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Posted: 06 Jun 2013 01:05 AM PDT

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. (USA Today/MCT) — Henry Cavill wears blue jeans, flip-flops and a T-shirt while walking through a flock of diners at Fishbar restaurant, but it might as well be a form-fitting bodysuit and a red cape.

Maybe it's his stride, physique, deep blue eyes and coiffed dark hair. The guy really does look like Superman, even while relaxing at a beach eatery.

"When my hair was longer months ago, you wouldn't have said as much," says Cavill, 30. "But at the moment, yeah, I guess there's a certain resemblance."

This "certain resemblance" was strong enough that director Zack Snyder nabbed the British actor to play the iconic comic-book character in Man Of Steel, the much-awaited Superman reboot that hits screens June 14. It was also enough that Cavill was pursued for 2006's Superman Returns, though he lost out to Brandon Routh when the project switched directors.

The experience of having come so close just makes snaring the Man Of Steel role that much more poignant. It also gave Cavill some valuable training for the path-seeking character he portrays.

"I guess you can say Henry was born to play Superman," says Snyder, noting the actor's physical similarities. "But all these life experiences have come together. He's gone through a journey. In our movie, Clark Kent gets jostled around by life and then becomes Superman. Henry has done the same thing."

Cavill already has had an impressive career, including roles in 2002's The Count Of Monte Cristo, Showtime's The Tudors and 2011's Immortals (which had a No. 1 opening weekend with US$32 million).

But he also has shrugged off high-profile setbacks such as losing out to Daniel Craig for the role of James Bond.

"Having had all the ups and downs maybe made me want to work all the harder," Cavill says. "Yeah, bad things will happen to you. And you'll get kicked (down) a few times. Stand up."

But with Man Of Steel, "I got lucky enough to have a second shot with different people whose vision I fit into," he says.

Snyder was hooked on Cavill after his December 2010 audition and became fully convinced after a screen test with the actor wearing Christopher Reeve's Lycra Superman outfit. Even though Cavill was out of shape after being directed to eat pizza to appear like a regular guy for 2012's The Cold Light Of Day, Snyder knew he had his man. "When he came out in the suit, it was like, 'OK, that's our Superman,'" Snyder says.

Cavill recalls the phone conversation when he found out he had the part. He was ignoring calls while playing video games before he noticed his potential employer was trying to reach him. When they finally connected, Snyder was too polite.

"I'm thinking, 'He's letting me down easy,' Cavill says. "And then he said, 'I was also wondering if you wanted to do a little movie with me.' Inside there were fireworks going off. But I played it extremely cool."

The "little movie" called for the supersuit to be updated with an "alien" look. A cast was assembled that includes Russell Crowe as his father, Jor-El, Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as adoptive parents Jonathan and Martha Kent and Amy Adams as Lois Lane. Meanwhile, Cavill immediately underwent a physical regimen capped by four months supervised by 300 trainer Mark Twight.

Cavill says he shunned using performance-enhancing drugs ("I like to see the results for myself and think I did the honest course") and computer-graphic tricks to make his body look bigger on-screen.

"I wanted it to be me," he says. "It helped me get into character. And also because it's my name. I wanted to provide that image (of Superman) and make it reality."

Cavill dove into the workouts and a 5,000-calorie daily diet to bulk up. The subsequent body-sculpting phases, when he drastically cut the calories, were far harder to handle. But Snyder says the actor never lost his cool — even when he was shirtless and wet for scenes shot outside in Vancouver, British Columbia.

"We were shooting under this Blackhawk helicopter, and the downdraft was blowing a million miles an hour," Snyder says. "Henry was wet and freezing cold. And he never said a thing. Never complained. He's just amazingly gracious all the time."

Cavill bottled up his outbursts and later vented in private. "If I was being irritable, I'd save it for being in the car," he says. "Just some choice words. And I could be professional and go back on set again."

Antje Traue, who plays Superman's mortal enemy Faora, couldn't help but compliment her costumed screen foe on the Plano, Illnois, set.

"He became that person. Seeing him in the suit, you say that he is Superman," she says. "And he's superhumanly attractive." Cavill is aware of the risk of placing an estimated US$200 million movie and a potential franchise on the shoulders of a relative newcomer, and he accepts that responsibility: "I'm the one who is going to take a hit if this doesn't work."

But Snyder believes that Cavill's newness is beneficial. "You don't have the baggage that other actors might have going into a part like this," he says. "People can just look at him and go, 'Wow, it's Superman.' That's fun."

Maintaining his superhero's famous decorum in public is clearly important to Cavill. He pauses repeatedly to make eye contact and says "Thank you" every time the waitress fills up his water glass. And when interview topics stray into areas he deems too personal, such as girlfriend Gina Carano, a mixed martial artist, Cavill gives a calm but firm rebuff. "I would love to talk about that," he says before not talking about it.

He does show hints of a wild side when discussing the odd night with the movie crew to unwind or his favorite cheat meal (Chicago-style thick-crust pizza). But the details and temptations are kept firmly in check — he has a character to protect.

"If I'm walking around an unhealthy mess, it might damage (people's) idea of what Superman is," Cavill says. "So there is a responsibility."

He takes the image so seriously that he won't even take his shirt off when he heads to the beach. "You set yourself up for too much criticism and speculation on the Internet," he says. "So I'm keeping all my semi-nudity private for now."

Cavill has signed a contract for two more Man Of Steel installments, though any sequels no doubt will depend on how Steel does at the box office. "It's up to Warner Bros. and everyone out there," Cavill says. "If they want to see more of this Superman, then I'm sure we will. But until then, there's no knowing."

The actor does not buy into a Superman curse ("If anything bad happens to me, it's not because Superman made it happen"). Nor does he fear being stereotyped in the role — a fate that has befallen other actors.

"There is always that risk. But it's a risk I'm glad to take," he says. "The way to break out of that is to do a different role."

To that end, Cavill just signed on to star as a spy in Guy Ritchie's adaptation of The Man From U.N.C.L.E., replacing Tom Cruise, who is no longer associated with the project. He is tight-lipped about his Napoleon Solo role except to say he'll be alongside The Lone Ranger star Armie Hammer, who will play Illya Kuryakin.

"Things are full-steam ahead. It's all very early days. But it's gonna happen," Cavill says before pausing. "Well, this is Hollywood. It's supposed to happen."

He might be understandably cautious, given his history. But Cavill knows he's one Hollywood success story that has taken off after a few scrubbed launches.

"It's like, wow, I've been in this biz for 13 years and worked really hard. I've suffered a lot. And I've put my all into everything I do. And it's so nice to have it come back in such a beautiful way."

As he exits the restaurant, Cavill makes it clear that he plans to repay the kindness. "I'm going to go fly around a bit," he says as he walks away. "Maybe save some lives."

Catch MAN OF STEEL in cinemas. eCentral is giving out tickets to a special screening of the movie. Check here for details.

Actor Stephen Fry tried killing himself last year

Posted: 05 Jun 2013 09:19 PM PDT

REUTERS - British actor Stephen Fry attempted suicide last year, he said during a podcast interview on Wednesday in which he talked openly about his ongoing battle with mental illness.

Fry, 55, told comedian Richard Herring in the interview in front of a live audience that he was "a victim of my own moods" and that he was required to take medication "so that I don't get either too hyper or too depressed to the point of suicide."

"I'd go as far as to tell you I attempted it last year. I took a huge number of pills with a huge amount of vodka and the mixture of them made my body convulse so much that I broke four ribs. But I was still unconscious," Fry (pic) said.

"Fortunately, the producer I was filming with at the time came into the hotel room and I was found in an unconscious state and taken back to England and looked after."

Fry told listeners at London's Leicester Square Theater that it was the first time he had spoken about the suicide attempt publicly and that he was encouraged to because he was the president of mental health charity called Mind.

"The whole point as I see it is not to be shy and forthcoming about the morbidity and the genuine nature of death amongst people with certain mood disorders if they don't look after it," he told the audience.

Fry made the admission in response to a question submitted by a 12-year-old boy, who had asked what it was like to be Stephen Fry.

"What it's like to be Stephen Fry is a very mixed and peculiar thing," the actor said.

It was not the first time Fry has spoken out about his battle with mental illness. He explored the issue of living with bipolar disorder in a 2006 documentary, Stephen Fry: The Secret Life Of The Manic Depressive.

Fry has worked on multiple projects spanning acting, writing, directing, journalism and presenting on radio and television during his four-decade career, becoming a well-known figure in British arts and culture.

The Cambridge-educated actor is best known for his roles in the British comedy Blackadder, sketch comedy A Bit Of Fry & Laurie with collaborator Hugh Laurie, and is the long-time host of BBC television quiz show QI.

He is also the narrator of all seven Harry Potter books on audiotape.

Mending broken ties

Posted: 06 Jun 2013 03:27 AM PDT

A stern father. A guilt-stricken son. A perilous adventure. The stage is set for a heartwarming father-son tale in After Earth.

IN the 2006 inspirational flick The Pursuit Of Happyness, Will Smith plays a resilient homeless man who goes to great lengths – who can forget all that running around New York City to get from one job to another? – to provide for his son, played by the actor's real-life son, Jaden.

Interestingly, in their second collaboration After Earth the tables are turned as Jaden's character, an aspiring teenage warrior, must fight on behalf of his critically-injured father for any chance of survival.

The premise of After Earth – which is an original story by Will – is about a father's struggle in learning to trust and let go of his son.

Set in the fictional planet Nova Prime which houses the human race after Earth becomes inhospitable, the sci-fi action film focuses on the strained relationship between legendary fighter Cypher Raige and his son Kitai who is eager to gain his father's approval.

"At its core is an emotional drama between a father and his son," Will said during a Skype interview with Star2 from Cancun, Mexico. Jaden and director M. Night Shyamalan were also at the interview.

Will's character, Cypher, is known as one of the greatest leaders in the history of Nova Prime. As the Prime Commander of the peacekeeping organisation – the United Ranger Corps – he is revered by many for saving humanity from numerous alien attacks. But so much time spent fighting off aliens in the battlefield meant that he was rarely ever home.

Meanwhile, Kitai is a teenager who is ridden with guilt following his sister Senshi's death. "Kitai blames himself for his sister's death – she died years ago in an attack that Kitai thinks he should have done something to stop – and he thinks his dad blames him, too," Jaden said of his character in the production notes given by Sony Pictures Entertainment.

It also doesn't help that Kitai recently failed the test to become a Ranger like his dad.

To patch their broken relationship, Kitai's mother suggests that the two go on a trip together to bond and iron out the kinks. Unfortunately, along the way, their ship crash-lands on "the most inhospitable place in the universe for human beings" – Earth. Apparently, extreme weather conditions, merciless predators, toxicity in its air, lack of water and food sources have rendered Earth a Class 1 quarantined planet.

Will shared that After Earth is special to him because it was made at a point in his life that mirrored their real life relationship. "He (Jaden) was 13 years old and going into the wilderness, that's where historically, various cultures have had those father-and-son transmission of powers and lessons. We shot in the redwood forests and at the desert of Moab, Utah. It was a powerful mythological exchange between father and son," he said.

The idea for the film came about one evening when Will and Jaden were at home casually talking about working together again. With the news on in the background, Jaden suggested, "Maybe I'm your son, I'm in trouble, and you have to come home from war."

That sparked the father-son concept and the two began expanding the narrative, including a storyline about a father-son bonding trip to Alaska.

When Shyamalan heard about the idea, he immediately jumped on it. However, to make the movie a success, The Sixth Sense director had to step out of his comfort zone – literally.

"As you probably know, I shoot all my movies in Philadelphia. But I knew when I was writing this movie, we wouldn't be able to shoot it all there. We needed to make it feel universal and huge," he said.

As such, After Earth was mostly shot in the breathtaking jungles of Costa Rica, while scenes featuring the interiors of the spaceship were shot in a studio in Philadelphia. "It was an incredible experience, seeing Jaden walk on trees that were 20-feet wide," he recalled.

Another challenge for Shyamalan was the elaborate visual effects and set designs involved in After Earth. Shyamalan considers himself as "not a techie guy" (having only employed extensive special effects in The Last Airbender) yet he insisted on remaining hands-on when it came to designing the look and feel of the film's landscape.

"I roped in individual houses and worked with the artists themselves. I designed everything myself with them. It's very time consuming, but it makes for a richer experience for me and I can make the film more grounded," he said.

Meanwhile, Jaden shared that one his most difficult experiences came when shooting a particularly emotionally-charged scene where Kitai makes a life or death decision.

"I think it was really hard on all of us. We've got to get over the hump and it's uphill from here ... But we got through it and I'm really happy with the scene," he shared.

Shyamalan chimed in, "By nature, these are two different actors. Will is very comfortable being in a hot kind of emotional place and making it authentic. Jaden is very quiet, and he erupts only when he chooses to. It's like a lock in him, and he had to unlock it."

The director said he was proud when he finally did and cheekily added, "Now he's in therapy."

Jaden, who is starring in a leading role for the second time after Karate Kid, also shared he identified with Kitai, being in a similar position in reality.

"Kitai is showing his dad, 'Hey dad, I can do this', and I am showing my dad by making this movie – I can do this. It's the exact same thing."

Will admitted that it was a struggle not to interfere with his son's creative process while shooting the film. "For me, the most difficult thing is just making sure that I maintain a respectful distance. I respect his space and allow him to have his process and talk to the director without me."

And true enough, the father did give him the space his son needed. Jaden got the freedom to perform as many stunts in the movie as the studio allowed him, as Will reasoned, "As a father, I want him to do everything short of permanent physical damage. There's a certain power in overcoming the fear of doing those things."

Jaden recalled a scene where the stunt choreographer asked him to swim in a river full of crocodiles and piranhas and his father joked and told him not to worry as "they're vegetarian".

After Earth opens in cinemas nationwide today.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Khamis, 6 Jun 2013

The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies

The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies

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