Moviefone Editorial

Tag: jeremy-piven

  • What to Watch this Week: ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League,’ ‘The Courier,’ ‘Happily,’ ‘Last Call,’ & more

    What to Watch this Week: ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League,’ ‘The Courier,’ ‘Happily,’ ‘Last Call,’ & more

    If you’re curious as to what new movie this week might be best for you, Moviefone is here to help you find it and watch it. This week’s recommended films include a superhero do-over, a couple of deep dives into real-life scandals, a couple of stories about strained friendships, a gory anthology, and killer pants. Here are the movies we’re suggesting this week:

    Zack Snyder’s Justice League (HBO Max)

    Henry Cavill as Superman in 'Zack Snyder's Justice League'
    Henry Cavill as Superman in ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’

    Back in 2017, ‘Justice League’ was one of the most highly anticipated superhero movies of the year. Featuring most of DC Comic’s heavy-hitters, it landed with more of a thud than a bang. While fans were supportive overall, their knowledge over the troubled production that Zack Snyder had to leave due to family tragedy left them feeling like there had to be a better movie in there somewhere. Over the years, fans grumbled about #ReleaseTheSnyderCut, and Warner Bros studios listened. In a move rare for the entertainment industry, fans got their way, and Snyder got more cash to shoot more material the way he originally intended. The result is 242 minutes of superheroic goodness, with more complete backstories for the characters and entirely new scenes never before enjoyed by the hardworking fans.

    Watch It If: You want to know more about The Flash and Cyborg, you’re excited to enjoy all the talk about “boxes” like it’s for the first time, and you’re  trying to make up for lost time watching the smash-smash-boom-boom that we haven’t gotten over the past year with all these film delays. Oh, AND you love f-bombs. There are WAY more in this version.
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    The Courier (In Theaters)

    Benedict Cumberbatch in 'The Courier'
    Benedict Cumberbatch in ‘The Courier’

    One day, British businessman Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a regular guy, and the next, he’s a Cold War spy who has no idea what he’s gotten himself into. Based on a true story, Wynne finds himself working with the CIA (Rachel Brosnahan), MI-6, and a Soviet Officer (Merab Ninidze) to potentially avoid the Cuban Missile Crisis.

    Watch It If: Your day-to-day video conferences and “putting a pin in it” conversations are making you long for a higher purpose. Also recommended for fans of Benedict Cumberbatch who disappointed he didn’t show up in ‘WandaVision’ like we all expected.
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    Happily (In Theaters and On Demand)

    Joel McHale and Kerry Bishé in 'Happily'
    Joel McHale and Kerry Bishé in ‘Happily’

    Tom (Joel McHale) and Janet (Kerry Bishé) are the kind of couple that makes everyone’s eye muscles ache from rolling skyward so much. They’re so in love and totally attracted to each other, and it doesn’t even seem to have cooled off in the years they’ve been married. Naturally their friends hate them. And when a mysterious stranger (Stephen Root) shows up, their love and loyalty is put to the test–not just for each other but to their friends. They end up with dark secrets at a retreat, surrounded by people who might want to put a stop to the lovey-dovey nonsense forever.

    Watch It If: You want to discourage your spouse to ever accept social invitations ever again, and for deep cut indie comedy fans of Charlyne Yi (‘Knocked Up’, ’30 Rock’).
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    Last Call (In Theaters and On Demand)

    Jeremy Piven in 'Last Call'
    Jeremy Piven in ‘Last Call’

    Jeremy Piven plays a man who has lost his zest for real estate and life in general. When he gets called back to his old neighborhood in Philly, he faces a tough decision as he reconnects with the faces from his past: does he find the energy to breathe new life into his family owned bar, or does he sell out to a land developer who wants to plop a casino there instead?

    Watch It If: You’ve wondered where Piven and Jamie Kennedy have been the last couple years, and if you also struggle with reconciling the reality of the present with the memories of the past.
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    Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal (Netflix)

    Rick Singer, the subject of 'Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal'
    Rick Singer, the subject of ‘Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal’

    It was only a matter of time before this film was released, showing the tangled web of deceit woven by numerous parents of varying privilege to get their kids into college. Part documentary, part reenactment using actual FBI wiretaps, the film stars Matthew Modine as Rick Singer, the man who orchestrated admissions for numerous kids at Ivy league schools in exchange for payments adding up to $25 million over seven years. His method was to lie about the sports they were involved in and fake their SAT tests, and it was highly effective. It was also highly illegal, and most famously sent actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin to prison for approximately seventeen minutes.

    Watch It If: You miss gossiping with the neighbors about people in the neighborhood you know are up to something, and if you want to feel smug satisfaction about your kid getting into college the old fashioned way–by putting off their essays until last minute and asking you for the application fee.
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    Slaxx (Shudder)

    The demonic denim in 'Slaxx'
    The demonic denim in ‘Slaxx’

    This is a movie about a pair of jeans that murder sales associates at a trendy jeans store. There’s nothing else you need to know.

    Watch It If: You’ve spent the entire last year in comfy pajama pants and want to feel completely justified in keeping that energy going, you love tongue-in-cheek comments about capitalism veiled in bonkers premises, or at any time you’ve said “these pants are killing me.”
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    Phobias (In Theaters and On Demand)

    Martina García in 'Phobias'
    Martina García in ‘Phobias’

    Produced by Radio Silence, the producers behind ‘Ready or Not,’ this film features a crazed doctor looking to weaponize fear using unethical methods (just what we need, right?). Leonardo Nam (‘Westworld’) plays one of five patients suffering from extreme phobias (his is technology) who is a caregiver for his ailing father. When he gets a shot at taking on the doctor, he and the other patients have to figure out how to manage their fear and focus on the real enemy.

    Watch It If: You’re in the mood for gory horror, and you want a taste of what we might be in for with the next entry in the ‘Scream’ franchise also produced by Radio Silence.
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    Still wondering what to watch? We’ve put together this playlist of all the trailers for this week’s new movies:

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  • Why Jeremy Piven Turned Down ‘The Office’

    Can you imagine The Piv as Michael Scott on “The Office”?


    It almost happened. And the reason it didn’t happen is actually a credit to Jeremy Piven, and a rare sign of humility in Hollywood.

    Piven talked to Cigar Aficionado for the April issue and they covered a lot of issues, including his own cigar company, his British period drama Mr. Selfridge, his “Entourage” alter ego Ari Gold, and the U.S. adaptation of “The Office.”

    Here’s why he turned down the NBC role that ultimately went to Steve Carell:

    “They came to me initially for the American version of ‘The Office.’ I was such a huge Ricky Gervais fan from the British version. I thought, ‘How could anyone possibly play that character better than he did?’ It was this perfect blend of nerdy cockiness in the way he navigated the space. So I turned it down.”

    You know what? Good for him. Because he’s right, no one could ever play David Brent better than the original.


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  • 25 ‘Seinfeld’ Guest Stars Who Totally Hit It Big

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    Every episode of “Seinfeld” hits Hulu on June 24th, so get ready for a summer of George! And Jerry, Elaine, Kramer, Newman… yada, yada, yada.

    One thing’s for sure about “Seinfeld” — the briefly-seen bit characters were some of the most memorable parts of the series. And boy were there a lot of them. Jerry had over 50 girlfriends throughout the show’s run alone, and it seems like almost all of the actresses who played them went on to be stars.

    Do you remember the big celebs who appeared on the show? From an “anti-dentite” to a “braless wonder,” here are 25 “Seinfeld” guest stars who hit it big.
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  • 16 ‘Entourage’ Cameos You (Probably) Forgot About

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    It seems like every actor working in Hollywood with a few hours to spare appeared on an episode of “Entourage” at some point. The HBO hit had dozens of cameos and guest stars throughout its eight-season run, so if you weren’t cast as a client of Ari Gold’s or a Vincent Chase hook-up, apparently you were nobody in the mid-2000s. The “Entourage” movie hits theaters this week and is set to be chock-full of famous faces. Before the boys are back on the big screen, look back at some memorable (and not so memorable) cameos from “Entourage”s star-studded history.

  • Best of Late Night TV: Melissa McCarthy’s Picture Game

    Melissa McCarthy's Picture Game

    They took turns looking at random pictures and yelled out the first words that came to mind. Jimmy gave his “Ew!” to mayo. He also had the best response to the hot dog photo.

    Here’s Ed Sheeran on “The Tonight Show,” giving his trademark soothing sound to dark heavy metal songs and hardcore rap. It’s pretty funny — and an album like that would probably sell well. Jeremy Piven was on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and he talked about “Entourage,” how he’s not quite the same as Ari Gold, and confirmed/denied certain celebrity cameos. Apparently “Entourage” is President Obama’s favorite TV show.

    Jimmy couldn’t resist getting into the Kim Kardashian/Kanye West baby game, and he and Guillermo played #BabyNameBingo to help them pick a name for Baby No. 2.

    Sen. Bernie Sanders was on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” and talked about voting against the Freedom Act. It’s better than the Patriot Act, he said, but doesn’t go far enough to protect our civil liberties.

    Seth also weighed in on Bruce Jenner’s transition into Caitlyn Jenner. He didn’t joke about it, he just shared that he’s so happy that we live in a time that this is happening.

    Joel McHale was on “Conan” and talked about making a “Community” movie. He said he thinks they will do one if Dan Harmon writes the script. Joel and Conan O’Brien bonded over being canceled by NBC and Joel said when Yahoo bought them it was a great season with no notes and commercials.

    Jake Tapper was also on “Conan” and talked about being burned by Hilary Clinton. “It was a sick Clinton burn.” Conan said she dropped the mic right after that. It’s not a bad diss, actually.

    Conan also took on the Kardashians and Caitlyn Jenner in his monologue. He kept to trend and mocked Kim and Kanye but stayed respectful of Caitlyn.

    Hannah Simone, Pete Holmes, Noel Gallagher were on “The Late Late Show with James Corden.” Here’s the group talking about food and sex:

    And here’s James making an argument for a “Histo-REMIX” app, combining electronic dance music with famous speeches.

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  • 9 Things You Need to Know About the ‘Entourage’ Movie

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    The gang is back in the “Entourage” movie, which picks up about seven months after the series finale and finds everyone living a whole lot larger with Ari (Jeremy Piven) running a studio and Vince (Adrian Grenier) directing his first movie. That’s Hollywood.

    Last year, we were invited to “Turtle’s Malibu beach house” set, where we chatted with stars Grenier, Kevin Connolly, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara, and director Doug Ellin. Here’s the vital info we learned about the big-screen baller reunion, which hits theaters June 3rd.

    1. Vince is now a director.
    The movie is called “Hyde,” a modern-day version of “Jekyll and Hyde,” where Dr. Hyde is a Tony Stark-style genius chemist “with a dark side,” according to production designer Chase Harlan. E is producing, Vince is directing, and Drama’s got a small role. “The guys have a lot riding on this new movie, and because it’s Ari’s first movie at the studio, the stakes are very high for all the characters,” says Connolly. Harlan says the movie-within-a-movie is full of “all kinds of crazy, drug-fueled, violent, sexual mayhem. Hopefully, we’ll get to see it.”

    2. Turtle is rich!
    Turtle now resides in a palatial Malibu beach pad, which is actually in Palos Verdes. “I guess after eight years, he finally grew up; it’s nice,” says Ferrara. “But I feel like he probably rents it and his furniture is all staged.” He adds, “I’ll miss the older guy who’s grinding it out, making $200 a week driving. But, what I love about it is he’s made all this money and he still drives the guys around. He still picks Vince up and drives around in his Escalade, which I wouldn’t have any other way.”

    3. Vince is now living in Madonna’s old Hollywood Hills home.
    “It’s funny, because I was on a run up through the hills and I was just looking at the house and was like ‘Wow, I’ve never been in there. I’d love to go in there sometime.’ And then, Monday morning, there I am, inside the house,” says Grenier. “I can’t believe that I’m competing with Turtle. I mean, what has everything come to?” he laughs. Production designer Harlan explains the house now belongs to fashion designer Leon Max. “The house was filled with 16th century Van Dyke paintings and things. We were like, ‘Yeah, better have a professional take those out before we get there.’”

    3. E’s going to be a dad!
    Says Connolly, “Sloan (Emmanuelle Chriqui) is pregnant and ready to pop, but she still hasn’t taken me back. She’s having a hard time getting over the mother-in-law thing. Which, who could blame her, right? So, it’s me preparing for the baby and there’s a few mishaps along the way. And a few other ladies, which has been interesting to shoot. But Sloan is who he wants and he wants to try to get his family back together.”

    4. Drama’s still Drama.
    Explains Dillon, “Drama has not really [evolved]. At times he’ll get there and fall back down. That’s what makes him fun though, you know? Drama is always teetering on the edge of complete failure. ‘Hyde’ is a major motion picture, and he feels like this part maybe could be the one that could take him to the next level.” That is, if Drama even makes the final cut.

    5. Turtle is dating MMA fighter Ronda Rousey.
    “I kind of ask her out and it becomes like a business deal and she gets confused by that, thinking that I actually wanted to date her and kind of normal, blue-collar guys never really ask her out; they’re intimidated,” explains Ferrara. “So it’s definitely a good little love story, romantic angle with her. I think it’s going to be pretty cool. I’ve been a fan of hers for years now and she’s the real deal, both in and out of the ring.” Does she end up kicking his ass? “There will be fighting. There will be blood, yes. And it’s going to be mine,” laughs Ferrara.

    6. There are cameos galore.
    As the trailer shows, everyone from Liam Neeson to Haley Joel Osment shows up. But the bar was set even higher in terms of cameos for the movie. “When the show first started, we begged people to do cameos and the first few were favors. Now it’s, ‘Hey, I want to do the movie.’ Bob Saget came with an idea and he got in. So it’s really like, ‘What are you thinking? Are you OK with poking fun at yourself?’” Connolly personally lined up the Piers Morgan cameo. “He always told me that he was a big fan of the show. So then Doug was like, ‘Piers Morgan has seen every episode and he passed the trivia test.’ I asked him a few questions to see if he was bullsh*tting me or not. He’s seen every episode. So yeah, that’s it.”

    7. Ari is still dishing out abuse.
    “The dynamic hasn’t changed much,” says Connolly of Ari’s feelings for E. “He’s got a lot to say. The fans that love to hear Ari rip into E will not be disappointed.”

    8. The pressure is on to live up to that other hit HBO TV-show-turned-movie.
    “We have to live up to ‘Sex and the City,’ which obviously is, I think, the second most successful R-rated comedy ever made,” director Doug Ellin said. “So we’re just trying to make a good movie and whatever happens at the box office happens, there’s nothing we can do to control it.”

    9. Expect the movie to be a super-sized episode.
    “It’s basically an episode on steroids,” says Connolly. “People always complained that the episodes were too short, so now they can’t complain.” Adds Dillon, “Eight seasons didn’t feel like enough for me. It felt like we could have gotten ten. Now with this movie it feels like we’re doing another season in a way, all wrapped up in one, which is cool.” Says Ferrara. “[Sometimes] it literally feels like nothing has changed, this is just season nine, absolutely.”the entourage movie

  • This ‘Entourage’ Trailer Is Full of Stars (VIDEO)

    EntourageHBO’s “Entourage” is headed to the big screen this summer, bringing Vince and his boys and all their Hollywood antics to theaters across the nation. Vince (Adrian Grenier) is making his directorial debut that’s already over budget, Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) is making moves on UFC champ Ronda Rousey, and the other guys are up to, well, whatever it is that they do. Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) is looking as tan and rich as usual.

    Naturally, the trailer is full of booze and boats and partying hard. It’s also jam-packed with stars; Jessica Alba and Pharrell show up, and even Liam Neeson lends a hand… Sort of. Even Mark Wahlberg shows up.

    “Entourage” hits the big screen on June 5. [Via Vulture]
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