ScreenCrave.com » kristen bell

Interview: Kristen Bell Relates To Her Character In Big Miracle

Laura Aguirre — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:18:59 +0000

Kristen Bell can relate to her character in the new Ken Kwapis film Big Miracle. In this true tale about ‘Operation Breakthrough,’ in which three gray whales were trapped and then freed from the ice in Alaska, Bell plays a young journalist in search of the story that will make her career. Bell, who rose to fame when she starred on the hit TV show “Veronica Mars,” knows competition. Sure, she’s starred in a bunch of movies, and was even able to get on another show with Don Cheadle (“House of Lies”), but she’s aware that there’s always someone out waiting to take her job. We recently spoke to the actress, and she shared all sort of things. Did you know her dad was a newscaster? She told us that’s the reason she speaks in soundbites. See what else Kristen Bell had to say about working on Big Miracle below.

What was it that originally drew you to the script?

Kristen Bell: Initially, the fact that it was about animals. I thought, in simple terms, “Oh, I like animals.” Then upon reading it, the complexity of the story, it seemed almost unbelievable to me. I was like, “Oh really, a hundred and eighty journalists from different countries flew in and two million dollars was spent on this, really, and people got married who met talking about the whales? Give me a break Kwapis.” And he said that the most outrageous portions of the movie are the truth. I just felt like it was as story that needed to be told. The inspiration factor behind it was the most important thing to me. There’s so few times in history when everybody wakes up at the same time or everybody works together. We are so into having enemies as humans. We are so interested in the us and them of it all that it’s phenomenally rare to have everybody check their baggage at the door and work together and it is so powerful, I think.

Did you study different newscasters to really get your character right?

Kristen: A little bit. My dad is a news director so I had kind of grown up with it. I tend to speak in sound bites, because I’m trained by him. The reality of it is I did hang out at his news station a lot and I was excited because I knew the local celebrities who were the anchors and I played around with the teleprompter. When journalists would submit their tapes and he had to hire a new producer or on-camera person, I would watch them with him and I would be able to say “It makes me uncomfortable that the weatherman is in a sweater. Number one, he is too comfortable, I want a professional delivering my news. Number two; it makes me feel like it’s going to be cold and it’s not good news.” I felt like my dad was really open to my feedback in creating a good station.

He’s essentially a casting director?

Kristen: Exactly. And an editor because he picks the stories that make it on the air. I had a fair amount behind-the-curtain information. There’s so much news coverage on this story that I was able to watch a lot and how it traveled and it blows my mind that in the 80s when there were no journalistic entities all over the internet, there was your local news. That was it. And then there was the nightly news that was international. Everyone in the world was covering this one story. It doesn’t even happen now and there’s so much more news out there. That was fascinating and there was a lot for me to research for the piece.

You really owned the ‘80s look.

Kristen: I tried. Thank you very much. That was also exciting because I grew up in the ‘80s but that wasn’t like my prime. My prime was definitely like 95-96, I’m sure you’ve heard. I had older sisters and I definitely looked up to the way my mom dressed. There’s something about the first time I realized, “Oh look at these beautiful, stylish women in my life.” It was around that this story happened so in playing this character, it was really fun working with the costume designer to create all these amazing shoulder pads and cool pastels. Her hair obviously had to be big, so we did hot rollers every day, which was really fun, and then teased the crap out of it and I wore press-on nails because everyone had long pink fingernails in the ‘80s.

Did you talk to your dad at all about this film?

Kristen: I didn’t. I’m so embarrassed. Can you believe I didn’t? What I should have done and what I regret not doing is sitting him down and asking him specifics about what he remembered about this story. I’m very regretful that I didn’t do that. I think I was overwhelmed with the amount of information out there and the amount of tape, so I felt like I had a good handle on it. I can understand the competition. I know what Jill wanted and there were plenty of reporters for me to draw upon that covered the story. But, no, I didn’t sit him down and get his perspective, which could have been very useful for me. Sorry, dad.

Do you think partially because there weren’t as many outlets and varieties of news sources that it was able to draw such a big focus? It would almost be impossible now because there’s always something else to draw the attention away.

Kristen: Yeah, I think that too much stimulus can make you feel crazy. Nowadays, it’s harder to tell what is important because there is so much news on the table. In a way that is really good because we all feel a little bit more connected. The interesting thing about this piece for me was not only did everyone in the world seem to connect with the emotion behind this story and wanting to save the whales, but everyone also came on board and decided to drop all their differences and collectively work for a common goal, which almost never happens. There are very brief times in history where you can pinpoint that happening, where the entire world blinks at the same time. The degree of differences of people involved in this, it’s a polarizing issue between the cultures because you have the Americans going to Inupiat land saying, “We love whales, save them,” and you have the Inupiat’s going, “We’ve lived here for thousands of years, and how do you think we feed our children.” From an anthropological point of view, it’s not really appropriate, as much as you like whales to tell another culture that they shouldn’t do what they have been doing for thousands of years. For them to have abandoned what they do, and join the use was a hard decision which I think was portrayed accurately in the movie, and respectfully. Truth be told, they were the fundamental reason that the whales survived. Our bodies, from the lower 48, are not built to be in that cold for a severe 24-hours at a time. The Inupiat’s could handle it. There were so many things that interested me about this story.

Do you have any memory of the story?

Kristen: I have a brief memory of knowing that it happened but nothing that I could really draw upon so it seemed all completely new to me.

Many of the characters in this film are based on real people but your character is really a representation of the many journalists who covered the story. Is that more freeing in the sense that you’re not playing a real person, you’re just playing a character?

Kristen: It’s better and it’s worse at the same time. You don’t have anyone specific to draw on so you’re not sure that you are doing it right. But at the same time, I can certainly identify with the idea of competition. My existence is in a business where there is always someone better than you right around the corner. The idea of that competition and that hunger and that aggressive dedication I could identify with because I have wanted jobs so badly. I feel that Jill Gerard was just a mish-mash of all these journalists that thought that this was the story that would make or break them and that they had to do a great job. Her storyline is interesting because she loses herself a little bit, or maybe she doesn’t. Maybe you see what her two priorities are. She’s a little bit more selfish. She’s not really in it for the whales.

She has a moment there where she contemplates giving it up and going into teaching. Have you ever had a moment where the competition was too high and you thought about doing something else?

Kristen: Yeah like legitimately every five minutes. It’s something I’ve learned to deal with over the last couple of years. I find my sanity because I evaluate my self-esteem based on the integrity of my actions versus the jobs I get. There was a huge portion of my life where whatever job I was getting was who I was. Whatever job I had was my entire existence. It was my validity. It was whether I was legitimate or not, and whether I actually even existed. I think that since I’ve grown up I’ve realized that I’m a human being that likes acting a lot, but I love being a human being. So it’s a really delicate balance to stay sane and not think that that one job that you might attain could make or break your life.

What was it like filming in Alaska? And it’s a very male dominated cast with the exception of you and Drew, what was that like?

Kristen: Truth be told, the boys are pretty much sissies on this film and Drew and I are way stronger so that is how it breaks down. No, this cast got along really well because everyone is kind of a goofball. Ken Kwapis is like the most genuine sort of goofy guy ever, but he’s so sincere and his heart was so into this picture. It was mandatory for him that we have animatronic, really life-like whales so that we weren’t acting with a tennis ball, and so that the whole group was looking at the same thing. And so that between action and cut, we were able to feel something for this animal. No one in the cast or crew had friends or family in Alaska that I knew of, and no one could really travel because there were icy winds all the time, so we visited a lot of pizza joints. We saw a lot of movies; we played a lot of poker in each other’s rooms.

Who was the best poker player?

Kristen: Ted’s a pretty good poker player. Krasinski is a pretty good poker player. I can’t remember who won the most though. I don’t even think we were playing for real money. We were just playing for respect.

Would you say the strategy of the animatronic whales worked?

Kristen: For me, yeah. I’m kind of an idiot but when I was looking at those whales. I’ve been whale watching a few times and been in Capetown where the Southern White Whales come from. It’s extraordinary. You look into their eyes and you just feel something magical. I hate to say it but I kind of felt the same thing when I was looking at these animals. It was sad, visually how small the hole was for them to come up and when you see the three of them surface together, just the story that the picture told, kind of devastated you. I did connect to these animatronic toys, and they’d yell,”Cut!” and you’d see the New Zealander who built it with dip in his mouth, doing the joystick. It wasn’t real. I feel like it worked. And it was really important to Ken, which I think was lucky for all of us because it made our job a lot easier.

Do you consider yourself a nature lover, an outdoors person to begin with?

Kristen: A wood nymph? Yes! Yes, I do like being outdoors a lot. I hike a lot, and I’m a huge animal lover. So Alaska was a really wonderful location for me because we really got a chance on the weekends to explore its majesty and it doesn’t disappoint. It’s kind of hard to articulate, because it is so untouched. Like, we hiked to the top of Mt Alyeska, I mean there was a tram involved. It wasn’t like we hiked for two days. You are actually above the clouds and you are able to take pictures when you are on this peak and you are looking 200 feet down and there are the clouds. It’s extraordinary.

You have a few scenes with John. I was wondering how it was like to work with him?

Kristen: One of the best we’ve got is an easy way to describe it. I was friends with John before we started this movie, so it was great going in knowing that I would be comfortable and not have to get to know someone new. John’s a really giving actor. He’s very present, and he’s eager to work on the scenes. John loves what he does and he’s not over it by any stretch of the imagination. He’s also a really good writer and he thinks on his feet well so it’s a very fun aspect to have in a partner when you are struggling with something. His ego is not involved at all. He really is a story teller by nature. It was awesome. I loved working with John.

What was it like for you watching the movie as an audience member?

Kristen: I think it was everything I hoped it would be. I don’t know enough to read a script and go, I know how Ken is going to shoot this. I’m not that cocky, I don’t have the education as a filmmaker. It was more magical than I thought. We shot in Alaska but the area where we shot was right under water and at times, in the early fall when there wasn’t the snow that we needed, we would manufacture it and some of the elements were manufactured by man. We weren’t out in the complete arctic, but then when you saw it, I didn’t smell at all. It looked completely legitimate. Some of the most touching scenes that I wasn’t present for were the scenes between Malik and the whales. It’s was beautiful. It was like a snippet from a frontline that they are doing on the Inupiat culture or something. It helped that everyone involved was interested in telling the most accurate story possible.

Q: Is it safe to say that you would go back to Alaska again?

Kristen: I would yeah, I really would. I didn’t get to see the Northern Lights or go up to Fairbanks when I was there and a lot of the cast did. I drove down to Seward and saw the aquarium where they rescue or rehabilitate otters, seals, or damaged wildlife. I would definitely go back to Alaska. There is a harmony up there that is non-existent in LA.

That’s out interview with Kristen Bell. Big Miracle hits theaters Friday.

What did you think?

Kristen Bell Joins Don Cheadle in Showtime’s ‘House of Lies’

Krystal Clark — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 18:43:53 +0000

Kristen Bell is heading back to television. No, she’s not reprising her role as Veronica Mars on The CW (they don’t deserve her!), she’s heading to cable for a new dark comedy called “House of Lies.” According to the Showtime network, Bell has signed on to co-star alongside Don Cheadle in the new half an hour series, which was created, executive produced and written by Matthew Carnahan (“Dirt”) from the hit tell-all book “House of Lies: How Management Consultants Steal Your Watch and Tell You the Time” by Martin Kihn.

“House of Lies” is described as “a subversive, scathing look at a self-loathing management consultant from a top-tier firm. Cheadle will star as Marty, a highly successful, cutthroat consultant who is never above using any means (or anyone) necessary to get his clients the information they want. Bell will play Jeannie Van Der Hooven, a razor-sharp, Ivy-League graduate who works at Marty’s firm.”

This sounds like a winning combination. Bell will join the rest of the cast, which consists of Dawn Oliveri (creepy tattoo lady from the last season of “Heroes“), Ben Schwartz (“Undercovers“), Josh Lawson (“Romantically Challenged”), the legendary Glynn Turman (“In Treatment”) as Marty’s psychoanalyst father; and Donis Leonard Jr. (“The Fresh Beat Band”) as Marty’s young son.

We were already interested in the show because of Cheadle and Bell, but now that we know they have Glynn Turman, we’re all in!

What do you think of the cast of House of Lies? What do you think of the premise?

Source: Coming Soon

You Again: Movie Review

Justine JC — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 20:27:36 +0000

Celebrating 10 years of collaboration, director Andy Fickman and actress Kristen Bell team up for this weekend’s Touchstone Pictures release, You Again. The family comedy sports a fabulous cast including Sigourney Weaver, Jamie Lee Curtis, Betty White, and Kristen Chenoweth plus a handful of cameos – and they’re all here to help you revisit the demons of your adolescence. The film hits cinemas nationwide this Friday.

Check out the review below…

The Players:

Director: Andy Fickman
Writer: Moe Jelline
Producers: John Strauss, Eric Tannenbaum, Andy Fickman
Cast: Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, Odette Yustman, Betty White, Victor Garber, Kristen Chenoweth

The Plot:

Upon returning home to NorCal for her brother’s wedding, Marni (Bell) learns that his fiance is her high school arch nemesis, Joanna (Yustman). She’s horrified/heartbroken and fully intends on not only destroying their engagement to save her brother from marrying the devil – but on getting her long overdue revenge. The juice gets thicker when we learn that Marni’s mom, Gail (Curtis) and Joanna’s aunt, Ramona (Weaver) also have a rocky high school history – and the wounds are still deep.

The Good:

Ensemble: Fickman hit the jackpot with this seasoned group of female comedians. The roles were obviously exaggerated for the sake of comedy, but they each possessed strong character specificity and arc – comedic timing was critical here, and because it’s an ensemble based film one bad performance could’ve but a huge damper on the overall quality of the project. Everyone brought their A-game – woo hoo!
Universal Appeal: You’ll find that the story itself is pretty outrageous and the wave of chaos these characters are swept under is clearly heightened – it’s Disney, let’s be real. But this idea that everyone in some capacity grapples with “demons” from their adolescence really strikes a chord. The teenage years are generally perceived as the toughest, and whether you’re 4 years out or 40 years out, it’s hard to forget the people who gave you a hard time (or made you feel more awkward than you already did).
Not Destroyed By Disney: The film is perfectly Disney-proof, if you will. But it still has an entertaining edge that can appeal to people who are looking for a little more than what can amuse their 11 year-olds. This is absolutely a family comedy – there’s something in it for everyone. Even your grandparents.

The Good/Bad:

Heads up: The film is precisely what the trailer makes it out to be. If you’re down for something you can take your little sister or parents to and get a few laughs, You Again is perfect. It’s light hearted and shouldn’t be taken for more than it is: a family comedy. Keep your expectations in that ball park and you won’t be disappointed.

Overall:

See “Good/Bad”

Rating: 6.5/10

The film hits theaters nationwide this weekend!

Interview with Kristen Bell and Odette Yustman for You Again

Justine JC — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 15:40:51 +0000

Kristen Bell‘s role in Andy Fickman’s upcoming You Again redefines the “awkward stage” for high school students all over the globe – and newcomer Odette Yustman gives Regina George a solid run for her money playing the bitch of the ball. Bell and Yustman along with the slew of seasoned female comedians they’re paired with (Betty White, Sigourney Weaver, Jamie Lee Curtis) carry the whole Mean Girls extravaganza into adulthood with this surprisingly charming Disney comedy.

We had an opportunity to sit down with the actresses to hear their thoughts on the project. Check out an interview with the ladies below…

Odette, Joanna is a total demon – did you ever experience a “mean girl” phase?

Odette Yustman: Probably my family sees the mean side of me, or my fiance! The people that are closest to you really get the most crap. You unleash it on them because you can…they’ll love you no matter what. But for the most part, I’d like to think I’m a nice person.

Kristen, Marni is painfully awkward – can you relate?

Kristen Bell: I definitely had an awkward phase. It’s funny because I just went back and read all of my high school notes because my best friend from high school, when I turned 30, printed out a bunch – who we should be dating, what we should be doing, all of these grand plans. She put them in a binder and set them on the coffee table at my birthday party. Hilarious. I was laughing so hard I almost peed my pants. I don’t know that I was as awkward as Marni, but I think every high schooler feels super duper awkward in some social situations.

I was very much a pleas-er in high school – always very nervous that people wouldn’t like me. I led with compliments, kept everyone on my good side. That’s just how my wanting to be accepted manifest itself. Some people are mean, some people are introverted…I was just the sweetest. I guess everyone in high school is just trying to do the best they can.

The nature of Hollywood in general feel very reminiscent of high school…

KB: Hollywood is the most like high school! Gossip is the main source of information, telephone is the game to play. It’s funny how similar it is. But it’s even more glorified in Hollywood because there is this monster of the media, with all do respect. But there’s this wanting to report on someone else and not consider that the other person is a human being.

You and Andy Fickman have worked together for almost 10 years..

KB: Andy? Randy Flickman? Here’s what you should know. Everything that comes out of his mouth is nonsense.

He claims you skipped the first couple of auditions for his Broadway musical Reefer Madness, truth?

KB: Yes I skipped auditions. I don’t deny it! He probably didn’t tell the real story… so I will. I had just done a Broadway musical for the Nederlanders. When you know the producing company you have a little closer of a relationship with them. They said they were doing “Reefer Madness” and I should audition – I took that as, sweet, you’ll be on the short list. Which is kind of hard to work yourself up to… I thought, “I’ll make the call backs.” I skipped them, finally went in the final round, probably very cocky and sure of myself. And Andy was, like, “Who the hell is this??” – but he still hired me!

Odette, you’re still relatively new to the big screen. Was it daunting to work with such an acclaimed group of actresses?

OY: Terrifying. I was really nervous – I’ve never done a big comedy. I’d done a few independent comedies but this was really nerve racking because you have all of these high profile names, and women are catty by nature. Sometimes women get together and it doesn’t work out so well. I was worried about comedy, though, I didn’t know if I’d be any good at it. I just love romantic comedies. I love watching them, I love reading them – I just really wanted to do one. I learned so much working with these women, they all really took me under their wings.

Catch these girls and the rest of this stellar cast this weekend, the film is poised for a nationwide release this Friday, September 24th- check back for an interview with the film’s director, Andy Fickman!

Kristen Bell Still Wants To Play Veronica Mars

Krystal Clark — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:26:43 +0000

Don’t we all need more Veronica Mars in our lives? The show was given the ax by The CW way before its time and fans just can’t accept it! And by fans we mean us, and the star of the show Kristen Bell. Back in April, the series producer Rob Thomas spoke about the possibility of a film and stated, “It’s not dead” and “We’re still looking into it.” Now, Bell is putting in her two cents via her Twitter. See what she wrote below…

“Mars fans-can we bug @wbpictures & tell em they must do a VM film?? new tactic. bombard em w/tweets, there’s evidence of fans they cant ignore. #veronicamars fans send petitions & any obsessive behavior you have to @wbpictures & demand the film. they see no audience for it? i beg to differ.”

Why does Warner Bros refuse to believe that people still want to see Mars and her crew on the screen? Thomas also talked about how the studio doesn’t see a market for it. Do we really need to run down the list of films that no one cares about that have been greenlit and allowed into theaters? It’s a travesty!

If you want to join Bell in her fight, send Tweets to @wbpictures with the hashtag #veronicamarsmovie. Then sign a petition or two, and join this Kristen-sanctioned Facebook group.

Do you want to see more Veronica Mars?

Source: Zap2it

Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell Join Scream 4

Krystal Clark — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:58:49 +0000

Scream 4 has been shooting on location in Michigan for a while now, but that hasn’t stopping the casting director from bringing in more actors. According to EW, Sookie Stackhouse and Veronica Mars aka Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell have just joined the cast! The current roster is already filled to the brim with familiar faces including the three original stars from the first trilogy. So how will these latest additions factor in?

Dimension Films have confirmed Paquin and Bell’s casting but have given no info regarding their characters. Do you know what that means? One or maybe both of them will probably get the axe withing the first 10 minutes of the film. Killing off a well known star in the very beginning is what the Scream series became known for after Drew Barrymore was murdered in the original as an homage to Janet Leigh’s early demise in Psycho.

Since they’ve come on so late in the game, it wouldn’t be a shock if they were just lambs being brought to the slaughter. At least this won’t be a huge problem for Paquin, she should be used to excessive gore considering her current gig on “True Blood.”

What do you think of these two joining the cast? Who do you think they’ll play?

Burlesque Trailer – Dreamgirls, Showgirls, Rolled into One

Krystal Clark — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 15:06:25 +0000

The first theatrical trailer has been released for the musical Burlesque, that features Christina Aguilera opposite some pretty heavy hitters. There’s Oscar winner Cher and Oscar nominee Stanley Tucci on the veteran side and Kristen Bell and Cam Gigandet on the newbie side. Are you ready to see what happens when you mix Showgirls with Dreamgirls, and a whole lot of overacting? Check out the trailer to Burlesque…

This film doesn’t look interesting to me at all. It’s the same format of a small town girl moving to the big city to make it in entertainment. Bell’s character is Aguilera’s competition in the film, Cher’s the tough as nails club owner, and Tucci is her right hand man. Gigandet appears to be a bartender who’ll also serve as her love interest, that is if Eric Dane’s character doesn’t get to her first.

This movie could be enticing if maybe, just maybe Aguilera didn’t do what she always does with that wonderful voice — go all over the place. Sitting in a theater watching her wail from left to right doesn’t sound appealing. Hit a note, hold it, and then maybe you’ll have something.

Burlesque hits theaters on November 24th, just in time for Thanksgiving.

What do you think of the first trailer for Burlesque?

New DVD Releases: The Book of Eli, When in Rome, Youth in Revolt

Andrew Payne — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:41:14 +0000

Don’t say I didn’t warn you. All three feature films released this week came out in January. Not really a month that inspires confidence. And when each of those films includes a bankable star (Denzel Washington, Kristen Bell, and Michael Cera, respectively) and are still dumped at the beginning of the year, there’s reason for trepidation. So proceed carefully into these DVD-infested waters.

Now if you’re more of the cautious type. You’re in luck. There also nine television series hitting the TV on DVD shelves this week, so you’ll know what you’re getting into with those. But, if you’re a true daredevil, we have a very special feature for you this week.

Check it out below, if you dare…

FEATURE FILMS

When in Rome

With this movie, let me replay a quick conversation I had with my mom. As I did not happen to catch this gem:

Mom: “I just saw When in Rome, that was literally the worst movie I’ve ever paid to see.”
Me: “I told you not to see it.”
Mom: “Now I like that Kristen Bell. Why would she even make a movie like that? Is that just something you have to do? Is it just for the money?”

And my mom makes a great point – why would someone like Kristen Bell star is something as lamely reviewed as Rome? I think the answer comes down to this – there simply aren’t enough good roles for women.

I’m sure Bell would love to star in something smart. Something sharply written with a great character she could really get into. But how many movies are there with a female lead that fits that description? Maybe three every year? And those go to Streep, Roberts or Kidman and that’s about it.

So Bell ends up slumming it in another run-of-the-mill rom-com with a hokey premise and no jokes of a guffaw-inducing nature. And why is that?

It’s simple really. Look at the credits for this film – it’s directed by a man and written by two men. I hardly think a woman would let a character flit around in a way that has my mom lamenting 10 dollars lost.

But again, the latent sexism of Hollywood precludes those female’s jobs behind the camera, and I’m stuck listening to a ten minute rant about this film’s shortcomings.

So if you’d like to see if my mom was right – check this out on DVD.

The Book of Eli

It’s not a DVD, it’s a weapon!

Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

Also:

Youth in Revolt – Buy Now

TV ON DVD

“Family Guy”: Volume 8

Do you know that nine years ago this series was cancelled, yes cancelled, by Fox? And since then it’s gone on to produce over 100 episodes. Yes, 100 episodes – enough to syndicate a series – since it’s been cancelled.

Why do I bring this up? Because we’re only a few days away from another Fox animated series, “Futurama” returning with new episodes to Comedy Central.

Now will that series go on to be as successful as “Family Guy”? Who knows. But if it does, how embarrassing will that be for Fox? Animated series are cash cows because of the merchandising and syndication opportunities. Plus a production cost much lower than live action shows.

If “Futurama” really succeeds – it would be tantamount to a station giving up on another lucrative show type, like, say a talk show, and let it build its brand before going to a cable network.

Wait, you mean that already happened? Whoops.

Anyway, you can check out the eighth DVD volume of “Family Guy” today.

Also:

“American Dad”: Volume 5 – Buy Now
“Everwood”: Season 3 – Buy Now
“Hawthorne”: Season 1 – Buy Now
“Here’s Lucy”: Season 3 – Buy Now
“Leave it to Beaver”: Season 3 – Buy Now
“MacGyver”: The TV Movies – Buy Now
“My Three Sons”: Volume 2 – Buy Now
“The Secret Life of the American Teenager”: Volume 4 – Buy Now

And, Just So You Know, This DVD Exists. . .

What DVDs are you looking forward to picking up this week?

MTV Movie Awards Hurt Locker Parody

Krystal Clark — Tue, 11 May 2010 23:10:50 +0000

Over the past few weeks MTV has been airing multiple promos for their annual MTV Movie Awards and their latest video has us on edge. It’s a parody of the Oscar winning film The Hurt Locker that features this year’s host Aziz Ansari and actress Kristen Bell. The two are shown celebrating a night at home when Ansari makes a strange and alarming personal request. Take a look…

Ansari is shown on a date with Bell and the two of them are watching The Hurt Locker on a new TV/DVD system that MTV bought him. The film is projected in 4D and it looks like the characters are literally standing in his living room.

MTV Shows

When we first saw this we thought it was gross that Ansari asked Bell to disarm the bomb in his pants but then we felt bad when we realized he really needed help. Perhaps if his delivery was less slimy then maybe, just maybe she wouldn’t have left him hanging with a clock ticking on his ding dong.

The MTV Movie Awards air on Sunday, June 6, at 9 p.m. ET.

Will you be watching this year’s MTV Movie Awards? Are you excited to see Ansari host the event?

You Again Trailer – High School Never Ends

Mali Elfman — Fri, 07 May 2010 18:17:20 +0000

Normally I see a film like this and I immediately cast it off as mundane and pointless, but there is something about running into your old high school nemesis’ and having them be Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver that catches my attention.

You Again is all about how none of us ever, EVER get over high school even if we’ve always wanted to… if you were the nerd who go picked on or the popular kid who everyone thought would go somewhere, there’s something about that time of your life that makes you always try to leave behind but can never escape. And later in life, no matter how successful you are, the second you are faced with someone from that time of your life, you will regress and be left wondering where all your maturity went. Ladies and gentlemen. Let the subtle, under-handed, manipulative cat fights begin…

In our first match of the day we have the lovely (yet perceived as nerdy) Kristen Bell in one corner taking on the luscious locks and hair flips of Odette Yustman. This is no doubt the main line of the movie, but by far and away not the reason to go and see it. You’re going to want to stick around for the main event where we have two screen legends battling it out Sigourney Weaver and Jamie Lee Curtis with Betty White as the Ref of course! I’ll shut up and let you get to what you’re here for…

This could be another payday for the cast, but there is something about it that strikes a chord and I’m giving it a chance to do something more than just waste peoples time! Here’s to hoping!

You Again hits theaters on September 24th, 2010

Am I merely projecting onto this film or can anyone else relate to high school enemies coming back for more?

Veronica Mars Movie Still Happening?

Krystal Clark — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 17:04:27 +0000

From 2004 to 2007 TV viewers experienced a resurgence of something called “the Nancy Drew” phenomenon when The CW (formally UPN) premiered the series, “Veronica Mars.” It starred Kristen Bell as the title character who spent every episode snooping and investigating the suspect activities happening in her town. “Mars” was never a mega hit for the network but it gained a serious cult following and when the show was canceled after 3 seasons fans were rightfully pissed. But no worries, there’s hope, a “Veronica Mars” movie is still on the table…

When The CW planted the final nail in “Mars’” coffin rumors immediately sprung up about a big screen adaptation that could expand on the story and wrap things up. The news continued to change from day to day, one minute the movie’s ago and the next it’s dead in the water. The show’s producer Rob Thomas recently spoke about how hard he and his colleagues are working to reunite the cast and crew for one last hurrah. According to him “Veronica Mars” still has “a chance.”

“It’s not dead,” insists Thomas. “I continue to want to do it.” I did have a treatment and a pitch, with which I went to Warner Bros. and [Mars producer] Joel Silver and said, ‘Here is the fastball version of the movie, the big studio version of the movie that I think we can make.’ And I think they did one of their brand-awareness surveys and were like, ‘We don’t know if we can make money with that.’ So it’s been back-burnered. But I still want to do it. I’m still happy to do it. We’re still looking into it.”

The idea of making it marketable for a wider audience makes sense from the studio’s perspective because they’re not going to put money into anything that won’t make a profit but look what Joss Whedon did with “Firefly.” His show was canceled after one season on FOX and it was turned into a feature film renamed Serenity. It would be a bit harder for Thomas to pull off something like that because “Mars’” is strongly based on its name recognition, so a title change would be out the question, but something’s gotta give.

Whatever they choose to do, they have to do it soon because Kristen Bell is 29 years old and she can’t play a teen super sleuth forever.

Do you think they should make a Veronica Mars movie?

Source: EW

Kristen Bell Cast in Burlesque

Krystal Clark — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:54:12 +0000

Couple’s Retreat star Kristen Bell has just signed on for a new role, and it’s in a musical. A lot of you may not know this but Veronica Mars has some serious vocal talent, and she will showcase it in an upcoming film opposite Christina Aguilera. According to THR, Bell will co-star in Burlesque, a musical that will be directed by Steve Antin.

Burlesque centers on a small town girl (Aguilera in her first major film role) with a big voice, who finds love and success in a Los Angeles neo-burlesque club, reminiscent of the nightclub in Bob Fosse’s Cabaret. Bell will play Nikki, the loose-cannon lead dancer and main attraction at the club who spirals out of control when Aguilera’s character suddenly gets the spotlight. The cast also includes Cher and Stanley Tucci in supporting roles.

Production on Burlesque is scheduled to start November 9th, for a Thanksgiving 2010 theatrical release. Watch out everybody, we’re going to have a serious cat fight on our hands with these two singing divas. As I stated before, Bell is no spring chicken when it comes to music. She’s done her fair share of stage work, and is a trained vocalist. I can’t wait to hear these two go at it.

What do you think of Kristen Bell joining the cast of Burlesque?

ScreenCrave.com » kristen bell

Interview: Kristen Bell Relates To Her Character In Big Miracle

Related Posts

Kristen Bell Joins Don Cheadle in Showtime’s ‘House of Lies’

Related Posts

You Again: Movie Review

The Players:

The Plot:

The Good:

The Good/Bad:

Overall:

Rating: 6.5/10

Related Posts

Interview with Kristen Bell and Odette Yustman for You Again

Related Posts

Kristen Bell Still Wants To Play Veronica Mars

Related Posts

Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell Join Scream 4

Related Posts

Burlesque Trailer – Dreamgirls, Showgirls, Rolled into One

Related Posts

New DVD Releases: The Book of Eli, When in Rome, Youth in Revolt

FEATURE FILMS

TV ON DVD

Related Posts

MTV Movie Awards Hurt Locker Parody

Related Posts

You Again Trailer – High School Never Ends

Related Posts

Veronica Mars Movie Still Happening?

Related Posts

Kristen Bell Cast in Burlesque

Related Posts