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Eastwood, DiCaprio begin filming “J. Edgar” 0

Posted on February 25, 2011 by kankan

BURBANK, CA, February 23, 2011 – Principal photography has begun on “J. Edgar,” starring Academy Award® nominee Leonardo DiCaprio (“Inception,” “The Departed,” “Blood Diamond”) under the direction of Oscar® winner Clint Eastwood (“Gran Torino,” “Million Dollar Baby,” “Unforgiven”).

A drama that explores the public and private life of one of the most powerful, controversial and enigmatic figures of the 20t century, “J. Edgar” was written by Oscar®-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black (“Milk”).

As the face of law enforcement in America for almost fifty years, J. Edgar Hoover was feared and admired, reviled and revered. But behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his image, his career and his life.

“J. Edgar” also stars Academy Award® nominee Naomi Watts (“21 Grams) as Helen Gandy, Hoover’s longtime secretary; Oscar® winner Judi Dench (“Shakespeare in Love”) as Hoover’s over-protective mother, Anne Marie Hoover; Armie Hammer (“The Social Network”) as Hoover’s protégé Clyde Tolson, who was rumored to have more than a professional relationship with the FBI director; and Josh Lucas (“Life as We Know It”) as the legendary aviator Charles Lindbergh, whose son’s kidnapping changes the public profile of the F.B.I. The main cast also includes Damon Herriman (TV’s “Justified”) and Ken Howard (“Grey Gardens”).

“J. Edgar” is being produced by Eastwood, Oscar® winner Brian Grazer (“A Beautiful Mind,” “Frost/Nixon”) and Oscar® nominee Robert Lorenz (“Letters from Iwo Jima,” “Mystic River”), with Tim Moore and Erica Huggins serving as executive producers.

Behind the scenes, Eastwood reunites with his longtime collaborators, including director of photography Tom Stern, production designer James J. Murakami, editors Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach, and costume designer Deborah Hopper.

Shooting on “J. Edgar” is taking place in and around Los Angeles and on location in Washington DC.

A Warner Bros. Pictures presentation, the film is being produced under the banners of Malpaso and Imagine Entertainment. It will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

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Leonardo DiCaprio, the dream-extractor in “Inception” 0

Posted on June 29, 2010 by kankan
Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Dom Cobb, a master in the art of dream-extraction, in Warner Bros.’ original sci-fi action adventure “Inception.”
In the film, Dom Cobb is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction: stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state when the mind is at its most vulnerable.  Cobb’s rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved.  Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption.
“Cobb has achieved a level of expertise that has made him very well known in the underground black market of individuals who are able to infiltrate people’s minds and extract information,” DiCaprio notes.
“At the beginning of the film,” director Christopher Nolan says, “we learn that Cobb is the best extractor in the game.  He is hired by corporations to steal secrets they would otherwise never have access to.  It’s all based on the persistence of an idea, the notion that any concept will stay fixed in the subconscious.  It’s impossible to unlearn something, and that forms the basis for what an extractor is able to do in terms of retrieving information.”
The way extraction works is through a process called dream sharing—manufacturing the world of the dream and bringing the subject into that world, which feels completely real as long as they are in it.
But Cobb’s rare skills have also resulted in him being a wanted fugitive who can never go home.  Producer Emma Thomas shares, “From the start, we know he is a man with a past that makes it impossible for him to go back to America.  But his kids are there and that motivates him more than anything else.  He’s willing to take any risk in his work if it means he can get home to what he loves most.”
For that reason, DiCaprio says that the approach he and Nolan took was that “no matter how surreal the dream state, everything needed to be grounded in our connection with the character; everything had to be emotionally charged.  From Cobb’s standpoint there is something very real at stake, so all of his choices, his reactions, and how he deals with the people he’s working with is a means to one end: getting back his life.”
Nolan expounds, “Working with Leo early on, we really delved into the emotional life of his character.  It was very important to him that that be the guiding thread of the story, and with it he is able to draw the audience through the complex story in a very clear fashion.  That’s what great actors are able to bring to a project, and Leo made a massive contribution to the film.  I think he is one of our finest actors and his performance in the film is extraordinary.”
For his part, DiCaprio states, “Chris is an extremely talented filmmaker,” adding, “I also appreciated getting to collaborate so closely with such an unbelievable cast.  We had lengthy conversations about our characters, and their individual histories and relationships.  And Chris definitely encouraged that; he wanted every actor, no matter how big or small the part, to have a real sense of our characters and to bring something to the table to make them our own.”
Opening soon across the Philippines in IMAX, Digital 2D and regular format, “Inception” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

inception08

Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Dom Cobb, a master in the art of dream-extraction, in Warner Bros.’ original sci-fi action adventure “Inception.”

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