Michael Cera Page 2

Michael Cera is proving his worth on the stage in a new production of Kenneth Lonergan's critically acclaimed This Is Our Youth. The show opened at the Cort Theatre on Thursday (September 11) and critics were unanimous in their praise for the young star, best known for Juno and Superbad.

Michael Cera [R], Tavi Gevinson [centre] and Kieran Culkin [L] at the photocall for 'This is Our Youth' [Getty/CIndy Ord]

Set in New York in 1982, This is Our Youth follows 48 hours in the lives of three young souls. Cera plays Warren, a 19-year-old who has just stolen $15,000 from his abuse father. Warren's buddy Dennis (Kieran Culkin) is a drug dealer who puts the stolen cash to good use while Jessica (Tavi Gevinson) is the love interest, who Warren years for.

Continue reading: Michael Cera Does 'Dejected Teen' Really Well In 'This Is Our Youth'

Um, did anyone else not know that Michael Cera is a musician? Outside of Scott Pilgrim, I mean. Not only that, he’s actually really good, if his new indie album, True That, is anything to go by. Cera pulled a Beyonce and released the album on his Bandcamp without any prior announcement. Those who want to get acquainted with Cera’s musical talents can buy True That for $7 or stream it for free.

Did I mention you can stream it for free? [Getty/Larry Busacca]

Oh and did we mention it’s really very good? Cera relies a lot on dissonance, which sorts itself into melody later in the songs and it’s a really engaging listen. It’s a quiet, chilled out mix of songs with some (dare we say it?) Sufjan Stephens influences and plenty of cinematic references, probably to remind us of Cera’s day job.

Continue reading: Michael Cera Pulls A Beyonce, Releases (Really Good) Surprise Album

All eyes are on Hollywood this weekend as the Academy Awards take place this Sunday night. The least predictable Oscars in years, there are multiple possible winners in most of the major categories, as Gravity, 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle vie for Best Picture and Alfonso Cuaron and Steve McQueen contend for Best Director. We relive some of the the biggest upsets in Oscars history here.

Other too-close races include actor (Matthew Mcconaughey vs Chiwetel Ejiofor), supporting actor (Jared Leto vs Barkhad Abdi) and supporting actress (Lupita Nyong'o vs Jennifer Lawrence). The only sure thing is Cate Blanchett for Best Actress. And that Gravity will mop up all the technical awards. Here is more detail on the best supporting actress Oscar battle between jennifer lawrence and lupita nyong'o being too close to call.

Continue reading: A Week In Movies: Oscars Too Close To Call, Lupita Rules The Red Carpet, Godzilla Crushes San Francisco, And Veronica Mars Is Back

After the glamour of the essentially irrelevant Golden Globes on Sunday, the biggest movie news this week was the Oscar nominations announcement on Wednesday. As expected, 12 Years a Slave and Gravity got another big awards-season boost, while American Hustle, Dallas Buyers Club and Nebraska move into pole position, bumping Inside Llewyn Davis and The Wolf of Wall Street out of the spotlight. For now. For those who need to catch up on these titles click here for 12 Years a Slave, Gravity, American Hustle, Dallas Buyers Club, Nebraska, Inside Llewyn Davis and The Wolf of Wall Street.

Awards contenders continue to dominate cinema screens in both America and Britain, although distributors are sneaking smaller films in as alternative programming. In the US, audiences can catch the high school comedy G.B.F. or the British period romance Summer in February, while in the UK offbeat options include Michael Cera in the Chilean road trip Crystal Fairy and the cheeky Penn & Teller documentary Tim's Vermeer. To read our reviews click here for  G.B.F., Summer in February, Crystal Fairy and Penn & Teller documentary Tim's Vermeer.

Continue reading: A Week In Movies: Gravity And 12 Years A Slave Lead Oscar Nominations, Filming Goes To The Wire On Captain America 2

How do you stop piracy? Do you offer up exclusive content, only available on physical purchases? Do you appeal to the box-set culture, or do you try and exert limitations that make it impossible? All these have been tried, but none of these have worked, and there’s one simple reason: you can’t stop piracy.

Spacey stars in the online-only House of Cards

But what you can do is make it pointless. With low-costing, subscription-free on-demand streaming services becoming ever-popular – Netflix being the golden child of a generation – watching content when it suits you is no longer illegal, and no longer does it cost loads of money.

Continue reading: 'House Of Cards' Heralds New Era Of TV With Emmy Nomination

The fourth season of Arrested Development was such a huge success that Netflix is reportedly in talks for another one. Brian Grazer, co-chair of the production company, Imagine Entertainment, said at the Allen & Co. Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. Speaking to Bloomberg Television, Grazer explained: “We are in conversations with them to do another. They are interested in doing that.”

Jason Bateman and co. might be back for another season.

The show’s fourth season of the show was part of a large-scale experiment for Netflix, the first phase of the company’s transition from a pure rental service into a producer of online content. Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings has called “Arrested Development” and other “Netflix originals” integral to his strategy of transforming the company from a purveyor of rerun programming into a Web-based television network offering a mix of Hollywood movies and new shows, comparable to Time Warner Inc.’s HBO.

Continue reading: Netflix In Talks To Renew Arrested Development For Fifth Season

Seth Rogen's comedy This Is The End has received favourable reviews from critics. Released in U.S. cinemas today (28th June) it has already been moderately successful in the U.S 

Of the numerous critics who praised the fim, Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian said the film is "just one great big goofy joke". Those more critical have said the film, whilst amusing, is a collaboration of bodily functions, "grossness" and "middling". Put in even simpler terms the film embodies the crude humour in which Rogen thrives. 

This Is The End has proved popular in America as this L.A. mural detailing some of the main actors shows.

Continue reading: It’s Only The Beginning For ‘This Is The End’: Critics Praise Seth Rogen’s Comedy

Seth Rogen's comedy This Is The End did not use its intended ending. The script was changed in order to accommodate a cameo from 90's pop stars Backstreet Boys leading a sing-along dance to 'Everybody', their 1997 single. 

Director and co-writer Evan Goldberg said the idea had come from an off-the-cuff suggestion from his wife on how to make the ending more interesting. Seth Rogen, who stars in the comedy, was determined to make the idea a reality. 

The Backstreet Boys cameo was not exactly what the writers had planned as the original ending was meant to feature Morgan Freeman, reviving his role as God as in Bruce Almighty. Unfortunately the actor had no interest in participating in the project. Rogen was then adamant the Backstreet Boys should play a part especially, as he said in an interview with The Vulture, he is "the appropriate age" to remember when "Backstreet Boys were kings".

The Backstreet Boys are not the only celebrities to feature in this 'apocalyptic' comedy. In fact the whole film is one cameo appearance after the other. None of the actors are playing characters, merely portraying the public's perception of them. 

Continue reading: Seth Rogen Reveals: 'This Is The End' Does Not Use Original Ending

Michael Cera has seemingly moved away from the awkward teenager typecast and into the role of creepy adult sex pest/potential murderer, as best demonstrated in the trailer for his new movie Magic Magic. The psychological thriller from Chilean director and writer Sebastián Silva had it's first official trailer release online this week by distributors Sony, with the Chile-made film available to purchase this summer.

Because the film is a Chilean production, the cost to release the film across cinemas in North America/Europe/Australiasia would prove far too much for those financing the film and as such the film will just be released straight to DVD outside South America. So far the movie, which has been played at countless film festivals already, has garnered a largely positive response from critics and some audiences, so despite having no cinematic run the film should be worth checking out, even if you just want to see Cera cast off his George Michael Bluth image.

Continue reading: Michael Cera Is No Longer The 'Awkward Teenager' In The Trailer For 'Magic, Magic' [Video]

If you’ve been keeping up on your film news at all this year, Seth Rogen’s apocalyptic comedy This Is The End should have been a big bleep on the radar. Not only does it feature pretty much everyone you can think of on the Hollywood comedy circuit (seriously, you have Michael Sera acting opposite Jason Segel, Rogen, James Franco, Emma Watson, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson and cameos from practically every big comedian of the past five years.) The cast list goes on and on.

Continue reading: Seth Rogen Gets Back Into The Groove With 'This Is The End'

Arrested Development made its long-awaited return this weekend. As it’s Netflix that have brought this cult hit back to prominence, a question rears its head: should we watch this in one go, fighting off a sugar-induced comatose while 90% enveloped by a sleeping bag? It really comes down to another question: is it good?

A bearded Jason Bateman at the premiere of season 4

The reviews certainly suggest that this immensely popular comedy is somewhere near its best, and despite a few flat points, season 4 is a worthy addition to the already existing trio of seasons available. Binging the whole series, which is part of Netflix’ marketing strategy, might be detrimental to the season as a whole, though. Some of the flat points are only flat because they came after 3 consecutive hours of watching it. Compare the show to a similar project from Netflix, House of Cards, starring Kevin Spacey, and we can get closer to our answer. Binging on House of Cards was one of the best ways to watch it; with complex plotlines intertwining each other and creating a web of intrigue, it was best viewed in sequence. Arrested Development has an established cast, and the viewing is so light, watching them one-after-the-other can make the comedy grow tired.

Continue reading: The Return Of Arrested Development – To Binge Or Not To Binge?

Hurrah, Arrested Development returns this Sunday. Fans of the original series could not be more excited, while everyone else is just kind of looking around being really confused. The Emmy-award winning show will come back with 15 brand new episodes, to Netflix of all places and in a lot of ways, it will be pretty similar to the Arrested Development we know and love – it will be divided into roughly half-hour episodes, with the entire main cast reprising their roles - Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Jeffrey Tambor, Michael Cera, Alia Shawkat, Jessica Walter and Portia De Rossi.

Jason Bateman returns as Michael Bluth this Sunday.

But creator Mitch Hurwitz warns viewers not to expect a perfect replica of the earlier seasons. Besides the obvious changes, necessitated by the fact that this season comes seven years later, the story will be structured slightly differently. Instead of all the characters appearing most of the time, like we’ve been used to, every episode from season four will be centered around a single character, with the rest of the Bluth family making only occasional appearances. Longtime fans, however, will be rewarded for their dedication, with story arcs that continue over several episodes. Much like his audience, Hurwitz himself could not be more excited by the show’s return. Or more surprised.

Continue reading: Arrested Development Creator As Suprised As Fans By The Show's Return

It's almost time, just as the trailer promises, we're at the final countdown until Arrested Development finally returns thanks to Netflix. The trailer for the upcoming fourth season, soundtracked by Europe's biggestc hit, promises us the much needed dose of illusions, birds, uncomfortable cousin tension and of course some of the finest acting you will ever see from the world's most famous openly never-nude in what could be the biggest TV moment to hit the internet.

The trailer tries not to give too much away, but there is an ostrich in it, which will hopefully walk on Buster's pillow at some point, some incredibly detailed set designs (of course) and plenty more references to past jokes. All that in a trailer that is less than 1 minute 30 seconds.

Continue reading: Trailer For Arrested Development Series 4 Goes Viral! (Video)

Excitement is really starting to mount for Arrested Development fans as the show’s characters get their own person and finally a clip is release online. Netflix have funded a new series of the popular comedy (starring Michael Cera and Jason Bateman), which was cruelly axed by Fox in 2006 after just 3 seasons. It will be available to Netflix members to stream in its entirety, from May 26, 2013.

New posters of the characters have been unveiled and published by Huffington Post, with each character getting their own individual poster. Somewhat more tantalising, however, is the new clip that has been released, featuring Buster and his darling mother Lucille in a rather compromising situation. Compromising for Buster, that is. As Lucille flaunts the no-smoking rule but sticks to the one that says she’s not allowed hear the balcony (because of her ankle tag, of course), it’s down to Buster to inhale his mother’s cigarette smoke and breathe it out of the patio doors for her. In short: it’s gross. It’s also very funny. But gross, nonetheless.

It’s not long now until the Bluth family return to our screens (well, those of us with a Netflix membership) and in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the series creator Mitchell Hurwitz explained the differences in the various Bluth characters since we first saw them 10 years ago. “This year is about the enduring entanglements of family. They are 10 years older than when we met, so that means emotionally they’re, like, two years older than we met them. Amazing things happen when one goes from being emotionally 12 years old to emotionally being 14 years old.” Now then, we’re off to sleep for a while. We’ve set our alarms for May 26… 

Continue reading: Hold The Front Page! Teaser Clip Online Of New 'Arrested Development' Series