stop-loss

Conservative Film Scholar Concerned That Iraq-Based Films Are ‘Relentless Downers’, Would Prefer More Iraqi Ass-Kicking

3:00AM Defamer Hollywood | Our condolences go out this morning to Paramount, whose sulky, twangy, denim-and-rippling-flesh marketing push for Stop-Loss couldn’t trick weekend moviegoers into checking out yet another Iraq War message movie. At Defamer HQ, the search for answers behind the disappointing $4.5 million gross — too many muscle shirts? Ryan Phillippe/Abbie Cornish babymaking rumors peaked too soon? — extended to the conservative journal Men’s News Daily, where crack industry analyst Greg Strange’s devastating Monday-morning hindsight is sharper than ever: More »

Breaking: Ryan Phillippe and Abbie Cornish are Expecting (To Put Lawyers on Fox Gossip’s Doorstep)!

2:26AM Defamer Hollywood | Resident Fox gossipmonger Roger Friedman outdid himself this morning with the “news” that romantically linked Stop-Loss co-stars Ryan Phillippe and Abbie Cornish are “apparently having a child.” You wouldn’t know it now, of course, with Friedman’s allegation deleted from his copy without any note or citation from his editors at Fox News. Thank goodness for the quick-thinking eagle-eyes at The Huffington Post, who nabbed a screengrab of the offending passage you can spy after the jump. More »

Are Ryan Phillippe’s Abs Enough To Convince Audiences To See An Iraq-Themed Movie?

9:40AM Molly Friedman | Judging from the TV ads and posters for Stop-Loss, the film looks as if it would be just another teen flick where pretty boys with pretty faces chase some equally pretty girls with equally pretty faces. However, director Kimberly Peirce’s first film since Boys Don’t Cry is actually a big, serious movie about the plight of soldiers fighting in Iraq. But before you go and tune out the film solely on the basis of it being another one of those dirge-like films, it’s worth noting that THR is predicting that this may be the very first movie centered around the War in Iraq that actually breaks through with both critics and audiences: “The recent boxoffice fate of Iraq movies has prompted Paramount to take a notably careful approach that downplays the war. The movie is being sold as an MTV Films picture with an attractive young cast (Ryan Phillippe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt) that will lure people to theatres for other reasons.” More »