Screenwriters Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant have mastered the art of screenwriting enough to generate twelve figures at the box office (through movies like Night at the Museum, Herbie Fully Loaded and The Pacifier) and in their new book Writing Movies For Fun and Profit: How We Made a Billion Dollars at The Box Office and You Can, Too!, the duo gives aspiring Hollywood scribes tips so that they can do the very same. And it all stems from the simple lesson the duo revealed in a recent NPR interview, during which Garant explained that every movie "is exactly the same" using Die Hard, Night at the Museum, Casablanca and The Matrix as examples.
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It's hard to believe that Hollywood studios are reluctant to make comedies anymore -- after all, three have already been released this summer to big box office -- but that's apparently the case. Citing falling DVD revenues and flagging international grosses, the Los Angeles Times reports that comedy budgets are being slashed around town. "Because of the weakening DVD market, even when we love the material it doesn't make sense for us to make a creatively risky or daring comedy for much more than $25 million," Columbia Pictures president Doug Belgrad said. Comedy writers currently building a set piece around 3-D robots from space, get back to the drawing board. [LAT]
John Malkovich's final scenery-chewing moment in Transformers: Dark of the Moon comes when his spray-tanned character inexplicably challenges Bumblebee to a fist fight, and winds up being tickled by the giant robot on the floor of Sam's apartment. (Seriously.) Thankfully, for fans for Malkovich's particular blend of chomper-centric acting in Dark of the Moon, there could be more of him on the DVD release.
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The poster for the delayed thriller Dream House proves one thing: Daniel Craig keeps improving his Edie Falco impersonation! Note the bothered eyes, the pert lips, and that unrelentingly Falconian nose. He's sure to delight RuPaul under the moniker Carmela Baritone at this point. But that's where the good news ends. Dream House's new art -- which could be an early or unofficial release -- is full of the warped faces and coloring we expect from any spooky drama.
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Also in this Tuesday edition of The Broadsheet: Daniel Radcliffe admits to former Butterbeer problem... Snow White could be a trilogy... Michael Bay "recycles" footage in Transformers: Dark of the Moon... and more ahead.
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Michael Bay's juggernaut of a sequel Transformers: Dark of the Moon didn't just spank Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts at the box office; it handily seized the title of the biggest domestic July 4 opener of all time from previous champ Spider-Man 2 and should hit $116.4M over the four-day weekend for a $181.1M domestic take. On top of that, Transformers 3 is performing even better overseas than in the U.S. of A. -- and it has yet to open in Transformers-loving Japan. Bow to our robot overlords!
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He came back. On July 3, 1991, Terminator 2: Judgment Day arrived in theaters as naked as Arnold Schwarzenegger after time travel and came away with the then-biggest five-day opening in box office history. The James Cameron-directed film earned $54 million over its first five days of release, $3 million more than Tim Burton's Batman grabbed in its first five days back in 1989. Said an anonymous theater owner to the New York Times at the time, "At virtually all our locations, we were selling out well in advance of showings, and the word-of-mouth buzz out there is just phenomenal." Indeed it was: Terminator 2 went on to gross $204.8 million domestically, and over $500 million worldwide. All of which is to say: Happy anniversary to a cultural touchstone!
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It was never if but when -- and by how much -- Transformers: Dark of the Moons would affirm its bulky, sense-shattering supremacy at the holiday box office. After four days of preliminary evidence, its spacious margin of victory becomes ever clearer as the Independence Day frame tumbles further into history. Your weekend receipts are here.
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All hail Megatron! While Transformers: Dark of the Moon earned "just" $33.5 million on Friday night -- 15 percent behind what Revenge of the Fallen grabbed on its first Friday in 2009 -- the Michael Bay-directed explosion orgy is on track to bank $185 million through its first seven days. That might be disappointing, until you consider the foreign grosses, which are expected to top $200 million over the same timeframe. The outlook isn't as rosy for Larry Crowne: the film crashed its moped into fourth place on the chart, and won't top $20 million for the weekend. Your Friday box office is here.
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It's time once again to grab our families, friends, some barbecue, and celebrate that most venerated of American traditions: Movieline's Week in Review. Let's just get right to it -- Independence Day awaits as well! All the best to you and yours for a terrific holiday weekend, and drop back by here throughout the weekend for box-office updates and any other breaking news out of Hollywood. Happy 4th!
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Since arriving in theaters on Tuesday night, Transformers: Dark of the Moon -- the summer's most outsized, eye-popping and/or melting 3-D visual effects spectacle -- has grossed to $64.6 million, commencing what will no doubt be a prodigious (if not record-breaking) holiday box-office reign. And you know what that means: Now it's time to talk it over. [Advisory: Spoilers to follow!]
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Normally, when a film grosses $679,650 on a random Thursday, it isn't very newsworthy. Yet when that film is Bridesmaids, and that $679,650 pushes the film past Knocked Up to make it the highest grossing Judd Apatow production ever, a celebration is in order. So, let's celebrate!
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· From the files of "How did nobody think of this before?": EPIX HD will premiere the William Shatner-directed documentary Captains on July 21. The film will follow Shat as he interviews fellow former Star Trek captains Chris Pine, Patrick Stewart, Kate Mulgrew, Avery Brooks and Scott Bakula. Do your best Shatner impression to celebrate, then click through to watch the trailer. Your Friday Buzz Break is here.
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You may have seen the trailer and stills for Pixar's first fairy tale Brave but that doesn't mean that you know anything more about the film than when it was first announced. A new image of Princess Merida (voiced by Kelly Macdonald) doesn't do much to clear that mystery up... but it is gorgeous. Check it out ahead.
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