Will Smith: Sequels Soon?
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Action, Adventure, Sequels, Casting, Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip, Rumors, Upcoming Releases,
Perez Hilton is reporting that Will Smith fans will enjoy a few follow-ups to his former hits. In recent years, the actor has turned into one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars - and his resume can prove it. The leading man has rarely been out of theaters for more than a few weeks at a time, appearing in dramas, comedies, even action flicks without pause.
But which of his former hits is true sequel material?
According to Hilton, Hancock and I Am Legend will both make a triumphant return to the theaters for new installments to the tales. A source quoted as being an “insider” says that Smith is already locked in for another superhero tale in Hancock, but Charlize Theron still hasn’t signed on to the project.
As to I Am Legend, the new movie which actually be a prequel that shows “the fall of the last great American city.” One can only assume he means New York, the setting of the first flick.
All of this isn’t completely unfounded rumor, either. Smith’s rep has confirmed at least this much: “there have been talks about both of these projects.”
Which means we can expect new Smith sequels sometime in 2010.
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| Perez Hilton
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Will Smith’s Nepotism Streak Continues
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Columbia Pictures, Drama, Casting, Upcoming Releases,
First, he introduced son Jaden to theatergoers in The Pursuit of Happyness. Then he let daughter Willow take on a much smaller role in last year’s I Am Legend. Now another kid will be participating in a Will Smith movie: Connor Cruise.
Yes, I know. Connor is not exactly related to Will. (He’s actually Tom Cruise‘s adopted son.) But that doesn’t make the whole situation smell any less nepotistic to me.
In Seven Pounds, Will Smith stars as a man who affects the lives of seven strangers. Connor, in a minor part, will play a younger version of the main character.
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People
The Most Racially Important Films
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Drama, Music, Period, Romance, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Lists,
To celebrate Black History Month, Time magazine has named what it believes to be ‘The 25 Most Important Films on Race.’
In making these selections, the magazine hopes to “honor the artistry, appeal and determination of African Americans on and behind the screen.”
Some choices were predictable (Gone with the Wind, In the Heat of the Night), some were surprising (Bamboozled, I Am Legend), while others were left off altogether (Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?, Glory).
To get detailed summaries on the movies - and the reasons behind Time’s selections - click here.
In the meantime, you can find a list of the titles (in reverse chronological order) after the jump.
Click to continue reading The Most Racially Important Films
Time
Vanity Fair’s Hollywood Issue
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip,
Since 1995, Vanity Fair has been churning out legendary covers tipping its hat to Hollywood. And year after year, photographer Annie Leibovitz has been counted on to produce those stunning and memorable images. Remember the one with Tom Ford and the two nude ladies (Scarlett Johannson and Keira Knightley)? How about the cover with Uma, Kate and Cate?
This season, the magazine will honor the ‘Fresh Faces of 2008’:
Those pictured include: Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada), Amy Adams (Enchanted), Jessica Biel (The Illusionist), Anne Hathaway (The Devil Wears Prada), Alice Braga (I Am Legend), Ellen Page (Juno), Zoë Saldana (Vantage Point), Elizabeth Banks (Fred Claus), Ginnifer Goodwin (Big Love), and America Ferrera (Ugly Betty).
Make note of these ladies. Some of their careers will soar, while others will become faded segments of Vanity Fair’s history (e.g. Fairuza Balk, Jordana Brewster, Edward Furlong, Johnathon Schaech).
To see a slideshow of all fourteen Annie Leibovitz covers, click here.
Vanity Fair
Box Office Breakdown: Cloverfield Attacks the Charts
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, FOCUS, Disney, Fox Searchlight, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Independent, Period, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Books, Lists, New Releases,
Final numbers for the three-day weekend revealed what many had suspected: Cloverfield toppled New York and the competition. The strong numbers were a result of Paramount’s smart marketing. In addition to the eerie trailers, the film debuted in January - usually a fairly quiet month for decent films. Cloverfield’s $46 million take has already covered the movie’s budget (estimated at around $25 million). That dollar amount also earned the Matt Reeves flick the title for best MLK and January opener ever.
Although 27 Dresses raked in $20 million less than the horror flick, Katherine Heigl had nothing to cry about. Thanks to more strategic marketing - this time by Fox - the film was able to take advantage of those looking for something less dark. Dresses was originally scheduled to debut last week but was repositioned so it could open during the busy weekend.
Unfortunately, female focus on the romantic comedy didn’t help the female-filled Mad Money. The movie - co-starring Queen Latifah, Diane Keaton and Katie Holmes - cashed out in 8th place. This makes two disappointing debuts in a row for the Cruise Clan (the first being Tom’s Lions for Lambs). Let us not forget that Katie opted to do this film instead of the Batman sequel for her post-Tom movie return. Come to think of it, maybe it was for the best. I could just hear Tom telling us now that if he had known Heath was doing drugs, he would have cured Ledger himself.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Cloverfield Attacks the Charts
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Box Office Breakdown: The Bucket List Rises to the Top
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, FOCUS, Disney, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Period, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
After placing 23rd last week, The Bucket List - starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman - soared 22 spots to take the #1 spot this past weekend. It seems a simple case of addition was all that was needed to accomplish this feat. Up until now, the movie had only been playing in 16 theaters total; it expanded to nearly 3000 on Friday. Bucket’s impressive finish was not only a win for 70-year-olds everywhere, it was a win for director Rob Reiner. His biggest opener had been 1992’s A Few Good Men. (That film grossed $15.5 million.) Maybe Reiner should write Jack into all his films.
Debuting at #2 was the latest Ice Cube comedy. First Sunday, co-starring Tracy Morgan (30 Rock), earned an impressive $8000 per screen average. That was the best median performance for any movie in this week’s Top Ten. (There Will Be Blood, this week’s #17, averaged $14,421 over the past three days.)
Will this yesterday’s Golden Globes have any effect on Sweeney Todd’s financial future? After only 4 weeks in release, the dark feature dropped off the chart and landed at #12. Assuming theatergoers are still interested in watching potential Oscar nominees, I’m guessing the win for Best Comedy/Musical will give the movie a nice boost next weekend.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: The Bucket List Rises to the Top
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Box Office Breakdown: Atonement Joins Juno in Top Ten
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, FOCUS, Disney, Fox Searchlight, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign, Horror, Music, Musicals, Period, Political, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
When the final numbers were tallied on Monday, something exciting happened at the top of the charts. After a very close race, Juno surpassed I Am Legend for the second place finish. (National Treasure was tops for its third week in a row.) Already in its fifth week, the comedic charmer continued its steady climb up the box office ladder. After gaining five spots last week, Juno rose another two spots this weekend. (A wider release contributed to this feat.) If the movie continues at its current pace, it is expected to be the most successful film from Fox Searchlight. Sideways grossed $71.5 million while last year’s darling, Little Miss Sunshine, earned $59.9 million.
Meanwhile, another praised film is slowly making an ascent in its fifth week. Atonement, starring ribby Keira Knightley and James McAvoy (the man who has replaced Ewan McGregor), made its first entry into the Top Ten. Although the Golden Globe-nominated drama is only being seen in about 1/6 of the theaters Treasure is in, Atonement had a per screen average of $8687. In comparison, the Nicolas Cage film only had a $5332 median.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Atonement Joins Juno in Top Ten
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Box Office Breakdown: Juno Makes An Impressive Surge
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Disney, Fox Searchlight, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Musicals, Period, Political, Romance, Satire, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
Come Wednesday morning, the box office chart saw very few changes at the top. That’s not to say the five-day holiday weekend didn’t have any notable moments at all:
- Strong word of mouth helped boost last week’s #10, Juno, up five whole spaces. The movie - already in it’s 4th week - continues to soar despite its fairly limited release. It’s $15,788 per screen average even topped National Treasure’s $14,232.
- Golden Globes buzz also contributed to the success of seven-time nominee Atonement. Although it only placed 14th overall, the romantic weeper scored a $15,764 average.
- Alvin and the Chipmunks outmuscled last week’s #2, I Am Legend. The family-friendly flick traded spots with the Will Smith blockbuster thanks to its $2.5 million edge.
- The Debaters narrowly missed a place in the Top Ten despite its connection to both Denzel Washington and Oprah. You heard it right - the talk show host’s touch does not always mean gold.
- Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story followed up its disappointing debut with another out of tune performance. The musical satire plummeted five spots all the way down to #13.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Juno Makes An Impressive Surge
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Box Office Breakdown: Book of Secrets a National Hit
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Disney, Fox Searchlight, New Line, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Musicals, Period, Political, Romance, Satire, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
This holiday weekend introduced a slew of big-ticket features in our cineplexes. It also brought us a wide cast of former Oscar-winners competing for our theater dollars. By Monday, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Johnny Depp, Hilary Swank and Oscar-nominee John C. Reilly had all made entries into the Top Ten - but it was Nicolas Cage who wound up striking gold.
National Treasure: Book of Secrets earned $45 million, an increase of $10 million over the 2004 original. This was the second hit for Cage this year, following the critically-panned Ghost Rider. In addition to having the weekend’s best gross, Secrets also had the best average of any movie over those three days. Although Charlie Wilson’s War‘s fourth place was respectable (especially for a politically-based film these days), its $3760 per screen take clearly set it apart from this week’s champ. In contrast, Juno earned an $11,184 average for an impressive 10th place finish.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Book of Secrets a National Hit
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Review: ‘Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’
Posted by David Onda Categories: DreamWorks, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Classics, Drama, Horror, Musicals, Period, Thrillers, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews,
I just got back from the midnight showing of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Previously, I had seen the original Broadway cast perform this show via video cassette tape in my “History of Theater” class. I also saw a very stripped down version of the show performed by a national touring cast without sets or costumes. This film was every bit as good visually, musically and narratively as either one of those shows. For those of you who are unaware of the plot, let me catch you up.
Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp) is a happily married man with a beautiful yellow-haired wife and a bouncing bay girl living in ye olde London. A man by the name of Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) takes a liking to Barker’s wife and frames him for a crime which he is convicted and exiled for. Upon Barker’s return to London years later, he finds that his wife is dead and his little girl is being held hostage by the evil Turpin. Hell bent on revenge, and now going by the name Sweeney Todd, Barker takes up residence above Mrs. Lovett’s (Helena Bonham Carter) Meat Pie shop. There, the trained barber kills his customers in hopes that one day it will be the Judge’s turn for a shave.
Oh yeah, and the bodies get baked into the pies.
Click to continue reading Review: ‘Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’
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