Warner Bros. Announces Cast Additions to "Entourage" Movie

“Entourage” Expands as Additional Cast Joins the Film, Now in Production

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Debi Mazar, Rex Lee, Constance Zimmer, Nora Dunn and Emily Ratajkowski have joined the cast of Warner Bros. Pictures’ theatrical feature “Entourage.” Mazar, Lee, Zimmer and Dunn will reprise their roles as Shauna, Lloyd, Dana Gordon and Dr. Marcus from the HBO hit series, and Ratajkowski will appear as herself in the film, which began principal photography in Los Angeles on February 19.

“Entourage” will open in theaters nationwide on Friday, June 12, 2015.

Written and directed by series creator Doug Ellin, the big-screen version of the award-winning show stars Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara and Jeremy Piven in their original roles, as well as Billy Bob Thornton and Haley Joel Osment as Larsen and Travis McCredle. The film also reunites series regulars Perrey Reeves as Ari Gold’s wife, Emmanuelle Chriqui as Sloan, and Rhys Coiro as Billy Walsh.

“Entourage” is produced by Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson and Doug Ellin, with Wayne Carmona serving as executive producer. The creative filmmaking team includes director of photography Steve Fierberg, production designer Chase Harlan, and costume designer Olivia Miles-Payne, all of whom worked on the long-running HBO series.

Movie star Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier), together with his boys, Eric (Kevin Connolly), Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) and Johnny (Kevin Dillon), are back…and back in business with super agent-turned-studio head Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven). Some of their ambitions have changed, but the bond between them remains strong as they navigate the capricious and often cutthroat world of Hollywood.

In addition to Los Angeles, “Entourage” will also film on location in Miami, Florida.

“Entourage” is a presentation of Warner Bros. Pictures, in association with Home Box Office. The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Review: "The Lone Ranger" is a Little Bit Stranger

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 9 (of 2014) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Lone Ranger (2013)
Running time:  149 minutes (2 hours, 29 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence, and some suggestive material
DIRECTOR:  Gore Verbinski
WRITERS:  Justine Haythe and Ted Elliot & Terry Rossio; from Justine Haythe and Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio
PRODUCERS:  Jerry Bruckheimer and Gore Verbinski
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Bojan Bazelli
EDITORS:  James Haygood and Craig Wood
COMPOSER:  Hans Zimmer
Academy Award nominee

WESTERN/ACTION with elements of fantasy

Starring:  Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, William Fichtner, Tom Wilkinson, Ruth Wilson, Helena Bonham Carter, James Badge Dale, Bryant Prince, Barry Pepper, Leon Rippy, Stephen Root, Terry Treadaway, Saginaw Grant, Joaquin Cosio, James Frain, Leonard Earl Howze, Grover Coulson, and Mason Cook.

For those who don’t know:  The Lone Ranger is a fictional character that first debuted in a radio show in late January 1933.  The Lone Ranger is a Texas Ranger who fights injustice in the American Old West with the assistance of Tonto, his Native American friend.

The radio show ran from 1933 to the mid-1950s for almost 3,000 episodes.  The character is probably best-remembered for the television series, The Lone Ranger, which aired for eight seasons (1949 to 1957) for over 200 episodes on the ABC television network.  Clayton Moore starred as the Lone Ranger, and Jay Silverheels played Tonto.  The character also made several appearance in film, the last being an infamous and unsuccessful 1981 movie.  Early in the Summer of 2013, the Lone Ranger and Tonto returned to the big screen.

The Lone Ranger is a 2013 action and Western film from producer-director Gore Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer.  Starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer, The Lone Ranger 2013 focuses on the earliest efforts of The Lone Ranger and Tonto to end corruption in and to bring justice to the American Old West.

[A NOTE:  Since the following review is a longish one, I’ll summarize it here.  I thoroughly enjoyed The Lone Ranger 2013, and had a blast watching it.  However, it is not a traditional Western movie, just as the Pirate of the Caribbean movies are not typical pirate movies.  The Lone Ranger is funny, but quirky.  If you look past its oddness and focus on the action, you might find it to be quite entertaining.]

The Lone Ranger opens in 1933 at a fair in San Francisco.  In a sideshow, a boy named Will (Mason Cook) just happens to meet an elderly Native American who claims to be Tonto (Johnny Depp).  Learning that Will idolizes the Lone Ranger, Tonto tells the boy the story of how he first met the legendary hero.

The story moves back to 1869.  Lawyer John Reid (Armie Hammer) returns to his hometown of Colby, Texas.  He finds the Transcontinental Railroad to be the focus of attention, but railroad tycoon, Latham Cole (Tom Wilkinson), is focused on the capture of outlaw, Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner).  John joins his brother, Texas Ranger Dan Reid (James Badge Dale), who leads the search for Cavendish and his gang.

John discovers that Native American Comanche warrior, Tonto (Johnny Depp), is also searching for Cavendish, whom the Indian believes is a creature he calls “windigo.”  Events leave John a “lone Ranger,” and he is forced join Tonto in an often-contentious but effective partnership.  But can the two new partners stop a conspiracy that is bigger and older than they may realize?

I think that the movie reviews which accompanied The Lone Ranger upon its initial theatrical release back in late June 2013 can be described as mostly negative to mixed.  I unequivocally like this movie, although I will admit that it has some flaws.  For instance, I have a question that has already been asked by other critics.  What is the target audience for The Lone Ranger?

The Lone Ranger 2013 is a Western.  It has several elements that can be found throughout the history of American Western films:  brothels, construction of a railroad, cowboys and Indians, lone lawman, outlaws, quests for redemption, revenge, and the shoot ‘em up.  However, this new Lone Ranger is nothing like The Lone Ranger television series, which was a traditional Hollywood Western aimed at a general audience and relied on stock elements that were familiar to viewers of all ages.

This movie is also a comedy and action flick as much as it is a Western, but it is not reverent about the things found in many Western movies and television programs from the 1930s to the 1950s.  The film has those big, reality-bending action scenes we have come to expect of Jerry Bruckheimer movies like the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise (which also stars Johnny Depp).  As a comedy, the film sometimes mocks elements and aspects associated with The Lone Ranger franchise.  Some of the dialogue and scenes in this movie have a single purpose – be funny.

The Lone Ranger 2013 is also surprisingly quirky.  It is kind of a “weird Western,” like the films, Jonah Hex and Wild Wild West (1999).  The movie has a strange mixture of imitation Native American mysticism and quasi-occultism, with a funky supernatural twist.  Much of that is tied to violence, cannibalism in particular.

I think that in order to enjoy this film, the viewer has to focus more on the basic plot, the characters, and the big action scenes and sequences and less on the setting (the post-Civil War “Old West”) and genre (the Western).  I didn’t mind that The Lone Ranger is an unusual Western film, and I certainly like the plot, characters, and action set pieces.

Also, Armie Hammer turned out to fit in this movie better than I thought he would.  Still, to me, it seems as if he can never make his character, John Reid/The Lone Ranger, escape the tremendous shadow cast by Johnny Depp’s Tonto.  Depp owns this movie, and that is a bigger problem for this movie than anything else.  It is more about Tonto than it is about The Lone Ranger.  In fact, whenever the story switched to other characters, I could feel myself chomping-at-the-bits for the movie to go back to Depp/Tonto.

I have to admit that I wish that we get a sequel to The Lone Ranger.  That is unlikely, as this movie is considered a box office disappointment and, to some, a flop.

7 of 10
B+

NOTES:
2014 Academy Awards, USA:  2 nominations:  ‘Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling” (Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua Casny) and “Best Achievement in Visual Effects” (Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams, and John Frazier)

2014 Razzie Awards:  1 win: “Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel;” 4 nominations: “Worst Picture,” “Worst Actor” (Johnny Depp), “Worst Director” (Gore Verbinski), and “Worst Screenplay” (Ted Elliott-screen story and screenplay, Justin Haythe-screen story and screenplay, and Terry Rossio-screen story and screenplay)

Tuesday, March 04, 2014


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

2014 Razzie Awards - Complete Winners aka Losers List

by Amos Semien

The Golden Raspberry Award or, as it is best known, the Razzie Award, is basically the opposite of the Academy Awards (the Oscars).  This award honors the worst achievements in film in a calendar year, as determined by the paid membership of the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation.

And now… the haters.  The winners (or losers, if you will) of the 2014 Razzie Awards were announced Saturday, March 1, 2014, one day before the Academy Awards ceremony (or “Oscar eve”) – the traditional date for the Razzies.

After Earth and Movie 43 each won three awards.  Movie 43, an anthology comedy film, was named “Worst Picture” of 2013.  Grown Up 2, the Adam Sandler and pals film that was a sequel to an earlier Adam Sandler and pals film, had received nine nominations, but did not win any – apparently the biggest shutout in Razzie Award history.

2014 / 34th Annual Razzie Awards winners (for the year in film, 2013):

WORST PICTURE:
Movie 43 – Relativity Media

WORST ACTOR
Jaden Smith: After Earth

WORST ACTRESS
Tyler Perry: A Madea Christmas

WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Kim Kardashian: Tyler Perry’s Temptation

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Will Smith: After Earth

WORST DIRECTOR:
The 13 People Who Directed Movie 43 (Elizabeth Banks, Steven Brill, Steve Carr, Rusty Cundieff, James Duffy, Griffin Dunne, Peter Farrelly, Patrik Forsberg, Will Graham, James Gunn, Bob Odenkirk, Brett Ratner, and Jonathan van Tulleken)

WORST SCREEN COMBO
Jaden Smith & Will Smith on Planet Nepotism: After Earth

WORST SCREENPLAY
Movie 43: Written by 19 “Screenwriters” (Steve Baker, Ricky Blitt, Will Carlough, Tobias Carlson, Jacob Fleisher, Patrik Forsberg, Will Graham, James Gunn, Claes Kjellstrom, Jack Kukoda, Bob Odenkirk, Bill O'Malley, Matthew Alec Portenoy, Greg Pritikin, Rocky Russo, Olle Sarri, Elizabeth Wright Shapiro, Jeremy Sosenko, Jonathan van Tulleken and Jonas Wittenmark)

WORST REMAKE, RIP-OFF or SEQUEL
The Lone Ranger – Walt Disney Pictures

http://www.razzies.com/

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2014 - 86th Academy Awards - Complete Winners List

by Leroy Douresseaux

The 86th Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2013 were presented on Sunday, March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live on the ABC Television Network.  The Oscar presentation, produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, and hosted by Ellen DeGeneres.

So I was wrong.  12 Years a Slave won the Oscar for “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (2013), one of three awards the film received, including a best supporting actress Oscar for Lupita Nyong’o.  Gravity won the most Oscars, winning in seven of the 10 categories in which it was nominated, including a best director Oscar for Alfonso Cuarón (who also shared the film editing Oscar).

2014 / 86th OSCAR winners (for the year in film 2013):

Best motion picture of the year:
“12 Years a Slave”
Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen and Anthony Katagas, Producers

Achievement in directing:
“Gravity” Alfonso Cuarón

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Matthew McConaughey in “Dallas Buyers Club”

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Jared Leto in “Dallas Buyers Club”

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Cate Blanchett in “Blue Jasmine”

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Lupita Nyong’o in “12 Years a Slave”

Adapted screenplay
“12 Years a Slave” Screenplay by John Ridley

Original screenplay
“Her” Written by Spike Jonze

Best animated feature film of the year
“Frozen” Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee and Peter Del Vecho

Achievement in cinematography
“Gravity” Emmanuel Lubezki

Achievement in costume design
“The Great Gatsby” Catherine Martin

Best documentary feature
“20 Feet from Stardom” Morgan Neville, Gil Friesen and Caitrin Rogers

Best documentary short subject
“The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life” Malcolm Clarke and Nicholas Reed

Achievement in film editing
“Gravity” Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger

Best foreign language film of the year
“The Great Beauty” Italy

Achievement in makeup and hairstyling
“Dallas Buyers Club” Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“Gravity” Steven Price

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song):
“Let It Go” from “Frozen”
Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez

Achievement in production design
“The Great Gatsby” Production Design: Catherine Martin; Set Decoration: Beverley Dunn

Best animated short film
“Mr. Hublot” Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares

Best live action short film
“Helium” Anders Walter and Kim Magnusson

Achievement in sound editing
“Gravity” Glenn Freemantle

Achievement in sound mixing
“Gravity” Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and Chris Munro

Achievement in visual effects
“Gravity” Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk and Neil Corbould

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"12 Years a Slave" Wins 2014 Oscar as "Best Picture of 2013"

Best motion picture of the year:

 “12 Years a Slave”
Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen and Anthony Katagas, Producers WINNER

Nominees:

“American Hustle”
Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison and Jonathan Gordon, Producers

“Captain Phillips”
Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti and Michael De Luca, Producers

“Dallas Buyers Club”
Robbie Brenner and Rachel Winter, Producers

“Gravity”
Alfonso Cuarón and David Heyman, Producers

“Her”
Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze and Vincent Landay, Producers

“Nebraska”
Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa, Producers

“Philomena”
Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan and Tracey Seaward, Producers

“The Wolf of Wall Street”
Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Joey McFarland and Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Producers

Matthew McConaughey Wins 2014 "Best Actor" Oscar

Performance by an actor in a leading role:

Matthew McConaughey in “Dallas Buyers Club” WINNER

Nominees:
Christian Bale in “American Hustle”
Bruce Dern in “Nebraska”
Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Chiwetel Ejiofor in “12 Years a Slave”

Cate Blanchett Wins 2014 "Best Actress" Oscar

Performance by an actress in a leading role:

 Cate Blanchett in “Blue Jasmine” WINNER

Nominees:
Amy Adams in “American Hustle”
Sandra Bullock in “Gravity”
Judi Dench in “Philomena”
Meryl Streep in “August: Osage County”