Archive for the ‘John Cleese’ Category

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News: Steve Buscemi

February 9, 2007

Everyone loves Steve Buscemi, one of the oddest-looking and quirkiest character actors in Hollywood, and he’s ideally cast as the voice of a rat in this week’s Charlotte’s Web. Hey, everyone’s got to pay the bills, right?

Next up it’s a return to directing for Buscemi – who’s put in some impressive, low-key efforts with his directorial efforts to date – for Interview. This time he actually could have hit on something that’s not only interesting for its own sake, as his indy-tinged outings have all been to date, but could also have the potential to make some money. Buscemi himself stars as a fading political journalist, forced to go and interview the hottest soap star of the moment – played by our very own rising starlet Sienna Miller (who looks all set to do a post-Tom Cruise Nicole Kidman and prove amply to the world that she’s not just the bit of stuff on the arm of a pretty-boy actor). It’s just played at Sundance, and is getting rave reviews so far.

Then its back to his usual small part in Adam Sandler’s latest, I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry (Buscemi’s been in six Sandler films to date, and has generally been the best thing in all of them), before getting to take the lead for a change in stoner comedy We’re The Millers, as an aging pot dealer who decides that all he needs for his last big score is a pretend wife and kids and a motor home. Finally, he’ll be once again lending his distinctive voice to a somewhat ugly character in the animation Igor – although oddly not the hunchback assistant to John Cleese’s mad professor of the title, as that part’s being taken on by the somewhat less vocally dextrous Christian Slater. But still, might be fun, and is due at some point in 2008.

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News: John Cleese

February 9, 2007

The former Python seems to be steering clear of the camera lense for the next couple of years, with this week’s Charlotte’s Web the first of three films in which only his distinctive voice, rather than his equally-recognisable face, will appear.

Next up he’ll reprise his role as the pompous King Harold in the much-anticipated Shrek the Third (due 29th June in the UK), alongside pretty much all the cast of the last two. Then he’ll be re-teaming with his Charlotte’s Web co-star Steve Buscemi to voice the potty professor Dr Glinkenstein in animated comedy Igor, due 2008.

Also coming up is a writing project, with Cleese co-scripting the prehistoric comedy Crood Awakening, all revolving around the discovery of fire. It was originally planned to be produced as a stop-motion effort by Wallace & Grommit’s Aardman Animations but, since Aardman and US animation studio Dreamworks parted company after the release of the collaborative effort Flushed Away, it looks rather like it might end up being CGI instead. Either way, it’s not expected until at least 2010, by which time Cleese will be happily in to his seventies.

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News: Jeremy Piven

January 12, 2007

Swiftly making a name for himself as far and away the best thing in the Hollywood-set sitcom Entourage, Piven is venturing into the world of movies with gusto in this week’s Smokin’ Aces, and has a fair few more big screen outings on the way.

He’ll next be seen in The Kingdom, a somewhat topical thriller revolving around a US investigation into a spate of bombings in the Middle East, alongside the likes of Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner and Chris Cooper, and lending his voice talents to the animated comedy Igor, alongside Christian Slater, Steve Buscemi and John Cleese.

The film most likely to get him into the big time, however, is as yet untitled – he will play an estate agent planning a lucrative development in an unspoiled forest who finds that the area’s animals have decided to conspire against him. As he’s proved time and again with Entourage, he can do unlikeable but entertaining with the best of them, so an estate agent could be the ideal role…