Sheen to Portray Oral Roberts in “Come Sunday”

Martin Sheen is getting religious for his next role…

The 76-year-old half Spanish American actor will portray famed Pentecostal televangelist Oral Roberts in Come Sunday.

Martin Sheen

Based on a true story, the film stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as a renowned evangelical minister in Tulsa, Oklahoma who stirs up controversy with his revelation that there is no hell.

The film is being directed by Joshua Marston from a script by Marcus Hinchey. The movie is based on a 2005 This American Life radio episode. The film also co-stars Broadway’s Condola Rashad as the minister’s wife.

Sheen will portray the founder of The Oral Roberts University and a mentor who treats Carlton (Ejiofor) like his own son until the young man denounces the existence of hell. Then he must publicly turn against the young pastor.

Sheen, who is one of the country’s leading activists who gives a voice to both political and human rights causes, last starred as a priest in Terrence Malick’s spiritual fable The Vessel from Cuban-American writer/director Julio Quintana. Sheen also had a supporting role in Warren Beatty’s Rules Don’t Apply and starred for seven seasons as President Bartlet on The West WingHe also enjoyed a supporting role in Netflix’s Grace and Frankie.

González Iñárritu Takes Home Three Oscars, Including Best Picture, for “Birdman”

And just like that, Alejandro González Iñárritu is a three-time Oscar winner…

The 51-year-old Mexican filmmaker, who had previously come away empty-handed after four previous nominations, walked away with three golden statuettes as the 87th Academy Awards, becoming the first-ever three-time Latino Oscar winner in history.

Alejandro González Iñárritu

González Iñárritu’s dark comedy Birdman was named Best Picture at the end of Sunday night’s telecast. The film, starring Michael Keaton, tells the story of a down-and-out actor looking to get back into the spotlight with a passion project on Broadway. The film was produced by González Iñárritu, John Lesher, Arnon Milchan and James W. Skotchdopole, who were on-hand to accept the award.

Additionally, González Iñárritu took home the prize for Best Director, a recognition of the awe-inspiring technical feat of making nearly the entire film appear to take place in a single shot, as well as a tip of the hat to his incredible career. He’s the second Latino director to win the prize, following Alfonso Cuarón’s win last year for Gravity.

González Iñárritu’s third Oscar came in the Best Original Screenplay for co-writing the script for Birdman with Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo.

In his acceptance speech, González Iñárritu mentioned issues facing Mexicans and Mexican Americans, “I pray that we can find & build a government that we deserve. And the ones that live in this country that they can be treated with the same dignity and respect as ones that came before in this great nation.”

Meanwhile, Birdman cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki won his second Oscar in two years. The Mexican cinematographer, a frequent collaborator of auteurs Terrence Malick and Cuarón, won his first Oscar for 2013’s Gravity, and brought his awe-inspiring single-take methodology back for Birdman.

Backstage following his acceptance speech, Lubezki stressed that the decision to shoot in one take was Gonzalez Iñarritú’s. “At first I told him I wasn’t interested, it sounded like a nightmare! But then he talked about the characters and why it had to be one shot. He captivated me.  It was complex and hard; there’s no book on how to do it, but I have to say that the style was because Alejandro is a strong, curious artist.”

Lubezki Wins Best Cinematography Award at This Year’s BAFTA Awards

Emmanuel Lubezki is a hit across the pond… again!

The Mexican cinematographer on Sunday won his second BAFTA Award in as many years.

Emmanuel Lubezki

During the film awards ceremony at the Royal Opera House in London, Lubezki picked up the cinematography award for his work on Alejandro G. Inarritu’s Birdman. The win comes one year after getting the same honor for his work on Alfonso Cuaron‘s Gravity.

At the Academy Awards in 2014, Lubezki won the cinematography award for his work on Gravity. He’s also nominated for the Academy Award this year and widely seen as a lead contender.

There has been only one back-to-back Oscar winner in the cinematography category. John Toll won in 1994 and 1995 for Legends of the Fall and Braveheart.

Lubezki also served as director of photography on Terrence Malick’s Knight of Cups, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival on Sunday.

Here’s the complete list of winners:

BEST FILM
BOYHOOD
Richard Linklater, Cathleen Sutherland

LEADING ACTRESS
JULIANNE MOORE
Still Alice

LEADING ACTOR
EDDIE REDMAYNE
The Theory of Everything

DIRECTOR
BOYHOOD
Richard Linklater

EE RISING STAR
Jack O’Connell

COSTUME DESIGN
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
Milena Canonero

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING
Anthony McCarten

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
IDA
Pawel Pawlikowski, Eric Abraham, Piotr Dzieciol, Ewa Puszczynska

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
Wes Anderson

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
STEPHEN BERESFORD (Writer), DAVID LIVINGSTONE (Producer)
Pride

CINEMATOGRAPHY
BIRDMAN
Emmanuel Lubezki

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
PATRICIA ARQUETTE
Boyhood

SUPPORTING ACTOR
J.K. SIMMONS
Whiplash

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
INTERSTELLAR
Paul Franklin, Scott Fisher, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter

ANIMATED FILM
THE LEGO MOVIE
Phil Lord, Christopher Miller

SOUND
WHIPLASH
Thomas Curley, Ben Wilkins, Craig Mann

EDITING
WHIPLASH
Tom Cross

BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Chris Hees, Daisy Jacobs, Jennifer Majka

BRITISH SHORT FILM
BOOGALOO AND GRAHAM
Brian J. Falconer, Michael Lennox, Ronan Blaney

PRODUCTION DESIGN
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
Adam Stockhausen, Anna Pinnock

MAKE UP & HAIR
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
Frances Hannon

DOCUMENTARY
CITIZENFOUR
Laura Poitras

ORIGINAL MUSIC
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
Alexandre Desplat

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING
James Marsh, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce, Anthony McCarten

Del Toro to Star in Marvel Studios’ “Guardians of the Galaxy”

Benicio Del Toro has landed a galactic role…

The 46-year-old Puerto Rican actor has joined the cast of the James Gunn-directed Marvel Studios franchise launcher Guardians Of The Galaxy.

Benicio Del Toro

Del Toro’s role is being kept under wraps, but he’s said to be playing a character built to be part of future Marvel films, which means he’s signed a deal with options that put him into multiple movies.

Del Toro joins a cast that includes Glenn Close, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, John C. Reilly and others in the cast.

Del Toro most recently joined the cast of Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice. He’ll next appear in Jimmy P, the film that made its world premiere in competition at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

He’s also set to star in an untitled film directed by Terrence Malick.

Trailer Released for Bardem’s Next Film “To the Wonder”

Magnolia Pictures has released the trailer for Terrence Malick’s latest film To the Wonder, with Javier Bardem narrarating.

Starring Bardem, Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko and Rachel McAdams, “To the Wonder” focuses on a man who reconnects with a woman from his hometown in Oklahoma after his marriage to a European woman falls apart.

Javier Bardem

Affleck plays the said man, while Kurylenko stars as the French woman. McAdams portrays another woman who divides Affleck’s affection, and Bardem plays a priest seeking  spiritual fulfillment.

The trailer for the film – which elicited strong reactions when it debuted earlier this year, first in Venice and then in Toronto – is filled with beautiful shots of natural landscapes and people sharing love with one another.

To the Wonder will be released next year.