Sony Hack Reveals Steve Jobs Biopic Madness as Natalie Portman Turns Down a Role

Remember that stench of doom we sensed around Jane Got a Gun earlier this year as it went through a brutal gauntlet of production issues? Well, that's how the forever-developing, troubled Steve Jobs biopic is starting to look. Penned by Aaron Sorkin and to be directed by Danny Boyle, the film was set up at Sony before they got nervous and dropped it, only for Universal to come to the rescue. When a project of this scope gets dumped there's always a bigger story behind it, and thanks to Sony getting hacked we know just how chaotic things were behind the scenes.

We're not going to post hacked emails or anything like that; leave that to the folks over at Gawker who posted a blistering series of conversations between widely despised producer Scott Rudin and Sony chief Amy Pascal. In them we see the bull-headed twosome fighting over everything, but it's Rudin who looks like a total donkey for ripping into Angelina Jolie, calling her a "minimally talented spoiled brat" amongst other scathing insults. What the heck does Jolie have to do with anything? You may recall she and David Fincher, who was originally supposed to direct Jobs, were going to do a massively-budgeted Cleopatra epic. That project never came together and Fincher bounced, but she apparently was still holding out hope earlier this year, only to have Sony dangle the Steve Jobs film in his face. Of course, that didn't work out for Sony, either. Ironically, Rudin refers to Jolie's massive ego but these emails reveal he needs to check himself in a major way.

Meanwhile, the Jobs film is bumping along over at Universal but still has some problems to iron out. Michael Fassbender is set (for now) to star as the tech giant with Seth Rogen as Steve Wozniak. Recently Natalie Portman's (coincidentally of Jane Got a Gun!) name was mentioned for the female lead but now Variety says she's turned it down for unspecified reasons. Perhaps she sensed something was wrong, too? Sorkin could be bringing his The Newsroom star Jeff Daniels in to play Apple CEO John Sculley so maybe things aren't all bad. Then again, let's just wait and see if Fassbender makes the start date. If not, Universal could always turn to Tom Cruise, who was sought by Sony out of desperation.

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Review: The Farrelly Brothers' 'Dumb and Dumber To'

1994 was a hell of a year for Jim Carrey. In the span of 12 months the, then, relatively unknown actor released 3 $100 million dollar films with Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber. Time would prove Dumb and Dumber to be the most memorable and re-watchable film of the group. I’m struggling to think of a single scene that didn’t contain a quotable line. Fun fact, most of that was improvised by Carrey on set including my favorite, “We LANDED ON THE MOON!”. Twenty years and one horrible prequel later we have this weekend’s Dumb and Dumber To. This could have gone one of two ways, hilarious or dreadful, there was no middle ground. Thank the comedy Gods, Harry and Lloyd came back with a BANG! Twenty years after having his heart broken by Mary Samsonite (I’m still amazed by how well the throwback jokes worked) Lloyd is in a nursing home, having been there since the events of the last film. Harry (Jeff Daniels) has dutifully visited his buddy every day since. On the visit that starts the film we find out the Harry will no longer be visiting Lloyd as he has a medical condition that requires a kidney transplant, at which point Lloyd yells “GOTCHA!”…yup, he’s been faking a catatonic state for 20 years just to prank his buddy. The guys get right back to their old tricks and head out to find Harry a family member to donate a kidney. Their first stop is Harry’s parents where he finds out that his two Asian parents are not his biological parents and that he was adopted. Lucky for him they give him a 22 year old post card from Ms. French Tickler herself, Freida Felcher, saying that she’s pregnant. That’s where the road trip starts to find Harry’s illegitimate daughter.

I honestly gave this film 0 chance of being good. I just KNEW that I was going to be let down and have to tell all of you that our favorite idiots should have been left in the 90’s. Boy was I wrong. The movie is downright hilarious giving more laughs per minute than I’ve witnessed in at least a year. Obviously the laughs come from a lot of off-color and bathroom brand humor, so if that’s not your thing then you probably won’t have the same experience as I had, but if you liked the first this one will be right up your alley. Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels pick right up with Harry and Lloyd as if there hadn’t been a 20 year break in between, other than the aging you’d think this sequel was filmed before the guys had a chance to get out of character. Every bit of the chemistry we saw before is there and in full swing. I could stop right there since everything else is inconsequential, side characters, plot, direction, these things could be lacking as long as Harry and Lloyd are on point. While you could definitely make an argument about the plot lacking (honestly…if you’re arguing plot you’ve already decided this movie isn’t for you) the side characters were surprisingly fun. Kathleen “I can’t believe I used to have a thing for her” Turner brings Freida Felcher out of her mysterious shroud and right into your face. Rob Riggle, who plays the villain (or is that villains), does exactly what Rob Riggle was made to do, play a supporting role that brings laughs from unexpected places…though I think his role was a bit more understated than usual as far as comedic content goes. The real stand-out among the new players had to be the adorable Rachel Melvin who plays Penny, Harry’s daughter and the end point of the plot. Her role, a pretty girl who is just as comically dumb as the leads, could have easily been immediately annoying had another actress taken it on. Melvin delivers the idiotic Penny to us in a way that is side-splittingly cute, like a puppy running full speed into a screen door. As a small aside to what the movie did right the throwbacks to the first film are done in such a way that feels organic, the way you may re-tell old jokes when hanging out with friends from your youth, as opposed to being in your face “Hey! Remember this!” moments. Honestly, that one aspect was one of the biggest accomplishments of the movie, I would have put money on them reusing all the old stuff and it just not working.

While I don’t really have anything bad to say about the film, at least not anything that should dissuade you from seeing it, there were a few things that I can’t put in the positive column. The first is just more of a depressing note and that’s how old the guys look, really more Carey then Daniel’s. Is that a critical assessment of the movie? No, but it is one of those realization moments when you look at yourself and say, “Damn…times they have a changed”. The second, also not a critical assessment, is that the film just doesn’t feel as iconic as the first. I probably laughed just as much and just as hard, but there weren’t many, if any, lines or scenes in which I thought “Yup, kids will be quoting that for years”. While I know audiences will have a great time with it, I don’t think there will be any of the cultural (or is that lack of cultural) impact of the first.

In a world where we are constantly disappointed by our fond memories coming back to life in ways far removed from what we remember I’m glad to say that Dumb and Dumber To does not disappoint. If you were even a casual fan of the first film you owe it to yourself to spend a quick 90 minutes with Harry and Lloyd. The only regret you’ll have will be the cramps you get from laughing so hard. 

Comedy Score: 4 out of 5 Guttenbergs

Film Score: 3 out of 5 Guttenbergs

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New Trailer for 'The Newsroom' Season 3 Covers the Boston Marathon Bombing

"We need to get the trust of the audience back." That line, delivered by Sam Waterston in the third season of Aaron Sorkin's absorbing but flawed The Newsroom, could be directed at viewers of the HBO series. After two shaky years, the show is coming to a close and for the final blowout Sorkin will be examining the media's handling of the Boston Marathon bombing...in-between everybody in the newsroom screwing one another.

Jeff Daniels is back as crusading journalist Will McAvoy, and again he's juggling his love life with Mac (Emily Mortimer), office politics, and the eroding concept of journalistic integrity. Blame the Internet. It's a shaky mix Sorkin is trying to get just right every week, and while he doesn't always succeed the show is always exciting and perceptive.  Now if only they could get rid of anything involving Don and Sloan or Maggie and Jim. It's just terrible.

The Newsroom returns on Sunday night, November 9th.

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Jeff Daniels Boards 'The Martian'; Eric Bana gets'The Finest Hours'; Richard Madden Joins 'Bastille Day'

 Jeff Daniels, who has Dumb and Dumber Too and The Newsroom's third season coming up, has joined Ridley Scott's The Martian. The cast keeps getting better with Matt Damon in the lead and Kate Mara, Jessica Chastain, and Michael Pena in talks. Adapted from Andy Weir's book, The Martian follows the first astronaut to ever set foot on Mars as he tries to survive being abandoned by his crew after an accident. [THR]

Disney has added Eric Bana to the cast of The Finest Hours, the period thriller starring Casey Affleck and Chris Pine. Directed by Craig Gillespie, the film "chronicles the massive rescue mission that’s launched when a pair of oil tankers split in two off the coast of Cape Cod in 1952." In a role that sounds similar to what he did in Lone Survivor, Bana will play the respected Coast Guard warrant officer who sends his men out on the dangerous rescue mission. [Deadline]

Game of Thrones' Richard Madden will join fellow HBO alum Idris Elba in Bastille Day, the James Watkins-directed action flick which "follows a rogue U.S. CIA operative who is tasked with interrogating and eventually making a young American man, who’s also a con-artist, 'disappear' in order to avoid embarrassment to the U.S. government after the American is linked as the prime suspect to an attack on the Paris metro. After several more attacks, the operative realizes the young American is innocent and may be the only link to the person actually orchestrating the terrorist attacks."

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Harry and Lloyd Return in First Trailer for 'Dumb and Dumber To'

It has been a whopping twenty years since Dumb and Dumber hit theaters with its goofy brand of unabashed foolishness, introducing most of the world to the Farrelly Brothers in the process. The dim-witted Harry and Lloyd remain arguably the most memorable characters for both Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels, and the film is considered by some a modern comedy classic. But did it really warrant a sequel in Dumb and Dumber To? Even if their audience's sense of humor may have changed, the Farrellys are hoping to tap into a sense of nostalgia for everybody's favorite moronic duo.

The first trailer for Dumb and Dumber To has arrived, along with a new poster that brings back the ol' Shaggin' Wagon. Harry and Lloyd older but not necessarily wiser, and when they learn Harry may be the father to a child he never knew about it isn't long before they are on the road again and acting like idiots. There's a creakiness to the humor and few of the jokes really pack a punch, although the camouflaged snack machine bit was effective for coming out of nowhere. Unfortunately it's now been spoiled and probably won't be funny seen in context.

Dumb and Dumber To opens November 14th.


Dumb and Dumber 2 by Teaser-Trailer.com

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First Look at Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels As Harry and Lloyd for 'Dumb and Dumber To'

Jim Carrey has always been pretty excited about returning for the Dumb and Dumber sequel, Dumb and Dumber To, even when the studio didn't seem to be. And now Carrey is hoping some of his enthusiasm will rub off on the fans who have been waiting twenty years for a proper follow-up to the hit comedy by releasing the first image of himself and Jeff Daniels in full Harry and Lloyd mode.

The photo is of the dim-witted duo "reading" a copy of Jim Carrey's book, How Roland Rolls, so he gets in a nice plug both for the film and his first turn as an author. Good job. Carrey has slipped back into the Prince Valiant haircut quite well, but it's hard to see Daniels as anything other than Will McAvoy from The Newsroom.

Dumb and Dumber To is a road trip story that has Harry and Lloyd learning from an old flame (Kathleen Turner) that one of them is the father of her child, who happens to need a kidney transplant. Laurie Holden of The Walking Dead plays a villain, and Brady Bluhm is back as "Billy from apartment C".  Look for the film to arrive in 2014, written and directed by the Farrelly brothers.

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Sadly, 'Dumb And Dumber To' Is Back On

It was just over a week ago that it appeared the final curtain had dropped on a Dumb and Dumber sequel. Warner Bros., who had never been all that interested in it to begin with, finally turned their backs on it officially, and it looked like we had seen the last of king morons Harry and Lloyd. But there was a small sliver of hope, as the Farrelly Brothers began shopping it elsewhere, and it seems to have paid off.

Peter and Bobby Farrelly took to Twitter to announce that Dumb and Dumber To is back on with Universal Pictures and Red Granite coming on to finance and distribute. Despite Jim Carrey briefly leaving the project, he and Jeff Daniels are back for a story that sees them hitting the road to track down Harry's illegitimate daughter for a kidney transplant. Laughing yet?

Filming could begin as soon as this fall for a release in 2014.

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