Movie Sets

As director David O. Russell's now infamous "I (Heart) Huckabees" on-set freakout on Lily Tomlin, posted as a Web video, reaches the parody phase, his friends are coming forward to defend his shocking tirade -- and his colorful directing style. Sure, they say, he's "exacting" and doesn't suffer fools; to an outsider, they admit, his tantrum toward the film's costar captured on video might look like a madman's rant.

 The trailer is out for the Sony Pictures movie about Concord De La Salle and former head coach Bob Ladouceur. Entitled, "When The Game Stands Tall," the movie is scheduled to be released on Aug. 22, a week before the high school football season begins in California. Eric.sondheimer@latimes.com  

* March 31, 1993: Actor Brandon Lee was accidentally killed by a .44-caliber slug during the filming of "The Crow." The slug was fired from a prop gun that was supposed to be loaded with blanks. * Jan. 3, 1992: A worker was crushed to death between two lighting equipment cranes on the set of the Kevin Costner movie "The Bodyguard." * Aug.

PITTSBURGH - Most movie sets orbit around one key individual. Usually, it's the director or the star. Occasionally, it's a heavyweight producer. Seldom is it the writer of the movie's source material. But John Green is not just any writer. On a crisp day in early October as cameras rolled on Fox 2000's film adaptation of his 2012 novel "The Fault in Our Stars," a bestselling love story about two wry, cancer-stricken teenagers, the 36-year-old author was exerting a strong gravitational pull.

Bob Willoughby, who created iconic portraits of his muse, Audrey Hepburn, and dozens of other celebrities as one of the first still photographers assigned to capture life on Hollywood film sets, has died. He was 82. Willoughby died Friday of cancer at his home in Vence, France, said Claire Willoughby, a daughter-in-law. The rise of Life and Look magazines created a demand for more than routine photo stills from movie sets and led to a career for Willoughby that spanned three decades.

Seeking to regulate what some contend is a police force within the police force, the Los Angeles Police Commission on Tuesday approved a plan that would allow Chief Daryl F. Gates to select the police retirees and off-duty officers who moonlight as guards on movie sets. The commission's unanimous vote represented the first tangible step in ending a controversy that has embroiled police administrators and the entertainment industry for more than a decade.

Hold the mayo. And the pastrami. Even--gasp--the cappuccino? Fearful of rumblings from the Los Angeles County health department, movie and TV production companies around town are thinking twice about putting out the traditional spread of finger foods and beverages for grazing by cast and crew members.

Since her death on Aug. 5, 1962, hundreds of books about Marilyn Monroe have been published by various writers, ranging from famous names such as Norman Mailer, Gloria Steinem and Joyce Carol Oates, to people who worked with her on movie sets. With so many choices, its hard to navigate through the Monroe oeuvre, but here are 10 volumes that should nourish the soul of her most ardent fans. "Marilyn: A Biography" (1973). Norman Mailer's controversial, lavish, coffee-table exploration of Monroe includes stunning images by several noted photographers as well as the author's rather grandiose prose.

You know the Hugh Jackman rumor: The married, muscled actor is supposedly gay, according to - well, according to your friend who has a friend who is certain he's gay. Jackman sang a different tune to the Hollywood Reporter in an article published Wednesday that goes into detail about the actor's life, weight, work, friends and more. It also mentions the gay rumors. Turns out the person most upset by the rumors is Jackman's wife of 16 years, Deborra-Lee Furness. "Just recently, it bugs her," he told the mag, explaining that she uses the Internet more than he does.

Being the son of an obsessive filmmaker means your life already has a destiny, whether intended or not. That was certainly the case for Jonás Cuarón, the eldest son of Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón. Young Jonás spent weeks on his father's first feature, 1991's "Love in the Time of Hysteria. " He had a small role in his father's second film, 1995's "A Little Princess," and attended school on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank. "He was so happy," remembered Alfonso. "He was the only boy surrounded by 20 girls.

Rhode Island, pay attention: Your favorite film is apparently "Hachi: A Dog's Tale. " A map posted on Reddit earlier this week charts the most popular film set in each state, and some results are surprising, especially for the nation's smallest state. Based on a true story, "Hachi" debuted in 2009, starring Richard Gere and Joan Allen. It follows a college professor who adopts an abandoned dog with a penchant for waiting at train stations. The map was compiled using ratings on the Internet Movie Database and "Hachi " received an 8.2 out of 10. But it doesn't exactly have the same blockbuster status as “Dumb and Dumber,” which also takes place in Rhode Island.

Nelson Mandela, who fought for decades to end racial oppression in South Africa, has died just weeks before the wide release of a movie telling the story of his life. The film, titled "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom," chronicles its subject's early life, the quarter-century he spent in prison, and his rise to become the first-ever black president of South Africa. He has since remained a symbol of the long fight against the apartheid regime.  Mandela is played by the British actor Idris Elba in the film, which is set to debut in theaters across the U.S. on Christmas Day. The movie is being distributed by the Weinstein Co. and was directed by Justin Chadwick.  PHOTOS: Actors who've portrayed Nelson Mandela on screen It has already built some momentum during its limited release.

Being the son of an obsessive filmmaker means your life already has a destiny, whether intended or not. That was certainly the case for Jonás Cuarón, the eldest son of Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón. Young Jonás spent weeks on his father's first feature, 1991's "Love in the Time of Hysteria. " He had a small role in his father's second film, 1995's "A Little Princess," and attended school on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank. "He was so happy," remembered Alfonso. "He was the only boy surrounded by 20 girls.

Margaret Pellegrini, one of the last of the 124 little people who played Munchkins in the 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz," died Wednesday at her Glendale, Ariz., home. She was 89. The 4-foot-tall Pellegrini, a frequent guest of honor at "Oz" festivals around the U.S., had been in declining health since a stroke in March, said Colleen Zimmer, an organizer of the annual Oz-Stravaganza festival in Chittenango, N.Y., birthplace of "Oz" author L. Frank Baum. Illness kept Pellegrini from serving as grand marshal at this year's event.

School's out, your parents are annoying and suburban Ohio is totally boring. For the three teenage protagonists in "The Kings of Summer," there's only one antidote: Build a house in the woods. For the CBS Films coming-of-age comedy, which premieres in Los Angeles and New York on Friday and will roll out across the U.S this summer, director Jordan Vogt-Campbell envisioned a scrap-pile sanctuary -- one that young people could have realistically built on a bare-bones budget. The result is a charming, patchwork example of ingenuity and craftiness.

Angry Birds will be flying into movie theaters in July 2016 with Sony announcing Wednesday that it has acquired the worldwide rights to the ubiquitous game franchise. The 3-D CG-animated movie will be developed and financed by Rovio Entertainment, the Finnish gaming company that created "Angry Birds. " John Cohen, who most recently produced Illumination Entertainment/Universal Pictures' "Despicable Me," will produce.  Since its debut in December 2009, the "Angry Birds" game and its offshoots have been downloaded more than 1.7 billion times.

Lights, Action, Strike!: Theaters and movie sets in Madrid were closed Thursday as actors, dancers and technicians went on strike to protest cutbacks in government support of the performing arts. Among projects halted was the filming of "Columbus" starring Gerard Depardieu.

SOMEONE needs to tell David O. Russell that we have laws in this country that prohibit employers from abusing their employees [" 'Huckabees' Tantrum Just Business as Usual?" by Gina Piccalo, April 11]. If any other employer acted like he did, he would be fired and/or sued for abuse. More shocking is the reaction of liberal Hollywood -- from George Clooney condemning the release of the tape as "sneaky" and messing with people's lives, to Russell's co-workers and friends justifying it by saying that "movie sets are pressure cookers."

You know the Hugh Jackman rumor: The married, muscled actor is supposedly gay, according to - well, according to your friend who has a friend who is certain he's gay. Jackman sang a different tune to the Hollywood Reporter in an article published Wednesday that goes into detail about the actor's life, weight, work, friends and more. It also mentions the gay rumors. Turns out the person most upset by the rumors is Jackman's wife of 16 years, Deborra-Lee Furness. "Just recently, it bugs her," he told the mag, explaining that she uses the Internet more than he does.

Many industry pundits underestimated the prospects of "Texas Chainsaw 3D," the horror tale that finally knocked "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" from the top spot at the box office. Expected to gross about $16 million in its debut, the Leatherface sequel fared much better than predicted , selling an estimated $23 million of tickets. The film's commercial appeal wasn't the only part of "Texas Chainsaw" that people sold short. Producer Christa Campbell, a former pin-up girl and B-movie actress, said that Hollywood executives also assumed someone best known for her body couldn't have any moviemaking brains.