Philip Seymour Hoffman Denies Penquin Rumor

MTV is reporting that Philip Seymour Hoffman has denied the rumor spread by Michael Caine, that Hoffman would play the Penquin in the next Batman movie:

Yesterday, we reported that “Dark Knight” castmember Michael Caine claimed that as far as he knew, the villains for the next “Batman” film had been cast with Johnny Depp landing the role of The Riddler, and Philip Seymour Hoffman playing The Penguin. Today at the Toronto Film Festival, we went right to the source and asked Hoffman directly if he indeed had been cast as The Penguin.

“No one has talked to me about it ever — never,” replied Hoffman. “It happened, like, five years ago, too. It was a rumor back then and it’s still a rumor. [laughs] It’s just in the press. It’s funny.”

To further cement this issue, Hoffman added that he’d never met Nolan (”Maybe I did or met him in passing?”), and that his interest in comic book movies is purely on a fan level, and he intended to keep it that way.

“I’m such a fan of those movies,” related Hoffman. “Comic book movies in general I look forward to — I am a real cheerleader for them. I want them to do well because those are terrific stories. As a kid I was a big comic book collector. What [Nolan]’s doing is taking it in a whole other exciting great place. I’m more a fan, so the interest of being in it isn’t that great. It’s more the interest in wanting to see the next one. It’s probably better that way.”

When further pressed for his level of interest if Warner Bros. approached him about the role, Hoffman said, “I don’t know. I think I’m more interested in seeing someone else do it. I don’t know if I’d be a good Penguin to be quite honest. [laughs]”

The best way to insure a blockbuster movie, is to surprise the audience with great and unexpected casting. I’m not sure I believe Hoffman. He’s perfect for the Penguin role.

Michael Caine Confirms Depp and Hoffman in Next Batman

Michael Caine says Johnny Depp will be The Riddler, and Philip Seymour Hoffman will be The Penguin, in the next Batman blockbuster movie:

"I was with a Warner Bros. executive and I said, ‘Are we going to make another one?’ They said yeah. I said, ‘How the hell are we going to top Heath? And he says ‘I’ll tell you how you top Heath — Johnny Depp as The Riddler and Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Penguin.’ I said, ‘S–t, they’ve done it again!’”

If only Heath Ledger were still alive to make this a threesome.

Cruise Crash Causes Paramount Panic

Tom Cruise The real “failure to launch” of “Mission: Impossible III” at the box office has caused an immediate problem at Paramount Pictures. Sources tell me that a catered lunch at the studio, planned ahead on Friday as a celebration, turned into a morbid affair. “Brad Grey and Rob Moore came to it, but no one spoke and eventually everyone left.” Apparently, reality set in faster in the Paramount executive suite than it did even among Cruise naysayers. For one thing, weekend numbers - announced as estimates on Sunday - turned out to be slightly lower on Monday by almost a million bucks. The movie’s real take was $47.7 million, not $48.6 million. “You have to understand,” says a source, “they sit around and try to decide what sounds better on Sunday. The $48 million sounded closer to 50. The 47 sounds more like 45.” You’ve got to feel for these people, though. Since Monday morning, every department at Paramount has been called on for immediate cost cutting, I’m told. “Budget meetings are going on everywhere,” says a source. “Everyone’s being asked what they can do, and there’s talk of layoffs again.” Why the sudden concern? On Monday night, “M: I3″ may have become a self-fulfilling prophesy. It made $3.5 million, off 72 percent from Sunday. That number must have had the Paramount prognosticators running around like earthquake experts. You see, blockbusters generally do not drop so much from their first Sunday to Monday. Some examples: “Spider-Man 2″ had a 57 percent drop, and “Batman Begins” had a 26 percent drop. “War of the Worlds,” Tom Cruise’s last film, had only a 38 percent dip on its first Monday, but that was July 4 and a holiday. The following Monday it hung in there at 61 percent. “They must be freaking out,” says a source. Indeed, the number-crunchers are going to be watching “M: I3″ every day, maybe every hour this week to see where it’s going. Some astute TV viewers are already reporting seeing a new commercial that emphasizes Philip Seymour Hoffman as the villain Owen Davian. If the numbers keep bottoming out as we head toward Friday, then Warner Bros. will be relieved. “Poseidon” might have a strong opening despite being awful. And that’s the irony here: “M: I3″ is a terrific action film. Director J.J. Abrams did a great job, and the entire cast from Cruise right through to the team and various supporting players do a convincing job. Cruise has several fantastic stunts that will take your breath away. It would be a shame if everyone waited to watch it at home on small screens.  Technorati Tags: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tom Cruise

Mission Impossible 3 Pictures (30)

A total of 30 new Mission Impossible 3 images have surfaced with pictures of director JJ Abrams and the entire leading cast including Tom Cruise (Ethan Hunt), Ving Rhames (Luther Stickell), and newcomers Simon Pegg (Benji Dunn), Keri Russell, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Michelle Monaghan, Billy Crudup, and Laurence Fishburne.

There’s also a handful of scenic shots including the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Pudong (Shanghai, China). Mission Impossible 3 hits theaters nationwide on Friday, May 5, and is sure to be box office gold, no wait platinum.

Lots more pictures in the gallery…

Technorati Tags: Mission Impossible, Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Maggie Q, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers

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Mission Impossible III Premiere in Rome

The cast of Mission Impossible III (left to right), Maggie Q, Laurence Fishburne, Michelle Monaghan, director JJ Abrams, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Phillip Seymor Hoffman, posed in Rome, Italy for a group photo in front of the ancient Coliseum during the world premiere of MI-3 this morning at the Palazzo Colonna. They all attended a photo call and press conference later on in the day. Tom Cruise missed this group photo, but was at the press conference. I don’t recognize the person on the end. Perhaps someone could leave a comment if they know this person’s name.

Lots more pictures in the gallery.

Technorati Tags: Mission Impossible, Movies, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Keri Russell, Laurence Fishburne, Maggie Q, Michelle Monaghan, Philip Seymour Hoffman

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