Sundance

January 31st, 2013 | 10:22 am by Sabrina Rojas Weiss (@shalapitcher)

Matthew McConaughey Promises Dallas Won’t Sell Out In Magic Mike 2

One of the most pleasant surprises of last year was the fact that Magic Mike wasn’t just the frothy male stripper movie we’d been anticipating for months — it was actually a thoughtful Steven Soderbergh film with serious characters struggling to make it in Central Florida’s crappy economy. Matthew McConaughey’s turn as sleazy, self-serving and super charming club owner Dallas earned him plenty of kudos, too, including an award from the New York Critics Circle and an Independent Spirit nod. So we’re relieved to hear, straight from McConaughey’s mouth, that as plans for Magic Mike 2 are “legitimately brewing,” he would never take Dallas in any kind of cheesy, sell-out direction.

“In the right way [I would come back],” he told MTV News at Sundance last week. “It would be so much fun, but I would only be able to do to revisit Dallas if I really go, ‘OK, that’s what he would be doing.’ And Dallas can’t become like all of a sudden obviously comedic. I’d have to keep him the same tone. He’s committed.”
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January 30th, 2013 | 2:23 am by Ambika Muttoo (@missmuttoo)

Shailene Woodley And Shiloh Fernandez: Sundance Couple Or The Real Deal?

Shailene Woodley, Shiloh Fernandez: Making Out At Sundance

While this happened a couple of days ago, the news has just leaked now, and we’re supremely glad it did. Nothing like the news of young, hot stars getting together to start the day, right? Before you think we’re sounding jaded, let us tell you that the young birds we’re talking about are Shailene Woodley and Shiloh Fernandez. And we love us some Shailene, so no, we’re not being snippy about this. Shiloh — we remember him being the testosterone-y cuteness to Amanda Seyfried‘s Red Riding Hood a while ago, so way to pop back on the radar, dude! From the photographs you see above, taken at the Hyde Lounge in Park City in Utah during Sundance, it’s easy to confer that the two are close. Most would say that it’s because the two actors are co-stars in the upcoming film, White Bird in a Blizzard, where they play each other’ love interests, US Weekly reports that there’s more here than meets the eye. From their ever-present sources, one reveals, “They danced until 2 a.m. and ended up making out at the end of the night.” So, “close” would be an understatement. But the real question is: are they just a Sundance hook-up, or are they heading to couple-town? Weigh in, and let us know what you think?

[Photo: Getty Images]

January 25th, 2013 | 3:05 pm by Emilie Cruz (@emilieann_cruz)

Jessica Alba, Amanda Seyfried, And More Ladies Heat Up The Frigid Sundance Film Festival

The Ladies of The 2013 Sundance Film Festival

It’s pretty hard to look away from the (sexy!) men at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and let’s face it, we don’t even want to! But here at VH1, we believe in equal opportunity, and it’s time for the lovely ladies of Sundance to take center stage.

From Amanda Seyfried and Evan Rachel Wood, to Shailene Woodley and Elizabeth Olsen, Hollywood’s female royalty were out in full force, and the fashion theme among the starlets’ – old favorites and newcomers alike - was simple: keep warm! Sweaters and fleeces, long-sleeves and jackets, even cute hats and scarves were all the rage among the ladies in chilly Utah. Except of course for Jessica Alba or Dakota Fanning, who both opted for sleeveless dresses. Risky, ladies! Cute – but risky! Either way, the women of Sundance proved once and for all that beauty doesn’t fall by the way side when the cold comes creeping in. Head down to the gallery below for more!

-By Emilie Cruz

[Photo: Getty Images]

January 24th, 2013 | 6:00 pm by Sabrina Rojas Weiss (@shalapitcher)

Alexander Skarsgard, Adam Brody, Joseph Gordon-Levitt & More: The Male Eye Candy Of Sundance

Adam Brody, Ricky Whittle, Daniel Dae Kim and Alexander Skarsgard at Sundance

As the 2013 Sundance Film Festival enters its homestretch, we’ve noticed one thing about it: This year seems more about the films than the star-studded, super-sponsored A-list parties. Which, um, we’re pretty sure is what Robert Redford wants from his Utah fest. Lucky enough for those of us living vicariously through our friends (and photographers) in Park City, there has still been no shortage of eye candy. Here, we’re taking a moment to point out the lovely array of actors who put on their best puffy jackets and risked some great hat-hair to premiere their artsy movies. From Joseph Gordon-Levitt to Alexander Skarsgard, Adam Brody to Chris Noth, there were plenty of familiar faces at the festival, along with some relative newcomers like Austenland’s Ricky Whittle. We even gave Matthew McConaughey an honorary spot in this gallery, because even though his drastic weight loss for Dallas Buyers Club has sapped his conventional beauty, he’s looking kinda weird hot as he packs the pounds back on. And if there’s anything that’s appropriate for Sundance, it’s definitely the phrase “weird hot.”

[Photos: Getty Images]

January 24th, 2013 | 4:45 pm by Sabrina Rojas Weiss (@shalapitcher)

Daniel Radcliffe, Kill Your Darlings Co-Stars Fess Up To Their Poetry-Writing Days

Between last year’s On the Road and this year’s Sundance flicks Kill Your Darlings and Big Sur, it’s safe to say the Beat Generation is having a moment. The real mystery to us, actually, is why they’re not always having a moment. Because if you were anything like us in high school, you either went through a phase in which you wanted to be Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac or William Boroughs, or you dated someone who did. VH1 News found further proof that this is a thing when they interviewed the cast of Kill Your Darlings at its Sundance premiere last weekend.

“I wrote a lot of poetry when I was a teenager,” Daniel Radcliffe, who plays a college-age Allen Ginsberg in the film, confessed. What he likes in particular about Ginsberg in the movie, he said, is,”Everyone’s experienced that massive self-doubt. Howl is a poem written by someone who’s terrified that they can’t write.”
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January 24th, 2013 | 12:13 pm by Sabrina Rojas Weiss (@shalapitcher)

Twilight World? Stephenie Meyer, Austenland Stars Discuss Which Books Would Make The Best Theme Park

You don’t have to read too much into Twilight to realize that before she was the creator of books people obsess over, Stephenie Meyer was obsessed with other people’s books. She took that obsession to new levels recently, becoming a producer on the film Austenland, based on Shannon Hale’s book about a woman (played by Keri Russell) who visits a Jane Austen theme park in search of some old-fashioned romance. At the flick’s Sundance premiere, VH1 News asked Meyer and a handful of the movie’s stars what books or authors they’d like to see made into theme parks, a la The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

“[Austenland] is my theme park,” Meyer said. “If this place really existed, if I could go and dress up in Regency attire and hang out all day, reading books in a beautiful library, I would totally … That’s my vacation.”

And no, she doesn’t really see a Twilight World in our future. “There was interest in that, and honestly, what are you going to do?” she asked. “That doesn’t sound like fun. What kind of rides are you going to have? There’s not as much scope for an amusement park there.”

I don’t know, Stephenie, I think a lot of us would love the chance to hop on Edward’s back for a ride through the treetops.

Speaking of Twilight mania, Meyer told us that none of that craziness followed her to the Austenland set, which lived up to its idyllic name in the English countryside:
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January 23rd, 2013 | 1:48 pm by VH1

Daniel Radcliffe Made Acting Easy For Kill Your Darlings Love Dane DeHaan

By Melissa Smith

Dane DeHaan is earning rave reviews for his performance in Kill Your Darlings at the Sundance Film Festival, but what audiences there are really talking about is his passionate onscreen kiss with Daniel Radcliffe, who plays a young Allen Ginsberg. We’re talking steamy, sexy, “is it getting warm in here?” stuff.

At the film’s Sundance premiere, DeHaan (known for his work in Chronicle and Lawless) revealed his trick to portraying such a realistic relationship: He fell in love with Daniel in real life. And, as Harry Potter fans across the globe already know, it wasn’t a hard task.

“Whenever you have somebody in a movie that you’re supposed to be in love with, I guess what I do is I look at that person and try to fall in love with them, and I see what about them is incredibly appealing to me,” Dane explained. “Dan’s such a great person; he wasn’t hard to fall in love with, you know? He’s funny, he’s nice, he’s kind, he’s a wonderful artist.”
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January 22nd, 2013 | 6:39 pm by Sabrina Rojas Weiss (@shalapitcher)

Michael C. Hall Plots His Post-Dexter Return To TV

By Melissa Smith

We’re approaching the impending (maybe possible) series finale of Dexter with a mix of excitement and dread. Sure, we can’t wait to see how things will wrap up, but we also know we’ll soon have to go on with life without our favorite characters and actors. Like with most series endings, there will be some sort of twisted mourning period we all must go through.

If you’re like us, you’re already worrying about missing Michael C. Hall after season eight airs this summer. And if you feel an extra twinge of panic at the thought, it might be because Michael has been a major part of groundbreaking television for well over a decade, first portraying funeral director David Fisher in Six Feet Under before moving on to the serial killer we can’t help but love in Dexter. In fact, there hasn’t been a year without Michael gracing our screens since 2001! Who else could make us want to hug a funeral director? Who else could make us want to hang out with a murderer? Please don’t leave us, Michael!

That’s why I had a bit of desperation in my voice at the Sundance premiere of Kill Your Darlings, when I asked Hall if there’s any chance he might sign on to a new series. And what type of roll could live up to the two iconic characters he’s already portrayed?

“I would like to find something that had, you know, someone who was both a murderer and a funeral director. If that comes my way, I’m in,” he quipped. “No. … I’d never say never, you know. Who knows what the future holds? But I’ve been very fortunate thus far.”

Let’s hope the fortune continues. And in the meantime, all you writers out there get to work on some scripts about bloodthirsty morticians.

Michael C. Hall on Dexter

[Photo: Showtime]

January 22nd, 2013 | 4:22 pm by VH1

Daniel Radcliffe Enthusiastically Brings Back The Perm In Kill Your Darlings

By Melissa Smith

There are a lot of firsts for Daniel Radcliffe in his role as beat poet Allen Ginsberg in Kill Your Darlings. First gay love scenes, first time filming in the U.S., and first PERM! The 23-year-old actor has proved he’s not afraid of taking risks, and we’re sure you’ll agree that this time, the result is adorable.

As soon as we saw the first photos from the film, we became envious of Daniel’s luscious head of curls and couldn’t help wondering what his secret was. So soft and wavy! So dreamy! Don’t you just want to run your hand through it?! So at the movie’s Sundance premiere, we asked him to spill on the secret to his locks and also asked if he agreed it’s the best hair he’s gotten to sport for a role.

“Oh, yeah, [it's] far and away the best hair I’ve done,” he told VH1 News at the Sundance premiere of Darlings. “I actually really did end up liking it probably a bit too much. I had a perm.”
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January 22nd, 2013 | 3:25 pm by Sabrina Rojas Weiss (@shalapitcher)

If Joseph Gordon-Levitt Is Happy At Sundance, We All Win


“I remember watching Reservoir Dogs and Sling Blade and Swingers and Big Night and The Usual Suspects and all those movies that came through Sundance back when I was working on 3rd Rock From the Sun, and I said to myself, ‘One day I’m going to have a movie at Sundance,’ ” Joseph Gordon-Levitt told VH1 News at the Sundance (and world) premiere of Don Jon’s Addiction on Friday night. And boy has his dream come true in a big way. Since his days as a sitcom alien, Joe’s been in quite a few Sundance films, but Don Jon’s marks his writing/directing debut. You could say he was rather pleased about that: “I’m kind of astonished and flabbergasted and just happy!”

This meant the rest of us got to enjoy plenty of photos and videos of JGL being astonished and flabbergasted and happy as he partied at the Sundance Channel’s house on Friday night, along with co-stars Julianne Moore and Tony Danza. And we’re going out on a limb here and guessing that his beaming face is part of what helped him sell the film about a Jersey guy so addicted to porn that he gives up a relationship with Scarlett Johansson for it. On Monday, Relativity Media confirmed the huge deal they gave JGL that will land the movie on 2,000 screens this summer.
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