'The Muppets' Cast Does the Manha Mahna Song (VIDEO)

From AOL TV: It's safe to say we're pretty flipping excited for 'The Muppets' movie. Not only does the new film star Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy, but some of our favorite TV stars like Rashida Jones and Neil Patrick Harris round out the cast. And just like us, they're not immune to the Mahna Mahna song. In the video below, Jones, Harris, Ken Jeong and more of our favorite scene-stealers join the Mahna Mahna phenomenon. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the video is promoting MuppetsMahnaMahna.com, a site where fans can upload clips of themselves singing the classic song. Family Film Guide: Holiday Movies 2011 'Jack and Jill''The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1''Happy Feet Two''Arthur Christmas''Hugo''The Muppets''Alvin and the Chimpunks: Chipwrecked''The Adventures of Tintin''War Horse' See All Moviefone Galleries » Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-486274{display:none;}.cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-486274, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-486274{width:475px;height:357px;display:block;}

Jeremy Renner Reveals Key 'Bourne Legacy' Particulars

This is often a large year approaching for Jeremy Renner. He's a substantial role inside the approaching "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol," is probably the titular superheroes in "The Avengers" which is beginning a completely new branch in the Jason Bourne franchise. The second reason is possibly his finest project afterwards, as well as the one everyone knows least about. Fortunately, he dished some pretty large particulars in the recent interview. When marketing "Ghost Protocol" with Empire magazine, Renner shared that his character in "The Bourne Legacy" will probably be named Aaron Mix, no less than to start. "He eventually eventually ends up getting lot of different names. For fans in the franchise, [The Bourne Legacy] has that same ticking clock, but it's a completely new programme and new figures," he mentioned. "It's that same deal, it's just a completely new number of agents getting another leash. See the relaxation of current day casting news following a jump! Chris Evans Becomes "The Iceman" We understood there's no chance James Franco could possible recognition all the projects he'd adopted formerly year. Deadline is verifying that Chris Evans will probably be altering Franco inside the approaching thriller "The Iceman." Good Anthony Bruno book, the film follows Richard Kuklinski just like a contract killer for your mob. Michael Shannon is presently attracted onto experience Kuklinski. Amber Heard Heads To "Motor City" Deadline finds that Amber Heard remains selected to star inside the approaching action film "Motor City." She'll play opposite Dominic Cooper inside the revenge flick, that's directed by Albert Hughes. Cooper plays a man released from prison who eventually eventually ends up fat loss revenge pursuit to come back at individuals who presented him. Ewan McGregor Heads To Cinemax Jonathan Franzen's best-seller "The Corrections" continues to be changed into an Cinemax drama, which is getting a thrilling-star cast. The Hollywood Reporter states that Ewan McGregor will sign up for a cast including Dianne Wiest and Chris Cooper. Noah Baumbach and Scott Rudin did the variation. McGregor may have Nick, the middle boy of Cooper and Wiest's figures, since the family reunites for starters last Christmas. Reveal your opinions on current day Casting Make contact with should be genuine section below or on Twitter!

Showtime Hires Stephen Espinoza As New Sports Boss

Stephen Espinoza, most recently a partner at entertainment law firm Ziffren Brittenham, has been tapped as EVP and General Manager of Showtime Sports and Event Programming, the network announced today. He will be responsible for the day-to-day activities of the group and its pay-per-view unit; managing relationships with distributors, talent and suppliers; and the acquisition and licensing of programming. The move is the final one in a game of musical chairs that began when longtime HBO Sports chief Ross Greenburg left after 33 years at the premium channel. He was replaced last month by Showtime’s sports head, Ken Hershman, leaving the vacancy at Showtime that Espinoza has now filled. (Greenburg landed last week at a producer at NBC Sports Group.) While at Ziffren Brittenham, Espinoza repped numerous A-list film and TV clients, He also handled boxers Mike Tyson and Oscar De La Hoya and was lead counsel for De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, which makes him a perfect fit for Showtime’s boxing-heavy sports programming that also includes Strikeforce mixed martial arts and Inside The NFL. He also repped Gina Carano, the MMA standout that is now starring in Steven Soderbergh’s fight drama Haywire.

Kate Winslet Wax Figure: Madame Tussauds Unveils Best Statue Ever? (PHOTO)

Wax figures don't always look like their celebrity doppelgangers (just check out this post on Buzz Feed for examples; Julia Roberts -- yikes!), which is why you should give it up to Madame Tussauds for its take on actress Kate Winslet. Earlier this week, the 'Carnage' star's wax figure was unveiled in London, and its resemblance to the actual Oscar winner is eerie. Just check out the side-by-side comparison below. Weird, right? As you can see, the figure is wearing a dress similar to the one Winslet wore during the 2011 Emmy Awards. You can see Winslet (the one that's actually human, that is) in her next film, 'Carnage,' out Dec. 16. [via People] [Photos: Getty and WireImage] Patrick Swayze Wax Statue Unveiling See All Moviefone Galleries » Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook

Hammond: AFI Closes The Long Fall Fest Oscar Circuit Whos On Top, Who Flopped?

Withlast night’s conclusion of the annual AFI Fest in Hollywood the curtain finally fell on the 2011 Fall Film Festivals. So the question remains, has an Oscar frontrunner emerged after two months on this circuit? AFI used to be held in the spring but smartly repositioned itself to November several years ago. The significant side benefit of that is the Fest has a shot at having an impact on awards season, not to mention AFI gets the pick of the litter in terms of prolific contenders. That strategy has worked again this year, at least in terms of the world premiere opening film, Clint EastwoodsJ. Edgar and even for the closing night selection, Steven Spielbergs CGI animation contender,The Adventures of Tintin which also made its North American premiere last nightat AFI. Neither of these directors is necessarily known for putting his films widely on the fest circuit but you cant deny that hitting the fests can be a good strategy. The last four Best Picture winners -No Country For Old Men, Slumdog Millionaire, The Hurt Locker, The King’s Speech were all major festival players, finding their footing on the circuit and then sailing smoothly into Oscars heart. This year, likely best pic possibilities that began at one fest or another include The Artist, Moneyball, The Descendants, The Ides of March, Midnight In Paris and now, J. Edgar. But there is an even larger number than usual of those skipping the circuit and trying other strategies to get the Academys attention. That list includes The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, War Horse, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Young Adult, The Help, The Iron Lady andInThe Land of Blood and Honey. Stuck somewhere in the middle is Martin Scorseses Hugo, which tried to catch the fest wave at the NY Film Festival by showcasing a work in progress. The ultimate results of the gambit were mixed opinions toward the film, at least in that form. Then, when the film was completed, Paramount skipped the opportunity to show it at AFI and decided to go another direction (at the same time the Fest was going on across town) by unveiling it almost simultaneously to L.A.-based critics, bloggers and members of the Academy. Reaction was upbeat and the film, which opens Nov. 23rd, is now being talked about as a Best Picture contender, something that didnt happen after its in progress NY screening. For AFI, despite its opener and closer, the rest of the lineup was mostly dj vu from what bleary-eyed festival goers have been seeing over the course of the last two months, much of it even imported from last Mays Cannes Film Festival which produced its own sizeable number of contenders, most notably Midnight In Paris, The Tree of Life, The Skin I Live In andcountless other foreign language titles. Whether any of AFIs non-premiere titles actually have an impact on awards season is a question mark but it did give them a high profile opportunity in the town where most voters live. The Festival itself, though, tries to rival Toronto and Cannes in some waysfor the biggest and most consistent number of red carpet galas. Those galas consist of movies that seemingly havent met a film festival they didnt like including the Weinstein CompanysThe Artist (which hit fests big and small since Cannes, winning several audience awards along the way), Oscilloscopes We Need To Talk About Kevin, Lars von TriersMelancholia and the current king of the circuit, Steve McQueens controversial Shame starring Michael Fassbender. If any film has benefitted from a dedicated fest strategy this season it may be that one. Starting in Venice in early September, it took those critics by storm and won a Best Actor prize for Fassbender, causing a sensation that made it a must-see by the time it hit Telluride and Toronto a few days later. Thats where Fox Searchlight took serious notice and picked up the film despite the certainty of an NC-17 rating. Or maybe because of it. Controversy rarely hurt and Shame, due to its graphic nudity and sexual nature, has brilliantly ridden the wave. It is anybodys guess though how this will play outside the cocoon of the festival trail when it finally opens in early December. This can be said about a lot of this years films hoping to translate their festival successes into boxoffice and Oscar gold. There is no question that Michel Hazanavicius charmer, The Artist, has been a smash at every fest it has played, but outside of this rarefied world will Harvey Weinstein be able to convince regular moviegoers who arent caught up in the intoxicating festival atmosphere to go see it at the multiplex? Its a black and white silent movie. Festgoers are used to the types of films that inspired it; regular Joes not so much.Certainly everyone realizes the value of fests for launching movies but what plays on the Croisette, the canals of Venice, the dusty streets of Telluride or the cosmopolitan cities of Toronto, NY and Los Angeles isnt always going to ride to glory in the end. Perhaps that is why Paramount, which got stung sending Jason ReitmansUp In The Air on the circuit two years ago only to see its September glow dim by the time it was finally released in December (although it did receive major Academy Award nominations including Best Picture), has been trying to find new ways to show off some of its contenders. ReitmansYoung Adult with Charlize Theron might have seemed primed for fests. After all, Reitmans movies notablyJuno andThank You For Smoking had wildly successful fest berths before going on to even bigger commercial success. But Par purposely keptThe Fighter and even the CoensTrue Grit off that path last year and both thrived at Oscar time with Best Picture and numerous other noms, and in the case ofThe Fighter two supporting acting Academy Awards. When shock rang out in blogdom about the non-fest strategy for Young Adult, a consultant told me they were going to be doing other fun things, even if this no-fest approach was something different for Jason. For the past month Paramount has been doing pop up screenings, secret showings around the country that generate immediate twitter buzz. It seems to be the new thing this awards season. When it made a stop at the New Beverly Cinema in L.A. at the beginning of November, influential awards bloggers were invited, liked what they saw and started shouting Oscar, something Paramount has not been doing in any overt way to date. Disney and DreamWorks have been doing the same thing for Spielbergs War Horse, creating their own secret fest circuit in tiny towns mostly in the Midwest or places like Bellevue, Washington. Its certainly one way of staying in the conversation without having to do the sometimes-grueling festival route. In the case of both films, it had the desired effect of getting attendees to pass the good word, much like they do in the streets of a film fest right after a screening of some hot title. The big downside of doing fests of course is if you pick the wrong venue. Venice, as it turns out, may not have been the best place for Madonnas W.E., which has been trying to recover ever since, has been tweaked in editing and is ready to emerge again for itsOscar qualifyingrunin December and regular runs Feb 4. Similarly, Carnage, Roman Polanskis adaptation of the Tony winning play, God of Carnage, might have been better off skipping the Italian city and heading straight to NY where it more successfully played as the opener of the NYFF. The thing is, Sony Pictures Classics, which is releasing it, has had heavy rotation as usual in all the festivals and is a big believer in using them to promote its brand of movies. It was difficult to find a Fall Festival without the presence of SPCs lineup of A Dangerous Method, Footnote, Where Do We Go Now?, In Darkness, The Skin I Live In, A Separation and Carnage (although the latter did skip Telluride and Toronto). The one undeniable thing about festivals is their free publicity value. Its a way to gather so many media in one place and get a tsunami of talk going. It also helps when you have a star as ready, willing and eager as say, George Clooney, who hit Venice withThe Ides of March on the fests opening night and has been everywhere with that film. Hes also toured around withThe Descendants in which he stars; a title that is perhaps the strongest contender to come out of this years fest circuit. You cant buy that kind of coverage. But will Oscar voters be swayed or is there a better way awards strategists will continue to explore?

'Hunger Games' to be released in China

Lionsgate's franchise-starter "The Hunger Games" will be released in China next year as one of the 20 U.S. films allowed annually into that territory by the Chinese government. Lionsgate's motion picturegroup president Joe Drake made the disclosure Thursday during the minimajor's conference call to discuss quarterly earnings. Drake said that "Games" will be released in foreign markets day and date with the domestic launch on March 23. Pic, starring Jennifer Lawrence and directed by Gary Ross, is the first of four films planned based on the Suzanne Collins futuristic fantasy novels. Drake said international distribs were "absolutely ecstatic" over footage and the trailer shown during a recent meeting held by Lionsgate for licensees at the American Film Market. He said that Lionsgate's expecting "significant overages" in box-office performance outside the U.S. Lionsgate reported Wednesday that it had pared its net losses by about $5 million to $25 million last quarter on an $11 million gain from selling Maple Pictures and ramped up contributions from pay TV partnership Epix, which earned it $6 million after losing it $20 million the year before. But the studio swung to a $19 million operating loss from a $22 million profit a year ago on a string of box office disappointments, including "Conan the Barbarian," "Abduction" and "Warrior." Contact Dave McNary at dave.mcnary@variety.com

So Much For #RatnerFreeOscars! AMPAS Stands by Producer: 'It Will Not Happen Again'

I’m still waiting for anyone from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to bother replying to my request for comment about yesterday’s Brett Ratner “rehearsing is for fags” imbroglio, but AMPAS president Tom Sherak has officially weighed in on the controversy: “He knew it was wrong and he issued that response as quickly as any human being ever has. The bottom line is, this won’t and can’t happen again. It will not happen again.” So much for the #RatnerFreeOscars; it was nice to imagine while it lasted. Specifically, some of our Twitter followers’ replacement producer suggestions were fantastic: .bbpBox{background:url(http://a3.twimg.com/profile_background_images/227739115/WHO_IS_EL_KABONG_TITLE_CARD.jpg) #9AE4E8;padding:20px;}Baz Luhrmann! RT @Movieline: Anyone have alternative Oscar-producer suggestions? #RatnerFreeOscarsMon Nov 07 23:27:24 via EchofonAlonso DuraldeADuralde .bbpBox{background:url(http://a1.twimg.com/images/themes/theme6/bg.gif) #709397;padding:20px;}Uwe Boll? RT @Movieline Anyone have alternative Oscar-producer suggestions? #RatnerFreeOscarsMon Nov 07 23:24:42 via webChristopher Rosen42inchtv .bbpBox{background:url(http://a2.twimg.com/profile_background_images/254788281/night_caller_crop.jpg) #1A1B1F;padding:20px;}David Lynch. RT @Movieline: Anyone have alternative Oscar-producer suggestions? #RatnerFreeOscarsMon Nov 07 23:30:26 via Twitter for iPhoneCult & horror moviesBlackHoleMovies .bbpBox{background:url(http://a0.twimg.com/profile_background_images/124247834/x6dfd1408b859ebc6056e63ebf83d8b9.png) #E8DDCB;padding:20px;}Bela Tarr! RT @Movieline: Anyone have alternative Oscar-producer suggestions? #RatnerFreeOscarsMon Nov 07 23:54:27 via TweetDeckJenni OlsonJenniOlsonSF .bbpBox{background:url(http://a1.twimg.com/images/themes/theme9/bg.gif) #0c0e0c;padding:20px;}@Movieline Tarantino. The women who either won or presented would have to be barefoot.Tue Nov 08 01:13:54 via TweetCaster for AndroidKevin Scott ThompsonKevinScottT .bbpBox{background:url(http://a1.twimg.com/images/themes/theme5/bg.gif) #352726;padding:20px;}Tommy Wiseau. RT @Movieline: Anyone have alternative Oscar-producer suggestions? #RatnerFreeOscarsTue Nov 08 00:53:53 via Echofonjason hickeyjason_hickey .bbpBox{background:url(http://a0.twimg.com/profile_background_images/200050367/twitterbackdrop.jpg) #131516;padding:20px;}@Movieline. Michael Bay, he’s used to displeasing critics & if your speech goes long: BOOM!! Explosive podiums!Tue Nov 08 01:05:10 via webDuncan MacMasterFuriousDShow Superb work, all. Now on to damage control for the Oscarcast’s embattled host, who this week faces such charming headlines as: “Tower Heist: Is Eddie Murphy’s tank finally on empty?” It’s gonna be a long season.

Endemol buy sweet to Street

Time Warner's run at Nederlander television giant Endemol, in case your deal materializes, would be the first acquisition more than $1 billion the has seen since Disney acquired Marvel and Comcast set its pact to think about over NBCUniversal last year.Press companies have spent the ultimate three years using cash to buy back stock, getting energetic applause from Wall Street. But despite an over-all aversion to media M&A, experts and traders as being a Time Warner-Endemol play and pressed the stock greater Monday. Time Warner shares beat the bigger market, closing up 1.39% at $34.92. "While traders frequently react negatively to M&A deals by media conglomerates, we feel a potential Endemol acquisition will make proper make proper sense," mentioned David Bankof RBC Capital Areas. It could bolster Time Warner's core TV production capabilities and supply it a effective worldwide infrastructure. They can fit after a while Warner Boss Rob Bewkes' intense focus on content and readiness to buy it, something he reiterated the other day through the business's business call to talk about quarterly earnings.Within the cost spoken about, about $1.4 billion, a deal also makes financial sense, Bank while others mentioned. An investor group introduced by John p Mol and including Italy's Mediaset and Goldman Sachs paid out some $3.5 billion to obtain Telefonica's controlling stake inside the "GovernmentInch producer in 2007. An agreement is a landmark in the sector traumatized having a decade of crazy deals. Really the only hookups that have come remotely close to the coast size are actually News Corp.'s acquisition of Shine last spring for $643 million, and Scripps Systems buying Virgin's stake in UKTV for approximately $550 million. That deal closed lately.Information Corp. was forced with the phone hacking scandal that skyrocketed inside the summer season to abandon expects to find the relaxation of BSkyB for $12.5 billion. Rather, it introduced a $5 billion share buyback.Time Warner is in the heart of its own $5 billion repurchase. It acquired $3.7 billion cost of stock up to now this year.Viacom is handling a $4 billion buyback. CBS the other day introduced it's bending its planned $1.5 billion shares buyback. Buybacks shrink the quantity of shares outstanding so that it increases a company's earnings per share, which explains why traders love them. Companies frequently favor them after they think their shares are underrated, they don't understand what associated with their and they wish to make traders happy. What's secret's that Bewkes appears to own acquired Wall Street's trust not to pay an excessive amount of. A few days ago Time Warner passed down Poland's TVN. Vivendi's Canal Plus is becoming in exclusive discussions to find the tv operator. "What's significant is what didn't happen," noted one analyst. "The price got excessive.Inch Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

How Much Longer Will the Academy Tolerate Brett Ratner? [UPDATED]

It’s been a rough week for Brett Ratner, whose big, ostensibly crowd-pleasing ensemble comedy Tower Heist debuted to lukewarm box-office figures and whose promotional endeavors have found him invoking his sexual history and bedroom technique to cringe-inducing effect. Today Ratner apologized for a “joke” he made over the weekend, responding to a viewer during a Tower Heist Q&A that “rehearsal’s for fags.” Wait, what? This is the guy co-producing the forthcoming Academy Awards? [UPDATE: Now he’s a homophobe and a liar.] Of course, this is the second time in as many months that Ratner has had to issue a mea culpa for insensitively made remarks. At least back in September, when the 41-year-old filmmaker apologized for a Tower Heist joke referring to Ben Stiller’s character as “little seizure boy,” he was making amends for a line in the film that he didn’t even write. (Actor and Twitter personality Greg Grunberg, the father of an epileptic son, spoke out for a Tower Heist boycott before Ratner issued his regrets.) His gay slur, however, was evidently all Ratner: The director was answering questions from the audience after introducing the movie at the Arclight Hollywood cineplex. “The audience was stunned,” one person who was present told TheWrap. At least one person walked out, upset over the reference. […] The exchange went like this, according to a video of the event that was posted on the internet but later removed: Q: So you get this entire group of actors together — what was rehearsal like? A: Rehearsal? What’s that? Rehearsal’s for fags. Rehearsal. Not much. A lot of prep, preparation, complex action sequences, visual effects. Storyboards, animatics. The process was I made the actors stick to the script. And they wanted to, because the script was great. Are you kidding me? “Rehearsal’s for fags”? For what it’s worth, Ratner expressed his remorse this morning: “I apologize for any offense my remarks caused. It was a dumb way of expressing myself. Everyone who knows me knows that I don’t have a prejudiced bone in my body. But as a storyteller I should have been much more thoughtful about the power of language and my choice of words.” Mmm-hmm. I mean, people have only been reminding Ratner of this for his last 15 years’ worth of movies, but I digress. Let’s look at Ratner’s other storytelling techniques in recent days, specifically his means of countering Olivia Munn’s recollection of an anonymous director — widely rumored but never confirmed before last week to be Ratner — whom she alleged once confronted her while holding a jumbo shrimp and his not-so-jumbo junk: “I used to date Olivia Munn, I’ll be honest with everyone here. But when she was ‘Lisa.’ She wasn’t Asian back then. She was hanging out on my set of After the Sunset, I banged her a few times, but I forgot her. Because she changed her name. I didn’t know it was the same person, and so when she auditioned for me for a TV show, I forgot her, she got pissed off, and so she made up all these stories about me eating shrimp and masturbating in my trailer. And she talked about my shortcomings.” It’s like the guy’s never heard of the high road — or at least backchannels, where so much of Hollywood’s revenge is exacted, especially by those with such eminent positions as co-producer of the freaking Academy Awards. Then came today’s Howard Stern show, that font of class and taste where Ratner apparently carried on about… ugh: .bbpBox{background:url(http://a3.twimg.com/profile_background_images/9239637/HighPitchTwit.jpg) #000000;padding:20px;}Director @brettratner says he’s a master at oral sex. He knows he’s good at it because he makes girls cryMon Nov 07 11:45:43 via TweetDeckStern Showsternshow Fine — it’s Howard Stern, and Tower Heist is reeling. Love him or hate him, Ratner is an expert, tireless self-promoter in ways from which many up-and-coming filmmakers could learn. [UPDATE 11/7 6:38 p.m. ET: Except that, as a reader points out, Ratner copped today to lying about his Munn story as well — which he also apologized for. What in the world is going on here?] Of course, most up-and-coming filmmakers aren’t co-producing the Academy Awards, and most of them haven’t just made a modestly received blockbuster hopeful with the guy hosting the Oscars — a guy who himself stirred discomfort at AMPAS HQ a few weeks back by publicly anticipating being the worst Oscarcast host ever. The difference between Ratner and Eddie Murphy, of course, is that Murphy’s a comedian. To the extent he cares about hosting the Oscars at all (which is an open question at this point), he can claim his comments are tongue in cheek. Meanwhile, Ratner’s spirited enthusiasm for his projects — from his early shorts and videos to his publishing efforts to the Oscars and beyond — doesn’t square up with his utter boorishness and lack of sophistication in the public realm. Insensitive as his “fags” comment was, it follows a disturbing recent pattern and demonstrates a bracing disregard for the Academy and co-producer Don Mischer. After all, this is the same institution that came under fire last year for a censored kiss between presenters Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem — and that was with openly gay Oscar-winner Bruce Cohen co-producing with Mischer. Now AMPAS has the guy who’s pledging to make the Oscars cool with the kids following up his four-quadrant stinker with homophobic jock humor. Is an apology really enough? Will the Academy’s Board of Governors stand for this? Will prospective awards presenters — gays and straights alike — look past the artless, guileless man behind the curtain? Moreover, does Brett Ratner have enough of a grip on reality to get through the next three and a half months of Oscar posturing and politics in a media sphere that’s dying to see him flame out? Even former Oscar co-host Alec Baldwin, himself turning increasingly to the tastemaking side of the business, couldn’t refrain recently from mocking Ratner in public — to Tower Heist co-star Matthew Broderick, no less, whose defense was little match for Baldwin’s thinly veiled contempt. There’s still time for the Academy to make a change; AMPAS representatives did not respond to Movieline’s request for comment on if or how that change might take place — or who might make it first, Ratner or Academy president Tom Sherak. But ultimately there are no shortcuts to that high road, and you can only hitch a ride so long. Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter. [Photo: Getty Images]

U.S. Arts Schools are Opening Programs and Campuses Abroad

America might have Hollywood, but the United States is only the third-most-prolific nation for feature film production. Hollywood movies still dominate cinemas worldwide, however, and with American conservatory-style training programs expanding abroad, the international influence of Western films continues to increase."There is no denying that we have some very quality work coming from Hollywood," says Swati Mittal, an Indian filmmaker and graduate of the NY Film Academy's first workshop in Mumbai, India, which took place in May. "Our country has its own approach to filmmaking, but there is this generation who is not very satisfied with what Bollywood has to offer. There's a whole new genre of actors, directors, and writers which are slowly coming up, and many of them are people who have studied somewhere else and come back."But it would save these students a trip if they could study American-style moviemaking in their native countries. This month, NYFA will launch its second Mumbai workshop, a four-week program that brings hands-on training to aspiring Indian filmmakers and performers."Mumbai is really the center of film in India," says NYFA senior director David Klein. "We were contacted by so many people in the Indian film market that wanted to get instruction in filmmaking from an American institution."While NYFA's first Mumbai workshop focused on directing, the second will include actor training. As part of the directing program, students are required to act in each other's projects, a skill that Mittal believes greatly enriches her knowledge of filmmaking."Acting and directing both proved to be a tremendous learning process," she says, adding that in India the two are taught separately. "To be a good director, it is very important to know every aspect of filmmaking."Elements of Bollywood, such as extravagant musical numbers, remain essential in training Indian performers, however, so for its acting workshop, NYFA has added a song-and-dance element, something not present in its U.S. coursework."It's important for people that want to go into performance that they have some song-and-dance experience," says Klein. "That is what they do in Bollywood, and they want to be able to have that experience in addition to the American style of storytelling."Bollywood and Nollywood With more than 1,000 feature-length films produced each year, India leads the world in feature film releases. But training opportunities in the country are limited, Mittal says. Many aspects of NYFA's program were attractive to her, such as the small class size (unlike Indian schools, where she had 80 students in a class) and the practical approach."The teachers get the students involved in the actual art of filmmaking," Mittal says. A few years ago, she took a course at the Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute, one of the premier programs in India. "You would not believe it," she says. "I had a long, detailed class on how to work a camera, but we never touched a camera."NYFA has year-round campuses in NY, Los Angeles, Abu Dhabi, and, its most recent addition, Australia. It also holds workshops in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Although 45 percent of the students at the NY and L.A. locations are from abroad, many students want to study in and make films about their home countries."They want their films to be more global," says Klein, noting that the school hopes to add a permanent campus in India. "They felt like they were getting a handle on how to make films that were going to appeal to a larger audience."Nigerian filmmaker Chika Anadu attended NYFA's first workshop in Nigeria because she wanted to change the way movies are made in her country. Nigeria has the world's second-most-prolific film industry, affectionately known as Nollywood. Production costs are much lower in Nigeria, and, with fewer cinemas, many movies go straight to video. This model is changing, however, and Anadu believes that acting and filmmaking courses will raise the cinematic value of her country's films."When I was growing up, cinemas had all disappeared, but in the last six years they came back," she says. "If you go to a Nigerian cinema, half of the films are Nigerian films. A lot of people are trying to do better things, people like NYFA and other people organizing film workshops like that."In 2010, Anadu won $10,000 from Focus Features' Africa First Program, which annually gives money to five African filmmakers to make short films. She was also part of the Cannes Film Festival's Cinfondation Residence, where she developed her feature film "B for Baby Boy."With limited educational options for actors in Nigeria, Anadu says it's difficult to find well-trained performers. "Everyone wants to be a star," she says. And because there is no organized hiring system in the country, she plans to release a casting notice on the radio and hire a professional to train the actors she casts in her feature."When you watch Nigerian films, the acting is so awful," Anadu says. "They don't understand that acting for film and acting for stage are different things. Everything's all hands and eyes, and it's just vile."Anadu hopes that more training options will produce more experienced Nigerian actors, as she wants to make films in her native language, Igbo. "I don't feel like it's authentic when we're trying to tell our stories," she says of English-language movies. "My language is just more poetic. It's better for the actors to act."Tackling the Asian Market NYFA is not the only school taking its programs abroad. In October 2008, NY University's Tisch School of the Arts opened Tisch Asia in Singapore. The campus offers Master of Fine Arts degrees in animation, international media producing, film, and dramatic writing, and it recently opened a Center for Continuing Education, with certificate programs in musical theater and acting for stage and screen expected to begin in February 2012.Japan and China follow the U.S. in feature film production, and Timothy Tan, director of public affairs and marketing for Tisch Asia, says there is a dearth of hands-on training options in Asia. "Parents are beginning to realize careers in the arts and conservatory-style education is important," he says. "Tisch is possibly the only school of the arts in Asia that offers a conservatory-style professional training that is established by a renowned U.S. university. We equip the students with the skills to work in the profession anywhere."With Tisch Asia, Tan hopes to bring Western-inspired filmmaking to the Asian consumer. "The international market is still dominated by the Hollywood style of filmmaking, and that has proven to be very attractive to a lot of Asian countries," Tan says. "What we hope to do is introduce the Hollywood style of filmmaking and allow the students to be inspired by the untold stories of Asia." By Suzy Evans November 2, 2011 NY Film Academy students on location in India PHOTO CREDIT Nick Rivera America might have Hollywood, but the United States is only the third-most-prolific nation for feature film production. Hollywood movies still dominate cinemas worldwide, however, and with American conservatory-style training programs expanding abroad, the international influence of Western films continues to increase."There is no denying that we have some very quality work coming from Hollywood," says Swati Mittal, an Indian filmmaker and graduate of the NY Film Academy's first workshop in Mumbai, India, which took place in May. "Our country has its own approach to filmmaking, but there is this generation who is not very satisfied with what Bollywood has to offer. There's a whole new genre of actors, directors, and writers which are slowly coming up, and many of them are people who have studied somewhere else and come back."But it would save these students a trip if they could study American-style moviemaking in their native countries. This month, NYFA will launch its second Mumbai workshop, a four-week program that brings hands-on training to aspiring Indian filmmakers and performers."Mumbai is really the center of film in India," says NYFA senior director David Klein. "We were contacted by so many people in the Indian film market that wanted to get instruction in filmmaking from an American institution."While NYFA's first Mumbai workshop focused on directing, the second will include actor training. As part of the directing program, students are required to act in each other's projects, a skill that Mittal believes greatly enriches her knowledge of filmmaking."Acting and directing both proved to be a tremendous learning process," she says, adding that in India the two are taught separately. "To be a good director, it is very important to know every aspect of filmmaking."Elements of Bollywood, such as extravagant musical numbers, remain essential in training Indian performers, however, so for its acting workshop, NYFA has added a song-and-dance element, something not present in its U.S. coursework."It's important for people that want to go into performance that they have some song-and-dance experience," says Klein. "That is what they do in Bollywood, and they want to be able to have that experience in addition to the American style of storytelling."Bollywood and Nollywood With more than 1,000 feature-length films produced each year, India leads the world in feature film releases. But training opportunities in the country are limited, Mittal says. Many aspects of NYFA's program were attractive to her, such as the small class size (unlike Indian schools, where she had 80 students in a class) and the practical approach."The teachers get the students involved in the actual art of filmmaking," Mittal says. A few years ago, she took a course at the Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute, one of the premier programs in India. "You would not believe it," she says. "I had a long, detailed class on how to work a camera, but we never touched a camera."NYFA has year-round campuses in NY, Los Angeles, Abu Dhabi, and, its most recent addition, Australia. It also holds workshops in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Although 45 percent of the students at the NY and L.A. locations are from abroad, many students want to study in and make films about their home countries."They want their films to be more global," says Klein, noting that the school hopes to add a permanent campus in India. "They felt like they were getting a handle on how to make films that were going to appeal to a larger audience."Nigerian filmmaker Chika Anadu attended NYFA's first workshop in Nigeria because she wanted to change the way movies are made in her country. Nigeria has the world's second-most-prolific film industry, affectionately known as Nollywood. Production costs are much lower in Nigeria, and, with fewer cinemas, many movies go straight to video. This model is changing, however, and Anadu believes that acting and filmmaking courses will raise the cinematic value of her country's films."When I was growing up, cinemas had all disappeared, but in the last six years they came back," she says. "If you go to a Nigerian cinema, half of the films are Nigerian films. A lot of people are trying to do better things, people like NYFA and other people organizing film workshops like that."In 2010, Anadu won $10,000 from Focus Features' Africa First Program, which annually gives money to five African filmmakers to make short films. She was also part of the Cannes Film Festival's Cinfondation Residence, where she developed her feature film "B for Baby Boy."With limited educational options for actors in Nigeria, Anadu says it's difficult to find well-trained performers. "Everyone wants to be a star," she says. And because there is no organized hiring system in the country, she plans to release a casting notice on the radio and hire a professional to train the actors she casts in her feature."When you watch Nigerian films, the acting is so awful," Anadu says. "They don't understand that acting for film and acting for stage are different things. Everything's all hands and eyes, and it's just vile."Anadu hopes that more training options will produce more experienced Nigerian actors, as she wants to make films in her native language, Igbo. "I don't feel like it's authentic when we're trying to tell our stories," she says of English-language movies. "My language is just more poetic. It's better for the actors to act."Tackling the Asian Market NYFA is not the only school taking its programs abroad. In October 2008, NY University's Tisch School of the Arts opened Tisch Asia in Singapore. The campus offers Master of Fine Arts degrees in animation, international media producing, film, and dramatic writing, and it recently opened a Center for Continuing Education, with certificate programs in musical theater and acting for stage and screen expected to begin in February 2012.Japan and China follow the U.S. in feature film production, and Timothy Tan, director of public affairs and marketing for Tisch Asia, says there is a dearth of hands-on training options in Asia. "Parents are beginning to realize careers in the arts and conservatory-style education is important," he says. "Tisch is possibly the only school of the arts in Asia that offers a conservatory-style professional training that is established by a renowned U.S. university. We equip the students with the skills to work in the profession anywhere."With Tisch Asia, Tan hopes to bring Western-inspired filmmaking to the Asian consumer. "The international market is still dominated by the Hollywood style of filmmaking, and that has proven to be very attractive to a lot of Asian countries," Tan says. "What we hope to do is introduce the Hollywood style of filmmaking and allow the students to be inspired by the untold stories of Asia."

Kirsten Dunst Relies on Intuition and Years of Experience to Serve the Role

Kirsten Dunst Relies on Intuition and Years of Experience to Serve the Role By Jessica Gardner November 2, 2011 Photo by Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/Contour by Getty Images Kirsten Dunst At this year's Cannes Film Festival, the paparazzi couldn't get enough of Lars von Trier's meltdown after he made a joke about Nazis and Hitler to the press. For those there for the films, however, the big story was Kirsten Dunst's performance in von Trier's "Melancholia," which garnered her a well-deserved best actress win. Having starred in "Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles," "Little Women," and "Jumanji" as a child, Dunst is one of the few successful young actors who seamlessly transitioned into a successful adult actor. She has worked steadily for years in comedies such as "Bring It On," "Dick," and "Drop Dead Gorgeous" the big-budget "Spider-Man" trilogy; and dramas such as "The Virgin Suicides," "Crazy/Beautiful," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "Elizabethtown," and "Marie Antoinette." Dunst has no plans to stop, either. "I'd like to continue working, always," she says. "This is what I love to do." Back Stage: You started acting at a really young age. What originally got you into it? Kirsten Dunst: My mother and I would be in our grocery store in New Jersey, and she would have people come up to her often and say, "Your kid's so animated. She should try out for commercials or modeling." My mom eventually was like, "Okay, we'll try it." She was a stay-at-home mom, and we were only an hour outside of [New York City], so she and my dad were like, "Maybe we'll put some money away for college." Basically, that's how it started. I booked the first print job I ever went out on. Then I booked my first commercial I went out for, which was for Kix cereal, and it was like a snowball effect. I had fun doing it, and also it was fun to go into the city. My mom always made it an adventure. It became part of my life and something I did. I think it was because I was very natural and a lot of the kids had makeup on and all that stuff. I did a lot of print and commercials when I was younger. Eventually my agent at the time said, "You guys need to go to L.A. for pilot season." Before that I [was cast in] "[The] Bonfire of the Vanities." That was the first time I came to L.A. I did a small part in that film with Tom Hanks; I played his daughter. We did the thing most people in NY eventually do if they're successful in commercial work. The next step is to go to L.A. and do pilot season. I was one of those kids. Back Stage: Do you have advice for parents of young performers? Dunst: I think kids have to really enjoy it. I had fun acting. When I was little, I put on plays for my family at Sunday dinner, and I would direct them and have all my cousins, my brother, and my best friends in it. I was a very imaginative and theatrical child and wasn't afraid of being in front of a camera. It was like make-believe to me. The hard thing is, a lot of kids just don't want to do it. I really had fun. And my mom always made school a priority. Even when I started working, I always went to normal school. If I was on a film set, yes, I'd have a tutor, but then I'd go right back to the kids I was in school with and [be] on their same syllabus of whatever was going on. None of my friends were in acting either, which was a big thing too. It was just something I did. My girlfriends were in cheerleading; I would act. It never felt isolating. I think once you pull your kids out of school and do home schooling, it makes it more of a job rather than something you just do. I also had an acting coach when I was younger, because having that relationship with your child, where you're coaching them, is a little weird. A lot of moms give their kids line reads. My mom wasn't put in that position because I always had an acting teacher helping with the feelings rather than how to say something. That was really, I think, important as wellnot having that relationship with your child where you're their acting teacher. Back Stage: Who was your acting coach? Dunst: I worked with John Homa for a very long time. He also coached me on "Interview With the Vampire." I started when I was like 9 or 10. We'd play games in the beginning where it's about trusting each other and being aware of what the other person's doing and building camaraderie, and then we'd work on a scene. It was fun. The vibe was very non-competitive and felt very much likesome kids went to gymnastics after school, and I'd go once a week to these acting classes. John and I became very closehe was almost like a father figure in a way, because I worked with him constantly on things and emotional things, and he always made it feel very safe for me. Back Stage: Do you remember auditioning for "Interview With the Vampire?" Dunst: There were so many different audition processesthree or four auditions and then screen tests. John was with me in the process, and he made it so I wasn't afraid to get angry. He'd do exercises with me where I'd slam a door a bunch of times and things like thatbecause when you're a kid you're afraid to do things your parents would reprimand you for, like slamming a door. He made a safe environment and allowed me to bring up things that would invoke feelings in me that were uncomfortable but also broke through and allowed me to be emotional and not be afraid of it. Also, when things in "Interview With the Vampire" invoked sexuality, we never talked about it that way. He would say, "Think about this scene as if you stole your brother's favorite toy, and he's asking you where it is and you know exactly where it is, but you hid it and you're not going to tell him." It gives you this precocious energy that can be read in a different way. It was always about making me feel comfortable and not expecting things that were out of my understanding. Back Stage: When did you decide you wanted acting to be your career? Dunst: It was always what I did, what I was used to doing. Now there are so many different facets of the industry I really enjoy. I love to produce, and I've directed two short films. Now that I'm at a position where I get to choose what I want to do and wait and not have to work on movie after movie, I can take breaks so I can really figure out what I want to portray, what would be exciting and challenging for me in my life, because I just don't want to act to act anymoreit really has to mean something to me personally. Or the director has to inspire me. It's always about the filmmakers. I would always rather do a mediocre script with a great filmmaker than a great script with a mediocre filmmaker. Those directors don't always have a role for you, so there's a lot of waiting now, which I don't mind. Back Stage: Do you still study acting with someone? Dunst: I do work with someone still. But it's private to me. I think for everyone it's good to have your own personal work on a character and a film before you even start rehearsing, to have an inner life. I've always been someone that has, like, "character therapy" between me and whoever I'm playing. I'm the type of actor where when I get on set, I throw it all away, and then it becomes about being in the moment with whoever you're acting with and that inner life. You've worked on it and it's there, but then it's about being there for whatever happens in the scene. I'm not a very "this is planned out" person when I get to set. "This is how I'm going to do it"I'm never like that. The energy with whoever you're working with and also of the place you're in, the set, or wherever it is. Your environment feeds what you're doing as well. You have to be open to whatever happens and not be afraid. That was the biggest thing from being a young adult actress to now being in films. There's a period where you have to break through this fear. It's okay to do a terrible take. Try something different. Or if you start laughing, or wherever it goes, it doesn't really matter, because by the end of the scene it could come to something really special. If you had this way in your head of thinking about it, it would have fell flat. That's usually the way I work. Also, I'm not a big fan of rehearsal, for the most part. I think when you find something for the first time on film, you get something special. Back Stage: You've worked with great directors, including Sofia Coppola twice ["The Virgin Suicides" and "Marie Antoinette"]. What directorial style do you like to work with? Dunst: I like [directors] who are very emotionally intuitive and understand what to say and how to hold back and just say enough. I think when they're too precise about the way they want something, they're never going to be happy. My favorite kind of directors know how to put a chemistry of people together where you know it's going to work. I had such a good experience on "Melancholia." I loved all those actors so much. It was a real team. The environment which Lars [von Trier] sets up, which actually Sofia [Coppola] does too, is they set up a very natural energy that just lends itself to the scene and the environment they create as people and the tone they set for the film. I really enjoy when they feel it so deeply inside of them it permeates to set. I would love to work with Quentin Tarantinohe's my number one. My ultimate. I would love to work with Paul Thomas Anderson, Alexander PaynePedro Almodvar wouldn't be too shabby. There are so many good directors, but those are some of my favorites.Back Stage: How did "Melancholia" come to you? Is it true you got the job over Skype? Dunst: Yes, it was. It was actually one of the simplest processes of getting a job I've ever had in my entire life. I got an email one day: "Lars is obsessed with you for this part. Read this script. You're Skyping with him tomorrow." It came so out of the blue. I was ecstatic about it. There aren't many great auteurs writing films and roles for women except for him and Pedro Almodvar. Then I talked to him the next day. We barely talked about the script. Barely. We just talked about Charlotte Rampling [who plays Dunst's mother in "Melancholia"] and how much we loved her. I found out later I was recommended to him by two director friends of hisPaul Thomas Anderson and Susanne Bier. It was the most wonderful process. He was just like, "I'd love you to be in my movie." It was so nothing. The way I like it to besimple, direct, to the point. It was like, "I know I want this girl; I'm hiring her." After that I jumped around like a teenager. I was so excited to have the opportunity to work with him. He doesn't make many movies, and no one writes roles the way he does for women. Back Stage: How did you approach playing a depressed person so it wouldn't look boring on film? Do you have advice for actors who have to play depressed? Dunst: Depression's not something that's easy to portray on film, period. I knew with Lars it would be something poetic and interesting to watch, and not boring, because you're working with Lars von Trier. It depends on the film and what context and how the story is written. I definitely think there has to be an energy. A depressed person can't play a depressed person. Even though you're playing someone who's depressed and who doesn't want to do anything, you have to have an underlying energy to you. Back Stage: What was your biggest challenge playing this role? Dunst: It was emotionally really draining every day. It's a lot to put yourself in that place and be so vulnerable and so open. You have to forget anyone will ever see it. You're performing, and it will never be seen. I play such a vulnerable person, and even though I bring them together in the end, I'm cruel to my family, distant, and almost alien-like. There were a lot of things I really felt like I stepped out of a part of myself. I lived this movie more than I lived other films. Back Stage: If you could teach a class in acting, what would you teach or advise your students? Dunst: I'm an actor who has been very intuitive all my life. I feel like that's a hard thing to teach. When you block someone's intuition in the way film sets do sometimes because you have to do take after take, you can get really dry. Sometimes I create different fantasies that I'll write down and remind myself so that I won't get dry. Also, I think about acting for something other than the set I'm on or the director I'm working with or the actors I'm working with. I truly try and find something in myself or inI don't want to get too dorky about itbut almost like a more whimsical expression. Because movies are meant to move people, and so if you think about that and you're working toward something higher than whatever's happening on set or whatever drama or anything, I think it's a nice way of pulling yourself up to a level where you can experience the scene you're doing or the film you're on in a way that elevates it. And never do anything you're not 100 percent on100 percent meaning you truly believe in it. You won't do your best work if you're not engaged completely and excited about what you're filming. Finally, find what you're good at. What you're best at. Don't try and change yourself to fit some kind of mold you think will bring greater success, because what makes actors unique is them themselves.OUTTAKES - When auditioning, Dunst always dresses the part. For "Elizabethtown," she auditioned for Cameron Crowe in a navy skirt, blazer, and white button-down so she'd look like a flight attendant. - On directing: "I want to direct again. Maybe another short film or a music video would be really fun for me. I think it's good to practice as much as you can. Maybe in the next three to four years. I'm also interested in producing."- Upcoming film releases include the dark comedy "Bachelorette" with Lizzy Caplan, Rebel Wilson, and Adam Scott; a small part in "On the Road," based on the Jack Kerouac novel; and "Upside Down" with Jim Sturgess. "It has beautiful animation and special effectsnothing like I've ever seen," Dunst says. "It's about these two universes, but gravity keeps them to themselves. It's a Romeo and Juliet story for everyone."- Has not seen "Bring It On: The Musical" but wants to. Kirsten Dunst Relies on Intuition and Years of Experience to Serve the Role By Jessica Gardner November 2, 2011 Kirsten Dunst PHOTO CREDIT Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/Contour by Getty Images At this year's Cannes Film Festival, the paparazzi couldn't get enough of Lars von Trier's meltdown after he made a joke about Nazis and Hitler to the press. For those there for the films, however, the big story was Kirsten Dunst's performance in von Trier's "Melancholia," which garnered her a well-deserved best actress win. Having starred in "Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles," "Little Women," and "Jumanji" as a child, Dunst is one of the few successful young actors who seamlessly transitioned into a successful adult actor. She has worked steadily for years in comedies such as "Bring It On," "Dick," and "Drop Dead Gorgeous" the big-budget "Spider-Man" trilogy; and dramas such as "The Virgin Suicides," "Crazy/Beautiful," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "Elizabethtown," and "Marie Antoinette." Dunst has no plans to stop, either. "I'd like to continue working, always," she says. "This is what I love to do." Back Stage: You started acting at a really young age. What originally got you into it? Kirsten Dunst: My mother and I would be in our grocery store in New Jersey, and she would have people come up to her often and say, "Your kid's so animated. She should try out for commercials or modeling." My mom eventually was like, "Okay, we'll try it." She was a stay-at-home mom, and we were only an hour outside of [NY City], so she and my dad were like, "Maybe we'll put some money away for college." Basically, that's how it started. I booked the first print job I ever went out on. Then I booked my first commercial I went out for, which was for Kix cereal, and it was like a snowball effect. I had fun doing it, and also it was fun to go into the city. My mom always made it an adventure. It became part of my life and something I did. I think it was because I was very natural and a lot of the kids had makeup on and all that stuff. I did a lot of print and commercials when I was younger. Eventually my agent at the time said, "You guys need to go to L.A. for pilot season." Before that I [was cast in] "[The] Bonfire of the Vanities." That was the first time I came to L.A. I did a small part in that film with Tom Hanks; I played his daughter. We did the thing most people in NY eventually do if they're successful in commercial work. The next step is to go to L.A. and do pilot season. I was one of those kids. Back Stage: Do you have advice for parents of young performers? Dunst: I think kids have to really enjoy it. I had fun acting. When I was little, I put on plays for my family at Sunday dinner, and I would direct them and have all my cousins, my brother, and my best friends in it. I was a very imaginative and theatrical child and wasn't afraid of being in front of a camera. It was like make-believe to me. The hard thing is, a lot of kids just don't want to do it. I really had fun. And my mom always made school a priority. Even when I started working, I always went to normal school. If I was on a film set, yes, I'd have a tutor, but then I'd go right back to the kids I was in school with and [be] on their same syllabus of whatever was going on. None of my friends were in acting either, which was a big thing too. It was just something I did. My girlfriends were in cheerleading; I would act. It never felt isolating. I think once you pull your kids out of school and do home schooling, it makes it more of a job rather than something you just do. I also had an acting coach when I was younger, because having that relationship with your child, where you're coaching them, is a little weird. A lot of moms give their kids line reads. My mom wasn't put in that position because I always had an acting teacher helping with the feelings rather than how to say something. That was really, I think, important as wellnot having that relationship with your child where you're their acting teacher. Back Stage: Who was your acting coach? Dunst: I worked with John Homa for a very long time. He also coached me on "Interview With the Vampire." I started when I was like 9 or 10. We'd play games in the beginning where it's about trusting each other and being aware of what the other person's doing and building camaraderie, and then we'd work on a scene. It was fun. The vibe was very non-competitive and felt very much likesome kids went to gymnastics after school, and I'd go once a week to these acting classes. John and I became very closehe was almost like a father figure in a way, because I worked with him constantly on things and emotional things, and he always made it feel very safe for me. Back Stage: Do you remember auditioning for "Interview With the Vampire?" Dunst: There were so many different audition processesthree or four auditions and then screen tests. John was with me in the process, and he made it so I wasn't afraid to get angry. He'd do exercises with me where I'd slam a door a bunch of times and things like thatbecause when you're a kid you're afraid to do things your parents would reprimand you for, like slamming a door. He made a safe environment and allowed me to bring up things that would invoke feelings in me that were uncomfortable but also broke through and allowed me to be emotional and not be afraid of it. Also, when things in "Interview With the Vampire" invoked sexuality, we never talked about it that way. He would say, "Think about this scene as if you stole your brother's favorite toy, and he's asking you where it is and you know exactly where it is, but you hid it and you're not going to tell him." It gives you this precocious energy that can be read in a different way. It was always about making me feel comfortable and not expecting things that were out of my understanding. Back Stage: When did you decide you wanted acting to be your career? Dunst: It was always what I did, what I was used to doing. Now there are so many different facets of the industry I really enjoy. I love to produce, and I've directed two short films. Now that I'm at a position where I get to choose what I want to do and wait and not have to work on movie after movie, I can take breaks so I can really figure out what I want to portray, what would be exciting and challenging for me in my life, because I just don't want to act to act anymoreit really has to mean something to me personally. Or the director has to inspire me. It's always about the filmmakers. I would always rather do a mediocre script with a great filmmaker than a great script with a mediocre filmmaker. Those directors don't always have a role for you, so there's a lot of waiting now, which I don't mind. Back Stage: Do you still study acting with someone? Dunst: I do work with someone still. But it's private to me. I think for everyone it's good to have your own personal work on a character and a film before you even start rehearsing, to have an inner life. I've always been someone that has, like, "character therapy" between me and whoever I'm playing. I'm the type of actor where when I get on set, I throw it all away, and then it becomes about being in the moment with whoever you're acting with and that inner life. You've worked on it and it's there, but then it's about being there for whatever happens in the scene. I'm not a very "this is planned out" person when I get to set. "This is how I'm going to do it"I'm never like that. The energy with whoever you're working with and also of the place you're in, the set, or wherever it is. Your environment feeds what you're doing as well. You have to be open to whatever happens and not be afraid. That was the biggest thing from being a young adult actress to now being in films. There's a period where you have to break through this fear. It's okay to do a terrible take. Try something different. Or if you start laughing, or wherever it goes, it doesn't really matter, because by the end of the scene it could come to something really special. If you had this way in your head of thinking about it, it would have fell flat. That's usually the way I work. Also, I'm not a big fan of rehearsal, for the most part. I think when you find something for the first time on film, you get something special. Back Stage: You've worked with great directors, including Sofia Coppola twice ["The Virgin Suicides" and "Marie Antoinette"]. What directorial style do you like to work with? Dunst: I like [directors] who are very emotionally intuitive and understand what to say and how to hold back and just say enough. I think when they're too precise about the way they want something, they're never going to be happy. My favorite kind of directors know how to put a chemistry of people together where you know it's going to work. I had such a good experience on "Melancholia." I loved all those actors so much. It was a real team. The environment which Lars [von Trier] sets up, which actually Sofia [Coppola] does too, is they set up a very natural energy that just lends itself to the scene and the environment they create as people and the tone they set for the film. I really enjoy when they feel it so deeply inside of them it permeates to set. I would love to work with Quentin Tarantinohe's my number one. My ultimate. I would love to work with Paul Thomas Anderson, Alexander PaynePedro Almodvar wouldn't be too shabby. There are so many good directors, but those are some of my favorites.Back Stage: How did "Melancholia" come to you? Is it true you got the job over Skype? Dunst: Yes, it was. It was actually one of the simplest processes of getting a job I've ever had in my entire life. I got an email one day: "Lars is obsessed with you for this part. Read this script. You're Skyping with him tomorrow." It came so out of the blue. I was ecstatic about it. There aren't many great auteurs writing films and roles for women except for him and Pedro Almodvar. Then I talked to him the next day. We barely talked about the script. Barely. We just talked about Charlotte Rampling [who plays Dunst's mother in "Melancholia"] and how much we loved her. I found out later I was recommended to him by two director friends of hisPaul Thomas Anderson and Susanne Bier. It was the most wonderful process. He was just like, "I'd love you to be in my movie." It was so nothing. The way I like it to besimple, direct, to the point. It was like, "I know I want this girl; I'm hiring her." After that I jumped around like a teenager. I was so excited to have the opportunity to work with him. He doesn't make many movies, and no one writes roles the way he does for women. Back Stage: How did you approach playing a depressed person so it wouldn't look boring on film? Do you have advice for actors who have to play depressed? Dunst: Depression's not something that's easy to portray on film, period. I knew with Lars it would be something poetic and interesting to watch, and not boring, because you're working with Lars von Trier. It depends on the film and what context and how the story is written. I definitely think there has to be an energy. A depressed person can't play a depressed person. Even though you're playing someone who's depressed and who doesn't want to do anything, you have to have an underlying energy to you. Back Stage: What was your biggest challenge playing this role? Dunst: It was emotionally really draining every day. It's a lot to put yourself in that place and be so vulnerable and so open. You have to forget anyone will ever see it. You're performing, and it will never be seen. I play such a vulnerable person, and even though I bring them together in the end, I'm cruel to my family, distant, and almost alien-like. There were a lot of things I really felt like I stepped out of a part of myself. I lived this movie more than I lived other films. Back Stage: If you could teach a class in acting, what would you teach or advise your students? Dunst: I'm an actor who has been very intuitive all my life. I feel like that's a hard thing to teach. When you block someone's intuition in the way film sets do sometimes because you have to do take after take, you can get really dry. Sometimes I create different fantasies that I'll write down and remind myself so that I won't get dry. Also, I think about acting for something other than the set I'm on or the director I'm working with or the actors I'm working with. I truly try and find something in myself or inI don't want to get too dorky about itbut almost like a more whimsical expression. Because movies are meant to move people, and so if you think about that and you're working toward something higher than whatever's happening on set or whatever drama or anything, I think it's a nice way of pulling yourself up to a level where you can experience the scene you're doing or the film you're on in a way that elevates it. And never do anything you're not 100 percent on100 percent meaning you truly believe in it. You won't do your best work if you're not engaged completely and excited about what you're filming. Finally, find what you're good at. What you're best at. Don't try and change yourself to fit some kind of mold you think will bring greater success, because what makes actors unique is them themselves.OUTTAKES - When auditioning, Dunst always dresses the part. For "Elizabethtown," she auditioned for Cameron Crowe in a navy skirt, blazer, and white button-down so she'd look like a flight attendant. - On directing: "I want to direct again. Maybe another short film or a music video would be really fun for me. I think it's good to practice as much as you can. Maybe in the next three to four years. I'm also interested in producing."- Upcoming film releases include the dark comedy "Bachelorette" with Lizzy Caplan, Rebel Wilson, and Adam Scott; a small part in "On the Road," based on the Jack Kerouac novel; and "Upside Down" with Jim Sturgess. "It has beautiful animation and special effectsnothing like I've ever seen," Dunst says. "It's about these two universes, but gravity keeps them to themselves. It's a Romeo and Juliet story for everyone."- Has not seen "Bring It On: The Musical" but wants to.