Question I saw and liked Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow but was wondering What was the source of Sir Laurence Oliviers performance Ive always wanted to know JayFlickChick The late Sir Laurence Oliviers performance as Professor Totenkopf dead head in German in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow 2004 was digitally built from archival BBC footage of Olivier giving a speech at some fund-raising event The movements of his mouth were manipulated to match the films dialogue and the footage was processed to look like a staticky video holograph The same basic technology was used to alter existing footage of Marlon Brando from Superman 1978 so he could speak new dialogue for Superman Returns 2006 But in Superman Returns the Brando footage looks as real as the rest so its another step toward being truly able to have a living actor appear alongside a dead one the way singers can now do thoroughly convincing duets by integrating their new tracks
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Once upon a not very long time ago, Saturday Night Live had character — make that characters. Wayne and Garth, Hans and Franz, Linda Richman, Mary Katherine Gallagher, the sexually ambiguous Pat, Mango, the Cheerleaders. And so on. "It was the Yankees," remembers Chris Rock of a cast so stuffed with talent that the competition to get on air and create new comic icons and catchphrases was ferocious. (Eddie Murphy once advised Rock to create "Weekend Update" pieces delivered straight to the camera to help him break through. Which he did.) Anecdotes like these make the frankly funny and admirably frank Saturday Night Live in the '90s: Pop Culture Nation (May 6, 9 pm/ET, NBC) so much more than a nostalgic clip job. There's plenty that's celebratory in this two-hour special, but also much that's self-critical — especially in addressing the mid-'90s cast upheaval that led to falling ratings,
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Question: I know actors improvise their lines all the time in comedies, but recently I learned that Anthony Hopkins improvised many of Hannibal's lines. I also recently learned from the documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse that Marlon Brando improvised much of his dialogue in Apocalypse Now. So now I'm curious: How often do actors, outside of comedies, improvise their lines?
Answer: All the time. OK, not all actors all the time, but the practice of ad-libbing or altering lines is an entrenched part of film acting and one of the things that drives screenwriters out of their minds. Especially if they come from the theater: In theater, the script is sacrosanct and no one messes with it except with the express consent of the playwright (assuming someone dares to ask). In film, scripts are usually treated as a kind of outline — not
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While all those media-maven types theorize about the true meaning of Las Vegas' time-slot change — NBC's Monday mainstay is moving to Fridays at 9, starting tonight, March 3 — Vanessa Marcil won't be bothered. As the Montecito's hostess with the oh-so-mostess, she is relishing her dream job, a role she values a distant second behind that of mother to son Kassius, who turns 4 this month. In this candid Q&A with TVGuide.com, the brunette beauty cheers "Viva Las Vegas" — and reveals at least two celebrity crushes.
TVGuide.com: When I called you to set this up, it sounded a bit festive in the background. Were you at a strip club with your Vegas pals, or wer
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The Daily Show's Jon Stewart, host of the 78th Annual Academy Awards (airing Sunday at 9 pm/ET on ABC) answers TVGuide.com readers' burning questions!
What can you tell me about your Oscar-hosting gig? — Paul Strouse, Pittsburgh, Pa.Jon Stewart: This may be the most devastating, controversial, powerful, dangerous awards show ever.... No, I'm looking to have fun with it. If people are kind enough to spend four hours watching this damn show, I'm hoping to give them something other than a numb ass. And I won't sing; I want them to be happy.
Will you have The Daily Show's Rob Corddry or Ed Helms on hand to help on the red carpet with some impromptu interviews? Or Stephen Colbert —
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