Five Favorite Films
Five Favorite Films With Zombieland Director Ruben Fleischer (13 comments)
Filmmaker Ruben Fleischer is having a very good 2009. The former music video director has seen his debut feature, Zombieland, open at number one at the US box office and take in nearly $75 million domestically, while earning an impressive 89% Fresh rating from critics -- not bad for a horror-comedy road movie revolving around the undead. With the film about to open in Australia, we got the chance to catch up with Ruben and ask him his five favorite films. And a fine list it is, too.
Five Favorite Films with Werner Herzog (50 comments)
During his remarkable 40-year career, Werner Herzog has made some of world cinema's boldest films -- including Aguirre, the Wrath of God, Stroszek, Fitzcaraldo, and a remake of Nosferatu. In recent years, he's approached mainstream success in the United States, with the eccentric documentary Grizzly Man and the Vietnam war film Rescue Dawn, which starred Christian Bale. His latest, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, features Nicolas Cage and Eva Mendes in the tale of a cop who tries to solve a brutal murder and keep his grip on reality while battling drug addiction, gambling debts, and familial woes. Read the full article to get the whole story.
Five Favorite Films with Roland Emmerich (79 comments)
We're fairly certain Roland Emmerich's movies hold the record for combined body count. Such a feat is a result of career built around movies like Independence Day, Godzilla, and The Day After Tomorrow, bombastic, crowd-pleasing disaster movies that frequently leave the planet in runs. His latest effort is 2012, opening this Friday and starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet, and Chiwetel Ejiofor as survivors in a world tearing apart at the seams and submerged in water. Rotten Tomatoes spoke to Emmerich to get his Five Favorite Films, and on the following page you can read our interview, where he discusses the upcoming 2012 television show, his thoughts on Avatar, and creating popcorn movies on a global scale.
Five Favourite Films with 24's Carlos Bernard (33 comments)
24 star Carlos Bernard is one of the show's few fixtures. With all the double-crossings, cliff-hangers and back-stabbings, it's a wonder anyone has survived from the first season, but his character Tony Almeida was an integral part of the season just aired, the seventh in the show's run. All indications suggest that he'll be back in a big way for Day 8, set to kick off in January. The actor came to London this week to promote the DVD release of the show's seventh season - available on Blu-ray for the first time, and RT sat down with him to guage his five favourite films, talk about the show and do our best to learn all we could about Day 8. We failed spectacularly on the latter point, for he choose instead to invent an plot too implausible even by 24 standards, but read on for the rest...
Five Favorite Films with F. Gary Gray (29 comments)
Director F. Gary Gray began his career creating music videos for several big name R&B and hip-hop artists in the early 90s, including Ice Cube, TLC, and OutKast. In 1995, Gray made a big screen splash with a little stoner comedy called Friday, starring a pre-Rush Hour Chris Tucker and an up-and-coming Ice Cube, a friend of Gray's. Friday was a surprise hit, opening the doors for future high profile projects such as The Negotiator, 2003's The Italian Job remake, and Be Cool. This week, Gray continues his strong track record in the crime/action genre with Law Abiding Citizen, and we got the chance to sit down and chat with him about his favorite movies, his career, and what it's like to sit in on a viewing of one of his films.
Five Favorite Films with Ong Bak 2's Tony Jaa (84 comments)
Tony Jaa began his career as a stuntman for other actors, much like one of his martial arts inspirations, Jackie Chan. Working under his master and mentor, Thai director Panna Rittikrai, Jaa took hits and tumbles in equal measure before getting his first starring role in 2005's Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior. Now, the much anticipated sequel Ong Bak 2(whose story, interestingly, does not tie in with either Ong Bak 1 or The Protector), finally opens this month in limited release, and it looks to be much grittier than his previous two films. We decided to ask Tony what his Five Favorite Films were, and the choices he offered reflect the various influences that have shaped his career.
Five Favorite Films With Kristen Bell (49 comments)
Kristen Bell made her mark on the pop culture landscape as the star of TV's Veronica Mars, which she followed with a run on the hit series Heroes and one of her most famous (if unseen) roles -- as the voice of Gossip Girl in the much-loved teen drama. Last year she arrived on the big screen for real after starring in the Judd Apatow-produced comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, a surprise box-office hit that also earned positive reviews from critics. This week, Kristen's back on screens -- and back in tropical climes -- for Couples Retreat, a relationship comedy from Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau, and she'll soon be heard as the voice of Cora in the animated film of Astro Boy. We caught up with the star to find what her all-time favorite films are.
Five Favorite Films with Michael Phillips (52 comments)
Chicagoans Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert changed the face of movie criticism with At the Movies; now, another critic from the Windy City, Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips, is ready to take up the mantle on the venerable show. Phillips was a theater writer at the LA Times, the San Diego Union-Tribune, the St. Paul Pioneer Press and the Dallas Times Herald before taking over as the movie beat at the Tribune. In 2006 and 2007 he was a frequent guest on At the Movies, filling in for Roger Ebert alongside Richard Roeper. Now he's a full-time occupant of the critics' chair, alongside New York Times pundit A.O. Scott (find out what Scott's Five Favorite Films are here.)
Five Favorite Films with A.O. Scott (35 comments)
A.O. Scott of the New York Times -- and now, At the Movies -- is one of America's best-known and most trusted film critics. Scott's tenure with the Times began in 2000; prior to that, he was a book critic for Newsday, and contributed to a number of other publications. Beginning in 2006, he filled in for Roger Ebert on At the Movies; on Sept. 5, he and the Chicago Tribune's Michael Phillips took over as the hosts of the show, replacing Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz. In an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, Scott shared some of his favorites (he particularly likes long movies and Italian films), and discussed the differences between appraising movies in print and on television, as well as what the new At the Movies has in store for audiences. (Be sure to check back next week, when we present Phillips' Five Favorite Films.)
Five Favourite Films with Nick Love (16 comments)
Nick Love isn't known for heart. The film which earned him his "From the director of..." title card, The Football Factory, is nothing if not violent, loud and not particularly critically well-loved. His follow-up, The Business, recasts Danny Dyer and sets itself in the Costa Del Crime world of 80s Spain and had a similarly rocky reception with scribes. And yet he's one of Britain's better-known directors, suggesting he talks to an active audience of cinemagoers. With The Firm, Love revisits themes present in both films -- the 80s and football-fan violence -- but has more in common with his lesser-seen debut feature, coming-of-age comedy Goodbye Charlie Bright. Early notices have been warmer than Love tends to receive from critics, with Empire declaring the film, "intense, exciting and impressive." RT caught up with Love to rundown his favourite films and chat about the flick.
Five Favorite Films with John Malkovich (45 comments)
Actor, producer, and director John Malkovich has had a long career spanning almost three decades. Beginning in high school on stage, Malkovich, a founding member of the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, has also earned praise for several of his film roles, including supporting turns in 1984's Places in the Heart and 1993's In the Line of Fire. This week, Malkovich stars in a new independent film, Disgrace, which opens in limited release on Friday. When we asked John for his Five Favorite Films, he responded by saying, "I can't really say that I have five favorite films; somehow my mind just doesn't work that way. Here are five films that I would imagine a lot of film buffs would already have seen." And with that, we present to you John Malkovich's list of five recommendations he would make to any cinephile.
Five Favourite Films with Richard Curtis (25 comments)
Richard Curtis has a plan. "What I've decided is to choose recent films," he explains to RT. "I do think that often people get stuck in always saying the five greatest films of all time, films they saw between the ages of seventeen and twenty-two, because that's when you're forming your opinions. I think I'll talk about modern films, which aren't necessarily the greatest films ever made, but are five great films." The Boat that Rocked is out on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK this week and is soon to hit US cinemas retitled Pirate Radio. Read on to learn about the five films he can't do without.
Five Favorite Films with Sienna Miller (53 comments)
Before she made the leap to film, American-born British actress Sienna Miller was a successful model and sometime stage thespian. Once she found her footing on the big screen, however, she went on to play roles opposite established and up-and-coming actors such as Daniel Craig, Jude Law, Heath Ledger, James Franco, and Steve Buscemi. While her career has remained decidedly within the realm of smaller, independent cinema, she makes an explosive debut this weekend as the formidable Baroness in Stephen Sommers' blockbuster Summer actioner, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Speaking to RT from New York where she was wrapping up two weeks of press for the film, Miller briefly gave us her Five Favorite Films and went on to talk about the progression of her career, the differences between acting in theater and on film, and what it was like doing a huge action film after so many arthouse roles.
Five Favorite Films With Dave Gibbons (48 comments)
Dave Gibbons' revered work in the comic book world stretches back to the 1970s, when he contributed to cult British publications 2000 A.D. and Dan Dare, before illustrating both DC and Marvel series in the early '80s and collaborating with writer Alan Moore on the seminal Watchmen -- the graphic novel that upended the genre. As the film adaptation of Watchmen arrives on DVD, we asked this inherently cinematic artist his to name his five favorite films. On the spot. "I wish I had time to prepare this," he protests. "Okay, this is absolutely off the cuff... "
Five Favorite Films with Zoe Bell (31 comments)
Native New Zealander Zoe Bell spent years as an accomplished stunt double for Lucy Lawless of Xena: Warrior Princess before doubling for Uma Thurman on Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill films. After establishing a rapport with the auteur, Tarantino opened the doors to her acting career by casting her as one of the leads in Death Proof, his segment of 2007's joint project with Robert Rodriguez, Grindhouse. Also starring in this year's upcoming films Gamer and Whip It!, Bell was on hand at Comic-Con to promote her actioner Angel of Death, out on DVD this week, and we were able to sit down with her for a lengthy chat. Read on to discover the Kiwi's Five Favorite Films, learn what it was like working with Quentin Tarantino, and what it's like to transition from stunt work to acting.
Five Favorite Films With Rob Zombie (61 comments)
Metalhead-turned-director Rob Zombie has been on the fringes of American pop culture since his days with White Zombie, the rock band he made famous in the mid-1990s. After achieving commercial and critical success as a solo artist, he turned his talents toward the world of cinema, making his directorial debut with 2003's House of 1000 Corpses. In 2007, he was offered the opportunity to helm the remake of the horror classic Halloween, bringing him further into the public eye. RT caught up with Rob at this year's Comic-Con, where he was promoting his upcoming sequel , H2: Halloween 2, and he spoke to us about his Five Favorite Films, sharing some personal stories about his childhood and some insights into the filmmaking process along the way.
Five Favorite Films with Robert Rodriguez (51 comments)
Robert Rodriguez is known as Hollywood's DIY filmmaker, having "shot, chopped, and scored" his own films from El Mariachi to his 2007 collaboration with Quentin Tarantino, Planet Terror. This August, he'll blaze another trail -- movie making as family bonding project -- with the kid flick Shorts, which Rodriguez conceived largely in collaboration with his own children. We met the soft-spoken auteur in a secluded room hidden within the San Diego Convention Center to talk about his favorite films and learn more about how the imaginations of his son led to his most family-friendly film since Spy Kids 3D and The Adventures of Lavaboy and Sharkgirl.
Five Favorite Films with Richard Kelly (36 comments)
Is it possible that after only two films (his cult hit debut Donnie Darko and his infamously panned follow-up, Southland Tales), director Richard Kelly has already achieved auteur status? Audiences will find out this Halloween, when Kelly's next film, The Box, opens in theaters. Based on Richard Matheson's short story Button, Button, the old-fashioned thriller follows a married couple (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden) who are given a choice: if they push a button they'll receive one million dollars, but someone somewhere will die. Rotten Tomatoes spoke with Kelly in San Diego just hours before he debuted extended footage from The Box and discussed his favorite films, the genesis of The Box, and his hopes to return to Southland Tales with an eventual Director's Cut.
Five Favorite Films with Stan Lee (31 comments)
Stan Lee has spent a lifetime in the comics world, helping to create some of the medium's most popular, most recognizable, and most profitable characters, including Spider-Man, The X-Men, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and many others that have made the transition to cinema. From his humble beginnings as a teenager writing filler for his uncle's publishing company to president of industry giant Marvel Comics, Lee has maintained a reputation for innovation and a knack for expanding the form. Tomorrow (July 23rd), Lee will continue that trend, as his new motion comic Time Jumper -- an ambitious, multimedia joint venture with Disney -- becomes available on iTunes. We were fortunate enough to catch up with him on the floor at San Diego's Comic-Con International 2009 and sit down for a friendly chat. Thoughtful but with a dry sense of humor, Lee offered us some of his favorite films, though in his own words, "My problem is, I don't have favorites." He also continued on to tell us a little bit about Time Jumper, his busy life, and what it's like to see the characters he helped create in the hands of up-and-coming writers and artists.
Five Favourite Films with Duncan Jones (34 comments)
Duncan Jones has done the impossible -- tell a smart, engaging and entertaining sci-fi story on a modest budget. In Britain. As his debut feature film. No wonder everyone's talking about it and its tale of an astronaut (Sam Rockwell) manning a lunar base mining Helium-3. Scoring an impressive 90% on the Tomatometer - qualifying it for a Certified Fresh award we've still yet to send him, much to his chagrin -- critics have been going wild for its sheer ambition, not to mention Rockwell's outstanding lead performance and Jones' assured direction. "I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but it's something that Sam and I, obviously, wanted to make," he tells RT.
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