Cruise Buat Penampilan Mengejutkan

E! Online Photo: © 2008, Merie Weismiller W, Dreamworks PicturesNampaknya tidak ada ruang yang cukup untuk Tom Cruise dalam poster-poster filem Tropic Thunder yang dilakonnnya bersama Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. 

Namun Cruise tetap mencuri perhatian dengan watak mengejutkan dalam filem itu sebagai eksekutif studio yang gemuk dan botak.
 

Stiller, yang juga pengarah filem itu, memuji usaha dan lakonan Cruise yang muncul dengan imej itu.
 

“Dia yang mahukan karetor itu selepas membawa skripnya,” ujar Stiller.
 

“Selepas bersetuju kami pun membuat solekan khas yang menjadikan dia botak,” kata pengarah itu lagi.  Kerana terlalu seronok dan teruja, Cruise terus menari-nari dalam bilik solekan. 

Stiller menyambung: “Cruise berkata, tentu lebih menarik kalau lelaki botak itu menari. Bila melihat dia menari, saya terus suka. Kemudian kami pulang dan menambahkan idea untuk watak lelaki lakonan Cruise itu iaitu suka menari.” 

Bagi peminat semua, tunggulah kredit filem itu sehingga akhir untuk melihat Cruise menari dengan caranya. 

“Saya menyuruh dia menari pada babak penghujung kredit filem itu dan dia berkata,  “Ya, mari kita buat babak itu,” kata Stiller lagi.  Filem Tropic Thunder akan mula ditayangkan pada 13 Ogos ini.

© 2008 E! Entertainment Television, Inc. All rights reserved.

Murai

Ledger’s Family Speaks Of Pride At Oscar Nod

SYDNEY: Heath Ledger had the “time of his life” playing the Joker in “The Dark Knight”, his family said Friday as they spoke of their pride at the late actor’s Oscar nomination for the role.

Ledger’s star was on the rise in Hollywood when he was found dead in his New York apartment a year ago, aged 28, having accidentally taken a lethal combination of prescription drugs.

His family said Friday they were still grief-stricken at his passing, but celebrating the news that his work in the Batman blockbuster had been recognised with an Oscar nomination on the first anniversary of his death.

“Although we would love to have him here with us, we are so proud and so excited on his behalf,” Ledger’s sister Ashleigh Bell told reporters in Perth.

“We will take this opportunity today to honour his wonderful life and take comfort in knowing Heath will continue to touch future generations through this amazing art form.

“In Heath’s words, he had ‘the time of his life’ portraying The Joker and said that ‘it was the most fun he’d ever had working on a film’.”

Speaking from Cottesloe Beach in Western Australia, where Ledger’s wake was held last year, another of the late actor’s sisters, Kate Ledger, said that despite the pain of losing her brother, the family felt blessed to have his daughter Matilda and the child’s mother, actor Michelle Williams, in their lives.

“Michelle is doing an amazing job with ‘our girl’ and together we will cherish every moment of her steps through life,” Kate Ledger said.

But she said the sadness and tragedy of January 2008 still “seems like merely yesterday and we are all still nursing broken hearts.”

“Like anyone who loses a family member, it’s opened our eyes to the intense suffering and painful journey that is death,” she said.

Ledger is considered the hot favourite to win the Academy Award for best supporting actor on February 22 for his portrayal of arch villain the Joker in the hit Batman sequel.

He is up against Josh Brolin for “Milk”, Philip Seymour Hoffman for “Doubt”, Michael Shannon for “Revolutionary Road” and Robert Downey Jr for “Tropic Thunder”.

If Ledger is successful, he would become the first actor to win a posthumous Oscar since compatriot Peter Finch in 1976 for “Network.”

Perth-born Ledger, who was also nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of a taciturn gay cowboy in the 2005 film “Brokeback Mountain”, has already earned a posthumous Golden Globe award for his menacing performance in “The Dark Knight”.

He has also been nominated for a prestigious British Film Award for his performance in the thriller.

Ledger’s father, Kim Ledger, said recently the acknowledgements were bittersweet but that his son has been proud of his work on “The Dark Knight”.

“He said it was going to be some of the best work he has ever done and I think he’s pretty right,” he told commercial television.

Ledger is one of only a handful of Australians nominated for an Oscar. Others include costume designer Catherine Martin for the Baz-Luhrmann directed epic “Australia” and film editor Lee Smith for “The Dark Knight”.

“I really hope he wins,” Smith told national news agency AAP of Ledger’s nomination.

“He deserves it. What Heath did on the set was just extraordinary.”

– AFP/yt

Channel News Asia

Heath Ledger Nominated For Posthumous Oscar

CALIFORNIA : Is it a poignant coincidence?

Exactly a year after his tragic death due to a prescription-drug overdose in a New York apartment at the age of 28, Heath Ledger has been nominated for an Oscar for his last completed movie, “The Dark Knight”.

His mesmerising performance as the malevolent nemesis The Joker, face smeared and crackling with menace, earned him a nod for best supporting actor at the 81st Academy Awards.

The recognition comes as Ledger’s second Oscar nomination after his breakthough role as a gay ranch-hand in “Brokeback Mountain” three years ago. However, he lost to Philip Seymour Hoffman who won for “Capote”.

Just to be nominated posthumously for an acting Oscar is rare, with the Australian actor being only the sixth performer so honoured on Thursday.

Two who won posthumously were Sidney Howard for screenplay for 1939’s “Gone With The Wind” and Walt Disney for short subject (cartoon) for “Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day” in 1968.

“The fact that only one actor has ever won an Oscar from the grave tells us that in general at the Oscars, the feeling is when you’re dead, you’re dead,” Tom O’Neil, a columnist for TheEnvelope.com.

Other actors who have been nominated after their deaths are Massimo Troisi (1994’s “The Postman”), Spencer Tracy (1967’s “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”), Ralph Richardson (1984’s “Greystroke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes”), Jeanne Eagles (1929’s “The Letter”) and James Dean (twice, for 1955’s “East of Eden” and 1956’s “Giant”).

At the time of Ledger’s death, comparisons to Dean, who died at age 23 in a car crash, were rife.

Both were young, provocative talents snuffed out just as they were reaching full expression.

Ledger is up against Josh Brolin (“Milk”), Robert Downey Jr (“Tropic Thunder”), Philip Seymour Hoffman (“Doubt”) and Michael Shannon (“Revolutionary Road”) for the award.

– CNA/jk

Channel News Asia

Heath Ledger Wins Posthumous Golden Globe

BEVERLY HILLS, California – Late Australian actor Heath Ledger won a posthumous Golden Globe award here Sunday for his performance as The Joker in Batman blockbuster “The Dark Knight”.

Batman director Christopher Nolan collected the best supporting actor award on behalf of Ledger, who died of an accidental overdose in January last year at the age of 28.

“For any of us to enjoy his performance he will be eternally missed, but he’ll never be forgotten,” Nolan said.

“For any of us lucky enough to work with him, I think for any of us lucky enough to enjoy his performances, he will be eternally missed, but he will never be forgotten,” he added.

Ledger was nominated in the best supporting actor category alongside Tom Cruise (“Tropic Thunder”), Ralph Fiennes (“The Duchess”), Philip Seymour-Hoffman (“Doubt”) and Robert Downey Jr (“Tropic Thunder”).

Other early winners on Sunday included British duo Kate Winslet and Sally Hawkins, who won the supporting actress and comedy actress awards for their roles in “The Reader” and “Happy-Go-Lucky” respectively.

Winslet, 33, who had been nominated at the Globes on five previous occasions, beat out Penelope Cruz (“Vicky Cristina Barcelona”), Marisa Tomei (“The Wrestler”) and “Doubt” co-stars Amy Adams and Viola Davis.

“Wall-E”, a Disney/Pixar movie about a garbage-collecting robot left on Earth after humans have abandoned the planet, picked up the best animated film prize.

Golden Globes organisers only launched the animated film prize in 2007 and so far all three winners of the award have been Disney/Pixar films, “Cars” and “Ratatouille” taking the award in the past two years.

Channel News Asia

Double Wins For Kate Winslet At Golden Globes

BEVERLY HILLS, California – British actress Kate Winslet won a second Golden Globe here Sunday in the best drama actress category for her portrayal of a frustrated 1950s suburbanite in the drama “Revolutionary Road”, directed by her husband Sam Mendes.

Winslet, 33, beat out Angelina Jolie (“Changeling”), Meryl Streep (“Doubt”), Anne Hathaway (“Rachel Getting Married”) and Kristin Scott-Thomas (“I’ve Loved You So Long”).

Winslet, who had been nominated at the Globes on five previous occasions, before this year, also won earlier in the evening in the supporting actress category for her performance in “The Reader”.

“Thank you so much… thank you soooo much!,” before adding to long-time friend and fellow “Titanic” and “Revolutionary Road” star DiCaprio: “I love you with all my heart, I really do!” It was only the third time in Golden Globes history that an actor or actress had been honoured with two awards on the same night.

Unlike Winslet, DiCaprio failed to take home the best drama actor Golden Globe.

DiCaprio lost out to 52-year-old Mickey Rourke who earned widespread critical acclaim for his performance as a washed-up prizefighter in “The Wrestler”. Others nominated in the category include Sean Penn (“Milk”), Brad Pitt (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”) and Frank Langella (“Frost/Nixon”).

Late Australian actor Heath Ledger won a posthumous Golden Globe award for his performance as The Joker in Batman blockbuster “The Dark Knight”.

Batman director Christopher Nolan collected the best supporting actor award on behalf of Ledger, who died of an accidental overdose in January last year at the age of 28.

Ledger was nominated in the best supporting actor category alongside Tom Cruise (“Tropic Thunder”), Ralph Fiennes (“The Duchess”), Philip Seymour-Hoffman (“Doubt”) and Robert Downey Jr (“Tropic Thunder”).

– AFP/il

Channel News Asia

Only One Golden Globe Nod For ‘the Dark Knight’

BEVERLY HILLS, California : Hit blockbuster movie “The Dark Knight” had been picking up all the right kinds of recognition in the run-up to the Oscars, so it came as a surprise when the film only garnered one Golden Globe nomination on Thursday.

Instead, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Frost/Nixon” topped the overall list of nominees, with five nods apiece including Best Film – Drama, the Golden Globes’ highest honour.

Ironically, the single nomination for “The Dark Knight” came as no surprise with the late Heath Ledger picking up yet another post-humous nomination in the Best Supporting Actor category.

“It may be his best work,” actor Terrence Howard, co-star of superhero flick “Iron Man,” said in an interview after the announcement. “It should sweep the Globes and I think it should also win an Oscar.”

The late Australian actor, who died tragically in January due to an accidental prescription drug overdose, received the salute for his acclaimed role as Batman’s arch-nemesis – the Joker in the Warner Bros film.

“This nomination is deeply appreciated and is not lost on those of us who continue to love and miss him,” Ledger’s family said in a statement issued through a spokeswoman. “We are so proud that our boy’s work is being recognized in this way.”

Ledger will be up against stiff competition with the likes of Tom Cruise (“Tropic Thunder”), Ralph Fiennes (“The Duchess”), Philip Seymour-Hoffman (“Doubt”) and Robert Downey Jr (“Tropic Thunder”) also nominated in the same category.

The Golden Globes, which will take place on January 11 next year, are handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. They are often treated as a signal for the Academy Awards, the most prestigious honour in Hollywood, to be held later in the year.

Also nominated for next year’s 66th Golden Globe Awards are a slew of A-list actors, including Brad Pitt, Leonardo Di Caprio and Sean Penn who are being nominated in the Best Dramatic Actor category.

Meanwhile, Angelina Jolie, Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep are amongst others who have received nods for their works.

Channel News Asia

Bang On Target

SINGAPORE : A star-studded cast gleefully skewering Hollywood’s explosions-over-exposition approach and its action films? Sounds like a proposition you’d want to love but expect to fall disappointingly short. Surprisingly, “Tropic Thunder” manages to eschew that dreaded Hollywood parody misfire, and does exactly what it says on the label – dishing out the politically incorrect laughs out like they are going out of fashion.

The M18 movie within a movie, not exactly the most original concept, centres around three pampered prima donna A-listers – egotistical action hero Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller, pulling triple-duty as director/writer/actor), Australian method actor Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr) and low-brow comedian Jack Portnoy (Jack Black) – shooting a Vietnam flick “based on a real life story”.

When their first-time director decides to drop his cast in a real jungle to shoot the film guerrilla-style, hilarity, big-budget explosions and an obscene amount of profanity ensue as the actors find themselves in a real war, courtesy of drug-smuggling guerrillas who don’t appreciate the visit.

With a ridiculous albeit razor-sharp script (thanks to Stiller, Justin Theroux and Ethan Cohen), spot-on casting and requisite over-the-top acting, “Tropic Thunder” opens with a bang with some of its most inspired satire – then goes all saggy in the middle.

Still, the talented ensemble ultimately manages to win this comedy war, all trying to one-up each other with outrageous characterisations, finding many a new way to hit the audience’s satirical funny bone when the gag gets tedious.

Downey Jr in particular is comedy gold, willing to push every button – even taboo racial ones as a white actor playing a white actor playing a black character. He manages to turn potentially throwaway moments, including verbal racial sparring with a “real” black co-star (Brandon T Jackson), into something worthy of Best Supporting Actor consideration.

Crowding the screen and attempting to steal every scene are a who’s who of celebrity cameos, including a pitch-perfect Tom Cruise shining like he hasn’t in years as a megalomaniac Hollywood bigwig; a hysterical Matthew McConaughey as a Hollywood agent; Steve Coogan as the twit Brit director; and Nick Nolte as a hook-limbed war hero.

“Tropic Thunder” isn’t ground-breaking, but it has enough energy and wit for most of the film to be perfect Saturday night entertainment. Just sit back and laugh out loud. –

Channel News Asia

‘Burn’ Blazes To Top Of North American Box Office

LOS ANGELES: “Burn After Reading,” the newest dark comedy by sibling directors Ethan and Joel Coen, was the top weekend movie draw in the United States and Canada, preliminary industry figures showed Sunday.

The film, starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt, debuted with US$19.4 million in North American ticket sales, according to industry tracking company Exhibitor Relations.

In second place was the melodrama “The Family that Preys” by playwright-turned-filmmaker Tyler Perry with US$18 million, followed by police drama “Righteous Kill” starring Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino, with US$16.5 million.

The modern update of the classic film “The Women,” starring Hollywood sweetheart Meg Ryan, was in fourth place with US$10 million.

In fifth was “The House Bunny,” about an ousted Playboy bunny who becomes a college sorority house mother, with US$4.3 million.

The spoof “Tropic Thunder” – Ben Stiller’s movie-within-a-movie about filming a war flick in the middle of a real-life conflict zone – came in sixth place with US$4.1 million in receipts.

“Batman” sequel “The Dark Knight” was seventh with US$4 million. The blockbuster film also claimed the title of second all-time box office champion with US$512 million in ticket sales since its release.

Last week’s box office winner “Bangkok Dangerous,” starring Nicolas Cage as a ruthless hitman on assignment in Thailand, fell to eighth this week with just US$2.4 million in sales.

“Traitor,” a war-on-terror epic featuring Don Cheadle as a former US Special Ops officer and potential international conspirator, was ninth, pocketing US$2.4 million.

In 10th place was “Death Race,” an action-adventure flick about an ex-convict competing against prison inmates in a freedom-or-death car race, with US$2 million in ticket sales.

– AFP/yb

Channel News Asia

Ben Stiller Pertahan Tropic Thunder

BEN STILLER

PELAKON komedi juga seorang pengarah terkemuka, Ben Stiller tidak pernah putus-asa untuk mempertahankan filem terbarunya, Tropic Thunder.

Ketika tayangan perdana filem terbarunya baru-baru ini, sekumpulan kecil golongan kurang upaya mengadakan protes bahawa filem berkenaan telah merendah-rendahkan golongan berkenaan.

Walau bagaimanapun, Ben Stiller mahu mengambil satu tindakan yang lebih serius untuk mengatasi tekanan itu.

“Itu cuma salah satu tentangan daripada masyarakat umum. Mereka mungkin tidak suka kepada watak yang kami tonjolkan. Kami sebenarnya prihatin dengan masalah mereka, cuma ia digambarkan dalam situasi komedi,” kata Ben Stiller dalam satu temu bual bersama media antarabangsa.

Filem berkenaan turut dilakonkan oleh Jack Black dan Robert Downey Jr.

Kosmo