Surprise! (?) After all that speculation and hand-wringing over Super 8's prospects, the underexposed tribute to summer glories past emerged as something of a summer glory itself. Meanwhile the cluster of blockbuster veterans around it held on in the top five, and at least one wipeout was had by a young lady named Judy Moody. Your Weekend Receipts are here.
Another Saturday, another Cameron Crowe-provided picture from the set of We Bought a Zoo. This weekend, the Twitter happy director offers a look at Super 8 star Elle Fanning laughing with Patrick Fugit. Perhaps Dakota's little (and more talented?) sister just then realized that she's gotten to work with Crowe, J.J. Abrams, Sofia Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola, and David Fincher thus far in her career, and reacted with sheer joy? Or maybe Fugit told a dirty joke. Either way. Click through for a look.
The films of John Hughes belong to a class of nostalgia and greatness all their own, but 25 years on, Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a particularly universal moment of brilliance in the late director's career. On June 11, 1986, the Matthew Broderick vehicle about delinquency, high school malaise, and budding adulthood opened in theaters, and now, Movieline is thrilled to rehash its most underrated moment.
There's that news van again. Again. The hilariously ubiquitous Jeremy Renner has made a deal with Paramount to produce and star in Slingshot, a rally racing film about real-life driver Bill Caswell. Renner will produce the film from his new company The Combine, which is also producing that Steve McQueen biopic he is hoping to make. Dude's busy. [Variety]
After a week of teeth-gnashing from box office Cassandras, it appears Super 8 will open to pretty much what should have been expected from the non-franchise film. The J.J. Abrams-directed throwback earned $12 million on Friday night (plus another $1 million from Thursday's sneak previews) and could get to $35 million for the weekend. Elsewhere on the charts, X-Men: First Class suffered a big Friday to Friday drop (65 percent), but is closing in on $100 million, while The Hangover Part II and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides each cracked $200 million. Click ahead for your Friday box office.
Big reveals, mildly scandalous controversies, a delicious bit of vampire honeymoon sex and a heaping of good, old fashioned nostalgia dominated the week here at Movieline HQ. Speaking of nostalgia, it's never too early to look back on our favorite top stories, right? RIGHT! Take a trip down memory lane and relive this week's biggest moments as if they hit the web only yesterday. Go on, embrace the sentimentality. Consider it Movieline's way of celebrating the the past, a la J.J. Abrams and his childhood wage labor overlord.
Shortly after hearing that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is in talks to join Channing Tatum in Jon M. Chu's G.I. Joe sequel, word comes that Elodie Yung, the badass French actress from District 13: Ultimatum, is also circling a role.
Great news for those hotly anticipating Joe Cornish's SXSW fave Attack the Block: Sony/Screen Gems will release the U.K.-set street kids vs. aliens pic in limited release July 29. Until then, lucky fans in select cities can try to catch one of the sneak screenings that have helped Attack the Block build a grassroots movie geek following thus far. Just remember: Your geek cred demands that you see this film as soon as possible. [Box Office Mojo via Collider]
Not to worry, Barry Levinson's still hard at work hammering that Gotti: Three Generations biopic into something that's starting to kinda-sorta resemble The Godfather, depending on how much you buy into Levinson's hype. But first, Deadline reports, Levinson and Gotti co-star Al Pacino (who most recently teamed up on the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning You Don't Know Jack) will film their adaptation of Philip Roth's 2009 erotically-tinged novel The Humbling. Cue the sexy sexagenarian shenanigans!
Earlier on Friday, we told you about Warren Beatty's vague proposal to make "another" Dick Tracy film, presumably a sequel to the 1990 blockbuster that featured Warren Beatty, Madonna, and a terrifyingly fishy Al Pacino. The idea provokes several questions: Will Beatty still star? Will any of the original stars return? Will the movie fit comfortably alongside the dark, dystopian flair of the newer Batman films? And most of all: Who most deserves to play Dick Tracy? We're picking our five most ideal choices to play the slickster in the slicker, and they're all worthy of Breathless Mahoney's smolder.
Although today's new releases Super 8 and Road to Nowhere couldn't be farther apart in terms of budget, genre, tone, influence and spirit, they do have one striking theme in common: At heart, they are both about the sacrifices, struggles and adventures encountered by artists who make movies. They are the latest in a long tradition of films about films -- and film love -- that Movieline's S.T VanAirsdale and Christopher Rosen surveyed for the occasion.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter in the wake of Kung Fu Panda 2's disappointing box office performance, DreamWorks Animation head Jeffrey Katzenberg had some choice words for those other studios that have dropped the ball on 3-D theatrical releases. "We're not the problem," he said, pointing non-specifically to competing 3-D releases that have turned audiences off the 3-D viewing experience, ruining it for everyone. So, who is?
If you're not planning on seeing the tepidly received Super 8 this weekend, you should hop on the fastest shuttle to Washington D.C. to see Tommy Wiseau perform a livereading of The Room. "Livereading" means live, guys. In person. With costar Greg Sestero. Who, in case you missed the announcement, is writing an incredible-sounding book called Locked Inside 'The Room'. Get this: Locked will chronicle of the film's production, release, and eventual status as the greatest cult film ever. Click through for specifics from Wiseau's "best friend extraordinaire."
In this weekend's Super 8, writer/director J.J. Abrams harkens back to the seminal films from his idol Steven Spielberg to create a breath of fresh air in this summer of superheros and sequels. How did the the Los Angeles-raised cinephile transform himself from the guy who wrote the forgettable '90s comedy Taking Care of Business to an Emmy-winning Spielberg collaborator who has succeeded in both television and film, all while maintaining one of the most loyal followings in Hollywood? You can always trace a direct line through a few important projects to illustrate what led to a filmmaker's current success. As such, let's look at nine pivotal credits that track the evolution of J.J. Abrams.
It looks like Adam Scott will use his time off from Parks & Recreation to further his big screen career. Everyone's favorite everyman has been cast in two upcoming comedies: My Mother's Curse opposite Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand, and See Girl Run with Robin Tunney. That sound you just heard was a squeal of delight emanating from Movieline HQ. [THR/Risky Business]
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