Warner Bros. Uses Viral Marketing Strategy for Dark Knight
Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Classics, Mystery, Political, Sequels, Thrillers, Distribution, Rumors, Upcoming Releases,
Acting upon the success of Cloverfield‘s online viral marketing, Warner Bros. has recently implemented their own take on the strategy for this summer’s The Dark Knight.
It all started as a simple jack-o-lantern and appropriately turned into a game on WhySoSerious.com. Now the company has also released IBelieveInHarveyDent.com and RorysDeathKiss.com. The former being a simple campaign site for Harvey Dent that invites you to submit your e-mail and phone number (try it!) and the latter being a Joker-driven site where fans are able to upload images of themselves as, well, Jokers.
There is also IBelieveInHarveyDentToo.com, which used to portray the image of Harvey Dent with Joker makeup smeared upon his face. (The site has changed and now appears to have an error; however, if you highlight the page, you’ll find something interesting.)
As cool as this may be, I honestly don’t see why Warner Bros. is wasting their time on these sites—everyone and their grandmother is going to see this movie, and if they’re not, they ought to be slapped until they’re right in the head. Either way, words cannot describe how excited I am to see this movie, especially with such an outstanding performance by Heath Ledger.
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Box Office Breakdown: Semi-Pro Scores the Win
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Period, Romance, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
What comes up, must eventually come down. That goes for Will Ferrell‘s sports career as well.
Even though Semi-Pro netted this weekend’s #1 spot, the basketball flick earned a measly $15 million. That gross trails far behind 2006’s Talledega Nights ($47 million) and 2007’s Blades of Glory ($33 million). Sadly, Semi‘s debut also takes a backseat to Kicking and Screaming and Bewitched. (In Ferrell’s defense, this movie was the only one of his sports films to be rated R.)
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Semi-Pro Scores the Win
Variety
Justin Timberlake Wears Little for The Love Guru
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Paramount, Comedy, Casting, Celebrity Gossip, Trailers, Upcoming Releases,
Tired of seeing Mike Myers repeat the same schtick over and over again? Well, if you’re a Justin Timberlake fan, you may have a whole new reason to watch The Love Guru.
The film, which opens June 20th, features Myers as an American raised in India. He is invited to the States when his self-help advice is sought. Timberlake, who wears very little based on the preview pics, plays an athlete who has an affair with a hockey player’s wife. As for Jessica Alba - I believe she stars as the vacuous beauty.
Surprising fun fact? Not including his roles in the animated Shrek films, this is Myers’ first live-action role since 2003’s A Cat in the Hat. It only felt like he was everywhere.
You can view the Guru‘s trailer, after the jump.
Click to continue reading Justin Timberlake Wears Little for The Love Guru
USA Today
Blockbuster vs. The Beatles
Posted by Shannon Bennett Categories: Classics, Music, Musicals, Home Entertainment,
I’m pretty sure my local Blockbuster has committed artistic blasphemy. Allow me to explain:
About a week ago, I was in the mood for something fun and nostalgic, so I swung by Blockbuster to rent a copy of Help!, which, for anyone who doesn’t know, is the second film The Beatles made.
Now, Blockbuster didn’t carry it, and that doesn’t shock me too much as it’s not one of the more monumental of their films. But, upon further prying, I discovered that they didn’t have A Hard Day’s Night, Magical Mystery Tour, or Let It Be either. The very nice girl at the counter did tell me (with a degree of excitement), that they carried Across the Universe, which she thought was just ... awesome. At this point, I had to quickly excuse myself before I began to do my hostile re-education routine on a complete stranger.
Click to continue reading Blockbuster vs. The Beatles
Disney Needs to Say No to Step Up Sequels
Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Disney, Drama, Sequels, Technology, Upcoming Releases,
While this came as quite a shock to me, Disney is in serious talks with Step Up/Hairspray producer duo, Jennifer Gibgot and Adam Shankman, to work on a third installment of the series. This news comes after Step Up 2 the Streets surprisingly raked in $29 million over the President’s Day weekend.
The triquel is tentatively titled Step Up 3D, as I’m sure Disney believes that format is the new way to go. The recently successful Hannah Montana film was also released in 3D.
Someone needs to tell them to stop making so many bad movies. Seriously.
Variety
New Photos of Upcoming Hulk Movie
Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Universal, Action, Adventure, Casting, Upcoming Releases,
Nearly five years after Ang Lee’s disappointing abomination once referred to as Hulk, Edward Norton has given us all a new hope: The Incredible Hulk.
With the help of Transporter director Louis Leterrier, Norton re-wrote Zak Penn’s (X-Men: The Last Stand, Fantastic Four) script, which was intended to be a sequel to Lee’s 2003 atrocity. Back with a better cast (Liv Tyler, Robert Downey Jr., Tim Roth, and William Hurt) and a better director (let’s face it, Lee has done nothing noteworthy other than post-Hulk, Oscar-friendly Brokeback Mountain), the film is clearly going to be great.
Empire Magazine has released new photos of the movie, which is set to release in mid-June of this year:
Empire Magazine
Apatow Scores With Sarah Marshall
Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Universal, Romance, Comedy, Casting, Trailers, Upcoming Releases,
Judd Apatow has brought hope to the comedy genre yet again. The Freaks and Geeks creator has teamed up with past co-worker, Jason Segel (SLC Punk, How I Met Your Mother) to bring movie-goers his upcoming eccentric, new generation romantic comedy: Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
Written by Segel and helmed by first-time director Nicholas Stoller, the film follows music composer Peter Bretter (Segel), who was dating TV star Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) for five years until she breaks up with him for British rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand). At the suggestion of his step-brother (Bill Hader), Bretter escapes to Hawaii in hopes of recovering, only to discover that Marshall came to the same resort with her new boy toy. He then is able to avoid committing suicide thanks to hotel receptionist Rachael (Mila Kunis). The laughs continue throughout with appearances by the regular Apatow bunch: Jonah Hill, Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, and more.
Click to continue reading Apatow Scores With Sarah Marshall
In Theaters this Leap Year Weekend (2/29)
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: IFC Films, Miramax, New Line, Sony, Adaptation, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Foreign, Independent, Period, Political, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Lists, New Releases,
Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:
- The Other Boleyn Girl (PG-13): starring Eric Bana, Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson (directed by Justin Chadwick)
- Penelope (PG): starring Christina Ricci, Reese Witherspoon, Catherine O’Hara (directed by Mark Palansky)
- Semi-Pro (R): starring Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, Andre Benjamin (directed by Kent Alterman)
- Bonneville* (NR): starring Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Joan Allen (directed by Christopher N. Rowley)
- Chicago 10* (R): starring Hank Azaria, Dylan Baker, Nick Nolte (directed by Brett Morgen)
- City of Men* (R): starring Douglas Silva, Darlan Cunha, Jonathan Haagensen (directed by Paulo Morelli)
- The Unforeseen* (NR): starring Wendell Berry, Gary Bradley, William Greider (directed by Laura Dunn)
*limited and/or gradual release
Martin Scorsese Reteams with Leonardo DiCaprio
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Adaptation, Drama, Thrillers, Casting, Upcoming Releases,
Muses can come in all different shapes and sizes. Woody Allen has Scarlett while Spielberg has Tom Hanks. For Martin Scorsese, his actor of choice has clearly become Leo.
The Academy Award-winning director and Leonardo DiCaprio will soon be reteaming for their fourth project together. Shutter Island will follow their work on The Gangs of New York, The Aviator and last year’s winner, The Departed.
Shutter is based off a book written by Dennis Lehane, the same man behind two critically-acclaimed films: Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone. The story focuses on two marshals who become trapped on a Boston-area island while searching for a criminally insane escapee. (Lehane’s stories are primarily set around Boston.)
The movie, which starts production next month, already boasts an all-star cast. Joining DiCaprio will be Mark Ruffalo (Reservation Road), Max von Sydow (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), Emily Mortimer (Lars and the Real Girl), Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children), Ben Kingsley (You Kill Me), Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain) and Patricia Clarkson (No Reservations).
Sequel News: Bourne Series, Transporter, Terminator
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Sequels, Thrillers, Casting, Upcoming Releases,
Although many critics had hoped The Bourne Ultimatum would be seriously considered for a Best Film award, the thriller did walk away with three statues at Sunday’s Academy Awards. (The movie won for Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing and Best Sound mixing.) Now it appears the Bourne series could have a another chance at even more nominations.
According to Variety, Universal is already planning a fourth installment for the action franchise. Better yet - director Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon will also be on board. This news comes as surprise to many. Even though the trilogy definitely had an audience and respect, it appeared that the story could have run its course. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly back in August, Damon admitted that the long production was basically being written on the fly.
No projected release date has been announced yet. Both Greengrass and Damon have other commitments to attend to first.
Click to continue reading Sequel News: Bourne Series, Transporter, Terminator
Variety
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