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
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Will Madonna’s Daughter Join Harry Potter?
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Adventure, Family, Sequels, Casting, Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip, Upcoming Releases,
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix isn’t even out on video yet, and already talk has turned to the sixth movie installment for the franchise. Sneak peeks of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince are already surfacing, and the casting isn’t even complete.
According to the latest Hollywood-goes-to-Britain gossip, Madonna’s daughter, Lourdes, may soon don a witch’s robe; the 11-year-old is reportedly being sought to join the next Harry-themed movie.
Famed pop singer Madonna has made plenty of forays into the acting field herself, and while her roles in movies like The Next Best Thing and Desperately Seeking Susan were roundly bashed by critics, I still say A League of Their Own is a great movie (and she was pretty good in it, too). Maybe the movie success Madonna once sought will be discovered by Lourdes. Then again, maybe not.
E! Online
Don’t Rush to Theaters for ‘August Rush’
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Warner Bros, Drama, Family, Music, New Releases,
From the first time I saw the trailer, I had a bad feeling about the dramatic, music-themed August Rush, which doesn’t seem to have a strong cast or even a believable storyline. Early reviews are in, and so far the criticism isn’t good.
Freddie Highmore plays a young boy with innate musical talent, who embarks upon a quest to find his parents. That, in a nutshell, is the plot. There is one scene were the young boy stands in a field and hears music on the breeze, which inspires him to head to the big city of New York to find his mom and dad (because that’s a highly likely thing for a boy under fifteen to do). His parents are played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers (you know, Henry VIII), and Keri Russell (I know, who?), both musicians themselves, who meet and conceive a baby. The mother’s father has the resulting baby (Highmore) given up for adoption, telling his daughter the baby died. But don’t let this soap operatic plot be the thing that deters you – be deterred by over-the-top acting instead.
Click to continue reading Don’t Rush to Theaters for ‘August Rush’
MSNBC
British Film About John Lennon Comes to U.S.
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: IFC Films, Documentary, Drama, Music, New Releases,
IFC Entertainment is planning to distribute three movies in the U.S., new to States viewers but already old hat to British audiences. Two are comedies, but one is a thought-provoking documentary-style flick that focuses on one of the terrible events in American (and British) history.
The Killing of John Lennon focuses on Mark David Chapman’s actions in 1980 which robbed the world of a beautiful musical genius. Even two decades after his death, John Lennon is still rich fodder for movie makers of all kinds.
The flick is set to be released stateside January 8, exactly twenty-seven years and one month after the former Beatles member was assassinated.
Yahoo! News
Christian Bale to Play John Connor in Terminator 4
Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: MGM, Action, Science Fiction, Sequels, Thrillers, Casting, Celeb News, Rumors, Upcoming Releases,
According to Ain’t it Cool News, The Dark Knight himself has landed the role of grown-up John Connor in the upcoming Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins.
As I glanced over the film’s imdb page, the seemingly random advert for the Rescue Dawn DVD flashing across the screen felt auspiciously ironic.
I never saw the third installment of the Terminator franchise, though the recently announced trilogy and Fox’s Sarah Connor Chronicles lead me to believe there’s still a growing fan base; bringing Bale on board will only strengthen T4‘s chances of success. With director McG (Charlie’s Angels, We Are Marshall) at the helm, and as long as a decent script surfaces and the aging Governator keeps his small cameo small, this casting news may bring a glint of hope to the future of the Terminator series.
Look for Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins in theaters sometime in June of 2009.
UPDATE: Devin Faraci over at CHUD is now reporting that his source pegged Bale as the Terminator, and other buzz regarding the issue may point to another character entirely. Stayed
bookmarked at FilmCrunch for more info as it unfolds.
Ain’t it Cool News
In Theaters This Holiday Weekend (11/21)
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, MGM, Sony, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Yari Film Group Releasing, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign, Horror, Music, Period, Comedy, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases,
Here are some possible suggestions for your holiday enjoyment:
- August Rush (PG): starring Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Terrence Howard (directed by Kirsten Sheridan)
- Enchanted (PG): starring Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, Susan Sarandon (directed by Kevin Lima)
- Hitman (R): starring Timothy Olyphant, Dougray Scott, Olga Kurylenko (directed by Xavier Gens)
- No Country for Old Men (R): starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin (directed by Joel Coen)
- Stephen King’s The Mist (R): starring Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden (directed by Frank Darabont)
Click to continue reading In Theaters This Holiday Weekend (11/21)
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
The Incredible Hulk Revealed
Posted by David Onda Categories: Universal, Action, Adventure, Science Fiction, Rumors, Upcoming Releases,
Super Hero Hype has posted the very first image of the new Incredible Hulk himself taken from, what appears to be, a promotional banner. The first teaser posters appeared at this year’s Comic-Con and featured a silhouette of the angry green giant (pictured on the right). And now, that silhouette has been filled in. The franchise reboot, The Incredible Hulk, opens June 13, 2008 and stars Edward Norton (as Bruce Banner), Liv Tyler (as Betty Ross), Tim Roth (as The Abomination) and William Hurt (as General Thunderbolt Ross). Click the link below for the new photo.
Super Hero Hype
Disney’s ‘Jungle Cruise’ Takes Shape
Posted by David Onda Categories: Disney, Adventure, Family, Comedy, Filmmaking, Rumors, Scripts, Upcoming Releases,
In the same vein as Disney’s transformation of the Disneyland attraction Pirates of the Caribbean from ride to movie, Walt Disney Pictures is currently developing the script for a Jungle Cruise movie. Box Office Mojo recently talked to WDP Chairman Dick Cook, and he had this to say about the project:
“There will be a family involved. The skipper will play a very important role. He’ll be more of an Indiana Jones kind of guy, with a little Jack Sparrow in him, who’s going to be able to take this family on an adventure that they never dreamed they were going to be on when they first got on board. In true Disney fashion, it will definitely have the adventure and the intensity—but also the heart and the fun. We hope we have a good outline of where we want to go and what we want to do with it in the next year.”
I can only hope that by having a “family involved,” they don’t mean that it will be anything like the absolutely cringe-inducing The Haunted Mansion film. Not Eddie Murphy’s finest hour.
Box Office Mojo
‘Magorium’ Reviews Take the Wonder out of Hoffman Flick
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: 20th Century Fox, Family, Casting, Celeb News, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews,
The early reviews are in, and the results for Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium aren’t good. A single flick in a long line of holiday movies, Magorium’s has a promising cast and offers enchanting special effects, but the reviewers don’t like Dustin Hoffman’s hair, on-screen persona, or choice in movie roles.
Hoffman plays the 243-year-old Mr. Magorium, the owner/operator of an enchanted toy shop. Okay, sounds all right so far. Enter Natalie Portman, who plays a self-effacing young woman without a lot of confidence. Sure, that’s believable. The magical toys dance around the shop, the children delight in the sights and sounds of the Emporium, and the plot of the movie reveals itself pretty early on. Magorium is retiring and wants to turn the shop over to his assistant, lovely Portman. That’s it. That’s the plot. The whole movie is about whether or not Portman’s character will be able to fill Magorium’s wacky, wild shoes. Then, of course, there are the effects of the dancing toys. Take all that, and you have Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, which comes to theaters this weekend.
Entertainment Weekly called the movie “really, really bad.” I think that about sums it up.
CNN
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