
most things. Not to take them too seriously.”



That much is clear. He laughs a lot while he talks, and makes rather good jokes. But healso uses this charm to deflect questions. If he has felt any frustration, he
does not show it: but he did make his decision to leave after the second
series, the one in which Matthew – apparently paralysed in the war – was forced
by the plot to rise from his wheelchair like Lazarus from the grave.



“I think it was harder for the people who had to react to me getting out of the chair,”says Stevens, with a grin. “That was a particularly strange point in the
narrative. I think there were some justifiable criticisms of series two and its
pace. I think from what I have seen, series three has been a lot stronger. But
from the actor’s point of view all the bombs and the mud and everything were
great to film and I had a great time.”



Nevertheless,for so intelligent a man, it must have hurt when his peer Benedict Cumberbatchwas quoted as describing that second series as “f------ atrocious.” “From what
he has told me, and from what I understand, he was misquoted or certainly
quoted out of context,” says Stevens, loyally. “But the thing that upset people
was that there is a sort of unwritten rule that whatever you think of other
people’s shows you don’t diss them to journalists.”



He insists, however, that it is Downton’s capacity to surprise – whether it is aTurkish diplomat expiring in Lady Mary’s bed or the unforeseen death of Sybil
in childbirth – that sets it apart. “You think you are trotting along with a
nice Sunday night drama and something happens. It wouldn’t be Downton if it
wasn’t for all the big twists and shocks.”



Now Mathew’s death is the melodrama that has left viewers reeling. “It was veryemotional shooting the end of this series, because those guys are like family.
We have been living together for three years and have been on the most amazing
journey. I don’t think any of us, with the possible exception of Maggie, have
had this kind of explosion in our career paths, and may never again. It has
been so bizarre, and only those who have been through it can understand it.”



His closeness to the Downton tribe is obvious: he describes Hugh Bonneville andAllen Leech (Branson) as being like “hilarious brothers” to him and the
experience of working with Maggie Smith as a joy. “There are certain takes
where you can see us still half-chuckling from some remark she has made just
before ‘action’.” He will miss Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) because “after
everything we have been through it will be sad not to see the relationship
continue”.



“On the other hand, I won’t be sorry to see the back of that dining room,” he says,with a roar of laughter. “It may have held some of the key plot points, but it
is just a nightmare to shoot in. There are so many angles and edits and it gets
very airless and stuffy – and it is blacked out so even at 10 in the morning weare in the dark.”



For all his expressed sadness, he almost glistens with the excitement of what is tocome. He has left after what he describes as the “busiest year I have ever had
professionally. I hope I never have another year that is quite like this.” Even
listing what he has done is exhausting: seven months of shooting Downton, being
a judge for the Man Booker prize, producing the film Summer in February, in
which he also stars, co-editing an online literary magazine (thejunket.org),
writing a column for the Sunday Telegraph, passing 30, becoming a father for
the second time (a son, Aubrey to join Willow, aged three), starring on
Broadway.



This may have had some effect on his choice. “I was in Cornwall producing my first film.I had 145 novels on my plate with the Booker, I was writing and editing, we had
our second baby on the way [his wife is the jazz singer and teacher Susie
Hariet] and things were getting kind of crazy.”



His natural curiosity is revealed by the way he talks about each aspect of theyear. The Booker judging, in particular, allowed the bright boy who sailed out
of Croydon via public school and Cambridge to fulfil his intellectual
ambitions. “Whenever we met as judges it was like some of the finest supervisions
I had at university, talking about literature with brilliant people.” On the
other hand, in the early stages of trying to read so many novels, “I can’t even
begin to describe the depths of despair I was in at some points.”



He feels he can reveal that thanks to his liking for the experimental, he wasparticularly fond of Will Self’s Umbrella. “It is without question an
extraordinary novel but ultimately the question was, are we choosing the most
ground-breaking book or the best work of literary fiction that year. Hilary
Mantel’s Bring Up the Bodies is a brilliant, brilliant novel. And if you have
written the best work of literary fiction you should win the prize, so in that
sense it was unanimous.”



Next on the cards, I suspect, though he is guarded, is not theatre or literature, but abig film. “I haven’t done as many films as I would have liked,” he says. “A lot
of my contemporaries have done more. I don’t have ‘I will be a movie star’
emblazoned on anything, but I’d like do a bit more screen stuff and then when
the time is right come back to theatre. When it is good, theatre takes a lot of
beating both to watch and perform.”



It is possible, I suggest, that his life will never again reach this high point offame. “Oh it is quite possible that none of us in Downton will ever again get
the ratings this has had,” he smiles. “But from a career point of view, it has
opened so many doors.



“I genuinely don’t feel ‘I must play this role’ or ‘I must take this much at thebox office’ in order to fulfil my happiness quotient. As long as I am given the
opportunity to keep performing and keep exploring in whatever medium, I’ll be
happy. As long as I get to spend time with my family, I’ll be happy. As long as
I can write in some form, I’ll be happy. It is the essential things like that I
equate with happiness.”



However sad the end of Matthew Crawley, the happiness of Dan Stevens is likely to growand grow.

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Thursday, December 20, 2012

First Look of Tom Hardy as Mad Max



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Tom Hardy has only just got back from South Africa, where he's been filming Mad Max: Fury Road… And now the first picture of him in character has leaked online!

A signed photo of Tom as Mad Max was posted to Ain't It Cool News today, showing Tom in Max's signature leathers in a desolate landscape, with what looks like a bandaged hand.

Fury Road stars Tom alongside an amazing cast that includes Charlize Theron, Riley Keough, Abbey Lee Kershaw, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Nicholas Hoult and Zoe Kravitz.

When Tom was asked about the movie at the Jack Reacher premiere, he said it would come out "next year, or the next… or the next" but that he was excited for people to see it:

"It was an amazing experience. It’s a big live action, fully articulated stunt piece which picks up where Mel Gibson’s Mad Max left off and takes it to the next level."

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Ben Affleck Could Be Considering Senate Run, Say Sources



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If Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) becomes the next Secretary of State, what will happen to his U.S. Senate vacancy? Many are predicting that actor-director Ben Affleck could be his replacement.

“Ben has been very active in Democratic Party politics for a long time and has never hid his love of politics,” a friend of Ben’s tells The Huffington Post. “He is a very impressive person, with a great deal of knowledge and passion.”

Ben is in D.C. now, raising awareness about the troubles in the Congo, but he declined to state his intentions when asked by Politico.

“Anyone that underestimates Ben’s political ambition is a fool. He’s very focused and smart. People once laughed when he said he wanted to be a director, and now they are not laughing,” one insider reveals. “Also, never forget that this guy survived Bennifer -- so anything is possible.”


Ben’s spokesperson did not return calls for comment.

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Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Zac Efron joins JFK assassination Flick 'Parkland'



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Zac Efron and Marcia Gay Harden have joined the cast of "Parkland," the indie drama about the assassination of John F. Kennedy that will mark the directorial debut of scribe Peter Landesman.


Efron will portray Dr. Charles Carrico, a surgeon at Parkland Memorial Hospital, where Kennedy was rushed on Nov. 22, 1963, and later pronounced dead. Harden has signed on to play the part of emergency room nurse Doris Mae Nelson.


Paul Giamatti, Billy Bob Thornton and Jacki Weaver came onboard the project during AFM in late October.


Variety first reported on Aug. 16 that Playtone partners Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman were producing "Parkland." Exclusive Media came onboard in October to produce and finance.


Pic chronicles the events leading up to JFK's assassination and Abraham Zapruder's famous documentation of the event.


As part of the production deal, Exclusive Media optioned the rights to the book that provides the source material for the film, "Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy" by former prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi. The work was published in 2007 by W.W. Norton & Co. and won the 2008 Edgar Award for best fact crime.


Landesman is adapting the screenplay. The film, to be shot in Austin, Texas, is being planned for a 2013 U.S. theatrical release to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the assassination.


Exclusive Media's Matt Jackson will oversee the production on behalf of the company, and Exclusive Media is handling worldwide
distribution rights to the movie, which was introduced to buyers at AFM.


Efron was recently seen in "The Paperboy" and "The Lucky One" and will appear next in Sony Classics' "At Any Price" with Dennis Quaid. "At Any Price" is being repped internationally by Exclusive Media.


Efron is currently shooting "Are We Officially Dating" in New York City.


Harden will next be seen in "Get a Job," co-starring Anna Kendrick, Bryan Cranston and John Cho and to be released by CBS Films in 2013. She is currently filming "Elsa and Fred."


Efron is repped by CAA and Harden is repped by UTA, Framework Entertainment and Schreck Rose.


Good story, great cast. Can't wait tbh

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Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Tom Hiddleston wants to be a director



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Tom Hiddleston has revealed he would like to step behind the camera as a director.

The British actor, best known for playing villain Loki in Thor and Avengers Assemble, is helping to judge the Jameson Empire Done In 60 Seconds short films competition, and admitted he would like to make his own movies in the future.

"I've never actually made one myself, apart from messing about on my phone. I've written stuff that has gone on to be produced, which is definitely for the best for all of us," he said.

"I would love to do it at some point. The trouble is, I've just been so busy with acting that I haven't had the chance to take out the time to produce my own stuff."

Tom insisted he won't be the Simon Cowell of film, and will instead be supportive of budding filmmakers entering the competition.

"No way, absolutely not. I know how hard it is to make films and to be in them so I will be much more compassionate," he said.

"I'm an ambassador for the competition so I hope I can encourage people to pick up a camera and shoot and send in entries so we can get as many films as we can."

He added: "I'll be looking for confidence and style. Every filmmaker has an individual take on the world and what I find most impressive is when somebody has the confidence to put their own stamp on something."

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Monday, December 17, 2012

Josh Brolin: There will always be violence in movies



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Josh Brolin has opened up about the violence in his new film Gangster Squad in the wake of a series of gun massacres in the US in recent months. A gunman most recently opened fire at a Newtown elementary school last Friday (December 14), killing 20 children and six adults. There have since been increased calls in the US for new gun control laws.

Gangster Squad was initially supposed to be released in September, but Warner Bros pushed the debut until January 2013 following the separate Aurora cinema shooting in July.

Brolin spoke out about the gun violence in Gangster Squad while attending the film's premiere on Saturday (December 15).

"When you're doing something like [a gangster movie], you're lending to the story that you already decided to do, so it's not something like, 'How do we treat this in a way that may be more respectful than not?'" he explained, according to E! News. "You've already decided to do that type of film. It was a lot of fun doing it but at the same time, for a guy who doesn't have any guns myself...I get a little nervous during that thing."

He went on to discuss the potential influence of violent television shows, movies and video games.

"Of course there's a sensitivity. But you have to look at the grand scheme of things, from a universal standpoint," he said. "You have video games, you have psychopharmaceuticals, you have the lowest employment, you have parents that aren't at home."

He continued: "There's many, many different factors. You have CNN, which gloms onto the worst of what's going on and not necessarily the best. There are many different factors, there's no one reason. There's always been violence in movies and there always will be violence in movies. And whether it lends to the one psychotic who's out there and thinking the worst thoughts you can possibly think will always be a mystery."

source 2

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Hugh Jackman cries on CBS 60 Minutes



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In a recent TV interview with 60 Minutes Sunday, the Australian actor, Hugh Jackman opened up about his childhood. Talking about the day his mother left their home in Australia for the UK brought the 'Les Miserables' actor to tears.

"I can remember the morning she left, it's weird the things you pick up," Jackman said with tears in his eyes.

"I remember her being in a towel around her head and saying goodbye, must have been the way she said goodbye. As I went off to school, when I came back, there was no one there in the house."


"The next day there was a telegram from England, Mom was there. And then that was it. I don't think she thought for a second it would be forever. I think she thought it was, 'I just need to get away, and I`ll come back.'"


The loss of his mother brought him and his siblings closer to their father, Chris. Jackman was the youngest of five and Chris took full responsibility for raising them. In the interview he said,"Dad used to pray every night that Mom would come back."

"My father is a rock. My father is my rock. It's where I learned everything about loyalty, dependability, being there day in, day out, no matter what."

Hugh and his siblings only saw their mother once a year and the whole experience, and his relationship with his parents instilled in him strong family values.

“It’s always about the family,” he said, speaking of his father: “It’s not about work and I think that’s him living with probably some of his regrets. And feelings of maybe he at the wrong time put too much in his career. And he doesn’t want me to make me that mistake. In his gentle way, he always reminds me this the most important thing.”

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Monday, December 10, 2012

Dan Stevens to leave Downton Abbey



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Rumors of Matthew Crawley’s demise have not been greatly exaggerated.

Multiple sources confirm to TVLine that Dan Stevens is not expected to return for Downton Abbey‘s fourth season — at least not on a full-time basis.

As TVLine first reported back in March, Stevens — who is currently appearing on Broadway in a revival of The Heiress — was one of a handful of Downton regulars who opted not to re-up through Seasons 4 and 5. At the time, series creator Julian Fellowes downplayed the buzz, telling me, “A lot of stuff started up because he’s going to be on Broadway, but it’s a limited run. But everyone pounced on that.”

And that fact remains, Stevens could very well change his mind between now and February, which is when Abbey‘s fourth season is expected to begin shooting. (Season 3 finally bows stateside on Jan. 6). But as of now, it appears Lady Mary will soon be following sister Edith to Spinsters Anonymous — unless, of course, Fellowes opts to recast.

And while one insider insists that option is not off the table, Fellowes recently confessed to EW, “I can’t see us doing that.”

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Glooce will miss him very much.


Ewan McGregor talks about being naked on the Big Screen



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Ewan McGregor tops just about every list going of actors who don't shy away from flashing the flesh for the odd naked scene. So when The Impossible star sat down (fully clothed, alas) with CBS Sunday Morning this week, it was only a matter of time before the topic of conversation turned to the Scot's renowned penchant for stripping down on camera.

And good news for fans of the erstwhile trou-dropper: The 41-year-old has no plans for cutting back when it comes to showing off his nude form. Clearly, the man takes his craft seriously.

"Being naked is something that happens in either end of the day for me, and if you're lucky, somewhere in the middle as well," he says on the show, airing this weekend. "And I don't understand why it's an issue.

"I don't take my clothes off in movies because I want to flash my body around. I took my clothes off for movies because I'm an actor."

And one who wants to show every, well, intimate aspect of a character. Even those rather exposing sides that other actors may shy away from. (Not Ewan, though, as evidenced by his frequently full-frontal body of work on display in Velvet Goldmine, Young Adam, The Ghost Writer, The Pillow Book, Trainspotting and...we're probably forgetting one or two.)

"I believe the movies that I make say something about the world and therefore they should reflect human instincts and natures and desires," he went on. "A big part of that for us is our sexual life and romantic life."

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'Downton Abbey' star Rob James-Collier 'wants US TV role'



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"I know Damian Lewis just won an Emmy... so I'm working hard on my own American accent," James-Collier revealed. "I think I'll nail it very soon." [lol he's obviously just being tongue in cheek here, just fyi ONTD]

He added: "There's definitely a wave of Brits doing great work on American television, and I wouldn't mind being one of them! I signed with Billy Lazarus at UTA [United Talent Agency] and hope to be auditioning here when we're not shooting."

Downton star Jessica Brown Findlay recently departed the hit period drama and has since been linked to a leading role in action movie sequel Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Downton Abbey will return to ITV1 this Christmas for a festive special, with a full fourth series to follow in 2013.

It was recently reported that Dan Stevens - Matthew Crawley on the series - would be written out in the series four premiere, though ITV is yet to officially confirm the actor's exit.

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