Michael Shannon on 'Take Shelter': A Movie of His Own About Fears of His Own (Video)

Michael Shannon -- like Philip Baker Hall, John Hawkes, Eddie Marsan, Michael Kenneth Williams, and only a select few others -- is an actor whose name is only vaguely familiar to the general public, but whose face always rings a bell, and whose consistently strong performances over the course of decades on stage, TV, and film have earned him the reverence of his peers. Unlike those other great "character actors," though, Shannon, 37, has been given the chance to play the principal role in a movie that will get a pretty wide release, at least in terms of the art-house circuit, and with it a chance to show a larger audience what he is capable of. The film is Jeff Nichols's Take Shelter -- it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, played at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month, and opens in theaters tomorrow -- and Shannon doesn't disappoint. PHOTOS: Emmy Nominations 2011: Snubs and Shockers Shannon, one of our four kids, was raised in Kentucky by his mother after his parents divorced and his father moved to Illinois. Not especially gifted athletically or academically, he was at a loss for things to do after school until, one day during high school, he came across a flyer for the "speech team." Intrigued, he stopped by a meeting and was given a monologue to study. "I remember it clear as day," he says. He had never memorized anything in his life, but he practiced it, learned it, and was intrigued. He never rose to higher than an alternate on the team (although he did fill in one day for an absent extemporaneous speaker), but his interest in the dramatic arts was piqued. After finishing high school, Shannon moved in with his father in Chicago, perhaps the theatrical capital of the country outside of NY, and began pursuing acting. He did his first serious play while still a teenager -- he can still recite the review from memory: "Michael Shannon is a semi-attractive youngster who thinks acting is rubbing his eyebrows and flapping his arms like a bird" -- and ultimately hooked up with the prestigious Steppenwolf Theatre Company, among others. His reviews soon got better, and he today regards his early experience in the theater as an invaluable resource for his more recent work in films. "Most people probably don't know as much as they should before they start doing this," he notes. STORY: Emmys 2011: 'Boardwalk Empire's' Michael Shannon Skipping the Show His first film opportunity arose when Groundhog Day (1993) began shooting in town. He won the small role of a newlywed who is having marital issues until Bill Murray intervenes, and consequently earned his SAG card. Rather than moving out to Los Angeles, though, he returned to NY, where he was cast as the lead in Tracy Letts's off-Broadway play Killer Joe ("which now is a feature film apparently, which I really want to see"). Through that, he met Lee Daniels, who has since become widely known as the director of Precious (2010), and who, at the time, set him up with a few film auditions that panned out and then encouraged him, "Time to go west, young man!" Shannon reluctantly relocated to L.A. where, for the next three years (1999-2001), during which he "worked pretty much constantly." Highlights of that era include appearances in three Jerry Bruckheimer movies -- Pearl Harbor (2001), Bad Boys II (2003), and Kangaroo Jack (2003) -- and Curtis Hanson's 8 Mile (2002), among others. He acknowledges that "most of the time, I was, like, third guy on the left or whatever," but also feels that he "got a lot of experience" and came to appreciate that "it's your responsibility to learn how to be valuable... you can't just stand on set and be like, 'Why aren't people paying more attention to me?'" VIDEO: 'Premium Rush' Traile: Joseph Gordon-Levitt Races Through the Streets of NY With Mysterious Envelope He ultimately returned to NY to appear in Letts' play Bug. While based there, he also appeared in a few high-profile movies, including Oliver Stone's World Trade Center (2004), which ultimately led to an audition for the small but significant part of a mentally disturbed truth-teller in Sam Mendes's Revolutionary Road (2008), which he bagged. For his eight unforgettable minutes of screen time opposite Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, and Kathy Bates, Shannon was rewarded with a best supporting actor Oscar nod, which might well have resulted in a win had his competition not included the late Heath Ledger for his final performance in The Dark Knight (2008). Shannon, whom I last interviewed shortly after that nomination was announced, remembers it as a crazy time. "It was such an avalanche. The nomination happened and I got Boardwalk [the important role of Agent Nelson Van Alden on Martin Scorsese and Terence Winter's hit HBO show Boardwalk Empire] at the same time." More than anything else he has done, he says, people now recognize him for his work on that show. Which brings us to Take Shelter. Nichols wrote his first feature, Shotgun Stories (2007), with Shannon in mind for the lead after Nichols's college professor, who had worked with the actor, showed students a clip of his work. At Nichols's request, the professor passed along the script to Shannon. The actor was blown away by it and agreed to star in it for virtually nothing (which is about all Nichols could offer him). The film was not seen by many but was well-received by most of those who saw it, so Nichols grew apprehensive about what to do next. Eventually, he asked Shannon to take a look at Take Shelter. "The first time he showed it to me," Shannon says, "it wasn't like, 'Hey, I want you to be in this!' He said just, like, 'Here's my next script. Do you think it's any good?'" STORY: Feinberg Forecast: Christopher Plummer, Glenn Close, Brad Pitt, Viola Davis, Leonardo DiCaprio in Hunt for First Oscars Shannon ended up loving it and agreeing to be a part of it. Unlike Revolutionary Road or most of the big screen projects of which he's been a part before -- with the big screen adaptation of Bug (2006), Shotgun Stories, and The Missing Person (2009) being notable exceptions -- his part calls for him to appear in almost every scene. "When I read the movie, I was like, 'This is really good, but I feel sorry for whoever plays Curtis because that's gonna be a drag!" As he has many times before, Shannon plays a guy who is hard to read -- in this case, Curtis, a young husband (of the great Jessica Chastain), father (of an adorable deaf child), and son (of an institutionalized woman). Curtis begins to experience increasingly apocalyptic visions and nightmares that leave him with two great fears for hsi beloved family, one of which has to be true: the first, that he is growing mentally ill, or the second, that what he is prophesizing (like a young Harold Camping) might actually come true. (Spoiler alert: the film's ending is deliberately ambiguous and leaves that question unanswered.) Shannon says he took the part because he has fears of his own. "I can identify with Curtis," he says. "I find the world very threatening. I think it's really crazy what's happening right now on so many different levels. It's not a political thing -- I'm not gonna go there -- but we live in an incredibly fragile, crazy world. And, to me, this film was an opportunity to express that. It's a poem about that... it's not 'an investigative study of one man's journey into mental illness' or something. It's just about this feeling. I look around and I think, 'Man, I must not be the only person who feels this way!' But that's the thing, is that Curtis thinks maybe he is the only person that feels this way, you know, that something, kind of, bad might happen pretty soon." For Shannon, though, it seems that only good things are happening at the moment. He was in Los Angeles for only a whirlwind visit when we spoke, because he was due back in Canada to shoot his next scenes for Zack Snyder's greatly anticipated reboot of the Superman franchise, entitled Man of Steel, in which he will play the villainous General Zod. (The film, which also stars Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Laurence Fishburne, Christopher Meloni, and Diane Lane, will hit theaters in the summer of 2013 and is expected to be a huge blockbuster.) Shannon tells me, "I was on the set of Man of Steel a couple of days ago, and I looked around at this huge set, you know, on this soundstage -- like, mind-blowingly gorgeous -- and I had one of those moments where I looked around and I was like, 'Holy shit. I'm here. I'm here, and I'm doing this, and all these people seem to want me to be here.' It was very bizarre. Not anything you anticipate, you know?" Michael Shannon Take Shelter

Two and a Half Men Snags True Blood Hunk

Joe Manganiello Joe Manganiello is returning to CBS! The True Blood star will guest-star in a late October episode of Two and a Half Men, Entertainment Weekly reports. Fall Preview: Get scoop on your favorite returning shows Manganiello will play the sexy new boyfriend of Bridget (Judy Greer), who's Walden's (Ashton Kutcher) ex-wife. Now we understand why CBS boss Nina Tassler called Walden broken hearted. Who could compete with this? The 34-year-old actor previously appeared on the network as Marshall's law school pal on How I Met Your Mother. He also had bit parts on Medium, CSI, CSI: NY and CSI: Miami (all different roles). He'll also appear in an upcoming episode of White Collar slated for January.

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Global Showbiz Briefs: Russia, Canada, Italy

Did Kremlin Have Its Hands On Russia’s Choice For Oscars? Russian critics are blaming the Kremlin and lamenting the country’s choice for the best foreign language film entry at the Oscars. The most expensive film in the nation’s history — Burnt by the Sun-2: Citadel– was chosen despite being abox office bomb. It was directed by Nikita Mikhalkov, a close friend of prime minister Vladimir Putin. Even the selection panel’s chairman, Oscar-winning director Vladimir Menshov, refused to sign off on the vote in protest. The decision was unfair, he told a correspondent from the UK’s Telegraph. It was extremely badly received by critics, its box office receipts collapsed and it had no international festival success. There were at least two other films that were more deserving, he added. Citadel is a 3-hour take on the Red Armys battle against the Nazis starring Mikhalkov himself and is the third instalment of an epic saga. The first film in the trilogy, Burnt by the Sun, won an Oscar for the best foreign language film in 1995. But Mikhalkovraised eyebrows by then making a two-part sequel over a period of eight years at a combined cost of $54M. Canada Bars TV Firms FromExclusive TV, InternetOffers Canadian media regulators today blocked companies that own TV networks from offering their programs exclusively to their mobile or Internet subscribers. Any program broadcast on TV –including hockey games, so you know they’re serious– must be made available to competitors under fair and reasonable terms. “Canadians shouldn’t be forced to buy a mobile device from a specific company or subscribe to its Internet service simply to access their favorite television programs,” the regulatory panel’s chairman Konrad von Finckenstein said in statement. Not surprisingly, execs at Canada’s biggest media congloms, Bell Canada Enterprises and Quebecor Cable, were disappointed. BCE spokesman Mirko Bibic said the decision will stifle innovation. “The ability to test things out in the marketplace or to differentiate yourself with consumers is what competition is all about.” Companies can still offer exclusive programming to their Internet or mobile customers if it is produced specifically for the that purpose. Rome FestivalTo Honor Richard Gere With Career Award The American star of Pretty Woman and An Officer And a Gentleman will receive the Marcus Aurelius career award, organizers said today. The sixthedition of theRome International Film Festivalwill run fromOctober 27 to November 4. The fest will screen a restored version of Terrence Malick’s 1978 Days of Heaven, in which Gere starred. Gere will talk about his work with Malick and retrace the early stages of his career.

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Dodgers Wish To Sell TV Privileges, Claim TWC, Dish And DirecTV Might Bid

The La Dodgers today requested the judge within their personal bankruptcy situation to allow them sell their local TV privileges for that 2014 season and beyond. They stated the sports privileges market was “vibrant” now plus they wanted to try and cut an offer “to avoid any chance of degeneration in value.” Just before their personal bankruptcy filing, Mlb Commissioner Bud Selig declined owner Frank McCourt’s cope with Fox Sports’ Prime Ticket. That blocked a $385M upfront payment on theproposed deal, worth an believed$3B. Fox continues to have a unique settling period using the team looking for March. 15-November. 30 of the coming year, however the Dodgers keep up with the personal bankruptcy negates it. In the filing in Delaware federal court, they requested that it is 45-day settling term with Fox be increased for this year, then two months of open putting in a bid.Time Warner Cable,Dish Network andDirecTV might bebidders, they’s filing stated. Any deal could be susceptible to Major league baseball’s approval. A hearing is placed for March. 12.

Brad Pitt Backtracks on 'Moneyball' Press Gaffe About Jennifer Aniston

Brad Pitt is backtracking from recent comments he made about his ex-wife, Jennifer Aniston, and their marriage.our editor recommendsToronto 2011: Brad Pitt on Winning in an Unfair Game'World War Z': Brad Pitt to Begin Filming in GlasgowAngelina Jolie, Brad Pitt Donate $2 Million To Namibian Wildlife SanctuaryJennifer Aniston, Justin Theroux Rent House in Beverly Hills (Photos) In an interview with Parade magazine, Pitt -- who next stars in Moneyball, which recently premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival -- seemed to criticize Aniston, to whom he was married from 2000-05. PHOTOS: Toronto Film Festival: 13 Films to Know "I spent the '90s trying to hide out, trying to duck the full celebrity cacophony," he said. "I started to get sick of myself sitting on a couch, holding a joint, hiding out. It started feeling pathetic. It became very clear to me that I was intent on trying to find a movie about an interesting life, but I wasn't living an interesting life myself. I think that my marriage [to Aniston] had something to do with it. Trying to pretend the marriage was something that it wasn't." FILM REVIEW: 'Moneyball' The quotes received a great deal of media attention after they were posted on Parade's website Thursday. Later in the day, Pitt issued a statement to The Hollywood Reporter through his reps at CAA in which he clarified what he was trying to say and praised Aniston. PHOTOS: 15 Movies That Made The Grade: A+ CinemaScore Posse "It grieves me that this was interpreted this way," he said. "Jen is an incredibly giving, loving and hilarious woman who remains my friend. It is an important relationship I value greatly. The point I was trying to make is not that Jen was dull, but that I was becoming dull to myself -- and that, I am responsible for." Pitt has largely remained silent about Aniston and their marriage since they got divorced six years ago. However, he did raise eyebrows when he posed with Jolie for a family-themed shoot in the July 2005 issue of W magazine, not long after his split with Aniston. STORY: Angelina Jolie Wears $15,000 Handcuff Bag to 'Moneyball' Premiere After the magazine came out, Aniston remarked that he was missing a "sensitivity chip." Pitt -- who has six children with Angelina Jolie -- is on the promotional tour for Moneyball, which opens Sept. 23. In the movie, which Steven Zaillian adapted from Michael Lewis' best-selling book, Pitt plays Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane, a role that is earning him Oscar buzz. ANALYSIS: Why Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt Are the Frontrunners in Oscar's Best Actor Race Aniston is currently dating Justin Theroux, who co-stars with her in the upcoming movie Wanderlust. Related Topics Angelina Jolie Brad Pitt Jennifer Aniston

Actor Pleads Guilty to Pirating SAG Screener of Black Swan

During the rush to get awards season hopefuls in front of various guilds, the studios have turned to increasingly digital means of distributing screeners to voters. Theatrical screenings and snail-mailed DVD screeners have given way to iTunes codes that allow recipients to download films directly for viewing on laptops, iPads, and other devices. It’s a bold move dependent on a trust that none of the nearly 100,000 members of the Screen Actors Guild, for example, will turn around and pirate said films to the internet. But that’s exactly what one SAG member did last winter. SAG member Wes DeSoto, recently seen as “Werewolf Enthusiast” on a 2010 episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, was the subject of a criminal investigation himself this spring when the FBI raided his home suspecting that he had illegally uploaded SAG award season screener copies of Black Swan and four other films, including The King’s Speech and 127 Hours. DeSoto has now pleaded guilty to one charge of criminal copyright infringement for uploading his screener copy of Black Swan to BitTorrent. Wired reports that DeSoto agreed to plead guilty to “one count of breaching the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2005,” which could bring a sentence of up to three years in prison. Previously, DeSoto denied ties to ThePirateBay.org pirating group TiMPE with the claim, “I’m nobody in the online file sharing world. This investigation is excessive and a waste of tax dollars.” The FBI investigation of DeSoto began when an MPAA officer flagged the illegal upload of the pirated films and he was suspected of being connected to the Pirate Bay handle mf34inc, from which the alleged pirate had bragged online of being a SAG member. The move to send full copies of screeners out to thousands of voting awards season members is cost-effective and convenient, but will piracy cases like DeSoto’s scare more studios away from adopting the new delivery method? Probably not, as DeSoto’s shaping up to be a cautionary example warning even industry insiders not to cross the MPAA. But it’ll probably make it even harder for DeSoto to work in this town again. Actor to Plead Guilty to Leaking Black Swan to BitTorrent [Wired]

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New Broadcast Season: Which Systems Got The X Factor?

The broadcast season unofficially starts tonight. Much like in the kids game, the youngest in the systems, the CW, arrived at start first, unspooling its new series Ringer starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. Also beginning tonight will be the new seasons in the CW’s 90210 and NBC’s Motherhood, marking the unofficial oncoming of year, that takes over on Monday. Listed below are the systems’ standings beginning the fall season: With Yankees, Red-colored-colored Sox and Phillies on tap for baseball publish-season this year, with the heavily promoted The X Factor and new large-budget dinosaur drama Terra Nova, Fox is capable of doing substantially outshine last fall when the network moved the country's League Championship Series combined with 2 DOA shows, drama Lone Star and comedy Running Wilde. The question marks within the network this fall will be the new comedies, New Girl which i dispise My Teenage Daughter, though are both propped up by solid lead-inches, Glee and X Factor, correspondingly, and whether Glee and House can rebound carrying out a disappointing 2010-11 season. Once the stars align and X Factor lives around its ratings anticipation, Fox may win the fourth quarter since it did 24 several weeks ago if the also had the American League as well as the highly-rated newcomer season of Glee. Fox’s primary rival for your top place inside the fall will be the epitome of stability, CBS, that will get a ratings increase in the re-launch of two and a half Males. The consensus is always that CBS has potential breakout hits on its hands with new Monday comedy Two Broke Women, that's beginning behind balance-over-blown return of two and a half Males, and possibly Thursday drama Person of curiosity. The network will get kudos to consider its aging series such as the CSI franchise and Survivor and moving these to troubled spots concerning the schedule they they shoreline up. The network is predicted to accomplish that again this season while using mothership CSI series, that's moving to Wednesday 10 PM, having its alternative on Thursday, Person of curiosity, searching to accomplish no less than additionally to CSI otherwise better. Really the only question marks at CBS are new Thursday 8:30 comedy How to be a Gentleman and where Males will settle following a initial ratings spike. 3 Words — Sunday Evening Football. While using Nfl football ratings monster showing no signs and signs and symptoms of slowing down lower lower as evidenced by Sunday’s opener, which came the franchise’s greatest ratings ever, NBC is assured no less than another-place finish for your fall. While using Super Bowl slated for February, NBC looks poised to finally progress a location within the dreaded bottom No.4. Still, plenty of question marks. The finest one inch the fall: The Sing Off. Only examined just like a short holiday limited series airing with no competition, the singing competitors are now thrown against ABC’s reality juggernaut Dwts, given 2 whole several hours of primetime property and asked for to move Monday, including beginning new drama The Playboy Club at 10 PM. All NBC’s new scripted series are question marks too, the finest being comedies Up With The Evening and Free Agents due to the struggle of opening another comedy block on Wednesday. The good thing for ABC is always that its try to spread out another comedy block on Tuesday seems to experience a more effective anchor inside the Tim Allen newcomer Last Guy Standing. The network has situated inside a Dwts cast that people are buzzing about and may get yourself a small bump from creating this the best season of Desperate Regular folks. Aside from that, there isn’t other things that's certain, with the network’s new series as question marks. Unless of course obviously something breaks in the large way, with no major sports to choose from for almost all the growing season, ABC is decided to fall to fourth. The network takes one large risk while using older-skewing, more difficult and complex in comparison to regular CW fare Ringer. The comfort is adding a lot more of what work, with another cleaning cleaning soap, Hart of Dixie, and also the other Alloy-based genre piece ala Vampire Journals, The Important Thing Circle. Without any breakout hit formerly number of seasons with Smallville gone, the CW needs one this year.

Dream deal for 'Tim'

Celluloid Dreams has acquired worldwide privileges to Penn Badgley and Imogen Poots starrer "Greetings From Tim Buckley," so it will shop in Toronto now. News from the acquisition uses the development and purchasers outfit introduced it might be selling Jacques Audiard's new pic "Rust and Bone," toplining Marion Cotillard, in the fest this season (Daily Variety, Sept. 8). "Greetings From Tim Buckley" is helmed by Serta Algrant, who also co-authored the script with Emma Sheanshang and David Brendal. The result is Buckley's breakout 1991 performance at his father's tribute concert. Pic is lensing in New You are able to City and it is created by Patrick Milling Cruz, John N. Hart and Fred Zollo. Nate Bolton of Abc Films acquired the pic with respect to Celluloid. The 2 companies are joined about the genre label Celluloid Bad dreams, which is preeming Indonesian action pic "The Raid" because the opening evening film in Toronto's Night time Madness program. Celluloid Dreams, headed by Hengameh Panahi, can also be shopping "Chicken With Apples," which preemed in Venice a week ago and it is directed by "Persepolis" helmers Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi. Contact Diana Lodderhose at diana.lodderhose@variety.com

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Participant Films Can Boast Contagion #1 And The Help #2; Warrior #3 In Fewer Runs

FRIDAY PM: Early numbers are coming in so I’ll refine them later. But no surprise which new North American movie is No. 1 tonight with $8M and an estimated $22+M weekend. Especially considering that Warner Bros’ Contagion is playing in 42% more theaters — 3,222 — than its nearest newcomer this weekend.On the surface this looked like yet anotheryikes-you’re-all-going-to-die formula for a disease movie. But I’m surprised it didn’t generate more appeal what withOscar-winning Steven Soderbergh directing 6Academy Awardwinners or nominees: Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Gwyneth Paltrow,Jude Law, and Laurence Fishburne.That added oomph tocredited screenplay writer Scott Burns’ material. “Yes, it was important to beprovocative and to scare people,” a Warner Bros exec tells me. “But both the print and trailer and TV campaignpresent a more well-rounded view of themystery. We did sell the visceral experience — a smart and thrilling look at a killer virus, the science behind it, and the aftermath.” Warner Brostook the film to Venice to solid reviews and conducted anaggressive consumer campaign. Besides, adult movies are working at the box office. Entering its 5th weekend in release, DreamWorks/Disney’s hit dramedy The Help made $2.6M going to $9M from 2,935 locations for the weekend. That’s good enough for 2nd place and an estimatednew cume of $138M by Monday. At No. 3, Lionsgate’smuch anticipated martial arts drama Warrior starring hot Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton was only released for 1,869 runs. It openedwith $2M today for what should be a $6M weekend. Let’s see if word of mouth can get that number to $7M. In 4th place is Focus Features adult holdover The Debt with $1.5M today and a projected $5M weekend. At No. 5 is Fox’s hit movie Rise Of the Planet Of The Apes which made $1.1M today for another $4M weekend and big new cume of $168M by Monday. I have it on good authority that Sony Pictures execs were hiding out at the Toronto Film Festival (where better-than-expected Moneyball officially premiered tonight) rather than get tagged with Screen Gems’ Bucky Larson: Born To Be A Star which had one of the most annoying TV ad campaigns I’ve ever been assaulted by. Mercifully, its box office take was miniscule.