Gawker: defamer, steve zahn

Was Steve Zahn Stoned on Conan Last Night?

The Cajun Boy — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 05:30:32 EDT

Steve Zahn's appearance on the Tonight Show with Conan last night was one of the more delightfully bizarre interviews we've seen in a while. Watch Zahn ramble incoherently about his love of farm animals and hitchhiking in a chicken suit.

But hey, what can you expect—he's a Hollywood actor who lives on a farm in Kentucky! And Heidi Klum looked sort of traumatized by him. God bless Steve Zahn.

Vid via NBC.com

Colin Farrell Becomes Latest Member Of 'How To Gain Acting Cred By Losing Weight' Club

Molly Friedman — Wed, 14 May 2008 15:25:00 EDT

In the latest attempt by a Hollywood superstar to Oscar grub by radically transforming their physical appearance, former hard-body Colin Farrell is rapidly downsizing for his upcoming part as a war photographer in Triage. And while Farrell could use some credibility in the acting department following his recent string of flops, hacking off all these pounds doesn’t look like the healthiest way to do it. But admittedly, dieting your way towards industry approval has been a Hollywood go-to trick for quite a while. We took a look back at some of his peers’ most drastic weight losses, and as scary as the morphing process made them look, each part did bolster their respective careers dramatically:

Playing a prisoner of war in last year's critically acclaimed Rescue Dawn meant Steve Zahn, until then just another token funny buddy actor, was forced to lose 40 pounds on a diet of vegetables and nuts. As he put it, "I never cheated but it was tough - I'm a meat and potatoes kind of guy." As for Renee Zellweger, earning Oscar noms for both Chicago and Cold Mountain meant losing twice that much: "I lost 80 pounds for those two roles...my tits disappeared so I had to stuff socks into my bra cup!.” And Matt Damon lost 30 to play the nerdy swindler star of 1999's bold-faced name-packed but Oscarless update of The Talented Mr. Ripley.

As a crack addict with a heart of gold in Half Nelson, Ryan Gosling went from Rachel McAdams' cute boyfriend to Oscar nominee by transforming into a gaunt tweaker. But of course, the most frightening metamorphosis of all time has got to be Christian Bale's unrecognizable appearance in The Machinist, a role which earned him just as many rave reviews as it did health problems. As Bale put it, going from 180 pounds to 120 caused "a massive shock to my body because of what I was trying to get it to do...My metabolism had to get back up to speed, because my heart had got used to a whole different way of living for some time."

FARRELL GOES FROM TRIM TO THIN [The Sun]

Multiplex Overcrowding Problem Reaching Critical Levels

Mark — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 14:35:11 EDT

· Now here's a classy problem: So many movies are making so much money that studios are having a hard time holding onto screens for their weeks-old, but still popular, product, as the flood of new releases suck up precious space at the multiplex. [Variety]
· Producers Alan Ladd Jr. and Jay Kanter win $3.2 million in damages from Warner Bros., which a jury determined screwed them out of millions in Blade Runner, Police Academy, and Chariots of Fire profits through those cute creative accounting practices studios love so much. [THR]
· Not that we don't like Steve Zahn, but it can't be a great sign for Jennifer Aniston's movie career if he's the biggest name they could get to star alongside her in a romantic comedy. (On second thought, feel free to swap their names and muse that Zahn should fire his agent.) [Variety]
· Katherine Heigl starts a production company with her mother. Adorable! (OK, she's her momager, but still. Cute!) [THR]
· Good news, karaoke fans: Fox has decided to keep Don't Forget The Lyrics on in the Fall, as part of a scheduling strategy they hope helps reverse their recent trend of throwing up their hands in defeat until American Idol saves them in January. [Variety]

'Sahara': Deep Inside The Budget Of An Epic Flop

Mark — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 14:17:23 EDT

It's hardly a secret that big-budget Hollywood moviemaking is perhaps the most financially wasteful of human endeavors, with each prospective blockbuster production lavishing hundreds of thousands of dollars (if not millions) in perks to ensure the constant comfort of its above-the-title talent, who can only practice their craft if their demands for individual pedicurists for each toe and a double-wide equipped with a spa-tub that bubbles forth perfectly chilled Cristal at the touch of a button are fully met. Sunday's LAT featured a must-read Special! Report! revealing the budget of high-eight-figures loser Sahara "confidentially" submitted as an exhibit in the ongoing lawsuits between author Clive Cussler and producer Philip Anschutz, two fierce combatants in the process of suing the living shit out of one another (we apologize for the use of that highly technical legal jargon) in an attempt to figure out who bears the majority of the blame for the movie's profound failure. After the jump, we've excerpted some of the budget's highlights; the Times is careful to disclaim that "actual expenses may have varied from budgeted items," leaving some hope that impenetrably accented actress Penelope Cruz's dialogue coaches, who would have been woefully underpaid at the stated $125,804, ultimately received substantial additional remuneration for bravely performing one of the most dangerous and thankless jobs in all of show business:

Matthew McConaughey:
Salary: $8 million
Perks: $833,923
Entourage travel: $179,262
Makeup artist: $150,223
Stunt double: $124,740
Colorist: $72,800
Trainer: $67,977
Personal chef: $48,893

Penelope Cruz:
Salary: $1.6 million
Perks: $835,561
Entourage travel: $227,515
Hairstylist: $135,550
Makeup artist: $135,550
Dialogue coaches: $125,804

Steve Zahn:
Salary: $2.2 million
Perks: $264,153

Miscellaneous fun:
Story and rights:$14.1 million
- Clive Cussler: $10 million
- Writers: $3.8 million

Composer Clint Mansell: $800,000
Director Breck Eisner: $750,000

$78 million of red ink? [LAT]
Previously: Casting An Inevitable Bomb: How 'Sahara' Wound Up As A Matthew McConaughey Vehicle [Defamer]