Quote of the Day: Natalie Portman on Kissing Mila Kunis

Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Fox Searchlight, Drama, Thrillers, Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip, Filmmaking, Upcoming Releases

“It’s not raunchy, it’s extreme.”

- Actress Natalie Portman on kissing her Black Swan co-star Mila Kunis. Will they do it better than Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried?

(Make sure to check out other notable quotes.)

Read More | IGN

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500 Days of Summer Without the Script

Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Fox Searchlight, Independent, Romance, Comedy, Celeb News, Filmmaking, New Releases, Scripts, Videos

The cute overload that is 500 Days of Summer continues, as stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel performed an impromptu, short version of how the film would be without a script.

Set to present an award to the film’s screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel ditched the teleprompter and offered a silent skit of the elevator/Smiths scene. Then the pair realized that they wouldn’t have had stage directions without a script and redid the scene appropriately (albeit, quite boring and proving a good point).

It’s nice to see actors who appreciate those other people working on a film.

Read More | Movie Line

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Box Office Breakdown: That Was It for Paranormal Activity

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Biopics, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Period, Remakes, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists

Based on the numbers from the past week, it looks like This Is It should remain in theaters longer than two weeks. Oh wait - it will.

Since opening late Tuesday night, the concert film has generated a total of $34.4 million domestically - $23.2 million just over the weekend - and approximately $101 worldwide. Although Michael Jackson technically didn’t beat the opener for Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour (that entry earned more over 5 days), This Is It had the best international debut ever for any concert film.

Sony’s win meant a short victory for Paranormal Activity. After a steady climb, and only 1 week at the top, the horror film slipped down to second place. Of course, the word-of-mouth hit has nothing to complain about. Not only has the movie grossed $84.6 million to date, it also had the best per screen average of any Top 10 charter.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: That Was It for Paranormal Activity

Read More | Variety

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In Theaters This Weekend: October 30, 2009

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Fox Searchlight, Magnolia, Sony, Adaptation, Biopics, Documentary, Drama, Family, Foreign, Horror, Independent, Music, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases

Here are a few selections in theaters this weekend:

• Michael Jackson’s This Is It (PG): starring Michael Jackson (directed by Kenny Ortega)  **in theaters now**
• Aladin* (NR): starring Ritesh Deshmukh, Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt (directed by Sujoy Ghosh)
• The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day* (R): starring Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, Billy Connolly (directed by Troy Duffy)
• The Fall* (NR): starring Benny Ciaramello, Scott Kinworthy, Erica Shaffer (directed by John Krueger)

Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend: October 30, 2009

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In Theaters This Weekend: October 23, 2009

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: IFC Films, Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, Universal, Adventure, Animation, Biopics, Documentary, Drama, Family, Foreign, Foreign Language, Horror, Independent, Period, Sequels, Comedy, Lists, New Releases

Here are a few selections in theaters this weekend:

• Amelia (PG): starring Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor (directed by Mira Nair)
• Astro Boy (PG): starring Nicolas Cage, Freddie Highmore, Kristen Bell (directed by David Bowers)
• Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant (PG-13): starring John C. Reilly, Ken Watanabe, Josh Hutcherson (directed by Paul Weitz)
• Saw VI (R): starring Costas Mandylor, Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith (directed by Kevin Greutert)

Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend: October 23, 2009

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Box Office Breakdown: Audiences Escape to Couples Retreat

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Fox Searchlight, MGM, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Documentary, Family, Independent, Music, Political, Remakes, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Sports, Box Office, Lists

Depending on how you look at the numbers, the winner this weekend was either Couples Retreat or Paranormal Activity.

In the comedy corner, we have a Peter Billingsley-directed film that earned $35.3 million and a first-place finish. The movie - which combined the efforts of Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau and Jason Bateman - pulled in the best numbers for any Columbus Day weekend entry ever. It also gave Vaughn his 2nd best opening behind The Break-Up.

Meanwhile, on the horror front, Paranormal Activity made a huge splash despite being in limited release. The Blair Witch-esque movie scared up a shocking $49,000 per screen average. It also raked in nearly 500 times more than its budget. (It only cost less than $16,000 to produce.)

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Audiences Escape to Couples Retreat

Read More | Variety

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Box Office Breakdown: No Sluggish Start for Zombieland

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Fox Searchlight, MGM, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Independent, Music, Political, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists

Watch out, vampires…there’s still life in the other undead.

Although he was previously known as a director for Jimmy Kimmel Live, Ruben Fleischer now has a new title: box office champ. This past weekend, Ruben saw his first major feature, Zombieland, attack the competition with a $24.7 million debut. The movie - which only cost approximately $24 million to make - had the highest open for any zombie-themed flick since Dawn of the Dead in 2004.

Meanwhile, another director had an entirely different result with her debut feature. Whip It, a roller derby comedy helmed by Drew Barrymore, rolled into 6th place finish with only $4.7 million. (When your film’s been topped by Pixar entries from 10+ years ago, there might have a problem.) Hopefully in a few more weeks, the Ellen Page vehicle will at least cover its $15 million production tab.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: No Sluggish Start for Zombieland

Read More | Variety

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In Theaters This Weekend: October 2, 2009

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: FOCUS, Disney, IFC Films, Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, Sony, Warner Bros, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases

Here are a few selections in theaters this weekend:

• Capitalism: A Love Story** (R): starring Michael Moore (directed by Michael Moore)
• The Invention of Lying (PG-13): starring Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill (directed by Ricky Gervais, Matthew Robinson)
• Toy Story/Toy Story 2 in 3D (G): starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, John Ratzenberger (directed by John Lasseter)
• Whip It! (PG-13): starring Ellen Page, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis (directed by Drew Barrymore)
• Zombieland (R): starring Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone (directed by Ruben Fleischer)

Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend: October 2, 2009

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Animated Wes Anderson Film to Open AFI Fest

Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Fox Searchlight, Adaptation, Adventure, Family, Comedy, Distribution, Trailers, Upcoming Releases

The Royal Tenenbaums writer-director Wes Anderson is already garnering positive attention for his first stop-motion animated film, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, as it has been picked to open the American Film Institute’s Film Festival.

It was at this same gala last year that Juno was chosen as the centerpiece film, impressing critics and prompting movie buzz.

The film stars the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, and many more familiar vocals (check out the trailer after the jump).

Click to continue reading Animated Wes Anderson Film to Open AFI Fest

Read More | The Hollywood Reporter

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Scared Skater Drew Barrymore

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Fox Searchlight, Action, Drama, Comedy, Celeb News, Filmmaking, Upcoming Releases

Roller derby is “scary as s**t” to Drew Barrymore

The 34-year-old actress’ new movie Whip It, which she directs and stars in, is about the roller skating contact sport, and she admits she had no idea how brutal the sport could be.

Click to continue reading Scared Skater Drew Barrymore

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