The critics of the world tried their best to dissuade audiences from seeing The Hangover Part II, but it seems no one listened. After gobbling up $10.4 million from midnight showings on Thursday, the Todd Phillips-directed sequel earned another $20 million to push its opening day tally to $30 million. That puts the film on pace to earn $125 million through Memorial Day. It took the first film 18 days to reach that mark in 2009. [Deadline]
More than three years after reports first surfaced of Terrence Malick, Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain and the extended Tree of Life family shooting their film in small-town Texas -- and a year after Tree flirted with entering the Cannes Film Festival competition it would ultimately win last weekend -- the most anticipated movie of, like, 2009 finally reaches theaters today. And while it's hardly uncommon for Malick to take his time editing, it is bracing to have a photographic record of how much some things have changed since early 2008. Specifically: the kids.
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Not to be outdone by the bulging casts of Oz: The Great and Powerful and The Hunger Games, the Rashida Jones-scripted Celeste and Jesse Forever has continued to lengthen its roster of talent. Elijah Wood is the latest addition, joining Jones, Andy Samberg, Ari Graynor, Emma Roberts and Chris Messina in the film. The former Hobbit will play the metrosexual BFF for Jones' character, Celeste. [THR]
Now that Lionsgate's Hunger Games casting roll-out is juuuuust about done (where art thou, President Snow? [UPDATE: There you are!]), Movieline has assembled the cast members of Gary Ross's YA now-filming novel adaptation for your perusal. After the jump, behold the faces of District 12 heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and her friends, family, fellow fresh-meat tributes, and key players.
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The latest definition of critic-proof? Try The Hangover Part II. The Todd Phillips-directed sequel is currently rocking a mere 32 percent Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and yet headed for at least $100 million at the box office over Memorial Day weekend. Sorry, critics! It seems you can't account for taste -- or the need for audiences to see Ed Helms with a face tattoo. Ahead, the nine most scathing reviews of The Hangover Part II.
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Also in this Friday getaway edition of The Broadsheet: Michael Mann will Go Like Hell... Kenan Thompson gets a big screen break... John Cho has some Total Recall... and more ahead.
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The saucer-eyed dreamchildren of Super 8 are still not over this train accident. Instead of finding a responsible teacher, wiping their tears on that teacher's magenta blazer, and reporting the news, they're now standing together and holding hands like cover art on a Hootie single. It's a little inspiring. And a lot cloying. But I think this movie is supposed to be both those things.
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Hollywood has a habit of tapping unrealistically attractive actors to play onscreen outcasts, like in I Am Number Four (available on DVD and Blu-ray this week from DreamWorks), which boldly appointed bad boy Adonis Alex Pettyfer as its alien loner and blonde beauty Dianna Agron as his nerdy shutterbug crush. In honor of these ironic casting choices, Movieline has compiled nine other knockouts that played high school outsiders.
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The news of The Hangover Part II's $10.4 million midnight haul was the latest evidence of the R-rated comedy tentpole's freakish ownership over the approaching Memorial Day weekend. But $100 million for the five-day frame? We're getting into some uncharted territory here. Let's get our bearings in the latest edition of Weekend Forecast.
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I doubt it. On Twitter right now there's a trending meme called "#lessinterestingbooks" where Twitter users contribute little puns on book titles that sound like (watch this) less interesting versions of the original. Funny funnery. Things like "Their Eyes Were Watching Paint Dry," "Harry Potter and the Order of Takeout," etc. Since we don't read no books at Movieline, we've come up with a few #lessinterestingmovies and would like to challenge you formally to a duel of funny. Come along.
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While most of the world counts down the days until the November release of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part I, Robert Pattinson is busy filming David Cronenberg's drama Cosmopolis. Adapted from the Don DeLillo novel of the same name, the film stars Pattinson as a billionaire who embarks on a 24-hour trek around Manhattan. Take a look at the first photo of the Twilight star and his apparent lady interest (Sarah Gadon) ahead.
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Man, directors are dropping like flies out of high profile projects these days. Hot on the heels of David O. Russell's departure from Uncharted: Drake's Fortune comes news that Albert Hughes is leaving Warner Bros.' Akira adaptation. Chime in with your favorite proposed Akira director below, but consider the bigger question for now: Just what kind of Akira movie does Warner Bros. want to make?
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Look, it's too easy to get exercised about the proliferation of luxury gift bags at awards shows and their free distribution to multimillionaire celebrities. Families from Joplin to Japan recently lost everything they own in disasters lasting mere minutes, and here we are receiving press releases about the new "custom-designed 2011 MTV Movie Awards gift bag for celebrity nominees, presenters and performers attending the live event." That's life, I'm afraid. But as we all rummage through its high-end contents, maybe the question to ask ourselves is: "How much of this crap would I actually want?"
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First Darren Aronofsky leaves a big budget project he didn't seem like a natural fit to direct, and now David O. Russell. Variety reports that Russell has bolted from the Sony-produced adaptation of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune over the dreaded "creative differences." The film -- which is based on a treasure hunting video game -- was rumored to co-star Mark Wahlberg, Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. Looking forward to the "shortlist" of possible replacements! [Variety]
In the past month, 20th Century Fox has chucked countless X-Men: First Class promotional materials at the public. Trailers, TV spots, posters, strange insurance commercials and over 50 stills came and went leaving audiences with one lasting impression: Fox is really pushing the film's sexuality -- particularly that of lingerie-clad January Jones -- to sell tickets come June 3.
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