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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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Mission: Impossible 4 - Ghost ProtocolMission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is the most successful film in the movie series' franchise. The Brad Bird-directed film - which sees Tom Cruise return as operative Ethan Hunt, alongside Jeremy Renner and Simon Pegg - has made $571 million worldwide since its release late last year, and studio Paramount has admitted it is delighted with the success.

"Brad Bird, Tom Cruise, J.J. Abrams and the entire team who worked on M:I4 created an incredibly entertaining film, one that fans worldwide embraced in record numbers," said Rob Moore, Vice Chairman of Paramount. Mission: Impossible II is the next most successful film in the franchise, earning $546 million worldwide.

Brad has previously joked he was terrified about being the director who killed off Tom when he made him hang off the world's tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai for the fourth installment of the movie: "I think every director that has worked with him in these kinds of films probably has that feeling where your eyes snap open at three in the morning and you go, 'My god, what am I doing?' Definitely."


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Kate Beckinsale in Underworld Awakening

Vampire films are still proving to be winning box office material, as Underworld Awakening raked in $25.3 million this past weekend, bumping Kate Beckinsale's other film, Contraband, from its number 1 spot.

Not too far behind was the Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Terrence Howard WWII film, Red Tails, which debuted at number 2 for $18.7 million. Last week's top film, Contraband, was bumped down to number 3 with $12 million while Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close jumped from 36th last week to the number 4 spot -- thanks to the addition of more than 2,000 screens. Lastly, the 3D version of Beauty and the Beast, which came in second last week, secured the number 5 spot with $8.8 million.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Underworld Takes Over Box Office

Read More | Box Office Mojo

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Andrew Garfield as Spider-ManAndrew Garfield had "near death experiences" every day on the set of The Amazing Spider-Man.

The British actor takes over playing the role from Tobey Maguire in the forthcoming prequel - also starring Emma Stone - and he reveals he regularly had to undertake death-defying stunts during the shoot:

"As you can see, a lot of the stunts are practical and grounded in reality. I would exhaust myself every day and get into near-death experiences every hour on the hour. I collaborated with the stunt team not only on the big stunt set-pieces but also on what happens to Peter's body when he gets bitten. What happens to his DNA and how that effects the way he moves."

Emma - who plays Gwen Stacy in the film, and has since gone on to become Andrew's real life girlfriend - has also revealed she enjoyed the kiss they shared on the film. She told a press conference in Japan, "You want to watch the movie and find out. You've got to decide if it's iconic or not. We liked it."

The Amazing Spider-Man is to be released later this year.


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Daniel Craig filming SkyfallJames Bond movie Skyfall is to shoot almost entirely in the UK.

The forthcoming 23rd installment of the franchise - starring Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem and Dame Judi Dench - was expected to shoot in locations across the globe including Bali and China, but budget cuts means Turkey is now the only other country the movie will go to.

"Six different countries were selected but after several technical and financial problems, it was decided to scale back and just use Turkey as the sole foreign location," a source said.

British beaches will be used - including Bognor Regis on the south coast - in addition to Pinewood Studios. "As well as Pinewood's incredible facilities, the UK has some stunning beaches, particularly along the south coast near Bognor and parts of Wales," the source added.

Skyfall has already begun shooting on location in London including Canary Wharf and Charing Cross, and the film - being directed by Sam Mendes - is due for release in November.


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Sam Worthington in Clash of the TitansSam Worthington found Clash of the Titans "disappointing."

The actor played the lead role of Perseus in the 2010 remake of the 1981 movie and while he was unhappy with a lot of the criticism the film received, he knows it wasn't as good as it could have been: "It was disappointing to me. You've got to get it right. I don't really care what critics say. They're going to have their beef. They get a free ticket and they still come and criticize. I was disappointed. It wasn't the movie that I would've liked it to be. In truth, there are a lot of people that I met who enjoyed it. But you hate those criticisms."

Sam - who reprises the role in forthcoming sequel Wrath of the Titans - admitted he was even unhappy with his own performance in the film and is hoping to do better in the new movie. "I think in the first one, there were mistakes I wanted to rectify. I wasn't happy with what I delivered, personally. And in adding things, like a kid, it gives more emotional stakes to the character, to the story. And basically we just wanted to make something a bit bigger and bolder, and hopefully better."


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Idris Elba in ThorIdris Elba will be returning to the Thor series.

The British actor - who played the role of guardian Heimdall in the first instalment of the action movie starring Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hilddleston - has confirmed he will be back for the second feature, which is due to begin filming this year.

Asked if he had any Marvel projects in the future, he said, "Thor 2, for sure. We're going at it again." However, he admits he has yet to meet the film's director Alan Taylor, who took over after Patty Jenkins dropped out due to differences of opinion.

Natalie Portman - who played Jane Foster in the 2011 film - is also widely expected to return, although she was said to have been annoyed at Patty being sidelined in the project. The first Thor, which told the tale of the leader of the Norse Gods, played by Sir Anthony Hopkins, banishing his son to earth, made $448.5 million at the box office worldwide.


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Daniel Craig as James BondThe first official synopsis has been released for forthcoming James Bond movie Skyfall.

The eagerly anticipated movie - which will see Daniel Craig return in the role as the British spy - will place the relationship between the leading man and character M, played by Dame Judi Dench, under pressure.

"Daniel Craig is back as James Bond 007 in Skyfall, the 23rd adventure in the longest-running film franchise of all time. In Skyfall, Bond's loyalty to M (Judi Dench) is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost."

The movie - which stars newcomers to the series Ben Whishaw and Javier Bardem - is currently shooting in London and is due to be released in November 2012.

Click to continue reading Skyfall Synopsis Revealed


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Steven SpielbergSteven Spielberg has confirmed he will not be directing Jurassic Park 4.

The War Horse director - who helmed the first two stories in the dinosaur movie series - will be returning for the mooted fourth installment, but only in the capacity of producer: "I don't want to talk about Jurassic Park 4 yet - it's too early - but I can tell you that I'm not directing it. I'm producing it though."

Steven also confirms his forthcoming adaptation of Daniel H. Wilson's Robopocalypse will be a "big popcorn movie," but does not want to confirm too many details about the project. He added at a press conference in Paris, "I'm making a science fiction movie probably in September called Robopocalypse because on Daniel Wilson's book. It's a cautionary tale about war between human beings and robots. It's a big crowd pleaser, I think, a big action popcorn movie with a message. I have a couple of other plans which I don't want to go into because they're too far out of the horizon."


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Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol

Despite the major competition over the holiday weekend, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol took number 1 at the box office for the second week in a row with $29.6 million.

Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows kept its number 2 spot with $21 million, while the family film Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked moved up one spot to number 3 with $16.4 million. The highly-anticipated David Fincher film The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was bumped down to number 4 with $14.8 million, and Steven Spielberg's War Horse rounded out the Top 5 at $14.4 million.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: M:I-4 Continues to Outrun Competition

Read More | Box Office Mojo

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Daniel Craig as James BondDaniel Craig has "no desire" to "escape" James Bond. The British actor - who will portray the iconic British spy for the third time in Skyfall and is rumored to have signed up for an additional five movies - thinks if he signed up for anything radically different in between films, people would accuse him of trying to stop himself being typecast.

"I don't think, 'This will look good next to that...' If that's what you do, you're inhibiting yourself against instinct, which is just wrong. Of course I could [play a role like a child killer]. Whether I'd want to is another matter. I think it would smack slightly of, you know, 'Oh, he's only doing that to get away from Bond.' I've got no desire to escape the role. I love playing Bond - it's fantastic."

Despite his love of playing Bond, Daniel admits he almost quit the franchise when studio MGM ran into financial difficulties, causing delays to the next film in the series: "There was that long hiatus where Bond maybe wasn't happening. I'd got it into my head that if it went another two years on top of the two-year gap we'd already had, then they should probably find someone else. And I should think about getting on with things."


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