Salma Hayek on Antonio Banderas in 'The Skin I Live In'

Released: Got married., November. 23, 2011, 12:00pm PTBy Hayek'The Skin I Live In'"Half way through seeing the amazing Pedro Almodovar film, 'The Skin Home Is,A I'd the sudden realization that Antonio Banderas, the man I realize so well, had completely disappeared within the screen. All I saw was Robert Ledgard, the insane surgeon whom revenge drives in to a God-complex romance along with his own creation.After 20 years of knowing Antonio, I believed he could forget about surprise me. 'The Skin I live In' shown me wrong. I used to be completely mesmerized by all the feelings that Antonio could stimulate together with your a restrained and classy performance.Robert Ledgard, icy, magnetic, perverse and sexy concurrently, is the introduction of an actress in general command of his abilities, and frightened of nothing. Beneath the masterful direction of Pedro Almodovar, Antonio has provided us, for me personally, the very best performance yet within the extended and amazing career."Return to the SAG Preview Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

Peter Fonda on Owen Wilson in 'Midnight in Paris'

Released: Got married., November. 23, 2011, 12:00pm PTBy 'Midnight in Paris'"Owen Wilson's performance in 'Midnight in Paris' is different from almost every other film version I've noticed in a Woodsy Allen film. As Gil, Owen's eccentricities, actions, speech designs together with other tools on his palette seem to mirror exactly what the west sights of Allen, but Owen handled to obtain almost all their own. Besides Owen weave using the present and past in this film, this is also true his acting, which maneuvers between subtle, comedy and reflective. While Allen's film inspects the idea of nostalgia, In my opinion in later on that people can look back and consider the touching acting that Owen shows in this wonderful film."Return to the SAG Preview Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

Access Hollywood Live: Aida Mollenkamps Thanksgiving Quality recipes Having A Healthy Twist!

First Released: November 23, 2011 12:09 PM EST Credit: Access Hollywood Caption Access Hollywood Live: Low-Body fat Quality recipes For That Holidays! La, Calif. -- Before Thanksgiving, chef Aida Mollenkamp stopped by Access Hollywood Live to talk about her tasty quality recipes for traditional Thanksgiving sides having a healthy twist! Listed here are the quality recipes for that dishes Aida shared Mashed Whitened Beans and Cauliflower with Leeks (rather than Mashed Taters) (vegan, low cal, low body fat, high fiber - An average serving of creamy mashed taters has about 360 calories contributing to 18 grams of body fat. But a smart portion size Aidas version has 100 calories and 1 gram of body fat) Get more information at the recipe! Green spinach Salad with Pears and Pomegranate (vegan, gluten-free, low cal, low body fat An amount of traditional green spinach is all about 282 calories and 10 grams body fat. But this green spinach salad has 60 calories and 1 1/2 grams body fat) Get more information at the recipe! Orange-Cranberry Relish -- (rather than sugar-laden cranberry sauce inside a can vegan, low cal and free of fat) Get more information at the recipe! Crispy Onion-Eco-friendly Bean-Mushroom Casserole (rather than Eco-friendly Bean Casserole w/ condensed mushroom soup vegetarian, low cal, low body fat One serving of traditional eco-friendly bean casserole has 240 about calories and 8 grams body fat. But this version only has 120 calories) Get more information at the recipe! Roasting Candied Sweet Taters Casserole -- (rather than Candied Yams vegetarian, low cal, low body fat A typical serving of traditional candied sweet taters with chocolate buttons, butter and brown sugar has about 498 calories 8 grams of body fat and 52 grams of sugar, but an amount of the version only has 140 calories 3.5 g body fat and 6 grams of sugar) Get more information at the recipe! Catch Aida Mollenkamp on Wednesday nights The Greatest Loser: Where Could They Be Now? on NBC. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Corporation. All privileges reserved. These components might not be released, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Adam Lambert Returns to 2011 AMAs as Presenter Producer States He 'Was Never Banned'

"Adam Lambert was not ever banned within the show," states American Music Honours executive producer Ray Klein unquestionably while hoping to get a chair round the aisle of row two, audience left (see photo). This is when the The The American Idol Show Show runner-up will probably be looking at Sunday evening,just behindHeidi Klum. Lambert can also be showing an award, marking his first return to the ABC show where he sparked a wave of dialogue.our editor recommendsMTV EMAs: Adam Lambert Works Together With Full (Video)Adam Lambert Enlists Earth Rodgers for completely new Album (Video)Adam Lamberts Second Album Slated for First Quarter Release To conclude: it absolutely was November 2009, five several days after Lambert closed out Idol immediately, however with no title. His debut album For That Entertainment, would come inside and outside front from the TV audience of 14 million, its northern border Park native wound up being to do title track. STORY: Suit Signifies Adam Lambert Was Ineligible for 'American Idol' As Lambert referred to right after the show, the excitement as soon as got the most effective of him, despite the fact that the performance have been racy (featuring males on leashes and at least one female dancer faking fellatio), he needed as much as 11 by kissing his male bass player, Tommy Joe Ratliff, round the lips. What came next will be a lot of critique, less consequently of his actions onstage, consider it had been throughout primetime and youngsters were tuning in. For his part, Lambert made certain to point a double-standard if the involves public lip locks of the sex (Madonna,Britney Warrior warrior spears and Christina Aguilera,anybody?). "That factor got so uncontrollable and am from left area," recalls Klein, who defends Lambert's performance, but reasons it might be a spur-of-the-moment reaction instead of a premeditated jaw-dropper (the network received around 1500 complaints from parents). "We practiced it, and that which you practiced wasn't that which you saw round the air your evening,Inch he continues. "The hug wasn't inside the script. Did Adam rehearse it by themself and not reveal? I have not a clue.Inch Start Searching: Adam Lambert as Mentor on 'Majors & Minors' Klein states the idea Lambert might be banned within the network around the performance is kind of absurd. "We laugh relating to this to this day,In . he demands, in recounting the occasions of the fateful evening, he's doing acknowledge the camera's quick cutaway -- triggered with the broadcast's seven-second delay undoubtedly. "We didn't censor," states Klein. "The hug ongoing which's all there's in it.In . For the long run, Klein greatly looks toward another Lambert performance, while not this year. "Adam Lambert can be a friend of ours, he's gifted which i love everything about him," states Klein, "It's like [AMAs creator] Dick Clark used say: 'I don't care what people do on stage must be stage is ideal for their performance. I be worried about how people act offstage.' Adam was undertaking around the stage. Did he get swept up? Absolutely. Was he regrettful afterwards? Clearly he was, but it's over. ABC never banned him and Dick Clark Productions never would. We'd absolutely make him back." That chance may come very quickly. On Friday, Lambert tweeted that his extended anticipated second album will probably be titled Trespassing which is slated for release in Spring 2012. More youthful crowd states a sound lesson of the title appears round the album and was co-put together by Pharrell Williams. The 39th annual American Music Honours air Sunday at 8 p.m. EST on ABC. Watch Lambert's 2009 AMAs performance below: Related Subjects ABC American Music Honours Adam Lambert Heidi Klum RCA Records

'Manson Girls' quietly starts production

"Manson Girls," focusing on the female followers of cult leader Charles Manson, has quietly started production nearly a year after the project was announced at Sundance. Susanna Lo is producing via her Slomotion Studios and directing from her own script. Cast includes Taryn Manning as Sadie Atkins; Tania Raymonde as Leslie Van Houten; Monica Keena as Squeaky Fromme; Stella Maeve as Linda Kasabian; Estella Warren as Catherine Share; Chad Faust as Tex Watson; Ron Jeremy as a porn director; Eric Balfour as Bobby Beausoleil and Bill Moseley as Manson. Judy Fox, Brett Cranford and Taryn Manning are also producing "Manson Girls," which focuses on the period leading up to the 1969 murders of nine people. Manson and three followers were convicted in 1971 in the slayings. Lo told Variety that she's aiming to illustrate how and why the girls came under Manson's command. "The girls were all very talented but it was a very seductive time," she said. "We really don't want to sensationalize the story any further than it already has been. I've always been fascinated by how the girls came under the spell of this strange, manipulative man." Visit Films is handling foreign sales and Lo is aiming to complete production in time for the Cannes Film Festival. Half a dozen scenes have been shot so far to assemble a "sizzle reel," with the bulk of lensing taking place starting early next year in Redlands, Joshua Tree and San Francisco. The Sundance announcement featured Guy Allison and John McFee of The Doobie Brothers providing music for the soundtrack. Ray Manzarek and Robbie Krieger of The Doors have come on board to write songs while Warren has been tapped to perform "House of the Rising Sun." Manning's is singing "California Dreaming" and Mosely is set to do "Five to One." Manson is serving a life sentence in a California prison. Contact Dave McNary at dave.mcnary@variety.com

Criminal Minds' Kirsten Vangsness: Garcia Steps Up to the Plate and Goes in the Field

Kirsten Vangness After seven seasons, Kirsten Vangsness will finally don a Kevlar vest on Criminal Minds - and just like Garcia's colorful personality, the vest is one of a kind.Check out photos from Criminal Minds"I was so excited when they told me. They made that one especially for me, which was very nice," Vangsness tells TVGuide.com. "The seamstress came in, like, 'We're going to make another dart in this.' In actual Kevlar vests, they don't have darts. But they put them in mine. It's very flattering. [The other cast members' Kevlars] are fitted to them too, but mine was totally hugged to my curves. It's a girly Kevlar - perfect for Garcia!"The fact that Garcia is wearing a Kevlar means one thing: She's going into the field. Although the tech goddess has traveled with the BAU before - and lest we forget, got shot - she has never been out with the team in the pursuit of an unsub. That changes Wednesday (9/8c, CBS) when a case turns personal after her friend, Monica (Brigid Brannagh), from her survivors' support group, disappears seven years after her daughter went missing.In the past, Garcia's emotions would typically take over in such intense circumstances, but she manages to keep it all under control this time - even insisting on going out in the field. "We really had to make sense of why she's doing this. Like we know she's the big empath and the one who wears her heart on her sleeve. How could she do this? But the thing that helps them is that she uses her emotions to help solve that case," Vangsness says. "She knows her friend will die unless they get this guy, so she's going to steel herself and actually use that emotional power to her advantage because the stakes are so high. She has no choice but to step up to the plate."Criminal Minds' Joe Mantegna: Rossi's ex-wife's visit is bittersweetPlot aside, Vangsness was thrilled to get in on the unsub-tailing action since it meant she got to work with the rest of the cast instead of being exclusively held up in her office, where her primary co-star is a green screen. "I know them and love them and we all hang out together, but that's a major part of their day - them being in their FBI vests with their guns out," she says. "We have this guy ... who tells us how to hold the gun and makes sure everything is accurate, so it was very strange when we stormed the evil castle sort to speak and he was like, 'You have to hold on to the back of A.J. [Cook] and then you do this.' I'm not used to that."She's also not used to being at the center of the episode's climactic scene. Luckily, the outdoor scene allowed her to prep just fine - with a stick. "I wasn't like, 'Oh my God! I have to cry and scream.' I found a stick outside and I started hitting things with it, which I found hilarious," Vangsness says. "Walking around and just hitting trees - hilarious and fantastically entertaining to me! Then they'd be like, 'OK, we're ready to shoot.' I walk over and then I'm in tears. It was the strangest thing, but I think I needed to do that or else I would've walked around all day like a basket case. If I teach an acting class, I'd be like, 'Find a stick...'"The stick was so helpful that it now has a permanent home among the tchotchkes on Garcia's desk (despite the prop department's best efforts to remove it). But Vangsness doesn't want to add any more "out in the field" memorabilia to the collection. Despite this venture and Garcia taking over case presentation duties for JJ (Cook), Vangsness hopes Garcia remains chiefly behind her wall of computers.Exclusive: Criminal Minds books Charles S. Dutton"I like it when I get to go away with them, but she would never go in the field all the time and she would never, never become a profiler. She is somebody to profile," Vangsness says. "She's so about the triumph of the human spirit under any and all conditions that I think that that would just be really counterintuitive. They've said to me, 'It'd be great if we gave Garcia a gun.' She would never! She doesn't believe in guns. You can maybe give her a taser. A lasso - she might be able to rock a lasso. A crossbow, maybe - something you're got a decent chance of living through. There you go, next time we'll see her with a crossbow!"

'Lego' Movie Greenlit, Adds 'Robot Chicken' Director Chris McKay

Don't behave like you did not see that one coming. "Cloudy Having a Possibility of Meatballs" author-company directors Phil The almighty and Chris Miller's planned "Lego" movie has formally received a try-ahead. Variety reviews that Warner Bros has greenlit the project having a planned 2014 release date. About 80 % from the project is going to be animated, which really is fairly great news. As well as better news is the fact that "Robot Chicken" director Chris McKay continues to be introduced it to co-co-direct the project. Plot particulars are now being stored under systems, however the film is planned to become an action-adventure. It will likely be occur the Lego world, but additionally includes some live-action figures. That casting process is placed to start in The month of january. Thinking about such a success all of the Lego-designed game titles happen to be, there's really quite a large chance that the "Lego" movie will not be half bad. If you're able to fall behind a film according to "Battleship," a project with a minimum of just as much creative range because the Lego franchise must have your support too. (Despite the fact that, I am placing wager at this time that the competing K'nex movie having a similar release date is going to be greenlit over the following couple of several weeks. Who's beside me?) Hopefully the film is a wacky, sarcastic complement of The almighty, Burns and McKay's sensibilities. A minimum of they have all proven themselves to become adept helmers of animated films. Do you consider this Lego movie seems like advisable? Inform us within the comments section below or on Twitter!

Chris Perfetti Makes His N.Y. Stage Debut in 'Sons from the Prophet'

Chris Perfetti is within awe. The Rochester, N.Y., native, who graduated from SUNY Purchase in May, is making his NY and professional stage debut in Roundabout Theatre Company's significantly acclaimed Off-Broadway manufacture of "Sons from the Prophet," and that he still can't accept is as true.InchIn class spent 4 years inside a bubble, and also you meet fantastic, gifted people," Perfetti states. "Roundabout has held my submit the perfect way and proven me how effing amazing all of this is really.InchPerfetti plays the charmingly sarcastic Charles in Stephen Karam's tragicomic play in regards to a Lebanese-American family in rural Pennsylvania dealing with mounting tragedy. Among shows on the chilly November day, Perfetti sitting lower with Back Stage to discuss how he was cast within the project, his preparation for that role, and determining using the character.While Perfetti's tale of faculty-to-fame might appear as an anomaly within the acting world, he encourages other entertainers never to discount their aspirations."The length from where you stand to where you need to be is really much shorter than you believe,Inch he states. "And you will really make whatever your dreams are happen." Back Stage: How have you get involved with "Sons from the Prophet"? Chris Perfetti: [Roundabout casting director] Barbara Gardner introduced me set for this play. I used to be set for her a great deal before, and absolutely nothing really was the best fit. That is what you have being an actorjust choosing the best fit. If this emerged, I simply understood this character was super near to me, and i believe she understood, and that's why she introduced me in. I'd a lot of fun who audition together with her, after which she introduced me set for the director and all sorts of the Roundabout folk. They did, like, a read-through from the latest version from the script in This summer because Stephen tried lots of focus on it. They introduced in the majority of the cast to get this done reading through, plus they requested me in the future in and browse Charles. Which was kind of just like a final callback for me personally, I suppose. I Quickly discovered they wanted me to experience the part.Back Stage: You pointed out that you are much like Charles. How can you recognize the smoothness? Perfetti: I'd rather not give anybody the wrong impression. No, he's great. He's fantastic. He's so sincere and simple-spirited and extroverted, that we think I'm in many ways. Clearly I've not experienced the grief or even the tests that Charles has. But everyone has within our own way experienced tragedy. Technically, we are much the same in age. I believe we are both some loners and that we enjoy our very own factor, and perhaps which comes off as cool or strange. "Sons from the Prophet" (Photo by Joan Marcus) Back Stage: How have you get ready for the role? Perfetti: The finest factor about focusing on a brand new play continues to be this concept the character Charles could be me, and that i could be this character Charles. There's nobody which has done the role. There weren't 1,000 productions of the play. It isn't an legendary role yet. In order to bring a lot of myself into it, just so far as the backstory that people are available in with. Charles and that i are clearly completely different: His religion. His heritage. There is a great deal to find out about what it really means to become a Maronite Catholic, what it really way to develop having a Lebanese family, as well as what it really way to develop in a tiny town. I did not genuinely have that have. What it really way to be gay in a tiny town would be a huge a part of developing who Charles is. It had been nearly researching the items about Charles that I'm not sure and kind of presuming that they are mine on and on by using it.Back again Stage: Charles can also be hard of hearing in a single ear. Was that hard to play onstage? Perfetti: That's another massive difference. I clearly can hear both in ears. Things I found with Charles is anyone who is battling with a few kind of disability, they are trying to encounter normally as you possibly can. It had not been really about learning what it really way to only have the ability to hear from one ear, that is certainly something Used to do during my bed room alone. It's much more about what that gives you like a person. Those who are drunk onstage are more often than not attempting to pretend like they are not. And So I kind of contacted it exactly the same way. Back Stage: The play is both comic and tragic. How have you balance individuals dynamics being an actor? Perfetti: I do not think anything needs to be achieved. Only the sheer quantity of tragedy they experience kind of makes people laugh, because that's precisely how we cope with things sometimes. So far as the comedy, a variety of it is so subtle that nothing really needs to be achieved. Nothing really funny occur in the play. The play does not depend around the comedy. It's rooted within this serious story, and it is going to happen whether people laugh in internet marketing or otherwise. However I think only the profundity from the tragedy makes people laugh. And since that's precisely how we cope with things being an audience whenever we sympathise, we laugh to stay from crying. Or we laugh because we are able to see ourselves there. Back Stage: How do you know thought about being an actress? Perfetti: I truly have no idea. I understood which i always aspired to be the middle of attention, to ensure that kind of required form in acting. There have been fantastic regional theaters in Rochester that kind of trained me what it's to really be an actress. Used to do NY Condition Summer time School from the Arts, the industry conservatory-style factor, after which I visited a conservatory for college. I learned and fell deeply in love with acting and never being the middle of attention. Still it kind of boggles my thoughts [that] basically had not, where I'd be or things i could be doing, because I simply think it is so fantastic. It had been kind of in error, I suppose, which i fell in it.Back again Stage: What's your acting style? Perfetti: I depend a great deal alternatively people who I am available online for with. They create it quite simple. I do not sign up for any kind of methodology. Most likely would vary from project to project. My performance takes lots of my imagination and lots of my relaxation. Back Stage: Relaxation? Perfetti: Yeah, it takes that. Lots of effort or overthinking will get when it comes to revealing who you're really and, within this situation, who Charles is really. Therefore it is about being okay with exactly where you stand in a moment onstage and being totally relaxed to allow anything happen. Back Stage: Have you got any dream roles? Perfetti: [SUNY] Purchase trained me to like all individuals men who came before me. I enjoy focusing on new plays, but I've got a serious love its our great American playwrights and Shakespeare and Chekhov. I kind of love individuals classic plays that we are not doing just as much any longer. I would like to play Edmund in "Lengthy Day's Journey," all individuals classic roles that men my maturity wish to play. I really hope I recieve to complete individuals before I recieve too old. "Sons from the Prophet" is playing in the Laura Pels Theatre, 111 W. 46th St., New york city through Jan. 1. world wide web.roundabouttheatrecompany.com.

The Chew As Well As The Talk Hit Levels

ABC’s The Chew and CBS’ The Talk, which transformed extended-running daytime soaps, both released levels the other day. According to earnings released today, The Chew, which transformed The Kids this fall, averaged 2.16 million audiences, growing for just about any fourth consecutive week and posting a collection high for just about any second straight week. Meanwhile, CBS’ The Talk, which transformed Since The World Turns last fall, shipped 2.08 million audiences for just about any season high. Versus. the identical week a year ago, The Talk was up 1% in general audiences.

Keck's Exclusives: TNT's Dallas to Serve Up More Lucy and Ray

Charlene Tilton, Steve Kanaly When I was down at the Southfork Ranch last May for the taping of TNT's new Dallas pilot, I was thrilled to see two original cast members turn up for cameos in a wedding scene, but with all the action going down during the heated nuptials, Charlene Tilton's Lucy Ewing and Steve Kanaly's Ray Krebbs didn't have time to offer up much more than a few hugs and well-wishes to the bride and groom. That's why I'm over the moon to report that both actors have been invited to return to Southfork for another family gathering in the new series' fourth episode.For those of you who need a refresher on Dallas 101,Lucy is the daughter of Bobby (Patrick Duffy) and J.R.Ewing's(Larry Hagman) brother, Gary, who fled Dallas with wife Valene for the sun and scandal of Knots Landing, California. As a reckless teen, Lucy had enjoyed a fling in the hayloft with trusted ranch hand Ray before it was discovered that Ray was Ewing brother No. 4. That's right - Lucy's uncle!! All together now: Eewww!We will apparently learn that Lucy had been in Italy after her two failed marriages to hunky plastic surgeon Mitch Cooper, while Ray's been living off the $50 million he made from selling his ranch to evil J.R.TNT's continuation of the 1978-91 CBS seriesis set to premiere next summer, with Desperate Housewives' Brenda Strong,Josh HendersonandJesse Metcalfe joiningiconic original stars Hagman, DuffyandLinda Gray.Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!

Blue Velvet: 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Giveaway: We Have Our Winners!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of the gifted guest critics who turned out yesterday and today to review Blue Velvet. It is difficult to sum up David Lynch’s psycho-thriller masterpiece in just ten words but, as always, our clever readers rose to the occasion. Unfortunately, Movieline could only choose three critics to gift with Blue Velvet: 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-rays. Click ahead for the victors. · @natatat42 “Only a rape-dismemberment-Hopper combo could make MacLachlan uncreepy. “ · MJG: “Nothing Is What It Seems. Except for Naked Isabella Rossellini.” · Melissa Becker: “Hopper huffs gas, puffs himself up, and blows us away.” And a very honorable mention to Casting Couch, who would have been one of our winners had his/her entry been 10 words: “Baby waaants to fuuuck…ing win this Blu-ray!” Congratulations to the latest batch of Movieline winners! We’ll be in touch shortly. And more importantly, thank you to all of the guest critics who participated in this Blue Velvet event. As always, be on the lookout for more Movieline giveaways.

Guy Confesses to Killing the dad of Glee's Charice

Charice Pempengco The man suspected of killing the estranged father of Glee singer Charice inside the Philippines switched themselves in Thursday, in line with the Connected Press.Father of Glee's Charice destroyed inside the PhilippinesOn Monday, police mentioned 40-year-old construction worker Ough Pempengco was destroyed after being stabbed inside the chest and back by getting an ice pick by an angry drunk guy. The suspect, Angel Capili Junior., surrendered Thursday and told the primary of his village he was responsible for the murder, Gilbert Cruz, police chief of nearby Laguna province, mentioned.Charice attracted from concerts planned for Wednesday and Thursday in Singapore to return home.Have the relaxation of current day news"I am very sorry to all or any my fans from Singapore," she tweeted Tuesday. "I am not necessarily there to sign up David Promote and Pals concert. I have revisit the Philippines as rapidly as you possibly can to obtain together with my family members. I think you will all understand. I like everyone which i can help you next season.InchView videos of ChariceThe 19-year-old singer happen to be estranged from her father since she will be a child and was elevated by her mother, Raquel. "I loved him which i'll still love him," she tweeted. "He's still my dad ultimately."

REVIEW: Big, Clumsy Tower Heist Still Hits Moments of Comic Grace

Brett Ratner has long been the whipping boy for everything that’s wrong with big, dumb Hollywood entertainments. There’s just one problem: He’s actually good at making dumb stuff, and now that Hollywood entertainments have gotten even bigger without showing any signs of getting smarter, with a Ratner movie, at least you can be confident you’re in the hands of a master. Tower Heist is more of the same, a comedy that allows its ensemble of actors some interpersonal latitude with the gags — the movie’s best scenes are one-on-one exchanges — but then clamps down on any potential breeziness by forcing a bigger, badder, not-necessarily-better finale. After watching Gabourey Sidibe flirt coquettishly with Eddie Murphy — and getting one hell of a rise out of him — do we really need to see a rare, zillion-dollar sportscar being lowered down the side of a skyscraper? Ratner and writers Ted Griffin and Jeff Nathanson (working from a story by Adam Cooper, Bill Collage and Griffin) apparently think we do, and by the time those shenanigans kick in, Tower Heist has already gotten a lot of the fun out of the way. But much of the picture is fun, and even though it’s rather big and clumsy in its attempts to kick the collective asses of fat-cat finance guys — and there’s something nakedly opportunistic about its efforts to grab a piece of the Zeitgeist pie — it’s harmless and silly at worst. Ben Stiller stars as Josh Kovacs, the manager of a Manhattan luxury high-rise that looks a lot like Trump Tower because it is Trump Tower, though it’s never mentioned by name. In addition to keeping the building’s staff on its toes, Josh serves as toady to the building’s richest resident, big-time financier Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda, who brings that great trademark benign sliminess to the role). Despite the fact that he owns a rooftop pool that’s all about the Benjamin — its bottom is lined with a jumbo replica of that most coveted denomination — Shaw works hard at pretending he’s just an average guy. He and Josh even attended the same Queens high school, years apart; the difference is, Josh still lives in Queens. Then FBI Special Agent Claire Denham (Ta Leoni) shows up to arrest Shaw for securities fraud. Unfortunately, it turns out that Josh has entrusted Shaw to invest the retirement savings of all the building’s employees. That means everyone from the saucy housekeeper Odessa (Sidibe) to the seemingly half-awake concierge (Casey Affleck), whose wife is eight months pregnant, has fallen victim to Shaw’s schemes. Feeling angry and betrayed, Josh enlists a bumbling troupe — including a recently hired elevator operator played by Michael Pea and a former building resident (Matthew Broderick) who’s fallen on hard times himself — to stage an internal heist that will recoup the money Shaw has stolen from them. But being a nerdy white guy from Queens, he needs the help of one of his neighbors, career hood Slide (Eddie Murphy), to do it. Tower Heist is overstuffed with actors, and yet Ratner manages to give each of them one or two (or more) good moments. Stiller is, for a change, remarkably unloathsome here, partly because the always-wonderful Leoni — one of the great modern screwball actresses, if filmmakers only knew what to do with screwball actresses these days — somehow drains some of the poison off him. Leoni can be tough and loopy at the same time, an extraordinary combination. When she discovers that Shaw has a pedigreed Ferrari stashed in his living room, she shoots him with a glorious ray from her ice gun: “You have Steve McQueen’s car parked in your living room? And here I thought you were an asshole.” Broderick makes a great deadpan sadsack — he actually makes you feel sorry for deposed Wall Street hotshots. Murphy is Murphy: He’s not branching into any new territory, but he sure knows his way around a wisecrack (and I continue to be charmed by his resolutely unfixed front teeth). But Sidibe — whose character isn’t just a domestic but also an ace safecracker — is the greatest surprise here: She’s breezy and casual and winning, particularly in the moment where she shocks Murphy’s Slide with her seductive potty-mouth. The look on Murphy’s face — a slow-burning WTF — is lovely in its own right, but its Sidibe’s flirty demureness that steals the moment. Ratner loves to go for the big, excessive finish, and Tower Heist is most fatiguing in the last stretch. But his movie is also dotted, here and there, with comic gracefulness. You’d never accuse Ratner of having a light touch, but every once in a while, he lets a breeze blow through even this most gargantuan of skyscrapers.

AFM: The new sony Group Pacts For Michael Winterbottoms Jack Black Comedy Bailout

Culver City, CA (November 3, 2011) Ealing Metro has struck a multi-territory cope with The new sony Pictures Worldwide Purchases (SPWA) on Michael Winterbottoms (Trishna, The Trip, round-the-clock Party People) eagerly anticipated comedy BAILOUT starring Jack Black (School of Rock). The offer includes The United States, South Usa, Australia, Nigeria and Scandinavia and was discussed by Will Machin for Ealing Metro together with Tana Evans, V . P . Purchases & Distribution, and Michael Helfand, Executive V . P ., Business Matters for SPWA. Helmed by Winterbottom and according to Jess Walters acclaimed novel The Financial Lives from the Poets, BAILOUT is created by Michael Besman (About Schmidt), Melissa Parmenter (Trishna) Jack Black and Pryanka Mattoo.. It's a Revolution Films/Ballyhoo, Corporation./Electric Dynamite Production and it is slated to begin shooting The month of january, 2012, in america. The Ealing Metro team needs to announce additional U.S. comedy stars for key roles soon. Matt Prior (Jack Black) awakens to locate themself unemployed, in serious debt, convinced his wife is getting an affair and six days from losing his home. BAILOUT is really a sincere comedy in regards to a lower on his luck guy who'll visit hysterical measures to be able to take his existence back. Leaving comments around the deal, Will Machin, Mind of Ealing Metro stated: Were delighted to partner with The new sony about this film. They share our enthusiasm for that project and our excitement in the pairing of Michael and Jack within this wise commercial comedy.