Movies

Oscar Isaac had resigned himself to a "cameo" in 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' until J.J. Abrams changed his mind.
The 36-year-old actor was initially told his part as X-wing pilot Poe Dameron would only bit a short-lived role, which he accepted and decided it would be "better" to just spend a small period of time in the sci-fi film rather than be in three 'Star Wars' movies.
He said: "I went back home [to New York], and I thought about it.
"Then I wrote him and said, 'OK. I'll do it!' I figured it would be a cameo. I'll come in, do my thing, and maybe it's actually better not to have to sign myself up for three movies."
But Isaac eventually didn't have the option of just doing a cameo as Abrams changed his mind and wrote a much bigger role for the star.
Speaking to GQ magazine about his reaction to the news, he said: "I was like, 'Holy s**t! All right, cool.' "
As a result of Abrams' change of heart, Isaac is set to return for director Rian Johnson's 'Star Wars: Episode VIII'.
But Isaac won't be alone as Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy has confirmed the whole 'Force Awakens' cast will be back for the movie.
She told BANG Showbiz: "There will be a handful of new cast members in 'Episode VIII' but also all the cast members you see here tonight will be in it as well. We're excited to get back together. We start shooting 'Episode VIII' in January, we've been prepping the movie for the last year and (writer-and-director) Rian Johnson has been doing an amazing job."

Guy Ritchie's 'Knights of the Round Table: King Arthur' has been delayed until 2017.
Warner Bros. has announced the upcoming movie's release date has been moved from July 22, 2016 to February 17, 2017, where it will face stiff competition from the likes of 'Bad Boys III' and 'Maze Runner: The Death Cure', according to Deadline.
The 'King Arthur' film was originally set to go up against 'Star Trek Beyond' and 'Ice Age: Collision' next year.
Charlie Hunnam is set to star as the titular character in the movie, while Eric Bana will portray his father Uther Pendragon.
Jude Law is lined up as villain Vortigern and Astrid Bergès-Frisbey will portray Arthur's significant other Guinevere.
The story tells of Arthur being unaware of his destiny at first until he stumbles upon the mighty sword Excalibur.
After meeting Guinevere, he then sets about taking his rightful place on the throne, but evil Vortigern stands in his way.
But he could get a helping hand from former soccer star David Beckham as the retired footballer recently admitted he has filmed a small part in the movie for his pal Ritchie.

Renée Zellweger thought filming 'Bridget Jones' Baby' was like meeting up with an old friend.
The 46-year-old actress will reprise her role as the titular publishing executive in the third movie in the franchise next year, and she is pleased to have been able to portray her character in a new stage of her life - 14 years after the release of the first film, 'Bridget Jones' Diary'.
She said: "This is part of the new challenge, discovering where she is now in her new life.
"But as an actress, it feels like stepping back with an old friend. I love this character, I like that she tells stories about what it's like to be a woman and these really relatable situations at certain times in life. It's so right to tell a story about Bridget in this stage of her life."
The first movie saw Bridget as a single, accident-prone woman in her early 30s, and while she has "moved on" since those days, the Hollywood star has teased fans they will still see plenty of the old Bridget in the upcoming motion picture.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly magazine, she added: "She's a bit more mature and has moved on, as we all have.
"I think that's her essence, really. All of us do things in our personalities that we don't outgrow."
Several other characters will also return for the third movie, including Colin Firth as her on/off lover Mark Darcy, Jim Broadbent as her father, and Patrick Dempsey will debut in the film series as billionaire Jack Qwant.

Ben Affleck has insisted he doesn't want to "compete with" or "emulate" other Batman incarnations.
The Hollywood star is to portray the superhero in next year's hotly-anticipated movie 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice', but insists his version of the Caped Crusader will be very different to Christian Bale's portrayal in director Christopher Nolan's 'The Dark Knight' trilogy.
He said: "I don't want to compete with other incarnations, nor do I want to emulate them. Those versions belong in another universe. Christopher Nolan used his Batman to tell a finite story.
"My version is different, but remains faithful to the Batman mythology and all the themes associated with it."
One notable difference in the upcoming movie compared with Nolan's trilogy, 'Batman Begins', 'The Dark Knight' and 'The Dark Knight Rises', is that his motion picture will feature other superheroes - with Henry Cavill set to play Superman and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, among others.
Speaking to French magazine Studio Cine Live, Affleck added: "The other difference is that Nolan's Batman isn't part of a universe where other superheroes exist as well.
"Here - because we're working towards the Justice League - there's Superman, and it's a world populated with super beings. This situation generates an altogether new reality."
'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' is slated for UK released on March 25, 2016.

The Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC) has voted 'Creed' as the best film of 2015. The seventh movie in the Rocky franchise - which sees Sylvester Stallone reprise his role as Rocky Balboa - was announced as the winner by BFCC co-president Mike Sargent...

Gwendoline Christie "campaigned for six months" before getting a part in 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'.
The 'Game of Thrones' actress was desperate to appear on-screen in the blockbuster sci-fi franchise and with much force, the 37-year-old beauty admitted she even "wore people down" to land the role.
Asked how it feels to star in the seventh film, she said: "I really am chuffed actually, particularly because I really wanted to be in the 'Star Wars' films.
"I'd campaigned for six months just desperately asking if I could be seen. I asked my representation repeatedly, 'Can I please be seen?' I think I wore some people down and then I was seen. And then the most bizarre thing of all happened and I was cast in the film!"
And Gwendoline - who portrays Captain Phasma in the flick alongside the likes of Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher - said there is nothing quite like the feeling when you get to see the final cut of a film.
Of the movie, she told Absolute Radio: "I think we've done an amazing job with it, I really do. But it's a lovely experience when you see it because obviously no matter what you know about a film when you've worked on it, nothing prepares you for seeing the final product."

Matt Damon has ruled out playing a comic book character.
While the 45-year-old actor is happy to support his best friend Ben Affleck, who plays Batman in the upcoming 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice', he has no desire to take on a similar role for himself.
Matt told Variety: "I hear its good. I haven't seen it yet but he's seen a rough cut and I think he's very pleased. But no, I don't know that there are any comic book characters left."
Matt also revealed he is thrilled to be playing Jason Bourne again and is halfway through filming the latest movie in the Bourne franchise.
He said: "We're, like, probably about halfway through. We started in September but they're going dark for most of December and cutting basically the first two acts. And then we have the third act and then whatever we owe from the first two acts.
"I wasn't sure. I hoped I wasn't [finished] because I really liked the franchise and the character but I didn't see a way to go. But I wasn't giving up on the idea of doing it. [Director] Paul Greengrass and I kind of talked years ago about perhaps the way forward was just to let time pass and allow the world to change a little."

Steve Carell was shocked by how "creepy" Ryan Gosling looked in 'The Big Short'.
The pair previously starred together in 'Crazy Stupid Love' and while Steve thinks Ryan is a "classically handsome guy", he admitted that his look for their new movie was not flattering.
Steve told USA Today: "Ryan stepped out of the trailer for the first time with hair and makeup, and I told him, 'Don't ever do that again.' He's such a classically handsome guy. But he just looked creepy, like someone you don't want to be near."
The movie - which follows a group of quirky outsiders who predicted the 2008 financial crash - also stars Brad Pitt and Christian Bale, who both played down their movie star good looks for the film.
Director Adam McKay explained: "Everyone thinks of Wall Street as these polished guys, but these guys were characters, weird-looking dudes with strange clothes. These actors are handsome as hell. But I told them that you cannot be movie stars in this movie.
"Everyone was like, 'These are some of the best-looking guys in Hollywood. What's going on?' "

'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' has smashed box office records around the globe, raking in an estimated $517 million on opening.
Within the first four days, the seventh film in the blockbuster franchise - which was sold to Walt Disney for by Lucasfilm for $4 billion in 2012 - reached a staggering £32.8 million in the UK breaking 'Jurassic World's' record for the highest grossing four-day-opening weekend of all time.
And in the US, the film - which stars the likes of Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill and is directed by J.J. Abrams - has taken an impressive $238 million domestically and $279 million internationally, bringing the weekend global box office takings to an astounding total of $517 million.
In the UK and Ireland, the movie - which also stars John Boyega and Daisy Ridley - beat the two current leading three-day-openers, 'Skyfall' and 'Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows 2' at this stage in release whilst also overtaking the entire lifetime totals of the first 'Hunger Games' film, 'Amazing Spider-Man 2', 'Prometheus', 'The Martian', 'Transformer' and 'Fast & Furious 6'.
The next effort to top the box office will be in China, where the film will be released on January 9.
China is the world's second-largest movie market and the last 'Star Wars' movie only made $9 million there in 2005, according to the Guardian newspaper.
The current highest-grossing movie of all time is 'Avatar', which raked in $2.8 billion in global sales.