Thread
Printable Version

Movie News

Stiller: ''Night At The Museum 3' a possibility'

Ben Stiller has admitted that a third instalment in the Night At The Museum franchise is a possibility.

Speaking at a UK press conference for Night At The Museum 2, the actor told reporters that he would be happy to reprise the role of Larry Daley if audiences wanted him too.

"For the second one we had to figure out a reason why that movie would actually happen, and I feel like we figured that out. The idea of doing a third one would be great and really fun, but it would mean having to figure out something that sustained itself," he explained.

"There are a couple of ideas floating around if it seems that enough people want to see a third one, and of course working with these guys again would be great. But it can't get any bigger, just a little different."

His comments prompted co-star Ricky Gervais to joke: "[What about] a normal museum where nothing comes to life? Just about the admin, naturalise it a little bit more."

Night At The Museum 2 is released in the UK on May 20.

TOP

'Angels & Demons' uncovers a $16.6 million box office haul on Friday

Re-teaming for a follow-up to 2006's The Da Vinci Code, Ron Howard and Tom Hanks scored a $16.6 million opening-day bow at 3,527 theaters with their adaptation of Dan Brown's Angels & Demons. While that marks a sharp decline from Da Vinci's $28.6 million debut three years ago, Angels' gross was still enough to land the top spot at the box office on Friday, handily beating out J.J. Abram's relaunched Star Trek, which landed in second place with $11.9 million (the movie has grossed $116.5 so far). The week's other notable debuts both opened in limited release: The Brothers Bloom (starring Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, and Rachel Weisz) earned a respectable $23,000 from just four theaters, while Jennifer Aniston and Steve Zahn's workplace comedy Management took a downsize $109,000 from 212 sites, which translates to a $515 per-theater average. Check out Friday's top five below, and come back Sunday for a full weekend box office recap.

1. Angels & Demons -- $16.6 mil

2. Star Trek -- $11.9 mil

3. X-Men Origins: Wolverine -- $4.3 mil

4. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past -- $2.1 mil

5. Obsessed -- $1.5 mil

TOP

Ford Handed Labeouf Indiana Jones' Hat

Harrison Ford had a very special wrap gift for his movie son after completing Indiana Jones & The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull - he tossed Shia Labeouf his sweaty hat.

Ford, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg - the moviemakers behind the Indiana Jones franchise - have dismissed reports Labeouf will be taking over as Jones, but the young star has the movie icon's hat!

He tells the new issue of Playboy magazine, "It has his sweat stains from the whole movie in it. We were way out somewhere at an airplane hangar on the last day of shooting, and he took the hat off his head, signed it and handed it to me.

"When I looked at the hat I saw he had written something with a silver Sharpie (pen). It said, 'It's all yours now, kid - Harrison.'"

But Labeouf is quick to point out that he won't be taking over from Ford any time soon: "It's easy to perceive that as his handing the reins over to me on a franchise or whatever... that's not it.

"What I read it as is, 'Keep your s**t on.' It was his way of saying 'Life is going to get crazy now, so strap on tight, kid.'"

TOP

Scorsese teams up with The Auteurs

Martin Scorsese has announced that he will be teaming up with internet distribution company The Auteurs to help preserve films.

The film venture will be uniting with the Oscar-winning director’s non-profit organisation The World Cinema Foundation to support restoration and exhibition of neglected films from around the globe, according to Screen Daily.

"Preserving films is preserving cultural identity and plurality," said Scorsese. "There are so many pictures in need of restoration and preservation, which, for many reasons, are not getting the attention they deserve.

"And restoring and preserving is only half the battle, because in order to be appreciated, they have to be seen. Our new relationship with The Auteurs is intended to build awareness on the films and the people who made them, which are at the centre of the Foundation’s work."

TOP

Wolverines! Chris Hemsworth nabs lead in 'Red Dawn'

Chris Hemsworth, the doomed elder Captain Kirk from Star Trek, has landed the starring role in the remake of Red Dawn (2010). The 25-year-old Australian, who's currently shooting the MGM/UA thriller Cabin In the Woods with director Drew Goddard (Cloverfield), will reprise the role of Jed Eckert, the ringleader of a ragtag group of small-town teenagers battling back against invading Russians. Patrick Swayze played tough guy Jed in the 1984 original. Hemsworth will reportedly also star in Kenneth Branagh's Thor.

TOP

Box Office Report: 'Angels & Demons' summons a $48 million bow

Ron Howard's Angels & Demons soared to a $48 million opening this weekend, narrowly edging out a stellar $43 million second-week performance by Star Trek, according to estimates by Hollywood.com Box Office.


While hardly miraculous, Angels' solid bow is the second-best opening of Tom Hanks' career, behind The Da Vinci Code's $77.1 million debut in 2006. Despite receiving better reviews than its predecessor, Angels was widely expected to fly lower than Da Vinci on account of the cooled-off controversy over the religious subject matter in Dan Brown's novels. Still, the books' worldwide infamy should guarantee returns of biblical proportions; Da Vinci grossed $758.2 million globally, and Angels has already racked up an additional $104.3 million from foreign territories.

Angels may also have had its wings clipped slightly by J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, which dropped a slim 46% in its second weekend—presumably thanks to good word of mouth about the well-reviewed film. A $43 million weekend haul means that the space saga has already reaped $147.6 million, making it the year's fourth highest-grossing movie after just eleven days in theaters.

Following a steep 69% percent slump last weekend, X-Men Origins: Wolverine (No. 3 with $14.8 million) recovered a bit, dipping just 44% percent to reach a cumulative gross of $151.1 million after three weekends.

Faring even better, Matthew McConaughey' s Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (No. 4 with $6.9 million) and the Beyoncé-Ali Larter thriller Obsessed (No. 5 with $4.6 million) dropped off just 33 and 31 percent, respectively. These mid-budget genre pics have shown surprising resilience against the tide of blockbusters, demonstrating a strong market for counter-programming.

The weekend boasted only two other high profile pics, both in limited release. Jennifer Aniston's Management got a pink slip from moviegoers, grossing just $378,420 from 212 screens for a measly per-screen average of $1,785. Meanwhile, the caper comedy The Brothers Bloom was a bright spot on the specialty side, ringing up $82,000 from four theaters for a $20,500 per-theater haul.

Just two weekends into the summer movie season, overall box office is up 16% over last year. And things are just heating up: Next week's Memorial Day double-header of Terminator Salvation and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian promises a weekend to remember at the multiplex. See you then!

TOP

Stiller: 'J.J. Abrams did great job'

Ben Stiller has revealed his belief that J.J. Abrams did "a great job" directing Star Trek.

The Nightmare At The Museum 2 actor told Radio 1 that he is a self-confessed Trekkie and was happy with Abram's addition to the sci-fi franchise.

"I think he did a great job," said Stiller. "He took enough chances with it that he's definitely going to offend some hardcore Trekkies, but by doing that he also gave it so much energy and life.

"It also remained true to the original. I loved the casting, I thought he did a great job there."

Stiller named his production company Red Hour Films after the first episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, 'Return Of The Archons'.

TOP

Hanks: 'No reason for Forrest Gump 2'

Tom Hanks has said that there is "no reason" to make a sequel to Forrest Gump.

The Angels & Demons star played the lead role in the Oscar-winning 1994 box office hit directed by Robert Zemeckis.

Though a screenplay based on the original novel's follow-up, Gump and Co., was supposedly penned in 2001, Hanks has dismissed it ever adapting into a film.

"There was never any talk of a sequel," he told Radio 1.

"There was a brief 'Well, would it work, what would be the point?' But we would have just been repeating ourselves. So there's no reason to do it."

TOP

Barrymore’s ‘Whip It!’ for Oct release

Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut Whip It! has been confirmed for an October release in the US, it has been reported.

The roller derby film will be distributed through Fox Searchlight and Barrymore’s production company, Flower Films.

The film will star Ellen Page as an indie-rock teen who discovers a roller derby league, as well as Kristen Wiig, Juliette Lewis and Zoe Bell as derby veterans.

Whip It! debuts in US cinemas on October 9. No UK release date has yet been announced.

TOP

Eminem returns to film with 'Funny People'

Eminem has revealed he has returned to acting with a cameo role in the upcoming Judd Apatow film Funny People.

The 8 Mile star told Vibe magazine: "I just did a cameo a few months ago with Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen in a Judd Apatow-produced film. It's called Funny People.

"I kind of do a little cameo in that, which was fun by the way. And 8 Mile was not a fun movie to shoot."

As for future movie roles, the nine-time Grammy winner said: "Will I end up doing another movie again? Probably yeah."

Funny People will be released in the UK on 28 August.

TOP

Howard: 'I was pregnant with no child'

Bryce Dallas Howard has revealed her body struggles while filming Terminator Salvation.

The actress, daughter of director Ron Howard, was offered the role of Kate in the film after recently giving birth to her son Theo, now two years old.

Hesitant to inform director McG about her post-baby figure, Howard told People magazine: "I had a pregnant body with no child in it."

"I was so excited, but then was just kind of waiting to tell him, 'I'm not in great shape right now', but when I finally told him, he said, 'Oh, that's okay. Kate's really pregnant. That'll be even better'."

As for her losing weight on set, she said: "Naturally just after a woman has a baby she starts to lose weight. McG was throwing cookies at me the whole time, 'You're still eight months pregnant in the film! Be careful! Continuity!'"

TOP

Gray: ‘I inspected Gwyneth Paltrow’s breasts’

Two Lovers director James Gray revealed that Gwyneth Paltrow asked him to inspect her breasts before committing to nude scenes in the film, it has emerged.

Gray said that Paltrow had asked him to come into her trailer where she would expose her breasts for approval after having two children.

The director told The Sun: "Gwyneth told me ‘I don't care about nudity, I'll give you everything you need. But I've had two children and I just don't think they look very good any more. Do me a favour, come into my trailer and I'll show them to you and if you think they look okay, I'll do it'."

As for accepting the offer, Gray said: "So I marched in there and I told her they looked great."

TOP

Rachel Weisz 'did her own nude scenes'

Rachel Weisz has said that she did not use a body double for the nude scenes in her upcoming movie Agora.

The actress, who stars as the fourth century Greek philosopher and astronomer Hyaptia in the film, told the Daily Mail that it is her body in its two naked scenes.

Weisz said: "It was all me, never even thought of using a double.

"Although I was thinking about baby fat - but I think most of it had gone by the time I went before the cameras. I did some yoga, that helped, and just avoided junk food."

She added that her character in the film "famously never had sex" and "died a virgin", despite being surrounded by male students and slaves.

TOP

Hemsworth in talks to lead 'Thor' cast

Chris Hemsworth will play Norse god Thor in the big screen adaptation of Marvel's comic book series.

According to Variety, the Australian actor is in final talks to play the hammer-wielding superhero for director Kenneth Branagh.

The movie will see the title character banished from Asgard by his father Odin to teach him a lesson in humility. He later becomes a protector for Earth alongside Iron Man, Hulk and Captain America.

Hemsworth, who recently appeared as James T. Kirk's father in Star Trek, will also play Thor in The Avengers, to be released in 2012.

Thor is expected to arrive in cinemas on May 20, 2011.

TOP

Sean Penn circles 'Must Be The Place'

Sean Penn is in talks to play a wealthy rock star in Paolo Sorrentino's This Must Be The Place, according to Variety.

Financing for the project has not been finalised, but Penn and Sorrentino have apparently agreed to work together when the actor finishes shooting comedy The Three Stooges and action drama Cartel.

Penn's character would be a wealthy retired rock star who attempts to hunt down his father's killer, an ex-Nazi war criminal who is living in the USA.

Sorrentino and Umberto Contarello penned the script. The movie will be the Italian director's first English-language film.

TOP

Abrams "open" to Shatner 'Trek' return

J.J. Abrams has admitted that William Shatner may still have a future in the revived Star Trek series.

Speaking to MTV News about his sequel plans, the director noted that the alternate reality created in the new movie leaves the door open for Shatner's return as Captain Kirk and the possibility of the villain from Wrath Of Khan facing the Enterprise crew again.

"The fun of this [new Star Trek] is that the destiny of these characters is in their hands - it's not constrained by the pre-existing films or TV series," Abrams said. "Believe me, whether it's William Shatner or Khan... it would be ridiculous to not be open to those ideas."

He added: "The point of creating this independent timeline is to not have restrictions [and] one of those restrictions was that Kirk was dead."

Star Trek screenwriter Alex Kurtzman revealed that the filmmakers had initially planned to include Shatner in the movie as a hologram projection addressing Zachary Quinto's young Spock.

TOP

NASA beams 'Star Trek' into space

Astronauts on board the International Space Station have been able to watch the new Star Trek film after NASA beamed a copy into space.

According to The Times, NASA spent five hours reformatting the J.J. Abrams blockbuster so that it could be sent via Mission Control to the station, which is situated around 220 miles from Earth.

In a statement, astronaut Michael Barratt admitted that Star Trek had been the reason behind his career, saying: "[It] blended adventure, discovery, intelligence and storytelling that assumes a positive future for humanity.

"The International Space Station is a real step in that direction, with many nations sharing in an adventure the world can be proud of."

Star Trek raced to the top of the US and UK box offices on release and has grossed nearly $200 million worldwide.

TOP

Peter Berg to steer 'Battleship'

Director Peter Berg is eyeing a movie adaptation of Hasbro board game Battleship, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The Hancock helmer is in discussions with Universal about bringing the popular game to the screen. Jon and Erich Hoeber have already signed up to write the script.

The game consists of two players placing ships on a grid, then taking turns to guess their opponent's co-ordinates and sink their vessels. The studio is keeping a lid on story details at the moment, though the movie project has been described as an "epic naval action adventure".

Hasbro and Universal are also developing films based on Clue, Ouija Board and Monopoly with Ridley Scott.

TOP

Belle, Wilkinson for 'After The Wedding'

Camilla Belle and Tom Wilkinson have joined the cast of After The Wedding, reports Variety.

The project is an English-language remake of Susanna Bier's 2006 Danish film about a social worker who runs an Indian orphanage on a shoestring budget. He is offered a multimillion-dollar donation by a mysterious businessman on the condition that he attends the wedding of his investor's daughter.

Michael Caton-Jones (Basic Instinct 2) is attached to direct the film for Halcyon and producers Victor Kubicek and Derek Anderson.

"It's a simple yet terrifically emotional story that asks us deep questions about our lives, families and responsibilities," said Caton-Jones.

TOP

Tilda Swinton will 'Talk About Kevin'

Tilda Swinton has signed up for the big screen adaptation of We Need To Talk About Kevin.

Based on Lionel Shriver's popular novel, the film will tell the story of an educated New York mother who attempts to raise a son called Kevin whom she never wanted. The child causes constant problems for the mother and is the main reason behind the breakdown of her marriage.

Kevin goes on to become a serial killer, who embarks on a murder spree at high school with a crossbow.

Michael Clayton producer Jennifer Fox will re-team with Swinton on the project. Lynne Ramsay is directing the movie.

TOP

Thread