Whos Faking Mirror Mirror Praise? Hmm

Everyone knows Hollywood art galleries fake film reviews andmovie ads. Now a obvious, crisp-eyedblog recently observed some “strangely positive comments” within the same Ip in the 2-hour span after posting Relativity’s Mirror Mirror trailer.Turns outMovieMavericks.com found exactly the same comments situated on many other blogsthat released theMirror Mirror trailer. “The large question for you is whos behind this ‘astroturfing’? Can it be someone in Jennifer Aniston camping? Tarsem Singhs, Armie Hammers or Lily Collins people? Has Relativity Media hired some grey area marketing agency? Or possibly could it be a real passionate fan?” the site asked for.Oh puh-leeze: art galleries regularly hire trollsto publish comments on the internet.

Favorite Movies to check out at Thanksgiving with the family

Thanksgiving usually conjures recollections of chicken leftovers, football, and Black Friday shopping sprees. Nevertheless the four-day weekend also offers an opportunity for reunited families to find out a couple of of the favorite movie together. Let's take a look at some readers' picks for Thanksgiving movie traditions, starting with my own, personal. Favorite Movies to check out at Thanksgiving 'The Princess Bride' (1987)'A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving' (1973)'Little Women' (1994)'The Master in the Rings' trilogy (2001-2003)'The Appear of Music' (1965)'It's a great Existence' (1947)'March in the Wooden Soliders' (1934)'The Wizard of Oz' (1939) See All Moviefone Galleries » Exactly what are your chosen movies to check out following a large Chicken Day meal? Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-486274.cke_show_edges #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-486274, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-486274

'Breaking Dawn' Box Office: $72 Million on Friday, Third Biggest Single Day Ever

Vampire babies for everyone! Buoyed by a franchise record $30.25 million in midnight ticket sales, 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1' earned an estimated $72 million on Friday, good for the third biggest single-day gross ever. Only 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2' ($91 million) and 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon' ($72.7 million) were bigger. For the three-day weekend, 'Breaking Dawn Part 1' could gross over $140 million, which would be the fifth biggest opening weekend ever behind 'Potter,' 'The Dark Knight,' 'Spider-man 3' and 'New Moon.' As if that weren't enough hysterical money, 'Breaking Dawn' has already taken in $66 million overseas. Check back to Moviefone on Sunday for your full compliment of weekend receipts. [via Deadline] [Photo: Summit] RELATED: What did you think of 'Breaking Dawn'? 'Breaking Dawn' Cast Quotes 'Breaking Dawn' Cast QuotesBill Condon, DirectorAshley Greene, Alice CullenNikki Reed, Rosalie HaleElizabeth Reaser, Esme CullenPeter Facinelli, Carlisle CullenSarah Clarke, Renee DwyerBilly Burke, Charlie SwanCasey LaBow, Kate DenaliJulia Jones, Leah ClearwaterBooboo Stewart, Seth ClearwaterMelissa Rosenberg, ScreenwriterCarolina Herrera, Bella's wedding dress designerMackenzie Foy, Renesmee CullenTaylor Lautner, Jacob BlackRobert Pattinson, Edward CullenKristen Stewart, Bella Swan See All Moviefone Galleries » Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook

Woody Allen - A Documentary: TV Review

"Most surprises are negative." That's a quote from Woody Allen in the positively evocative surprise that is the PBS American Masters series' Woody Allen: A Documentary, airing in two parts Nov. 20 and 21.our editor recommendsPBS' Woody Allen Documentary Spotlights His Influences and Effects on Martin Scorsese, Chris Rock (Exclusive Video)AFM 2011: Robert Weide's 'Woody Allen: A Documentary' Sells U.S. DVD, Digital Rights to New VideoWoody Allen Changes Title of Next Film Writer and director Robert Weide got unfettered access to one of the country's great and most prolific directors whose private life and personal feelings about his work had never been adequately captured. Credit Weide, who spent a year and a half with Allen, including at home, traveling and on the set of a working film, for not botching such a grand opportunity. Woody Allen manages to astutely chronicle not only a career in film but to shed some light on the man behind the movies, and in so doing it pushes the too easily used "neurotic NY Jew" out of the way as a catchall for Allen into areas both familiar and not. Whereas Allen spends much of the documentary deflecting credit and using self-deprecating lines to soften the glare of introspection, there are plenty of moments when he seems at his most open and vulnerable. Even in the shortest of scenes -- getting out of a car, talking to actors on set -- a lot can be gleaned about what the 75-year-old is like at this stage of his life. PHOTOS: Woody Allen Turns 75 And sometimes it's those small moments that stay with you -- Allen sitting on the side of his bed, glancing at the random scraps of paper where he jots down movie ideas and then forgets them and moves on, or admitting that he really doesn't have anything to say, in short uncomfortable social situations, to the actors who work in his films. Or the delight he seems to take in falling short of genius because he got in the way and made a mess of it (he's still critical of Manhattan and Hannah and Her Sisters, among other films, for not turning out exactly how he would have liked). "This is the Woody doc everybody has been waiting for, and I am delighted that this creative giant is finally assuming his rightful place in the American Masters library," said series creator and executive producer Susan Lacy. Weide begins the documentary with Allen essentially wondering what all the fuss is about and gets him to take a car trip to his old neighborhood and open up and walk around. And Weide taps into a simple truism that is a hallmark of Allen's career: He's constantly writing and creating and has never stopped thinking about doing just that virtually every day of his life. Weide then starts at the beginning, with Allen writing jokes as a teenager and sending them into newspaper columnists. That begat writing jokes for publicists to give to their clients, then writing for Sid Caesar, to his earliest, most painful work as a stand-up comic (where his natural shyness is simply overcome by his refusal to stop doing what he loves). Weide tracks Allen's early career through television (with indispensable comments from Dick Cavett and Allen's sister, Letty Aronson) to Take the Money and Run, the guidance of Charles Joffe and Jack Rollins, and what would then become a unique structure for making and financing films, roughly one a year, with total autonomy for the rest of his life. Woody Allen has an enormous number of stars talking about their involvement with Allen (including Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Dianne Wiest, Owen Wilson, Scarlett Johansson, Sean Penn, Mariel Hemingway and John Cusack). Aronson gives the most detail about what he was like as a child, and there's some hilariously revealing footage Allen shot of his mother, Nettie Konigsberg. Weide gets just the right amount of professional balance by including the actors, co-writers like Mickey Rose (Take the Money and Run, Bananas), Marshall Brickman (Sleeper, Annie Hall, Manhattan), film critics like Richard Schickel and F.X. Feeney, former assistants and cinematographers like Gordon Willis and Vilmos Zsigmond and even Martin Scorsese to opine on Allen. There are enough outside comments to flesh out what Allen adds and what he shades a bit with his self-deprecation. PHOTOS: Costume Designs of 'Midnight in Paris' And, yes, if you're wondering -- and everybody will be -- Weide addresses the Soon-Yi Previn situation, but even with Allen and others discussing it, some people won't be convinced that Weide went far enough with his questioning (he said Allen never refused to answer a question). In fact, you can't profile someone like Allen in 3 1/2 or so hours and not leave yourself open to second-guessing. Maybe some viewers will believe that even with unprecedented access, Weide didn't shed as much light on the reclusive Allen as he could have. That's because, despite some of the intimate discussions Allen engages in, his shyness is still formidable. And much of the best material in the documentary -- Allen criticizing his own work, his candor -- mostly comes with an undercoating of humor. That's natural, but you have to wonder how much deflection of real emotion and honesty is going on and how much Allen is meticulously guarding the search for personal revelations and soul-baring. To Weide's credit, there is a flourish midway in the documentary where he catches and edits together a number of people, including Allen, using the term "compartmentalize" as it relates to Allen's mental makeup. Even if there are shortcomings, Woody Allen remains fascinating, funny and insightful. The film has many moments where actors -- all of them dying to work with Allen and then feeling a mixture of confusion (about how well they did) and admiration for what he got out of them with a minimalist's touch -- recall his style. Cusack and Wiest say that Allen's coaching is simple: Do what feels natural, and do it in a hurry. They then laugh, as does Allen, when adding that this derived from his interest in getting home to watch a Knicks game. STORY: Woody Allen Changes Title of Next Film "I don't have a lot of patience in life or in general," Allen says. "If I've gotten what I want, then I want to move on, finish and go home." That rush, if you will, has churned out a vast list of movies, some of them great and others not -- the calculation of a life's work that Allen seems to sum up in two different responses: 1) that he wished he had done better even on the great films; and 2) that he's happy people come out and watch his work at all, even if the film doesn't do well. "Woody Allen has never felt obligated to top himself," Feeney notes. "He's felt obligated to do whatever interests him the most." "I don't really care about commercial success," Allen says, and laughs while adding, "and the end result is I rarely achieve it." Woody Allen ends with reflection on Midnight in Paris, his most financially successful film. And, fittingly enough, Weide acknowledges that Allen's life and career are still in forward motion: "The prolific nature of Woody's output has provided me with an embarrassment of riches. In fact, Woody will have made three features just in the time it's taken me to make this one documentary." Woody Allen PBS

Reedus catches 'Sunlight'

Reedus W DillonNorman Reedus is positioned to co-star inside the indie pic "Sunlight Junior." with Naomi W and Matt Dillon.Laurie Collyer is helming in the script she written.Pic involves a Florida couple dealing with an unforeseen pregnancy while holding minimum wage jobs.Reedus may have Watts' ex-boyfriend.Charlie Corwin, Ariel Elia and Andrea Roa are coming up with through Alchemedia Films.Pic is slated to go in production in December in Florida.Most broadly noted for his be employed in "The Boondock Saints" photos, Reedus can presently be seen as Daryl on AMC's "The Walking Dead."He's repped by Buchwald-Fortitude, Industry Entertainment and attorney Karl Austen. Contact Justin Kroll at justin.kroll@variety.com

Charles Heaphy joins First Republic Bank

City National Bank vet Charles Heaphy has became a member of First Republic Bank as senior controlling director, within the bank's latest move to become serious player in entertainment financing. Similar to he did at City National, Heaphy will lead the film and tv finance group for First Republic. In the new publish, he'll make use of a team of bankers to supply specialized lending, deposit and wealth management services to film and tv production companies and business management firms. "Charles Heaphy is among the respected film finance professionals in Hollywood," stated Katherine August-deWilde, leader and chief operating officer of First Republic. "With Charles leading our movie and tv finance team, First Republic presently has greater abilities to meet the requirements of firms within the entertainment industry." The economic crisis of 2008 saw a lot of lenders retreating from Hollywood, plus some have started to very carefully enter or re-enter. First Republic joins SunTrust Bank, OneWest Bank and East West Bank, for instance, in recent expansions in to the entertainment sector. Heaphy, that has fifteen years of banking experience, offered as senior Vice president and mind of film finance for City National before joining First Republic. Just before that, he offered being an investment banker for First Chicago NBD in La. Contact Rachel Abrams at Rachel.Abrams@variety.com

Nomura Downgrades Entertainment Industry to 'Neutral'

NY - Analyst Michael Nathanson of Nomura Investments downgraded his take on the U.S. media and entertainment sector from "bullish" to "neutral" on Monday saying "we feel the sector's positive earnings revisions are going to slow in 2012." Younger crowd downgraded his rating on CBS Corp.'s stock from "buy" to "neutral," quarrelling that 2013 earnings "are going to decelerate dramatically publish long awaited strong 2012 results." But regardless of the downgrades, Nathanson stressed: "Getting defended media basic principles in the last year, our downgrade from the group and CBS isn't rooted in the fact that industry motorists are going to disappear a high cliff. Rather, we believe the upside earnings surprises that drove CBS and also the larger sector will be not as likely around ahead." Nathanson still suggests shares of Wally Disney, News Corp, and Viacom as "buys" within the entertainment sector. "We feel that Disney and News Corp. possess the best earnings per share revision potential within the group because of the advantage of near-term and common affiliate and retrans/reverse discussions, strong cable content franchises, and the opportunity of further capital return plans," he authored. "Viacom has become just a value experience an enormous equity shrink." Among factors adversely affecting his entertainment industry outlook are U.S. advertising trends, that the analyst stated "happen to be decelerating over 2011 and arrived below forecast for that second quarter consecutively.Inch He stated he was "worried that national scatter trends, a significant supply of upside, have cooled and can become much more challenging within the first quarter." Nathanson also stated some cable systems groups with rankings challenges will face elevated programming and marketing costs, and more compact cable systems proprietors may have more contentious associations with marketers. Plus, while large entertainment companies have "broadly accepted" stock buybacks, which boost earnings per share and investor confidence, traders are actually mostly including them within their evaluation of stocks. "After decades of capital destruction, we applaud these [buyback] actions," stated Nathanson. "However, they are considered directly into most forward earnings estimations." Nathanson even pointed out digital platforms, for example Netflix and Amazon . com, highlighting that for that second quarter consecutively they've driven earnings upside surprises at Hollywood conglomerates. "When we're at the begining of days, we worry the marketplace is beginning to determine these deals 'as getting your cake and eating it, too'," he authored. "We're concerned the scope for additional near-term digital dollars is restricted, the rise in Web options may cannibalize some degree of viewing which traditional syndicated TV purchasers is going to be less thinking about library content moving forward.Inch Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com Twitter: @georgszalai Related Subjects Time Warner Viacom The Wally Disney Company News Corp. CBS Corporation

Alexander Skarsgard on 'Melancholia,' 'Zoolander' and a 'True Blood' Mnage Trois

Alexander Skarsgard is well aware that he can't be the scoundrelly yet, at times, amiable, vampire Eric Northman forever. That's not to say that he hasn't enjoyed his time on 'True Blood'; he has, even if that does include filming an occasional ménage à trois with real-life husband and wife Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin. But he also realizes that continuing to play the versions of Eric Northman he's continuously offered -- "without the fangs," he admits -- is, as Skarsgard puts it, "creative suicide." In other words: nothing a Lars von Trier movie won't fix. In 'Melancholia,' Skarsgard plays Michael, a man we meet on the day he's set to marry Justine (Kirsten Dunst), until every single thing that could wrong during a wedding does go wrong. Of course, all that happens before they learn that a rouge planet -- named Melancholia -- is on a collision course with Earth. Moviefone spoke to Skarsgard about what it's like to work for the controversial director, his game plan to avoid being typecast as a vampire, the details of filming a threesome with a real life married couple, and how 'Zoolander' changed his life forever. This is a fucked up movie. Yeah, it is. It is pretty fucked up. When you read the script, is that what you were thinking? I mean, it's a Lars von Trier movie, so it's a little romantic comedy about the end of the world. You play, by far, the nicest person in this movie. It was fun because Eric on 'True Blood' is an alpha male. And we shot this right after we wrapped season three, so I had spent seven months being Eric and it was so fun doing something that was very different. Is that what drew you to this? No. I mean, Lars von Trier drew me to it. I mean, it's a no-brainer. Whatever he wanted me to do, I would have done. I do think that this shows a halfway realistic look at what would happen if another planet was going to smash into Earth. I mean, Bruce Willis doesn't take off in a spaceship to save the day. [Laughs] No. Or maybe he is, but we're not seeing that. And just the confusion of it all. Like, "What the fuck is this? What's going on?" This is a hard movie to ask questions about. It's a hard movie to talk about. Why? I don't know, it's just so... [pauses] It was just such an amazing experience shooting it, and it's difficult to describe, in a way. It was just so different. And [von Trier] is just so unconventional the way he makes a movie. What's unconventional about him, in your opinion? The way, like, you're so free. It's so liberating, in a way. There are no tape marks that you have to hit or 45 minutes of lighting because it has to look beautiful. It's all real. And you shoot a lot -- there's not a lot of waiting around. And you can have fun with it, he doesn't care about continuity. What scene stands out in that respect? Well, the first day was the limo scene. And Lars was like, "You guys, you're stuck, you talk about that for a while, and then Alex will get out of the limo to help the driver." And I was like, "Sure, which side do you want me to get out?" And Lars just looked at me and was like, "I don't know. You do whatever you want." And that's what was so liberating. As an actor, can you take that too far? Well, I felt like you're free to do whatever you want. And he'll reign it in if it's not working. But you want to feel that freedom as an actor. You want to feel that confidence that I can do whatever I want. You play an extremely popular character on 'True Blood.' A lot of people have played popular characters on television and sometimes it winds up haunting them. Between a Lars von Trier movie and 'Battleship,' is there a plan in place so you're not known as Eric Northman the rest of your life? Or maybe you want to be known as that? Well [pauses], it's not so much like a career move or a strategy that I have. It's more... I need that. Like, creatively. Of course, after 'True Blood,' I get a lot of scripts that are similar to 'True Blood' or very similar to Eric Northman -- because people want to pigeonhole you. So it's the same character, but in a movie set or whatever. First of all, of course it's not a good career move to do that, because then you become that. You'll get typecast doing that forever. That's creative suicide. But it's also, for me -- I'm not going to do a good job if I do something I've done 25 times before. Because I won't be inspired; I won't be encouraged. There's nothing in that script or in that role that I'll discover. I mean, it's already there, I know what I'm doing. I'll just go there and I'll show up and I'll be whatever I've been for the past 'X' amount of years. So that's why I actively look for guys like Michael in this movie, who is so different than Eric Northman. Have you been offered other vampire roles? Not other vampire roles, but definitely a lot of roles that are very similar to Eric Northman, even though they are not vampires -- but kind of the same type. Basically Eric Northman, but without the fangs. Pretty much the same guy. I'm curious how much input you have in this: During the first season of 'True Blood,' I found Eric a bit frightening, but I feel like there's something more appealing about him in recent seasons -- even when he does something frightening, I still want to be his friend. Maybe it's the hair. Well, that's what I loved about it. When people watch something, they're lazy. So they want to label the characters. Oh, "the hero." "The girl." "The villain." And they sit back and it's very convenient, you know? And what I loved about Eric -- I always love when it's because life is more complicated than that. In movies, I always love when there's darkness in the protagonist. You know? And there's goodness in the antagonist. When there's more of a grey zone than just black and white. What I love about Eric is that when you meet him, he's introduced as "the villain." And the audience is like, "All right, very well, here's the evil sheriff." But then, after a while, you're like, "Oh, wait a minute, that was kind of nice, why did he do that?" And I love that, that people had to revisit, "Oh, shit, well, actually, maybe he's not just the villain." But, of course, when people see a vulnerability that he can be weak and sensitive and kind and loyal... it is tough, because you still want him to be dangerous; he's still a predator -- so you can't emasculate him too much. I know love scenes on set are nothing but professional. But is it at all different when the other two members of the scene are married in real life? Not really. We're good friends and professional actors. All three of us. So we know what we're doing. And it's like, I love Anna [Paquin] to death, but Steve [Moyer] obviously knows that our friendship is very platonic. So, sometimes it's more awkward if you don't know them. Steve knows that I'm not a threat. Well, I'd be more like, "Oh, I hope I'm not imposing." Nah. And Steve was very sweet before we got in to all of that stuff. He said to me, "Dude, I just want you to know that I want you to feel comfortable with this and it's not awkward at all. I love you and I know there's no one I'd rather have doing these scenes with Anna and me because we're friends. It's not awkward at all and I don't want you to hold back because then that's going to be weird. Like, do what you have to do." It was very great of him to say that. What are your memories of doing 'Zoolander'? That was your first American movie, I believe. It was my first job. I was here on vacation and I lived in Sweden. I was here on vacation visiting my dad and his manager was like, "Do you want to go and try an audition and see what it's like?" I was like, "Oh, that's fun. I'm in Hollywood and I'm going on an audition." And it happened to be 'Zoolander.' I was lucky enough to get it. It was surreal. I was this kid from south Stockholm on vacation in Hollywood. Two weeks later I was shooting a movie in Tribeca with Ben Stiller, you know? And then you went back to Sweden and acted there? Yeah. Because I was there on vacation. And I did that and got an agent and a manager because of 'Zoolander,' but I was working on stage in Sweden, so I went back to Sweden and I was there for another three or four years. And when you're on stage, you really don't really have time -- you work six days a week. So there's really no time to go to L.A. and take meetings and read scripts and stuff. But since I had an agent and a manager, they basically said, "Whenever you're done with your plays, come on over and hang out for a couple of weeks and take some meetings. So that's how, in 2004 and 2005, I started going out to L.A. because I was like, "I have an agent and a manger, but they can't do shit for me right now because I'm in Sweden doing plays. But whenever I have a little break, I'm going to go out and check it out. All because of 'Zoolander'... Yeah, it's weird. It's really crazy that happened. Yeah, it's extremely fortunate... in my very first audition. You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook [Photo: Magnolia] RELATED

Producer Andrew Panay Re-Ups With Disney (Exclusive)

Producer Andrew Panay and his Panay Films have re-upped their first look-deal with Disney, signing a two-year extension.our editor recommendsDisney Prepping Romantic Comedy 'The Girlfriend Equation' (Exclusive)Writer says 'Wedding Crashers' copies his party-crashing guidebook Panay, who was a producer on movies such as Van Wilder and Wedding Crashers, is working on a slate of comedies for the Burbank-based studio, for whom he produced When In Rome, starring Kirsten Bell, and Old Dogs, starring Robin Williams and John Travolta. On his docket is a just-set up untitled Molly Shannon project; The Girlfriend Equation, a romantic comedy based on a This American Life story; and Something Cliqued, a spin on the body-swapping genre. Also high on the list is Late in the Count, a comedic baseball drama written by Allan Loeb to which Bradley Cooper is attached to star. The move comes amid general belt-tightening at studios that has caused the rich producer deal to become increasingly rare. Panay first signed his first-look deal in January 2009. Email: Borys.Kit@thr.com Twitter: @Borys_Kit Related Topics

FOX Renews The X Factor For Season 2

First Released: November 2, 2011 2:17 PM EDT Credit: FOX Caption L.A. Reid, Nicole Scherzinger, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell play in the auditions for that X FactorLOS ANGELES, Calif. -- FOX thinks The X Factor really has got the X Factor. On Wednesday, the network introduced that Simon Cowells latest import reality competition was restored for any second season. I'm absolutely thrilled using the news, Simon stated inside a statement. I've loved making the show and I wish to thank FOX, our sponsors and more importantly, the fans for supporting The X Factor. Mike Darnell, FOXs Leader of Alternative Entertainment, stated he was happy with the rankings from the show, to date. The X Factor is really a monumental success, his statement read. Its won every evening it has been around the air, the talent is phenomenal, the concert events are spectacular and picking up is really a complete no-brainer. Simon and the team did an amazing job using the show, and Im absolutely thrilled to create back The X Factor for an additional fantastic season. On Wednesday, The X Factor makes its way into its first live show for that public election at 8/7 C on FOX. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Corporation. All privileges reserved. These components might not be released, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.