Wednesday, January 13

• L.A. Critics Name Mulholland Dr. the Movie of the Decade

  The Los Angeles Film Critics Association cast its votes for the best movies of the "aughties," and in the end, it was David Lynch's Mulholland Dr. that came out on top, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

  The organization made the following statement in announcing its decision:

  Lynch's film stands as both a cautionary tale and a mascot for the triumph of art and personal vision in an industry that, from where we sit, often seems actively devoted to the suppression of both.

  Mulholland Dr. stars Laura Elena Harring as an upscale LA woman who suffers from amnesia after a car accident. She meets Naomi Watts (in her breakout role), an ingenue trying to break into Hollywood, and the two set about trying to solve the mystery of the accident. The movie also features Justin Theroux as a director whose project is sabotaged by big-studio producers.

  The movie both glamorizes and satirizes Hollywood, often in the same moment, and the tone runs the gamut from absurd hilarity to outright horror. It's a rhapsodic celebration of the history of movies on one hand, and yet at the same time a ruthlessly bitter denunciation of industry evils. Perfect territory for Lynch, whose very success depended partly on Hollywood capital and partly on his ability to keep his distance from it.

  Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood was second on the critics' list, followed by Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain. Other contenders included Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away, and Alfonso Cuarón's Y tu mamá también.

  
  

  Posted 01/13/2010 by Rich Z

  Related: Hayao Miyazaki | Justin Theroux | Michel Gondry | Paul Thomas Anderson | Peter Jackson | Ang Lee | Alfonso Cuaron | Naomi Watts | Laura Elena Harring | David Lynch | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Spirited Away | Y Tu Mama Tambien | There Will Be Blood | Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind | Brokeback Mountain | Mulholland Dr. | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Friday, December 4

• Will Iron Man 2 Be Improvised?

  Jon Favreau recently admitted that Robert Downey Jr. helped rewrite scenes in Iron Man, and there may be a good reason for that. Jeff Bridges, who played Iron Man's villain Obadiah Stane, told InContention that Downey Jr. and Favreau had to improvise on the set because they lacked a script.

  They had no script. They had an outline. We would show up for big scenes every day and we wouldn't know what we were going to say. We would have to go into our trailer and work on this scene and call up writers on the phone, "You got any ideas?" Meanwhile the crew is tapping their foot on the stage waiting for us to come on.

  You would think with a $200 million movie you'd have the s**t together, but it was just the opposite. And the reason for that is because they get ahead of themselves. They have a release date before the script, "Oh, we'll have the script before that time," and they don't have their s**t together.

  It wasn't a comfortable situation for Bridges.

  Jon dealt with it so well. It freaked me out. I was very anxious. I like to be prepared. I like to know my lines, man, that's my school. Very prepared. That was very irritating, and then I just made this adjustment. It happens in movies a lot where something's rubbing against your fur and it's not feeling right, but it's just the way it is. You can spend a lot of energy bitching about that or you can figure out how you're going to do it, how you're going to play this hand you've been dealt. What you can control is how you perceive things and your thinking about it. So I said, "Oh, what we're doing here, we're making a $200 million student film. We're all just f**kin'; around! We're playin'. Oh, great!" That took all the pressure off. And it turned out great!

  Iron Man 2 has a screenwriter in Justin Theroux, but considering the "minds and hearts" that Downey Jr says they are pouring into the movie, there may be plenty of scenes that abandon the script.

  
  

  Posted 12/04/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Jeff Bridges | Jon Favreau | Justin Theroux | Robert Downey Jr. | Iron Man | Iron Man 2

Wednesday, November 18

• Justin Theroux to Pen Space Invader Romantic Comedy

  

  Justin Theroux is something of a Renaissance man in Hollywood. As an actor, Theroux has appeared on numerous TV shows and in over a dozen movies, including acclaimed filmmaker David Lynch's Mulholland Dr. In addition, Theroux also works behind the scenes and behind the camera. He produced and wrote the script for Tropic Thunder and he wrote and directed Dedication.

  Theroux recently tried his hand at the superhero genre, penning the script for the sequel to director Jon Favreau's adaptation of the classic Marvel Comics character Iron Man. Now, THR is reporting that Theroux has been hired by Fox to write a draft of Space Invader, a romantic comedy set in space that was originally written by Mike Lisbe and Nate Reger. Will Arnett (Arrested Development) will star in Space Invader as a man who follows his wife into space because he suspects her of cheating on him with one of her fellow astronauts. Theroux may also direct the movie, though this is still uncomfirmed.

  
  
  

  Dedication - Trailer

  With each moment we write our story - Now on DVD
  

  Tropic Thunder - Clip

  You People

  Posted 11/18/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Justin Theroux | Will Arnett | Mulholland Dr. | Tropic Thunder | Dedication | Iron Man 2

Thursday, June 11

• Universal and Imagine Hire Justin Theroux to Direct Chief Ron

  Variety reports that Universal and Imagine have signed Justin Theroux to direct Chief Ron, a comedy about a man who claims he is a descendant of the Mohegan tribe in an attempt to open a casino. The story is based on the true story of Ron Roberts, who courts allowed to build a casino in upstate New York, despite his Aryan looks.

  Theroux has starred in several movies, including Mulholland Drive, Zoolander, and Miami Vice. He also co-wrote and produced Tropic Thunder and most recently finished the script for Iron Man 2. His only other directorial credit is Dedication, which was released two years ago and starred Billy Crudup and Tom Wilkinson.

  Chief Ron is also the second feature-length narrative script from Jordan Roberts, who wrote Around the Bend as well as the narration for the U.S. release of March of the Penguins.

  
  

  Posted 06/11/2009 by Rich Z

  Related: Justin Theroux | Jordan Roberts | Chief Ron

Tuesday, December 30

• Iron Man 2 To Keep It Real

  
  Justin Theroux

  While working on the script for the sequel to Iron Man, screenwriter Justin Theroux told MTV that the main theme of Iron Man 2 will be the issue of identity, considering Iron Man's identity is public knowledge.

  "It's something that we've made a real decision to run towards rather than away from," said Theroux, who maintains that identity, and the nature of it, will be a big part of the sequel.

  
  

  Posted 12/30/2008 by reelz

  Related: Justin Theroux

Wednesday, August 13

• Tropic Thunder and the "R" Word

  

  Jill Simonian is a correspondent for Dailies (ReelzChannel TV, weeknights @ 6PM ET), and occasionally shares stories from the field. This week: Tropic Thunder

  In the movie business, "R" usually means "Restricted." No persons under 17 without parent or adult guardian admitted. May contain very strong/sexual language, mild explicit nudity, strong/gore violence or strong drug content.

  Tropic Thunder is certainly "Restricted," but another R-word took center stage at the Los Angeles premiere: "Retarded." It's a scripted word that the Tropic Thunder stars use frequently in the film, and it's generated enough attention to eclipse Robert Downey Jr.'s Anglo-turned-African-American makeup in the movie.

  In addition to covering the red carpet arrivals, I found myself drawn to the street-corner protest led by Tim Shriver, Chairman & CEO of Special Olympics. Along with Shriver, about 50 outraged citizens were condemning Tropic Thunder's multiple usage of the R-word. Complete with bullhorns, signs and unstoppable spirit, Shriver encouraged passers-by to "think of a person with special needs when you watch that film." He rallied listeners to have compassion and respect for those with intellectual disabilities, to consider the work of disabled actors like Edward Barbanell (The Ringer, 2005) and also challenged Hollywood to stop abusing disabled people for the sake of comedy and entertainment.

  As for the red carpet? Some stars expressed support for the protesters' plight. The co-writers of the movie, Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen, were also sadly disappointed and upset that their words were being "misunderstood" in the movie. "The lines that they're objecting to are coming out of the mouths of very stupid people," Theroux told me. (In other words, the movie makes fun of the ignorant characters that Stiller, Black and Downey Jr. play, and not the disabled.) Theroux continued, "I'm hopeful that they [the protesters] might come back to see the movie and get in on the joke."

  You can decide for yourself today, because Tropic Thunder is now in theaters nationwide.

  
  

  Posted 08/13/2008 by Jill

  Related: Justin Theroux | Etan Cohen | Tropic Thunder

Wednesday, July 16

• Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle Scribe to Pen Iron Man 2

  After settling their differences with Iron Man director Jon Favreau, Marvel is moving full speed ahead with Iron Man 2. Variety reports that Justin Theroux has been tabbed to write the screenplay for the much anticipated sequel to this summer's highest grossing flick (an achievement soon to be eclipsed by The Dark Knight). Theroux's previous credits include Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (yikes!) and Ben Stiller's upcoming comedy Tropic Thunder.

  Before fanboys start panicking over Theroux's lack of David Goyer-esque credentials, it should be pointed out that the first Iron Man enlisted an army of writers to pen multiple drafts, only to be re-written on-set each day by director Favreau and star Robert Downey Jr. -- both of whom are returning for the sequel.

  
  

  Posted 07/16/2008 by reelz

  Related: Jon Favreau | Justin Theroux | Iron Man 2 | Iron Man