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
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‘Hitman’ Video Game Comes to Big Screen
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: 20th Century Fox, Action, Adaptation, Casting, Upcoming Releases,
It’s been done with Broadway plays, popular novels, comic books…even commercials. It’s adaptation, and it helps Hollywood keep churning out those hits. Hitman won’t be the first video game to be pushed from gaming into ticket sales; it won’t even be the first film to feature a cool-as-ice assassin. It will be though the first flick to be produced by Adrian Askarieh—the Hollywood newcomer who also plans to release a film adaptation of Spy Hunter in 2009.
Hitman will come to theaters later this month with Timothy Olyphant in the lead as Agent 47. Askarieh, a former entertainment attorney, admits that he is a gamer. He’s also a businessman and sales for Hitman suggest success beyond the gaming consoles; in the last 7 years, 10 million copies have been purchased worldwide. The game developers aren’t involved in the movie, however, and Jans Peter Kurup (a developer on all four Hitman games) is reserving his opinion until he sees the film. The movie plot is derived from all four Hitman games according to Askarieh.
Hollywood Reporter
Review: ‘American Gangster’
Posted by David Onda Categories: Universal, Action, Drama, Period, Political, Thrillers, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews,
American Gangster is based on the true story of Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), an African American drug kingpin in 1970s Harlem who smuggles heroin in the caskets of dead soldiers returning from Vietnam. Lucas buys the drug wholesale from the source and sells a more purer form at half the price, effectively putting his competition out of business and making him one of the most powerful men in New York. Russell Crowe plays Detective Richie Roberts, a straight-laced cop who is assigned to solve the city's drug problem.
Bottom line: Ridley Scott turns a spellbinding American story into a riveting three hours of cinema. I foresee Oscar nominations abound for this flick.
Check out my detailed review after the jump and find out which Goonie put out one hell of a performance.
Click to continue reading Review: ‘American Gangster’
In Theaters This Weekend (11/9)
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: MGM, Sony, Warner Bros, Warner Independant Films, Adaptation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Foreign, Independent, Music, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases,
Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:
- Fred Claus (PG): starring Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, Miranda Richardson (directed by David Dobkin)
- Lions for Lambs (R): starring Tom Cruise, Robert Redford, Meryl Streep (directed by Robert Redford)
- P2 (R): starring Alexandre Aja, Franck Khalfoun, Grégory Levasseur (directed by Franck Khalfoun)
Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend (11/9)
‘Sex and the City’ Movie Books Big Guest Star
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Romance, Comedy, Casting, Celebrity Gossip, Upcoming Releases,
Little by little, news on the upcoming Sex and the City movie has made its way into the press. The latest rumor mill suggests that not only will the much-anticipated flick contain Mr. Big (Chris Noth), but a truly big guest star as well.
New York City mayor, Michael Bloomberg, will play himself in the movie, which is set primarily in Manhattan. The mayor will appear at Bryant Park in Manhattan for a night scene, but the mayor’s camp isn’t releasing any more details than that. Filming on the movie began in September, and recent shots from the set show that at least some part of the movie will take place in winter. Former NYC mayor Ed Koch made an appearance on the HBO TV series Sex and the City during his New York reign.
Yahoo! News
J.K. Rowling Writes Harry Potter Spinoff
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Family, Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip,
Despite several press conferences and comments that she would like to branch out into writing new things, J.K. Rowling has completed the first Harry Potter spinoff. So much for the integrity of writing.
The book – an illustrated collection of fairy stories – is The Tales of Beedle the Bard, and only seven copies will be printed. One will be auctioned for charity, the others given away as gifts. Rowling drew the illustrations in the book herself and provided the handwriting for five of its stories. The book is mentioned in Rowling’s last Harry novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
CNN
This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: November 6, 2007
Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: Buena Vista, Disney, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Short Films, Drama, Family, Foreign, Foreign Language, Period, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Distribution, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases,
Disney/Pixar’s quaint animated story about Remy the rat and his penchant for the culinary arts releases on Blu-ray this week, shortly after taking the US and UK by storm. And with no other major title to contend with (Chuck & Larry do not count), Ratatouille is sure to take high-def home entertainment by storm too.
Other titles worth noting include a cross-format The Aviator from Warner, South Korean cult film Old Boy from Tartan, and some modestly-priced box sets from Warner and Disney.
Check the full list of high-def releases after the jump.
Click to continue reading This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: November 6, 2007
Box Office Breakdown: A Gangbusters Weekend for Washington, Crowe
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Disney, Miramax, Lionsgate, New Line, Sony, Touchstone, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Romance, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
Combine Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington’s star-wattage and you’re bound to get a hit. But did anyone expect a $43 million debut for American Gangster? Why did these Oscar-winners do so well when others have only done okay? How did an R-rated film beat out an animated PG flick? Why didn’t the movie’s long running-time (157 minutes) turn people away?
Gangster’s #1 spot was just one of the film’s many weekend achievements. The movie also marked the biggest opening weekend for both lead actors (Russell’s Gladiator earned $35 million; Washington’s Inside Man grossed $29 million). It also had the 2nd best debut for a drama in November (right behind 2002’s 8 Mile).
Unfortunately, all this good news was lost on comedian Jerry Seinfeld—the hardest working self-promoter of 2007. Even though NBC spent countless hours of airtime sucking up to its former Golden Boy, Seinfeld’s Bee Movie was stung with a 2nd place finish. Although $38 million take is nothing to complain about, I expect next week’s Fred Claus will slide right in to become the week’s best-grossing comedy.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: A Gangbusters Weekend for Washington, Crowe
Shia LeBeouf Arrested in Chicago
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip,
This year’s ‘It’ boy has just surpassed another noteworthy milestone on his rise to stardom: the drunken arrest.
The star of Disturbia, Surf’s Up and Transformers was detained early this morning in The Windy City after refusing to leave a Walgreens. A security guard, believing Shia LeBeouf to be drunk, told Shia to exit the store. The Chicago Police Department was then asked to step in when the actor refused to cooperate. (Apparently he’s not used to taking instruction from someone other than a director.) LeBeouf - who was reportedly ‘very courteous and polite’ with authorities - posted bail after being detained for several hours. He is scheduled to appear in court on November 28 for misdemeanor criminal trespassing.
Interestingly enough, the actor held off celebrating his 21st birthday last June because of his work on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. LeBeouf told Vanity Fair he wanted to finish the Indy project before taking a sip. “People say, ‘What are you doing for your 21st birthday, Shia?’ And I’m like, ‘I’m making an Indiana Jones movie.’ What’s better than that?” (The movie is currently in post-production, so it appears he may have been a man of his word.)
And while news of a young male star slipping up is hard to come by these days, I found today’s celeb arrest to be mildly disappointing. Seriously—who hasn’t been kicked out of a store when they were 21?
TMZ
‘X-Files’ Movie Slated for July 2008
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Science Fiction, Sequels, Upcoming Releases,
July 25, 2008. That date will be personally significant to me but globally significant to sci-fi fans everywhere. Although my husband should be taking me out to dinner to celebrate our 4-year wedding anniversary, I sense that evening will be spent in a movie theater instead. After all—how often does an X-Files film come around?
After years of rumors and denials, what had been looking like a pipe dream is now becoming a reality. David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson and creator Chris Carter have finally gotten their acts together and jointly committed to the long-awaited X-Files sequel. Production is scheduled to start in December in time for the Summer 2008 release date.
Although the cult series only ended in 2002, it has been a whopping ten years since Fox Mulder and Dana Scully were last seen on the big screen. While the new film is meant to be a ‘stand-alone’ feature, I suspect DVD rentals of the series and movie will spike sometime around June of next year. I know I could use a bit of refreshing myself; the only thing I remember about the first pic were the bees. Lots of them.
Variety
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