In all the buzz over The Iceman and its limited release last weekend, most of the fuss has been over the triumphant return of 1990s goddess Winona Ryder. Yet Chris Evans has been lurking in the background and just waiting to be noticed — in the movie, he plays a hitman nicknamed “Mr. Softee” and dances to Blondie’s “Heart of Glass” in a gay nightclub — which is strange because Chris always gives a good interview. Sure, he’s handsome and has a nice body, but I actually find him pretty bland in a physical sense and merely look forward to witnessing the weird, rambling things that come out of his mouth. Like when he spills his guts about liking Boston girls who will sh-t on him (not literally), or girls with big asses, well, that’s pretty endearing.

Now Collider has released a discussion with Chris that took place during last fall’s TIFF where The Iceman premiered. As always, Chris is transmitting his usual loveable freak-out vibes and treats this interview like his own personal therapy session. So get ready to hear more about how Chris agonized over that multi-picture deal with Marvel (he eventually signed on for 6 films) and how he can’t stop second-guessing himself. At least he admits that he’s “a whiny bitch” even if we probably wouldn’t put up with this from most actors:

Yay, more neuroses! “It’s so funny how it evolved. That was part of the whole…when the Captain America stuff came around you kind of take a little bit of a gut check. When you first get to L.A. you are so excited to be there and there is this competitive fire. There is this desire to get to a certain place, but it is all brand new and there is no downside. You really don’t understand anything. So you kind of want to fight and get there. Then as you kind of continue and you make movies and you realize…you start to see some of the pros and cons of the situation. Then you think, ‘Well, maybe what I wanted isn’t exactly what I wanted? Maybe I kind of want to find…’ I think that in the beginning you think, ‘I want to be the biggest movie star in the world.’ And then with the more movies you make you are like, ‘I don’t know if I want to be that anymore. I think what I am looking for is something different.’ I like acting but a lot of times, stardom comes with a lot of strings attached. Then you look at other careers and there are just other careers out there and you look at someone like a Sam Rockwell or someone like that. He has done so many great movies, he has so much respect from his peers, he is a fantastic actor, but I am sure that he can walk down the street without any bother. That is when you start to think, ‘God, maybe there is a happy medium.’ I don’t even know what the question was anymore.”

On scoring the Iceman role: “I got this movie because of [Cap]. If I hadn’t done that…you know, James Franco had this role and he fell out. When he fell out…I know Ariel [Vromen] as a friend but he called and basically said, ‘Listen…’ I know how independent films work. They obviously crunched the numbers and putting me in the role worked for the numbers. I mean foreign sales, or whatever you want to call it. That would not have happened without Captain America and that would not have happened without The Avengers. So I owe a lot to that. And it is nice to have your work seen. It really is.”

Hoping his Marvel fans will follow him to indies: “Yeah. See, I guess you know what it comes to down to? I’m such a little bitch. I don’t know what my issue is. I really am. I’m such a f***ing whiny bitch, man. Do I even want to…see, this is the issue. I wish my agent was here because we have had this conversation a lot lately. What is the goal? Is my goal to be a giant movie star? You start to realize, or at least I have in the past couple of years, that is not my goal. It is a very strange thing to realize. It is a very strange thing because when I moved to L.A. at 18, that was the goal. The goal was to get to a point in your career where you can make the movies that you want to make, do what you want to do, and have access and freedom. You want to climb the ladder. Even just the competitor in you wants to earn it. But then these things start happening.”

He controls his Twitter account: “Nobody helps me. It is just me. But when I first got on it I was like, ‘This is great!’ and for the first month I was like ‘Tweet! Tweet! Tweet!’ I haven’t tweeted in like a month and a half or something. I don’t know.”

On working with Michael Shannon: “He is just fantastic. He is so committed. You get him off set and he is a happy guy and he is a cupcake. He is the nicest guy on the planet. He is joking, laughing, having a bottle of wine, and having a good time. But then on set the guy has a focus and a commitment and a dedication. That type of intensity…it breeds allegiance. When you are around a guy who is so in the zone it is infectious. His acting style is so grounded. With this character….my character is pretty out there. So you try different levels, you know what I mean? You might try the first take here, the next take here, and the next take here. As you rise up, Michael stays steady and almost acts as an anchor. You try things kind of further and further off the wall and you kind of feed off of him, and it brings it back down to a mutual place or a realistic place. It is like playing basketball with Michael Jordan — he is just going to make you better.”

On moving from The Avengers to Cap 2: “Well, it is a much bigger commitment. The good thing is that we did it once. Gearing up for Captain 2 you think, ‘Alright, there was obviously a difference in the workload from Captain America to The Avengers. And you have to get back in the mindset. You have to remember ‘Alright, this is on you, man. You have to take this seriously.’ The fact that The Avengers did so well….you have an obligation. There is a serious obligation to fans who are expecting a great movie. A lot of that starts with making sure that you are physically ready to play the role and look the role. So a lot of that is in my head.”

[From Collider]

It’s pretty easy to visualize Chris while he’s freaking out and rambling like a paranoid mad man, isn’t it? The funny thing is that so many people find Chris endearing for his quirks and propensity to freak out about the good things in life, but he really is easy to compare to Kristen Stewart as far as his inability to cope goes. They’re both so twitchy, and he and Kristen both curse like sailors with well-padded wallets. The difference is that with Chris, these affectaions really do seem authentic. Chris also appears to be genuinely grateful for his unexpected (to him) success, and it doesn’t seem like he’s faking a persona.

Here are some photos of Chris kicking some dude’s ass on the set of Captain America: The Winter Solider. Look, there’s Scarlett Johansson’s butt stunt double too!

Photos courtesy of WENN

All of you are aware by now that yesterday brought us the awful tragedy of explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. As of this morning, information is still forthcoming and will be for quite some time. According to CNN, three people are dead (including an 8-year-old boy who wanted to watch his father finish), and over a hundred more were injured with many victims suffering lost limbs. Police have searched an apartment in connection with the explosions, but the investigation is still in its very early stages.

This is the worst terror attack on US soil since 9/11, and the sheer timing of the explosions — which went off at about 4:09, the average finish time on the Boston course — is chilling. Just about everyone realizes the Boston Marathon is huge in terms of the sport. Any runner can tell you that it’s easily the most prestigious race in the entire country and one that you will work for many years to qualify for, if ever. Only the best of the best make it to Boston at any point in their lives, and now all those runners (and their families) who worked so hard to make that goal happen have been rocked by this horrific act of violence.

What struck me most poignantly about the news coverage is one particular video that played on repeat on all of the news channels. The footage shows the initial moments of the blast and the reaction by runners on the course. These people were already wearied and discombobulated by 26 miles of running, and they were all completely shocked to hear the first explosion. It absolutely killed me to watch a runner named Bill Iffrig get knocked off his feet by the sheer force of the blast. Fortunately, Bill is okay and (miraculously) only suffered a scraped knee, and he was able to walk to the finish line. Sadly, so many people in attendance at that event were not so lucky.

Naturally and since we are a celebrity blog, here’s a quick rundown of Bostonian celebrity responses to the tragedy. First up, Mark Wahlberg tweeted, “Thoughts and prayers with my hometown Boston today.”

Wahlberg also spoke to Us Weekly last night at his latest film premiere. Here’s what he had to add to the melee:

“It’s just so upsetting,” Wahlberg, 41, told Us Weekly at a Cinema Society screening of his new film, Pain & Gain, in New York City April 15. “Obviously I’ve got a huge family and so many family and friends back in Boston. I don’t know what exactly happened, and I don’t know if everyone’s okay. I’m just trying to be here [at the screening] and put on a brave face and just be a professional.”

The Oscar-nominated actor added, “The world obviously needs to change. If you think about all the events over the last couple years, if we can’t protect our innocent women and children, then we have a serious problem.”

[From Us Weekly]

Many other celebrities — including Ben Affleck, Mindy Kaling, Chris Evans (from Sudbury), and Eli Roth (from Newton) — who hail from the Boston area took to their Twitter pages too. Here are some of their responses to this terrible tragedy.

Ben Affleck: “Such a senseless and tragic day. My family and I send our love to our beloved and resilient Boston.” [From Twitter]

Mindy Kaling: “My heart aches for my hometown. My love and support to the many worthy Boston area hospitals who are helping the wounded, St. E’s, Mass General, Beth Israel and many more.” [From Twitter]

Chris Evans: “[T]houghts and prayers are with everybody in boston. heartbreaking… [From Twitter]

Eli Roth: “Thoughts and prayers for everyone in Boston. Can’t believe what I’m reading. Stay safe.” [From Twitter]

UPDATE: Several of you have requested that we mention Patton Oswalt’s amazing Facebook post on the subject. He’s not Bostonian, but it’s well worth reading his essay, which in which he concludes, “When you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, “The good outnumber you, and we always will.”

Photos courtesy of Boston Herald and WENN

It was back in August when we heard that Chris Evans and Minka Kelly were probably back together. They dated years ago, before Minka ever got with Derek Jeter (God, that WAS a long time ago), and somehow they found their way back to each other. So… for their second time around, they’ve managed to be together for more than three months (probably closer to four or five months) and they’ve rarely been pap’d together. But last night they must have been tired. Or they’ve decided to make it “official”. I don’t know. But these are photos of Chris and Minka together after they had dinner at Sushi Stop in Los Feliz.

Should we even bother analyzing these photos? Why not? I loathe Minka’s outfit! I like her as a person, and I guess I think her body is a lot better than most of you think (her ass is magic). But this outfit says “LeAnn Rimes” to me. Wedge lace-up booties, skinny jeans and WTF is that bag?! I do like her chunky sweater though. I would wear that. I would wear the hell out of it. Chris looks pretty low-key too – I like a man who commits to flannel. But I’m more of ‘90s girl anyway, and flannel was so big then.

So, why should I dislike Minka and Chris together again? Granted, Minka’s career isn’t at the same level as Chris’s, and she’s B-list (or even C) to his A-list. But she’s pretty and she seems like a cool girl in interviews. She seems low-key and pragmatic, especially compared to the epic, neurotic mess that is Chris Evans. I think they make a nice couple.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

By and far, the name of the evening for the LAMCA Art + Film event was Gucci. Keeping with the theme of the evening, Amber Heard wore a black Gucci dress with matching, open-toed, multi-strapped Gucci Lisbeth pumps, and the dress itself wasn’t bad at all. It was very figure-flattering, and Amber pulled the short length and sleeveless aspect off well. Now as for that “statement” necklace around her neck, I just don’t know what she was thinking. I suppose it fancies things up quite a bit with what would have otherwise been just another little black dress, right?

Amber is a gorgeous woman, and even though I’m still getting used to her with dark hair (for her role in Paranoia), she has a great presence on the red carpet. She definitely made a good choice going with an updo and bold lipstick (with matching nails) for this dress. Still not sure about that necklace though. I think if it had been missing those little “fans” at the top, it would have been okay. As it stands, the necklace is far too much of a “statement” piece.

Minka Kelly and Chris Evans both attended the event but walked the red carpet separately. Minka has certainly been embracing the maxi-dress trend lately, hasn’t she? Girl’s got such a great figure, and I’ve got no idea why she’s hiding it (cue vicious pregnancy rumors?), but this particular maxi dress is Gucci as well. She also avoided giving sideboob in manner of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Good for Minka.

Florence Welch loves her weird ass fashion, and Gucci was able to fit the bill here with this blue-violet, chiffon gown. This is a very severe look, but Florence is not a subtle woman by any stretch. Her hair and makeup are appropriate(ly weird) too, but I would have added a simple and sparkly necklace to complete the look.

Jeremy Renner was there too, bitches. He looked exactly like he always does at an event, but I’m not complaining.

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson were also in attendance! I don’t know who designed this spangly, shapeless, sleeveless, grey dress, but I’m guessing it was Gucci as well. Rita looks like she’s having a great time, but I can’t believe she’s gone ombre. Some subtle, all-around highlights would have made her hair look excellent. Her foundation/powder is also a bit too pale for her skintone, so she seems a bit ghostly.

Photos courtesy of WENN

We never covered these photos of Minka Kelly attending the Jenny Packham event at New York Fashion Week last month, so here they are. Minka looks great in red, and while I think that nude pumps have always been a horrific trend, the dress is pretty fantastic, but I’m very partial to red in general. Please though — even if you don’t like Minka, take it easy on her in the comments because she catches a lot of hell here. Yes, Minka might give off the slight air of eau de famewhore, but she really doesn’t seem like a bad person. Above all, please don’t make any “cankle” remarks. Nobody can do much (if anything at all) about the size of their ankles regardless of weight or fitness, and those sorts of remarks are nothing but catty and rude. I don’t mind Minka all that much. She seems kind of vacant, but that’s not unusual in Hollywood, and her cute booty should be more than enough to satisfy Chris Evan’s self-proclaimed ass fetish, right?

For those of you who don’t like the Minka and Chris Evans pairing though, there might be hope on the horizon. A story in this week’s Star brings us details about how Minka’s friends are not crazy about Chris at all and are all like, “Chris is a playboy!” because he’s taken to hanging out with Hugh Hefner and sons. I wonder if he’s wearing those douchey sunglasses while visiting the Playboy Mansion? Ugh, I don’t know why anyone would hang out at that place, but here’s the story:

Minka Kelly and Chris Evans are giving their romance another shot, but they have one big obstacle — her friends! A source tells Star that Minka’s pals think The Avengers star Chris, 31, has an out-of-control ego, partying all night instead of spending time with Minka, 32. Chris has been frequenting parties at the Playboy Mansion, where he’s become close friends with Hugh Hefner and his sons. “Minka’s friends think it’s just a matter of time before he cheats on her,” the insider says. Minka, whose three-year relationship with Derek Jeter ended in heartbreak last year, is wary of Chris playing her. But her chemistry with him trumps her friends’ doubts, the tipster says. “Minka claism that she and Chris have such amazing sex, she can’t stay away from him!”

[From Star, print edition, November 1, 2012]

A lot of you thought that those recent photos of Chris and Minka kissing in public demonstrated that he was far more into her than vice versa. But then we heard that Chris was hanging with a hot blonde at a bar while he and Minka were supposedly already rekindling their romance, so who knows? I’d like to think that Minka was ready to date a gentleman after putting up with Derek Jeter’s shenanigans for three years, but Chris may very well not be the gentleman we all hoped he would be if he’s hanging out at Hugh Hefner’s place. Yuck, indeed.

Photos courtesy of WENN

Here are some photos of Chris Evans grabbing a sandwich yesterday in Studio City. After he left the restaurant, he scaled a short cement wall (presumably) to escape from the photographers who stalk his every movie-star move. He’s so weird and uptight, and I kind of think that he’s still on the verge of losing his cool even though he swears that he’s fine, fine, fine. You know who Chris reminds me of? Cameron Frye from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. He’s totally the guy who could turn a lump of coal into a diamond in a very unconventional way. Sorry for the gross analogy.

Onto the story de jour, which involves Chris heading out to a gay bar for his brother’s birthday celebration. Did you know he had a gay brother? His name is Scott, and the guy is pretty damn hot. Scott says that he and Chris are “extremely close,” and although Scott claims he was “absolutely terrified” to come out to his brother, he adds that Chris was totally cool about it. However, the one thing that Chris wouldn’t do for his brother was to go out to gay bars with him. According to this story in the Enquirer, all that has changed:

“Captain America” Chris Evans drove the guys wild when he made a surprise visit to a West Hollywood gay nightclub wearing a form-hugging shirt and jeans. The Avengers star dropped by the trendy club Eleven to help celebrate the 29th birthday of his out-of-the-closet brother Scott, revealed an eyewitness.

All eyes were on hunky Chris as he approached the bar. “The guys there swooned,” said the source. “And when he came up behind Scott, hugged and shouted “Happy Birthday,” it made his brother’s night. Scott, who played a gay cop on the daytime soap “One Life to Live,” considers his A-list older brother “a supportive and amazing role model for gay acceptance,” said the source.

As The Enquirer reported in August of last year, Chris has posed for gay beefcake shots in the past and has admitted to having a “man crush” on Brad Pitt. But he also has quite an eye for the ladies! He dated Jessica Biel for five years and has also been linked to “Friday Night Lights” actress Minka Kelly and “Laguna Beach beauty Kristen Cavallari.

Chris — who’s comfortable with his homosexual fan base, due in part to his brother’s orientation — has said in the past that Scott and his buddies have invited him out to gay bars but he “had to draw the line somewhere.” That made his surprise visit to the gay watering hole especially meaningful. “Scott was beyond thrilled when Chris decided to break his rule and showed up at Eleven shortly before midnight,” said the source.

“Chris arrived with a beautiful blonde woman, but no one in the room was paying attention to her. And while it was Scott’s big night, Chris stole the show. Everyone in the area cheered him on when he chatted with some of the ‘mankini’-wearing go-go-boys, who were dancing on top of the bar. “He even gave his stunning date money to stuff in their G-strings. Scott got a huge kick out of showing off his big brother to his pals. Chris was the hit of the party!”

[From Enquirer, print edition, October 15, 2012]

Whoa, talk about burying a lede. Exactly who was the blonde lady who accompanied Chris to his brother’s birthday party? It certainly wasn’t Minka Kelly even though, earlier this week, the two were photographed making out in public and were sighted together rekindling their relationship in Boston in early August. A lot of you thought Chris looked way more into the public kissing than Minka did, but if this story is true, maybe he’s not that serious about her at all. After all, Chris apparently arrived at the bar with the “beautiful blonde” in tow, so maybe he’s keeping Minka at a distance, or it’s just casual between them? Who knows.

Other than that pesky little issue, I’m glad Chris lightened up a bit and decided to go to a gay bar for his brother’s birthday. Maybe one day, he’ll even be able to freely visit a dermatologist’s office without running like hell from photographers too.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet

Well, well, well. Here are some photos of Minka Kelly getting dropped off at her house yesterday after spending the night with Chris Evans. This has been a year in the making, people. Last fall was when buzzings began about how Minka wanted Chris’ waxed nips back in her bed after a few years apart. If you’ll remember correctly, she and Chris dated in 2007 before she sort of dumped him (according to legend) and went out with Derek Jeter. Then Chris went on to have his several career-related nervous breakdowns but has lately insisted that he is just fine and not heading to a meltdown.

In the meantime, we got an insider tip in late August that placed Chris and Minka hanging out in Boston together, and then Us Weekly followed up a few weeks later with the same story. Now Us has pictures of Chris and Minka in very public liplock in the Los Angeles area. While we don’t have any close-up photos of “the kiss,” here is some other, very important pictorial evidence. Here’s some photos of her and Chris driving together (right before Minka did the walk of shame) with the Us story below:

Less than a month after Us Weekly confirmed Chris Evans and Minka Kelly were dating again, the couple stepped out publicly for the first time at Hugo’s Tacos in Studio City, California, October 1. (The pair were briefly linked in 2007.)

The casually-dressed couple made no attempt to hide their affection, as Evans wrapped his arm around Kelly’s waist before going in for a tender kiss. Later that evening, The Avengers actor, 31, and The Butler actress, 32, were spotted leaving Craig’s restaurant in West Hollywood.

Evans was initially skeptical about getting back together with Kelly, a source previously told Us. “She did a number on him him back then,” the source said of Kelly, who was serious with New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, 38, from 2008 to 2011. “But she reached out to Chris this time.”

Evans — who once dated his London costar Jessica Biel, 30 — doesn’t like when a woman plays hard to get. “I hate that!” he told Women’s Health in June. “I just don’t like games in general.”

[From Us Weekly]

Even though I’ve used the “walk of shame” term twice in this story already, there’s really no shame in hooking up with Captain America, right? That’s what Minka wanted, and look at her go. Sneakers and a ponytail? Check. Cute butt? Check. Minka is definitely going in for the kill.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet

Who’s up for another weird and oddly neurotic Chris Evans interview? Me! Actually, he’s getting much better at this sort of thing, and the TIFF interviews are still filtering out to various film sites. What is clear is that the therapy has worked wonders, and Chris is no longer freaking out and panicking during interviews because he’s actually enjoying himself now. Like, he’s having a huge amount of fun with promoting his movies because he’s very proud of them, and he’s also very excited that he’s not having meltdowns during press conferences. Now there’s no hope for containing this dude’s enthusiasm, which is very strange to behold.

However, it’s not all roses and sunshine. In fairly short order, Chris will have to start training again to regain his Captain America physique (wax those nips, baby!) because part two (subtitled Winter’s Soldier) will start filming in less than half a year, and he’s not exactly looking forward to killing himself for hours every day in the gym. Chris will probably also be required to guzzle protein shakes while he’s training, which means that he’s going to be quite the smelly guy for awhile. Poor Minka Kelly, right? She’ll get over it, I’m sure.

Seriously though, Chris is otherwise thrilled to continue with the Avengers and Cap sequels, and he’s even hoping to make a cameo in Thor 2. Who is this guy? Oh, and Chris explains his newfound fondness for sunglasses, which kind of make him look douchey, but he likes them, so let’s go with it:

Why he did The Iceman: “It was just the opposite of what i had just come off of. You play a certain type of character for a certain amount of time and you kind of just want to find something different and unique. I played Cap for almost a year straight. I went right from Captain America to The Avengers and I was like, ‘I need variety. I need something different.’ And this was that.”

On Snowpiercer with Ed Harris and Tilda(!): “It’s a different type of movie and why not take some risks? Why not take some chances? I don’t want to do what’s been done before. Let’s take some risks! Let’s try to do what’s different. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. But if it does work, that’s special. That’s what movies are about.”

Will Cap cameo in Thor 2? “[Chris] Hemsworth and I even talked about that. I would love to do a little thing in Thor 2. It is obviously going to be tricky trying to work out the plot, the reason why I am not there to help him, and why he is not there to help me. But the best thing about Marvel is that, like I said, the movies were so good and we had such a good time making them.”

On regaining that hot bod: “I’ve lost it all right now. It’s gonna be at least two months of training. I am not looking forward to it. I mean, I like going to the gym, but these are not gym sessions buddy. You don’t even know dude. I’m puking at these gym sessions. It’s two hours every day and it’s brutal man. I don’t do a lot of cardio because I’m not trying to lose weight, but gain weight. But, it’s big weights and you’re just so long. You’ll be working out and you’ll be, ‘How long have I been here? Only 35 min? I still have another hour here.’ And you just leave the gym unable to move. You just know you have to do it tomorrow. It’s a chore.” At just 31, Evans is realizing all that lifting isn’t as easy as it used to be. Evans laughs noting, “Things are [already] clicking and I’m sore. ‘How am I gonna do this?’ How does Hugh Jackman? How does he do it? How does a guy in 40′s get that big?” When I suggest perhaps its Jackman’s Aussie genes Evans retorts, “Talk to Hemsworth he’s a creation.”

Beard & sunglasses = master of disguise: “If something I want to do is outside – meaning – you can’t wear sunglasses inside or you’re a [expletive]. So, if it’s outside I can wear sunglasses and get away with it. If what I’m doing is like inside and I have to take my sunglasses off? It’s a little bit tricky. It’s amazing the difference between sunglasses on and off. You’d be surprised. Sunglasses on? You can go under the radar. Sunglasses off? It just takes a glance and [you can see someone going] ‘I think I…? Oh, that’s the…’ And then it’s over.”

[From Collider and Hitfix]

Some of you have commented upon Chris’ tendency (which is rather muted in these excerpts) to — for lack of a better term — curse like a sailor, and the progression in some of the comments is that Chris isn’t getting called out for his potty mouth in the same way that, say Kristen Stewart does (i.e., when she talked about her “f–king boyfriend.”) Some of you may disagree, but I don’t see this as a gender disparity. After all, my own mouth could use a good washing out on a daily basis, so I’m not about to say that “ladies” shouldn’t say naughty words. What I do think is going on here is that Chris seems to speak without much of a filter and naturally leans towards the profane. It’s not something that he’s doing to make an impression, unlike Kristen and her Hardcore Badge of Honor known as her middle finger.

Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News and WENN

Chris Evans is such a freak. Really. At the same time, I’m relieved to finally observe a decent interview from him because it seems like he hasn’t gotten enough publicity during the TIFF promotion of The Iceman. The movie is based on the book by Richard Kuklinski that details life as a mafia hitman. During the movie, Evans plays a character called Mr. Freeze (originally Mr. Softee in the book, but they changed it for licensing purposes), and he’s only onscreen for about 20 minutes, so I guess maybe that’s why we’re not hearing so much about him in this film. How unfortunate.

Seriously, I’ve really missed the near-constant reminders that the guy is a neurotic bastard who overthinks everything and is merely a waxed nip away from a nervous breakdown at any given moment. I mean, he went into therapy after taking the Captain America lead because he was so freaked out about “signing away a decade of his life.” He was also terrified of letting a $140 million movie rest upon his shoulders and of doing the obligatory publicity rounds, and for good reason — he notoriously freaked out and fled during a junket for Fantastic Four. He even described his reaction at the time as a “full meltdown,” but now Chris is doing much better with this sort of thing. Or so he says. You be the judge:

He’s knows he’s not saving the world (unlike other actors): “Is any of this fun? Not to knock you, but you do these [interviews] and you tell yourself, ‘Well, it’s for this, it’s for that.’ Even right now, I’m like, ‘What am I doing here? What am I talking about? I’m not curing cancer. What the f–k am I doing?’ [Sarcastically:] ‘Well, this is how I prepared for this movie.’ You can’t help but feel — I don’t know. It’s like, who cares? It’s a f–king movie. You don’t need to give a sh-t, you know what I mean?”

His character dances to Blondie’s “Heart of Glass” “You can’t not dance to it. I was, like, f–king jamming. That’s the great thing about the character. I think he just has no sense of social awareness — I guess this is what people do. I think this is how people are supposed to look, you know? And there’s actually a great thing that they say Kuklinski said in one of the books, talking about a club — you know, he’d kill people in bars and in clubs. He said the best way to go unnoticed was to act gay. The gayer you act, the more people kind of ignore you.”

He claims to have no filter: “[I]f you think you’re a good person, then you have nothing to hide. It’s such a freeing thing. I tell you what: I used to have a lot of stress and anxiety doing these interviews. And, for me, I’m much more stressful when I feel like I’m trying to be something or just putting on a … anything. Like, if you go into it just being like, ‘Ask me anything,’ I’ll give you the honest answer. [I]f you have an agenda — believe me, I know plenty of actors who do — then you have to tailor your answers and you’re concerned how you appear. And I don’t give a sh-t how I come across, because I don’t think I’m a bad guy. And, you know, I’m just gonna tell you what I think.”

He can’t wait for the Captain America & Avengers sequels: “I’m looking forward to it because the movies were so good. Well, I wasn’t happy in the first Cap because — well, not that I wasn’t happy. I was just nervous, you know what I mean? I had taken a role that I was just nervous about. And it was a lifestyle change, and there were a lot of factors on the first Cap. I was just nervous, man. It was a big lifestyle, whatever. And now it’s like, ‘I got it.’ I got it. It’s OK. No one’s f–king kicking down my f–king door. I can still walk around. I can still go to a movie. I think I was just so scared that, like, ‘This is it. I just signed my death warrant; my life’s over. I can’t believe I did this. This isn’t the career I wanted.’ That didn’t happen. None of that sh-t happened. I’m fine, fine.”

He’s okay now, really: “I’m fine! I’m fine! I’m fine. You know, I didn’t have a meltdown and I didn’t lose my f–king mind. And the movies were good. And the biggest thing I worried about was making sh-tty f–king movies. I don’t want to make sh-tty movies and be contractually obligated to make garbage. And then be like, ‘This is why you should see a piece of sh-t!’ And they were great. And so now, it’s kind of like, ‘All right, well, let’s go try and make this one even better.’ I feel comfortable in the role. I love Marvel and I’m actually, dare I say … excited.”

[From HuffPo]

So … the therapy worked? Also, I’m glad that Chris doesn’t regret what he’s said in interviews thus far because — let’s face it — it’s always great to hear from a guy that admits to liking a big ass. I hope he continues to let his weirdness come out and play at times, but I get the feeling that people have been giving him some crap about his neuroses. Like, it’s a bit of a joke in the industry now (and this journo brings it up initially even while doing so respectfully), and maybe that’s encouraged Chris to loosen up just a bit, which is a good thing. Or maybe he’s just been having a lot of really good, Boston-based sex with Minka Kelly, and that’s put a spring in his step too.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN

Kaiser has been covering the fashion wins for Winona Ryder as she’s promoted The Iceman in Venice and Toronto over the past week or so, and she’s looked quite uncomfortable and somewhat terrified but lovely all the same. Honestly, I’m glad that Winona is back on the scene — she was really great a few years ago in Black Swan and nearly stole the entire show with a fairly limited role.

Winona’s return to the big screen has been greeted with enthusiasm, but there have been subtle digs here and there at her age (she’s now 40), which is par for the course in Hollywood but still really sucks nonetheless. Last year, Winona mentioned to Elle that she related to her Black Swan character “on a certain level. Just that thing of, you know, when I’m told I’m not the ingenue anymore.” Indeed, after a fairly triumphant run in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, Winona’s career stalled. She was jilted by Gwyneth “Frenemy” Paltrow, who scooped up that Shakespeare In Love role that was supposed to go to Ryder. Then she was faced with people assuming she was jealous of Angelina Jolie’s Oscar win in Girl, Interrupted. And then came those shoplifting charges that occurred well over a decade ago by now. Certainly, Winona recovered from that relatively isolated incident, but she’s had a hard time fighting her way back into Hollywood feature film roles.

Of course, Winona did screw up with that shoplifting nonsense, but she’s been paying for it for a very long time. If a male (like, say, Shia LaBeouf) had experienced the very same sort of shame, you know he’d have Robert Redford patting him on the back the next day. The standards are somehow different for women though, and they also have to deal with obnoxious questions from journalist in that regard as well. During a TIFF press conference, a reporter framed his inquiry about her “return to Hollywood” in one of the most awkward methods imaginable:

Either nothing is off-limits at the Toronto International Film Festival, or something got lost in translation.

While promoting her new movie, The Iceman, at the TIFF Bell Lightbox September 10, Winona Ryder, 40, was singled out during a press conference with costars Chris Evans, 31, Ray Liotta, 57, and Michael Shannon, 38.

“It’s been a long time we’ve seen you,” a male reporter with a thick accent told Ryder. “Now you’re coming out with this movie and Frankenweenie. So two movies in the same year. So now do you feel welcome again in Hollywood?”

Writer, director and producer Ariel Vromen, 39, shook his head and said something under his breath to Shannon, but Ryder — famously convicted of grand theft, shoplifting and vandalism in 2001 — tried to keep her cool and answer the reporter’s question.

“Well …. Um … I don’t … I was asked that question in Venice. I don’t know if I’m developing a little bit of a complex because I don’t know if you’re saying, ‘We missed you!’ or ‘What are you doing here?’” Ryder responded. “I think for me, I started so young, and when you experience a lot of blessings and success when I did, usually you’re told you get three years, and it’s great just to have that. . . I couldn’t believe I was still doing it in my 20s.”

“Then I went through a period where I realized how important it was to have a life outside of [acting], because at the end of the day, you come home,” continued the actress, who dated the likes of Johnny Depp and Matt Damon back in the day. “And as every actor knows, you’re waiting to wrap something and freaking out. It’s a weird cycle. I had to get out of that.”

Ryder added that she’s “very close to my family and friends, and there’s other stuff I do and I’m interested in. I think living in San Francisco and basing myself there is equally important to be a friend to my friends, and sister to my sister … and to have a healthy life.”

“I think I needed to take some time to do that, but also I think … actors are blessed, and I’m not complaining at all. But when you go through your adolescence doing it and you’re the ingenue … there is a lot of pressure.”

“And the parts are sort of … You go through this weird age,” she said. “And I’m now 40 and I’m actually psyched for 40 and psyched to get older because I think you get more comfortable with yourself, and it’s more interesting, and the roles — the size doesn’t really matter. Usually those kinds of roles are more interesting. For me as an actress … it takes something very special for me to want to leave my life.”

“So sorry for the long-winded answer,” Ryder finished. Fifteen minutes later, the press conference ended, and Evans put his arm around Ryder.

[From Us Magazine]

Such a rude reporter, right? Winona seemed to handle the question pretty well though, and at least now she’s got a very good justification for continuing to look terrified on the red carpet. Also, she got a big hug from Chris Evans, which is always a win. In another recent interview with Hollywood Reporter, Winona explained how she tried but (somewhat) failed to stay grounded in her career: “I still did my laundry in a laundromat until I was in my late 20s, in part because I didn’t want to lose perspective on what was happening around me. But I still got overwhelmed at a certain point, and I think I’ve emerged a wiser person. I’m one of the only people you’ll hear from Hollywood who says I actually like getting older. I do. Older people are more interesting.” She’s going to be just fine, people. Winona is back.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet