In case you were wondering how Twentieth Century Fox planned on selling the McG-directed This Means War -- about two CIA operatives (Chris Pine, Tom Hardy) who fall in love with the same woman (Reese Witherspoon) -- the film's new release date should give you a hint. War will hit theaters on Feb. 17, 2012 -- right after Valentine's Day. See explosions with someone you love! [Variety]
Somehow, I have never seen a Scream movie before, well, right now. Over the course of the day I will be watching all three films leading up to Tuesday night's New York preview screening of Scream 4 (or, Scre4m, for those of you that are hip). And I will liveblog the entire experience right here because, well, why not? I'll be checking the comments if you have any words of explanation, encouragement or scorn. OK, let's start this thing with the original Scream.
Michael Angarano has been acting since the age of six, so you could take his collective filmography, as he jokes, as a "well-kept home video" of his life captured on screen. For much of that documented life he's been a steadily-rising young performer amassing a wide range of credits (Almost Famous, Sky High, The Forbidden Kingdom, Gentlemen Broncos), but 2011 marks an important turning point; with roles in Max Winkler's Ceremony (in theaters), Gavin Wiesen's Homework, Steven Soderbergh's Haywire, and Kevin Smith's Red State, Angarano is in the midst of carving out a fascinating adult career for himself.
Also in this Tuesday edition of The Broadsheet: Alec Baldwin and Woody Allen team up once again... Another original American Pie cast member heads to Reunion... the 24 movie gets an update... and more ahead.
Studio 360's Kurt Anderson recently got a hold of a list of all books, movies, short stories, plays and TV shows that director Steven Soderbergh has taken in over the last year. Since Soderbergh is arguably one of the most interesting and successful working (though not for much longer), it's fascinating to get a glimpse into his cultural consumption; unlike some filmmakers, Soderbergh doesn't live in some sort of cultural bubble, but rather reads constantly and watches (then rewatches) movies obsessively. Take a look at nine fun facts about Soderbergh based on the list after the jump.
The trailer made it look like Thor was mostly about Chris Hemsworth fighting huge monsters. But every clip that Paramount releases makes the movie look like a comedy about a guy who brags about his strength and power, only to get knocked out by a puny weapon. That movie actually sounds kind of fun! Last week we saw the mighty Thor face off against a wrathful, unforgiving taser. Now watch him meet the hypodermic needle of doom. Oh right, you also get a decent glimpse of Hemsworth's butt. Enjoy!
Writing from the set of The Hobbit, Peter Jackson took to Facebook Monday to blog his thoughts on filming at 48 frames per second -- the increased frame rate championed by folks like James Cameron, who will use it to blow minds in Avatar 2 and 3. Jackson is currently filming The Hobbit in 3-D at 48 fps instead of the industry standard 24 fps, and as a result, the Lord of the Rings follow-up will be the first wide release to pave the way into a brave new digital world of filmmaking -- whether or not theaters around the world are ready for it.
Nobody wants to call it a "remake," but if it walks like the original source material and quacks like the original source material... Matt Reeves (Cloverfield), who handily re-imagined John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel Let the Right One In into the 2010 film Let Me In, is writing and will direct a script based on Ray Nelson's short story 8 O'Clock in the Morning, which was previously adapted into John Carpenter's 1988 horror comedy They Live. Reeves' version, it's noted, will not feature alien-spotting sunglasses and probably won't star "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. See, totally different! [Deadline]
It's a question any fan should be asking of venerable actor, bon vivant, and Inside the Actor's Studio host James Lipton: "What would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates and have to explain that one time you mounted the stage as part of Charlie Sheen's train wreck of a one-man show?" Because that's exactly what our favorite man of words and theater did Sunday night at Radio City Music Hall, where he and fellow special guest Darryl Strawberry (hey, why not?) helped Sheen earn a standing ovation. Video evidence after the jump.
Last week, Apple enthusiasts made the terrifying discovery that some iPhone 4 devices were surreptitiously taking photos of their users, then posting said spy pics during FaceTime calls without having been told to do so. Have smart phones become too smart? Is our collective dependence on rapidly evolving technology setting the stage for a SkyNet future? Movieline revisits the sinister history of gadgets and technology gone wrong in the movies for clues as to where and when the robot wars might begin -- and, hopefully, how humanity might be able to fight back.
Just this morning, Movieline offered a Two-Minute Verdict to Mickey Rourke and Megan Fox's limited release trainwreck Passion Play. A few hours later, a reader over at The Playlist noticed that amidst all of the carnival settings, angel wings and Bill Murray gangster speak, The Wrestler star is misidentified as an Oscar winner instead of nominee. But really, who can blame Image Entertainment for trying to give Mitch Glazer's long-delayed directorial debut some more credibility Click through for the freeze frame.
Over the weekend, Your Highness, to put it bluntly, tanked. With a budget somewhere in the range of $50 million and a recent Oscar winner and Oscar nominee headlining the cast (to say nothing of Pineapple Express director David Gordon Green behind the camera), the Universal comedy couldn't do better than a sixth-place finish. Couple that with terrible reviews, and you've got yourself a nice little disaster. But what will be the fallout to the major players involved? Let's take a look.
No offense to David Slade or Robert Schwentke, but this is how you get a fanbase excited again for The Wolverine: Over the weekend in London, Source Code director Duncan Jones said he has met with Twentieth Century Fox about replacing Darren Aronofsky at the helm of the Adamantium-covered next chapter in the X-Men franchise. Whether he takes over, however, remains to be seen.
Hello, Scream fans! On Tuesday night, I'm scheduled to attend an advanced screening of Scream 4, which presents a bit of a problem: I've never seen a Scream film. To rectify that cultural blind spot, some massive cramming is in order; in the spirit of Movieline's Harry Potter liveblog experiment, yours truly will spend Tuesday afternoon (starting at 11 a.m. EDT) watching all three Scream movies right here! The good news is that I rather enjoy the work of Drew Barrymore, so I'm quite happy to see that she plays a major role in the franchise. What?
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Breaking Moon Dawn) is sure to rewrite lunar history for the next 25 generations, so we may as well acknowledge its new screencap with stars Shia Labeouf and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and write a caption for it. Look at the terror on poor Shia's face. Disturbia! It can creep up inside you and consume you!
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