LESLIE MANN JOINS FORCES WITH “THE OTHER WOMAN”

Three women unexpectedly form a strong bond and decide to give a three-timing cheater what he deserves, in this very funny film which centers on the relationship between women – “The Other Woman.”

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

 

                Life seems to be going well for Kate (Leslie Mann) and her husband Mark (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) until Carly, the lawyer portrayed by Cameron Diaz, knocks on their door one day.  Carly never suspects for a moment that Mark is lying to her – until the day he tells her he cannot make it for a date he had committed to.  Realizing something is not right, she drives to the house where she thinks he lives alone and discovers that he has been deceiving her and is   leading a double life. His wife Kate (Leslie Mann) answers the door. In fact, Mark is a triple-timer! He is also dating the lovely, unsuspecting Amber, played by Kate Upton.

                Leslie Mann, who portrays suburban über-homemaker Kate, has, says producer Julie Yorn, “this archetypal suburban wife thing with just a little pathos under the surface that could come undone.  We always thought there was an unexpected quality to this tightly wound character, and Leslie really made that come alive.”

                Mann describes Kate as “Kate is a very optimistic person, who is excited about life and happy with her husband Mark. But she is living in a bubble. Her life is all about making her husband happy and I think she’s lost herself. Suddenly everything is completely turned upside down when she finds out that her husband is having an affair with Cameron Diaz’s character, Carly, who doesn't know that Mark is married. Her whole world falls apart. Carly and Kate discover each other’s existence and they join forces to figure out what Mark is up to. Then they find out he has a third mistress (Kate Upton) and they all come together. To figure out how they’re going to deal with the situation and come to grips with what’s happening, these women support Kate in a way that helps her to grow and to work through all the suffering she is going through. I had so much fun playing this character. I was in a good mood every day.”

                Mann explains her synergy with Cameron and Kate by comparing it to music: “There are certain people who have an ear for comedy. It’s like a song and a rhythm, so when you’re doing comedy, if the other person isn’t hearing the same thing as you are, it just lays there and dies. Cameron hears the same thing as I do.  We can pick up where the other one lets off and it’s like a good give-and-take.  And Kate Upton has that, too.  She knows how to play things and she’s super-smart.”

                On her reel and real life roles, Mann says that “For me it is so much easier to go to work than it is to be at home. It is a lot of work running a home. When I’m not working, I’m raising my kids, keeping the house together and keeping our lives afloat. People who are doing that job are working their asses off. And raising kids is fun, but also hard. From the time they're born you don't sleep. You give up everything that you do for yourself, to give to your kids. That is a really great thing and it probably makes you a better person in a lot of ways, because you have to be selfless, but it's taxing.”

                Leslie Mann’s comedic timing and standout performances captivate audiences and critics alike. She most recently starred opposite Paul Rudd in Judd Apatow’s “This Is 40.” Her other impressive film credits include “Knocked Up,”  Sofia Coppola’s “The Bling Ring” and lent her voice performance work in the Oscar® nominated “ParaNorman.” Mann also Carlos Saldanha’s animated blockbuster “Rio,” which garnered over $486 million worldwide and as well in “Rio 2.”  Other notable movies include “The Change-Up,” “I Love You Phillip Morris,” “17 Again,” “Big Daddy,” “Little Birds,” “George of the Jungle,” “Timecode,” “She’s the One,” “Stealing Harvard,” “Drillbit Taylor,” “Orange County,” “Funny People” and “The 40 Year Old Virgin.”

                A native of Southern California, Mann studied acting with the improv troupe the Groundlings whose alumni include most of the familiar faces in comedy today. One of her first big breaks was Ben Stiller’s “The Cable Guy”with Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick. While auditioning for the film she met future husband Judd Apatow. This film marked their first collaboration and the beginning of their creative professional partnership.

               “The Other Woman” opens May 7 in theaters nationwide from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

CinemaWorld In May 2014

Press release material

International movie channel CinemaWorld is all about what’s fresh, different and unique.  The channel offers movies from all over the world – from Argentina, to France, to Iran.  Box-office hits and award-winning films that are not released in local theaters are accessible on CinemaWorld for Filipino TV viewers. 

Sunday-See-The-World anchored on every Sunday, at 9:00 PM, premieres the best and the latest films from around the world.  Viewers are guaranteed of Exclusive box-office hits, award winners or critically acclaimed movies First-Time on Asian television. 

This month, be entertained by box office winners from Sweden, Italy and Iran on Sunday-See-The-World.

Love proves to surpass all things in 2013 Swedish award-winner and box office success, Nobody Owns Me.  Swedish thespian Mikael Presbrandt, who starred in 2010 Oscar-winner In a Better World and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, took home the Best Actor Award at the Guldbagge Awards 2014, for his role as a divorced and alcoholic father.  Based on true events, Hasse battles with his addictions threatening to push him away from the one person that loves him – Lisa, his daughter.  Capturing the social and political environment of the 1970s in Sweden, Nobody Owns Me paints a picture not only of alcoholism, but also of the era’s fading working class ideals.  With a narrative which is split into three distinct time periods in Lisa’s life, the film tells the story of a child’s undisputed love and loyalty to a father who continually fails to live up to his responsibilities despite his best efforts.  Nobody Owns Me airs first on CinemaWorld on May 18, at 9:00 PM.

Fresh from its theatrical release on March 14, Tommy tells the story of one of the greatest heists in the history of Sweden.  Estelle (played by Moa Gammel) finds herself on the run away from Stockholm with her bank robber husband, Tommy, and their daughter.  A year after, Estelle makes her way back to seek out her husband’s former cronies to demand his share of the loot.  This sends Stockholm’s underworld on a frenzy.  Starring Ola Rapace (Skyfall) and, in her debut performance, popular Swedish singer and songwriter Lykke Li, Tommy will premiere on CinemaWorld on May 4, at 9:00 PM.

 

One of Italy’s most popular contemporary filmmakers Carlo Verdone returns to the big screen with A Flat For Three, a star-studded comedy about three divorced men who decide to share an apartment together in Rome.  All three are drifting towards uncertain futures while still stuck in unresolved pasts.  These housemates may not know how to solve their own problems, but each is full of ideas about how to help the other two.  This 2012 Italian box office hit premieres on May 11, at 9:00 PM.

Photo courtesy of CinemaWorld

Superstar is an Iranian comedy about an egotistical movie star who begins to see the error of his ways after a young girl claims to be his long lost daughter.  Award-winning Iranian actor Shahab Hosseini (Best Actor, Berlin International Film Festival 2011) plays movie star Kurosh Zand.  He was also seen in acclaimed director Asghar Farhadi’s About Elly and Oscar-winner A Separation.  Superstar premieres on May 25, at 9:00 PM.

Not only does CinemaWorld offer strong Swedish movies but the channel also brings gripping Swedish Crime Thriller series.

CinemaWorld premieres the next two episodes of Irene Huss, Swedish Crime Thriller series, co-produced by the company behind the highly successful film adaptation of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, on Thriller Fridays, May 9 and May 23, both at 9:00 PM.

To know more about CinemaWorld, log on to www.facebook.com/CinemaWorldAsia, follow @CinemaWorldAsia, or visit cinemaworld.asia. 

CinemaWorld is available in Metro Manila on Cable Link on channel 301, and on Sky Cable HD on channel 184.  Contact your cable operator for more details.

 

PAUL GIAMATTI IS THE RHINO IN “THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2”

Movie release

 

As Spider-Man's enemies begin to unite in Columbia Pictures' new action adventure “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” one enemy to join the sinister cause is the Russian gangster Aleksei Sytsevich, played by Oscar-nominated actor Paul Giamatti (“Sideways,” “12 Years a Slave”). Stopped and sent packing by Spider-Man early in the film, he returns as a highly mechanized Oscorp invention – the Rhino.

Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures

 

The Rhino was in fact Paul Giamatti’s favorite Marvel character when he was growing up. “He’s just brute force, and a little kid loves that sort of thing,” the actor says, describing the Rhino’s appeal. “You can just destroy everything, go through a brick wall. The Rhino had that great mean face all the time and was cool-looking.”

 

An appearance on Conan O’Brien’s late night talk show in 2011 led to Giamatti being cast as the Rhino in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.” “As a joke, Conan asked me if I could be in one of the Spider-Man movies, what would I want to play, and I said the Rhino,” says Giamatti. “I guess Marc Webb saw it, and when they were coming around to do this one, I met him and he asked, ‘Would you seriously want to play the Rhino?’ It’s such a weird fantasy thing – I feel like I’m seven!”

 

Bringing the Rhino to the big screen presented a challenge to the special effects team. “We had some creative license in creating a wonderful villain in the Rhino – one that would make people laugh and fear at the same time,” says digital effects supervisor David Alexander Smith. “We looked at old Russian tanks and military equipment. We wanted it to feel substantial and not rickety, but at the same time it’s kind of a hodgepodge. We ended up with something very strong and fun at the same time, playing off of the character that Paul Giamatti established.”

 

Even though the Rhino costume would be entirely CG (2,295 pieces of CG geometry, including 263 nuts and bolts), Giamatti performed on set in a 12-foot-tall, mobile unit. “It was important for a few reasons to have Paul Giamatti in some sort of physical contraption on the set,” says Visual Effects Supervisor Jerome Chen. “[Director] Marc [Webb] wanted Andrew [Garfield] and Paul to have the correct eyelines to each other – they had to see and act with each other. Also, because this scene is in daylight on Park Avenue, we could have the correct lighting on Paul when we put the CG suit around him. I’m sure that onlookers had no idea what they were looking at, but it looks great in the final film.”

 

This past fall, Paul Giamatti was seen in several films: John Lee Hancock’s “Saving Mr. Banks,” Steve McQueen’s “12 Years a Slave” opposite Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, and Chiwetel Ejiofor; Carlo Carlei’s “Romeo and Juliet,” as Friar Laurence, opposite Hailee Steinfeld and Damian Lewis.

 

Other credits for him include “Turbo,” “Rock of Ages,” “The Ides of March,” Curtis Hanson’s HBO movie “Too Big To Fail,” in which his performance earned him his third SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries as well as an Emmy® and Golden Globe® nomination. 

 

In 2006, Giamatti’s performance in Ron Howard’s “Cinderella Man” earned him his first SAG Award and a Broadcast Film Critics’ Award for Best Supporting Actor, as well as Academy Award and Golden Globe® nominations in the same category.

 

For his role in Alexander Payne’s critically-lauded “Sideways,”Giamatti earned several accolades for his performance including Best Actor from the Independent Spirit Awards, New York Film Critics Circle as well as a Golden Globe® and SAG Award nomination.

 

Opening across the Philippines on April 30 in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D and 2D formats, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

Peter Dinklage as Bolivar Trask in X:-Men: Days Of Future Past

Online release

Director Bryan Singer returns to the X-Men franchise, and blends the original cast with the First Class crew for an audacious, time travelling adventure in “X-Men: Days of Future Past” (3D) that will open in Philippine cinemas on May 21 nationwide.

 

                For years, the X-Men have faced many threats from within and without their ranks, but in “Days of Future Past,” they’re dealing with one of the worst. The films have a history of mankind misunderstanding mutants, but in the upcoming film, scientist Bolivar Trask (played by Peter Dinklage) begins to rally the world against our heroes, and creates the monstrous, massive Sentinel robots to help tackle what he perceives as the mutant problem.

 

                With Bryan Singer back at the helm, the movie continues his approach of grounded, understandable villains, whose issues come from a place of fear and arrogance. To portray Trask, he turned to respected actor Peter Dinklage, who has found fame on the worldwide hit TV’s “Game of Thrones” playing Tyrion Lannister, a man for whom life is an endless series of shades of grey. Singer figured Dinklage was the man to bring Trask – a well-known character from the comic books – to life on screen, and developed a nuanced role for him.  Dinklage’s other notable movies include “The Station Agent,”  “Death at a Funeral,” “Elf” and lent his vocal talent in the hit animation franchise films “Ice Age” as the voice of Gruff and “Chronicles of Narnia” as the voice of Trumpkin.

 

                “Days Of Future Past” not only represent the first time that the “classic” X-Men actors including Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Ellen Page and more have shared the marquee with the First Class characters introduced in 2011, but the return of Singer to the franchise he helped launch. He’s back behind the camera for the adaptation of one of the best-loved X-Men stories, which found our heroes fighting for survival in a dark future where the hulking, robotic Sentinels created by Bolivar Trask have been slowly wiping them out. In a desperate final gambit, the mutants look to time travel to help their younger selves stop this awful timeline from coming to pass. And, thanks to his innate healing abilities, Wolverine (Jackman) is the one chosen to endure the strain of travelling back in time.

 

                Based on Chris Claremont, John Byrne and Terry Austin’s “Days Of Future Past” storyline from the “Uncanny X-Men” comic title, scribe Simon Kinberg adapted it into the movie which allows him and Singer to draw on their shared love of time travel films. Once Kinberg and Singer seized on the Future Past plot as a jumping-off point, the possibilities were endless. “Bryan and I spent months revising the script together,” Kinberg recalls.

 

                The X-Men throng needs to be all ready for this time, they are facing their toughest challenge yet.  “Game Of Thrones” fan favourite Peter Dinklage was hired to play a very different version of Bolivar Trask, a genius who views mutants as a mortal threat to mankind and decides to create the menacing, technologically advanced Sentinel robots to fight them. Singer chose Dinklage for several reasons. “I was very familiar with him and I'm a fan of his. He first and foremost, carries the screen, and there's not a second that you take him for granted.”

 

                Kinberg admits that Trask’s creations were another big driving force behind the choice of storyline. “Once we all committed to “Days Of Future Past,” we knew the Sentinels would be a part of it, and Trask would be central to the story,” he says. “Bryan has done a lot of things to make the Sentinels feel loyal to the books but also distinct from all the things that are ripped off the Sentinels, like all the other robot movies that have come in the last 15 years or so, so they look and feel different. And Bryan spent a lot of time working on them to make them feel period specific but also cool and what a kid would fantasize about.”

 

                “X-Men:  Days Of Future Past” (3D) is the biggest X-Men film ever attempted, and indeed the biggest Fox has made since “Avatar.”

 

Trailer Release: “DELIVER US FROM EVIL”

Columbia Pictures has just released the creepy, international trailer for director Scott Derrickson’s (“Sinister”) supernatural thriller “Deliver Us from Evil” .
 

In the film, New York police officer Ralph Sarchie (Eric Bana), struggling with his own personal issues, begins investigating a series of disturbing and inexplicable crimes. He joins forces with an unconventional priest (Edgar Ramirez), schooled in the rituals of exorcism, to combat the frightening and demonic possessions that are terrorizing their city. 

 

Based upon the 2001 book titled “Beware the Night” which details Sarchie’s bone-chilling real-life cases, the film also stars Olivia Munn, Joel McHale and Sean Harris.

Opening across the Philippines on July 02 2014, “Deliver Us From Evil” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

AYALA MALLS CINEMAS’ “GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL” TRIP TO BORACAY PROMO

In connection with the theatrical run of “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Ayala Malls Cinemas has launched the raffle promo “Exclusive Deals: Win a Trip to Boracay for 2.”

 

                Running until this Sunday, April 27 at Ayala Malls Cinemas nationwide, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” promo is a special treat for www.sureseats.com members.   To join, simply purchase two (2) tickets to the said film at any participating Ayala Malls cinema, and you will receive one raffle coupon. Four tickets will entitle buyers to two coupons, and so on.

 

                There will be three (3) winners, one each from Glorietta 4, Greenbelt 3 and Trinoma. All winners will receive a trip to Boracay for 2, including round trip airfare, 3 days/2 nights accommodation inclusive of daily breakfast, round trip transfer service (airport-hotel-airport only).

 

                Prizes are transferable, but non-refundable and not convertible to cash. For more details, please check the promo posters displayed in cinema lobbies.

 

                "The Grand Budapest Hotel" is now showing exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas nationwide.

 

 

JAMIE FOXX CHARGES UP as ELECTRO IN “THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2”

Movie online release

 

For Academy Award-winner Jamie Foxx, who plays Electro in Columbia Pictures’ new action-adventure “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” joining the Spider-Man franchise isn’t quite like taking on any other role. 

 

Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures

“It’s a great feeling to come to work on a Spider-Man movie,” he says. “I remember the moment I first stepped on to the set and I saw Andrew [Garfield] in the suit. For me, it was like a moment in history. We’re doing something that people really love. It’s a part of our fabric, part of our culture. That was very meaningful to me and it was a responsibility I took seriously – in crafting Electro, I wanted to be a formidable opponent.”

 

As the hero’s greatest battle begins in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” it was important to the filmmakers to put in his way the toughest obstacle Spider-Man has yet faced. At the same time, they wanted a villain deeply rooted in Spider-Man lore: a tragic figure, even sympathetic in some ways, but one who makes the wrong choices that lead him into evil and opposition against Spider-Man.

 

“Marvel villains are also victims of circumstance. They deal with their issues and pain by doing the wrong things, hence, becoming villains,” says producer Avi Arad. “Although they have their everyday problems like everybody else, unlike Spider-Man, they cannot tell right from wrong. Electro is a prime example. Max Dillon is an underdog, not a villain – you want to feel badly for him. He’s a man who has been ignored his whole life. But when he becomes Electro, he wants recognition, at all costs. Electro, the villain, is taking out his frustration and anger on humanity, specifically targeting Spider-Man. No good deed goes unpunished.”

 

“Spider-Man is the most visible person in New York – you pit that against Max Dillon, who is quite literally almost invisible,” screenwriter Alex Kurtzman explains. “He says, ‘I wish everybody could see me the way they see Spider-Man.’ He fantasizes about Spider-Man – even thinking that they’re best friends, based on one interaction. All he wants is to be recognized for what he does well – which is what we all want.”

 

“Max is a very, very smart guy,” explains Jamie Foxx. “Max should be getting a company car and an expense account – and instead, he gets nothing. He resents it, but he doesn’t know how to react. He’s ready to lash out, but he doesn’t know how.”

 

Max finds a way to lash out, Foxx points out. “As Max, he feels that Spider-Man was his friend. Actually, because of that, he becomes obsessed – pictures on his wall, that kind of thing. He takes it very seriously. But later, after Max gets his powers and comes to Times Square, Spider-Man tries to stop Max from hurting himself and innocent New Yorkers.

 

Producer Matt Tolmach explains why Jamie Foxx was the actor that was ideal for the role. “The character called for someone who could break your heart – a guy who could be genuinely sympathetic and quiet, a guy you’d bump into on the street and pay no attention to – the guy who has so much inside but is overlooked by everybody,” Tolmach explains. “But the character also called for someone who could embody this powerful force when everything goes terribly wrong – the alter ego of that quiet, sympathetic man – an extrovert, loud and bombastic. Jamie Foxx was perfect for that.”

 

Still, before taking the role, Foxx was counseled by one of his closest advisors about what would be in store for him as Electro. “When I told my daughter that I was going to be in a Spider-Man movie, she said, ‘Who are you gonna play?’ I said, ‘Electro.’ She said, ‘Oh, Dad, you know you’re gonna get beat up. You know that, right?’”

 

Opening across the Philippines on April 30 in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D and 2D formats, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

Fairview Terraces Raises the Bar of Entertainment with the Ayala Malls Cinemas

Online release

Movie-watching up North just got more exhilarating, as Fairview Terrraces, the newest and hippest lifestyle hub at Quezon  City - opens its revolutionary Ayala Malls Cinemas. 

                Fairview Terraces recently unveiled its 6 modern cinemas that come equipped with today’s cutting-edge theater entertainment technology  and making movie-watching more dynamic are the Ayala Malls Cinemas extended privileges of convenience and premiere customer service.

 

                “Captain America: Winter Soldier,” the world-renowned Marvel superhero franchise’s second blockbuster installment, was the first movie to hit the Fairview Terraces silver screens.  Judging from the lines outside the theaters comprising of partners from the movie industry, the timely launch of the Ayala Malls  Cinemas was a box-office success.  In attendance during the launch were Ayala Land executives - Rowena Tomeldan, Vice President and Head of Operations and Support Services, Commercial Business Group and Chairman of Ayala Malls Cinemas and Atty. Rolly Duenas, Deputy General Manager of Ayala Malls Cinemas and Liz Gayla  Fairview Terraces General Manager.

 

                The launch ceremony, hosted by up and coming celebrity Josh Padilla, was accompanied by much action and excitement just as its featured movie.  As the curtains were raised, the guests were treated to cocktails, popcorn, drinks and to a cinema experience that all expectations. A suiting premise to the exhilarating one is bound to feel at the Fairview Terraces Cinemas. 

 

                All of Fairview Terraces’ innovative cinemas come equipped with Dolby Digital 7.1 theaters, for maximum sound clarity, plus Cinema 6 comes equipped with Depth Q 3D projection, offering an extra-sensory view of blockbuster hits and epic movies. 

 

                Cinemas 1, 2, 3 has 200-seating capacity each while Cinema 5 and 6 has 300 and Cinema 4, has a 400-seating, ensuring that there are enough seats to house the bustling community of Fairview.  Each cinema is fitted out with relaxing and spacious stadium seating, guaranteeing a supremely comfortable movie-watching experience. Moreover, persons with disabilities can expect  easy access and special areas for ensuring a delightful entertainment pleasure for everyone. 

 

                The Ayala Malls Cinemas at Fairview Terraces offers quick and convenient access to tickets, via www.sureseats.com.   With Sureseats, you can easily  view movie schedules, reserve and purchase your movie tickets – using any major credit cards or the Ayala Malls Cinemas’ MPass card.  Making watching movies more convenience is the Ayala Malls Cinema’s.

 

                The MPass Card which is a  reloadable prepaid movie card that lets you pay for your movie tickets online and over the counter plus lets you skip the line when entering the theater with just a flash of the card. 

 

                Where today’s most advance most groundbreaking technology meets the most compelling promos and distinct customer service, the Ayala Malls Cinemas raises the bar on the most rewarding entertainment pursuits.  Enjoy infinite movie-watching pleasure in the city’s most happening spot – Fairview Terraces.

Emma Stone reprises role as Gwen Stacy in Amazing Spider-Man 2

Movie release

With her striking beauty and sincere talent, she has has claimed her role as one of Hollywood’s most sought out actresses with an impressive body of work: “Easy A,” “The Help,” “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” “Zombieland,” “Superbad” and “The Amazing Spider-Man.”

Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures

Now, Emma Stone returns as the iconic Gwen Stacy in Columbia Pictures' electrifying action adventure, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” opposite Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man.

 

“This should be a wonderful moment in Gwen’s life – she’s valedictorian, she’s about to go to Columbia, she has an offer to go to Oxford – but in the midst of that, she’s dealing with the loss of her father and trying to find her way with this boy who clearly has a lot going on,” says Emma Stone. “I’m so glad that the audience is getting the Gwen story – it’s so rich and exciting to play.”

 

Garfield was excited by the chance to re-team with Stone. “She keeps you on your toes and makes sure you’ve done your homework so that you can keep up,” says the actor. “You can throw anything at her and she will move with it. She’s the most talented actress I know.”

 

Stone returns the compliment: “Before we shot the first movie, I hadn’t seen much of his work. Now I know: he’s capable of so much,” she says. “It’s an honor to work with an actor like that. I learn so much by working with him – he’s incredibly prepared, meticulous, and really brave, all at the same time. He’s able to bring so much depth to the character.”

 

“Emma Stone is Gwen,” says producer Avi Arad. “The most amazing actress, who brings the movie charm, love, light, and a spirit of independence. She is the epitome of what we want our women to be: smart, ambitious, and loyal.”

 

“Gwen is such a powerful woman, a powerful character in her own right,” says producer Matt Tolmach. “She is not waiting around for Peter Parker to decide whether he can or cannot be with her. Her dreams are every bit as significant as Peter’s.”

 

Stone says that she was excited to be returning to her role – one of the mythic, most powerful characters in the canon. “Gwen Stacy is such an important character in the Spider-Man world,” she says. “The fate of her character is something everyone loves to talk about and [director] Marc Webb is really embracing the storyline and telling his version over the course of these movies. Before my audition for the first film, I read about her story, and the more I read, the more I wanted to play her.”

 

Stone says that Gwen has a much different outlook on their relationship than Peter does – an empowered outlook. Gwen is a woman determined to make her own choices and does not feel the need to be protected by any man, even Spider-Man. “Peter had sworn to stay away from Gwen – which she knows – but she’s more open to being with Peter anyway,” Stone explains. “It’s not just because they’re in love. Her father died, but that’s given her a huge awareness of time – that everything is fleeting. Peter is more conflicted about it, and there’s a lot of tension between them throughout this movie.”

 

At the same time, Webb says, there’s a sense of trouble ahead in their relationship. “Gwen has her own life to lead,” says the director. “She gets an opportunity to go study in England. She’s going to be a doctor, she’s going to save lives. There’s such great possibility to her life. Peter wants to let her go – he’s happy for her – but he can’t, because he loves her and that’s who he is – he’s bound up in her soul, in only the way that teenage love can bind people.”

 

Opening across the Philippines on April 30 in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D and 2D formats, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

“BUDAPEST HOTEL’S” GRAND U.S. BOX-OFFICE DEBUT

Soon to be released in Ayala Cinemas, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” recently broke U.S. box-office records for being the highest-grossing limited live action debut of all time to-date. With its limited release, the movie is now crowned as the most successful art-house release and that of Anderson’s most successful debut so far with an $800,000 weekend box-office bow. 

 

Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight

                Directed by world acclaimed filmmaker Wes Anderson, “Grand Budapest Hotel” is a caper dramedy that stars a powerhouse cast including Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, F. Murray Abraham, Adrien Brody, Willem Defoe, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Jude Law, Bull Murray, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Tilda Swinton, Bob Balaban, Tom Wilkinson and Owen Wilson. 

               

                “The Grand Budapest Hotel” recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars; and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend.  The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting; a raging battle for an enormous family fortune; and the sweetest confection of a love affair – all against the backdrop of a suddenly and dramatically changing Continent.

 

                Anderson set his tale in a fictional spa town in the imaginary country of alpine Zubrowka, for which he created not only a complete visual aesthetic but also a cohesive 20th Century history mirroring Eastern Europe, with a fascist takeover in the thirties and a Communist period after that –but also a more distant past in the vein of the belle epoque.

 

                “Every time Wes makes a film, it’s a whole world, and there’s a whole universe to be created along with it,” says producer Jeremy Dawson, who has worked with Anderson on “Moonrise Kingdom,” “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” and “The Darjeeling Limited.”  “Here, he has created an entirely fictional part of Eastern Europe known as The Republic of Zubrowka, and in Zubrowka we find one of those great spa towns that cropped up all over before the turn of the century.  The story really came from his interest in that time period, that history, that world; and also a certain type of character who is our Monsieur Gustave, the concierge at this grand hotel.  So his idea of both the character and this entire world merged together, and Wes turned out this great script.  Then the script, the acting and direction all combined to become something different even than it was on the page.”

 

                "The Grand Budapest Hotel" will be shown exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas nationwide starting April 19 (Black Saturday).

CHILD ACTOR IMPRESSES IN FIRST-EVER FILM “HEAVEN IS FOR REAL”

The crux challenge of casting TriStar Pictures’ new mystery drama “Heaven Is For Real” was the search for a very special child who could play real-life character, Colton Burpo, with the natural, easy-going innocence that made his story so persuasive. 

Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures

 

In the film, 7-year-old Colton is rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery and miraculously survives.  But his family is wholly unprepared for what happens next -- Colton starts to matter-of-factly recount what he says was an amazing journey to heaven and back.

 

“Finding Colton was a huge challenge because the movie could not succeed if Colton seemed artificial. If you believed that he was just reciting lines, you would never believe any of what he was saying,” director Randall Wallace explains. 

 

Casting director Sheila Jaffe launched a search across America – but it wasn’t until the very end that they found their Colton.  “We saw a lot of tapes and finally got down to eight boys.  Seven boys were very similar to one another but one boy was different,” remembers producer Joe Roth. 

 

That one boy was then five year-old Cleveland native Connor Corum.  “He was incredibly natural, and he wasn’t thrown by anything.  Once we saw him there was no choice – he was the kid,” Roth continues. 

 

            When actor Greg Kinnear started working with Connor he was enthralled by his lack of artifice.  “He’s kind of the greatest version of an actor, in the sense that everything that he does is on instinct, it’s effortless, it’s just kind of there without any artificiality to it.  It really makes me mad,” he quips.

 

            Much as this opportunity was a thrill for Connor, his mother Shannon says they were cautious about it at first.  “Initially, it was a mixed bag of emotions.  There was certainly some concern about whether we were thrusting our son into the limelight and also about whether he would be able to stay grounded and enjoy his childhood,” she recalls.  “On the other hand, it was pure excitement and joy and something really positive for our family.  My grandfather, who turned 95 last October, was thrilled.  He’s a very spiritual man and I really feel like this has given him something wonderful to focus on in his life.”

 

            Working with Connor came naturally for Wallace, who helped to set the family at ease.  “I’m the father of sons and I’m a little boy myself still, at heart, so I wanted Connor to come onto the set and feel that he was part of a great, big family,” he says. 

 

            Wallace continues:  “He’s a brilliant young man.  He always came to set prepared and Greg was wonderful working with Connor.  Sometimes I would say ‘action’ and we’d film the scene and the magic would happen right there.  Other times Connor would be full of energy, distracted and bouncing off the walls and we’d have to wait and let him calm down. What ultimately happened, when he forgot that it was a movie, he just began to be that character in that space, which is what we want of any actor, and then he was riveting.”

 

            “Heaven is for Real” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

Grand Budapest Hotel movie review

Story: An intelligent comedy about an influential concierge. A story by film maker Wes Anderson.

Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight

This fictional world set in a hotel in a time period that probably took place both in pre-WWII and post-WWII. The delivery of the story was done in a creative manner. The introductions of the characters seems like Tim Burtonish. They are out of the ordinary.

Monsieur Gustave H is the main character of the story that may appear as an antihero. But I love this character for his charisma, suave manner. The lobby boy Zero is also a unique character. There are character developments for him in the future.

The other characters will surprise you when you see the actors who plays the part. The characters seems to come out of a story book. The comedy is for smart audiences. This movie requires audiences who like to be stimulated in their thinking caps.

Grand Budapest Hotel is an Ayala Cinemas exclusive. For more quality movie reviews, like L.E.N.S. blogs on Facebook.

“MALEFICENT” REVEALS TWO NEW POSTERS

Walt Disney Pictures has just revealed two new one-sheet art (domestic and international) for its fantasy adventure “Maleficent” starring Angelina Jolie.

Featured below, the domestic poster shows Jolie hypnotically staring into the viewer as the title character's iconic horns beautifully cut the solid white background. Meanwhile, the international version features an image of Sleeping Beauty in addition to Maleficent.

 

The film explores the untold story of Disney's most iconic villain from the classic “Sleeping Beauty" and the elements of her betrayal that ultimately turn her pure heart to stone. Driven by revenge and a fierce desire to protect the moors over which she presides, Maleficent cruelly places an irrevocable curse upon the human king's newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Aurora is caught in the middle of the seething conflict between the forest kingdom she has grown to love and the human kingdom that holds her legacy. Maleficent realizes that Aurora may hold the key to peace in the land and is forced to take drastic actions that will change both worlds forever.

 

“Maleficent” stars Angelina Jolie as Maleficent, Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Miranda Richardson, Juno Temple and Lesley Manville.

 

Opening across the Philippines on May 28, 2014, “Maleficient” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.

Extraterrestrial thriller in ‘Alien Abduction'

A terrifying sci-fi story inspired by dramatic found footage, Alien Abduction preys on our fear of the unknown as we follow an average American family who find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Photo courtesy of Captive Cinema

While driving to a campsite in the Brown Mountains of North Carolina, the Morris family's GPS malfunctions, and they are lead to a remote tunnel surrounded by abandoned vehicles. The father, Peter Morris, is abducted, leaving his traumatized wife and children to flee and seek refuge in a nearby cabin. There they are horrified to learn that strange lights in the nearby mountains have been linked to alien abduction and human sacrifice for centuries.

When their attempts to alert the authorities are intercepted by the deadly extraterrestrial threat, the surviving members of the family find themselves under siege. A brutal and bloody attack unfolds as we witness the horrors through the lens of the youngest child's video camera.

 

 

Written by Robert Lewis, the film stars Katherine Sigismund, Corey Eid, Riley Polanski, Jillian Clare, Jeff Bowser, and Peter Holden.

“ALIEN ABDUCTION” is released and distributed by  CAPTIVE CINEMA.

 

NIKOLAJ COSTER-WALDAU IN “THE OTHER WOMAN”

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is up to the job as the ultimate ‘despicable’ womanizer in “The Other Woman” starring alongside Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann and Kate Upton.

 

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

                Nikolaj plays Mark, a suave and sophisticated man who is every girl’s dream – and is seeing the equally beautiful and powerful lawyer Carly (Diaz).  But after Carly discovers that Mark is a married man,  she tries to get her ruined life back on track. But when she accidentally meets the wife he’s been cheating on (Leslie Mann), she realizes they have much in common, and her sworn enemy becomes her greatest friend. When yet another affair is discovered (Kate Upton), all three women team up to plot mutual revenge on their cheating, lying, three-timing sob.

 

                In the role of charismatic liar Mark King, “Game of Thrones” star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, surprised everyone with his comedic chops.  Producer Julie Yorn notes: “We just got incredibly lucky with Nikolaj. We knew he certainly had the dash and good looks to be the leading man, but he came in and did this one scene where he comes undone and it was unbelievable.”

 

                Writer Melissa Stack notes that, “Nikolaj was able to be vicious and charming in the span of ten seconds and that’s talent and also a lot of hard work, preparation and thought.  He has some really tricky bits of business where he has to be the captivating snake, which is not an easy thing.”

 

                The Danish actor sparked to playing the seductive bad guy for whom karmic repercussions are, well, a bitch.  But the actor doesn’t see Mark as a cartoon cad.  “I think Mark loves his wife,” says Coster-Waldau.  “He and Kate have been together a long time, and I think in his mind he treats her really well. I don’t think it’s unusual to meet a guy who believes that because he takes home a lot of money, it gives him the right to have a bit of fun on the side. It’s just pure instinct.  What can Mark do?  He can’t stop himself.  He believes himself to be a good guy.” He continues, “Mark likes to fall in love, and I think the problem with a guy like that is he falls in love with himself falling in love.”

 

                On working with Patricia Field who helmed the costume for the movie, Nikolaj notes that “My personal style is as far removed from Mark’s as you can imagine, but it was a lot of fun working with Patricia. She is a wonderful lady. She has this husky voice. It was a privilege to get to work with her and her whole team. I've never worn anything as expensive as I wore in this film. There was a costume change for every scene basically, because Mark is one of those people who needs everyone to see how expensive his clothes are. Those suits were really exquisite and you could tell the quality. It was very important to the character that the wealth was shown, so he would wear Tom Ford suits. He would drive the most expensive car; I drove a light blue Aston Martin Convertible. It was beautiful, I enjoyed it. And I love dressing up. That's part of my job. It's what builds character and clearly Mark needed those really sharp suits. But in my own life I wear jeans and a tee shirt. It's very basic. I put on whatever is at the top of the pile and then once every two weeks I'll turn the tee shirt pile over so I don't just use the same one. It's boring.  But I like it, it is comfortable.”

 

                A graduate of the National Theater School in Denmark, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau   is best known for his starring role as Jaime Lannister in the massively successful TV series, “Game of Thrones.”  About to enter its fourth season, it was nominated for an Emmy in 2011.   In 2001, Nikolaj starred in Ridley Scott’s multi Oscar winning drama “Black Hawk Down,” which was followed by “Enigma.” His films include “Kingdom of Heaven,” “Wimbledon,”  “Firewall,”  “Headhunters,” “Night Watch,” “Rembrandt,” and “Blekingegade,” a high-profile Danish mini-series. Recent projects include Guillermo Del Toro’s “Mama” and “Oblivion” with Tom Cruise.

 

                It’s a date with your girls when “The Other Woman” opens May 7 in theaters nationwide from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

MODERN TAKE ON “ANNIE” GETS A NEW TRAILER

A Broadway classic that has delighted audiences for generations comes to the big screen with a new, contemporary vision in Columbia Pictures' comedy, "Annie."

 

Academy Award nominee Quvenzhane Wallis ("Beasts of the Southern Wild") stars as Annie, a young, happy foster kid who's also tough enough to make her way on the streets of New York in 2014. Originally left by her parents as a baby with the promise that they'd be back for her someday, it's been a hard knock life ever since with her mean foster mom Miss Hannigan (Cameron Diaz). But everything's about to change when the hard-nosed tycoon and New York mayoral candidate Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx), advised by his brilliant VP, Grace (Rose Byrne) and his shrewd and scheming campaign advisor, Guy (Bobby Cannavale), makes a thinly-veiled campaign move and takes her in. Stacks believes he's her guardian angel, but Annie's self-assured nature and bright, sun-will-come-out-tomorrow outlook on life just might mean it's the other way around.

 

Produced by Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Jay-Z, “Annie” was penned by Emma Thompson and Aline Brosh McKenna and directed by Will Gluck.

 

Opening soon across the Philippines in January 2015, “Annie” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.