Box Office Breakdown: Audiences are Taken with Liam Neeson
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adventure, Drama, Family, Horror, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists

While it would seem logical to find a female-oriented movie on top after Super Bowl Sunday, an action thriller proved there was more than enough testosterone to go around. Taken, starring Oscar-nominee Liam Neeson, took in $24.7 million making it the second best opener ever during the same football period. (Last year’s Hannah Montana concert film grossed $31.1 million.)
Meanwhile, a romantic comedy starring an actual Oscar winner, failed to do what counterprogramming options are meant to do: score a touchdown. New in Town, starring Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr., earned $6.7 million and a disappointing 8th place. (Apparently Academy Awards don’t guarantee future success.) The romantic comedy raked in about 1/2 as much as Zellweger’s Leatherheads did…and that’s saying a lot.
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| Variety
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Remake News: The Thing, The A-Team, East of Eden and More
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, Universal, Action, Adaptation, Drama, Horror, Musicals, Period, Science Fiction, Thrillers, Casting, Upcoming Releases

The Thing: Universal - apparently feeling the winter blast - has decided to redo the classic John Carpenter film. In the 1982 version, research teams in Antarctica are killed off by a shape-shifting alien. The reimaging, which will be directed by Matthijs Van Heijningen, will be based off the same source material as the Kurt Russell vehicle. Ron Moore, Battlestar Galactica‘s executive producer, is in charge of the script.
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| Hollywood Reporter
Box Office Breakdown: New Life for Oscar Contenders
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Family, Horror, Music, Period, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers

Nominations? Clint Eastwood doesn’t need any stinkin’ nominations…
Although the 78-year-old was recently overlooked by the Academy, the actor/director still got some respect from the paying public. This past weekend, Gran Torino landed softly into third place and, most importantly, topped the actual Best Picture contenders.
But that’s not to say a nomination is pointless. Last week’s #10, Slumdog Millionaire, jumped 5 positions this week after nabbing 10 nods on Thursday. (It also bested Torino’s per screen average.) Meanwhile, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - thanks to 13 nominations - found itself reentering the Top Ten.
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| Variety
Ralph Macchio on Karate Kid Remake
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Columbia Pictures, Action, Drama, Family, Sports, Celebrity Gossip
If you felt yourself cringing when you heard about the Karate Kid remake, you weren’t the only one. Nevertheless, the original’s star is still finding one reason to smile.
In a interview with MTV, Ralph Macchio admitted that it feels “pretty good that so many people are angry” about the redo. The 47-year-old (yes, he’s that old) said it’s been great to see such an “outpouring” of response from fans of the 1984 classic.
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| MTV Movies
Box Office Breakdown: Mall Cop Rolls Over Clint Eastwood
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Adaptation, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Period, Romance, Comedy, Box Office, Lists

Mall Cop? Mall Cop?
As strange as it may sound, Kevin James just took down Clint Eastwood, Notorious B.I.G. and a serial killer to become the current box office champ. Paul Blart: Mall Cop‘s $40 million take was the second biggest ever for a January opener. (Cloverfield took in $46.1 million at this same time last year.) The comedy was also partially responsible for giving the industry its largest MLK weekend of all time.
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| Yahoo! Box Office
Remake News: Buck Rogers, Romancing the Stone, The Crow and More
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Universal, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, Upcoming Releases

Buck Rogers: Could Twiki be the one that makes us forget Wall-E? Frank Miller (300) is now aiming to tackle another period for his next big-screen adaptation. If Odd Lot Entertainment is able to secure the rights to Buck Rogers, Miller will write and direct a much “darker” version of the sci-fi tale. Rogers, which began comic serial back in the 1920s, told the story of a United States Army Air Corps officer who found himself in the 25th century long after an gas exposure incident. Buck has already been the subject of a radio program, a movie serial and a two television programs (including the NBC production starring Gil Gerard).
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Remake News: The Karate Kid, Oldboy, Pinocchio and More
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Columbia Pictures, DreamWorks, MGM, Paramount, Universal, Weinstein Company, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Horror, Musicals, Period, Comedy, Rumors, Upcoming Releases

Fame: The previously announced remake has just secured its administrative lineup. The film, an update of the 1980 original, will once again follow the lives of students at New York High School of Performing Arts. Those guiding the talented crop include Megan Mullaley, Bebe Neuwirth, Kelsey Grammar and Charles S. Dutton. Debbie Allen - a veteran of the first film - will also join the cast as Principal Simms, an entirely new character.
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| Variety
Casting Corner: Cloris Leachman, Jack Black, Sly Stallone and More
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Period, Romance, Comedy, Thrillers, Celeb News, Rumors, Upcoming Releases


Here’s a quick look at some of the casting announcements made recently:
Cloris Leachman: She may not have won a mirror-ball trophy, but she was able to snag something even bigger. Oscar-winner Cloris Leachman was recently added to Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds (formerly spelled Inglorious Bastards) cast. The 82-year-old will cameo as Mrs. Himmelstein, an elderly Jewish woman who inspires Eli Roth’s character to seek vengeance. The WWII movie already has Brad Pitt, Mike Myers, Diane Kruger and B.J. Novak in its lineup.
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| Variety
Cast Members for Fame Remake Announced
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: MGM, Drama, Music, Musicals, Casting, Upcoming Releases
Although it’s about time for Hollywood to start making over projects from the 90’s, MGM has decided it will be retooling a classic from 1980.
Realizing musicals are not dead to theatergoers, the studio is planning to bring a new version of Fame to today’s audiences. The update - like the Academy-Award winning original - will take place at the New York High School of Performing Arts and feature a wide range of talented artists including dancers, pianists and filmmakers.
Instead of waiting to release the movie on the original’s 30th anniversary, MGM has scheduled the premiere for September 25, 2009.
Actors already selected for the remake include Kristy Flores, Paul Iacono, Paul McGill, Naturi Naughton, Kay Panabaker, Kherington Payne, Collins Pennie, Walter Perez and Anna Maria Perez de Tagle. (Followers of So You Think You Can Dance might remember Kherington’s name from Season 4 of the competition.)
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| Hollywood Reporter
MTV Seeks Rocky Horror Remake
Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: 20th Century Fox, Classics, Horror, Music, Musicals, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Casting, Filmmaking, Rumors, Scripts, Upcoming Releases
Yes, you unfortunately read that title correctly: MTV is seriously planning to remake the 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
While I cannot deny how popular musicals have become (i.e. Mamma Mia!, High School Musical, Hairspray), are there not already tons of other musicals to tamper with other than this one? Can producers possibly more cold-hearted than I thought?
On the upside (yes, there’s actually an upside) to this, the executive producer of the original, Lou Adler, is attached to the project, along with BermanBraun and Fox Television Studios. They also plan on using the original screenplay (thankfully!); however, they may incorporate songs not included in the original (what?).
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| Variety
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