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Public Enemies star Johnny Depp has revealed he used his own family as inspiration for his new film.

Depp, 46, plays the role of gangster John Dillinger in the film and said his own grandfather and stepfather were often on the wrong side of the law.

He said: “It has to do with my family and my upbringing. My grandfather, who I was close to as a kid, had run moonshine into dry countries and my stepfather had also been a bit of a rogue.

“He’d done burglaries and robberies and had spent some time in Statesville Prison in Illinois, where we actually ended up shooting some of the film.”

Depp also revealed he found a mugshot of his stepfather, Robert Palmer, who passed away in 2000, while going through records at the prison.

Source: Splash News

Transformers director Michael Bay has said actress Megan Fox says some “very ridiculous things”.

The 23-year-old actress, who starred in the Transformers films, is known for her no-holds-barred interviews and her outlandish comments. She recently said that Bay concentrates more on special effects than acting.

Bay said: “Well, that’s Megan Fox for you. She says some very ridiculous things because she’s 23 years old and she still has a lot of growing to do.”

He added: “You roll your eyes when you see statements like that and thing: ‘OK Megan, you can do whatever you want. I got it.’”

Talking about the comment she made, he said: “I 100 percent disagree with her. Nick Cage wasn’t a big actor when I cast him, nor was Ben Affleck before I put him in Armageddon.

“Shia LaBeouf wasn’t a big movie star before he did Transformers – and then he exploded. Not to mention Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, from Bad Boys.”

He added: “Nobody in the world knew about Megan Fox until I found her and put her in Transformers. I like to think that I’ve had some luck in building actors’ careers with my films.”

Source: Splash News

Transformers star Megan Fox thinks she was the “toughest man on set” of the new film.

Megan, 23, stars alongside Shia LaBeouf, also 23, in the sequel flick, directed by Michael Bay.

She said: “You have to be strong to survive a Michael Bay movie. I think I was the toughest man on set - way tougher than Shia was.”

Megan admitted her footwear was a lot more challenging than the men on set of the film.

She said: “I was running about in stilettos then motorcycle boots. I had major shin splits and threw out my back a couple of times.”

Megan said director Michael Bay liked the cast to be tanned for the flick and she said she turned a “maroon” colour.

She said: “Michael likes everyone freakishly tanned, so we were painted maroon, like in the old Westerns when they hired Caucasians to play Native Americans.”

She added: “I had on fake eyelashes, running through the desert with sand stuck in them, and I’m sweating off all the make-up. It looked like we were making a tragedy.”

Julia Roberts and a host of celebrities are using Twitter and text messaging to petition for the release of imprisoned Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, it was reported.

Roberts reportedly wrote: “We must not stand by as she is silenced again. Now is the time for the international community to speak with one voice.”

Launched at the end of May, the campaign is titled “64 words for Aung San Suu Kyi.”

Demi Moore, Kevin Spacey, Yoko Ono and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown were among the contributors to the website http://64forsuu.org in the campaign organised by human rights and activist groups.

Detained Chinese activists and political prisoners are also reported participating in the campaign in the lead-up to Suu Kyi’s 64th birthday, her 14th spent in detention. She is currently in Yangon’s Insein prison facing charges of violating her house arrest.

James Cameron, director of Titanic and The Terminator, wrote, “While my heroes are fictional, Aung San Suu Kyi is a real-life hero and she needs help from you.”

Supporters were asked to tweet, write text messages or send video and photos to the website.

Patrick Stewart said he "loved" the new Star Trek film despite not appearing in the film.

The 68-year-old acting veteran, who played Jean-Luc Picard in the TV series of Star Trek: The Next Generation, said he was a fan of actor Chris Pine, 28, who plays the role of Captain Kirk in the new film.

"He’s brilliant, charming, truthful, funny and utterly delightful," said the British-born star.

Talking about the film, he said: "I loved it, it was a very odd experience to be in the cinema watching a new Star Trek movie that I wasn’t in."

He added: "With the exception of Leonard Nimoy, I didn’t know any of the cast, but it’s still Star Trek. I got a great kick out of it."

Russell Crowe is reportedly demanding to be flown back and forth from the Robin Hood set in Wales, a costly move that is putting him at odds with director Ridley Scott, the Mirror reports.

The Oscar-winning star reportedly demands to be ferried by helicopter between Windsor and Wales on flights that cost thousands of pounds, being picked up in the early morning from the mansion in which he is staying.

The star is staying at the address just outside London after it was earlier reported he had been unable to find accommodation in Wales due to competition from summer tourists.

Crowe is reportedly in conflict with Scott over other issues. The movie’s producers were reported to have flown to London from Los Angeles to mediate, the New York Post reported.

“The producers had to fly in because Russell and Ridley won’t talk to each other,” a source involved with the production was reported saying. “Every time they stop filming, it costs the production millions of dollars.”

But Crowe’s publicist, Alan Nierob, denied there is any friction between star and director. “It’s a good scene down there.” he said. “Everything is on schedule.”

And Universal chairman Marc Shmuger said: “Ridley and Russell asked us to visit … to see more than an hour of footage they’ve already shot, which was nothing short of spectacular …”

Mariah Carey’s new film ‘Tennessee’, had a very limited release this past weekend as it opened in a laughable 15 theaters. Needless to say, the box office returns were pathetic as each screen only averaged about $667 in sales. If you do the math, if there were 5 shows a day for 3 days with tickets selling at $10 each, only 5 or 6 people showed up to each screening. Ouch! ‘Glitter’ did much better than that and we all know how big a bomb that really was. Actually, I’m surprised that some people even showed up. You would think they would have learned by now.

Actress Thandie Newton is going to step away from the camera so she can try her hand at writing screenplays.

The Crash star is following in the footsteps of her writer husband, Ol Parker, by putting pen to paper for her first big-screen project.

Newton insists she could be tempted to become a full-time writer because the work schedule suits her busy lifestyle as a mum to her two young daughters, Ripley and Nico.

The actress said of her first movie: “It’s a comedy feature film. It’s been really nice to do that: be at home, be around the kids. It’s just a really nice lifestyle, I’ve been doing other, smaller jobs to supplement it and so on.”

She added: “Now I see why Ol’s been doing it for so long - it’s absolutely great.”

Source: Splash News

Brokeback Mountain stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway are reuniting to star in a new movie.

The pair, who played a married couple in the Oscar-winning movie, are to star together in the new Ed Zwick-directed fllm Love and Other Drugs.

Gyllenhaal will take the male lead role of Jamie Reidy, a charmer and a talker who is never still.

He does not live up to his family’s expectations of him or to the successes of his siblings. Jamie jumps from job to job and eventually finds his niche in the pharmaceutical sales world.

It isn’t an easy start for him, until he is able to use his polished skills with women to sell the new drug, Viagra, released by his company Pfizer.

Meanwhile, Maggie Murdock, played by Hathaway, is a pretty young woman with art-girl hair, a pugnacious manner and warm eyes.

She consults Dr Knight regarding her Parkinson’s disease, while Jamie pretends to be his intern.

Filming is set to begin in September.

Terminator Salvation star Christian Bale has admitted he turned down the first role of a robot he was offered on the film.

Christian, 35, plays the part of John Connor in the flick but he wasn’t offered that role initially.

The Batman star was originally asked to play the part of a killer robot but he turned it down and said he wanted to play John Connor. He later agreed to join the film when the part of John Connor was written in to the script.

He said: “The script wasn’t good enough when I first read it.” He added: “It was just: ‘What the hell’s the point in making another Terminator movie?’

“At first, the idea of doing another one didn’t seem to be smart to me. But reviving the Batman movies didn’t seem smart either.

“I came to believe there were some potentially good stories here and I’d like to see the Terminator revived.”

Former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan is to play Robert Pattinson’s dad in a new movie called Remember Me.

The Irish actor and the Twilight heart-throb are due to begin filming the movie together in New York later this month.

Pattinson, 23, will give up his fangs to play a young man whose brother’s suicide ended his parents’ marriage.

Swedish actress Lena Olin is in talks to play Pattinson’s mum, who has split from Brosnan, 56.

Emilie de Ravin, a regular on the TV series Lost, will play a woman who lives life to the fullest after watching her mother getting killed before her eyes.

Twilight actor Peter Facinelli said co-star Kristen’s Stewart’s strange MTV award acceptance speech was just Kristen being herself.

Kristen, 23, appeared distracted during the speech and, at one point, dropped her MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance. But her co-star in the hit vampire film said: “I think that’s just Kristen.”

Peter added: “She has that kind of shaky leg syndrome because she always looks a little nervous.

“But to sweep the awards like that… If that doesn’t build confidence, I don’t know what does.”

Source: Splash News

Crash star Thandie Newton has revealed she “took back” her life when she became a mum.

Thandie, 36, is married to screenwriter Ol Parker, and they have two daughters Ripley, eight, and Nico, four.

She said: “Becoming a mum was the single most profound, self-adjusting moment in my life.”

She added: “I birthed myself.”

Talking about her pregnancy, she said: “It’s like I took back my life.”

She added: “I took back the essence of who I am.”

Thandie, who recently starred in the Guy Ritchie flick RocknRolla, admitted that she named her older daughter after Sigourney Weaver’s character in Alien.

Asked if the rumour was true, she said: “Oh, yeah. Wouldn’t you? She is, like, the woman: kicks a**, saves the world with a kid under one arm and a huge weapon in the other.”

Source: Splash News

Katie Holmes has said she is “looking forward” to moving to Australia for three months to shoot her new film.

The 30-year-old mum is moving her family Down Under while she shoots the thriller Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark.

Katie said: “I’m really looking forward to it.”

Katie’s husband Tom Cruise, 46, will also be joining her in Australia, along with their three-year-old daughter Suri.

The film is about a young girl who moves in with her father and his girlfriend, played by Katie, and discovers the house is home to some strange creatures.

Talking about the film, she said: “The movie is really character-driven. It’s really about her journey to becoming a mother. In the midst of that, there are unexpected scares.”

Source: Splash News

Christian Bale has claimed that his infamous rant on the set of Terminator Salvation was done in character.

In an interview with US GQ magazine, Bale, 35, claims that the angry tirade he launched on the film’s director of photography, Shane Hurlbut was part John Connor part Christian Bale.

“I’d definitely say that that guy who was yelling was at least half John Connor, and the rest was Christian Bale,” he said.

The Batman star also answered critics who have blasted him for his transatlantic accent, despite his British roots.

He revealed that the reason for the “transatlantic drawl” is because he can’t switch out of character so easily.

“I do that because I’m just not very good at switching between two voices. If I had the talent to turn it on and off on cue, I would. But I don’t, so I have to maintain. Otherwise I’m aware that I’m ‘doing an accent’ whenever I’m filming, instead of just speaking. Hey, listen, I don’t make any excuses. None of it is excusable.”

Source: Splash News

Mel Gibson has one less headache to deal with after settling a multimillion-dollar lawsuit over Passion of the Christ.

Gibson – who is rumoured to be expecting a child new girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva – avoided a potentially embarrassing trial and settled the lawsuit filed by Benedict Fitzgerald, a screenwriter for The Passion of the Christ.

Fitzgerald had claimed he was underpaid by Gibson for the 2004 hit that grossed more than $600 million worldwide.

He was seeking a minimum of $10 million in compensation.

Fitzgerald’s attorneys claimed Gibson racked up a fortune in personal expenses including education bills for his children and a chiropractor that lowered payments to Fitzgerald.

A judge recently ordered Gibson to answer questions about the film’s finances during a deposition but attorneys for the Oscar-winning director contended that Gibson did not know the intricacies of the film’s budget.

The parties have now agreed to a settlement ‘in principal’, according to a three-page document filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The filing asked a judge to cancel a trial scheduled for June 3 but terms of the deal remain confidential.

Source: Splash News

Keanu Reeves is set to play in a new adaptation of the classic novella The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde.

The story has been converted to the big screen several times, but details of this version is being kept top-secret.

Justin Haythe – the writer of the Oscar-nominated movie, Revolutionary Road – is behind the script about the doctor who scientifically develops an evil self.

The film will simply be called Jekyll.

Reeves, 44, is no stranger to classic tales. In 1992, he appeared in Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

And, in 1993, he joined an all-star cast that included Denzel Washington, Emma Thompson and Kate Beckinsale, in an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.

Source: Splash News

Hollywood superstar Michelle Pfeiffer admitted she needed help to go to the toilet while she was filming Chéri.

Asked if the corsets and restrictive dresses she wore in the 1920s film caused problems, she said: “It was a little bit sometimes. It was a little bit of a challenge. Depending on what’s going on.”

She added: “Corsets make you really, really thankful that you are not living in the 19th century because everything is constraining and the hats weigh a ton. All you really did was change your clothes all day long, which you couldn’t do by yourself so you needed many people to help you.”

And 51-year-old Pfeiffer admitted she enjoyed kissing 27-year-old Rupert Friend in the film. She said: “It was fine. Yes, it was nice.”

But she said it is her husband David Kelley who makes her go weak at the knees. “My husband, even now,” she told Alison Hammond on ITV’s This Morning.

Angels & Demons star Tom Hanks has talked about Julia Roberts’ foul-mouthed tribute to him at a recent event in his honour.

Tom, 52, received an evening in his honour at the Lincoln Center in New York when his co-star Julia Roberts got up to pay tribute to him.

Julia went on to say the F-word several times during the speech and talked about his worst films as well as how much everybody loves him.

Tom said: “She laid into me and then everybody else started doing the same thing.”

He added to E! News: “She is so much of a template, that lady! Julia, Julia is. Everybody loves her and she decided to get right to the point and cut loose and turn the evening into what it was really meant to be.”

Source: Splash News

Heath Ledger’s last film will be shown at the Cannes Film Festival.

The star was filming Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus when he died in January last year.

The film’s release was postponed and actors Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law signed up to take over his role, becoming multiple incarcerations of his character.

The three actors donated their fees to Ledger’s daughter with actress Michelle Williams.

The film will be screened at the festival next month, according to Female First.

Taylor Lautner is so effective in portraying his role as a werewolf in the movie “New Moon” that he has become somewhat scary. Taylor Lautner has bulked himself up by working hard in the gym and the muscles seem to be working since he is even getting his costars scared of him. Peter Facinelli, who also plays a vampire role in the Twilight sequel as Dr. Cullen, said he has developed a newfound fear of Taylor Lautner,

Peter Facinelli jokingly said Taylor Lautner has gotten really big that he is starting to get scared. Peter Facinelli said he would probably run if he sees Taylor Lautner in the back alley. He said the new werewolves are also causing him to panic. What’s keeping Peter Facinelli safe are the groups of fans—and growing—-who camp out all night long in the woods hoping to catch a glimpse of the “New Moon” stars. And they brought sleeping bags too, Peter Facinelli said.

If there’s one Hollywood actress that’s feeling down lately it would be Jessica Biel after learning that after working out so hard for her stripper role in the movie “Blue Powder” it would not be seen on theaters but will go straight to DVD. In most cases, a movie that does not see the theater is classified as a bad movie that is not worth even the $8 movie ticket. Blue Powder, which also stars Forest Whitaker, Lisa Kudrow, Patrick Swayze and Ray Liotta will be released on DVD on May 26.

This is definitely a letdown for Jessica Biel considering she has not been seen in the theaters since the 2007 film “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry” and she was not even a lead character there. There is hope for Jessica Biel though since she has another upcoming movie “Nailed” which hopefully will push through and be seen in theaters next month. The role is however not that much but she gets to star with Jake Gyllenhaal if that means anything.

Actress Audrey Tautou is making a splash not due to any of Dan Brown’s books this time but because of her new film “Coco Avant Chanel” where she plays the role of the late fashion icon. The poster apparently stirred the world not because Audrey Tautou was lacking any apparel but because of an additional prop–a lighted cigarette. The poster captured Audrey Tautou playing her character to the fullest with a cigarette at hand while relaxing in best with black and white pajamas.

The poster showing Audrey Tautou is just realistic considering that Chanel is known for her notorious habit and almost all of her photographs show her with a cigarette in her hand. However, the laws of France do not allow the depiction of smoking in advertisements. Because of this France’s transport authority has removed all the posters from French buses and trains saying they are unhealthy and inappropriate. A Metrobus spokesman said smoking is prohibited in the entire French transport system so why should they give cigarettes free advertising through the posters of “Coco Avant Chanel”? While the poster has been replaced by a picture of Audrey Tautou and her co-star embracing the poster got a surprising support from Claude Evin who made the law possible in 1991 who said the ban should not include cultural heritage.

An anti-domestic violence advert featuring Keira Knightley has been banned by a censoring company after it was deemed too violent for British television.

The advert, called The Cut, was made by charity Women’s Aid and features Knightley being repeatedly kicked after returning home from a shoot and being accused of having an affair by her boyfriend.

But Clearcast, which censors adverts for Ofcom, has reportedly said certain scenes of the actress being thrown to the ground will have to be cut to be aired on television.

Lucy Brown, from charity Women’s Aid who made the film, said: “We were very careful to reflect what we had heard from anecdotal evidence. We have put this forward to Clearcast, with statistics from the Home Office, and other material.”

Chris Hirst, managing director of Grey London Advertising Agency said: “The reason we are still in conversation with Clearcast about it is because they believe it is too violent.”

He added, according to British newspaper the Daily Telegraph: “Part of the point of the campaign is to raise awareness about domestic violence and spark debate, which the advert has done, even if it doesn’t make it on to TV.”

Source: Splash News

Cameron Diaz is set to star as an ambulance-chasing lawyer in an upcoming comedy.

The Shrek star will play the lead role in Bobbie Sue, about a hard-nosed injury lawyer who is recruited by a top New York attorney firm to fight a sexual discrimination suit brought against one of its clients.

The film will be a return to her comedy roots for Diaz, who will next be seen on the big screen in the drama My Sister’s Keeper with Abigail Breslin.

Based on the book by Jodi Picoult, the story follows young girl Anna, played by Breslin, who was genetically engineered to be born as an organ donor and bone marrow match for her sister battling leukemia.

When she grows up she sues her mother, played by Diaz, to be emancipated.

There could be a bigger statement for woman seeking to remain skinny and present themselves as being beauty queens. Actress Angelina Jolie considered to be amongst the most beautiful actresses of today needed medical attention after she collapsed on the sets of her latest movie Salt.

The movie a thriller and the shooting was taking place in America where she plays a Russian sleeper spy Evelyn Salt and it is believed that the action sequence that she undertook during shooting proved too much to take upon and subsequently collapsed.

According to Britain’s Now Magazine a source who was present on the sets of the movie has said: “It all got too much for Angelina. She collapsed between takes, complaining of shortness of breath and dizzy spells. To be fair, it was after she’d filmed a strenuous scene in which she ran around the set, but it was still shocking to see her crumble.”

I think the six children that she has been handling a+nd the countless red carpet attendance and promotions are all taking a heavy toll on her. She is waaaaaay too skinny for her age. Most likely she fainted because she was hungry. She needs to keep a sandwich in her purse.

It seems that after the first “Sex and the City” movie, a sequel is on the way and due somewhere in May 2010. Sarah Jessica Parker, who plays one of the show’s main characters, said: “In a million years I’m not going to give you an indication. I want someone to show up that first weekend!” However, Sarah Jessica Parker did add the following: “I would love to see Miranda and Carrie and Charlotte and Samantha all go off on some wild madcap adventure somewhere.” This is strange… she most likely knows more about the plot and says that she’s never going to let on any of it… but still has her own wishes about how the story should evolve. Who does Sarah Jessica Parker think she’s fooling here, anyway?

Actor Nicolas Cage has made his character in his latest movie a single father because he wants to show that single fathers too can take too care of their kids. In the movie Knowing Nicolas plays a widower who has a young son.

In real life Nicolas Cage is the father of eighteen year-old Weston and the star wants to do his bit in to bury the myth wherein it is believed that men cannot do a good job at handling their kids.

Cage explains, “I have seen a lot of movies with single mothers and their children. They’re good, but there are not so many with capable single fathers. There seems to be this archetype that if you’re a man and single, you’re incapable of raising a child, which I think, needs to be broken. If you find yourself in that position - like I have - it’s important not to give up because of what people tell you.”

Who says men cannot take good care of their kids but ask anyone and they would say that a child needs his/her mother more than a father during the growing stages of life. But can’t understand why he wants to press the point so excessively.

The Witch Monster proved to be very entertaining and Dwayne Johnson has likewise proven he can carry a movie. Some people did not like Dwayne Johnson’s entertaining performance in “The Game Plan” but they will definitely have second thoughts in “The Witch Mountain” where he essays the role of a race-loving ex-convict who happens to meet two alien kids who enlist his protection from earth people who are preventing them from getting their spaceship and go back to their planet to fulfill a special mission.

The Witch Mountain is a re imagining of the With Moutnain movie which became popular in the 1970s. Trust Disney to come up with a new family classis which the entire family can enjoy. At least, the whole family now have more options aside form watching Disney’s Hannah Montana. The Witch Mountain is a fast-paced story that there’s no time to be borred, just the right pace to get kids’ attention. The film was directed by The Game Plan director Andy Fickman.

Red Sonja is taking a long time but finally and hopefully it will be shown in theaters this year. No one is as excited to see Red Sonja in the big screen as the star of the movie herself—Rose McGowan. The “Grindhouse” and “Charmed” star will soon be seen sporting scarlet hair as the swordstress Red Sonja. Rose McGowan has never been one to shy away from physical roles despite a recent trip to the operating room for a quick surgery on her elbow and wrist.

The Red Sonja character was first portrayed by Brigitte Nielsen in 1985. Red Sonja is a sword and sorcery action film which costarred Arnold Schwarzenneger before as a follow up to his Conan the Barbarian success. Rose McGowan does her own stunts but she brushes off the typical work hazards. She said she does 98% of her stunts and this often results in injuries.