Michael Fassbender Page 7

Getting to meet your heroes as an actor must be one hell of a job perk, though not as much as getting to work with said hero on a movie project. For Michael Fassbender, he was a little starstruck when he met fellow Irish star Brendan Gleeson on the set of 'Trespass Against Us'.

Michael Fassbender and Brendan Gleeson star in 'Trespass Against Us'

Of course, Michael Fassbender is more internationally well-known than Brendan Gleeson, and that fact wasn't lost on the latter who was just as eager to work with the younger star. Little did he know that Michael had been following him for over twenty years.

Continue reading: Michael Fassbender's Been Waiting Since He Was 16 To Work With Brendan Gleeson

To celebrate St. Patrick's Day, we pay tribute to some of the most significant Irish men and women in Hollywood and beyond, because for such a small country, so many legends have been created there. Here's a look at some of the singers, actors and presenters that make Ireland proud.

10 of Ireland's greatest superstars:

Michael Fassbender is half-Irish, half-German

Continue reading: Celebrating 10 Of Ireland's Finest Stars

As Darren Aronofsky's ambitious retelling of the biblical tale of Noah opens in America this weekend, Russell Crowe continues his world tour, premiering the film in cities on every continent. This Saturday alone he'll attend three premieres: in Dublin, Edinburgh and Cardiff. Meanwhile, Emma Watson was photographed this week greeting fans as in New York she attended David Letterman's chat show to talk about the movie. The film hits UK and Irish cinemas next week. Watch a smartly dressed Emma Watson greeting over-eager fans outside 'Letterman' studios.

The voice cast of Rio 2 enjoyed a sunny premiere in Miami Beach this week, attended by Anne Hathaway, Jamie Foxx and George Lopez. A series of clips of the event shows the stars talking about the film and enjoying a youth choir singing hits with a Latin-infused beat. Watch Anne Hathaway celebrate 'Rio 2' release at The Fontainebleau Miami Beach premiere. Or take a look at the cast of 'Rio 2' enjoying the upbeat Choir at The Fontainebleau Miami Beach premiere.

Continue reading: A Week In Movies: Noah Continues Its Roll-Out, Rio 2 Has A Tropical Premiere, Macbeth Films In England, Three Sci-Fi Trailers Arrive At Once

'Prometheus 2', the follow up to Ridley Scott’s 2012 semi 'Alien' sequel has been given a release date of March 2016. That’s good news for fans who weren’t really sure exactly when or even if the film was going to happen. Now it seems that production will start in the fall once Scott wraps up his latest work ‘Exodus’. So what do we know so far about the upcoming sequel?

'Prometheus' director Ridley Scott

The first thing to note is that really not an awful lot is confirmed about ‘Prometheus 2’. We can safely say that Scott will once again be sitting in the director’s chair again and he'll probably also produce. When it comes to the scripting, this is where things have gotten a little more complicated. Originally Damon Lindelof who co-wrote the 2012 script was writing the sequel, then he dropped out. He decided instead to work on another upcoming release sci-fi mystery ‘Tomorrowland’ starring George Clooney. Next to take up the pen was Jake Paglen, the writer behind upcoming Johnny Depp sci-fi outing ‘Transcendance’. Now, though, Paglen’s script is set to be revised by Michael Green, who’s no stranger to collaborating with Scott, as he's currently working with him on the future 'Blade Runner' movie. Apart from that his other writing credits include working on the ‘Green Lantern’ movie, so make of that what you will.

Continue reading: 'Prometheus 2': Everything That We Know So Far

After winning a prestigious award or starring in a blockbuster, many actors never look back to their humble, low-budget, indie film beginnings. Thankfully, Michael Fassbender is not one to be so chronically short-sighted and takes centre-stage in Lenny Abrahamson's marvellous, off-beat and quirky new movie, Frank.

Michael Fassbender Is Both Weird & Musical In 'Frank.'

Inspired by the life of masked musician and comedian Frank Sidebottom and the details written about him in screenwriter Jon Ronson's memoir, Frank is a fictional story that follows the journey of the world's most peculiar band from the rehearsal room to the big festival stage. Fassbender ('12 Years a Slave') is transformed into an enigmatic musician who insists on constantly wearing a giant, cartoon-like papier-maché head, even off-duty.

Continue reading: 'Frank': Michael Fassbender's Sundance Opener Is Freakish Yet Fabulous [Pictures]

Sundance London 2014 will play host to many independent movies, but perhaps none so eagerly anticipated and talked about as Leonard Abrahamson's Frank, inspired by the life of frontman and comic personality, Frank Sidebottom. Frank will get its UK premiere on the festival's opening night on April 25 following its first screening at Sundance in Utah back in January.

Domhnall Gleeson Plays A Wannabe Musician Who Joins The World's Weirdest Band.

Michael Fassbender ('12 Years A Slave,' 'Shame') plays the titular masked musician and bandleader who wears a giant papier mache head throughout the film, which follows his band on their trip to playing the South by Southwest festival. Maggie Gyllenhaal and Domhnall Gleeson also star in the film as members of Frank's avant-garde pop band.

Continue reading: Michael Fassbender's 'Frank' To Lead Sundance London: Prepare For This Surreal And Hilarious Indie Flick

Steve McQueen's epic slavery drama '12 Years a Slave' has won the Oscar for Best Picture at the 86th Academy Awards in Los Angeles. The movie, which was co-produced by Brad Pitt, beat off competition from Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity and David O'Russell's American Hustle to win the evening's top prize.

Benedict Cumberbatch [R] and Chiwetel Ejiofor [L] in '12 Years A Slave'

Accepting the award, the movie's prducer Brad Pitt said: "Thank you for this incredible honor bestowed on our film tonight, I know I speak for everyone behind me (the cast & crew), it has been an absolute privilege to work on Solomon's story, and we all get to stand up here tonight because of one man who brought us all together...and that is the indomitable Steve McQueen."

Continue reading: '12 Years A Slave' Wins Oscar For Best Picture

The gravity and sincerity expressed in Steve McQueen’s '12 Years a Slave' will help to educate children in America as the National School Boards Association has made it mandatory that U.S. public high schools add it to their curriculum in connection with talkshow host and spokesperson, Montel Williams.

Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender in 12 Years a Slave

“When Hollywood is at its best, the power of the movies can be harnessed into a powerful educational tool,” Williams said in a statement. “This film uniquely highlights a shameful period in American history, and in doing so will evoke in students a desire to not repeat the evils of the past while inspiring them to dream big of a better and brighter future.”

Continue reading: '12 Years A Slave' Added To School Curriculum

Yesterday, we heard news that 'Girls' actor Adam Driver was close to penning a contract to star as the primary villain in J.J Abrams' Star Wars: Episode 7. Details remain sketchy, though sources speaking to Variety claims the villain will be in the same vein as Darth Vader, perhaps the most iconic Star Wars character.

Adam Driver Will Play The Primary Villain in 'Star Wars Episode 7'

Driver, 30, is the first actor to be pinned down to a concrete role in Episode VII, though the likes of Gary Oldman, Zac Efron, Jesse Plemons and Michael B Jordan continue to be linked with the movie, set to open in theaters on December 18, 2015.

Continue reading: Did Adam Driver Beat Michael Fassebender To Star Wars Episode 7 Role?

As far as careers in acting go, Lupita Nyong'o has had one of the most impressive yet equally short stints in the spotlight. Barely out of her twenties, the actress has excelled in her first movie role in Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave. Nyong'o is picking up awards and new nominations for her supporting role alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor, Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender at an alarming rate with the golden prize - an Oscar - comfortably within her reach.

Lupita Nyong'o Explodes Into Hollywood With Critically Acclaimed Performance.

The weekend's Producers Guild Awards was forced to announce a tie between 12 Years and another of 2013's biggest movies, Gravity, which meant that the films had to share Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures. Whilst the award propels the best film Oscar closer into Gravity's grasp, it also signals a seemingly unbreakable chain of wins for the slavery drama.

Continue reading: PGA Awards 2014: Leonardo DiCaprio Basks In Lupita Nyong'o's '12 Years A Slave' Stardom

A late surge in betting on American Hustle has rocked 12 Years a Slave’s dominance atop the odds charts, but as we approach the announcement of this year’s Oscar nominations - Chris Hemsworth and Cheryl Boone Isaacs will tell us what’s what later on today – it’s pretty easy to name the films in line for the big prize.

Cumberbatch's Ford hands Northrup a violin in one of 12 Years' more touching moments

Nods for Steve McQueen’s emotive adaptation of Solomon Northrup’s book and David O Russell’s 70s period comedy drama are all but guaranteed, as are hat-tips towards Dallas Buyers Club, Gravity and Nebraska.

Continue reading: Have The Oscars Ever Been More Predictable? '12 Years A Slave' Leads The Pack

After dominating the critics awards and top 10 listings at the end of the year, 12 Years a Slave is the film to beat. And things got much more serious with this week's Bafta nominations, while the Golden Globes come this weekend and then Oscar nominations are out next Wednesday.

Benedict Cumberbatch and Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years a Slave

So by this time next week everyone should be able to pronounce Chiwetel Ejiofor's name properly. To impress your friends: it's CHEW-it-ell EDGY-oh-for.

Continue reading: '12 Years A Slave': Chiwetel Ejiofor Becomes A Global Star

The Sundance Film Festival is the place to be for young, aspiring filmmakers hoping to crack into the hotly-contested business of the movies. By the end of the film festival, which this year runs from 16-26 January, there are always a selection of film titles that are revived for the following awards season, and this year people are so eager for the celluloid showcase that a number of early contenders for festival glory have been marked before their debut release.

The dark God's Pocket stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Eddie Marsan

In thirty years the film has discovered some of the most promising filmmakers out there and continues to deliver, from Roland Joffé’s The Killing Fields in the festival's opening year (1985) to last year's most notable success; Fruitvale Station, the debut feature length from Ryan Coogler. With another 120 films to get through this year it seems more than likely that at least one of the releases will be leaving Park City, Utah, with more than a few skiing lessons and a commemorative t-shirt.

Continue reading: Early 'Sundance' Favourites Already Generating A Buzz For Upcoming Movies

If '12 Years a Slave' doesn’t win a single award from now until the Oscars, it will still go down in history as one of the 21st century’s most important, affecting films. The story of Solomon Northrup’s enslavement and the subsequent hell he faced is as brutal as any ever told, and to truly extract even a modicum of sincerity, the entire cast had to be both honest and befittingly talented.

Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender in 12 Years a Slave

But when you’re speaking of a cast that comprises Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Brad Pitt, Pual Giamatti, Quvenzhané Wallis and Michael K. Williams, honesty and talent is never in question.

Continue reading: Meet The Cast Of 12 Years A Slave [Video]

Award season has been grumbling away like Smaug inside Erebor for the last few months; but dragon is slowly awakening. Since the Gotham awards last year, the perennial question of ‘who’ll win what?’ has echoed around the Internet, and the recently announced BAFTA nominations promise to shed some light on the eventual academy recipients.

Gravity is leading the way with 11 Bafta nominations

With that in mind, and with some tightly contested categories to work through, it’s time to start predicting who’ll take home the golden masks, before we start predicting who’ll take home the golden statuettes, you see.

Continue reading: The Baftas 2014: Predicting Best Film, Best Actor, Best Director And Best Supporting Categories

Steve McQueen was the subject of some pretty ugly heckling at last night; New York Film Critics Circle Awards where a critic shouted insults at the director. As a critic, whether you like someone's work or not should be confined to your review but one man decided to step out of line and make things personal.

Steve McQueen Was The Victim Of Some Petty Heckling At An Awards Show Last Night.

However, Armond White, a New York critic, hated McQueen's latest movie, 12 Years A Slave, so much that he couldn't resist spewing a little hatred as the director took to the stage to collect his 'Best Director' award. "You're an embarrassing doorman and garbage man. F*** you. Kiss my ass," yelled White, according to Variety.

Continue reading: Steve McQueen Harassed By Rude Critic At New York Film Critics Circle Awards [Trailer]

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will be hosting the 2014 Golden Globes, making it the second time the two best friends and comedy stars will be hosting the awards show in successive years. Following the release of the nominees for the awards earlier this week, a series of promotional videos starring the pair have been released online and as you'd expect, they're pretty hilarious.

Fey and Poehler will host the awards for the second time

In the trio of videos, the pals and lovers of song and dance tell jokes and continue to run with their awkwardly funny routine used so well last year. Describing it as the biggest Hollywood party of the year, the comics joke their way through the three promos in what is a promising display before the big night actually arrives. You can check out one of the videos below, and the others here and here.

Continue reading: Tina Fey & Amy Poehler Launch Hilarious Series Of Golden Globes Promos [Video]

The Golden Globes won’t be handed out until January 12th, but with the nominees freshly announced, a set of odds have already been priced up by Paddy Power, meaning you can start speculating with a few to accumulating post haste. But what are you going to place your hard-earned cash on?

Chiwetel Ejiofor as Soloman Northrup in 12 Years a Slave

Kicking off with the big one, Best Drama, and it looks as though 12 Years a Slave will pick up the Grammy as a precursor to an awesome Oscars performance. The Steve McQueen directed, Chiwetel Ejiofor-starring slavery epic has stunned the critics, and odds of 4/11 make it the favourite.

Continue reading: Golden Globes Odds - The Nominees Have Been Priced Up, So Who's Favourite?

12 Years a Slave hasn't even been released in most countries yet but has already been heaped with accolades with more awards bound to blossom from the scores of nominations Steve McQueen's movie has garnered. The Screen Actors Guild awards nominations are out and yet again the slavery drama starring Chiwetel Ejiofor has emerged on top with four major nominations.

Steve McQueen's '12 Years A Slave' Leads The SAG Nominations.

The critically lauded movie is up for best ensemble, best male actor (Chewitel Ejiofor), best supporting male actor (Michael Fassbender) and best supporting female actor (Lupita Nyong'o). 12 Years will come up against American Hustle, Dallas Buyers Club, Lee Daniels' The Butler and August: Osage County in the coveted Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture category, according to the LA Times.

Continue reading: SAG Awards Noms & Snubs: '12 Years A Slave' Leads The Way [Trailer]

The line-up for the Sundance Film Festival 2014 has been announced and boy, oh boy, there's some tasty selections. The most interesting of which comes in the form of Lenny Abrahamson's movie Frank, in which Oscar-contender Michael Fassbender plays a musical genius with who wears a giant ceramic - or papier mache - head. 

Michael Fassbender Stars in 'Frank'

"His character wears a giant ceramic head the entire film, so you've got this [actor] who can basically take any film role out there and he takes one where he hides his face," says John Cooper, director of Sundance, "A brave choice from someone who's known for his brave choices."

Continue reading: One Michael Fassbender. One Giant Ceramic Head. It's Sundance 2014.

We're into the realms of awards season now and Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave seems set to continue its miraculous habit of picking up awards, like a giant snowball gathering more prizes as it rolls along.

Chiwetel Ejiofor's '12 Years A Slave' Set To Sweep The Board.

Ahead of the 2014 Independent Spirit Awards, widely considered to be a landmark ceremony of the season, the Chiwetel Ejiofor-starring film about 19th century slavery in America has been nominated in seven categories, including best feature, director, screenplay, male lead for Chiwetel Ejiofor, supporting lead for Lupita Nyong'o, supporting male for Michael Fassbender and cinematography.

Continue reading: '12 Years A Slave' Leads Independent Spirit Awards Nominations In Seven Categories

Lynne Ramsay is being taken to court by the producers of the oft-troubled Western Jane Got Her Gun, starring (supposedly at least) Natalie Portman. Ramsay walked out on the project a day before shooting was scheduled to begin, placing the picture in limbo until a replacement was eventually found. The lawsuit goes on to claim that Lynne was drunk and abusive on the set.

Ramsay reportedly left the project the day before shooting was due to begin

The court papers, acquired by The Hollywood Reporter, were filed in a New Mexico court this week and state that Ramsay was paid $750,000 to work on the screenplay for the film and direct, but she dropped out of the project at the last minute without warning. The producers are now claiming that her sudden abandoning of the project was not off character either, as the Scottish director was supposedly highly unprofessional on set, drinking and abusing staff before filming had even begun.

Continue reading: Lynne Ramsay Sued By Movie Bosses After Ditching Natalie Portman Western

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa is this weeks number one movie at the box office, ousting the mega-successful Gravity from the top spot after a three week stay. The Johnny Knoxville-starring prank fest more than doubled its estimated cost of $15 million in the first weekend alone, amassing an impressive estimate of $32 million since it was released last week.

Bad Grandpa has topped the US box office at the first attempt

Exceeding expectations by scoring more than $30 mil. at the box office, Bad Grandpa comfortably came in first place, averaging just short of $10,000 at each cinema it opened at across America. The fourth feature length outing from the Jackass team is now the second most successful of the bunch, just about tying with the first movie and coming some way off the estimated $50 mil. made by Jackass 3-D. Box office estimates indicate that the film should end its domestic run with about $75 million.

Continue reading: 'Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa' Finally Topples 'Gravity' From The Top Of The US Box Office

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa is predicted to earn close to $30 million at the box office in it's opening weekend, according to Deadline, making it the most likely candidate to finish at the top of the box office come the end of the week. This means that after three weeks of dominating the US box office, Gravity may finally be replaced as America's favourite movie at cinemas.

Bad Grandpa should be an easy weekend winner

Depending on what side of the $30 mil. mark it lands on, the film can become either the third or fourth most successful R-rated film of the year in terms of opening box office revenue. Should the film exceed expectations even further, it could potentially place even higher. The film already made an estimated $11 - 12 mil. on the opening day of the weekend - Friday, 25 October - and could be well on its way to exceeding the $30 mil. mark should the numbers continue to add up. Not bad for a film that only cost $15 million to make.

Continue reading: 'Jackass Present: Bad Grandpa' Looks Like The Early Favourite To Top Weekend Box Office

If we cast back our minds some six months, The Counselor was tipped for Oscar glory. The bookmakers are prone to making false judgement calls when it comes to awards' season. Last year, the pairing of Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman under the stewardship of Paul Thomas Anderson was deemed faultless and, as such, The Master was tipped as a sure fire Oscar winner following its festival screenings that summer.

Michael Fassbender [L] and Penelope Cruz [R] in The Counselor

Faltering down the market in the early stages was Argo - George Clooney and Ben Affleck's drama that went on to topple Spielberg's Lincoln, Lee's Life of Pi and Anderson's The Master.

Continue reading: How Could Cormac McCarthy's 'The Counselor' Possibly Have Failed?

Get ready to be underwhelmed: when we say 12 Years A Slave’s box office was solid on opening, we’re talking about a limited release. $960,000 from 19 theaters over the weekend is pretty good going, though.

 Chiwetel Ejiofor stars in 12 Years a Slave as Solomon Northup.

Steve McQueen’s powerful slave drama, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Sarah Paulson, Alfre Woodward, and Brad Pitt – an all-star ensemble indeed – has been a hit with the critics, and its relative success on a limited release suggests the film has the fiscal legs to see it through a competitive season.

Continue reading: '12 Years A Slave' Makes Solid Box Office Debut, High Yield Expected For Wider Release

12 Years A Slave is the film version of Solomon Northup's account of his kidnap and subsequent sale into slavery until his rescue twelve years later. The real-life account of the tragic fate of Northup and the appalling conditions he and millions of other slaves were forced to endure has been turned into a feature-length epic by British director Steve McQueen, who leads a largely British cast in the film that is being heralded by critics as a must-see film.

Chiwetel Ejiofor is spellbounding in 12 Years A Slave

Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon, McQueen adapted the memoirs of the main character along with John Ridley to chronicle Solomon's harrowing twelve years, where he went from being a freeman living in New York, to a plantation slave in New Orleans between 1841 and 1853. Ejiofor has been roundly praised for his exceptonal acting talents, as have the rest of the cast, who include Brad Pitt, Paul Giamatti, Paul Dano, Benedict Cumberbatch, Alfre Woodard and Michael Fassbender, whose role as the heartless slave trader Edwin Epps has also been widely applauded for his unflinching brutality and realism.

Continue reading: '12 Years A Slave' Is A Harrowing Trip Back To A Darker Period In History: Review Round-Up

12 Years a Slave tells of Solomon Northup, a black man living free from the shackles of slavery in upstate New York, until he is abducted and sold into slavery. Northup, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor (Children of Men), is taken to New Orleans where he is forced to work on a plantation. The film, based on the memoirs of Northup, has been praised for its brutal and unflinching portrayal of the horrors inflicted to slaves during the 1800s in the USA.

 Chiwetel Ejiofor stars in 12 Years a Slave as Solomon Northup.

The film is due to be released in the US today (Friday 18th October) and early reviews suggest this may be one of the best - and most important- films of the year. The critics love 12 Years a Slave; and with a stellar cast and crew in addition to a moving, brutal and accurate portrayal of slavery, it's likely to be an Oscar contender. 

Continue reading: '12 Years A Slave' Receives Rave Reviews Ahead Of US Release

Few films have generated as much buzz as Ridley Scott’s The Counselor. Despite having a few ‘off’ films, shall we say, the impressive cast and Cormac McCarthy’s name on the writing credit mean this taut looking thriller has been turning heads everywhere it goes.

Fassbender and Bardem enjoy each other's company at the special screening

And that’s what last night was all about: turning heads. At a special screening of the movie, held in the London’s West End, at the Odeon. The stars of the film – and it’s a veritable galaxy of names – were dressed up and ready to mingle as the U.K press pack got their chance to mull over Scott’s follow up to Prometheus.

Continue reading: 'The Counselor' Stars Out In Force For Screening Of Ridley Scott Thriller [Pictures]

William Boyd, the acclaimed novelist who has penned the latest James Bond novel Solo, says he had no intention of watering down Ian Fleming's best loved character and insists his 007 is still a heavy drinker and smoker.

In a press conference at London's Dorchester Hotel this week, Boyd - who claimed Daniel Day Lewis should play the secret agent - said, "It seems to me he [Bond] wants a relationship..It is not just casual sex." It led some fans to infer that the James Bond in Solo would be more of a straight-shooter than previous incarnations, though Boyd insists this is not the case.

"I have no desire to water down or make Bond more acceptable to modern sensibilities," he explained, "He drinks, he smokes, he does everything you would expect of a classic Bond."

Continue reading: Is William Boyd's Drinking, Smoking James Bond, Michael Fassbender?

Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave has secured a place as ‘Oscars favorite’ following its triumph at this year’s Toronto Film Festival. The Steve McQueen-directed epic – based on the memoir of Solomon Northrup – remains the odds on choice for Best Picture at 13/4.

Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave.

By winning the BlackBerry People's Choice award, 12 Years a Slave follows in the footsteps of previous Oscar winners, The Kings Speech and Slumdog Millionaire. What was once a the faint hum of Oscars buzz is now a powerful thud as McQueen’s latest effort leaves Mandela and Osage County in its wake.

Continue reading: '12 Years A Slave' And Every Inch An Oscar Contender Following Toronto Win

The Toronto Film Festival has grown into one of the most important events in the movie calendar. Following the prestigious and glamorous Cannes and Venice festivals, it’s the sheer scale of Toronto’s slate that gives it its Oscars precursor status. As we wrote in our – admittedly early – Academy preview, this year’s competition is stronger than ever.

Benedict Cumberbatch's in The Fifth Estate

Of course, Toronto is famous for exposing a number of talents via their independent cinema; it doesn’t just cater for the mainstream. But when a film stuns at the Canadian fest, Oscars buzz is hot on its heels.

Continue reading: Which Film Will Get An Oscars Boost At The Toronto Film Festival 2013?

Six months of anticipation for four hours of award giving: that’s what you signed up for. The Oscars 2014 has its host, and now it has its favorites. Which director will be hurtling through an acceptance speech at breakneck speed, and which actor will be practising their sad-yet-humble loser face?

Sandra Bullock [L] and George Clooney [R] In Gravity

It’s Oscars season.

Continue reading: Predicting The Oscars 2014: Is George Clooney Guaranteed An Academy Award?

In what can only be described as a monolithic prospect, screen stars Marion Cotillard and Michael Fassbender will unite to portray Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The French actress will play Lady Macbeth, while Fassbender fulfils the titular role.

Cotillard stars in David Bowie's video for The Next Day alongside Gary Oldman

Natalie Portman was set to play the powerful character in See-Saw Film’s cinematic adaptation of the classic, but given that she’s all set to helm her directorial debut - A Tale Of Love And Darkness – Cotillard has stepped in.

Continue reading: Marion Cotillard And Michael Fassbender To Share The Screen In Macbeth

It’s all very sleek; shiny cars, handsome people, phone conversations that don’t end with a goodbye. That’s the world Michael Fassbender lives in, probably in real life, but most prominently, in The Counselor, Ridley Scott’s taut looking new thriller, which has a sexy new trailer.

Michael Fassbender and Brad Pitt in The Counselor

This is Cormac McCarthy’s screenwriting debut, and it’s a highly anticipated debut considering the success of his novels, and the subsequent translation of The Road from page to screen. Scott provides the visual pedigree, having helmed such cinematic behemoths as Gladiator and Prometheus.

Continue reading: Michael Fassbender In Too Deep In 'The Counselor' [Trailer + Pictures]

The Fifth Estate, the Benedict Cumberbatch-starring biopic of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, will be the opening film at at this years annual Toronto International Film Festival. The film festival will also feature advanced screenings of fellow Oscar teasers 12 Years A Slave and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, with Daniel Schecter's Life of Crime - which stars John Hawkes, Mos Def and Jennifer Aniston - closing the first night. The festival starts on September 5.

Watch the trailer for The Fifth Estate

The Fifth Estate follows the end of the turbulent relationship between Assange and Daniel Domscheit-Berg at the height of WikiLeaks' infamy and mass exposure. Based on the books Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange at the World's Most Dangerous Website by Domscheit-Berg himself and WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange's War on Secrecy by Luke Harding and David Leigh, the movie adaptation has been without Assange's consent. The film was directed by the Oscar winning Bill Condon (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Dreamgirls) and adapted for the screen by Josh Singer (The West Wing, Fringe). The film is due to arrive in time for Oscar season in January 2014.

Continue reading: Toronto Film Festival To Open With WikiLeaks Movie 'The Fifth Estate' [Trailer]

Marvel dominated the San Diego Comic-Con with their X-Men and Avenger's panels. DC's Superman announced the 2015 sequel to Man of Steel, starring Henry Cavill, would feature Batman.

Henry Cavill at the New York premiere of Superman: Man of Steel.

The X-Men panel certainly had the most impressive cast turnout. Actors from across the X-Men films appeared to promote X-Men: Days of Future Past, which is due to be released in 2014. Ian McKellan flirted with the younger reincarnation of his character Magneto, Michael Fassbender, commenting on Proposition 8, he said "It's great to be back in California, I feel safe here now." He continued by announcing "I'm looking for a husband", cheekily adding "it's great to meet you Michael". 

Continue reading: San Diego Comic-Con 2013 Highlights: Marvel Dominated With X-Men And Avengers

The X-Men cast and crew appeared at the San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday. The huge cast for the upcoming movie X-Men: Days of Future Past appeared in Hall-H and was greeted with an overwhelmingly positive response from fans.

X-Men stars Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart at the Variety Club Showbiz Awards held at the Grosvenor House, London.

The next film will see the cast doubled (quite literally) as the mutant superheroes have to travel in time to change an event which will, if not prevented, destroy mankind. The cast appeared en masse: each taking a few moments to address the audience or in Ian McKellan's case to flirt with Michael Fassbender.

Continue reading: X-Men Steals The Show At San Diego Comic Con 2013

Solomon Northup was a regular New York resident who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841. He was rescued 12 years later. 172 years on, and Chiwetel Ejiofor is an early Oscar contender for his turn as Northup in Steve McQueen’s 12 Days a Slave, which has a new trailer.

Chiwetel Ejiofor looks excellent as Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave

British actor Ejiofor is joined by an impressive cast, featuring Michael Fassbender, Paul Giamatti, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Michael K. Williams, Quvenzhane Wallis, Alfre Woodard, Scoot McNairy, Taran Killam and Brad Pitt, while John Ridley adapted the script from Northup’s biography.

Continue reading: Solomon Northup's Story Comes To Life In '12 Years A Slave' [Trailer + Pictures]

Films - or should we say writers and directors - that dare to tackle the issue of slavery come rarely, and when they due, they face an increased level of scrutiny due to the sensitive subject matter. They are necessary though; teaching the world of the horrors it has faced will ensure they never happen again, or so they say.

Chiwetel Ejiofor could be in for the biggest role of his life

Django Unchained came and went, as Quentin Tarantino’s ability to satirize and trivialize some of history’s most controversial times slowly turns into a trilogy of movies. Mixed reviews and a cavalier use of the ‘N’ word meant people saw it as less of a history lesson and more of a taboo comedy, which is exactly what it was.

Continue reading: 12 Years A Slave: The Slavery Movie We've All Been Waiting For

The trailer for Steve McQueen's hugely anticipated historical drama 12 Years A Slave, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor as a free man tricked into slavery in the 1840s, has rolled out online.

Also featuring Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender and Paul Giamatti, the movie appears to be a far more hard-hitting than many were expecting with some writers suggesting it tells the real story of the pre-civil war period in the United States of America, as opposed to, say, Quentin Taratino's Django Unchained.

Ejiofor plays a free black New Yorker who is sold into slavery after being lured to Washington DC with the promise of a well-paid job playing fiddle in a circus.

Continue reading: Is '12 Years A Slave' The Movie Django Should Have Been? [Trailer]

Ewan McGregor is a well-known motorcycle enthusiast, so maybe thats what gave him away when he stepped out of a Beverley Hills salon this week looking almost unrecognisable. The actor, known for his ginger-blonde hair, looked completely different as he was spotted with jet black hair and a same-colour moustache, but still failed to evade the watchful stare of a paparazzi camera lens.

The look is quite the drastic make-over for the Scottish star, but rather than abandoning his ginger/Scottish heritage, the actor does have a reason behind this look; at last we think he does. McGregor is taking on the role of John Bishop, the main antagonist in the upcoming Western Jane Got A Gun, and it is believed his new look is in aid of the performance. Either that or Ewan just fancied a major change to his looks and decided that growing a beard again wouldn't cut it.

Ewan McGregor still failed to fool some onlookers

Continue reading: Ewan McGregor Almost Fools Us All With Drastic New Make-Over

Michael Fassbender has been chosen by producers of a the latest adaptation of the Bard's timeless MacBeth to take on the titular role, with filming for the new film set to begin later this year, Sceen Daily reported. The project is being produced by See Saw, who previously worked with Fassbender in Shame, as well as producing The King's Speech. Film 4 are also working on the project.

Michael Fassbender is the latest in a long-line of MacBeths

Continue reading: Michael Fassbender Will Star As MacBeth In New Movie Adaption

As was widely expected, a movie about disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong is set to go into production after Bad Robot partners JJ Abrams and Bryan Burk snapped up the rights to Juliet Macur’s forthcoming book Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong, reports Deadline.com. Macur – a sports reporter for The New York Times – has covered Armstrong’s career for over a decade, through the cyclist’s Tour de France wins, his recovery from cancer and eventual doping revelations. The American had denied using performance enhancing drugs for years, though finally admitted to cheating during a much-publicized interview with Oprah Winfrey last week.

Sony Pictures has long had an Armstrong movie project in the works, though that movie was dropped when the cyclist’s fall from grace began. It was set to star Jake Gyllenhaal and would have told the ‘American hero’ narrative of Armstrong’s rollercoaster career. Of course, the story has changed dramatically and Abrams film will focus on a cheat who pays a high price for his lies. As movie writer Mike Fleming Jr reports, the whole thing is reminiscent of when Tom Cruise and Cameron Crowe made a deal with Phil Spector to tell the story of the producer’s life story, though the director went on record as saying the film “lacked a good third act.” That was obviously provided shortly afterwards when Spector was convicted of shooting the actress Lana Clarkson, but Universal, Crowe and Cruise never went forward with the project. It’s likely that JJ Abrams and his team will tackle the Armstrong project head on, but who could play the man himself? Who has the presence to portray such a complex character on-screen? Here’s 10 actors who we think could become Lance:

Could Jake Gyllenhall Play Lance Armstrong?

Continue reading: Lance Armstrong Movie: 10 Actors Who Could Play The Disgraced Cyclist (Pictures)

Michael Fassbender appears alongside Maggie Gyllenhaal and Domhnall Gleeson (of Harry Potter fame) in the first photo still of the upcoming film Frank, about the life of musician/television presenter Chris Sievey and his alter ego Frank Sidebottom.

Sievey was known for his musical ventures at first, fronting the band The Freshies in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but became much more well-known for his comic persona Frank Sidebottom, whose paper maché head graced many a television scene from 1984 onwards. Although named after Sievey's alter-ego, the film itself will not be a biopic into his life, but instead will tell a mostly fictitious story about a young musician, played by Gleeson, who joins a pop group fronted by the bizarre and enigmatic Frank.

Lenny Abrahamson will serve as director of the project, whilst Jon Ronson (The Men Who Stare At Goats), a close friend of Sievey, will be in charge of the script. Ronson has been particularly keen to make sure that people knew that the film was inspired by, and not solely about Sievey, taking to Twitter to confirm. On the social network, Ronson said: “The film isn't a film about Frank Sidebottom. It's totally made up and - whilst inspired by Frank - is inspired by other people too. Daniel Johnston and Captain Beefheart are other inspirations. Bowled over that Michael Fassbender and Domhnall Gleeson are in our film.”

Continue reading: First Pics Of Michael Fassbender As Chris Sievey/Frank Sidebottom Emerge Online

As Hollywood rolls into awards' season, the head honchos at Universal Pictures and Focus Features are probably busy plotting for 2013 having landed the rights to the Fifty Shades of Grey movie. Warner Bros, Sony Pictures, Paramount and Mark Wahlberg's company all placed bids for the rights in one of fiercest movie bidding wars of recent times. Despite the general critical mauling of E.L. James book (though massive sales figures), the movie boasts a pretty impressive team. The Social Network producers Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti have signed on while Terra Nova's Kelly Marcel will pen the script.

But that's all the boring stuff. We want to know who's playing Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele right? Murmurings around Hollywood suggest Ryan Gosling is pretty much everyone's first choice to play the wealthy protagonist. Universal want Gosling, the producers want Gosling, the fans want Gosling, hell, Gosling probably wants the role himself. Irish bookmaker Paddy Power have the Drive actor as 2/1 favourite, though one man threw a pretty giant spanner into the works this week. He's the third favourite with the bookmaker, he plays Superman in the forthcoming movie Man of Steel. He is Henry Cavill. 

The 29-year-old British actor - who screen-tested for the role of James Bond before Daniel Craig got the part - discussed Fifty Shades of Grey during a recent interview with Details magazine. When quizzed as to whether he would take the role, Cavill gave a curious answer. Whereas Gosling, Ian Somerhalder and Michael Fassbender have coyly laughed off suggestions of becoming Mr Grey, Cavill said, "Whether that happens, that decision will be made at the time it has to be made. It would be a very different kind of thing than Man of Steel." The interviewer observed that Cavill spoke in "the measured tones of someone who knows his way around a Hollywood gag order."

Continue reading: Wait, Has Henry Cavill Signed On For Fifty Shades Of Grey?

Brad Pitt appears as both a hitman and Rastafarian for an upcoming feature with Interview magazine. The actor tells the October/November issue that he'd rather be behind the camera than acting and claims to be becoming increasingly picky about the movie roles he accepts

In conversation with director Guy Ritchie for the magazine, Pitt said of choosing his parts, "I want it to be worthy enough of a story to leave the family, you know? They're everything.The family is first . . . I also don't want to embarrass them." The actor, now 49, spoke of his desire to step behind the camera and it's not hard to envisage Pitt giving up the acting game to try his hand at directing. His roles are certainly becoming more mature, an Oscar-nominated turn in Moneyball, a critically acclaimed turn in 'The Tree of Life' and a recent part in the sharp political thriller 'Killing Them Softly' have established Pitt as one of the finest leading men of his generation, though there's always that underlying impression that if he could, Pitt would direct himself. Though his latest movie has been accused of having a Democratic agenda, the actor, known to be a supporter of President Obama, remained coy on his current political stance, "We're at a particularly ugly time when we're at such a divide in America, but that divide is not there because everyone is trying to figure out what's best for the people.It's there because one side is trying to win out over the other side," he said.

Though Pitt's apocalyptic 'World War Z' is perhaps his most high profile project currently in production, it's Steve McQueen's 'Twelve Years A Slave' that is by far the most exciting. Boasting a mouth-watering cast, also including Michael Fassbender and Benedict Cumberbatch, the film follows a New Yorker who is kidnapped and sold to slavery in the Deep South. The film is set for release in 2013.

James Bond fans across the globe are celebrating 007's 50th anniversary today (October 5, 2012), though it's worth remembering that the quintessentially British franchise could have been a very American affair, had Bond producer Albert Broccoli had his way.

As The Guardian's Amanda Holpuch writes, Hollywood icon Cary Grant - best known for 'North by Northwest' - was urged by the producer (also his close friend and best man) to take the role. Despite his English heritage, it's unlikely that British audiences would have taken to Grant as Bond and the role eventually went to the Scotsman Sean Connery, who played the role with aplomb. Bond producers have since chosen Australian, English, Welsh and Irish actors to fill the role, though we shouldn't rule out an American slipping into the tuxedo in the near future. Will Smith had reportedly been close to the role before Daniel Craig took it on, and the heavy American-accented Christian Bale was also tipped to play 007. Australian star Sam Worthington is currently the bookies favourite to land the part after Craig hangs up his shiny black shoes, though it's likely that Michael Fassbender will be a key target for Bond producers. The 'Shame' star was born in German, grew up in the Republic of Ireland and now lives in London.

Anyway, before we start speculating on Craig's replacement, the actor stars in Sam Mendes' 'Skyfall' which hits cinemas on November 9, 2012.