John Cusack, star of The Raven, which opens this Friday here in the US, got a star on the fabled Hollywood Walk of Fame yesterday. (The fact that his new movie is out on Friday is no mere coincidence. These things are bought and paid for by studios, publicists, whoever. That doesn’t negate the fact that it’s a slice of immortality. Not everyone gets one.)

On hand to fete the well-deserving Cusack was his current costar Luke Evans as well as members of his family including actor brother Bill and actress sisters Ann and Joan.  I wish I could have heard what Joan had to say. I’m sure it was hilarious. John and Joan have appeared together in nine films.

Other speakers included Billy Bob Thornton, with whom John made 1999’s Pushing Tin, Jack Black who appeared in 2000’s High Fidelity, Dan Ackroyd from Grosse Pointe Blank as well as his two friends from high school with whom Cusack wrote that movie, D.V. Vincentis and Steve Pink.

Where the hell was his best friend Jeremy Piven (whom he’s known also since childhood and made 10 movies with)? Where was good friend Tim Robbins, with whom he’s made 6? I don’t get it. Oh well.

On his role in The Raven, Cusack recently participated in a round table discussion about Edgar Allan Poe, calling him probably the most damaged character he’s ever played and “the godfather of Goth”. “It’s Poe getting wrapped up in one of his own stories. He's trapped in one of his own creations. It's the meta-Poe version of his own life, where he's always trying to figure out the difference between waking and dreaming, living and dying, sanity and insanity.”  I’m in!  Again, The Raven opens this Friday April 27.

Enjoy the pics from yesterday’s ceremony!

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Bernie, starring Jack Black as a mortician in a small Texas town, is a guy so nice that no one will say a bad word about him, even after it appears he’s done something most would consider despicable.

It’s still unclear, after a trailer and some clips, whether or not Bernie killed her for the money or whether he genuinely cared about Shirley MacLaine’s wealthy widow   (an older, meaner, darker spin on Ouiser Boudreaux, the character she played inSteel Magnolias), but that’s okay. Everything doesn’t have to be laid out before we see the movie and ultimately it doesn’t matter. What he does do is go to great lengths to make it appear she’s still alive and he does great things with the ill-gotten gains. Matthew McConaughey plays Danny Buck Davidson (in a hilarious wig), the District Attorney and the one person in town who doesn’t see Bernie as “Mr. Nice Guy”

We have two featurettes to share, one a short behind the scenes look at the film (Jack Black appears either stoned or distracted as he talks about Bernie) and the other is longer, nearly ten minutes, about how real life became reel-life. Both are worth watching if you have any interest in the film.

In the tiny, rural town of Carthage, TX, assistant funeral director Bernie Tiede was one of the town’s most beloved residents.  He taught Sunday school, sang in the church choir and was always willing to lend a helping hand. Everyone loved and appreciated Bernie, so it came as no surprise when he befriended Marjorie Nugent, an affluent widow who was as well known for her sour attitude as her fortune. Bernie frequently traveled with Marjorie and even managed her banking affairs. Marjorie quickly became fully dependant on Bernie and his generosity and Bernie struggled to meet her increasing demands. Bernie continued to handle her affairs, and the townspeople went months without seeing Marjorie. The people of Carthage were shocked when it was reported that Marjorie Nugent had been dead for some time, and Bernie Tiede was being charged with the murder.

In the dark comedy Bernie, directed by Richard Linklater, Jack Black plays Bernie Tiede, Shirley MacLaine plays Mrs. Nugent, and Matthew McConaughey plays the town’s blustery real-life District Attorney, Danny Buck Davidson, who was determined to get to the bottom of the crime. “It’s my Fargo in East Texas, where I grew up” says Linklater, “a story that captures all the hilarity, friendliness, eccentricity and absolute strangeness of small-town Texas life.”

I’ve said before that like Matty and he and director Linklater work very well together. They’ve done Dazed and Confused and The Newton Boys together, both of which featured fine McConaughey performances and I think he’s in his element here, able to use his native East Texas twang to good effect. While I’m not a huge Jack Black fan (No, I’ll never forgive him for The Holiday), but when he’s reined in, he’s effective. 

Bernie looks like fun. It gets a limited US release on April 27.

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We just showed you the first trailer and a poster for Richard Linklater’s Bernie a couple of weeks ago and now we have a boatload of great stills. Based on a true story, the film, written by the director and Skip Hollandsworth, stars Jack Black as Bernie, a mortician in a small Texas town. A guy so nice that no one will say a bad word about him, even after it appears he’s done something most would consider despicable.

We don’t know yet whether or not Bernie killed Shirley Maclaine’s wealthy widow for the money or whether he genuinely cared about her (an older, meaner, darker spin on Ouiser Boudreaux, the character she played in Steel Magnolias), perhaps we never find out, but Bernie does do is go to great lengths to make it appear she’s still alive.  Matthew McConaughey plays Danny Buck Davidson, the District Attorney and the one person in town who doesn’t see Bernie as “Mr. Nice Guy”. 

As I've said, I like Matty and he and Linklater have a history. They’ve done Dazed and Confused and The Newton Boys, both of which featured fine McConaughey performances and I think he’s in his southern-fried element here. While I’m not a huge Jack Black fan (and I’ll never forgive him for being Kate Winslet’s prize at the end of The Holiday), the trailer looks immensely appealing. The film has been to a number of  festivals, most recently screening at SXSW where it was well received.

Bernie will get a limited release April 27th, but look for it on VOD if it doesn’t come to your town.

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We just showed you the first poster for the Richard Linklater’s Bernie a couple of days ago and now we have the first trailer. The film stars Jack Black as Bernie, a mortician in a small Texas town. A guy so nice that no one will say a bad word about him, even after it appears he’s done something most would consider despicable.

The trailer doesn’t make it clear, whether or not Bernie killed her for the for the money or whether he genuinely cared about Shirley MacLaine’s wealthy widow   (an older, meaner, darker spin on Ouiser Boudreaux, the character she played in Steel Magnolias) but I guess there have to be some surprises. What he does do is go to great lengths to make it appear she’s still alive.  Matthew McConaughey plays Danny Buck Davidson, the District Attorney and the one person in town who doesn’t see Bernie as “Mr. Nice Guy”. 

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We have a gorgeous new “retro” poster for Oren Moverman’s Rampart with Woody Harrelson. I love the poster’s 70s vibe that the movie itself gives off.

Synopsis:

Nothing fascinates like a dirty cop. In real life they're terrifying, but in the movies their upending of law and order can open deep explorations of psychology, morality and violence.

So meet Dave Brown (Woody Harrelson), Brown is a cop long ago unleashed from the rules of the Los Angeles Police Department. Roving the streets in his black-and-white cruiser, he governs and punishes at will. His home life is a riddle. Somehow he has fathered children with two sisters (Anne Heche and Cynthia Nixon). Somehow he still lives casually with them both, slipping in and out of a family life that's as tangled as his long career on the force. His own daughter calls him Date Rape. That's because, years ago, Brown may have killed a rapist and gotten away with it. The shadow of the incident still haunts him, so when his Rampart division gets caught up in a corruption scandal, Brown makes an easy target. As the controversy seeps through the department and into city hall, this hardened, reckless officer finds himself at the centre of a sordid L.A. story.

Following up on his Academy Award ® nominated The Messenger, writer/director Oren Moverman assembles an impressive team of talent for Rampart. The script is co-written by crime fiction legend James Ellroy (L.A. Confidential). The cast includes Ben Foster (also in The Messenger), Robin Wright, Sigourney Weaver, Steve Buscemi and Ice Cube.

Although based on a real LAPD scandal from the nineties, Rampart easily transcends reportage.

Rampart is currently in limited release in the US and opened yesterday in the UK.

Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie is an expanded remake of the director’s own short film from 1984.

It’s the tale of young Victor, whose pet dog Sparky  (who stars in Victor's home-made monster movies) is hit by a car, Victor decides to bring him back to life the only way he knows how. But when the bolt-necked "monster" wreaks havoc and terror in the hearts of Victor's neighbors, he has to convince them (and his parents) that despite his appearance, Sparky's still the good loyal friend he's always been.

While the original short was live action, the 2012 version is stop-motion animated in the vein of A Nightmare Before Christmas. It features the voices of many Burton regulars like Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau,  Danny Elfman again provides the score.

Frankenweenie opens October 5 in the US and the UK.

New Year, New Movie: Bernie is a dark comedy about a Texas mortician who kills a wealthy widow, then goes to great lengths to create the illusion that she’s alive. Directed by Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused) and starring Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine and Matthew McConaughey, the film marks McConaughey’s third collaboration with Linklater after Dazed and Confused and The Newton Boys and Black’s second, after School of Rock.

Synopsis:

Black plays Bernie, the beloved mortician in a small Texas town. MacLaine is the town’s richest, meanest widow, and even she adores him. No one will say a bad word about Bernie—even after he commits a very nasty crime.

Bernie played a few festivals last year including LA and London and gets a limited US release on April 27

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Angelina Jolie wore basic beige to the premiere of Kung Fu Panda 2 at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival where she shared the stage (figureatively speaking of course) at the photocall with co-stars Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman. Jack Black is just a big kid himself so he must have been thrilled making this movie.

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At the Kung Fu 2 press conference prior to the photocall, Angelina Jolie confirmed that the whole family is in Cannes with her:

“Yes, we’re all in France. Our whole family is in France and we’re very happy. They’re running around the hotel right now, playing games, and making a giant mess, I’m sure. They’re having a great time. They love it here. Cannes can be overwhelming, and it can be that you meet a lot of friendly faces and have a good laugh and you also get a chance to see some great films. It’s very nice.”

Brad Pitt isn’t seen here at the photocall but I don’t think spouses are usually pictured at photocalls. Perhaps we will see him when they roll out the premiere at the festival?

You can read more of her conversation at the press conference at PopSugar.

Lots of photos after the break.

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Jack Black, Emily Blunt, and Jason Segel gave the cameras a good time on the red carpet for 20th Century Fox’s Premiere of ‘Gulliver’s Travels‘ held at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood last night.

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I am very anxious to see this one.  I loved the classic when I was a kid and this one, with Jack Black….. well, I adore him.  So for me, you just can’t go wrong.

In case you never saw this as a kid because you lived in a tiny bubble, here’s the low down:

In a contemporary re–imagining of the classic tale, Jack Black stars as Gulliver, a big–talking mailroom clerk who, after he’s mistakenly assigned a travel piece on the Bermuda Triangle, suddenly finds himself a giant among men when he washes ashore on the hidden island of Lilliput, home to a population of very tiny people. At first enslaved by the diminutive and industrious Liliputians, and later declared their hero, Gulliver comes to learn that it’s how big you are on the inside that counts.

I will definitely be watching this flick over Christmas break.  Merry Christmas!

Photos: FayesVision/WENN

My future husband Kiefer Sutherland is making his way back to the east coast slowly but surely (suddenly the closet doesn’t seem so hot and stuffy anymore).  He and his co-star Reese Witherspoon attended the Los Angeles premiere of Monsters vs. Aliens.  Do you see the shoes on that girl?  What do you think with the yellow heel?  Also attending the premiere:

• Jack Black
• Josh Hutchinson
• Rainn Wilson
• Hugh Laurie
• Seth Rogan
• Amy Poehler
• Will Arnett
• Angie Harmon
• Paul Rudd

Lots of pics after the break

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