Steve Carell

Amy Ryan of ‘Gone Baby Gone,’ ‘The Wire’ Signs Onto New Episodes of NBC Hit TV Show ‘The Office’

HollywoodChicago.com — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 23:22:52 -0700

CHICAGO – Amy Ryan’s star just keeps rising. The breakout actress from HBO’s “The Wire,” who was nominated for a Golden Globe and Academy Award for her role in “Gone Baby Gone,” will be featured in at least five episodes on this coming season of NBC hit TV show “The Office”.

Amy Ryan from “Gone Baby Gone,” “The Wire” and “The Office”.
Photo credit: (source)

In season four’s finale of “The Office” (entitled “Goodbye, Toby”), Amy Ryan’s character (Holly Flax) took over the HR position from Toby Flenderson (played by Paul Lieberstein).

With the 2007 finale being her first episode, Holly was teased as a potential love interest for branch boss Michael Scott (portrayed by Steve Carell). Last week, Carell signed on to do three more seasons of “The Office”. Ryan and Carell appeared together in 2007’s “Dan in Real Life”.

“I don’t know what they’re going to do with the character,” Ryan said in a Sunday Variety report, “but as it was written, there’s certainly a lot of potential. It’s a funny thing to enter a show … you’re a great fan of and it’s nice to tell lighter stories. I love the dark, grittier side of life, but it’s nice to take a break from that, put a skirt on and brush your hair.”

Though the fan-favorite Toby is gone from the screen, Lieberstein – a writer and actor on the show since the first season – will continue on as an executive producer through the fifth season of “The Office”. Lieberstein added in the Variety report: “Amy gave the character of Holly an openness and matured innocence that exposed a new side of Michael. She placed her character right on his level.”

Ryan has more projects set for the big screen including “Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone” and Clint Eastwood’s “Changeling”.

By DUSTIN LEVELL
Senior Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
dustin@hollywoodchicago.com

In ‘Get Smart’ Lifeless Retread, Steve Carell Can’t Fill Don Adams’ Shoe

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 10:37:59 -0700

CHICAGO – Observing the new “Get Smart” film, which is based on the 1960s TV sitcom of the same name, is to note how much has changed since the Cold War ended.

Rating: 2.0/5.0

KAOS and CONTROL – the U.S. and Russian spy agencies that square off in the movie – seem like relics of another era. In this age of homeland security and unlimited government wiretapping, it’s difficult to create fictional comedy that can compete with real-life absurdity.

The film version of “Get Smart” lives up to that truth. Combining dull action-movie elements, badly cast movie stars and an uncomfortable romance, the film has forgotten all about its TV roots and most of the humor.

Read Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Get Smart” in our reviews section.

View our full, high-resolution “Get Smart” image gallery.

Played by Steve Carell, Maxwell Smart is a Russian interpreter and communications administrator in the secret government spy agency CONTROL.

The chief (Alan Arkin) wants Smart to stay in the administration even though he longs to join spies like Agent 23 (Dwayne Johnson) and work in the field.

After KAOS – a rival Russian agency – infiltrates and wrecks the CONTROL offices, Smart is promoted to field agent and partnered with super-spy Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway). Their mission is to find out who’s behind KAOS and identify their evil plans.

“Get Smart,” which stars Steve Carell, Anna Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, Alan Arkin, Terence Stamp, Bill Murray and Ryan Seacrest, opened everywhere on June 20, 2008.

Steve Carell stars as Maxwell Smart (left) and Anne Hathaway stars as Agent 99 in “Get Smart”.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Anne Hathaway (left) stars as Agent 99 and Steve Carell stars as Maxwell Smart in “Get Smart”.
Photo credit: Tracy Bennett

Read Patrick McDonald’s full “Get Smart” review.

Dr. Seuss’ ‘Horton Hears a Who!’ Heard Loudly Into Instant Children’s Classic

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:37:13 -0700

CHICAGO – One of Dr. Seuss’ most famous storybooks has finally been granted life with its self-titled animated feature “Horton Hears a Who!,” which involves a morally righteous elephant, philosophical timbre and Dr. Seuss’ ingenious lyrical rhymes.

A star-studded cast supports this vibrant tale and Dr. Seuss’ ethical elephant and morally slated advice about equality are well represented in this CG-animated adaptation.

The elephant Horton (Jim Carrey) comes to the rescue of a speck crying for help as it floats by in the colorful jungle of Nool. When Horton decides to help the speck even though he can’t see the Whos who inhabit it, the famous line “a person’s a person no matter how big or how small” comes into the film and sets the Suessian tone of the tale.

Click here to read Allison Pitaccio’s full review
of “Horton Hears a Who!” in our reviews section!

Click here for our full “Horton Hears a Who!” image gallery!

Isla Fisher in “Horton Hears a Who!”.
Photo credit: IMDb

“Horton Hears a Who!”.
Photo credit: IMDb

New ‘Sweeney Todd’ Stills; Movie Posters: Dr. Seuss Film, ‘The Forbidden Kingdom,’ ‘Hottie,’ ‘Zohan’

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 12:24:37 -0700

Paramount Pictures on Wednesday evening released new production photos for “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” which opens on Friday.

Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in “Sweeney
Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”.
Photo credit: Leah Gallo

Alan Rickman (left) in “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”.
Photo credit: Peter Mountain

Johnny Depp in “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”.
Photo credit: Leah Gallo

Johnny Depp in “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”.
Photo credit: Peter Mountain

Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp in “Sweeney
Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”.
Photo credit: Leah Gallo
Various new movie posters have just surfaced for films including “Horton Hears a Who!,” which opens on March 14, 2008.

The Dr. Seuss computer-animated adaptation features a star-studded cast that includes Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Will Arnett, Isla Fisher, Dane Cook, Jaime Pressly and Carol Burnett.

Next up, we have a new poster for “The Forbidden Kingdom” with Jet Li and Jackie Chan – yes, in the same film. “The Forbidden Kingdom” is slated to open on April 17, 2008.

We also have the new movie poster for – you’ve got to be kidding me! – “The Hottie and the Nottie” with Paris Hilton, which is scheduled to open on Feb. 8, 2008.

Finally, we have the movie poster for “You Don’t Mess With the Zohan” with Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider and Mariah Carey. The film, which is written by Judd Apatow (“Knocked Up,” “The 40-Year-Old Virgin”) and Adam Sandler, is slated to open on June 6, 2008.

First-Look Production Stills: New ‘Harry Potter,’ ‘Get Smart,’ ‘10,000 B.C.’; ‘Speed Racer’ Poster

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 14:00:16 -0700

Following our Dec. 11 post, which featured a slew of new production stills from 2008 Warner Bros. films, even more have just been released by the studio. We now see the first stills from “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” “10,000 B.C.” and “Get Smart”.

Steven Strait as D’Leh in the epic adventure “10,000 B.C.”.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”.
Photo credit: Jaap Buitendijk

Anne Hathaway stars as Agent 99 and Steve Carell stars
as Maxwell Smart in “Get Smart”.
Photo credit: Tracy Bennett

Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart in “Get Smart”.
Photo credit: Tracy Bennett
Also, I’m adding a sweet “Speed Racer” production still from Dec. 11. Below it, we see a new lenticular “Speed Racer” poster that – in person – is literally in 3D. /Film says: “The helmet under [Speed Racer’s] arms pops out at you and the background is also in 3D.”

Emile Hirsch as Speed Racer in the Mach 5 in the film “Speed Racer”.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Lenticular “Speed Racer” poster in 3D.
Image credit: FirstShowing.net