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Joaquin Phoenix Seeks Advice From Diddy in I’m Still Here Clip

Krystal Clark — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 16:58:05 +0000

Also check out our I’m Still Here movie review from the Venice Film Festival.

This weekend Casey Affleck’s much talked about documentary I’m Still Here opens in theaters. The film follows a (lost) year in the life of actor Joaquin Phoenix as he attempts to step away from the world of Hollywood and into the world of music. In the first clip released from the movie, he meets with music producer Sean “Diddy” Combs and asks him for advice regarding the next phase of his career. This should be interesting…

A lot of people are still debating whether or not this is real or just one actor’s vanity project. You could call it performance art in a way. Phoenix legitimately puts 100% of himself into this film and it’s kind of scary. He goes to extremes to push the envelope and make you believe his search for new creative expression.

The film follows the Oscar-nominee as he announces his retirement from a successful film career in the fall of 2008 and sets off to reinvent himself as a hip hop musician. Defying expectations, it deftly explores notions of courage and creative reinvention, as well as the ramifications of a life spent in the public eye.

What do you think of Phoenix and Diddy in this clip? Do you think it’s legit or over the top?

Rose Byrne, Elisabeth Moss, and Sean Combs Join Sarah Marshall Spin-off

Krystal Clark — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 02:00:18 +0000

The Forgetting Sarah Marshall follow up Get Him to Greek has just been infused with three new cast members. As we reported earlier Russell Brand will be reprising his role as the outrageous rocker Aldous Snow. He will be joined once again by Jonah Hill who will be playing Aaron, a completely different character than who he played in the previous film. This time around rather than being a waiter he’s an intern at a record company. According to Entertainment Weekly, Rose Byrne, Elisabeth Moss, and Sean “Diddy” Combs have just signed on to star in the comedy.

Find out more about their characters after the jump.

Byrne is set to star as Jackie Q, a pop singer who may or may not perform a duet with Snow. Emily Blunt was originally rumored to star as Jackie but was never confirmed for the part. Elisabeth Moss will star as Aaron’s girlfriend Daphne Binks, while Combs will play the head of the record company where Aaron interns. The basic plot of the film follows the inexperienced intern as he tries to safely transport Snow to a gig at L.A’s Greek Theatre on time and in tact. Judd Apatow is producing the film that will be directed by Nicholas Stoller who also wrote the screenplay. Get Him to Greek will start shooting this summer.

I am a bit disappointed that Blunt didn’t sign on for this film. I’m so used to seeing Rose Byrne in the most depressing and dramatic scenarios that I’m going to have to adjust to her being in a comedy. But I will give her kudos for showing some diversity. As for Combs playing a record executive, classic! I hope they really make him a parody of himself and the music business in general. It seems like he will be the source of some serious laughs.

What do you think of the latest additions to Get Him to Greek? Who are you the most excited to see?

Round Up: New Wolverine Photo, Spiderman 4, Scott Pilgrim vs The World Casting

Krystal Clark — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 16:00:47 +0000

Here are some of the top stories you may have missed over the weekend….

A New promo photo (above) for X-Men Origins: Wolverine has just been released! The characters featured (L-R) are, Deadpool/Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), Gambit/Remy LeBeau (Taylor Kitsch), Wolverine/Logan (Hugh Jackman), Sabretooth/Victor Creed (Liev Shreiber), and Silver Fox (Lynn Collins). X-Men Origins: Wolverine opens in theaters on May 1, 2009, and is directed by Gavin Hood. [Superherohype]
Scott Pilgrim vs The World has the cast that keeps on growing. Star of the upcoming sci-fi film Push, Chris Evans has just signed on to co-star alongside Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, and Michael Cera, in the Edgar Wright graphic novel adaptation. Evans will play Lucas Lee a skateboarder/movie star who happens to be one of the many ex-boyfriend’s of Winstead’s character Ramona. [AICN]
Casey Affleck wants to make a documentary about his good friend Joaquin Phoenix. Phoenix recently retired from the film industry at the ripe old age of 34, and has decided to embark on a career as a rapper. Sean “Diddy” Combs will produce his debut album, and Affleck wants to document everything from his studio recordings to his first performance. This should be interesting. [LatinoReview]

Brooklyn’s Finest director Antoine Fuqua wants Oscar winner Sean Penn to star in his upcoming gangster pic, Scarpa. The film is a biopic based on Gregory Scarpa, Sr, the former chief enforcer of the Colombo crime family. Scarpa lived a double life as a gangster and an FBI informant. The film will span three decades, starting in the 1960′s, and ending in the 1990′s with Scarpa’s untimely death.[First Showing]
Spiderman 4 will begin shooting next year, as confirmed by co-star J.K. Simmons. Simmons who portrayed J.Jonah Jamison, the editor of the Daily Bugle in the previous films, will be returning to his old stomping grounds. Simmons reported that he recently spoke to director Sam Raimi at his Christmas party, and he gave him the impression that everything for Spidey 4 was ago for 2010. Still no word on Kirsten Dunst’s return as Mary Jane though. [MTV Splash Page]

Review: No No No Notorious!

Krystal Clark — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 04:00:43 +0000

The Notorious B.I.G. aka Biggie Smalls was one of, if not the best rapper to ever touch the game of rap music. By today’s standards, running a close race with the late Tupac Shakur, B.I.G is referred to as the greatest rapper who ever lived. As one of the first artists signed to former hip hop dynasty Bad Boy Records, the rapper broke the mold by selling albums off of his lyrics and not his looks. With a full life that was shortly lived, its no surprise that the film industry came knocking to produce a biopic on the late, great Christopher “Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace.

Over 11 years ago, at the young age of 24, the Notorious B.I.G. was gunned down in the streets of L.A. This unfortunate incident occurred just 6 months after former friend, then foe Tupac Shakur was murdered under the same circumstances in Las Vegas. This film’s purpose was to give insight into the slain rapper’s life as he rose from his poor Brooklyn neighborhood to the top of the Billboard charts. Newcomer Jamal Woolard plays the lead role, in which he seemlessly projects the size, voice, and bravado of the late rapper.

The film begins with a flash forward to that unforgetable night where the rapper was fatally shot and uses a voice over narration by B.I.G. to detail his life in retrospect. From that point on we backtrack to the young Christopher Wallace as a chubby, glasses wearing kid, who gets walked home from school by his overprotective, Jamaican native mother (played by Angela Bassett). The series of events that shaped Wallace’s childhood, like most of us, caused him to strive for certain things in his adult life, that eventually played a huge part in his downfall.

For the most part, throughout the film we are exposed to several named characters that fans of the Notorious B.I.G. may recognize, such as Lil’ Kim (Naturi Naughton) and Lil’ Cease (Mark John Jefferies) who were both members of the rappers entourage/rap group Junior Mafia. The film shows us how Wallace went from selling drugs on the street corner, to making hits in the studio, with the help of super producer Puff Daddy. The film was produced by the late rappers mother Voletta Wallace, who wanted the movie to show her son as a man, not just a musician. Yet, I don’t really feel as if we get beyond a certain point in terms of his internal struggles. Important events such as the East coast, West coast beef, which inadvertently may have been the cause of both his and Tupac Shakur’s deaths, was just glazed over in a montage. I would have loved to see more of what happened behind those events, because not only was it an important part of his life, but it’s a part of hip hop history.

In terms of performances, one actor stood out to me like a sore thumb, Antwon Fisher star Derek Luke. Luke portrayed Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs, the man who promised a 19 year old Biggie Smalls he’d make him a millionaire by the time he was 21. When I first heard of Luke’s casting as Combs, I was beyond skeptical. Luke is a mere 5 years younger than the real Combs, who I thought was still young enough to play himself. Even though these two look nothing alike, Luke was able to draw me in with his dead on imitation of the infamous Puffy “swagger.” Combs was the mentor and best friend of the late rapper, a dynamic Luke and Woolard pulled off with ease. The combination of wardrobe and writing, paired with Luke’s ability to mimic Puffy’s signature dance moves won me over. His performance was definitely the highlight of the movie, which is coincidentally produced by Sean Combs and his Bad Boy Films company.

Overall, I think Notorious was a good attempt at making an accurate biopic of a tragic figure. The soundtrack to the film alone plays a great homage to the rap scene of the ’80′s and ’90′s, which is an integral backdrop to the films story. The bottom line is that the film isn’t perfect by a long shot, but it’s worth the money. Notorious is directed by George Tillman, Jr, whose previous credits include Soul Food, and Men of Honor.

The film is rated R, and is playing in wide release everywhere.

ScreenCrave.com » Diddy

Joaquin Phoenix Seeks Advice From Diddy in I’m Still Here Clip

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Review: No No No Notorious!

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