Sharlto Copley, a Cold-Blooded Mercenary in “Elysium”

Sharlto Copley (“The A-Team”) – director Neill Blomkamp’s childhood friend and the star of “District 9” – re-teams with the director to take on the pivotal and villainous role of Kruger, in TriStar Pictures’ futuristic action thriller “Elysium.”

“He’s ex-Special Forces, now a gun-for-hire operative, a professional soldier who works on Earth for the elite of Elysium,” explains Blomkamp.

In the film, two classes of people exist: the very wealthy, who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined planet. The people of Earth are desperate to escape the crime and poverty that is now rampant throughout the land. The only man with the chance to bring equality to these worlds is Max (Matt Damon), an ordinary guy in desperate need to get to Elysium. With his life hanging in the balance, he reluctantly takes on a dangerous mission – one that pits him against Elysium’s Secretary Delacourt (Jodie Foster) and her hard-line forces – but if he succeeds, he could save not only his own life, but millions of people on Earth as well.


“Sharlto will always find a way to make things funny – even subconsciously,” says Blomkamp. “Even in the most extreme, dire situation, there’s a natural, sardonic humor that comes out of him. He never, ever plays it straight. I provide the parameters for the character, and he turns it into a magnetic performance, that, to me, is extremely satisfying to watch.”

Copley was able to draw on his unique experiences to create the character. “Kruger wasn’t written as a South African, but I saw a way to play him that way,” he says. “I drew on two South African stereotypes to try and create a unique character that you’ve never seen before. Firstly, for his accent and sarcastic humor I drew on these guys from ‘The South’ – a tough neighborhood south of Johannesburg. Secondly, for the military aspect, there was a unit in the South African Defense Force during the apartheid years called 3-2 Battalion. It was a notorious but highly respected battalion – they fought in Angola during the ‘Bush Wars,’ trying to stop the spread of Communism in Africa. Kruger’s beard, his PT shorts and his utterly lethal military ability was inspired by them.”


Sharlto Copley is a South African actor, producer and director who has produced and co-directed short films which have appeared at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as commercials and music videos. He made his on screen debut as Wikus van de Merwe in the Oscar®-nominated science fiction film “District 9.” He is best known for his role of H.M. Murdock in the 2010 adaptation of Fox’s “The A-Team” for director Joe Carnahan.

Poised to have a breakout year, Copley also stars in several other upcoming films including Disney’s “Maleficent” (with Angelina Jolie) as the male lead.


 Opening across the Philippines on Sept. 04, “Elysium” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit www.columbiapictures.com.ph to see the latest trailers, get free downloads and play free movie games.

source: movies.inquirer.net

The Naughties are out to trick Smurfette in “The Smurfs 2”

Bad wizard Gargamel has created the Naughties – Vexy and Hackus — and all he needs is Papa’s secret magic spell to turn his Naughties into ‘real Smurfs’ and have unlimited Smurf essence, in Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Animation’s magical sequel, “The Smurfs 2.”

When it comes to destroying the Smurfs, you can see Gargamel’s train of thought: if you can’t beat ‘em, make ‘em. After all, he did it before: take clay and just add wizardry. “Smurfette started as a lump of clay that Gargamel dropped into his cauldron and brought to life, so that she could infiltrate Smurf Village. But Papa Smurf saw the good in her, and used a magic spell to turn her into a True Blue Smurf,” says director Raja Gosnell.

In creating the Smurf-like characters called the Naughties, producer Jordan Kerner went the extra mile to make sure that Vexy and Hackus would fit squarely into the Smurfs universe. “Every step of the way on the Smurfs movies, we work very closely with Peyo’s daughter Veronique Culliford and Smurfs historian Tom Cosijn to make sure we are getting it right – in script development, production, all the way through the release of the films. And that went double as we created the Naughties,” he says. “The neutral color gray was their desire, as Peyo didn’t want the Smurfs ever associated with any particular human color. Peyo created this world – as we expanded what he built, we felt a duty to respect and honor what came before.”





Vexy is the sister that Smurfette never had — until now. But unlike Smurfette, she’s not as nice; she’s determined to be Naughty and do Gargamel’s bidding. It’s not easy having a dad like Gargamel – Vexy has grown up to be tough, devious, and very persistent in bringing Smurfette to the naughty side… but when she meets Smurfette, it turns out that Vexy may not be as Naughty as she thinks.

“Vexy is smart and mischievous and has lots of attitude. Attitude to spare,” says Gosnell. “And she really does want to please her father.”

Christina Ricci infuses the voice of Vexy with sarcasm and sauciness. Ricci says that Vexy and Hackus are just looking for the same thing any child needs. “They don’t have a family and love,” she says. “They’re not really bad – they’re just lonely kids. When they kidnap Smurfette, that’s just their way to try to get their ‘father’s’ love. But at the same time, I like that I got to play naughty.”

“In a strange way, voice work gives you so much freedom as an actor,” says Ricci. “As you work on one line, and the quality of your voice, and fine-tuning single syllables, over and over, you can dissect and pick apart and change little things and make it your own. It’s amazing to me how much fun that is.”

Of course, Vexy is just one-half of Gargamel’s dastardly plan. “Vexy is the brains of the operation,” says Kerner. “And her brother, Hackus, is the unbridled enthusiasm and brawn.”


Hackus is a lovable, sweet, hyperactive loose cannon easily influenced by his Naughty sister, Vexy. He’s a bit berserk, sweet to the core, a cyclone of energy, and is a Naughty of few words—very few, in fact.

“Curb Your Enthusiasm’s” JB Smoove is the voice behind the misbehaving Hackus.

Describing his character, he says, “He’s like an experiment gone wrong. Hackus loves to have fun and loves being naughty. Vexy and Hackus play tricks on Azrael, they play tricks on Gargamel, they play tricks on each other. He’s enthusiastic, happy, playful, curious, fun, and overwhelming. He’s Hackus. Hackus Hackus Hackus!”

Opening across the Philippines on August 07 in 3D, 2D and regular theaters, “The Smurfs 2” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

source: movies.inquirer.net

Taylor Lautner, a Hunky Frat Boy in “Grown Ups 2″

He has always watched out for Bella as the super nice guy Jacob in the “Twilight” series.

Well those days are over.

Now, heartthrob Taylor Lautner stars as the lead frat boy in the pack that causes trouble for Adam Sandler and his buddies in Columbia Pictures’ new comedy “Grown Ups 2.”

“My character and his friends aren’t the nicest guys, but that’s part of the fun of the movie,” Lautner says. “I can’t think of a better way to spend the summer than hanging out with Adam Sandler and his crew. I grew up watching his movies, I’m a big fan of his.”

In one of the funniest scenes from the film, Lautner’s frat boy Andy shows Lenny (Sandler) and his childhood chums who’s boss when they return to their old swimming hole. Lenny calls Andy and his visor-sporting, khaki shorts-wearing bros out for looking rather “Abercrombie.” But the younger set gets the next laugh at the expense of those returning “Grown Ups” played by Kevin James, Chris Rock, and David Spade as they are forced by the frat pack to cliff dive in the buff.

The “Twilight” hunk admitted that he loved hanging out with Adam Sandler’s comedy superteam for the sequel, and unsurprisingly, it was a more laughter-filled set than he’s used to.

“I loved it. I was very intimidated, but it’s why I wanted to do it,” Lautner shares. “These guys and Salma [Hayek], they’re the best at what they do and it was a huge learning experience for me. It’s an absolute blast. The set is unlike anything else I’ve ever been on. We don’t laugh this much on the `Twilight’ sets.”

Sandler also pipes up on the experience: “We all loved [Lautner] and, you know, just like anybody, we were a little intimidated to meet old Taylor, too, ‘cause the sound he brings with him. Wherever he shows up there’s a giant crowd of high-pitched screaming and happiness.”

“We thought they were protesters for the first two days,” deadpans co-star David Spade.

“I became friends with that sweet kid,” Adam admits. However, he follows up with a joke, “None of us liked when his shirt came off…we were like, ‘Put it on, our wives are coming.’”


 “The girls go bananas for him and usually that leads to other guys getting angry or whatever, but when you hang out with the kid he’s the nicest, sweetest kid and he’s an unbelievable athlete,” continues Sandler. “That kid can literally do everything. He’s like a crazy squirrel climbing up walls. He doesn’t play basketball. It’s probably like his 10th sport, but we play it at my house sometimes. He comes over, but he finds a way to annoy the hell out of everybody and make shots. He’s a pain.”

Opening across the Philippines on July 24, “Grown Ups 2” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit www.columbiapictures.com.ph to see the latest trailers, get free downloads and play free movie games.

source: movies.inquirer.net

The “Twilight” hunk admitted that he loved hanging out with Adam Sandler’s comedy superteam for the sequel, and unsurprisingly, it was a more laughter-filled set than he’s used to. - See more at: http://movies.inquirer.net/10059/taylor-lautner-a-hunky-frat-boy-in-grown-ups-2#sthash.YXyoSa5s.dpuf