Johnny Depp Drinks to "The Rum Diary"

Fall Preview Featuring: Ides of March, Warrior, Rum Diary and a Moneyball Mention

Weekend Reviews: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Midnight in Paris

Reviewing Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Midnight in Paris on Today in LA.

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I happened to catch this freeze frame of me and Ted Chen giving each other googly eyes. Movie talk brings out the warm fuzzies in both of us.

Reviewing "Rango," "The Adjustment Bureau" and "Take Me Home Tonight" on Today in LA

Giddy plugs and Johnny Depp love.

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Who's Hotter, Brad Pitt or Johnny Depp? Alex Pettyfer Decides

Walking into Alex Pettyfer's hotel suite high above the stars on the Walk of Fame, the Hollywood sign glistening in the sun behind him, you can't help but fall a little bit in love. Not with the young heartthrob who is being heralded as the next Robert Pattison with this week's release of "I am Number Four," but with Oliver, his adorable seal-grey puppy recently adopted from the rescue organization, Barks ‘n’ Bitches.

"I got him two weeks ago," Pettyfer says in the British accent he suppressed while filming his starring role as John Smith, one of nine aliens infants sent to hide on Earth after their home planet is destroyed. Assigned a guardian and an order, they can only be killed in the sequence of their numbers. Following the murders of Numbers One, Two, and Three, Number Four (Pettyfer), is living on high alert in Paradise, Ohio, disguised as an American high school student, when he falls in love (with his real-life sweetheart, "Glee"'s Dianna Agron) and realizes he has something to fight for.

Sporting a simple band on his wedding ring finger—which went uncommented on despite rumors he and Agron were engaged (rumors have since surfaced that they've split)—Pettyfer told me that he appreciates comparisons to tween phenomenons like Pattison and "Twilight," but felt the buzz was premature.

"I hope we have the success of 'Twilight' by half or even a quarter," the 20-year-old began. "Obviously, you've got that central story of falling in love with something different and that's comparable between 'Twilight' and 'I am Number Four,' but I don't think we're anything like them. We're a lot less serious. I think people are looking for the next 'Harry Potter' or 'Twilight' as they're coming to an end, and hopefully we can fill that gap."

With Michael Bay, "the king of action" according to Pettyfer, and Steven Spielberg, "the godfather of film," producing, "…Number Four" is expected to easily inherit that mantle.

Since the film is all about gaining powers, I wondered what innate human ability Pettyfer would give up if he had to.

"Taste," he replied easily. "I don't really enjoy food. I'm not a big eater. I only eat certain things, [like] In 'n' Out Burger, pasta, pizza. I think sight is the most important."

Considering the media maelstrom surrounding the film, replete with screaming, crying fans at Hot Topic signings, I wondering if losing his anonymity was difficult.

"I haven't been witness to it; I've been holed up in hotel rooms [promoting the movie] for the last five weeks. Maybe in five weeks, after the film comes out, it will be."

Pettyfer, who says he'd like to emulate the career of Gary Oldman, "an actor who challenged himself and took the bar to a whole new level," has the added blessing/curse of being Tigerbeat-friendly. A former model, I asked if being too handsome was ever a detractor from an actor who wanted to follow an Oldman-esque path.

"I don't see myself as attractive or ugly. I think attraction is in the eye of the beholder," Pettyfer said (as only a handsome man could). "If I put Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt up, fifty percent of the women would go for Brad Pitt and fifty percent would say Johnny Depp."

So who would Pettyfer choose? "Johnny Depp! All the way," he smiled.

Hollywood Bites Reviews: "The Tourist," and Mango Nectarine Bellinis

When a film is screened only 48 hours before release, you have to assume there's something terrible afoot and the studio is doing their best to keep the blogosphere from exploded with bad press.

However, in the case of "The Tourist," which was screened for critics Wednesday, it might be that Sony's delay worked against them, preparing people for the worst and inspiring the current drubbing the film is taking.

Is "The Tourist" predictable? Yes.

Is "The Tourist" occasionally implausible and slow? Yes.

Is "The Tourist" the meandering puddle of dreck that people are making it out to be? No.

In fact, it's far superior to Angelina Jolie's most recent outing, "Salt," an excruciating exercise that left audiences guffawing as the clunker careened through a ridiculous plot and terrible acting. To say "The Tourist" is a better movie might be slight praise, but it is still praise.

Let's start with the good stuff, shall we?

There's a whole lot of pretty going on in "The Tourist." Between Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Paul Bettany, a minor cameo by Rufus Sewell and the backdrop of Venice, it's a veritable gorg-a-gasm.

The movie, a remake of the so-so French film, "Anthony Zimmer," stars Depp as a newly single American math teacher who travels to Venice to recover from heartbreak. But when he meets a beautiful and mysterious English woman (Jolie, naturally) he finds himself caught up in a swirling game of cat and mouse.

From the moment Jolie appears on screen, you're struck by the thought that this woman would only be a movie star. She's too flawless and captivating to occupy any other space in the universe. But she plays the femme fatale with disconcerting distance and a seriously gamey English accent (when is she going to realize that adding a dialect to her action hero roles doesn't lend them any more gravitas or credence?), gliding through the frame in Jackie O sunglasses and chignons or impeccably tailored pencil skirts, recalling a Hitchcock heroine, a portrait of chilly perfection, while Depp is acting in a different movie entirely, gamely flinging himself from befuddled math teacher to unwitting hostage, never fully shaking what seems to be a watered down reincarnation of Captain Jack Sparrow.
It seems director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck couldn't decide if he wanted to make a sexy thriller or a sassy romp and ends up with a film that's a bit of both. In the end, despite the venom critics are flinging its way, we found "The Tourist" to be an innocuous offering that exists in a no man's land between really good or really bad; a film that would perfectly enjoyable to catch one mindless afternoon.

But what fun is that for critics to gripe about?

written for NBC's Popcorn Biz

One of the truly great pleasures of being in Venice is drinking bellinis. Though they might never be as delicious as when sipped on the water outside of Harry's Bar, these are a damn close second. But make sure you get the mango nectarines. They're not actually related to mangos, just named such because they're very low-acid and, therefore, taste a lot like the sweet topical fruit.

Mango Nectarine Bellini
Serves 4-6
4 mango (low acid) nectarines (Chef’s note: mango nectarines are only available in the peak of summer, especially in July. Other nectarines or nectarine puree can be substituted if mango nectarines are unavailable)
1 bottle good Italian Prosecco, chilled

Chop mango nectarines and puree until smooth. Add 2 tablespoons of puree to a champagne flute and slowly top with Prosecco. Cheers!

Behind the Scenes of Charlie St. Cloud

Sitting on a sunny stretch of Marina del Rey on a recent Saturday afternoon, sipping a cup of tea while waiting my turn to speak with Burr Steers and Zac Efron, respectively the director and star of the new film, Charlie St. Cloud, I started to notice everyone who passed, joggers with strollers, speed walkers in Shape-Ups, tourists in Bermuda shorts, would look above me and get a bizarrely beatific, stupefied smile on their face as they strolled along the water front.

What’s inspiring those beaming faces?

Efron is sitting in a second story window, brightly lit by television cameras, being interviewed about his latest role. His trademark locks are pushed back to reveal a forehead rarely seen during his meteoric rise in the High School Musical trilogy, making his turquoise blue eyes even more striking, and his relaxed charm is palpable even gazing up at the newly minted movie deity from below. The beach cruisers are being treated to a fleeting glimpse of a movie-star-in-the-making and the mere proximity to glory has them drunk with wonder.

When I speak to Efron a short while later, I ask if he realizes he has that kind of effect on people.
“Ooff,” he grunts, shaking his head. “It’s not really tangible to me. I don’t really notice it. But I know my mom gets pissed off when she hangs out with me. She walks behind me and she says no one says anything until after I’ve walked past. After they look and [freak out]. But they never give it away, they’re always really good, so I never see it. I don’t really notice,” he shrugs.

Even if he doesn’t, Hollywood does, knighting Efron the heir apparent to the leading man throne. Although Charlie St. Cloud is only his third major leading role, Efron is already drawing weighty comparisons from Steers.

“All of our leading guys it seems started out as child stars,” Steers points out. “Ryan Gosling was a Mouseketeer, [Leonardo DiCaprio] did Growing Pains, Johnny Depp was on 21 Jump Street. They get those jobs because they’re charismatic and then build on that and understand that there is someplace to go from there, an evolution that has to happen.”

Part of that evolution is strategically chosen roles and the careful cultivation of working relationships. This most recent project has that in spades. The film, based on Ben Sherwood’s novel about a young man literally and figuratively haunted by the death of his younger brother and unable to move past the pain of that loss, reunites Efron and Steers who previously worked together on 17 Again.

Efron brought Steers into the project, feeling the director, who is perhaps best known for his debut, Igby Goes Down, would be able to help him reach the level of performance necessary for the role and he’s absolutely right. The great revelation of the film is that Zac Efron is quite talented and can handle emotionally demanding material beautifully. So how did the director lead his leading man through the performance?

“I don’t walk anyone through anything,” Steers insists. “I create a situation where actors feel safe.” He says he focused on the emotional stakes of the film and the made “[Zac] find it in himself. I don’t let him avoid anything.” Steers explains that one of the things that attracted the actor to the project was his own extremely close relationship with his younger brother, Dylan. Steers used that emotional bond to help Efron tap into his character’s pain. “I made him go there,” the director says. “This wasn’t an easy process for him.”

Though, according to Efron, one he loved, especially since it reunited him with Steers. “He’s very generous with the actors,” Efron says. “Every take, he’s running over to talk to us and he’s got so much to say; an opinion, a new point of view or something to think about, which is great for me. I enjoy that much attention from the director when they really care about your performance.” It was invaluable guidance the actor craved after deciding to step away from the musical genre that earned him legions of fans, even dropping out of the planned Footloose remake in favor of Charlie St. Cloud.

“There’s a style to High School Musical that I knew I didn’t want to stick with forever,” Efron admits. “It’s incredibly fun, it’s very addicting, those movies, I’m constantly chasing that dragon, so to speak, trying to bring that energy to everything I do, but I definitely want to make films with substance, move on, try new things and see how deep the rabbit hole goes.”

Charlie St. Cloud opens July 30.

Johnny Depp and Jim Morrison Want to Light Your Fire

"When You're Strange," Tom DiCillo's new documentary narrated by Johnny Deep, is filled with such plentiful and unbelievably fine archival footage, at the film's start and during several narrative sections throughout, you may find yourself wondering if you're watching an America's Most Wanted-style recreation with a Jim Morrison look-a-like.

But no, that's the real Morrison and what you're seeing is a melding of concert footage, behind-the-scenes documentation and, the crown jewel, Morrison's film "HWY," which the singer directed and starred in but never completed. Repurposed here, we see Morrison, bearded and lean, meanderingly driving through the dessert. If David Lynch, the Coen Brothers and Timothy Leary made a student film together, it might have had this aesthetic.

Cameras seemed to be rolling constantly around The Doors, from backstage to the recording studio, and it's fascinating stuff, as if Morrison knew he wasn't long for this earth and decided to leave a video legacy for precisely for this reason, like a postcard from beyond the grave.

Even when DiCillo opts to slip into long lolls of straight forward performance footage, the thrill of witnessing this legendary band in action offsets what could be long, dull-ish stretches. "When You're Strange" is enjoyable and engrossing, but the reason to see the movie is the same reason people flocked to see The Doors. Jim.

From the first image of him, a mischievous twinkle in his eye, the alluring curve of an impish smile, he's dynamic, compelling and oozing sex appeal. The other band members, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger, form a muted tapestry behind him. Of course their involvement was essential for the band to achieve greatness, but its Morrison you can't avert your eyes from. Even in later years, when his drinking made him bloated and round, a thick beard obscuring much of his lovely face, you're sucked into his vortex. And that's a lovely place to spend two hours.

"When You're Strange" opens in limited release today, April 9th.