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 June, 2006 Archives | Homepage

James Cameron: 3-D Is the Way To Go

Director James Cameron thinks that 3-D can help save movie theaters.
James Cameron, who was showered with Oscars for Titanic and who is directing a science-fiction 3-D film for 20th Century Fox, said that the technology enables cinemas to offer something that home entertainment cannot. "I want to inspire people to come back to cinemas with an experience they can only have there," he said. "Theatre owners, exhibitors and distributors should work to bring a sense of showmanship back to the cinema experience. Cinemagoing won’t go away, but it can get eroded. This is a wake-up call. Are we just going to lie down and let change roll over us, or do something about it?"

The latest 3-D technology boasts an unsurpassed clarity, making audiences feel that they are in the picture. Two reels of film go through the projector and fool the brain into merging them and seeing them in 3-D. Although audiences still have to wear special glasses, advances mean that the eye strain and headaches associated with the green-and-red ones of past decades have been eliminated. Cameron was speaking to The Times yesterday as Superman Returns, directed by Bryan Singer, has become the first live-action picture to have segments converted into 3-D.

Both the 2-D and 3-D versions are being released next month. Some 20 minutes of the film have been converted to 3-D, with visual cues — a green glasses symbol appears at the bottom of the screen — to indicate when to don the aids. On Wednesday night, 450 delegates at a trade conference in Amsterdam were given a preview. They included Dennis Laws, general and technical manager of the Imax cinema in London, which will screen Superman Returns from July 14.

He said: "You felt you were there as part of the action. There are moments when you want to reach out and touch Superman as he whizzes past." But Cameron called for films to be shot completely in 3-D: "Superman was shot in 2-D, and then they dimensionalised part of it. I’m not a big fan of the dimensionalising process. If you’re making a film now, just shoot it in 3-D — not as an afterthought."
Cameron is right: if movie theaters are to compete with home entertainment systems they're going to have to start offering something consumers can't get at home. We're not sure that 3-D is the answer, though. Recent studies have shown that high prices and rude patrons are the main reasons most people skip the theater and wait to see movies on DVD.

Posted on June 30, 2006
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Superman Returns Nabs $21 Million In Wednesday Opener

Variety reports that Superman Returns had a very nice opening Wednesday, making $21 million. No doubt the fourth of July weekend will see the Man of Steel make lots of box office magic.

Movies used to open on Friday. Then we had a few midnight showings on Thursdays. Now we have Wednesday box office and some sneak Tuesday midnight screenings. Does this mean that in five years or so we'll be back to Friday openings, as the opening day moves further and further back in time? We're just asking.

Posted on June 29, 2006
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Swashbuckling Good Time at Pirates of Carribean Premiere

Photo of Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley and Orlando BloomJohnny Depp, Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom strike a pose at the world premiere of Walt Disney Pictures' Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. From all accounts, the premiere was a great deal of fun. Held at Disneyland, the premiere was held in the park iteself, with all the rides open. Keira Knightley threated to ride the flume in her Chanel dress, but let's hope she was kidding.
The event was a virtual redo of the 2003 Disneyland premiere for the first Pirates pic, with a few exceptions — notably the attendance this time of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and first lady Maria Shriver, close friends of the film's producer, Jerry Bruckheimer. Shriver shocked with an eye-popping T-shirt: Michelangelo's David, bedazzled with purple gems over the famed statue's privates.

Outside the park, guests passed picketers from the Caribbean, protesting the film's portrayal of their people as cannibals. "I love that," an unfazed Bruckheimer said. "But the movie's make-believe." Star Johnny Depp made hundreds of fans happy by signing autographs for almost three hours. He then dashed down the carpet, waved to fans and boarded a pirate ship with his co-stars. The ship cruised around Tom Sawyer Island, stopping in front of a giant screen, where the film played until midnight and was followed by a fireworks display.

Screenwriter Terry Rossio revealed the likely title of the third Pirates film, due Memorial Day: At World's End, which ties to the film's cliffhanger ending. "It's the pirates' last stand; the end of an era," Rossio said of the third, which sees the introduction of Chow Yun-Fat as a Chinese pirate. The Caribbean scenes have all been shot, but the cast will reunite in late July and August to shoot interiors. in Disneyland's Pirates ride next year.
Chow Yun-Fat is going to be a Chinese pirate? What a great casting idea; we love it.

(Photo by Eric Charbonneau/WireImage.com)

Posted on June 28, 2006
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Keith Richards Confirmed In Pirates of the Caribbean 3

Photo of Johnny Depp as Jack SparrowIGN Film Force reports that Keith Richards will be appearing in the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie.
Speculation of legendary Rolling Stone Keith Richards joining the cast of the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean sequels has been raging on for more than a year now. Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow character exploded after the first film and Depp admitted that Richards was an influence. When news of the sequels traveled down the pipeline, stories immediately leaked that Richards would be playing the wobbly Captain's papa.

Through the shooting of the sequels, through set visits and early talk with the cast and crew, nothing official was confirmed. IGN FilmForce was able to take in a screening of the film earlier this week. Sadly, no Richards appeared.

So now, with the third film left, we took the question to director Gore Verbinski during our exclusive interview and he finally gave the answer we'd all been waiting for. "Keith is definitely going to be in the third movie… It's a small part, but it's a great part." So is he playing the father of Jack Sparrow? "No comment. To be interpreted."
We love it. But producer Jerry Bruckheimer voiced our worst fears when he noted: "I think we worked out some dates, as long as he doesn't fall out of any more trees..." Stay well, Keith!

Posted on June 27, 2006
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Adam Sandler's Click Is First At Box Office

Adam Sandler's new comedy Click cleaned up at the box office this past weekend, with an estimated take of $40 million. In second place was Pixar's Cars which has made a total of $155,923,000 in the three weeks since its release. In third place this weekend was Jack Black's Nacho Libre, which has earned a very nice $52,659,000 in the two weeks it's been playing.

The big movie news this week is that Superman Returns starring Brandon Routh, Kevin Spacey and Kate Bosworth opens Wednesday, June 28, and on Friday, June 30, we'll be watching Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada. We'll be seeing both films.

Posted on June 26, 2006
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Adam Sandler Hopes to Click With Audiences

Photo from Click starring Adam SandlerAdam Sandler and Kate Beckinsale star in the family comedy Click, which opens nationwide today. In the film Sandler -- an overworked architect -- obtains a remote control device that allows him to control real life. The mad scientist who created the device is Christoper Walken and his wife is Kate Beckinsale.

The reviews so far have been brutal, but we think that the film will do fine. Families seem to be desperate for clean entertainment this summer, and Click should fill the bill. Unfortunately, we feel like we've already seen it because they've been playing the trailer three times before each film. The first time we saw the trailer it looked funny. The 10th time, it made us want to hit "Mute" on our own special remote.

Posted on June 23, 2006
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The Superman Curse

Photo from SupermanIt has long been known in Hollywood that playing Superman has led to a cursed career. But is there really a Superman curse? Or is it all a coincidence? ABC news examines the phenomenon that they call Career Kryptonite.
In comic books, Superman is indestructible. But in Hollywood, it's a role that requires nerves of steel. For many actors, fighting for truth, justice and the American way has been career Kryptonite. Other comic book heroes have been great career steppingstones for young stars. "Spider-Man" raised Tobey Maguire's profile. Michael Keaton proved he was more than a comic actor with his performance in "Batman." But Brandon Routh, the star of "Superman Returns," might want to consider the careers of the other crime fighters who wore the big "S" on their chiseled chests, only to learn that their greatest adversary was not Lex Luthor — it was typecasting.

"Superman is unlike any other superhero. It's kind of like playing God," says movie historian Bob Madison, president of Dinoship publishing. "It's a role the public never forgets, and they may not ever accept you as anything else." Like Routh, Christopher Reeve was largely unknown when he was selected to play the Man of Steel, and the 1978 blockbuster turned him into a major star.

Reeve was well regarded as an actor. But he was so closely identified with his iconic role that it hampered his efforts to be a leading man in a big-budget film. He was largely relegated to "Superman" sequels and work as a supporting player, most notably with Anthony Hopkins in "The Remains of the Day." It's possible that Reeve might have turned his career around had he not suffered a horseback riding accident in 1994 that left him paralyzed in the decade before his death. But at the time of the accident, his acting career clearly was not on the rise.

The prospects were much less promising when other Men of Steel pulled off their tights. Kirk Alyn, the first big-screen Superman, was a rising Broadway star in the early 1940s when he donned the famous blue cape. After "Atom Man vs. Superman" in 1950 — his second turn as the superhero — he found himself out of work, simply because the world wouldn't accept him as anything else.
From George Reevess, who killed himself after he couldn't get another job after playing Superman on TV, to Dean Cain who is still struggling for a comeback in acting, the Superman role really seems to be a dead-end for most actors. Still, let's hope that Brandon Routh -- who takes flight in Superman Returns -- will have a better post-cape career.

Posted on June 22, 2006
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Angelina and Anderson Have A Chat

Photo of Anderson Cooper and Angelina JolieTonight Anderson Cooper inteviews Angelina Jolie on CNN's 360. In the interview, of which some snippets were released beforehand, we learn that the birth of Shiloh Nouvel was "terrifying" but that the doctors were "great." She also talks about World Refugee Day and quite a few other things.
Weeks after the birth of their first biological child, Hollywood stars Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are planning to adopt another. "Next we'll adopt," Jolie told CNN in an interview to be aired on Tuesday. "We don't know which -- which country. But we're looking at different countries. And we're -- I'm just-- it's gonna be the balance of what would be the best for Mad and for Z right now. It's, you know, another boy, another girl, which country, which race would fit best with the kids," she said, referring to her adopted children.

Jolie's adopted daughter Zahara, now about 15 months old, is from Ethiopia, and son Maddox, 4, is from Cambodia. The couple's younger daughter, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, was born on May 27 in Namibia in one of the most highly anticipated celebrity stories of the year. Jolie said she had given birth in Namibia because she loved Africa and had wanted to bring Zahara back to Africa. "My other daughter's African," she said in excerpts of an interview to be aired on CNN's program Anderson Cooper 360. "... And I wanted to take her back to Africa."

Jolie said she was frightened during the birth, which was by Caesarean section because the baby was in a breech position. Pitt was in the operating room for the delivery, she said. "And you know, because you're there for the birth, which I wasn't for my first two kids, you're just suddenly terrified that they're not gonna take a first breath," she said. "That was my whole focus. I just wanted to hear her cry. And I was sure everything would go right -- at the last minute, I became the mother that was sure everything was gonna go wrong. And she's healthy, and it was amazing."

The Oscar-winning actress, who said she gives a third of her income to refugees and other causes, is a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and the CNN interview will be aired on June 20, World Refugee Day. "I had a stupid income for what I do," she said. The money does make a difference and Jolie does see change. She said she feels "lucky" because she is able to visit the places that receive her money. "I can meet some people who say, 'God, we really need a well, or these cars are broken. Or we need something in the camp that's ... at school.' And I can go back a year later and see it built or see the cars."
Wow. She's already thinking about adoping another baby, just three weeks after having Shiloh Nouvel? We're definitely seeing some Mare Winningham tendencies going on here. And on another subject, she looks fabulous, doesn't she?

Posted on June 20, 2006
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Pixar's Cars Wins Weekend Box Office

Pixar's Cars topped the box office this past weekend, bringing its two week total to $114,505,000. Debuting this weekend, Jack Black's Nacho Libre made $27,513,000, with The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift coming in third with $24,056,000. In fourth place was The Lake House starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock with a somewhat disappointing showing of $13,665,000.

In fifth place was The Break-Up starring Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston, which has now taken in a whopping $91,931,000, which is an amazing number for a romantic comedy and nothing but good news for Jennifer Aniston's movie career.

Posted on June 19, 2006
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Keanu and Sandra, Together Again

Photo from The Lake HouseKeanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock's new movie, The Lake House, opens today in wide release. The time-travel romance has an interesting premise and the two stars still have the same excellent chemistry they had in Speed. They talked to Sci-Fi Channel about the film's conceit of sending letters to each other through time.
Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, who reunite as the stars of the upcoming time-travel romance The Lake House, told reporters that they knew the movie might seem dated because their characters communicate via handwritten letters—but both actors said that they preferred that personal form of communication. "I like writing letters," Bullock said in a news conference to promote the film. "We've done that with each other, and plus, he refuses to use a computer, so you can't e-mail him," she added, referring to her onetime Speed co-star.

Despite the high-tech gizmos he's used in science fiction films such as the Matrix movies, Reeves said that he's not computer savvy and prefers typing out letters on a typewriter. "No I don't have a computer," he said. "My friends have computers, and so I kind of ... ask if they can do something for me," Reeves said.

In The Lake House, Reeves and Bullock play characters who inhabit the same cottage separated by two years, but find they can communicate across time by placing letters in the mailbox.

Bullock said that she prefers receiving something tangible in the mail. "[Letters] are historic. You have something in your hands that's tangible. E-mails are kind of like letterwriting, they say, but we edit ourselves so much more. You have to make the effort of writing it out, getting the address and sending it. You then have something to pull out and remember. You can always pull up an e-mail out of the file or print it out and fold it, but it's not the same thing as a letter."
All right, that's it. Keanu's publicist needs to have a chat with him -- pronto. It's really off-putting to say you don't even own a computer these days. Way to really date yourself and turn off those young fans, dude. The other big star to rail against computers and the Internet? Well, that would be Mr. Indiana Jones himeself, Harrison Ford. He told Jon Stewart what a computer illiterate he is.

Although, now that we think about it, Orlando Bloom is another "I don't even know how to turn on a computer" type and he is young and on very much on the A-List. Oh, no, is this the new In Thing? To be hot and a Luddite, too?

Posted on June 16, 2006
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Mission: Impossible III Wins Best Movie Trailer Award

The winners of the Best Movie Trailers have been announced. The 7th Annual Golden Trailer Awards (GTA) is billed as the fastest awards show, and we suppose that's true. The big winner is Mission: Impossible III, which really did have a great trailer. The rest of the winners are: Best Action Winner

Mission: Impossible III, Paramount Pictures, Trailer Park

Best Animation/Family Winner

Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire, Warner Bros., The Ant Farm

Best Comedy

Wedding Crashers "The Masters," New Line Cinema, mOcean

Best Documentary

March of the Penguins, Warner Independent, Mark Woollen & Associates

Best Drama

Good Night & Good Luck, Warner Independent, Hammer Creative

Best Horror

The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Screen Gems, Trailer Park

Best Independent

Transamerica, Weinstein Co., Seismic Productions

Best Music

Happy Feet, Warner Bros., Aspect Ratio

Best Romance

Pride & Prejudice, Focus Features, Mojo

Best Thriller

Match Point, DreamWorks SKG, The Ant Farm

Best Video Game Trailer

The Godfather - The Game, Electronic Arts, Hammer Creative

Best Voice Over

March of the Penguins, Warner Independent, Mark Woollen & Associates

Golden Fleece

Into the Blue, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Intralink & Skip Film

Most Original

Thank You for Smoking, Fox Searchlight, Craig Murray Productions

Trashiest Trailer

Three, The Works, The Editpool

Summer 2006 Blockbuster

Mission: Impossible III, Paramount Pictures, Trailer Park

Best of Show

Mission: Impossible III, Paramount Pictures, Trailer Park

** Special Audience Award for Trashiest Trailer **

Beer League, Artie Lange, Alkemi Entertainment Domino: Teaser 1, New Line Cinema, Skip Film

Posted on June 15, 2006
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Director Uwe Boll Challenges Film Critics To A Duel

Photo from Bloodrayne Uwe Boll is widely known as one of the world's worst directors...after all, who else would have cast Tara Reid as an archeologist? And having just come straight from a viewing of BloodRayne on DVD, well, let's just say that his reputation is intact. Here are a few highlights: Ben Kingsley is a vicious vampire who has a climactic fight with Kristanna Loken who is a half-vampire, half-human. This amazing film also starred Lost's Michelle Rodriguez sporting a British accent and lots of black leather, as well as Meat Loaf in drag cavorting with naked women. Sound like fun? It actually was, for the first two-thirds of the film. But, alas, we hit the last third and somehow the movie just kind of trailed off into incoherency. After her big fight, the heroine just sits there with a blank look on her face while we get a seemingly endless flashback of every body part being cut off, while fake blood spurts everywhere. No resolution. No closure. Nothing. For this we have followed the lithesome Lokanna all over medieval Romania?

We apologize if that summary made absolutely no sense. But, believe us, if you see the film, it will. But back to the Duel of the Ages...
June 12, 2006 -- Vancouver, BC -- We are proud to announce that Dr.Uwe Boll's Bloodrayne starring Kristanna Loken, Michael Madsen, Matthew Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Sir Ben Kingsley, Will Sanderson, Udo Kier, Meat Loaf, Michael Pare & Billy Zane had a successful release May 23rd., 2006 on DVD in both Canada & USA.

Iain Taylor of Vivendi Visual Entertainment Canada stated, "BloodRayne ranked in the top 6 best selling DVD titles during the first part week of sales in Canada (Nielsen Videoscan Canada)." In the USA BloodRayne's DVD performance was even stronger. Tom O'Malley, GM of Vivendi Visual Entertainment (USA), said "For the first time in this industry, a Theatrical Release and the Complete PC Video Game were released together on DVD. BloodRayne ranked in the top 5 best selling DVD titles during its debut week (Nielsen VideoScan USA)." In both countries unofficial DVD rental statistics have proven to be even more impressive.

Again the fans have shown that the critics of Uwe Boll are out of touch with want the general movie audience population wants. Dr. Boll has continually been roasted for the films he has directed and produced. His last two films, House of the Dead & Alone in the Dark, cost $20 million but they have grossed over $110 million to-date. The same negative reactions from some of the same press and the internet critics are now being directed at Uwe Boll's latest film; BloodRayne.

Dr. Uwe Boll has had enough! Uwe Boll's position is "I am fed up. I'm fed up with people slamming my films on the Internet without see them. Many journalists make value judgments on my films based on the opinions of one or two thousand Internet voices. Half of those opinions come from people who’ve never watched my films. I have been told that BloodRayne has a very bad IMDb rating, but how many of those votes of zero were made before the movie appeared in theatres." The criticism goes on and on.

Uwe is now challenging the critics that failed to watch his films prior to reviewing or commenting, "TO PUT UP OR SHUT UP!" On July 17th, 2006 Uwe will start filming his next feature film, Seed, starring Will Sanderson, Ralf Moeller, Michael Pare & Andrew Jackson. Following that film he will go into production in late September with another feature called Postal. Both movies will be shot in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Towards the end of the filming of the Postal the 5 most outspoken critics will be flown into Vancouver and supplied with hotel rooms. As a guest of Uwe Boll they will be given the chance to be an extra/stand-in in Postal and have the opportunity to put on boxing gloves and enter a BOXING RING to fight Uwe Boll. Each critic will have the opportunity to bring down Uwe in a 10 bout match. There will be 5 matches planned over the last two days of the movie. Certain scenes from these boxing matches will become part of the Postal movie. All 5 fights will be televised on the internet and will be covered by international press.

To be eligible you must be a critic who has posted on the internet or have written in magazines/newspapers at least two extremely negative articles in the year 2005. Critics of 2006 will not be considered. Please submit proof of your negative reviews & comments via e-mail to: info@boll-kg.de

All challengers must be healthy males, weighing between 64 kilograms (140 lbs.) and 86 kilograms (190 lbs.). You will require to be physically examined by a doctor and sign the necessary release forms for liability, etc. You will not be paid or entitled to any residuals or fees. Your transportation & hotel costs will be covered.

Dr. Uwe Boll's invitation to fight and/or appear in his film is extended to all his harshest critics. Roger Avary and Quentin Tarantino are among the most eligible candidates.
We won't be accepting the challenge because we feel fairly sure we'll have a prior engagment for whatever the date of the fight is. We did have one positive thing to say about BloodRayne: Kristanna Loken is in excellent shape. (Hat tip to SKNR.net.)

Posted on June 14, 2006
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Eminem: Has Gun, Will Travel

Photo of EminemEminem has finally chosen a film to be a follow up to his acting debut in 8 Mile. The rapper and budding actor will star in a modern remake of Have Gun, Will Travel.
The follow-up to his movie debut in 2002's semi-autobiographical "8 Mile" will find Em shedding the music angle and going straight for drama in a contemporary retelling of the story of Paladin, a literate, rugged professional gunfighter for hire. In the original series, which ran on CBS from 1957-1963, Richard Boone played Paladin as a tough guy who hung around a San Francisco hotel waiting for people to respond to the offer on his business card, which read "Have Gun, Will Travel ... wire Paladin, San Francisco."

Variety reports that the show's concept will be updated to contemporary times and feature Eminem playing a bounty hunter, possibly based out of the rapper's hometown of Detroit. The movie is being produced by Interscope/ Shady/ Aftermath Films, with producer credits going to Interscope boss Jimmy Iovine and Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg.

Rosenberg told Daily Variety that the movie will be a revamp of the original series, with some characters based loosely on ones from the series and a few references to storylines from the original. While the movie will be an action-based drama, Em will likely be involved in either scoring the film or performing on the soundtrack.

There's no definite timetable for the movie, but Variety reports that producers and Paramount Pictures are trying to get it on the fast track. Paramount has been looking for a good "8 Mile" follow-up, and Em and his camp reportedly had a hard time finding something they were happy with. "When this property essentially became available we discussed it and brought it to Marshall and he was very intrigued and excited about the concept," Rosenberg said.
He was really good in 8 Mile and the new film sounds interesting. Still, we'd rather see Em with some longer hair in a real western outfit on a horse. We just know he could play an outlaw and make it work.

Posted on June 13, 2006
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Cars Zooms To First Place At Box Office

Photo from animated film CarsDisney/Pixar's new animated film Cars zoomed to the top of the box office this weekend, making $62,800,000. The reviews for the film weren't great, but desperate parents were thrilled to have a movie they could drag the tots off to for a couple of hours.

The Break-Up starring Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn remained in second place ahead of The X-Men, with a total box office to date of $74,095,000., which is an excellent return for a romantic comedy.

A Prarie Home Companion, starring Meryl Streep and Lindsay Lohan, opened in limited release at 760 theaters nationwide. It made $4,671,000 for the weekend, with a respectable per-theater take.

Posted on June 12, 2006
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Hugh Jackman Replaces Russell Crowe In Aussie Epic

Photo of Hugh JackmanHugh Jackman has been signed to star in a Australian epic starring Nicole Kidman and directed by Baz Luhrmann. Jackman replaces Russell Crowe, who reportedly kept trying to rewrite the script -- although Crowe denies that.
Hot off the blockbuster success of X-Men: The Last Stand, Hugh Jackman has been tapped to take over the role vacated by Russell Crowe in Baz Luhrmann's untitled, long-gestating Gone with the Wind-style Australian-based epic set to begin shooting early next year.

Jackman will play a rough-hewn cattle driver in the World War II-era film. His character strikes up an unlikely romance with an English aristocrat, played by Nicole Kidman, who inherits a ranch the size of Maryland. After English cattle barons attempt to take over her land, the two drive 2,000 head of cattle across miles of unforgiving Outback terrain only to reach the city of Darwin as it's being bombed by the Japanese.

Crowe was essentially scratched from the period piece after his reps were unable to resolve conflicts with the film's backer, 20th Century Fox, which demanded he waive script approval. "Before I could tell them what I thought of the script, they'd moved on," the Oscar winner wrote in an email to Sydney's Morning Herald newspaper. "That's their choice."

Crowe expressed surprise by the decision, noting that when he read the second draft of the script, he thought it was "brilliant." He said he hoped to work with the Moulin Rouge! director in the future. "I love Baz, he's a boy wonder, genius for sure," the actor added. "I trust that Baz will make the movie he wants to make and that's absolutely the way it should be." This is the second time Crowe and Kidman have failed to hook up on the big screen. The duo was slated to costar in Jocelyn Moorehouse's Oz-based romantic drama Eucalpytus, but that project collapsed just before filming was supposed to begin because of problems with the script.
This film needs a title, fast. Somehow "The Australian Gone With the Wind" just doesn't have any pizazz.

Posted on June 9, 2006
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Creepy Omen Box Office Tally Ends in 666

The Omen 666The Omen's 6-6-06 opening resulted in a Tuesday box office record. The creepy Tuesday total even ended in 666. Box Office Mojo reports that The Omen made $12,633,666 at 2,660 theaters. If only it had been 2,666 theaters. That would have been really scary.
The Omen edged out Meet the Fockers by about $4,000 to claim the highest Tuesday gross ever, and the previous Tuesday opening high was Ali, with $10.2 million. Movies generally never open on Tuesdays unless it's around Christmas day, which Ali fell on.

"I was so concerned about it being a Tuesday, but obviously our marketing got the message across," said Bruce Snyder, Fox's president of distribution. "I would have never guessed even $6 million. This was a rather unique circumstance, I think that we created a furor, and I do not expect to see another $12 million today [Wednesday]."

When asked about the Tuesday gross ending in "666," Snyder joked, "I didn't notice that. It's a sign from above." Then, he copped to the fact that it wasn't Satan manipulating the numbers. "We were having a little fun," he said. Another Fox title, X-Men: The Last Stand, had a Tuesday gross that ended in "777," but Snyder said that was coincidental.
The Omen's box office score will probably start to fall now but the marketing strategy clearly helped convince quite a few people to see a scary movie on 6-6-06. BloggersBlog.com has more about what fear of the number 666 is all about.

Posted on June 8, 2006
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Lindsay Lohan Embraces The Prarie Home Companion

Photo from Prarie Home CompanionRobert Altman says the film is about death, but Garrison Keillor says it's funny. But audiences will decide for themselves when the film version of The Prarie Home Companion opens this Friday.
Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations, said Prairie Home should have two built-in audience: fans of Garrison Keillor's show, which draws 4 million listeners each week on more than 580 public radio stations, and fans of Altman's directing.

And having teen queen Lindsay Lohan in the movie is an interesting twist, Dergarabedian said. "Generally speaking, this is not a movie that is going to appeal to younger moviegoers," he said. A Prairie Home Companion combines the cozy-as-a-goose-down-comforter yet sometimes barbed humor of Keillor's long-running radio show with Altman's penchant for rule-breaking cinema. Altman's movie paints a bleak picture of the radio industry, with Keillor starring as the announcer of a folksy musical variety show - much like his own and with the same name - about to be shut down by new corporate owners.

"This film is about death," the 81-year-old Altman said at a news conference also attended by Keillor and many of the movie’s stars at the Prairie Home world premiere May 3 in St. Paul. (Like other Altman films, Prairie Home features an ensemble cast, this time including Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Virginia Madsen, Kevin Kline, Woody Harrelson, John C. Reilly, Tommy Lee Jones and Maya Rudolph.) Keillor, who wrote the screenplay, disagreed with Altman on the movie’s tone. "I don't think it's a dark film. It's a very funny film," Keillor told The Associated Press.

Lohan’s character - a mopey teenager wearing torn jeans - may write poems about suicide, but they're funny and cliched, Keillor said. "But then when a character (in the movie) actually dies, she’s really moved by it, and she's moved to tears - real tears - and 'why are we not talking about this on the air?'" he said.
This film provides Lindsay Lohan to really show her stuff, and the word is that she nails the performance. Lohan has spoken of how much she admires Meryl Streep and that she learned quite a bit from her on the set.

Posted on June 7, 2006
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Jessica Alba Promises Exciting, Hot Fantastic Four Sequel

Photo of Jessica AlbaJessica Alba says that the Fantastic Four sequel is going to be "Exciting, Hot, New and Fresh."
In town for her high-profile gig as host of the 2006 MTV Movie Awards the actress is revealing some big secrets for "Fantastic Four 2," the superhero sequel she'll soon begin filming. And if there's one thing that perks up the ears of the men who've supposedly made her the most Googled woman in history, it's the pairing of the words "revealing" and "Alba."

"I start [filming] on August 28th, I think, through the fall," Alba said of the sequel to last year's blockbuster about a radiation-fueled super-family. "It's going to be a very, very exciting, hot, new, fresh 'Fantastic Four.' We're going to amp up the action, amp up the love interest, amp it all up."

As far as that first count is concerned, look for returning heroes Johnny Storm (Chris Evans), Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis) and Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) to embark on some seriously enhanced action scenes, but it will be Sue whose powers will blow everyone else away. "I'm the most powerful of the four," Alba boasted, saying that the full-blown effects of the first film's hero-making mishap will finally be felt as she takes on the powers of her comrades. "I can kind of do everyone else's powers."

Continuing with all that amping up, "FF2" will once again delve into the complicated relationship between Sue and Reed. In the last film, the sheepish Mr. Fantastic was trapped in a love triangle that had him battling with Dr. Doom. This time around, Alba promises another love triangle, and a new co-star who might be fueling it.

"There is a little tension between the Silver Surfer and Reed," Alba said of the script, which will finally bring the legendary Marvel character to the big screen. The cosmos-roaming Silver Surfer has gained an army of loyal fans with his conflicted, complicated story line. Of the Surfer, Alba said: "He's a little good and a little bad. So it's just a matter of, 'What does Sue Storm bring — the good or the bad — out of that boy?' "
An "amped-up" Jessica Alba? That works for us.

Posted on June 6, 2006
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Jennifer, Vince and The $38 Million Weekend

Photo from The Break-Up starring Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston The Break-Up starring Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn delighted studio heads by bringing in a tidy $38.1 million, making it the #1 movie over the weekend.
The Break-Up had a $38 million opening weekend, compared to 2nd-week-out X-Men 3's $34 mil, Over the Hedge's $21 mil and 3rd-week-out Da Vinci Code's $17 mil. Saturday's box office went up from Friday's: $14.6 for Universal's comedy (Sunday estimate of $9.2 mil), $14.2 for 20th Century Fox's comic book caper (Sunday est. $10.0 mil), $8.8 for Dreamworks/Paramount's toon (Sunday est. $6.1 mil), and $8 mil for Sony's religious thriller (Sunday est. $5.9 mil). Da Vinci was the No. 1 movie again overseas, taking in another $51 mil for an international total of $409 mil.
We're sure it's just a rumor that the "Telly Savalas" is making a big comeback as a result of the film.

Posted on June 5, 2006
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Vince Vaughn's and Jennifer Aniston's Break-up Draws Crowds

The BreakupThe Break-Up starring Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston had a big opening day with its Friday box office score of $13.7 million. The number is especially impressive for a comedy as Deadline Hollywood Daily explains.
Universal's frowns are all smiles Saturday morning. That's because it turns out the Vince Vaughn-Jennifer Aniston comedy that had been tracking less than satisfactorily -- and reviewed even worse, prompting all those showbiz cynics to ask whether Jen can really be a movie star -- is a hit at the box office this weekend. My sources are telling me early numbers say The Break-Up opened with a domestic take of $13.7 million Friday, which is prompting the studio to revise upwards their initial weekend opening estimate of $28 mil to a new estimated total of $38 mil. Who'd a thunk it! For this comedy especially nowadays, that's much more than respectable; that's a miracle. Either Jen has developed a film fanbase, or else Vince is packing 'em in.
These days people seem to be ignoring bad reviews (see here and here) and just seeing what they want. A review from Rolling Stone was one the few good reviews from the mainstream media. Both Vaughn and Aniston have a significant number of fans but Jennifer Aniston has developed a special following since her real-life split with actor Brad Pitt and this may have given the film an extra boost. Jennifer Aniston also looked terrific during a Dave Letterman appearance last week and this may also have helped. The box office success and the recent Gallup Poll results have really given Team Aniston members something to gloat about.

Posted on June 3, 2006
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Liev Schrieber And The Curse Of The Omen

Photo from The OmenSciFi.com reports that the new film, The Omen, may really be cursed.
Liev Schreiber, who stars in the upcoming remake of The Omen, told SCI FI Wire that he had his own encounter with the so-called "Omen curse," which caused him to break a rib during a climactic scene. In the scene, Schreiber's character, Robert Thorn, and a photographer played by David Thewlis are chased through a graveyard by a pair of vicious dogs. "I've always been good with dogs," Schreiber (The Manchurian Candidate) said in an interview.

"So I said I would do this particular stunt. It's the scene where the dog grabs my arm and shakes it back and forth. And although you have a pad on while the dog is shaking your arm like crazy, this was a very smart dog. He knew that he couldn't get through to my skin, but that he could see the steel fence I was on. So he probably thought, 'If I just wait a little bit until he's off balance, I can pull him towards me and smash his ribs into the fence!' So he got me! And I thought, 'The curse of The Omen!'"
The Omen opens in wide release on -- of course -- 6-6-06.

Posted on June 1, 2006
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