A clan of faux-fiends is plotting to suck Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment dry.
Behind the Lines Productions, the company behind a Twilight parody called Twiharder, has filed a $500 million suit against the makers of the Twilight films. In a 219-page complaint obtained by EW, the parodists write that they were planning to release their film last fall — around the same time that The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2 hit theaters. A trailer for the movie was posted to YouTube last June:
Image Credit: Twentieth Century Fox
The troubled visual effects industry is facing a major shift, as three VFX shops announced major changes Friday, including the buyout of Life of Pi’s visual effects company Rhythm & Hues.
EW gave you the low-down on the struggles of the VFX industry that have been getting a bigger spotlight since Rhythm & Hues filed for bankruptcy in February. Here’s an update with the latest on three visual effects shops whose collective work includes Life of Pi, the Twilight Saga, and Doctor Who.
Rhythm & Hues, the VFX company behind the Oscar-winning effects in Life of Pi, started its bankruptcy auction earlier this week and has found a buyer. Friday afternoon the U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved the winning bidder, a holding company for Prana Studios, a VFX and animation company with offices in Los Angeles and Mumbai, India. A Hollywood Reporter analysis valued the deal at $17.8 million. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Clockwise from left: Risky Business; Basic Instinct (Photo credit: Firooz Zahedi); Seven Pounds
Whether romantic, playful, or dangerous, the sex scene has always been a Hollywood staple. Suddenly, it has disappeared. EW investigates.
We all remember our first time, right? If you were growing up in the ’80s, it could’ve been when Tom and Rebecca broke every public-decency law on that train in Risky Business. Or if you were a ’90s teen, it might’ve been Demi and Patrick getting clay in places clay should never, ever be, in Ghost. For the millennials: maybe Reese and Ryan playing tongue tag in Cruel Intentions?
The first love scene you saw in a movie is hard to forget. But what’s hard to remember these days is the last time any of us saw one on screen. Not just a sexy moment but a bona fide hot, unironic, don’t-watch-it-with-your-parents love scene between big stars in a big Hollywood movie. You definitely didn’t see one in any of last year’s nine Best Picture Oscar nominees, which featured characters getting killed, saved, sick, and angry — but never, under any circumstances, lucky. That includes Silver Linings Playbook, in which Jennifer Lawrence’s character is a self-proclaimed sex addict.
Actually, chances are you didn’t see one on the big screen at all in 2012. In a year when TV shows like HBO’s Girls and Showtime’s Homeland had more pants-down action than a urologist’s office, only one out of the 25 highest-grossing movies had a genuine roll in the hay: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Alan Markfield
Vampires and werewolves are so 2012. This year is all about aliens — specifically, the “Souls” of Stephenie Meyer’s The Host, a parasitic race that has nearly completed its invasion of Earth. There’s just one thing standing in their way: Human girl Melanie Stryder (Saoirse Ronan of Atonement and Hanna), who won’t go down without a fight… even after her brain becomes home for one of the Souls.
Learn more about the world of The Host in this exclusive behind-the-scenes video, which features the Twilight author and the film’s stars explaining why their film is a must-see even for those who rolled their eyes at Edward and Bella. “It is a much deeper story than the Twilight novels,” says Meyer, who would know better than anyone.
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, EW has an exclusive photo from The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1. It’s a behind-the-scenes pic of Edward and Bella’s “first” wedding — you know the one where everyone ends up dead, but it turns out to be just a dream. Romantic, right? Check out the image below, and click on it for a larger version! READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Andrew Cooper
Twilight fans, the final DVD to complete your collection is coming.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 will be released on Blu-ray and DVD March 2. (Check out an exclusive, behind-the-scenes photo from the film, above.)
The intense final installment of the vampire franchise took in over 290 million dollars at the domestic box office, nine million more than Breaking Dawn — Part 1.
Both the Blu-ray and the 2-disc DVD will feature hours of bonus material, including a seven-part making-of documentary with segments including “Renesmee” and “The Battle,” as well as audio commentary on the film by director Bill Condon.
Check out a trailer for the DVD below: READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Keith Bernstein
At least the critics still love him! On the same day he was snubbed of an Oscar nomination, Ben Affleck took home the Best Director award at the Critics’ Choice Awards for Argo, which also won Best Picture.
The rest of the honorees — held by the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the largest critics group in the country — were made up of newly-minted Oscar nominees like Daniel Day-Lewis (Best Actor for Lincoln), Jessica Chastain (Best Actress for Zero Dark Thirty), Anne Hathaway (Best Supporting Actress for Les Misérables) and Philip Seymour Hoffman (Best Supporting Actor for The Master).
The cast of Silver Linings Playbook won the Ensemble award, and Beasts of the Southern Wild’s Quvenzhané Wallis received Best Young Actor/Actress.
Judd Apatow, the writer-producer-director of This is 40, won the somewhat tongue-in-cheek Louis XIII Genius Award for “an unprecedented demonstration of excellence in the cinematic arts.”
Movie fans, meanwhile, were invited to vote for their favorite film franchise for this year’s awards, and they chose Twilight over the likes of Batman, Harry Potter, James Bond, and Star Wars.
Check out the full list of winners below: READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Andrew Cooper
A new, extended version of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1 includes eight minutes of never-before-seen footage from the fourth movie in the series. Luckily for you, EW has an exclusive clip of one of those scenes. Check out Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) the morning after a night of passion below! READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Andrew Cooper
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 has been nominated in every single category — and twice in one of ‘em — of the 33rd Annual Golden Raspberry Awards, or Razzies. The full list of noms is below, along with a video presentation of them that should probably be nominated for its own Razzie. Cringe and enjoy! READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images
Looking to get the most bang for your buck when casting a would-be blockbuster? Consider Natalie Portman or Kristen Stewart, the two top actors on Forbes‘s new list of the stars that offer Hollywood the best return on investment.
The magazine estimates that Oscar winner Portman returned $42.70 for every dollar she was paid for her last three starring roles in Black Swan, No Strings Attached, and Your Highness. Black Swan is the main reason Portman won such high placement on the list; the 2010 film grossed a healthy $330 million on an estimated budget of $13 million. By contrast, Forbes Most Overpaid Actor Eddie Murphy earned just $2.30 for every salary dollar he received over the last three years.
