And speaking of Paul Gross --

And speaking of Paul Gross (which I was in my last post where I said my farewells to Canadian character actor Maury Chaykin), the man is back and looking terrific in a Canadian comedy-western called Gunless.

I stand no chance of seeing this movie, because as a low budget Canadian family comedy it won't play the theaters downunder, it won't be on TV here, it won't find its way into the Quickflix (local version of Netflix) catalog, and Amazon refuses to ship an American DVD to an Aussie address. Which is also why I don't have a copy of Buried on Sunday ... but have seen it on VHS a looooong time ago.

I could have a bit of a rant here about the unavailability of "lesser" movies in Aus. Or I could have a bit of a rant about the way American viewers are dissing the movie for not being a Hollywood style blockbuster ... as if a movie can be made on a teensy-weensy Canadian sized budget and come out looking like a Hollywood monster ... wake up, people!!

Or I could just run some pix of Paul Gross looking terrific, and hope to one day be able to see the movie! Um ... all things being equal, I choose the lesser of all those weevils. So, enjoy the pix, folks!

Goodbye, Maury

If your only interest in movies is for hot bods and sexy action, you're probably going to say, "Maury who?" But if you appreciate great performances from rock-solid character actors, you'll more than likely have known Maury Chaykin since Dances With Wolves, and that's a loooong time ago. Or maybe you saw him in several Canadian movies he made with Paul Gross (including, but not limited to the wonderful Buried on Sunday). Or perhaps you saw him as the XXXL outsized Goa'ould on Stargate SG-1, who departed the Earth with a wheelie-suitcase of cupcakes! Or you might recall him in Mystery Alaska, with Russell Crowe. He made a career out of being out-sized and trading on not being physically beautiful!

Yes, you have him now! Wonderful actor who could make you laugh or chill you (for example, in Cold Comfort, also with Paul gross). He's a character actor, and a Canadian, of extraordinary ability...

Maurie Chaykin died in a Toronto hospital last Tuesday. He'd been suffering from kidney problems. He was 61. Here's the full story, if you can somehow endure the stupid, intrusive, aggravating interface at CinemaBlend.com. And here is Maury's IMDB page ... what a list of credits!

Goodbye, Maury. We'll miss you.

Ewan McGregor talks about playing gay

With the indie I LOVE YOU PHILIP MORRIS languishing -- tough to find a distributor for such an out-n-out gay movie -- it's good to hear Ewan McGregor talk openly about playing gay characters. Which he does quite often, and enjoys doing...


This feature appeared online in OUT a few months ago ... and as you probably know, I've been working so hard, so long, I haven't had the chance to post much. So ... belatedly ... here's Ewan: Filthy and Gorgeous -- Ewan McGregor comes clean.

Makes interesting reading, well worth the click other there, trust me! Ewan McGregor has become quite the gay icon in the last decade and a half or so. Which is pretty good going for a straight guy --! Here's a very small quote which, for me, says it all:

“I’m always interested in playing different people, in different situations,” he says, sitting bolt upright, suddenly serious and eyeing the Pacific Ocean stretching below us. “It doesn’t matter to me whether someone is in love with a man or a woman. I find the idea of love and romance interesting. I’m a sucker for it. I like playing someone who’s falling in love because I like the sensation of it.” He pauses to give Syd [his dog] an affectionate pat. “People do extraordinary things when they’re falling in love.” http://out.com/detail.asp?id=26508

Chris Hemsworth -- the thunder god cometh, 2011!

The Mighty Thor was my favorite comic when I was knee-high to a grasshopper, so 'tis with baited breath that I await his reincarnation as a Big Screen hero -- but wait!

There's evidence to suggest that he'll re reincarnated on May 20, 2011 in 3D!! The short version of this story is that a fan snapped a photo on the LA set of the movie, where Kenneth Branagh is directing Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins and a stellar cast ... and there in the snapshot is a 3D camera rig!

(See the whole story here: http://screenrant.com/thor-3d-idris-elba-heimdall-mikee-53609/)

So some fantastic things come out of this: it's a monster movie ... it's more than likely going to be in 3D (yippee!) and it has some fantabulous actors, and a Shakespearean director...

But what about the star? What face are they putting on the thunder god himself?

Does anyone here remember me posting about this over a year ago? Click here for the original post ... and at that point we were wondering who was going to be Thor, and I remember mooting Brad Pit with the Achilles look.

I must be psychic.

They couldn't get Brad, but by golly, they got themselves a lad that's got something of the lookalike about him ... a lad by the name of Chris Hemsworth, who's a very new face to the movie screen. I saw him fleetingly as Jim Kirk's father in Star Trek ...

And here's the rub, boys and girls: Chris Hemsworth is another Aussie lad! Add his name to the list including Hugh Jackman, Russel Crowe (and yes, I know he was born in New Zealand, but he became an Aussie a short time ago), Eric Banna, Sam Worthington ...! "Aussies Take Hollywood By Storm," I believe is the term.

Here's a bit more about Chris Hemsworth ...

Robert Downey Jr. -- bisexual, or not?

Robert Downey Jr. the luscious Mr. Ironman himself ... is he bisexual, or isn't he? Well, it depends on who you talk to! By all accounts, he outed himself in an interview where he described himself as "an eccentric bisexual." But lately, he's been saying that all this was part of a "manufactured" personality, or character, going back to the days when he was reinventing himself.

Well ... hmmm. Okay. But try using using your Sherlock Holmesian powers of observation (in other words, OBSERVE as well as SEEING ... you thought that was a joke in Without a Clue, right? Wrong!! Arthur Conan Doyle wrote this in A Scandal in Bohemia -- they borrowed it for the movie) when you watch Robert Downey Jr. movies...

And you will see, if you actually trouble to look, his body language.


Body language tells a whole lot of truths about us that our tongues and the minds that drive them are probably trying to hide. It's in the gestures, the way we use our hands (and feet!!), the way we choose to wear our hair, facial expressions, the way we toss our heads...

AG's verdict? Robert wasn't kidding, the first time around, but now hi career is going into orbit, and IRON MAN is his big ticket -- and IRON MAN is a Marvel movie, and Marvel has just been bought (holy crap, Batdude!) by DISNEY!!!!

Therefore, 'tis time for Robert Downey Jr. to reinvent himself all over again, damnit, and be BON. Which is an acronym for Boring Old Normal.

If you LISTEN to the dialog in the first IRON MAN movie, there's gay and bi throwaway lines alllll over the place. Not so in the second, which was done under the threat (or promise) of a Disney hand on the tiller. (I find myself wondering how Disney will affect the overall integrity of the Marvel product. Yeee-ouch.

Here's the rub: Robert Downey Jr. could have eventually have been a gay icon, if Disney hadn't bought Marvel. Well ... rats.

Brendan Fraser: a hair raising story in pictures

Brendan Fraser ... the Hair Raising Story! And yes, I know -- we all know! -- that Brendan has "hair issues," meaning he's losing it and experimenting with transplants and toupees and whatnot. But ... here's my point:

If you're going to wear a wig (and people have been doing this for thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians used to shave their heads and then wear wigs!) then, why not have luxurious locks? Why have a Bart Simpson Special??? Then again, maybe Brendan's a Major Fan or Bart, in which case opting for the "look" with your do might be the way to go!

Me? I still daydream about George.

...and what's not to daydream about. Brendan Fraser was never more gorgeous than right here, when you used to see him swinging on the sides of buses! Well, not George, actually, but the posters of George.

In lieu of the real thing, I guess most of us will make do with the posters, right? So here's my point. If you're going to be bewigged, why not have a real beauty?


...rather than the Bart Simpson Special. Hmmm.

Happy Birthday, Johnny Depp!

Johnny Depp ... happy birthday, 2010! What more can you say? Here's a mighty good lookin' 47 years old, and you'd have to say the man is showing the rest of us how to age gracefully:

A few years are accumulating, but Johnny Depp is going to be one of the lucky ones -- he has the bones and the hair and the eyes to carry the extra years and look as gorgeous as ever. Or more. He ought to write a book, tell how he does it!

So, happy birthday, man -- way to go...