Damon Houx
The massive achievement that is HBO's 'The Wire' is such that even supporting players left a lasting impression on pop culture. Robert Chew, who played Prop Joe, had one of the juiciest roles (in a show chocked full of them) as a pragmatic drug lord known for his negotiating skills. Sadly, Chew passed away last night at the age of 52.
'Stoker,' the first English-language film by Korean director Park Chan-wook, will debut this weekend at the Sundance Film festival, and will be going out to theaters on March 1. But until then, here's a clip from the film in which Nicole Kidman talks about how she really feels about her own daughter.
'Red 2' is the sequel to 2010's surprise hit 'Red,' and it reunites Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Mary-Louise Parker and Helen Mirren and ropes in new cast members Catherine Zeta Jones and Anthony Hopkins. Now there's a teaser for the film, and it looks fun.
There's a number of reasons to be excited for the making of and release of Brett Ratner's 'Hercules,' which will star Dwayne Johnson and looks to be a go project. Some reasons for being excited about this might be meaner than others, but regardless the news today is that the film has a release date: August 8, 2014.
Though the film was not the runaway hit hoped for when released in 2010, 'Hot Tub Time Machine' has proved popular enough on home video that MGM is exploring making a sequel to the time-travel comedy. And right now they're talking to everyone but star John Cusack.
Though 'Pacific Rim' is still months from being released, director Guillermo del Toro has already lined up his next project, 'Crimson Peak,' which returns him to his more horror-centric roots. And word is that Emma Stone might be the first actor to sign up for del Toro's haunted house movie.
It's hard to ignore that many of 2013's biggest movies could have come out in 2012, and would have if they weren't bumped around the schedule. Though 'Gangster Squad' came first and 'Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters' will be here shortly, we're most curious about 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' which was scheduled for last June, but doesn't come out until this March. Now there's a new international TV spot, and we're still curious.
By the end of the 1950's, the studio system had been rocked by television, and MGM was on the ropes fiscally. They put a lot of stock in 1959's 'Ben-Hur,' which paid off big time. 'Ben-Hur' became one of their biggest hits (adjusted for inflation it's number thirteen on the all time list), and won eleven Oscars. Now that MGM is successful after 'Skyfall,' they're going to return to 'Ben-Hur' and remake it.
Though the film isn't hitting screens during the four-quadrant friendly summer season, there was concern that 'A Good Day to Die Hard' might stay with the PG-13 rating of its predecessor. But there's no "Yipee-kay-yay, Mister Falcon" for this John McClane, as it turns out the film is R-rated.