Box Office Results and Weekly Movie News

Movies coming out this week!

Alice in Wonderland - 19-year-old Alice (Wasikowska) returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with her old friends and learns of her true destiny: to end the Red Queen's reign of terror.

Brooklyn's Finest - In Brooklyn, New York, three veteran cops (Gere, Hawke, and Cheadle) struggling with their own personal and professional dilemmas dispatched to a notorious housing project, where they will each collide with destiny.

Movies coming out on DVD and Blu-ray!

2012
Where the Wild Things Are
Ponyo
Gentlemen Broncos

Box Office results for the weekend!

1 Shutter Island$22.2 M

2 Cop Out$18.5 M

3 The Crazies $16.5 M

4 Avatar $14.0 M

5 Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief $9.8 M

6 Valentine's Day $9.5 M

7 Dear John $5.0 M

8 The Wolfman $4.1 M

9 The Tooth Fairy $3.4 M

10 Crazy Heart $2.5 M

"Shutter Island" stayed at the top of the list as the No. 1 film, knocking off two newcomers and managing to earn decent coin while doing so. The Scorsese thriller has reached just over $79 million worldwide and will hopefully continue to do well since its budget was around $80 million.

Watching the trailers for "Cop Out" didn't make me feel good about the film, but I was still hoping to hear positive feedback from other critics. Sadly, I have heard only negative feedback. How long will it stay in the Top Ten if everyone keeps saying it's bad?

As for "The Crazies," everything I hear is good - that it is more than a remake, it is a whole horror reimagining. Besides, I just like Timothy Olyphant as an actor.

"Avatar" refuses to falter. That's eleven weekends in a row its been in the top four, a feat I'd have thought impossible these days. It has now passed $700 million in domestic dollars and is sitting pretty with a worldwide gross of $2,481,904,000. My keyboard just ran out of zeroes for the day.

The rest of the films continue to peter out with "The Wolfman" dropping like a rock and "Valentine's Day" somehow still staying above the surface. I have my theories on this, but I feel a wave of estrogen fury will come my way if I continue to mouth off - both online and off.

Next weekend, "Alice in Wonderland" tumbles into theaters and will most likely take the No. 1 spot.
(Latino Review, Rope of Silicon)

Angelina Jolie Ditches 'Wanted 2' and Universal Decides to Scrap the Sequel

"Wanted" was a huge success for Universal. It was a great big fun film and a sequel has been in the works with Angelina Jolie set to return to the franchise.

Last year, "Wanted" director Timur Bekmabetov not only said Angelina Jolie's character would return for the sequel, he also explained how she could reappear despite her [SPOILER ALERT] apparent demise at the end of the first film.

For those wondering how she would even return, Bekmambetov explained that Jolie's character Fox would apparently be saved in the wax healing baths after being shot (supposedly).

However, news has emerged that Jolie has turned down the chance to reprise her role as the assassin in favor of starring in another movie.

According to New York Magazine, Jolie will instead star in "Gravity", a sci-fi thriller by director Alfonso Cuarón ("Children of Men"). Cuaron penned the script with his son Jonas, which would see Jolie as the sole surviving human member of a space mission, desperately trying to return home to Earth and her daughter.

It's pretty big news that Jolie left "Wanted 2" because it was Universal's next big project and now it seems to be falling apart. The report continues that because Jolie has opted to leave "Wanted 2" behind, Universal Studios has "pulled the plug rather than recast the film."

Well...that sucks. I liked the action flick and was looking forward to seeing how they would up the ante of the film by going worldwide.

How do you feel about not seeing a "Wanted 2"? Should Universal just make a "Wanted" sequel without Angelina Jolie or should the role simply be recast?

More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: Live for Films, MTV News, First Showing, Rope of Silicon

Videos Galore: Clips, Trailers and Featurettes on Your Favorite Films

"The Crazies," director Breck Eisner's ("Sahara") remake of a George A. Romero film, hits theaters this weekend.

The film centers on the inhabitants of a small town who become unwitting victims of a government bio weapon that turns people into murdering psychopaths. The film stars Timothy Olyphant
("Hitman") and Radha Mitchell ("Silent Hill").

In this featurette, courtesy of Empire, SFX makeup designer Rob Hall describes what kind of thought process went into making "The Crazies" look…well, crazy.

Click Here

Now here's a little stroke to add to your funny bone in the form of a new clip from "Date Night," the action/comedy that stars Tina Fey ("30 Rock") and Steve Carell ("The Office") as a nerdy couple trying to spice up their marriage via the titular date night custom. When they get bold and decide to swipe a reservation at a fancy restaurant, the couple land themselves in the most deadly case of mistaken identity ever.

"Date Night" hits theaters April 9, 2010.

In this clip, Carell and Fey’s characters are on the run and seek help from a certain shirtless guy you may recognize:

DreamWorks Animation has debuted the final trailer for their upcoming animated movie "How to Train Your Dragon" featuring the voice talents of Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jonah Hill, America Ferrera, Kristen Wiig and T.J. Miller.

I've heard good things about this movie (and you can catch a great review here), so I'm hoping the movie will turn out as good as I'm expecting.

"How to Train Your Dragon" soars into theaters March 26, 2010.

Surely you have all seen the "Iron Man 2" theatrical trailer by now – and surely you remember that one of the most kick-ass parts of that trailer is the moment when we see Mickey Rourke in his crude Whiplash armor for the first time, ambushing an armorless Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) while in a race.

That Whiplash ambush sequence is set in Monaco, France and we previously saw some behind-the-scenes footage of the Monaco sequence and now, courtesy of MSN France, we have even more! The video shows a brand new scene presumably set after the events of the Monaco ambush.

"Iron Man 2" hits theaters May 7, 2010.

Click Here

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

Writer and Director Hired for 'Zoolander 2'

Have you ever wondered if there was more to life, other than being really, really, ridiculously good looking?

After hearing rumors about it for years, it's actually happening. Deadline Hollywood is reporting that Paramount has hired Justin Theroux (who wrote "Tropic Thunder" and "Iron Man 2" and has only directed "Dedication") to write and direct "Zoolander 2," the sequel to Ben Stiller's male fashion model comedy from 2001.

Apparently Theroux is even going to Fashion Week in Paris to "immerse himself on what is current in fashion." I guess Paramount heard all the cries for this sequel because they finally admit that "it's got momentum." They just now realized that? I know people have been hoping to see this since 2001!

Deadline doesn't say much else about the sequels besides that Ben Stiller is back and "everyone's hoping Owen Wilson co-stars again but no deal is set." They also sneak in a little tidbit that says Jonah Hill is in negations to play the villain.

Jonah Hill as the bad guy? Oh man. I'd love to see Will Ferrell aka Mugatu at least cameo, though. And come on Owen! Bring back Hansel!

Apparently the studio still is unsure of the success of the first one (even though it's a huge cult favorite), so they're trying to keep the budget below $50 million, which is causing a bit of a ruckus. But, of course, everyone does want to come back and "bring Derek and Hanzel to life again."

If "Zoolander" was about a dimwitted fashion model at the end of his career, what is the 10-years-later sequel going to be about? More importantly, will there be another Billy Zane cameo? I hope so.

The first film was not a success in theaters, due in no small part to its release date just over two weeks after the events of 9/11. It picked up a major cult following on home video and is one of the most quotable films of the last decade.

Are you interested in seeing "Zoolander 2"?
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: Screen Rant, Latino Review, First Showing

New 'Nightmare On Elm Street' Trailer

Warner Bros has debuted the final trailer for Platinum Dunes' "A Nightmare on Elm Street" remake starring Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger as well as Rooney Mara, Kyle Gallner, Kellan Lutz, Thomas Dekker and Clancy Brown.

The first teaser trailer debuted last September, so we haven't seen anything new for a while, and it's great to see a really well put together trailer like this one.

The film is a contemporary re-imagining of the 1984 horror classic. A group of suburban teenagers share one common bond: they are all being stalked by Freddy Krueger, a horribly disfigured killer who hunts them in their dreams. As long as they stay awake, they can protect one another...but when they sleep, there is no escape.


A Nightmare on Elm Street Trailer 2 in HD

Trailer Park Movies | MySpace Video

This is the first "Elm Street" film without Robert Englund in the striped jumper and razor glove; instead we have the inspired casting choice of Rorschach himself, Jackie Earle Haley. Personally, it was Haley’s casting alone that made me have some degree of faith in this movie. Just hearing Haley do that creepy-as-hell voice might be enough to hook in an audience.

"Why are you screaming? I didn't even cut you yet."
Nice.

Out of all the remakes/re-imaginings of classic horror properties, this is the one that has the most potential in my opinion.

What do you think of the latest trailer for "A Nightmare on Elm Street"? Enough to make you forgive that it’s yet another remake?

"A Nightmare on Elm Street" hits theaters on April 30, 2010.
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: Screen Rant, First Showing, Latino Review

'2012' TV Shows Gets Destroyed

Just before Roland Emmerich's end-of-the-world epic "2012" was released, he revealed that a TV spin-off was in the pipeline.

But the filmmaker has now told Movieweb he has dropped the idea because it would be too expensive.

The series was to have been called "2013" and would have been similar to "Lost" in showing a group of stranded survivors (probably without a smoke monster though).

ABC was interested in airing the show, which would have filled the gap left in schedules when "Lost" finishes in May.

The idea was for the story to pick up where the film ended, showing the remnants of humanity rebuilding civilization after arriving in parts of Africa which had not been submerged by tsunamis. In the film, South Africa's Drakensberg mountains had been left as the highest remaining land on the planet.

"The TV people soon realized what we really wanted to do with the concept," Emmerich said. "They said, 'You cannot do this on television.' So I said, 'Let's not do it.' It was just too big for TV.

"It would have been a great show because it would have dealt with the facts of arriving in Africa. We would have seen what happened had Cape Town survived. Those people already living there would be majorly p***ed because the ships didn't take them.

"There was this whole political edge to it. It would have been a very political TV show. It had such big themes, it was about reaching for the stars. There was an economic reality that kept it from becoming a reality. We didn't want to compromise. We said, 'Let's not do it.'"

He admitted that "2012" executive producer Mark Gordon was investigating whether it could be done at a lower cost but said he didn't hold out any hope the idea would resurface.

"I don't think it will happen. I had a certain vision. We realized what kind of compromises we were going to have to make. Because of that, I said, 'No thank you.'"

Emmerich also stated he did not plan on making the idea into a sequel to be shown in theaters.

So that pretty much means the story line for the film "2012" is dead right now. I'll look out for more news on this even though it is delving into television and not cinema.

"2012" hits shelves on DVD and Blu-ray March 2, 2010.

Source: The Geek Files

New 'Karate Kid' Remake Trailer

Columbia Pictures has refashioned its new version of the 1984 hit "The Karate Kid" as a star vehicle for Jaden Smith - The new film will be produced by Jerry Weintraub (who launched the original franchise) and is directed by "The Pink Panther 2" helmer Harald Zwart.

While the new film will be set in Beijing, it will borrow elements of the original plot, wherein a bullied youth learns to stand up for himself with the help of an eccentric mentor.

The film centers on 12-year-old Dre Parker who heads from Detroit to China with his mother, ends up getting bullied, makes friends with Mr. Han (Chan) and starts cleaning house.

Watch the new trailer below.

I'm still not entirely convinced to see this movie considering the film is about kids now. The original "Karate Kid" at least had the story take place in high school - but to have middle school kids beat each other up and also have romance? And I'm trying to ignore the fact that Kung Fu is mentioned at least three times in the trailer but the film is still being called "The Karate Kid."

"The Karate Kid" hits theaters this summer on June 11.
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: Latino Review, Rope of Silicon

Coen Brothers Find Their 'True Grit' Mattie Ross

We’ve known for some time that the Coen Bros. are going to be making a new adaptation of "True Grit," which is a novel written by Charles Portis and was made famous by a 1969 John Wayne movie (in which Wayne won his only Oscar).

There’s four main characters in "True Grit," three of which have actors already attached to them: Jeff Bridges is starring as U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn (the role Wayne originally played), Matt Damon will be playing the roles of La Beouf (the lawman Cogburn teams up with) and Josh Brolin will play Tom Chaney (the killer of a 14-year-old girl’s father). The fourth role is, of course, the young girl.

Deadline Hollywood now reports that after auditioning more than 15,000 teenage girls, Hailee Steinfeld was chosen to play Mattie Ross, the "14-year old spitfire" whose father is killed in cold blood. I haven't seen Hailee Steinfeld in anything before, but I can't wait to see this film because it sounds like a potentially fantastic remake, especially in the hands of the Coens.

Ross’s role is a key one in the original novel; she enlists the help of Cogburn to track down her father's killer. The book is very much filtered through Mattie’s point-of-view, and it sounds like a tough role, but the Coens obviously wouldn’t have chosen someone who wasn’t up to the task. I, for one, trust their judgment – their track record has certainly earned my faith.

Are you excited for a "True Grit" remake made by the Coen Bros.? What do you think of the cast so far?

"True Grit" hits theater December 25, 2010.
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: Screen Rant, First Showing

Blackbeard Cast in 'POTC 4'

According to THR, Ian McShane is in negotiations to play the villain Blackbeard in "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," the fourth installment of the Disney movie series being directed by Rob Marshall.

Blackbeard's real name was Edward Teach and he was a notorious English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of the American colonies during the early 1700s.

In Tim Powers's book, "On Stranger Tides," of which the new film is based on, Wikipedia offers this description of the story:

This book follows the exploits of John "Jack Shandy" Chandagnac, who travels to the new world after the death of his puppeteer father to confront his uncle, who apparently has made off with the family inheritance. During the voyage, he gets to know a woman named Beth Hurwood and her father Benjamin Hurwood, an Oxford professor. Before they arrive, their ship is waylaid by pirates and, with the help of the professor and his assistant, the captain is killed and Chandagnac is forced to join the pirate crew. The reader discovers a sinister plot being concocted by the professor involving his dead wife, his living daughter, the Fountain of Youth, and Blackbeard. Chandagnac, now known as "Jack Shandy", must put a stop to these plans and save Beth Hurwood.

The inclusion of the Fountain of Youth has pretty much been known from the end of the third film and ever since production of the fourth was announced. But just how much Jack Sparrow will there be if the original Powers story centers on John Chandagnac?

Talking to Cinematical, Johnny Depp said, "There's no Keira [Knightley] or Orlando [Bloom] in there, [but] I don't know. I don't think we'd ever throw too much Jack Sparrow in there. There will be a little bit of everybody."

Based on the Wikipedia description, my only guess would be that Sparrow gets mixed up in the exploits of John and Beth, much like he got involved with Elizabeth Swann (Knightley) and Will Turner (Bloom) in the first three films, all of which will result in a meeting with Blackbeard, replacing the villainous Barbossa played by Geoffrey Rush.

This is, of course, only speculation. Who knows how Penelope Cruz fits into the mix as Heat Vision describes her character as Jack's foil and equal.

But in the end, I think McShane is a great choice for the role, not only for his very unique and distinctive facial features, but for his great voice acting ability. In addition to acting in many films and television series such as "Hot Rod," "Deadwood" and "Lovejoy," McShane has voiced characters in many films including "Shrek the Third," "Coraline," "Kung Fu Panda" and even an episode of "SpongeBob SquarePants."

What do you think of the choice for the famous pirate Blackbeard?

"Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" is slated to sail into theaters on May 20, 2011 and will start production this summer.
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: Screen Rant, Live for Films, Rope of Silicon

Movie News Mash 31

DIE HARD 5 / UNBREAKABLE 2
MTV News caught up with actor Bruce Willis during the "Cop Out" press junket and they brought up some of his other works including "Die Hard" and "Unbreakable." Willis then stated that a fifth "Die Hard" is in the works as well as an "Unbreakable 2."

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

(MTV News 1,2)

BLADE 4
According to the Arrow in the Head section of JoBlo, Wesley Snipes is interested in doing "Blade 4." Snipes specified that he was interested but would only do it if the script was right.

Last year we heard some news stating that the plan was to go ahead with another trilogy, a set of spin-off prequels based on the character of Deacon Frost. Frost, played by Stephen Dorff, was the feature villain of the first "Blade" movie where he met his end.

David Goyer, writer of all the "Blade" films and director of the third one, revealed last year that there was some talk behind the scenes about possibly doing another "Blade" movie. He didn’t specify any details and with his other major work lined up with bigger movies like "Batman 3," I don’t know how involved he'd be in a new "Blade."
(Screen Rant)

DOC SAVAGE
Back in October, "Lethal Weapon" scribe Shane Black was hired to write the script for a new "Doc Savage" film. Variety now confirms that Black will direct the film from a screenplay he is penning with Anthony Bagarozzi and Chuck Mondry, while Neal Moritz will produce.

Columbia co-president Matt Tolmach said: "Doc Savage is an icon, a character with limitless possibilities. We have had a great experience working with Neal to bring another classic character of the era, the Green Hornet, to a new generation of fans, and we think he and Shane make the ideal team to bring Doc Savage back to the big screen."

Black made his directing debut with "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" in 2005.

One of the most popular characters in the pulps of the 1930s and ’40s, Doc Savage was also popularized on radio, film and TV. Trained since birth to be nearly superhuman in every way, Doc Savage uses his skills and powers to fight evil all over the world.
(The Geek Files)

Seven New 'Cop Out' Clips

Seven clips of Kevin Smith's "Cop Out" have appeared online, courtesy of Collider. About three of these scenes are pretty unfunny, but the others actually have one or two jokes in them that made me laugh.

See how many laughs you get out of them:



My favorite was during the interrogation scene when Tracy Morgan shouted the famous quote from "Die Hard" and Bruce Willis says he doesn't know that movie. I think any movie lover could get a laugh at an inside joke like that.

"Cop Out" stars Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan as two odd-couple cops who go looking for a stolen baseball card and end up in a whole lot of NYC-inspired mess.

I really hope this movie turns out funnier than it looks, but we'll have to find out when it hits theaters this weekend.

More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Source: Screen Rant

Alice Loses her Clothes in this 'Alice in Wonderland' Clip

In this latest clip from Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland," Alice eats one of those “pills that makes you larger” which Jefferson Airplane sang so famously about and literally gets too big for her britches.


Alice in Wonderland Exclusive Clip - Clothe This Girl

Trailer Park Movies | MySpace Video

For some reason...my favorite part of this clip is Carter as the Red Queen and her last few lines. "Someone clothe this enormous girl."

"Alice In Wonderland" is a sequel/re-imagining in which Alice (Mia Wasikowska), now a teenage girl, is thrust back into Wonderland with no memory of her prior visit and tasked with saving the lunatic realm from the evil Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter).

More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Source: Screen Rant

Box Office Results and Weekly Movie News

Movies coming out this week!

The Crazies - As a toxin begins to turn the residents of Ogden Marsh, Iowa into violent psychopaths, sheriff David Dutton (Olyphant) tries to make sense of the situation while he, his wife (Mitchell), and two other unaffected townspeople band together in a fight for survival.

Cop Out - A comedy about a veteran NYPD cop (Willis) whose rare baseball card is stolen. Since it's his only hope to pay for his daughter's upcoming wedding, he recruits his partner (Morgan) to track down the thief, a memorabilia-obsessed gangster.

Movies coming out on Blu-ray and DVD!

The Informant!
Sorority Row
The Box
Everybody's Fine
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

Box Office results for the weekend!

1 Shutter Island$40.2 M

2 Valentine's Day $17.1 M

3 Avatar $16.1 M

4 Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief $15.3 M

5 The Wolfman $9.8 M

6 Dear John $7.3 M

7 The Tooth Fairy $4.5 M

8 Crazy Heart$3.0 M

9 From Paris With Love $2.5 M

10 Edge of Darkness $2.2 M

"Shutter Island" had a great debut despite it being delayed from its original October release. The studio says it delayed the film for more opportunity to display advertising for the film during the Super Bowl and Olympics. Looked like that extra time paid off.

"Valentine's Day" continues to steal money from hard working individuals as it fell one notch to 2nd place. Some might say this film is doing fine since it only fell one spot. Indeed, that's an accurate statement for monetary reasons as the film's reported worldwide earnings are now up to $122 million. However, if I made a film that hit the $122 million mark and held a 17 percent rating at RottenTomatoes - I'm not sure how high I would hold my head.

James Cameron's sci-fi epic lost out to "Percy Jackson" last weekend, but came back with some extra blue aliens and 3D technology to put the fantasy film in its place - which is beneath "Avatar." And a lot has been said about "Avatar" already… so I really have nothing more to add other than to point out it is now over $2.4 billion worldwide… which is a lot of money.

"The Wolfman" dropped to 5th with $9.8 million. It has earned $97 million so far worldwide and probably won't be getting a sequel (though if you saw the film, you would understand how a sequel would be very...different).

The rest of the films continue to peter out.

Next week we start getting nuts as "The Crazies" makes its horror debut. It's going up against Kevin Smith's police comedy "Cop Out."

More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: Latino Review, Rope of Silicon, USA Today

Behind-the-Scenes Featurette on 'Prince of Persia'

Disney has debuted a new behind-the-scenes featurette on IGN for "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" that's called "Creating an Epic."

The clip features the cast and crew talking about the film's location and special effects. The plethora of interviews include ones with Jerry Bruckheimer, Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Mike Newell and Ben Kingsley. There is also plenty of new footage, which is always great to see (at least this far out from release).

More Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Videos

In the fantasy adventure based on Ubisoft's popular video game, Gyllenhaal will play Dastan, a young prince in sixth century Persia who must join forces with Tamina (Arterton), a feisty and exotic princess, to prevent a villainous nobleman from possessing the Sands of Time, a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world.

"Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" hits theaters May 28, 2010.
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: First Showing, Latino Review

Another New 'Kick-Ass' Red Band Trailer

I think this is becoming another case of seeing too much footage too close to release, but Lionsgate has debuted yet another red band trailer for Matthew Vaughn's "Kick-Ass." This marks the third red band trailer they've released total and seventh "Kick-Ass" video that's been featured since last year.



That’s a pretty entertaining trailer, but it doesn’t really give us anything too new to drop jaw over, other than a few scenes of characters speaking in four-letter dialogue and the pretty weird “whack-off warehouse” part with that ancient-looking English teacher.

As for all these trailers: I think we’ve seen enough. Let’s just get this movie in theaters already so we can see the entire thing.

You can catch "Kick-Ass" at a theater near you starting April 16, 2010.
Sources: First Showing, Screen Rant

'How to Train Your Dragon' Featurette

A new featurette is now online for Dreamworks’ new CGI animated feature, "How To Train Your Dragon."

Early reports from tests screenings have compared this movie to "Kung Fu Panda," which for me (and many others) was the best animated feature that Dreamworks has ever put out (I also happen to like the first two "Shrek" films).

In this featurette, late-night host Craig Ferguson talks us through several lessons on dragon training.



"How to Train Your Dragon" hits theaters in 3D on March 26, 2010.
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Source: Screen Rant

Jeremy Renner in 'The Raven' and 'Battleship'

Jeremy Renner is hot property right now. After the success of "The Hurt Locker" and his Oscar nomination, his name is being tossed into every big motion picture coming out in the next couple of years. He was rumored to potentially play Hawkeye in Marvel's "Thor," but that never panned out.

However, he does have a few other big deals in the works.

The NY Times did a profile on some of this year's Oscar nominees and talked a little bit with Renner, who revealed that he's cast in James McTeigue's "Raven" and also that he's "in talks with Universal and director Peter Berg about taking the lead role in 'Battleship.'"

"The Raven," the next project from "V for Vendetta" and "Ninja Assassin" director James McTeigue, is inspired by the famous Edgar Allen Poe poem of the same name and follows Poe on the last five days before his death. As McTeigue explains: "It's basically set in 1850s Baltimore. The logline would be: an amalgamation of Poe's stories crossed with 'Se7en.' It's about a serial killer loose in 1850s Baltimore." The NY Times also revealed that Ewan McGregor is in talks to co-star and that shooting should take place soon.

As for "Battleship," Renner said that he has to choose between either taking on that role or another project (he didn't say what), since both of them are expected to shoot in the summer and he can't do both.

With these two big starring roles coming up, it definitely looks like Renner is ready to hit the mainstream following "The Hurt Locker." And if he wins an Oscar on March 7th, it'll only help solidify his presence even further.

What do you think of Renner starring in "The Raven" and possibly in "Battleship"? Did you like him in "The Hurt Locker"?

More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: First Showing, Latino Review

Plot Details for Third 'Riddick' Film Revealed

Last week, news was out that David Twohy was going to get the chance to write and direct a third "Chronicles of Riddick" film. Simply called "Riddick," it would again star Vin Diesel as the antihero.

The film is set to be distributed domestically by Universal and internationally by Lionsgate. THR reports that the property is in hot demand as Lionsgate was able to start a bidding war in Russia for the rights to the film's distribution where the asking price has jumped up past $2.5 million for that country alone.

The most interesting part of the report, however, is the glimpse of what we can expect to see in the third installment with some details about the sequel’s plot.

“Riddick” delivers on both counts. Though billed as a back-to-basics approach to the character popularized by Diesel, the script features the character — the most wanted man in the galaxy — left for dead on a barren alien planet, dealing with “trisons” (three-legged bisons) and “mud demons.” He must then contend with two squads of bounty hunters, one of which ride rockets called jetcycles.

"Pitch Black" was a really good, creepy little mix of horror and science fiction. The sequel, "The Chronicles of Riddick," took the character into a world that was much too big for it, losing fans in the process. The plot details of the third film reveal that it will be going back to its roots and focusing more on the character's struggles rather than his place in the universe.

All I want to see in a good sequel is Riddick being more of a badass, escaping capture around the galaxy and no creepy cult group trying to kill him. And having the film be rated-R like "Pitch Black" would help as well.

What do you think of the plot details for "Riddick"?
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: Live for Films, Screen Rant, First Showing, Latino Review

'Losers' Release Date Goes Back to April

Following Warner Bros. Pictures' announcement that "The Losers" would transition from its original April 9 release date to a later June opening, the studio has now shifted the film back to an April 23 premiere.

The move was reportedly intended to keep "The Losers" from closely competing with the action-oriented "Clash of the Titans," which would be playing its second weekend in theaters. Additionally, the June move was intended to provide the studio with ample time to make corrections based on audience feedback from test screenings.

Apparently those changes won't take as long to make as initially expected, meaning Warner Bros. is returning "The Losers" to April, even if the new date is still a few weeks later than first planned.

This helps move the film away from a near head-to-head confrontation with "The A-Team," another action-packed film with similarities about a covert team of professionals who are betrayed and then exact revenge with lots guns and bullets.

"The Losers" is filled with gun fire, explosions and attitudes of stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Chris Evans. The film seems fairly incomparable to the decidedly more mythological fare of "Clash of the Titans," which means many action film fans should have enough time to transition from one film to the next.

"Clash of the Titans" opens April 2 and "The Losers" now opens "April 23."
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Source: MTV News

Box Office Results and Weekly Movie News

Movies coming out this week!

Shutter Island - When a psychotic killer (Mortimer) disappears from a mental institution on Shutter Island, a pair of U.S. Marshals (Ruffalo and DiCaprio) race against the clock in order to track her down.

The Ghost Writer - A ghostwriter (McGregor) hired to complete the memoirs of a former British prime minister (Brosnan) uncovers secrets that put his own life in jeopardy.

Movies coming out on Blu-ray and DVD!

Law Abiding Citizen
Coco Before Chanel
Black Dynamite
Hunger
Halo Legends

Box Office results for the weekend!

1 Valentine's Day$52.4 M

2 Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief$31.1 M

3 The Wolfman $30.6 M

4 Avatar $22.0 M

5 Dear John $15.3 M

6 The Tooth Fairy $5.6 M

7 From Paris With Love $4.7 M

8 Edge of Darkness $4.5 M

9 Crazy Heart $4.0 M

10 When in Rome $3.4 M

I blame films like "Valentine's Day" for ruining relationships for people who love movies. Say a person loves films and are critical of them (and has high standards) and knows that films like "Valentine's Day" are crap and doesn't want to see them. But say that person's significant other wants to see the film because it happens to fall on a romantic holiday, but the movie lover refuses to see crap films and thus arguments ensue.

*sigh*....was not the best weekend. Especially since "Valentine's Day" won the No. 1 spot. I don't know if it was the scores of women dragging their helpless and cowardly boyfriends to the movie, or if Aston Kutcher got all of his followers on Twitter to buy a ticket, but "Valentine's Day" made huge numbers and a sequel is already in the works centering on New Years Eve.

I can't wait for a film about relationships centered around the Fourth of July, Labor Day and Martin Luther King Jr. day!

"Percy Jackson" and "Wolfman" opened to humble numbers considering they are totally different genres from each other and "Valentine's Day."

Other films keep falling, but "Avatar" continues to hang in there, surpassing films that are newer than it is.

To reiterate earlier points made...it's not that I don't appreciate "escape cinema." I do. The issue is that it's impossible to escape if you've seen it a dozen times before. When films start getting into formulas to make money, that is when I get irritated because you can clearly see story is thrown out for hopes of making money. And the formulas work. Only the movie lovers and critics can see behind the veil that are the studios. The GMA (general movie audience) fall prey so easily...

As I said...wasn't the best weekend. Excuse me for my ranting.

Next weekend, "Shutter Island" finally comes out after its long delay!

New 'Clash of the Titans' Featurette

Have a look at a pretty cool featurette for the action-adventure remake, "Clash Of The Titans" that stars Sam Worthington as Perseus, Liam Neeson as Zeus, Ralph Fiennes as Hades and features battles with familiar mythological creatures like Medusa and the Kraken.

The featurette focuses on the character side of things and has interviews with some of the movie’s stars telling us about Perseus, Zeus, Hades and all the rest of the major characters of the story. Unfortunately it doesn’t show us a lot of behind the scenes stuff during shooting scenes (although there is a little of that thrown in there) but it does feature some new footage not seen in previous trailers (including a better look at Medusa).



Although I’m not too happy that they’re converting "Clash of the Titans" to 3D (as opposed to the better option of shooting in the format from the start), I’m still looking forward to this movie.

What do you think of the featurette? Does you help get you more excited to see this film?

The film opens April 2, 2010.
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: Latino Review, Screen Rant

Third 'Riddick' Film is Offical with Vin Diesel

Variety has confirmed that Vin Diesel will be back to both produce and star in another installment of the "Chronicles of Riddick" franchise.

Its been six years since "The Chronicles of Riddick" proved a critical and financial disappointment (it made $116 million worldwide on a budget of around $105 million) and a third film didn't seem likely. But a series of video games elevated Riddick’s status back to the level of “cool” and fans began to clamor for Riddick's return to the big screen.

Vin Diesel will reprise his role of the infamous Furyan convict with shining eyes that can see in the dark. The film will be simply titled "Riddick."

David Twohy - who scripted and directed the first two films - will direct from a screenplay he wrote.

Plot details are being kept under wraps, but insiders say the third outing will be closer in tone to the first release, 2000's "Pitch Black," and will return its focus to the character as opposed to the universe he inhabits, which was the case with the "Chronicles of Riddick." Not sure if it will follow on from that film where Riddick ended up being leader of the Necromongers.

Diesel, 42, is also to begin filming later this year for "Fast Five," the latest offering in the "Fast and Furious" street-racing series.

I’m really looking forward to seeing some more of Riddick and glad they are going back to the tone of "Pitch Black," although I personally enjoyed seeing the Universe building in the second film. I do hope they tie up the plot from that installment and that it get’s an R-Rating so Riddick can be badass again!

What did you think of the first two films? Are you excited to see Riddick on the big screen again?
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: The Geek Files, Live for Films, Screen Rant

Fourth 'Twilight' Film Will be Split in Two

Money talks in Hollywood and Summit Entertainment will be following in the path of "The Hobbit" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by bringing "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn" in two parts.

That’s right folks, "The Twilight Saga" will stand at least five films strong.

One of the hurdle’s in making this happen is bringing back all of the key cast members since they were only contracted for four movies (that and re-negotiating with Meyer). We can assume that they’ll each be getting massive paydays for this but Summit doesn’t care; they can make these films fast and cheap and make a ton of cash very easily to pay them. Heck, "New Moon" broke the records for largest single-day sales and Friday opening.

Melissa Rosenberg has been working on the script for "Breaking Dawn" and now must work on making two, with the first having some sort of appropriate semi-conclusion or cliffhanger/lead-in into part two.

The movies will be shot back-to-back in October for the obvious reasons of saving time and money and getting them out as fast as possible. Summit is apparently looking for a “high-end” director to conclude the series so don’t expect directors of any of the previous installments to return.

The question that still remains for Summit to answer is who will be directing the close of the series. No hints at any possibilities yet, but they are said to be looking at "high-end" directors.

I have to say that I'm looking forward to the end of "The Twilight Saga," not simply because it will be over and we can stop hearing about it (at least until they reboot it in a couple years), but rather because I hear the final book is absolutely nuts and practically adaptation repellent, and I can't wait to see what a disaster it will be.

A major concern in adapting "Breaking Dawn" is the challenge of the novel's graphic and adult content. Here's some MAJOR SPOILERS as to what happens in the plot:

"Bella and Edward finally get married and can now have sex, however Edward is scared to do so because he is super strong and is afraid of hurting her. Eventually Bella wears him down and, believe it or not, is knocked unconscious and left badly bruised after their first session, which even leaves the headboard destroyed. She still goes back for seconds, gets knocked up (by an undead vampire) and the ensuing pregnancy becomes incredibly painful as a result of the speed the baby is growing as its powerful kicks break her ribs and sever her spine. This leads Edward to give Bella an emergency C-section with his teeth before turning her into a vampire to save her life with super-healing undead-vampire powers.

Sounds exciting right? Well, apparently Jacob, the werewolf played by Taylor Lautner, falls in love with Bella's baby (like actual love) and can't stand to be away from it and visits everyday. I have asked a friend if this last part is actually true because it is so ridiculous and she confirms saying they have a "connection" and Jacob gets extremely protective of Renesmee. Oh, did I forget to say that was the baby's name? It's okay, sounds about right doesn't it? Bella. Edward. Renesmee. Okay, maybe not. I guess they weren't looking in the big book of baby names for their little one."

You can stop laughing now.

Just how much of this will we see and who will step up to direct such insanity? Extreme camp like this could actually be entertaining and I'm sure we'll know soon enough as Summit has taken to churning these things out as fast as they can. "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" finished principal photography before "New Moon" even hit theaters and is already set for release on June 30. I know you just can't wait...

Summit’s only issue with their future plans of the "Twilight" franchise was the lack of source material to build from. This is one solution to get an extra feature out of it and after that it’ll be up to spin-offs.

Now that we know its two movies, the next step is to get both of them in 3D, right?

Expect both parts of "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn" to release in 2011.
"The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" comes out June 30 of this summer.
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: Rope of Silicon, First Showing, Screen Rant

'Get Him to the Greek' Trailer

Universal Pictures has released the first trailer for their upcoming comedy "Get Him to the Greek."

In the film, Russel Brand reprises the role of rock star Aldous Snow, which he made popular in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall."

The film centers on Snow, a once brilliant musician whose star power is starting to fade. He's in a desperate need of a comeback and Aaron Green (Jonah Hill) is instructed by his record mogul boss, Sergio Roma (Sean Combs), to fly to London and escort Aldous Snow to L.A.’s world famous Greek Theatre for the opening night of his comeback tour.

Aaron Green has 72 Hours to get Rock Star Aldous Snow from London to L.A. Pray for him.



"Get Him to the Greek" hits theaters on June 4.
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: Rope of Silicon, First Showing, Latino Review

'The Losers' Gets Delayed for a Head-to-Head Against 'The A-Team'

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Anyone who got excited about the above trailer for "The Losers" can go back to relaxing now. Warner Bros. has decided to delay the film two months.

The release date for Sylvain White's adaptation of the DC/Vertigo comic book series has been pushed back from April 9 to June 4.

What makes the decision regarding "The Losers" a tad bizarre, and more than a little ballsy, is that it will now be competing directly with Fox's "The A-Team."

"The Losers" stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chris Evans, Zoe Saldana and Idris Elba, among others.

"The A-Team" hits theaters a week after "The Losers." Now, which group of special agents will be the winners?

More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: MTV News, Latino Review

Brilliant New 'Toy Story 3' Trailer

A second trailer for "Toy Story 3" is is now online and it reveals more of the plot and several new characters.

In this latest installment, young boy Andy is now a teenager ready to head off for college. Like any college-bound kid, Andy beings to sift through his possessions for what he will bring with him to school, and through a cleaning mishap, his old toys end up donated to a child daycare center. All of our favorites – Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), Rex (Wallace Shawn) – are tossed into a new world, with new toy companions and hordes of unruly toddlers to face everyday. However, some bonds in life aren’t easily broken, and when Andy comes looking for his lost toys, his toys in turn go looking for him.



"Toy Story 3" hits theaters on June 18, 2010.
Sources: Screen Rant, Live for Films

Penelope Cruz Joins 'Pirates of the Caribbean 4'

Heat Vision is reporting that Penelope Cruz is "in negotiations" to join the cast of "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides."

We don't know much about who Cruz will be playing, but she's apparently "[Jack] Sparrow's foil and equal in many ways." So she's kind of a pirate villain?

Cruz will be joining Johnny Depp and director Rob Marshall (who directed Cruz in "Nine") for the fourth installment in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise. The script is being written by Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio.

The new film is based on the book "On Stranger Tides" by Tim Powers and has Depp back as Captain Jack Sparrow in the search for the Fountain of Youth.

Happy to hear that Penélope Cruz is setting sail with the Pirates crew?

"Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" will begin shooting this summer and Hawaii and will hit theaters on May 20, 2011.

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

'Spider-Man' Reboot Will be in 3D

Sony Pictures has just officially announced that the new "Spider-Man" reboot will be in 3D and has set the film with a release date of July 3, 2012.

The film, to be directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay written by James Vanderbilt, will be based on the Ultimate Spider-Man comic book series and have Peter Parker vack in high school

Jeff Blake, chairman of Sony Pictures worldwide marketing and distribution, said in a statement: "Spider-Man is the ultimate summer movie-going experience, and we're thrilled the filmmakers are presenting the next instalment in 3D.

"Spider-Man is one of the most popular characters in the world, and we know audiences are eager and excited to discover Marc's fantastic vision for Peter Parker and the franchise."

I know many are weary about everything now being made in 3D and I’m definitely not that pumped about the idea for the next "Spider-Man." Sure, it’s great that they have the option to do it, but that doesn’t mean we have to have it.

But what can we expect of a 3D "Spider-Man"? Yeah...the hero shooting his web straight at us. Great...

Are you excited about the next "Spider-Man" becoming 3D? Should all superhero films be presented that way? Are there too many 3D films?

Production on the now untitled "Spider-Man" reboot will begin later this year. No casting has yet been announced.

More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: The Geek Files, Screen Rant

'The Last Airbender' Full Trailer Now Online

Paramount Pictures has released the full trailer for the highly anticipated movie from M. Night Shyamalan, "The Last Airbender."

Last week we got a small tease of what was to come in the Superbowl TV Spot but now we've got the full thing and it's pretty decent. There's a little bit more of a backstory in this (for those that aren't familiar with the show) but then it gets right into the action following that.

Based on the hugely successful Nickelodeon animated TV series, the live-action feature film is set in a world where human civilization is divided into four nations: Water, Earth, Air and Fire.

The Fire Nation is waging a ruthless, oppressive war against the other three nations. The film's hero, the reluctant young Aang (Noah Ringer), is the "Last Airbender" -- the Avatar who, according to prophecy, has the ability to manipulate all of the elements and bring all the nations together. Aided by a protective teenage Waterbender named Katara (Nicola Peltz) and her bull-headed brother Sokka (Jackson Rathbone), Aang proceeds on a perilous journey to restore balance to their war-torn world.

But Zuko (Dev Patel), prince of the Fire Nation, has but one goal - to destroy Aang. He is aided by his Uncle Iroh, a retired Fire Nation general. Also on the hunt for the Avatar is Commander Zhao, an ambitious and hot-tempered Fire Nation commander.

Have a look at the trailer below and let us know what you think.

The effects look great, and as a huge fan of the show I hope for this to be a successful adaptation. A few things bother me about this trailer though is that we never get to here Aang talk (is Ringer's acting any good?) and that Sokka and Katara look nothing like they did in the show. Look at the comparison image of the main actors and their animated counterparts below. Notice any differences?


Yeah, they made them white. Zuko has lighter skin than either Sokka or Katara, yet Dev Patel is darker than both Nicola Peltz and Jackson Rathbone by a lot.

I don't mind whitewashing a lot since films are meant to be fictional. Jake Gyllenhaal isn't Persian, yet he is playing one in "Prince of Persia." This is based off a game where the prince didn't look Persian at all. So no problem there. The film is taking straight from the source material. In "The Last Airbender" the source material is getting slapped in the face a little bit.

I knew somewhere this film wasn't going to hold up to my expectations. A little thing like this only from the trailer already lowers my hopes for how epic this film might be in theaters.

What are your thoughts on the trailer? Does the whitewashing in this film disrupt your enthusiasm at all?

"The Last Airbender" is set to be released in theater on July 2.
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: Latino Review, First Showing

Hughes Brothers in Talks to Direct 'Akira" Film

"Book of Eli" directors Albert and Allen Hughes will be picking up a different book for their next movie collaboration — none other than "Akira," the adaptation of the popular manga series.

According to New York Magazine, Warner Bros. is currently negotiating a deal with the Hughes brothers to direct the live-action adaptation of "Akira," which comes from a script by "Iron Man" writers Mark Fergus and Hawk Otsby. Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way is producing.

"Akira," written and illustrated by Katsuhiro Otomo, takes place in the post-apocalyptic city of Neo-Tokyo and focuses on a biker gang led by the charismatic Kaneda. His best friend is Tetsuo, a man that develops psychic abilities and rapidly loses hold of his sanity. As Tetsuo's powers grow deadlier and deadlier, Kaneda is forced to face the reality that he must put a stop to his closest friend, even if that means killing him.

The story was already adapted as a 1988 anime, though that version of the story shaved off a significant amount of the manga's events. Apparently WB wants to get the full story out of respect for the manga's extreme complexity and wants to make the live-action feature into two films. The first three mangas out of the six volume series will comprise the first film, due out in theaters next year.

So will they shoot the two movies back-to-back?

Back in the summer of ‘09 it was looking like the "Akira" movie was dead; then in the fall we got word that WB is still developing the movie and that Fergus and Ostby are penning the script. Despite what some have said about the start, stop, start, stop motion of this "Akira" flick, it seems as though the development of the film is indeed coming along if the studio is looking at directors.

What do you think of the Hughes Brothers directing two live-action "Akira" movies?
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: MTV News, Screen Rant, First Showing

Tom Cruise Officially Signed On for 'Mission Impossible 4'

Last summer we got official word that Paramount would be developing "Mission: Impossible IV" and J.J. Abrams (who also directed the third installment) would return to produce. Abrams then went ahead and found writers for the movie in Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec who he worked with on "Alias."

At the time there was no word on whether Cruise would reprise his role as agent Ethan Hunt, but now Deadline Hollywood has word that the superstar closed his deal at Paramount to confirm his return to the franchise for a fourth go-round. But they're still looking for a director.

I wonder who Abrams and Cruise will get to sit in the director's chair for the new movie? I'd love to see Abrams return, but I'd rather have him dedicate himself to the next "Star Trek" movie instead.

So who else could do a good job directing the fourth "Mission Impossible"?

"Mission: Impossible IV" is planned to begin shooting this summer for a Memorial Day 2011 weekend release.

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

Tim Robbins Cast in 'Green Lantern'

The good news just keeps on coming for Martin Campbell's adaptation of DC Comics' "Green Lantern."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tim Robbins ("The Shawshank Redemption," "Mystic River") has joined the film as Senator Hammond, the disapproving father to the villainous, psychic powered Dr. Hector Hammond.

Already infused with the talents of Ryan Reynolds, Peter Sarsgaard and Blake Lively, this film has an impressive cast put together so far

It is not clear how much screen time Robbins will have, but it's good to hear that he's on-board as he is a great actor, in my opinion.

I am really excited to start seeing photos and stills for "Green Lantern" soon since production on the movie begins next month in New Orleans.

What do you think of the cast so far?

"Green Lantern" is set for release on June 17, 2011.

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