Nightmare Before Christmas Director Provides Sneak Peek Into Coraline
Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Universal, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Family, Science Fiction, Casting, Distribution, Filmmaking, Upcoming Releases,
Fans of The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Sandman graphic novel will have much to celebrate for come this December with Coraline.
The director of the Disney classic, Henry Selick, as well as Beowulf writer Neil Gaiman have teamed up for the upcoming stop-motion film, which follows a young girl named Coraline who walks through a door that ultimately takes her to an alternate version of her life.
Judging by the behind-the-scenes clip (seen after the jump), the look and feel of the movie are sure to please fans of both collaborators. Watching the painstaking task of stop-motion animation, I now have a newfound appreciation for the art.
The film stars Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, and Jennifer Saunders (Shrek 2).
Click to continue reading Nightmare Before Christmas Director Provides Sneak Peek Into Coraline
Variety
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Juno Movie Available Via iTunes
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Fox Searchlight, Comedy, Home Entertainment, New Releases, Technology,
While iTunes users have become used to seeing selections from Disney, DVD offerings from other studios have not come as quickly as some might have liked. But it looks like things may soon change.
Just today, Fox made Juno available for download via the popular site. This is the same day the Oscar-nominated film was placed on store and rental shelves. It’s likely the studio will allow more current titles to be sold in the future, but no immediate plans have been announced.
Meanwhile, Paramount has also started to dabble in Apple‘s waters as well. The company recently offered up Beowulf for purchase shortly after it debuted on DVD in February.
At last check, Juno (on sale for $14.99) was iTunes’ top seller.
Variety
A Divorce for Sean Penn and Robin Wright Penn
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip,
After more than a decade together, the Princess Bride and the Bad Boy are calling it quits. Sean Penn and Robin Wright Penn - who had been officially married since 1996 - are finally putting an end to something that endured quite a bit of time. Their romance began shortly after Sean’s high-profile marriage to Madonna fell flat in 1989.
The couple - who have two kids together (Hopper Jack, 14, and Dylan Frances, 16) - have acted together in several films including She’s So Lovely and Hurlyburly. Sean also helmed The Crossing Guard and The Pledge; both movies starred Robin Wright Penn and Jack Nicholson.
Sean’s directorial work can currently be seen in Into the Wild. Wright Penn’s Beowulf is also still in theaters.
People
Box Office Breakdown: The Golden Compass Lacks Luster
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, MGM, New Line, Paramount, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Romance, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
A Narnia-esque adaptation partnered with a holiday release date and an A-list cast should have conjured box office magic for The Golden Compass. Surprisingly, this weekend’s release from New Line Cinema brought in barely enough money to cover the film’s catering budget.
Compass, based on Philip Pullman’s children’s series His Dark Materials, was Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig’s second disappointing collaboration this year (the first being The Invasion). While it was enough for a first place finish, the $25 million debut was hardly impressive given the film’s $180 million price tag.
In other news, holiday flick This Christmas remained in third place while the critically-panned Fred Claus bumped up two spaces from last week. Meanwhile, Juno and Atonement did well with their very limited releases.
Be looking for the highly-promoted I Am Legend (and Alvin and the Chipmunks) to enter next week’s charts.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: The Golden Compass Lacks Luster
E! Online
Box Office Breakdown: Jessica Alba Can’t Keep Audiences Awake
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, MGM, Paramount, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Romance, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
There’s nothing like a good snub to restore your faith in moviegoers.
Although Awake was the only new wide release this past weekend, discerning audiences kept it from succeeding by default. (NOTE: Cute squirrels will always trump Jessica Alba.) The movie, also co-starring Star Wars’ Hayden Christensen, opened with a dismal $6 million - less than half of what Alba’s last stellar film, Good Luck Chuck, did. (The latter opened at $13.7 million.) I wonder if this currently makes Jessica Biel the most successful Jessica out there.
Aside from Awake’s entry, the rest of the Top Ten changed very little from last week. Enchanted refused to budge from its perch and earned another $16 million over the past three days. Meanwhile, Beowulf surged back up a notch, trading spots with holiday flick, This Christmas.
Although the box office numbers were unspectacular overall, we can expect big changes in just a few days; that’s when New Line’s The Golden Compass makes its debut.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Jessica Alba Can’t Keep Audiences Awake
Box Office Breakdown: Audiences Enchanted With Disney
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Disney, MGM, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Romance, Comedy, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
Throw comedy, drama, animation, romance, sci-fi, hunky actors, pretty actresses, singing, dancing, kids and cute animals all into one film and you’ll get Enchanted. You’ll also have Disney’s latest holiday success.
The film, starring Oscar-nominated actress Amy Adams, grossed nearly $50 million over the 5-day weekend ($34 million from Friday-Sunday). Enchanted’s take places it behind 1999’s Toy Story 2 - the film with the largest Thanksgiving debut ever ($80.1 million).
Last week’s champion, Beowulf, fell into 3rd place right behind another holiday opener, This Christmas. The movies took in $23.3 and $26.3 million, respectively, during the long stretch.
Although the sappy August Rush opened in a disappointing 7th place, the DVD release of Waitress this week should make actress Keri Russell - and her fans - feel a bit better.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Audiences Enchanted With Disney
E! Online
Burton To Direct Disney Films
Posted by David Onda Categories: Disney, Animation, Short Films, Family, Musicals, Comedy, Filmmaking, Rumors, Scripts, Upcoming Releases,
Tim Burton will direct a pair of 3-D films for Disney: Alice in Wonderland and Frankenweenie.
First, Burton will direct Alice, which will be filmed using a mixture of performance-capture imagery and live action footage, a la this weekends #1 film, Beowulf. Next, Burton will helm Frankenweenie, based on his 1984 short film (of the same name) about a dog who gets run over by a car and is brought back to life by his owner. ’Weenie will be filmed using stop-motion animation and shown in digital 3-D.
The original Frankenweenie had an odd cast, which included Daniel Stern (as the owner), Shelley Duvall, Sofia Coppola and The Wonder Years’ Jason Hervey. No word if any of the actors will return for this version.
Variety
In Theaters This Weekend (11/16)
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Magnolia, New Line, Paramount, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Documentary, Drama, Family, Independent, Period, Religious, Romance, Comedy, Lists, New Releases,
Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:
- Beowulf (PG-13): starring Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Anjelina Jolie (directed by Robert Zemeckis)
- Love in the Time of Cholera (R): starring Javier Bardem, Benjamin Bratt, Liev Schrieber (directed by Mike Newell)
- Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium (G): starring Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman, Jason Bateman (directed by Zach Helm)
- Margot at the Wedding* (R): starring Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jack Black (directed by Noah Baumbach)
Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend (11/16)
Oscar Buzz for Animated Films
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Animation, Family, Awards,
The official nominees for the 80th Annual Academy Awards haven’t yet been selected, but twelve animated feature films are already up for consideration. Only three films out of the twelve submitted will receive actual nominations, and only then if submission procedures are correctly followed.
No more than sixteen movies may be considered in any one category, but films submitted to the Animated category may qualify for other nominations as well. The year’s potential contenders include Bee Movie, Beowulf, Meet the Robinsons, Ratatouille, Shrek the Third and The Simpsons Movie.
The Oscar nominations will be announced Tuesday, January 22.
LA Times
Angelina Jolie Takes on Historic Lore In Beowulf
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Paramount, Adaptation, Classics, Drama, Casting, Upcoming Releases,
Of all the actresses in all the sets in all the world, Angelina Jolie had to walk into Old English literature. She’ll be part of the cast in Paramount’s Beowulf, directed by Robert Zemeckis. Anyone who sat through High School English will probably remember the ancient tale of warrior Beowulf against nasty little Grendel, one of the most famous literary villains. Ray Winstone will play the title character in the flick, with Crispin Glover slated to play the monster. Jolie will play the monster’s mother, seductress of Beowulf and more desperate for a child than your average thirty-five-year-old single woman. The epic poem was carefully translated into an understandable script, with strong sexual overtones igniting an otherwise somewhat dry tale of heroism. Film insiders say the integrity of the book has been preserved.
Read More 
| LA Times
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