Moviefone Editorial

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  • 18 Things You Never Knew About ‘L.A. Confidential’

    “L.A. Confidential” isn’t just one of the best crime dramas of the past two decades; it’s also one of the best movies — period — of the past two decades.

    Released 20 years ago this week (on September 19, 1997), the film was faithful to the spirit of James Ellroy’s epic noir novel of corruption and paranoia in 1950s La-La Land. It gave early Hollywood career boosts to Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce, made an A-list director out of the late Curtis Hanson, and even won an Oscar for Kim Basinger.

    In addition to the movie’s twisty mystery plot, “L.A. Confidential” had some behind-the-scenes mysteries as well. But now they can be told. Remember, you read it here first, on the Q.T., and very hush-hush.
    1. Some of the events in the film are true. There really was a Christmas Eve police riot, and a lurid celebrity gossip magazine called “Hush-Hush.” Screen goddess Lana Turner really did have a romance with mobster Johnny Stompanato. Not mentioned in the movie (but included in the novel) is that Stompanato was abusive toward Turner and that, in 1958, Turner’s teenage daughter, Cheryl Crane, stabbed him to death, claiming he was assaulting her mother. (The stabbing was ruled a justifiable homicide.) It was one of the biggest Hollywood scandals of the 1950s.

    2. Ellroy sold Warner Bros. the film rights to “L.A. Confidential,” the third of four novels in his “L.A. Quartet” series, even before the book was published in 1990. His attitude was, “Thanks for the dough.” Even the book’s own author didn’t think that the sprawling, 500-page novel — which follows eight plot lines over a seven-year period — was adaptable for the screen, so Ellroy assumed the film would never be made.
    3. Hanson was a fan of Ellroy’s novels, having grown up in the 1950s Los Angeles portrayed in Ellroy’s work. His uncle owned JAX, a clothing boutique that catered to such Hollywood actresses as Natalie Wood and Marilyn Monroe. The uncle also owned a magazine called “Cinema,” for which his high-school dropout nephew took photographs, interviewed golden-age filmmakers and actors, and eventually became editor-in-chief before going into filmmaking himself. He’d made some pulpy thrillers that Ellroy had admired (“The Bedroom Window,” “Bad Influence“) before finding commercial success with the glossier pulp suspense of “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” and “The River Wild.”

    4. Hanson won over frequent Warners producer Arnon Milchan with a presentation much like the montage that opens the film. Hanson showed him a series of postwar postcards of sunny and glamorous Los Angeles that sold the dream, followed by lurid period crime photos, including some of movie star scandals, that showed the reality beneath the glitzy facade.
    5. Brian Helgeland was a fellow Ellroy fan as well; he was also struggling as a screenwriter at Warners, writing medieval action sagas that never got made. When he heard the studio was adapting “L.A. Confidential,” he wanted to be the screenwriter, but he couldn’t shake the studio’s perception of him as “the sword guy.”

    6. Learning that Hanson was attached to the project, Helgeland finagled a meeting with the director on the “River Wild” set, and both men realized that they had the same bright idea for adapting the book: Cut every scene that didn’t involve one of LAPD detectives who were the three primary characters. Together, they’d spend two years revising and streamlining their screenplay.
    7. Hanson insisted on casting little-known actors as detectives Bud White and Ed Exley, so that audiences wouldn’t have any preconceived notions about what the characters were going to be like. As it turned out, both actors cast were Australian imports. Russell Crowe’s performance as a violent skinhead in “Romper Stomper” convinced Hanson that he had the brutality necessary to play White, while Pearce’s audition persuaded Hanson that he had the cagey intelligence required for Exley. (Hanson said he made a point of not watching Pearce in “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” because “I didn’t want to have my confidence shaken by watching him run around for two hours in a dress.”)

    8. Milchan stood up for Hanson’s choice not to cast box office draws as his protagonists. His support, as well as Hanson’s own passion for the project, allowed him to attract bigger names to the supporting roles — Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito, Basinger — with just three weeks to go before the shoot began.
    9. Another little-known Australian actor named Simon Baker Denny caught an early career break in the small but crucial role of male ingenue Matt Reynolds. Later, as The Mentalist.”

    10. In the movie, both White and Exley fall for call girl and Veronica Lake-lookalike Lynn Bracken, played by Basinger. She was 43 at the time of filming, 11 years older than Crowe and 14 years older than Pearce. That doesn’t happen very often in Hollywood movies, though Ellroy said he approved of the “maternal aspect” that the age difference between Basinger and Crowe gave to their characters’ romance.
    11. Hanson managed to film his lush period piece with a budget of just $35 million. Much of the credit goes to his location scouts, who were miraculously able to find some 60 locations in Los Angeles that still looked like they did in 1953. The only set that had to be built from scratch was the Victory Motel, in part because the already ramshackle lodging is all but turned to Swiss cheese during the movie’s climactic gun battle.

    12. Ellroy said he was “very, very taken” with Hanson and Helgeland’s adaptation, despite the many changes and cuts from his novel. He still felt their script kept his characters and themes intact. “I’ve long held that hard-boiled crime fiction is the history of bad white men doing bad things in the name of authority,” he told the Dallas Observer while promoting the film’s release. “They stated that case plain.”
    13. Ellroy even liked the scenes Hanson and Helgeland had invented, like that final shootout (above), though he didn’t think it would work when he read the script. “Two guys holed up in a room where they kill fifteen guys — it’s bulls**t,” Ellroy said of the scene as written. “But you know what? It’s inspired bulls**t.”

    14. Warners turned down Hanson’s request to submit “L.A. Confidential” to the Cannes Film Festival, reasoning that the French fest would be biased against a big-studio production. Hanson went behind the studio’s back, submitted the film anyway, and was rewarded with a screening that was well-received by critics.
    15. “L.A. Confidential” was a modest box office hit, earning $65 million in North America and a total of $126 million worldwide.

    16. The movie was nominated for nine Oscars, including Best Picture, Director, Production Design, Cinematography, Editing, Score, and Sound Mixing. It won two — Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay — but it lost in all other categories to “Titanic.” 17. Basinger’s performance is one of the shortest ever to win an Oscar; she’s on screen for just 15 of the film’s 138 minutes. Still, as the biggest box-office name in the film, she was foregrounded in the poster art and featured prominently in the trailer.

    18. In 1999, there was an attempt to turn “L.A. Confidential” into a TV series. A pilot was shot, starring Cougar Town” star Ghost Whisperer” David Conrad in Pearce’s role, Pruitt Taylor Vince (in DeVito’s part), Melissa George (as Lynn Bracken), and Eric Roberts in David Strathairn‘s role as upscale pimp Pierce Patchett. The pilot was never picked up as a series, but it finally surfaced a decade later on the movie’s Blu-ray. CBS recently announced a new adaptation for TV.

  • 6 Things You Need to Know Before Seeing ‘Alien: Covenant’

    You’d think at some point the residents of the “Alien” universe would learn to stop traveling to remote worlds where hungry Xenomorphs are waiting to eviscerate them. Oh well. Their loss is our gain, as franchise returns to theaters with “Alien: Covenant.”

    If you’re not sure where this latest film falls on the increasingly complicated “Alien” timeline, fear not. We’re breaking down everything you need to know about “Covenant, from how it connects to 2012’s “Prometheus” to what to expect from this new crew of unfortunate souls/future chestburster incubators.

    1. It’s More of a Sequel to “Prometheus” Than You ThinkWhile it’s not actually called “Prometheus 2,” “Covenant” is a follow-up to that 2012 “Alien” prequel.

    Set ten years after the events of that polarizing prequel, “Covenant” will reveal (sort of) what became of Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and the damaged android David (Michael Fassbender) after they left LV-223 in search of the Engineers who created humanity. The film will also feature Guy Pearce reprising his role as the late Peter Weyland (despite having suffered a violent death last time around).

    2. You’ll Meet Mostly New CharactersWhile it’s a continuation of “Prometheus,” “Covenant” looks to be focusing more on a new cast of characters. The film revolves mainly around the crew of the Covenant, who are responsible for ferrying a group of interstellar colonists to their new home. This crew is the latest in a long line of Weyland-Yutani teams to run afoul of the ruthless Xenomorphs (HR and legal must love these workman’s comp claims).

    The crew includes terraforming expert Daniels (Katherine Waterston), first mate Christopher Oram (Billy Crudup), chief pilot Tennessee (Danny McBride), and security officer Sgt. Lope (Demián Bichir).

    Fassbender will be pulling double duty this time around, as he’ll also be playing the Covenant’s helpful (and kind of badass) android, Walter.

    3. The Film Goes Back to Its RootsNot all “Alien” fans were thrilled with the direction in which “Prometheus” pulled the franchise, complaining about director Ridley Scott‘s emphasis on philosophy and fleshing out the origins of the Xenomorphs with complicated and convoluted mythology, rather than finding a worthwhile way of exploring those questions by way of the claustrophobic horror — and character-driven stakes — that made the first two “Alien” films so memorable.

    Luckily, early reviews suggest that “Covenant” is bringing the franchise back to its roots. Expect more emphasis on horror and bloodshed this time around, as the Covenant crew slowly come to grips with the deadly threat awaiting them when they detour to an undiscovered planet while en route to their new home.

    4. There’s Even More Mythology
    Despite the “back to basics” mentality of this prequel, “Covenant” will still feature some of the philosophical elements of “Prometheus.” The original title of the film was actually “Alien: Paradise Lost,” which gives you some idea of where Ridley Scott is drawing inspiration from.

    “Covenant” goes deeper into the world of the mysterious Engineers while expanding on what the black goo is that seems to have birthed both humanity and the Xenomorphs.

    5. There’s a New Xenomorph
    It wouldn’t be a proper “Alien” movie without at least one new variation on the Xenomorph. “Covenant” will introduce the Neomorph, a smaller, more feral version of the iconic monster. The Neomorphs are native to the seemingly idyllic world the Covenant crew discover in the film, created after the Engineers’ black goo interacted with, well, you’ll have to see for yourself.

    Traditionalists needn’t worry — the film will also feature plenty of the classic “Big Chap” Xenomorph we know and love. But rather than a tall guy in a rubber suit, the Xenomorphs are now mostly computer-animated creations, making them quicker, deadlier, and more flashy than ever.

    6. “Covenant” Starts a New TrilogyWe can only hope “Covenant” recaptures the appeal of the first two “Alien” movies, otherwise, it might be the last entry in the franchise. Scott intends “Covenant” to be the first part of a new trilogy of films that will progressively shed more light on David and his plans to continue a more deadly version of what the Engineers started.

    The goal is to eventually link this trilogy to the events of the original “Alien.” Scott already has developed screenplays for both sequels, with production on “Alien: Covenant 2” hoping to begin in 2018.

    “Alien: Covenant” hits theaters May 19. Get your tickets here.

  • Kit Harington Says Not Knowing How ‘Game of Thrones’ Will End Is ‘Amazing’

    Ready to see Kit Harington play a different kind of unlikely hero? Only this time, there are no dragons, dire wolves, or White Walkers in sight.

    The “Game of Thrones” star has a key role in “Brimstone,” the bleak, violent and uncompromising Western from Dutch filmmaker Martin Koolhoven (now in select theaters and available On Demand/Digital HD). The film slowly, over the course of four in-film “chapters,” unveils the grim circumstances in which a young, mute frontier midwife and mother (Dakota Fanning) finds herself the target of an obsessed and unrelenting fire-and-brimstone preacher (Guy Pearce). Harington plays Samuel, a wounded cowboy running from trouble, who receives shelter from the 14-year-old Liz (Emilia Jones) and leaves a lasting mark on the girl as her life descends into horror.

    Once again, Harington treads into territory that unflinchingly explores violence, brutality, and their aftereffects, much like the HBO fantasy series he’s best known for. After wrapping filming on the upcoming seventh season, he admits that he’s still marveling on how the show has moved forward so strongly, without a new volume in the epic A Song of Ice and Fire” series to shape it.

    Moviefone: “Brimstone” is quite an amazing piece of filmmaking, and I imagine it was a very easy “yes” for you to get involved. But what were the specific motivators for you? What were the things you saw in the character and in the story that really got you excited creatively?

    Kit Harington: I’ll be honest: I read the script a while before I joined it. Then, as sometimes happens, the role went to someone else. It went to Robert Pattinson. I kind of put it to bed in my head. Then whatever happened happened, and I came aboard very late.

    I think first and foremost, I really wanted this role from the get-go because the script was so strong. It was so interesting. It was so surreal. It wasn’t really specific to any kind of genre.
    It takes a pretty unflinching look at violence and its consequences, and also very dark elements of sexuality, and both are things that you’re also familiar with from “Game of Thrones.” Why are these things, do you feel, important to explore artistically for you right now?

    I think I’ve always been an advocate of going to really disturbing places in the dramas that we see, and to places of real violence. It could be a very controversial and very difficult subject to tackle on film, especially violence against women, and making sure that we’re not trying to use it as just a plot device.

    And I think this piece was really about a young woman’s fortitude, and her journey through very tough and difficult and brutal things happen that in her life, and I feel that was a story that was worth telling.

    Once you showed up to play the part, what was the interesting twists and turns for you as an actor in portraying this character?

    It was strange because it was offered to me and I had, like, a day to prepare. I had very little time. I had to, like, get on a flight the next day and just do this part -– which, usually, you’ve got a couple of months maybe — at least — to kind of get your head into a role. So, I had to make some very quick choices on the character, and that was challenging.

    But I like the antihero-ness of this man. You’re not quite sure where he is. Obviously, he’s a thief and he’s in with a bad crowd, and yet he finds his own redemption through helping this young woman. I think it’s a very short journey that my character takes in the film. It’s in one chapter. I was quite drawn into trying to tell that story quickly.

    Despite that small arc, he’s very pivotal to the overall story, so that must have been an extra bit of fun trying to keep that in mind, how large he looms in her life.

    We go through life, and some people are in our lives for a very short space of time, but they can have great impact. This movie is about different periods of this woman’s life, which have taken on great importance. He’s one of those memories. He’s one of those chapters as someone who tried to help her see there could be goodness in this world. There could be people who would help her, who could help her. I think that was interesting playing a memory in some ways, like coming in to play a memory of the lead character.
    This marks a major arrival of a filmmaker in Martin Koolhoven, working for the first time in an English language film. Tell me about your experiences working with him.

    I really got on with Martin. He’s one of those directors who knows his piece fully. He’s written it, and he knows it so well, and he knows very much what he wants to do. There was no guessing involved with Martin, and there was no shirking what his vision was.

    He’s very direct, and also very kind and very loving, and he kept a set that loved him deeply. You could see the people he works with really, really have a lot of care for this man, and they like him.

    You have obviously a limited amount of time to shoot movies in between working on “Game of Thrones.” Are there certain things that you kind of look for? Obviously, the schedule realities are important, but are there kinds of roles, or types of genres, that you’re especially looking for?

    I’m so greedy in that way! I’m lucky in that I get options and offers. I always want to try and do something different from “Thrones,” if I can; a character that’s not a sword-wielding hero, because I do that for half the year. So I would look at something away from that, but other than that, it’s always on the scripts and the filmmaker. It’s always on when you read a script — is there something that grabs you?

    I read so many scripts that I love and I think are brilliant, but I just know I can’t do the character. I know the character -– even if it’s not for me, they think it is. Sometimes you’re turning things down that are really great. You just know you won’t do it justice.
    As you left last season at “Thrones,” the bar was higher than ever -– and congratulations on what a phenomenal season that was. Tell me what it was like for you all coming back together, again sort of in that uncharted territory without an existing George R.R. Martin book already laying down a road map, and knowing where you left it.

    It’s just amazing, in some ways, having no book to go on, because the scripts come through and you’re completely in the dark about what they’re going to do. Believe me, I just finished Season Seven, and I am already counting down the days until I get the Season Eight scripts.

    Everyone’s been wondering how it’s going to end, and what’s going to happen right from the get-go, and theorizing about it. It’s really exciting to me not knowing, genuinely having no idea where it’s going to end, what they’ve got in their heads, and being the first to find out.

    At this point, having evolved him over all these seasons, what do you still love about Jon Snow? Do you feel protective about him at this point and keeping his nobility intact, or are you looking for more evolution?

    I sort of know where he is now. Next season will be next season, he might go through a big change, I don’t know. He’s dear to me. I’ve lived with him for so long. I think I’ve come into a place of felling quite emotional about him, actually, knowing that I’m not going to get to go back to him after next year.

    I’m really trying to just take stock of having lived this sort of dual life with this character, and being through so much with this character. It’s been a strange journey, but I’ll always be fond of it.

  • Who the Heck Is Peter Dinklage Playing in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’?!

    “Game of Thrones” star Peter Dinklage has been cast in an unspecified role.

    Marvel Studios may not be saying much, but we have a few ideas as to what characters Dinklage could be playing as the Avengers head into space to battle Thanos. Scroll down to check out our theories.

    1. M.O.D.O.K.
    M.O.D.O.K.’s name stands for “Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing,” and you can get a pretty good idea of his personality from that. Basically a gigantic head with a penchant for murdering minions with his forehead laser, M.O.D.O.K. is one of the primary leaders of the science terrorists known as AIM.

    We saw a version of AIM. in “Iron Man 3” led by Guy Pearce‘s Aldrich Killian, but we want to see the group’s true lord and master enter the fray.

    2. Eternity
    As “Infinity War” delves deeper into Marvel’s cosmic elements, it only makes sense that moviegoers will start to be exposed to some of the more powerful entities that pull the string of the Marvel Universe.

    We could see Dinklage and his soothing voice easily filling the role of Eternity, the ageless being who exists everywhere at once and can reshape reality at a whim, especially with Benedict Cumberbatch‘s mystical hero Doctor Strange playing such a big role in this sequel.

    3. Starfox
    With Thanos stepping into the spotlight, we’re hoping we’ll get to meet the rest of the Mad Titan’s family in “Infinity War.” Dinklage would be a perfect fit to play Thanos’ estranged brother and occasional Avenger, Starfox.

    Starfox spends most of his time drinking and womanizing when he isn’t saving the universe, and we can think of a certain other Dinklage character who matches that description.

    4. Pip the Troll
    Pip the Troll is perhaps the most obvious choice for Dinklage, given the actor’s short stature. Perhaps too obvious, but the fact that Pip is so closely tied to Thanos does make it a likely possibility. The mischievous Pip is a frequent sidekick to Adam Warlock, one of Thanos’ greatest enemies and another character we assume will play a central role in “Infinity War.”

    5. Arno Stark
    Given Dinklage’s knack for playing sarcastic, charismatic characters, he reminds us more than a little of Robert Downey Jr.‘s Tony Stark. Why, they could almost be brothers. So why not take the opportunity to cast Dinklage as Arno Stark?

    Originally an evil Iron Man from the future, Arno was recently re-imagined in the comics as Tony’s long-lost brother. We’d love to see the two Starks join forces on the big screen.

    6. The Watcher
    The Watcher is an immortal being cursed to observe all events in the universe but never interfere. A rule which he sometimes breaks when the situation is dire enough (for instance, when Thanos is trying to assemble the Infinity Gauntlet).

    There’s been speculation that Stan Lee has actually been playing The Watcher in his various cameo appearances, but we think Dinklage would be perfect to play another character whose main skill is “knowing things.”

    We’ll find out when “Infinity War” hits theaters Summer 2018.

  • Curtis Hanson Dies at 71: Russell Crowe, Eminem, Guy Pearce Mourn ‘Mentor’

    We lost another good one. Director Curtis Hanson, who won an Oscar for co-writing “L.A. Confidential,” died Tuesday, September 20 in Los Angeles. The L.A. Times said police were called to a Hollywood Hills home for a medical emergency just before 5 p.m., and Hanson was pronounced dead at the scene. He was 71, and police said he died of natural causes.

    Hanson is probably best known for directing “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” (1992), “The River Wild” (1994), “8 Mile” (2002), “The Wonder Boys,” and the modern classic “L.A. Confidential” (1997), which earned him an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

    “8 Mile” star Eminem was one of the many celebrities to honor Hanson after the news broke. Here’s what he shared in a statement (via Entertainment Weekly):

    “Curtis Hanson believed in me and our crazy idea to make a rap battle movie set in Detroit. He basically made me into an actor for ‘8 Mile.’ I’m lucky I got to know him.”

    Here are more reactions from stars who worked with Hanson:


    According to the L.A. Times, Hanson “fell gravely ill” in November 2011 while directing “Chasing Mavericks” with Jonny Weston, Gerard Butler and Elisabeth Shue; director Michael Apted reportedly finished the last 15 days of principal photography.

    Condolences to the director’s family, and the film world at large, for this huge loss.

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  • Christopher Nolan’s Top Rated Movies

    the dark knight 2008Christopher Nolan is one of the most inventive directors of his generation, pushing the envelope with each movie. He casts brilliant actors and allows them to demonstrate their courage, humanity, and passion, making for powerful and emotional storytelling. Nolan is never locked into one genre — he has tackled period pieces, outer space thrillers, even dramas that feature the ability to shape people’s dreams. He also successfully rebooted the Batman movie franchise, creating a new take on Bruce Wayne along with the best Joker audiences have ever seen. This list doesn’t cover all the movies Nolan has directed, but it highlights some of his — and cinema’s — finest to date.

    ‘Inception’ (2010)

    “Inception,” is creative and cutting edge, with visual effects that showcase dream worlds where the rules of gravity and physics don’t apply. Leonardo DiCaprio leads a cast that explores the exciting and dangerous realm of dreams. Wrapped within this visually mind-bending futuristic film is a deeply personal story of loss. As his team invades the mind of a young businessman, DiCaprio’s character must come to terms with the tragic suicide of his wife. Until he is able to do so, his mind’s projection of her threatens to destroy every dream he is in and every person within the dream. The cast includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, and Marion Cotillard, who all demonstrate fearlessness in the face of achieving the impossible.

    ‘Interstellar’ (2014)

    A remarkable family drama, “Interstellar” also explores the realms of physics, faith, space exploration, and time travel. Matthew McConaughey leads a team of astronauts through a wormhole to investigate three possibly inhabitable planets. At the time of his departure, his daughter (played by Jessica Chastain) is a young and curious girl who has a knack for science and the ability to see what others cannot. As her father is away in space, time passes very slowly for him (because, science) and very quickly for her, so when his crew is stuck outside a black hole with no way home, she becomes an adult back on earth. Through a series of incredible events, McConaughey must find a way to communicate with his daughter, find his way home, and ultimately save Earth. The profoundness of “Interstellar” will have you wanting to call the people you love, and the ending will leave you breathless.

    ‘Memento’ (2001)

    One of Nolan’s first movies, “Memento” has a creatively mind-blowing plot, essentially telling the story in reverse order. The protagonist, played by Guy Pearce, suffers from a type of amnesia that stops him from creating any new memories. As Pearce’s character attempts to investigate the murder of his wife, he must write down clues using a series of hand-written notes and tattoos. Eventually, his body is covered in tattoos and his clues help him build his case, but the memory loss allows him to be manipulated by some very dangerous people, including Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano. The jaw-dropping ending reveals the frightening truth of what Pearce learns. “Memento” is a masterclass in reverse storytelling that will leave you equally disturbed and intrigued.

    ‘Batman Begins’ (2005)

    Through his work on “Batman Begins,” Christopher Nolan officially “grounded” superhero movies and set them in a reality more plausible than spandex and capes. His versions of Batman and Gotham City were darker, more rooted in the comic books, and more realistic than in previous “Batman” movies. In “Batman Begins,” Nolan explores Bruce Wayne’s League of Assassins martial arts training, his inspiration for wanting to rebuild Gotham, and his transformation into Batman. Christian Bale is a pensive Bruce Wayne; Michael Caine is a delightful and meddling Alfred; Liam Neeson is a quick-witted and deadly Ra’s al Ghul. After being haunted by his parents’ deaths for years and going on a quest of self-discovery, Bruce Wayne decides to use his skills to save his city from impending destruction. “Batman Begins” revived a dying franchise, which Nolan then turned into a successful trilogy.

    ‘The Dark Knight’ (2008)

    “The Dark Knight” is the second of Nolan’s Batman trilogy. The story starts by featuring a corrupt city when the District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) and Police Commissioner Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) decide to clean it of organized crime. An optimistic Bruce Wayne believes he can give up his alter ego to live with Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) — until the Joker (Heath Ledger) throws a large, murder-filled wrench in his plans. The movie follows the Joker and Wayne as the Joker threatens to cause more and more mayhem, and Wayne must make some tough decisions on who he can save. Combined with Ledger’s haunting performance — and tragic death — it’s easy to see why “The Dark Knight” grossed over $158 million opening weekend.

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  • Pregnant Carice van Houten and Guy Pearce Are Expecting … Shadowbaby Jokes

    Melisandre better get ready for another awkward baby shower.

    Dutch “Game of Thrones” actress Carice van Houten and Australian actor Guy Pearce confirmed they are expecting a baby together, which served as a double notice for many of us that they were even dating.
    US-ENTERTAINMENT-SAG AWARDS-ARRIVALSPearce split from his wife of 18 years last year, and they had no children together.

    The “Memento” star had been open about his lack of interest in having children, telling The Guardian in 2007, “I don’t even need them. There are enough babies in the world. Besides, I don’t think I would be good for babies. I’d be on and off. I think they need more consistent affection than I would be able to give.” (He said he’s more of a cat person.)
    'Genius' Press Conference - 66th Berlinale International Film FestivalSo that’s his experience with kids, and we’ve all seen how Melisandre deals with children — she pushed Stannis to burn his daughter Shireen, she’s a nightmare at baby showers, and the last time she gave birth, the shadowbaby killed a would-be king.


    Pearce, 48, and van Houten, 39, are both filming the movie “Brimstone” (along with GoT star Kit Harington) and they are well aware that this situation is just begging for jokes about Melisandre’s shadowbaby:


    Liam Cunningham, who plays Davos on GoT, even jumped in on the action:


    Congrats to the growing family! May the Lord of Light shine upon their shadowbaby and give it a special Valyrian steel rattle-sword to protect it through those dark nights that are full of terrors.

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  • 15 Things You Never Knew About Christopher Nolan’s ‘Memento’

    As opening scenes go, you don’t get much better than “Memento,” Christopher Nolan‘s gripping film. And, as features go, few are as scary-good as this one. A thriller about memory, reality and, um, tattoos, “Memento’s” twisty plot more than holds up 15 years later. Some would say it’s “The Dark Knight” director’s best film.

    Forget the pending remake that has everyone crying “too soon;” in honor of the film’s 15th anniversary this week, here are 15 things you never knew about this modern classic.

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    1. The brothers Nolan — Christopher (pictured) and Jonathan — came up with the idea for the film while on a 2000 mile road trip, driving from Chicago to Los Angeles.

    2. The final film was based on Jonah’s short story, “Memento Mori,” which was published after the movie.

    3. Every major studio passed on the film.

    4. Before Guy Pearce secured the role of Leonard, Brad Pitt, Aaron Eckhart, and Thomas Jane were considered for the role.

    5. Nolan’s first choice for the role of Leonard? Alec Baldwin.

    6. While the opening scene plays in reverse, the only sound effect that is played backwards is Teddy (Joe Pantoliano, above) screaming “No.”

    7. During his audition to play the memorable character of Sammy, Stephen Tobolowsky had mentioned to the director that he had once experienced amnesia as a result of taking an experimental pain killer following surgery. Tobolowsky said his experience may have helped earn him the role.

    8. Two actors in the film would go on to have roles in Nolan’s “Batman Begins:” Mark Boone Junior and the late Larry Holden. The former played Leonard’s seedy motel clerk before playing corrupt GCPD cop Flass; the latter played Jimmy in “Memento” before being cast as Finch, Gotham’s District Attorney. (Holden also had a small role in Nolan’s 2002 thriller, “Insomnia.”)

    9. Fans of the film, if they pay attention, might be able to hear Christopher Nolan’s voice in a key scene. During Teddy’s line, “You don’t have a clue, you freak!” Nolan felt that Pantoliano did not quite deliver the last two words of the line in the way he had envisioned. So it’s Nolan’s voice on the final film saying “you freak.” (Rather, Nolan doing an impersonation of Pantoliano’s voice. The actor was unaware of the dub, until an interview for “Anatomy of a Scene: ‘Memento.’”

    10. For the role of the duplicitous Natalie, actor Mary McCormack lobbied hard for the part before filmmakers ultimately when with Carrie Anne-Moss (above), who was hot off “The Matrix” at the time. On casting Moss, Nolan said she “added an enormous amount to the role of Natalie that wasn’t on the page.”

    11. On the Limited Edition DVD release, users had to solve a complicated series of questions on the DVD menu to unlock a version of the film’s events edited in chronological order.

    12. The film took an insanely-fast 25 days to shoot. And according to the director, Moss shot her entire role in eight days.

    13. When taking “Memento” to Sundance, production company Newmarket also acquired “Donnie Darko” — linking the destinies of two indie (and cult-y) films.

    14. See that white Honda Civic parked next to Leonard’s Jaguar at the hotel? That’s Christopher Nolan’s car at the time of production.


    15. Upon its initial release, “Memento” made back five times its production budget. Few films can claim that level of profitability outside low-budget, Blumhouse-type horror features.

  • Kit Harington Joins ‘Game of Thrones’ Co-Star in New Movie, Replacing Robert Pattinson

    Full potential spoiler disclosure: We do not believe Jon Snow’s watch has ended on “Game of Thrones” but he did get stabbed in the Season 5 finale, so we’re rolling with his official death announcement for the moment. But Melisandre better revive him. Speaking of Jon and Mel, though, GoT co-stars Kit Harington (Jon) and Carice van Houten (Melisandre) will reunite in the new movie “Brimstone.” Kit was just announced as joining the cast of Martin Koolhoven’s movie, which also stars Dakota Fanning and Guy Pearce.
    According to Deadline, Dakota stars as Liz, who is on the run from Guy’s diabolical Preacher. Principle production has already begun and it’s shooting on location in Romania, Spain and Germany. E! said Kit will play an outlaw, replacing Robert Pattinson in the role, with Dakota replacing Mia Wasikowska.

    No word yet on when that will be released, but you may have noticed that Kit also shot a hilarious-looking tennis mockumentary called “7 Days in Hell.” That co-stars Andy Samberg and it’ll debut on HBO on July 11. Here’s that trailer:


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