Spielberg eyes more Indiana films

Steven Spielberg has said he is happy to make another Indiana Jones movie if fans enjoy the long-awaited fourth film, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

The director joined stars Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett and Shia LaBeouf at the film's premiere in Cannes.

Asked at a press conference if he wanted to make another film, he said: "Only if you want more.

"That's why we made this Indiana Jones. We'll certainly have our ear to the ground to hear what happens."


Spielberg added: "That'll decide were we go from here."

The film attracted the likes of Natalie Portman, Sean Penn, Goldie Hawn, Salma Hayek, Dennis Hopper, Christian Slater, Billy Zane and Kelly Brook to its showpiece screening.

The BBC's Mark Savage said it was "very much in the style of the first three films. The set-piece stunts are second to none.

"There's also a sly acknowledgement of internet rumours that Shia LaBeouf will take over the franchise," he continued.

Early reviews have been mixed - British movie magazine Empire's Damon Wise said it was "a slick, fun film", while the Daily Telegraph's David Gritten called it "undeniably creaky".

But leading man Ford, now 65, said he was not afraid of what critics thought.

"I expect to have the whip turned on me. It is not unusual for something that is popular to be disdained by some people and I fully expect it," he said.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Harrison Ford talks to the BBC's Razia Iqbal about playing an action hero "I'm not really worried about it. I work for the people who pay to get in - they are my customers.

"My focus is on providing the best experience I can for those people."

Ford, who made his debut in the role in 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark, described the new film as a "celebration of the movies".

He added that he was delighted to see it create such a stir at Cannes, with fans holding up signs saying "need Indy ticket".

"I'm delighted that we have the opportunity to release a film now because for a couple of generations, young people have just been seeing this on DVD at home," he said.

"Now we get the chance to see it in the cinema, where it's meant to be seen. I'm very excited about that."

The film opens in 1957 at the height of the Cold War, and that the hero is on the search for a skull stolen from a lost city and guarded by the living dead.

Spielberg tried to make the film using old-fashioned B-movie techniques, rather than computer graphics, in keeping with the original trilogy.

Scenes in the trailer show Ford make a joking reference to his age.

"This isn't as easy as I remember," he quips.

The movie has its UK release on 22 May.

BBC News.

New "Lord of the Rings" series - "The Hobbit"

Sir Ian McKellen back as Gandalf

Sir Ian McKellen has confirmed he will reprise his role as Gandalf in the film remake of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit.

"Yes, it's true," he told Empire magazine. "It's not a part that you turn down. I loved playing Gandalf."

Two Hobbit films are planned for release in 2010 and 2011. They will be prequels to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson.

Guillermo del Toro has been named as the director of the movies, to be made back-to-back in New Zealand.

"I spoke to Guillermo in the very room that Peter Jackson offered me the part and he confirmed that I would be reprising the role," Sir Ian said.

He also said del Toro would be starting the script in about six weeks after he has finished filming current project, Hellboy 2.

According to studio New Line, the first film will be an adaptation of The Hobbit and the second will be an original story focusing on the 60 years between the book and the beginning of the Rings trilogy.

"As to how it's going to work over two films and what going to happen on screen, well Guillermo has not got down to working out the major details yet - I can tell you it's going to be amazing though," Sir Ian said.

BBC News.

An interview with "Dr. House"

Hugh Laurie hits America’s funny bone

THE British comedy actor Hugh Laurie is the unlikely star of a hit new show on American television. Critics have been raving about his “career-shifting” performance as a misanthropic doctor in the drama series House.

Laurie plays Dr Gregory House, a cranky hospital doctor lacking a bedside manner, with a flawless American accent. It is a far cry from his upper-class twit roles in Blackadder and Jeeves and Wooster, which helped to make his name in Britain.

“I’m enjoying the character,” Laurie said during a break from filming. “There is something appealingly adolescent about him. He is dramatic and intense at times but he can be very witty. I get the best of all possible worlds.”

If Americans knew Laurie at all, it was as the father of a talking mouse in Stuart Little, the children’s film. Bryan Singer, director of X-Men, the science fiction series, and who is an executive producer of the new show, had not heard of Laurie but was “floored” by his audition. He had no idea the actor was British.

“I was very lucky to sneak under the wire,” said Laurie, who was not sure what he was auditioning for from the two-page script. He assumed his tape would be thrown unwatched in the bin. “It actually worked to my advantage that he had never heard of me.”

The series began slowly last autumn but was propelled into the top 10 when Fox gave it a slot after American Idol, the ratings giant. The audience for House doubled overnight and has continued to grow weekly, reaching more than 18m viewers last week.

“This rarely happens in American television. It’s a bona fide hit. The word of mouth is really strong,” said Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly.

“People love its blend of mystery and meticulous character study and have fallen head over heels for Hugh Laurie’s complicated doctor.”

House walks with a cane, is addicted to painkillers and has little time for patients, believing that they habitually lie to doctors. His prickly character is loosely based on Sherlock Holmes. In the show he obsessively ferrets out the truth about patients’ unusual medical conditions. He is equally brusque with his colleagues, whom he quizzes impertinently about their private lives.

In last week’s episode he uncovered the infidelity that led a woman who had never been to Africa to contract sleeping sickness. Among his memorable quips is: “Have you ever seen an infected, pierced scrotum?” George Clooney in ER was more obviously dishy and sympathetic to his patients, yet the dishevelled Laurie, 45, is showing unexpected signs of sex appeal.

“It’s a very amusing and perfectly absurd comparison. George Clooney is very easy on the eye, I’m the ogre on the set,” Laurie said modestly.

There are traces of sexual tension at the hospital, nevertheless.

“House has one aspect that drives women crazy,” said Jenson. “He’s so aloof. There is a young woman doctor who is becoming hopelessly enamoured of him because she is constantly seeking his approbation.”

The series also reveals the moody doctor to be an old boyfriend of his female hospital boss.

In real life Laurie’s wife, Jo Green, and their children have remained in London while he finishes filming. “I feel like I’m working on an oil rig right now,” he said. “I’m away from home a lot.”

After all the acclaim Fox has signed up for a second series. Television critics have hailed House as “one of TV’s great shows”, Laurie’s character as a “magnificent creation” and his performance as “grumpy, guarded and brilliant”.

The actor, who has suffered from depression in the past, now has to cope with the demands of success. “Making a new show every eight days is punishing. It’s the quantity that’s the problem. It’s like eating lobster. By the 70th plate you start to go off lobster,” he said.

“We’re doing in eight months what I did over four years with Stephen Fry in Jeeves and Wooster.”

Laurie remains close to his old circle of British friends such as Fry, whom he met at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He was educated at Eton and Cambridge and one of his earliest girlfriends was Emma Thompson, the actress. Laurie’s British chums have been supportive of his American career. “Stephen has been very kind,” he said. “He’s seen one or two episodes and seems to approve but maybe they’re all sniggering up their sleeves.”

It remains to be seen whether British audiences will take to Laurie’s freshly minted American accent. “I think I will probably shock and disgust everybody. English people are naturally embarrassed by affectation,” he said. “If you are in France and your friend starts speaking French to the waiter it’s worse than watching a person go to the lavatory. The same may apply here.”

The Times.

Final Potter film 'split in half'

The seventh and final Harry Potter novel will be adapted for the big screen in two parts, reports suggest.

Producer David Heyman told the Los Angeles Times it had been impossible to cram Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows' 608 pages into a single movie.

"Unlike every other book, you cannot remove elements of this book," he said.

Fans of the series have been left disappointed in the past when key scenes, including Quidditch matches, were excised for the film adaptations.

Star Daniel Radcliffe told the Los Angeles Times that splitting the final book in two was the only sensible option for the film-makers.

'Pounding story'

"There have been compartmentalised subplots in the other books that have made them easier to cut - although those cuts were still to the horror of some fans," he told the paper.

"The seventh book doesn't really have any subplots. It's one driving, pounding story from the word go."

According to film trade paper Variety, the final two films will be shot back to back.

The first will reportedly be released in November 2010, with the second part hitting screens the following May.

The Kill Bill strategy of releasing two instalments will also boost profits at film studio Warner Bros.

The first five movies have made $4.5 billion (£2.2 billion) worldwide - making it the biggest film franchise in box office history, surpassing both James Bond and Star Wars.

Filming for the sixth chapter in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, began in September last year.

It is being directed by David Yates, who will also helm the final two films.

BBC News.

Ang Lee talks about his movies

Director Ang Lee has said he would rather his sexually explicit film Lust, Caution lost money than be shown in a "compromised" form.

The film - a 1940s espionage thriller set in Shanghai during the Japanese occupation - received a restrictive NC-17 rating when it opened in the US last September.

The period drama, which won the Golden Lion award at the 2007 Venice Film Festival, will be released in the UK on 4 January with an 18 certificate.

While an 18 certificate is roughly equivalent to an American NC-17, the US rating is generally considered to affect a film's ability to attract a big American audience.

The film was shown unedited in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but had its sex scenes excised by authorities in China.

BBC news.

Link to the story.

Depp named 'best autograph giver'

Actor Johnny Depp has been named Hollywood's best celebrity at giving out autographs.

The 44-year-old has topped the list for 10 Best Hollywood Signers in Autograph magazine for the third year in a row.

"Though soft-spoken and laid-back, he likes to talk to fans and get to know them while signing," said autograph dealer Anthony Risi.

Matt Damon is second on the list and Will Ferrell was voted the worst celebrity at signing autographs.

Link to the story.

Heroes creator apologises to fans

The creator of hit TV show Heroes has apologised to fans in the US for a slow start to the second series.

Tim Kring admitted to Entertainment Weekly that mistakes had been made on the choice of storylines, but promised to get the show back on track.

The second series has seen falling ratings in the US, where the programme is now eight episodes in.

Viewers in the UK can see the conclusion of the first series on BBC Two on 5 December.

Link to the story.

Harry Potter most re-read book in Britain: survey

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Nearly 80 percent of Britons have re-read a book, with the Harry Potter series the most likely to be picked up again, a survey revealed on Friday.

Some of the books that are re-read for pleasure are classics such as Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" and Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre".

Others in the top 10 include JRR Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" as well as Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code".

JK Rowling outs Dumbledore as gay

Harry Potter author JK Rowling has revealed that one of her characters, Hogwarts school headmaster Albus Dumbledore, is gay.

She made her revelation to a packed house in New York's Carnegie Hall on Friday, as part of her US book tour.

Link to the article.