Summit Entertainment has pushed back its release date for Jodie Foster's Mel Gibson starrer'The Beaver.'The film, which was originally to open last year but was rescheduled for March 28 because of bad press around Gibson's run-in with his ex-girlfriend, will now open in May. The film premieres at the South by Southwest Film Festival on March 16 and will open in a limited run on May 6, expanding on May 20. {THR}
James Francois considering doing a 'Three's Company' film and Broadway production -- with the blessings of the"'Three's Company' estate,"Franco toldTV Guide.Let's start taking suggestions on who should play Janet and Chrissy. We can see Jessica Biel or Rachel Bilson for Janet, and Blake Lively or Scarlett Johansson for Chrissy.
Michael Moore has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court claiming that his 'Fahrenheit 9/11' partners -- Bob and Harvey Weinstein -- used alleged"bogus accounting methods"on the film. Moore is seeking at least $2.7 million for"rerouted"and"unpaid profits."Deadlinereports that Moore has already received $19.8 million for his backend profit participation in the movie.
It's a busy news day forShawn Levy: First Cinematical reported that he hadsigned on to direct the remake of 1966's 'Fantastic Voyage'; now we find out that Levy and his 21 Laps banner has signed on to produce a big-screen animated adaptation of the 'Mr. Men' children's books, also for Fox. Roger Hargreaves wrote 48 'Mr. Men' books, sellling more than 100 million copies worldwide in 28 countries; four animated television series, including 'The Mr. Men Show,' have been made from the book series. {THR}
'The Hobbit'officially has a start-date. The film's production company, 3Foot7 Ltd., has announced that shooting will begin on March 21 at Stone Street Studios in Miramar and on location around New Zealand.
вторник, 8 февраля 2011 г.
Nightly News: Richard Gere Is in 'Arbitrage'; 'The Beaver' Hibernates 'Til May
понедельник, 7 февраля 2011 г.
'The Roommate' Scares Up Super Bowl Weekend Win: Box Office Report February 4 - 6
Given the Super Bowl and the icy weather, pundits didn't expect much from this weekend's box office, and'The Roommate'mustered just enough mojo to meet those low expectations.
'The Roommate' may be a watered-down, PG-13 version of 'Single White Female,'but it was potent enough to debut at No. 1 with an estimated $15.6 million, about what experts predicted. Credit the TV fame of starsLeighton MeesterandMinka Kelly, the youth-friendly rating, and a strong appeal to female moviegoers who weren't planning to watch football on Sunday. The suspense thriller's budget was reported to be just $16 million, only a hair above this weekend's estimated gross.
The weekend's other new wide release, the underwater action thriller'Sanctum,'had been predicted to open around $12 million, but its studio estimate came in at $9.2 million, for a second-place opening. The movie boastedJames Cameronas a producer and state-of-the-art 3-D effects (with their attendant ticket surcharges), and it opened in more theaters than 'The Roommate.' But theR ratingkept out younger viewers, and the movie wasn't helped by its lack of star power or its male appeal on Super Bowl weekend. It'll be a stretch for the film to make back its reported $30 million budget in theaters.
Another movie with strong female appeal, the romantic comedy'No Strings Attached,'came in at No. 3 with an estimated $8.4 million. That's down just 37 percent fromlast week. It was also enough to move the film's three-week total past the $50 million mark.
Coming in fourth was'The King's Speech,'which continued to expand into more theaters on the second weekend after the announcement of its 12 Oscar nominations. The feel-good historical buddy movie earned an estimated $8.3 million, down just 25 percent from last week, as Oscar buzz continues to build for the Best Picture frontrunner.
At No. 5 was'The Green Hornet,'down 46 percent to an estimated $6.1 million. In four weeks, the masked-hero film has earned $87.2 million.
Last week's two new wide releases,'The Rite'(which debuted on top a week ago) and'The Mechanic'(which premiered iat No. 3) fell to sixth and seventh places this weekend. Rounding out the top 10 were two other strong Oscar contenders,'True Grit'(No. 8) and'Black Swan'(No. 10), as well as bromance'The Dilemma'(No. 9).
The full top 10:
1.'The Roommate,'$15.6 million (2,534 screens),new release
2.'Sanctum,'$9.2 million (2,787),new release
3.'No Strings Attached,'$8.4 million (3,050), $51.8 million total
4.'The King's Speech,'$8.3 million (2,584), $84.1 million
5.'The Green Hornet,'$6.1 million (3,033), $87.2 million
6.'The Rite,'$5.6 million (2,985), $23.7 million
7.'The Mechanic,'$5.4 million (2,704), $20.1 million
8.'True Grit,'$4.8 million (2,902), $155.0 million
9.'The Dilemma,'$3.45 million (2,545), $45.7 million
10.'Black Swan,'$3.40 million (1,977), $95.9 million
•Follow Gary Susman on Twitter @garysusman.
воскресенье, 6 февраля 2011 г.
Where Everyone Has Gone Before #29: 'Altered States'
The Film:'Altered States' (1980), Dir. Ken Russell
Starring:William Hurt, Blair Brown, Bob Balaban and Charles Haid.
Why I Haven't Seen It Until Now:There's a funny story behind this one. For years, I thought 'Altered States' was directed by David Cronenberg and vowed that I'd get to it when I finally got the opportunity to dive into his filmography. And then I did. And then I realized 'Altered States' was directed by Ken Russell. And then I felt really stupid. And here we are. Okay, that's not a funny story, but you get the point.
Pre-Viewing Assumptions:William Hurt is a university scientist with some pretty wacky ideas, most of which involve him getting inside of a strange device that tampers with human evolution, slowly transforming him into something that's not quite human and therefore has no normal human qualms against things like assault and murder and little things like that. Naturally, the evil dean tries to shut him down and a very angry, very mutated William Hurt must keep his experiment running by any means necessary. Meanwhile, there's a romantic subplot because there must be a romantic subplot.
I'm going to wager that only about 18% of that is accurate to the actual film, mainly because what I'm describing there sounds like a painful mishmash of Cronenberg's remake of 'The Fly' and every bad college-set horror movie ever made and 'Altered States's reputation as an overlooked horror/science fiction gem is a little too elevated for it to be that simple. Not to mention, this was directed by Ken Russell, a director more known for strange, often experimental, occasionally terrible but always surprising films, not generic"William Hurt Turns Himself Into A Beastie And Runs Amuck On Campus"movies. If that previous blind stab at the plot of this film was my Cronenberg-influenced, 1980s horror movie guess, I should probably make another knowing full well that this is a Russell film...
Can I try this again? I'm going to try this again.
William Hurt is a university scientist who's desperate to find a way for human beings to access closed off areas of their own minds. Years of research lead to a device that, when worn,"opens your mind,"essentially making you completely aware of the universe around you (it turns out that the inner workings of the universe look like a lot of psychedelic lights shot with a swooping camera, intercut with close-ups of Hurt's sweaty face). The device proves enlightening, but also addicting and Hurt worries that he may be losing his mind. Are those strange things he's now seeing real, exposed thanks to his experiment, or a product of his newly damaged, deranged mind? An answer is never clearly given because Ken Russell doesn't give easy answers.
Better or worse? Hot or cold? You know what? You know what? Don't answer. I'll just see for myself.
Post-Viewing Reaction:
Like 'Raging Bull,' 'Altered States' feels like one of the last, desperate gasps of 1970s filmmaking. That release date may say 1980, but everything about the film, from its methodical pacing to its intellectual take on science fiction tropes to the batcrap crazy personal touches that feel like they came from a slightly diseased mind to the armpit hair on the leading lady, feels like it was torn straight out of the most artist-driven, creatively fulfilling and occasionally self-indulgent decade in American cinema.
In the same way that 'Star Wars' signaled the end of this era, it signaled the end of thoughtful science fiction. 'Altered States' would feel perfectly at home with 1970s sci-fi films like 'The Man Who Fell to Earth,' 'Logan's Run,' 'Silent Running' and 'Colossus: The Forbin Project,' just to name a few. As vital as 'Star Wars' is, it certainly did a fine job putting a couple dozen nails in the coffin of challenging, weird and adult science fiction.
But let's not turn this into a 'Star Wars' pile-on. Let's talk about 'Altered States,' a movie that somehow manages to combine hallucinatory wackiness with tough science fiction while telling a story about how vital human connection is to our existences (and to the very survival of our species). In my defense, the story of 'Altered States' actually finds a weird halfway point between my duo of incredibly inaccurate musings: William Hurt (looking and acting very much like the William Hurt we know and love even though this is his first film) plays Eddie Jessup, a scientist who believes that other states of consciousness, like hallucinations, exist as real physical places. His experiments to explore this theory involve an isolation tank and a bizarre, possibly dangerous hallucinogenic substance he borrowed from a primitive Mexican tribe. If the terrifying and surreal hallucinations don't kill him, maybe his mystifying devolution into a lower life form will.
Truth be told, 'Altered States' is a mess, but it's one of those beautiful messes, an experience that is made all the more unique and exciting because of its flaws. Ken Russell is painting with a broad brush, throwing a couple dozen things at the canvas and hoping a couple of them stick. Some things work, like the stunning hallucinations, which make little literal sense but perfectly capture the random chaos of your worst nightmares (they're made all the more unnerving thanks to their obvious physical construction -- I don't know about you, but I dream in matte paintings, stop motion and jump cuts, not CGI). Some things don't, like an interlude with an absurdly silly were-caveman, who runs amuck, assaults college janitors and feasts on the inhabitants of the local zoo.
Still, the very fact that 'Altered States' contains terrifying hallucination sequencesandextended sequences of a killer primordial creature should tell you that this movie is unlike anything you've ever seen before. Even when the film falls into a lull, you can be assured that a terrific display of baffling weirdness resides just around the corner, ready to win back your heart.
This"everything and the kitchen sink"approach to storytelling is more commonly found in B-level genre projects (where it's used to balance out otherwise poor production quality), so it's strange to see it used in a film that is so beautifully and professionally made. In a recentNew Yorker profile, director Guillermo Del Toro decried that genre films have become low budget, slapdash affairs, never being treated like"real movies,"often looking and feeling like second tier productions. With its hit-and-miss director and cast of (at the time) unknowns, 'Altered States' may not have necessarily felt like a classy production at the time of release, but it's aged gracefully. With its naturalistic actors, subtle cinematography and make-up effects that rival Rick Baker's groundbreaking work on 'An American Werewolf in London,' 'Altered States' feels very much like a"real movie."
It's funny that I once thought 'Altered States' was a David Cronenberg film, mainly because it has a lot in common with much of his filmography. Psychological breakdowns. Disturbing body horror. Relationships crumbling in the face of dangerous super-science. Protagonists pushed to an absurd, often tragic breaking point that will change their existence forever. In many ways, 'Altered States' would make a fascinating double feature with Cronenberg's remake of 'The Fly.' After all, they're both stories of science going awry and wreaking havoc on well-meaning men whose lives are ultimately placed in the hands of the women who love them.
The real reason to draw this comparison is to take a look at their differences, namely their conclusions (SPOILERS for both films follow). 'The Fly' ends with our hero, now something less than human, willingly facing the business end of a shotgun wielded by his disbelieving former girlfriend and begging for a quick end. This character has taken one step too far, tampered with the fabric of what human beings are meant to do and a cold, unforgiving universe ensures his lengthy, painful demise. 'Altered States' looks ready to come to a similar conclusion, with Eddie Jessup transformed into a mass of sentient matter, ready to fade away into a primitive universe free of human thought and feeling. Is it overly sentimental that he's (almost literally) saved by the power of love when his feelings for his wife overpower his ongoing devolution? Yeah. Perhaps. Kind of. Sure. But that's the point. In a genre filled with scientists getting iced by things they can't comprehend, it's comforting (and even surprising) to see a film that finds value in human connection, that emphasizes that mankind's greatest creation, it's biggest leap in evolution, was the creation of bonds between individuals.
Awww.
And if you still find that cheesy, it's a conclusion reached while William Hurt writhes about in an insane prosthesis costume while psychedelic lights flash and the film intercuts with microscopic photography of various chemical reactions. And there's plenty of male and female nudity. Yep, 'Altered States' has something for everyone.
Next Week's Column:Because apparently everyone except me saw it (and was traumatized by it) as a child, next week's column will be the slightly infamous 'Return to Oz.' In the meantime, you can vote for the week after that by making a choice from the list below and letting me know in the comments section (or viaTwitter).
'Mystery Train'
'Pink Flamingos'
'La Dolce Vita'
'High Plains Drifter'/'Pale Rider'/'The Outlaw Josey Wales' (Triple Feature)
Previous Entries:
'On the Waterfront'
'Sex, Lies and Videotape'
'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'
'Death Wish'
'Cannibal Holocaust'
'The 39 Steps'
'Bicycle Thieves'
'Moulin Rouge'
'The Sound of Music'
'Rebel Without a Cause'
'A Matter of Life and Death'
'Julia'
'Bride of Frankenstein'
'The Monster Squad'
'Solaris (2002)'
'Solaris (1972)'
'Soylent Green'
'Silent Running'
'Colossus: The Forbin Project'
'Cocoon'
'Enemy Mine'
'A Boy and His Dog'
'The Thing From Another World'
'Forbidden Planet'
'Logan's Run'
'Starman'
'Strange Days'
'Tron'
суббота, 5 февраля 2011 г.
Actors Who Played Football: James Caan, Jamie Foxx and More
This weekend there is one thing on the mind of America: football. Hollywood doesn't stand a chance trying to compete with the cultural juggernaut that is the Super Bowl. Showbiz and professional sports are two completely different worlds that fight for your attention, and usually sports win out. However, there are a few actors who have been able to travel between both worlds, becoming blockbuster movie stars and learning about the thrill of the 50-yard line.
These guys are action stars, Oscar winners and, in one case, a president. Read our list of actors who played football, and check out their impressive stats.
JAMES CAANExperience: Caan played college football at Michigan State University, before relocating to New York City. That experience helped him with several football-based roles, including turns as a brain-damaged former player in 1969's'The Rain People'(a pre-'Godfather' team-up withFrancis Ford Coppola), and as a tough coach of a college team in'The Program.'But of course, one of his most famous roles is the part of terminally ill NFL player Brian Piccolo in the classic TV movie'Brian's Song.'
DEAN CAINPosition:Free Safety
Experience: After playing baseball with Charlie Sheen on the Santa Monica High School team, Cain received an athletic scholarship to Princeton University. He captained the school Volleyball team, but it was his football stats that made him stand out. Cain set an NCAA 1-AA record for 12 interceptions in a single season. After graduating, he signed as a free agent with the Buffalo Bills, but suffered a knee injury in training camp, ending his professional career before it began. It would be a sad story if he didn't bounce back landing the part of Superman, immediately reinforcing his physical superiority over the rest of us slobs.
BRIAN DENNEHYPosition: Offensive Lineman
Experience: Dennehy attended Columbia University on a football scholarship. He played No. 70 on the Columbia Lions, later remarking"We were at the bottom of the league!"What he really wanted to do was act, but since the Columbia Players didn't want to associate themselves with a jock, he left school, joined the Marines, had two kids, came back, graduated, then went to Yale Drama School. His big screen acting debut was playing a pro-football player in 1977's'Semi-Tough.'Is that story not manly enough for you? The dude also played rugby with NYC's Old Blue RFC.
MATTHEW FOXPosition:Wide Receiver
Experience: Like Dennehy, Fox played for the Columbia University Lions. And just like during Dennehy's time, the team wasn't very good. For his first three seasons with the team, it had a staggering combined record of 0-30. An Oct. 10, 1987 game against Princeton -- in which Dean Cain dominated plays -- gave the team its 35th loss in a row, setting a new Division 1 record. A missed field goal from the opposing team in a senior year game for Fox gave Columbia its first victory in five years. Fox's final college record: 2-38. By that point, he had already started modeling and acting.
JAMIE FOXXPosition: Quarterback
Experience: Foxx played football and basketball at Texas' Terrell High School, hoping to play professionally for the Cowboys. He was the school's first player to pass for more than 1,000 yards. It was that experience that got him cast in the professional football epic'Any Given Sunday.'And it was that early success that endowed him with the restrained, modest ego he possesses today.
MARK HARMONPosition: Starting Quarterback
Experience: Being the son a Heisman Trophy winner bred football into Harmons' genes. After transferring to UCLA, he led the Bruins to an upset victory over defending national champions the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The year after that he received the National Football Foundation Award for All-Round Excellence. In the two years he played, the team only lost five games. One of his first acting gigs came with his dad as a father/son spokesteam for Kellogg's cereal. And if you're saying,"Hey, Mark Harmon is a TV star, not a movie star!"then you've obviously never seen'Summer School.'
DWAYNE"THE ROCK"JOHNSONPosition: Defensive Tackle
Experience: The Rock started his athletic career at Bethlehem, PA's Freedom High School, competing in football, wrestling and track-and-field. He received a full football scholarship to the University of Miami, playing a part on 1991's national championship team. An injury benched him, and saw him replaced with Warren Sapp. After graduating, he joined the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL, but was cut two months into the season. So he joined the family business instead, becoming arguably the most famous pro-wrestler of all time, and the only one to successfully transfer to Hollywood.
LEE MAJORSPosition:Safety
Experience:The Six Million Dollar Manstarted playing high school football in Middlesboro, KY. He played for Indiana University before transferring to Eastern Kentucky University. Unfortunately, while there he suffered a serious back injury in his first game, ending his college career and paralyzing him for two weeks. But they could rebuild him -- they had the technology. He moved onto studying acting, performing in Kentucky's theater scene. After a brief tour of duty with the newly franchised Boston Patriots, he turned down a tryout with the St. Louis Cardinals, and instead moved to Los Angeles to pursue his acting dream, and become a superhero to any child growing up in the '70s.
ED O'NEILLPosition: Defensive Lineman
Experience: The one-timeAl Bundyplayed for Ohio University on a football scholarship, but after partying too hard and feuding with his coach, he transferred to Youngtown State University. In 1969, he was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as a 15th round draft pick, but was cut during training camp. He had a back-up in place, by enrolling in YSU's new theatre program -- which trained him to invoke the proper gravitas necessary forrecalling the faded glory of his days at Polk High.
RONALD REAGANExperience: At Eureka College in Illinois, the Gipper played football, was captain of the swim team, performed in the theater program and was elected student body president. He might have done some other things after that, but well we don't recall.
Position: Fullback/Halfback
Experience: In his sophomore year at Palm Beach High School, Burt was named First Team All State and All Southern as a fullback. He then took a full scholarship to Florida State University, played halfback and roomed with college football broadcaster Lee Corso. In the first game of the season, he suffered a serious injury; he tried to play through the pain, but a car accident later in the season aggravated the injury, and he was forced to end his college career. It was Reynolds' goal to play football professionally, and he credits his professor, Watson B. Duncan, for tutoring him into acting. He took his football passion to the big screen with movies like'The Longest Yard,''Semi Tough' and'The Longest Yard' (remake). He also co-owned the Tampa Bay Bandits -- inspired by hismovie alter-ego-- in the '80s upstart professional football league, the USFL.
JOHN WAYNEPosition:Guard
Experience:All the way back in 1924,"Duke"was a member of Glendale High School's championship team. He went on to play for USC under coach Howard Jones, who would coach the team to four national championships and five Rose Bowl victories. Unfortunately for Wayne, he suffered an injury bodysurfing on Newport Beach. Too terrified to tell Jones what really happened, he tried to cover it up, but was forced to quit in his second year on the team. Since he was attending USC on a football scholarship, he also had to leave the school. By that point, he had already done a little acting, appearing as a football playing extra in'Brown of Harvard'and 'Drop Kick.'
CARL WEATHERSPosition: Linebacker
Experience: Apollo Creed began his collegiate career playing for Long Beach City College; he didn't actually get to play a game, because he was recuperating from an ankle injury. He transferred to San Diego State University and achieved letterman status two years in a row. He moved on to the NFL, playing for the Oakland Raiders under John Madden, then soon after joined the BC Lions in the CFL. Altogether, he played 26 professional games over four seasons.
FOREST WHITAKERPosition: Defensive Tackle
Experience: The Oscar-winning actor got his football start early, commuting from South Central L.A. to attened Palisades High School. He received a football scholarship to Cal. State Polytechinic University in Pomona, but a back injury forced him to quit playing and focus on music and acting. In a way, we should all be thankful for that injury, because we might have been robbed of his performance as the star player at'Ridgemont High'andthis hilariously painful scene.
пятница, 4 февраля 2011 г.
Nightly News: Ben Affleck Rescues Iranian Hostages; Eva Green Joins 'Dark Shadows'
Jason Segelhas segued easily from 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' to 'How I Met Your Mother' to the upcoming 'Muppets' -- and now he'll play a 1980s'Undercover Cop'for DreamWorks and busy Steven Zaillian's Film Rites shingle (Zaillian, who adapted 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' for director David Fincher and will be fine-tuning the script the new 'Jack Ryan' outing, will produce). Though the studio is mum on the exact nature of the story, the film -- a comedy -- is said to be inspired by the true story of a former cop who infiltrated the New Jersey criminal underworld. {The Hollywood Reporter}
David Chasehas finalized the cast for his untitled film directorial debut: 'Everybody Loves Raymond's'Brad Garretthas signed on for a feature role in the music-driven story set in 1960s suburbia. James Gandolfini, Bella Heathcote, Christopher McDonald, Molly Price and comedian Lisa Lampanelli have already joined the Paramount project, which is set to begin principal photography in New York. The creator and producer of 'The Sopranos' described the film as revolving around"a postwar, post-Depression era parent (Gandolfini) who has given his kid every advantage that he didn't have growing up, but now can't help feeling jealous of the liberated, more adventurous destiny his son is able to enjoy."{Deadline}
DirectorShawn Levywill re-team with his 'Real Steel' starHugh Jackmanon an untitled action-adventure film for Fox that will be written by"Lethal Weapon"and"Lost"writer Carlton Cuse. 'Real Steel,' a futuristic boxing tale about 2,000-pound robot fighters, will open October 7. {TheWrap}
четверг, 3 февраля 2011 г.
Nightly News: Kristen Stewart Is Fairest of All for 'Snow White'
Paramount is back on track with'Jack Ryan.'The stalled film about Tom Clancy's eponymous CIA agent (starring Chris Pine in the role previously filled by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck) is getting a boost by 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' screenwriter Steve Zaillian, who will be re-writing the script for director Jack Bender with shooting to begin soon.{The Hollywood Reporter.}
Kevin Macdonald,director of the Oscar-winning 'One Day in September' and 'Touching the Void,' has signed on to direct'Marley,'a biopic about the famous reggae singer and political activist. The film will be released this fall, in time to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Marley's death.{Deadline.}
'Vice'is good. At least that's what Platinum Studios -- one of the company's involved in the upcoming 'Cowboys& Aliens' -- is hoping for. The firm will team with Andrew Lazar and Top Cow Productions to turn the Top Cow comic into a live action feature film. The story revolves around a group of hard-core teen felons who join the FBI's Critical Response Unit as a way to clear their records. 'Mod Squad,' anyone?{Deadline.}
среда, 2 февраля 2011 г.
Free Movies Alert: Watch 'Gridiron Gang' Online
Dwayne Johnson stars as a detention-camp probation officer who assembles a ragtag group of no-good delinquents into a passably decent football team. (Think 'The Blind Side' meets 'Remember the Titans' meets 'Stand and Deliver.') But the establishment, of course, hates football ... or at least football as played by no-good deliquents who possibly have talent and worlds of potential.
Never seen 'Gridiron Gang'? We'll fix that for you. Watch the entire movie right now, for free. Ready? Set ... hike!