Tuesday, December 23

• Stars Buzzing About New Hollywood 'It' Book

  The book is called Outliers: The Story of Success, and in it, best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell outlines his theory that it takes 10,000 hours to master whatever in life you are trying to master. The LA Times reports that it has caught Hollywood's fancy, with everyone from Will Smith to Dustin Hoffman to Revolutionary Road director Sam Mendes dropping references to it at recent parties and events. In a town where some people become A-list stars based on the fetching plumpness of their lips and others spend twenty years in acting class pretending to be an angry eggplant and yet never even land a deodorant commercial, the book is a natural conversation starter. And, of course, the implications for reality TV are frightening -- does anyone really want to watch a 10,000-episode season of Dancing With the Stars?

  
  

  Posted 12/23/2008 by reelz

  Related: Dustin Hoffman | Will Smith | Sam Mendes

Wednesday, December 3

• Advice for Directors Married to Movie Stars

  Kate Winslet tells People.com she had a "total meltdown" while her husband Sam Mendes was directing her in a sex scene with Leo DiCaprio for the upcoming Revolutionary Road. Apparently Mendes was giving her too many detailed instructions about where her hands should be and things like that. Admittedly, this is a small demographic, but just in case you happen to be a director married to a movie star, you can learn from Mendes' mistakes. Some rules to follow:

  1) Make sure you give your wife's co-star some instructions too, so she doesn't feel like she's the only one doing things wrong.

  2) Don't be afraid to let her improvise a little; a little extra film footage is much cheaper than a divorce.

  3) Never, ever, ever tell her her posterior looks fat out of those jeans.

  
  
  Next Showing: Revolutionary Road opens in limited release December 26

  Posted 12/03/2008 by reelz

  Related: Kate Winslet | Leonardo DiCaprio | Sam Mendes | Revolutionary Road

Thursday, November 6

• Sam Mendes Talks Preacher

  The attempt to do a film adaptation of the controversial comic book Preacher is so far just in development regardless of what you might have picked up from the internet, says director Sam Mendes. There is still no script for the project which follows a rebellious preacher called Jesse Custer on "his quest to find God and make him accountable for crimes against humanity." But Mendes waxes enthusiastic about the project, in an interview with Empire, describing it a "brilliant ... incredible twisted vision." And Empire ramps up expectations with a slick illustrated beginner's guide to the comic book adaptation titled "Who the Hell is Preacher." Summing up the potential of the project, they comment, "If Watchmen is the Citizen Kane of graphic novels, then Preacher is the works of Sergio Leone and John Ford all rolled into one."

  
  
  Next Showing: Sam Mendes' Revolutionary Road opens December 26

  Posted 11/06/2008 by reelz

  Related: Sam Mendes | Preacher