Interview: Blayne Weaver, Actor/Writer/Director of ’6 Month Rule’, on Directing Himself, Acting His Own Words and Letting His Cast Improvise

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 22:36 — 15.6MB)

When Blayne Weaver came out to LA at 19, he was just like you and me. Ready to rock and eager to work. He got lucky pretty quick and booked parts in shows like JAG, ER and Chicago Hope but eventually he realized that he wanted to do something more substantial.

So, with the help of a friend, he picked up his pen (ok, he sat at his computer) and started writing.

That burst of inspiration turned out to be a film called Manic that starred Don Cheadle, Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Pretty good for a first time screenwriter!

He had a small part in the film and as he was on set, he started to watch the director and began to think, “I can do this.”

And he did.

He wrote and directed a short called Losing Lois Lane, then came his first feature called Outside Sales. Next up was Weather Girl starring Mark Harmon, Kaitlin Olson, Jon Cryer and Jane Lynch.

And now, 6 Month Rule.The film, about a womanizer who, while teaching his recently dumped friend the rules of emotional detachment, accidentally finds someone who could permanently kill those rules. The film stars Blayne, Martin Starr, Natalie Morales, Dave Foley, Jaime Pressly and John Michael Higgins and will be released in New York and Los Angeles in June.

Blayne and I talked recently about the film, what’s it like to direct himself and if it’s easier to act in something he’s written.

On Twitter: Follow Blayne and 6 Month Rule! Read more

Interview: UK Star Ricky Whittle Tries His Luck in America and Comes Up a Winner

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:18 — 16.7MB)

A big star in the UK, Ricky Whittle decided it was time to take a huge gamble with his career.

He had been working steadily back home where he started as a model than transitioned to acting. He nabbed a starring role on the hit soap, Hollyoaks, and was there from 2006-2011. But, as he told me, he soon realized that there was “a plateau.”

“I could have happily have stayed where I was in the U.K.  I was doing very well.  I was working constantly,” he said. “There’s only so far you can go in the U.K.” So, he packed up and moved to Bever-ly. Or, Santa Monica, to be exact.

When he got stateside, he didn’t know anyone. He had a few meetings and by chance, met a manager and that’s when things started rolling. He was quickly cast in the feature Austenland opposite Keri Russell, Jennifer Coolidge and Jane Seymour and soon after, was asked to join the cast of the VH1 series Single Ladies which will premiere this summer. 

I talked to Ricky about what it’s like to come to LA after his years of success back home, the differences in shooting a show in the UK and the States and

For the full interview, click the audio link above or download from iTunes

Follow Ricky on Twitter! Read more

Trailer: ‘Hick’ starring Chloe Grace Moretz, Blake Lively, Eddie Redmayne & Alec Baldwin

Hick: Tired of fending for herself and her mother‟s penchant for hard-drinking men and barroom drama, 13-year-old Luli hits the road on her own, heading west to realize her dream of becoming a superstar. Among her travels she meets Eddie, a drifter with a chip on his shoulder, and Glenda, a troubled but spirited woman who takes Luli under her wing. Luli‟s quick wit, some help from Glenda, the mercurial Eddie, and her colourful daydreams help protect her from the incredibly unpredictable band of characters she encounters on her journey. Hick is a road picture about a young girl who comes face-to-face with the realities of just how complicated adulthood can be.

Director: Derick Martini
Starring: Chloe Grace Moretz, Blake Lively, Eddie Redmayne, Alec Baldwin, Juliette Lewis and Rory Culkin

In Theaters (Limited Release): May 11th Read more

Jerry Ferrara on branching out beyond ‘Entourage’: “I like the challenge”

Playing the same character on a fairly one-dimensional TV series for seven years can understandably lead to an actor being pigeonholed, but Entourage star Jerry Ferrara is looking to prove he’s more than the posse member he played on the HBO series, which aired its final episode last summer.

“I’m proud of what Entourage was and what the character was and I think being heavily identified means I did a good job,” the “Turtle” actor said in a recent interview. “I also was excited for the challenge – like, I know that there will be some people who like think that that’s all I can do. And you know what: give me that opportunity, because I like that challenge.” Read more

Zac Efron On ‘The Lucky One’: “Initially I wasn’t convinced I could pull this off”

Released last weekend, the Nicholas Sparks adaption of The Lucky One has drawn crowds of swooning fans all looking to see actor Zac Efron flesh out U.S. Marine Sergeant Logan Thibault on the big screen.  Grossing an estimated $22 million, the movie centers on the survivor of three tours in Iraq, who travels to find his good luck charm named Beth (played by Taylor Schilling), a woman he has never met before.

Speaking about his role, Efron, who worked under the direction of Scott Hicks, says he was both confident and doubtful about taking on the role. “Initially I wasn’t convinced I could pull this off, but the more I thought about it, and the more I talked to Scott, I realized if there was ever going to be a chance to play a role so different from what I’ve played before, this was it.  I knew I had to put in the work to be able to play Logan, and I felt capable in Scott’s hands.” Read more

Trailer: ‘Looper’ Starring Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Piper Perabo, Jeff Daniels

Looper looks really good. At WonderCon, they had a panel on the upcoming Rian Johnson flick and showed most of what you see here in the trailer below, with a few extra stuff, juicy stuff thrown in.

Synopsis: In the futuristic action thriller Looper, time travel will be invented – but it will be illegal and only available on the black market. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they will send their target 30 years into the past, where a “looper” – a hired gun, like Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) – is waiting to mop up. Joe is getting rich and life is good… until the day the mob decides to “close the loop,” sending back Joe’s future self (Bruce Willis) for assassination. The film is written and directed by Rian Johnson and also stars Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, and Jeff Daniels.

Director: Rian Johnson
Cast: Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Noah Segan, Piper Perabo, Jeff Daniels

In Theaters: September 28th Read more

WonderCon Interview: Maggie Grace on ‘Lockout,’ Working With Green Screen and ‘Taken 2′

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 15:55 — 10.9MB)

Lockout was one of the featured films at this years WonderCon and from the clips and previews they showed, it’s going to be a big, fun, crazy action romp.

The film, set in the near future, stars Maggie Grace (Taken, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn) and Guy Pearce (Memento, Prometheus) and follows a falsely convicted ex-government agent (Pearce), whose one chance at obtaining freedom lies in a dangerous mission. He’s got to rescue the President’s daughter (Grace) from rioting convicts at an outer space maximum-security prison.

Maggie Grace, who is riding high from her roles in Taken and the Twilight films, left Ohio when she was 16 and headed for Los Angeles. She quickly got an agent and started working soon after (FOX’s Septuplets and Oliver Beene), but it was her breakout role as Shannon on Lost that put her on the map. From there, she moved to features including the The Fog, The Jane Austen Book Club and, finally, Taken. After Lockout, she’ll be seen in the last Twilight film and Taken 2: Taken Again. Ok, I made that title up. But Taken 2 is actually coming out soon.

I talked to Maggie at WonderCon about Lockout, working with green screen and her favorite moment on the set and Taken 2. Read more

WonderCon Interview: Brit Marling & Director Zal Batmanglij Talk ‘Sound of My Voice,’ Writing Together and Filming Without a Permit

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:22 — 9.2MB)

Brit Marling (Another Earth) wrote and stars in the time-travel drama, Sound of My Voice. The film is about a couple (Christopher Denham and Nicole Vicius) who go undercover in a cult in an attempt to refute the claims that its leader, Maggie (Marling), is from the future. The two quickly find out that they may be in for far much more than they bargained for.

Brit is hands down a perfect example of the mantra, create your own work. I talked to her last year for Another Earth, when she was just starting to get on everyone’s radar. After Sound of My Voice is released, she’ll be seen in Arbitrage with Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon, The Company You Keep with Robert Redford and Shia LaBeouf and East, another film she wrote and will star in.

I talked to Brit and co-writer/director Zal Batmanglij at WonderCon about how they came up with the idea for the film, filming without a permit and how the two work together as writers. Read more

SXSW Interview: Robin Tunney Talks ‘See Girl Run’, ‘The Mentalist’ and Playing a New Character

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:58 — 13.7MB)

Robin Tunney and Adam Scott star in Nate Meyer‘s great new film, See Girl Run. Tunney stars as Emmie, a restless married woman who leaves her comfortable life behind to find out what her world might have been like if she ended up with her high school sweetheart (Scott).

In 2009, Nate sent Robin the script, she loved it and agreed to do the film. But, there were two major obstacles: money and scheduling.

As you probably know, Robin has a pretty successful day job (and by successful, I mean massive hit) on CBS’ The Mentalist. The first 2 years while on her hiatus, the money wasn’t available but eventually things worked out and they finally had a shooting date. Nate told me that if Robin didn’t love the script so much, the film “couldn’t have happened otherwise.”

I got a chance to talk to both Robin and Nate at SXSW about the film, how she wanted to tackle another character and what the difference was between preparing for the film and The Mentalist. Read more

Trailer: ‘Safety Not Guaranteed’ Starring Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass & Jake Johnson

Safety Not Guaranteed was absolutely, hands down my favorite movie at SXSW.

Actually, I think it’s my favorite movie of the year so far. I loved it and just watching this trailer makes me want to watch it again. Check it out below!

Safety Not Guaranteed: From the producers of Little Miss Sunshine – When an unusual classified ad inspires three cynical Seattle magazine employees to look for the story behind it, they discover a mysterious eccentric named Kenneth, a likable but paranoid supermarket clerk, who believes hes solved the riddle of time travel and intends to depart again soon. Together, they embark on a hilarious, smart, and unexpectedly heartfelt journey that reveals how far believing can take you.

Director: Colin Trevorrow
Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni
Writers: Derek Connolly

In theaters: June 8th, 2012 Read more

Next Page »