'Alien' Prequels, 'Ant-Man' and More

I have an exam I need to study for and loads more work to get done. But movie news never stops, so below I am providing a ton of links to several different news stories.

If you're interested in the topic, head over to those sites and read on. I'll go study and be back up to full speed on this blog as soon as I can.

"Alien Prequel"

News - there will be two prequels...and both in 3D.

Rope of Silicon
First Showing
The Geek Files
Screen Rant

"Ant-Man"

News - Edgar Wright may be making the film after "The Avengers."

First Showing
MTV News

"Final Destination 5"

News - Even though the last one was supposed to be the end, it made enough money to warrant another sequel...again in 3D.

Latino Review
UGO Movie Blog
First Showing
Screen Rant

"Sherlock Holmes 2"

News - Guess what? It's going to be in 3D.

Screen Rant

"The Thing"

News - the prequel to John Carpenter's "The Thing" is paying close attention to detail and according to the screenwriter will lead perfectly into the original film.

Live for Films
io9


"The Ring 3D"

News - the Japanese horror remake "The Ring" was successful enough to warrant a sequel, but now a third film is being planned to bring the franchise into the next dimension.

Screen Rant
First Showing
UGO Movie Blog

"Resident Evil: Afterlife"

News - Just some cool behind-the-scenes footage from Entertainment Weekly.



More news to come! Catch ya' later!

Box Office Results and Weekly Movie News

Movies coming out this week!

Clash of the Titans - n a loose adaptation from Greek mythology, Perseus (Worthington) who was born a god but raised as a man, sets off on an epic mission to combat Hades (Fiennes) before he can seize power from Zeus (Neeson) and unleash hell on earth.

The Last Song - A drama centered on a rebellious young woman (Cyrus) who is sent to spend the summer with her estranged father, who abandoned his family in the past.

Why Did I Get Married Too? - Four couples reunite for their annual vacation in order to socialize and to spend time analyzing their marriages. Their intimate week in the Bahamas is disrupted by the arrival of an ex-husband determined to win back his recently remarried wife.

Furry Vengeance - An arrogant real estate agent gets in way over his head after he agrees to develop property on an Oregon forest and the area's animals sabotage his plans.

Movies coming out on DVD and Blu-ray!

Sherlock Holmes
An Education
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
The Baader Meinhof Complex
Alice in Wonderland: Special Un-Anniversary Edition

Box Office results for the weekend!

1 How To Train Your Dragon $43.3 M

2 Alice in Wonderland $17.3 M

3 Hot Tub Time Machine $13.6 M

4 The Bounty Hunter $12.4 M

5 Diary of a Wimpy Kid $10.0 M

6 She's Out of My League $3.5 M

7 Green Zone $3.3 M

8 Shutter Island $3.1 M

9 Repo Men $3.0 M

10 Our Family Wedding $2.2 M

Wow...is "Avatar" gone? It...it really is. "Avatar" did not make the Top Ten for the weekend. It now must be considered the least bankable film of all time. Wait...I think I may have that wrong...

Joking aside, "How to Train Your Dragon" beat out "Alice in Wonderland." Except the No. 1 film's numbers aren't that impressive considering "Monsters vs. Aliens" opened last year with $59 million (and that was with lower ticket prices since 3D just went up). Meanwhile, "Alice in Wonderland" has banked $656m in worldwide cume. A huge hit for the Mouse House. And it'll kill on Blu-Ray/DVD.

"Hot Tub Time Machine" came in third with a disappointing opening weekend. Can word of mouth bring this funny film up? Maybe, but there are new films coming out next weekend...

And "Bounty Hunter" only fell 40 percent? The human race fails again.

The rest of the films continue to peter out of existence with "Repo Men" taking the hardest hit since it basically made no money in its time in theaters.

What about next weekend though? Can the dragons stay on top or will mythological battles rule the day? And then there's that Miley Cyrus flick and that Tyler Perry flick...but how many people are going to see those? Oh...right...

Box Office Results and Weekly Movie News

Movies coming out this week!

Dear John - A romantic drama about a soldier (Tatum) who falls for a co-ed (Seyfried) while he's home on leave. Their relationship is tested in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks, an event that causes him to re-enlist for service.

From Paris with Love - In Paris, a young employee in the office of the US Ambassador (Myers) hooks up with an American spy (Travolta) looking to stop a terrorist attack in the city.

Movies coming out on DVD and Blu-ray!

Zombieland
Love Happens
Amelia
The House of the Devil
Casablanca

Box Office results for the weekend!

1 Avatar$30.0 M

2 Edge of Darkness$17.1 M

3 When in Rome $12.0 M

4 The Tooth Fairy$10.0 M

5 The Book of Eli $8.7 M

6 Legion $6.8 M

7 The Lovely Bones $4.7 M

8 Sherlock Holmes $4.5 M

9 Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel $4.0 M

10 It's Complicated $3.7 M

Looks like Mel Gibson's return was no match for the power of James Cameron's "Avatar." For 7 weeks in a row, the sci-fi fantasy has crushed anything in its way. It will most likely beat "Titanic's" record for No.1 in domestic box office sometime this week. It has already sunk the previous record for worldwide box office gross.

"Edge of Darkness" came in a disappointing 2nd place with just $17 million. Warner Brothers was expecting this film to become No. 1 and make way more money that it actually did, but it wasn't meant to be.

"When in Rome" debuted in 3rd with $12 million and everything else flattened out under the weight of "Avatar." "Legion" dropped four places but is doing well considering how low the budget was for the film (though I don't know how much the marketing was). "Alvin and the Chipmunks" are still hanging in there, having earned over $383 million dollars worldwide (expect a third film in 2-3 years).

Can the emotion forcing "Dear John" finally send "Avatar" packing or will the action-filled John Travolta movie "From Paris With Love" win the weekend? Or...will "Avatar" topple the first weekend in February as it has tackled the past 7 weekends in a row?
(Latino Review)

Guy Ritchie Drops 'Lobo' for 'Sherlock Holmes 2'

Little did we know that when Robert Downey Jr. made the decision to leave Jon Favreau's "Cowboys & Aliens" for a sequel to "Sherlock Holmes" that he would be setting a precedent. Now Hero Complex reports that director Guy Ritchie has left "Lobo" in favor of working on "Sherlock Holmes 2."

According to Hero Complex, Ritchie has cleared his schedule to start preparing work on "Sherlock Holmes 2" for Warner Bros., meaning that his attachment to "Lobo" is no longer a certainty.

"I don't think he's going to do ['Lobo']," said Joel Silver, who is a producer on both projects. "The studio wants us and Guy to focus on making another 'Sherlock Holmes.' So I think we're going to be doing that."

Surely the $388 million worldwide box office cumulative combined with a surprising Golden Globe win for Downey's portrayal of the famous detective has something to do with the studio's quick interest and swift action in putting together the sequel.

While there's a chance that Ritchie could still direct "Lobo," that would mean a postponement for the project. Silver thinks it's more likely that the comic book movie will go to another filmmaker.

"I would guess ['Lobo' will go to] a different director," he said. "It's all happening at once now. Everybody is talking about everything. ... It's an ongoing conversation."

The news of Ritchie's departure from "Lobo" isn't entirely out of nowhere. Back in December, Ritchie said that his attachment to the film was far from a certainty.

Though I would've liked to see Ritchie direct "Lobo" (after all, he’s been directing lowlife criminals, thugs and general bad guys for almost his whole career) and would’ve liked to see Downey battle aliens as a cowboy, I can’t say I blame either of them. After all, with almost $400 million in the bank for the first "Sherlock Holmes" (and more still on the way), a sequel is pretty much a guaranteed success.

Are you disappointed Guy Ritchie is apparently off the "Lobo" adaptation? Which director would you like to see pick up the reigns instead? Do you think the "Sherlock Holmes" sequel be as good and successful as the first?

More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: MTV News, First Showing, Screen Rant

Box Office Results and Weekly Movie News: 'Avatar' Soars Past 'Star Wars'

Movies coming out this week!

Legion - God has lost his faith in humankind, causing him to send his legion of angels to bring on the Apocalypse. A remote diner becomes the battleground, where the Archangel Michael (Bettany) bands together with a group of strangers, though Michael's true focus is to protect a pregnant waitress whose unborn child is humankind's hope for survival.

Tooth Fairy - A bad deed on the part of a tough minor-league hockey player (Johnson) results in an unusual sentence: He must serve one week as a real-life tooth fairy.

Extraordinary Measures - A drama centered on the efforts of John and Aileen Crowley (Fraser and Russell) to find a researcher (Ford) to develop a potential cure for their two children's rare genetic disorder.

Movies coming out on DVD and Blu-ray!

The Invention of Lying
Whiteout
Pandorum
Gamer

Box Office results for the weekend!

1 Avatar$41.3 M

2 The Book of Eli$31.6 M

3 The Lovely Bones $17.0 M

4 Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel $11.5 M

5 Sherlock Holmes $9.8 M

6 The Spy Next Door $9.7 M

7 It's Complicated $7.6 M

8 Leap Year $5.8 M

9 The Blind Side $5.5 M

10 Up in the Air $5.4 M

"Avatar" has become the first film in 10 years to be the No. 1 film in America for 5 weeks in a row (last one was "The Sixth Sense"). Can it become the first film in the past 12 years to stay No. 1 for six weeks? Ironically, the last film to do that was James Cameron's previous film, "Titanic."

And this past weekend also made "Avatar" shoot past "Star Wars" as the No. 3 movie on the all-time domestic box office charts. Worldwide, 20th Century Fox's "Avatar" lifted its total to $1.6 billion, second only to 1997's "Titanic," at $1.8 billion.

"Avatar" topped the original "Star Wars", which took in $460.9 million domestically in its original run and several reissues over the years. But factoring in today's higher admission prices, "Star Wars" remains well ahead of "Avatar" on actual number of tickets sold.

"Avatar" now is closing in on "The Dark Knight," No. 2 domestically with $533.3 million. After that, only Cameron's "Titanic" at $600 million will remain ahead of "Avatar" domestically.

Even if "Avatar" sets a new revenue record, it's doubtful it would sell as many tickets as "Titanic" did because of today's higher admission prices.

"Titanic" sold about 130 million tickets domestically based on average ticket prices of about $4.60 back in 1997 and 1998. Based on today's average domestic price of about $7.50, "Avatar" would be at around half that mark.

Average admission prices for "Avatar" likely run even higher, given that much of its business comes from a 3-D version, which costs a few dollars extra to see.

Moving on to other films that aren't dominating the box office...

"Book of Eli" opened well and will have to continue along its path to make a profit from its production budget. Chan's "Spy Next Door" stalled in theaters as parents chose "Chipmunks" instead.

Speaking of "Chipmunks," the sequel has nearly made $200 million worldwide, more than "Sherlock Holmes," and also had a smaller budget than "Sherlock Holmes." Probably has to do with tons of kids wanting to see "Chipmunks" instead of "Holmes" and the parents obliging the requests.

Other films will continue to fall by the wayside has January begins to come to a close. The main question is how long will "Avatar" stay on top? With its recent Golden Globe win of Best Drama and Best Director, will more people go see the film (or see it again)? Will the film beat out "Titanic" and become the highest-grossing film of all time?

Only time will tell...but you really have to look at the ticket numbers since the revenue made now is different from 12 years ago due to inflation.
Source: USA Today

'Sherlock Holmes 2' and 'Transformers 3' Shoot This Summer

Yesterday it was announced that Robert Downey Jr. would not be joining director Jon Favreau for the adaptation of Platinum Comics' series "Cowboys & Aliens" due to "scheduling issues." However, since the actor hadn't lined up a follow-up project to the forthcoming comedy "Due Date," it wasn't clear what was getting in the way. Well, now EW has learned that "Sherlock Holmes 2" is being fast tracked to start production during the summer. Meanwhile, over at Deadline Hollywood, a tidbit of info hidden in some agency news about Shia LaBeouf reveals an estimated May start for production on "Transformers 3."

Even before the first "Sherlock Holmes" was released there was already talk of a sequel. Much of that talk surrounded the classic "Sherlock Holmes" villain, Moriarty, who was even rumored to be played by Brad Pitt. Whoever the villain, we all knew a "Sherlock Holmes 2" was inevitable after the huge tease of an ending from the first film.

Warner Bros. has already commissioned a script from Kieran and Michele Mulroney (who both wrote and directed the 2009 comedy/drama, "Paper Man"), instead of using any of the three screenwriters that wrote the first "Holmes" installment. I wonder why writers Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham and Simon Kinberg weren't brought back to pen the sequel after doing such a fine job on the first one? Either way, some new writers will probably keep the franchise fresh without veering too far away from the first "Holmes."

The studio is now trying to lock down the cast (which will include RDJ, and most likely the return of Jude Law and Rachel McAdams) for a June shooting start date. It remains to be seen whether director Guy Ritchie will return and direct the second movie, but I can’t see any reason why he wouldn’t.
Back in October, Michael Bay officially announced he would be working on "Transformers 3" for a July, 2011 release date. According to a Deadline Hollywood article about Shia LaBeouf switching agents, the filmm is set to begin filming this May.

There's only one small issue: the script hasn't been finished yet. We know that the writers for the last two films, Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman, won't be returning to the franchise and that Ehren Kruger will be working on the script for "Transformers 3."

Still, not having a finished script with about three months to go shouldn't pose too much of a problem, right? To be honest, after seeing "Revenge of the Fallen," I would be happy with "Transformers 3" having any kind of cohesive plot.

Be forewarned though, last year Bay mused about the possibility of bringing back Sam Witwicky's college roomie, Leonardo "Leo" Ponce De Leon Spitz, for a larger role in the next film.
(Courtesy of Goof Roof)

Are you happy to see another "Sherlock Holmes" on the way so soon after the first? Do you think RDJ was right to leave "Cowboys & Aliens" for it? What direction would you like the sequel to take?

Are you excited about cast and crew gearing up for "Transformers 3"? What would you like to see in the third installment of the franchise? Should we get our hopes up for anything good?

"Sherlock Holmes 2" is set to start shooting this June. Presumably we’d see it hit theaters sometime in 2011.

"Transformers 3" is set to start shooting this May and is scheduled to hits theater in July, 2011.

More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: Screen Rant, First Showing

Box Office Results and Weekly Movie News

Movies coming out this week!

The Spy Next Door - Former CIA spy Bob Ho (Chan) takes on his toughest assignment to date: looking after his girlfriend's three kids, who haven't exactly warmed to their mom's beau. And when one of the youngsters accidentally downloads a top-secret formula, Bob's longtime nemesis, a Russian terrorist, pays a visit to the family.

The Book of Eli - In a post-apocalyptic United States, a lone man (Washington) fights his way across the country in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind.

The Lovely Bones - Young Susie Salmon (Ronan) watches over her family from "the in-between" as they deal with the aftermath of her brutal rape and murder.

Movies coming out on DVD and Blu-ray!

Halloween II
The Hurt Locker
Fame
In The Loop
Moon

Box Office results for the weekend!

1 Avatar$48.5 M

2 Sherlock Holmes$16.6 M

3 Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel $16.3 M

4 Daybreakers$15.0 M

5 It's Complicated $11.0 M

6 Leap Year $9.1 M

7 The Blind Side $7.7 M

8 Up in the Air $7.1 M

9 Youth in Revolt $7.0 M

10 The Princess and the Frog $4.7 M

The winnings of "Avatar" finally begin to drop as the film earned less than $50 million this weekend. Considering it is now the second-highest grossing film of all time now, that really doesn't matter. But if "Avatar" wins next weekend as well, it will be the first film since "The Sixth Sense" be to at No. 1 for five weeks (and that film came out over 10 years ago).

And "Avatar" is really the only film to make money this past weekend. "Sherlock Holmes" and "Alvin and the Chipmunks" dropped a lot as did other films that hadn't just opened.

As for the films that did open, they didn't do well at all. Apparently "Youth in Revolt" and "Leap Year" had little to no audience while "Daybreakers" at least got the horror fans into theaters. I hear it is a pretty cool vampire film as well (as compared to other recent....vampire films).

Will "Avatar" take its fifth weekend in a row or will a new film reach the top?
More news to come! Catch ya' later!

Box Office Results and Weekly Movie News: AVATAR EDITION

Movies coming out this week!

Daybreakers - In the year 2017, a plague has transformed most every human into vampires. Faced with a dwindling blood supply, the fractured dominant race plots their survival; meanwhile, a researcher (Hawke) works with a covert band of vamps on a way to save humankind.

Youth in Revolt - Like most teens, young Nick Twisp (Cera) is ruled by his libido. And from the recesses of a trailer park in Northern California, Twisp concocts a plan -- make that multiple schemes -- to lose his virginity to a local girl, the precocious Sheeni Saunders (Doubleday).

Leap Year - Anna (Adams) has spent four years with her boyfriend, Jeremy (Scott), without a wedding proposal. During his business trip to Dublin, Anna opts to act on Leap Day, an Irish tradition that encourages women to propose to men on the date February 29th. A re-routed plane trip, however, lands her at the door of a Welsh innkeeper (Goode), who might offer a diversion of his own.

Movies coming out on DVD and Blu-ray!

The Final Destination
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
10 Things I Hate About You Special Edition

Box Office results for the weekend!

1 Avatar$68.3 M

2 Sherlock Holmes$38.3 M

3 Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel $36.6 M

4 It's Complicated$18.7 M

5 The Blind Side $12.6 M

6 Up in the Air $11.7 M

7 The Princess and the Frog $10.0 M

8 Did You Hear About the Morgans? $5.2 M

9 Nine $4.2 M

10 Invictus $4.1 M

"Avatar" has crushed the competition once again, coming in No. 1 three weeks in a row with $68.3 million. It has now grossed just over $1 billion, only the fifth movie in history to ever do so.

James Cameron is now the only director to claim the cinematic feat of having two movies gross over a billion dollars. No matter what anyone thinks of the film, audiences worldwide have responded.

Not only that, but it grossed that billion dollars in only 17 days! It took "The Dark Knight" 33 weeks (and a re-release) to pass the $1 billion mark in 2008. This is incredible!

For reference, the only other movies in cinematic history to pass $1 billion are (in order from smallest to largest via Box Office Mojo) "The Dark Knight" ($1.001B), "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" ($1.07B), "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" ($1.1B), and "Titanic" ($1.8B).

I don't think "Titanic" was even this successful, this fast, which makes me wonder..."Avatar" is quickly on pace to becoming the No. 2 box office worldwide gross of all time right behind "Titanic," but it only needs $800 million more worldwide to pass it... so could "Avatar" become No. 1?

It already has broken the record for second and third box office weekends and is now the No. 1 most successful 3D movie of all time.

"Sherlock Holmes" continued to do well, coming in second and earning $228 million worldwide. Sequel? I'm sure we'll see one. "Alvin and the Chipmunks 2" is a guaranteed hit. It came in third and grossed over $256 million worldwide. Yes. You can expect more "Chipmunks" in the future.

The rest of the movies didn't do too bad. "It's Complicated" continues to make money from the adults while "The Blind Side" isn't going anywhere.

Will "Avatar" win the weekend for the fourth time in a row or will a 2010 movie topple the billion-dollar behemoth?
(Latino Review, First Showing)

More news to come! Catch ya' later!

Box Office Results and Weekly Movie News

Movies coming out this week!

Not much! :]

Movies coming out on DVD and Blu-ray!

Paranormal Activity
Jennifer's Body
A Perfect Getaway
9

Box Office results for the weekend!

1 Avatar $75M

2 Sherlock Holmes $65.4M

3 Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel $50.2M

4 It's Complicated $22.1M

5 Up in the Air $11.8M

6 The Blind Side $11.7M

7 The Princess and the Frog $8.68M

8 Nine $5.54M

9 Did You Hear About the Morgans? $5M

10 Invictus $4.39M

The weekend ended with "Avatar" taking $75 million in North America and $145 million overseas, bringing its total earnings so far to $212 million in North America and $403 million overseas - a global total of a staggering $615 million in just 10 days.

But "Sherlock" is still celebrating - the film took $65 million on its weekend debut in North America, the biggest Christmas weekend opening of all time Stateside. The previous record-holder was "Meet the Fockers" at $46 million.

Together, "Avatar," "Sherlock" and "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" led the biggest weekend of all time at the North American box office, with ticket sales racking up $285 million, reports Variety.

"It's Complicated" opened as was the adult alternative title, which was well placed among the more action and kid films. Meanwhile, "The Princess and the Frog" fell heavily (when it was expected to pick up again) while "Nine" had very little opening power.

This beat the previous biggest weekend when "The Dark Knight" opened in July 2008, which brought in $260 million for the three-day take. Not bad for the last weekend in 2009.
(The Geek Files)

Box Office Results and Weekly Movie News

Movies coming out this week!

It's Complicated - During his son's college graduation, Jane (Streep) hooks up with her ex-husband, Jake (Baldwin), who's married to a younger woman. As if being your ex's mistress isn't tough enough, Jane also finds herself drawn to Adam (Martin), a smitten architect.

Sherlock Holmes - Detective Sherlock Holmes (Downey Jr.) and his stalwart partner Watson (Law) engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - A story-telling doctor's deal with the devil sends him scrambling to save his daughter on the eve of her 16th birthday.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel - Alvin, Simon and Theodore must put aside music superstardom and return to school, where they look to win a $25,000 prize in a battle of the bands contest in order to save their school's music program. But the Chipmunks unexpectedly meet their match in three singing chipmunks known as The Chipettes -- Brittany, Eleanor and Jeanette.

Movies coming out on DVD and Blu-ray!

District 9
(500) Days of Summer
It Might Get Loud
All About Steve
Extract

Box Office results for the weekend!

1 Avatar$73.0 M

2 The Princess and the Frog $12.2 M

3 The Blind Side $10.0 M

4 Did You Hear About the Morgans?$7.0 M

5 The Twilight Saga: New Moon $4.3 M

6 Invictus $4.1 M

7 Disney's A Christmas Carol $3.4 M

8 Up in the Air$3.1 M

9 Brothers $2.6 M

10 Old Dogs $2.2 M

James Cameron's "Avatar" cost somewhere around $300 million to make and market. There were big expectations from Fox about how it would do its opening weekend. And how did it do? Not so great.

$73 million domestically isn't exactly something to high five each over but it did make a killing at $159 million overseas. So far it has earned $232 million dollars worldwide. And with the east coast having been snowed in, expect numbers to be strong next weekend when the East Coast finally gets to check it out and others enjoy a repeat viewing.

"The Princess and the Frog" dropped over 50 percent, which is bad news for people who wish to see another hand-drawn 2D film in the future. Yes, it will rebound a little over Christmas… but the film needs more good word of mouth to stay strong over its $105 M budget.

"The Blind Side" fell the least of the wide releases and has made nearly $165 M domestically. It only needs another $13 M to crack the top ten of 2009 (domestically) — seems like a sure thing.

"Did You Hear About the Morgans" is another formulaic rom-com that most likely came out while better films are in theaters. And "New Moon" is only $3 M away from passing "The Hangover" for fourth place in domestic gross for this year.

Other films are petering out into the world of DVD/Blu-ray land. But what can we expect of Christmas weekend? Will "Avatar" remain on top or will "Sherlock Holmes" knock it down? Or will the kids win out the holiday weekend with "Chipmunks 2"?
(Latino Review, Rope of Silicon)

Final 'Sherlock Holmes' Trailer

One final trailer for Guy Ritchie's "Sherlock Holmes" has hit the Web, courtesy of MTV News.

There is some new footage in this trailer, and it looks great, but after watching it I felt like I was about to cross that line of having seen too much footage. There's a bit more to the story in this, the effects look much more finished, and overall it looks much more polished.

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

"Sherlock Holmes" hits theaters Dec. 25, Christmas Day.
Source: First Showing

New 'Sherlock Holmes' TV Trailer

At first I thought this was a real trailer because it is two minutes long, but it is only being shown on television. But finally, some new footage of the upcoming "Sherlock Holmes" since its original trailer came out in May. The closer we get to December, the more excited I get for this. The movie looks like it has a great mix of action and intensity as well as comedy. Warner Brothers may have the next "Pirates of the Caribbean" on their hands!


Detective Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and his stalwart partner Dr. Watson (Jude Law) engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a mystical nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.

"Sherlock Holmes" is directed by British filmmaker Guy Ritchie and is based on the Arthur Conan Doyle's characters that were first introduced in 1887.
Warner Brothers is bringing "Sherlock Holmes" to theaters on Christmas Day, December 25.
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Source: First Showing

A Sequel to 'Sherlock Holmes' is Elementary, My Dear Readers

Warner Brothers has already decided to move forward on the development on a sequel to Guy Ritchie's "Sherock Holmes." The movie won't hit theaters until Christmas Day, three months from now, but WB has hired writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney to start drafting a script for the sequel. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law are expected to return as Holmes and Dr. Watson as well.

The THR article claims that "Brad Pitt has had discussions with producers to star as Holmes' nemesis Moriarty" though no deal is in place yet. During the summer it was rumored that Pitt had flown to Great Britain for the specific purpose of shooting scenes as Moriarty for the first Sherlock Holmes film.

Though representatives shot down the notion, Guy Ritchie later told MTV News that there would indeed be a Moriarty cameo of sorts in his picture, however he would not reveal the actor portraying him. Pitt's involvement as Moriarty in the first film has been discussed often, but word is the character only shows up in the shadows in the script.

The Mulroney's broke out with their indie superhero script "Paper Man" and apparently were the lead writers on "Justice League: Mortal," which is no longer in active development. As for "Sherlock Holmes," the upcoming movie was co-written by Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham ("5ive Days to Midnight," "Invictus"), and Simon Kinberg ("Mr. & Mrs. Smith," "X-Men: The Last Stand," "Jumper"), based on an idea first developed by Lionel Wigram.

I'm looking forward to seeing the first one before getting excited about a sequel.
How about you?
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: Rope of Silicon, Latino Review, First Showing, Risky Biz Blog

Sherlock Holmes Trailer

Warner Bros. just sent over the trailer for Guy Ritchie’s "Sherlock Holmes," giving fans their first look at Robert Downey Jr. as Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic detective. The film is set to debut in theaters on December 25 and this trailer will be shown in front of screenings of "Terminator Salvation" this weekend. The film also stars Mark Strong, Rachel McAdams and Jude Law.

Sherlock Holmes sends Holmes (Downey Jr.) and his stalwart partner Watson (Law) on their latest challenge. Revealing fighting skills as lethal as his legendary intellect, Holmes will battle as never before to bring down a new nemesis (Strong) and unravel a deadly plot that could destroy the country.


(Rope of Silicon)

Jude Law Defends Sherlock Holmes

According to The Geek Files, "Jude Law, who plays Dr Watson in the new 'Sherlock Holmes' movie, has explained the film's different portrayal of Arthur Conan Doyle's classic characters.

Guy Ritchie's film shows Holmes and Watson catching crooks with bare-fisted boxing, sword-fighting and martial arts. Holmes retains his traditional traits of sleuthing and disguises, but no longer snorts cocaine - in order to gain a family-friendly rating.

Law, who read Conan Doyle's works in preparation for his role, defended the changes. He told USA Today: 'The physicality, the bare-knuckle fighting, the martial arts are all hinted at in the books. We just hold a magnifying glass over them.

'A word that Conan Doyle uses an awful lot is 'apprehended.' As in, 'Holmes and Watson apprehend the villain.' We get to show the apprehension.'

Producer Lionel Wigram, who wrote a Sherlock Holmes graphic novel on which the movie was based, had earlier told ComingSoon: 'A lot of the action that Conan Doyle refers to was actually made manifest in our film. Very often, Sherlock Holmes will say things like, 'If I hadn't been such an expert short stick person, I would have died in that' or he would refer to a fight off screen. We're putting those fights on screen.'

Wigram told USA Today: 'Sherlock was perceived as stuffy and old-fashioned. I thought the TV ones (including, most recently, those starring Jeremy Brett and Rupert Everett) were wonderful, but in a Masterpiece Theatre kind of way. It felt like there was a great opportunity to do something bigger than that.

'Guy is a great filmmaker. He reinvented a whole genre, the gangster genre. That is a great achievement. I used to pitch this as a Guy Ritchie version of a Sherlock Holmes movie. There was never any question that he would be an absolutely perfect fit for it'

Ritchie said: 'I was a Holmes fan when I was a child. They are the first stories I remember. I also liked the approach the studio was coming at. To me, it was the perfect segue from small independent films to something more ambitious and quintessentially English. So I've got my cake and I can eat it.'"

The first trailer for the film is expected to be attached to "Terminator Salvation," with the film itself due out on December 25.

More news to come! Catch ya' later!

Downey Down With Sherlock Holmes 2

According to MTV News, "While promoting his turn as L.A. Times Columnist Steve Lopez in April 24's 'The Soloist,' Robert Downey Jr revealed that he’s already making long term plans for a sequel to the upcoming 'Sherlock Holmes.'

'I feel like there’s going to be a ‘Sherlock Holmes 2,’' says Downey, obviously quite pleased with his experiences during production.

Downey also revealed that it was his own wish that the film not delve too deeply into Holmes’ addiction to opium, keeping the overall tone fairly family friendly.

'I actually petitioned the court and said, ‘This is a PG-13 movie. Let’s just refer to these peripherally. So at one point, Watson says, ‘What are you doing, that’s for eye surgery!’'

A PG-13 rating should mark an interesting turn in the career of 'Holmes' director Guy Ritchie, known for his decidedly R-rated crime films like 'Snatch' and 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.'

Not scheduled for release until Christmas, 'Sherlock Holmes' stars Downey as the classic detective, paired with Jude Law as his loyal sidekick, Dr. Watson. Downey did joke that one character he’d like to see appear in the Holmes films is his own Tony Stark.

'A time travel thing,' Downey offers, 'It’s a great idea. I’ll cross-pollinate my own double-franchise.'

He then quickly added, 'That’s pathetic. The fact that I even thought of that is pathetic.'”

Downey Jr. can be considered creative if he wants to fuse his two big franchises. I expect a fan film to come out on YouTube sometime soon with a plot like that.

"Sherlock Holmes 2" already? I know WB wants to make it the next big franchise for them after "Harry Potter," but no one has even seen a trailer for the film yet (though I do expect it to come out at the beginning of the summer).

More news to come! Catch ya' later!

WB Release Dates

"Green Lantern" is greenlit and will be released on Dec. 17, 2010. So instead of having another summer blockbuster next to "Thor" and "Iron Man 2," we will have a film that will make the holidays worthy. It comes out on the same weekend as the upcoming "Smurfs" movie. Green will beat blue, I guarantee it.

Other films have gotten new release dates, either brand new or shuffled around.

According to erc Box Office, "The final Harry Potter film ["Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II"] also locks down a date: 7/15/2011. Previously, the film, which will focus on the second part of The Deathly Hallows, was scheduled for Summer 2011. And guess what other 'little' film is set to open that same weekend...? Marvel's 'The Avengers.' Let's think about this bold move for a second: There are exactly six films that even have a release date locked down in 2011 and WB (who owns DC Comics) picks the exact date Marvel had already staked out six months ago? This smacks of a classic Marvel/DC rivalry.

The studio also announced a new date for Guy Ritchie's 'Sherlock Holmes': 12/25/09. Previously the Robert Downey Jr. starrer was to open 11/13/09, against Sony's '2012' and Fox's 'The Tooth Fairy.'

'The Clash of the Titans' remake from director Louis Leterrier ('The Incredible Hulk') goes to battle 3/26/10.

Christopher Nolan's sci-fi pic, 'Inception,' which is based on his original script, drops 7/16/10.

Director Jimmy Hayward ('Horton Hears a Who!') saddles up 'Jonah Hex'--a western based on the DC comic book character--which rides into theatres 8/6/10. Josh Brolin is set for the title role, while John Malkovich will co-star.

Zack Snyder's next up, 'Suckerpunch,' will unspool 10/8/10."

This all sounds good to me.
More news to come! Catch ya' later!

Sherlock Holmes

Rachel McAdams, Robert Downey Jr. and Kelly Reilly

Guy Ritchie's version of "Sherlock Holmes" will more accurately portray the characters from the famous books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The film stars Jude Law as the Dr. Watson and Robert Downey Jr. as the title role of Holmes.

"I knew enough about Sherlock Holmes to know that there was a lot of uncharted material," Jude Law said of the script. "I knew [Downey's casting] was going to be something exciting, and therefore the project was going to be something exciting.

"And as soon as I met him, we got on very well - which is a good sign - and we both agreed that we wanted to really make this a piece about the relationship between Watson and Holmes."

Downey Jr said, "I think the word bromance is so passé. We are two men who happen to be roommates who wrestle a lot and share a bed!"

"When you go back to the books, there's so much more." Downey said. "They're both meaner, harder, more complicated. They both live in a London that is much seedier and much more dangerous. And when you highlight the interesting elements in the [original] stories and turn them into a modern sensibility, you've got a really exciting equation."

Rachel McAdams plays Holmes' former lover, Irene Adler.
She said, "Irene was in 'A Scandal in Bohemia' [one of the books by Doyle] and she doesn't really appear anywhere else. So it's been a mix of what Arthur Conan Doyle set out and what the writers added on. [Holmes and Irene] are old flames at this point. They have a bit of a history together. He was actually the witness at her wedding. She coerced him into that, unknowingly. Lovely. And she's no longer married. She's come back to ask for his help."

Ritchie said, "This story is influenced by Conan Doyle. But Sherlock Holmes was the first western martial artist, and we've picked that up, which has never really been picked up in any of his previous productions.

"And the truth was, [all the previous Sherlock films] never really had the budget or the technology to have capitalised those aspects of Holmes. ... We are as authentic as we can get to Holmes, and at the same time, we have a contemporary feel to our film."

Sherlock Holmes also stars Mark Strong as a mysterious new adversary, Blackwood, and Kelly Reilly, who will play Watson's love interest, Mary.
The film is set for a November 13 release.
The film is a unique look at Arthur Conan Doyle’s Holmes (Downey Jr.) and his stalwart partner Watson (Law) on their latest challenge. Revealing fighting skills as lethal as his legendary intellect, Holmes will battle as never before to bring down a new nemesis and unravel a deadly plot that could destroy the country.
This will be the first film in a "Sherlock Holmes" franchise for Warner Brothers.

So expect more Sherlock Holmes in the future and expect this film to be more than just elegant English guys solving crimes by following clues. With both brains and brawn, Downey will star as a Holmes that the silver screen has never seen before.
More news to come! Catch ya' later!

Source: The Geek Files

Top 10 Most Anticipated Films of 2009

"In a survey conducted between August 8 and October 5, nearly 4,000 movie fans who had just purchased tickets at MovieTickets.com weighed in with their picks for the "most anticipated" films over the next 12 months.

MovieTickets.com consumers were asked to rank a list of upcoming films slated for release within the next year on a scale of 1-to-5, with 1 signifying they had little-to-no interest in seeing the film and a 5 meaning they had significant interest in seeing the film.

The Top 10 was: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Public Enemies
Angels & Demons
Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian
The Informant
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
The Day the Earth Stood Still
The Taking of Pelham 123.

Among the key findings of the 'most anticipated' poll were that respondents ages 24 and under indicated that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was the film they were most interested in seeing; among 25 to 39-year-olds, X-Men Origins: Wolverine topped the list; and in the 40- to 59 and the 60-and-over category, Angels & Demons was No 1.

The top three films among males were X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian. Among females, the top three was: Angels & Demons, Public Enemies and Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian.

Gary Hiller, president of MovieTickets.com's Research and Analytics Division said: 'These polling results provide very early, valuable insight into comparative long-lead moviegoer awareness and interest levels.

'Marketing professionals, in particular, may find this data quite useful as it relates to the competitive release landscape over the next 12 months.'

In a 2007 MovieTickets.com poll on the same topic, consumers indicated their top-three most anticipated films to be: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Dark Knight and National Treasure: Book of Secrets."

Source: The Geek Files

What I have to say on this matter.
First of all, The Day the Earth Stood Still comes out in 2008 (and National Treasure 2 came out in 2007, not 2008). So I think there was a mix-up in the polling somewhere...
Next....Night at the Museum 2 and Ice Age 3? People...come on....do you know that Terminator Salvation, Watchmen, Star Trek, and Sherlock Holmes come out next year? I mean....Watchmen should at least be in that list. For crying out loud.
And to tell you the truth, three of those movies I haven't even heard of until right now. Now I need to go find out what Public Enemies, The Informant, and The Taking of Pelham 123 are.

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock and Jude Law as Watson, is being made based on a comic about the famous detective written by Lionel Wigram.

UGO Movie Blog found out some facts about the upcoming movie, which is to be directed by Guy Ritchie.

"The screenplay involves Detective Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson engaged in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England. The film is set in London, 1891. Rachel McAdams (The Wedding Crashers, The Notebook) will play Holmes love interest Irene Adler. For her part, McAdams describes her character as an underworld adventuress with a criminal mind, but who also has her romantic and 'delicious' sides. She says it will be a pleasure working with Downey Jr. and Ritchie, whom she calls a 'collaborative, experimental director.' The entire cast emphasized the fact that this will be a sexier, more action-packed Holmes, but also made reference to the fact that his bare-knuckle boxing and martial arts skills are deeply rooted in the writing of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle."

The movie was shortly postponed as Guy Ritchie had to get a divorce with his wife of eight years, Madonna.

Sherlock Holmes is due to come out in either late 2009 or early 2010.


Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes (left) and Jude Law as Watson (right).