Movie News
Batman Sequel Title & Casting Confirmed!
As a follow up to last year's blockbuster Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan is set to direct Warner Bros. Pictures' The Dark Knight, written by Jonathan Nolan, based on a story by Christopher Nolan and David Goyer. The film will be produced by Emma Thomas, Charles Roven and Christopher Nolan. Additionally, Christian Bale will resume his role as Bruce Wayne and Academy Award nominee Heath Ledger has been cast as The Joker. The announcements were made today by Jeff Robinov, President of Production, Warner Bros. Pictures.
Christopher Nolan revamped the Batman franchise in 2005 with the immensely successful Batman Begins, starring Christian Bale in the title role, which chronicled the early years of the superhero. Nolan first garnered attention from critics and fans in 2000 with the groundbreaking drama Memento, which he wrote and directed. He went on to direct the thriller Insomnia, starring Al Pacino and Robin Williams, and recently wrapped production on The Prestige, with Hugh Jackman and Bale.
Bale was most recently seen in the ensemble cast of Terrence Malick's The New World. His other credits include Little Women, Portrait of a Lady, Metroland, American Psycho, Laurel Canyon and Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun, which was his first starring role.
Ledger most recently earned Oscar Golden Globe, BAFTA and SAG Award nominations and won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Ennis Del Mar in the award-winning drama Brokeback Mountain. His other credits include Casanova, Monster's Ball, Lords of Dogtown, The Brothers Grimm and The Patriot.
"Chris' unique vision is what made 'Batman Begins' such an outstanding film and we could not imagine anyone else at the helm of 'The Dark Knight,'" said Robinov. "We also can't wait to see two such formidable actors as Christian and Heath face off with each other as Batman and The Joker."
"I'm excited to continue the story we started with 'Batman Begins,'" added Nolan. "Our challenge in casting The Joker was to find an actor who is not just extraordinarily talented but fearless. Watching Heath Ledger's interpretation of this iconic character taking on Christian Bale's Batman is going to be incredible."
Production is set to begin on The Dark Knight in early 2007.
22nd James Bond Coming May 2, 2008!
It was announced today by producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. and Sony Pictures Entertainment, that the 22nd James Bond adventure will be released by Columbia Pictures on May 2, 2008 with Daniel Craig reprising the role of the legendary British secret agent.
The story for the latest James Bond film produced by the franchise holders, EON Productions has yet to be announced.
"As we wrap production on 'Casino Royale' we couldn't be more excited about the direction the franchise is heading with Daniel Craig. Daniel has taken the origins of Ian Fleming's James Bond portraying, with emotional complexity, a darker and edgier 007," said Wilson and Broccoli.
Eli Roth Gives Hostel 2 Update
Writer-director Eli Roth tells Production Weekly that he will begin production on Hostel 2 this September in Prague, Cesky Krumlov, Karlovy Vary and other locations around the Czech Republic. Some scenes will also be shot at Barrandov Studios, and other places, like Rome and possibly Slovakia.
Reiterating that the sequel would focus on three females, he added that it will be darker than the original. "The first 'Hostel' is a journey into hell that starts off fun," he said. "Part 2 is going to start off scary and stay creepy all the way through. I want it to feel like the movie is going to pick up on the next cut, as if you could watch the two movies back-to-back and it would be a three-hour movie. There will be some new things thrown in there but it has to look and feel like that movie.
Roth also confirmed plans to direct Cell, an adaptation of the Stephen King bestseller, for The Weinstein Company, with production starting in spring 2007.
Superman, Prada Dominate Friday
After grossing roughly $32 million in its first two days, Bryan Singer's Superman Returns made another $16.2 million (estimated) in its first Friday, up slightly from Thursday but down from its opening day, including Tuesday previews. Although many thought that the second superhero revival from Warner Bros. would do significantly better than last year's Batman Begins, its Friday number is pointing to an opening weekend around $50 milion. That's in a similar range as Peter Jackson's 2005 remake of King Kong, another movie which cost more than $200 million and didn't deliver opening weekend.
On the other hand, 20th Century Fox's adaptation of Lauren Weinberger's The Devil Wears Prada, starring Meryl Streep, made an impressive $9.5 million (estimated) in 1,200 fewer theatres, pointing to an opening weekend in the $25 million, well above expectations.
Despite the two powerhouses, Adam Sandler's comedy Click and Disney's animated Cars continue to bring in business leading into the 4th of July weekend, making $6.2 and $4 million on Friday respectively
6/6/06: A Good Day for an Omen
20th Century Fox's remake of the 1976 supernatural thriller, The Omen, took advantage of yesterday's timely release on 6/6/06 to roll out of the gate with $12,633,666.
Directed by John Moore (Behind Enemy Lines) and starring Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles, the horror remake, about the return of the Anti-Christ in the form of a 6-year-old boy, beats Will Smith's 2001 biodrama Ali as the highest opening day for a Tuesday release.
The Omen also claims the highest gross for a movie on Tuesday ever, slipping past Meet the Fockers ($12,629,620), which earned the figure on its first Tuesday.
Craven and Son Writing Hills Have Eyes Sequel
Fangoria has learned that Wes Craven and his son Jonathan will write the sequel to Alexandre Aja's The Hills Have Eyes remake, which was made for $15 million and has collected $54 million worldwide. Craven produced the March 10 release.
"We want to continue the story of the miners," Craven said. "This time, a group of National Guard screw-ups come face to face with the mutants on their last day of training in the desert. We will take the audience underground [into the mines] as well. The studio, Fox Searchlight, wants the sequel out a year to the day after the last one, so we have to deliver our script in a matter of weeks."
The site says that Craven and producing partner Marianne Maddalena offered the follow-up to Aja, but he won't be involved. Craven added that they are talking to Michael J. Bassett about directing the sequel. The new "Hills" will shoot this summer.
Craven himself plans to direct a movie of his own in the next year. "I'm writing a film called 'Bug.' It's an original script, and it's not about killer insects. It's a thriller set in a high school. The bug of the title refers to a surveillance device."
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
78th Annual Academy Awards Winners
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
George Clooney
SYRIANA
Achievement in Visual Effects
KING KONG
Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers and Richard Taylor
Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
WALLACE & GROMIT IN THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT
Nick Park and Steve Box
Best Live Action Short Film
SIX SHOOTER
Martin McDonagh
Best Animated Short Film
THE MOON AND THE SON: AN IMAGINED CONVERSATION
John Canemaker and Peggy Stern
Achievement in Costume Design
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
Colleen Atwood
Achievement in Makeup
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
Howard Berger and Tami Lane
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Rachel Weisz
THE CONSTANT GARDENER
Best Documentary Short Subject
A NOTE OF TRIUMPH: THE GOLDEN AGE OF NORMAN CORWIN
Corinne Marrinan and Eric Simonson
Best Documentary Feature
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS
Luc Jacquet and Yves Darondeau
Achievement in Art Direction
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
John Myhre (Art Direction); Gretchen Rau (Set Decoration)
Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Gustavo Santaolalla
Achievement in Sound Mixing
KING KONG
Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges and Hammond Peek
Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song)
"IT'S HARD OUT HERE FOR A PIMP" FROM HUSTLE & FLOW
Music and Lyric by Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman and Paul Beauregard
Achievement in Sound Editing
KING KONG
Mike Hopkins and Ethan Van der Ryn
Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
TSOTSI
South Africa
Achievement in Film Editing
CRASH
Hughes Winborne
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Philip Seymour Hoffman
CAPOTE
Achievement in Cinematography
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
Dion Beebe
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Reese Witherspoon
WALK THE LINE
Adapted Screenplay
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Screenplay by Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana
Original Screenplay
CRASH
Screenplay by Paul Haggis & Bobby Moresco; Story by Paul Haggis
Achievement in Directing
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Ang Lee
Best Motion Picture of the Year
CRASH
Paul Haggis and Cathy Schulman
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Reviews
3:10 to Yuma
6 out of 10
It starts off great, with a fantastic armored stagecoach robbery that matches classic Western moments with the craft of modern action cinema, and manages to hit several of the most iconic Western moments, from renegade Apache attack to a chase through railroad tunnels before the final Western town shootout. Judged on its adventure moments alone, "3:10 to Yuma" is as a good a Western as we've had in some years.
But, "3:10 to Yuma" wants to be more than that, and that's both the good and the bad of it. Mangold wants to craft a character piece, not just an adventure movie, examining Ben and Dan and trying to figure out why they are the way they are and letting them bounce off each other, and he's been gifted with a pair of strong actors in Crowe and Bale who are game to make it work, and an excellent supporting ensemble, particularly Peter Fonda (who seems to be at least partially channeling father Henry) and Alan Tudyk. Unfortunately, Mangold and his screenwriters can't seem to decide which direction they want the characters to go – adversary's testing each others limits, or grudging road buddies earning each others respect. It's a dynamic that works to build moments and tension throughout the early parts of the film but goes in the complete opposite direction at the end, and drags "Yuma" off a cliff with it. It's simply impossible to believe anything Crowe says or does in the last thirty minutes. This character schizophrenia also leaves the film for the most part without a villain, or at least severe confusion about who the villain is. Taken all together, despite all the very good things "Yuma" has to offer, its weaknesses overcome all of its strengths.
It's been said that all a bad film really needs is a good ending. It's the cure for all your ills. Unfortunately the reverse is true, a bad ending can sink even the best of films, and "3:10 to Yuma" is sad proof of that.
Superman Returns
8 out of 10
Despite a few pitfalls, "Superman Returns" is still a great summer film. I think guys are going to love it because of the action, women will enjoy it for the prominent love story, and kids are going to love it because it's simply Superman. They may get antsy during the long character developing stretches, but this is a film that Superman fans of all ages will enjoy
Scary Movie 4
6.5 out of 10
If you laughed at the dumb jokes in the first three "Scary Movies" you're bound to find just as many or more easy laughs in the follow-up. In some ways, this is even better than "Scary Movie 3" but is that really saying very much? Needless to say, Hollywood should deliver enough bad movies in the next few years to guarantee that David Zucker's dumb comedy legacy will never end.
V for Vendetta
9 out of 10
If you go into "V For Vendetta" expecting a superhero action film, you may be disappointed, but if you know the graphic novel, you'll be impressed with the way McTeigue and the Wachowskis have brought Moore's vision to life, embellishing and modernizing his ideas without filtering them or watering them down. It's the type of cerebral politically-minded commentary on government that is sorely needed right now.
The Hills Have Eyes
4 out of 10
Horror buffs might appreciate Aja's remake of Craven’s lesser work for the relentless series of gory showpieces, but the premise wasn't strong enough to be memorable thirty years ago, and it certainly isn't improved by this remake's significantly larger budget. You would have to look long and hard to find anything even remotely justifiable in the existence of this remake, and frankly, it's not really worth the effort.
Running Scared
2 out of 10
"Running Scared" is just a terrible film. It tries to be funny and it isn't. It tries to be serious and it's inadvertently funny. The action is too far over the top and there are gaping holes in the plot. I would only see "Running Scared" if I was a "Mystery Science Theater 3000" fan looking for easy targets
Freedomland
6.5 out of 10
There's a good deal of merit to what Price and Roth were trying to accomplish with this dramatic story ripped from today's headlines, but sadly, the few times it falters is usually because Julianne Moore's performance makes her character the weak link in her own movie.
Date Movie
6.5 out of 10
"Date Movie" is one the better films I have seen in the last few weeks and it's worth checking out. Just make sure you stay through the closing credits for some funny outtakes.
Firewall
6 out of 10
If you can leave your brain at home, you might enjoy "Firewall". Yes, it has major problems, but it's a popcorn flick that you shouldn't expect too much out of. Harrison Ford has done much better, though. How much longer must we wait for "Indy 4"?
Final Destination 3
7.5 out of 10
Delivering a movie almost as satisfying as the previous sequel, James Wong's return to the franchise doesn't disappoint, because you can't help but laugh and cheer as each annoying character gets their due. Obviously, the premise still works, and Death shouldn't retire with this third chapter.
Curious George
8 out of 10
"Curious George" was a fun film to take the family to. I loved seeing my childhood books played out on the screen and my kids absolutely loved George's antics. It was a good outing for all of us. It was also a relief not to take them to a children's film filled with innuendo (ala Imagine's other kid's book film, The Grinch). Parents can rest easy.
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