New Justin Bieber: Never Say Never Photos, Clips, and Premiere Details

We're just days away from the release of Justin Bieber's biopic, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, in theaters on February 11th, and Bieber fans across the planet are counting down the hours until they can see the teen pop singer on the big screen - in 3D no less. If you've got Bieber fever and can't wait until Friday to see him, Paramount Pictures has just released a new batch of pictures from the film. You can also check out Bieber switching bodies with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show in a new just released clip. And if that's not enough Bieber for you, check out LiveStream for streaming footage from the 'purple' carpet premiere set up at the Nokia Theater LA Live in downtown, Los Angeles (pre-show begins at 4pm PST, premiere starts at 5pm).

First Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher Photo Revealed

Pathé just announced that filming has begun on The Iron Lady, and along with announcing the start of production they've released the first photo of Meryl Streep in character (pictured) as Lady Margaret Thatcher. The biopic reunites Streep with her Mamma Mia! director Phyllida Lloyd which also stars Jim Broadbent as Denis Thatcher. Filling out the supporting cast are Alexandra Roach and Harry Lloyd (as younger versions of Margaret and Denis Thatcher), Olivia Colman, Nicholas Farrell, Susan Brown, Roger Allam, Anthony Head, Julian Wadham, Pip Torrens, Nick Dunning, Richard E Grant, David Westhead, Angus Wright and John Sessions.

Per the press release, The Iron Lady "tells the compelling story of Margaret Thatcher, a woman who smashed through the barriers of gender and class to be heard in a male-dominated world. The story concerns power and the price that is paid for power, and is a surprising and intimate portrait of an extraordinary and complex woman." The story focuses on Prime Minister Thatcher's actions in the 17 days leading up to the 1982 Falklands War.

Commenting on playing the former Prime Minister of England, Oscar-winner Streep stated, "The prospect of exploring the swathe cut through history by this remarkable woman is a daunting and exciting challenge. I am trying to approach the role with as much zeal, fervor and attention to detail as the real Lady Thatcher possesses - I can only hope my stamina will begin to approach her own!"

I don't know about her stamina, but Streep definitely looks the part (with the help of make-up artists).

Julia Roberts is the Evil Queen in Snow White

Relativity Media has made it official - Julia Roberts will get evil in their still untitled Snow White film (which we've all been referring to as The Brothers Grimm: Snow White up to this point). Roberts has committed to play the Queen in Relativity's version of the classic fairy tale, with Tarsem Singh (Immortals, The Cell) attached to direct from a script by Melissa Wallack (Meet Bill) and Jason Keller (Machine Gun Preacher).

In the official announcement, Relativity CEO Ryan Kavanaugh stated, "Julia was our first and only choice to play the Queen. She is an icon, and we know that she will make this role her own in a way that no one else could."

There's no word yet on who will play Snow White, however that news should come shortly as filming's expected to begin in April.

This Snow White will, according to the press release, "eschew the traditional story in favor of a more modern tale full of comedy and adventure. After her evil stepmother kills her father and destroys the kingdom, Snow White bands together with a gang of seven quarrelsome dwarfs to reclaim what is rightly hers."

Relativity is aiming for a June 29, 2012 release. That will put it ahead of Universal's Snow White and the Huntsman (with Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart and Viggo Mortensen all in negotiations) which is targeting a December 2012 date, and Disney's Snow and the Seven (Francis Lawrence is helming that project) that won't hit theaters until 2013.

'The Mechanic'- Reviews

Simon West's blood-drenched thriller The Mechanic is a loose remake of Michael Winner's 1972 film of the same name, with Jason Statham taking on the title role played originally by Charles Bronson. Statham, if nothing else, is a performer who knows his limitations. He’s an action star first and actor second, and he has no interest in mimicking the iconic Death Wish star, or even attempting an American accent, for that matter. He’s aware, perhaps more than anyone, that badassery knows no tongue. It speaks in fractured limbs and severed tendons.

Statham plays Arthur Bishop, an elite “mechanic,” so-called for his practice of fixing problems, most of which entail someone being alive when someone else would rather they not be. Bishop’s talent for killing earns him a healthy wage from his employer, a shadowy organization referred to only as “The Company.” In between assignments, he lives in a stylish pad on the Louisiana bayou (a location which assures him a measure of anonymity AND affords the filmmakers generous tax breaks – talk about synergy!), where he sips fine wine, listens to classical music, restores classic sports cars, and ventures out on occasion for brief but passionate liaisons with a Spitzer-grade prostitute (Mini Anden), whose appeals for greater intimacy he politely declines.

"You need companionship," chides his kindly, wheelchair-bound boss and mentor, Harry, the only person with whom he enjoys a meaningful relationship. Bishop has genuine affection for Harry, and when The Company, acting on the dictates of its corporate-sinister CEO (Tony Goldwyn, naturally), liquidates the old man over allegations of profit-skimming, he is shaken – inasmuch as cold-blooded hitmen can be shaken. But that still doesn’t quite explain why he agrees to take on Harry’s orphaned son Steve (Ben Foster), an unstable, alcoholic ne’er-do-well with nihilistic tendencies, as an apprentice.

No matter. There is payback to be meted out; best to get on with it. And the combustible protégé, at the very least, promises to make things entertaining. The two are an odd pair: Steve’s methods are as blunt and reckless as Bishop’s are careful and precise. They even make love differently, as West demonstrates in two lightning-quick sex scenes that are shot in essentially the same matter as the action sequences. Because, well, they pretty much are. West's direction may be muddled and choppy at times, but at least his tone is consistent.

Foster adds an air of violent unpredictability that spices up The Mechanic’s otherwise generic wade through genre conventions. When Steve embarks on his first solo job, the assassination of a gay rival mechanic, you get the sense that he just might ditch the assignment and hop into bed with him. (He doesn’t, but wouldn’t that make for one hell of a plot twist?) It's the film's strangest and most interesting scene, illustrative of Foster's ability to keep us on our toes when the story itself lags. Even Statham at times seems legitimately flummoxed by his co-star, as if he himself doesn't quite know what to expect from him.

We do, however, know what to expect from The Mechanic: lots of over-the-top action, and just enough of a plot to give the over-the-top action relevance. The film is ineffably preposterous – Bishop and Steve make little effort to conceal themselves during their bloody endeavors, and their “expert” assassinations leave behind a treasure trove of forensic evidence; Steve spends much of the film as a bumbling neophyte, only to become suddenly proficient during the climax; etc. – but no more so than any other Jason Statham vehicle. Depth of character is an afterthought: The principal dilemma our heroes face is, how best to eliminate the next faceless goon that enters our path? To which the answer invariably is: Use the gun.

'No Strings Attached'- Review

Forget Black Swan – Natalie Portman’s real crowning performance is to be found in the romantic comedy No Strings Attached, in which director Ivan Reitman asks her to convey sincere, unqualified affection for Ashton Kutcher. Portman, much to her credit, gamely complies, and though she may not have the emaciated figure, bloody nails and bandaged ankles to tell of her labors, the psychic scars must no doubt be just as severe.

Exhibiting strong chick-flick leanings and a rambunctious, soft-R comic tone (i.e., lots of F-bombs, some menstrual humor, and a few shots of Kutcher’s naked ass), No Strings Attached is built around a basic relationship role-reversal: The dude, Adam (Kutcher), longs for a deeper, lasting commitment; the chick, Emma (Portman), insists on keeping matters purely physical. Emma’s motive is a practical one: As a doctor-to-be, her busy residency schedule, with its 80-hour work weeks and intensive exam preparations, precludes a serious relationship. But alas, a woman has certain needs (foreplay, apparently, not being among them), and who better to fulfill them than Kutcher’s non-threatening boy-toy?

Thus a “friends with benefits” arrangement is cemented, whereupon the ripcord is to be pulled on the occasion that either of them develops stronger feelings. This does not last long, for soon Adam is cloyingly lobbying for escalation. Emma demurs – not out of disinterest, we are told, but because she’s intimacy-averse and afraid of a broken heart. Why else would she resist a more permanent attachment to someone like Adam?

Perhaps it’s because Adam, as played by Kutcher, is about as interesting as cabbage. And yet No Strings Attached would have us believe he’s some kind of floppy-haired Albert Schweitzer. This despite the fact that his greatest aspiration in life is to join the writing staff of a High School Musical-esque television series, the shallow inanity of which is one of the film’s recurring jokes. In vain support of his cause, the filmmakers decorate Adam’s apartment with various props – vintage posters, books about 1920s movies, a guitar that is occasionally picked up but never actually played – that hint at a depth that Kutcher himself never manifests.

Still, Portman sells us on Adam and Emma’s inevitable union with every ounce of her not inconsiderable talent. (And her comic chops are legit – as those who’ve glimpsed her appearances on SNL and Funny or Die can attest.) But she asks too much. And Elizabeth Meriweather’s script, while witty and stocked with some keen observations on the evolving nature of relationships in the modern age, becomes weighed down by sentiment unbecoming an R-rated comedy not directed by Judd Apatow. In the end, Kutcher seals the increasingly contrived deal with the climactic line, “I’m warning you: Come one step closer, and I’m never letting you go,” (I’m paraphrasing, but not loosely) by which time the film's already lost its grip.

Exclusive Interview with Channing Tatum on 'The Eagle'

Channing Tatum was on the tail-end of a publicity/press tour for Focus Features' The Eagle when we sat down for a one-on-one in San Diego to discuss the action epic directed by Kevin Macdonald (Last King of Scotland, State of Play). And although he had to be a little tired from being out on the promotional trail, his enthusiasm for talking about the film was still high.
A fan of historical epics, being able to star in The Eagle (inspired by the Rosemary Sutcliff book The Eagle of the Ninth which he didn't read before shooting the movie) was actually a dream come true for the 30 year old actor. Of all his past action films, The Eagle is the one closest to his heart as it's the type of film he grew up wanting to be a part of. Citing Braveheart and Gladiator as two of his favorite films, Tatum said he loved the idea of being able to fight with swords in an epic tale from the past, and The Eagle allowed him to live out that dream.
The Eagle follows Tatum as Marcus Aquila, son of the disgraced commander of the Ninth Legion who marched off to battle in Caledonia with his 5,000 men and was never seen or heard from again. The Legion's standard, the Golden Eagle, also vanished with the Legion. Marcus believes it's his duty to restore the family's honor and to serve the Roman Empire bravely.
After a particularly brutal battle in which he's severely wounded, Marcus is honorably discharged and proclaimed a hero. However, after recovering - and despite a severe limp - Marcus is not content to relax at his uncle's house while others are out fighting. And when he hears rumors of a sighting of the Eagle, Marcus is driven to travel beyond Hadrian's Wall (a structure built to seal off the Roman territory) and bring back the missing company standard.
Jamie Bell co-stars as Esca, a British slave Marcus saves from death in the gladiator arena. Esca hates the Romans but has sworn to serve Marcus and reluctantly accompanies him on the dangerous journey.

Behind the Scenes of The Eagle

Although their characters start off hating each other because of their nationalities, in reality Tatum and Bell became friends before rehearsals wrapped up. Asked how difficult it then was to play enemies forced to work together, Tatum explained there was actually an alternate version in which they became close friends early on. "We shot a version that we actually became a little closer while we were still in sort of Roman's occupied territory, in Britain," revealed Tatum. "We became a little more close, a little bit warmer toward each other, and shared a little with each other. We ultimately figured out that that was a little bit more confusing, that we needed to keep the tension from the very beginning and have these people just be entirely different people that do not like each other." "I never saw that version, but I think it's just stronger this way. But that's how the book is written; the book is written that they're best friends. They're devoted to each other from the jump, and just because they have a kindred spirit in that they totally understand each other and they really respect each other and love each other, and that is why they go over the wall together - and Esca never really falters. He never ever falters, and it's just a different way to play it. I think this is more intense. It makes you wonder more. It ups the danger and the intellectual side of the film, of really trying to figure out what would you do. You're essentially free because now your master is your slave. You can have this guy killed at any time, but how important is your word or your bond that you've given somebody?"
Tatum and Bell did almost every single one of their own stunts, which is an incredible accomplishment considering the horse master working on the project said these were the most dangerous stunts with actors on horses ever attempted in any of his past films. Being pushed off of a horse wasn't one Tatum was allowed to do, but other than that he and Bell handled the fight sequences on their own.
"Neither one of us had a double," revealed Tatum. "We did everything except for one dive off of the horse when Jamie basically tackles me off the horse and we have to fall. It's like a 10 foot fall and they wouldn't let us do it because of insurance. We wanted to. I think we could have done it, especially seeing how they did it. But it didn't look safe at all. I mean if you didn't fall right... I'm used to falling because of breakdancing and other stunts and stuff, that's what you do is you just fall. But, you know, I really wanted to. The only other ones are, I think, there's two riding scenes that are really far off. One's a silhouette that's not us because of time-wise, we were filming something else. And another one's like a running scene where it's the insurance thing again. Everything else is us."
"I've played with swords before in martial arts and stuff, so it wasn't the first time," said Tatum, "but I learned some really cool stuff on this movie. The sword master was so smart; he's so good. He did Troy. We walked the line of how fantastical do we make it and how realistic do we make it. I think we walked the line pretty well. It was not too flashy and showy that you didn't believe it. And it wasn't so boring of just like stabbing people straight forward. I think we straddled the line."
Both Tatum and Bell have a background in dance and that helped when it came to handling the intricate choreography of the fight sequences. "Definitely, because you've got to know body control because you need to be spatially in the right place at the right time. You're still swinging heavy things at each other; you can put eyes out and you can break things. I got hit accidentally with a short axe and thank god it was just wood and it hit my breastplate. But either way though [and it could have been horrible]. It was one of those things where you go to block it and it's just at the wrong angle because you're doing it faster, because you're filming it. It comes and just hits you and you're like, 'I'd have been dead...awesome...or close to it.'"
The Eagle took a toll physically on its actors, but prior to filming - on orders from his director - Tatum didn't hit the gym to get ready to play this Roman soldier. "I was in pretty good shape before it and Kevin goes, 'I don't want you to look like you've been in a gym.' I'm like, 'That's awesome. That's perfect. I will not go to the gym.' He's a soldier, but they didn't lift weights, you know? They were just lean people. All they did was they marched, they set up camp, they built things, and then they fought, and then they marched some more. They didn't have good diets. They ate whatever the region they were at had."
"I tried to get my hands really strong and my forearms, because that was pretty much it. They would be really strong and lithe. You would never see a fat guy as one of the soldiers. You just wouldn't see it; there's no way. They just didn't have the food to do it. If anything they would be skeletons, more than likely. They were just the hardest men on the planet, you know? So I show up - and I took the note wrong. I was just like, 'Okay, I'm not going to work out. I'm just going to look like a normal guy.' And he was like, 'I was thinking tighter.' I was like, 'Awesome. Thanks Kevin, you should have told me this.' So I dropped a bunch of weight. I just ran and ate chicken and broccoli."
Is that his go-to diet? "That is the go-to diet," said Tatum, laughing. "It's still a starvation diet unless you eat rice with it. It's not healthy, but I didn't have any time. So, yeah. I'm going to do it smarter the next time."
And it's a good thing Tatum was in great shape - even without benefit of extra time spent in the gym - as the shooting conditions were extremely harsh, with freezing rain and fog making the actual logistics of filming The Eagle extraordinarily difficult. In fact Tatum has no idea how editor Justine Wright (who worked with Macdonald on Last King of Scotland, State of Play, and Touching the Void) was able to piece together the scenes given the torrential downpours they faced and the ever-changing lighting conditions. But despite the inhospitable weather conditions and being immersed in freezing water with the threat of hypothermia hanging over his head every minute he stayed wet (and the much-talked about injury to his private parts), Tatum claims he thoroughly enjoyed his time spent working on the film (and he'd do it again).
The production had a relatively low budget to work with, and at times it required 30 minutes of hiking to get to the set where then there wouldn't be any of the comforts of a major studio shoot (they sat by a fire to warm themselves, not in a fancy trailer like you see on most movie sets), but still Tatum says from the crew on up to his co-stars it was just an amazing group of people to be involved with. Looking back on the experience, Tatum recalled one night in particular he spent drinking tequila and just hanging out with Mark Strong, an actor Tatum says audiences sometimes fail to recognize because of the way he completes disappears into characters. Tatum said it was just incredible to hang out with Strong, relaxing, drinking, and having a good time following a tough day of shooting.

Romans as Americans

Director Macdonald chose to have the Roman army (the invaders) be Americans and that meant Tatum didn't have to learn an accent so much as develop a more formal way of speaking that would be more appropriate to the time period. He changed his cadence and even adjusted the way he moved his body for the course of the shoot. It took some getting used to but Tatum agreed with MacDonald's choice as far as his character's speech pattern and mannerisms, and found himself falling into the rhythm fairly early on in the process. And speaking of Macdonald, Tatum had nothing but praise for his The Eagle director. "I think Kevin negotiates relationships in films maybe better than anybody, especially one-on-one male relationships. You know, you see it in Touching the Void. Their relationship there - he handled it amazingly. Last King of Scotland...I mean, look, that is a very tumultuous relationship. You just can't even comprehend it at times. Like, how are these people even still on the same planet together? But yet they're running side by side and they're having real relationship issues and friendship issues, but it's so bizarre and turned upside down that you can't even believe that any of this is happening. And it's kind of the same with this. They're in entirely two different places but they're running parallel, and they're eventually going to meet."
The Eagle's the most intense action film Macdonald's directed thus far, but Tatum said he had a clear vision of the movie he wanted to make. "He wants to be good. I think he sees it in his head, which parts he's going to use and which parts he's going to change. You know, I really wanted him to pull back so that they could see that it was us doing it and not be so close in so that it's just all close, and he did it. Kevin hasn't done a lot of action, but he's great at it and I hope he does it more," explained Tatum. "[He] already had it edited in his head which parts he wanted. And one of the things that he did want was he wanted that whole parapet scene start to finish from the time that I get hit and I fall on the ground up until the end of the thing. We shot it in one long steadicam thing, so it was pretty intense."

On Other Upcoming Projects

In addition to acting, Tatum's production company is busy getting projects that interest him made. The company's currently in post-production on its first major effort, Ten Year, starring Tatum, Jenna Dewan, Kate Mara, Rosario Dawson, Justin Long, Scott Porter, Brian Geraghty, and Lisa Kudrow, and Tatum's serious about making his production company work, pointing to the work Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Mark Wahlberg have been able to do under their production banners as the sort of success he hopes to ultimately have with his 33andOut company. And Tatum revealed one of the projects he'd like to be able to do some time in the future is Mark of the Horse Lord (another book by Sutcliff). That's a long way off, but Tatum definitely believes that book would make for a great feature film. With just the Los Angeles press junket to contend with when we sat down for this interview, Tatum was preparing himself for taking a few months off to recover from hip surgery. Only semi-joking, Tatum confessed he brought the injury on by abusing his body with stunts and action scenes. But the surgery isn't going to keep him from tackling more films in the action genre in the future. In fact, after healing he'll be getting into fighting shape once again for what he says will be his most intense action film yet - 21 Jump Street.
Tatum says the action comedy is "broad" and an "insane ride," and loaded with tough stunt sequences - and he can't wait to get started on that film. But what would make the experience even better would be for Johnny Depp (one of the stars of the original 1980s TV series) to say yes to coming in for a cameo. Tatum says they have a part written for Depp (but he wouldn't give specifics) and they've already launched their campaign to get him to commit to the project. Depp's said in interviews that he's not adverse to showing up for a cameo spot in 21 Jump Street, and if the script's as solid as Tatum says it is, here's hoping Depp can clear a space on his jam-packed schedule to revisit the world of 21 Jump Street.

'Gulliver's Travels'- Review

You have not lived until you’ve watched people get peed on in 3D. I certainly never thought I’d live see it, least of all in a PG movie, but thanks to Rob Letterman’s execrable Gulliver’s Travels, the latest installment in Hollywood’s ongoing “Gang-Raping the Classics” series, I can now cross it off my bucket list. Merry Christmas to me.

The scene in question occurs in the film when Jack Black's title character is confronted with a raging fire in the tiny town of Lilliput which threatens to consume its castle and much of its miniature citizenry. Being Jack Black, he improvises the only solution we can expect from a character played by Jack Black: He drops trou and unleashes the contents of his own firehose, thus extinguishing the fire and becoming a hero to the Lilliputians, who appear far too pleased to be doused in urine. They're downright giddy, in fact. It’s by far the film’s most memorable scene (indeed, I fear it is permanently etched on my brain), and it’s cause to wonder: Since when are golden showers considered PG-appropriate? Has the MPAA been suddenly overrun by creepy sex fetishists and water sports fanatics? If so, perhaps the producers of Caligula might with to have their film re-evaluated.

Black might as well have pissed on Jonathan Swift’s grave for all the reverence he and director Letterman display for the author’s source material. Swift’s story, about a traveler who becomes marooned on an island filled with people one-twelfth his size, has been re-worked as a vapid vehicle for its star’s antic stylings. His Lemuel Gulliver is a slacker man-child (sound familiar?), a mailroom attendant at a New York newspaper who bluffs his way into a gig writing about the Bermuda Triangle. But somewhere along the way to the mysterious place, he’s swallowed up by an inter-dimensional portal and transported to the Lilliputians' island nation, where he lives as a god-clown among them. A variety of misadventures ensue, some of which rival the aforementioned urine-soaking scene in their transcendently anti-comic impact, until Gulliver finally learns the value of telling the truth and growing up. And we discover that some lessons aren't worth the pain involved in learning them.

I genuinely adore much of Jack Black’s work, but he seems determined to personally prove the Theory of Diminishing Returns, and dreck like Gulliver’s Travels is nigh-impossible to defend. Perhaps I doth protest too much. Perhaps it’s pointless to get so worked up over what’s essentially a harmless family film. Then again, if this is the kind of thing that entertains families these days, perhaps society might conceive of a better use for them.