Archive: October 2009 (1-10 of 72)

Oct 31 2009 05:51 PM ET

'Michael Jackson's This Is It' tops Friday box office with $7.9 million

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Categories: Box Office

Michael Jackson’s This Is It danced over the competition on Friday, earning an estimated $7.9 million for a three-day total of $19.1 million. Meanwhile, audiences on the hunt for Halloween scares opted for Paranormal Activity ($6.1 million) over Saw VI ($1.9 million), which took a steep 74 percent fall compared to this time last week. Be sure to check back tomorrow for a full weekend report.

More box office news:
Box office preview: ‘This is It’ destined to win the weekend
Michael Jackson’s ‘This Is It’ grosses $7.4 million in U.S. on opening day
Box Office Report: ‘Paranormal Activity’ conjures $22 million for No. 1 spot

Oct 31 2009 03:05 PM ET

'Let the Right One In': Yes, I saw it again

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Categories: Let the Right One In, Twilight

right_one_lIn honor of Halloween, a day of vampires and naughty misdeeds, I sat down to watch Let the Right One In again — a movie tied to a naughty misdeed of my own. My offending act of immoral behavior? Back when it was released, one year ago, on Oct. 24, 2008, I wrote a review that trashed this pensive and brooding Swedish vampire movie. I called it “arty,” I said that it wasn’t “coherent,” and I accused the hero — a 12-year-old blond boy in a wintry Stockholm suburb who befriends the vampire child next door — of “skulk[ing] through the movie in a blank-faced torpor.”

Few words that I have ever written have provoked such a collective and righteously resentful howl of protest. In the year since I panned Let the Right One In, I have been attacked for this review all over the Web (“Owen Gleiberman should apologize,” “He never actually saw this movie. At least not sober,” “Owen Gleiberman: Welcome to Contraryville, population 1,” “Worst…review…ever!”), and let me say from the outset: I have felt the bitter sting of your wrath. READ FULL STORY »

Oct 30 2009 06:54 PM ET

Ricky Gervais on hosting the Oscars: 'I don't think they'll call'

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Categories: Oscars

Ricky Gervais is relishing the chance to host the Jan. 17 telecast of the Golden Globes on NBC (“I can just turn up drunk!’) but if you think this will lead to a much-ballyhooed chance to host the Oscars, think again. “If Oscars called, yes (I’d entertain the offer) but I don’t think they would,” Gervais told EW.com exclusively. “If they called me, I’d say, ‘I’ll turn up an hour before. I may be drunk, but just point me to where the microphone is.’ I don’t think they’ll accept those terms.” (That’s too bad. Now that Hugh Jackman has declined the offer to host again, Oscar could sure use a feisty comedian like Gervais, who routinely steals the show just presenting at the Emmys).

That said, Gervais, 48, also begrudgingly admits how there are probably still many Americans who still don’t recognize him (he’s the co-creator and executive producer of The Office). “I was doing David Letterman recently, and this guy goes, ‘Hey look! There’s the guy who played the Steve Carell part in the English version of The Office!’” Gervais chuckles. “Hosting the Globes could make me as famous as Steve Carell – or it could be the end of my career.”

For more on Gervais, pick up the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly.

Oct 30 2009 06:38 PM ET

'Amelia,' Hilary Swank: Finding a movie role to fit the face

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Categories: Amelia, Commentary, Hilary Swank, Movie Casting

Hilary Swank plays the legendary aviator Amelia Earhart in Amelia. And although, as I said in my review, the movie is earthbound, the choice of Swank in the title role demonstrates sky-clear thinking. (Okay, that’s enough of the windblown aeronautical metaphors.) Physically, the two are twins, and not just because Swank has been coiffed in Earhart’s striking, trademark, short-haired tousle, a variation on Winnie the Pooh‘s Christopher Robin. Rather, both women project a seductive androgyny–a boyishness that nevertheless leaves no doubt about the sexuality of the woman wearing the trousers.

True, Swank first found fame as a girl living as a boy in Boys Don’t Cry. But even when she unbound her breasts READ FULL STORY »

Oct 30 2009 04:53 PM ET

The new 'Avatar' trailer: what took so long?

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Categories: Film, Movie Trailers, Sci-Fi

As expected, the new Avatar trailer is drawing both praise and criticism. But one thing is certain: this three-minute tease gives audiences some context as to what’s really going on in James Cameron’s latest could-be masterpiece. But what took so long to get here? Sure, I get how all the effects weren’t ready until recently, but what the first trailer lacked was some introduction into what the story was all about (not to mention answers on who were those crazy-looking blue creatures and why Sam Worthington got to live inside one). Insiders tell me the creative minds at Fox have been living with this film for more than two years and after releasing the first footage, they realized they needed to step back and give moviegoers some more information – fill in the gaps, if you will – that was left out from the initial teaser trailer. The studio has also been very calculating in how they debut all of the Avatar footage (the film opens on Dec. 18).  The latest trailer went up last weekend in theaters only and just debuted online yesterday. It’ll hit TV on Sunday for NFL football and Game 4 of the World Series after it shows up on the Dallas Cowboys’ enormous jumbo-tron during its game against the Seattle Seahawks. Sports fans, is this movie for you?

Oct 30 2009 02:54 PM ET

'This Is It' for Oscar: Really?

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Categories: Best Picture Oscar

this-is-it-jackson_lPerhaps the most troubling effect of the Academy’s decision to have 10 Best Picture nominees this season is that whenever any movie does at all well, people start talking Oscar. I for one am certainly guilty of that—remember my Hangover-for-Best-Picture item? And now it’s happening again with the Michael Jackson documentary This Is It, which the Associated Press‘ Sandy Cohen and the Hollywood Reporter‘s Steven Zeitchik have put forth as a possible Best Picture nominee. (Sony is submitting it for consideration for all the major races, though it’s too late to qualify for a Best Documentary Feature nod.) I have to say, I’m not so sure about this one. The film is something of a cultural phenomenon (though it doesn’t look like it’s going to bust any box office records after all), and considering how quickly it was put together, it’s a very impressive achievement. But it’s still essentially just a bunch of concert-rehearsal footage strung together. I can’t visualize voters in the acting, art direction, costume, writing, or makeup branches even considering putting it on their ballots, even with twice the nominees. I don’t think it’s going to be completely ignored: I would give it a decent shot at a sound editing or sound mixing nomination. But this, as they say, is it.

Image credit: Kevin Mazur

Oct 30 2009 10:58 AM ET

Hugh Jackman turns down Oscar host: Are we surprised?

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Categories:

Hugh-Jackman_lBy now you’ve probably heard the reports that Hugh Jackman has turned down an offer to repeat as next year’s Academy Awards host. But is this really a big shock? Jackman won raves for his emceeing skills at this year’s telecast—why shouldn’t he quit while he’s on top? Plus, it’s not like he’s a host by trade and needs to further that image in people’s minds. He’s a movie star, so I’m sure he’d rather focus on his real career instead of taking on what must be one of the most stressful and financially thankless jobs around.

So who should producers Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic turn to now? One of Shankman’s Hairspray cast members like John Travolta or even (gasp!) Zac Efron? How about his Wedding Planner leading lady Jennifer Lopez? And don’t forget he worked with past Oscar host Steve Martin in Bringing Down the House. Shankman loves surprising people, so I doubt he’ll go for the obvious.

Who would you like to see put on the tuxedo next March? An actor or actress? A singer? Or a professional host? And remember, I’m also on Twitter (@davekarger) for all your Oscar needs.

Image credit: Michael Yarda/A.M.P.A.S.

Oct 30 2009 10:00 AM ET

Michael Jackson's movie ambitions included 3-D film of 'Thriller,' 'Red Shoes' remake

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Categories: Film, Movie Biz, Music

In a sadly ironic twist, This is It has become the hit movie that Michael Jackson never managed to make while he was alive. Jackson’s most prominent big-screen role was as the Scarecrow in the 1978 flop The Wiz, but he continued to explore his love of movies with projects like the 14-minute “Thriller” video and Captain EO, the short science-fiction film he made with Francis Ford Coppola in the mid-1980s. In an interview for EW’s recent cover story, This Is It director Kenny Ortega revealed that Jackson continued to harbor cinematic ambitions right up to the end of his life. “He told me he wanted to create a partnership with me to do films,” Ortega says. “We were talking about doing Legs Diamond. And we were talking about doing a full-length, 3-D feature of ‘Thriller.’ ”

Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures, which is releasing This is It, says that over the years she and Jackson (who had a brief cameo in Sony’s 2002 sci-fi comedy Men in Black II) had discussed a number of film projects that never came to fruition. Perhaps the biggest was a musical fantasy film called Midknight that Jackson wanted to make with Batman production designer Anton Furst—a project that fell apart when Furst committed suicide in 1991. Says Pascal, “A million years ago, when I worked with [then-Columbia Pictures president] Dawn Steel, she and I tried to convince Michael to do a remake of The Red Shoes”—the classic 1948 British musical drama, based on a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, about a ballet dancer whose compulsion to dance ultimately destroys any hope she once had of a normal life, leading to her tragic death. The project never happened. “Michael’s life became The Red Shoes, I’m afraid,” says Pascal.

Oct 29 2009 08:33 PM ET

Let's bring back the concert film! And who would you like to see in one?

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Categories: Concert Films, Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson, Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers, This Is It

Lady-Gaga-Concert_lI read something in EW this week that genuinely shocked me. Next to my review of Michael Jackson’s This Is It, there’s a box of the five top-grossing concert films — and according to that list, the second most successful concert film of all time is Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience (2009). The reason for my shock is not that I dislike the Jonas brothers (I thought their movie was charming in a prefab, featherweight way), but because, at the time, Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience was rightfully considered a mild commercial disappointment. It marked the beginning of their slow slide from top-of-the-world boy band to big-but-not-quite-as-big teenybop limbo. How could this movie have ranked so high?

To see how, take a look at the full list:

1. Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert (2008) $65.3 million

2. Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience (2009) $19.2 million

3. Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991) $15 million

4. U2 3D (2008) $10.2 million

5. U2: Rattle and Hum (1988) $8.6 million

Hmmm, let’s tally this up: Two movies with currently-in-vogue squeaky-clean teen idols, a Madonna documentary from 20 years ago, a U2 doc from 20 years ago — and U2 again, this time from last year. I don’t begrudge any of these artists their big-screen success, but doesn’t this list strike you as just a little thin in terms of how well it represents…the pop-music universe of the last two decades? READ FULL STORY »

Oct 29 2009 06:22 PM ET

DVD windows debate: Sony had planned pre-Christmas 'This is It' DVD launch

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Categories: Film

Forget concession prices or digital cinema, the most contentious issue between Hollywood studios and theater owners is the window of time between a movie’s theatrical release and when a film becomes available on DVD. The LA Times just reported here that Sony Pictures backed off their plans to unveil This is It before Christmas after the theater chains threatened to pull the Michael Jackson documentary from its screens since it violated the agreed-upon deal that studios would preserve at least three months between a film’s theatrical release and when you can watch it in the comfort of your own home. “We feel that a four-month window is the proper way to do business most of the time,” Sony’s vice-chairman Jeff Blake tells EW.com. “My argument here was this was a limited run and should be treated differently.” The theater chains didn’t agree and rather than risk receiving their full support (This Is It bowed on 6,000 screens across the country) Sony opted to postpone the DVD release til first quarter 2010.

It’s not a new story that theater owners are terrified about preserving their market share from competing technologies. But in a day where you can watch your favorite TV show on Hulu a day after it bows on the network, how would your movie going habits change if you knew a movie that opens in theaters would be available on DVD in a mere 45 days? Would you avoid going to the movies altogether? Or if it’s a movie you really want to see, would the DVD release alter your race to the theater at all?

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