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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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The Avengers

It seems like packing a film chock-full of A-listers is worth the money spent on them.

The Avengers -- unsurprisingly -- took number one at the box office this weekend, beating Avatar's record for best second weekend with $103.2 million. The latest Tim Burton and Johnny Depp collaboration, Dark Shadows, opened at number two with $28.8 million while Think Like a Man dropped one spot to number three with $6.3 million. The Hunger Games was bumped down one spot to number four with $4.4 million while The Lucky One stayed put at number five with $4 million.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: The Avengers Smashes Competition… Again

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The AvengersA sequel to The Avengers has been confirmed.

The Marvel superhero movie - which features well known comic characters including Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Incredible Hulk - has been a huge box-office success and Disney are already planning a second insllalment.

"[The success of the film] is a great illustration of why we like Marvel so much," Disney CEO Bob Iger said, adding that demand for merchandise associated with the film has been strong. However, it will be some time before the Avengers sequel comes out with Iron Man 3, Thor 2 and possibly Captain America 2 all set to shoot first.

Stan Lee, the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics, who created many of the characters, recently revealed his hopes for the addition of some new characters in the sequel: "Oh, I'd be happy if they add Black Panther and maybe Dr Strange. Those two and probably Ant-Man, which I think they are working on. Maybe I'll play a little role in that."

Click to continue reading Avengers Sequel Confirmed


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The Avengers

The Avengers really know how to battle it out at the box office.

The comic book movie - helmed by Joss Whedon - took in $200.3 million at the box office this past weekend, securing the top spot for the biggest opening weekend record, just in front of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 ($169.2 million), The Dark Knight Rises ($158.4 million), and The Hunger Games ($152.5).

Last week's top movie, Think Like a Man, was bumped down one spot to number 2 with $8 million while The Hunger Games maintained its number 3 spot with $5.7 million.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: The Avengers Make History

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Tom HiddlestonTom Hiddleston wants to star in a comedy.

The British actor is currently playing villain Loki in The Avengers, but admitted he would love to work on a movie where he gets to wear normal clothes and make people laugh.

"I'm desperate for it. I'm telling everyone. I'm putting out the feelers for jeans and a t-shirt. And comedy. I want to make people laugh. I want to slip on a banana skin and walk into a lamppost," he said.

Although he compares him to Adolf Hitler, Tom believes there is hope that Loki can be redeemed as a character: "He's laboring under the delusion that he'll create some kind of world peace by uniting the human race in reverence of one king. And it's an identity search. He's desperate. He needs to belong. He's so lacking in self esteem, that just like someone like Hitler, he needs to fill the void with adulation."

Click to continue reading Tom Hiddleston Wants a Comedy Role


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Think Like a Man

Apparently it pays to Think Like a Man when it comes to this weekend's box office!

The ensemble comedy - adapted from Steve Harvey's book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man - maintained its top position at the box office with $18 million, earning more than the family-friendly The Pirates! Band of Misfits, which debuted at number 2 with $11.4 million. Last week's number 2 film, The Lucky One, fell to number 3 with a close $11.3 million. The big movie of the month, The Hunger Games, dropped even further down to number 4 with $11.2 million while the Judd Apatow-produced comedy The Five-Year Engagement debuted with $11.1 million at number 5.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Think Like a Man Knows How to Stay #1


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Eugene LevyEugene Levy thinks the American Pie films have led to other movies focusing "too much" on bodily functions.

The 65-year-old actor - who plays Jim's dad Noah Levenstein in the film series - believes the franchise has inspired other productions to push the boundaries of taste in comedy to the limit, but warns there is a point where such bathroom humor "can step over the bar."

"The dangerous thing about what it's spawned is that sometimes there's a little bit too much emphasis on, y'know, bodily functions. It's the anti-Noel Coward approach to getting a laugh. At some point you can't go any lower. You'll get to the point where you can step over the bar."

Eugene believes the first American Pie movie in 1999 - which featured a scene where Jason Biggs pleasures himself with a warm apple pie - has led to other directors feeling they "have to" include some bathroom humor in their film because it's "too easy" to get a "big laugh."

Click to continue reading Eugene Levy Blames American Pie for Gross Hollywood Humor


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Zac Efron and Taylor SchillingZac Efron is thankful that he "clicked right away" with his on screen girlfriend Taylor Schilling in The Lucky One.

The star was "blown away" by his blonde co-star in the movie, and he learned "a lot" starring alongside side her, which he found to be a "refreshing quality" in his leading lady.

"It was weird, it was screen test I think. You kind of get thrown into it, you're thrown into it and either you click or you don't. I'm pretty sure you know right away, thankfully we clicked right away. It was instant. We were hitting our stride almost immediately. With Taylor Schilling, I found that I learned a lot from her, which is always refreshing to ... it's a refreshing quality to see in your leading lady, it's fun. She's hilarious but she's very focused when it comes to the work. I was blown away by her."

Zac plays a marine who goes to North Carolina to search for a woman (Taylor) that he believes was a good luck charm in three tours of duty of Iraq, but the 24-year-old hunk admits he was "nervous" when he read the script for the movie because of the all the preparation involved in playing a marine:

Click to continue reading Zac Efron ‘Blown Away’ by Taylor Schilling


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Think Like a Man cast

After spending four weeks at the top spot, The Hunger Games has been dethroned by the Steve Harvey-scribed film Think Like a Man, which took in $33 million.

The new Zac Efron film -- written by The Notebook author Nicholas Sparks -- The Lucky One debuted at number 2 with $22.8 million, pushing The Hunger Games down to number 3 with $14.5 million. The Disney documentary Chimpanzee debuted at number 4 with $10.2 million, and last week's number 2 film The Three Stooges was bumped down three spots to number 5 with $9.2 million.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Think Like a Man Overthrows Hunger Games

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Jason SegelJason Segel cut his "gratuitous" fully nude scene from The Five-Year Engagement.

The actor is no stranger to baring his manhood on camera - having done so in 2007's Forgetting Sarah Marshall - but even though it was his idea to do it again for his latest film, he ultimately decided it was too much.

"I thought of it at the time as a homage to Sarah Marshall, but then when we saw it, it just seemed gratuitous... There's no need for it. People already know what it looks like, and we also couldn't find a lens that was wide enough," he joked to The Huffington Post.

The film's co-writer and director, Nicholas Stoller - who also worked on Forgetting Sarah Marshall - joined in joking about his friend's manhood: "His penis was getting a bit of an ego. And you know what? It hasn't changed much since Sarah Marshall. I'll be honest. It's basically the same."

Nicholas also promised The Five-Year Engagement features plenty of shots of Jason's bottom, and praised his bravado in being prepared to show himself off on camera: "He's never afraid to show flaws or a certain ugliness in the characters that he plays. He's always been like that, since he was a teenager and we started working for him. When we first met him, we were like, 'Yeah, this guy is probably going to become famous, but in a weird way.' He has a weirdness that is more relatable."


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The Hunger Games

There apparently seems to be no stopping The Hunger Games! The futuristic film featuring teens battling to the death beat out both newcomers The Three Stooges and The Cabin in the Woods, taking in $21 million.

The long-awaited Three Stooges took second place with $17 million while the Joss Whedon-produced horror comedy The Cabin in the Woods pulled in $14 million over the weekend. Titanic 3D was bumped down one spot from last week's number 3 with $11.9 million while American Reunion rounds out the top 5 -- down 3 from last week -- with $10.4 million.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Hunger Games Crowned Top Spot Again

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