Friday, July 4

• Leonard Maltin's Online Hidden Gem

  

  

  Leonard Maltin Says:

  On a recent episode of Secret's Out, I recommended the new theatrical release The Wackness, a highly original movie starring Josh Peck and, in an uncharacteristic role, Ben Kingsley. But then, there's almost no kind of part Kingsley can't and won't do. For example, he's an enforcer with a ferocious presence in the crackling crime drama from 2001, Sexy Beast. In the film, Ray Winstone plays a crook who's made good and now lives an easy life in Spain with his beautiful wife. But Ian McShane wants him to come back to England to pull one last job, and he sends Kingsley to make him say yes. One encounter with this man and you'd say yes to anything. Sexy Beast is a smart, funny, potent, often violent gangster film, and if you haven't seen it, I encourage you to seek it out on DVD.

  
  

  Posted 07/04/2008 by reelz

  Secret's Out | Ian McShane | Josh Peck | Ray Winstone | Ben Kingsley | Sexy Beast

Monday, June 30

• Sir Ben Kingsley on Shutter Island

  We recently had the privilege of chatting with the lovely Sir Ben Kingsley, who is headlining the Sundance sweetheart, The Wackness, opening this Thursday. In it, he plays Dr. Squires, a rather troubled therapist who has an unusual relationship with a patient, with whom he trades is psychiatric services for pot.

  Kingsley is just finishing up shooting another part in which he plays a shrink, in Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island. "I play another psychiatrist, but very different from Dr. Squires. Very sober, very against the use of drugs in therapy, and also very against the use of surgical intervention in therapy," says Kingsley.

  He does have a patient to whom he's completely dedicated who is going through an extremely dangerous time -- the great Leonardo DiCaprio," he reveals. "He and I have some very, very strong scenes together."

  
  

  Posted 06/30/2008 by Heather

  Ben Kingsley | The Wackness | Shutter Island

Saturday, September 22

• Movie newz: Ben Kingsley & Giovanni Ribisi

  Ben Kingsley's production company has bought the rights to Will, Christopher Rush's fictional novel about a deathbed meeting between Willian Shakespeare and his lawyer over his last will and testament. The movie, which will start shooting next year, will star Ben Kingsley as Shakespeare. No director has yet been named.

  In other news, Giovanni Ribisi has signed on to the cast of Avatar, the 3-D feature James Cameron is mounting as a long-awaited follow up to Titanic. He will be joining Sigourney Weaver and Michelle Rodriguez in the cast.

  Source: The Hollywood Reporter.

  
  
  

  The Dead Girl trailer

  Giovanni Ribisi can be seen in this movie on DVD.

  Posted 09/22/2007 by Heather

  James Cameron | Ben Kingsley | Will | Avatar

Saturday, August 11

• Bring on the funny: upcoming comedies for Ben Kingsley, Kate Hudson, Will Arnett and more

  If you don't have a comedy coming up these days in Hollywood, you are totally out of the loop.

  Variety is reporting that shooting has already started on The Wackness, a comedy written and directed by Jonathan Levine (All the Boys Love Mandy Lane) about a teenaged drug dealer who trades pot for therapy sessions and then falls for his shrink's daughter. Sir Ben Kingsley (Schindler's List, You Kill Me), Famke Janssen (X-Men, Love & Sex), and Mary-Kate Olsen (Full House, New York Minute) all have roles.

  And The Hollywood Reporter has news on three more comedies.

  The funnyman with the unbelievably deep voice, Will Arnett, (Arrested Development, Blades of Glory) will finally get his moment in the sun with Space Invader, a comedy about the son of a NASA legend who must overcome his fear of flying to win back his astronaut girlfriend--who is, of course, headed into space with an unbelievable hunk. It will be directed by Andrew Currie (Fido, Mile Zero).

  Kate Hudson and Dane Cook (Employee of the Month) are slated to act opposite each other in Bachelor No. 2, a romantic comedy about a man whose job it is to take women on awful dates so they go back to their ex-boyfriends. The dry and hilarious Alec Baldwin will co-star and Howard Deutch (The Whole Ten Yards, Pretty in Pink) will direct. 

  Finally, teen-movie queens Rachael Leigh Cook (She's All That) and Sarah Roemer (Disturbia) are signed to star in a romantic comedy called The Golden Door, about a blue-collar nursing student who gets a job as a swanky Manhattan doorman and falls in love with one of the residents. Joseph Cross (Running With Scissors) and Snoop Dogg (Starsky & Hutch) are in negotiations to co-star. 

  
  

  Posted 08/11/2007 by Heather

  Alec Baldwin | Famke Janssen | Joseph Cross | Kate Hudson | Rachael Leigh Cook | Will Arnett | Howard Deutch | Mary-Kate Olsen | Andrew Currie | Ben Kingsley | Dane Cook | Snoop Dogg | Sarah Roemer | Jonathan Levine | Space Invader | Bachelor No. 2 | The Golden Door