'The Descendants': George Clooney is a 'jerkface' (in a good way)

Let it be known that no amount of prestige (think Oscar nominations, humanitarian awards) can keep "The Descendants" star George Clooney from pulling classic practical jokes.

On the Hawaii set of the movie, which is garnering the actor a lot of Oscar buzz, Clooney lived up to his reputation for keeping things light — even though Shailene Woodley, who plays Clooney’s character's daughter in the film, said the shoot didn't present prime pranking opportunities for the actor.

"He was in every scene of the film, he was busy, and we had a 10-year-old on set. It wasn’t an 'Ocean's Eleven' atmosphere," Woodley told Ministry of Gossip on Tuesday at "The Descendants' " L.A. premiere. "But we did get a lot of small practical jokes."

PHOTOS: 'The Descendants' premiere pictures

One time Clooney gave about 20 crew and cast members quite the scare when he fell on his back and feigned sharp pain, said Amara Miller, who plays his character's younger daughter.

"For a second there everyone thought we had lost our star. And then he gets up and he breaks through the crowd [surrounding him], and he walks away giggling," Miller said.

"We all just sit there going, 'You jerkface.' We all fell for it."

Clooney also kept the practical jokes coming with the help of smart phone technology.

"We were filming this scene on a plane — really right, a lot of extras, kind of uncomfortable," costar Nick Krause said. "I hear this noise behind me. I look back and I hear it again, and there's George playing with the fart button on his iPhone."

The young cast members have long-running "ER" to thank for Clooney’s natural ability to make things fun during the shoot.

"I did 'ER' for years where I worked with kids," he said. "I played a pediatrician. So I sort of got the hang of keeping it moving."

How does the actor switch gears from goofy jokes to filming somber scenes?

"When it’s a really well-written script and a really talented director," said Clooney, "it's not so hard."

"The Descendants," directed by Alexander Payne, opened with a limited release Wednesday.

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Photo: Shailene Woodley and George Clooney at the L.A. premiere of "The Descendants" at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Credit: Chris Pizzello / Associated Press.

'Immortals': Henry Cavill, Kellan Lutz dress up, live forever

As the "Immortals" cast and filmmakers arrived for the movie’s premiere Monday at Nokia Theatre, fans filled the sidewalk across from L.A. Live. Stars including the new Superman, Henry Cavill, and "The Twilight Saga" actor Kellan Lutz took plenty of time for autographs and photos with the crowd of Twi-hards and Clark Kent enthusiasts.

"Immortals," directed by Tarsem Singh (who goes by the mononym Tarsem), is a new take on the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur.

The movie features a lesser-seen version of Greek gods — it's not a bearded, aged bunch of men sitting on a mountain here. Tarsem decided that anyone who could live forever would want to look young forever. So somewhat similarly to "In Time," another recent film about immortality, the Greek myth adaptation gives young actors the task of playing old characters.

Lutz, who plays Poseidon, told the Ministry of Gossip that playing an immortal character comes naturally to him, both in "Immortals" and as Emmett Cullen in the "Twilight" series.

"I think it’s just always been my mind-set. I love life, and I live it to the fullest, and I think that’s how any immortal would," he said. "That's how Emmett does — he’s a happy-go-lucky kid and just loves being invincible."

Listen to more Kellan Lutz from the red carpet

Lutz also talked about Eiko Ishioka's costumes, which include gold headpieces that illustrate each god's domain. His features seashells on each side of his head.

He said the headpiece wasn't "so much comfortable to wear, but amazing to wear. Eiko did an amazing job ... and she's just wow — I mean, we looked amazing.”

Also opening up about costumes was Cavill, whose upcoming "Man of Steel" has him wearing the iconic Superman suit.

"When you’re an actor, every costume helps because it helps put you in the environment and the world," said Cavill, who plays Theseus. "It helps immerse you there."

"Immortals," which also stars Mickey Rourke, Freida Pinto, Luke Evans, Stephen Dorff and Isabel Lucas, opens in theaters this Friday.

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Photos: Henry Cavill, top, at Monday's premiere of "Immortals"; Kellan Lutz, left, as Poseidon in the film. Credits: Mario Anzuoni / Reuters, top; Jan Thijs, left.

'In Time': Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried on action, 'Alpha Dog' reunion

Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried and other stars of “In Time” arrived at the movie’s premiere Thursday in futuristic style, cruising up to the red carpet in the jet-black, no-door-handles limos featured in the film. More of the retro-inspired cars were on display at the premiere’s after-party, which transformed a Beverly Hills parking garage into a “Time Zone.”

The festivities stayed true to the time theme with all kinds of clocks scattered throughout the party’s tables, a wall of graffiti-painted phrases like “killing time” and “time will tell” and green-lighting the same color as the bioluminescent clock on the arms of the “In Time” characters.

PHOTOS: Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried at the "In Time" premiere

Plenty of action comes with the film’s high-concept sci-fi elements, which wasn’t always easy on the bodies of cast, which also included Vincent Kartheiser and Olivia Wilde.

“I actually specifically tore my calf muscle in the scene where I kidnap Amanda,” Timberlake said on the red carpet outside the Regency Village Theatre. “I don’t recommend it. It’s extremely painful.”

"In Time" demanded a lot of running in high heels for Seyfried, who said, “I didn’t really like to run without holding Justin’s hand. He had saved my life the second day of shooting when I was wearing really tall Yves Saint Laurent shoes.”

Shooting action scenes still had its rewards. As Timberlake said, “Shooting guns, flipping cars, kicking bad guys’ [butt] -– every boyhood fantasy’s trapped in this movie for me.”

“In Time” created a bit of a reunion for Timberlake, Seyfried, Kartheiser and Wilde, who all appeared in “Alpha Dog” in 2006.

“Everyone’s doing so well…. Everyone’s just blowing up,” Kartheiser told Ministry of Gossip.

The “Mad Men” actor didn’t have any scenes with Seyfried in “Alpha Dog” but worked out with her for a month in preparation for the shoot.

“She’s as sweet as she was back then,” he said of working with her for “In Time,” where he plays her father in a world where the aging gene stops at age 25.

Slipping into the chemistry of the lead characters was easy for Seyfried, having co-starred with Timberlake in “Alpha Dog.”

“I felt really comfortable with him. I respect him a lot, and I think it shows,” she said.

“In Time” hits theaters Oct. 28.

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Photo: Justin Timberlake at the premiere of "In Time" on Thursday. Credit: Kevin Winter / Getty Images

'The Thing': Mary Elizabeth Winstead on 'stalking' Kurt Russell

A little bit of Kurt Russell must have rubbed off on Mary Elizabeth Winstead when she co-starred with the veteran actor in "Sky High" and "Death Proof." Now she's following in his career footsteps as she takes on the lead role in "The Thing," the upcoming prequel to the 1982 Russell flick of the same name.

"We never really exchanged information, so I'm almost stalking him in a creepy way, like he doesn't know it, but I'm following his every move!," Winstead said at the world premiere of "The Thing" on Monday at Universal CityWalk. "It's been so coincidental but so great, because I love him to death."

Winstead is what makes the prequel deviate from the 1982 film, which had an all-male cast. Canadian-born actress Kim Bubbs is the only other female cast member in the 2011 version. Though "there definitely was a lot of testosterone," Winstead said she felt completely part of the boys' club during the shoot.

"They were so respectful of me and ... wanted me to be a part of everything," she said. "I never once felt out of the loop."

With a growing resume in horror films, the actress also opened up about what scares her: heights.

"Even the thought of sky-diving or something [like that] makes me kind of nauseous," she said.

Costar Eric Christian Olsen, who appears in the new season of "NCIS: Los Angeles," also shared his biggest fear: sharks.

The movie "Jaws," he said, "made a big imprint on me, but I still surf like twice a week. I saw a 10-foot great white outside of Point Dume one day, and my heart was beating outside of my chest."

 

"The Thing" opens Friday.

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Photo: Mary Elizabeth Winstead at the premiere of "The Thing" at Universal CityWalk on Oct. 10. Credit: Mario Anzuoni / Reuters

'Real Steel': Hugh Jackman on acting with robots and kids

Hugh Jackman has belted out songs on Broadway, fought mutants and slayed vampires. This Friday, audiences will see the Australian actor side-by-side with boxing robots in "Real Steel."

The "Real Steel" premiere at Universal CityWalk on Sunday featured a red carpet flanked by fans as well as robots from the film. As music from the soundtrack blared, Jackman and director Shawn Levy took some time to give a handful of lucky fans tickets to the premiere screening.

Photos: "Real Steel" premiere on CityWalk

So which is harder -- working with those robots or working with children? "Both of them are easy," said the "X-Men" alum, who shares a lot of screen time with 12-year-old Dakota Goyo, who plays his son.

"The great thing about robots is they don't eat any of the catering. And kids can be tricky … but I was with [Dakota] for three months, and never once did he annoy me," Jackman said. "I mean, I have an 11-year-old -- they're annoying every day.

"I don't know -- he's from another planet."

The action/sci-fi "Real Steel" is a departure from director Levy's past comedic fare, but Evangeline Lilly saw the director's background as an asset.

"He was always looking for the funny," said the actress, who plays the owner of a boxing gym for robots.

"He's looking for the levity, and he's looking for the humor, and it's really relieving as an actor to be able to do that."

Actor Anthony Mackie, like many involved with the film, touted it as a robot movie with heart.

"I feel like when you look at it, it's kind of like 'Rocky' but with robots, and at the end of the movie, you'll care and you'll cheer," Mackie said. “So many times you go to the movies and you leave unfulfilled, and that's not what 'Real Steel' is."

"Real Steel" opens Friday.

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Photo: Hugh Jackman greets fans at the "Real Steel" premiere in Universal City on Oct. 2, 2011. Credit: Eric Charbonneau / Associated Press.