Catégorie : News & Rumors

“LITTLE FOCKERS” IS A BIG PAYDAY FOR A-LIST CAST

“Little Fockers” may have attracted some stinking reviews — but the comedy scored a huge payday for its cast, with about $70 million going for salaries.

While the current US box office stands at about $105 million, the film will need to pack more theaters to cover A-list star salaries that sources say amounted to $20 million each for Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro, $15 million for Owen Wilson and $7 million for Barbra Streisand.

Even Dustin Hoffman, who plays Greg Focker’s father, Bernie, managed to negotiate a $7.5 million deal after Universal reshoots were needed at the last minute and he was begged to join. And Jessica Alba is thought to have been paid about $3 million. (NYpost.com)

‘Little Fockers’ tops holiday weekend box office

On a weekend when Hollywood competed with Christmas gatherings and fierce snow storms in the Northeast and Southeast, “Little Fockers” was no. 1 at the box office.

The third installment of the Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro series of in-law comedy was to earn $34 million over the three-day weekend, and $48.3 million since opening on Wednesday, according to studio estimates Sunday. That was less than the debut of the 2004 sequel, “Meet the Fockers,” which opened to $46.1 million, but more than the original, “Meet the Parents,” which made $28.6 million in its opening weekend. (Associated Press)

Interview: Little Focker’s Jessica Alba

Half the fun of going to see a new installment of the Meet the Parents franchise is getting to hang out with the families you’ve grown to love over the past few years, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for more crazy characters. She isn’t a Focker or a Byrnes, but in Little Fockers, Jessica Alba steps in as series newcomer Andi Garcia.

Andi is a peppy drug company rep who asks Greg (Ben Stiller) to represent their latest product, Sustengo, an erectile dysfunction medication. The promotional campaign kicks off and Andi gets a little too close for comfort. When a chance meeting in a hospital results in Andi and Pam (Teri Polo) meeting face-to-face, Jack (Robert De Niro) grows increasingly concerned that Greg may not be a faithful husband and unworthy of the title “The Godfocker.”

This is a big production for Alba not only because she stars alongside some of the greats like De Niro and Dustin Hoffman, but also because this is her first attempt at slapstick comedy. Alba spilled on everything from face planting in an empty pool with Stiller to what it’s like being the new recruit on set and even addressed that whole debacle caused by comments she made about screenwriting.

Your character is so bubbly. When you went to work each day, was that something to look forward to or was it ever a drag having to pretend to be that excited?
Jessica Alba: Well, I was taking meth and speed and shooting Red Bulls. I was snorting it actually. No, I’m kidding. No I’m not. Yes I am. [Laughs] No, it was great because no matter what mood I was in, she was so enthusiastic and so happy and excited that it was nice. It turned every day into a funny, silly day. And also, I was kind of the joker, so I just got to make people laugh. If I could just make people giggle, that was fun. It was very satisfying.

As a married woman, what do you think about Ben Stiller’s character’s interaction with yours? Did he cross the line?
Not at all and I don’t think my character was trying to maliciously do anything. She wasn’t manipulative, she wasn’t malicious and I think that’s what made it so great was that she was just having fun and she was just in the moment and she wasn’t really trying to screw anything up. She was just a big fan, she just loves her job so much and she has no filter, she really doesn’t have any boundaries and she’s completely unedited and not self aware. She’s just a ball of fun, so it was fun playing somebody like that because it was very liberating. I might be a little bit of a control freak in my real life. Maybe.

How comfortable were you on set as the newcomer?
And it’s not like they had fruitful careers prior to this movie either, huh? [Laughs] It’s certainly a pretty intimidating group of actors, icons, my heroes and an incredible franchise and they do all know each other and they’ve known each other for so long that it’s almost so scary and intimidating, you kind of just have to let it go and just have fun and that’s exactly what I did.

What kind of guidance did Paul Weitz give you in terms of your character, specifically when she attacked Ben Stiller?
He was really great because I would go off into the deep end so much because I did really have fun and I really was kind of a clown. I’m inspired by Lucille Ball and Peter Sellers and the National Lampoon movies in the 80s, the John Hughes movies and I love that stuff; I love slapstick. So I would go way over there and [Paul] always made sure that I kept it grounded and we would always do a more grounded, more centered take once I went off the deep end.

This is going to be the first time a lot of people see you do slapstick comedy, so what surprised you the most about doing this type of comedy? Also, can you clarify the comments you recently made about screenwriters?
Oh yeah, that wasn’t true. Just so it’s clear, films don’t even get made and nothing ever gets a green light unless there’s great material, so that goes without saying and that’s always a #1 thing before you can get a director, actors or a studio even interested in anything. There was an article written recently where I was completely and totally paraphrased and things were taken out of context and mushed together and it just simply wasn’t true. It was a four-hour interview that got condensed into a page and a half for a fashion magazine.

So, that’s just not true and I have the utmost respect for screenwriters and in fact, the point of it was even when I was doing my first job where I was talking to dolphins in The New Adventures of Flipper when I was 13 – it was a fake dolphin, we had a great relationship [laughs] – when he would go off script, the dolphin, I didn’t know how to. He would squeak and I couldn’t squeak back. It took me like 15 years to learn to do that and lots of therapy. So, basically I was saying that I didn’t have the courage and didn’t really understand how to bring my own thing to the table and I would never veer away from the script, ever, no matter what. Even when actors would go off book, I didn’t know what to say. And in this, it’s encouraged. Once you got it and you say exactly what’s in the script, then it’s like, ‘Okay, we got it. It was awesome. Now let’s have fun and do something else, do something crazy.’ And so that’s what it was; it was amazing to think on your feet. I have so much respect for people who do stand up comedy, live theater, any sort of live performance. It’s hard and it’s hard when you’re on the spot and you have to have that back and fourth. It was like ‘Okay, this is Ben Stiller throwing zingers at me. I’ve got to throw them back! Oh my gosh!’ And so I just tried not to disappoint him because he was sort of the boss as well.

Did you use a stunt double for the scene where you two dive into the empty pool? That scene looked painful.
Oh! Spread eagle? All me. It was all me. I channeled my Dark Angel days. Who knew that was going to come in handy – in underwear – in a mud pit?

What do you find more challenging, the dramatic or comedic roles?
There’s definitely a vulnerability when you’re doing drama and you never know what’s going to happen next and you’re really open, but it’s the same in comedy actually. The thing about dramas, you can kind of indulge in the drama of the moment and no one’s really going to criticize you because it’s like, ‘Oh, that’s that. The angry emotion just isn’t right.’ No one’s going to say that. But if you’re not funny, that’s terrible. You know that right away. People either have the visceral reaction or they don’t and then you’re exposed and you’re open and you failed. So I think comedy might be more difficult – for me at least. But it’s fun when it works.

Source: CinemaBlend.com

CBS and Jessica Alba Turn Another Blog Into a Sitcom

The very funny Canadian blogger/tweeter/ex-model Kelly Oxford has become a bit of a showbiz darling over the last year or so, attracting retweets and shout-outs from the likes of Diablo Cody, Roger Ebert, Dan Harmon, John Mayer, and Jessica Alba. Earlier this year, word leaked out that another Hollywood fan — former Will & Gracewriter Jhoni Marchinko — had teamed with Oxford to develop a potential sitcom based on the Canadian writer’s life as a stay-at-home mom. Looks like things are going well: Vulture has learned that CBS has picked up the project, with both Alba and Marchinko on board as producers.

Currently dubbed The Mother of All Something, the half-hour sitcom (produced by CBS Studios) is being written by Oxford and will borrow heavily from her own life as a mother of three (and, yes, her Twitter feed). Alba’s involvement as executive producer could be a hint that perhaps she’s thinking of actually starring in the show should it go all the way to series. As of now, however, CBS is simply calling the actress a non-writing producer on the potential series. And while it was quite common back in the eighties and nineties for stand-up comics to play versions of themselves on TV, Oxford has dismissed the notion of her appearing on-camera. “I’ve had a lot of offers to act in the last few months,” she told semi-jealous scribe Jill Soloway in an interview last spring. “But I’d rather be known as a good middle-class mom than a wealthy, terrible actress.” CBS will likely decide whether to film a pilot for Mother by March.

Source: NYmag.com

Jessica Alba on Why Dealing With a Picky 2-Year-Old is Trickier Than Learning Lines

In the second sequel to “Meet the Parents,” out Dec. 22, Alba plays a slightly nutty drug rep opposite an uptight Ben Stiller. In real life, the actress, 29, is married to Cash Warren and the mother of Honor Marie, 2.

She spoke to ParentDish recently about her comedic turn and her hatred of “Barney.”

ParentDish: So, the last two movies weren’t that successful. Bit of a gamble taking a role in “Little Fockers.”

Jessica Alba: Yeah, totally. It’s not like any of the cast had, like, a career. They had no experience. They were sooo lucky to have me in the movie. They really needed my star power. I made the film.
It was such a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to do a comedy and, obviously, I love all of these actors. They’re icons. Gosh, can you get a better comedy school than working with Ben Stiller? His timing is so ridiculous, I mean he’s Zoolander! He knows how to do broad, he knows how to do shy, he’s just a comic genius.

PD: How did you get the part?
JA: I auditioned for it. I don’t know who else did and I don’t really care. At the end of the day, I’m supportive of all sorts of actresses being in movies, opening movies. I’m not competitive in that way. Everyone is individual, no one is indispensable. Everyone brings their own unique flair to a role. I really enjoyed doing this and if someone else would have done a better job, then go for it. If I can bring something cool and unique to it, then awesome.

PD: You play a sexy drug rep.
JA: Well, drug rep. Crazy. Totally crazy.

PD: You know they hire pretty girls to be drug reps.
JA: Yeah, they’re like cheerleaders.<

PD: You’ve talked about being typecast as the pretty girl.

JA: Actually, I’ve never said anything like that. It’s been interviewers saying, “Oh, so you’re always looked at as the pretty girl, is that a problem?” I’m like, “Uh, no, I’ve never really looked at the roles like pretty girl, check. It was like superhero, sure. Genetically modified kick-ass chick, sure. Blind violinist, OK, sure, why not? Certainly, after I had my daughter it’s the material and the character and primarily the filmmaker.

PD: Are you pickier since you had your kid?

JA: A lot more. She’s 2 ½ now. She’s just getting her opinions and she’s able to voice them now. When she gets frustrated, she can talk about it. Before, it was just screaming and crying and I didn’t know how to fix it. Now we can communicate. There are rewards and time outs. There are ways to manage what’s going on. I don’t feel so lost. But you have to stick to your guns. It’s very hard.

PD: What’s easier? Learning 30 pages of script or dealing with a 2-year-old who won’t eat?

JA: The 2-year-old! The script is easy. The 2-year-old is always the problem, not in a bad way. It’s like you totally care. I care about her more than anything else in the whole world.

PD: What TV shows does she like?
JA: “The Backyardigans,” “Yo Gabba Gabba.” I’ve seen every “Gabba” episode at least 30 times.

PD: Yeah, they love to do the over and over, but, you know, I’ll take that over “Barney” any day.
JA: I’m scared of Barney.
PD: Me, too! He’s disturbing and the songs … Do you plan on having more kids?
JA: Yeah, at some point. We’ll see how it goes. I mean, we want more.

PD: Is Honor learning Spanish?
JA: We have people in our house and family members who speak Spanish to her all the time, but my Spanish is terrible. It’s like 1-year-old Spanish. She has a much broader vocabulary than I do already. It’s so good to open up their ears and minds to different languages. By the time they’re 3, their brains start creating prejudices about accents and tones. It’s just something that happens with brain chemistry. The more you can expose them to different sounds and languages before 3, the better. So, yeah, we’re totally trying to do that.

PD: Would you like to do more comedies?
JA: I really love doing comedies. It’s my favorite thing. We’ll see if I can continue doing comedies, hopefully. I don’t even know what my next job is.

PD: Does that worry you?

JA: No! I mean, I get to hang out with my kid, which is the funnest thing ever. I’m so happy with the way things are going because I don’t have to work all the time. I work a little bit and the rest of the time I’m with my daughter. For me, that’s so much better, especially until she starts going to school. I don’t want to miss spending time with her.
Source: ParentDish.com

Jessica Alba’s first twitterview

Jessica Alba gave her first twitterview (twitter interview) earlier this evening Which you can read below. Hope to see more of these. Enjoy. And CLICK HERE to view the latest twitpics.

@WonderwallMSN what do you enjoy more: playing funny or playing sexy?”
@jessicaalba I think being funny is sexier than being sexy

@WonderwallMSN Your character in Fockers is wild! What was it like to let loose?
@jessicaalba It was liberating -in life I’m a bit more reserved

@WonderwallMSN Tells us about working with Ben Stiller.
@jessicaalba I think I really brought him out of his shell

@WonderwallMSN Your “bellyflop” scene was hilarious. Did you do your own stunt work?
@jessicaalba My amateur mud wrestling days finally paid off

@WonderwallMSN Can you share your favorite Christmas memory?
@jessicaalba our family wears matching pajamas every year- we’re dorks

@jessicaalba Squashing cars from my hotel room @WonderwallMSN #thelittlefockers http://yfrog.com/h278018218j

 

Good pic @jessicaalba Thanks so much for your time! Happy holidays! And everyone, go see #LittleFockers, everyone when it comes out Dec. 22!

P.S Follow us @ALBA411

Jessica Alba covers Michigan Avenue Magazine December/January 2011

Jessica Alba could be your best friend—if your best friend happened to be the most insanely gorgeous, relentlessly photographed and politically engaged young mom in the world. And this “sexiest movie star” and “most beautiful” woman (as she’s been crowned by virtually every magazine in print) doesn’t mind the attention—or, for that matter, even seem to notice it.

PUBLIC PERSONA
The week before this interview, People magazine named Alba one of the best-dressed celebs of 2010 to much fanfare. Had she seen that? “Um… no,” she giggles. It seems that the very public scrutiny surrounding her clothes, her face and her body is just background noise to Alba. All the press she gets is “just a way to market a movie,” she says simply. In the past few years, young celebrity moms have become the lifeblood of weekly magazines (you can’t live in the Western world and not have seen photos of her running errands with daughter Honor, two), but that doesn’t stop Alba from behaving like any other 29-year-old woman.

On Twitter, she posts everything from the mundane (pictures of herself having dinner with friends or trying out a new nail polish) to the provocative (political opinions about a variety of issues such as women’s rights and immigration). She admits she doesn’t think twice before tweeting personal information to her approximately 700,000 followers. “I just do that because it’s what everyone else does on Twitter,” she says. “It has nothing to do with paparazzi. Paparazzi follow you and take pictures of you and taunt you. For me, Twitter is a social network, and I really communicate with friends through it. That’s just the way people communicate these days.”

ACTING AND ACTIVISM
Alba is equally unconstrained by other people’s opinions when it comes to making career choices, with a résumé full of movies ranging from superhero (Fantastic Four) to rom-com (Valentine’s Day) to graphic action flick (Machete) and, this month, a blockbuster comedy set in Chicago: Little Fockers, the third installment of the Meet the Parents franchise.

“I play a pharmaceutical sales rep, and she’s really into Ben Stiller’s character,” Alba says. “She admires his work as a nurse and what he’s done, and she wants to work with him, and then you realize that she’s a little bit off. She’s really in your face and very aggressive, she has no filter and no sense of boundaries or personal space. She’s pretty much the opposite of me.”

The real Alba is hyper-political (go to husband Cash Warren’s website, ibeatyou.com, to see a very personal video they created at President Obama’s inauguration), passionate about issues like immigration—“We need immigration reform in our country. Everyone’s aware of it. We took so many steps forward with Obama, and we’re taking so many leaps backward by having any person with an accent or a person of color feel like they are lesser, or looked at as criminal,” she says—and very involved in many women’s charities. She names a few of her favorites as CARE, an organization that fights global poverty; Step Up Women’s Network; and 1Goal, for which she is a global ambassador and cochair, and on behalf of which she went to Capitol Hill earlier this year to raise political support for a global fund for education.

BEAUTY AND THE BOD
Within a few minutes of meeting her, it becomes apparent that Alba has a far more complex mind than her millions of fans may guess. That said, while she can hold her own on any topic, she still enjoys chatting about less weighty pursuits. As a Revlon brand ambassador, she has mastered the fast face. “I use an eyelash curler, concealer and a little cream blush, and that’s usually my good-to-go look when I have like, five, minutes,” she says. “My mom used to spend an hour getting ready every morning. You can’t really do that because then you just spend your whole life worrying about that. Just put on sunglasses, or just don’t give a shit,” she laughs.

As for that famous bod: She’s been following a gluten-free diet and has begun taking private yoga lessons at Sol Power Yoga, which her cousin Jessica James founded and operates. “It targets girly areas: lifting your tushie; getting strong legs, but not getting them too bulky; and a tight tummy,” she says. “I’m trying to get into a routine. I haven’t worked out since my daughter was three months old. There’s something called airbrushing, people.”

And about that “best dressed” award—what are her favorite brands? “I like basics from Zara, Topshop, H&M, Gap. I love mixing basics with more fashion stuff. I like vintage YSL, vintage Chanel and vintage Ferragamo. And then big designers—I like Narciso Rodriguez, Alexander Wang, Prada…. It just depends what sort of mood I’m in.”

In a recent tweet, Alba disclosed that a close friend told her she dressed like an old lady. While bodysuits and bikinis are her on-camera trademark, in her real life she tends to wear layers of neutral-colored clothes that cover her body. She recalls their conversation: “We were talking about how the young kids dress, and how they wear all this metallic and fluorescent [clothing] and the L.A.M.B. punk look the kids are doing, and I feel so old saying that,” she says. “But I think there’s a certain age when you’re not allowed to wear fluorescents and foil.” She may indeed be at that age, but if Jessica Alba were so inclined, she could make just about anything work. (michiganavemag.com)

Magazine Scans

Low Quality photoshoot

Look Magazine – Jessica Alba interview

LOOK Magazine has published a new interview with Jessica Alba ahead of the UK release of Machete (November 26). I’ve added scans to the gallery and typed up some highlights below. Enjoy.

Jessica Alba, you star alongside some serious tough guys in Machete. What was that like?
Great! I loved getting the chance to work with Robert De Niro, Danny Trejo, Don Johnson and Steven Seagal. It was incredible to be on set with these film icons.

You play Sartana, a fierce immigration officer on the trail of a hired killer. Where you comfortable playing a tough girl?
I’m a lot tougher than people imagine as I’ve always had to defend myself. I never fitted in as a kid, I was always a loner who got beaten up or picked on by other kids and I was always changing schools. Then when I was first auditioning I had to work hard to win roles and overcome a lot of rejection. I’m Hispanic and looked a little different, which made it more difficult to get accepted. But I didn’t  let that affect me. I learned to fight for what I wanted in life, to stand up for myself and not take crap from anyone. That experience made me stronger

So are action movies where your career’s heading?
I want to distance myself from roles more geared to how I look in a sexy outfit. My goal is to work with the best directors out there. I’ve always taken my career seriously and I want to work that I can be proud of.

Do you think being sexy counts against you as an actress?
Even though my looks have helped me get parts, I’ve always tried to find roles that get past the stereotypes. Now I think I’m in a position to make that philosophy pay off. My role model is Angelina Jolie. She’s so beautiful and has an incredible career. People talk more about her film career and her humanitarian work than about her looks.

Jessica Alba to attend ‘CNN Heroes: An All Star Tribute’

This year’s “CNN Heroes: An All Star Tribute” will definitely be a star-filled night, as more celebs are lined up to attend the event, which will honor all of the Top 10 CNN Heroes (who you can view at CNNHeroes.com) as well as the CNN Hero of the Year.

Jessica Alba, Kid Rock, Kiefer Sutherland, Aaron Eckhart, Gerard Butler and Marisa Tomei will be in attendance along with stars like Halle Berry, Demi Moore, LL Coool J and Renee Zellweger.

In addition to performances from Bon Jovi and Sugarland, Grammy-winning artist John Legend has been added to the slate for a set that will also feature rapper Common and singer Melanie Fiona.

You can catch “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute” on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, at 8 p.m. EST/ 5 p.m. PST.

Source: CNN.com

Jessica Alba to present at the American Music Awards

PRESENTERS ANNOUNCED FOR “2010 AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS(R),” AIRING SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 21 ON ABC

dick clark productions (dcp) president Orly Adelson has announced this year’s “2010 American Music Awards(R)” presenters. The roster includes Christina Milian, Eric Stonestreet, Heidi Klum, Jenny McCarthy, Jessica Alba, John Legend, Johnny Weir, Julianne Hough, Julie Benz, Kelly Osbourne, Keri Hilson, Lady Antebellum, Mandy Moore, Michael Chiklis, Mike Posner, Natasha Bedingfield, Nathan Fillion, Nicki Minaj, Rico Rodriguez, Ryan Seacrest, Samuel L. Jackson, Seal, Sheryl Crow, Stana Katic, Taio Cruz, Trey Songz, The Band Perry and Willow Smith, in addition to some surprise appearances.

The show will broadcast live from the NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE on SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 21 (8:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on ABC. Tickets are now on sale (please visit www.ticketmaster.com or call 1-877-AEG-TICKETS).

Source: Thefutoncritic.com