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Latest Video: FilmCrunch 067: Hairspray, Chuck & Larry, Premonition reviewed

Veronica Santiago and Neil Estep review Hairspray, Chuck & Larry, and Premonition in this episode of FilmCrunch.
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George ClooneyGeorge Clooney couldn't relate to his character in The Descendants. The 50-year-old actor plays Matt King - a wealthy man who sets out with his two daughters to find the lover of his ailing wife - in the drama and though he had little in common with his alter ego, he doesn't think that is important.

George - who won Best Actor for his role in the movie at last weekend's Golden Globes - said, "This guy is really going through a phase in his life where he wants to do right by everyone, and I don't know that that would be part of my make-up. He's caught p in a strange place in his life and career. I enjoyed playing the character but I don't know that I can relate to him. But part of my job is to do what is asked of me in the script and not have to worry about whether it pertains to me or not. You don't have to actually shoot heroin to play a drug addict, you know."

He also admitted he fears repeating the same career choices over and over and would regard not varying his decisions as a professional "failure": "My biggest fear is doing the same things 10 years from now. That would be a failure. It's something you have to constantly reassess, and asking yourself what you are going to do next makes it a good long full journey."


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Kristen WiigKristen Wiig is in talks to star in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

The Bridesmaids actress looks set to appear opposite Ben Stiller in the movie - a fantasy-comedy remake of the 1947 Danny Kaye film based on James Thurber's short story - that he is also in line to direct.

The 38-year-old beauty - who has recently filmed two independent projects, Imogene and Revenge of the Jolly! - is being lined up to star as the dream girl of a magazine photo manager (Ben) and his co-worker, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The Secret life of Walter Mitty will feature Ben's alter-ego dreaming of exciting adventures before finding himself involved in one of his own. If Kristen signs up for the movie - which is expected to start filming in April - it will be her first major project since writing and starring in Bridesmaids.


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Kiefer SutherlandThe 24 movie will begin shooting in spring. 20th Century Fox have given the go-ahead to the big screen spin-off of the popular TV series - which came to an end after eight series earlier this year - with a proposed schedule hinged on when renowned writer Mark Bomback delivers a new version of Billy Ray's original screen play.

Mark is expected to submit his script early in the new year, meaning filming on the movie - which will see Kiefer Sutherland return to the role of Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) agent Jack Bauer - can begin a few months later. According to Deadline.com, the studio currently has around five directors in mind to helm the project, which has been in the pipeline for several years.

Kiefer has previously spoken of his "excitement" about the film, which will see 24 change from its usual real-time format in order to cope with the limitations of cinema: "It is going to be a two-hour representation of a 24 hour day, so we were not going to be restrained by the real time aspect of the TV show. With the TV show we always had to have the crisis come to us because we couldn't move. Twice we put Jack on a plane and it was a disaster. This will be different - it will be very feasible to get from Eastern Europe to England in the course of 24 hours! And the crisis can be more personal - it doesn't have to be a huge bomb, it doesn't have to take out the rest of the world. It's very exciting."


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Andy Serkis in Rise of Planet of the Apes

Despite the great reviews of Viola Davis' performance and Emma Stone's general adorable-ness, The Help fell a little short at the box office this weekend behind Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which makes it top at the box office for its second consecutive week.

The sci-fi reboot took in $27.8 million while the sixties period piece came close behind at $26 million in its first week. The fifth installment of the Final Destination series, Final Destination 5, made third place at $18 million and The Smurfs fell down to fourth place from its second place spot last week with $13.7 million. Lastly, the pizza boy comedy starring Jesse Eisenberg and Danny McBride, 30 Minutes or Less, managed to debut in fifth place at $13.3 million.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Apes Fend Off Help

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Rise of Planet of the ApesRise of the Planet of the Apes director Rupert Wyatt is already planning a sequel.

The movie - starring James Franco as San Francisco scientist Will Rodman and Frieda Pinto as primatologist Caroline Aranha - performed strongly on its US release last weekend, and Rupert believes the possibilities for a new film are endless.

"There's so much we could do. The ideas I've had are all sorts of things, ranging from Full Metal Jacket with apes, you could start this story again eight years from where we left off, the next generation of apes, those that have come from our protagonists, perhaps going in to a conflict with humans and showing real fear, in the same way as going into war for young soldiers in this day and age, telling their story."

Rupert believes the interactions between apes and humans is a fascinating story and is keen to explore this more in any future sequels: "Or we could look at how apes are taking over cities, and being moved into human environments and having to interact with them and deal with things that are part of our culture and understand and evolve through them. Spies that are in the employ of the apes, working against humans and humans maybe existing underground, because that's a way they can avoid the virus, coming up above ground wearing gas masks, and maybe that's what dehumanizes them."


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Ryan Reynolds as the Green Lantern

Even though the buzz for Green Lantern fizzled at the reveal of its rather disappointing full-length trailer, Ryan Reynold's abs the superhero flick managed to fight off last week's box office winner, Super 8.

The DC comic book adaptation scored $53 million at the box office in its first week, while the J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg project Super 8 managed to finish second -- down from last week's top spot -- at $21.2 million . Jim Carrey's family comedy Mr. Popper's Penguins debuted in third place raking in $18.2 million, pushing last week's second place film X-Men: First Class  -- the X-Men prequel starring James Mcavoy and Michael Fassbender -- to fourth with $11.5 million.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Green Lantern Fights Off Super 8

Read More | Box Office Mojo

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Thor

Even the power of Bridesmaids isn’t enough to beat mighty Thor. The superhero flick remains at number 1 at the end of the weekend box office, earning $34.7 million.

Bridesmaids, led by Kristen Wiig’s star power, earned $26.2 million. Fast Five raced into the number 3 position with $20.4 million. Priest earned $14.9 million to lock down the number 4 spot, and Rio is down to number 5 with $8.2 million.

Read More | Yahoo! News

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Thor -- Paramount

Thor debuted as the number one film over the weekend, earning a cool $65.7 million. Fast Five, the previous number one, fell to the second spot with its $32 million take.

Jumping the Broom ($15.2 million), Something Borrowed ($13.9 million) and Rio ($8 million) finish off the top five.

Read More | Yahoo! News

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Fast Five movie

Fast Five has managed to trump all the animated comedies and big-budget productions of the year, earning $86.2 million in its opening weekend, the biggest box office debut in 2011 (so far).

The sequel drove Rio down to second place (it earned $14.7 million over the weekend). Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family earned $9.8 million in third place, and Water For Elephants nailed down fourth with $9.3 million. Disney’s lighthearted Prom had a rather dismal opening, debuting in fifth place with a $4.7 million take.

Read More | Yahoo! News

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Rio - Number One at the Box Office

Rio is number one for the second week in a row. The animated family film earned $26.8 million at the box office over the weekend, barely edging out Tyler Perry’s sequel.

Madea’s Big Happy Family earned $25.8, just missing the number one mark set by Rio. Water for Elephants, driven by the much-touted on-screen pairing of Reese Witherspoon and Twilight star Robert Pattinson, debuted at third place with $17.5 million.

Hop continues to hang around in the top 5, earning $12.5 million to secure fourth place. Scream 4 fell to fifth, taking only $7.2 over the weekend.

Read More | Yahoo! News

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