Jake Gyllenhaal Working on Iconic New Role

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Biopics, Sports, Celeb News,

What’s next for the Prince of Persia? How about playing one of America’s greatest heroes? Jake Gyllenhaal spoke to reporters recently about the role he longs to play: Joe Namath.

“I’ve been working on it for a long time, trying to develop that story,” Gyllenhaal said of the project. “It would be a dream to play [football star Joe Namath].”

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Casting Corner: Anthony Hopkins, January Jones and More

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: FOCUS, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Remakes, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Casting, Celeb News, Scripts, Upcoming Releases,

Here’s a quick look at some of the casting announcements made recently:

Anthony Hopkins: The Wolfman actor will soon play dad to another large character: Thor. Hopkins has been cast as Odin, father of the title character (Chris Hemsworth) who is sent down to Earth after reigniting an ancient war. The film - which also includes Natalie Portman and Tom Hiddleston - will open May 20, 2011.

Click to continue reading Casting Corner: Anthony Hopkins, January Jones and More

AFI’s 10 Top 10

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Animation, Drama, Family, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Sports, Lists,

If you were busy watching the Boston Celtic dominate the Los Angeles Lakers last night, you probably missed CBS’ latest AFI special. For this year’s countdown, a jury of “over 1,500 leaders from the creative community” helped select the American Film Institute‘s Top 10 Films in 10 different genres.

You can find the titles announced in yesterday’s 3-hour special after the jump.

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AFIFI

Box Office Breakdown: Tyler Perry Produces Another Hit

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adventure, Drama, Family, Horror, Independent, Period, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,

This past Easter weekend, Tyler Perry proved once again that he has the Midas touch.  Although his latest venture, Meet the Browns, only came in second, the film bested Horton Hears a Who! with its per screen take.  Perry’s film averaged $10,011 per theater—thousands better than Horton‘s performance ($6208).  The latter movie was also showing in twice as many locations.

But the Dr. Seuss adaptation wasn’t the only film to snare a prize away from the writer/actor/director.  Under the Same Moon - a small feature from The Weinstein Company - entered the Top Ten with an impressive $10,414 average.  While Browns was being shown on 2006 screens, Moon was showing on only 266.  The movie, co-starring America Ferrera, wound up being the top domestic scorer ever for a Spanish-languaged film.

In other chart news, Owen Wilson’s Drillbit Taylor debuted at #4 while another Asian horror remake, Shutter, took in $10.5 million for a third place finish.  Films booted out of this week’s Top Ten were Semi-Pro, Doomsday, The Other Boleyn Girl and The Spiderwick Chronicles.

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Variety

Box Office Breakdown: Horton Hears a Who Has Largest 2008 Debut

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Period, Comedy, Sports, Box Office, Lists,

Thankfully, Jim Carrey‘s embarrassing stint on American Idol wasn’t all in vain.

Horton Hears a Who earned $45 million dollars over the past weekend, trouncing the competition.  Although the kid-friendly flick has had the biggest opening of 2008 so far, the film falls in the middle of the pack when it comes to Dr. Seuss adaptations.  How The Grinch Stole Christmas opened with $55 million back in 2000; A Cat in the Hat took in $38.3 just three years later.

Horton‘s premiere also made a nice statement for non-Pixar related films overall.  This animated movie found itself in fifth place behind other cartoon debuts.  (Disney’s Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc., Cars and Ratatouille rank one through four.)

The only other new entries in this week’s Top Ten were the mixed-martial arts pic Never Back Down and the post-apocalyptic thriller Doomsday.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Horton Hears a Who Has Largest 2008 Debut

In Theaters This Weekend (12/21)

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Disney, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Horror, Musicals, Romance, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,

Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:

• Charlie Wilson’s War (R):  starring Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman (directed by Mike Nichols)
• National Treasure: Book of Secrets (PG):  starring Nicolas Cage, Jon Voight, Helen Mirren (directed by Jon Turteltaub)
• P.S. I Love You (PG-13):  starring Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler, Lisa Kudrow (directed by Richard LaGravanese)
• Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (R):  starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen (directed by Tim Burton)
• Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (R):  starring John C. Reilly, Jenna Fischer, Kristen Wiig (directed by Jake Kasdan)
• Steep* (PG):  starring Ingrid Backstrom, Doug Coombs, Shane McConkey (directed by Mark Obenhaus)

*limited and/or gradual release

In Theaters This Weekend (12/7)

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Fox Searchlight, New Line, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Documentary, Drama, Foreign, Independent, Music, Period, Romance, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases,

Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:

• The Golden Compass (PG-13):  starring Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Dakota Blue (directed by Chris Weitz)
• Atonement* (R):  starring Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Saorise Ronan (directed by Joe Wright)
• Billy the Kid* (NR):  (directed by Jennifer Venditti)
• Dirty Laundry* (PG-13):  starring Loretta Devine, Rockmond Dunbar, Jenifer Lewis (directed by Maurice Jamal)
• Grace is Gone* (PG-13):  starring John Cusack, Marisa Tomei, Zach Grey (directed by James C. Strouse)

Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend (12/7)

Nicolas Cage Matches With ‘The Wrestler’

Posted by David Onda Categories: Drama, Independent, Sports, Casting, Filmmaking, Rumors, Upcoming Releases,

Nicolas Cage may don the tights and deliver a box office smack down in Darren Aronofsky’s indie drama The Wrestler. Aronofsky, best known for such trippy films as Pi, Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain, is joined by screenwriter Robert Siegel for this film.

Cage will enter the squared circle as Randy “The Ram” Robinson, a star from the ’80s who has become a burnt out nothing (see present-day Jake “The Snake” Roberts.)  After Robinson suffers a heart attack mid-match, he decides to hang up his boots to avoid certain death. As most ex-wrestlers do, Robinson shacks up with an old stripper and tries to start a family. But when a tempting offer comes along, Robinson must decide whether the fight is worth probable death.

Sound awful? Just remember Cage’s last film Next. Doesn’t seem so bad now, now does it?

Read More | Hollywood Reporter

In Theaters This Weekend (10/12)

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Magnolia, MGM, Lionsgate, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Yari Film Group Releasing, Documentary, Drama, Foreign, Period, Comedy, Sports, Lists, New Releases,

Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:

• Elizabeth: The Golden Age (PG-13):  starring Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush (directed by Shekhar Kapur)
• The Final Season (PG):  starring Sean Astin, Larry Miller (directed by David Mickey Evans)
• Michael Clayton (R):  starring George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson (directed by Tony Gilroy)
• We Own The Night (R):  starring Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg (directed by James Gray)
• Why Did I Get Married? (PG-13):  starring Tyler Perry, Janet Jackson (directed by Tyler Perry)

  Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend (10/12)

  
  

FilmCrunch 043: TMNT, Reign Over Me, Rocky Balboa, Blockbuster Total Access

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, MGM, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Sequels, Sports, DVD Reviews, Full Episodes, Theatrical Reviews, Videocasts,

Veronica Santiago and Neil Estep have another full episode of FilmCrunch. The gang reviews TMNT, Reign Over Me, and the DVD release of Rocky Balboa. Neil also takes an in-depth look at Blockbuster Total Access, and reports back with his thoughts and opinions.

Now we want to hear from you - hit the forums and let us know what you think, what you want us to watch next, and any other recommendations you have for the show.