Latest news with #SamRockwell
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sam Rockwell tried to induce 'nervous breakdown' for scenes in 'Galaxy Quest': 'People were like, what are you doing?'
The actor referenced Gene Wilder's performance in "The Producers" as a "perfect example" of what he was trying to do. When Sam Rockwell gets a role, he's all in, dancing or whatever needs to be done. But when asked about the "most ridiculous role" he's ever committed to, there's a clear winner: Guy Fleegman, whom he played in Galaxy Quest, the 1999 movie about the cast of a former sci-fi TV series having to assume their roles in real life in order to save the universe. "Well, I think Galaxy Quest comes to mind, as far as taking it very seriously," Rockwell said of the sci-fi parody on Thursday's episode of Hot Ones. "I was walking around, [having] a lot of coffee, getting really hyped up and trying to have a nervous breakdown on camera, so that people would laugh at it, which is totally ridiculous. People were like, 'What are you doing, man? It's a comedy.' But, you know, you have to really break down or it's not funny." He pointed to Gene Wilder's performance as Leo Bloom in Mel Brooks' iconic 1967 movie The Producers as proof. Wilder, who died in 2016, is "a perfect example of that," Rockwell said. "He has a real anxiety attack, and it's hilarious." Wilder was nominated for an Oscar in the category of Best Supporting Actor for his work in the iconic film, although it's unclear how much of it was acting and how much was at least inspired by real life. The veteran of movies such as Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and Young Frankenstein told Time in 1970 that he'd always had "a reservoir of hysteria," although he'd grown out of it. As for Rockwell, he's previously described his transformation for the spoof that he costarred in with Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, and the late Alan Rickman in a similar way. "You have to play that for real!" he told HuffPost in July 2013. "I'm really crying in the spaceship when I'm freaking out."He also said then that he'd done "full emotional preparation." "I had had four cups of coffee, and I was doing it as if it was a drama for me," Rockwell explained. "Knowing that the outcome is going to be a funny outcome, that people will be laughing at my tragedy. I was pacing, and I think Bill Paxton did the same thing in Aliens — knowing he's the funny guy, but he's got to be freaked out. He has to be legitimately scared — and that's what makes it funny. That's what great farce is: raising the stakes." Watch Rockwell's full Hot Ones conversation above. Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
The Bad Guys 2 review: Tolerable sequel is dragged down by an overcomplicated plot
The Bad Guys 2 Director : Pierre Perifel Cert : G Starring : Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Awkwafina, Danielle Brooks, Natasha Lyonne Running Time : 1 hr 44 mins There should be a word in German for that thing where a movie makes a joke ridiculing some offence the film itself is currently committing. 'We know! So don't nag us. Okay?' There has rarely been a more egregious example than that found at the centre of this tolerable sequel to a modestly successful 2022 animation . The titular troupe of anthropomorphic grifters realise that a set of recent robberies hinge on desire for a magical substance called McGuffinite. If you didn't get that, the material is named for the device in a Hitchcock film that serves merely as an accelerant for the plot. The mysterious wine bottle in Notorious. That sort of thing. The Bad Guys 2, though big on zany visuals of the Hanna Barbera school, is dragged down by an overcomplicated plot about which it becomes increasingly hard to give a hoot. Mr Wolf, Mr Snake, Mr Shark and the rest, after saving the world in the first film, have now settled down to the boring straight existence. The former crooks are, to paraphrase the last lines of Goodfellas, learning to live the rest of their lives like a schnook. Crummy jobs. Cheap cars. No action. Life heats up when a party of female animals, led by a snow leopard named Kitty Kat, carry out a series of robberies that are blamed on our Bad Guys. Cross and double cross eventually send everyone into space for what wants to be a spectacular denouement. Who is friend? Who is foe? Who really cares? None of which is to suggest there isn't uncomplicated fun to be had here. Pierre Perifel, the French director of both films, seems to have enjoyed his Saturday-morning cartoons as a child. The clamorous, body-twisting set pieces sit somewhere between the ballet of Looney Tunes and the less sophisticated visual blare of Scooby Doo. Nothing wrong with any of that. But one remains puzzled as to what these films want to be. Not nearly enough is done with the animal natures of the heroes. Mr Wolf, voiced by Sam Rockwell, may have big teeth (Grandma), but, the odd growl aside, he does little that George Clooney didn't to in the Oceans films. In contrast, far too much is done with that increasingly unwieldy plot. If you keep yakking about the McGuffin the audience will worry if they should genuinely care about it. That isn't happening here. In cinemas from July 25th
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
What Are The Bad Guys 2's Box Office Predictions?
The animated sequel to the 2022 hit, The Bad Guys, The Bad Guys 2, is nearly here, and the early box office prediction numbers are already out. With the strong performance of the previous movie, The Bad Guys 2 will have a head start. But is that enough to ensure a successful haul? How much is The Bad Guys 2 predicted to make at the box office? Box Office Pro predicts that The Bad Guys 2 will open with a weekend haul ranging from $25 million to $35 million. Industry analysts consider this strong for an animated sequel. However, they note that the numbers might have climbed higher with a different release window. The Bad Guys had a $23.9 million domestic opening and a $97.4 million domestic total. The studio released it in April, which is typically a favorable month for animated films. Changing release schedules has not worked well for many films in the past, and this strategy could pose a risk for The Bad Guys 2. However, a summer release would have meant competing with the highly anticipated Minecraft movie. The current release window offers relatively less competition. One factor that could benefit the upcoming Universal Pictures release is its position in the release schedule. It will be the first animated film to hit theaters since Pixar's Elio. The movie is made on a budget of $80 million and will require a significant haul to be considered profitable. The Bad Guys 2 features an ensemble cast that includes Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Awkwafina, Zazie Beetz, Richard Ayoade, Lilly Singh, and Alex Borstein, among others. The synopsis for the movie reads, 'The Bad Guys 2 follows the crackerjack criminal crew of animal outlaws who are struggling to find trust and acceptance in their newly minted lives as Good Guys. However, they're pulled out of retirement and forced to do 'one last job' by an all-female squad of criminals.' It will premiere on August 1, 2025. Stay tuned for more updates. Solve the daily Crossword
Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Times
The Bad Guys 2 review — praise be for this breezy sequel
Praise be for this breezy animated sequel, which provides a get-out-of-jail-free card for parents during the holidays and won't be a chore for them to watch with their kids. It continues the misadventures of Mr Wolf and his gang of reformed villains, who have also got out of jail and abandoned their lives of crime in favour of — well, job interviews. Mr Wolf — voiced again by Sam Rockwell, shamelessly channelling George Clooney in Ocean's Eleven — is going for a position at a bank, until his interviewer points out that he has robbed them three times. 'Some of my best memories are in banks,' Wolf says wistfully. A flashback to the naughty days accentuates the contrast in glamour as Messrs Wolf, Snake, Shark and Piranha and Ms Tarantula insouciantly pull off a heist in Cairo involving a parachute, a crane and a breakneck escape in a sports car. Back in the present day Wolf is driving a spluttering old banger … • Read more film reviews, guides about what to watch and interviews The lure of reoffending is strong, then, which is just as well because these films, like the Despicable Me franchise, hinge on the subversive thrill of rooting for the morally compromised. Adapted from the graphic novels by Aaron Blabey and directed, like the first film, by the Frenchman Pierre Perifel, this is another feast of angular animation and insouciant one-liners with a ghetto-fabulous score from Daniel Pemberton. The twist-filled story somehow finds room for Mexican wrestlers, a metal called McGuffinite (tee-hee) and a sequence in which our antiheroes board a moon rocket that makes Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible look like Compo in Last of the Summer Wine trundling down a hill in a bath. If that sounds a bit busy, it's all done with a light and knowing touch. A third film is planned and that doesn't feel like overkill.★★★★☆ PG, 104min In cinemas Times+ members can enjoy two-for-one cinema tickets at Everyman each Wednesday. Visit to find out more. Which films have you enjoyed at the cinema recently? Let us know in the comments and follow @timesculture to read the latest reviews
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Would Iron Man 2's Sam Rockwell Ever Return To The MCU? Here's What The Actor Said
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Two years after Iron Man ushered in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and turned Robert Downey Jr. into one of Hollywood's most in-demand actors, Iron Man 2 saw his version of Tony Stark clashing with Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer, a rival weapons manufacturer who teamed up with Mickey Rourke's Ivan Vanko. Rockwell later reprised Hammer for the short film All Hail the King and an episode of the Disney+ subscription-exclusive animated series What If… ?, but we still have yet to see him return as a prominent character in the MCU. Well, that's not because of a lack of interest on Rockwell's part of being in an upcoming Marvel movie or upcoming Marvel TV show. Justin Hammer came up while Sam Rockwell was chatting about his 2025 movie release The Bad Guys 2 with ComicBook. When asked if he was tired of getting asked about his MCU character and the franchise, the actor responded: Well, I'm a nerd too, so I don't, no. I'm waiting for the call. Hasn't come in yet, but I'm waiting. I heard they're shooting Avengers somewhere. I'm not there. Not that anyone was expecting otherwise, but at least now we can officially add the lack of Justin Hammer to the things we know about Avengers: Doomsday. Still, even with so much time having passed since Iron Man 2, Sam Rockwell is absolutely game to return to the MCU. Those kinds of question don't tire him out because he's also just as curious, if not more so, about if Justin will ever resurface. Because What If… ? showed a Justin Hammer from an alternate universe, we haven't checked in with the Sacred Timeline version of him since All Hail the King was included as a special feature on Thor: The Dark World's home media release. At the end of the short film, Justin was shown to be in the same prison as Ben Kingsley's Trevor Slattery and annoyed at how much attention the Iron Man 3 villain was getting. Given the crimes he committed, it stands to reason that Justin is still behind bars, but there's no reason he couldn't be broken out. Disney+: from $9.99 a month w/ ad-supported planHead over to Disney+ to revisit Sam Rockwell's appearances as Justin Hammer amidst all the other MCU movies and TV shows. The ad-supported plan costs $9.99 a month. Go ad-free and pay $15.99 a month, or save 16% and pre-pay $159.99 for a Deal The question then becomes where it would make sense to include Justin Hammer next, and looking over the slate of MCU projects on the way, none seem to be a good fit for him. There was a time when Armor Wars would have a great platform for Justin Hammer to make his grand return, as the story would follow Don Cheadle's James Rhodes tracking down people who've stolen Tony Stark's technology. However, these days it's unclear where things stand with Armor Wars, as it still doesn't have a release date. Well, Kevin Feige and the rest of Marvel Studios' creative heads know how to get in touch with Sam Rockwell if they ever decide to bring back Justin Hammer. For now, catch the actor reprising Mr. Wolf in The Bad Guys 2 starting on August 1 in theaters, and stream his appearance on The White Lotus from earlier this year with an HBO Max subscription.
