Hunger Games Online

The Hunger Games is really a 2012 United states science fiction motion movie aimed by way of H Ross, using the story of the brand by way of Suzanne Collins. A movie was produced by Nina Jacobson as well as Jon Kilik, with a movie script by way of Ross, Collins, as well as Billy Lewis. That superstars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Electronic Banks, as well as He Sutherland. The storyline takes place inside a dystopian post-apocalyptic upcoming inside the region with Panem, which consists of the prosperous location, the Capitol, between A dozen a lesser amount of wealthy areas. When abuse for the beyond rebellion contrary to the federal government, the particular Capitol began the Hunger Games-a public 12-monthly occurrence through which a person young man and another girl out of each of the A dozen areas are usually determined inside a lottery seeing that "tributes" and are needed to fight to the particular passing in a world right up until there is a person remaining victor. When the character Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) hears her more radiant sister's brand called as the female homage for his or her centre, the lady volunteers for taking her placed in get to conserve her out of being required to get involved. Accompanied by her district's men homage Peeta Mellark (Hutcherson), Katniss goes towards Capitol to coach pertaining to the Hunger Games below the direction with original victor Haymitch Abernathy (Harrelson). A movie premiered for April Twenty-one, 2012, around Portugal and various international locations as well as globally for April 3, 2012, within typical concert halls as well as digital camera IMAX concert halls. At the time of put out, the particular movie collection the particular track record for that lastly most effective opening up few days pack business office profits of a typical flick ($152.5 various zillion) around The united states guiding Harry Potter as well as Deathly Hallows ( blank ) Piece A couple of ($169 zillion) as well as Dark Knight ($158 zillion) the greatest pack business office introduction for the non-sequel. It will be the first movie because The movie avatar to on the first page for the pack business office pertaining to a number of straight vacations. The Hunger Games was recommended by way of the majority of pundits, who highly regarded it's actually styles as well as emails, in addition to Lawrence's performance seeing that Katniss. Much like the story, the particular movie provides captivated judgments because of its commonalities along with other is effective, just like the Nippon story Struggle Royale and it is movie edition, together with the United states limited tale "The Lottery". It is known, even so, in which Collins' story as well as movie script have got essential variations by way of applying options for motivation just like the fantasy with Theseus, Roman gladiatorial games, certainty television set, as well as Irak Warfare. The Hunger Games Online For Free have been the subject of differing interpretations, like allusions to help feminist, political, as well as orlando allegory. The country with Panem, produced coming from a post-apocalyptic The united states, is made prosperous Capitol as well as 12 lesser around areas. For a abuse for the previous rebellion contrary to the Capitol because of the areas, a person young man and another girl between the ages of A dozen as well as 19 out of each centre are usually determined by way of once a year lottery (known as the "Reaping") to sign up around the Hunger Games. A people (or "tributes") with the Hunger Games have to attack in a world controlled because of the Capitol right up until just one single continues to be full of life; the particular victor is honored having acclaim as well as huge selection. Katniss Everdeen, the 16-year-old girl out of District A dozen, volunteers for that 74th 12-monthly Hunger Games, to accept place of her more radiant sibling Primrose, who was simply determined because of the lottery. Peeta Mellark, the baker's boy who as soon as gifted Katniss a loaf of bread whenever her family was depriving yourself of food, is likewise determined. Katniss as well as Peeta are usually taken up to the particular Capitol, the place their drunk teacher, original Games victor Haymitch Abernathy, educates those to look at as well as learn the capabilities of the various other tributes, particularly the "Careers", who've been educated out of delivery to help vie inside the Games. Throughout a pre-Games job interview having TV individuality Caesar Flickerman, Peeta all of a sudden explains his passion pertaining to Katniss. Nancy in the beginning very angry, trusting that it is a scheme to get market service, seeing that "sponsors" may well present in-Games products with meal, drugs, as well as instruments. A Games commence with half the particular tributes mortally wounded within the first time, whilst Katniss relies on her well-practiced shopping as well as backyard ability to outlive. Peeta forms the anxious coalition while using the Careers, like Cato, Clove, Miracle, as well as Shine, sufficient reason for his or her monitoring enable these people part Katniss inside the timber. Katniss builds up the alliance having District 10 homage Feel dissapointed about if the girl points out the unit jacker nest, which will Katniss falls within the Careers, eliminating Shine. Feel dissapointed about has feelings for you pertaining to Katniss seeing that the lady gets back out of unit jacker toxic body, however the alliance finishes whenever Feel dissapointed about is fatally hurt by way of Miracle, exactly who Katniss eliminates in their defense. Katniss continues having Feel dissapointed about seeing that the lady is disapated, and then advances bouquets through her system for a symbol of admire. Once this is public, them initiates the riot around District 10. Together with Katniss as well as Peeta shown to the population seeing that "star-crossed lovers" ( blank ) as well as Gamemakers seeking to keep away from inciting further more riots ( blank ) a guide modify is declared half way over the Games, stating that 2 tributes in the same centre can easily gain the particular Games for a match. After experiencing that, Katniss searches for Peeta as well as locates the pup, hurt by way of Cato with a blade. When Katniss nursing staff Peeta back in wellbeing, the lady provides herself seeing that motivated by the pup to get market enjoy as well as support. Whenever the lady efforts to get drugs pertaining to Peeta, Clove strikes her. Thresh looks as well as eliminates Clove, sparing Katniss around storage with Feel dissapointed about. "Foxface" is disapated out of ingesting nightlock blueberries and other berries thieved out of Peeta, who was not sure these people were really dangerous. Some sort of package with harsh hound-like wildlife are let go, eliminating Thresh as well as requiring Katniss as well as Peeta to your Cornucopia, the place these people encounter Cato. Right after a challenging attack, Katniss shoots Cato with an arrow to conserve Peeta's existence. Cato falls towards wildlife, as well as Katniss shoots the pup to help free the pup a prolonged passing. Together with Peeta as well as Katniss unsurprisingly winning alongside one another, the particular Gamemakers all of a sudden turnaround for the guideline modify allowing 2 victors, setting up these folks as much as duel each other towards passing. Rather, Katniss has a cache with nightlock blueberries and other berries as well as arms half to help Peeta. Understanding that their destruction would likely divest the population of a typical victor, the particular Gamemakers quickly declare both of them seeing that victors of the 74th Hunger Games. But they are usually taken care of to the hero's delightful inside the Capitol, Katniss is warned by way of Haymitch that they has now be a political opponent immediately after such a general public defiance with her society's authoritarian management. When Katniss as well as Peeta go back to District A dozen, Web design manager Ideal ponders purchasing the particular shared victors as well as thoughts with rebellion that they may possess influenced.

Jennifer Westfeldt Steps Behind The Camera for 'Friends With Kids'

Jennifer Westfeldt Steps Behind The Camera for 'Friends With Kids' By Jenelle Riley February 29, 2012 Photo by Hayley Sparks Jennifer Westfeldt With her three films, Jennifer Westfeldt has explored the pivotal phases of life. In "Kissing Jessica Stein," which she wrote and starred in with Heather Juergensen, Westfeldt played a single New Yorker who attempts a lesbian relationship after a series of disastrous dates with men. Her script for "Ira & Abby" cast her as a twice-divorced woman who marries a virtual stranger. And in her directorial debut, "Friends With Kids," Westfeldt and Adam Scott play best friends who decide to have a baby together while continuing their pursuit of love with other people. "I didn't even realize it until I finished the last one what I had done," Westfeldt says with a laugh. "I made three films in 10 years that form a weird trilogy of subversive rom coms about the stages of life I was experiencing: dating, marriage and divorce, and having kids. I was observing what was happening around me with all the friends in my life and trying to find an artistic response to those life stages." "Friends With Kids" premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival, where it proved a hot ticket thanks to its ensemble cast, which includes Kristen Wiig, Megan Fox, andnot leastWestfeldt's longtime love, Jon Hamm. Though the film quickly sold to Roadside Attractions and will hit theaters March 9, Westfeldt says the September premiere at the 1,200-plus-seat Ryerson Theatre was a nerve-wracking experience. "We'd never screened the film for more than 30 or 40 people at a time, and I had absolutely no idea how it would go over," she says. "I spent most of the time huddled with Jon in the back, my head buried into his shoulder. It's a very vulnerable thing." "Friends With Kids" (Roadside Attractions) The response to "Friends With Kids" has been positive, with Scott earning raves for his leading-man performance and Westfeldt being praised as a filmmaker to be reckoned with. While the film starts out as a fairly conventional romantic comedy, it takes a dramatic turn midway through and poses some big questions about the nature of love and commitment. But to focus on such depth in what is generally considered a breezy genre is to overlook just how funny the movie is. Westfeldt seems to specialize in approaching a familiar story in new ways. "If my three films have a common thread, it's that they're all asking the same question, which is 'I know it usually goes this way, but why can't we go this way?' " she notes. "With 'Jessica Stein,' it's about if you find a girl who's really great, why can't it work out? With 'Ira & Abby,' it's the idea that if half of marriages end in divorce, don't you have as good of a shot with a perfect stranger as you do with someone you've been with for years? This film is about why can't we turn the system on its ear and co-parent as dear friends and find romance elsewhere? Why can't we turn the norm on its head?"Becoming 'Jessica' By now, the Cinderella story of Westfeldt's first movie is indie film legend. After matriculating at Yale University, she attended a five-day retreat for artists in 1997 where everyone was encouraged to do something in another creative field. "So directors had to act, and actors had to write," Westfeldt says. "I'd never written before then, except for papers in college. But I wrote one little scene that was about this terrible date." At the retreat was Juergensen, who had also written a piece about men and women failing to connect. "We sort of clocked each other and said we should put up a night of bad-date sketches sometime," Westfeldt says. Later that year, Westfeldt journeyed to Los Angeles for the first time and landed both an agent and a pilot within a week. "It was a strange, lucky confluence of events," she says. The pilot, "Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place," went to series, but it was pushed to a midseason show, giving Westfeldt seven weeks off with nothing to do. She promptly called Juergensen, and the two agreed to put up their night of sketches at a small theater in NY City. One of the pieces was about two girls at a spa discussing their bad luck with men and how they should become lesbians. "Once we wrote that sketch, we felt like a narrative thread was forming, and it led to a jumping-off point for a second act where this experiment was pursued by these women," Westfeldt notes. "It became this little play we had written at the end of seven weeks called 'Lipschtick,' and we performed it three nights in the basement of a church, a little theater called The ArcLight Theatre." Their final performance was on a Saturday night. On Sunday the set was struck, and Westfeldt returned to L.A. to start her show. "On Monday my agent called and said, 'Ten studios have called to option this into a film,' " Westfeldt recalls. Though their pitch for the film that would become "Kissing Jessica Stein" sold quickly, years of development hell and turnaround ensued before the pair bought back the rights and got the film made and released in 2001. The critical and financial success of the movie changed Westfeldt's career. "To this day, it's the role people identify me with, more than anything else I've done," she says. She credits the film with leading to her Broadway debut in 2003's "Wonderful Town," for which she received a Tony nomination. "It's kind of hilarious because theater was how I had envisioned my career, and I had to do television and film to have that happen. I guess that's the nature of this business; you never know what the thing will be that helps you get the other thing." Birthing 'Kids' Westfeldt says that after "Jessica Stein," she was sent a lot of scripts with "lesbian themes and uber-neurotic characters," and she took precautions to avoid being typecast. "As actors, we're always looking at what's out there and how you can feed your creative self," she says. "And honestly, there aren't that many interesting roles for women in TV and film unless you're on the list of five girls who get to choose what you want to do." Between her films, Westfeldt worked regularly in television, perhaps most memorably in story lines on "Grey's Anatomy" and "24," and she tries to get back onstage every two years. "I'm so grateful for television, because you can't really survive doing independent films and Off-Broadway theater," she says with a laugh. "It's been nice that I've been able to bounce back and forth between these various mediums."Westfeldt knows she's not alone in being pigeonholed and cites the casting of Scott in "Friends With Kids" as an example. "Adam's been a dear friend for 14 years, and we've seen him do everything, from drama onstage to being unbelievably dramatic in 'The Vicious Kind,' " she says of the stark drama for which Scott earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination. "And when we were putting the movie together, people were watching him on 'Parks and Recreation' and saying, 'We get that he's totally charming and comedic, but does he have the dramatic chops?' I was like, 'Really? Please, don't speak to me again until you've watched "The Vicious Kind." I'm not even going to have this conversation.' It was this funny thing that he was suddenly identified as this comedic actor, and they forgot he has these dramatic chops we've seen on his HBO series ['Tell Me You Love Me'] and onstage. He can do anything. His range is tremendous, and that's what we needed for this role."Though the role wasn't written with Scott in mind, Westfeldt says he performed it at her first reading. "After that moment, it was really hard to imagine anyone else doing it," she says. The first reading occurred in February 2010, and Westfeldt says she had planned it before finishing the screenplay. "I'd given myself a deadline as a writer and invited over these great actors before the script was done," she says. "I had to pull a couple all-nighters. The script was literally printing as people were arriving. Jon was pouring wine for everyone, and I was furiously highlighting pages." Westfeldt wasn't originally going to direct the film; she had never considered the possibility. "Like the writing, it sort of happened to me," she says. "Jake Kasdan was going to direct, which I was thrilled about. But with every independent film, it's so hard to get it made, and all the elements have to come together in the same four-week chunk. You're dealing with actors' availability and the money coming together and et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. It became clear we had this one window with this cast and if we didn't take it, we weren't going to be able to make the film. The way to keep on track and on schedule was for me to step into the director's role." Kasdan stayed on as a producer, and Westfeldt cites his involvement, along with the cast and crew, for aiding her with the steep learning curve. "I was nervous about it, and the only reason it worked as well as it did was because I had an amazing group around me," she says. "So I'm incredibly grateful for the challenge, even if I wouldn't have necessarily chosen it."Perhaps the most difficult scene to shoot occurs at the aforementioned midway point in the film when the tone shifts more to drama. Four couples are vacationing in Vermont when a tense discussion erupts at the dinner table. "That scene was a real risk," Westfeldt says. "It's incredibly odd and not screenplay structure to have this 10-minute real-time scene in the middle of a romantic comedy. It's a strange and scary choice that I wasn't sure would go over. And we had to shoot it in one day, and our days were short. Everyone really had to be on their game, which everyone was. What an amazing cast; what a gift." Although Westfeldt wouldn't have initially chosen writing or directing, she is proud to list herself among the women filmmakers working today. "It's really been a year of sisters doing it for themselves," she says. "At Sundance there were, like, five movies where women were writing roles for themselves. And the success of women like Lena Dunham and Miranda July and Tina Fey and now Kristen [Wiig], among others; it's a pretty cool time to see how much has evolved in that regard." She hopes that this will breed more interesting roles that speak to women directly. "I'm happy to be part of that wave, and I'm inspired by how much of that is going on. It feels like there's a wave happening of women taking a little more control of their own creative fates."'Bridesmaids II'? In "Friends With Kids," Adam Scott and Jennifer Westfeldt play single buddies who hang out with two married couples, Leslie and Alex (Maya Rudolph and Chris O'Dowd) and Ben and Missy (Jon Hamm and Kristen Wiig.) Wait, so how did half the cast of "Bridesmaids" end up in the film? "It's a coincidence, oddly!" Westfeldt says with a laugh. "Kristen was someone we went to early, and she really responded to the script and this roleI think because it's different from what she's had a chance to do before. She was sort of informally attached before she even shot 'Bridesmaids.' And Chris O'Dowd we found in the casting process. I didn't know him, and I sat down and took this meeting and he was just the most charming person ever in the land. I had always pictured Alex as this oversize teddy bear, this wildly likable guy. And that was him." As for Hamm, Westfeldt knew he would be in her film from the start. "But Jon only shot a day and a half on 'Bridesmaids.' He didn't even know if he would be in the movie. A lot of people get cut from Judd Apatow's films because he shoots so much and there's so much ad-libbing and improv. So we didn't even know that Jon would be in the movie; we didn't even think about that. It actually all happened very organically."Outtakes She is in the midst of developing a series to star in, with Alan Ball as executive producer: "I can't really say much about it yet. But it's exciting to dive into another juicy world."Other TV work has included series-regular gigs on "Holding the Baby" and "Notes From the Underbelly."She says directing her friends wasn't a strange experience: "With this group, they're all so amazing, it's not like they're ever going to be far afield. You're really just helping them find the best version, the most nuances, the most choices for the editing room. It's not like directing them whole cloth; it's more about shaping and molding them and helping them find the nuances in the characters." Jennifer Westfeldt Steps Behind The Camera for 'Friends With Kids' By Jenelle Riley February 29, 2012 Jennifer Westfeldt PHOTO CREDIT Hayley Sparks With her three films, Jennifer Westfeldt has explored the pivotal phases of life. In "Kissing Jessica Stein," which she wrote and starred in with Heather Juergensen, Westfeldt played a single NYer who attempts a lesbian relationship after a series of disastrous dates with men. Her script for "Ira & Abby" cast her as a twice-divorced woman who marries a virtual stranger. And in her directorial debut, "Friends With Kids," Westfeldt and Adam Scott play best friends who decide to have a baby together while continuing their pursuit of love with other people. "I didn't even realize it until I finished the last one what I had done," Westfeldt says with a laugh. "I made three films in 10 years that form a weird trilogy of subversive rom coms about the stages of life I was experiencing: dating, marriage and divorce, and having kids. I was observing what was happening around me with all the friends in my life and trying to find an artistic response to those life stages." "Friends With Kids" premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival, where it proved a hot ticket thanks to its ensemble cast, which includes Kristen Wiig, Megan Fox, andnot leastWestfeldt's longtime love, Jon Hamm. Though the film quickly sold to Roadside Attractions and will hit theaters March 9, Westfeldt says the September premiere at the 1,200-plus-seat Ryerson Theatre was a nerve-wracking experience. "We'd never screened the film for more than 30 or 40 people at a time, and I had absolutely no idea how it would go over," she says. "I spent most of the time huddled with Jon in the back, my head buried into his shoulder. It's a very vulnerable thing." "Friends With Kids" (Roadside Attractions)The response to "Friends With Kids" has been positive, with Scott earning raves for his leading-man performance and Westfeldt being praised as a filmmaker to be reckoned with. While the film starts out as a fairly conventional romantic comedy, it takes a dramatic turn midway through and poses some big questions about the nature of love and commitment. But to focus on such depth in what is generally considered a breezy genre is to overlook just how funny the movie is. Westfeldt seems to specialize in approaching a familiar story in new ways. "If my three films have a common thread, it's that they're all asking the same question, which is 'I know it usually goes this way, but why can't we go this way?' " she notes. "With 'Jessica Stein,' it's about if you find a girl who's really great, why can't it work out? With 'Ira & Abby,' it's the idea that if half of marriages end in divorce, don't you have as good of a shot with a perfect stranger as you do with someone you've been with for years? This film is about why can't we turn the system on its ear and co-parent as dear friends and find romance elsewhere? Why can't we turn the norm on its head?"Becoming 'Jessica' By now, the Cinderella story of Westfeldt's first movie is indie film legend. After matriculating at Yale University, she attended a five-day retreat for artists in 1997 where everyone was encouraged to do something in another creative field. "So directors had to act, and actors had to write," Westfeldt says. "I'd never written before then, except for papers in college. But I wrote one little scene that was about this terrible date." At the retreat was Juergensen, who had also written a piece about men and women failing to connect. "We sort of clocked each other and said we should put up a night of bad-date sketches sometime," Westfeldt says. Later that year, Westfeldt journeyed to Los Angeles for the first time and landed both an agent and a pilot within a week. "It was a strange, lucky confluence of events," she says. The pilot, "Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place," went to series, but it was pushed to a midseason show, giving Westfeldt seven weeks off with nothing to do. She promptly called Juergensen, and the two agreed to put up their night of sketches at a small theater in NY City. One of the pieces was about two girls at a spa discussing their bad luck with men and how they should become lesbians. "Once we wrote that sketch, we felt like a narrative thread was forming, and it led to a jumping-off point for a second act where this experiment was pursued by these women," Westfeldt notes. "It became this little play we had written at the end of seven weeks called 'Lipschtick,' and we performed it three nights in the basement of a church, a little theater called The ArcLight Theatre." Their final performance was on a Saturday night. On Sunday the set was struck, and Westfeldt returned to L.A. to start her show. "On Monday my agent called and said, 'Ten studios have called to option this into a film,' " Westfeldt recalls. Though their pitch for the film that would become "Kissing Jessica Stein" sold quickly, years of development hell and turnaround ensued before the pair bought back the rights and got the film made and released in 2001. The critical and financial success of the movie changed Westfeldt's career. "To this day, it's the role people identify me with, more than anything else I've done," she says. She credits the film with leading to her Broadway debut in 2003's "Wonderful Town," for which she received a Tony nomination. "It's kind of hilarious because theater was how I had envisioned my career, and I had to do television and film to have that happen. I guess that's the nature of this business; you never know what the thing will be that helps you get the other thing." Birthing 'Kids' Westfeldt says that after "Jessica Stein," she was sent a lot of scripts with "lesbian themes and uber-neurotic characters," and she took precautions to avoid being typecast. "As actors, we're always looking at what's out there and how you can feed your creative self," she says. "And honestly, there aren't that many interesting roles for women in TV and film unless you're on the list of five girls who get to choose what you want to do." Between her films, Westfeldt worked regularly in television, perhaps most memorably in story lines on "Grey's Anatomy" and "24," and she tries to get back onstage every two years. "I'm so grateful for television, because you can't really survive doing independent films and Off-Broadway theater," she says with a laugh. "It's been nice that I've been able to bounce back and forth between these various mediums."Westfeldt knows she's not alone in being pigeonholed and cites the casting of Scott in "Friends With Kids" as an example. "Adam's been a dear friend for 14 years, and we've seen him do everything, from drama onstage to being unbelievably dramatic in 'The Vicious Kind,' " she says of the stark drama for which Scott earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination. "And when we were putting the movie together, people were watching him on 'Parks and Recreation' and saying, 'We get that he's totally charming and comedic, but does he have the dramatic chops?' I was like, 'Really? Please, don't speak to me again until you've watched "The Vicious Kind." I'm not even going to have this conversation.' It was this funny thing that he was suddenly identified as this comedic actor, and they forgot he has these dramatic chops we've seen on his HBO series ['Tell Me You Love Me'] and onstage. He can do anything. His range is tremendous, and that's what we needed for this role."Though the role wasn't written with Scott in mind, Westfeldt says he performed it at her first reading. "After that moment, it was really hard to imagine anyone else doing it," she says. The first reading occurred in February 2010, and Westfeldt says she had planned it before finishing the screenplay. "I'd given myself a deadline as a writer and invited over these great actors before the script was done," she says. "I had to pull a couple all-nighters. The script was literally printing as people were arriving. Jon was pouring wine for everyone, and I was furiously highlighting pages." Westfeldt wasn't originally going to direct the film; she had never considered the possibility. "Like the writing, it sort of happened to me," she says. "Jake Kasdan was going to direct, which I was thrilled about. But with every independent film, it's so hard to get it made, and all the elements have to come together in the same four-week chunk. You're dealing with actors' availability and the money coming together and et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. It became clear we had this one window with this cast and if we didn't take it, we weren't going to be able to make the film. The way to keep on track and on schedule was for me to step into the director's role." Kasdan stayed on as a producer, and Westfeldt cites his involvement, along with the cast and crew, for aiding her with the steep learning curve. "I was nervous about it, and the only reason it worked as well as it did was because I had an amazing group around me," she says. "So I'm incredibly grateful for the challenge, even if I wouldn't have necessarily chosen it."Perhaps the most difficult scene to shoot occurs at the aforementioned midway point in the film when the tone shifts more to drama. Four couples are vacationing in Vermont when a tense discussion erupts at the dinner table. "That scene was a real risk," Westfeldt says. "It's incredibly odd and not screenplay structure to have this 10-minute real-time scene in the middle of a romantic comedy. It's a strange and scary choice that I wasn't sure would go over. And we had to shoot it in one day, and our days were short. Everyone really had to be on their game, which everyone was. What an amazing cast; what a gift." Although Westfeldt wouldn't have initially chosen writing or directing, she is proud to list herself among the women filmmakers working today. "It's really been a year of sisters doing it for themselves," she says. "At Sundance there were, like, five movies where women were writing roles for themselves. And the success of women like Lena Dunham and Miranda July and Tina Fey and now Kristen [Wiig], among others; it's a pretty cool time to see how much has evolved in that regard." She hopes that this will breed more interesting roles that speak to women directly. "I'm happy to be part of that wave, and I'm inspired by how much of that is going on. It feels like there's a wave happening of women taking a little more control of their own creative fates."'Bridesmaids II'? In "Friends With Kids," Adam Scott and Jennifer Westfeldt play single buddies who hang out with two married couples, Leslie and Alex (Maya Rudolph and Chris O'Dowd) and Ben and Missy (Jon Hamm and Kristen Wiig.) Wait, so how did half the cast of "Bridesmaids" end up in the film? "It's a coincidence, oddly!" Westfeldt says with a laugh. "Kristen was someone we went to early, and she really responded to the script and this roleI think because it's different from what she's had a chance to do before. She was sort of informally attached before she even shot 'Bridesmaids.' And Chris O'Dowd we found in the casting process. I didn't know him, and I sat down and took this meeting and he was just the most charming person ever in the land. I had always pictured Alex as this oversize teddy bear, this wildly likable guy. And that was him." As for Hamm, Westfeldt knew he would be in her film from the start. "But Jon only shot a day and a half on 'Bridesmaids.' He didn't even know if he would be in the movie. A lot of people get cut from Judd Apatow's films because he shoots so much and there's so much ad-libbing and improv. So we didn't even know that Jon would be in the movie; we didn't even think about that. It actually all happened very organically."Outtakes She is in the midst of developing a series to star in, with Alan Ball as executive producer: "I can't really say much about it yet. But it's exciting to dive into another juicy world."Other TV work has included series-regular gigs on "Holding the Baby" and "Notes From the Underbelly."She says directing her friends wasn't a strange experience: "With this group, they're all so amazing, it's not like they're ever going to be far afield. You're really just helping them find the best version, the most nuances, the most choices for the editing room. It's not like directing them whole cloth; it's more about shaping and molding them and helping them find the nuances in the characters."

Oscars 2012: As It Happened

From the red carpet to the last award..Welcome to Empire's live coverage of the Oscar red carpet and the ceremony. We'll be commenting on the Academy Awards' best (and worst) dressed as they arrive on the red carpet - and then commenting on all the winners and losers as they're announced. Sit back, grab a brew of your favourite beverage and enjoy the night with us....

Otis the Oscar Cat Predicts the Best Picture Winner

Meet Otis the Oscar Cat, Movieline's resident feline awards prognosticator. Like the majority of Academy members, he's white, male, and owns a black tie; his tastes tend toward the traditional, although he'll bite at the occasional tasty treat. To get an inside line on Sunday's Best Picture winner, we consulted Otis for his Oscar picks -- will the Academy Award go to The Artist, starring that rascally pup Uggie? Or perhaps War Horse, by a nose? Presented with all nine Best Picture nominees -- The Artist, The Descendants, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Help, Hugo, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, Tree of Life, and War Horse -- Otis weighed each film's merits. Treats were involved, but don't we all get a bit peckish when sorting out life's big questions? As he considered the nominees with care and deliberation, Otis went back and forth between his favorites before landing firmly, and with no outside influence, on his ultimate selection. Otis is sure that his peers in the Academy went through a similar process with their vote. Otis the Oscar Cat considers the field of nominees. Hes drawn to War Horse, but "The Descendants, man. I do so adore Alexander Payne." "All the other cats loved The Help; it ruined chocolate pie for me forever." "Hugo took me back to the whimsy of my youth, although those 3-D glasses are so very cumbersome." "This is hard, isn't it, shadow?" "Ooooh, Brad Pitt!" In the end, there is no contest. Otis picks The Artist with two paws up! "Berenice, mon amour!" Bonus pick: A Cat in Paris for Best Animated Feature! And with a beatific stare into the distance and a lock on this year's kitty Oscar pool, Otis the Oscar Cat bids adieu until next year.

David Boreanaz to Guest-Star on Downton Abbey?

Daniel von Bargen Seinfeld actor Daniel von Bargen, who's most broadly noted for taking pleasure in George Costanza's boss Mr. Kruger inside the sitcom, is at critical condition carrying out a not successful suicide attempt this year's week, TMZ reviews. The 61-year-old reaches his Cincinnati apartment Monday morning because he shot themselves inside the mind after which it known for help. According to audio in the 911 tape released round the gossip site, he told the operator, "I've shot myself inside the mind which i want assistance.Inch See the relaxation of current day news The gunshot for the temple wasn't any kind of accident. Von Bargen, who's a diabetic, recently learned some not so great. "I used to be designed to go to a health care facility which i didn't desire to. Therefore I shot myself... They were made to amputate no less than a few toes." Von Bargen was gone to live in some nearby hospital. The veteran actor also recurred as Commandant Edwin Spangler on Malcolm within the center. Round the silver screen, he's came out in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Faculty and Super Military.

REVIEW: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance Just Another Flaming Pile of Cage-y Nonsense

When you're not going to win on points, you may as well try to shoot the moon - that seems to be the thought process behind Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, the sequel to Marvel's 2007Ghost Rider. Realizing that their stunt rider who turns into a flaming skeleton-monster character and their star who turns in what are less performances than performance art were unlikely to result in a film that could be thought of as good in any traditional sense, the studios have aimed instead to make something that embraces its own lunacy. To oversee this endeavor, they brought in Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the directing duo behind the Red Bulled-out, always in motion Crank films, who ignore a good portion of what happened in the first Ghost Rider, plant their tongues firmly in cheek and loose Nicolas Cage to do his strangest. It's not as wild or as fun as it may sound (or that it needs to be to hit the midnight-movie sweet spot for which it aims), but it's a minor improvement on the unintentional silliness of the initial installment. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance moves the action to Eastern Europe, where sinister forces are trying to capture 13-year-old Danny (Fergus Riordan) for use in the fulfillment of a doomy prophecy. The kid and his mother Nadya (The American's Violante Placido)have been in hiding with the first of two sects of tough monks (the first is overseen by Anthony Head, the second by Christopher Lambert), until they're chased down by a group of mercenaries led by her ex, Carrigan (Johnny Whitworth) who've been hired to bring the boy to become the new vessel for Roarke (Ciarn Hinds), theliving embodiment of Satan (look, I don't make this stuff up). An alcoholic French priest (Idris Elba) recruits Johnny Blaze (Cage) to help save the pair using his Ghost Riderly powers with the promise of curing him of the curse, though Blaze fears he won't be able to control the demon that possesses him enough to not also devour the people he's trying to save. Cage plays Blaze as a tweaker, a twitchy, shaky mess who pops skull eye whenever he struggles to control his inner monster. It's a performance that starts off as awkward but gradually builds to new arias of weird; threatening a flunky from whom he's trying to get information, he notes that the Rider is "scraping at the door! He's SCRAPING AT THE DOOR! If you don't TELL me what he needs to KNOW, I'm going to let him oooooooooout!" Cage jerks and flinches and laughs maniacally - in one of the more memorable shots, a camera affixed to the front of his motorcycle holds on him as he accelerates, cackling, through town, gaping black eye sockets warping his face and then getting tamped down. Neveldine/Taylorhave apparently gotten Cage to also play the transformed Rider this time around, an addition that comes through in the demon's odd head tilts and dancey fits. Cage is given a run for his money byElba (who uses his character's accent as one might use a swirling cape) and Hinds, who have a ham-off in their respective roles, though Cage emerges triumphant just from the sheer effort he puts into the role. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeancescores some deliberate laughs - the Rider spins inexplicably in mid-air after getting shot by a bunker buster,a character who can make things decay with his touch finds the only thing that doesn't crumble in his hands before he eats it is a Twinkie, and at long last the question of what happens when the Ghost Rider needs to pee is answers (it's "like a flamethrower") - but the smugness of the film grows wearying long before the end. Just because the people on and behind the camera are willing to acknowledge what we're watching is ridiculous crap doesn't really change the fact that, well, it is. For filmmakers as talented asNeveldine/Taylor are (and they are, as theexhilaratingfreedom of their camerawork attests), it's a letdown, evidence that all the air quotes in the world won't make your end project any better if there's nothing sincerely good thrown in there as well. Follow Alison Willmore on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.

Photo Gallery: Wager on Thrones Season 2

Joffrey Baratheon All hail King Joffrey! After we go into the second season of HBO's Wager on Thrones, which premieres on April Fools' Day, we're reminded much has changed since we first became a member of Westeros. Have a look at our winter preview for galleries, scoop, premiere calendars plus much more! Need proof? Have a look at our new gallery of images for Wager on Thrones: Season 2. Joffrey is crowned and fully into king mode. Arya is shorn and forlorn, out by hand with only Needle to keep her warm and safe. Jon Snow is... well, OK, he's still within the cold doing his Evening Watch factor. But you'll find new faces too. Harsh Balon Greyjoy is Theon's disapproving father, which we finally fulfill the late King Robert's other brother, Stannis -- but who's the lady in red-colored-colored alongside him? Speaking about intimidating ladies, there's Brienne, a hard-searching lady who we'd enjoy getting around, not against us. Who certainly would be the next new favorite character? Who's going to die while playing the sport of Thrones? Click using the gallery and share your predictions. Wager on Thrones premieres on Sunday, April 1 at 9/8c on Cinemax.