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      ‘Herself’ Review: She Does It All

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Best of 2020Best ComedyBest TV ShowsBest BooksBest MoviesBest AlbumsAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main story‘Herself’ Review: She Does It AllAfter fleeing her abusive husband, a woman figures out how to build a new home for herself and her daughters.Clare Dunne in “Herself.”Credit…Pat Redmond/Amazon StudiosDec. 29, 2020, 7:00 a.m. ETHerselfDirected by Phyllida LloydDramaR1h 37mFind TicketsWhen you purchase a ticket for an independently reviewed film through our site, we earn an affiliate commission.When a housing authority can’t provide the residence you need, why not build one yourself? The option obviously isn’t widely available. But a concatenation of circumstances, and the kindness of an old family friend, gives Sandra, a mom fleeing an abusive husband, the chance to do just that in “Herself.”Clare Dunne, who co-wrote the screenplay with Malcolm Campbell, plays Sandra, who leaves her monstrously violent spouse, Gary (Ian Lloyd Anderson), taking her two young girls. Early on, the movie, set in Ireland, has a bit of a Ken Loach vibe, as the hard-working Sandra negotiates various unhelpful bureaucracies trying to set up a new domestic situation.The idea of building her own home is born out of some sessions with the computer search engine. The land and some moral support come from an aged woman Sandra looks after.A trip to the hardware store proves that the internet doesn’t give you all the instructions you need for such an ambitious undertaking as house-building. And an interaction with a rude clerk introduces her to an initially reluctant ally, a construction man, Aido (Conleth Hill), who’s acquainted with Gary. Not in a pleasant way. His sympathy for Sandra compels the overworked fellow to lend her a hand.Then it’s “It Takes a Village” time as Sandra’s friends and neighbors pitch in. Mini-montages of concrete-pouring and beam-raising ensue, accompanied by pop songs like Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings’ “New Shoes” and the David Guetta/Sia collaboration “Titanium.” The director, Phyllida Lloyd, who primarily works in theater, did oversee both the stage and film versions of “Mamma Mia!” after all.The presence of the resentful Gary looms, and Anderson’s performance makes the looming register. Even when he crouches down by Sandra’s car window to tell her he’s getting counseling, Gary exudes menace. He’s clearly poised to strike, and when he senses an opportunity, he does. And as the bad dominoes start to fall, Sandra starts coming apart.As a character, Sandra hasn’t a huge amount of depth — she’s mostly defined by traits, like anger and resilience. But that’s part of the movie’s point; her state is something to which the world has ground her down. And after a while the movie itself, for all its sporadically sunny moments, looks like it’s not going to let up on her. This is a feminist movie with a Sisyphean dimension that’s disquietingly universal.HerselfRated R for language and violence. Running time: 1 hour 37 minutes. In theaters. Please consult the guidelines outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before watching movies inside theaters.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      'Quantum of Solace' Star Gemma Arterton Regrets Playing Bond Girl in Sexist Movie

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      Columbia Pictures

      The ‘Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters’ actress admits she’s got a lost of criticism for playing Bond girl in the 2008, but claims that she only agreed to take the role because she needed the money.

      Dec 29, 2020
      AceShowbiz – Gemma Arterton has shared her regret about starring as Bond girl in “Quantum of Solace”. Like many other actresses before and after her, the role has become a major stepping stone in her career, but the British beauty isn’t proud of it.
      Now, more than a decade later, Arterton realized that Bond movies are sexist. Admitting that she’s got a lot of criticism for taking the role, she defended her decision at the time because she was as “poor as a church mouse.”
      “At the beginning of my career, I was poor as a church mouse and I was happy just to be able to work and earn a living,” she told The Sun. “I still get criticism for accepting ‘Quantum of Solace’, but I was 21, I had a student loan, and you, know, it was a Bond film.”
      “But as I got older I saw there was so much wrong with Bond women,” she acknowledged, before sharing what she would’ve changed about her character’s storyline, “Strawberry should have just said no, really, and worn flat shoes.”

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      Arterton played intelligence operative Strawberry Fields in the 2008 movie, the second film to star Daniel Craig as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Having just made her professional stage debut playing Rosaline in Shakespeare’s “Love’s Labour’s Lost” at the Globe Theatre in 2007 and scored her first feature film role in 2007’s comedy “St Trinian”, playing Bond girl in “Quantum of Solace” marks her breakthrough role, which also earned her an Empire Award for Best Newcomer.
      Making amends of her past decision that she regrets, Arterton set up her own production company Rebel Park in 2013, which aims to promote female talent and help secure equal pay in the film industry. She explained, “I have my own production company which is all about giving women an opportunity in film.”
      “It’s [the industry] getting better but it definitely isn’t there yet. I struggled with that a little bit at first but I’ll keep making suggestions to people,” she continued. “I look forward to getting older and wiser.”
      She went on sharing, “My role model is my grandfather. Even in his mid-nineties he gave the impression of being in his twenties. He was very sharp-minded and looked like Clark Gable with his mustache and hair. He was still sexy – a really hot guy. I secretly hope I’ve inherited his genes.”

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      M. Night Shyamalan Explains Why He's Not Fit for Marvel Movies

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      WENN

      The ‘Sixth Sense’ director insists Marvel wouldn’t want to hire him as a director for their superhero blockbuster because his filmmaking is ‘very quiet and tiny and introspective.’

      Dec 29, 2020
      AceShowbiz – M. Night Shyamalan has insisted his filmmaking is too “introspective” for a Marvel or DC film.
      “The Sixth Sense” director revealed that he has had “many conversations” with the major studios about making a superhero flick but feels that his style behind the camera does not lend itself well to the iconic superhero franchises.
      “I’ve had many conversations over the years about many of the superheroes with many of the studios that own them, and how I would wanna approach it,” he told ComicBook.com.

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      “And it’s one of those things that I think this is my style, if there was ever a situation I mean, I said, ‘I did it’. I made my comic book movie, but the minimalism, the insinuating, the not using CGI all of that stuff is a very different language. So, whenever we’ve had those conversations in the past about XYZ person, it’s your character or franchise. I get so nervous about like, ‘Hey, this is not what you would want me to do to make it very quiet and tiny and introspective.’ ”
      The filmmaker admits he wouldn’t want to turn any of his own movies into franchises although he feels his 2000 thriller “Unbreakable” lends itself best to a series.
      “You never say never but I don’t believe I’d ever make a sequel, but the Unbreakable script in its entirety, was essentially three movies,” he mused. “When I first outlined it, it was three movies in one go. And I was like, ‘This is impossible! I can’t write this in two hours.'”

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      James Corden Insists He Had a Blast Filming 'Cats' Despite Reluctance to Watch the Movie

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      Universal Pictures

      The ‘Late Late Night Show’ host claims he had the ‘best time’ filming the star-studded musical fantasy film although he hasn’t seen the critically-panned movie yet.

      Dec 29, 2020
      AceShowbiz – James Corden had “the best time” working on the “Cats” movie.
      The 42-year-old actor loved working on the much-maligned film – which was based on the award-winning musical of the same name – although he hasn’t actually seen it himself.
      James shared, “I haven’t seen it. Here’s what I’ll say about Cats… I had such a great time. I went to London, shot the song with a brilliant group of actors – Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, all these people – and I had a blast.”
      “So I think you have to be really careful not to judge whether something was valuable to you as to whether it was successful at the box office.”
      The film was widely panned by fans and critics, but James doesn’t have any regrets about his role.

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      The actor – who played the part of Bustopher Jones – told the “Smartless” podcast, “I’ve had really miserable times on things that are really successful. So I should never look upon that as a success.”
      “I had the best time (on Cats).”
      Meanwhile, James previously insisted he tries to take criticism with a “bag of salt,” explaining, “You’ve got to try to take the criticism with a pinch, no, a bag of salt.”
      “And that’s easier or hard depending on factors that are outside of your control, particularly the thinness of your skin, your frailties, at any one time.”
      Directed by Tom Hooper, “Cats” also starred Taylor Swift, Rebel Wilson, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, and Jennifer Hudson. While it got a Golden Globe nomination for one of the theme songs, it was deemed one of the worst movies of the year.

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      For His Second Act, Nnamdi Asomugha Made Preparation His Byword

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Best of 2020Best ComedyBest TV ShowsBest BooksBest MoviesBest AlbumsAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyFor His Second Act, Nnamdi Asomugha Made Preparation His BywordThe former pro football player has pushed himself in acting classes, onstage and in films. His latest drama, “Sylvie’s Love,” also meant returning to an early passion: music.Nnamdi Asomugha gave up piano for football early in his life. Now he’s playing a jazz saxophonist in a new movie.Credit…Erik Carter for The New York TimesDec. 28, 2020The lead in a romance may seem like a prize for most actors, but the star of the new drama “Sylvie’s Love” had reservations.“There was no way that I was going to do a romantic film until I read the script and saw that there were Black people falling in love in the ’50s and ’60s,” Nnamdi Asomugha, 39, said. “And then immediately I was like, OK, I think people need to see this film.”“Sylvie’s Love,” which made its Amazon premiere on Dec. 23, is set largely in midcentury New York and explores the ebbs and flows of the relationship between Robert (Asomugha), a charismatic jazz saxophonist, and Sylvie (Tessa Thompson), a determined television producer.Asomugha is considered a rising star in Hollywood: In 2017, his breakout performance in the drama “Crown Heights” earned Indie Spirit and NAACP Image Award nominations. Earlier this year, he made what the Hollywood Reporter called “a promising Broadway debut” in a new staging of “A Soldier’s Play” by Charles Fuller. Behind the scenes, he has helped produce projects through his production company, iAm21 Entertainment, including “Sylvie’s Love,” “Crown Heights” and “Harriet,” as well as the Broadway play “American Son” (2018), which starred his wife, the actress Kerry Washington.Asomugha opposite Tessa Thompson in “Sylvie’s Love.”Credit…Amazon StudiosBut before acting and producing, Asomugha was considered one of the best cornerbacks in the National Football League, playing 11 seasons for the Oakland Raiders and other teams before retiring in 2013.It’s “mind-boggling that I would even want to go from one career where you’re under such a microscope in an extreme way to another career where the microscope might even be bigger,” Asomugha said. “You can’t help what you fall in love with, and I fell in love with acting.”He spoke recently via video about making the transition from football to acting, preparing for “Sylvie’s Love” (directed by Eugene Ashe) and the unexpected experience of appearing on Broadway. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.You’ve gone from a successful N.F.L. career to an acting career. What was the timeline for you?I was just obsessed with movies and television growing up. When I finished playing, the advice I kept getting from former players was find something to do that you are absolutely in love with. Because the love you have for it is what will sustain and lead you. And I knew that this was an avenue. I didn’t know that it was necessarily going to be producing, but I knew I wanted to go into acting.Were you still an N.F.L. player when you got bit by that bug, or was this after your career?While I was still in the N.F.L., but I didn’t make the decision until probably a year after [retiring]. You go through this period of soul-searching when you finish doing something that you’ve done for the last 20-something years of your life. It’s an identity crisis, like, do I have any more things to look forward to in life? All the traumatic things you tell yourself.On top of that, I knew that I wasn’t 20. I wasn’t just coming out of Yale or Juilliard. The window felt so much shorter to me. So I didn’t want to wait. I wanted to just start creating the projects so people can say, oh, OK, he does know what he’s doing.Do you often take lessons and experience from your football career and apply them to your acting career?I advise people all the time, get your kids into sports because sports shaped my life — from discipline and patience and hard work and falling down and needing to get back up and not complaining. But the No. 1 thing I think is the preparation. The same preparation I need to get ready for a football game or football season, I’ve brought that to acting.Asomugha, right, in 2008 when he was playing for the Raiders.Credit…Paul Buck/European Pressphoto AgencyWhen did you start playing football?I was 12. The first year I played football was the last year I played the piano. One day, I was late for practice and my coach said, where were you? I said I’m sorry, I had a recital. And he laughed so hard. It was this big thing and I had to run laps. That was the last time I ever played the piano. And that was the start of my football career. It was both devastating and also affirming. Like, OK, I need to focus on this. This is going to be what I do now.You found your way back to an instrument.I did!Did you have to learn how to play the tenor saxophone for “Sylvie’s Love”?I didn’t have to, but I chose to because I love preparation. I love the process more than anything, sometimes even more than the actual moment. I got a saxophone coach who was also in the film and we played for just over a year. And I learned that I was really good at playing the saxophone. I say “was” because I haven’t played it in a while, so I’ve lost a lot of that. But I wanted it to look authentic.The film is set during the civil rights movement in America. But with these two Black characters and an almost entirely Black cast, the backdrop isn’t politics, it’s jazz. We see some of those elements play out but that wasn’t the focus. Can you explain the intent behind that?It was important for us to make those elements nuanced and not in your face. We wanted to focus on the love. We’ve been so defined by that period as Black people. We know about marches and protests and water hoses and dogs and struggle. But we were also falling in love. We were having families, getting married, going to the dance. My father-in-law says we used to go to “the dance,” we didn’t call it the club. We had that as a part of our culture of Black people and to not celebrate that is a crime. It robs us of our humanity and just an entire aspect of our lives that really helped us get through those difficult moments. So for us, the thought was, why not show that? Why not illuminate the love that we had for each other during this time period?And it also was a reason some people passed on making the film because they felt like it should have been rooted in the civil rights movement. But that wasn’t the film we wanted to make. We felt that there was an audience for not just Black love, but love in general.What are some moments from the film you hope resonate with viewers?I think it was really important for us to show a level of vulnerability in men, especially Black men.I hope that it will further the conversation of it being OK for men to be expressive, to tell how they feel. The important thing for us was showing men doing that in front of their women.Asomugha went toe to toe with David Alan Grier in “A Soldier’s Play” on Broadway.Credit…Sara Krulwich/The New York TimesYou’ve produced a few films, some of which you starred in. Why did you go the producer route?The projects that I was seeing, not only did they not interest me, I wasn’t getting them. It’s not like the projects are there and they were like, “Here’s your job!”I was so serious about this that I didn’t want to use football to get in the door. So it meant having to stand up [in classes] in front of a bunch of people that know who you are because they know football and you have to be doing a scene in front of them.It’s just to say that there was a level of discipline that I had to have because I do want it to be something that’s sustaining.How do you and Kerry Washington support each other as actors? Are there plans to collaborate with each other in a film?I produced “American Son,” but as actors, there’s no plan as of now for that collaboration. We’re very supportive of each other’s journeys, but we’ve always been that way. We always want the best for each other in whatever we’re doing. And so it’s not in the detail of specific things; It’s just an overall appreciation for the hard work.Do you hope to do more plays on Broadway?I had no dream or aspiration of being on Broadway. I didn’t know that doing plays was going to be in my cards at all until I did an Off Broadway play and I fell in love with being on the stage. And then the next year, for me to be on Broadway in “A Soldier’s Play” and to be in a role originated by Denzel — I was just like, what is happening?AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Amy Ryan Credits Steven Spielberg for Pushing Her to Get Contact Lenses

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      WENN/FayesVision/Apega

      Talking about her experience working with the renowned director, the ‘Bridge of Spies’ actress reveals one moment during filming that made her decide to give up pretending her eyesight was fine.

      Dec 28, 2020
      AceShowbiz – Actress Amy Ryan gave up pretending her eyesight was fine thanks to an acting instruction from Steven Spielberg on “Bridge of Spies”.
      The star now wears contact lenses at all times after realizing poor sight was beginning to impact her craft.
      “I wear contacts now because of Steven Spielberg,” she explains. “I didn’t know how to get contacts in my eyes for the longest time, because it bothered me so I would make do.”
      “There was a scene (in ‘Bridge of Spies’), where I was walking upstairs to meet Tom (Hanks) and it’s supposed to be this loving moment where I’m so proud of him. Steven’s direction to me was, ‘Amy, softer face’, but I was just squinting because I couldn’t see, which came out so mean looking!”

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      “So I ran to my doctor and got contacts because I couldn’t see a thing.”
      Amy previously shared her eyesight problem during an interview with Interview magazine in 2014. Saying that she just got new glasses at the time, she said, “I can’t wear contacts so now when I act on a film I kind of get mean. Steven Spielberg on the last film said, ‘Make more of a soft face,’ because I was focusing.”
      Asked to confirm if it was Steven who instructed her to “look more gentle” for the scene, she replied, “Yeah, it was a loving scene and I was looking a little angry, but the truth is I couldn’t see a damn thing. I’ve got to get contacts; I’ve got to figure it out.”
      Amy played Tom Hanks’ onscreen wife in 2014’s “Bridge of Spies”. She is also known for her roles as Helene McCready in 2007’s film “Gone Baby Gone”, Beadie Russell on HBO’s series “The Wire”, as well as Holly Flax on NBC’s sitcom “The Office” (2008–2011).

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      Tom Cruise to Move 'Mission: Impossible 7' Filming to Former Secret Military Base After COVID Rant

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      Instagram

      The lead actor and producer of the upcoming action film is reportedly spending millions to build the world’s most secure studio in Surrey, South East England after lashing out at crew members over COVID breach.

      Dec 28, 2020
      AceShowbiz – Tom Cruise is once again willing to go great lengths to ensure the safety of the cast and crew of “Mission: Impossible VII” while filming on the movie continues on. Following his on-set rant due to breach of COVID-19 protocols, the actor/producer is said to be building a COVID-19 secure studio at a former military base.
      Per reported by The Sun, the Ethan Hunt depicter is spending millions to complete the new set at the former top secret military base in Surrey, South East England. When completed, the modified tank design base Longcross is hoped to be the world’s most COVID-secure studio.
      Cruise was caught launching into a profanity-laden tirade at crew members on the set in Leavesden, Herts earlier this month, after allegedly seeing two crew members standing too close to one another in front of a computer screen. In an audio obtained by The Sun, the 58-year-old actor was heard yelling at the crew, “I don’t ever want to see it again. Ever! And if you don’t do it, you’re fired, and I see you do it again you’re f**king gone. And if anyone in this crew does it… And you, don’t you ever f**king do it again. That’s it. No apologies.”

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      Following the rant, Cruise reportedly took a break from filming the action movie for an early Christmas holiday. Friday, December 18 was reportedly his last day on the set for the year end and he reportedly planned to take his private jet to Miami, Florida where he would spend some time with his son Connor.
      “Tom has decided he’s ready for a break and is now going to wind up filming for 2020 on Friday, and fly to Miami over the weekend on his private jet to spend Christmas with his son,” a source told The Sun. “It’s the end of a really tough year, and a bit of time out seems like a good idea for everyone as tensions have been mounting for a while.”
      Meanwhile, some crew members have come in Cruise’s defense following the rant. “Tom helped set up the COVID protocol. Of course, he takes it personally when the protocol is broken,” a source from the U.K. production explained. “In all the years of filming the ‘Mission: Impossible’ franchise, no one has ever even heard Tom raise his voice. He is usually just laser-focused on filming. This movie is very different though. He has to film while making sure everyone stays safe.”
      Cruise was previously reported to have paid £500,000 to rent an old cruise ship for the cast and crew of “M: I 7” to isolate on.

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      Gary Oldman Admits to Be Uneasy With His Lack of Disguise in 'Mank'

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      WENN/DJDM

      In the David Fincher-directed movie, the ‘Darkest Hour’ star takes on the role of Herman J. Mankiewicz, who was tasked with revamping the script for Orson Welles’ iconic 1941 film ‘Citizen Kane’.

      Dec 28, 2020
      AceShowbiz – Gary Oldman was “uneasy” at his lack of a disguise to portray Hollywood screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, because he had become so comfortable hiding behind prosthetics to play real people.
      The Brit portrays the writer tasked with revamping the script for Orson Welles’ iconic 1941 film “Citizen Kane” in new biopic “Mank”, but he wasn’t keen on director David Fincher’s idea to forgo heavy makeup and prosthetics, which Oldman wanted to use to make him look more like the titular character.
      “I am partial to a disguise. I like to hide. And David wanted no veil between me and the audience,” Oldman tells The Associated Press.
      “He said, ‘I want you as naked as you’ve ever been.’ It wasn’t that I resisted that. I was just a little uneasy with it at first.”

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      The movie chronicles the tumultuous development of “Citizen Kane”, and co-stars Amanda Seyfried as actress Marion Davies, and Charles Dance as her lover and media magnate, William Randolph Hearst.
      In a separate interview, actor Ferdinand Kingsley said that director David Fincher asked him and Oldman to do one scene nearly 50 times for the movie. “He’s intensive insofar as he doesn’t take his foot off the gas. You spend very little time not acting, not doing a take,” said Kingsley. “The turnarounds take about 90 seconds. The crew are military, so almost all the time on set is spent doing takes and you do a lot. You do 30, 40, 50, 60 takes a shot.”
      As for his personal best for takes was during filming, Kingsley mentioned one scene with Oldman. “Gary and I did one shot 40-something, 50-ish times. I think the record on the shoot was either 74 or 78 and that was a scene with Gary, Tom Pelphrey, and Arliss Howard in a walking and talking scene. So they all got blisters.”
      “They’re walking around the MGM studio lot and it’s a brilliant shot. I think David [Fincher] said his record is 104 takes. When I asked if we were going to beat that he swore at me. That was when he filmed Panic Room and he said it was a stunt. I can’t imagine what it was like,” he added.

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