Friday, December 31, 2010

Biggest Harry Potter and Twilight Fan Search: Winners Announced!

We recently launched a search for the #1 fans of monster franchises 'Harry Potter' and 'Twilight.'. In order to be considered, hopeful devotees had to submit a short video proving their unique fandom. And as expected, Potterheads and Twihards came out in full force to support their wizards and vampires, respectively.

The internet was abuzz with excitement over the contest, and some websites even called out specific videos, like that of user AnitaLautner, whose willingness to take a bullet for the 'Twilight' cast garnered an explosive response; and that of user HarryPotterHimself, whose impressive collection has driven his video to an astounding 905K views (and counting) since his submission. (See all submissions here and here)

There were so many great entries, but we knew that, ultimately, there could only be a single winner for each contest. So, to determine the biggest and baddest of the bunch, we turned to experts, the fellow fans, to decide on who truly deserved the top title.

By voting and commenting, the groups let their voices be heard, and now, the search is officially over. So did AnitaLautner or HarryPotterHimself take the fan crown for their respective movie obsessions?

Scroll down to see who was deemed the #1 supporter of each beloved franchise, and while you're at it, watch their winning submissions.

THE #1 'HARRY POTTER' FAN: HarryPotterHimself

Dubbing himself HarryPotterHimself, the champion of all 'Potter' fans, with 3883 votes, including the following with his winning video:

'The biggest Potter fan in the world--Harry Potter Himself! A collection of over $13K, costume contest winner, Headmaster of the DA at KSU, and walking Potter encyclopedia. No bigger fan in the world, let alone the country. Yes, I dare.'



THE #1 'TWILIGHT' FAN: Tigra220


Tigra220 had no shortage of confidence when submitting her entry, adding simply, "I am THE.BIGGEST.TWIHARD.EVERRRR!!!" And that, it would appear, is the truth .... at least according to our voters.

Check out the video that took this Twihard all the way:


A Christmas Story Cast: Where Are They Now?


In America today, most kids likely wish for an iPhone or another high-tech goodie for Christmas. But in 1940's Indiana, a certain Ralphie Parker very specifically wanted "an official Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock, and this thing which tells time."

Ralphie (played by Peter Billingsley), of course, is the nine-year-old protagonist seemingly destined to shoot his eye out in 'A Christmas Story,' the madcap 1983 Christmas comedy about the salt-of-the-earth Parker family. But where is actor Billingsley and the rest of the cast and crew now? In honor of the holiday season, Moviefone tracked them down.

Then: In a crucial scene in the movie, the two villainous elves manhandle children waiting to sit on the lap of Santa, who then inadvertently scares the kids and shoves them down a slide (trust us, it's funny). Hocevar and Johnson had no professional acting experience, but both had worked at one time or another as elves at Higbee's, a department store in Ohio (where the film was shot). As for Gillen, he had appeared in several of director Bob Clark's earlier movies, such as 'Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things' and 'She-Man.'
Now: Like many others, Johnson, Hocevar and Gillen reached their thespian zenith with 'A Christmas Story.' Gillen created Great Southern Studios, a production company in North Miami Beach, Florida, and was its president until 1995, when he suffered a fatal heart attack. Patty Johnson and Drew Hocevar continue to live in Ohio, where both are employed as teachers.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Weekend Movie Preview: Blue Valentine, Another Year, Biutiful


No more giant presents under the tree this weekend, at least in the form of new wide-release movies. Instead, there are some limited-release indie gems, all of them fascinated with human frailties and relationships, and all of them poised for possible Oscar glory over the next couple of months.

The Kitchen Sex Scene (Love and Other Drugs)

Hats off (as well as shoes, shirts and everything else) to Anne Hathaway, who cheerfully embraces the notion that youve got to strip for your art. Her nude scenes are plentiful in this romantic comedy drama, but it's her heated, half-dressed first encounter with Jake Gyllenhaal in the kitchen that earns them a place on this list. (See a teaser at 1:04 in the trailer.)

That Scene (Blue Valentine)

Why should Ryan Gosling giving oral pleasure to Michelle Williams be such a big deal? The same scenario plays out in 'Black Swan,' which garnered an R-rating, and we lost track of how many times Russell Brand does the same for the women in his life in 'Get Him to the Greek.' But, for some reason, the intensity of this indie prompted the MPAA to dispense the dreaded NC-17 rating. After the resulting outcry, the board reversed itself and granted the film a more box-office-friendly R-rating. Gosling's defense of this film and the injustice of the rating only makes us love him more. (WARNING: Clip contains explicit content and is NSFW)

Jessica Alba's CGI Nude Shower Scene (Machete)

Jessica Alba, naked! Why was this scene not the center of 'Machete's marketing campaign? Apparently, some argue that a CGI nude scene isn't worth harping about. We argue that it is. Well, at least this one is. As it was, fans who showed up to watch Danny Trejo slice, dice and maim his enemies got an unexpected perk: Sexy Alba, sans clothing, in an all-too-brief shower scene. Watch you don't hurt your neck because of the tilted camera angle.

Amanda Seyfried and Julianne Moore Kiss (Chloe)

Unhappily married Catherine (Moore) hires beautiful young escort Chloe (Seyfried) to test her husband's faithfulness. Of course, he fails miserably, but soon an emotionally fragile Catherine also succumbs to Chloe's charms. The movie got so-so reviews, but you can't deny the want-to-see factor of two beautiful actresses kissing. Check out the scene for yourself.

George Clooney's Brothel Sex Scene (The American)

This one-last-hit-job was more of a European arthouse affair than the typical action-packed American thriller fans had been led to expect, but at least the movie delivered one extremely satisfying scene for even the most jaded of viewers: Clooney hits the sheets with a gorgeous brunette prostitute. Now that's a scenario cinephiles and action junkies can both enjoy. (Check out a snippet of the scene at 1:01 in the trailer.)

Black Widow Kicks Ass (Iron Man 2)

Scarlett Johansson just needs to stand there and breathe to be sexy, but when she stepped into her skintight Black Widow suit, she reached a whole new level of hotness. Enjoy the scene where she single-handedly takes out an entire security force without breaking a sweat. I think we're going to have to watch that again.

Jacob's Shirtless Again (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse ) - Sexiest Movie Scenes of 2010

Taylor Lautner, as good-guy werewolf Jacob, gets shirtless so often in the 'Twilight' series that it's become a joke, even within the film. "Doesn't he own a shirt?" asks a jealous Edward (Robert Pattinson) when Jacob casually shows off his pecs yet again. Hey, who's complaining? If your taste runs towards slightly more mature musculature, 2010 also gave us the incredibly buff bods of Bradley Cooper ('The A-Team') and Ben Affleck ('The Town').

The Field Sex Scene (I Am Love) - Sexiest Movie Scene of 2010

This is surely one of the artsiest sex scenes ever filmed: The camera cuts back and forth from intimate close-ups of Tilda Swinton and her young lover getting it on in a field to shots of flowers. The extreme closeness of the camera almost makes their bodies into abstract art, while the intercutting with the beauty of nature around them screams, "It's so natural!"

10 Sexiest Movie Scenes of 2010


Which movie sex scenes were the steamiest in 2010? The ones that made our top 10 list include a scene where two ballerinas get hot and heavy, another with a red-hot kitchen encounter and one so racy it earned a film a dreaded NC-17 rating.

We've also got the hottest skin-baring moments and what we're sure most fanboys will agree is the sexiest action scene of the year.

And, as a kind of cinematic cold shower, we've rounded up five of the year's least sexy scenes. We're looking at you, Rob Schneider, Tina Fey and Rob Corddry.