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.Play Video
Big Plans for the X-Men Franchise
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Paramount, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Sequels, Upcoming Releases
Wolverine won’t be the last of the X-Men side stories; there are more flicks in the works for eager comic book fans.
Producer Lauren Shuler-Donner recently revealed a few juicy details about the future of the franchise. Wolverine 2 will feature “samurai, ninja, katana blades, different forms of martial arts”—in other words, lots of “extreme fighting.”
Other planned movies include X-Men: First Class and Deadpool. First Class will be a little “darker” and potentially include several “strange villains.” Ryan Reynolds will be working on Deadpool at the same time he’s shooting for the Green Lantern movie, but Shuler-Donner doesn’t anticipate a problem. In the flick, Reynolds will play Wade Wilson, described as “a bad ass, a wise-cracking mercenary who will go out and kill anyone for money.”
Read More
| Perez Hilton
Advertisement
Ian McKellen Too Old For X-Men
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: 20th Century Fox, Action, Adaptation, Period, Science Fiction, Casting, Celeb News, Filmmaking, Rumors, Scripts
Sir Ian McKellen thinks that he’s too old to star in another X-Men film.
The Hollywood veteran, who has played mutant villain Magneto in three of the comic book movies, says it is unlikely he will reprise the role for a spin-off film about the character because of his wrinkles.
“There’s meant to be a Magneto script floating around, but I’ve not read it, so I suspect it wouldn’t involve me—I think it would be about the younger Magneto, and the most I could hope for would be to top and tail that. They can’t have someone whose face is as lined as mine any longer!”
However, the 70-year-old actor was impressed by his 69-year-old friend Patrick Stewart’s appearance in X-Men Origins: Wolverine earlier this year: “He was very pleased with himself that he was going in to be in Wolverine. It was only an hour’s work! We were working on Waiting For Godot at the time!”
Sequel News: X-Men, Vacation, Kill Bill and More
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, Disney, Miramax, New Line, Paramount, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Family, Horror, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Rumors, Scripts, Technology, Upcoming Releases
X-Men: Although it’s been six years since X2, Bryan Singer says he may not be done with the comic book franchise. The director recently revealed that he’s entertaining the thought of another installment. “I’m still looking to possibly returning to the X-Men franchise. I’ve been talking to Fox about it,” Singer said. “I love Hugh Jackman. I love the cast,” he admitted. Brett Ratner was at the helm for 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand while Gavin Hood directed 2009’s Wolverine.
Click to continue reading Sequel News: X-Men, Vacation, Kill Bill and More
Disney to Pay $4 Billion for Marvel Entertainment
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Corporate Shakeups

Disney has just added 5,000 characters to its arsenal.
In a deal announced today, The Walt Disney Company says it intends to purchase comic book giant Marvel Entertainment. The acquisition is worth a whopping $4 billion.
“This transaction combines Marvel’s strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor with Disney’s creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories,” Robert A. Iger, Walt Disney Company’s President and CEO, said in a press release.
Click to continue reading Disney to Pay $4 Billion for Marvel Entertainment
Read More
| Comix 411
Box Office Breakdown: Disney/Pixar Flying High with Up
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists

The word “Pixar” always seems to generate smiles, and that’s exactly what Up did for Disney.
Over the weekend, the Cannes Film Festival opener generated $68.1 million, over $40 million more than its nearest competitor. The movie - which was also offered in 3D - also bested last year’s Wall-E (by $5 million) and had Pixar’s 3rd-best debut. (The Incredibles opened to $70.5 million in 2004; Finding Nemo grossed $70.3 million in 2003.)
Friday’s other new wide release, Drag Me to Hell, scared up only $15.8 million for a 4th place finish. Although it originally looked as if the horror film would surpass Terminator Salvation, the final numbers were $8 million below Sunday’s projections.
Another noteworthy mention: Star Trek officially crossed the $200 million mark after only four weeks in release. The Paramount feature is now the first movie of the year to reach that achievement.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Disney/Pixar Flying High with Up
Read More
| Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Ben Stiller Defeats Christian Bale
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Religious, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists

Was it a result of Christian Bale’s rant? The presence of that other science fiction movie? Or the lack of family-friendly fare?
When the dust from the weekend settled, a surprising entry emerged as the winner. Despite the country’s current love for action sequels/prequels, a much calmer feature - Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian - was the choice for entertainment this holiday. Ben Stiller’s comedy follow-up raked in $70 million giving the actor his best live-action debut ever. Smithsonian also became the best PG-rated opener for Memorial Day.
Museum‘s victory meant a disappointing 2nd place finish for Terminator Salvation. Although the saga’s fourth installment earned more than T3‘s debut, its $51.9 million gross ($65.3 million since Thursday) put it nowhere near the estimated $200 million budget. The numbers did give director McG, though, his best premiere since 2000’s Charlie’s Angels.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Ben Stiller Defeats Christian Bale
Read More
| Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Narrow Victory for Angels & Demons
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists

Angels & Demons was never as popular as The Da Vinci Code...and its big screen numbers reflected that.
Despite huge success with the overseas box office this weekend (the movie had the 10th best international open ever), the latest Ron Howard/Tom Hanks collaboration barely struck gold domestically. Over the last three days, Angels grossed $46.2 million—just enough for first place. Unfortunately, the Dan Brown adaptation only earned $3 million more than last week’s champ and over $30 million less than the previous installment.
Star Trek, in the meantime, continued on its warp speed pace. The second place finisher pulled in another $43 million and put itself within $3 million of Wolverine‘s overall total. (The Hugh Jackman film, this week’s #3, had a 7-day head start on the sci fi adventure.)
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Narrow Victory for Angels & Demons
Read More
| Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Star Trek Beams Its Way to #1
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adventure, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Music, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases

Based on these numbers, a Star Trek sequel would seem like the logical response.
After a five-month delay, the highly-anticipated J.J. Abrams feature finally unspooled to an eager crowd. And though it didn’t outearn last weekend’s office champ, the science fiction adventure appeared to be in a galaxy far, far away.
Since it’s debut late Thursday night, Trek grossed approximately $79.2 million. (That’s nearly $3 million more than was estimated a day ago, but still $6 million less than Wolverine‘s premiere.) Around $8 million of Paramount’s haul came from IMAX ticket sales alone. (That figure bests the $6.2 million raked in by The Dark Knight last year.)
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Star Trek Beams Its Way to #1
Read More
| Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Wolverine Claws Its Way to the Top
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Music, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists

Despite a growing list of hurdles (leaked footage, swine flu, mediocre reviews), X-Men Origins: Wolverine proved it was a force to be reckoned with last weekend. Although it failed to surpass X-Men: The Last Stand (that 2006 entry debuted at $122.9 million), the Fox feature trounced the competition with an $85.1 million open. In other words, Wolverine earned over $20 million more than the other Top Ten entries…combined.
Sitting far back in second place was Ghost of Girlfriends Past, Matthew McConaughey’s attempt to bring a little muscle into the box office. The romantic comedy, costarring Jennifer Garner, grossed $15.4 million on the weekend before Mother’s Day. (That’s less than a million more than what Made of Honor pulled in at this same time last year.) Meanwhile, last Friday’s only other wide release, Battle for Terra, raked in a disappointing $1.1 million for a 12th place finish.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Wolverine Claws Its Way to the Top
Read More
| Variety
Movie Review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: 20th Century Fox, Action, Adaptation, Sequels

Here’s the problem with X-Men Origins: Wolverine - there is so much anticipation and expectation before the movie comes out that there is already a slim chance that the movie meets them. How many times have you had high expectations for something that actually panned out? Let’s see, The Empire Strikes Back, LeBron James coming into the NBA, and a second serving of Ben and Jerry’s Half Baked ice cream… that’s it. So, the question then is, does X-Men Origins: Wolverine make the grade? Umm, no.
Click to continue reading Movie Review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Advertisement
© Gear Live Media, LLC. 2007 – User-posted content, unless source is quoted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License. Gear Live graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, videos, articles, blogs, forums, scripts and other service names are the trademarks of Gear Live Inc.

Digg This














