Movies

Kathleen Kennedy held a small screening of 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' for her film pals.
The producer of the new sci-fi movie staged a screening for some of the industry's biggest names in New York on Wednesday (16.12.15), including 'Black Swan' helmer Darren Aronofsky, 'The Danish Girl' director Tom Hooper and 'Milk' producer Bruce Cohen, hours after attending the European premiere in London.
A source told the New York Post newspaper: "It was a no-bells-and-whistles screening for friends."
Meanwhile, make-up master Bobbi Brown was reportedly in attendance along with Michael Barker of Sony Pictures Classics.
Appearing on the red carpet in London before heading back to the Big Apple, the 62-year-old filmmaker confirmed the entire 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' cast will be returning for 'Episode VIII'.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz at the European premiere, she said: "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."

Simon Pegg "didn't love" the first 'Star Trek Beyond' trailer released earlier this week.
The 45-year-old actor - who co-wrote and stars in the third film in the rebooted series - doesn't feel the promo video does the film any justice and has urged 'Star Trek' fans to be patient because there is a lot more to the movie that isn't showcased in the trailer.
He told HeyUGuys: "It was very action packed, it was surprising.
"I find it to be the marketing people saying, 'Everybody come and see this film, it's full of action and fun', when there's a lot more to it than that. I didn't love it because I know there's a lot more to the film.
"There's a lot more story and a lot more character stuff and a lot more, what I would call, 'Star Trek stuff'. To Star Trek fans, I would say: hang in there, be patient."
Meanwhile, Simon - who also stars as Unkar Plutt in 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' - recently said he prefers 'Star Trek' to 'Star Wars' because he's contributed to the script.
Asked which sci-fi franchise he prefers, he explained: "I am bi-starrial. It's a choice I don't want to make ... But it has to be 'Star Trek' now because I've written part of it but 'Star Wars' was a huge film for me growing up."

David O. Russell claims his decision to collaborate with Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper on three straight movies is a throwback to Hollywood's past.
The 57-year-old director has worked with the acclaimed duo on 'Silver Linings Playbook', 'American Hustle' and 'Joy' - and he thinks the move has echoes of another era of filmmaking.
David said: "When I look back at some of my favourite collaborations, I look back at William Wyler with Bette Davis, or [George] Cukor with [Katharine Hepburn].
"This is something that is magical and special."
David said his latest effort, 'Joy' - which centres on the story of Joy Mangano, the creator of the Miracle Mop - marks uncharted territory for him as a director.
He told the New York Post newspaper: "I had never done a story with a woman at the center of it. I'd never done a story that was glamorous in the fact that what she was doing wasn't earth-shattering ... but so difficult to accomplish."
In the movie, the central character - played by Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence - is a single mother of three children who also works as an inventor and an entrepreneur.

Katherine Waterston has been cast in 'Alien: Covenant'.
The 35-year-old actress has been handed her biggest movie role to date in the Ridley Scott-directed sci-fi film, in which she will play the lead, Daniels, according to Deadline.
Although plot details of the new movie - which also stars Michael Fassbender - remain a tightly-guarded secret, it is thought to follow the crew of the colony ship Covenant who discover what they consider to be an uncharted paradise.
Earlier this month, meanwhile, Ridley Scott explained where the latest film fits in with the rest of the series.
He said: "They're going to go to the planet where the engineers came from and come across the evolving creature that they had made. Why did they make it? Why would they make such a terrifying beast?
"It felt bio-mechanoid, it felt like a weapon. And so the movie will explain that, and reintroduce the alien back into it."
What's more, he previously revealed there will be a trilogy of new films, meaning the series' storyline is unlikely to come full circle until the last movie is released.

Harrison Ford has revealed how he broke his leg on the set of 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'.
The 73-year-old star - who reprised the role of Han Solo for the new J.J. Abrams-directed movie - suffered the serious injury while on set and has revealed the specific series of events that led to it happening.
He shared: "I was just standing in the doorway talking to JJ Abrams, our director.
"The camera hadn't been set up but I was wearing my costume ready to go to work.
"We had a big budget this time. In the original film, the door - if there had been a door - would have been closed with a pulley and a stage hand just closing it. Now we had lots of money and technology and so they built a f***ing great hydraulic door which closed at light speed and somebody said, 'Ooh I wonder what this is?' And the door came down and hit me on my left hip because I was turned to my right.
"And then it flung my left leg up and it dislocated my ankle, and as it drove me down to the floor, my legs slapped on the ramp up to the Millennium Falcon and broke both bones in my left leg."
To this day, Harrison doesn't know who pushed the button.
He told 'The Jonathan Ross Show': "I don't know and I don't want to know."

Harrison Ford would be "glad" to see another actor play Han Solo in a 'Star Wars' spin-off movie.
The 73-year-old actor has reprised his role as the space smuggler for blockbuster sequel 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' and admits he was surprised by how much he enjoyed returning to the franchise that launched his career in 1977.
However, although he's interested in a potential film focusing on the adventures of his character he would want "nothing to do with it - in the nicest possible way".
Speaking at a press conference attended by BANG Showbiz for 'The Force Awakens' in London today (17.12.15) , he said: "I have actually relished this entire experience in a way I had not anticipated ... As far as a movie featuring a young Han Solo, I don't know what to think about that. I'm glad that somebody else is going to have the burden of being young and taking care of that part, it's well beyond my understanding or control and I want nothing to do with it - in the nicest possible way!
"I know it will be well governed and well directed but will be nothing to do with me."
Ford also praised writer-and director J.J. Abrams and co-writer Lawrence Kasdan for his vision of 'Star Wars', insisting he has added something special to the fictional universe that George Lucas created.
He explained: "I think a lot of the credit has to go to J.J. and Lawrence. This is a rare experience in my old life and I'm very grateful for it ... It helps a lot to have somebody that gives as much as J.J. gives to the whole enterprise and that's beside the direction of the movie, it's also how he's been able to engineer this monster into what it is today.

Jennifer Lawrence claims filming sex scenes is her "worst nightmare".
The 'Hunger Games' star admits she found it "too uncomfortable" to talk to Chris Pratt, 36, when they filmed intimate scenes together for 'Passengers'.
Speaking on Late Night with Seth Meyers, she joked: "I'm a predator! ... I was so nervous. With sex scenes, you don't know what to do. Is it enough? Your worst nightmare: Is it too much? You don't know what to do.
"You don't talk about it at all; [it's] too uncomfortable."
Meanwhile, the 25-year-old beauty previously revealed she got "really, really drunk" ahead of the scenes but still felt an incredible amount of guilt for kissing a married man despite it being make believe.
She shared: "I got really, really drunk. But then that led to more anxiety when I got home because I was like, 'What have I done? I don't know.' And he was married. And it was going to be my first time kissing a married man, and guilt is the worst feeling in your stomach.
"And I knew it was my job, but I couldn't tell my stomach that. So I called my mom, and I was like, 'Will you just tell me it's OK?' It was just very vulnerable. And you don't know what's too much. You want to do it real, you want everything to be real, but then ... That was the most vulnerable I've ever been."

Vin Diesel has confirmed Samuel L. Jackson will return as National Security Agency agent Augustus Gibbons in the 'xXx' sequel.
The 48-year-old actor is thrilled to be reunited with the 'Hateful Eight' star, 66, who he worked with in the original 2002 film, in which Vin stars as former extreme sports athlete Xander 'xXx' Cage.
Vin posted on Facebook: "Excited to work with Sam again... his portrayal of Gibbons was so good... timeless.
"Welcome to the Xander Zone! (sic)"
What's more, Vin revealed via his Instagram account that martial artist Conor McGregor will have a part in the eagerly-awaited new movie.
Alongside a picture of the pair ringside, he wrote: "UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor will also have a role. (sic)"
The film is being helmed by DJ Caruso - who is best known for directing 'Disturbia' and 'Eagle Eye' - and speaking earlier this year, Vin admitted he's "excited as hell" about the project.
He said: "I'm excited as hell about XXX. DJ Caruso is directing it, which is exciting."
The movie is currently being filmed at various locations and is yet to be given a release date.

Quentin Tarantino is angry at Disney for pushing his new movie 'The Hateful Eight' out of his favourite art-house cinema in Los Angeles.
The 52-year-old director is upset his period movie will not now be shown at the Cinerama Dome on Sunset Boulevard after Disney made the cinema an eye-watering offer to screen its latest blockbuster, 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens', instead.
Speaking to Howard Stern's SiriusXM morning show, Tarantino said: "They've got the biggest movie in the world and we're talking about one f**king theatre. They are going out of their way to f**k me."
Cinerama had initially agreed to run the two movies back-to-back over a four-week time period, thereby giving them equal exposure.
But a source close to the situation told the New York Post newspaper that Disney issued the cinema with an ultimatum, warning that if it declined the offer of a four-week run of 'Star Wars', owner ArcLight Cinemas would be denied the right to run one of the year's most-discussed movies in its other theatres.
The outspoken director had hoped to screen his latest film the old fashioned way, using 70mm projectors.