FIRST LOOK: Will Smith and Margot Robbie in ‘Focus’

Here’s your first look at Focus, the new film from directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa that stars Will Smith and Wolf of Wall Street‘s Margot Robbie.

Focus brought the two Bad Santa directors back to New Orleans, where they previously filmed the subversive comedy I Love You Phillip Morris. That film starred Jim Carrey as a career con artist who breaks out of prison numerous times to reunite with his boyfriend (Ewan McGregor).

Focus features a return to the world of con men for Ficarra & Requa. Smith plays Nicky, a seasoned confidence man who takes a beautiful young pickpocket named Jess (Robbie) under his wing.

Smith said, “You’re going to have trouble finding a girl because I kind of have a large personality.” That’s according to Requa, who spoke with USA Today. “But Margot walked in and just put everybody on their heels. When she walked out of the room, Will turned to us and said, ‘Mmhm.'”

The story is evolves around one question. “How do two people fall in love in a world where the truth is like currency?” asks Ficarra.

Alongside Smith and Robbie, the romantic comedy also stars Rodrigo Santoro, BD Wong and Gerald McRaney. Focus is slated for a February 27, 2015 release.

Source: USA Today

Tim Roth Joins ‘Mr. Right’

Veteran actor Tim Roth has been cast in the action/comedy/romance/everything movie Mr. Right. He joins Sam Rockwell, Anna Kendrick and RZA, who we mentioned yesterday would also be in the film. Roth will play the villain Hopper, Mr. Right’s one-time master who is now his nemesis.

Roth will be heading to New Orleans soon with Mr. Right beginning principle photography on October 30. I don’t know why they would want to start filming before Voodoo kicks off but the movie must go on.

Roth will also soon reunite with director Quentin Tarantino on The Hateful Eight. Roth starred in the film that launched Tarantino’s career, Reservoir Dogs, as well as the director’s sophomore effort Pulp Fiction.

Mr. Right is produced by Michael Helfant and Bradley Gallo of Amasia Entertainment, along with Lawrence Mattis and Rick Jacobs of Circle of Confusion. Stephen Emery and Max Landis are executive producing, and Landis also wrote the script.

Source: Deadline

23 DAYS TO VOODOO: Twenty One Pilots

Equal parts Beastie Boys, Snow Patrol and Slipknot, the Columbus, Ohio-based duo Twenty One Pilots has an infectious indie rock-rap sound.

With vocals that soar, Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun are sometimes reminiscent of the 80s upper register talents at the heart of hair bands like Boston. They sometimes summon sounds from an alternate universe, where Eminem fronts for Sum 41. And sometimes, they put on masks that will remind you of the on-stage personas of nu metal monsters Slipknot, complete with vocals that both come from and go for the jugular.

It sounds like a mess, but it works, a true synthesis of seemingly incompatible sounds. Twenty One Pilots is indie ingenuity at its best, infusing spoken word moments in with melodic piano, synthesizers and punk drums. Add a dollop of island-inspired hip hop and you’re done.

Twenty One Pilots is the kind of band you come to the Voodoo Experience to discover. They’ll take over the Ritual stage on Friday, October 31 at 4:30pm. Get your tickets at worshipthemusic.com. And swing by the Scene tent and say hello.

Twenty One Pilots songs are below.

Weezer’s New Album ‘Everything Will Be Alright In The End’ Available Today

Several years in the making, Weezer’s new album Everything Will Be Alright In The End is finally available today. Their first new single “Back to the Shack” was released back in July. It was the band’s first new song since 2010.

Weezer formed back in 1992, releasing a plethora of chart-topping albums and selling over thirteen million records. The guys decided in 2010 that, after some extremely successful years, it was time to slow it down. Singer/guitarist Rivers Cuomo said that this gave him more time to spend working on the songs that he wanted to use for the new album. When time came for Weezer to start recording, they reunited with Cars frontman Ric Ocasek, who helped the band create their most iconic album-length work. After all the hard work,Everything Will Be Alright In The End was born.

The album will feature eleven songs including “Back to the Shack.” Get your copy of Everything Will Be Alright In The End today.

RZA Joins Sam Rockwell & Anna Kendrick on ‘Mr. Right’

The Man With The Iron Fists star RZA will soon be joining Sam Rockwell and Pitch Perfect star Anna Kendrick in New Orleans for Mr. Right, a genre-bending new action/comedy/romance from director Paco Cabezas. RZA will play Shotgun Steve, muscle for a gangster who specializes in sharpshooting.

Mr. Right stars Kendrick as a woman who’s long-suffering hunt for love is over when she meets the perfect guy. Only to later find out he’s a hitman. The film is written by Max Landis, who also wrote the script for Fantastic Four director Josh Trank’s excellent film Chronicle.

The film is expected to begin principle photography in New Orleans on October 30. You can find an email address to submit your resume on jobScene at jobs.sceneent.com.

RZA has done Grammy-winning work as a rapper and producer with the Wu-Tang clan. He was also nominated for a BAFTA for his work on the Kill Bill score. He also contributed to the soundtrack of the New Orleans shot film Django Unchained, writing and producing the track, “Ode to Django.” It’s embedded below if you want a refresher.

BP oil-spill drama 'Deepwater Horizon' gets a release date

Mark Wahlberg is set to star, with J.C. Chandor directing

24 DAYS TO VOODOO: Slayer

Forgo coffee this morning: Slayer is here to spill adrenaline into your bloodstream.

It’s hard to believe this band exists on the same Earth as One Direction. One of the Big Four thrash metallurgists – along with Metallica, Anthrax and Megadeth – Slayer has been ripping hearts out of guitars since 1981. True masters of macabre audio theater, Slayer creates an atmosphere of aggression straight out of hell, and then destroys it with unrelenting guitars and brutal double bass drums.

Thirty-three years after first forming in Southern California, Slayer is still going strong, touring regularly around the world. The band has had to overcome the death of founding member Jeff Hanneman last year. After a bout with necrotising fasciitis, Hanneman continued to have health issues and passed away on May 2, 2013 of cirrhosis of the liver at only forty-nine years old.

But in April, Slayer performed a new song, “Implode.” It was their first new material in five years. The band has subsequently announced a new album expected to debut next year. Stepping in for Hanneman is guitarist Gary Holt, who established himself as a thrash god in his own band, Exodus.

Well known for their unrelenting stage presence, Slayer is slated to kill it at Voodoo on Halloween night, October 31 at 7:30pm. It’s an audio assault not to be missed. For tickets, go to thevoodooexperience.com.

Here’s the thrash legends performing “Raining Blood” live. While it’s raining blood. If this doesn’t get you up on a Tuesday morning, check your pulse.

Here’s another classic, “Angel of Death,” performed live in 2004 before the death of Jeff Hanneman.

A staple of their live shows, here’s Slayer performing “Chemical Warfare” in 1985. Preemptive apology for potato quality.

BONUS: This random guy covers “Angel of Death” with banjos.

25 DAYS TO VOODOO: Outkast

Outkast has been out and about, actively touring despite not releasing a studio album since 2006’s Idlewild. That certified platinum album was produced as a companion to the 2006 film of the same name. The photo above was snapped by Scene photographer Kelli Binnings at Hangout Fest in Gulf Shores last May. The boys from Atlanta were by far the Hangout standout, and now they’re bringing their on-stage audio antics to the Voodoo Experience in New Orleans.

Outkast, comprised of Antwan “Big Boi” Patton and Andre “3000” Benjamin, has been celebrating their 20th anniversary. “It’s truly an honor to celebrate twenty years and still be free to do music the way we choose,” said Big Boi on the outset of the group’s forty festival tour. “Don’t just think outside of the box. Know that there is no box. I’m looking forward to rocking the stage with my Bro Ski and to all the fans: stank you smelly much, this is for y’all!”

The tour isn’t to fill empty time on their schedules. There hasn’t been any. Both men have been busy with solo projects for the last five years. And Andre 3000 has kept busy as an actor, starring as music legend Jimi Hendrix in All Is By My Side, the biopic written and directed by John Ridley. Ridley won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for 12 Years a Slave.

Outkast will take over the Ritual stage at the Voodoo Experience on Friday, October 31 from 9:20 till. Get tickets online at thevoodooxperience.com. And don’t forget to stop by the Scene Magazine tent.

Here’s our pick of the duo’s prolific library, “B.O.B.” (Bombs Over Baghdad). It also happens to be a favorite of Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Blender and Complex, all of whom named it one of the greatest songs of all time.

And here’s Outkast favorite “Hey Ya!” which currently boasts 78 million views on Youtube.

JK Simmons Says ‘Terminator: Genisys’ Is a Love Story

JK Simmons has been a busy man these days, starring in Terminator: Genisys and giving an excellent performance in the Sundance favorite Whiplash.  Simmons recently spoke about his role in Terminator and revealed a not-so-surprising secret: the robot reboot is a love story.

“It’s a gigantic movie and that was such a surprise when they sent that to me and asked me to do it,” says Simmons in an interview with ComingSoon. “I thought ‘Well, obviously it’s a gigantic movie and on that level, it’s something most actors would want to be a part of, but is it just going to be formulaic yadda-yadda-yadda, then cut to the stuff blowing up?’ But I found the script to be really much more intelligent and fun and funny and well-rounded and heart-felt. It’s a love story. It’s a really interesting script. They got great actors. I wrapped that in August, so that was another movie that ended up being really satisfying on all levels. I have a much smaller part in that but it was really a fun thing to be a part of.”

Simmons stars alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, Jason Clarke, Jai Courtney and Scene fitness writer Aaron Williamson. Who exactly is at the center of the romance, we don’t know. Although you might want to place your bet on Reese (Jai Courtney) and Connor (Emilia Clarke), the characters who fell in love at the center of the first Terminator. The series very famously plays with time-travel, so rather than simply being star-crossed lovers, we might see time-crossed lovers.

“Yeah, most of my stuff was with Jai Courtney and Emilia Clarke and Arnold was very involved – or rather, I was involved in a fair amount of stuff with Arnold,” states Simmons. “I spent very little time actually with Jason Clarke, but yeah I got to work with all four of the leads of the film.”

Terminator: Genisys, which was shot in New Orleans, is directed by Alan Taylor. The highly anticipated film hits theaters July 1, 2015.

Source: /Film

VIDEO: ‘Annie’ The New Tomorrow

The sun will come out tomorrow. Come on, you know the words. In honor of the new film Annie, a video was created featuring a variety of people singing out the well-known tune “Tomorrow”. Louisiana native Quvenzhane Wallis and Jamie Foxx take the lead in the film and are challenging everyone to make their own video singing the popular tune and post to social media outlets using #AnnieMovie.

Wallis stars in the musical comedy as the titular character, a spunky orphan with memorable hair. Foxx steps into the expensive shoes of Daddy Warbucks, who is reimagined as a politician named Benjamin Stacks. Miss Hannigan, who hasn’t suffered a name change, is portrayed by Cameron Diaz. Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Mike Birbiglia and David Zayas also star.

Bet your bottom dollar that you can sing the tune. If you wish to film your own video don’t forget to share it and use #AnnieMovie. You can sing along to all the well-known songs when Annie hits theaters December 19.

You can also check out Scene‘s exclusive interview with Quvenzhane Wallis here.

WEEKEND: Phantogram, St. Lucia at Republic New Orleans

Phantogram at Buku Fest 2014 photo by Kelli Binnings

Republic New Orleans has your weekend planned. The electronic rock duo Phantogram kicks off the weekend with a show Saturday night, October 4. After seeing Phantogram at Buku Fest 2014, we are excited to welcome them back to The Big Easy. Although the show is sold out, don’t leave town because the following night, October 5, the indie pop stars St. Lucia will be performing along with Joywave. Doors open at 8 both nights and the shows begin at 9.

Click here to purchase tickets for St. Lucia’s show.

Maddie Hasson Heads to Shreveport for ‘I Saw The Light’

Maddie Hasson has signed on to star in Marc Abraham’s Hank Williams biopic I Saw The Light. Hasson will star alongside Tom Hiddleston, who will play the legendary Hank Williams, and Elizabeth Olsen, who plays Williams’ wife Audrey. Hasson stars as Billie Jean, the nineteen-year-old Williams pursued after his divorce from Audrey and who later became his wife.

The film will follow the country singer’s rise to stardom from his first marriage in 1944 to his Grand Ole Opry debut in 1949. Sadly, the country icon passed away in 1953 at 29 due to heart failure from drug and alcohol use.

Hasson recently finished up the indie flick A Light Beneath Their Feet and starred on ABC Family’s Twisted.  Now she is heading to Shreveport for I Saw The Light which begins filming this month. The film is slated for a 2015 release.

Source: Deadline

The Big Apple vs. the Big Easy in 'Broken City': Mike's Movie Mailbag

Where does the state draw the line with filmmaking tax incentives, reader asks

A-list stars and old-timey cars descend on St. Tammany -- but for what film?: Mike's Movie Mailbag

North shore reader needs only to follow the clues

Creepy 'Annabelle' pays visit to New Orleans ahead of horror spinoff's release

Movie scheduled to open worldwide on Oct. 3, 2014

He is Spartacus: NOLA-shot 'Trumbo' biopic finds its Kirk Douglas

Biopic on blacklisted screenwriter is shooting through early November in New Orleans

He is Spartacus: NOLA-shot 'Trumbo' biopic finds its Kirk Douglas

Biopic on blacklisted screenwriter is shooting through early November in New Orleans

Deutsches Haus in Metairie to present film about Marlene Dietrich

The Deutsches Haus, 1023 Ridgewood Drive, Metairie, 504.522.8014, will present "Marlene -- Portrat Eines Mythos" ("Marlene Dietrich -- Faling in Love Again") in a free screening Sept. 24 at 7:30 p.m. Actor/director Maximillian Schell interviews the famous idol, switching from English...

Esplanade Avenue film studio taken by new owners after developers indicted

A California-based lender has taken ownership of an Esplanade Avenue mansion that was renovated into a post-production film studio for New Orleans after the original developers were indicted on charges of movie tax credit fraud. Palm Finance Corp. of Santa...

Baton Rouge-shot 'Maze Runner' poised to win weekend box office, but it's got competition (full local movie listings)

Find out what's playing and where this weekend in New Orleans and Baton Rouge theaters

NOLA-shot '99 Homes' will, indeed, get an Oscar push -- but not until next year

Broad Green Pictures acquires drama, starring Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon

Billy Bob Thornton reportedly in talks to join George Clooney in New Orleans for 'Our Brand is Crisis'

Political comedy set to start shooting Sept. 29

'The Maze Runner': 5 cool things to know about the Baton Rouge-shot thriller

The Louisiana-shot adventure film "The Maze Runner" opens in wide release Friday (Sept. 19), based on the best-selling first book in the YA series by James Dashner.

Daniele Watts, of 'Django Unchained,' detained by L.A. cops after kissing her white boyfriend, reports say

Both Watts and Lucas both said on their respective Facebook pages that police officers (or whoever contacted the police) believed their public display of affection was more like a transaction.

'Dolphin Tale 2' review: Harry Connick Jr. stars in warmly immersive adventure

Containing all the elements that made the 2011 original boy and his dolphin story a hit with audiences and critics, Charles Martin Smith's "Dolphin Tale 2" is another engaging film inspired by the real-life inhabitants of the Clearwater Marine Aquarium....