Joel McHale: From The Soup to Soderbergh

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Warner Independant Films, Adaptation, Drama, Thrillers, Casting, Celeb News, Upcoming Releases

It was bound to happen sooner or later.  Another host from E!‘s The Soup would start to get the attention he/she deserved

Back in 1991, actor Greg Kinnear kicked off what was then known as Talk Soup.  He is now probably better known for his Oscar-nominated work in As Good as It Gets.  Since then, other hosts have moved on from that weekly program to varying degrees of success.  (The most notable ones being Hal Sparks and Aisha Tyler.)  Could current frontman Joel McHale soon be outgrowing the recap roundup as well?

It has just been announced that the 36-year-old comedian will be branching out from the clip show to work on a much larger project.  Joel will soon be starring in The Informant, a new movie from director Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s Eleven).  McHale is slated to play an FBI agent who will work alongside Scott Bakula (Quantum Leap) and Matt Damon.

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Read More | Hollywood Reporter

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Box Office Breakdown:  The Brave One Reaches #1

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: FOCUS, Lionsgate, New Line, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Drama, Foreign, Horror, Independent, Period, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases

The Brave One took in nearly $15 million in its debut, making it the #1 film of this past weekend.  Although some may consider the gross disappointing for a Jodie Foster film, I choose to think of it as a feat for women.

I decided to do a little research today and came away with some very unsettling news.  Since FilmCrunch started reporting Box Office numbers in mid-January, no female-led movie has reached the top of the pack.  That’s unless you count Knocked Up with Katherine Heigl, and I don’t.  Even then, that was almost 3 months ago.

Kyra Sedgwick, Glenn Close and Mary-Louise Parker made a stand for strong female roles during Sunday’s Emmys—and maybe it’s time that someone finally spoke up for women in film.  Until then, I’ll be counting the days until Cate Blanchett makes her royal return in Elizabeth: The Golden Years (out October 12th).

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Box Office Breakdown:  Yuma Ropes Up The Win

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: FOCUS, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Foreign, Horror, Period, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Box Office, Lists, New Releases

Audiences went old-school this weekend helping 3:10 to Yuma corral the box office crown.  The well-received film, starring Christian Bale and Russell Crowe, marked the second week in a row a classic movie remake landed at #1.  (Previous winner, Halloween slid down a notch this week).

Question now is:  Will the success of Yuma spur an onslaught of Westerns?  Given the lack of any real competition this weekend, it still may be too soon to say.  But any speculation will probably be confirmed when Brad Pitt‘s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford opens on September 21.

A trend that probably won’t be coming back anytime soon?  Brothers-desperately-trying-to-make-a-baby-to-make-their-father-happy-before-he-dies films.  The Brothers Solomon delivered a pathetic $525,000 in its debut weekend.  Granted, it didn’t show in many theaters (only 700)—but I’m guessing there was a reason for that.

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Box Office Breakdown:  Holiday Comes Early For Halloween

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, FOCUS, MGM, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Weinstein Company, Action, Drama, Family, Horror, Romance, Satire, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases

Rob Zombie’s remake of the classic film, Halloween, scared up over $30 million this weekend smashing Transporter 2‘s 2005 achievement ($20 million).  Additionally, the horror film’s record gross capped off a successful summer for films overall.  With fifteen movies over the $100 million mark, the movie industry soared past $4 billion domestically.

Unfortunately, Jason Statham’s War did very little to contribute to this landmark achievement.  While he may have been a record-setter two years ago, his latest outing is slowly dropping off the charts.  Meanwhile, the weekend’s other two major openings—Balls of Fury and Death Sentence—fared decently enough to at least make a showing.

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Read More | Variety

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