The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

J.J. Abrams to direct new ‘Star Wars’ film, says report

Posted: 25 Jan 2013 05:19 AM PST

J.J. Abrams to direct new 'Star Wars' film, says report

LOS ANGELES, Jan 25 — Sci-fi and action filmmaker J. J. Abrams has been tapped to direct a seventh "Star Wars" movie expected to be released by Disney in 2015, a Hollywood trade publication reported yesterday.

After purchasing "Star Wars" creator George Lucas's Lucasfilm for US$4 billion (RM12 billion) in October, Disney announced it was planning a new trilogy in the wildly popular sci-fi saga, which has raked in an estimated US$4.4 billion since 1977.

Variety magazine said Disney is close to finalising the deal with the 46-year-old Abrams (picture), the co-creator of the popular television series "Lost," who is currently finishing work on "Star Trek Into Darkness."

Abrams, who also writes and produces, directed "Mission: Impossible III" (2006), "Star Trek" (2009) and "Super 8" (2011).

Lucas — who created the saga and directed four of the six films to date — will serve as a creative consultant for the three new films, which are expected to come out every two to three years.

Lucas's original "Star Wars" movie in 1977, which marked the birth of a new era of blockbuster cinema, launched the career of a young Harrison Ford.

It was soon followed by the equally popular "The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) and "Return of the Jedi" (1983).

In the late 1990s, Lucas drew mixed reviews when he resurrected the blockbuster series with a prequel trilogy: "The Phantom Menace" (1999), "The Attack of the Clones" (2002) and "The Revenge of the Sith" (2005).

The newer trilogy featured Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen. — AFP/Relaxnews

Dark side of porn star’s life revealed in indie film ‘Lovelace’

Posted: 25 Jan 2013 04:38 AM PST

Amanda Seyfried, 27, is best known for playing pretty, wide-eyed blondes in movies such as "Mean Girls," "Mamma Mia!" and "Les Miserables." — Reuters pic

PARK CITY (Utah), Jan 25 — Porn star Linda Lovelace became a poster girl for the sexual revolution of the 1970s, but it's her story of a life marked by domestic abuse and exploitation that is the focus of a new film.

"Lovelace," starring Amanda Seyfried, joined a slate of films exploring the darker side of sex and pornography at the Sundance Film Festival this week.

Seyfried, 27, is best known for playing pretty, wide-eyed blondes in movies such as "Mean Girls," "Mamma Mia!" and "Les Miserables."

Not this time.

"Everybody has a story and (Linda's) story is really fascinating and really dark, and I like that stuff. I wanted to portray somebody who really existed and had that story," Seyfried told Reuters.

"I like controversy. I like risks, nudity and sex. That doesn't scare me at all," she added.

The film chronicles Lovelace's formative years, her abusive marriage to Chuck Traynor, played by Peter Sarsgaard, and how she was forced into working on the 1972 porn film "Deep Throat," which became one of the highest-grossing films in America.Traynor, portrayed as a sadistic man with a charming facade, has a destructive relationship with Lovelace in which he rapes and abuses her, and at one point sells her to a group of five men.

Both Sarsgaard and Seyfried said they felt the film was less about pornography and oral sex and more about the disturbing course of Lovelace's life.

After she left the porn industry and Traynor, Lovelace wrote several contradictory accounts of her experiences and became an anti-pornography activist. She died in 2002 of injuries from a car crash, aged 53.

Sarsgaard, who is often drawn to playing complex and darker characters, said he was uncomfortable playing Traynor.

"I didn't want to portray him. I really didn't ... I felt like the point of view of the story was so strongly against him and his perspective, that I'm the kind of guy who looks to see the person in the corner and tries to figure out what's going on with them," the actor told Reuters.

The actor said he wished he could remove some of the grittier, violent scenes from the film.

"I have two kids, both girls, and it's getting harder and harder for me to play these roles ... especially the violence to women. I'm really having a problem with it," he said.

"Lovelace" is the first of two upcoming films based on the porn star's life. "Inferno: A Linda Lovelace Story" is also due out later this year, with Malin Ackerman playing the role of Linda, and Matt Dillon as Chuck.

"Lovelace" has been purchased for theatrical distribution by The Weinstein Company. — Reuters

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Jumaat, 25 Januari 2013