Trailer: ‘Your Sister’s Sister’ starring Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt & Mark Duplass

Mark Duplass is is on a role this year; writing and directing Jeff, Who Lives at Home and The Do-Deca Pentathalon and starring in Safety Not Guarenteed (my favorite film of the year so far), Darling Companion, People Like Us and now Your Sister’s Sister.

Your Sister’s Sister: Emily Blunt, Rosemarie Dewitt and Mark Duplass star in Your Sister’s Sister, a new comedy about romance, grief and sibling rivalry. A year after his brother Tom’s death, Jack (Duplass) is still struggling emotionally. When he makes ascene at a memorial party, Tom’s best friend Iris (Blunt) offers up her family cabin on an island in the Pacific Northwest so Jack can seek catharsis in solitude. Once there, however, he runs into Iris’ sister Hannah (Dewitt) who is reeling from the abrupt end of a seven-year relationship and finds solace in Tom’s unexpected presence. A blurry evening of drinking concludes with an awkward sexual incident, made worse by Iris’ sudden presence at the cabin the next morning. A twisted tale of ever-complicated relationships is set in motion with raw, hilarious and emotional performances from the all-star cast.

Writer/Director: Lynn Shelton
Cast: Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt, Mark Duplass, Mike Birbiglia

In Theaters: June 15th Read more

Julia Louis-Dreyfus Talks About Playing the Vice President on ‘Veep’

Thomas R. Marshall once quipped about the rather boring position of the Vice President, ”Once there were two brothers. One ran away to sea; the other was elected Vice President of the United States. And nothing was heard of either of them again.”  Marshall, believe it or not, made these remarks as the 26th Vice President of the United States.  His predecessor John Adams, the first Vice President, remarked, “My country has in its wisdom contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived.”  Clearly at least several Vice Presidents have found the position to be a bore.

So it’s only natural that such a high-ranked yet limited position in government would be ripe for comedy.  Seinfeld veteran Julia Louis-Dreyfus stars as Vice President Selina Myer in the new HBO comedy Veep.  In an interview with NBC New York, Louis-Dreyfus talks about the inherent comedy in the position. Read more

Trailer: ‘Lawless’ starring Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Guy Pearce, Gary Oldman & Mia Wasikowska

This. Looks. Good.

Lawless is the true story of the infamous Bondurant Brothers: bootlegging siblings who made a run for the American Dream in Prohibition-era Virginia. In this epic gangster tale, inspired by true-life tales of author Matt Bondurant’s family in his novel “The Wettest County in the World”, the loyalty of three brothers is put to the test against the backdrop of the nation’s most notorious crime wave.

Director: John Hillcoat

Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Guy Pearce, Gary Oldman, Mia Wasikowska, Dane DeHaan

Writers: Nick Cave, Matt Bondurant

In theaters: August 31st Read more

Auditions to Offers – It’s Easier Than You Think

by Emily Grace

All of these celebrities are doing it: Pitt, Clooney and Damon. Kristen Wiig, Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph and Amy Poehler. The Coen Brothers. Judd Apatow.

Why aren’t you?

What are they doing, you ask?  Working with the same people again and again.

In business it’s what is called the Know-Like-Trust Factor.  And it’s the secret sauce to going from auditions to offers.

World renowned speaker and best selling author Zig Ziglar says,

“If people like you, they will talk to you. If people trust you, they will do business with you.”

Professionals at every level of the entertainment industry, when given the choice, will hire someone they know, like and trust – from a-lister’s all the way down to a first time student filmmaker.

When it comes to your acting career – it’s time to stop chasing after random audition opportunities just for the sake of getting into the room.   Create long-term relationships to establish the know-like-trust factor, and you’re well on your way to being hired over and over. Read more

6 Clips from the Farrelly Brother’s ‘The Three Stooges’

Here are 6 clips for the this weekends new Farrelly Brothers movie, The Three Stooges.

I missed the screening for this because I was in Florida visiting my parents but from what I hear, it’s definitely not as bad as it looks.

Starring Sean Hayes, Will Sasso and Chris Diamantopoulos as Larry, Moe and Curly, the story follows the three as they try and save their childhood orphanage.

Check them out below! Read more

Biography: Zac Efron

Zac Efron will next be seen in Lee Daniel‘s thriller The Paperboy, alongside Nicole Kidman, John Cusack, Matthew McConaughey and Scott Glenn. He also recently worked alongside Dennis Quaid in Ramin Bahrani‘s latest film and appears in the comedy Liberal Arts, Josh Radnor‘s directorial debut, which premiered to rave reviews at the Sundance Film Festival.

Previously, Efron starred in Garry Marshall‘s ensemble romantic comedy New Year’s Eve and lent his voice to the animated feature Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax. He also starred in the title roles of the fantasy romance Charlie St. Cloud and the comedy 17 Again, both from director Burr Steers, and as the lovable Link Larkin in 2007′s smash hit musical Hairspray, directed by Adam Shankman. As part of the all-star cast he shared a Critics Choice Award for Best Acting Ensemble, the 2007 Hollywood Film Festival Award for Ensemble of the Year, and was honored with a Screen Actors Guild Award® nomination for Outstanding Motion Picture Cast. In addition, he won an MTV Movie Award for Breakthrough Performance.

Efron also starred in Richard Linklater‘s Me and Orson Welles, an adaptation of the novel by Robert Kaplow, which premiered to rave reviews at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival. More recently, he starred in Kenny Ortega‘s High School Musical 3: Senior Year, which set a box office record for the highest grossing opening weekend for a musical. Read more

Biography: Sam Worthington

Sam Worthington, one of today’s busiest leading men, reprises the part he created in the 2010 hit Clash of the Titans. He more recently starred in the title role of the dramatic thriller Man on a Ledge. Worthington’s upcoming films include Simon West‘s Iraq War drama Thunder Run, with Gerard Butler, and the Australian film Drift.

Worthington was catapulted to global stardom with his performance in the 2009 mega blockbuster Avatar. Director James Cameron had hand-picked the actor to play the central role of Jake Scully in his groundbreaking science fiction adventure, which went on to earn more than $2.7 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing motion picture of all time.

A native of Australia, Worthington graduated from Sydney’s prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in 1998. He began his career on the stage, appearing in a production of Judas Kiss, directed by Neil Armfield for Company B at the Belvoir Street Theatre. Read more

Biography: Ralph Fiennes

Ralph Fiennes recently completed his portrayal of the evil Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, the finale of the blockbuster film franchise. Fiennes had also played Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1.

Upcoming, Fiennes stars in Mike Newell‘s screen adaptation of Charles Dickens‘ Great Expectations, with Helena Bonham Carter and Jeremy Irvine, and in the highly anticipated Skyfall, the next film in the Bond series, from director Sam Mendes. He recently made his feature film directorial debut with a contemporary version of Shakespeare’s political thriller Coriolanus, in which he also starred with Gerard Butler and Vanessa Redgrave. In 2010, Fiennes first played Hades in the hit Clash of the Titans, with Liam Neeson and Sam Worthington.

Fiennes has been honored with two Academy Award® nominations, the first in 1994 for his performance in Steven Spielberg‘s Oscar®-winning Best Picture, Schindler’s List. Fiennes’ chilling portrayal of Nazi Commandant Amon Goeth also brought him a Golden Globe nomination and a BAFTA Award, as well as Best Supporting Actor honors from numerous critics groups, including the National Society of Film Critics, and the New York, Chicago, Boston and London Film Critics associations. Four years later, Fiennes earned his second Oscar® nomination, for Best Actor, in another Best Picture winner, Anthony Minghella‘s The English Patient. He also garnered Golden Globe and BAFTA Award nominations, as well as two Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award® nominations, one for Best Actor and another shared with the film’s ensemble cast. Read more

Biography: Edgar Ramirez

Edgar Ramirez garnered acclaim for his performance in Olivier Assayas‘ Carlos, which aired as a three-part miniseries on the Sundance Channel and was also released as a theatrical feature internationally. Ramirez’s portrayal of Venezuelan revolutionary Ilich Ramirez Sanchez brought him Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award® nominations for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie.

He also won a César Award for Most Promising Actor and received Best Actor nominations from the Los Angeles Film Critics, London Film Critics Circle, and National Society of Film Critics.

Ramirez is currently filming Kathryn Bigelow‘s thriller about the hunt for Osama Bin Laden, culminating with the perilous mission to capture or kill him. His upcoming films also include the French film A Monkey on My Shoulder, opposite Juliette Binoche.

He previously co-starred with Benicio del Toro in Steven Soderbergh‘s Ernesto “Che” Guevara biopic, Che – Part One, which premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. Ramirez’s other recent film credits include the political thriller Vantage Point and Paul Greengrass‘s The Bourne Ultimatum, with Matt Damon. He also starred in Cyrano Fernandez, a Venezuelan-Spanish production based on the classic play Cyrano de Bergerac. His performance in the film’s title role brought him Best Actor Awards at the Amien International Film Festival and the Malaga Spanish Film Festival, where the film also won the Audience Award. Read more

Ed Helms: “I think it’s a really flawed notion that you have to be in a bad place to play a bad character… It’s called acting for a reason”

With the upcoming release of directors Jay and Mark Duplass’ new comedy Jeff Who Lives at Home about to arrive in theaters on April 19^th, Vulture caught up with actor Ed Helms who stars in the movie as the titular character’s brother Pat. 

A guy The Office star refers to with a laugh as a “dick-y douche bag”, who thinks he has his own life under control, Pat is the polar opposite when compared to Jeff (played by Jason Segel). He’s the movie’s hilarious pot smoking, directionless, thirty something year old living in his mother’s (Susan Sarandon) basement, looking for omens and answers from the 2002 Mel Gibson flick Signs, and who isn’t afraid to admit that he has no idea where he is headed.

In real life Helms had been coined a sweetheart by the Duplass brothers.  Flipping the switch from nice guy to bad, Helms shared that you don’t have to be evil to play the part.  “I’ve worked with people who are manipulative like that. I think it’s a really flawed notion that you have to be in a bad place to play a bad character, or a damaged character. It’s called acting for a reason.” Read more

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