In Theaters This Weekend (9/28)
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: FOCUS, Disney, Fox Searchlight, MGM, Lionsgate, Universal, Drama, Family, Independent, Romance, Comedy, Thrillers, Lists, Upcoming Releases,
Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:
- The Game Plan (PG): starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Madison Pettis (directed by Andy Fickman)
- The Kingdom (R): starring Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner (directed by Peter Berg)
- The Darjeeling Limited* (R): starring Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson (directed by Wes Anderson)
- Feast of Love* (R): starring Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear (directed by Robert Benton)
- Lust, Caution* (NC-17): starring Tony Leung, Tang Wei (directed by Ang Lee)
- Outsourced* (PG-13): starring Larry Pine, Asif Basra (directed by John Jeffcoat)
- Trade* (R): starring Kevin Kline, Cesar Ramos (directed by Marco Kreuzpaintner)
*limited or gradual release
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Box Office Breakdown: Resident Evil Fights Off Competition
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Lionsgate, New Line, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adventure, Drama, Family, Horror, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
Between the cheesy trailer and a cast that includes Ashanti—I never would have predicted much for Resident Evil: Extinction. But given the success of ‘three-quels’ this year, I’m not sure why I was surprised. Extinction nearly doubled the the box office take of it’s nearest competitor (Good Luck Chuck) and had the biggest debut of any Resident Evil installment.
But the real winner this weekend may be Sean Penn’s Into the Wild. The film, based on the Jon Krakauer novel, earned over $51,000 per screen—one of the best averages ever for a movie in limited release. Given the full-hour coverage on Oprah last week, Wild will probably be able to build on its impressive debut. (The film goes nationwide on October 5th.)
Eastern Promises also turned out some promising numbers after its wide release. The film took in nearly $6 million in its second week (though it still underperformed the last David Cronenberg/Viggo Mortensen movie, A History of Violence). I’m hoping word-of-mouth about the fully-naked Mortensen fight scene (did I grab your attention?) will give this film the lasting power it deserves.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Resident Evil Fights Off Competition
Richard Gere Calls for Change
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Awards, Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip,
Richard Gere accepted a lifetime achievement award during the San Sebastian International Film Festival this past Sunday, but his acceptance speech carried a few surprises. Gere talked of lies and the decision to invade Iraq, turning his thank-you speech into a political platform for opinion. Gere further made an appeal to the Chinese government, asking them to rise to the occasion for the Olympics (which are scheduled in country) by becoming an open society. After generations of negotiations with the Chinese government by all of the world’s best diplomats, surely it will be an American actor that finally ends Communism in China. Right. Gere delivered an impassioned speech, perhaps better suited for the Presidential debates than a film festival. Will Gere be the catalyst for change in China? Sure. And tomorrow, several of Hollywood’s finest will undertake a diplomatic mission to end the war. Or maybe they’ll just keep making movies for entertainment value.
Read More 
| Yahoo News
Alice Ghostley, best known for her role of Esmeralda in Bewitched died Friday, ending a long battle with colon cancer. She was 81. Where Alice may not have been an A-lister with a huge fan-base, most of us were aware of her and her quirky comedic presence. Her credits, along with Bewitched, included Grease, Designing Women, The Graduate, and To Kill a Mockingbird.
So, farewell to a truly great character actress; we thank you for the laughs you left behind.
Read More | Yahoo! News
This Week on DVD: September 25, 2007
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Drama, Horror, Romance, Comedy, Home Entertainment, New Releases,
Here are a few of the titles you can find on the rental shelves this Tuesday:
- Babel (Special Collector’s Edition): starring Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett (watch the FilmCrunch review here)
- Black Book: starring Carice van Houten, Sebastian Koch
- Bug: starring Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon
- Cujo (25th Anniversary Edition): starring Dee Wallace, Danny Pintauro
- Evening: starring Natasha Richardson, Toni Collette
- Knocked Up: starring Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl
- Next: starring Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, Jessica Biel
Click here to see the TV-On-DVD options for this week.
Click here to see the new titles released on HD DVD and Blu-Ray.
Paul: New Film for Pegg and Frost
Posted by Shannon Bennett Categories: Comedy, Casting, Scripts,
For the millions of us who can’t get enough of their off-beat homage films, there’s good news on the horizon. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, stars the smash hits Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, are at it again, co-writing a film to be shot sometime next year.
All we know thus far is that the tentative title is Paul, and that there has been no news of Edgar Wright being attached to the piece. We can’t wait to see what first-time writer, Frost, brings to the script, and to see this incredible duo on screen, once again.
Will Rape Scene in ‘The Kite Runner’ Be Removed?
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Adaptation, Drama, Books, Upcoming Releases,
A best-selling novel’s film adaptation is now facing trouble only one month away from its theatrical release. The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini (A Thousand Splendid Suns), tells the story of two friends who grew up together in Afghanistan. In one important scene, Amir, does nothing to help his friend, Hassan, who is being raped.
Unfortunately, the family of the young boy who filmed this crucial plot point wants those frames left on the cutting room floor. Rape is considered completely undignified and against Afghan culture. If the movie is seen in their country, they worry they’ll be ostracized or harassed for making Afghans look poorly. They don’t think people will be able to separate fact from fiction. According to 12-year-old Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada, the actor who was paid $10,000 for the role, he was never given a script and would not have accepted the job had he known about the violent scene. (Why he chose to shoot the scene anyway is not made clear. The family admits they did find out about the rape several days before it was filmed.)
Kite’s producers, Bennett Walsh and Rebecca Yeldham, claim they’ve spoken to the family since the scene was filmed last year. According to Walsh and Yeldham, they were given the greenlight provided the content was portrayed in a sensitive manner. Conversely, Ahmad’s father asserts the producers told him the scene would be cut when they were confronted about it. He also says the company has promised to ‘take care of the family’ if they became victims of any backlash.
At this point, the producers have not said whether the scene will stand. Meanwhile, the Marc Forster film is scheduled for release on Nov. 2nd.
Click here for an update on the now-delayed film.
Read More | USA Today
This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: September 25, 2007
Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Classics, Drama, Foreign, Foreign Language, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, Home Entertainment, Lists, Upcoming Releases,
These are the high-def releases coming this Tuesday:
Blu-ray
- Black Book (R)—starring Carise van Houten and Sebastian Koch; directed by Paul Verhoeven.
- Gods and Generals (PG-13)—starring Jeff Daniels, Robert Duvall and Stephen Lang; directed by Ronald F. Maxwell
- Gothika (R)—starring Halle Berry, Penélope Cruz and Robert Downey Jr.; directed by Mathieu Kassovitz
- Memoirs of a Geisha (PG-13)—starring Ziyi Zang, Michelle Yeoh and Ken Watanabe; directed by Rob Marshall
- Tekkonkinkreet (R)—voiced by Alex Fernandez (English version); directed by Michael Arias
- Underworld (R)—starring Kate Beckinsale, Bill Nighy and Scott Speedman; directed by Len Wiseman
- The Wild Bunch (R)—starring William Holden, Ernest Borgnine and Warren Oates; directed by Sam Peckinpah
- Wyatt Earp (R)—starring Kevin Costner, Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman and David Andrews; directed by Lawrence Kasdan
Click to continue reading This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: September 25, 2007
UPDATE: McConaughey Fills Owen Wilson Role
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Action, Comedy, Upcoming Releases,
As reported earlier, Owen Wilson’s personal issues left an unexpected casting hole in the upcoming film Tropic Thunder. Luckily, another beach bum was able to slide into the role.
Matthew McConaughey will now be joining the film directed by Ben Stiller. Tropic—also starring Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey, Jr.—is about a group of actors who have to assume the soldier roles they’re playing in a movie.
Expect to see Tropic in theaters next July.
Read More | Variety
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Narnia Film Delayed
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Disney, Adaptation, Adventure, Family, Sequels, Upcoming Releases,
Production has been delayed on the third Narnia movie installment The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Originally scheduled to hit theatres May 1, 2009, the movie now won’t be released until May 7, 2010. Production was supposed to begin this January, but has now been pushed to next summer. The delay has been attributed to the young stars of the film, as execs are saying it’s very challenging to work out scheduling difficulties. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, the second flick in the franchise, was supposed to be released this December. It won’t be out until May.
Read More | Yahoo! News
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