'Monsters Vs. Aliens' Scares Box-Office Competition

The Box-Office Top Five

#1 "Monsters Vs. Aliens" ($58.2 million)
#2 "The Haunting in Connecticut" ($23 million)
#3 "Knowing" ($14.7 million)
#4 "I Love You, Man" ($12.6 million)
#5 "Duplicity" ($7.56 million)

It was "Monsters vs. Aliens" versus a sluggish March box office — and the "Monsters" came out victorious. DreamWorks' 3-D crowd-pleaser won over moviegoers and took the #1 spot with an impressive $58.2 million. That's more than "Watchmen" took on its debut a mere four weeks ago, earning "Monsters" a spot as one of the highest-grossing March debuts. It's also the biggest 3-D opener yet, with the film bringing in 56 percent of its take just through 3-D screenings.

"The Haunting in Connecticut" also had a strong debut, landing at #2 with $23 million. But "12 Rounds" opened at a flat #7, with only $5.3 million.

The rest of the top spots all belonged to the sophomores. Nicolas Cage's "Knowing" dropped two spots to #3, but still did solid business at $14.7 million, bringing its total to $46.2 million.

"I Love You, Man" still managed to wrestle some love from those cuddly monsters. Though it dropped all the way to #4, it brought in another $12.6 million and has earned $37 million so far.

"Duplicity" also hung in there at #5, though the power of Julia Roberts and Clive Owen is beginning to weaken — it only brought in $7.56 million.

This weekend was the last that anyone was watching the "Watchmen." It fell off the top five this week, plunging all the way to #8 with only $2.75 million. It has now managed to clear $103 million but is one of the slowest $50 million openers to do so. It moved at a snail's pace compared to the other members of 2009's $100 million club, a list of unlikely smash hits that includes "Taken," "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" and "Gran Torino."

Overall, the box-office total was a pleasing $143 million, up 34 percent from last year. After several slow weekends, Hollywood is undoubtedly breathing a sigh of relief that their market is continuing to thrive. Too bad big friendly monsters can't solve every economic slump!

Upcoming Releases

Only two films get wide release next Friday: Universal's sequel "Fast & Furious" and Miramax's "Adventureland."

Check out everything we've got on "Monsters vs. Aliens."

For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com.

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Jamie Campbell-Bower Cast In 'Twilight' Sequel 'New Moon'

It looks like Dakota Fanning has some company in the Volturi clan for "New Moon." British actor Jamie Campbell-Bower, who has appeared in "RockNRolla" and "Sweeney Todd," will play Caius in the "Twilight" sequel.

The 20-year-old confirmed his casting to BBC News, saying being involved in the movie is "very exciting."

"You're the first people I've told," he said about the role of Caius, part of an Italian coven of vampires. "Shooting has already started, and I'm going over in June." Campbell-Bower admits that he has some work to do now that he's been cast in the film. "I hadn't read the books before," he said. "But it's a great thing to be a part of, and it did very well last year."

Although he was quick to divulge his own casting in the movie, he said he couldn't talk about anyone else who might be joining the cast. "I do know who else will be in it — but I can't tell you, unfortunately. But go online and have a look at the rumors," he said, adding, "They're all false. You're putting me in a terrible situation."

Campbell-Bower is also going to be working alongside heartthrob Robert Pattinson but doubts he'll be adding that title to his rйsumй anytime soon. "I doubt I'll get the same sort of adulation as Robert — but it's always nice when people recognize you for your work."

Check out everything we've got on "The Twilight Saga's New Moon."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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'The Haunting In Connecticut': Housing Crisis, By Kurt Loder

Just because the "true story" on which a horror film is based doesn't pass the nonsense test is no reason, in itself, to dismiss the movie. (Consider "The Exorcist.") "The Haunting in Connecticut," however, offers reasons of its own. What we have here is a simple haunted-house flick, pure and silly. Demons lurk and loom, characters make straight for the cellar stairs leading down into darkness, and every time a reflective surface comes into view, you know with a sigh of certainty that some spectral presence will soon be glimpsed in it: Boo!

What the picture does have going for it is a better cast than you'd expect, and some effective shocks and scenes of shivery dread. The story has been trimmed of the more preposterous elements of the "real" haunting, which took place, if that could actually be said, in a Hartford suburb in the mid-1980s. Now we have out-of-towners Pete and Sara Campbell (Martin Donovan and Virginia Madsen, horror vets both) moving into a spooky old house in order to be close to the hospital where their son Matt (Kyle Gallner) is undergoing cancer therapy. Also on hand, for reasons entirely clear to the writers, perhaps, are Sara's niece, Wendy (Amanda Crew), and Wendy's two cute little kids (Sophi Knight and Ty Wood).

Upon arriving at the house, Matt immediately calls dibs on the basement for his bedroom. We know this to be a knuckleheaded decision even before it's revealed that the house was once a funeral home (thus the embalming slabs and corpse cutlery still cluttering the basement); and if that weren't unsettling enough, we learn that the proprietor also conducted sйances down there, with his son acting as a spirit medium and channeling thick gouts of otherworldly ectoplasm out of his mouth (an activity seen in creepy flashbacks — it looks like slo-mo barfing). There are also a lot of vintage dead-people photographs lying around (very "Wisconsin Death Trip"), a nicely grisly interlude of eyelid-severing (very Buсuel) and some blather about a nearby cemetery that's missing a lot of cadavers (very whatever). Also wheeled in, inevitably, is a priest (Elias Koteas, Madsen's costar in "The Prophecy," a much higher-spirited horror film) to explain all this stuff for us.

Any movie set largely in gloomy rooms and corridors is going to be low on illumination; but the murk here becomes oppressive — we long for visual contrast. The lights do go up for some scenes set in the cancer hospital, but this plot strand is talky and it slows the story down — very quickly we want to get back to the maggots, the worms and the charbroiled room wraiths. First-time feature director Peter Cornwell has a flair for claustrophobic horror (the sйance scenes have an eerie chill); but he also has an unfortunate penchant for that mustiest of fright-flick cheats, the hair-raising jolt that turns out to be "just a dream." At some point, a jaded genre fan is likely to think, "Wake me when it's over."

Don't miss Kurt Loder's reviews of "American Swing" and "The Great Buck Howard," also new in theaters this week.

Check out everything we've got on "The Haunting in Connecticut." For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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'Twilight' Comes To Life? Vampire Rumors Hit Boston School

In Stephenie Meyer's imagination, Forks High School is a bustling place where students go to classes and proms, oblivious to the fact that handsome-but-deadly bloodsuckers walk amongst them. But could Edward and the other Cullens really be hanging out these days at one of America's oldest high schools? Or are the students similarly letting their imaginations run wild?

On Wednesday, police were called to Boston Latin School, a nearly 400-year-old public school whose prestigious alumni include Ben Franklin, Sam Adams, John Hancock and Sumner Redstone. The reason? Rumors were running wild that the school had been infiltrated by vampires.

"I seek your cooperation in redirecting your energy toward the learning objectives of the day. Please do not sensationalize or discuss these rumors," pleaded the school's headmaster, Lynne Mooney Teta, in a notice sent to faculty, students and parents on Thursday (March 26) addressing "rumors involving 'vampires.' "

According to The Boston Globe, gossip recently began spreading throughout the high school that vampires were at Boston Latin. The headmaster issued the notice after becoming concerned that some students' safety might be jeopardized, particularly if they were accused of being members of the undead.

"I'm not sure whether [the supposed vampires] were among the student body or whether they were inhabiting the old corners and crevices of the building," Officer Eddy Chrispin, a Boston Police spokesman, said after police went to the school Wednesday. "We did go over there and speak to some of the students and quelled the rumors that were going and kind of told them the effect those rumors could have on the rest of the student population."

Whether the supposed vampires are as good-looking as Edward, Rosalie and the other Cullens remains to be seen, but this much is certain: With "Twilight" selling more than 3 million DVDs in one day and midnight DVD-release parties occurring all over the country, there are a lot of bleary-eyed Twilighters out there who might have watched a few too many deleted scenes.

Then again, in Meyer's books, the Cullens had to move to new high schools frequently, perpetually reinventing themselves as students since their looks were frozen in time. And since it is a gloomy, overcast time of the year in Boston right now ... nah.

Check out everything we've got on "Twilight" and "The Twilight Saga's New Moon."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Lindsay Lohan's Next Movie Going Straight To Cable

Lindsay Lohan is finally getting a movie released. The catch? The film is going straight to basic cable. "Labor Pains," which Lohan shot last summer, will make its debut on ABC Family in July, according to AccessHollywood.com.

And if you should miss its big TV debut, the film will subsequently be released on DVD in August. The film will apparently get a theatrical release, but only internationally, the source further tells AccessHollywood.com. There is no release date yet.

In the film, Lohan plays a woman who fakes a pregnancy to save herself from getting fired. In order to keep the ruse going, she must fake it for an entire nine months.

It is also being reported that Lohan recently got herself a gig in a yet-untitled romantic comedy alongside Nick Cannon. The film is about a New York fashionista who gets set up on a date with a blind man.

Lohan recently shared her career woes in several interviews. "It's scary when you realize, 'Oh my God, I'm not working,'" she told Nylon magazine. "And I have a house to pay for now. ... And yes, the Web sites, the gossip pages, and all of that stuff have hurt my career — they're like the burn books of Hollywood."

Also in that interview, Lohan said that she had been trying to get on the phone with Seth Rogen for a possible collaboration, a claim that Rogen later denied. "I read that too," he told MTV News while promoting his new animated movie "Monsters vs. Aliens." "No one that works for me or with me in any capacity has received any word from anyone that works for Lindsay Lohan. So I don't know what happened there."

Check out everything we've got on "Labor Pains."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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'American Swing': The King Of Sex, By Kurt Loder

By the mid-1970s, the hippie "free love" notions of the '60s had seeped out into the suburbs. Suddenly there were "swingers": men in the most alarming period finery — disco chains, gull-wing collars, crotch-strangling bell-bottom trousers — and the women who loved them (who loved many of them, in fact, sometimes all at once). These people would gather on weekends to form flesh piles at one another's homes. They had their own rites and recognition signals, their own publications. Finally, one of these plebian hedonists, a burly New York meat wholesaler named Larry Levenson, decided the time had come to take swinging public. Well, heterosexual swinging, that is — the gay bathhouse scene was already in full rut. So in 1977 Levenson rented a hotel basement on the Upper West Side of Manhattan that had once housed a famous gay pleasure dome called the Continental Baths (where Bette Midler launched her career, backed by Barry Manilow in a bath towel), and turned it into Plato's Retreat, America's first straight public sex club. For better and then, later, for worse, things would never be the same again.

"American Swing," a lively new documentary by filmmaker Mathew Kaufman and journalist Jon Hart, captures the Plato's period in all its raw glory. Over the course of three and a half years, the directors managed to assemble an archive of pungent footage shot inside the club. We see the fabled orgy room (wall-to-wall mattresses), the proletarian buffet ("disgusting," one regular recalls) and the appalling pool, a chlorine soup thickened with the byproducts of aquatic coupling. ("It was like chemical warfare," says porn-tabloid publisher Al Goldstein, another habituй.) There's a lot of skin on view, of course, and some actual sex, too (the picture isn't rated). But the editing, by Keith Reamer (his real name, I'd like to think), is remarkably artful — we see enough to realize what's going on, but not enough to shift us into ogling mode. The picture doesn't feel like a porn film — not one the porn moguls of today would want to distribute, anyway.

Levenson seems sincerely to have believed that swinging was a grassroots "movement" that promoted "social and sexual intercourse," as he says here in an old TV interview. Unlike the fabulously exclusive Studio 54, Plato's had no velvet-rope ritual at the door. No one was turned away for being too fat, too plain or (Lord knows) too hairy. Couples (and single women) of all kinds were welcome, and from the exurbs of Long Island and New Jersey and even farther out of town, they flocked. Celebrities of the day put in appearances, too, and visiting stars like Richard Dreyfuss and Sammy Davis Jr., are duly name-checked by a talkative array of Plato's veterans, ranging from showbiz hyphenates Buck Henry and Melvin Van Peebles to Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown, former New York mayor Ed Koch, a smattering of actual porn stars and an erotic specialist called Danny the Wonder Pony. Their recollections are refreshingly unvarnished. Feminist sex-book author Betty Dodson remembers "the smell and the sweat" of the club. Another woman relates contracting a major infestation of crab lice there. Another says, "It completely killed your idea of romance."

It was, in any case, a party that had to end. There was the AIDS virus, for one thing, first identified in 1981, the year after Levenson moved Plato's to a new Midtown location. But there was also a substantial flaw in the concept of swinging. Levenson and other enthusiasts saw multi-partner social sex as a way to accommodate men's longing for sexual variety within the context of marriage or romantic commitment. As long as a man and a woman had sex with other people while in each other's presence (or at least with each other's knowledge), then it was "just sex," with no emotional complications. This would seem to be a fundamental misreading of the human heart. Levenson's own relationship with a longtime girlfriend and fellow swinger — a woman identified only as Mary in the film — was ruptured when she became romantically involved with another man, who may have been responsible for a beating that put Levenson in the hospital. (Mary suffered a mental breakdown and was later institutionalized.) Next, the "King of Swing," as Levenson didn't mind being called, was busted for tax evasion and sent to prison for nearly three years. In his absence, the club went downhill, and by the time he returned, business was so meager that prostitutes had to be hired to fill in the dwindling crowds. In 1985, with AIDS a full-fledged plague, Plato's Retreat was closed down by the City of New York. Levenson was reduced to driving a taxi to sustain a newly acquired crack habit. He died in 1999, following heart surgery. Today, the site where Plato's Retreat once did business is a parking garage.

"American Swing" is boldly funny, and it has an unexpected poignance. It's oddly touching to hear surviving Plato's swingers, now irreversibly middle-aged, looking back on their wild, lubricious youth. Would they do it again? Betty Dodson, who did it all, says, "I'm an old lady with no regrets."

Don't miss Kurt Loder's reviews of "The Haunting In Connecticut" and "The Great Buck Howard," also new in theaters this week.

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Robert Pattinson's 'How To Be' To Make TV Debut

Robert Pattinson is coming to a television set near you — not as the "Twilight" vampire we've all come to know, but as Art, a struggling singer/songwriter trying to get over a breakup in the indie comedy "How to Be." MTV News exclusively reports that IFC Festival Direct will be showing the film on demand beginning April 29.

The 22-year-old actor not only stars in the film but also performs three original songs on the soundtrack, which will be released on CD and as a digital download through iTunes and other online retailers on April 28.

"How to Be" follows Art as he moves back in with his parents post-breakup and hires a full-time self-help guru to help him work through the pain and become "more normal." The film was written and directed by newcomer Oliver Irving and also stars Rebecca Pidgeon. It premiered at the 2008 Slamdance Film Festival.

The soundtrack is a 23-song collection. In addition to Pattinson's three tracks, the disc includes songs from Love, Captain Beefheart and the Roches. A 12-page booklet featuring song lyrics and never-before-seen "How to Be" photos will be included in both the CD and digital versions. The CD also comes with one of two movies posters.

But perhaps the best news of all for Edward Cullen fans is that 250 people who preorder the CD directly from Dreamboat Records before April 28 will be selected at random to receive a booklet poster personally signed by Pattinson.

All right, you "Twilight" diehards: On your mark, get set, go!

Check out everything we've got on "How to Be."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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'The Great Buck Howard': Power Shortage, By Kurt Loder

Bringing a whoosh of comic energy to a movie in which John Malkovich is already disporting himself at full flutter seems an unlikely feat, but Emily Blunt manages it in "The Great Buck Howard." She plays a young publicist assigned to scare up press coverage for a touring "mentalist" ( not magician, thank you) whose glory days are far behind him but whose ego remains unfaded. Back in the '70s, when he was a regular guest on "The Tonight Show" (where host Johnny Carson dubbed him "The Great"), Buck Howard (Malkovich) was a star, a household name. Now he plies his trade — mind-reading, hypnotism, very bad singing — in places like Bakersfield and Cincinnati. But he still gives his all ( "I love this town!" is how he greets every audience), and he still holds out hope for a rekindling of the media glow in which he once basked. Valerie Brennan (Blunt) is the latest PR lackey to inherit the stewardship of this seemingly hopeless quest.

The movie would be altogether more energetic if it weren't framed by a bland coming-of-age story involving a young man named Troy Gable (Colin Hanks). Troy is a law-school dropout who wants to become a writer; to pay the bills, though, he's accepted a job as road manager for Buck Howard, a figure with whom he's been fascinated since childhood. As an actor, Hanks has something of the warm repose that made the young Henry Fonda such an appealing screen presence. Here he's a stand-in for the movie's writer-director, Sean McGinly, who once worked as a road manager for an actual famous mentalist, the Amazing Kreskin. But putting Troy at the forefront of the story, where he obscures the more vivid performances of Malkovich and Blunt, unbalances the film. When Buck responds to the news that he's to be interviewed by an Internet reporter by hissing "I don't even know that paper," you want to hear more — and Hanks' character isn't conceived in a way that would allow him to top a line like that. McGinly himself realizes what a pallid mope Troy is. Encumbering Hanks with a woozy, meaning-of-life line like "I want to spend the time I have doing something that makes my heart race" turns him into an instant straight man, allowing Blunt's Valerie, who has her randy eye on Troy, to swoop in with "That really turns me on."

Blunt has the advantage of having a crisply defined character to play. Valerie is smart, ambitious and witheringly unsentimental, and Blunt uses her caustic deadpan (and some of McGinly's sharpest writing) to take over several of the scenes she's in. She's positioned to provide the movie's token romantic interest, and it's a treat to watch her muddle it. (Having blurted out to Troy that she has a boyfriend back in L.A., she instantly regroups: "Forget I said that," she says, leaning in for a one-night smooch.)

The role of a flamboyant has-been seems so custom-tailored for Malkovich that his actual performance feels anticlimactic. The cheesy ascots and awful orange blazers are perfectly in place, the graying hair is coiffed with adequate vanity, and when he spots a long-awaited profile in a magazine — one that turns out to examine him as a resident in "the minor leagues of showbiz" — we await the fuming meltdown that must surely follow. Malkovich is a terrific performer, but the movie's listless pace drags him down, and the character of Buck never quite comes into focus. There's a running joke about his sexual ambiguity (he dedicates his terrible songs to "a once very great friend of mine," the famously gay "Star Trek" alumnus George Takei, who later turns up for a huggy reunion), but it's so unformed that it never pays off.

The film is padded with familiar faces. Tom Hanks (who co-produced) plays his son Colin's dad to minimal effect, and Steve Zahn and Ricky Jay are oddly underutilized — Zahn in the role of a hick limo driver with a bandido mustache, Jay as Buck's manager. Also passing through in cameos are Tom Arnold, Conan O'Brien and Jon and Martha Stewart. And still the movie feels underpowered. Surely it would have been livelier if we saw Buck through Valerie's eyes, rather than Troy's. Valerie knows who she is, and she's a quick, funny study at sizing other people up. We're never sure who Troy is, or why we should care. We just know he's in the way.

Don't miss Kurt Loder's reviews of "The Haunting In Connecticut" and "American Swing."

Check out everything we've got on "The Great Buck Howard."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Zac Efron Signs On For New (Non-Musical) Film

Just days after dropping out of the "Footloose" remake to pursue non-musical films, Zac Efron has been cast in "The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud," Variety reports. The film will be directed by Burr Steers, who worked with Efron on his upcoming release "17 Again," but has also directed more serious fare like "Igby Goes Down."

According to Variety, the film, based on the book by Ben Sherwood, is about "a caretaker at a cemetery who manages to have weekly meetings with a younger brother whose accidental death he feels was his fault."

Although negotiations for Efron are still under way, production is expected to start in July with Steers already finishing up the script. Variety goes on to report that Paramount is currently meeting with actors to replace Efron in "Footloose."

On Monday, Paramount released a statement that addressed Efron dropping out of the film. "Footloose is a project we've longed to see re-booted for a new generation. While Zac is no longer attached, we remain excited and committed to the collective brain trust of [director] Kenny Ortega, [producers] Neil Meron and Craig Zaden, who will reinvigorate the franchise," a Paramount Pictures rep told Usmagazine.com. "Their fresh take on the film will undoubtedly be filled with the same kind of breakout performances that we've come to expect from them."

In addition to the upcoming flick "17 Again," Efron also has the more serious "Me and Orson Welles" set for release sometime this year. The actor has expressed a desire to take on more mature roles. "As far back as I can remember, I couldn't understand or relate to a lot of kids," he recently told Elle magazine.

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Seth Rogen Talks 'Monsters Vs. Aliens'

BEVERLY HILLS, California — Even before he was an A-lister, Seth Rogen was using his deadpan delivery and signature staccato laugh to stake out a claim in voice-over work. From 2007's "Shrek 3" to last year's "Kung Fu Panda," "Horton Hears a Who!" and "The Spiderwick Chronicles," Rogen seems to have emerged as the Apatow gang's modern-day Mel Blanc.

This week, he teams with Reese Witherspoon, Will Arnett and Keifer Sutherland for the 3-D cartoon comedy "Monsters Vs. Aliens." But when we caught up with Rogen recently, the "Knocked Up" funnyman insisted he wasn't making so many cartoons because he had a master plan or because it was easy money.

"Honestly, I just like being in these movies — I think they're cool movies," explained Rogen. "I go see them, so it's just neat to be a part of them. The fact that the schedule is kinda easy, and they can really work around whatever it is the actors are doing is nice. But that's not really the major draw — it's just cool to see yourself in a movie you'd like to go see."

It seems likely that lots of people will go to see "Monsters," a 3-D spectacular revolving around a tantalizing idea: After the government has hidden monsters from us for decades for fear they might terrify us, the freaky creatures become our only hope to fend off an attack by extraterrestrials. Our saviors include the 49-foot-tall Ginormica (Witherspoon), the mad scientist Dr. Cockroach (Hugh Laurie), the reptilian Missing Link (Arnett) and buffoonish blue blob B.O.B.

"When I signed on to do it, there wasn't really much to B.O.B.," remembered the actor, who can be seen again (this time, both body and voice) in next month's live-action comedy "Observe and Report." "He was just this brainless blob, and that's all the directors had. But the concept was really funny, the other actors were funny, and I had faith that as we recorded it we would find something funny for B.O.B. too. And I think we did."

According to Rogen, one of the reasons he enjoys animated films so much is that they play into the same improv-heavy techniques that he and his friends use in Judd Apatow movies like "Superbad." And with such fellow improvisers as Arnett, Paul Rudd and Rainn Wilson along for the ride, many of the best "Monsters" lines were indeed written in the voice-over booth.

"The process was fun," Rogen remembered. "I liked showing up and not knowing 100 percent what I was doing. I liked being able to slowly discover it as we did it."

As far as that "master plan" is concerned, Rogen insisted that he isn't worrying himself these days with career-driven thoughts of diversifying roles or expanding his fanbase. "No, not at all — I don't care at all about that," he said, punctuating the point with his signature laugh. "It's more just, I like these movies ... so I try to do them. I could care less if kids like me."

And as far as the money angle of a potential franchise is concerned, the "Pineapple Express" star stayed true to his slacker roots once more, claiming he's not even keeping track of where the series could go from here. "I don't think I'm contractually obligated [to make 'Monsters vs. Aliens' sequels]," he shrugged. "I don't think so, but maybe? That's a good question. You should call my lawyer.

"But I wouldn't be surprised," the funnyman said of a contractual sequel clause. "They've got some sneaky lawyers at DreamWorks."

Check out everything we've got on "Monsters vs. Aliens."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Jim Carrey, Sean Penn And Benicio Del Toro Cast As Three Stooges

Calling Dr. Penn, Dr. Carrey, Dr. del Toro?

In one of the most bizarre casting revelations in recent Hollywood memory, MGM and the Farrelly brothers are closing in on the actors who will become the new Three Stooges. And their choices to play the updated versions of three impetuous nitwits who whack each other over the head with lead pipes? Oscar-wining actors Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro, along with Golden Globe winner Jim Carrey.

According to a report in Variety, the laugh-worthy rumor is actually true: Sean Penn will follow his recent Oscar-winning performance in "Milk" by taking on the role of Larry. The porcupine-haired silent partner in the trio was portrayed for five decades by Larry Fine and became best known for his love of the violin and getting in the middle of the other two Stooges during eye-poke fights. We can only assume that Penn will be bringing back his "Carlito's Way" haircut.

As for the pivotal role of soup-slurping, chrome-domed Curly, it looks like Jim Carrey will be slowly turning, step-by-step and inch-by-inch. Long considered the modern-day master of the sort of physical comedy the Stooges invented, Carrey's work in films like "Liar, Liar" owes a clear debt to Jerome "Curly" Howard. Still, it's hard to imagine an actor that looks less appropriate physically, so expect quite a transformation as Carrey reportedly intends to gain 40 pounds to play the role of the dumbest Stooge.

Finally, the Farrelly brothers are looking to cast Benicio del Toro — last seen in Steven Soderbergh's deadly serious biopic of Cuban revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara — as Moe. The leader of the Stooges, the character was originated by Moe Howard and was marked by the loving brutality (heads in vices, nose tweaks, ear twists, etc.) he'd dole out on his associates.

The Farrellys, makers of such beloved crude films as "There's Something About Mary" and "Shallow Hal," have been trying to reinvent the Stooges for more than a decade. In that time, various rumors have had them doing everything from making the boys into girls to casting Johnny Depp and Russell Crowe. In a late 2007 interview with MTV News, the brothers revealed several key plot points they had in mind for the project.

As for the Stooges themselves, the dimwitted trio starred in nearly 200 shorts and movies from 1930 to Moe and Larry's death in 1975, blazing the way for modern comedy. With help from Curly replacements Shemp, Joe and Curly-Joe, they explored the bromance long before the term was coined, loving and hating each other through numerous adventures that reimagined them as plumbers, soldiers, physicians and all-around numbskulls.

Rather than being a biopic, the Farrellys have said in the past that the film will be a modern-day take on the Stooges, most likely consisting of several short films within the movie. Production is expected to begin in the fall for a 2010 release.

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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The History Of The Bromance
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50 Cent Explains Why He Won't Be Appearing In Sylvester Stallone Film

A representative for 50 Cent issued a statement Tuesday (March 24) explaining why the MC will not be appearing in Sylvester Stallone's film "The Expendables," just days after the director announced 50 would be replacing Forest Whitaker in the role of Hale Caesar.

While online reports said that 50 had been dropped from the film, the statement says he had to pass on the project due to time constraints.

"50 Cent was offered the role of Hale Caesar in 'The Expendables,' however as he is currently in the process of completing his forthcoming album Before I Self Destruct with Dr. Dre and Eminem," a rep for the MC told MTV News in a statement. "He was unfortunately not able to commit to the project." Stallone reportedly told Ain't It Cool News that former San Diego Charger Terry Crews, who debuted with Arnold Schwarzeneggar in "The 6th Day" and appears in this summer's "Terminator Salvation," will take on the role vacated by 50.

Last week, Stallone took to Ain't It Cool News to defend his choice to cast 50 Cent in the role. The film is reportedly about "a team of mercenaries [that] heads to South America on a mission to overthrow a dictator."

"The anger of the casting of 50 Cent is understandable, but not fair," he told the site, adding that he thought the change would be good. "So, trust me, the change of Forest Whitaker to 50 Cent a.k.a. Curtis Jackson is a good one."

"The Expendables" stars Mickey Rourke, Jason Statham, Jet Li and Stallone himself as Barney "The Schizo" Ross. Lundgren and Arnold Schwarzenegger have also been rumored for roles in the muscle-bound, testosterone-fueled extravaganza. No word yet on who will take over for 50 Cent.

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Seth Rogen Says He Never Got A Call From Lindsay Lohan

After Lindsay Lohan told Nylon magazine that she's waiting for Seth Rogen to call her back about working together, Rogen insists that he knows nothing about her call.

During that interview, Lohan said, "We're trying to get Seth Rogen for this project, but Seth won't call us back. So call us back, Seth, if you're reading this!"

"I read that too," he told MTV News while promoting his new animated movie "Monsters vs. Aliens." "No one that works for me or with me in any capacity has received any word from anyone that works for Lindsay Lohan. So I don't know what happened there."

The clarification came after Lindsay Lohan told E! News that she wishes people would stop talking about her personal life and focus more on her work life. In fact, she wishes there was more work in her life.

"It would be really nice if people would believe in me," she told E!, adding, "My past is my past, and it's been a long one, but I'm growing more and learning more day by day. I'm not the same person, and I don't make the same mistakes."

She said she hopes that eventually people will be able to see past her former party-girl image and just let her be an actress. "I don't drink, I don't do drugs, and I don't lie," she said. "I love to act and write and be creative, and I want to help people by playing characters that can send a positive message out to whomever may need it."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Ashley Tisdale Recalls Her 'Donnie Darko' Role

For those of you who may have blinked and missed it, Ashley Tisdale made a little appearance in the now cult classic "Donnie Darko" way back in the day. Don't remember her? Here's a little refresher: Tisdale played Kim, the dorky girl who tells a motivational speaker that she thinks her stepsister eats too much, before being told to shut up by the girl in question. The small role came up during a conversation about which actors Tisdale would most like to work with.

"I would love to work with Jake Gyllenhaal ... Johnny Depp. I love Kate Hudson. She's one of my favorites," Tisdale told MTV News before recalling her one amazing day of working with "Donnie Darko" star Gyllenhaal back in 2001.

"I was in one scene with him. I met him and he was the nicest guy in the entire world. At the premiere he even remembered who I was," she said. "I was there for a day. I had, like, two lines. But I'd like to actually do another scene with him, more."

Now that she's got some extra time on her hands thanks to the fact that she won't be reprising her role as Sharpay for anymore "High School Musical" movies, she might get the chance. And it won't necessarily be something funny, like her new movie "They Came From Upstairs," or something that requires lots of emoting through song like "HSM."

"Maybe something normal soon," she said, contemplating future movie roles. "I mean, ['HSM'] was a musical, so maybe [I should try] something dramatic. That'd be cool."

Check out everything we've got on "Donnie Darko."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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'Twilight' DVD Sells More Than 3 Million Copies On First Day

"Breaking Dawn" sold 1.3 million copies on just one memorable day. The movie adaptation of "Twilight" had a $70 million opening weekend in November. Now the juggernaut that is Stephenie Meyer's vampire romance franchise has continued its dizzying streak of commercial hits with the film selling more than 3 million DVDs on the first day of its release, according to distributor Summit Entertainment.

The hoopla began Friday night with a series of midnight events. Or rather, the craziness began hours earlier as young fans and their parents lined up at retail stores across the country to be among the first to take home a copy.

In Salt Lake City, 2,500 devotees braved lines, while 2,000 attended in Los Angeles and 700 showed up in New York. Several "Twilight" actors made appearances at the events, including Ashley Greene (Alice Cullen), Nikki Reed (Rosalie Hale), Rachelle Lefevre (Victoria) and Edi Gathegi (Laurent). Director Catherine Hardwicke held court in Dallas, even though she will not be helming the next film in the series, "New Moon." Not in attendance, however, were the film's biggest stars, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart.

The opening sales make "Twilight" one of the five best-selling DVDs of the last two years, joining blockbusters "The Dark Knight," "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" and "Transformers."

Now that Meyer's love story has conquered bookstores, box offices and living rooms, attention will only increase on the young-adult series that has already been swamped by media scrutiny, Internet gossip and a rapid fanbase with a seemingly insatiable hankering for all things "Twilight." Since 2005, the series' four books have sold 42 million copies across the globe and the "Twilight" movie has grossed more than $370 million worldwide.

"New Moon" has just begun filming in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is set for release in the fall. Last year may have been a good for Bella and Edward, but 2009 is shaping up to be even more impressive. And, of course, don't count out 2010, which will see both the DVD release of "New Moon" and the theatrical release of the third film, "Eclipse." Love them or hate them, those gothic lovers are here to stay.

Check out everything we've got on "Twilight."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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'Twilight' Star Nikki Reed To Play Transgender Woman In 'K-11'

SANTA MONICA, California — It's one of the most intriguing Hollywood movies currently in development. It marks the filmmaking debut of Kristen Stewart's mother. It will once again pair her red-hot Hollywood daughter alongside another sexy "Twilight" actress. Oh, and did we mention they're playing dudes?

Very little is known about the movie "K-11" — until now.

"K-11 is where they basically put people who wouldn't survive in the general population," Nikki Reed revealed of the project when she stopped by the MTV studios recently for an exclusive chat. "Sometimes celebrities, people who are HIV-positive, people who have raped or beaten children — any of those things. My character [named Mousey] is a male prostitute, and he goes in and out of the jail because it is comfortable to have a place to sleep and recoup and relax and have food and shelter — [when he] gets sent back out, there is a lot of underground drug stuff that is going on. [K-11] is a world in itself."

As we reported back in November, the duo's gutsy "Twilight" follow-up will dramatize the little-known Los Angeles jail section set aside for in-danger convicts. Stewart and Reed plan to shoot the movie during a brief window this summer between "New Moon" and "Eclipse."

"It's a great project, and obviously I have a lot of faith in Kristen and her mom, Jules Stewart, who wrote the script and is directing it," Reed said. "Kristen is playing a boy, and I am playing a man who is quite a few years older than she is. I am working more on my accent. Mousey is Mexican, and she comes from a very specific place in Southern California."

While the acting skills of Independent Spirit Award-winner Reed and "Into the Wild" star Stewart have always been impressive, both realize that they'll have to dig deep to pull off the gender-bending transformations. "There'll be a lot of prosthetics, makeup," explained the actress, who plays Rosalie Hale in the "Twilight" saga. "I thought it was difficult stepping into Rosalie's shoes! It's gonna be a lot more difficult stepping into Mousey's shoes. It is a very raw, edgy take on this story in this setting; it is going to be very challenging. I am not going to run away from it, but it certainly takes a lot of preparation mentally and physically."

And for those keeping score at home, Reed's difficult challenge will have her playing a him , trapped in the body of a her . "I don't really have the most androgynous look, so that is going to be interesting," laughed the stunner. "I'm playing a man who has become a woman. ... I was born a man, but I never felt like a man — I always knew that I was a woman. I just was born with the wrong body parts."

But, despite the smile on Nikki's face as she tried to explain Mousey's gender, she was quick to point out that "K-11" is not a comedy. "I think that with any genre, any material that is super heavy — smart writers tend to add a comedic element," she said of the script. "So, there are funny moments in there, and some of the things I do and say are pretty outrageous ... but I wouldn't categorize this as a comedy."

Co-starring Kevin Smith fave Jason Mewes, Reed told us that the film should be announcing additional casting soon — and in the meantime, KStew and Nikki will be perfecting their "K-11" characters between takes of the now-filming "New Moon." "[Stewart] doesn't have the same level of physical transformation as me, but she definitely came to the table with a plethora of ideas ... her character doesn't have facial hair or an Adam's apple [because] she is playing more of a boy."

"It's a challenge," she laughed, looking forward to the shoot. "I mean, I am playing a man."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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'Duplicity': The Lying Game, By Kurt Loder

If Clive Owen had taken over the role of James Bond, rather than Daniel Craig — who hasn't yet brought to it anything like the romantic flair that Owen could have — the result, with a lot of luck, might have been a movie like "Duplicity." This second feature by writer/director Tony Gilroy ("Michael Clayton") is devilishly complex and extravagantly funny. Owen and his co-star, Julia Roberts, playing a pair of scheming freelance spies, don't over-drive their star power, but their effortless, wisecracking chemistry lights up the picture. And the story is so clever that at the end even some of the characters aren't quite sure what's happened. Neither are we (until we've squinted back over it a bit), but we're too tickled to care.

CIA agent Claire Stenwick (Roberts) and Ray Koval (Owen), of Britain's MI6 (Bond's old outfit), have hooked up romantically and professionally and decided to "go private" — into the lucrative realm of corporate espionage — in order to score enough money to retire in the high-flying style to which they've become accustomed. (Claire figures $40 million should do it.) They don't really trust each other, and as the movie's brain-teasing pranks and double-crosses pile up, neither do we.

Ray and Claire have hired themselves out to a big soap-and-lotions corporation run by a ruthless mogul named Garsik (Paul Giamatti), who's at war with a rival outfit helmed by the slick, silken Tully (Tom Wilkinson). Claire has infiltrated Tully's operation and discovered that he's on the verge of a major commercial breakthrough — a game-changing product that'll reap tons of money. Garsik is determined to steal Tully's secret formula for whatever this damn concoction is and do the reaping himself. Ray and Claire are on hand to help — or are they? Also in the mix is Garsik's crack backup team, led by a wily operative named Duke (Denis O'Hare), as well as a slob-genius chemist named Ronny (Christopher Denham) and a winsome travel agent named Barbara (Carrie Preston, walking away with one of the movie's many hilarious scenes). You can't imagine how complicated all of this gets.

Like the Bond films, and the "Bourne" movies, too (Gilroy was a key writer on all three of those), "Duplicity" logs extensive flight time, touching down everywhere from Dubai and the Bahamas to London, Rome and Zurich, with brief layovers in Miami (where we learn a bit about the unexpected espionage opportunities in the frozen-pizza industry) and, uh, Cleveland. The dialogue is so smart and snappy, it'd be wrong to reproduce any of it at length. Let us only note that when Claire accuses Ray of having seduced a female target, his wounded reply is "That's my cover."

The picture has a unity of wit and structure that could only have been achieved by a very sharp writer who's also a gifted filmmaker. (One with excellent taste in collaborators, too — you could put your brain on snooze and have a perfectly fine time savoring the rich color and elegant camera moves of cinematographer Robert Elswit, one of several "Michael Clayton" alumni who worked on the picture.) Apart from the dazzling plot choreography, one of Gilroy's smartest strategies was to allow Roberts to dial down her all-devouring smile in favor of a more deadpan, reactive performance, allowing Owen's warm comedic agility to take wing. Are Ray and Claire really in love, or just in league? We're never entirely sure. "I think about you all the time," he declares, in a moment of possible passion. "I think about you even when you're with me."

Don't miss Kurt Loder's reviews of "I Love You, Man" and "Knowing," also new in theaters this week.

Check out everything we've got on "Duplicity."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

‘Crossing Over’: Hard Traveling, By Kurt Loder
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'Twilight' Star Ashley Greene Surprises L.A. Fans At DVD-Release Party

HOLLYWOOD, California — Hundreds of people were bitten by "Twilight" mania Friday night, as the immense Hollywood & Highland complex was overtaken by shrieking fans of the vampire series. After word spread that star Ashley Greene had chosen to celebrate the film's DVD release with an appearance at the mall's Hot Topic store, Twilighters began lining up mid-afternoon. By midnight, chants of "Ashley! Ashley" were filling the night air, and only discs full of bonus features could quench the thirst of the grinning mob.

"We're very hopeful. I have an intuition," claimed Madison, 23, standing near the front of the long line with her friends and insisting that she shares a special power with Greene's character, Alice Cullen. "I decided to come here tonight because I knew something would happen. I am confident!"

"We're so excited. There have been people here since 2:30, and the more people that show up the more exciting it gets," said Tammy, 32. "I might just have to crash in my car after it all. I've never been so excited. This is all a movement. ... We're having a party tomorrow and making 'vampire kiss' martinis!"

All night long Twilighters shared messages on Facebook, Twitter and other web sources, playing "Where's Waldo?" all over the country with their favorite stars, who were making surprise appearances at DVD-release parties. Catherine Hardwicke popped up somewhere in Texas; Nikki Reed was in Chicago; Solomon Trimble posted on his Facebook that he'd be at a Wal-Mart in Wood Village, Oregon.

"Everyone's everywhere," Greene laughed when we spoke with her at a secret location in the catacombs of the mall, just moments before she surprised the shrieking fans. "I was wondering how the crowd turnouts were going to be, because I was thinking, 'There's a ton of us [actors], and I don't know if there's that many fans. But I've heard that there are a ton of fans here, and they're really excited. [The studio] threw us all over the country, and nobody knows where we are. It's a big secret, and I'm excited!"

Still, she said, even after a year of life as Alice Cullen she isn't accustomed to the craziness. "It makes me really nervous; you don't get used to it," the actress admitted. "At least I don't yet; check with me in five years. It's amazing. I've said time and time again that just to be part of something like this, you don't dream it. Obviously, you want to make films and movies — but this is kind of a phenomenon.

"It's an amazing feeling to know that people care so much about the film that they've seen it however many times — and they're still here, at midnight, buying the DVD before it even reaches stores," she marveled. "It's an ego boost."

Speaking of phenomena, we asked her to rank the three biggest teen fan bases out there right now: "Twilight," Miley and the JoBros. "In my life, obviously it's 'Twilight.' It's the huge determining factor in my life and my career!" she said, adding, "But that's not to say that the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus aren't amazing."

Asked which fan base would win in a bloody duel to the death, however, Greene didn't let her followers down. "We would kick butt," she laughed. "We're all awesome vampires."

With our interview concluded, Greene gave us big hugs and hoped she wouldn't be a letdown for the fans outside — especially those like Vanessa, 16, who had been at the front of the line since 2:30. "She's gonna be so disappointed that I'm not Rob," the actress laughed.

Of course, such statements couldn't be further from the truth. On this evening, after a deafening countdown to midnight from the line, Greene would show up on cue, jump behind the counter and say hello to everyone who bought a DVD. The affable actress would smile for photos, talk about "New Moon" and enjoy her night as an honorary Hot Topic clerk.

But before she went in, as the fans' shrieking reached its feverish pitch and flashes went off everywhere, Greene spotted 15-year-old Naelli Ortega, who was wearing a black "Twilight" T-shirt and sitting in her wheelchair near the front of the line. Holding up the festivities for a moment, the actress posed for photos with Ortega and her friends — even waiting patiently as someone tried to figure out how to work the camera — and then planted a big kiss on Ortega's cheek.

"I saw the movie three times," Ortega said, beaming after her celebrity encounter.

"I saw it 13 times in theaters. I have all the ticket stubs to prove it," said her friend Julietta Bennett, 18. Asked why she'd wait in line 12 hours to buy a movie she'd already seen so many times, her answer was simple: "Because it's awesome!"

Check out everything we've got on "Twilight."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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'I Love You, Man': Slobovia, By Kurt Loder

By now it's been widely noted that "I Love You, Man" is not a Judd Apatow comedy — although it's like one. The stars, Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, have previously featured in two of Apatow's biggest hits, "Knocked Up" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." And while the story — yet another expedition into the dark, cluttered heart of Guyville — isn't as besiegingly gross as some of the master's best work, it's nevertheless rousingly funny at times, and overarchingly sweet, in the Apatow manner. It's also naggingly implausible, though, which may be a minor annoyance even for the movie's designated demographic.

Rudd plays Peter Klaven, a hyper-mild-mannered Los Angeles real-estate agent. If nothing else, Peter is the perfect boyfriend — the kind of guy who, upon coming home to find his fiancйe, Zooey (Rashida Jones), in full twitter with her gossipy girlfriends, will slip into the kitchen to whip up a tray of root-beer floats for them. Very cute — and (in the movie's view) kinda gay. For reasons that are not at all clear, Peter has no male friends, no buddies. This has apparently never been a problem until now: With a wedding coming up, he realizes he's going to need a best man.

In his search for a pal, Peter first consults his brother, Robbie (Andy Samberg), who, as it happens, is gay. He also trolls the Internet a bit. The results of these initiatives are predictably disheartening (and pretty amusing). Then, while presiding over an open house one day at a property he's trying to sell, Peter meets Sydney Fife, a guy who is everything that Peter isn't. Sydney makes the rounds of these house-hunter wingdings strictly for the free food and horny divorcйes (the only kind of women he's interested in). He's converted the garage behind his house near Venice Beach into a "man cave," filled with guitars and amps and booze, with a special area set aside for what might be called basic male fulfillment. Sydney is big, loose and goofy, a natural hipster. Peter is a stranger to cool, especially of the verbal variety. He actually says things like "See ya in a jiff." But when he tries to improvise — "We're just chill-axin' " — he sounds like even more of a dork. And when he attempts a laid-back Jamaican patois — "Me slappa da bass" — he sounds like a leprechaun.

At first, Zooey is happy that Peter's found a buddy. But as he slips deeper into Sydney's testosteronic world, with its endless bar hangs and Rush-heavy rock soundtrack, she grows worried — the two of them are starting to seem a little ... gay. The movie flirts with an interesting subject: straight-male anxiety about homosexuality. But it's too constrained by its comedic formula to do much in the way of sorting that subject out, and in the end, the modest narrative tension it provides disperses in a cloud of bro-com bonhomie.

Fortunately, there are some very funny scenes — even the inevitable fart-joke interlude is a scream. Rudd doesn't have a chance to really cut loose here — there's nothing as madly freewheeling as the stoned-age surfer he played in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" — but he anchors the film with his virtuoso social discomfort. There are also some lively bits tucked in around the edges, especially by Jon Favreau as one of the world's most abrasive macho men, and Lou Ferrigno — the original Hulk! — as the celebrity whose house Peter is failing to sell. ("Don't make him angry!" Sydney warns.) But it's Segel who owns the movie. His character is so ambiguous at first that he seems sleazy beyond the call of comedy. But when we see him slouching along Venice Beach with his dog and airily waving away angry neatniks alarmed by the clumps of poop the wee creature is depositing in the sand ... well, here's a guy we might not mind hanging out with ourselves, right? Probably wouldn't want to bring him home, though.

Don't miss Kurt Loder's reviews of "Duplicity" and "Knowing," also new in theaters this week.

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

(Paramount Pictures has a piece of "I Love You, Man." Paramount and MTV are both subsidiaries of Viacom.)

‘Miss March’: Apatow Lite, By Kurt Loder
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The History Of The Bromance

Since the beginning of time, man has needed another man — as a confidant, as a teacher, as a friend, or sometimes more. Since the beginning of the cinema, men have similarly leaned upon each other — whether they're teaming up to do something extraordinary, beating each other to a bloody pulp, or simply stepping into the age-old roles of goofball and straight man. Now, with Paul Rudd and Jason Segel teaming up in theaters to say "I Love You, Man," we present a brief history of the bromance:

The Three Stooges - From 1930 through the mid-'70s, the most foolish men in the history of film laid the foundation for physical comedy. Although they beat the living tar out of each other, there was love behind every eye-gouge — Moe, Curly and Shemp were brothers, and in many films the boys were depicted living together, struggling together and even sleeping in the same bed together as they harmonized their distinctive snores.

Hope and Crosby - Over the course of seven "Road to ..." movies, this dynamic duo traveled the world, singing and smiling their way through various adventures. Although the first half of the 20th century gave us some significant pairings (Laurel & Hardy, Abbott & Costello, Martin & Lewis), Bob Hope's one-liners and Bing Crosby's croons made for a truly unique — and massively successful — bromance.

Butch and Sundance - How far would you go for a friend? Would you jump off a cliff? Would you go down in a blaze of glory? In the 1969 classic "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," Paul Newman and Robert Redford had fun robbing banks, ragging on each other and romancing girls. We were just lucky to come along for the ride in what turned out to be the greatest buddy movie ever made.

De Niro and Grodin - The '80s gave us Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte, Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase and even Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzengger. But out of all the buddy pairings, the perfect combination came in "Midnight Run," a foul-mouthed, violent, utterly hilarious film. Charles Grodin was a hypochondriac mob accountant, Robert De Niro was the short-tempered bounty hunter trying to keep him alive, and we were left rolling on the theater floor.

Gibson and Glover - Through four massively successful movies, policemen Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) bromantacized their own masterful formula in the "Lethal Weapon" flicks. With Glover's constant exasperation and Gibson's unpredictable silliness, it's no coincidence that the films referenced the Three Stooges — the big difference, of course, is that they added way more explosions.

Farley and Spade - After the instant classic "Tommy Boy" and its disappointing-but-successful follow-up "Black Sheep," these two "Saturday Night Live" funnymen seemed poised to become the great comedy duo of their generation. Sadly, Chris Farley's death in 1997 left his friend David Spade to carry on without him — and his fans wondering how many more great movies they could've made together.

Ledger and Gyllenhaal - After avoiding it, hiding it and secretly hinting about it, it wasn't until 2005 that a mainstream Hollywood film felt comfortable removing the "B" from bromance. The result was "Brokeback Mountain," an instant classic that simply presented a tale of two cowboys in a lifelong love affair as innocent and beautiful as any male/female relationship. Eight Oscar nominations later, the world was finally safe for actors who wanted to make us laugh, jump, cry — and get past the need for a "straight" man.

Check out everything we've got on "I Love You, Man."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Natasha Richardson Remembered With Dimmed Broadway Lights

On Thursday evening, the Broadway community paid tribute to Natasha Richardson by dimming the lights in honor of the Tony Award-winning actress, who died Wednesday following a skiing accident.

In addition to friends like Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, the actress' widower, Liam Neeson, and mother, Vanessa Redgrave, also attended the tribute, The Associated Press reports. The lights were dimmed for one minute at around 8 p.m. to honor the star, who performed in several Broadway shows, including "Cabaret" for which she won a Tony Award in 1998.

According to the AP, the family has asked that donations be made to amfAR, a foundation for AIDS research, in lieu of flowers. Richardson's father, director Tony Richardson, died of complications from the disease in 1991. Natasha Richardson was a longtime supporter of the charity and served on its board of trustees since 2006.

Earlier on Thursday, the Richardson's friends and colleagues released statements remembering the 45-year-old actress. "She was one of a kind, a magnificent actress. She was also an amazing mother, a loyal friend and the greatest and most generous host you could ever hope to meet," said Sam Mendes, who directed her in "Cabaret." "It defies belief that this gifted, brave, tenacious, wonderful woman is gone."

Lindsay Lohan, who worked with Richardson in "The Parent Trap," said, "She was a wonderful woman and actress and treated me like I was her own. I didn't see much of her over the years, but I will miss her. My heart goes out to her family. This is a tragic loss."

Richardson's last film, "Wild Child," has been released internationally but has yet to receive a U.S. release date.

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Natasha Richardson Dies After Skiing Accident

'Knowing': End Times, By Kurt Loder

Nicolas Cage fans are a dispirited bunch by now. In the 14 years since his Oscar-winning performance in "Leaving Las Vegas," Cage has made a number of fine, underrated films (like "Matchstick Men"); some mega-profitable blockbusters ("Ghost Rider" the most baffling); and an awful lot of dreck (last year's "Bangkok Dangerous" being a resounding new low). Rarely has such a talented actor been so ill-served by his own career choices.

So Cage's new movie is a surprise. "Knowing" is a big creepy sci-fi thriller — or two-thirds of one, anyway — which, before it collapses into head-spinning silliness at the end, provides some real shivers and, thanks to ace director Alex Proyas ("Dark City"), some top-flight CGI mayhem.

Our man plays John Koestler, a widowed MIT astrophysicist who lives with his little boy, Caleb (Chandler Canterbury), in a big gloomy country house with matching big gloomy woods out back. Being a scientist, John is in thrall to reason; however, in a movie like this, when you hear somebody say, "There is no grand meaning, there is no purpose," you know he'll be dining on that dialogue in very short order.

The story actually gets underway in 1959, with a classroom of kids being instructed to take up paper and pen and draw their idea of what the world will look like 50 years in the future. The drawings will be buried in a time capsule on the school grounds. We see the kids scrawling away, and then we notice a strange little girl named Lucinda (Lara Robinson) filling her paper with obsessively cramped rows of numbers. Weird.

Fifty years later — now, that is — the time capsule is exhumed, the papers inside are passed out to the youth of today, and Caleb gets Lucinda's sheet full of figures. He takes it home to Dad, who doesn't make much of it at first; but then he spots the number "911" — yes, that 9/11. Soon, Googling furiously, John determines that most of the numbers on the paper refer to major world disasters that have occurred over the past half-century. Some of the numbers don't seem to refer to anything, though — well, Not Yet.

It quickly becomes clear that Lucinda's numbers are a map of horrors both past and yet to come, and soon John — goosed along by a soundtrack scored for giant metallic insects — is racing around the East Coast trying to head them off. Before long a woman named Diana (Rose Byrne) and her daughter Abby (Robinson again) are drawn into his desperate quest, as are a group of strange blond men in black raincoats who loom up in unexpected places from time to time in an entirely successful effort to keep things scary.

There are two terrific action scenes. In one, an airplane comes plowing down out of the sky, just missing John as it cartwheels across a field spreading wreckage and flaming bodies across the landscape. In the other — a New York subway disaster — out-of-control trains fly off the tracks and up on the platforms as commuters flee in terror. These are almost pure CGI sequences, but they're so well-constructed, and executed with such maniacal brio, that they leave you gut-punched and breathless. People were cheering at the screening I attended.

So what did Lucinda know? What ever happened to her? What's gonna happen to us ? John slowly learns the answers to those questions, and several more, and they're not reassuring. Global-warming enthusiasts may be happy to be told that their famous fears aren't entirely off the mark ("This heat we're experiencing isn't gonna get better," John says, prompting an irrational hope that the dialogue will), but generally the future depicted here is seriously cheerless. As it burrows down into seldom-explored depths of ridiculosity, however, the movie doesn't prompt speculation about how the world might end so much as it moves us to wonder what shiny black pebbles and fluffy white bunnies could possibly have to do with it. Did Nic know about this stuff going in? (Still a silly question, I fear.)

Don't miss Kurt Loder's reviews of "I Love You, Man" and "Duplicity," also new in theaters this week.

Check out everything we've got on "Knowing."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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A Look Back At Natasha Richardson's Impressive Career

As news of actress Natasha Richardson's death spread on Thursday, and tributes poured in from former colleagues, her fans and friends were left with more questions than answers. How could such a seemingly minor accident result in death? Could anything have been done differently?

But as those questions are sorted out in the weeks and months to come, Richardson has left behind an impressive body of work.

Born into acting royalty — her mother was "Julia" Oscar-winner Vanessa Redgrave, father was the Oscar-winning director of "Tom Jones," Tony Richardson, and sister Joely Richardson currently stars on "Nip/Tuck" — Natasha trained at London's Central School of Speech and Drama and got into the family business in the mid-'80s. After winning the London Drama Critics' Most Promising Newcomer Award for her performance in the play "The Seagull" alongside her mother, she landed her first substantial movie role playing Mary Shelley in director Ken Russell's biographical thriller "Gothic."

Richardson gave one of her finest performances under the direction of "Taxi Driver" writer Paul Schrader; once again getting biographical, she starred opposite a young Ving Rhames, playing kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst in the 1988 film of that name. In 1989, she appeared opposite Paul Newman and John Cusack in "Fat Man and Little Boy," a criminally underrated Roland Joffй drama about the creation of the world's first atomic bomb.

As her career really began to take off, several significant events in Richardson's life would begin to take the actress away from the silver screen with increased frequency. There were two marriages, first to "The Hours" producer Robert Fox in 1990, and then to Oscar-winning actor Liam Neeson in 1994. Also during this time period came the AIDS-related death of her father in 1991, which began a lifelong crusade for the actress, as she would join multiple groups and collect millions of dollars to battle the disease in the years to come. Coupled with her continued love for the stage (she won the London Drama Critics' Best Actress Award for "Anna Christie" in 1993), Richardson was seen less and less by film buffs.

The beautiful actress roared back in the mid-'90s, however, starring opposite Jodie Foster in the Oscar-nominated drama "Nell." In the film, Richardson played a psychology student eager to study an isolated woman raised in the backwoods of North Carolina. The movie cast her opposite future husband Neeson.

Although commercial fare would follow in the years to come — she played the mother of two Lindsay Lohans in the 1998 remake of "The Parent Trap" and a socialite in the 2002 Jennifer Lopez vehicle "Maid in Manhattan" — Richardson never abandoned her love for the acting craft. In 2001's too-often-overlooked "Chelsea Walls," she worked alongside Rosario Dawson and Vincent D'Onofrio in the trippy, experimental directing debut of Ethan Hawke.

Natasha Richardson's greatest career achievement, however, came on the stage. In 1998, she won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, starring in a revamped version of "Cabaret" that was co-directed by "American Beauty" filmmaker Sam Mendes and "Memoirs of a Geisha" director Rob Marshall. In 2005, she'd appear on stage for the last time as Blanche DuBois in a revival of "A Streetcar Named Desire," opposite John C. Reilly.

Her final film, the Emma Roberts comedy "Wild Child," is expected in theaters later this year. In 2007, Richardson appeared opposite Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Claire Danes, Toni Collette and her mother Vanessa Redgrave in the drama "Evening." The film cast her among a who's who of actresses, as Richardson held her own in one of her final films.

Natasha Richardson Dies After Skiing Accident
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Natasha Richardson Remembered By Lindsay Lohan, Jane Fonda And More

After news broke that Natasha Richardson died Wednesday in New York City following a skiing accident, the Tony Award-winning actress' friends shared their condolences over her sudden and tragic passing.

Lindsay Lohan, who starred with Richardson in 1998's "The Parent Trap," released the following statement to the media. "She was a wonderful woman and actress and treated me like I was her own," Lohan said, according to US Weekly. "I didn't see much of her over the years, but I will miss her. My heart goes out to her family. This is a tragic loss."

Director Sam Mendes, who directed Richardson in her Tony Award-winning role in "Cabaret," described her as having "combined the best of [her mother, Vanessa] Redgrave and [her father, Tony] Richardson: the enormous depth and emotional force of a great actor on the one hand, and the intelligence and objectivity of a great director on the other. She was one of a kind, a magnificent actress. She was also an amazing mother, a loyal friend and the greatest and most generous host you could ever hope to meet. It defies belief that this gifted, brave, tenacious, wonderful woman is gone."

Recently, Richardson was a guest judge on "Top Chef." The show's host, Padma Lakshmi, remembered her in a statement: "She was great. She was lovely. She was just like one of the gang. She was very, very articulate. She was very, very opinionated. She was very compassionate. She had a very sophisticated palate."

Jane Fonda, who met Richardson in 1977 when her "Julia" co-star Redgrave brought her daughter to the set, recalled, "She was a little girl but already beautiful and graceful. It didn't surprise me that she became such a talented actor. I wanted to go to the Lenox Hill Hospital where I was told she had been taken to see if there was anything I could do for Vanessa, any comfort I could bring, but today was a two-show day [for Broadway play "33 Variations"] and as the curtain went up tonight, I heard the tragic news. It is hard to even imagine what it must be like for her family. My heart is heavy."

Joan Rivers recalled a fond memory she had of spending time with Richardson and her husband, Liam Neeson. "We spent one amazing day on a boat with my whole family and she and Liam and the boys. They were such a family. I mean, [her death] just shouldn't have happened. And they made such a good-looking couple too. He doted on what she said, she doted on — it was just perfect."

In a statement, Mia Farrow said, "Natasha is irreplaceable. I cannot think of anyone kinder, more generous, thoughtful, smarter or more fun. She is the godmother of two of my children. The Neesons and Vanessa have always made me feel a part of their wonderful family. My thoughts and prayers are with them."

Dame Judi Dench added to the outpouring of emotion, saying, "She had an incredibly luminous quality that you seldom see. And a great sense of humor. I thought she was a really great actress."

Regis Philbin and his wife, Joy, said, "They live around the corner from us. It's such a surprise. She's a lovely woman. Liam and those two little boys are great. They're a lovely family."

Family friend Blythe Danner said, "I can't talk because I started crying. I'm heartbroken. She was so kind to us when Bruce [Paltrow, Danner's late husband] was ill. She's so generous. I don't think that I can handle it."

Alan Cumming, who was her "Cabaret" co-star, wrote on his Web site, "I, like everyone, am totally devastated by the sudden death. The term 'life force' seems trite but that is what she was: a woman who powered through life and fascinated everyone she encountered. I have been thinking about the times I spent with her since I heard the news of her tragic accident, and the strongest memory I have is of her laughter, her unmistakable throaty laugh. I think that's a great way to remember someone. She was a brilliant actress... Liam and the boys and her whole family have lost an amazing woman. We all have. Goodbye, darling."

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A Look Back At Natasha Richardson’s Impressive Career
Natasha Richardson Dies After Skiing Accident

T.I. Says Chris Brown Won't Be Removed From 'Takers' Marketing Campaign

In the wake of Chris Brown's alleged altercation with girlfriend Rihanna, the superstar singer has gained support from a number of artists, including Akon, Lil Mama and now T.I.

The Atlanta rapper debunked recent rumors that Brown would be removed from promotional duties for their upcoming movie "Takers," which was originally titled "Bone Deep."

"Nah man, that can't be further from the truth," Tip told RapRadar.com. "There's no validity to that statement. I'm [an executive producer] on the movie and I ain't put forth no sort of order or request, man. And personally, it's very, very premature to jump to such a conclusion given that none of these matters have been resolved. No one has been tried or convicted or nothing like that. I'm not going to jump to no conclusions. I'm not going to. I think that's unfair 'cause that's what people did with me, and I'm not going to do that."

Along with T.I. — who is expected to enter prison later this month — the heist flick also features a number of prominent actors, including Matt Dillon and Hayden Christensen. During production of the movie last September, MTV News visited the set, where Rihanna was visiting Brown. Although the two have reportedly rekindled their romance, rumors swirled that Brown's film career may take a dive as a result of the domestic abuse charges against him. Some sponsors, such as Wrigley, have suspended ad campaigns featuring Brown, and a number of radio stations have pulled his records.

The next Hollywood project lined up for Brown is "Phenom," a basketball tale that is currently in development.

Brown talked excitedly about "Phenom" to MTV News back in 2007.

"'Phenom' is in the works, and I have a couple other movies I'm looking forward to doing in the future," he said. "I'm hopefully getting to work with Jerry Bruckheimer [on another project]. I'm doing something real big, hopefully. Hopefully, we'll do something. We're talking to his people, we've met a couple times, and he's excited. Hopefully it will be something real good."

The T.I.-produced "Takers" is scheduled for an early 2010 release.

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