Sequel News: Men in Black, Saw and More

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Columbia Pictures, Disney, Lionsgate, Action, Drama, Horror, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Casting, Celeb News, Rumors, Scripts, Upcoming Releases, Videos

Here’s the latest scoop on the sequel buzz spreading across Hollywood:

Independence Day: If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Roland Emmerich flat out hates this planet. The director of The Day After Tomorrow and and 2012 is now talking about a follow-up to his 1996 hit, Independence Day. Emmerich says his proposed idea would see vets Will Smith (another lover of sequels) and Bill Pullman years after the first disaster. “One day we will do it,” Roland claimed.

Click to continue reading Sequel News: Men in Black, Saw and More

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Michael Sheen Apologizes For His Hair

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Adaptation, Horror, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Thrillers, Casting, Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip, Upcoming Releases

Michael Sheen apologized to his daughter for not being bald.

The actor’s 10-year-old daughter Lily, whose mother is actress Kate Beckinsale, was delighted when he landed the role of Aro in The Twilight Saga: New Moon, but the Frost/Nixon star was worried that his depiction wouldn’t match up with fans’ ideas of the role.

“I said, ‘What does he look like?’ She said, ‘He’s bald.’ I think she was mixing it up with Nosferatu, the old vampire, you know? But it shows that people, and this is the beauty of books for a start, that your imagination creates your own version of these characters. And so when a film comes along and you’re kind of going, ‘No, it looks like this,’ then that’s a very delicate thing to get right or to find a way to meet everyone’s imaginary requirements of the character. So I was very aware of that because of my own daughter. I said, ‘Sorry, I’m not bald. I’ve got long hair.’”

When working on his interpretation of Aro, Michael immersed himself in Stephenie Meyer‘s novels which the movies are based on.

“I would have loved to have talked to Stephenie loads about it, but I just kept rereading a few of the chapters in the book - especially the opening chapter where she describes Aro - just looking for anything that would help give me a clue. And then I was just left to my own devices.”

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Box Office Breakdown: 2012 Has All the Numbers

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Remakes, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists

It was the end of the world as we may soon know it, and that had Sony feeling fine.

The premiere of Roland Emmerich’s latest disaster film, 2012, erupted in theaters this weekend with a $65.2 million finish. Although the movie fell short of 2004’s The Day After Tomorrow (that Emmerich project grossed $68.7 million over three days), it now ranks 5th on the international debuts list. (Sorry, Da Vinci Code.) The John Cusack starrer also managed to cover its reported $200 million budget in one week.

Meawhile, Precious continued to pound the pavement in an expanded release. With only 174 engagements, the critically-acclaimed movie earned itself a third place finish and a $33,762-per screen average.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: 2012 Has All the Numbers

Read More | Variety

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Inglourious Basterds Prequel Possibly in the Works

Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Weinstein Company, Action, Horror, Period, Political, Sequels, Thrillers, Celebrity Gossip, Filmmaking, Rumors, Scripts

With one of the world’s most vied-for actors at your command and scoring an impressive $38 million at the box office, it’s nearly impractical for Quentin Tarantino to not pursue another Inglourious Basterds film.

According to Eli Roth, the chances are pretty good.

“Everybody would drop whatever they’re doing to go back to work with Quentin… All the time, Brad says, ‘Prequel, prequel!’ All the ‘basterds’ would jump on it in a second. We have three scenes that we shot in Boston that take place before the war, and Quentin says if he does the prequel, he’s going to use them. They’re not going to be DVD extras.”

Without spilling too many secrets, Roth briefly describes one of the scenes, which features a rather random cameo…

Click to continue reading Inglourious Basterds Prequel Possibly in the Works

Read More | E! Online

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Box Office Breakdown: Christmas Carol Wins, Precious Soars

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Remakes, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists

We’re still weeks away from Thanksgiving, but theatergoers already have Christmas on their minds.

Disney’s A Christmas Carol, the umpteenth version of the Charles Dickens tale, brought the story back to life with a visual rendition. Robert Zemeckis’ latest holiday creation earned over $30 million, surpassing Polar Express’ open by $7 million. Although the Jim Carrey film didn’t come close to its reported $180 million budget, Carol still has weeks to go before Avatar takes over 3D screens.

Meanwhile, a film with no bells or whistles made an impact just outside the Top 10. Precious, Sundance’s Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize winner, broke a record while in limited release. The 12th place entry averaged a whopping $104,025 this weekend over only 18 theaters. That’s the largest per screen average for any film opening in more than 10 locations.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Christmas Carol Wins, Precious Soars

Read More | Variety

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This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: November 10, 2009

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Classics, Drama, Family, Horror, Period, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases

Here are some of the DVD and Blu-ray options available this Tuesday:

• The Accidental Husband: DVD
• Ballast: DVD, Blu-ray
• The Echo: DVD, Blu-ray
• The General: Blu-ray
• Godzilla: Blu-ray
• Heat: Blu-ray
• Ink: DVD
• The Line: DVD, Blu-ray
• Logan’s Run: Blu-ray
• The Merry Gentleman: DVD
• Monsters, Inc.: Blu-ray

Click to continue reading This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: November 10, 2009

Read More | Amazon

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First Look: 30 Days of Night Sequel

Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Adaptation, Horror, Independent, Sequels, Thrillers, Casting, Filmmaking, Upcoming Releases

The first image from the 30 Days of Night sequel, Dark Days, is out and fails to make an impression on me.

Kiele Sanchez replaces Melissa George as our heroine, Stella Oleson, wielding a particularly large knife. While the movie may be a direct adaptation of its graphic novel origin, this photograph recalls the typical Friday the 13th cinematography.

A fan of the novel, I’m hoping that more images say otherwise. I’m still not buying Sanchez’s portrayal, either.

Read More | Ain't It Cool

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Get Your Name in Paranormal Activity’s Credits

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Paramount, Horror, Home Entertainment

How did you contribute to Paranormal Activity‘s recent success? Did you talk about it on Twitter? Did you drag your friends to a showing? Did you purchase Dramamine just so you could sit through it?

Even if you’ve watched the movie multiple times already, this promotional tool could have you buying the DVD as well. Those who register by Monday, November 9 will get to see their name listed in the home version’s credits. According to the website, it’s simply the studio’s way of “thanking the fans who turned the movie into a nationwide phenomenon.”

This could be the one time a movie’s credits ran longer than the actual film.

Read More | Paranormal Activity via Perez Hilton

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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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