Actor Alec Baldwin attends a special screening of his film Still Alice in New York
MORE SNIPING
Add Alec Baldwin's name to the list of celebrities taking sides in the growing debate over American Sniper.
As reported in the New York Daily News, Baldwin has come out in defence of fellow actor Seth Rogen's right to criticize American Sniper, which is nominated for best picture at next month's Academy Awards.
To rewind briefly, American Sniper tells the true-life story of late Navy SEAL member Chris Kyle, played by Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper, who holds the record for most confirmed kills (160) throughout four tours of duty in Iraq.
Last weekend, Rogen raised the hackles of many people when he tweeted, "American Sniper kind of reminds me of the movie that's showing in the third act of Inglorious Basterds."
(For the record, the movie-within-a-movie in Inglorious Basterds is a Nazi propaganda film about a young German sniper mowing down hundreds of Allied soldiers.)
Rogen – who recently was at the centre of the controversy surrounding his comedy The Interview – riled thousands of Twitter users, among them former Lois & Clark star Dean Cain, reportedly a former friend of Kyle, who was killed by a fellow U.S. soldier afflicted with post-tramautic stress disorder on a shooting range in 2012.
On Wednesday, Cain issued a since-deleted tweet saying, "Seth… I like your films, but right now I wanna kick your ass. Chris is an American Hero. Period. Go to war. Then we'll talk."
Enter Baldwin, who went onto the Twitter account for his arts foundation (@ABFalecbaldwin) the same day to tweet, "Did @RealDeanCain threaten Seth Rogen? And isn't that the same kind of troubled thinking that got Chris Kyle killed?"
Shortly after, Baldwin took another shot at Cain with the tweet, "Help me out here @RealDeanCain. What branch of the service were you in? And where did you serve?"
Baldwin added, "I'm for freedom of speech. Having said that, American Sniper is a better movie than The Interview."
Canadian-born Rogen, meanwhile, backtracked from his contentious comment yesterday when he released a statement to the Associated Press saying he only compared the two movies "because they both involved plots about the most lethal of snipers."
Added Rogen : "My grandfather was a veteran. My comment about the movie was not meant to have any political implications."
IN CHARACTER
The reports are true: Will Ferrell really did hit a cheerleader in the face with a basketball this week – but it was all for a movie. On Wednesday, the comic actor showed up at a NBA game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center to film a scene for his upcoming comedy titled Daddy's Home. In the scene, Ferrell attempts to shoot a half-court shot but ends up hitting a cheerleader square in the face with the ball. The scene for the movie, which is slated for release later this year, concluded with Ferrell's character being ejected from the premises.
Source: Us Weekly
AN ACTOR'S LIFE
Bradley Cooper may be a best actor nominee at next month's Oscars, but he's not above riding the subway. The American Sniper star admitted in a recent interview that he regularly takes the New York subway system while travelling around the city. "I don't ever see myself as a movie star," said the 40-year-old actor. "I feel like I'm able to live a very normal life." Cooper is currently starring in the Broadway production of The Elephant Man, in which he plays main character John Merrick, and will resume the role when the play moves to London's Theatre Royal Haymarket in May. "This isn't about making money. It's not a money gig. I'm bringing him home, to London," said Cooper.
Source: CTV News