The Playlist

Matt Damon Discusses How 'Bourne Ultimatum' Scheduling Kept Him Out Of 'Avatar'

By Gabe Toro
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February 28, 2011 8:17 AM
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7 Comments

Actor Also Took 'Stuck On You' Instead Of Werner Herzog's 'Rescue Dawn'While discussing "The Adjustment Bureau" during press rounds this past week, Matt Damon admitted to what we already know is one of cinema's greatest what-ifs: that instead of Sam Worthington as Jake Sully in "Avatar" it could have been the Oscar-winning actor instead. Damon took the opportunity to clarify that he had not made a giant career blunder in not taking on "Avatar," but that something as simple as scheduling had killed the chance for the most successful movie of all-time to have an actually interesting leading man as its protagonist.

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Universal Picks Up Tomas Alfredson's 'Tinker, Tailor, Solder, Spy' With Tom Hardy, Colin Firth, More

By Kevin Jagernauth
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February 28, 2011 7:18 AM
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2 Comments

One of our most anticipated films of the year now has a home on our shores as Deadline reveals that Universal has picked up the domestic distribution rights for "Let The Right One In" director Tomas Alfredson's English language debut, "Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy."

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Joshua Leonard Joins 'Motel Life' With Dakota Fanning, Emile Hirsch & Stephen Dorff

By Kevin Jagernauth
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February 28, 2011 6:35 AM
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2 Comments

EXCLUSIVE: The rooms at "The Motel Life" are getting a little more full as reps for indie actor Joshua Leonard ("Humpday," "Bitter Feast") have confirmed to the The Playlist that he has joined the film.

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Watch: Operatic Clip From 'Larry Crowne' Starring Tom Hanks & Julia Roberts

By Kevin Jagernauth
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February 28, 2011 6:21 AM
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0 Comments

Oscar season is now in the rearview, and the months of tentpole/blockbuster fare lie ahead and in terms of star power, it won't get much bigger this summer than "Larry Crowne" with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts.

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Oscar Winner Tom Hooper To See PG-13 Cut Of 'The King's Speech' Today

By Kevin Jagernauth
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February 28, 2011 5:23 AM
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4 Comments

Harvey Weinstein Noticeably Goes Unmentioned In Acceptance SpeechWalking away from last night's Oscars with three big awards -- including Best Actor, Best Director and Best Picture -- the buzz around "The King's Speech" won't stop anytime soon, but some of that hype may be for an issue that continues to pit producer Harvey Weinstein against the film's director and the cast.

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Bobby Farrelly Says "Ball Is In Motion" For 'Dumb & Dumber' Sequel

By Kevin Jagernauth
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February 28, 2011 4:32 AM
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1 Comment

With "Hall Pass" opening this weekend and getting bested by the three-week-old cartoon "Gnomeo And Juliet" it's further proof that the Farrelly Brothers are no longer the zeitgeist-capturing, filthy-minded comedy directors they once were. For their next project, "The Three Stooges," the duo are taking on the well-established comedy icons and bringing them to the big screen in what should (hopefully) be a change of pace. However, percolating in the background is a sequel to the film that help put the directors on the map over a decade ago.

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Will Smith Attached To 'Joe' A Modern-Day Version Of Biblical Tale Of Job From 'The Fighter' Writers

By Oliver Lyttelton
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February 28, 2011 4:18 AM
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3 Comments

David O. Russell Courted To DirectFor a man not exactly lacking in self-confidence, it's odd the way that Will Smith seemed to react to the critical and commercial failure of his last film, 2008's "Seven Pounds." Smith, who, when that film was released was probably the biggest star in the world, hasn't made a film since, instead becoming the megastar equivalent of a pushy stage dad, launching his kids Jaden and Willow into entertainment careers of their own. When he does make his onscreen return, it'll be him going back to the well on a franchise, in next year's "Men in Black 3."

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Sony Sets Summer 2012 Release Dates: 'I Hate You Dad' Hits June 22nd, 'Total Recall' August 3rd

By Oliver Lyttelton
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February 28, 2011 3:54 AM
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0 Comments

Plus Kevin James MMA Flick 'Here Comes The Boom' Lands July 27thWith the Oscars stinking up the joint last night, the awards season is finally over, and we can look forward to the now-six-month-long summer blockbuster season, without the worry of accidentally stumbling across a film with a thought in its head. But the business being what it is i.e. increasingly reliant on release dates before scripts, or a director, or cast is attached, studios are already jostling for dates in 2012, which looks at least as crowded as this year's clusterfuck of a season.

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Snubs & Surprises Of The 2011 Academy Awards

By Edward Davis
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February 28, 2011 3:30 AM
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15 Comments

'King's Speech' & 'Inception' Win 4 Awards, 'True Grit' Is The Night's Biggest Loser With 10 Nominations & Zero WinsFirst off, you might want to check out our 10 pleasant surprises of the 2011 Oscar nominees. They were pleasant surprises for a reason and none of those people won any awards except for one musical duo (more on that later). You probably checked out our liveblog and our winners recap last night, but yes, we have more.

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Charlie Sheen Says He Has A Script From Roman Coppola; Says WB Will Rename Studio Charlie Bros.

By Kevin Jagernauth
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February 28, 2011 3:15 AM
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2 Comments

So the Oscars are over and while pundits debate how entertaining (or not) the broadcast was, for this writer, the biggest thrill of the night came from a preview for Charlie Sheen's upcoming "20/20" interview which featured the sure-to-be meme-spawning quote: "I'm on a drug, it's called Charlie Sheen." Pure gold. But as usual, that's just the tip of the iceberg from the Sheen Quote Machine and in an interview that ran this morning on the "Today" show, the actor revealed a pretty random future movie project he says has crossed his desk. We'll let the full quote speak for itself:

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