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]]> Copyright 2013, Manny Manny en-US SPHPBLOG 0.5.1 Woody Harrelson Talks About “Now You See Me” and Hypnotizes Me! http://mannythemovieguy.com/index.php?entry=entry130517-204527

Truth be told, I didn’t know what to expect interviewing Woody Harrelson. He’s a fantastic actor, and I grew up watching “Cheers,” but I had no idea that the actor was also a great father (witness how he playfully interacts with his daughter in this interview) and a man with conviction! And he was also sweet!

In the unpredictable “Now You See Me” opening May 31st, Harrelson stars as Merritt Osbourne, a hypnotist who becomes an integral part of the Four Horsemen – a group of magicians who rob banks to help people, like modern day Robin Hoods.

In this interview, we talked about:

*** I love that he called by my first name! HA!
*** How his lunch with Jesse Eisenberg made him want to star in “Now You See Me”
*** Almost his Hannibal approach to his character
*** How he prepared for his character
*** (his daughter brought him wheat grass and juice!)
*** He then proceeded to hypnotize me! It worked!!!
*** He called me awesommmmme!

]]> http://mannythemovieguy.com/index.php?entry=entry130517-204527 Manny Sat, 18 May 2013 00:45:27 GMT http://mannythemovieguy.com/comments.php?y=13&m=05&entry=entry130517-204527 The Fantastic Mark Ruffalo Talks About “Now You See Me” and Working on “The Avengers” http://mannythemovieguy.com/index.php?entry=entry130517-204328

I love Mark Ruffalo! The actor is sweet and down-to-earth in real life! We all know him, of course, as Dr. Bruce Banner aka The Hulk in the mega-successful “Marvel’s The Avengers.” But we love him in smaller films like “The Kids are All Right” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” In the new movie “Now You See Me” opening May 31st, the actor stars as Dylan Hobbs, the detective out to get our Four Horsemen played by Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Jesse Eisenberg, and Dave Franco.

In this interview, we talked about:

*** I love how he kept on calling my name!
*** His reaction reading the script by Boaz Yakin, Ed Solomon, and Edward Ricourt for the first time
*** His character’s aspirations
*** The antagonists and the protagonists
*** It’s like “The Avengers” with magicians
*** How has his life changed since “The Avengers?”
*** Why “Now You See Me” is better than “The Avengers” for his kids at least
*** He will continue working on smaller, thought-provoking, independent movies! Yay!

]]> http://mannythemovieguy.com/index.php?entry=entry130517-204328 Manny Sat, 18 May 2013 00:43:28 GMT http://mannythemovieguy.com/comments.php?y=13&m=05&entry=entry130517-204328 Jesse Eisenberg Reveals Secrets of “Now You See Me” http://mannythemovieguy.com/index.php?entry=entry130517-204152

Jesse Eisenberg reteams with his “Zombieland” cohort, Woody Harrelson, for the brilliantly unpredictable movie, “Now You See Me,” opening in theaters May 31st. Eisenberg stars as Michael Atlas, a guy who’s so good in card tricks that he gets invited to join The Four Horsemen alongside Harrelson, Isla Fisher, and Dave Franco. Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine co-star in this Louis Leterrier-directed crime-thriller.

In this interview, we talked about:

*** What got him interested in making “Now You See Me”
*** The movie’s thesis – “the closer you look, the less you see”
*** How did he prepare for his character?
*** What tricks did he learn?
*** His playwriting skills in the stage play “Asuncion”
*** What’s his interest in writing stage plays?
*** Working with Woody Harrelson again
*** If he can have one magic trick what will it be?

]]> http://mannythemovieguy.com/index.php?entry=entry130517-204152 Manny Sat, 18 May 2013 00:41:52 GMT http://mannythemovieguy.com/comments.php?y=13&m=05&entry=entry130517-204152 The Lovely Isla Fisher Talks About “Now You See Me” and Her Semi-Hiatus http://mannythemovieguy.com/index.php?entry=entry130517-204052

Isla Fisher was missing in action. The last time I interviewed the petite star was for 2009’s “Confessions of a Shopaholic.” And then she retired for a little bit, enjoying motherhood with spouse Sacha Baron Cohen. But now, we can’t escape her! Especially this summer! First, she nearly stole “The Great Gatsby” from Leonardo DiCaprio (I don’t know about you, but her Myrtle character has far more resonance), and then, she’s the fierce Henley in Summit’s “Now You See Me.”

And on my way to New Orleans to interview the cast of “Now You See Me,” guess what I found as a reading material? American Airlines’ American Way where Isla was the front cover! I can’t escape her indeed!

In this interview, we talked about:

*** Her semi-hiatus
*** What attracted her to doing “Now You See Me”
*** Doing her own stunts
*** The stunt that almost killed her!
*** Did she draw from any of her experience learning mimes at Jacques Lecoq School of Mime, Movement, and Theater in Paris in doing the stage scenes in “Now You See Me?”
*** Being vulnerable in interviews

]]> http://mannythemovieguy.com/index.php?entry=entry130517-204052 Manny Sat, 18 May 2013 00:40:52 GMT http://mannythemovieguy.com/comments.php?y=13&m=05&entry=entry130517-204052 Dave Franco Talks About “Now You See Me” – And Shows His Card Tricks http://mannythemovieguy.com/index.php?entry=entry130517-203927

I love talking to Dave Franco. The baby brother of James Franco is slowly carving his own niche in Hollywood. He has made some Funny or Die videos, has starred in the surprise zombie romantic comedy hit, “Warm Bodies,” and now, he’s part of the fun ensemble in the unpredictable crime thriller, “Now You See Me.” In this interview, we talked about:

*** We started our interview with Franco critiquing my yellow shirt HA!
*** The unpredictable ending of “Now You See Me”
*** How the cast and director Louis Leterrier got him to sign on to make “Now You See Me”
*** How he prepared for the role
*** And then he tried to hit Morgan Freeman’s nether regions
*** Learning filmmaking from director Louis Leterrier
*** How much he loves the Parker Hotel in Park Springs

]]> http://mannythemovieguy.com/index.php?entry=entry130517-203927 Manny Sat, 18 May 2013 00:39:27 GMT http://mannythemovieguy.com/comments.php?y=13&m=05&entry=entry130517-203927 "Into the Woods" Finds Its Baker's Wife? http://mannythemovieguy.com/index.php?entry=entry130517-202833

Wow, "Into the Woods" is becoming a star-studded affair! We all know Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp are joining the big screen adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical from director Rob Marshall ("Chicago"). And then we heard that Chris Pine and Jake Gyllenhaal were in serious talks to join the cast as a pair of self-obsessed princes.

Now, we're hearing from Variety that Emily Blunt is also in serious talks to star as the Baker's wife. It's a lead role as the play focuses on the Baker and his wife as they go into the woods in search of the witch (Streep, I'm sure, will be fantastic!).

James Lapine wrote the script based on his book from the musical. No production date set yet, but my oh my, with a cast like this, I can't wait!]]> http://mannythemovieguy.com/index.php?entry=entry130517-202833 Manny Sat, 18 May 2013 00:28:33 GMT http://mannythemovieguy.com/comments.php?y=13&m=05&entry=entry130517-202833 Is Christopher Nolan the Next Bond Director? http://mannythemovieguy.com/index.php?entry=entry130517-194634

He made us love Batman even more with "The Dark Knight" series, and he's about to do the same thing with Superman as executive producer of "Man of Steel," and now, Christopher Nolan may put his magic touch to James Bond.

According to The Daily Mail, the director has been approached to helm the next 007 movie and he's been in talks with the powers-that-be, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson.

It's fine and dandy but Nolan is getting ready to start his next big film, "Interstellar," starring Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain, so Bond may have to wait.

Sure, Nolan is a Bond fan, but if talks moved forward and he became the director, will his 007 movie be better than the last Sam Mendes-directed flick? The fantastic "Skyfall?"

Having Nolan as director of anything is wonderufl! I worship his filmmaking abilities. But let's wait and see if Bond 24 will fall under his guidance.]]> http://mannythemovieguy.com/index.php?entry=entry130517-194634 Manny Fri, 17 May 2013 23:46:34 GMT http://mannythemovieguy.com/comments.php?y=13&m=05&entry=entry130517-194634 "Star Trek Into Darkness" Movie Review http://mannythemovieguy.com/index.php?entry=entry130517-100721

I loved the first “Star Trek” from director J.J. Abrams. And now, the director and his cast are back for “Star Trek Into Darkness.” Like its title, the sequel is darker and yes, bigger. But is it better?

Chris Pine (Captain James T. Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock), John Cho (Sulu), Simon Pegg (Scotty), Zoe Saldana (Uhura), Karl Urban (Bones McCoy), and Anton Yelchin (Checkov) return for the sequel. Joining them are Alice Eve as the mysterious Dr. Carol Marcus and Benedict Cumberbatch as the villain Commander John Harrison.

Is “Star Trek Into Darkness” worth the wait? Watch my review:

]]> http://mannythemovieguy.com/index.php?entry=entry130517-100721 Manny Fri, 17 May 2013 14:07:21 GMT http://mannythemovieguy.com/comments.php?y=13&m=05&entry=entry130517-100721 Pulled Down! Sexified Merida Vanishes From Disney Site! http://mannythemovieguy.com/index.php?entry=entry130515-190105

Last Monday, we told you about the brouhaha going on about Disney's sexy makeover of Merida, our heroine in "Brave." The studio has announced that Merida would be Disney's 11th princess. That was nice and all, but they had to give her more vivacious curves as well. The film's director (who was replaced in the middle of the making of "Brave" but was awarded an Oscar anyway), Brenda Chapman, wrote a passionate letter to her newspaper denouncing Disney's makeover decision.

Many folks are indeed passionate about this sexified Merida look that A Mighty Girl, a blog dedicated to empowering girls, created a Change.org petition and posted, yup, another impassioned letter to Bob Iger, Disney CEO. Right now, the petition has garnered more than 200,000 votes! Wow! You can sign if you want by clicking here.

So Disney's response to the controversy? Merida's sexified self disappeared from Disney's princess website! Vanished! Gone! Poof! Just like the will-o'-the-wisps in "Brave."

I went and checked the Disney Princess site and now, it's the old Merida with the words "strong, fearless, adventurous" accompanying the picture. Yeah!]]> http://mannythemovieguy.com/index.php?entry=entry130515-190105 Manny Wed, 15 May 2013 23:01:05 GMT http://mannythemovieguy.com/comments.php?y=13&m=05&entry=entry130515-190105 Look Who's Going "Into the Woods" with Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp! http://mannythemovieguy.com/index.php?entry=entry130515-184130

No other than Chris Pine and Jake Gyllenhaal! The actors are in early talks to join Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp in Rob Marshall's adaptation of the musical "Into the Woods" according to HuffPost. The two will be playing a pair of self-involved princes in the film. I'm guessing one will be playing Rapunzel's prince and the other, Cinderella's prince. There will be singing involved! Not quite sure about Gyllenhaal but we've seen Pine belt it out in the 2010 drama "Small Town Saturday Night" where the actor played a country singer. He even sang in the film's theme song "Someday Came Today."

But before "Into the Woods," Pine will be seen as Captain Kirk in the new flick "Star Trek Into Darkness."

For a little history of "Into the Woods" and what it's about, here's an excerpt from Wikipedia:

Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway in 1987. Bernadette Peters' performance as the Witch and Joanna Gleason's portrayal of the Baker's Wife brought acclaim to the production during its original Broadway run. Into the Woods won several Tony Awards, including Best Score, Best Book, and Best Actress in a Musical (Joanna Gleason), in a year dominated by The Phantom of the Opera.

The musical has been produced many times, with a 1988 US national tour, a 1990 West End production, a 1991 television production, a 1997 tenth anniversary concert, a 2002 Broadway revival, a 2010 London revival[1] and in 2012 as part of New York City's outdoor Shakespeare in the Park series. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales and follows them to explore the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. The main characters are taken from "Little Red Riding Hood", "Jack and the Beanstalk", "Rapunzel", and "Cinderella", as well as several others. The musical is tied together by an original story involving a baker and his wife and their quest to begin a family, and their interaction with a Witch and her curse on them.


And here's what we wrote last month about Johnny Depp joining "Into the Woods"

Say what you will about Johnny Depp's singing prowess in Tim Burton's "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," but the actor may be back on the big screen with another musical role! This time it's the sexy and very hungry Wolf in the movie version of "Into the Woods."

THR is reporting that the actor is in talks to star in Disney's film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical for his "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" director, Rob Marshall, who also helmed the Oscar-winning "Chicago" and "Nine" and the 1999 TV movie, "Annie."

Depp will be joining the fantastic Meryl Streep who is set to play the vain but very charismatic Witch. "Into the Woods" is a dark "Shrek" if you may, a hodge podge of classic fairy tales that feature a childless couple, Baker and his wife, who must go into the woods to lift a family curse. Along the way, they encounter Rapunzel, Cinderella, and Little Red Riding Hood.

The screenplay is written by James Lapine based on his book for the 1986 musical. Stephen Sondheim composed the Tony-winning original score with David Krane working on the music arrangement for the movie.
]]> http://mannythemovieguy.com/index.php?entry=entry130515-184130 Manny Wed, 15 May 2013 22:41:30 GMT http://mannythemovieguy.com/comments.php?y=13&m=05&entry=entry130515-184130