‘Hitman’ Video Game Comes to Big Screen

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: 20th Century Fox, Action, Adaptation, Casting, Upcoming Releases

It’s been done with Broadway plays, popular novels, comic books…even commercials. It’s adaptation, and it helps Hollywood keep churning out those hits. Hitman won’t be the first video game to be pushed from gaming into ticket sales; it won’t even be the first film to feature a cool-as-ice assassin. It will be though the first flick to be produced by Adrian Askarieh—the Hollywood newcomer who also plans to release a film adaptation of Spy Hunter in 2009.

Hitman will come to theaters later this month with Timothy Olyphant in the lead as Agent 47. Askarieh, a former entertainment attorney, admits that he is a gamer.  He’s also a businessman and sales for Hitman suggest success beyond the gaming consoles; in the last 7 years, 10 million copies have been purchased worldwide. The game developers aren’t involved in the movie, however, and Jans Peter Kurup (a developer on all four Hitman games) is reserving his opinion until he sees the film. The movie plot is derived from all four Hitman games according to Askarieh.

Read More | Hollywood Reporter

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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.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown:  Holiday Comes Early For Halloween

Read More | Variety

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Box Office Breakdown:  Geeks Fight Off Statham, Jet Li

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Foreign, Horror, Music, Musicals, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases

No, you are correct.  Superbad is one of the few movies that has managed to stay at #1 for more than one week this summer.  The movie that only cost $20 million to make now shares the Two-Timers title with Spider-Man 3 and Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End.  (And I’m guessing those movies cost a bit more to produce).

Not only did the high-schoolers hold back the action-packed War (starring Jason Statham and Jet Li), but so did the aging Bourne Ultimatum and British goof Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean’s Holiday).

Unfortunately, the Top 5 was so testosterone-laden that it didn’t leave any room for the film adaptation of The Nanny Diaries.  I’m wondering if more women were eager to see that hunky Statham than be reminded of their bratty kids waiting at home…

1. Superbad, Sony, $18,044,369
2. The Bourne Ultimatum, Universal, $12,472,215
3. Rush Hour 3, New Line, $11,706,643
4. Mr. Bean’s Holiday, Universal, $9,889,780
5. War, Lionsgate, $9,820,089
6. The Nanny Diaries, Weinstein Co., $7,480,927
7. The Simpsons Movie, Fox, $4,317,689
8. Stardust, Paramount, $3,872,560
9. Hairspray, New Line, $3,265,384
10. The Invasion, Warner Bros, $3,093,428

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