'44 Inch Chest': Boys' Night In, By Kurt Loder

In attempting to turn a stage play into a movie, the usual route is to open it up — to build in some scenes that take the action outdoors, or into freshly imagined environments. The new English film "44 Inch Chest" makes token gestures in those directions — brief ventures out onto the nighttime streets and into a private gambling club — but it never shrugs off its feeling of talky, stage-bound confinement. Which is odd, since the film was made from an original script — it never was a play.

It's an actors' film, as they say — which is not the same thing as an audience film. The cast is first-rate, but the story in which they mill about is rickety and undernourished. Ray Winstone plays Colin, a London gangster whose wife, Liz (Joanne Whalley), has just left him for another man — leaving her husband a blubbering, woebegone mess. Colin's fellow hoods rally to his side: the doughy mama's boy Archie (Tom Wilkinson); the spiffy Mal (Stephen Dillane); the serenely gay Meredith (Ian McShane); and the snarling gang boss Old Man Peanut (John Hurt). The first thing they do is pay a visit to the restaurant where Liz's lover, hereinafter referred to only as Loverboy (Melvil Poupaud), is employed as a waiter. Dragging him outside into a van, they tune him up a bit, then take him to a bare room — a gang hideaway, presumably — where they lock him in a closet. Then they bring Colin in to confront the guy and, almost certainly, to kill him.

Apart from flashbacks that show us the bloody marital breakup ("Love is like a garden," Colin angrily tells Liz, "and you haven't been doing the weeding"), and Meredith making a big roulette score the night before, and a curious conversation with an old man and his dog, the movie remains rooted in that drab room. There's a lot of pacing and waiting. Will Colin shoot Loverboy? He's not sure. He rants and slumps and sobs and just can't make up his mind. Finally, after 90 minutes, he makes up his mind. And that's it.

Winstone, with his bullish bonhomie, is always an invigorating screen presence. But there's not much he can do with a two-note character like Colin, who is by turns furious and heartbroken and nothing else. The characters played by Wilkinson and Dillane are too weakly conceived to really register; and Hurt has been encouraged to overact in a thoroughly lunatic manner. This leaves McShane's preening queen to walk away with the picture. We first see Meredith in his swank apartment, contemplating a naked boy fetchingly stretched out on a sofa; it's a funny shot, and McShane's expression of pursed anticipation tells us all we need to know about the character's droll hedonism. Later, joining the rest of the mugs in the hostage room, he says with a purr, "What's happening, kittens?" We want to know more about Meredith. We want to follow him back into his own life, into a more interesting world. Anything to get out of this damn room.

Don't miss Kurt Loder's review of "Edge of Darkness," also new in theaters this week.

Check out everything we've got on "44 Inch Chest."

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

AC/DC all over Iron Man 2 soundtrack‘Edge of Darkness’: Dad Reckoning, By Kurt Loder

'Edge of Darkness': Dad Reckoning, By Kurt Loder

"Edge of Darkness" is a revenge thriller ripped from today's headlines. Well, ripped from the headlines of 25 years ago, anyway, back around the time when movies like "Silkwood" and "The China Syndrome" were mopping up Oscar nominations with their fact-based indictments of the nasty nuclear-energy industry.

The original "Edge of Darkness" was a 1985 BBC-TV miniseries whose director, Martin Campbell, has now turned it into a feature film, relocating the story to Boston. But Karen Silkwood was a real person, and "The China Syndrome" echoed the near-meltdown in the 1979 Three Mile Island accident. "Edge of Darkness" has no such real-world roots, and so its concern with a sinister nuclear-research corporation and the brave young anti-nuke activists determined to blow the whistle on it feels stale and dated. It's a movie whose time has passed.

The picture also manages to waste the star power of Mel Gibson, here returning to the screen in his first lead role in seven years. Gibson plays Tom Craven, a glum Boston homicide detective whose only apparent joy in life, apart from knocking back an occasional ginger ale, is his daughter Emma (Bojana Novakovic), now 24 and employed as a researcher at the aforementioned sinister corporation, an outfit called Northmoor. Craven is elated when Emma comes home for a visit — until he and his daughter step out the front door one night and a waiting hit man shoots her dead. Tom's fellow cops figure he was the real target, but the veteran investigator isn't so sure — especially after he goes through Emma's belongings and finds a gun and a small Geiger counter.

Setting out in search of answers, Craven tracks down Emma's mysteriously terrified boyfriend (Shawn Roberts), whose butt he unfortunately has to kick; and then an equally jittery girl named Melissa (Caterina Scorsone), who relays unsettling information about Night Flower, the anti-nuke group. Increasingly alarmed, Craven moves on to confront a sketchy corporate lawyer (Peter Hermann), a bent senator (Damian Young) and, inevitably, Jack Bennett (Danny Huston), the creamy, condescending head of Northmoor. Along the way, he also encounters a shadowy "security consultant" named Jedburgh (Ray Winstone), who tells Craven that Emma had been flagged by Northmoor and its governmental enablers as a possible terrorist.

The movie could have used a lot more of Winstone. His Jedburgh, an ambiguous mixture of menace and empathy, is the film's most intriguing character. He also gets some of the most pungent lines. ("We all know what the facts are," he says at one point. "We live a while, then we die sooner than we'd planned.") Winstone's intermittent appearances enliven the film in part because Gibson's Tom Craven is such a dispirited mope. The movie's central mystery is why the filmmakers would take an actor like Gibson — long valued for his striking looks, limber wit and capacity for feral intensity — and imprison him in a humorless character who shlubs through the picture in a baggy raincoat with a long face and a pronounced viciousness deficit.

Gibson is further burdened by the large part of the story that's devoted to Craven's undying love for his daughter. We see him gazing mournfully at photos of her and at home-video footage from her childhood, and we're moved at first. But then, jarringly, he begins speaking to her aloud. And then she starts speaking to him — and these scenes, with Emma's voice murmuring in out of nowhere, are so flatly set up, we wonder if some sort of supernatural element is being introduced. (It's not. I don't think.)

Campbell is an able action director (he directed 2006's "Casino Royale"). But apart from one terrific sequence — a startling drive-by assault — the shoot-ups and beat-downs here lack the sort of stylish punch that an action master like Paul Greengrass might have brought to them. The story begins to slog, the Northmoor machinations fail to surprise, and the dead Emma keeps refusing to stay dead — although at the end, in a scene of blazing silliness, she does kill the movie.

Don't miss Kurt Loder's review of "44 Inch Chest," also new in theaters this week.

Check out everything we've got on "Edge of Darkness."

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

AC/DC all over Iron Man 2 soundtrackKristen Stewart And Dakota Fanning Talk ‘Runaways’ Kissing Scene

Kristen Stewart Talks Strip-Club Research For 'Welcome To The Rileys'

It was October 2008, and Kristen Stewart wasn't yet one of the most recognizable young actresses on the planet. Mega-stardom wouldn't come for another few weeks, when "Twilight" would earn $70 million in its first three days in theaters. She was an 18-year-old actress incredibly thankful to be taking on her first adult role and willing to do anything to deliver a killer performance.

That's how Stewart found herself in a seedy New Orleans strip club researching her part as an underage stripper and prostitute in "Welcome to the Rileys."

"I talked to a couple of girls who worked in a strip club that we actually used for the set," she told MTV News more than a year later while promoting the film at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. "One of them was really dynamic, really interesting and charismatic. The other girl was less willing to talk about stuff, which means she's probably more in touch with it than the girl that was willing to talk about it. She's in the middle."

Not only did she talk with the girls, but as director Jake Scott told us, Stewart practiced dancing in the club itself. It was all in an effort to achieve verisimilitude for the role and to respect the stories of the women with whom she spoke. The film follows Stewart's character as she meets a troubled husband (James Gandolfini) who takes her under his wing, trying in many ways to find a replacement for his deceased teen daughter.

Since the film's premiere at Sundance, the now 19-year-old Stewart has won applause for her risky performance, one that made far more demands on her emotionally than playing Bella Swan in the "Twilight" films.

"She went for it," Scott told MTV News during a separate interview. "She got dirty. I think she was dying to do something like this."

The MTV Movies team was all over the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Go to Sundance.MTV.com for exclusive clips, reviews, photos and interviews with everyone from Kristen Stewart and Ryan Reynolds to Ben Affleck and James Franco.

Check out everything we've got on "Welcome to the Rileys."

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

Blur to release ‘No Distance Left to Run’ DVDKristen Stewart Takes Sundance 2010 By Storm

Chace Crawford's 'Twelve' Picked Up At Sundance

Chace Crawford's "Twelve" won't premiere at the Sundance Film Festival until Friday afternoon (January 29), but the movie has already been snatched up for distribution for a cool $2 million by Hannover House, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

That quick transaction might have more than a little something to do with the talents and public profile of the "Gossip Girl" star, who gets his first chance to take on a gritty, mature role in "Twelve." Based on a novel by Nick McDonell, the indie flick has Crawford playing White Mike, a teenage dropout whose mother has just died and who is selling drugs to his ex-classmates on the gleaming streets of Manhattan's Upper East Side. In a conversation earlier this week at Sundance, director Joel Schumacher explained to MTV News why the young actor was perfect for the part.

"Chace is very intelligent, comes from a really fine family," he said. "There's an old soul in him somewhere. He could play the grieving really well. There are a few scenes of anger. He was just right for the part, and the camera loves him. He does a lot with very little, and that's the essence of a good actor."

Schumacher certainly knows how to pick 'em. Going back to '80s films like "The Lost Boys" and "St. Elmo's Fire," the director has worked with a string of young actors who became Hollywood stars, like Rob Lowe, Judd Nelson and Kiefer Sutherland.

The movie also stars Sutherland, Emma Roberts, Rory Culkin, Ellen Barkin and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson — who plays vicious drug dealer Lionel. Schumacher said filming on location with 50 and Crawford proved difficult.

"Trying to shoot a scene on the streets of Manhattan with Chace Crawford and Curtis Jackson — when all the schools let out around 3 o'clock and you're trying to do an intimate scene with two people and there are 300 kids screaming — was a challenge," he said. "But I have to say Chace and 50 were great with the kids. They were really fantastic. But I have to say, some of those private school teenage girls — pretty aggressive there."

The MTV Movies team was all over the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Go to Sundance.MTV.com for exclusive clips, reviews, photos and interviews with everyone from Kristen Stewart and Ryan Reynolds to Ben Affleck and James Franco.

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

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

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'Avatar' Breaks 'Titanic' Worldwide Box-Office Record

Two down, one to go. On Tuesday (January 26), James Cameron's "Avatar" officially pushed past the record for the top-grossing worldwide release of all-time, set by the director's 1997 movie "Titanic." The achievement comes just a day after "Avatar" bested "Titanic" as the best international release (not including North America) of all-time. All that remains for "Avatar" is the #1 spot on the all-time domestic chart, where "Titanic" currently sits with $601 million.

The record-breaking worldwide figure — $1.858 billion, to the "Titanic" number of $1.843 billion — took just 39 days to secure. That's quite a jump over the 41 weeks it took Cameron's doomed love story to reach the lower number.

Of course, part of that is accounted for by the increased ticket cost. Standard admission prices are higher now than they were in 1997, and "Avatar" is particularly expensive since the 3-D screenings demand an even higher price. An impressive 72 percent of the global box office for "Avatar" came from those more expensive tickets, according to Exhibitor Relations box-office analyst Jeff Bock.

"Avatar" came out of this past weekend with an overseas box-office haul of $1.288 billion, breaking the first of three all-time gross records held by Cameron's famed sunken cruise ship. Combined with U.S. ticket sales, the total became $1.841 billion, just $2 million shy of the $1.843 billion "Titanic" figure. Few, if any, doubted that the blue aliens of Pandora would put another record behind them by Tuesday.

Domestically, "Avatar" beat out "The Dark Knight" for the all-time #2 spot on Monday, topping the Caped Crusader's $533 million haul with $552.8 million in ticket sales. Adjusting for Monday night's figures, that number now rests at $554.9 million. That's less than $50 million away from the $600.7 million "Titanic" number. As long as the brisk weekend business continues for "Avatar" — which it should, considering that the next 3-D competition is March release "Alice in Wonderland" — we can expect "Avatar" to claim the domestic record within the next two or three weeks.

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

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

‘Avatar’ Wins Fifth Straight Weekend At Box OfficeBlur to release ‘No Distance Left to Run’ DVD

Apple iPad Will Deliver New Ways To Watch Movies

The iPod forever changed the way we listen to music: how we just dance to Lady Gaga, our state of mind about Jay-Z, the manner in which Taylor Swift belongs to us. On Wednesday (January 27), Apple introduced another sleek portable device it's hoping will further transform how the world consumes its multimedia: the iPad.

As unveiled by Apple top dog Steve Jobs at the company's press conference in San Francisco, the iPad is a tablet computer that's essentially an oversize, souped-up version of the iPod Touch or iPhone. It also comes with a whole host of news features that offer consumers fresh ways to consume video, from HD movies to full-screen YouTube clips to web footage on The New York Times Web site. The intention is that it'll now be just as easy to go where no man has gone before with "Star Trek" as it has been to rock out with Gaga's "Poker Face."

(Check out MTV's live blog of the entire event over at Multiplayer.)

With a 9.7-inch touch-screen display and a battery life of 10 hours, the iPad will offer the most robust viewing experience yet available on an Apple mobile device. Ranging from 16GB to 64GB in storage size and $499 to $829 in price, you can now carry far more video than previously possible and play that video for far longer than ever before. However, viewed in landscape mode, widescreen movies on the iPad only take up about half of the screen's display. Reformatted movies, conversely, take up the entire screen — and the tablet is basically all screen, as there's just one button and a thin strip of black framing the device.

Apple has been quietly building its HD movie catalog for a while and the iPad seems positioned to take advantage of that increased selection — iTunes now boasts thousands of downloadable movies and TV shows. When it comes to HD, you'll also be able to watch YouTube clips in top-notch quality. The new YouTube app allows for easy visual organization of clips that automatically play in full screen when in landscape mode.

Helping you navigate all the multimedia on the iPad will be a more fully fleshed-out version of the iTunes digital movie player than is available on the iPhone, yet benefits from the now familiar touch-screen technology present on Apple's mobile devices. The iPad syncs with a personal computer, linking up music, movies, TV shows and more.

So imagine being able to sit down on the subway or an airplane or a park bench with your 16GB iPad, scroll through the four HD films that the 1.5-pound, 0.5-inch-thick tablet can hold, then watch whatever you want for hour after hour. Pretty cool. But it gets even cooler when you start to imagine all the features the iPad will soon contain.

Just like the iPhone, the iPad is open to third-party applications, meaning a whole host of creative apps that utilize the tablet's video capabilities will begin to come on the market. WiFi-enabled models will be available in 60 days, while ones with both WiFi and 3G cellular connectivity will pop up in 90 days.

As Apple exec Jonathan Ives put it during the press conference, the iPad "defines our vision, our sense of what's next."

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

Tiffany video and datesKristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning Find Their Inner Rock Stars In ‘Runaways’

'Avatar' Junkies Explain Their Fandom: 'It's A Spiritual Experience!'

Box-office bean counters haven't had much time to sleep in the six weeks since the release of James Cameron's epic "Avatar." The potent combination of effusive word of mouth and critical praise helped the film glide right past "The Dark Knight" this past weekend to capture the #2 spot — behind Cameron's "Titanic" — on the list of all-time top-grossing domestic releases.

So who's driving these intergalactic numbers? While casual moviegoers certainly play a huge role, "Avatar" junkies make "Titanic" devotees look like a regional fan club. And these are by no means closet cases: Coaxing Pandoraholics to dish about the movie's merits requires as much prodding as asking Lady Gaga fans why they love her.

So how do you know when you're officially a Pandoraholic? Judging from conversations with MTV News and fan comments on Ain't It Cool News and the Vancouver Sun, losing count of how many times you've seen the film is probably a good start. "I've been to the theater nine times to watch 'Avatar' and a few of those trips were for multiple showings," a fan named Burt unapologetically gushed. "All told, I think I'm on number 16 or 17, but I lost count after 12! I can't say I love this movie, because that's just too weak of a description. Worship comes closer, but that's still a long way off!"

'Fessing up to multiple screenings of the sci-fi epic is no point of embarrassment for Pandoraholics, who look upon their "Avatar" ticket stubs as badges of honor. "I've seen the movie seven times, and won't be stopping there," professed Zoey, whose conspiracy theories about the Vatican's secret plan to subvert the juggernaut are alive and well. "It is a spiritual experience for me in ways I won't go into here."

And for the junkies who see no end to future screenings in sight, do they consider their time and money well spent? "It was like going on Space Mountain five times — it was an amazing feeling!" Some even said they have a goal in mind — a certain double-digit number they want to hit, presumably before "Avatar II: The Blue is Back" comes out.

Like music enthusiasts who follow their favorite bands to every far-flung show in order to understand every facet of the music, several Pandoraholics said they feel compelled to see the film in every form available. So whether it's 2-D, real 3-D, IMAX 3-D or varying the type of glasses (Dolby, linear polarized) worn, super-fans seem to be in agreement that one can't really see "Avatar" until one sees all of "Avatar."

Jeff Bock, box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations, attributes the unprecedented box office numbers in part to the movie's 3-D advantage, but he also dubs "the fanatic factor" to be the real driving force behind the film's money-making momentum. "The fact that the realm 'Avatar' creates is a world that begets further exploration is why fanatics flock to these kinds of films over and over. Simply put: they can't get enough of the blue stuff."

With reports that some fans experience withdrawal symptoms from living in their [spiritual] motherland, Pandora, Bock credits James Cameron "for creating a true blue blockbuster using Hollywood's most successful mythic paradigm: the fantasy film."

As Pandoraholics continue to send their message to Hollywood loud and clear, there's little question that the film has fast joined flicks like the "Star Wars" and "Harry Potter" series in spawning its own cult of rabid fans.

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

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

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Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning Find Their Inner Rock Stars In 'Runaways'

Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart have definitely taken on a wide variety of movies since their child-star beginnings. But the two "New Moon" stars certainly strayed from their comfort zone for "The Runaways," the biopic about the highly influential 1970s all-girl rock band. Not only did they kiss each other, they also had to sing for their supper as Cherie Currie (Fanning) and Joan Jett (Stewart).

But Fanning wasn't intimidated by having to tap into her inner rock star; she really enjoyed it. "I wasn't dreading anything," she told MTV News while promoting the film at Sundance. "Actually, I was just really excited to do it. It's one of those things, like, you don't know how it's going to feel until you're actually there. And for me, [singing] 'Cherry Bomb' was what kind of summed the experience up for me."

But Stewart said that while Fanning has "got it," she wasn't quite as comfortable in the role of the rock icon — which is actually a good thing.

"I need to be thinking that this is the hardest job that I'll ever have to do, because I need to make myself nervous a little bit," Stewart explained of her acting process. "And I was intimidated by the singing part, even though it's not as much as what [Fanning] has to do. Joan has such a distinct sound, and I didn't want to sound stupid. I didn't want to sound like I didn't sound anything like her."

Stewart admitted meeting the real-life Runaways added a bit more pressure to the mix. "Having met them, it becomes such a different thing," she continued. "You're now responsible for the most important times of these people's lives that you've gotten to know and that you respect so much. And respect isn't even the right word for it."

The MTV Movies team was all over the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Go to Sundance.MTV.com for exclusive clips, reviews, photos and interviews with everyone from Kristen Stewart and Ryan Reynolds to Ben Affleck and James Franco.

Check out everything we've got on "The Runaways."

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

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Sandra Bullock, 'Inglourious Basterds' Win Big At 2010 SAG Awards

It was something of a dйjа vu evening at the 16th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Saturday evening (January 23). Most winners were repeats from the prior weekend's Golden Globe Awards, with both Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock again honored for their lead performances in "Crazy Heart" and "The Blind Side," respectively.

Bullock, who at one point was considered a long shot for any major awards, seemed stunned when her name was called. Upon arriving at the microphone, she admitted to wishing the show wasn't being aired live so she could express her surprise properly in words unfit for television.

 

 

 

 

 

 SAG Awards Red Carpet 

 

Only the absence of "Avatar" in any of the categories kept the ceremony from completely forecasting how the Academy Awards might turn out in two months. While James Cameron's box-office champ won the Golden Globe for Best Picture, the fact that it primarily features computer-generated characters made it unrecognized by the acting guild.

The SAG equivalent of a Best Picture prize, given to the best cast in a motion picture, went instead to "Inglourious Basterds." Speaking for the ensemble of the Quentin Tarantino film, horror filmmaker-turned-actor Eli Roth acknowledged the varied origins of his co-stars, who were plucked from such places as Ireland, Germany, France, New Hampshire and, referring to himself, Fangoria conventions.

Austrian actor Christoph Waltz, who has been a front-runner for the Oscar since "Inglourious Basterds" first premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last May, again won best supporting actor for that film. His performance as the film's immediately iconic villain Hans Landa is now surely a shoo-in for the Academy Award.

Also expected to continue her success at the Oscars is Mo'Nique, who, like Waltz, followed up her recent Golden Globe win with a SAG Award for her supporting performance in "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' By Sapphire."

As for the guild's television honors, Drew Barrymore ("Grey Gardens") followed her Golden Globe win with a SAG Award for best actress in a TV movie or miniseries. Similarly, Kevin Bacon made a repeat win for best actor in a TV movie or miniseries for his performance in "Taking Chance."

"30 Rock" stars Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey won awards for lead actor and lead actress in a comedy series, respectively, while new favorite "Glee" took home the prize for best ensemble performance. Fey was the sole SAG winner who had not been honored last weekend. Drama series awards went to Julianna Margulies, best actress for "The Good Wife"; Michael C. Hall, best actor for "Dexter"; and "Mad Men" for best ensemble.

Film and TV veteran Betty White, who appeared with Bullock in last year's comedy hit "The Proposal," was honored with the guild's 46th annual lifetime achievement award. Bullock introduced her recent co-star, recognizing her unlikely success over 60 years in an industry that isn't always kind to older actresses.

"Seventy-one years ago when I signed on to an experimental thing called television," White said of her career, "I never would have expected it to culminate in an evening like this."

Implying that it might be premature for her to receive the lifetime-achievement award, she added, "I was only 88 last weekend, so I've got a lot more to do."

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

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Kristen Stewart And Dakota Fanning Talk 'Runaways' Kissing Scene

Although it might be surprising to fans of "New Moon" to have co-stars Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning share a kiss in their new movie "The Runaways," the ladies insist that they never really thought of it as an issue. In fact, when MTV News caught up with the actresses at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, where they were promoting the rock biopic, they kind of shrugged off the hype.

"I don't think it was ever a big deal to me," Fanning, who plays Runaways lead singer Cherie Currie, explained, adding that having Cherie and Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) kiss in the film "was just a thing, another day" for the characters.

Stewart echoed Fanning's sentiment about the girl kiss, noting that it just felt right in the script and that it wasn't in any way a movie ploy or a way to shock the audience or "Twilight" fans. "It was never a big deal to me either ... especially the way it was written into the story and the way it wasn't, 'And they finally get together,' " she explained about the kiss in the film.

She added that the kiss acts as an extension of their friendship and their "bond" as bandmates. "It's like it was just one night, and they have such an awesome bond that's so cool to observe, so the fact that they made out when they were teenagers has nothing to do with it," Stewart insisted.

The MTV Movies team is all over the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Go to Sundance.MTV.com for exclusive clips, reviews, photos and interviews with everyone from Kristen Stewart and Ryan Reynolds to Ben Affleck and James Franco.

Check out everything we've got on "The Runaways."

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Edgar Wright Shares 'Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World' With His Pals

"Shaun of the Dead" set out to spoof the world of zombie movies — and in the process became one of the best undead flicks of all time. "Hot Fuzz" similarly became exactly what it set out to poke fun at: high-throttle buddy-cop movies. Now, our 10 to Watch in 2010 countdown continues with the filmmaker behind those two instant classics, as he puts the finishing touches on a movie that seems determined to spoof, well, everything else.

Based on the beloved comic series by Bryan Lee O'Malley, "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" tells the tale of a 23-year-old slacker (Michael Cera) determined to win the heart of a girl named Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) but forced to do battle with her seven ex-boyfriends. In an exclusive chat, Wright promised us action, music, dancing, huge special effects and a finished product somewhere between "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," "Freaks and Geeks" and "The Matrix."

MTV: Congratulations, Edgar, you're one of our 10 to Watch in 2010.

Edgar Wright: Oh, thank you.

MTV: So where is "Scott Pilgrim" at? Do you have a final cut?

Wright: Yeah, we have a cut, and we're still tinkering with that. It's a different thing doing a film with lots of effects in it; it's like another stage to have production be going on during the edit, which is an ongoing thing. It's like a painting, basically. There will probably come a point where the film will be essentially finished, apart from the effects, which will still be ongoing. But [our release date] is in August ... so, we're not rushing the effects or anything.

MTV: We know you've shown it to some friends like Jason Schwartzman and director Greg Mottola. Why is that an important part of your process?

Wright: I'm into little screenings for people. It's easy to show a screening to those in the industry, because they understand what an unfinished film looks like. So anyone who was swinging through town in London saw it, and then one night I was in Los Angeles, and I showed it to some other people. ... [Once] I think I watched it about seven times in one week. You learn as much from showing it to one person as you do [with] a test audience.

MTV: Recently, you showed some footage to director Jason Reitman and he tweeted that it was a " 'Matrix' for love." What did you think of that comment?

Wright: That was really nice. It's funny, because I've used that as a touchstone a couple of times. I guess there's some sort of level of reality in the film that makes it pretty unique. When I hired [cinematographer] Bill Pope to be DP — amongst his many films and TV shows he's done [are] "Freaks and Geeks" and "The Matrix." And I said to Bill: Imagine this film is equidistant between those two projects. Imagine the film is slap-bang in the middle of "Freaks and Geeks" and "The Matrix."

MTV: Anything else influence the actors?

Wright: Well, this is interesting — the night before we started filming, Michael Cera came up to my apartment and we watched "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" as our "good-luck film." And that became hugely bittersweet when John [Hughes] died once we started filming. That made it more emotional, in ways.

MTV: A lot of your actors have alluded to some interesting techniques that you're employing on this film. What can you tell us about the look of the action scenes, in particular?

Wright: Well, there's a bit of everything, really. We try to represent the art of the books, and there's also the element of graphics and animation, and there's digital work too, but then at the same time there's a lot of stuff that's in-camera — so there really is a combination of all the three. There's some green-screen stuff, but it's not solely that. It's really a combination of all the different techniques, and that's what makes it fun. ... You'll also be surprised when you see how much the actors are doing their own stunts and fights. It's quite astonishing.

MTV: What is your favorite of these sequences?

Wright: I don't have one. Until it's all done and dusted, it's pretty difficult to say [which one]. Some of the action sequences are like musicals; they are almost like dance numbers. ... There's an element of spectacle to it, in terms of the fights are like dance numbers in a way, which is where Jackie Chan's school of fighting comes from. Jackie Chan is most similar to Gene Kelly in terms of the way he approaches a sequence — the spectacle and theatricality to it.

MTV: So we can look forward to a wonderful, theatrical spectacle next August.

Wright: Hopefully. Usually when you edit movies, there will be a sequence where you watch and they say, "Hey, put that on again!" You're trying to work and you end up watching the scene [over and over], and it just keeps changing because you have temp score, and then you start getting parts of the real score in, and it changes hugely. As long as you keep getting excited by it, that's the main thing. And I never get tired of watching these action scenes at all.

Check out everything we've got on "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World."

For breaking comic book movie news, columns and more — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com.

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Kristen Stewart Takes Sundance 2010 By Storm

PARK CITY, Utah — Kristen Stewart has jetted into the Sundance Film Festival four times before, but none of the 19-year-old's visits can possibly compare to her experience at the 2010 fest. Not only has Stewart fully established herself as one of the biggest stars on the planet after two blockbuster "Twilight" films, but the actress is premiering two films at the festival and dealing with all the publicity needs such films require.

So, there she was on the red carpet at "Welcome to the Rileys," in which she plays a damaged teen stripping for cash in the seedy back alleys of New Orleans. There she was on the red carpet of "The Runaways," the rock biopic that has her assuming the role of Joan Jett. She spent her weekend dutifully posing for photographs and making her way down the press line, because that's what a teen superstar has to do. But when the flashes died down and the hungry reporters retreated, Stewart had a chance to enjoy the aspect of this cinema carnival that she truly embraces.

"The coolest thing about Sundance is coming back and seeing the people you made the movies with," she told MTV News on the "Rileys" carpet. "Everyone on 'The Runaways,' we became really close. Me and Dakota [Fanning] are really close. I love that she can see ['Welcome to the Rileys'] with me."

Stewart is already receiving strong reviews for her turn in "Rileys." It's a role she told us is the most personal of her career, a transformative experience that has stayed with her long after production wrapped. More than a year has passed since the shoot, and Stewart still finds it difficult to talk about the role. She said she had trouble separating her own life from her character's.

"It doesn't feel like a movie," she said a day later during a sit-down interview.

Nor does it feel like any of her previous trips to Sundance. All the attention that has come as a result of the "Twilight" films has conspired to deprive her of another of her favorite aspects of the festival.

"I can't walk up and down Main Street, and walking up and down Main Street is sort of where you see everybody and you see what's going on," Stewart said, pausing momentarily. "Whoa, I was going to start crying."

Check out everything we've got on "Welcome to the Rileys" and "The Runaways."

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

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'The White Ribbon': Children's Hour, By Kurt Loder

German director Michael Haneke may be the world's chilliest filmmaker since Stanley Kubrick, who relinquished the title along with his life. Haneke's latest movie, "The White Ribbon," already festooned with prizes from Cannes to the Golden Globes, shows little sign of a warming trend in his work; but it does offer some of the pleasures of genre storytelling — at least until the end, when the director lobs the tale back into our laps to make of it what we will (which doesn't require a lot of pondering).

The picture suggests a sardonic reworking of the 1960 alien-invasion classic, "Village of the Damned." It's set in a remote village in Northern Germany in 1913, on the eve of World War I. Eichwald is a place of near-feudal social arrangement and harsh Protestant rigor. The land is presided over by a baron whose extensive fields provide sustenance for the local peasants; they in turn are tended by a kindly village doctor, an earnest young schoolteacher and a minister of monumental Christian rectitude. A timeless placidity reigns over the deep structures of communal order.

Beneath the village's uneventful surface, though, some sinister force is at work. First the doctor encounters a booby trap that throws him from his horse and puts him in a nearby town hospital. A peasant woman falls to her death in the local sawmill. The baron's young son disappears and is later found bound and beaten. As these horrors accumulate, the villagers succumb to paranoia. Who among them could be responsible? Who can they blame? As the superficial tranquility of the village begins to crack, we see what festers beneath it. The minister ties white ribbons to his children to remind them of the virtues of innocence; when they stray from the path of purity, he brings out his cane (or, in the case of a son whom he suspects of masturbation, the bonds to tie his hands to his bed each night). Another upright citizen mounts incestuous assaults on his young daughter. Could the sudden outbreak of violent incidents be some sort of retribution? What do the smiling blond children know?

Haneke is never graphic in showing us the worst of the transgressions here, but the story drips an emotional degradation that's almost as harrowing. One scene in which a man berates his homely mistress for her lack of sexual appeal and her revolting smell is close to unbearable. And the air of constant threat and repression through which the village children move is suffocatingly claustrophobic. Haneke's longtime cinematographer, Christian Berger, has shot the film in striking black-and-white; but unlike Francis Ford Coppola's "Tetro," in which the picture's inky richness became its most notable element, this is the vintage monochrome of '30s cinema — it takes us back to another time, as does the knobby plainness of the well-cast actors. We're engrossed, and we await the story's resolution.

But anyone familiar with Haneke's work will know he has no interest in the simple pleasures of genre filmmaking. His trademark sadism extends from his characters to the audience itself. No closure is offered here, although in traditional terms the movie cries out for it. Haneke wants us to see how emotional suppression and an iron moralism helped summon forth the eventual horrors of the Nazi period. As deep thoughts go, this is underwhelming. And despite the movie's formal beauty and fine performances, it's just not enough.

Don't miss Kurt Loder's review of "Creation," also new in theaters this week.

Check out everything we've got on "The White Ribbon."

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

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Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, More 'Twilight' Stars' Roles For 2010

While the "Twilight Saga" may be giving us some of the biggest blockbusters of its time, most of the series' stars are indie actors at heart. It's no surprise, then, that this week's Sundance Film Festival will unveil three highly anticipated films for Twilighters: "The Runaways," "Welcome to the Rileys" and "Skateland."

In 2010, however, that's just the tip of the iceberg. From blockbusters to indies, quirky love stories to serious dramas, the "Twilight" gang is branching out. With that in mind, here are the top 10 "Twilight"-related movies of 2010 (release dates subject to change, of course). How many will you be lining up to see?

"The Runaways" (March 19)
What more can we write about this eagerly anticipated biopic covering the '70s rockers who broke boundaries, hearts and more than a few pieces of their own equipment? Kristen Stewart rocks out alongside Dakota Fanning, Scout Taylor-Compton and Alia Shawkat, and if the trailer we premiered last month is any indication, this film could prove to the haters that KStew is a lot more than just Bella Swan. Kristen as Joan Jett? Put another dime in the jukebox, baby.

"Remember Me" (March 12)
All of Hollywood is asking one simple question these days: Can Rob Pattinson open a non-"Twilight" movie? We'll find out soon enough, as he stars alongside Emilie de Ravin in this romantic drama that similarly involves family, tragedy and issues of eternal love — but minus the bloodsucking.

"Warrior" (TBD)
Kellan Lutz finally lands his first starring role in this indie film about a lacrosse player who reacts to his father's death by rebelling against anything he can find — until his dad's old Marine buddy becomes determined to straighten him out. Besides the fact that it gives "Twilight" fans a double dose of their favorite stars, there's something oddly fascinating about the fact that Ashley Greene plays Kellan's girlfriend.

"Welcome to the Rileys" (TBD)
James Gandolfini is Doug, a man whose life is in shambles since his daughter was killed eight years ago. Kristen Stewart is Mallory, a 16-year-old stripper who offers him sex — but all he wants is someone to be with while he gets his head together. As Doug's wife also comes into the equation, the couple find themselves acting as surrogate parents for the wayward teen. All reports are that it's KStew's most adult role yet — and we'll learn plenty more soon enough as the Sundance reports roll in.

"Girlfriend" (TBD)
Like so many of his franchise co-stars, Jackson Rathbone will aim to bust out as a leading man in 2010. This intense indie film has Jacksper playing a man caught up in an unorthodox love triangle involving a man with Down syndrome. Jackson is providing the soundtrack through his band 100 Monkeys, and if their music is any indication this will be a film that isn't afraid to take some risks.

"Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" (TBD)
Even if "Twilight" star Anna Kendrick weren't in this, it would still be one of our most anticipated films of the year. Based on the beloved Bryan Lee O'Malley graphic novels, the movie focuses on a 23-year-old slacker (Michael Cera) who falls in love with a girl (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) but has to battle her seven evil ex-boyfriends if he wants to get a chance with her. Kendrick has said the film is "really fun" and that she spends the whole movie screaming at Michael Cera on the phone — sounds good enough for us!

"Eclipse" (June 30)
It's the big kahuna, the top dog, the whole enchilada. And so far, virtually nothing has been released that gives us any indication of what David Slade's "Twilight" movie will be like. Who are we kidding? We're there anyway.

"Valentine's Day" (February 12)
OK, so half of Hollywood is in this movie. But the two that "Twilight" fans will care about most are Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner — in his first post-"Saga" acting appearance. It promises to be this year's "He's Just Not That Into You," and all indications are that the Taylors have a small amount of screen time. But they spend it making out — so how can you not be curious?

"The Last Airbender" (July 2)
Now we all understand why they dropped "Avatar" from the title. But although this M. Night Shyamalan-directed adaptation of the popular kids' franchise might not make a billion dollars, it still seems likely to be the biggest non-"Twilight" blockbuster that any of the franchise's alumni will be involved with this year. Jackson Rathbone stars as Sokka, a warrior who wields swords and martial arts as powerfully as Jasper Hale does that creepy stare.

"Skateland" (TBD)
Over the last few years, it's been fascinating to watch all the "Twilight" stars navigate their own unique paths from obscurity to ubiquity. Miss Ashley Greene has used her fashion sense and well-spoken demeanor to make the most out of her minimal screen time as Alice Cullen — and now she may be ready to take the next step with this '80s drama about a small-town Texas skating rink. Lucky Twilighters venturing to Sundance will be able to catch a sneak peek of the flick, which should prove that Ashley is ready to take off the training wheels.

For young Hollywood news, fashion and "Twilight" updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.

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Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Brings 'Iconic Figure' To Life In 'Tooth Fairy'

LOS ANGELES — Now that Arnold Schwarzenegger has been lost to the world of politics, it's hard to imagine an ongoing Hollywood success story as remarkable as that of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Beginning his career in the unlikeliest of places — the wrestling ring — Johnson has been able to overcome his muscle-bound stigma to become a star of action movies ("The Rundown"), family films ("Race to Witch Mountain") and comedies (his appearances on "Saturday Night Live" have yielded many instant-classic moments).

This weekend, he returns with "Tooth Fairy," a fun-loving family flick that casts the big man as a hockey player forced to wear wings and collect the incisors of small children. It's the type of silly flick Ah-nuld would have relished in his early-'90s "Junior" period and one that Johnson similarly hopes will expand his range.

Recently, we sat down to talk about tooth fairies, "Family Guy," his new muscles and everything else the Rock has cooking.

MTV: Dwayne, the image on the poster for "Tooth Fairy" says it all: "Come see the Rock in a tutu." But was there something more here that made you want to make this film?

Dwayne Johnson: Yeah, when this came across my desk, I wasn't gonna let it go. Sometimes scripts come across, and you're like, "You know, I could let that one go; maybe someone else could do it." But not this. It's special. A funny, funny, funny movie. And also, we had the great opportunity of creating [the first onscreen manifestation of] an iconic figure that's been around forever.

MTV: When you were a kid, did you believe in the tooth fairy?

Johnson: I still do believe in the tooth fairy; yeah, the fairy exists. I know generally, the tooth fairy was really good to me. When I was a kid, losing teeth, I'd get one, two or three dollars. The cool thing for me was that the tooth fairy always gave me paper money — paper money is better than coins.

MTV: One of the best scenes in this movie has you encountering another fairy who is almost like a drug dealer — a sketchy character played by Seth McFarlane. And recently, we saw you on "Family Guy."

Johnson: I love Seth. What was I doing on "Family Guy"?

MTV: You were using action figures to simulate sex between Peter and Lois; it was hilarious. How did these two crazy cameos come to pass?

Johnson: I've always been such a big fan of that show, for years. Seth came on for that cameo in "Tooth," we had a blast, and I said, "Any time you want me to come on and play, I'd love to." He was like, "Great!" They wrote that little scene we did, I came on and returned the favor. Seth is a great guy; I'm happy for him.

MTV: Would you ever want to collaborate with him further?

Johnson: Oh, I would love to. [I'm sure] it would be very blue. And it would involve action figures. He's a smart guy, which is why he's been so successful over the years.

MTV: We've interviewed you many times over the years, but you've never been as big as you are now. Have you been amping up your workouts for some purpose? For a role?

Johnson: Yes, I am preparing for an action role in a film called "Faster." It's myself and Billy Bob Thornton. You know, making people laugh, feeling good and entertaining them in movies is great — but there is nothing like kickin' ass. I love that.

MTV: Why did you feel the need to get so much bigger for this? You look more muscular than even "Walking Tall" and "The Scorpion King."

Johnson: I've been heavier in the past, but I just haven't been [like this]. I've changed my training around. The training has been tweaked, the volume of it is just a bit more. Plus, when you get older, your muscles — especially if you take care of yourself — will mature nicely.

MTV: There are some very funny lines in the movie, and between yourself and Billy Crystal and Stephen Merchant, many seem improvised. Are there any gems that you can point to and say, "I came up with that!"

Johnson: [ Flexes his biceps. ] That's my gem. The "hammer brothers" line is funny. [In the movie he flexes and says] "If you ever wanna meet the hammer brothers, they're always in town: jack and sledge!"

Check out everything we've got on "The Tooth Fairy."

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

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'Creation': Natural Man, By Kurt Loder

You'd figure that formulating the basics of evolutionary biology would involve some hard traveling, both mental and nautical. But sweat cures? Stuffed-bird riots? Little ghostie girls chattering in a corner? Who knew about that stuff?

Director Jon Amiel's "Creation" is an imaginative approach to an impossible project. First, it undertakes to tell the story of the naturalist Charles Darwin's 20-year struggle with the research that became "On the Origin of Species," his world-changing book about the way in which plants and animals have evolved over the ages through a process that Darwin called natural (as opposed to divine) selection. The movie also sketches in the five-year-long, globe-girdling voyage during which he collected the compendious data for his book, along with much peripheral information about his health (wretched), his relationship with his devoutly religious wife (strained) and his apparently never-ending connection to his dead 10-year-old daughter (feverish). This is a lot of material to pack into 108 minutes, and "Creation" goes lumpy in attempting it.

The first problem any movie must face in depicting a famous writer is that there's nothing interesting about watching a person sitting at a desk staring at a blank sheet of paper, a process usually enlivened only by occasional fits of grumbling and the hurling of inkpots across the room. So Amiel wisely focuses on Darwin the man, at home in his country house in the years following his return from the sea. In this he is assisted by a fine, smoothly integrated cast: Paul Bettany as Darwin; Jennifer Connelly (Bettany's wife) as the author's wife, Emma; and, most entertainingly, little Martha West playing the daughter, Annie, both in the here-and-now and in her surprisingly lively afterlife.

To whip up some action around his largely sedentary subject, Amiel devotes much time to Darwin's health problems — the mysterious palpitations, pains and tremors that regularly disrupted his work. In an age in which a typical prescription might involve taking a swig of mercury and calling back in the morning, Darwin's affliction defied diagnosis. (It remains unexplained to this day.) So we watch him seeking relief in vain by drinking laudanum and undergoing sweat sessions, body scrubs and hydrotherapy. (The shot of him standing in a high-ceilinged chamber as torrents of water come pouring down on him is one of the movie's many striking images.)

Darwin was also distressed by the implication of his theory — that nature works in autonomous ways, with God's contribution possibly overstated. (As one character says to him, "What if the whole world stopped believing that God has a plan for us?") Originally a believer himself, he was finally pushed over the edge into agnosticism by Annie's death (which also made him wonder if her own ill health was the result of his marriage to Emma, who was his first cousin).

The movie has the polished veneer of a prestigious British TV bio; fortunately, it's enriched by a procession of radiant, dream-like sequences, some set on the remote islands Darwin visited on his famous journey, others in his workshop-laboratory (where the above-mentioned stuffed birds, displayed under a bell jar, suddenly come to furious life) and others in the natural world with which he so happily communed. (At one instructively compressed point we follow a rat scurrying into a burrow filled with writhing worms; a bird pokes its head in, snatches one of them and flies up to its nest, unintentionally dislodging a chick, which falls to the ground, dies, and is swarmed by insects that strip its body to the bone before being consumed themselves by a caterpillar.)

Given the intelligence with which the picture was made, it's a shame the story never quite coheres — it's torn between elements of domestic drama, theological disputation and evolutionary science; and despite the welcome spriteliness of West's performance, the continual reappearance of her deceased Anna to carry on supportive conversations with her father mostly confuses things. After a while, the movie begins to lumber, and it never quite regains its legs. It fails, in any satisfactory way, to evolve.

Don't miss Kurt Loder's review of "The White Ribbon," also new in theaters this week.

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

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

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'Clash Of The Titans' Director Louis Leterrier Is One Of 10 To Watch In 2010

Last summer, MTV News brought you the first-ever peek at the big budget remake of "Clash of the Titans" when we visited the Wales set, checking out epic battle scenes, CGI setups and star Sam Worthington in armor and a leather skirt. As we enter the new year, director Louis Leterrier is still hard at work on the project, a reimagining of the 1981 original loosely based on the Greek legend of Perseus and filled with gods, monsters and sword fights. And we couldn't be more juiced about what he's throwing together.

The French-born Leterrier, who also directed "The Incredible Hulk," called MTV earlier in the month to give us an update about the progress of his upcoming film, due out in March, some creatures we should be especially excited about and what other creations have influenced him along the way.

MTV: Where are you at in the production right now?

Louis Leterrier: We are reshooting ... we are juggling chain saws on this one. It's exciting. We were shooting the movie while we were prepping. We were shooting and posting at the same time. It's such an enormous movie with tons of visual effects, so we have to do everything at once. It's not only the number, it's the size of the visual effects. Our Kraken [sea monster] — he's not a small or medium Kraken, he's the biggest Kraken ever! We have water, boats, interactive people, everything. I don't want to do this on every movie, but I got used to shooting, posting, writing, rehearsing actors, writing the music all at the same. I never stop. I work 20 hours a day, seven days a week and it's fantastic.

MTV: Relative to "Hulk," which was a big movie, has this been an even bigger challenge?

Leterrier: "Hulk" is the story of one guy running away from two other guys and he's in love with one girl and he turns into one monster. That's it. Here I've got, like, 20 monsters, crowds of thousands — it's "Ben-Hur" with monsters. Everything becomes extremely complicated. Not to mention the complexity I added on in the beginning. I wanted to shoot in real places, not against a green screen. We moved 800 people to a small island called Tenerife, which is south of Morocco, flew helicopters and cranes all over, then went to Wales, went back to London, a crew went to Ethiopia. We were shooting all over the world. It made it very complicated, but when the dailies were coming in, it was amazing. It's because we went to the right places.

MTV: From the trailers, it seems like there are some epic set pieces. Do you have a favorite?

Leterrier: I don't like to have a set piece, then you start to tell a little bit of the story, and then you go on. I try to mix everything up. You have some exposition while you are running away from a monster and then you go to another thing. Then you stop, and when you think you're gonna rest, you get attacked by another monster. It's fun. You keep the audience surprised all the time. I'm surprised all the time as the director. When you get such a great cast of actors and you have so many people interacting together, you just get magic on the screen.

MTV: What about the tone? Is it light and fun or does it have some grit to it?

Leterrier: It's fun and light. I don't like those clean movies. We were looking at "Gladiator," we were looking at "Braveheart," "Saving Private Ryan." I was looking at those movies more than I was looking at "Troy." I was looking at grittier, dirty movies, which for me, and maybe just me, they feel more real. I know that Maximus [in "Gladiator"] is suffering because it's cold at the beginning and then it's so hot and he's in pain. These are the movies I love and that's what I tried to do. You see the people suffering, they get wounded, they stop and eat, they are exhausted, they have to rest because they won't be able to go on. It's real stuff.

MTV: Do you have a favorite monster?

Leterrier: I love the Kraken. It took so long to design the Kraken because we wanted to pay homage to the original movie, but at the same time I wanted something so huge, so massive, so unlike anything you've ever seen and also something that could move and interact and have a destruction pattern that was different than anything before. The scorpions and the harpies are amazing. We have new creatures that are like alerted humans — lots of prosthetics in our movie. Connor Sullivan, who did "The Dark Knight" — he's the guy who designed Two-Face — he did an amazing job on the Acrisius character played by Jason Flemyng. Lindy Hemming, who did the suits in "Dark Knight," she did our suits. I'm really proud of the design of this movie.

MTV: Do you know what the rating is going to be?

Leterrier: Triple X! No, PG-13. Because the blood of the monster is black, so it's fine. I can get away with it. I'm smart that way! No, it's such a big movie, and also a fun movie, but it looks gritty. It's hard PG-13.

MTV: With the movie coming out in March, do you know what's coming down the line for you in 2010?

Leterrier: So far, it's all about "Clash." I'm not the kind of guy who can do two movies at once. I love to just throw myself body and soul into one project. With "Clash," we are coming to the end, so I am starting to poke my head out of the water and see what's out there. But in terms of what I'd love to do, I'm not there.

Check out everything we've got on "Clash of the Titans."

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

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'Tron Legacy' Director Joseph Kosinski Raves About 3-D And Daft Punk

Joseph Kosinski deserves a spot on MTV News' 10 to Watch in 2010 list because of his sheer creative guts. For the director's feature-film debut, he's taking on one of the most venerated sci-fi flicks ever in "Tron," the 1982 Jeff Bridges-starring escapade about artificial intelligence, gaming and the boundaries of moviemaking technology. And for his sequel, "Tron Legacy," due in December, Kosinski is going big with a motion-capture 3-D adventure that picks up after the events of the first movie and seeks to pay homage to the original while utilizing the very latest digital tools Hollywood has to offer.

(Check out MTV's exclusive first look at the "Tron Legacy" poster on the MTV Movies Blog.)

With principal photography on the film wrapped, the director is hard at work on the visual-effects work Disney is hoping will be unlike anything audiences have ever seen. In the midst of all of this work, Kosinski called MTV News to talk about his film's 3-D tech, the elements from the first film we're sure to see in the sequel and how Daft Punk were recruited to record the score.

MTV: Much of the work was done last year, but looking at 2010, does it feel like this is an important professional year for you?

Joseph Kosinski: I'm about two and a half years in on this, with about another year still to go. We still have a tremendous amount of work still to do, because there are a lot of visual effects on a movie like this, and we're also doing it in 3-D, which doubles up everything. Then sound design and tweaking the music. It's not the home stretch by any means.

MTV: How immersive is the 3-D? Is it start to finish, or does it pop up in key sequences?

Kosinski: Our approach is not like "Avatar," which I think is 3-D from the first shot to the last. Ours is sort of a "Wizard of Oz" approach. Ninety-eight percent of the 3-D is in the world of "Tron." The 3-D really starts once we get into the Tron world.

MTV: Is the technology you're using similar to what James Cameron used or what Robert Zemeckis has used?

Kosinski: It's a combination of technologies that Zemeckis has been using in terms of the completely digital motion-capture of a character and for the live-action camera system. We used a camera developed by James Cameron's company. We used a newer generation of camera than the one used on "Avatar." They built it specifically for us.

MTV: Will the finished film look pretty much like what we've seen in that test footage from Comic-Con?

Kosinski: I would say it's not far removed. The teaser, at least tonally, represented the direction I wanted to take it. That sequence actually doesn't appear in our film at all. It represents a period of time before our film begins. We were able to refine the design of the light cycles, the characters, the world and kind of flesh it out to a much higher level of detail than we were able to do for the test. What we're going to see in the film will feel a lot more photorealistic. They did that test with eight or 10 people in a matter of months. We have thousands of people working on the film. It's a whole different scale.

MTV: So the takeaway is that Jeff Bridges is playing at least two representations of himself, one that is a contemporary of the original character and one that is a younger version. How much of Jeff are we going to see?

Kosinski: Jeff is playing two characters. He's playing Kevin Flynn, the character from the original film, and he's playing Clu, the avatar that Kevin Flynn created in the 1980s. I'd say he's Clu 2. There was a Clu in the first film who looked like Jeff but was very simple in terms of his abilities. He's very stiff. Clu 2 is a second incarnation of Kevin's avatar. He doesn't only look like Jeff, but he can think like him too. So it's a whole new level of artificial intelligence.

MTV: What strikes me from the teaser and my visit to the set is that this is a dark film, an adult approach to the material. It's not a G-rated Disney film.

Kosinski: I don't know if I would say adult. There's nothing in the film that would keep kids from watching it. I think the aesthetic of the film is largely a reflection of my aesthetic and what I'm interested in. When you make a movie, you can only make the movie that you would want to see. For me, it was taking what I loved about the first film, which was the design elements that Syd Mead and Moebius [a.k.a. Jean Giraud] did, which I feel is timeless, and extrapolate it forward 28 years. We're saying in the world of the computer, it's been thousands of years and it has evolved.

MTV: Has there been a mandate in terms of rating?

Kosinski: While making the movie, we never did anything to serve a particular rating. We made the movie we wanted to make. I think Disney would be really happy with a PG rating. But I haven't had it reviewed by anyone. I imagine it will be PG or PG-13.

MTV: It's going to be released in IMAX, presumably. Did you shoot anything specifically for that format?

Kosinski: We did not shoot anything with an IMAX camera, because it uses film, and since we were shooting in 3-D, we used two digital cameras. That being said, we are doing an IMAX version. What I am considering doing now is finishing four or five sections of the film in a tall format — not letterbox — and in an IMAX theater, the black bars at the top and bottom of the frame will disappear and it will become a full-screen sequence, which should be really cool. I think IMAX will be the way to see this movie.

MTV: What were the hallmarks that you felt you needed to retain to satisfy the core audience who loved the original?

Kosinski: The focus was always to serve the story we are telling. To include Bruce Boxleitner is not at all a cameo or stunt casting. He is integral to the story we're trying to tell, which is why he's in it. We've taken the events of the first movie as historical facts. In our story, Kevin Flynn emerged from his first experience as CEO of ENCOM and actually released the Tron video game based on his experiences in the first movie. ENCOM has become the most innovative, most successful, most forward-thinking digital company in the world as of 1989. There are fun references to parts of the first film. Sam Flynn [Garrett Hedlund], in searching for his father, has to retrace his steps and comes upon clues and places that we visited in the first film, like Flynn's Arcade. Even in the world of Tron itself, a lot of vehicles and sequences have evolved. We'll get to see how the disc game has changed, how the light cycle battle has changed. We get to see the new version of these iconic sequences. Things have gotten bigger and a bit out of control.

MTV: Why'd you choose to go with Daft Punk for the soundtrack?

Kosinski: I'm a huge electronic-music fan. This is a film where there was a lot of interest from different electronic bands that I follow to work on the film. I felt it was important, just as the first film was so forward-thinking visually and Wendy Carlos' music was so innovative, I felt we had to do the same thing here. So rather than going with a traditional film composer, I wanted to try something fresh and different. I set up a meeting with Daft Punk. We met for pancakes at the 101 Coffee Shop in L.A. one morning. These guys take "Tron" very seriously. Obviously, "Tron" was a huge influence on them. It was almost like they were interviewing me to make sure that I was going to hold up to the "Tron" legacy. But the more we talked, we realized that creatively, we were totally synced up. I've been working on it with them for over a year and a half. I don't know of a movie where you're working on the soundtrack months before you start filming. The level of integration between the music and the film is incredibly strong.

MTV: Will it integrate any of the original themes?

Kosinski: There's a certain level of nostalgia with something like this, but we never want it to go to a level of campiness. So we've been very careful to make sure we're serving our story. If you hear any music from the original film, it will only be in the appropriate place.

MTV: I know it's early, but are you thinking of franchise possibilities?

Kosinski: Yeah. I think the world we've built here is big enough and has scale to support another story. As to whether that will happen, that depends on how the film is received when it comes out.

Check out everything we've got on "Tron Legacy."

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

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'The Social Network' Star Jesse Eisenberg Is One Of 10 To Watch In 2010

Last year Jesse Eisenberg battled flesh-noshing ghoulies and teenage angst and came out on the winning side both times in the eyes of critics and moviegoers. Following on the success of "Adventureland" and "Zombieland," Eisenberg was recruited by David Fincher ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button") to play the staring role of Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg for a film about the passions, backbiting and legal wrangling surrounding the creation of the social networking behemoth at Harvard.

Due out in October, "The Social Network" has us so excited that we've named the 26-year-old Eisenberg as one of our 10 to Watch in 2010 — the folks in the movie industry we expect big things from in the next 12 months. Still in the midst of production on the film, the actor took time out to call MTV News and talk about the project, working with Fincher and co-star Justin Timberlake and when we see might see him return to zombie territory for a sequel.

MTV: Last year was a pretty big one for you, with "Adventureland" and "Zombieland." Does it feel like with "Social Network" you're reaping the rewards of your hard work in 2009?

Eisenberg: I don't know that the director had seen those movies. I don't know if he would have hired me from those movies for this role, which is different than those. The last concern of his is casting someone with momentum. I auditioned for this. I made a tape. I'm sure lots of people made tapes. I don't see a connection in terms of a climatic career trajectory or anything.

MTV: Had you been an admirer of Fincher's work for a while?

Eisenberg: I really don't watch movies. I'd seen his movies a few years ago. Most of what I know about him was from people speaking about him so highly, most specifically Fred Durst, who directed me [in "The Education of Charlie Banks"] and looked at him almost as a mentor. Everybody speaks about him with such awe, and now having worked with him for the last four months, I would certainly agree he's working in a completely unique way and in way I found very satisfying.

MTV: So what was the audition process like?

Eisenberg: I just made a tape, probably 20 pages of dialogue and sent in the tape because I live in New York City and they were casting in California. Then they called me for a meeting. It was fairly painless.

MTV: Is this the first time you're playing a real person?

Eisenberg: I did two or three movies where I played a fictionalized version of the director. Last year I did ["Adventureland"], that was loosely based on the director's life. But in terms of a recognizable person, this is the first time. You take as much as you can from what you see, what you like, and also tailor what you feel you want to do to the story and the script, which takes precedence over whatever kind of quirks or characterizations you want to bring to it. And the script is so wonderful — written by Aaron Sorkin, 170 pages long. The character goes from 19 to 24. It's hard to look at interviews now with Zuckerberg, who has become the head of a big company and probably has people guiding him along the interview process, and then extrapolate what he might have been like in a dorm room at 19 with his buddies. You're always going to the script for guidance more than anything if you're playing a real person.

MTV: Tell me bit about the story line. What's the core relationship?

Eisenberg: The main relationship is between Zuckerberg and the guy who bankrolled his initial endeavor and who's his alleged best friend — although this is all up for debate within the Facebook world — whose name is Eduardo Saverin. He was a business major at Harvard and they were in the same Jewish fraternity. He's played by Andrew Garfield. The core relationship is the two of them.

MTV: What's it like to work with Fincher? Are there long days?

Eisenberg: The days aren't long because he schedules them over such a long period of time. It's, like, a 70-day shoot. The last movie I did was 18 days. The days are short, but the experience is long. He likes to do a lot of takes. For each scene, you end up doing many more takes than you'd do on another movie.

MTV: Will the film have any of the technical wizardry Fincher has become known for?

Eisenberg: I have such a lack of technical awareness, but it does seem to be very straightforwardly shot. There are some very unique technical aspects about the movie that I don't know if I'm allowed to share. But they all serve the story, not just for the sake of doing something technical.

MTV: Have you watched any of the dailies?

Eisenberg: No, I don't watch anything. I'm mortified by myself. Having said that, when you're filming, you have an idea of how things are looking and it seems real straightforward.

MTV: What's the tone? Is it a comedy?

Eisenberg: It's certainly not a comedy. Most scenes aren't played for jokes. This is a serious movie. Imagine what happens with something real and you're telling it honestly. If I had to compare it to something, I'd compare it to an Aaron Sorkin creation, really compelling and clever and full of interesting facts and people who are really bright and are always having entertaining conversations.

MTV: How much instruction did Fincher give you prior to filming? Did he have you study any other movies?

Eisenberg: No, he's confident with us working through things on set. He does so many takes, there's time to get things right or do different things. We had rehearsals, but that was more about creating a rapport than figuring out what the themes are going to be. I don't know why they make actors look at other movies anyway. The main thing for me was looking at videos of the guy I'm playing and seeing what I can take from it and bring to the character that has already been written.

MTV: How was working with Justin Timberlake?

Eisenberg: He plays Sean Parker, the founder of Napster, who comes in after Facebook is established and Zuckerberg becomes infatuated with him to the point where it's like a platonic love triangle between Saverin, who bankrolled the operation and Parker, who has this Silicon Valley aura and rock star status in the dot-com world.

MTV: Were you a fan of Timberlake before the shoot?

Eisenberg: Certainly after and during. I can't say I knew his music too much except for knowing about him because he's so ubiquitous. But I heard such great things about working with him both personally and professionally from so many people. He's certainly lived up to that and more — extremely professional and charming and modest, which is probably unique for someone that famous.

MTV: When you're done with "Social Network," do you have any plans for 2010? Any goals that you want to accomplish?

Eisenberg: I've been trying to do these plays I've written in New York and this musical I've written. I wrote the music and lyrics and somebody else wrote the book. There's no character for me. We're doing a workshop in February. It's a satire about self-indulgence called "Me Time." It's about contemporary, obnoxious selfishness on the Upper East Side of New York City. I would love to get it on, but I wind up going to California to do movies. I've been trying to focus on those for two years, so I assume if I don't get work as an actor, that's where I'll be.

MTV: Is there any momentum for a "Zombieland" sequel?

Eisenberg: I'm not sure what the latest is with that. If it was good, I think everybody who was involved in it would want to do another one because the first one turned out so well. The risk is that they'll want to make something that is bad but popular. When I read the first script, I thought it was really great and all my wariness about being in something popular I was able to push aside. Sequels have a greater threat of being stupid.

Check out everything we've got on "The Social Network."

For young Hollywood news, fashion and "Twilight" updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.

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'Kick-Ass' Star Chloe Moretz Is One Of 10 To Watch In 2010

LOS ANGELES — At the risk of bringing you down, there's a good chance that a 12-year-old girl is gonna have a better 2010 than any of us.

Her name is Chloe Moretz, better known as Joseph Gordon-Levitt's precocious little sister in "(500) Days of Summer." This year she'll not only enter her teens, but release three diverse, highly anticipated movies: The superhero action film "Kick-Ass," the kid-friendly adaptation of the best-selling "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series, and the vampire-in-love drama "Let Me In."

On the big screen, she's about to break out as a badass assassin. In real life, her bedtime is 9:30 and she has to refer to the movie as "Kick-Butt" around her parents. Recently, Chloe stopped by the MTV studios to discuss her inclusion in our "10 to Watch in 2010" series, as well as where Hollywood ends and middle school begins.

MTV: So Chloe, congratulations! You are one of our 10 people to watch in 2010!

Chloe Moretz: I know; thank you so much.

MTV: We'll be watching you.

Moretz: [ Laughs. ] That's kinda creepy!

MTV: Now, at this point you're 12 years old, soon to be 13. Most of us know you from "(500) Days of Summer," but they recently began showing "Kick-Ass" to some advance audiences, and the buzz seems to be that it's "Citizen Kane" meets "The Dark Knight."

Moretz: That's a huge compliment. I'm just so shocked by all of this and how amazing it is. We just released all the commercials for it, and there's so much buzz about it and people are loving it. It's so exciting, because I really put my heart and soul into that movie.

MTV: Give us the film's plot, in your own words.

Moretz: Basically, Aaron Johnson plays Kick-Ass. He's a regular, everyday kid — a nerdy comic book fan. He's like, "Why doesn't anyone ever try to be Batman? Just a normal guy turned hero?" So he goes out, tries, and gets totally beaten up; he gets stabbed, and then run over by a car. He gets all this [prosthetic] metal put into his back so he can walk, otherwise he'd be totally paralyzed. And that becomes almost like a human shield on his back, so if you hit him he won't feel it. So, he goes out and [tries to be a hero] again and succeeds. That's when [Hit-Girl] and Big Daddy come in.

MTV: And you're Hit-Girl, a badass little-girl superhero.

Moretz: Yes, and Big Daddy is played by Nicolas Cage. We show up at his house, say, "We know about you," and he realizes we're real vigilantes. I've been trained since I was a baby to be this crazy assassin girl. What I like about the character is that she's an assassin, but at the same time she is still just an 11-year-old girl. She doesn't know any better; it's just how she was raised.

MTV: And none of these heroes have superpowers?

Moretz: No, just guns and knives and stuff.

MTV: Tell us about your favorite scene in the movie.

Moretz: When I go [to] kill a drug lord to get back at him — I think I kill 30 guys in, like, 30 seconds, in one corridor with two guns. Then I run out [of bullets], pick up another gun and shoot it, throw it at them, jump over a table and throw my legs forward, kicking [a bad guy] ... later, I get stuck in a cupboard and have to throw kitchen knives. It's so fun; it was the coolest thing ever.

MTV: And how much of this training is useful in real life? If you were in a Starbucks with your parents and somebody tried to hold it up, could you kick that guy's ass?

Moretz: I'd be terrified. [ Laughs. ] I'd probably cry, scream and be like, "Call 911! I don't want to die!"

MTV: But after this movie, everyone's gonna think you're a badass!

Moretz: They'll think it — but if I wrestle my dad, he can take me down in two seconds with just his fingers. I'm a complete scaredy-cat.

MTV: The film supposedly sets up a sequel. Would you like to come back as Hit-Girl?

Moretz: I would love to. I can't say anything about [the ending], but I would love to be Hit-Girl twice, three times, four times in my life.

MTV: Tell us about April's "Diary of a Wimpy Kid." We know the books are very popular — what's the movie about?

Moretz: The wimpy kid is a nerd, he's the total outcast of school. I'm an avant-garde school-paper editor with these crazy hairstyles and funky, out-of-nowhere clothes. It's a fun role for me to do. The wimpy kid goes from elementary school to middle school, and he's trying to survive in middle school. I'm in middle school now — it's really tough, the transition from little school to teenager ... he's trying to get a popular kid reputation ... it's a mixture, I think, of the first two books.

MTV: You also have "Let Me In" coming out in October, a remake of "Let the Right One In." Tell us about that film.

Moretz: It's about a boy who lives in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Growing up, not many people like him, he's not popular. He's wimpy, kind of an outcast. Then this girl moves in, she's totally different. She doesn't wear shoes, wears raggedy clothes — it's sort of like "Romeo and Juliet" with vampires. She can't be with him, because she's a vampire. But they fall in love; it's a really sweet coming-of-age story between a little boy and a little girl.

MTV: With "Twilight" and "True Blood" and "The Vampire Diaries" and everything else, bloodsuckers-in-love are very popular. What will make your film stand out?

Moretz: [Our vampires] aren't very glamorous. It's a very sad and heavy burden to have; it's not easy to live. You need blood to live, and that's not an easy thing to go through. [My character, Abby] has to kill for it. She's a very sweet, loving person. And that's why I relate to the character — she's a beast, it's a demon inside of her and she can't stop it from coming out ... when I turn into a vampire, it's terrifying.

MTV: "Let Me In" has gore and violence. "Kick-Ass" has lots of adult language, and you kill dozens of people. As a 12-year-old girl, how do you deal with these themes at work, yet stay normal at home?

Moretz: It's a movie; it's not me. If I ever uttered one word that I said in ["Kick-Ass"], I would be grounded for years! I'd be stuck in my room until I was 20! I would never in a million years say that. I'm an average, everyday girl; when I act with my friends, I'm totally immature ... I have to go to bed at 9:30, if I'm up late on the computer, I lose it for two months.

MTV: Don't you ever want to say, "Mom, you can't take away my computer! I'm a movie star!"

Moretz: [ Laughs. ] If I ever said that, my brothers would totally kill me. I have four brothers — and with my mom and my dad, they keep me totally grounded. My mom has always said that if I get a big head, she'll take me out of this business as quickly as I got into it.

MTV: We'll hold you to that as we interview you over the years, so make sure your head is still normal-sized after you win the Oscar.

Moretz: Yes, thank you. [ Laughs. ] Keep me in check.

Check out everything we've got on "Kick-Ass."

For young Hollywood news, fashion and "Twilight" updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.

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'A-Team' Director Joe Carnahan Is One Of 10 To Watch In 2010

LOS ANGELES — Now that the calendar page has turned, it's time to put away those old "Avatar" ticket stubs and "Hangover" Blu-Rays and look forward to the new year. And to help get you started, MTV presents our 10 to Watch in 2010, highlighting the names that you need to know.

First up is a gritty, cool Hollywood filmmaker who has impressed moviegoers for a while, and now finally has the keys to his very own franchise. He is "Narc" and "Smokin' Aces" director Joe Carnahan, and he loves it when a plan comes together.

"Boy, that's a tough question. The first question had to be the tough question," grinned the filmmaker when we asked him why he's a person worth watching in 2010. "I think there's a lot of excitement — I don't know if it's for me, so much as there is tremendous excitement for 'The A-Team.' I've been wanting to make a movie like this for a long time; I've had a series of false starts on big stuff, and as far as I'm concerned it's been worth the wait."

Recently Carnahan released a high-octane trailer that rocketed around the Web, pleasing both old-school fans of the '80s TV show and newcomers to the plotline about a group of military commandos forced to go underground. "It was important that we let the fanbase know we hadn't abandoned the television show and the characters everyone loved so much," he said of the trailer. "But also to let people know that 25 years have gone by since 'The A-Team' was on the air, and [we] want to evolve that story ... the approach is grittier and it's more real-world."

Starring Bradley Cooper, Liam Neeson, "District 9" breakout Sharlto Copley and UFC champ-turned-actor Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Carnahan told us that his film's ending will set up a sequel, and he's very eager to return. It also sets up a far more realistic existence for the crack commando unit than the "A-Team" TV show depicted. "The show was very whimsical and campy at times and we wanted to avoid that," Carnahan explained, "as much as 'The Dark Knight' avoids the old Adam West incarnation of Batman."

Catching up with Carnahan in his offices on the 20th Century Fox lot, he took a break from editing the June 11 blockbuster to fill us in on some key trademarks of "The A-Team," revealing which ones will remain and which will be updated:

Will B.A. Still Be Afraid to Fly? "As far as B.A. was concerned, his fear of flying was a big thing because it was a continual story line. How are we gonna get this guy on a plane? How are we gonna get him from A to B?" he explained, assuring us it would be in the film. "I thought that was important, I thought we could get a lot of comedic value out of that."

Will the Catchphrases Remain? "Listen, if you make an 'A-Team' movie and Hannibal doesn't say, 'I love it when a plan comes together,' you're cutting your own throat," Carnahan laughed. "Of course that's there."

Where's the Gold? "The mohawk is there," Joe said of his tweaks to the "Bad Attitude" [Or "Bad-Ass"] Baracus character. "But the gold chains, to me, were always more of an affectation of Mr. T, not the B.A. character ... Rampage and I had a lot of conversations and we were both adamant that this character is B.A. Baracus, not Mr. T."

Will Anybody Die? "At least one villain will die," Carnahan grinned, promising more carnage than in virtually the entire history of the TV show, which made a point of showing its bad guys surviving explosions and gunfire. "Right there, we've already broken with tradition."

Does the A-Team Know Each Other? "They serve together, but when you meet these guys at the beginning they [don't know each other yet]," Carnahan said of a break with the show, which always implied a lengthy military friendship between the crew. "There's one thing that binds these guys, which I thought was a cool touch ... a really cool device that we use to bring them all together, and it creates a symmetry among them almost immediately."

Does Murdock Get Broken Out of a Mental Asylum? "Yes ... Sharlto's whole attitude was, 'Murdock's nuts, so I have to be a bit nuts and just go for it,' " he said of Copley as the team's "Howling Mad" pilot. "Sharlto was never lacking for enthusiasm and suggestions ... he's doing this panhandle, Texas twang — it's pretty remarkable."

Is the Van New and Improved? "It's the same make and model. It's a GMC Dura van, the body style is '83-'88, which was the same body style," he explained. "But we've done our little tweaks to it, because if you look at the original van the rims are different. We put a low-profile package on it, so you could see it being driven around today ... it's a badass vehicle."

How Crazy Will Murdock Get? "We did a scene in Iraq where he's barbecuing steaks for everybody and he's using gunpowder to season it like you would salt and pepper," Carnahan said. "We had rigged everything to blow up and told [Copley], 'Be careful of your eyes.' And he just didn't care, man. He put his head right over there, the smoke's coming up in his face, the fire is in his face!"

Is There a Musical Montage? "Of course," Carnahan said of the show's tradition of depicting the A-Team building something while music played over the footage. "Yeah. There's some pretty wild stuff in there during our montage, some funny bits. Sharlto had some really big, spectacle moments. It's very much in keeping with the improvisational nature of,' OK, let's use this and that [to build something].' The A-Team really started that whole MacGyver thing."

Does B.A. Get Drugged With a Glass of Milk? "He does get drugged. I'll say that," the director laughed. "He never seemed to realize it was laced [with a sedative] ... he does get [drugged], yes. He travels unwillingly."

Does Murdock Have a Puppet? In the 1983 classic episode "The Taxicab Wars," Murdock annoyed B.A. with his puppet friend, Socky. Now, fans can look forward to seeing B.A. similarly tortured this time around.

"Sharlto did one of those," Carnahan revealed, remembering a Copley improv. "We just gave him a series of props, and he started doing a puppet show for B.A."

Check out everything we've got on "The A-Team."

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

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