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This Week...
It may surprise you to learn that sometimes Empire writers exercise. And this particular Empire writer was out for a jog around Greenwich last Sunday, and noticed that the massive film sets there were adorned with "P4" unit signs. "Hmm," I thought to myself, "Pirates of the Caribbean must be shooting here." Coming back around the Naval College and noodling along in a daze, I then found myself pretty much nose-to-nose with Cap'n Jack Sparrow, who was pressed against the inside of the fence taking pictures down the river. I was too shocked to say anything at the time, as apparently was he, which is probably just as well, but I've been plagued by doubts about whether it was a stuntman or the real thing ever since. Still, I've learned two things. 1. There IS a tangible benefit to exercise and 2. London's a good 12% more exciting than most of us give it credit for. As, indeed, is our site, with a bunch of fab new features this week - read on for more details on those. Helen O'Hara
Deputy Online Editor, Empire | | |
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|  | | | I live in the moment, dude. I don't reflect back, I don't think forward.
Dan explains why he can't remember a funny thing he's said for Quote of the Week. | | |  | | |
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What A Difference A Piano Makes: Buster Keaton's The General
This isn't a blog with a particularly great argument or point*. It's more a What I Did On My Holidays sort of blog - so if you're not into accounts of watching silent comedy, look away now. The thing is that I went to see Buster Keaton's The General last night at the Prince Charles cinema, just off Leicester Square. The kicker of this particular performance was that they had a live piano accompaniment by a very talented man called John Sweeney, adding a whole extra layer of funny to the multi-storeyed humour-cake that is Keaton's work**. He nailed that familiar tinkly-tonk sound you've heard in the background of hundreds of period-set films, breaking into snatches of the Battle Hymn of the Republic or Dixie as appropriate at various times in the Civil War-set saga and providing quite the best soundtrack to the film I can even imagine. I'm thinking of starting a petition to get more films accompanied by live music. | | | |
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31 Stunning Movie Teaser Posters
This week saw True Grit release its latest trailer, and just to be extra nice, a wicked teaser poster too. Staring into its beautiful typography, we started thinking about other teaser posters that got us worryingly excited about a movie. Inventive, suggestive, witty, clever, teaser posters are there to get you giddy without telling you all that much – and we love 'em for it, so here's 31 of our recent favourites for you to admire. And if you can think of any others, let us know in the comment box… | | |
|  | | Josh Brolin Talks Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Lately he's played everything from supernatural bounty hunters to US Presidents to disturbed real-life assassins. Now Josh Brolin is taking all his natural charisma, adding a huge helping of greed and grease and joining Oliver Stone's Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps as a trader more Gekko than Gordon Gekko. We asked him for his views on the financial crisis and working with Oliver Stone... |
|  | | Shia LaBeouf On Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
He's stared down transformers and taken on neighbourhood psychos, but Shia LaBeouf now comes up against his greatest challenge yet: the financial industry. In Oliver Stone's Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, LaBeouf steps into Charlie Sheen's shoes as the young man taken under Gordon Gekko's wing while the banking sector collapses around him. We asked him about his own trading exploits and working with Michael Douglas... |
|  | | Michael Douglas Talks Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
It made DeLoreans, orange body warmers and Huey Lewis cool, and it's the finest time-travel movie of, well, all time. In a series of exclusive interviews, the three maestros behind Back to the Future - director Robert Zemeckis, writer Bob Gale and producer Steven Spielberg - return to the trilogy... |
|  | | Tim Hetherington on Restrepo
Named after the medic of Second Platoon, B Company, 2nd Battalion of the 503rd Infantry Regiment, killed in action, Restrepo is a rocky outpost overlooking a Taliban-held valley in Afghanistan – the end of the line in the war on terror. It's also the most ferocious, close-combat documentary you'll see this year. We talked to co-director Tim Hetherington about his enthralling portrayal of life (and death) in combat. |
|  | | Video: Rodrigo Cortés Talks Buried
Take Ryan Reynolds, one coffin, a cell phone and a rusty Zippo. Add a talented Spanish director. Subtract 4lbs of bodyweight. Presto, you've got the unique cinema-going experience that is Buried, the most claustrophobic experience the movies can offer short of cramming yourself into your popcorn box. Eager to find out more, we chatted to said Spaniard, Rodrigo Cortés, to find out how his subterranean thriller came into being. |
|  | | Video: Zac Efron And Burr Steers Talk Charlie St. Cloud
Based on the best-selling book by Ben Sherwood, Charlie St Cloud tells the story of a small-town sailing hero who survives a tragic accident only to wake up and see the world in a whole new light. The film stars Zac Efron, leaving High School Musicals far behind, and is directed by Burr Steers (17 Again). We were lucky enough to catch up with them both to talk about this emotionally charged romantic drama. |
|  | | Video: Mr. Nice Interviews
So, drug-dealing, eh? Not the easiest or most reliable of career choices, but it is a pretty exciting one, as this week's release, Mr. Nice, proves beyond a shadow of a doubt. Catching up with the star Rhys Ifans, director Bernard Rose, and the man who actually did it all, Howard "I don't know what you're talking about officer" Marks, we talk acting high, stoner movies and dodgy '70s clothing. Warning: do not operate heavy machinery after watching these clips. |
|  | | Cinema's Most Claustrophobic Moments
Set entirely within the architecture of a coffin, high-concept thriller Buried is definitely not one for the faint of heart. It's 95 clammy-palmed minutes with, for company, only Ryan Reynolds, a mobile phone, a Zippo and just about enough air to blow up a children's party balloon. That tight spot got us thinking about other movie moments that have had us moping our brows and blowing into brown bags. While we couldn't work out which bit of Das Boot to include (all of it?), here are a few others shuddery scenes to keep you awake at night and tempt you out into the great outdoors. |
|  | | Eight Documentaries That Will Scare The Hell Out Of You
Everyone knows that hard-hitting documentaries are A Very Good Thing, a worthy break from all those lightsabers and cybernetic organisms. They inform, intrigue and keep our fingers on the pulse, enabling us to keep abreast of important issues and, more importantly, sound clever in conversation. There've been some crackers lately – The Cove, Enron, Sicko, Food, Inc., to name a few – and two more are blazing onto our screens in the shape of Collapse and Less Than Zero. But these docs are nothing short of palm-sweaty, run-to-the-nearest-bunker terrifying and are filled with home truths that will change the way you view the world. This is serious stuff and, being serious people, we've picked eight documentaries you need to watch. Like, right now. Before it's too late. |
|  | | Chris Smith Talks Collapse
In ex-CIA whistleblower Michael Ruppert, indie filmmaker Chris Smith has found a doomsayer to rival Harry Caul, Joe Frady and other cinema conspiracists. His documentary, Collapse, captures Ruppert's theories with all the tension of a '70s conspiracy thriller. We spoke to Smith about the terrifying prospect of total economic and social meltdown. If you imagine the bit in The Road where everyone start filling their bathtubs, you're halfway there. |
|  | | The 33 Greatest Movie Trilogies
We asked you to vote for your favourite all-time movie trilogies, and you answered in your thousands. Some of you plumped for pure three-somes, untinged by inconvenient further sequels; others specified which three films in a series you meant - and, where there's a coherent narrative to back you up, we've allowed it. So here, without further ado, are the greatest film trios for your enjoyment... |
|  | | Jameson Empire Awards Done In 60 Seconds Competition
Ladies and gentlemen, it's back - and this time it's personal. It's time once again for the Empire and Jameson Done In Sixty Seconds competition, where we ask you to recreate classic movies in no more than a minute. You must take a piece of cinematic genius (or not-so-genius if you prefer), boil it down to its essence and cram it all into a timeframe shorter than the life expectancy of the comedy sidekick in a slasher movie. To take part in this year's competition and be in with a chance of winning an Empire Award and attending the star-studded and glittering Jameson Empire Awards in March 2011, grab some mates and blag a camera from somewhere and get shooting. To sixty seconds, and not beyond! |
|  | | The 54th BFI London Film Festival Opens Next Week!
From the underground cultural phenomenon that is The Taqwacores to brilliant music documentary Upside Down: The Creation Records Story, to beautifully restored classic The Bridge on the River Kwai, there's something for everyone at this year's Festival - and still just time to get your tickets! Be a part of it...browse the full programme and book tickets at bfi.org.uk/lff or call 020 7928 3232. | | | |
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A US Army, World War II ration pack, courtesy of The Pacific (out on DVD on November 1, apparently). | | | |
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|  | | | |  | |  | |  | |  | | | Why not try The Wire monopoly? | | Johnny Depp gets awesomer. | | Turns out you can stuff cupcakes with cupcakes! | | Celebrities modelling before they were famous. Prepare to cringe. |
If you have any timewasters to share, then e-mail them in to me. | | | |
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Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps 
This subject demands a Godfather Part II, but Stone and collaborators have turned in a Godfather Part III. There is a lot of good material, but LaBeouf nearly sinks it and we could use much more of the old Gekko brimstone. | | | |
Also Out
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Watch Video
This Week's Video Trailers And Clips
Every week, our video player will update to show trailers and clips from the week's movie releases listed above. | | |
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The Brothers Bloom 
Perhaps you can be too cool for school and too clever for a multiplex, but if you're willing to go along with this, you'll enjoy being fooled so much that you won't mind it's all a trick. | | | |
Also Out
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