The Metro Film News
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Journalists charged £2,000 to interview Brad Pitt at Cannes
6 hours ago (Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012 at 11:16 pm)
Brad Pitt is used to the call of the bright lights and flashbulbs but now a film company has put a price on buying a slice of the film star’s time – at £2,000 for a 20-minute chat.
Journalists at the Cannes film festival are being asked to pay on a ‘menu’ of prices for access for biggest stars.
And they can’t even demand that Brad, 48, fill their allotted time by, say, frolicking topless with kittens while serenading them. In fact, they’re just trying to get interviews about his new film, Killing Them Softly.
The price works out at more than £12million a year – £2million more than the fee Pitt allegedly received for his role in Inglourious Basterds.
Canadian film distribution company Alliance is also asking for the same sum to chat to Kristen Stewart, 22, about her film On The Road.
And it’s £1,200 for 20 minutes with Sopranos star James Gandolfini, 50, Matthew McConaughey, 42, or 44-year-old Nicole Kidman.
Publicist Max Clifford last night told Metro that charging journalists for access was a ‘ridiculously bad’ idea.
He said: ‘Certainly, it’s not the way to win friends and influence people.
‘When any major star appears in a major movie, part of the deal is to spend some time promoting it.’
If the fee was to pay for the stars to fly to Cannes, the press should have been done in LA, Mr Clifford added.
It is thought to be the first time that reporters have been charged for access to stars who rely on promotion to boost box-office demand. Film website Deadline claimed that Alliance was up for sale and under pressure to keep down overheads.
Alliance spokeswoman Anne Tremblay said: ‘The fee is simply a means for the expenses to be shared.
‘These stars travel by private jet, with their agents, make-up artists and hairdressers; someone’s got to pay.’
Ewan McGregor not out for revenge in his Cannes judging role
6 days ago (Wednesday, May 16th, 2012 at 10:11 pm)
As a Jedi, Ewan McGregor could be forgiven for using the Force to help guide him at the Cannes film festival.
But the man who played the young Obi-Wan Kenobi, McGregor rather sheepishly admitted he had done no homework for his judging role.
The actor is one of a nine-strong panel responsible for judging the films and awarding the coveted Palme d’Or prize.
He told a press conference: ‘I looked through the prog yesterday when I arrived and had unpacked all my suits.
‘I lay on the bed and had a look and went ‘F****** hell, there’s some good stuff in here’. But apart from that, I haven’t swotted up on anything.’
McGregor joins actress Diane Kruger and fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier on the jury. The group also includes Wuthering Heights director Andrea Arnold and is headed by Italian director and actor Nanni Moretti.
McGregor, 41, said it was an ‘enormous honour’ to be part of the panel and he did not feel his position judging his peers was a superior one.
‘I don’t feel like I’m in some position of great power. There’s no feelings of revenge in this,’ he said.
Arnold echoed his sentiments, saying she was coming at the 22 films like a ‘blank page’ with no preconceived ideas.
Asked what she thought about there being no films in the running to be directed by women, she said: ‘I would absolutely hate it if my film got selected because I was a woman.
‘I would only want my film to be selected for the right reasons and not out of charity for being a woman.’
Among the films up for the prestigious prize are David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis and Walter Salles’s adaptation of the Beat Generation novel On The Road. The festival runs to May 27.
Cannes Film Festival jury member Andrea Arnold hits back at sexism row
6 days ago (Wednesday, May 16th, 2012 at 10:11 pm)
Andrea Arnold, a jury member for this year’s Cannes Film Festival, has hit back at accusations that it is sexist.
The annual film event this week sees 22 male directors competing for one of the world’s most prestigious movie prizes – and no women.
The snub has led to a group of women directors writing an open letter to the Cannes organisers attacking the way ‘exclusively male films’ are judged.
Asked what she thought about there being no films in the running to be directed by women, Wuthering Heights director Andrea said: ‘I would absolutely hate it if my film got selected because I was a woman.
‘I would only want my film to be selected for the right reasons and not out of charity for being a woman.’
Meanwhile, McGregor rather sheepishly admitted he had done no homework for his judging role.
The actor is one of a nine-strong panel responsible for judging the films and awarding the coveted Palme d’Or prize.
He told a press conference: ‘I looked through the prog yesterday when I arrived and had unpacked all my suits.
‘I lay on the bed and had a look and went ‘F****** hell, there’s some good stuff in here’. But apart from that, I haven’t swotted up on anything.’
McGregor joins actress Diane Kruger and fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier on the jury. The group also includes Arnold and is headed by Italian director and actor Nanni Moretti.
McGregor, 41, said it was an ‘enormous honour’ to be part of the panel and he did not feel his position judging his peers was a superior one.
‘I don’t feel like I’m in some position of great power. There’s no feelings of revenge in this,’ he said.
Among the films up for the prestigious prize are David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis and Walter Salles’s adaptation of the Beat Generation novel On The Road. The festival runs to May 27.
GALLERY:
Check out photos from Cannes Film Festival
Will Smith: My son received top secret alien information from Barack Obama
6 days ago (Wednesday, May 16th, 2012 at 6:43 pm)
Will Smith is convinced the aliens are coming after his son Jaden cornered Barack Obama for ‘top secret information’ on extra-terrestrial life.
The actor refused to share what his son (pictured) squeezed out of the US president after the White House meeting – but said it provided plenty of fodder to his return in Men In Black III.
‘The night before, Jaden said to me, “Dad, I gotta ask the president about the aliens” and I was like, “No, no, that’s not cool – it’s embarrassing”. So we get in the Situation Room and Jaden gets that look in his eye and says, “Excuse me, Mr President”.
Barack looked at him and said, “The aliens, right?”’ Smith said Obama told the 13-year-old: ‘I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of extra-terrestrials but I can tell you if there had been a top secret meeting and if there would have had to be a discussion about it, it would have taken place in this room.’
While the president, 50, tried not to scare Jaden, Smith Sr managed to get the inside track on the little green men.
He told Radio 1 host Chris Moyles: ‘I have information, I just can’t share it. You don’t think I’ve made all of these movies and not been briefed by the White House.’
Smith, 43, is back in his role as Agent J for the first time in a decade. Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber play aliens.
Nicole Scherzinger steals show from Will Smith at Men In Black 3 premiere
6 days ago (Wednesday, May 16th, 2012 at 6:43 pm)
Nicole Scherzinger made sure all eyes were on her at the premiere of Men In Black 3 with a sexy dress slashed at the thigh and boyfriend Lewis Hamilton on her arm.
The former Pussycat Dolls singer wore a revealing black Cengiz Abazoglu dress to the film bash, which allowed her to flash her long legs.
Scherzinger only has a small role as femme fatale Lilly Poison but managed to outshine co-stars Will Smith, Josh Brolin, Alice Eve and Emma Thompson.
She said: ‘I don’t have any scenes with Will, I but he’s a great friend.
‘He’s such an inspiration. I freak out just standing next to him! I auditioned for the role fair and square and I got it!’
Lewis, who looked handsome in a light grey suit, praised his girlfriend’s acting skills in the movie sequel.
He said: ‘I’m so proud of Nicole, she has worked so hard in her career and it was great to go and see her in action.’
‘I’m just really proud and looking forward to seeing her in more films.’
Men In Black 3 director Barry Sonnenfeld, rapper Jay-Z, Made In Chelsea star Cheska Hull and Celebrity Big Brother’s Georgia Salpa also turned up to the premiere.
Meanwhile, Will revealed he is convinced the aliens are coming after his son Jaden cornered Barack Obama for ‘top secret information’ on extra-terrestrial life.
The actor refused to share what his son squeezed out of the US president after the White House meeting – but said it provided plenty of fodder to his return in Men In Black III.
‘The night before, Jaden said to me, “Dad, I gotta ask the president about the aliens” and I was like, “No, no, that’s not cool – it’s embarrassing”. So we get in the Situation Room and Jaden gets that look in his eye and says, “Excuse me, Mr President”.
Barack looked at him and said, “The aliens, right?”’ Smith said Obama told the 13-year-old: ‘I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of extra-terrestrials but I can tell you if there had been a top secret meeting and if there would have had to be a discussion about it, it would have taken place in this room.’
While the president, 50, tried not to scare Jaden, Smith Sr managed to get the inside track on the little green men.
He told Radio 1 host Chris Moyles: ‘I have information, I just can’t share it. You don’t think I’ve made all of these movies and not been briefed by the White House.’
Smith, 43, is back in his role as Agent J for the first time in a decade. Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber play aliens.
Buck is a quietly affecting tale of the real life ‘horse whisperer’
6 days ago (Wednesday, May 16th, 2012 at 6:00 pm)
DVD review: Buck is a modest and endearing portrait of a gentle man with the power to tame both horses and humans.
All dusty sunsets and Stetsons, this is an enjoyable, measured portrait of the real-life ‘horse whisperer’ who inspired Nicholas Evans’s novel.
Aged six, little Buckshot Brannaman was already a professional rope trick champion who featured on US breakfast cereal TV ads alongside his brother, Smokey.
Yet the secret to his amazing ability to tame the naughtiest of horses doesn’t lie in Buck’s lasso skills but his own troubled past. Growing up in fear of his violent father, Buck was taught love and respect by his foster parents.
Compassion is at the heart of his creed, which extends beyond animals to their owners. ‘A lot of the time, rather than helping people with horse problems, I’m helping horses with people problems,’ he muses.
A calm, gentle man with outrageously fringed leather chaps, Buck is as authentically, quietly affecting as this modest, award-winning documentary.
VIDEO:
Watch the trailer for Buck
