Movie File: 'Cinderella Man,' Christopher Walken, 'Batman,' Jason Isaacs

[snipped for Keanu]

but the moody Keanu Reeves comic book adaptation "Constantine" is nevertheless spawning buzz about a sequel. "They've been talking about it," Djimon Hounsou said of Warner Bros., which released the first installment in February. "I've heard rumors, but you know, they're rumors." Hounsou, who portrayed mysterious witch doctor Papa Midnite in the first film, added that he's anxious to revisit the creepy character in the future: "Oh, most definitely." ...

Video games: Hollywood's new art

Oscar winners are making movie spin-offs for PlayStation fans as gaming enjoys a £17bn boom, reports David Smith in Los Angeles

Sunday June 26, 2005
The Observer

Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne performed. The Wachowski brothers wrote a 60-page script. Hollywood's finest lighting and sound technicians were hired and an Oscar-winning editor produced the final cut. But this wasn't a blockbuster movie from the makers of The Matrix. It was a video game.
The distinction between films and games is blurred as never before, with leading directors, actors and crew increasingly working in both genres. Gaming as an industry has outgrown Hollywood to become worth £17 billion a year worldwide, with titles such as The Sims played by more women than men.

Now, in a sign of games' growing claim to definition as 'art', a festival at the National Film Theatre in London will explore the relationship between cinema and its not-so-poor relation.

Speakers at the NTI*, or non-trivial interaction, event next month will consider a future in which computer - generated faces can express as much emotion as a human actor, the latest Julia Roberts romantic comedy is turned into a game and - to the horror of purists - film producers tailor scripts to include 'game-friendly' sequences.

It is a world in which wannabe actors and other creative talents who once pursued their dreams in Hollywood are as likely to achieve fame and fortune in a software studio down the freeway.

Among those already thriving is Dave Perry, 38, who, having grown up in County Antrim and Egham in Surrey, is now a multi-millionaire, married to a Hawaiian beauty queen, drives a BMW 760 and lives in a five-bedroom 'gadget house' overlooking the sea. His firm, Shiny Entertainment, has developed The Matrix: Path of Neo, to be released by Atari next winter.

With the involvement of Larry and Andy Wachowski, directors of The Matrix film trilogy and other spin-off games, it is the boldest demonstration yet of the power of software developers.

'When we started this game, we said to the Wachowski brothers, "Would you mind re-editing the movies for us?",' Perry said. 'They came up with a better ending than for the movies, so new footage is being made in Hollywood. We were able to laser-scan the actors and photograph them closely for 3D character models. We got the music and sound effects people to remake the music, and the painter to give us better lighting and atmosphere. We've got Oscar-winning people working on a video game.'

It is a glimpse of the future, he argues. 'My prediction is there will be no A-list actor who will not have worked in a video game. The ones resisting don't play games and don't see the point, but they're having children, and then their children are getting addicted to the games, so they'll do it for the kids.

'The creme de la creme of directors are all working on video games. That tells me the industry is tantalising beyond belief to these people.'

The next generation of games consoles, such as Sony's PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360, allow game developers to produce near photo-realistic graphics.

'In 10 years the graphical output has improved by 1 million per cent. It's hard to comprehend but what we're playing today will be a million times better looking in 10 to 15 years from now. We all talk about one day we'll be be able to look like Shrek; we'll sail right past them. In 10 to 15 years what you'll see on screen will be pretty indistinguishable from real.'

Among the leading film directors to seize on games potential are James Cameron, George Lucas, Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, whose latest project, King Kong, is both movie and game. Actors including Christian Bale, Marlon Brando, Michael Caine, Sean Connery and Clint Eastwood have performed specifically for games. Among their latest titles are versions of the films Batman Begins, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Chronicles of Narnia, Dirty Harry, The Godfather, Jaws, Scarface, Star Wars: Episode III and Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Some critics see a threat to the artistic integrity of films, arguing that releases such as the Star Wars prequels con tained sequences made with one eye already on the lucrative games market.

Peter Molyneux, doyen of the British games industry and opening speaker at the NTI* festival, said: 'I know that some film makers planning releases for two to three years' time are talking to games developers to ensure there are hooks for them. And when a game is made, there are talks to ensure there are hooks for a film. It is a two-way street.'

Molyneux, director of Lionhead - whose next game, The Movies, allows players to make their own films and show them online - added: 'Both Hollywood and the games industry are running out of content. We've seen everything from The Godfather to The Dukes of Hazzard and the barrel is starting to run dry. The challenge is to do games for other kinds of films: how can we do a computer game of Desperate Housewives or Lost in Translation?'

Iain Simons, director of the NTI* festival, said: 'The time is right for video games to place themselves at the heart of culture. It can be art: it has the potential to move and motivate.'

But Barry Norman, the film critic, said: 'I don't think we're talking art, are we? We're talking commerce.'

Marvel, DC take comics conflict to box office

Rivals hope to cash in with ‘Batman,’ ‘Fantastic Four’
By Mike Musgrove

Suppose Batman and the Fantastic Four are standing at an intersection and get into a fight. Who wins?

An age-old comic book fight is being renewed this summer, and it's not the struggle of good against evil — it's the jostling for revenue and prestige between rival comic companies and their fictional universes.

Crime-fighter Batman, after all, is an employee of DC Comics Inc., a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. His latest adventure on the big screen, "Batman Begins," kicked off as the No. 1 flick last week and took in a not-bad $48.7 million in its opening weekend. "Fantastic Four," which opens July 8, belongs to Marvel Enterprises Inc.'s comics.

[Snipped for Keanu]

Last year's "Catwoman" was also a major embarrassment for Warner Bros., as the company now admits without much prompting.

Jeff Robinov, president of production at Warner Bros. Pictures, said in a telephone interview this week that his studio has learned from the mistakes of that film. He points to the relative success of "Constantine," a Keanu Reeves picture, and the new Batman as moves in the right direction.

[Snipped for Keanu]

unlike the past Batmans who put on more Keanu Reeves-style performances.

Skateboarding from the start

By Melissa Burat
By Dan Cary By Andrea Haber Atlantic High Pine Crest School Stoneman
Douglas High Posted June 24 2005

[Snipped for Keanu]

And this time you have Christian Bale behind the mask. He manages a cool calm that Michael Keaton and Val Kilmer couldn't seem to manage. Also, unlike the prior Batman movies, Batman Begins isn't so much about fighting the Joker or the Penguin, but about Batman himself. Yeah, of course, he fights a villain, but this is about Batman through the lowest points of life to the highest. This is a more personal Batman who displays emotion, unlike the past Batmans who put on more Keanu Reeves-style performances.

[Snipped for Keanu]

Unlike the other Batman movies, Batman Begins is a great movie, one of the best comic book movies to date.

Toronto adopts 'L'Enfant' for fest slate

Tue June 21, 2005 6:03 PM GMT-04:00
By Etan Vlessing

TORONTO (Hollywood Reporter) - The Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday unveiled the first titles chosen for its Sept. 8-15 run, including Cannes trophy winners "L'Enfant" and "Cache."

Unveiling 16 North American premieres among 20 films that bowed at rival festivals, Toronto said it will program the Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's Palme d'Or-winning "L'Enfant" and director prize-winner Michael Haneke's "Cache" in the Masters sidebar, along with Alexander Sokurov's "In the Sun," a drama about Japan's World War II surrender, and Hou Hsiao Hsien's "Three Times," a film from Taiwan about three different stories of love and memory through three different time periods.

Also on tap for the Masters program are two films that competed in Cannes -- "Manderlay," the second leg of Lars von Trier's trilogy about the United States, and Wim Wenders' "Don't Come Knocking," the Sam Shepard starrer about a movie star who escapes the set of his most recent Western to find his past.

Toronto's Visions program, which spotlights innovative filmmakers, will feature Tsai Ming-Liang's "The Wayward Cloud," a China/Taiwan/France co-production; Singapore director Eric Khoo's "Be With Me," the follow-up to "12 Storeys"; and Vimukthi Jayasundara's "The Forsaken Land," a Sri Lankan/French co-production in which viewers are taken to a desolate setting amid a long drawn-out conflict.

Festival co-director Noah Cowan said the titles unveiled Tuesday represented personal favorites for Toronto programers.

"The 20 titles out of the approximately 250 total features we'll be programing are the cream of the festival circuit and are among the highlights of the international cinema scene," he said.

Toronto also announced nine titles for its Contemporary World Cinema sidebar, including Mexican director Carlos Reygadas' "Battle in Heaven," a Cannes competition film about a man haunted by the death of a child he and his wife kidnapped.

Toronto also will unspool Hany Abu-Assad's "Paradise Now," a drama that premiered in competition in Berlin and that portrays two friends reuniting to carry out a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof's "Iron Island," a Cannes premiere about homeless people living on a sinking oil tanker.

The Contemporary World Cinema program also landed Romanian director Cristi Puiu's "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu," a road movie about a dying man seeking solace from an ambulance nurse that earned the Un Certain Regard-Fondation GAN Prize in Cannes, as well as French director Laila Marrakchi's feature debut, "Marock."

The sidebar also will screen Chinese director Wang Xiaoshuai's "Shanghai Dreams," a coming-of-age story about a young girl whose family looks to return to Shanghai after being relocated during Mao's Cultural Revolution, and South African filmmaker Mark Dornford-May's "Carmen in Khayelitsha," a drama based on the opera "Carmen" that is sung and spoken entirely in Xhosa.

Toronto also will unspool the Sundance film "Dear Wendy," Danish director Thomas Vinterberg's second English-language film about guns and violence in U.S. youth culture. "Wendy" was written by von Trier.

Also Toronto-bound is the Iranian film "Gilaneh," a collaboration between Rakhshan Bani-Etemad and her longtime collaborator, Mohsen Abdolvahab.

The Special Presentations sidebar has two U.S. films that bowed at Sundance: Mike Mills' feature debut "Thumbsucker," a drama about a high school student hooked on thumb-sucking that stars Tilda Swinton and Keanu Reeves, and Noah Baumbach's "The Squid and the Whale," a dramatic comedy about two brothers surviving their parent's divorce. "Squid" earned the American Directing Award and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance.

Reuters/VNU

Shohreh Aghdashloo on “Il Mare,” “24” and Actors

From Rebecca Murray,
Your Guide to Hollywood Movies.
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Interview with Shohreh Aghdashloo from the Premiere of “Miss Congeniality 2”Academy Award nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo (“House of Sand and Fog”) showed up at the U.S. Premiere of “Miss Congeniality 2” to show her support for Sandra Bullock. Aghdashloo is currently filming “Il Mare” with Bullock and Keanu Reeves, and just recently finished up a stint on the hit TV series “24” with Kiefer Sutherland.Interview with Shohreh Aghdashloo:

How was your experience on “24?” What grabbed you about that particular character?

It’s fantastic playing this woman who has so many faces. It has allowed me as an actress to be able to portray several characters represented under one name only - Dina Araz.

That show is so intense, was it crazy and tense on the set?

I would differently say tense but not crazy. But everything was so organized and the amount of love and passion and money that they put into every hour is an equivalent [to] everywhere [else] in the world what they put into an hour of film. They put the same amount of passion and work and money so it is intense, but it’s not crazy or chaotic. Well-organized, but very passionate.

You were recently cast in “Il Mare” with Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves. Who do you play?

Well, let me put it this way: First of all, it’s the first non-stereotype role I’m playing, according to the public that was saying that my role in “24” was a stereotype. This is the first one. I’m playing an American doctor –with an accent of course.

How did you get involved with that film?

I loved the script. It’s a sci-fi love story and when I was reading it, for the first few pages I was thinking, “What’s going on? There’s something suspicious here. It can’t be as easy as it seems.” But then I realized, “Oh my God, it is that sophisticated.” It’s a Korean story turned into an English script. Alejandro Agresti the director translated it and adapted it into English.

Does it stay very faithful to the original?Very much so. Very much – the core of the idea.

Are you filming it right now?

Yes, I was in Chicago last week for the first few scenes. I’ve got one week off and I’m going to be back next week in Chicago.

Have you filmed any scenes with Sandra Bullock yet?

I have scenes with her but they’ll be when I return to Chicago. So far I’ve had scenes with Keanu Reeves. The amount of professionalism is incredible. I was always wondering what is it about him that makes all the directors want to work with him, makes the industry go after him. You and I know that it’s a package. Knowing that, I realized that he’s not only professional, he’s so easy to work with, very well-mannered, polite, patient. It was incredible working with this young man. One of the few men I’ve really enjoyed working with in Hollywood because, to be honest with you, I would rather work with women in this industry than men.

Your experience so far has been that women are much easier to work with than men?

Men are much more prima donnas than women. You know, the way they move. They’re obnoxious and jealous and so on and so forth, worse than women.

Is that also true working on the stage?

It is the same. They are much more prima donnas. So far I’ve come to the conclusion that they may feel insecure, that’s why. But women are sexless when they work and they really put all their energy into it. But Keanu and Nestor Serrano, who played my husband in “24,” I also enjoyed working with him. He was a very gentle soul as well.

The greater you are, the more down to earth you are supposed to be. If you are up there and you really think that you are somebody and you become obnoxious, then you must feel insecure. As they say, when a tree has more fruits, the more down to earth its leaves are. The fruits are bringing the tree down to earth. It’s your offspring, it’s what you have done.

When Maggie Speaks, everybody listens

06/16/2005
By JONATHAN MOHR

Eagle Staff Writer

Most teenagers have at one time or another borne the indignity of hearing their parents refer to their favorite music as “garbage.” Of course, most teenagers think the same thing about the music of their parents’ generation. Musical preferences are often a source of inter-generational conflict.

But when “Maggie Speaks,” everybody listens – and everybody will hear something they like. Are you a big fan of the Jackson Five? Into Outkast? Prince? Bryan Adams? Rick Springfield? Bon Jovi? Aerosmith? Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons? The Bee Gees? Eminem? “Maggie Speaks” can cover them all.

Maggie Speaks is a cover band that performs a wide variety of music from the 1960s all the way through today. Lead vocalist David Calzaretta referred to the group as “the human jukebox.” Their concerts draw everyone from college students to young families with children all the way up to grandmas and grandpas. No matter who shows up, Calzaretta said, “We always seem to leave them happy about the show.”

How do you cover so many musical styles and still sound convincing? First of all, Calzaretta said it helps that he has a nearly four-octave vocal range. Secondly, he strives to capture the vibe and attitude fans associate with a particular artist. “I don’t necessarily try and say, ‘Okay, I’ve got sound like Von Scott from AC/DC.’ I just try and recreate that song in the style (of) the original artist.”

“When we cover a song, we cover it exactly as it was written, for the most part. It’s our goal to recreate the studio recordings in a live setting.” Apparently they’re fairly successful – some fans have even told them they can recreate songs better than the original bands.

Music fans in McDonough County will have the chance to judge for themselves during Heritage Days. Maggie Speaks will be playing in Chandler Park Friday, June 24 at 8:30 p.m. Calzaretta is promising a good show. “(We’re) not a run-of-the-mill bar band,” he said. “Everybody in the band has national touring experience. We take that attitude and bring it…to the local market.”

Maggie Speaks has opened for several well-known acts, including Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Kansas, The Temptations, .38 Special and Howie Day. They’ve been onstage in front of 10,000 people at the Old St. Pat’s World’s Largest Block Party, played Taste of Chicago, rocked college campuses, entertained at corporate and private parties and headlined at nightclubs. Calzaretta estimates they’ve played almost 1,000 gigs in the last five years.

The members of the band come from very diverse backgrounds. Calzaretta had no formal training as a vocalist or musician – he was a certified public accountant. Guitar player and vocalist Samir Varma toured Japan with actor Keanu Reeves’ band Dogstar. Drummer Blake Cooper played in the University of Southern California’s marching band and ended up in the hit movie “Forrest Gump.” Trained as a classical percussionist, Cooper is a Yamaha drum clinician who has performed with rocker Meredith Brooks. Bass player and vocalist Shawn Sommer graduated from the music program at Western Michigan University and he plays a regular Sunday night jazz gig with Filter drummer Steve Gillis.

When they formed Maggie Speaks seven years ago, these four were just having fun. A couple years later, they all had a new full-time job. They haven’t forgotten what it’s like to work from 9 to 5, however. When they perform, Calzaretta said, the band’s goal is to make listeners forget their jobs and responsibilities and have fun.

As a point of interest, the band members settled on the name “Maggie Speaks” because they’re all big fans of The Simpsons television program. (Maggie is the Simpsons’ infant daughter.) Want to know more about these guys? Check them out at www.maggiespeaks.com.

Brangelina flexes muscle

Keanu Reeves is said to be talking about marriage with Lynn Collins, whom he's been dating since they met on the Chicago set of their romantic comedy Il Mare. After several tragedies in his romantic life, including the loss of a child, Keanu hasn't dated anyone seriously for several years. He has also been very committed to looking after his sister Kim, who is being treated for cancer.

Shut up and please don't play that guitar, Keanu

By Craig Canavan
June 12, 2005

Ten years ago she was one of Hollywood's hottest starlets, in demand and able to work with such acclaimed auteurs as Martin Scorsese, Oliver Stone and Woody Allen. But, as time has passed, Juliette Lewis's star has been on the wane and these days she's lucky if she can get a role in a dubious B-grade romantic comedy.

So what's a thespian going to do when the acting work dries up and they are no longer sitting pretty on the A-list? Turn to music of course.

Paging recently through Uncut, Britain's premier music and film magazine, I came across a photo of a wild-looking singer, slinky in her purple one-piece lycra catsuit complete with blood-red leather stilettos. The photo had been taken just after the singer had leapt in to the waiting hands of the boisterous crowd, her body borne aloft and manhandled in a manner that should get one arrested.

A typical scene at any dingy, dank and dark punk fleapit the world over except that the lass being fondled was none other than Juliette Lewis, fronting her own hardcore rock band The Licks at London's notoriously dingy, dank and dark punk fleapit The Barfly. From Oscar-nominee to expletive-spewing punk rocker; she's not the only one.

Showbiz celebrity types straddling two disciplines is nothing new. Hip-hop stars such as Ice Cube, Ice-T, Queen Latifah, Eminem and even the late Tupac Shakur have managed to make the transition from recording studio to film studio with a fair amount of success, avoiding complete embarrassment and even, sometimes, impressing with their thespian skills.

In fact, despite the occasional miscalculated mess, like Britney Spears in the gag-awful Crossroads, musicians who turn to acting tend to fare rather well. There are those, like Barbara Streisand (you cannot dismiss her obvious talent and appeal as both a singer and an actress), Frank Sinatra and, to a lesser extent, Madonna, who have carved out a career in song with a notable performance in Evita.

Others, like Tom Waits, Courtney Love and, lately, Jack White (of The White Stripes and recently seen in Cold Mountain), make the odd trip over from music to acting with acclaim.

Johnny Depp, who started out as a musician, has become one of the better Hollywood thesps. Hell, even gangsta rapper Snoop Dogg impresses as an actor when given the right role, like that of pimp-informer Huggy Bear in the Starsky & Hutch spoof.

But what about those, like Juliette Lewis, who start out as actors only to segue in to music? And why is it that musicians who become actors fare better, generally, than those who do it the other way around?

Personally I'm not a big fan of actors who turn to music, mostly because they're just not very good. The exception is when Steven Seagal tries to play guitar - that's just plain hilarious and puts one in mighty fine humour for the rest of the day.

My theory is that just about anyone (except Seagal of course), can be directed in to giving a decent performance on film and the filmmakers can edit out all the bad bits. But not everyone can write a catchy melody or thoughtful lyrics and just because you can carry a tune or play a couple of chords on the piano does not make you the next Tori Amos.

Take Robert Downey jnr, for example. Like Lewis, his acting career has gone from some unbelievable highs to some all too believable lows thanks to a destructive streak and drug habits that would do Keith Richard proud.

Now that he is no longer the Downey jnr of Chaplin days, he wants to be the male Tori Amos (he claimed as much in a recent interview) and has just released The Futurist, his debut album of soft and sensitive piano ballads that makes him sound more like a male Norah Jones and nothing like the disturbing, experimental Amos.

As any who has seen Downey is films such as Chaplin and The Singing Detective, or, more recently, in Ally McBeal, can tell that the man can sing and on the album he croons effectively in a torn velvet voice that sounds something like Bono imitating Bruce Springsteen. Not a bad combination.

He also plays the piano rather well and has a strong sense of melody but none of this can disguise the fact that he cannot write good songs, at least not yet. Lyrically he comes across as a slightly depressed and lovelorn teenager, his musings on love and life embarrassingly corny and immature. Musically he never attempts to go beyond a middle-of-the-road groove and the result is an album that is listenable, just, and very forgettable.

As is the musical work of French beauty Julie Delpy. A superb actress, she showed off her singing skills toward the end of last year's Before Sunset but that guitar-strumming scene with Ethan Hawke flattered only to deceive. Her eponymous debut album is a stinker that dishes up woefully inept folksy guitar ditties that lack focus, depth and anything approaching musicality.

Brit actress Minnie Driver fares a little better with Everything I've got in my Pocket, her bittersweet voice masking the frailties of her song writing. It's a pleasant enough album, rather good in parts even, but it's not going to topple anyone from any chart.

Making all of the above sound like musical geniuses is the brawling toughie Russell Crowe. He fronts a band called Thirty Odd Foot of Grunts, U2 wannabes with very little talent and zero sense of melody. Crowe writes most of the lyrics, which would explain such song titles as I Wanna Be Marlon Brando. Then stick to acting, you dimwit.

The worst of the current crop, however, has to be Keanu Reeves. Though no great shakes as an actor - unless of course he's impersonating a tree in which case his wooden demeanour is perfect - Reeves does have the coolness quotient that made him such a success as the world's saviour in The Matrix movies.

But, put a bass guitar in his hands (at your peril) and allow him to play with his band Dogstar and he's no longer cool. He is The One and a bloody awful one at that. His band could cause irreversible aural damage.

There are, as with everything in life, a few exceptions. Like comedian Jack Black, who created Tenacious D, a hilarious campy spoof of rock n' roll excess that actually boasts some half-decent tunes. And it helps that they never take themselves too seriously.

Best of a small bunch is Mos Def, the hip-hop star who started out as a classically trained actor on stage before making a name for himself as the creator of thoughtful rap. He is now back in the acting game, this time on the big screen and with some success, especially after his star turn as Ford Prefect in the upcoming The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

However, despite these odd blips of success, actors who hear the musical muse's call should fulfil their ambitions with a late night sing-along around the camp fire with family and very close friends instead of inflicting their dire outpourings on the public.

Collins a Shakespeare fan

Who is Lynn Collins, the actress Keanu Reeves seems to have fallen for in a big way?

"I knew I wanted to become an actress when I was in seventh grade and played Ophelia in Hamlet," says the 28-year-old Texan, who has been a faithful follower of the Bard ever since. In 2001, she starred in an interracial version of Romeo & Juliet -- black Romeo, white Juliet -- then made her movie debut with a small role in the 2003 comedy Down with Love. Her breakthrough came when she auditioned for Al Pacino's production of The Merchant of Venice and was handed the leading role of Portia after Pacino and director Michael Radford reviewed her audition tapes. "I was so excited I broke out in hives," she says.

With supporting roles in 50 First Dates and 13 Going on 30, the Juilliard-trained actress is now considered one of Hollywood's brightest newcomers. She has completed Il Mare, a romantic comedy starring Reeves and Sandra Bullock, and this summer will begin shooting Bronte, a biopic of the Bronte sisters in which she will play Charlotte Bronte.

Keanu a Married Man?

You wouldn't know it from the almost daily stomach-churning public displays of affection from Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, but many celebrities prefer to keep their relationships private. Witness the recent undercover nuptials of Renée Zellweger and Kenny Chesney. Or Jack White and Karen Elson. Or Keanu Reeves and Autumn Macintosh.

Say what?

Yup, a British tabloid reported this week that the privacy-loving "Matrix" megastar secretly wed his former squeeze last month in Los Angeles.

"They don't like causing a fuss," an insider told the paper, adding that the supposed "quiet civil ceremony" at a "small restaurant" was attended by "only family and friends."

The timing of the alleged aisle walk is bewildering. In recent weeks, Reeves, 40, has been squiring Lynn Collins, 28, his "Il Mare" co-star and rumored girlfriend around Los Angeles (he's even been driving her around on his Harley, a sure sign of celebrity commitment). Just a few days ago, they were reportedly spied playing tonsil hockey at a Manhattan hotel.

So what's the deal? Did the notoriously close-mouthed Keanu take an under-the-radar plunge with Macintosh, whom he was first linked to back in March 2004?

Not so much. In an e-mail to MSN Entertainment, his spokeswoman says the rumors are (emphasis and exclamation marks hers) "completely FALSE!!!!!!"

So there.

Still, if Reeves ever does decide to tie the knot, chances are the public will be the last to know.

"I'm not interested in showing anybody what's behind the curtain," he told Time earlier this year. "I like watching a good documentary about how something was made. I just don't want it to be my life."

REEVES SLAMS WEDDING RUMOURS

Hollywood hunk KEANU REEVES has hit out at reports he secretly married his ex-girlfriend AUTUMN MACINTOSH last month (MAY05) in Los Angeles.

This week (begs06JUN05) several British newspapers claimed the MATRIX actor had a quiet civil ceremony at a small restaurant which was only attended by family and friends.

Reeves, who first dated actress Macintosh in the 1990s, was rumoured to have rekindled their romance months before the wedding.

The news sparked a media frenzy because Reeves is reportedly dating his IL MARE co-star LYNN COLLINS and has been inseparable from her in the past few weeks.

But his spokeswoman has branded the allegations "completely false".

His publicist denied Keanu's marriage,

And from Russell Crowe to another leading man, did heartthrob Keanu Reeves tie the knot in a secret ceremony?

No -- a British paper is reporting Reeves married girlfriend Autumn Macintosh last month in Los Angeles, but we spoke to Keanu's people who said the story is completely false. Keanu is still a single man.

Keanu Reeves ties the knot

Keanu Reeves has reportedly married fiance Autumn Macintosh. .

The Hollywood heartthrob stunned the showbiz world after it emerged he had allegedly tied the knot with his actress girlfriend at a secret ceremony in Los Angeles last month.

A source told Britain's Daily Star newspaper: "Keanu and Autumn wanted something really low-key so opted for a quiet civil ceremony with only family and friends.

"They don't like causing a fuss. It was at a small restaurant in Los Angeles and was very simple and chic".The smitten couple, who have been dating for just over a year, revealed their happy news after hitting the party circuit and introducing themselves as man and wife.

Keanu sighting @ NY

This isn’t too exciting, but I did have a NYC sighting of Keanu Reeves and his new gal pal this past Sunday.

I was eating at a restaurant on the Upper West Side (apparently, he keeps a place on CPW). I was there around 5pm, and sitting with my mom, cousin, and husband. We didn’t notice him until 15 minutes into our conversation. To my embarrasement, we were talking about celebrity sightings in NYC. My mom and cousin were so excited, because they just saw Bruce Vilanch??? My husband and I starting rattling off all of the people we see in the neighborhood, when I noticed someone shooting me dirty looks.

You guessed it, Keanue was not happy with our conversation. I turned bright red, and stopped talking. I immediatly whispered to everyone to SHUT UP. I then proceeded to mention that Keanue Reeves was sitting one table over with his new girlfriend, and two other friends. Since we were the only two tables that had people eating in the entire place, it became very silent in the room. We were uncomfortable for about 5-10 minutes, but then it passed.

We tried to ignore that he was arm’s reach away, for the next 45 minutes, and talked amongst ourselves. He did get up a few times, and my mom made eye contact with him. She smiled very sweetly, but he ignored her. He was very affectionate with his girlfriend, and held her hand throughout the meal. She is kinda cute, in a hippy way, and he looks very scruffy.

As the restaurant started to fill up, he become uncomfortable. He left about an hour after we got there. I swear, when he left, the entire restaurant became silent. Once he walked out, everyone started talking about him. It was very funny.

Up on the roof

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie found a moment together in New York this week during their carefully coordinated publicity rounds for "Mr. and Mrs. Smith."

The couple has scrupulously avoided being seen with each other since those paparazzi shots of their Kenyan beach vacation got out in April.

But they were spotted on Thursday, in canoodle delicto on the roof deck of the Meatpacking District's Hotel Gansevoort.

Warm weather seems to be bringing them out in droves: Keanu Reeves was also there, the day before, "making out" with his new girlfriend, actress Lynn Collins.