Review: ‘What Maisie Knew’

What Maisie Knew is a horrible title for a movie about families and what, ultimately, a family actually is.

Going into the film, I had no idea what the film was about but going from the title, I expected something about a murder and how a child witnessed it.

(Yes, I know this is a modern re-telling of a Henry James story. It’s still a horrible title).

Boy was I wrong but in a pleasantly surprised way. And that’s thanks to an incredible performance by Onata Aprile as Maisie.

Directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel, Maisie (Aprile) is the child of two of the most self-centered people in the world. Played by Steve Coogan and Julianne Moore, they definitely win the prize for ‘Year’s Worst Parents.’ In a constant state or arguments, Moore’s aging rock star of a mom Susanna, finally decides enough is enough, and kicks him out. This sets off a custody battle where, eventually, Coogan’s Beale wins, taking with him Maisie and the family nanny, Margo (Joanna Vanderham).

Both parents quickly marry; Beale woos the nanny with travel and her love of Maisie and Susanna to a local bartender, Lincoln (Alexander Skarsgard). Susanna’s reasoning for the quickie marriage? “I married him for you,” she tells Maisie. So he can watch her during the day. Which is a perfect reason to get married. Read more

Biography: Hamish Linklater

Hamish Linklater starred for five seasons on the CBS comedy “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” playing the brother of Julia-Louis Dreyfus’s title character. On the big screen, he recently co-starred with Liam Neeson and Alexander Skarsgård in Peter Berg’s 2012 action adventure “Battleship.”

An accomplished stage actor, Linklater most recently starred opposite Alan Rickman in the Broadway play “Seminar,” marking his Broadway debut. In 2011, he won an Obie Award for his performance off-Broadway in “The School for Lies.” He earned a Drama Desk Award nomination in 2010 for his work in the Public Theatre’s Shakespeare in the Park production of “Twelfth Night.” Earlier this year, he made his playwriting debut with “Vandal,” which just premiered off-Broadway.

Born in the heart of the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts, Linklater began acting at the age of eight as part of an acting troupe called Shakespeare & Company, founded by his mother, Columbia University drama professor and noted vocal coach Kristin Linklater. After attending Amherst College, he left school to pursue his career. Read more

The Best and Worst Films of 2012

It’s that time of year where everyone and their alcoholic uncle are giving you their list of the best and worst films of 2012. So, we here at Daily Actor are jumping in, minus our drunk uncle.

The Top 10 Films of the 2012

1) Zero Dark Thirty
You’ve know doubt heard all of the hype on this film that stars Jessica Chastain and Jason Clarke, and guess what? It lives up to it and then some. The film, about the hunt for Osama Bin Laden, proves once again that director Katheryn Bigelow is a true force. Definitely a must see!

2) Argo
This has been out for a while now and if you haven’t seen it yet, my question is: Why not? In a story where most of us know the ending, Director Ben Affleck manages to ramps up the suspense and forces you to sit on the edge of your seat.

3) Killing Them Softly
Starring Brad Pitt, Richard Jenkins, James Gandolfini and a handful of wonderful character actors, this film tanked at the box office. I can see why: most scenes involved just 2 people in a room talking… and talking… and talking. Boredom for some, but for those us who cherish actors and their craft, you will love it. Watch this and get schooled.

4) Hello I Must Be Going
Anytime Melanie Lynskey has a starring role in a film, that’s a good thing. Director Todd Louiso‘s story of a divorced woman who is forced to move back in with her parents and then starts a relationship with the young son of her fathers business partner is funny, touching and a showcase for Lynskey.

5) Starlet
The film stars Dree Hemingway (yes, of that Hemingway family) as Jane, an up-and-coming porn star who forms an unlikely friendship with the elderly Sadie (80-year-old newcomer Besedka Johnson). Director Sean Baker knocks it out of the park with this small, intimate (very intimate) film.  Read more

Clips and Quotes from Tomorrow Night’s ‘Inside the Actors Studio’ Featuring Liam Neeson

Inside the Actors Studio and its host, James Lipton, welcomes Oscar-nominated actor and Taken 2 star Liam Neeson to its stage tomorrow night (October 2nd).

In the show, Lipton asks Neeson about his roles in Schindler’s List, The Dark Knight Rises and Kinsey. I’m assuming they won’t talk about the cinematic trash pile, Battleship.

Neeson also shares details ranging from his always-changing accents to his romances with famous leading ladies. Read more

‘The Hobbit’ Star Billy Connolly Thinks J.R.R. Tolkien’s Books are ‘Unreadable’

Actor/comedian Billy Connolly doesn’t strike me as the type of person who parrot out generic answers to questions about his latest projects (as opposed to, say, Liam Neeson talking about the “character development” in Battleship).  My notion appears to be correct, because in an interview with New York magazine he openly admits that he isn’t a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien’s writing even though he is appearing in The Hobbit movie series in the key role as the dwarf lord Dain Ironfoot.

But not only does Connolly confess his dislike for Tolkien’s writing, he even says he generally dislikes people who are fans of Middle-Earth.  He says, “I’ve never read The Hobbit. Never.  Never read Lord of the Rings.  I could never read Tolkien. I always found him unreadable … I didn’t read [the books], and I normally don’t like people who have! The people who love it, they’re kind of scary. They talk all this gobbledygook and they think of it as the Holy Grail.”  Read more

Watch Liam Neeson Stare at you for 10 straight hours

This is pretty freaking cool. Or disturbing.

Now for your viewing pleasure, you can have Liam Neeson stare, glare and judge you right from your computer screen.

For 10 whole hours.

Watch for yourself below. Just don’t do anything stupid or he may kill you. You saw what he did to those wolves in The Grey, didn’t you? Read more

Taylor Kitsch on ‘Savages’ and Box-Office Flops: “On so many levels, it tested me”

At the moment Taylor Kitsch looks like box office poison.

His last two movies, John Carter and Battleship, were predicted to be box-office smashes, not bombs.  So, the former star of Friday Night Lights is hoping his new film, Oliver Stone’s Savages, will be greeted more enthusiastically by audience goers.

Kitsch is trying to remain positive, telling The Washington Post, “Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise that it died, and I’m not tied to these things for the next 10 years.  I’m free to do whatever I want now.  If I want to do something in January, February, March, April, I don’t have to go through two studios to be greenlit.”

The 31-year-old doesn’t think of the two flops as a complete waste of his time.  “I feel I grew an immense amount as an actor,” he said.  “On so many levels, it tested me.  I wouldn’t change a thing.  I wouldn’t take any of those choices back.  I love what I’m doing.  I’ve started to get excited again, and I think, obviously, it was hard on me that they didn’t work.  You have bosses, we all have bosses, you want to do well for them.  But I gave everything I had.” Read more

Biography: Alexander Skarsgard

Alexander Skarsgard is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood. He began his acting career at the age of eight and worked steadily in films and on Swedish television. Skarsgård went on to study theater at the Leeds Metropolitan University in the U.K. and at Marymount Manhattan College in New York. He returned to Sweden and appeared in a number of productions that made him a star in his native country. A visit to Los Angeles landed him a part in the hit comedy Zoolander (2001), where he starred alongside Ben Stiller and Will Ferrell.

Skarsgård returned home to Sweden to continue honing his acting skills with roles in film and theatrical productions, including Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Bloody Wedding. In 2003, he co-wrote and co-directed an award-winning short, Att döda ett barn (To Kill a Child), which was shown at the Tribeca and Cannes film festivals. Read more

Biography: Liam Neeson

Liam Neeson has become one of the leading international motion-picture actors today. Whether it is his Academy Award®-nominated role of Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg’s highly acclaimed Schindler’s List (1993), his award-winning portrayal of the legendary Irish Republican hero in Michael Collins (1996), or his role as controversial sex therapist Alfred Kinsey in the critically acclaimed Kinsey (2004), Neeson continues to display an acting range matched by few.

In January 2012, Neeson starred in the box-office hit The Grey. Directed by Joe Carnahan, this action-adventure featured an oil drilling team that struggled to survive after a plane crash that stranded them in the wild of Alaska. Hunting the humans was a pack of wolves that saw them as intruders.

In February 2011, Neeson was seen opposite Diane Kruger and January Jones in Unknown, a psychological thriller about stolen identity. Neeson also co-starred in the Warner Bros. remake of the 1981 film Clash of the Titans, which tells the myth of Perseus and his quest to battle both Medusa and the Kraken monster in order to save the princess Andromeda. A sequel is currently in the works for release in 2012. Read more

Liam Neeson Keeps a Straight Face When Talking About ‘Battleship’: “It’s got thrills and spills and very good character development, too”

I always liked Liam Neeson as an actor even before he revealed himself to be a middle-aged bad ass in movies like Taken, Unknown, and The Grey.  So while I am not surprised to see him in another action movie, I was surprised when I found out that he was starring in Battleship, which, believe it or not, is based on the Milton Bradley board game. 

How did Neeson find the inspiration to act in a movie based on putting plastic pegs into plastic ships?  According to Neeson, he found it in the script and the filming locations.

Though Neeson speaks positively about how the script initially attracted him to the project, I think he relies a bit heavily on cliches when describing it.  He says, “The foundation stone is the script, and this one was a real page-turner. That’s the litmus test. If I’m reading through it and I’m suddenly at page 78 and haven’t stopped for a cup of tea or a glass of water, it’s got me. I thought this was very gung ho. It’s got thrills and spills and very good character development, too.” 

I’m sure he was very serious when he said this (as Neeson always seems to be), but I would’ve loved to have seen the expression on his face when he said that. Read more

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