Paul Giamatti Archives

Sultry Italian bombshell Monica Bellucci takes her 2-year-old daughter Deva Cassel to play at Pincio Park in Rome, Italy on Tuesday afternoon.

Monica and French actor Vincent Cassel have been married since 1999.

Monica, 42, is currently working with director Joel Schumacher (The Number 23, The Phantom of the Opera) in a new drama called Centricity set for a 2007 release. Plot details are being kept secret!

But before that, Monica has a new crime thriller out Sept. 7 called Shoot ‘Em Up co-starring Clive Owen and Paul Giamatti. With those three acting greats together in one film, I’m hoping it’s a great film!

Shoot ‘Em Up tells the story of a man named Mr. Smith (Owen) who delivers a woman’s baby during a shootout, and is then called upon to protect the newborn from the army of gunmen. Why is Clive holding a carrot, may I ask?

For more pictures of Monica, Deva, and Shoot ‘Em Up stills, CLICK HERE!

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Ever since the August 15 premiere of The Illusionist in New York City, the whole industry has been buzzing about the mysteriously new X-factor on Jessica Biel’s body: her humongous butt. Everybody’s been wondering why Jessica’s behind is only beginning to get noticed now, especially since there’s no immediate speculation that she might have gotten it through surgery, meaning that she had to have had this asset all her life. Maybe a new workout routine helped bring it out?

In any case, it was hard to miss her large tail at The Illusionist premiere, but if for some reason you did, you can check out the photos of it (as well as the rest of Jessica) along with her co-stars Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti. Also, there are several photos of her returning to her hotel later on in the day.

 - Doobybrain

Jessica Biel ran into MTV’s TRL studios Monday to promote The Illusionist, in which she plays an 18th-century Viennese countess and co-stars along Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti. The Illusionist opens this coming Friday, August 18 in select theaters, and nationwide on Friday, September 1.

 - Doobybrain

Allow me to wave my wand and make all of the other summer "blockbusters" disappear… for The Illusionist tops them all! 
 
Edward Norton plays the enigmatic magician who bewitches large audiences and Jessica Biel’s character alike. His acting is spot on but perhaps most impressive is that Norton actually did all of his own sleight of hand tricks (including rolling a ball around on his hand à la David Bowie in The Labyrinth–though David Bowie had a stunt magician do that for him). Director Neil Burger said, "The first week of filming, we were in a theater with about 350 extras in period dress for the stage performance scenes, and Edward performed a trick he had learned—and he fooled everyone in the theater, and all of us behind the camera.  And it wasn’t a fluke, because later, during a different scene, where he had to produce something out of thin air, he got genuine reactions.  Even Jessica and Rufus [Sewell] came up to him afterwards and asked, ‘How did you do that?!?’"   
 
Speaking of Jessica Biel, who knew she could look so believable as an 18^th century Viennese countess? Not being a fan of 7th Heaven at all, I was skeptical about the casting decision and pleasantly surprised by the quiet and assured performance, without any terrible overacting, that she gave.  
 
Paul Giamatti’s fanboy-ish inspector added to the clever bits of situational and character humor scattered throughout the film. They helped liven up the sometimes moody (but very beautiful) atmosphere of the film without distracting from the main plot, a "tragic" love story really suited to the rich green and old gold settings and swelling Phillip Glass soundtrack.

With so much style, such pretty people, and such cool tricks (look out for the orange tree!), The Illusionist delivers more than you’d expect from a typical summer movie.

Check out The Illusionist when it hits theaters August 18.  I wonder how the next magician movie will match up…

TIDBIT :: Norton studied a year behind Giamatti at Yale.