Coen Brothers’ “True Grit” remake at center of Oklahoma film incentives debate
The Coen brothers hold the three Oscars they won for their 2007 film “No Country for Old Men.” (Associated Press photo)
Oscar-winning filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen are considering Oklahoma as a possible site for their remake of the 1969 Western “True Grit,” Jill Simpson, director of the Oklahoma Film and Music Office, told a state House committee Tuesday.
The Oklahoman’s State Capitol Reporter Michael McNutt reports that Simpson told the committee that shooting on the film is expected to start in March.
The state film incentive program is capped at $5 million a year. Simpson asked the House Economic Development and Financial Services Committee to remove the current $5 million annual cap, Michael reports.
Ten films that are shooting in Oklahoma are vowed to get about $5.5 million in rebates this fiscal year, she said.
Two movies already are committed to get rebates in fiscal year 2011, which starts July 1, she said. Those two commitments, plus a carryover of about $557,000 from this fiscal year, leaves only $1.2 million in rebates available next year for the high-profile Coen brothers’ project.
A state law that took effect July 1 boosted the program from a rebate of up to 15 percent on production expenditures in Oklahoma to 35 percent.
Simpson said that it is estimated “True Grit,” a film projected to cost about $35 million, would spend about $13 million in production costs in Oklahoma. That would make the filmmakers eligible for a rebate of $4.6 million from the state.
She told lawmakers that films shot in Oklahoma provide positive publicity, create jobs and help the economy.
“They come in because of the incentives and then they fall in love with the locations,” Simpson said, citing the filmmakers of “The Killer Inside Me,” which shot in several Oklahoma cities earlier this year and want to make thee more films in the state.
To read the rest of Michael’s interesting story, click here.
The Coen brothers have tapped stars Jeff Bridges, Josh Brolin and Matt Damon to join their “True Grit” cast. The Coens have said they plan to make their version more faithful to Charles Portis’ novel than the 1969 film that won John Wayne his best actor Oscar.
-BAM
Wednesday Video Spotlight: “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”
“The Twilight Saga: New Moon” Week continues here on BAM’s Blog, and in this Wednesday Video Spotlight, I’m sharing some trailers, TV spots, featurettes, as well as Taylor Swift’s hilarious “Saturday Night Live” parody “Firelight.”
I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that “New Moon” opens in theaters on Friday.
-BAM
Kellan Lutz shares his strategy for dealing with paparazzi
Kellan Lutz, who plays Emmett Cullen in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” poses for photos with fans at the film’s premiere Monday night in Los Angeles. (Associated Press photo)
The pop-culture whirlwind swirling around “The Twilight Saga” has swept up the actors involved in the first film, last year’s “Twilight,” and the sequel “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” opening Friday.
Kellan Lutz, who plays vampire Emmett Cullen in the franchise, has developed a strategy for dealing with the paparazzi:
“I think it’s great to adopt a pet — a dog that bites. I mean, that’s where the paparazzi will stop. … My dog, Kola, does not like anyone that she’s not friendly with,” he said at a recent press conference with fellow Cullen coven actors Nikki Reed, Ashley Greene and Elizabeth Reaser at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles.
He noted that Greene also has a dog, Marlow, “which is kind of small but hurts.”
“So the paparazzi stops at my front gate. And it’s usually kind of crazy have paparazzi step outside your house. And the coolest thing with the Vancouver (where ’New Moon’ was filmed) guys (is that) are they’re respectable, and they will just ask for a signature or photo and let us go about and go and, you know, have a cast dinner away from set where we can feel human and we’re out of the white makeup and the contacts,” he said.
On the other hand, Lutz noted that being part of such a beloved franchise is gratifying.
“The fans are always so great, and they’re giving us presents, which is so crazy ‘cause we’re allowed to work because of them. And the time they put into making dolls or buying gummi bears or anything like that, it’s very humbling. So it’s really nice to just have everyone who is respectful just understand that it’s a job at the end of the day. We aren’t really these characters in life. And just thank them for everything.”
Gummi bears are probably among Lutz’s favorite gifts, since he admitted an obsession with candy, as well as with animals.
“I’m a huge animal advocate. And I just love animals,” he said.
To read my feature on Lutz, which appeared here on the blog Sunday, click here.
-BAM
Dakota Fanning shares her obsession with baby names
Dakota Fanning smiles on the red carpet of Monday’s “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” premiere in Los Angeles (Associated Press photo)
Actors who join the “Twilight” franchise quickly get pulled into the pop-culture phenomenon that is many “Twihard” fans’ obsessive love for all things related to Stephenie Meyer’s vampire-romance saga.
Dakota Fanning, who plays pain-inflicting vampire Jane, admitted her own odd obsession during a recent Los Angeles press conference for “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” opening Friday.
“I’m obsessed with baby names, with what people name their children. Just like friends, anybody. I know a lot of people’s baby names,” she said with a laugh. “But I just love names in general.”
The 15-year-old film star said she has too many favorites to list.
“I’ve been planning my children’s names since I was like 4. I have lists of girls, boys, and I have them from all different ages. It’s really fun,” she said.
-BAM
Dakota Fanning thrilled to play baddie in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”
Dakota Fanning plays the intimidating vampire Jane in the sequel “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” opening Friday. Jane is a member of the Volturi coven, who act as a sort of royal law enforcement squad for the vampire world.
A version of this story appears in Wednesday’s Life section of The Oklahoman.
Fanning the fangs
Dakota Fanning sank her teeth into ‘New Moon’ role as bad vampire
LOS ANGELES — Teenage movie star Dakota Fanning conceals her familiar pale blue eyes behind sinister scarlet lenses and swaps her usual broad smile for a stony stare in her new film, the eagerly awaited sequel “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”
“I think the highlight of playing Jane was getting to wear that costume and to have the red contact lenses — I was really excited about that – and getting to play an evil character,” Fanning said in a recent press conference at the lush Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles.
Fanning, 15, plays one of the most formidable vampires in the supernaturally popular “Twilight Saga.” A deceptively innocent-looking character, Jane has the power to inflict intense pain on others simply by willing it. She uses her ability eagerly and often as an enforcer for the Volturi coven, the closest the vampire world has to a royal family.
“Dakota is the most feared out of all the Volturi. She’s the one with the worst power,” said Cameron Bright, who plays Jane’s twin brother, Alec, in the press conference. “We’re the henchmen. We kind of do what they (the Volturi leaders) say. For me, as Alec, I’m the only one that isn’t quite afraid of her but I still am. Like I’m not afraid to say what I want, where everybody else is always kind of watching their words.”
Fanning broke out with her acclaimed performance in the 2001 drama “I Am Sam” and has since accumulated 40 TV and movie credits. But “New Moon” offered the petite blonde a chance to take on a new kind of role.
“It was fun to get to play a feared character, you know, something different than what I’ve done before. And also, she uses her power not for good, which was another thing that was kind of interesting to me,” she said.
“We had to tone Dakota down. She was too evil. Her natural personality is too evil and we had to tone the volume down on the evil,” joked co-star Michael Sheen, who plays Volturi leader Aro.
Putting in the crimson contact lenses that mark Jane as a vampire who consumes human blood helped the young actress get into the role.
“It’s really scary. I think it makes anyone look automatically evil,” she said. “It was really fun. You get used to them after a while. You can see pretty good, but it’s still kind of weird.”
Like scores of other teenage girls, Fanning considers herself a fervent fan of the “Twilight” series. She loved the first movie and read all four of Stephenie Meyer’s books in about a week. But she wasn’t starstruck when she met Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and the rest of the “Twilight” cast. After all, she has worked with the likes of Robert De Niro, Sean Penn and Denzel Washington.
“They were just so nice and so welcoming, and just a really great cast,” she said of her fellow “New Moon” actors. “So, it was kind of hard to be star struck even though you’re such big fans of them and excited to meet them.”
Fanning already has reprised her villainous “New Moon” role in the third movie, “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” which wrapped at the end of October. In between the “Twilight” sequels, she got to work again with Stewart, who plays series heroine Bella Swan, in “The Runaways,” the biopic of the seminal ‘70s all-girl rock band. Fanning portrays lead singer Cherie Currie, while Stewart plays guitarist Joan Jett.
“We became really good friends and really close throughout all the experiences we’ve had this year. I couldn’t ask for a better person to do three movies in a row with than her,” Fanning said of her co-star.
Though she stays busy with her acting career, Fanning has made it a priority to make the most of her school days. She is a junior at Campbell Hall, a private Episcopal school in North Hollywood, and was recently crowned homecoming princess.
“I thought it was really important to have the high school experience. It was something that I wanted.
“I think it’s really great to have that balance of like a completely normal life and then a completely abnormal life. I really didn’t see a reason why I wouldn’t be able to do both, and I was lucky that I was able to go to a school that lets me leave and everything,” she said. “I don’t know if there’s a ‘how to’ guide as to how I balance it. It just kind of has happened, and I have really great friends and great family and the best of both.”
-BAM
What to do in Oklahoma on Nov. 18, 2009
Lana Henson as Operina the Lady Bug, Elizabeth Brooks as Tutu the Ballerina and Christi Knight as Latricia the Spider in the Oklahoma Children’s Theatre production of “Bah Hum Bug,” opening at 11 a.m. today. (Photo by Roger Klock)
Today’s featured event:
Watch Oklahoma Children’s Theatre’s production of “Bah Hum Bug,” a version of Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol” told from a rat’s point of view, at 11 a.m. today at Children’s Center for the Arts on the Oklahoma City University campus, 2501 N Blackwelder Ave.
As Ebenezer Scrooge leaves his office on Christmas Eve, the creatures that inhabit it scurry out and play out their own redemption tale. Bob Cratchant ,an overworked worker ant; Tutu the fluttering Moth; Laticia the overly dramatic spider; Operina the singing squirrel; and Marlin the seafaring mouse join together to teach Mr. Scrounge the true meaning of friendship and family.
The play is recommended for elementary and middle school students.
The play opens today with performances through Dec.13. Showtimes are 11 a.m. Wednesdays and Fridays and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
For more information, go to www.oklahomachildrenstheatre.org.
For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
-BAM
Photo gallery: “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” L.A. premiere
“The Twilight: New Moon” star Kristen Stewart wore a long, pale, glamourous gown at Monday’s premiere in Westwood, Calif. (Associated Press photos)
“The Twilight Saga: New Moon” Week continues here on BAM’s Blog with a photo gallery of moments from Monday night’s glitzy premiere in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles.
“Twilight” star Kristen Stewart eshewed her usual mini-dresses and Converse shoes for a long, gray-stitched gown, though she kept her a few of signature grunge-goth flourishes, including her dark eyeliner and disheveled updo. According to MTV.com, Stewart’s gown was by Oscar De La Renta.
Robert Pattinson lived up to his heartthrob title in a black Gucci suit with his usual stubble and mussed hair. And 17-year-old Taylor Lautner also looked quite the movie star in his blue Calvin Klein suit and spiked locks.
Check out these Associated Press photos of the cast and other celebrities at the premiere:
Robert Pattinson smiles on the red carpet.
Taylor Lautner grins at the hordes of “Twihard” fans thronging the red carpet.
Lautner and Stewart show off their red carpet finery.
Dakota Fanning, who plays mean vampire Jane, wore a short lacy Valentino dress.
Ashley Greene, who plays Alice Cullen, signs autographs for fans. She wore a long red Prabal Gurung gown.
See more photos after the break.
New releases for Nov. 17, 2009: “Star Trek,” American Idols and Coolio’s cookbook
J.J. Abrams’ hit reboot “Star Trek” warps onto DVD and Blu-ray today, just in time for Christmas shopping.
In honor of its 70th anniversary, the film classic “Gone with the Wind” gets an “Ultimate Collector’s Edition” release on DVD and Blu-ray.
Several recording artists are releasing CDs today, again to coincide with the holiday gift-buying season. Among those releases are the self-titled first album from 2009 “American Idol” winner Kris Allen and an expanded re-release of runner-up Adam Lambert’s pre-”Idol” debut record. (Lambert will put out his new album “For Your Entertainment” on Monday.)
In books, most everyone knows that politician Sarah Palin is releasing this week her memoir “Going Rogue.” But did you know that Coolio has a new cookbook out this week? In “Cookin’ With Coolio,” the rapper guides people through his own brand of cuisine: Ghetto Gourmet.
Here is a list of the new CDs, DVDs and books from Amazon.com, VideoETA.com and BarnesandNoble.com:
CDs
Kris Allen, “Kris Allen.”
Adam Lambert, “Take One.”
John Mayer, “Battle Studies.”
Leona Lewis, “ECHO.”
Paul McCartney, “Good Evening New York City” (CD/DVD set).
Janet Jackson, “Number Ones.”
Casting Crowns, “Until The Whole World Hears.”
The Doors, “Live in New York” (Box set).
Rush, “Working Men” (Live).
DVDs
Andy Barker, P.I.: The Complete Series
Bruno
Dane Cook: Isolated Incident
Franklyn
Gone With The Wind
How to Be
Is Anybody There?
It’s A Very Sunny Christmas
My Sister’s Keeper
The Open Road
Star Trek
Thirst
Wild Child
Books
“Going Rogue” by Sarah Palin.
“Art of Living” by Barbel Miebach.
“Cookin’ with Coolio: 5 Star Meals at a 1 Star Price” by Coolio.
“Crocodile Tears” by Anthony Horowitz.
“How to Be Famous: Our Guide to Looking the Part, Playing the Press, and Becoming a Tabloid Fixture” by Heidi Montag.
“I, Alex Cross” by James Patterson.
“The Original of Laura” by Vladimir Nabokov.
“Shadowland (The Immortals Series No. 3)” by Alyson Noel.
“Too Much Happiness” by Alice Munro.
“The Wrecker” by Clive Cussler.
-BAM
Michael Sheen shares his first “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” fan experience
From left, Michael Sheen plays Aro, Jamie Campbell Bower plays Caius and Cameron Bright plays Alec, three of the Volturi vampires, in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”
“The Twilight Saga: New Moon” Week continues here on BAM’s Blog, and British actor Michael Sheen joins “The Twilight Saga” with the second film, opening Friday. He plays Aro, a leader of the Volturi coven. The Volturi act as a sort of royal law enforcement squad for the vampire world.
Sheen, whose previous credits include the werewolf Lucian in the “Underworld” films along with the acclaimed dramas “The Queen,” “Blood Diamond” and “Frost/Nixon,” already has experienced his first encounter with a overly excited “Twihard” fan, though the sequel hasn’t opened yet.
I haven’t really experienced much of the ‘Twilight ‘fan stuff yet. But, I did go into a store in L.A. to buy a pair of jeans and I went into the little cubicle to try my jeans on. It’s always a quite nerve-wracking time when I come out of the cubicle to look in the mirror anyway and I like that to be a private moment. As I came out, there was a woman shaking, going ‘You’re Aro, aren’t you?!’ and I just hid in my cubicle again,” he said during a press conference at the recent “New Moon” press day in Los Angeles.
-BAM
BAM Column: “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” actor Michael Sheen enters vampires vs. werewolves debate
Michael Sheen plays the vampire Aro in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” opening Friday.
From Tuesday’s Life section of The Oklahoman.
Vampires get nod … by a fang
Perhaps no one is better equipped the answer the age-old question ‘Which is better vampires or werewolves?’ than Michael Sheen.
“The tailoring is so much better as a vampire,” he quipped during a Los Angeles press conference for promoting the highly anticipated film “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.” “I’ve been observing vampires for some time now and I finally got to give my own fang, although we don’t have fangs, do we? But no, it was great to be on the other side for a bit.”
The British actor first became familiar to American movie audiences as Lucian, a rebellious werewolf enslaved by vampires in the “Underworld” trilogy. He joins the “Twilight” phenomenon in the second film, “New Moon,” opening Friday.
Sheen, whose other credits include the acclaimed dramas “The Queen,” “Blood Diamond” and “Frost/Nixon,” plays Aro, a leader of the Volturi coven. The Volturi act as a sort of royal law enforcement squad for the vampire world, and they play a pivotal role as “The Twilight Saga” moves forward.
“My power is to be able to read people’s thoughts by touching them, and in real life, I would like to have the power to always look like I’m 3 centimeters to the right of where I actually am,” he said with a roguish grin.
To play the ancient bloodsucker, Sheen, 40, developed a soft, high-pitched tone to match author Stephenie Meyer’s description of Aro’s voice as “like feathers.” As he experimented, he realized the voice reminded him of the chief Blue Meanie of the animated Beatles film “Yellow Submarine.”
“I was also thinking about characters from when I was a kid watching stuff that really freaked me out, and the Blue Meanie really freaked me out. The Child Catcher from ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ — you know, ‘Lollipops’ and all that,” he said. “I liked the idea of a character who on the surface appears to be very friendly and thinks of himself as just being a sentimental old fool, a romantic at heart, and then he wants to eat your eyes.”
Sheen already has experienced one weird encounter with an exuberant “Twihard” fan,” and the buzz has found its way into his home.
“Also, going into my daughter’s bedroom and seeing she’s just got pictures from ‘Twilight’ and ‘New Moon’ everywhere and seeing my own little picture, which I think she did out of pity. ‘Have Dad up there as well,’” he said.
He also looks forward to adding an Aro action figure to his collection.
“I lose days just with my Lucian figure and my Aro figure fighting,” he joked. “They have their tea parties together. They like to fight and then they come back. I’m losing jobs because of it.”
-BAM
