It appears that America had an appetite for evil this weekend as Anthony Hopkins' devlish thriller scared up a number one debut. Elsewhere, horny Natalie Portman tussled with well-armed Jason Statham, as No Strings Attached and The Mechanic came in at two and three, respectively. Your weekend receipts are here.
Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's...the second male lead from The Tudors! After much speculation and gnashing of nerd teeth, Warner Bros. has finally announced that Henry Cavill is Zack Snyder's pick to play the Man of Steel in the new Superman reboot. You might know him from the aforementioned Showtime series, or from the underrated Stardust, or as Stephanie Meyer's rumored original choice to play sullen sparkler Edward Cullen. The internet stands ready to register your applause or disgust, comic geeks. Perfect pick or shady selection? Personally, here at Movieline HQ, we're just happy someone gave the poor sod a break. [ComingSoon]
It is getting harder and harder to remember who actually landed those young Hollywood roles before the Twilight cast came along. Robert Pattinson seems to have worked nonstop for roughly three years now, Taylor Lautner is just seconds away from surpassing Tom Cruise as the go-to-guy for action films and now comes the news that Kristen Stewart is atop the shortlist to play the eponymous princess in the upcoming Snow White and the Huntsman. It's just that the whole thing seems so, well, wrong.
Sending text messages to Radar editor Dylan Howard, Charlie Sheen has broken his silence just as he "voluntarily" heads into drug rehab. And for a guy that had to have emergency hospitalization after days of non-stop cocaine use, Charlie's certainly putting on a sunny face.
The midnight movie crowd at Sundance hooted for the grindhouse pic Hobo with a Shotgun, but it downright fell in love with the charming horror-musical short that played in front of it in a brilliant stroke of spot-on programming. The twists in Jerome Sable and Eli Batalion's 12-minute short The Legend of Beaver Dam are best left unspoiled, but suffice to say it involves a campfire tale, screaming children, plenty of gore, and a metal rock sing-off between a nerdy kid hero and a bloodthirsty killer. Sable and Batalion are supposedly working on a feature along the lines of Beaver Dam, so take a peek at this teaser and keep an eye out for more from these two. [StumpySam.com]
The adventures of hotel-rampaging knife enthusiast Charlie Sheen were bound to come to an end, however briefly, at some point. So, the actor's long delayed entrance into a rehab facility after an epic 36-hour bender came as no surprise to most -- especially the writers of his hit "comedy" series Two and a Half Men. The title of the show's Feb. 7 episode is, eerily enough, "Three Hookers and a Philly Cheesesteak."
So Alex Pettyfer stopped by Ellen this week to promote his movie, I Am Number Four, and the poor guy got badgered into taking off his shirt for his troubles. Now while I'm sure it was all in good fun and discussed to death beforehand by Ellen, her producers and Alex's management, the poor guy looked mortified while he was doing such a creepy stunt. So, let's try a little thought experiment shall we?
That old reliable duo, Anthony Hopkins and Evil, scored a win again as The Rite topped the Friday box office. Meanwhile, Natalie Portman's No Strings Attached humpathon notched a respectable second place in its second week of release, and The Mechanic stalled in third place. Your Friday box office is here.
Mass panic. Political strife. Chaos in the streets. Indelible images of history in the making. And that's just from Park City. Our planet is in trouble this weekend, folks, but if anything can take your mind off the growing discord, it's Movieline's Week in Review. Have a browse through our own recent history form Sundance to the Oscars and beyond, then drop back by tomorrow and Sunday for the calming editorial stylings of Dixon Gaines. We will have peace in our time.
· Pick up your vinyl copy of Snow's "Informer" and prepare to compare the words-per-minute in this rap recap of Dazed and Confused. It gets a little convoluted. [Vulture]
Because if there were, Movieline would be loading up a post full of them aimed at Fox Searchlight's 127 Hours -- our valiant sponsor, and your weekend viewing. At the very least, click on one of their ads. It's the least we can all do to keep the lights on around here. Thanks, Searchlight!
· Charlie Sheen's back in rehab according to new, staggeringly shocking reports. The decision follows a week of woes for the 45-year-old actor, including a cocaine bust, news of porn star parties, and other general Sheenery. Producers of Two and a Half Men also announced the show will be going on hiatus -- until whenever it's most convenient for Mr. Sheen. [TMZ]
Hot on the heels of a warm critical reception in the U.K. come three exclusive stills from the upcoming Keanu Reeves starrer Henry's Crime, a romantic caper about a wrongfully imprisoned man (Keanu, natch) who decides he might as well pull the heist he was accused of upon parole. Hey, why not? Hit the jump for your full look at James Caan, Vera Farmiga, and one of Keanu's brightest scene partners to date!
The Beaver, Jodie Foster's upcoming film which could salvage the image of its controversy-prone lead Mel Gibson, was supposed to premiere this spring at SXSW but a pirated version could be coming to you much sooner. Summit Entertainment sent a DVD copy of the final cut to Gibson's home last night and after viewing, Gibson put the DVD in his mailbox so that a courier could return it to Summit. When the courier arrived, though, the DVD was gone. Please contact the L.A. County Sheriff's Department if you have any information on this theft. [TMZ]
· Kudos to Katie Walsh and Naomi Ekperigin for coming up with the best thing you'll see all day: Black Swanson, a mash-up of the Oscar-nominated Black Swan and Ron Effin' Swanson. Click ahead to enjoy the greatness, then stick around for more Buzz Break.
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