Ben Affleck Goes For Gracious Post-Oscar Passover

"I would like to thank the Academy… I'm kidding, I'm kidding. This is the one that counts," joked Ben Affleck Thursday night at the Critics Choice Awards, accepting his Best Director prize at the event hosted by the Broadcast Film Critics Association. If Affleck was more than simply disappointed by being passed up by the Academy in the Best Director category for Argo in yesterday's Oscar nominations, he didn't show it at last night at the event.
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Christopher Nolan To Direct 'Interstellar': Peep The Science Behind The Wormhole Sci-Fi Pic

Nolanites, prepare to get really nerdy: Per THR, Christopher Nolan is in talks to direct and produce Interstellar, scripted by brother Jonathan Nolan, AKA the 2001-esque project that Steven Spielberg was once attached to which "involves time travel and alternate dimensions in a story that sees a group of explorers travel through a wormhole."
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Spielberg's 'Robopocalypse' No Longer Nigh, Spring Shoot Postponed

WhileLincoln campaigns hard for Oscar gold (and still racks up box office cash), Steven Spielberg has decided not to shoot his sci-fi blockbuster Robopocalypse in the spring as planned, multiple outlets report. The question is, will Spielberg — who notoriously told 60 Minutes he could direct another action movie in his sleep, as evidenced by Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, zing! — stay onboard in the director's chair or take up another project in the meantime?
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Museum To Fete Martin Scorsese In Retrospective

Martin Scorsese fans in America will have to take a trip to Germany to get a glimpse of Scorsese artifacts and history first-hand. A Berlin Museum will host an exhibition of all things Scorsese, opening the show just weeks before next month's 63rd Berlin International Film Festival.
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Josh Brolin Joins Robert Rodriguez And Frank Miller's 'Sin City: A Dame To Kill For'

Oscar-nominee Josh Brolin is joining the cast of the next Sin City, joining fellow cast members Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Jaime King, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and more.
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R.I.P. David R. Ellis: 'Snakes On A Plane' Director, Action Vet Dead At 60

Director David R. Ellis has died, reports Deadline, on the cusp of production for his next film, the live-action anime adaptation, Kite. The actor, turned stuntman, turned second unit whiz, turned feature director, who made his directorial debut with 1996's Homeward Bound 2, before finding his niche with crowd-pleasing genre fare from Final Destination 2 to Snakes on a Plane and last year's Shark Night 3D, was 60 years old at the time of his death.
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Tom Six And Dieter Laser Squash Beef, 'Human Centipede 3' Is A Go

Oh, good: The legal battle that threatened to derail the illustrious "people stitched together" Human Centipede series has been settled, enabling director Tom Six and franchise star Dieter Laser to move forward in the name of art on The Human Centipede 3. (Guess that answers this question... or does it?) According to EW, with a peaceful accord achieved in the Human Centipede universe, Six and Laser are now moving forward on the third and most extreme pic in the franchise to date, which will culminate in the groundbreaking 500-person centipede chain audiences have been clamoring for.
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Guillermo Del Toro Confirms He Was Asked To Helm 'Star Wars: Episode 7'

Brace yourselves, people: in an alternate galaxy far, far away, there is a Guillermo Del Toro-helmed Star Wars film in development.

Rampant speculation being the most powerful side effect of the Living Force, it's no wonder that last year's shocking news that we'll soon all be watching – and probably complaining about – Star Wars: Episode 7 has resulted in endless guessing from the Jeditariat. When we're not gushing about possible plot points, or the fact that the new film might feature a female lead. We're talking about the most common subject of baseless and not-so-baseless guesswork: Just who will be directing it?

With George Lucas retiring, the possibility of a somewhat clean slate for the Star Wars universe after the mess made of it by the prequel trilogy is enough to make even the most bitter ex-fan drool. In the weeks after the initial announcement of Episode 7, several directors were consistently mentioned as potential hirees. At the time it seemed like nothing more than wish fulfillment fantasies and baseless rumor, but it's beginning to look as though the rumored names reflected very real prospects.

One of the most frequently mentioned names was Pan's Labyrinth and Pacific Rim director Guillermo Del Toro. In November, Del Toro outright denied having been approached by Disney, but speaking this week to The Playlist he finally confirmed that he was, in fact, asked if he'd like the job. “We got one phone call to my agent saying, 'Is Guillermo interested?',” the director said. “And basically I have so much stuff already of my own, and I'm pursuing stuff that I'm generating already..."

He offered no other comment, aside from affirming that he'd love to see Brad Bird take the job, but in saying no to Star Wars, Del Toro is in good company. JJ Abrams recently revealed that he, too, turned down the chance to take over Star Wars, in his case because, as he put it, he's too big a fan to want to do anything more than watch the new films in theaters. Whether true or not, it's interesting that now two of the most obvious names-out-of-a-hat have said no to Star Wars 7.

Though Episode 7 is almost certainly racing into preproduction, Disney has not yet announced a director. Whether this is because they haven't hired one, or because the same CIA-levels of secrecy they employed to keep the purchase of the franchise a secret for more than a year are in full force now, I prefer to believe that the will of The Force is behind everything. (Flash Gordon director Mike Hodges for Episode 7, anyone?)

[via The Playlist]

RELATED ARTICLES:

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Woody-Wan Kenobi? 'Toy Story 3' Writer Hired For Next 'Star Wars' Trilogy Treatment

WATCH IT ON YOUTUBE: The Real Reason Guillermo del Toro Turned Down Star Wars 7

Ross Lincoln is an LA-based freelance writer from Oklahoma with an unhealthy obsession with comics, movies, video games, ancient history, Gore Vidal, and wine. Follow him on twitter (@rossalincoln).

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J.J. Abrams Gives Fan With Cancer A Way Early Sneak Of 'Star Trek Into Darkness'

Combine a kind heart and the power of social networking and sometimes, the proverbial mountain will go to Muhammad. That was the case recently when director J.J. Abrams granted a dying cancer patient the chance to see Star Trek Into Darkness months before the feature is set to head into theaters.
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Quentin Tarantino Wants To Work With Johnny Depp If He Writes 'Right Character'

Even as he anticipated the sunset of his filmmaking career recently, Quentin Tarantino is looking ahead to who he'd like to work with, and Johnny Depp tops the list. The Django Unchained director said he'd like Depp to star in a future pic, but will only cement plans once he's written the perfect part for the Pirates of the Caribbean actor.
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'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' Tops Most Anticipated Blockbusters For 2013

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and Iron Man 3 are among the most anticipated blockbusters of 2013. That is the result of survey of over 2,000 film fans by online movie ticketing site Fandango, which asked users their picks for the new year.
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The Time Joel Silver Destroyed A $5K Couch During The Filming Of 'Die Hard'

We all know producers can be a bunch of real, ah, prickly people. They kind of have to be, since their job, so long as it's their actual job and not just a title given to them because they invested a couple of mil into the production, is to make sure everything goes smoothly, the film stays within budget, and the money isn't wasted on limos when it could be wasted instead on expensive CG effects that look completely dated within 3 years*. As a result, these guys tend to be blunt as hell and not afraid to hurt some mothaf*ckin' feelings when they rolling deep through the movie hood, as it were.
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'The Hobbit' Perched Atop The Box Office Again

Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey surpassed the competition at the box office over the long New Years weekend, outgrossing powerhouse newcomers Django Unchained and Les Misérables in their first full weekends in theaters.

The first installment of the Hobbit trilogy grossed a chart-topping $48.3 million in the Friday to Tuesday holiday period in 4,100 theaters. That was nearly $3.788 million more than the overall box office's runner-up, Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained, though it should be noted that that title screened in 1,090 fewer theaters. The result is that Django scored the highest per screen average among the top 10, with $14,788 vs. The Hobbit's $11,780. Django grossed $44.513 million over the long weekend.

Fellow Christmas opener Les Misérables took in $41.14 million over the five-day holiday, placing third and a strong $14,620 average.

The Box Office Top 10 with numbers from the New Years Friday - Tuesday holiday:

1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Gross: $48,300,511 (Cume: $238,001,325)
Theaters: 4,100 (PSA: $11,780)

2. Django Unchained
Gross: $44,513,232 (Cume: $77,833,497 - Xmas Day Opener)
Theaters: 3,010 (PSA: $14,788)

3. Les Misérables
Gross: $41,140,685 (Cume: $87,579,110 - Xmas Day Opener)
Theaters: 2,814 (PSA: $14,620)

4. Parental Guidance
Gross: $23,667,732 (Cume: $38,456,424 - Xmas Day Opener)
Theaters: 3,367 (PSA: $7,029)

5. Jack Reacher
Gross: $21,262,535 (Cume: $51,815,693)
Theaters: 3,352 (PSA: $6,343)

6. This Is 40
Gross: $18,678,740 (Cume: $42,609,030)
Theaters: 2,914 (PSA: $6,410)

7. Lincoln
Gross: $12,122,623 (Cume: $136,652,420)
Theaters: 1,966 (PSA: $6,166)

8. The Guilt Trip
Grosss: $10,424,431 (Cume: $24,834,787)
Theaters: 2,431 (PSA: $4,288)

9. Monsters, Inc.
Gross: $9,831,867 (Cume: $21,958,331)
Theaters: 2,618 (PSA: $2,463)

10. Rise of the Guardians
Gross: $7,644,497 (Cume: $92,891,627)
Theaters: 2,055 (PSA: $2,381)

[Source: Box Office Mojo]

Jay-Z To Produce 'The Great Gatsby' Score

Come this time next year, could Jay-Z be up for an Oscar nomination? The rapper/record producer/entrepreneur is on board to help score the re-make of The Great Gatsby.

Jay-Z, born Shawn Corey Carter, is teaming up with The Bullitts' Jeymes Samuel for the film's music, which Samuel revealed via Twitter. Samuel was clearly ecstatic over their pairing for the film, which stars Leonard DiCaprio and Isla Fisher, saying through the social networking site, "It is too DOPE for words!"

The younger brother of singer Seal, Samuel has left his mark on the music biz on singles Supercool, Landspeeder and Close Your Eyes. He has also written and directed the upcoming single They Die By Dawn starring Idris Elba.

This is not the first mash-up Jay-Z has had with Australian-born filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, who is directing the film based on the classic book by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Lurhmann used one of his songs for The Great Gatsby's first trailer.

Also starring Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Jason Clarke and Tobey Maguire, the story revolves around a Midwestern transplant to Long Island who becomes fascinated by the mysterious past and lavish lifestyle of his neighbor, Jay Gatsby and is drawn into his circle of obsession and tragedy.

The Great Gatsby opens in May.


[Source: The Guardian]

The Lowest-Grossing Film Of 2012 Made Less Than $300. Wait, What?

2012's lowest-grossing film has been revealed, and people, this one kind of hurts.

[Related: Domestic Box Office Rises In Dollars And Audiences In 2012]

The Christian Slater horror film Playback gathered an astonishing $264.00 – yes, that's two hundred and sixty four – in theaters. Well, theater, to be exact; it only showed for one week in a single cinema. The figure gives Playback the honor as 2012's lowest grossing film of the year. It earned $252.00 on opening night and just 12 dollars more during the following week, after which it was pulled. It has since made its way to VOD via Netflix and Amazon Prime.

That has got to hurt, but when your career includes Gleaming the Cube and Hard Rain, at least you're probably prepared for the emotional toll. Still, it makes me wince, even 20 years later, every time I'm reminded that I once actually liked Christian Slater movies. At least Heathers and True Romance still hold up*!

As 2012 comes to a depressingly apocalypse-free conclusion, it's not surprising that we're seeing the last, painful lists of ignobility slipping out at the last minute. What better way to prepare ourselves for the new year than by embracing obstacles head on.

If yesterday's news of the most pirated movies proves that a bumper crop (cash-wise) for Hollywood doesn't mean there still isn't a problem with pilfered films, today's offers unexpected confirmation that F. Scott Fitzgerald might have been right about there not being any second acts in American lives. At least for formerly successful actors.

So at least we can all take comfort that our English teachers may have been onto something after all.

* Well, True Romance, at least.

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