James Franco isn’t just known as the greatest Oscars host of all-time, he’s also an actor. An actor who up until now was the most recent man to portray legendary beat poet Allen Ginsberg on screen. Franco played Ginsberg in the movie Howl, which didn’t shy away from the perceived obscenity of Ginsberg’s works, the fact that there was a lot of drug use going on in the man’s life, or the fact that he was pretty openly homosexual. You have to be comfortable dealing with some pretty risqué stuff if you’re going to accurately portray Ginsberg on film, so it makes sense that an actor as concerned with being artsy and progressive as James Franco would take the poet on. But what’s a little more shocking is the newest actor who is going to be stepping into Ginsberg’s shoes. In the upcoming film Kill Your Darlings the poet is going to be played by none other than… Harry Potter?!

Q has become a very prominent character over the lengthy history of the James Bond franchise. He’s the dude who equips Bond with all of the latest spy gadgets, and most every Bond movie made has at least one scene where some actor portraying the tech wizard (guys like Desmond Lleweyn and John Cleese), gets to give Bond the rundown of all the latest and deadliest gizmos. But ever since Daniel Craig became the new Bond, things have changed. The Craig-starring Bonds have re-imagined the franchise to be something grittier and more reality-based. These days Bond is more likely to just cave in your face with his fists then he is to hit you with a taser hidden inside of a fountain pen. So in the last two Bond films, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, there hasn’t been a Q at all. Don’t fret fans of classic, cheesy Bond. The newest Bond film, now officially titled Skyfall, is set to bring Q back, and according to the BBC, he will now be played by Ben Whishaw. Who’s Ben Whishaw, you might be asking? Probably you’re not British. He’s a young actor who’s been turning heads on the BBC’s drama about 50s era news rooms The Hour, and he’s also set to play Richard II in a new BBC adaptation of the Shakespeare work. Fans in the States, on the other side of the pond, might even recognize him from his role in Julie Taymor’s version of The Tempest. If [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

The Wachowskis made news when they signed one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, Tom Hanks, for their next feature Cloud Atlas. Hanks is kind of a brand name in the moviemaking business, and has been for quite a number of years now; so he’s not really known for taking chances. The Wachowskis, on the other hand, are pretty much known exclusively for taking chances. Everything they have done so far has been weird, experimental, and up in its own head. The other name involved in the development of this project, Tom Tykwer, is pretty off the wall as well. He’s the guy who made Run Lola Run. And the source material for this new film, a David Mitchell novel also named “Cloud Atlas,” is no exception. It tells six different stories, each taking place in different times and places, but involving characters who are recognized as being the same people, or reincarnations of each other, or something. Basically what I’m driving at is that everyone signing on to this film will have to take on multiple roles, so if the Wachowskis want to pull this off, they’re going to have to get some great actors. Thankfully, so far they have. In addition to having Hanks in the lead role, Cloud Atlas continues to add an impressive list of accomplished actors in supporting positions. Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, and Ben Whishaw had already been announced for key roles, and now when presenting the film to potential buyers and [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

I love movies. I truly do. But for me there’s nothing that can match seeing actors cut loose from the confines of the screen. Film actors can be at the mercy of the greater good. Their performances can be cut to suit a director’s vision, but on stage they are the masters of their own fate. Seeing actors do their thing in real time is an experience everyone should seek out. And right now the production they should run to is “The Pride” at the Lucille Lortel theater in New York City.

Matthew Goode is unhappy. He is downright disappointed. His movies are never good enough to contain his prodigious “talent”. The actor who was miscast in Watchmen, made a wanting adaptation of Brideshead Revisited worse, is very talented. At whining, complaining and presenting himself as a stereotype of the self involved, egotistical Actor with a capital A.

Jane Campion’s ‘Bright Star’ is an intensely romantic film that’s never trite or dated, despite its PG rating and early 19th century setting.

Director Todd Haynes certainly has a vision with his new film I’m Not There but that vision doesn’t translate well onto the screen.

I haven’t seen the right kind of review for I’m Not There yet. While critics struggle to shove the title into the review template that made up years ago, readers and movie-goers alike are finding out that it just doesn’t fit.

Todd Haynes’ supposition on the life and music of Bob Dylan, “I’m Not There,” is unlike a film experience you’ll have this year.

Todd Haynes’ I’m Not There, aka “The Bob Dylan Movie”, attacks, head-on, the hokum that is the standard Hollywood biopic.