Archive: April 2010 (1-10 of 64)

Apr 30 2010 05:57 PM ET

'X-Men' Exclusive: Fox offers Matthew Vaughn 'X-Men: First Class'

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Categories: Deals, Movie Biz

In a move that may tilt the axis of fanboys worldwide, Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn is in talks to direct X-Men: First Class for Twentieth Century Fox. Why is this so bizarre? Because Vaughn is the very director who turned down directing X-Men: The Last Stand back in 2005 after he had already negotiated his deal with the studio. (Fox later hired Brett Ratner to helm the most successful of all X-Men films.) Vaughn went on to direct the disappointing Stardust for Paramount and, just two weeks ago, released the well-reviewed R-rated Kick-Ass.

Of course, considering Vaughn’s history with the X-Men franchise, he could very well turn down the First Class offer, as well (sources say the studio is also speaking with other possible directors). Should a deal come together, however, Vaughn would be helming an origin story of the X-Men crew, one that tells the story of Cyclops, Jean Grey, and the other X-Men in their younger years, played by younger actors. (No word yet on whether Hugh Jackman would reprise his role as Wolverine since his character doesn’t age as the others do.)  The script comes from Jamie Moss based on Bryan Singer’s treatment. Though the studio had wanted Singer to direct once again, the director is only signed on to produce, since he’s preoccupied with directing Jack the Giant Killer for Warner Bros.

Apr 30 2010 04:18 PM ET

How Freddy Krueger changed horror movies

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Categories: A Nightmare on Elm Street, Slasher Movies

nightmare-on-elm-streetImage Credit: Everett CollectionAt some point in the 1980s, probably around the time of the fourth or fifth Friday the 13th sequel, I realized that horror movies had, in effect, become comedies. It was all part of a ritual. You went out to the multiplex with your buddies, or maybe on a date, to see the latest by-the-numbers blood feast in which a sick young man in a goalie mask devised creative new ways to gouge and dismember a series of good- looking and eminently dispensable bad actors. In theory, everyone in the audience was there to be scared, to be shocked into fear by the awesome savagery on display. Yet these movies, in the space of about five years, had grown so formulaic, so predictable in their extremity and slaughter, that their very “terror” had turned fatally campy.

And so the audience cowered, and trembled a bit, and jumped out of their seats — and laughed. We laughed at the giddy fun of being scared, but also at the sheer dumb corny roteness of those hulking, heavy-breathing faux-brute killers. The predictability of it all was funny, and maybe borderline insulting, a kind of shared in-joke. On some level, it was all about the comic high of feeling superior — to the victims on screen, and to your own anxieties. Don’t go in the attic! Oh, look, he’s going in the attic! Watch that friggin’ dumb-ass get what he deserves!“

But until A Nightmare on Elm Street, in 1984, we were all laughing at these movies, not with them. Freddy Krueger changed all that. Apart from the fact that he was a ghost who slaughtered you not in the basement or some godforsaken cabin but in your dreams, he certainly did have plenty in common with Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees, the two superstars of slasherdom. (Leatherface, the godather of them all, was a far greater screen character, but at that point The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was still a cult film, under the radar for most of the mass audience. Why, it hadn’t even spawned a sequel!) Yet Jason and Michael, in their angry, wordless, bruised-adolescent way, were straight men, lugs with machetes. Freddy, with his leer and his cackle and his slightly goofy scarecrow look, was a showman, a snarky demon clown, a burlesque master of ceremonies. In his first big scene in A Nightmare on Elm Street, he holds his arms out wide, like a wall-shadow parody of a boogeyman, then mockingly slices off two of his own fingers. A new kind of killer has arrived. He’s not just here to scare you — he’s here to have a good time doing it. Let’s party! READ FULL STORY »

Apr 29 2010 08:45 PM ET

Is 'Anchorman 2' dead?

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Categories: Deals, Movie Biz

If you believe the tweets of GhostPanther, it is. According to the twitter feed of GhostPanther — which belongs to Adam McKay, Will Ferrell’s production partner and the co-writer/director of the original Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy — Paramount passed on the project, even after they tried lowering the budget. Said his tweet, “So bummed. Paramount basically passed on Anchorman 2. Even after we cut our budget down. We tried.”

McKay’s reps have no comment and we’ve called Paramount and have not yet received a response. A source close to the studio says Paramount didn’t officially pass, but rather wanted a lower budget than McKay and Farrell presented–a budget the duo felt was too low to make the film successfully. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more details.

UPDATE: McKay wrote a follow-up Tweet on his feed: “To all who asked: no we can’t do Anchorman 2 at another studio. Paramount owns it.”

Apr 29 2010 07:07 PM ET

Box office preview: Can 'Nightmare on Elm Street' turn around the box office ahead of 'Iron Man'?

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Categories: Box Office

nightmare-on-elm-street-2Image Credit: New Line CinemaEveryone knows that the official start of the summer movie-going season begins next weekend with the debut of Iron Man 2. But this weekend’s A Nightmare on Elm Street opening just might prime the pump for what’s sure to be a huge box office bonanza in the months to come. And that would be good news for a business that, in the last weekend, fell beneath $100 million for the first time all year.

It helps that a horror film hasn’t hit theaters since February. And with Iron Man hot on the Nightmare reboot’s tail, Freddy Krueger needs to slash through as much box office coin as he can this weekend since there ain’t gonna be anything to share next weekend. Also bowing this frame is the Brendan Fraser-starrer Furry Vengeance, which is unlikely to help quell the box office downturn that began last weekend. In fact, How to Train Your Dragon, which will be entering its sixth weekend of release, is destined to open higher then this PG-rated flick. Read on for my predictions.

1. A Nightmare on Elm Street: $33 million

Jackie Earle Haley in the role of Freddy Krueger was an inspired choice and it’s likely to pay off handsomely for New Line Cinema. The film, from commercial director Sam Bayer, features a cast of newcomers and a revamped origin story. The R-rating may limit its box office potential a bit. But when it comes to horror, is there really any other way to go? Despite tepid reviews, expect this film to dominate the frame.

2. How to Train Your Dragon: $11 million

A 25 percent drop would get this movie with a remarkable run into striking distance of the film it’s been compared to most, Dreamworks’ Monsters Vs. Aliens, which completed its domestic run at $198 million after opening on the same date as Dragon last spring. As of Wednesday, How to Train Your Dragon had earned $180 million and is now destined to beat MVA. That’s good news for a movie that underwhelmed its opening frame.

3. Furry Vengeance: $7 million

Brendan Fraser movies go one of two ways: They are either giant hits or forgettable failures. Furry Vengeance appears to be in the latter category. A co-production between Summit Entertainment and Participant Pictures, the PG-rated family film is not likely to do much business over the weekend. And the business it will do will be with families with young children. But with a negative cost of $30 million and a lot of the film already pre-sold to foreign markets, a low-scoring number at the box office won’t be too painful for the studios bankrolling the endeavor.

4. The Back-Up Plan: $6 million

A 50 percent drop is likely for this Jennifer Lopez-starrer that failed to ignite at the box office last weekend. The movie has grossed an additional $2.6 million in its weekend run and could end the weekend with $22 million to its name.

5. Date Night: $6 million

The Tina Fey, Steve Carell-starrer has held up well each weekend since it opened on four weeks ago. I’d look for another 40 percent drop this frame, which could make it a bit of a horse race between Back-Up Plan and Date Night for the fourth slot. Check back here Saturday for an update.

Apr 29 2010 03:10 PM ET

CNN's Christiane Amanpour plays a TV journalist in 'Iron Man 2': Seriously?

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Categories: Mash-ups

amanpour-iron-manBy now moviegoers are used to the amusing sight of TV news anchors and local on-air reporters used as props in fictional dramas, playing themselves. It’s a cute bit of meta, a concept that blurs fantasy and reality when, say, Larry King or Chris Matthews plays along, commenting on a made-up character as if he or she were real, while counting on name recognition and audience admiration of the Playing-Himself’s actual celebrity to complete the circuitry of the joke. I’m never comfortable with this sightgag in even the most innocuous of situations; to me it’s all too easy a demonstration that journalism, with all its vaunted pride in independence, is separated by just one Hollywood cameo from the entertainment it purports to cover with integrity. But most of the time I shrug off the cheesiness of the gag because, hey, it’s Larry King, for heaven’s sake. We’re not talking about Walter Cronkite here.

But now comes Iron Man 2, in which Christiane Amanpour has a passing cameo as Christiane Amanpour, instantly recognizable as the world-famous, highly respected CNN reporter who is primed to take over in August as anchor of ABC’s serious news-analysis show, This Week. And I felt my heart turn to palladium, just like Tony Stark’s high-tech ticker.  Et tu, Mme. Amanpour? I know it’s a small thing, I know it shouldn’t matter, I’m sure the fine journalist had fun and her participation probably thrilled her 10-year-old son, and I have no doubt the lark in no way interferes with her ability to report fairly on an entertainment business story involving a comic-book superhero, let alone to interview the President of Taiwan. When I write more fully about the movie next week, Amanpour’s gig won’t even get a mention.

I just wish she had said no, and kept reality separate from comic-book fiction. So I wanted to mention that now. I take it this doesn’t bother you the way it does me…does it?

Apr 29 2010 03:01 PM ET

Katherine Heigl crime thriller 'One For the Money' acquired by Lionsgate

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Categories: Casting, Deals, Movie Biz

In what could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship, Lionsgate announced today that it has acquired distribution rights to One for the Money, the adaptation of Janet Evanovich’s first novel in her bestselling Stephanie Plum series. Katherine Heigl will play the gutsy, bounty-hunting heroine, whose adventures have spawned 19 books.

Last Song helmer Julie Ann Robinson, who previously directed Heigl on Grey’s Anatomy, will direct from a script recently rewritten by Liz Brixius (Nurse Jackie). Heigl will play the newly-divorced, recently laid-off 30-year old Plum, who, desperate for income, agrees to work for her slimy cousin and his bail bond company. She lands a huge case, a local cop wanted for murder. Turns out the cop is the guy who broke her heart in high school, and her investigation embroils her in murder, deceit, and a bit of romance.

One for the Money has been in development at Columbia Pictures since the mid-90s. Producer Lakeshore Entertainment acquired the property from Columbia and will now produce along with Lionsgate and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment. Production is set to begin on July 12.

Apr 29 2010 02:31 PM ET

Shia LaBeouf signs on to romantic actioner: 'The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman'

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Categories: Casting, Deals, Movie Biz

Shia LeBeouf, who we’ll see this September in Oliver Stone’s Wall Street 2, has just signed on to star in The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman, an original romantic actioner from Black List screenwriter Matt Drake. (His script was featured on the 2007 Black List and he is currently writing the low-budget buzzy Project X for The Hangover‘s Todd Phillips) Commercial director Dante Ariola will helm in his feature film debut. Mandate Pictures will produce along with Academy-Award winning producers Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa (Little Miss Sunshine), and William Horberg (Cold Mountain). The producers are fast-tracking the movie towards a fall start date.

The movie centers on Charlie Countryman (LaBeouf) a normal guy who falls in love with the one girl that will likely get him killed. Gabi, yet to be cast, has already been claimed by Nigel, an extremely violent crime boss who employs a slew of violent underlings. Using only his wit and charm, Charlie takes one beating after another to woo Gabi and keep her safe. Finally, it looks there he’s got only one way out to save the girl of his dreams: Will Charlie Countryman die?

Apr 28 2010 05:00 PM ET

'Clash of the Titans II': director of the first one opts out of sequel

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Categories: Deals, Movie Biz

EW.com has confirmed that Louis Leterrier will not lead Sam Worthington’s Perseus on another adventure in Clash of the Titans II. Deadline.com first reported the news last night. The French director who has tirelessly worked on big-scale productions for the past decade with films like Hulk and the Transporter franchise is taking a break, but will remain an executive producer on the sequel, which sources say Warner Bros. is fast-tracking for a 2012 release.

Worthington is on board to lead another adventure in a story that’s currently being created by Warner Bros. wunderkind Greg Berlanti. Berlanti just directed the upcoming Life as We Know It for the studio in addition to scripting Green Lantern, which is currently shooting with Ryan Reynolds. Clash, which cost around $120 million to produce, has now grossed close to $400 million worldwide.

As for who will direct the second installment of Clash, it will likely be someone with an international flair. The movie will probably shoot in Spain or the U.K., like the first one, and an international director would make the experience that much easier.

Apr 28 2010 04:49 PM ET

Lionsgate nabs 11th Tyler Perry movie

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Categories: Deals, Movie Biz

In what is a surprise to absolutely no one, Tyler Perry’s longtime studio home Lionsgate announced today that it has acquired the multi-hyphenate’s next movie, Madea’s Big Happy Family. The movie marks the 11th title to come from Perry. The actor/director/producer/writer will reprise his role as Madea in the film adaptation of his new stage play, Madea’s Happy Family. The studio will release the film on Easter weekend April 22, 2011.

Perry’s 10th film For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf will begin principal photography on June 1 in Atlanta. Perry is adapting the Obie Award-winning play by Ntozake Shange. The movie stars Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Whoopi Goldberg, Phylicia Rashad, Jurnee Smollett, Kimberly Elise, Kerry Washington, Loretta Devine, Anika Noni Rose and Macy Gray. Lionsgate will bow the film on January 14, 2011. Perry’s movies have grossed $450 million domestically.

Apr 28 2010 02:26 PM ET

Smurfs casting update: 'SNL' cast members and John Oliver join voice cast

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Categories: Casting, Movie Biz

Thanks to us, you won’t have to spend any time racking your brain in the middle of next summer’s Smurfs movie thinking “Who’s voice is that?” We’ve got you covered. Joining the cast that already includes Katy Perry, Hank Azaria, George Lopez, and Alan Cumming are Daily Show’s John Oliver, playing Vanity Smurf; Saturday Night Live‘s Kenan Thompson and Fred Armisen as Greedy Smurf and Brainy Smurf, respectively; The Office’s B.J. Novak as Baker Smurf; and comedian Jeff Foxworthy as Handy Smurf. They join Pee-wee Herman himself, Paul Reubens, who, as previously reported by Deadline.com, will play Jokey Smurf. Also lending their voices to the little blue creatures are Wolfgang Puck — playing none other than Chef Smurf — and veteran character actor Gary Basaraba as Hefty Smurf. Star Trek’s Anton Yelchin will voice Clumsy Smurf. The rumors that Quentin Tarantino and Michael Cera are joining the cast are not true.

Neil Patrick Harris and Glee‘s Jayma Mays play the expectant couple who run into the blue creatures in the middle of Central Park. Raja Gosnell (Beverly Hills Chihuahua) has started shooting Smurfs in New York City.

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