A Royal Engagement

James Blunt is going to be busy on April 29.

The singer-songwriter has been booked to play a little gig that day…at Westminster Abbey.

Yeah, you may’ve heard of it: the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton? A small, simple affair, alright.

Blunt will not be singing, though. “I’m actually playing,” he said as he confirmed the news. “I’m playing the church organ there.”

Better not mess that one up, guy – the world will be watching.

Photo: TheAudioPerv.com.

Update: Hold the phone. Evidently, this was just Blunt’s idea of a good joke. He is not playing at Westminster Abbey...he’s just promoting his new record, Some Kind of Wonderful.

Job well done.

Stylin’

He has been a cutting-edger, a legend, “an international celebrity, really”…a starter product for yours truly…a revolutionary, and now, a big-screen sensation.

Get ready for Vidal Sassoon The Movie.

A couple of weeks ago I was watching one of my favorite shows, CBS News Sunday Morning, when I caught a segment on Sassoon on the occasion of the release of a new documentary on the life and career of the iconic hairdresser. I didn’t even know the fellow was still alive!

The new movie, which I was supposed to screen for reviewing over the weekend, but didn’t thanks to debauched runnings off schedule – my apologies – is out in very limited release in a few Miami theaters, but it looks, from what I did see, like it’s an unmissable event for anyone who has appreciated his hair styles.

Check it and let everyone know if it makes the cut. I think it will.

Photo: Indiewire.com.

Well Poe-sitioned for a Break

Christopher Egan, the cutie who starred on TV’s Kings, is going to sex up Edgar Allan Poe.

The Aussie has been tapped to headline the 1804-set Poe for ABC, a show that reportedly will have an element of Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes, an element of steampunk, and a real sense of fun.

Natalie Dormer (Showtime’s The Tudors) will play one of the author’s two crime-solving sidekicks, a journalist working at a newspaper in Boston.

Photo: CourierMail.com.au.

Cloaked

Eat your hearts out, Lindsay and Megan: Amanda Seyfried is officially a leading lady thanks to Red Riding Hood, the Catherine (Twilight) Hardwicke-directed gothic take on the fairy tale that I completely ate up.

Seriously – I was totally into it.

Blonde, blue- and wide-eyed Seyfried stars as Valerie in this dark retelling of the fable, set in the beyond-photogenic medieval village of Daggerhorn, which a big bad werewolf has been terrorizing for a couple of decades. (Btw, I thought the movie was shot in Washington, but it was actually the gorgeous wilderness of Vancouver that lent its beautaciousness to the movie, according to the Google.)

Designed to appeal to tweenagers – and, it seems, twentysomething man-writers – everywhere, the oh-so-lusty Red Riding Hood features a most good-lookin’ love triangle: Valerie has been promised to Henry (Max Irons, son of Jeremy), a noble rich boy whose family’s fortune can elevate hers in status and standing, but she is and forever has been very much in love with the nothing-to-offer bad boy Peter (Shiloh Fernandez).

As it would happen in a movies such as this one, Valerie is more concerned with feeling like she is being sold to Henry, and thus kept from true happiness with Peter, than with the fact that whenever the moon is full Daggerhorn goes into absolute panic mode, especially now that the wolf has claimed a human life (her sister’s, no less).

As the body count increases, the townspeople call upon Father Solomon (Gary Oldman), a famed werewolf hunter, to track down the monster and kill it before it wreaks more bloody havoc. But as suspicions brew among the dwellers of Daggerhorn, thanks to Father Solomon’s reveal that the wolf is, in fact, one of them in human form, the people of the once peaceful village begin to turn on one another, letting the innocence of their weary, yet formerly happy community fall farther and farther into the past.

As the central figure of Red Riding Hood, though, Valerie is essential to unraveling the identity of the wolf, as well as all the secrets that surround its provenance and existence, some of which may hit closer to home than she thinks (the whole thing is a bit too dense for its own good, and, ultimately, a little grody, but it sets up a revisit kinda nicely, IMHO).

Plus, she has a sexy choice to make, and to see Seyfried consider Fernandez and Irons is fun.

My Rating ***

Photo: Warner Bros.

The List, Pt. 27

In: Michael Fassbender.

So Five Minutes Ago: Sam Worthington.

O-V-E-R: Daniel Craig. (Not really – never!)

Photo: EW.com.

It Would Be a Huge Mistake to Tease

Jason Bateman really, really wants us to keep the faith a movie is, indeed, coming, Arrested Development fans.

While promoting the upcoming comedy Paul this week, the actor assured the folks at MTV News that even though he hasn’t seen a finished script, he knows the long-gestating project’s going to be all that and a frozen banana.

“Yes. It’s...yes. It’s incredible,” Bateman said. “It’s everything you would want it to be and more. I really hope [show mastermind Mitch Hurwitz] finishes it soon so we can have a shot of doing it before the end of the year.”

The erstwhile Michael Bluth is confident the powers that be will be able to pull it together and start rolling before the end of the year.

Marry me, this is good!

Photo: FanPop.com.

I S’ppose Work Is Work

Julianne Moore is pulling a Tina Fey and will be playing Sarah Palin for HBO, much to my chagrin.

I just don’t think we need to glorify that witch with a B anymore, unless, y’ know, it’s for funsies (and to point out what an idiot she is) – which, btw, is still too much attention to lavish upon her and her big bag of BS.

Alas, they didn’t ask for my opinion on this one….

Moore is set to get her “mama grizzly” on for the cabler, which is moving ahead with production on Game Change, a project to be directed by Jay Roach based on a book about the 2008 presidential election.

No word on who will portray Barack Obama or John McCain yet.

Photo: AP.com.

Dr. Who?

Liam Neeson...taking numbers and kick butt – I enjoy.

And even though I recognized the sum of all of the parts of Unknown (directed by Orphan helmer Jaume Collet-Serra, the movie’s made of a dash of Bourne Identity, borrows from Hitchcock, and tips its Euro-style hat to the Cold War intrigue of a silver screen era long gone), I kinda liked it, too.

Neeson stars in the thriller as Dr. Martin Harris, a man who awakens from a four-day coma in a Berlin hospital, only to discover that another man (Aidan Quinn) has taken on his identity and that no one, (not even his ice princess-wife, Elizabeth, played by Mad Men’s January Jones), believes him to be who he claims to be.

With the help of Gina, (Diane Kruger), the young illegal immigrant-cab driver who saved his life after their taxi plummeted into a very cold river, maybe-Dr. Harris sets out to prove who he is and find out WTF is going on.

The question at the center of Unknown is, of course, who this man is, as well as why would anyone want to steal his identity.

What does he know that is of so much value to the folks erasing his life and chasing after him?

That you’ll have to watch to find, if you haven’t already, but know that it’ll take a little bit to get to the answers to this and the other questions that may arise along the way. Just know that the payout, while a doozy, is not as predictable as you would think...but then again it will make you go, “But of course!” Which doesn’t make Unknown any less enjoyable, especially in its third act as everything is revealed and Neeson gets to flex his finely aged muscles.

My Rating ***

Photo: Warner Bros.

Just Because, Pt. 69

Amanda Seyfried, I have a crush on ya.

I saw Red Riding Hood last night, and lemme tell ya, people...you are going to flip over for this girl if you haven’t already.

I mean, look at her.

And she’s talented to boot!

She’s magnetic, and she’s making smart choices, and delivering on a promise that so many of her contemporaries have made but...y’ know.

Photo: HuffingtonPost.com.

G.P. on the Brink

Gwyneth Paltrow can carry a tune – we all know that (just take her recent performances at the Oscars, the Grammys, and the CMAs, as well as her guesting turns on TV’s Glee as examples).

Rumors have had the Academy Award winner seeking out a record deal lately, but her camp is denying the stories. For the time being.

“There is no deal in place for Gwyneth with any record label yet,” Camp G.P. has said.

I love me some Paltrow...but this makes me nervous. America’s Sweetheart, indeed, she ain’t, and while I would totally buy any album she puts out, I’d hate to see her dogged on even more than she already does, you know....

Photo: FadedYouthBlog.com.

A Mean-spirited Girl

Emily VanCamp just couldn’t stay away from TV – and that’s a good thing...for us.

The former Brothers & Sisters co-star has signed on to lead a potential new primetime drama called Revenge, which is described as a contemporary reimagining of The Count of Monte Cristo from a female perspective.

The show will revolve around a mysterious young woman who heads to the Hamptons to exact revenge on the people who destroyed her family.

This sounds like a departure for VanCamp, so it should prove exciting for her and her followers.

Photo: Zimbio.com.

Meant to Be

Y’ know wha’, for a sci-fi thriller based on a Philip K. Dick story, the well-worth-the-wait-since-last-fall The Adjustment Bureau is quite the romantic one – and I hearted it all that much more for it.

It doesn’t hurt that Matt Damon and Emily Blunt have this crazy chemistry.

Seriously, if the two weren’t so obviously and freakin’ happily married in real life (he to his lovely wife Luciana; she to the dreamy John Krasinski), I’d be rooting for them to get together, which is kinda jerky for me to say, but that’s just how terrific they are on screen.

They make it look that easy, to have first a meaningful rapport and then this defy-the-odds relationship that sparks so beautifully – all for our entertainment, no less.

Damon plays David Norris in this pot-boiler from Bourne Ultimatum screenwriter George Nolfi. He’s a hot-shot politico from New York on the fast track (when we first meet him he’s on the brink of winning a seat in the U.S. Senate). He’s young and good-looking and affable...a super-likeable all-American kinda guy. He’s got a bit of a wild streak,yeah, but he’s oh-so-candid about the whole thing it’s obvious he sees this as a refreshing whiff of transparency.

His past, however, proves to have one to many liabilities in it, and when one particular (rather benign) frat-boy antic surfaces, it costs him the election.

It is as he’s prepping to concede – to get on with his life until the next time – that his life changes at last and for good.

David is going over his speech in the men’s at the Waldorf. He thinks he’s alone, but, of course, he isn’t. A free-spirited woman, Elise Sellas (Blunt), a ballerina, has been patiently waiting for him to be done so she can continue eluding hotel security (for, you see, she’s crashed a wedding...on a dare to herself). Eventually, she tires of waiting him out, so she comes out and talks to him.

They meet. They flirt. They fall for each other right then and there.

And they are done – their fates are sealed.

(This, btw, is one of the sexiest, most genuine and intelligent Meet Cute scenes I have ever seen committed to the big screen. It rang sincere and it left me wanting more and I totally bought it. Damon and Blunt FTFW!)

Only they were never ever supposed to be meet.

In fact, all of their lives they’ve come thisclose to crossing paths, but usually unseen and quite-powerful forces (namely a group of throwback-y suited men that give major Observers-from Fringe vibes that includes the friendly Anthony Mackie from The Hurt Locker, the cold John Slattery from TV’s Mad Men, and the menacing Terrence Stamp) have been keeping them apart because David and Elise together is not part of the plan.

If they don’t cut it out...if David doesn’t stay on track (he alone has become aware of these adjusters), things will not end well for either of them. You’ll have to watch to see how it all ends for this couple that shall not be denied.

Questions of free will and chance vs. predestination arise in this taut, yet generously structured Adjustment Bureau, but the most important one is the one you’ll have at the end of the film: Can Matt Damon and Emily Blunt work together again soon, please?

My Rating ***1/2

Photo: Universal Pictures.

Chanel Girl

Blake Lively’s reign as fashion’s It Girl is beyond-official.

The Gossip Girl star and F.O.A. – that’s Friend of Anna (Wintour – duh!) – is the new face of Chanel’s Mademoiselle handbags, the images for which were shot by Karl Lagerfeld and started getting released yesterday.

You can expect a series of photos featuring Lively, whom the Lags describes as this “kind of an American dream girl,” to be revealed throughout the spring.

And for the actress to continue looking impossibly chic from here to eternity.

And for everyone to be jelly.

Photo: People.com.

The Epitome of It

Robyn may just have booked a gig worthy of her status as an on-the-brink artist.

The Swedish star is going to headline next month’s 2011 NewNowNext Awards on Logo.

Also slated to perform at the show, which will honor the next big things in TV, music, film, and media, are Oh Land and Wynter Gordon.

People, pay attention – at last!

Photo: SeattleWeekly.com.

What It Feels Like for a Girl

This…is quite a look, Daniel Craig.

The actor is making quite the statement in honor of today’s International Women’s Day by saying nothing but donning drag for a video narrated by Judi Dench, his Bond movies’ co-star, that reveals unfair inequalities between women and men in this day and age.

The two-minute PSA is part of the EQUALS project, a charity led by Annie Lennox. Check it out, and keep it in mind:

Activism On and From the Stage

Cutie-patooties Jim Parsons (TV’s The Big Bang Theory) and Lee Pace (pictured here) are getting ready to hit Broadway for the very first time, making their Great White Way debuts in The Normal Heart for director Joel Grey.

The play, which was first staged off-Broadway in 1985, already has Joe Mantello, Ellen Barkin, and John Benjamin Hickey all cast and ready to go. It follows the travails of a group of friends who refuse to let doctors, politicians, and the press bury the truth of the unspoken HIV/AIDS epidemic in early-’80s New York City.

Set to run for 12 weeks, The Normal Heart will begin previews on April 19 before officially opening on April 27.

A percentage of the production’s weekly profits will be donated to nonprofits, including The Actors Fund and Friends In Deed. In addition, a special partnership is being created with amfAR.

Photo: GlanceOfOswald.blogspot.com.

A-Rocks

Alec Baldwin wants to rock (even more).

The actor is joining Tom Cruise, Mary J. Blige, and Julianne Hough in the forthcoming Rock of Ages movie that Adam Shankman is directing.

Shankman tweeted the news over the weekend, confirming that the 30 Rock star will play Dennis Dupree, an aging rocker who stays in the game by running a Hollywood club.

Yeah, yeah – but is Gwyneth Paltrow doing the movie, or not?

Photo: MediaBistro.com.

The Year of Magical Thinking

The new high school-set take on the Beauty and the Beast story, Beastly, opens with up-and-comer Alex Pettyfer showing off his toned, hot bod, which is photographed to rival the majesticness of Manhattan’s Chrysler Building.

It is, by far, the most fantastical shot in the movie.

This Vanessa Hudgens-Pettyfer vehicle has the good fortune of being first on trend (yay, getting delayed from last summer paid off!), but the bad luck of being completely...unexciting. Hollywood has turned to the world of fairy tales once again for inspiration (projects for both the big and small screens are a-comin’) – and I can only trust its offerings will be superior to this one. Your move, Red Riding Hood.

Anyway, Pettyfer plays the beautiful and rich but full-of-himself-and-mean-about-it most popular guy in school, Kyle, a guy who gets off on mocking and humiliating those he deems “aggressively unattractive.” Granted, it’s not his fault that he’s such a tool: his superficial TV anchor-father (Peter Krause, from TV’s Parenthood) has raised him to value looks rather than what lies beneath. This is what passes for gravitas in Beastly.

His relentless taunting meets its match, though, when he crosses someone he shouldn’t have, his Goth-y classmate Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen, rocking some dangerous-looking heels like nobody’s beeswax), whom he invites to the school’s environmental dance only to blow her off in public.

Kendra’s not the kind of girl to get her feeling hurt so easily...in fact, she’s a powerful witch, so she does what she would, which is to put a hex on Kyle to make him as aggressively unattractive on the outside as he is on the inside, transforming him into everything he despises.

Bald, scarred, and tattooed to within and inch of his life (but still tight), Kyle has one year to find someone who will love him as he is, which will be hard since he’s been such a d-bag and all.

It is the only way to break the curse, though (one of the niftiest tricks of his newfound ink is it tells time – a tree on his arm marks the passing of the season).

His task is made all that much more complicated after his father banishes to Brooklyn with a sympathetic housekeeper (Lisa Gay Hamilton) and blind tutor (a game Neil Patrick Harris – he and Olsen were the best part of this one, trust). Y’ know...so he can be more comfortable away from glaring eyes. As he first resists and resents his new mission in life, Kyle soon begins to see the world, and himself, a little differently, especially after he re-meets an old non-friend from school, Lindy (Hudgens).

A scholarship girl from the wrong side of the city who dreams of nothing more than to go on a trip to Machu Picchu (a trip for which she’s been saving for like, forever), Lindy is the kind beauty who will save terrible self, of course, but first, this beast has to get her in his castle, which he does when he chances upon her drug addict-dad killing a threatening dealer in defense of his princess.

Seizing the opportunity, Kyle promises the addict freedom and safety for his daughter, and sets out to woo her, not only because he wants her to fall for him so the spell goes poof but because he genuinely likes her.

The fact that Beastly was set against a high school background made it seem smarter than it actually is, because to cater to today’s youth you gotta be the sharpest knife out there, but, ultimately, it proved to be as dull as most of its acting (Alex Pettyfer and even you, Vanessa Hudgens, I will give you a pass with the hope that you knew this could only turn out to be a wooden snoozefest) and its execution.

Happily ever after this did not make, so don’t bother.

My Rating *1/2

Photo: mmm-mag.com.

The Fairest of Them All

Everywhere you turn these days, there’s a fairy tale-themed something in the works – like a Hansel and Gretel movie, and not one but two Snow White projects taking shape, with either Julia Roberts or Charlize Theron set to star – or opening, like today’s Beastly, or about about to open, like next week’s Red Riding Hood.

The trend is moving to TV, too, with Ginnifer Goodwin leading the charge into the small screen for ABC.

The Big Love star will headline the drama pilot Once Upon a Time, playing a fair-skinned, raven-haired woman drawn to a small, strange town where fairy tales might actually exist...and where she will encounter an Evil Queen (played by Swingtown’s Lana Parrilla) and a yet-to-be-cast Prince Charming.

Photo: GreeningVancouver.wordpress.com.

A Wonder-ful Villain

Adrianne Palicki has met her match in…Elizabeth Hurley.

The British model/actress has landed the role of Wonder Woman’s nemesis, an “evil” scientist who runs a pharmaceutical company that produces a drug that makes people stronger. The character wants to build herself an army capable of taking down Wonder Woman, of whom she’s quite jelly.

Hurley is expected to recur on the show should it get picked up to go to series.

Photo: Waveish.com.

Update: Cary Elwes is on board, too.

The Princess Bride actor will play and ally of Wonder Woman’s, an ally who could become a potential love interest.