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Why Hugh Grant as an Oompa Loompa is the best thing we've ever seen

<p>Hold onto your chocolate bars, folks, because director Paul King has done it again! After his stroke of genius in casting Hugh Grant as the dastardly villain in <em>Paddington 2</em>, King couldn't resist the temptation to work with Grant once more. This time, he enlisted the British star for a truly magical role in the upcoming Roald Dahl prequel, <em>Wonka</em> (set to release on December 15 by Warner Bros.). But brace yourselves, because Grant's appearance as an Oompa Loompa is bound to leave you in stitches.</p> <p>During the official premiere of the <em>Wonka</em> trailer in London, which was attended by lucky guests treated to a buffet overflowing with Wonka-inspired sugary delights, King took a moment to explain his decision to cast Grant as a pint-sized, green-haired Oompa Loompa. The hilarious deadpan performance in the final moments of the trailer speaks for itself!</p> <p>In delving into the backstory of Willy Wonka, played by the brilliant Timothée Chalamet, King found himself diving headfirst into Dahl's books for inspiration. When it came to the Oompa Loompas, King discovered that although Dahl didn't grant them much dialogue, their songs were packed with incredible sarcasm, judgment, and cruelty directed at the kids in the story.</p> <p>“So I was really just thinking about that character; somebody who could be a real shit, and then — ah! Hugh!” he told the London premiere crowd. “Because he’s the funniest, most sarcastic shit I’ve ever met.”</p> <p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Dckc2RcL69s" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>As for his leading star, Chalamet, King's praise was somewhat more refined, or so he claims: “It was a very short list of people who could play Willy Wonka, and really, it was him. I really do think he’s the most incredible actor of his generation, because he’s got this incredible ability to dive very deep into his own personal emotions and convey things with the turn of an eye — he’s very, very controlled, very smart and incredibly emotionally intuitive.”</p> <p>While acknowledging the daunting task of following in the footsteps of acting legends like Johnny Depp and the original Wonka himself, Gene Wilder, King was confident that Chalamet would rise to the occasion. "I think he manages to bring that sort of mayhem and mischievousness but with a deep emotional grounding," he said, "which is really quite extraordinary.”</p> <p>So, get ready to embark on a sugar-coated adventure with Hugh Grant's hilariously sarcastic Oompa Loompa and Timothée Chalamet's awe-inspiring portrayal of Willy Wonka. It's going to be one wild, chocolate-filled ride that will leave your sides splitting and your sweet tooth satisfied.</p> <p><em>Images: Warner Bros</em></p>

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Willy Wonka fun facts

<p dir="ltr"><strong>*Willy Wonka Willy Wonka everybody give a cheer HOORAY*</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Don’t pretend you did not sing that like the Oompa Loompa’s did because that is such a classic. </p> <p dir="ltr">Obviously the one with the late Gene Wilder, even though the one with Johnny Depp isn’t that bad either. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory</em> came out in 1971 and was based on the 1964 book <em><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Charlie and the Chocolate Factory </span></em><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">by British author Roald Dahl</span><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">.</span></p> <p dir="ltr">To this very day it remains a classic to grandparents, parents and even kids who grew up watching it. </p> <p dir="ltr">We all secretly wished we could visit Willy Wonka’s factory and consume all the chocolate possible…just like Augustus Gloop wanted to. </p> <p dir="ltr">But did you know that Willy Wonka’s factory wasn’t actually a factory? Yes, the movie has some delicious facts despite being released 51 years ago. </p> <ol> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation"><strong>Wonka’s limping entrance was Gene Wilder’s idea</strong></p> </li> </ol> <p dir="ltr">The first time everyone finally meets Willy Wonka is when he is limping. This idea came to Gene Wilder who suggested it would be perfect to keep the crowd on its toes.</p> <p dir="ltr">The director questioned why he would want to do that to which Gene responded: “Because from that time on, no one will know if I’m lying or telling the truth.”</p> <ol start="2"> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation"><strong>Almost everything was edible</strong></p> </li> </ol> <p dir="ltr">Remember when Willy Wonka said “everything in this room is edible except for me”? Well they weren’t lying because everything in the factory was edible.</p> <p dir="ltr">Except for that floral cup he would drink from which was actually made from wax. Gene would bite into it and continue biting until the shot was perfect.</p> <ol start="3"> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation"><strong>Chocolate river not actually made out of chocolate</strong></p> </li> </ol> <p dir="ltr">Would’ve been a dream come true had that river actually been made out of chocolate. It was however filled with brown-coloured water which eventually stunk up the place.</p> <p dir="ltr">In the remake, thick, fake chocolate was actually used. </p> <ol start="4"> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation"><strong>Charlie and Wonka were close in real life</strong></p> </li> </ol> <p dir="ltr">Peter Ostrum, the actor who played Charlie, said Wilder “treated people with respect and dignity.” </p> <p dir="ltr">He said Wilder would always buy a chocolate bar after lunch and share it with him. </p> <ol start="5"> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation"><strong>Not a factory</strong></p> </li> </ol> <p dir="ltr">The movie was filmed in Germany and Willy Wonka’s “factory” was in fact a power plant. </p> <p dir="ltr">The director chose that place on purpose so viewers would not immediately pick up where the story was set. </p> <ol start="6"> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation"><strong>Roald Dahl HATED it</strong></p> </li> </ol> <p dir="ltr">Author Roald Dahl actually hated the film and refused to grant the film rights to a sequel. </p> <p dir="ltr">It was only 15 years after he died that a remake was approved.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

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Willy Wonka star reveals Gene Wilder’s “favourite brat”

<p><span>A child star who had the opportunity to work alongside the infamous Gene Wilder has spoken out on the experience, 50 years since its first premier date.</span><br /><br /><em>Charlie and the Chocolate Factory </em><span>hit movie screens 50 years ago on June 30, 1971 and achieved rapid success almost overnight.</span><br /><br /><span>The film went on to become a phenomenon that was registered in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant”.</span><br /><br /><span>The child actors Peter Ostrum, Julie Dawn Cole, Michael Bollner, Paris Themmen and Denise Nickerson – who played Charlie Bucket, Veruca Salt, Augustus Gloop, Mike Teavee and Violet Beauregarde – all came together for a virtual reunion in honour of the film’s anniversary.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7842239/willy-wonka.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/b9da36eca8c24fbeb170655d6cf92150" /></p> <p><em>Image: Yahoo</em><br /><br /><span>The actors all had the opportunity to co-star together, and even got to explore the imagined Wonka Chocolate Factory.</span><br /><br /><span>The cast recounted such fond memories of exploring the film sets in Bavarian Germany and working with Gene Wilder.</span><br /><br /><span>Themmen admitted that he was indeed a “notorious troublemaker on the set.”</span><br /><br /><span>So much so that even Wilder called him “a handful”.</span><br /><br /><span>“I can corroborate that,” the actor, who played the television-obsessed rascal Mike Teavee, admitted.</span><br /><br /><span>“I was younger than the others. I was 11, they were 13 and was naturally just sort of more high-spirited and rambunctious.”</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7842237/willy-wonka-1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/a8d501bcedd64f7b97dd573169a7717a" /></p> <p><em>Image: Yahoo</em><br /><br /><span>The now-62-year-old opened up about one brief moment he shared with Wilder, in 1976 during a fundraiser screening for the film <em>Silver Streak</em> at the Avon Theatre in Stamford, Connecticut.</span><br /><br /><span>“I sat at the back of the room and he gave his commentary and then I went up to the front of the room afterwards with my poster in hand,” Themmen relived with a smile.</span><br /><br /><span>“I said, ‘Hi, Gene, how you doing? I’m Paris Themmen, I was Mike Teavee in Willy Wonka.”</span><br /><br /><span>“And he said, ‘Oh you were a brat!’ And I flashed all the way back 50 years, or 40 years at that time, and said, ‘Well, I’m 50-something now and maybe not as much of a brat.’</span><br /><br /><span>And he signed my poster, ‘To my favourite brat.’”</span><br /><br /><span>Wilder died in 2016 at the age of 83 after a long vibrant career.</span><br /><br /><span>Cole, who played Veruca Salt, said: “I think people kind of want us to tell you that he was like Willy Wonka offset, but he wasn’t.</span><br /><br /><span>“He was such a lovely, kind man, very unassuming,” she said.</span><br /><br /><span>“He was just down to earth, not pretentious, he was just a wonderful person to be around and to work with,” said Ostrum, who played Charlie Bucket.</span></p>

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Gene Wilder’s final moments revealed in moving tribute

<p>As tributes continue to flow for the <a href="/news/news/2016/08/gene-wilder-passes-away-age-83/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>late, great Gene Wilder</strong></span></a>, the actor’s nephew has released a statement describing his beloved uncle’s final moments.</p> <p>In a beautiful tribute to the star of films such as <em>Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory</em>, <em>Blazing Saddles</em> and <em>Young Frankenstein</em>, Jordan Walker-Pearlman detailed his uncle’s final moments which were spent with family, listening to <em>Somewhere Over The Rainbow</em>.</p> <p>The tribute reads: “He was eighty-three and passed holding our hands with the same tenderness and love he exhibited as long as I can remember.</p> <p>“As our hands clutched and he performed one last breath the music speaker, which was set to random, began to blare out one of his favourites: Ella Fitzgerald.</p> <p>“There is a picture of he and Ella meeting at a London Bistro some years ago that are among each our cherished possessions.</p> <p>She was singing <em>Somewhere Over The Rainbow</em> as he was taken away.”</p> <p>Walker-Pearlman also revealed the reason his uncle didn’t disclose details of his illness to the public, was that he, “couldn't bear the thought of one less smile in the world”.</p> <p>Are you as heartbroken as we are with this loss? What was your favourite Gene Wilder movie? Let us know in the comments. </p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/news/news/2016/08/gene-wilders-most-memorable-film-roles/"><strong>Gene Wilder’s most memorable film roles</strong></a></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/news/news/2016/08/gene-wilder-passes-away-age-83/"><strong>Gene Wilder passes away age 83</strong></a></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/entertainment/art/2016/08/make-up-artist-can-transform-herself-into-anyone/"><strong>Make-up artist can transform herself into anyone</strong></a></em></span></p>

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Gene Wilder passes away age 83

<p>The world has lost another irreplaceable icon with confirmation that legendary actor Gene Wilder has sadly passed away at age 83.</p> <p>Wilder, perhaps best-known for his role in the 1971 film <em>Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory</em>, passed on Monday at his home in Stamford, Connecticut. Confirmation of his passing came from the actor’s nephew, Jordan Walker-Pearlman, who said the passing was due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease in a statement to <a href="http://www.variety.com/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Variety</strong></span></a>.</p> <p>Walker-Pearlman wrote, “We understand for all the emotional and physical challenges this situation presented we have been among the lucky ones — this illness-pirate, unlike in so many cases, never stole his ability to recognise those that were closest to him, nor took command of his central-gentle-life affirming core personality.</p> <p>“The decision to wait until this time to disclose his condition wasn’t vanity, but more so that the countless young children that would smile or call out to him ‘there’s Willy Wonka,’ would not have to be then exposed to an adult referencing illness or trouble and causing delight to travel to worry, disappointment or confusion. He simply couldn’t bear the idea of one less smile in the world.”</p> <p>Tributes have started to flow in for the two-time Oscar-nominee who started in classics like <em>The Producers</em>,<em> Blazing Saddles</em> and <em>Young Frankenstein</em>.</p> <p>Our thoughts are with his family at what must be a difficult time.</p> <p>Share your favourite Gene Wilder moment in the comments below.</p> <p><em>Video credit: YouTube / beralts</em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/entertainment/art/2016/08/make-up-artist-can-transform-herself-into-anyone/"><strong>Make-up artist can transform herself into anyone</strong></a></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/entertainment/books/2016/07/5-authors-who-hated-the-film-adaptation-of-their-book/"><strong>5 authors who hated the film adaptation of their book</strong></a></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/entertainment/books/2016/04/best-childrens-books/"><strong>5 all-time best children’s books</strong></a></em></span></p>

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