Movies: 'The Paperboy'

Zac Efron wants some of Nicole Kidman's telepathic sex in "The Paperboy"

BY NATHANIEL ROGERS

YOUR FEATURE PRESENTATION

I can't recall how THE PAPERBOY begins exactly though I saw it just a few days ago. Was it a shot of Zac Efron's body gliding through a pool, losing its hard fixed shape through the watery prism. Was it a grisly black and white flashback of a murder? Was it Macy Gray smoking, staring dully just off center of the camera. It doesn't matter though my confusion is telling. Lee Daniel's third movie is a mad undisciplined mix of just these things: eroticized bodies, physical violence and character beats. If the film never settles down, eventually you settle into it. 

Macy Gray helps. Her voice is so evocative she doesn't even need to be singing to send you. Director Lee Daniels, wise to the specific gifts of his actresses (the proof is all over Precious), knows this. If he isn't always sure which movie he's delivering (a cold case murder investigation, a death wish character study in multiples, a messy civil rights period drama) he knows how to package it. He acclimates you to The Paperboy's time and place (swampy sixties summer in the south) and agitated horniness via husky Anita (Macy Gray), all wigs and cigarettes and "how much am I getting paid for this?" twitchiness. It doesn't take Anita long before she loses her wariness, lost in the sensationalistic details of the story she's telling. 

Which is not so much her story...

Continued, AFTER THE JUMP...

Movies: "Magic Mike"... More Than We Dreamed He Could Be

"You are the husband they never had. You are that dreamboat guy that never came along."

BY NATHANIEL ROGERS

YOUR FEATURE PRESENTATION

An exhilarating all night double date is winding down on a bridge in Tampa, just before the sun rises. MAGIC MIKE (Channing Tatum) stands up on the railing, looks over his shoulder and dives gracefully backwards into the water to the mild delight of the anonymous girls. His new protégé "The Kid" (Alex Pettyfer), already eager to follow in his new buddy's footsteps (and body rolls), jumps in awkwardly after him.

"Hey Mike, I think we should be best friends!" 

The Kid blurts the invitation out with both of them bobbing in the water. He's like a little boy who's just discovered a whole new playground. It's a perfectly crush-worthy unguarded moment -- the kind that makes you give yourself over completely to a movie. My heart is yours, movie. Treat me right. 

This gem of a scene is also, as it turns out, the exclamation point to a perfectly formed Act One, "June". The movie takes place over the course of one life-changing summer for Mike and The Kid: June, July, and August. You go to Magic Mike to see seven spectacularly formed male bodies but the movie turns out to be all sculpted, too: June is introductions, flirtations and promise, by July you're deep in love/lust and too hot for clothing, and in August... Well, you know how sticky August gets.

MORE, AFTER THE JUMP...

Alex Pettyfer is Taken Under Channing Tatum's Stripper Wings in New 'Magic Mike' Trailer: VIDEO

A new trailer just dropped for Magic Mike which focuses on the relationship between Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey as they school Alex Pettyfer in the ways of male stripping.

Check it out, AFTER THE JUMP...

The movie's actors had a fleshy spread in Entertainment Weekly this week as well.

'Magic Mike' Stars Coming Out For PR Blitz

Magic Mike, the Steven Soderbergh-directed flick about male strippers, comes out in a little over a month and Entertainment Weekly is celebrating with a very special cover.

On the front there's star Channing Tatum, himself a former stripper, and behind two flaps you'll find the rest of the cast: Matthew McConaughey, Joe Manganiello and openly gay Matt Bomer.

I've included the special GIF and some screenshots from behind-the-scenes AFTER THE JUMP…

Meanwhile, McConaughey is doing his PR part with an interview with The Advocate in which he speaks about first realizing he had a large gay audience. 

At what point did you become aware of your gay audience?

I know exactly when. It was about 1995, I go into a coffee shop on Santa Monica Boulevard, and the guy behind the counter has a picture of me from Boys on the Side taped to the tip jar. Is that not classic? I gave that guy a big tip.

What does that support mean to you?

It’s much appreciated. You know, I have some good friends of my own who happen to be gay, and when it comes to gay, straight, or whatever, I’m for anything life-affirmative. I’m for gay power, straight power, male power, female power; everybody should feel empowered without oppressing anyone who’s different. You know those World Cup banners about tolerance? I always thought that was one short. No, don’t just tolerate me. Understand and accept me.

Check out the special Entertainment Weekly cover in action AFTER THE JUMP.

Joe Manganiello, Alex Pettyfer, Matthew McConaughey, and Channing Tatum Strip in 'Magic Mike': FIRST LOOK

Here's the first official still from Magic Mike, the Steven Soderbergh-directed flick about Channing Tatum's former life as a stripper starring Tatum, Joe Manganiello, Alex Pettyfer, and Matthew McConaughey, among others.

The official synopsis goes: "Set in the world of male strippers, “Magic Mike” is directed by Steven Soderbergh and stars Channing Tatum (“Dear John,” “Step Up”) in a story inspired by his real life. The film follows Mike (Tatum) as he takes a young dancer called The Kid (Pettyfer) under his wing and schools him in the fine arts of partying, picking up women, and making easy money."

It's got a June 29, 2012 release date.

Close ups, AFTER THE JUMP...

Said Manganiello in October about his character: "Big Dick Richie? That's the reason to do it. There's definitely a scene that will answer those questions. Everybody kinda does their own thing...Big sexy Kevin Nash has his Tarzan thing, I've got my fireman thing, Matt Bomer's got a doctor thing going on, Adam Rodriguez does a Latino lover bit."

Matt Bomer doesn't make this shot, but he's been talking about it as well:

"There's something about throwing a thong on in front of other peope that just instantly forms an ensemble...I had never worn a thong before. So, the first time I tried it I put it on wrong and my junk didn't fit in it. I had to call a wardrobe person in and go, something's wrong with my thong you guys. I think we're going to have to figure this out' and they go 'yeah, your legs are in the wrong holes.'"

Close ups, AFTER THE JUMP...

News: Iran, John Barrowman, Mexico City, Scott Roeder, Brazil

Mexico City mayor Marcelo Ebrard promises to defend city's marriage equality law.

Bruce Weber gets twincestuous.

Matthew McConaughey dresses up for the beach.

Hillary Clinton does not see herself serving a second term with Obama.

Forthcoming gay social networking site Fabulis announces $625K in initial round of financing: “Is it too cute to say that this is ‘fabulis news?’ So be it. This is fabulis news! We’re one step closer towards fulfilling our long term vision of being the lifestyle brand that gay men around the world rely on to help them celebrate life.”

Corporation announces run for Congress.

First gay school in Brazil to teach course in drag.

The Afghan struggle with sexual identity: "The study, obtained by Fox News, found that Pashtun men commonly have sex with other men, admire other men physically, have sexual relationships with boys and shun women both socially and sexually -- yet they completely reject the label of 'homosexual.' The research was conducted as part of a longstanding effort to better understand Afghan culture and improve Western interaction with the local people."

Sex and the City 3 rushed into production because everybody's getting old.

The celebrity weeklies never fail to miss a note (so to speak).

John Barrowman cast in Desperate Housewives: "Creator Marc Cherry is keeping the plotlines involving Barrowman secret. However, The Daily Mail can reveal that he will be the show's main villain in the last section of the current season, series six."

Tulsa school board votes to keep gay book on shelves: "book that was challenged as inappropriate by the parents of a Union Public Schools elementary school student will remain on library shelves, the district's Board of Education ruled Wednesday night. The board voted 3-1 to keep the book, 'Buster's Sugartime,' which the parents said was inappropriate because it alluded to a same-sex relationship."

Meghan McCain: Dad "coming along" on marriage equality.

Provincetown man found guilty of beating gay tourist: "Aaron Caldwell-Rose, 18, of Provincetown, was found guilty in Orleans District Court last week in connection with an attack on Mark Perry, 51, of Miami. According to the police report, Perry was attacked around 1 a.m. on July 25 in the alley next to Marine Specialties after he left the Atlantic House bar. He suffered lacerations to his face, hand, arm and shoulder. He was transported to Cape Cod Hospital by rescue personnel where he was treated and released."

Scott Roeder convicted of murder in death of abortion doctor George Tiller: "The jury deliberated for just 37 minutes before finding Scott Roeder, 51, of Kansas City, Mo., guilty of premeditated, first-degree murder in the May 31 shooting death. He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years when he is sentenced March 9."

Sean Faris joins the vampire crowd.

17-year-old charged with first degree murder in D.C. shooting of Maryland gay man.

Human rights advocacy groups in five countries launch campaign to pressure Iran over gay executions: "The five participating groups in the '346 No Executions' campaign, including the Iranian Homosexual Human Rights Council, are based in the United States, Canada, Britain, Italy and Germany. The campaign’s name refers to the number of executions carried out in Iran in 2008, according to the latest Amnesty International report. The campaign is asking citizens in each member nation to submit letters of petition to their foreign ministries requesting that diplomatic pressure be applied to the government of Iran to abolish the death penalty."