Zero Dark Thirty star Jessica Chastain says Al Pacino “changed” her as an actor and has hailed him as a great mentor and friend. The 40-year-old actress first worked with the 77-year-old screen legend in 2011 in Wild Salome, which Pacino also directed, reports Female First. “That was the moment for me. All the film people in LA wanted to see Al Pacino on stage, and oh, who’s this girl that no one’s ever heard of?’ He changed me as an actor,” said Chastain. The Oscar-nominated star added that she shares a “student-teacher relationship” with Pacino.
With Newton going to the Academy Awards as India’s official entry, Rajkummar Rao says if the film wins, he would love to be presented the trophy by Meryl Streep. “We are very hopeful for Newton, and I hope the new year will be great for the film too. I would like to walk the red carpet at the Oscars, but I am not dreaming about it.” Asked who he would like to receive the golden statuette from, he said: “Meryl Streep or Daniel Day-Lewis. It doesn’t matter who gives it, I hope we get it!”
Actress Jodie Foster says she always needs a break of at least a year before signing a new project. The 54-year-old star said she finds it much easier to recover after completing a directing job than working on-screen, reports Contactmusic. “The thing with directing is that it’s hard, it’s difficult and taxing, but once I’ve had a good sleep for about five days, I’m ready to get on the boat again. As an actor? I have to go on vacation for a year — a year minimum — before I’m ready to come back,” said Foster.
Director Karan Johar is geared up for his next project Brahmastra and said the Dharma Productions team will strive to release a new part in the series every two years. The first part is scheduled to release in August 2019. “It’s in prep mode. The shoot will start in February-March for the first part. Then hopefully, every two years we will have a new part of Brahmastra,” Johar said.
Ace director Christopher Nolan has revealed he, along with his producer-wife Emma Thomas, were first struck by the idea of making Dunkirk over 20 years ago when the couple were on a boat trip. The 47-year-old said the voyage turned out to be quite turbulent which made them reflect on the difficulties the soldiers faced during World War II, reported Page Six. “I remember Emma and I made a trip with a friend of ours on a boat — many years ago. We thought it would take us six or seven hours. It took 18 to 19 hours. It was very, very cold. The sea was very, very rough with the channels. We came out of that experience... with a great amount respect for the reality of what actually happened,” Nolan recalled at a recent Q&A.
Actress Scarlett Johansson has said she feels “bittersweet” about not starring in a Marvel movie after Avengers 4. The 33-year-old star plays the role of Natasha Romanoff a.k.a. Black Widow and is scheduled to appear in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4. “It’s bittersweet to imagine not having these films to come back to. I’ve been living this story with these people for 10 years through ups and downs. We’ve built a great family,” Johansson told Vanity Fair.
