Posts Tagged ‘Samuel L. Jackson’

A bevy of Hollywood A-listers like Samuel L. Jackson, Angelina Jolie, Harrison Ford, Blake Lively, Liv Tyler, Natalie Portman and Tina Fey attended this year’s annual Comic Con International convention in San Diego July 22-25.

Each year, more and more of Hollywood’s biggest names go to Comic-Con to confirm movie deal rumors.  My favorite one from this weekend comes from the people at Marvel Comics.  Mark Ruffalo officially confirmed his role in the upcoming comic book film ‘The Avengers’.  Ruffalo will be playing the role of ‘The Hulk’.

The Hulk was previously played by Edward Norton in the character’s title film.  Producers had originally offered the role to Norton once again before deciding on Ruffalo.  It has been rumored that Norton was offered a low salary after having been very difficult to work with on the ‘The Hulk’.  Norton and Marvel disputed both privately and publicly over the film’s final cut before Marvel ultimately won. Once the film was released, Marvel was disappointed by Norton’s lack of promotion.

One of the most likeable men in Hollywood, Ruffalo is sure to deliver on every level in ‘The Avengers’.  He is a notoriously nice guy with real acting chops.  The movie is sure to kill at the box office with its all-star cast including Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Chris Evans as Captain America and Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow.  Don Cheadle replaced Terrence Howard in the role of War Machine for ‘Iron Man 2′, but it is not yet decided weather he will continue in the role for ‘The Avengers’.

One of the greatest times of the year for top notch movies is the summer! Movie execs even change the dates their movies debut in order to take part in this sweltering time of year. Here are six films we can’t wait to see during the Summer 2009 movie season…

June

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – Summer is an infamous time of year for sequels and 2009 is no exception.  The trailer alone for “Transformers 2” promises amazing action, explosive destruction, CG-palooza and there’s even a plot thrown in there too. Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf) discovers the back story of the giant robots that are causing demolition worldwide – Egypt, Paris and the US. The cherry on this sundae – IMAX footage, which is sure to enhance the already exciting special effects. June 24th.

Away We Go – “Go’s” trailer caught my eye when I saw “Adventureland.” The odd couple of John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph (two hugely funny actors not frequently seen on the large screen) had me scribbling down the release date in the dark theater so I wouldn’t forget. “Go” is a “road trip” film for adults as Krasinski and Rudolph travel to see family and friends to find a place that feels like home before they become parents for the first time. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Allison Janney, Jeff Daniels, and Catherine O’Hara are just a couple of the odd ball friends and family members visited by the pregnant couple. June 5th.

July

Public Enemies – Johnny Depp and Christian Bale – that’s all you need to be sold on this summer semi bio-pic. Directed by the successful Michael Mann (“Collateral,” “Ali,” “The Insider,” “Heat,” and “The Last of the Mohicans”) this film is already being talked about as the only summer film that will be remembered at Oscar time.  “Enemies” is a depression era crime drama about infamous bank robber John Dillinger (Depp) and the clean cut FBI agent determined to bring him in, Melvin Purvis (Bale).  Two stories from behind the scenes recount that Bale was in character 24/7 and that Depp was actually giddy at the opportunity to handle Dillinger’s actual brief case. This is going to be a real box office melter. July 1st.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – “Prince” should have been on the Fall ’08 list, but the higher ups who made the movie moved it to summer ’09 for financial reasons. The 2nd to last book in the JK Rowling series has a darker story that revolves around the origins of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Through multiple memory type flashback sequences the audience and Harry will learn a lot more about Voldemort’s history. There’s also the prospect of love for some of our favorite Hogwarts’ students (but I won’t tell you who in case you haven’t read the book). July 15th.

August

The Boat That Rocked – Haven’t heard of this movie yet? That’s ok – you’ll be dying to see it because of the cast alone: Philip Seymour Hoffman (“Doubt”), Emma Thompson (“Stranger Than Fiction’), Gemma Arterton (“Quantum of Solace”), Bill Nighy (“Love Actually”), Kenneth Branagh (“Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”), January Jones (“Mad Men”), Rhys Darby (“Yes Man”), Jack Davenport (the “Pirates” movies), Nick Frost (“Hot Fuzz”), Rhys Ifans (“Elizabeth: The Golden Age”), Kirsty Mather (“Mamma Mia”), and Tom Wisdom (“300”). What a line up! And it’s directed by Richard Curtis who did “Love Actually.” August 28th.

Inglourious Basterds – Yes, the movie title is spelled correctly. Leave it director Quentin Tarantino to find the craziest spelling for his latest film starring Brad Pitt, Mike Myers, B.J. Novak, Samuel L. Jackson and Cloris Leachman. “Inglourious” is two stories in one – the first is about a Jewish girl whose family is killed by Nazis, she leaves and ends up working at a movie theatre, and infatuated with a German war hero and plotting revenge for her family’s deaths. The second story – a group of Jewish-American soldiers who are working behind enemy lines plot their own scheme against the Nazis. How do the two stories relate? The movie theater is the key (how ironic). August 21st.

In a star-studded tribute, thousands bid farewell to Bernie Mac, who died last week due to complications from pneumonia.

For several hours, Chicago’s House of Hope played host to friends, family and fans of the beloved entertainer. The famous and infamous shared the stage while celebs such as Chris Rock, Jesse Jackson, Samuel L. Jackson, Cedric the Entertainer, Steve Harvey and DL Hughley shared personal stories of the 50-year-old funny man.

Other big-named celebs sent written expressions of condolences.  A video showing pieces of Mac’s remarkable life were shown while tunes by Isaac Hayes played.  Hayes was Mac’s Soul Men co-star, who died just one day after Mac.

Soul Men, which also stars Samuel L. Jackson, will be released later this year.

Hollywood and fans across the globe are mourning the loss of funny man Bernie Mac after his death Saturday. The actor-comedian died in a Chicago-area hospital of “natural causes” after being hospitalized for a week with pneumonia according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office and E! News.

He was 50 years old.

Mac became a household name with his own Fox sitcom and movie roles including the popular Ocean’s films.

“The world just got a little less funny,” Ocean’s 13 co-star, George Clooney, said in a statement to Entertainment Tonight. “He will be dearly missed.”

E! News reports that prior to falling ill, Mac had been regularly working – shooting a new proposed Fox comedy series, Starting Under and finishing off a new big-screen comedy with Samuel L. Jackson for Soul Men, due out in November.

Kristen Aldridge: Your films have grossed more than any other actor in cinematic history, how does it feel to have that accomplishment?

Samuel L. Jackson: It’s kind of interesting to have that kind of metal. It really means that I’ve been in a couple of films that were really really monster hits, and most of them happen to be named “Star Wars”! That’s great but it means also that a lot of people have seen me work, and that I brought a lot of joy to a lot of people and I really appreciate that as my legacy.

Kristen Aldridge: For your film “Black Snake Moan” you learned how to play guitar?

Samuel L. Jackson: I did! I never actually played guitar before this movie. Every day I was in my trailer for hours, like tearin’ my fingers up. But I had great teachers, and I went to Big Jack Johnson’s house in Mississippi and played with him, which was awesome.

Kristen Aldridge: You’re back as host of the Video Game Awards tonight, can you give us a sneak peak of this year’s awards?

Samuel L. Jackson: (laughing) I’m a little bit older!

Kristen Aldridge: No, you always look great!

Samuel L. Jackson: I’m more used to it, I know the crowd a little bit, things will be a little more exciting. We’ve got a bigger stage, great performers, good presenters, and the games this year are off the hook!

Kristen Aldridge: Who do you think will win for best video game of the year?

Samuel L. Jackson: That’s really tough. Giz Awards seem really hard to beat, although I just played “Guitar Heroes” and I’m kind of digging that game.