Box Office Results and Weekly Movie News

Movies coming out this week!

Funny People - When seasoned comedian George Simmons (Sandler) learns of his terminal, inoperable health condition, his desire to form a genuine friendship inspires him to take a relatively green performer (Rogen) under his wing as his opening act.

Aliens in the Attic - In Maine, a group of teenagers must protect their vacation home from the aliens who have taken over the top floor of the dwelling.

The Collector - Desperate to repay his debt to his ex-wife, an ex-con plots a heist at his new employer's country home, unaware that a second criminal has also targeted the property, and rigged it with a series of deadly traps.

The Cove - Using state-of-the-art equipment, a group of activists, led by renown dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry, infiltrate a cove near Taijii, Japan to expose both a shocking instance of animal abuse and a serious threat to human health.

Movies coming out on DVD and Blu-ray

Fast and Furious
Dragonball Evolution

Box Office results for the weekend!

1 G-Force $32.1 M

2 Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince $30.0 M

3 The Ugly Truth $27.0 M

4 Orphan $12.7 M

5 Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs $8.2 M

6 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen $8.0 M

7 The Hangover $6.4 M

8 The Proposal $6.4 M

9 Public Enemies $4.1 M

10 Bruno $2.7 M

Not much to really say about this weekend. The "Kid Factor" really came up this weekend by ousting "Harry Potter" and making guinea pigs the stars.

But can the "Kid Factor" win next weekend? "Funny People" looks like it might do well, but heck, kids will want to see that awful looking "Aliens in the Attic."

Box Office Results and Weekly Movie News

Movies coming out this week!

Hannah Montana: The Movie - As Hannah Montana's popularity begins to take over her life, Miley Stewart (Miley Ray Cyrus), urged on by her father (Billy Ray Cyrus) takes a trip to her hometown of Crowley Corners, Tennessee to get some perspective on what matters in life the most.

Observe and Report - Bi-polar mall security guard Ronnie Barnhardt (Rogen) is called into action to stop a flasher from turning shopper's paradise into his personal peep show. But when Barnhardt can't apprehend the culprit, a surly police detective (Liotta), is recruited to close the case, bringing out the worst in Ronnie's temperamental personality.

Dragonball Evolution - Upon discovering he was sent to Earth to carrying out a sinister plan, a humanoid alien named Goku (Chatwin) looks to fulfill his dying grandfather's wish: Prevent the evil Piccolo (Marsters) and his alien forces from collecting seven mystical artifacts which would allow him to take over our planet. In order to fend off the attackers, Goku must find Master Roshi (Chow), who is the one person who can set him on the right path.

Movies coming out on DVD and Blu-ray!
Doubt
The Tale of Despereaux
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Yes Man
Not So Easily Broken

Box Office results for the weekend!

1 Fast & Furious$72.5 M

2 Monsters vs. Aliens $33.5 M

3The Haunting In Conneticut $9.5 M

4 Knowing $8.1 M

5I Love You, Man $7.8 M

6 Adventureland $6.0 M

7 Duplicity $4.3 M

8Race to Witch Mountain $3.3 M

912 Rounds $2.3 M

10 Sunshine Cleaning $1.8 M

Holy Box Office madness! "Fast and Furious" has had the biggest opener for 2009 yet, beating out both "Watchmen" and the previous contender from last week, "Monsters vs. Aliens." "Fast and Furious" is also the biggest April opener EVER! Previous contender was 2003's "Anger Management" with $42 million.
"Fast & Furious" also had the franchise's best opening weekend (2001's "The Fast And The Furious" $40.1M, 2003's "2 Fast 2 Furious" $50.5M, 2006's "Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift" $24M). It was also the best debut for a car-themed movie (passing "Cars" $60.1M).
Big money for Universal on this movie.
"Adventureland" didn't have the best opening and that might be because of the R rating. Not many fangirls could go see Kristin Stewart not be Bella.
Other films are petering out while "Monsters vs. Aliens" will probably entertain families until the start of summer. Then we hit May and the summer blockbusters come out!
Next week..."Hannah Montana." If it makes No. 1 I think that is one of the signs of the apocalypse.

Dragonball 2: Getting It Anyway

Whether you like "Dragonball Evolution" or not, a sequel is in the works.

“I know they’ve written a second one and it’s pretty far out there,” actor Justin Chatwin told MTV News.

Chatwin plays Goku, the hero of the tale, who seeks to recover the powerful “Dragonballs” and protect the world from the evil Lord Piccolo, played by “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” alum James Marsters.

“The second one really goes to some different places that I’ve never seen in any comic book adaptation,” said Chatwin.

Chatwin admits that he hasn’t read the sequel script firsthand, but that he’s been told a lot about it and that he and co-star Emmy Rossum (Bulma) would jump at the chance to return for more.

Likewise, Marsters is not only ready for a second chapter, but would like to see the franchise continue indefinitely. As I mentioned in my previous "Dragonball" post, Marsters wants to continue the series deep into the DBZ saga. A die-hard fan of the anime, Marsters has every intention of fulfilling the arc of Piccolo in live-action.

“We’re going to get to ‘Dragonball Z’ later,” said Marsters, “where Piccolo becomes youthful and he’s going to become the Piccolo that most people recognize.”

Director James Wong was a tad more cautious and wants to reminds fans that, even though a sequel may have already been written (he would neither confirm nor deny the script’s existence), the litmus test is really going to come down to next weekend’s box office. And that isn't a good sign since the film has already done terrible in other countries.

"Dragonball Evolution" comes out April 10, 2009 in America.

Dragonball 2: Do We Need It?

"Dragonball Evolution" is already receiving terrible reviews and many fans of the anime and manga are showing a hatred unlike anything seen before. I have not seen the movie yet, but from the clips I have seen I just do not like how the character Goku has been Americanized from an orphan in the woods to a high school kid being picked on by bullies.

But Justin Chatwin, who plays Goku in the movie, and James Marsters, who plays the Evil King Piccolo, hope that a sequel will be made to the film that will follow the "Dragonball Z" (the more popular series) than "Dragonball."

Marsters said: "I hope [the movie does well] because my character only really gets interesting in the second film, I mean, he's interesting now but his journey is really developed in the script for the second movie.

Speaking to IGN, Marsters said: "I've been signed to three movies, but I would like to make seven of them.

"You could just pretty much paint by numbers using the wealth of source material to easily get the seven films. There's that much there."

Chatwin said: "There's a whole generation of kids waiting to be introduced to Dragonball, so this first movie is really important for that.

"I mean the main plot is the battle between Piccolo and Goku, but this first film still serves to introduce the characters and where they're from and what their deals are. And so to cover that ground really takes up most of the first movie."

He continued: "I know what they have in store for the second one and it's really cool! It's more in the vein of the Dragonball saga... it goes into other places, there's other characters, other fighters and there's a lot of action that is just really awesome.

"It actually goes more into Dragon Ball Z land and it's just really exciting. It goes into the whole legend of Dragonball. I cant really say more than that, but it made me think this is a cool franchise to be a part off because there's so much we haven't shown yet."

The film has already opened in Asia and will be released in the US on April 10.
More news to come! Catch ya' later!

Dragonball Exclusive Clips

Exclusive clips of the upcoming film "Dragonball Evolution" featured from MTV News.

Goku trains with his grandpa Gohan.

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Goku teams up with Bulma and Master Roshi

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Goku talks with Chi-Chi

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

"Dragonball Evolution" hits theaters April 10.

I just want to know where it all went wrong. They took the anime, made it all Hollywood (Goku in high school? wtf?) and just did not stick to the source material besides keeping the same names. I have always wanted to see a live action DBZ movie. Now I think my childhood years of watching DBZ on Toonami on Cartoon Network are ruined.
Thanks 20th Century Fox.

New Dragonball Clip

Check out this clip from the upcoming movie "Dragonball Evolution."

In it, Goku, Bulma and Yamcha are trying to do something while Chi-Chi gets attacked by Mai who has transformed herself into Chi-Chi. Mai is a character created specifically for the movie, so we will have to see the movie to find out if the character works.

Dragonball Evolution: Chi Chi vs Chi Chi @ Yahoo! Video

Dragonball 2?

"Dragonball Evolution" comes out April 8, 2009. And it seems a sequel is already on the way.

According to SciFiNow, "'Dragonball Evolution,' the first live-action adaptation of the popular manga, hasn’t even hit our screens yet, but the script for a proposed sequel has already been written, according to Justin Chatwin, who plays Goku in the upcoming film.

Speaking to SciFiNow last month, the 26-year-old actor said that he was signed on for potential sequels, and that he was excited about the prospect. 'If there were to be a sequel I think it… well, I know that it would go to a really interesting place, because they already have the second script written.' When pressed for details, Chatwin revealed a little more about the direction of sequel. 'It’s really, really cool. The second one goes more into the whole legacy and the genealogy of Dragonball. It goes more in-depth into a real Dragonball series, the kind of intergalactic world of Dragonball.'”

I'm not really surprised at this since the "Dragonball" series lasts many mangas and anime episodes that are broken down into different sagas. This first film is based off of only one saga in the "Dragonball" series, which only gets better in the "Dragonball Z" series with its own multiple sagas. A whole franchise of live-action movies could be made depending on how well this first movie does.

More news to come! Catch ya' later!

Another Dragonball Trailer

A new trailer for "Dragonball Evolution" has just come out (I still don't understand the name change for this film) and it has more fighting, action and dragons than you can see in China.



"Dragonball Evolution" is directed by James Wong, of "Final Destination"
, Jet Li's "The One", and "Final Destination 3" previously, with a script written by Ben Ramsey, of "The Big Hit" and "Love and a Bullet" previously. The film stars Justin Chatwin as Goku, James Marsters
as Piccolo, Emmy Rossum as Bulma, Chow Yun-Fat as Master Roshi, Jamie Chung as Chi Chi, and Park Joon as Yamcha. [First Showing]
The film comes out April 8, 2009.

Emmy Rossum on Bulma

MTV News had the chance to speak with Emmy Rossum, who will be playing the techno-genius girl Bulma in the upcoming live-adaption of the widely popular manga and anime "Dragonball" titled "Dragonball Evolution" (where did they get that name?).

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

I want to see the Kamehameha too!

Dragon Ball Evolution

Now the official title for the film is "Dragon Ball Evolution," and this new trailer just hit the net.
Watch it before it is gone!



I swear I saw a Kamehameha (is that how you spell that?) in there! YES!

The film features Justin Chatwin as Goku, the hero of the film, as well as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” alum James Marsters as the villain, Lord Piccolo.
It comes out April 8, 2009.

Dragon Ball

MTV News had a chance to interview actress Jamie Chung about her role in the upcoming film "Dragon Ball" (or "Dragon Ball Evolution") and to talk about reshoots.

“I think it’s just one scene that they’re gonna have to reshoot and it’s the end fight,” Chung said of what they were re-tooling. “I fortunately will not have to go back. I think it’s the big fight between Justin Chatwin and James Marsters.”

The final fight between Chatwin and Marsters will deal with the epic battle between Son Goku and the evil Lord Piccolo. An interesting part about "Dragon Ball" is how the names are a part of the comedy of the series, since names like Goku (I think it is noodles) and Vegeta (I think vegetables) are foods, but in America we don't get that.

“Like, ok, Chi Chi. I heard rumors [that] each character is named based off a fruit. So I was being interviewed by this guy from Japan, and I was like, ‘Is it true? Is Chi Chi a name for a Japanese fruit?’ He was like, ‘No…it’s kinda like an international saying for…’ ‘Oh right, boobs!’” Chung laughed of the unintentional comedy of her character’s name. “There’s no way around it! We shot it in Mexico so my trailer said Chi Chi. It’s a name I can’t seem to shake.”

I thought it stood for a childish way of saying mother...
Anyway, "Dragon Ball" (or whatever they are calling it now) is coming out April 8, 2008. Possible sequels are on the way with the entire main cast from this film!

“We’re signed on for two more,” Chung said. “Hopefully, I hope the movie does well. There’s lots of places that Fox wants to go with this.”

More news to come! Catch ya' later!

Dragonball Now Dragonball Evolution?

"Dragonball," the film based on Akira Toriyama's manga, seems to be getting a new title.

According to ComingSoon.net, "20th Century Fox may have extended the title of its upcoming "'Dragon Ball adaptation to 'Dragonball Evolution.'"

I have no idea what is up with that at all.

According to The Geek Files, "Written and directed by James Wong, the big screen version stars Justin Chatwin, James Marsters, Jamie Chung, Emmy Rossum, Eriko Tamura, Joon Park, Chow Yun-Fat, Texas Battle, Randall Duk Kim and Ernie Hudson. The movie will be released on April 8. Fox has also registered the domain name DragonballEvolutionmovie.com, which confirms the new name for the film.

The Japanese comic book - about the adventures of Son Goku as he searches the world for seven wish-granting mystical objects known as the Dragon Balls - has already been adapted into three cartoon series, seventeen animated films, three TV specials and numerous video games."

I still don't get it, but if the title for the movie changed, that is fine with me. I will still see it just because it is "Dragonball."
What are your thoughts on the sudden name change? Do you think it is even necessary?

Green Hornet

Seth Rogen explains how in his next film, The Green Hornet, it will be sort of an origins story.


The plot of the film is something like this.
By night, debonair newspaper publisher Britt Reid fights crime as a masked superhero known as The Green Hornet. At his side is martial arts expert Kato.

Kato will be played by Stephen Chow (from Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer), who will also direct the film. Chow is also producing the upcoming Dragon Ball movie.

The Green Hornet (left) and his martial arts sidekick Kato (right).

Dragon Ball Official Trailer

It came out sooner than I expected. 2oth Century Fox has a leak somewhere...or they let it come out a week early.
Take a look.



I don't want to say anything about this yet. I love the anime Dragon Ball Z....so...*sniff*...I don't want to say anything yet.
EDIT: And now the bloody trailer is gone....

Max Payne Goes from R to PG-13

In one of my earlier posts I explained how the director of the upcoming film Max Payne was upset because the MPAA gave it a R rating.
Moore believed the film would have to be altered completely in certain scenes to get the PG-13 rating. After the rating change though, Moore decided it was easier than he expected.

"…I didn’t have to change much. We trimmed some frames more for the sake of trimming frames than anything, but we got the rating without any major changes at all. I’m a little surprised that we changed their minds, effectively, but I’m happy about it. It proves that if you stick to your guns and you have the creative, and dare I say moral sense, that you’re in the right, that you can get the right thing done."So this will be another PG-13 film that borders on the R rating. I wonder if when the DVD comes out it will end up being 'Special Edition Unrated.'
The movie comes out the Friday after next with the much anticipated Dragon Ball trailer before it.

Dragon Ball

What can I say about this upcoming movie besides that my hopes aren't too high.
Look, I freaking love Dragon Ball Z. Was and still is my favorite anime.
And I know the movie is supposed to take place in our world, but the anime and manga doesn't....so why change that? I mean, James Wong is a decent director (he directed Final Destination 3) and the film is being produced by one of my favs, Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle anyone?).
I have seen many pics, like those of Justin Chatwin as Goku (he was the kid in War of the Worlds) and Emmy Rossum as Bulma (Christine from Phantom of the opera).
The trailer comes out when Max Payne comes out, another movie my hopes aren't too high for, yet I will see anyway. More on this later folks!

Justin Chatwin as Goku holding a Dragon Ball



Kamehameha?

James Marsters, (Spike from Buffy) plays Piccolo, and I'm sorry, but he does not look Namekian.

Bulma.....thought she was supposed to have big blue hair......