· George Hickenlooper and Kevin Spacey's Casino Jack has reportedly found a U.S. distributor, and if you even had Metropolitan Inc. anywhere on the list of contenders, then my name is Kanye. According to our sister site, the biopic about disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff will roll out this fall (obviously) with a healthy marketing commitment (obviously) and awards campaign (of course). Movieline's exclusive review of the film suggests Barry Pepper might wind up in the running for something; it's in Metropolitan's hands now, for what that's worth. It's no Harvey. {Deadline]
More indie pickups snag 50 Cent and a Sundance winner, a Cronenberg sequel takes (very raw) shape, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.
more »
We've extolled the merits of Aussie crime drama Animal Kingdom, which was picked up by Sony Pictures Classics after it won the Sundance's World Cinema Jury Prize. Now the distributor -- which in recent years has also taken a chance on Down Under flicks Jindabyne, Gabriel, and Introducing The Dwights -- is to release Red Hill, an antipodean "neo western", despite both The Hollywood Reporter and Variety prognosticating after its Berlinale premiere that the pic would be unlikely to travel far beyond its home shores.
more »
· There are tears in Middle Earth today. We were only rocking out last week to Leonard Nimoy's Hobbit ode and now it seems that's what we'll have to content ourselves with that a little bit longer as The Hobbit's start date is pushed from July to the end of the year. Turns out the Internet got Peter Jackson right in the first place.
Cheer up, though, because after the jump The Smurfs movie sexes it up, Madonna visits the cinematic sins of the mother on her offspring and Greed is Gallic as the Croisette meets the Street.
more »
That this year's Visual Effects Oscar was going to Avatar was a done deal from the moment Jake Sully floated out into 3-D zero gravity. But what had gadget-minded geeks excited was the Samson-versus-Goliath sight of James Cameron's big-budget behemoth and J.J. Abrams' similarly mega-monied Star Trek competing for the statuette against District 9, the comparatively pocket-change production that sweetly beat Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen to a nomination. This, it was shouted, would soon put complicated special effects spectacles into the hands of the people! And now that time might already be here -- at least if the hype surrounding Project London is to be believed. But how does the teaser for this no-budget, crowd-sourced alien-invasion epic stack up, not just as a preview but as the first shot in a revolutionary war to topple that most sacred of Hollywood tentpoles?
more »
A fanboy favorite is born... just 340 or so years from now! Plus, the shocking Oscar joke that tripped up Fred Astaire and The Tonight Show's host calls its quits... for the second time.
more »
When Matt Damon agreed to accept a lifetime achievement award from the American Cinematheque at the ripe old age of 39, he must have known that the ceremony honoring him would look more like a roast then a respectful fete. That's exactly what went down yesterday night, as a cavalcade of stars (sans drunk Aunt Julia, sadly) took to the stage to poke fun at Damon's age and more embarrassing flops. Here are five of the best zings:
more »
J.D. Shapiro has something he'd like to get off his chest (and no, it's not a body thetan): he was the screenwriter of Battlefield Earth, and he'd like to apologize for it. Shapiro has taken to the New York Post to explain how the misbegotten John Travolta vehicle came about almost a decade ago, and it had everything to do with his libido and a Scientologist's love for his masterful work scripting Robin Hood: Men in Tights:
more »
Several key scenes from the script to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 leaked onto the internet yesterday. What will you find if you click on the link? Death, dismemberment, and a scene with eight naked Daniel Radcliffes. It's what postproduction 3D was invented for! [ONTD]
I can't claim to know what Katy Perry was doing at the Kids' Choice Awards last night (apparently, she has taught little girls that the best way to get that mean boy to stop teasing you is to make out with little Katelynn, in front of him), but she certainly provided the ceremony with its most instantly viral moment: a full-force jet of green slime to the face that knocked the Smurfs voice actress over and recreated in live action something I've only seen before in Japanese anime. Disney stars, you dodged a bullet. Watch the moment on a loop after the jump:
more »
Were any of the new entries at this weekend's box office breathing fire, or will they have to teleport back to the 80's to avoid embarrassment? The boombox is thumping with the news of some weekend receipts.
more »
Tom Hanks has completed casting for the next movie he'll star in and direct, Larry Crowne, and he'd like to share with you the full cast of actors. The thing is, he's done it via a TwitPic of the casting wall, and you're left to ID the stars via their headshots. Let's play, shall we?
more »
When word came from the set of The Sorcerer's Apprentice that there was one car accident after another while shooting, you'd be forgiven for thinking, "Car accidents? I mean, I know it's a Bruckheimer movie, but I thought this would just be about Nicolas Cage wearing a funny wizard hat and shooting some CG fireballs." Now, the full trailer for the film can reveal the bigger picture: It's like Gone in 60 Seconds, but with Nicolas Cage wearing a funny wizard's hairpiece and shooting some CG fireballs.
more »
As had been recently rumored, Bryan Singer just vacated the director's chair of X-Men: First Class due to outstanding commitments to helm Jack the Giant Killer next. Because Fox is the studio behind the project, they're determined to hire a new director immediately instead of waiting for Singer to become available. (Hitfix's Drew McWeeny said the studio has already met with two potential fill-ins, but declined to actually name them.) Hey, why not Sofia Coppola or Stephen Daldry? I hear they're the hot new action directors on the block. [Deadline, Hitfix]
Here's something that might momentarily pause the rush to 3D: The well-reviewed DreamWorks/Paramount flick How to Train Your Dragon performed at the low end of expectations yesterday with a $12 million take, owing perhaps to the stubborn stranglehold that #2 Alice in Wonderland still has on 3D screens. In the third spot was Hot Tub Time Machine with a modest $4.85 million. Were you to travel back to the 80s with that number and factor in higher ticket prices and inflation...well, you don't want to know. Full figures after the jump:
more »
Nerds in love? it could happen when The Big Bang Theory adds erstwhile Blossom star Mayim Bialik to the show's season finale. She'll play a potential love interest for the so-far sexless Sheldon, played by Jim Parsons, and Michael Ausiello describes the character as a female version of the character. No word yet on whether her backstory includes a slight autism that's lent itself to meticulous hat collecting. [EW]
