10 Facts you didnt know about Tom Cruise

1. At age 14, he enrolled in a seminary to become a priest. He dropped out after one year.
2. Is right handed when writing, but does most things left handed.
3. Cruise earned roughly $75 million for Mission: Impossible II (2000). He did this by turning down any upfront salary, for instead taking a back-end deal that landed him 30% of the film’s gross for both his producing and acting duties.
4. Suffers from dyslexia.
5. Will not allow his likeness to be used in video games or for action figures.
6. When attending a Franciscan seminary in Cincinatti, he aspired to become a priest.
7. Was introduced to Scientology by his ex-wife Mimi Rogers.
8. Is reportedly a huge fan of The Simpsons. However, he has twice turned down guest roles; once for the part of “Tom,” which was written specifically for him, in the episode “Brother From The Same Planet” (eventually voiced by regular Phil Hartman) and the other alongside his then-wife Nicole Kidman in the episode “When You Dish Upon A Star” (eventually voiced by then-couple Alec Baldwin and Kim Bassinger).
9. Is talked about in the song “Though the Wire” by Kanye West.
10. Is a vegetarian.

Terminator Returns In Theaters May 2009

Warner Bros. will open McG’s Christian Bale starrer “Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins” on May 22, 2009, the start of Memorial Day weekend.

That puts two tentpoles on the same date, even though the release calendar for summer 2009 is still relatively open.

Twentieth Century Fox had already staked out May 22 for the bow of the Ben Stiller sequel “Night at the Museum II: Escape From the Smithsonian.” The first film grossed $250.9 million domestically.

Warner will distribute the movie in North America through a deal with Halcyon Co., which owns all franchise rights to the “Terminator” series.

The last film in the franchise, “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,” bowed in 2003 and grossed $150.4 million domestically.

“T4″ begins lensing in New Mexico for two months on May 5. The state has become a favorite locale for producers because of its production tax incentives.

Although the storyline is being kept under tight wraps, the plot is part of a planned three-picture arc that begins after Skynet has destroyed much of humanity in a nuclear holocaust. A group of survivors led by John Connor (Christian Bale, pictured) struggles to stop the machines. Sam Worthington (”Avatar”) is in talks to star as well.

2008 Academy Awards Winners

Best Picture

No Country for Old Men
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
There Will Be Blood

Best Director

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for No Country for Old Men
Julian Schnabel for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Jason Reitman for Juno
Tony Gilroy for Michael Clayton
Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood

Best Actor

Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood
George Clooney in Michael Clayton
Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd
Tommy Lee Jones in In the Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises

Best Supporting Actor

Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men
Casey Affleck in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Hal Holbrook in Into the Wild
Philip Seymour Hoffman in Charlie Wilson’s War
Tom Wilkinson in Michael Clayton

Best Actress

Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose
Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie in Away From Her
Laura Linney in The Savages
Ellen Page in Juno

Best Supporting Actress

Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton
Cate Blanchett in I’m Not There
Ruby Dee in American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan in Atonement
Amy Ryan in Gone, Baby, Gone

Best Original Screenplay

Diablo Cody for Juno
Nancy Oliver for Lars and the Real Girl
Tony Gilroy for Michael Clayton
Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird for Ratatouille
Tamara Jenkins for The Savages

Best Adapted Screenplay

Joel Coen & Ethan Coen for No Country for Old Men
Christopher Hampton for Atonement
Sarah Polley for Away From Her
Ronald Harwood for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood

Best Animated Feature

Ratatouille
Persepolis
Surf’s Up


Best Documentary Feature

Taxi to the Dark Side
No End in Sight
Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience
Sicko
War/Dance

Best Art Direction

Dante Ferretii and Francesa Lo Schiavo for Sweeney Todd
Arthur Max (Art Direction); Beth A. Rubino (Set Decoration) for American Gangster
Sarah Greenwood (Art Direction); Katie Spencer (Set Decoration) for Atonement
Dennis Gassner (Art Direction); Anna Pinnock (Set Decoration) for The Golden Compass
Jack Fisk (Art Direction); Jim Erickson (Set Decoration) for There Will Be Blood

Best Cinematography

Robert Elswit for There Will Be Blood
Roger Deakins for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Seamus McGarvey for Atonement
Roger Deakins for No Country for Old Men
Janusz Kaminski for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Best Costume Design

Alexandra Byrne for Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Albert Wolsky for Across The Universe
Jacqueline Durran for Atonement
Marit Allen for La Vie En Rose
Colleen Atwood for Sweeney Todd

Best Film Editing

Christopher Rouse for The Bourne Ultimatum
Juliette Welfling for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Jay Cassidy for Into the Wild
Roderick Jaynes for No Country for Old Men
Dylan Tichenor for There Will Be Blood

Best Foreign Language Film

The Counterfeiters
Beaufort
Katyn
Mongol
12

Best Makeup Oscar Nominees 2008

Didier Lavergne, Jan Archibald for La Vie en Rose
Rick Baker, Kazuhiro Tsuji for Norbit
Ve Neill and Martin Samuel Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

Best Original Song

Once for “Falling Slowly” Music and Lyrics by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
Enchanted for “So Close” Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
Enchanted for “That’s How You Know” Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
Enchanted for “Happy Working Song” Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
August Rush for “Raise It Up” by Jamal Joseph, Charles Mack and Tevin Thomas

Best Original Score

Dario Marianelli for Atonement
Alberto Iglesias for The Kite Runner
James Newton Howard for Michael Clayton
Michael Giacchino for Ratatouille
Marco Beltrami for 3:10 To Yuma

Best Sound Mixing

Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis for The Bourne Ultimatum
Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland for No Country for Old Men
Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane Ratatouille
Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe for 3:10 To Yuma
Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin for Transformers

Best Sound Editing

Karen Baker Landers, Per Hallberg for The Bourne Ultimatum
Skip Lievsay for No Country for Old Men
Randy Thom, Michael Silvers for Ratatouille
Matthew Wood for There Will Be Blood
Ethan Van der Ryn, Mike Hopkins for Transformers

Best Visual Effects

Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood for The Golden Compass
John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier for Transformers

2008 Honorary Academy Award

Robert F. Boyle (For career in Art Direction)

Best Animated Short Film

Peter & the Wolf
I Met the Walrus
Madame Tutli-Putli
Même les Pigeons vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go To Heaven)
My Love (Moya Lyubov)

Best Live Action Short

Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)
At Night
Il Supplente (The Substitute)
Tanghi Argentini
The Tonto Woman

Best Documentary Short

Freeheld
La Corona (The Crown)
Salim Baba
Sari’s Mother

Good Quotes from Host host Jon Stewert:

“No Country For Old Men, Sweeney Todd, There Will Be Blood. All I can say is: thank God for teen pregnancy.”

“Even Norbit got a nomination, which is great. Too often, the Academy ignores movies that aren’t good.”

“Diablo Cody wrote Juno, such a great movie. Cody used to be an exotic dancer and now she’s an Oscar-nominated writer. I hope you’re enjoying the pay cut.”

“Film Editing, alright. Someone just took the lead in their office pool based on a guess!”

Trailer - Controversial Intelligent Design Movie, 'Expelled'

Even if you dismiss Intelligent Design as a slick new spin on science-free Creationism, there's no disputing the theory has become very popular over the past few years. As the debate between Evolution and ID heats up, there's a new movie, 'Expelled,' which explores why Intelligent Design isn't being taught side-by-side with Evolution.

read more | digg story

Who Will Direct New "Harry Potter"?

Is the “Harry Potter” film franchise done passing the wand? After the first two films, Chris Columbus stepped aside as Alfonso Cuarón, Mike Newell and then David Yates expanded the Potter-verse. But could it be that Yates, who shot “Order of the Phoenix” and is in the middle of “Half-Blood Prince,” will be the last one to leave his mark?

Children’s writer Lois Lowry thinks so, as she wrote on her blog Tuesday, telling her fans that Yates had pulled out of shooting an adaptation of her book “The Giver” so that he can do “Deathly Hallows” instead. “He has just decided he wants to do the final ‘Harry Potter’ first,” she wrote, “thereby postponing ‘The Giver’ for several years.”

Now, just last week, producer David Heyman told the Daily Telegraph that a few directors were still under consideration, and the studio hasn’t announced whether Yates or someone else will helm “Hallows” — as rumors circulate that everyone from Steven Spielberg to Guillermo del Toro is in the running. When asked by MTV News, a rep for Warner Bros. said that there’s “nothing official yet” but an announcement is expected “within the next week or two.”

Until then, we’re left to speculate — is Yates the last director to take on Voldemort? What could have “Hallows” looked like if someone else came aboard? Will having the same director for the last three book adapations provide continuity? And will “Hallows” actually be one or two films, as has also been rumored?

Producers Heyman and David Barron did little to dispell the possibility that “Hallows” would be split in two when talking to the Daily Telegraph. Their worry was that if they did, “people could possibly perceive it as being one last chance of cashing in,” Barron said. ” But the real positive, if we were to do that, would be that we wouldn’t have quite the battle we always have of ‘How do you compress all that book into just over hours of screen time?’ It would be brilliant not to have to cut anything. But at the same time, we have to think it through properly. We’d have to be very certain that there were two proper, stand-alone films that could be generated from the source material.”

Either way, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” isn’t slated to start filming until February 2009. Until then, might we make a few suggestions as far as directors and casting are concerned?

Source

New Trailers: Redbelt, Love Songs, The Visitor

Redbelt.

Set in the west-side of Los Angeles fight world, a world inhabited by bouncers, cage-fighters, cops and special forces types, Redbelt, is the story of Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a Jiu-Jitsu teacher who has avoided the prize fighting circuit, choosing instead to pursue an honorable life by operating a self-defense studio with a samurai’s code.

Seems like we are dealing with a good odlschool action.
Trailer

Love Songs

In the hope of sparking their stalled relationship, Ismael (Louis Garrel of DANS PARIS, THE DREAMERS) and Julie (Ludivine Sagnier of SWIMMING POOL) enter a playful yet emotionally laced threesome with Alice (Clotilde Hesme of REGULAR LOVERS). When tragedy strikes, these young Parisians are forced to deal with the fragility of life and love.

Trailer

The Visitor

In a world of six billion people, it only takes one to change your life. In actor and filmmaker Tom McCarthy’s follow-up to his award winning directorial debut The Station Agent, Richard Jenkins (Six Feet Under) stars as Walter Vale, a disillusioned Connecticut economics professor whose life is transformed by a chance encounter in New York City. Through new found connections with virtual strangers, Walter is awakened to a new world and a new life.

Trailer

New Madonna's Movie Will Release Straight to the Internet

Madonna is to release her directorial debut Filth and Wisdom straight onto the Internet--because she doesn't want to rely on her pop superstardom to make her filmmaking career a success.

The "Material Girl" hitmaker believes her low-budget movie, about a Ukranian immigrant in London, will be a bigger hit as an Internet download, and has already started negotiations with iTunes service providers to bring her plans to fruition.

She says, "I'm a beginner so I think I should start off in an understated way. Just because I'm established in one field doesn't mean that's how I should approach anything else I do.

"I've been speaking to iTunes about releasing it through them. I want the most amount of people to see the film as possible. I don't do anything conventionally."

The news comes just days after Filth and Wisdom premiered at the Berlin Film Festival last Wednesday to mixed reviews.

hollywood.com