Peter Jackson In Talks to Direct “The Hobbit”
From Entertainment Weekly:
Almost one month after Guillermo del Toro dropped out of directing The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson is in talks to helm the two films in the franchise. While we wait for the studios involved or Jackson’s manager to confirm, there are lots of questions that remain before The Hobbit can actually begin production, let alone reach the big screen.
First, MGM, the debt-laden studio that owns 50 percent of the rights to the classic tale, is facing an uncertain future. The studio failed to attract bids high enough to satisfy its creditors during an auction earlier this year, and the latest plan may see Spyglass Entertainment running the studio in a prepackaged bankruptcy, according to the Wall Street Journal. Talks are continuing and no decision has yet been made, though some resolution is needed before the studio’s debt waiver expires in mid-July. Some Hollywood insiders question whether production could actually proceed if there’s a chance that those rights could wind up in bankruptcy court along with the rest of MGM’s assets (it’s the same reason why the Bond franchise is tied up since MGM owns half of those rights, too), but sources close to the Hobbit project insist that MGM’s financial woes aren’t a factor in this production.
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The Hollywood Reporter: Batman 3 Set for July 20, 2012 Release
From The Hollywood Reporter:
Warner Bros. has set July 20, 2012, as the release date for the third Christopher Nolan-directed Batman movie.
The studio has barely begun the process of developing the movie; Nolan is in postproduction on “Inception,” but is hammering out a story with David Goyer.
There is no title as this point and no start date.
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The Hollywood Reporter: Fox Cancels 24
From The Hollywood Reporter:
Final episode of action drama will air in May
By James Hibberd
March 26, 2010, 08:00 PM ET
Tick, tick, tick ... and done.
After eight seasons, Fox's "24" is coming to an end.
The groundbreaking action drama will air its final real-time episode in May, the victim of a confluence of circumstances: a swelling budget, declining ratings and creative fatigue.
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The Hollywood Reporter: “Robin Hood” To Open Cannes
From The Hollywood Reporter:
Ridley Scott's film to screen out of competition May 12
By David Morgan
March 26, 2010, 01:21 AM ET
Universal's "Robin Hood," directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett, has been selected as the opening-night film for the upcoming Festival de Cannes.
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Variety: Chris Evans to Portray Captain America
From Variety:
Thesp to star in three Marvel films, in addition to 'Avengers'
By MARC GRASER
Chris Evans will don the star-spangled superhero suit to play Captain America for Marvel Entertainment.
Evans accepted an offer made by the comicbook publisher late last week, beating out a number of thesps who test-screened for the high-profile role.
Deal, which Evans' reps are finalizing, calls for the actor to star in at least three "Captain America" movies, starting with "The First Avenger: Captain America," which Marvel is set to invade theaters with on July 22, 2011. Paramount will distribute.
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“The Hobbit” to Go Into Production in July
From BBC News:
Shooting of the long-awaited film version of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit is set to begin in New Zealand in July.
Actor Sir Ian McKellen, who reprises his Lord of the Rings role as Gandalf the Grey, revealed casting is taking place in LA, London and New York.
Mexican-born film-maker Guillermo del Toro will direct the film and its proposed sequel.
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Box-Office Preview #3: Weekend of January 22-24, 2010
Heading into the weekend, Avatar will attempt to become the first film since Titanic to remain at the top of the box-office for six consecutive weekends. Facing soft competition from three new releases, it should not be too difficult a task for it to manage.
The toughest competition that Avatar will face this weekend will almost certainly be 20th Century Fox's Tooth Fairy, starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a minor league hockey player who, after crushing a young fan's dreams, is sentenced to one week of hard labor as the fabled Tooth Fairy. Hack director Michael Lembeck has tread these high-concept waters before, having directed the last two pictures in Disney's The Santa Clause franchise, and Dwayne Johnson has a proven track record in family movies after the success of The Game Plan and Race to Witch Mountain. Although the film has received unanimously awful reviews, critical reception matters very little to these sorts of films and it should have no problem clearing $20 million this weekend, which should be enough for a second place finish.
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Box-Office Report #1: Weekend of January 15-18, 2010
As expected, Avatar was king over Martin Luther King weekend, bringing in $54.4 million and pulling ahead of the $500 million mark, a milestone reached by only two other motion pictures in history, James Cameron's own Titanic and 2008's The Dark Knight. Not only did Avatar break $500 million this weekend, it reached it in an astounding 32 days, breaking the record previously held by The Dark Knight, which took 45 days to earn the same amount of money. In the process, it also shattered the record for the biggest fifth weekend gross, which had previously belonged to Titanic with $30 million, and became the first film since 1999's The Sixth Sense to retain the #1 spot at the box-office for 5 consecutive weekends. It also posted the biggest MLK weekend gross ever, eclipsing the $46.1 million grossed by Cloverfield in 2008. From Friday through Sunday, Avatar grossed $42.8 million, down only 14.9% from last weekend's intake of $50.3 million.
Avatar also grossed an additional $128.5 million internationally in 111 markets, raising its international total to $1.2 billion and its worldwide total to $1.6 billion, trailing only Titanic's $1.8 billion by less than $220 million, an amount that should easily be covered within the next 2 weeks.
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Box-Office Preview #2: Weekend of January 15-18, 2010
As we move into the first four-day holiday weekend of the New Year, two new movies and one Oscar hopeful going into wide release will try to suck away audiences from James Cameron's mega-hit, Avatar. Sadly for them, they will all probably come up short.
The film that has the best shot at dethroning Avatar is the Hughes Brothers' post-Apocalyptic thriller, The Book of Eli, starring Denzel Washington as a lone warrior who has assigned himself with the task of protecting the last known copy of the King James Bible in the world. While the critics have not been kind to Eli, I expect the film to be a modest hit for Warner Brothers. While it won't hit the top spot at the box-office, it should earn a respectable $35 million over the four-day weekend, which will be enough for a second place finish.
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Box-Office Preview #1: Weekend of January 8-10, 2010
And so begins a new decade of film with the first three new releases of the 2010s: Daybreakers, Leap Year, and Youth in Revolt.
Unfortunately, not one of them will be the first release of the new decade to reach the top spot at the box-office. In its first non-holiday weekend, James Cameron’s science fiction epic, Avatar, will brush aside the competition with ease and set the record for the biggest fourth weekend gross in Hollywood history. The picture, which has thus far shattered records left and right, has already broken even in just a few short weeks, even if the most inflated rumors concerning its budget are true. Worldwide, it grossed over $1 billion in just 17 days and should become the second-highest grossing film of all-time by Monday morning, as well as the highest grossing North American release of 2009.
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| 3. | The Expendables | ||
| $9.5M | (Total: $82.0M) | ||
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