EW has learned that George Clooney will be moving his production company Smokehouse from its long-time home at Warner Bros. to the Sony lot. The Culver City-based studio is currently negotiating a two-year deal with the famed actor and his production partner Grant Heslov. Clooney spent eight years at Warner Bros. producing such films as Michael Clayton and Good Night and Good Luck. His previous production company, Section Eight with Steven Soderbergh, was also housed on the Burbank lot. Smokehouse’s The Informant, starring Matt Damon and directed by Steven Soderbergh will be released by Warner Bros. in the fall, while Overture Films will bow the Clooney-starrer Men Who Stare at Goats from director Heslov next year. Insiders are buzzing about the reason for the move with few saying that Clooney and Heslov were looking for too much cash to justify a production company that has a history of winning the studio awards but not doing much to fill their coffers financially.
Archive: June 2009 (1-10 of 41)
Dimension to remake 'An American Werewolf in London'
Academy tweaks Best Song rules, cuts honorary awards from telecast
The more I’ve been thinking about the 10 Best Picture nominees idea, the less I like it. It seems like one of those “participation trophies” you used to get at Little League. But I’m on board with these other changes. Cutting the honorary Oscars actually gives the telecast producers a shot at clocking in under three hours, and removing mediocrity from the Best Song race could certainly spare us some deadly musical numbers.
Box Office: 'Transformers 2' earns $201 million its first five days
The only other new release of the weekend, the Cameron Diaz-weepie My Sister’s Keeper, grossed $12 million for a fifth place in the box office derby. The rest of the top five was dominated by successful holdovers with The Proposal dropping only 45% its second weekend in theaters for a ten-day cume of $69.1 million and a weekend take of $18.5 million. The Hangover keeps on trucking, grossing an additional $17.2 million for a total cume of $183.2 million and third spot in the rankings. Pixar’s Up has now outgrossed Cars, earning $13 million for a total take of $250 million.
In limited release, Summit Entertainment scored big with its Iraq war drama The Hurt Locker from director Kathryn Bigelow. Opening on only four screens in New York and Los Angeles, the festival fave grossed $144,000 for a per-theater average of $36,000. The film was sold out in its four theaters on opposite coasts. It will expand into more markets on July 10.
More Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen from EW:
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: Owen Gleiberman’s review
Megan Fox: 12 Roles of a Lifetime
Megan Fox: 8 EW Exclusive Pics
Megan Fox” ‘Fallen’ angel
Megan Fox: We grade her style at Transformers premieres
Transformers star Shia LaBeouf opens up about his hand injury
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen earns $60.6 million on Wednesday
Farrah Fawcett: Kate Jackson remembers her co-'Angel' -- EW Exclusive
“I didn’t plan to do any interviews today. I was just going to go to the place that Farrah and I were together the last time we were together during this three years and just sit. But I love her so much. There’s no way that I couldn’t be part of a tribute to her, and you know, just give people my impressions of who Farrah is.
“I just remembered a minute ago that right after I came to Hollywood from New York, I went to my first party where there were Hollywood people, and I walked in the door, and I knew that Lee Majors was married. I saw Lee Majors. He was the first star I had ever seen. Then I realized someone was with him, and I was almost blinded by the most gorgeous, magnificent, glorious girl about my age, who was talking and laughing with him. I just froze and stared, and I thought to myself, ‘Oh God, the competition is really bad around here.’ And it [turns out the girl talking with Majors] was Farrah. I told her that later when we finally met because we didn’t meet that night—we officially met doing Charlie’s Angels—that she was the person that almost made me go home. I told her that she was darn lucky that I was still here to do this show because I almost went home because of her, when I saw her I thought, ‘Oh God, I better go home and, you know, be a teacher or something.’
“She was so funny, and we had the best time that year that she did Charlie’s Angels because we got into the habit of just sort of ad-libbing on camera and trying to make the other one laugh, or doing something unexpected. I remember once, where other actors and actresses fight for their close-ups, we fought to see how tightly together we could get our heads so we could do a tight three that would be as tight as a close-up. We just wanted to go home! We were so tired! There was one scene… Jackie [Jaclyn Smith] was sitting on one end of the couch, and I was sitting on the arm of the couch leaning over toward her, and Farrah was standing behind the couch, behind us, leaning forward so that all of our heads were real close together. It was 11 o’clock on a Friday night, and you know, we finally said to the director, ‘Now that’s a close up, isn’t it? It’s as close as you can get! Look, we’re all in there, and our heads aren’t even cut off.’ So she had some line and was supposed to walk out the door. She said the line and straightened up and started to walk out the door with that energy, you know, and as she walked out, she just sort of tapped me on the shoulder. She knew what was going to happen. I completely lost my balance and fell off the arm of the sofa. They kept rolling and I said, ‘I can’t believe you did that!’ She was walking out the door and looked back at me and laughed. It was actually in the show. I saw it in the show that week. They left it in! They left in a lot of the stuff we did.
“When the first year of Charlie’s Angels ended, our friendship didn’t. It just grew stronger and closer through the years. I don’t know what the connection that the three of us have is, but it is there, and it is something extremely special. I think that is the reason the show worked. I think it’s even better than the movies because we truly cared about each other and still do. It was a pleasure and a privilege.
“It was not easy at times to be able to be with her these last three years and to be able to continue laughing. There was always, if few words were spoken, a zinger, though. Then there’d be a little light laugh, even through everything. She was just extraordinary and bright and as sharp as they come and beautiful and her courage, I just… I don’t even know what to say about that. She was never a follower; she was always a leader. Her choices were her choices.”
More on Farrah Fawcett:
Farrah Fawcett: Friends, family, and colleagues pay their respects
‘Farrah’s Story’: Ken Tucker’s review
Farrah Fawcett: 15 career milestones
Farrah Fawcett: angel in a red bathing-suit
'Transformers 2' adds another $28.6 million on Thursday
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has already grossed close to $90 million in its first two days of release, thanks to a record-breaking Wednesday gross of $60.6 million and a Thursday take of $28.6 million. The PG-13 robot sequel is on its way to becoming one of the top five-day grossers ever. Stay tuned throughout the weekend for updates.
Box Office Preview: 'Transformers 2' will be huge this weekend...but just how big?
1. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen — $72.5 million
Two years ago, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix opened on a Wednesday, and by the end of the weekend it had grossed $139.7 million. Transformers 2 is guaranteed to blow by that record…and go way beyond. It’s not likely to get to the $203 million that The Dark Knight scored in its first five days of release, but Michael Bay’s movie is going to work damn hard trying. The movie is opening in more than 4,000 theaters, including 169 IMAX screens, and will prove a big win for distributor Paramount, which will now be able to claim two of the summer’s biggest hits: Transformers 2 and Star Trek.
2. The Proposal — $20 million
By Friday, Sandra Bullock’s romantic comedy will have grossed $50 million in one week. Not bad for an actress who had all but abandoned the genre! Word of mouth has been solid on the movie, and expectations are high that the film, featuring a star-making performance by Ryan Reynolds, will hold on well during its sophomore session.
3. The Hangover — $16 million
Warner Bros.’ R-rated Vegas comedy isn’t going away anytime soon. And its unbelievable hold last weekend is really impressive. It is inevitable, however, that the movie, which has already grossed $163 million, will get hit this frame with Transformers 2 steamrolling into theaters.
4. Up — $14 million
Pixar’s latest animated hit has already surpassed WALL-E‘s grosses, and its sights are now set on surpassing Cars‘ $244 million cume. Transformers 2 will take out some of Pixar’s audience, but with Ice Age 3 coming into theaters next weekend, this is really its last chance to stay in the Top 5.
5. My Sister’s Keeper — $12 million
This three-hanky Cameron Diaz weepfest has generated some solid reviews, especially for the lead actress herself. So it will be very interesting to see how the film fares as the main counter-programming option for the weekend. With all the light and fluffy fare dominating the box office, it’s likely that My Sister’s Keeper‘s serious themes of a family dealing with a sick child may be too tough for the public to embrace. Some predictors have it in the single digits. I’m hopeful that the combination of star power and fan interest in the Jodi Picoult bestseller on which the movie is based will propel it into double-digit territory.
More Box Office News:
‘Transformers 2′ racks up record $16 million in Wednesday midnight shows
‘Transformers 2′ grosses record $60.6 mil at the box office on Wednesday
‘The Proposal’ celebrates with $34.1 mil
‘Hangover’ hangs on to the box office lead with $33.4 million
Final numbers give ‘The Hangover’ No. 1 spot over ‘Up’
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Michael Jackson: Steven Spielberg pays his respects -- EW Exclusive
Steven Spielberg has released this statement about the death of Michael Jackson exclusively to EW:
“Just as there will never be another Fred Astaire or Chuck Berry or Elvis Presley, there will never be anyone comparable to Michael Jackson. His talent, his wonderment and his mystery make him legend.”
'Transformers 2' grosses record $60.6 mil at the box office on Wednesday
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is one massive movie. The Michael Bay-directed juggernaut earned an astounding $60.6 million on its opening day at the box office. No other film has earned that much money in the middle of the week, and only The Dark Knight ever banked so much in a single day (it grossed $67.2 million on opening day last summer).
How Transformers 2 will hold through the weekend will be very interesting to see. The fanboys sure came out in force on opening day. But Hollywood, hungry for a huge hit, will be closely watching whether they will return throughout the weekend. Check back later today for our full predictions in the Box Office Report.
'Transformers 2' racks up record $16 million in Wednesday midnight shows
Paramount was looking for bigger with Michael Bay’s highly anticipated Transformers sequel and it looks like they’ve got it. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen debuted to a record $16 million last night, the most ever for a Wednesday midnight run. (Warner Bros.’ The Dark Knight scored $18 million for its midnight run last year, but that was on a Friday.)
So how high will Transformers 2‘s grosses go this weekend? Predictions have ranged anywhere from $125 million to $160 million for the five-day frame. Whatever the number, it will be good news for the box office, which is having trouble maintaining last summer’s record draw. Check back here tomorrow for more detailed predictions in the Box Office Preview.
More Box Office News:
‘The Proposal’ celebrates with $34.1 mil
‘Hangover’ hangs on to the box office lead with $33.4 million
‘Hangover’ tops Friday box office with $10.4 million
‘The Hangover’ is a hit: What’s it mean?
Will ‘The Hangover’ hold off ‘Pelham 1 2 3′?
Final numbers give ‘The Hangover’ No. 1 spot over ‘Up’
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