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Tag: steven soderbergh

  • Al Pacino Calls the Late Mike Nichols the ‘Greatest Director I Ever Worked With’

    Al Pacino called Mike Nichols, who died suddenly on Wednesday at the age of 83, the “greatest director” he ever worked with.

    That is high praise considering Pacino has worked with some of the greatest directors of all time, including Francis Ford Coppola, Oliver Stone and Steven Soderbergh.

    Pacino told Us Weekly Thursday while promoting his movie The Humbling at New York City’s 21 Club that the news of Nichols’ death came as a shock.

    “Oh, man. It just knocked me out,” said Pacino. “I’m not over the shock yet. Not that I ever will be. The shock of it is so much, it’s hard to talk about it right now. It’s hard to believe.”

    The Godfather actor worked with Nichols in 2003 on the HBO miniseries Angels in America. Both the actor and the EGOT-winning director won Emmys for the project. Pacino won for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie, and Nichols won for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie, or a Dramatic Special.

    The 74-year-old actor praised the legendary director, calling him the “greatest director.”

    “I loved him so,” Pacino told Us. “He was my friend, and he was the greatest director I ever worked with. He was.”

    Pacino told The Hollywood Reporter he also considered Nichols a friend.

    “I loved Mike. I worked with him, and he was a friend,” he said.

    Director Barry Levinson, who directed Pacino in The Humbling and was with Pacino at the luncheon, concurred.

    “His work is exceptional, and he’s one of those guys that has an impact as a director in this business,” said Levinson. “He was a man that could handle comedy and drama in an effortless fashion, and he took some risks.”

  • Drug Cartel Leader Shot… By Clown

    Reuters and The New York Post have both reported that one of Mexico’s most powerful ex-drug lords was shot by children’s clowns as he attended a party in Cabo San Lucas.

    A former Tijuana Cartel boss, the 63-year-old Francisco Rafael Arellano Felix sustained a bullet to the head at point-blank range during a family gathering at the Los Cabos resort in the southern part of Baja California. Francisco Rafael was the oldest of the seven Arellano Felix brothers, who helped to popularize trafficking drugs between Mexico and California. Their story inspired Steven Soderbergh’s 2000 drug war film Traffic.

    Rafael was first arrested in 1980 for selling drugs in San Diego. He returned to Mexico, where he continued to sell drugs. A second arrest in 1993 connected with the murder of a Roman Catholic Cardinal, Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo, did not dampen his efforts, and in 2006 the cartel made headlines when smuggling tunnels were discovered connecting Tijuana to the United States.

    Security experts have indicated that they believe Tijuana’s cartel is still operational, and that the Arellano Felix legacy is being continued by their sister and her son, alias “The Engineer.”

    Although Rafael was released in 2008 for good behavior, his enemies were more than willing to wait for the opportune moment to strike. Since most of the Arellano Felix brothers have been arrested or killed, their rivals have supplanted their place in the Latin American illicit drug trade, and officials have speculated that the assassins had ties to organized crime.

    The AP reported a former San Diego prosecutor who penned one of the cartel’s indictments, John Kirby, as saying “[Rafael] was never really part of the leadership of the big organization, mostly because he was in [Mexican] jail. He was arrested before they became what they really became.”

    Mexican authorities had hoped to let the United States deal with Rafael, but even after an extradition request to finish out a weapons possession sentence, Kirby said “The Mexicans were very concerned he was going to get out.” The Mexicans were right; Rafael’s 2008 release followed a six-year prison sentence from 2006 for drug trafficking, but he was released on parole and was deported to Mexico shortly after.

    [Image via Google Maps]

  • Man From U.N.C.L.E. Movie Could Star Tom Cruise

    It seems that the 50-year-old Tom Cruise is still a top contender for the lead roles in high-profile action movies.

    Screen Rant is reporting that Cruise is currently in talks for a role in the upcoming The Man From U.N.C.L.E. movie adaptation. Channing Tatum is also rumored to be attached to the film, which will be directed by Guy Ritchie.

    The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was a spy thriller TV series that aired in the U.S. during the 60s. The show revolves around a pair of U.N.C.L.E. agents, one American and one Georgian. The agents and the worldwide U.N.C.L.E. organization battled the THRUSH organization and its goal to enslave humanity. The show attempted to emulate the style of the James Bond-style spy thriller, including a rotating cast of beautiful women.

    Cruise would, presumably, be negotiating for the role of the American agent, Napoleon Solo. Solo was played by Robert Vaughn in the original series.

  • Magic Mike Trailer Gives Channing Tatum Another Reason to Take His Shirt Off

    I was honestly all set to hate director Steven Soderbergh’s comedy/drama “Magic Mike”, a film which finds “21 Jump Street” co-star Channing Tatum portraying a stripper. Given that the actor has a history of taking his clothes off for cash, it seems like the perfect fit. Still, it’s kind of hard to believe that someone like Soderbergh has crafted a movie like this, especially given the somewhat esoteric nature of his previous endeavors. At least the guy is willing to take risks.

    Truthfully, “Magic Mike” doesn’t look that bad. Sure, it feels a little too much like your typical empty-headed romantic comedy, but given that Soderbergh’s in the director’s chair, I think it’s safe to assume it won’t be a cookie-cutter as its brethren. This isn’t something I would spend a lot of money on to see on the big screen, but if I stumbled across it on television or Netflix streaming, I might be inclined to give it a shot.

    To clarify the plot, read this synopsis:

    Magic Mike follows a wannabe stripper who goes by the stage name The Kid getting some guidance from Tatum’s Mike Martingano. Mike takes the newcomer under his wing and introduces him to the life of men who take their clobber off in front of women. Their group includes Tito, Ken and Big Richie. They’re all overseen by slightly nutty stripper-turned-club owner Dallas.

    In addition to Tatum, the film also stars Matt Bomer, Alex Pettyfer, Olivia Munn, Cody Horn, and, yes, Matthew McConaughey. “Magic Mike” is currently scheduled to arrive in North American theaters on June 29th, 2012.

    (image)@Filmdrunk
    Vince Mancini    Magic Mike trailer: Will C-Tates be able to leave stripping behind and live his dream as a coffee table designer?? http://t.co/cIkfaici(image) 10 minutes ago via Tweetie for Mac ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@rejects
    Neil Miller    Magic Mike: The first movie ever for abdominal muscle and custom furniture enthusiasts alike. It’s like Pinterest: The Movie.(image) 14 hours ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@WillWernick
    Will Wernick    Went to a pre screening of “Magic Mike” last night. Easily the best movie about male Strippers I have ever seen… 😉(image) 6 days ago via Tweetbot for iOS ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto