Moviefone Editorial

Tag: jonah-hill

  • Emma Stone & Jonah Hill Get Trippy in First Photos From Netflix’s ‘Maniac’

    So much has changed for Emma Stone and Jonah Hill in the 11 years since “Superbad.” She has an Oscar, he has a couple of Oscar nominations. He keeps going back and forth in weight. She keeps going back and forth dating Andrew Garfield.

    But here we are in 2018, and Stone and Hill are together again for “Maniac.” The Netflix dark comedy series is a remake of the 2014 Norwegian series. It’s possible they won’t be adapting it to the letter, since Netflix just shared this synopsis:

    “Maniac is the story of two strangers who find themselves caught up in a mind-bending pharmaceutical trial gone awry.”

    Netflix shared first look photos from the series, which also stars Sally Field and Justin Theroux. Cary Fukunaga (“True Detective” Season 1) is directing all 10 episodes, in his first directing work since “Beasts of No Nation.”

    Check out the photos:

    A few months ago, photos leaked from the taping of “Maniac,” showing Emma Stone wearing a long platinum wig/extensions and looking very much like “The Lord of the Rings” elf, Legolas. (Orlando Bloom had some fun with that on social media.)

    At the time, Deadline described “Maniac” as following a man who lives a fantasy life in his dreams but his reality is locked in an institution. Both Hill and Stone were said to play patients at the institution.

    “Maniac” doesn’t have a release date yet, but Netflix should be streaming it later this year.

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  • Jonah Hill Is ‘Skinny’ Again and Fans Can’t Get Over It

    US-ENTERTAINMENT-GOLDEN-GLOBE-ARRIVALSJonah Hill is a comedy star, screenwriter, and two-time Oscar nominated actor, but fans seem most fascinated by his fluctuating weight.

    Hill has been up and down for various roles, and through his own very relatable struggle to stay fit. It’s weird to be so cavalier talking about another person’s weight — especially when fans tweet about how he used to be “fat” — but Hill has had several major physical transformations and our health-and-fitness-obsessed society just can’t resist. Besides, many fans are clearly rooting for him, at whatever size, and don’t want him to be any particular weight if it makes him unhappy.

    Back in 2011, Hill appeared at ESPN’s ESPY awards, having recently lost 40 pounds. He said he had changed his diet, mostly eating sushi, and worked with a nutritionist and personal trainer. In late 2014-early 2015, “Hail, Caesar!” filmed, with Hill in a small role, showing his weight had apparently changed again; he seemed to be around the same size for “War Dogs,” which was filmed in early 2015 and came out in 2016. The photo above is from the 2017 Golden Globe Awards in January.

    Hill was recently spotted looking much more fit, and fans were surprised, once again, and felt compelled to address the change, once again:

    He probably has that look behind his eyes because paparazzi are snapping photos as he’s out and about and he knows that, once again, fans will be obsessing about his weight and projecting what they think it means for him and themselves.

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  • 9 Reasons ’21 Jump Street’ Is One of Your Favorite Comedies Ever

    Not all movie adaptations of TV shows are created equal. Some of them fall flat, but some become instant classics. Case in point: “21 Jump Street.”

    We were all a little skeptical about how this show would transfer to the big screen, though it turned out that Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum more than exceeded our comedic expectations.

    Here are 9 reasons why “21 Jump Street” still makes us laugh our asses off.

  • Why ‘Ben-Hur’ Is the Finish This Disappointing Summer Movie Season Deserves

    You know the box office has become an arena of misguided drama when the most intense conflict is the bitter battle for third place.

    With “Suicide Squad” threepeating at the top of the chart (with an estimated $20.7 million) and last week’s surprise hit “Sausage Party” holding on to second place (with an estimated $15.3 million), the real contest was among the three new wide releases — ‘War Dogs,” “Kubo and the Two Strings,” and “Ben-Hur” — contending for the bronze medal.

    This particular chariot race was extremely close, with “War Dogs” claiming an estimated $14.3 million, “Kubo” an estimated $12.6 million, and “Ben-Hur” an estimated $11.4 million, just $19,000 ahead of the second-weekend results for “Pete’s Dragon.” (It’s possible, when the dust clears on Monday morning and final numbers are released, that the Disney remake could pull ahead of the Biblical epic remake.) It’s like that old joke about scholarly fights in academia: that the struggle is so vicious because the stakes are so low.

    After all, what we have here is three new movies that possibly could have done a lot better if not for some bad decisions, most notably, releasing them in the dog days of August, when blockbuster season is spent and kids are starting to go back to school. But it’s not just timing. Here’s why none of this weekend’s new wide releases could do better than third place and $14.3 million.

    1. Political Satire Is a Tough Sell
    That’s true no matter what time of year it is.

    “War Dogs” stars Jonah Hill and Miles Teller and director Todd Phillips (of the “Hangover” trilogy) can bro up the comedy all they want, but in the end, it’s still a message movie, one that’s trying to get viewers to drink wheat-grass juice after plying them with beer. Given a choice between the lowbrow but high-minded antics of “War Dogs” and the simple, raunchy hot dog comedy of “Sausage Party” (also co-starring Hill), which do you think the target audience for “War Dogs” would choose?

    2. Todd Phillips Is No Adam McKay.
    Yes, McKay went from directing goofy Will Ferrell comedies to making “The Big Short,” a semi-serious political satire that was a decent-sized hit and earned Oscar nominations — winning for Best Adapted Screenplay. Then again, his movie was released in December, when it was more likely to be taken seriously, and it had more star power (Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling).

    Also, his movies had long had a satirical undercurrent, from “Anchorman” (sexism is idiotic) to “Talladega Nights” (xenophobia and homophobia are idiotic) to “The Other Guys” (the real crooks are on Wall Street), while the underlying message of Phillips’s movies, from “Old School” to the “Hangover” series, has always been Let Bros Be Bros. So he may not have been the best-poised director to pivot to more politically engaged fare.

    Finally, while both “Big Short” and “War Dogs” are based on true stories, the former told its tale using a unique and innovative structure, while the new movie borrows its narrative framework from “Goodfellas” and Hill’s own “The Wolf of Wall Street.” So it was a given that critics were going to be meh about “War Dogs” (it got a 59 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes), though judging by its CinemaScore grade (an unenthusiastic B), audiences felt the same way.

    3. Not Everyone Likes (or Wants) LAIKA Movies
    The inventive stop-motion animation studio is beloved by critics, but audiences have been slow to embrace LAIKA’s defiantly weird style. Movies like “Coraline” and “The Boxtrolls” have been cult hits at best. The Japanese tale told in “Kubo” is the studio’s most exotic story yet, and despite ubiquitous marketing and a star-studded voice cast that includes Matthew McConaughey and Charlize Theron, “Kubo” was always going to be a tough sell.

    Even though reviewers and audiences loved the movie (it scored 96 percent at Rotten Tomatoes and a solid A at CinemaScore), it couldn’t get much of a crowd into the theaters to appreciate the film. It might have done better at another time of year, as “Coraline” did in February and “Boxtrolls” in September; instead, it opened while family films “Pete’s Dragon” and “The Secret Life of Pets” were still in the top 10. As a result, “Kubo” suffered the lowest opening of any wide-release Laika movie yet.

    4. Why Another ‘Ben-Hur’?
    The 1959 version is one of the most beloved movies of all time and the biggest Oscar-grabber in Academy history (it won a record 11 trophies, a number that’s never been beaten.) Charlton Heston and Stephen Boyd‘s chariot race is one of the most exciting action sequences ever filmed. It is a problematic movie to adapt from its very old source material. Audiences old enough to remember the ’59 version are either too old to care about seeing a new version or just don’t bother to go to the movies at all. And young audiences have no desire for swords-and-sandals anything, starring an actor from “Boardwalk Empire,” an HBO show their dads stopped watching after Season 2

    Director Timur Bekmambetov (“Wanted,” “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter“) is certainly a whiz with action sequences. Still, the movie seemed doomed to suffer in comparison with the 1959 epic. Stars Jack Huston and Toby Kebbell are not as charismatic as Heston and Boyd. Reviewers are divided on whether the new chariot race is any good, much less on whether its in the same league as the old one. As with “War Dogs,” it was a given that critics were going to be harsh on “Ben-Hur,” giving it just a 29 percent fresh score at Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences were more appreciative, giving it an A- at CinemaScore, but the negative reviews may have scared away much of the older crowd (those old enough to have fond nostalgia for the Heston version) from even seeing the new “Ben-Hur.”

    5. Misplaced Optimism
    Usually, studios low-ball their predictions so that everyone can be pleasantly surprised when the movie’s opening exceeds them, or at least not be disappointed when it doesn’t. “Ben-Hur,” however, marks the first time in recent memory that a studio was much more optimistic than industry analysts, with Paramount predicting a $20 million debut and outside pundits expecting a premiere more in the $10 to $13 million range.

    Why was Paramount’s guess so high? Maybe the studio expected its marketing efforts to Christian audiences would pay off bigger. (Jesus is just a supporting character in “Ben-Hur,” but he has a more prominent role in Bekmambetov’s film than in all previous versions.) Or maybe because “Ben-Hur” cost $100 million to make; any prediction lower than $20 million would be an admission that the studio expected the film to flop, and no studio wants to admit that.

    Again, the movie might have done better with another release date, instead of one that had “Ben-Hur” competing for action fans against the still-strong “Jason Bourne,” “Star Trek Beyond,” and the dreaded “Suicide Squad.”

    Or maybe, at this late summer date, viewers simply have action blockbuster fatigue. September, and its promise of grown-up dramas, can’t come soon enough.
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  • Upcoming TV Shows Based on Foreign Hits

    animal kingdom castYou’re home from work. You’ve officially de-pantsed, and you’ve got your sock-monkey slippers at the ready. The night is thoroughly mapped out: You’re going to microwave some leftover tikka masala, snuggle on your IKEA couch, watch a bit of the BBC’s “Doctor Who,” and partake in the Nintendo-flavored frenzy of “Mario Kart 8” with the S.O.

    Congratulations — you might be in your jammies, but you just had a cultural tour of India, Sweden, England, and Japan. That’s just one beautifully lazy night living in a connected world.

    Just like you, TV networks aren’t blind to what’s happening across those big ponds — if they see something that works overseas or over the border, they’re more than happy to try to make it work in the States. While you were busy doling out blue Koopa shells, they were busy getting these foreign hits ready for your TV screen.

    ‘No Tomorrow’ (The CW)

    Irony of ironies, the CW’s upcoming “No Tomorrow” had a yesterday, and it’s going to have a whole lot of tomorrows. That’s because it already had eight episodes as “Como Aproveitar o Fim do Mundo,” a Brazilian TV miniseries.

    Just like its Latin American mama, “No Tomorrow” examines the life of a realist quality-control professional romantically invaded by a conspiracy theorist who claims to know the date the world will end. Just think of it as “The X-Files” meets “This Is the End” meets a quirky rom-com, and you’ll do just fine.

    ‘Maniac’ (Netflix)

    Man, how many times did you think, “I wish this series director would give us a “True Detective”?

    Probably zero — but you’re going to get it anyway, when director Cary Fukunaga reboots Norway’s “Maniac” into an English-language show of the same title. If you really were hoping for that “Superbad” reunion, though, be prepared for a lot less underage drinking and wiener jokes, and a lot more psychiatric patients who inhabit complex fantasies they’ve built inside their heads. Close enough.

    ‘3%’ (Netflix)

    A few years ago, shows like “The Office” and “The IT Crowd” wound down, and so ended American TV’s British Invasion. Fast forward to 2016, and it seems like Brazil might be the new England — like “No Tomorrow,” “3%” has Brazilian roots, this time as a three-part web series from 2011. And though it’ll stream in the U.S., it’s staying true to its roots as a completely Brazilian production.

    Speaking of sticking to what you know, that’s exactly what director Cesar Charlone is doing — the “Blindness” cinematographer is heading up this equally dystopian tale, in which only 3 percent of the population makes it past the age of 20. You know, on account of those soul-shattering, government-mandated life-or-death trials they’re destined to endure. Just a tad different from the fake IDs and sophomore-year drama most people had to worry about.

    ‘Feed the Beast’ (AMC)

    For better or worse, “Feed the Beast” is not about the inevitable carbo-loading that happens after you binge “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.” It does have plenty to with restaurants, it just has a little more to do with the seedy industry underbelly than it does with the corndog-fueled beer belly. When two desperate best friends risk everything to make their restaurateur dreams come true in this drama — inspired by the Danish series “Bankerot” — AMC promises a heaping helping of the two essential Bs: betrayal and backstabbing. Better make your reservations.

    ‘Animal Kingdom’ (TNT)

    “Animal Kingdom” isn’t actually mining an overseas TV series — don’t get the wrong idea. “Animal Kingdom” is mining “Animal Kingdom,” which was a feature-length Australian movie in 2010. Totally different thing. And you said Hollywood doesn’t have any new ideas.

    While the cast is a whole lot less Aussie-fied — Ben Mendelsohn and Joel Edgerton are out in favor of Ellen Barkin and Shawn Hatosy — and the story is moving from Melbourne to California, the movie’s core remains intact. Barkin steps into the role of “Smurf,” a crime-family matriarch who runs the gamut from coddling her sons to wreaking complete emotional havoc on their lives — Sundance critics compared the original movie to an Australian “Goodfellas.” Sounds smurfy.

    Sources

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  • 16 Jonah Hill Movie Moments That Make Us LOL Every Time

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    From the moment Jonah Hill dressed in a hot dog costume and yelled “ask me about my weiner!” with confidence in 2006’s “Accepted,” we knew he would be an eventual two-time Oscar nominee. OK, that’s a bit of a stretch…but we knew he was destined for greatness. The versatile actor has proven his real acting chops and he’s starred in comedy classics like “Superbad,” and “21 Jump Street.” Take a look back at 16 Jonah Hill movie moments that still make us laugh. Every. Single. Time.21 jump street

  • Here’s the Star-Studded First ‘Hail Caesar!’ Trailer

    hail caesar, hail caesar trailer, channing tatum, coen brothersThe first trailer for “Hail Caesar!,” the latest offering from the Coen Brothers, is here, and is stuffed with enough stars to make you dizzy.

    The flick is meta from the get-go, focusing on a movie studio making a big-budget spectacle called — you guessed it — “Hail Caesar!” The film-within-the-film is led by the biggest movie star in the world, Baird Whitlock, played by — you guessed it — the actual biggest movie star in the world, George Clooney.

    With Whitlock on board for the epic in size, scope, and budget “Caesar!,” the studio stands to make big bank — that is, until Whitlock is kidnapped by a mysterious group that calls itself The Future, right in the midst of shooting. The studio needs to cover up its star’s disappearance to avoid negative press, while also desperately searching for the man, who wakes up dazed and confused — and still wearing his gladiator costume — in a stranger’s home.

    “Hail Caesar!” is a veritable who’s who of Hollywood, including Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Josh Brolin, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Frances McDormand, and Tilda Swinton, among many, many others. And based on this trailer, it seems like classic Coen cinema: funny with an edge.

    “Hail Caesar!” is due in theaters on February 5, 2016.

    Photo credit: YouTube

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  • ’21 Jump Street’ Getting Female Spinoff, ‘Men in Black’ Crossover


    The success of “21 Jump Street” and its sequel, “22 Jump Street,” signified that this franchise would continue to grow, and now, two new reports reveal that there are two more “Jump” flicks in the works: a spinoff and a surprising crossover.

    The first was Broad City” writers and producers Lucia Aniello and Paul Downs attached to write the screenplay. No details about a possible plot (or who may star) were provided.

    TheWrap followed up with its own report, writing that Sony is hoping to replicate its “Jump Street” success with the female-led flick, which will “feature the same comedic tone” as its predecessors. In addition to that project, an even more intriguing one is on the horizon for the brand.

    According to TheWrap’s report, the third film in the original “Jump” franchise — to again feature leads Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill — will actually be a crossover flick with the “Men in Black” franchise. Much like the first two films made fun of reboots and sequels, respectively, “the next ‘Jump Street’ movie will send-up the current trend of Shared Movie Universes by having Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum enter the ‘Men in Black’ universe and investigate aliens,” the trade writes.

    It sounds pretty strange, but then again, so did a “21 Jump Street” reboot, and we all know how that worked out. Stay tuned to see how all this moves forward.

    [via: The Tracking Board, TheWrap]

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