Archive for the ‘News Items’ Category

Ridley Scott ‘turned down Prometheus director’s cut’

Wednesday, October 10th, 2012

Ridley Scott turned down the opportunity to make a director’s cut of Prometheus.

DVD and Blu-ray producer Charles de Lauzirika, who directed the epic 220-minute Making Of documentary The Furious Gods, confirmed that Fox offered Scott the chance to re-cut the film for its home entertainment release.

“It was discussed quite a bit, the idea of an extended cut,” de Lauzirika said. “But the theatrical cut is Ridley’s director’s cut.”

“Fox very kindly offered him the opportunity to create a new cut of the film, and he said ‘No, this is my cut, and I’ll give you thirty-something minutes of deleted scenes on the side’.

“It was that simple, there was really no debate and no argument.”

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‘Taken 2’ tops the US box office

Monday, October 8th, 2012

Liam Neeson’s Taken 2 has debuted at number one at the US box office, earning $50m.

Hotel Transylvania and Looper also stayed on the top five list on their second week.

Taken 2 knocked out animated film Adam Sandler’s Hotel Transylvania to number two spot, which took in $26.3m. Its total gross is now $76m.

Looper, starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, moved down two spots to number four with $12.2m. It has earned a total of $40.3m.

The wide release of Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson’s musical Pitch Perfect helped the film move from the sixth spot to third place with $21.6 million.

Pitch Perfect debuted last weekend to a limited release, taking in about $5m.

Meanwhile, Tim Burton’s new animated film Frankenweenie debuted at fifth place with $11.5m.

End of Watch, Trouble with the Curve, House of the End of The Street, The Master and Finding Nemo (3D) round out the top ten.

The top ten :
1. (-) Taken 2 – $50 million
2. (1) Hotel Transylvania – $26.3 million
3. (6) Pitch Perfect – $14.7 million
4. (2) Looper – $12.2 million
5. (-) Frankenweenie – $11.5 million
6. (3) End of Watch – $4 million
7. (4) Trouble with the Curve – $3.87 million
8. (5) House at the End of The Street – $3.698 million
9. (9) The Master – $1.84 million
10. (7) Finding Nemo (3D – $1.555 million

‘Hotel Transylvania’ tops US box office

Monday, October 1st, 2012

Hotel Transylvania has debuted at number one at the US box office.

The animated feature, starring voice work from Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg, opened with weekend sales of $43 million, setting a record for the biggest debut for a September film and the biggest opening for Sony Pictures Animation.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s science fiction thriller Looper also debuted with strong ticket sales at number two, earning $21.2 million.

Last weekend’s top films End of Watch, Trouble with The Curve and House at the End of the Street slipped to round out the top five, while new film Pitch Perfect came in at number six with $5.2 million.

Elsewhere, Finding Nemo (3D) fell three spots to seventh place, while Resident Evil: Retribution also slipped to eighth place.

Won’t Back Down, the new Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal drama, rounds out the list at number ten, debuting with $2.7 million.

The US box office top ten:
1. (-) Hotel Transylvania – $43 million
2. (-) Looper – $21.2 million
3. (1) End of Watch – $8 million
4. (3) Trouble with the Curve – $7.53 million
5. (2) House at the End of The Street – $7.15 million
6. (-) Pitch Perfect – $5.2 million
7. (4) Finding Nemo (3D) – $4.06 million
8. (5) Resident Evil: Retribution – $3 million
9. (7) The Master – $2.75 million
10. (-) Won’t Back Down – $2.7 million

‘Walking Dead’ season four planned by AMC?

Tuesday, September 25th, 2012

AMC is apparently planning a fourth season of The Walking Dead.

Though it has not yet been officially confirmed that the zombie drama will continue beyond its upcoming third run, a competition on AMC’s official website is offering fans the opportunity to “win a trip to The Walking Dead Season 4 set”.

The cable network has teamed up with the American Red Cross for a nationwide blood drive, with those who make an appointment to donate being entered into a sweepstake.

Winners will then be rewarded with a three-day, two-night trip to “the season four production of The Walking Dead in 2013″.

The show’s third season premieres in the US on October 14 and makes its UK debut on October 19 at 10pm on FX.

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‘End of Watch’, ‘House at the End of the Street’ tie at US box office

Sunday, September 23rd, 2012

End of Watch and House at the End of The Street have both debuted in a tie on the US box office.

Both the crime drama starring Jake Gyllenhaal and the horror flick with Jennifer Lawrence made $13 million at cinemas this weekend.

Clint Eastwood’s baseball drama Trouble With the Curve also opened in the number three spot with $12.7 million.

Holding on at number four and five respectively are Finding Nemo (3D) with $9.4 million and last week’s winner Resident Evil: Retribution with $6.7 million.

Debuting at number six and earning a disappointing $6.3 million was the comic book adaptation Dredd, starring Karl Urban as the futuristic cop.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s indie success The Master rose from 19 to seven, earning $5 million, while The Possession, Lawless and ParaNorman round out the top ten.

The US box office top ten (studio estimates):
1. (-) End of Watch – $13,000,000
2. (-) House at the End of The Street (3D) – $13,000,000
3. (-) Trouble with the Curve – $12,720,000
4. (2) Finding Nemo (3D) – $9,446,000
5. (1) Resident Evil: Retribution – $6,700,000
6. (-) Dredd – $6,300,000
7. (19) The Master – $5,000,000
8. (3) The Possession – $2,630,000
9. (4) Lawless – $2,321,000
10. (6) ParaNorman – $2,297,000

‘Resident Evil: Retribution’ tops US box office

Sunday, September 16th, 2012

Resident Evil: Retribution has debuted at number one on the US box office.

The Paul W S Anderson movie, starring Milla Jovovich, opened with weekend sales of $21.1 million, compared with the $26.6 million opening for Resident Evil: Afterlife in 2010.

Pixar’s Finding Nemo (3D) re-release also opened to strong numbers in second place, earning $17.5 million in ticket sales.

Horror movie The Possession failed to keep its number one spot, falling to number three, while kid-friendly animated movie ParaNorman stayed at five with $3 million.

Bradley Cooper’s drama The Words took a fall from fourth to seventh place with $2.8 million, while Will Ferrell’s The Campaign continues to hold on at number ten with just $2.4 million.

The US box office top ten:
1. (-) Resident Evil: Retribution – $21,100,000
2. (-) Finding Nemo (3D) – $17,504,000
3. (1) The Possession – $5,800,000
4. (2) Lawless – $4,219,000
5. (5) ParaNorman – $3,039,000
6. (3) The Expendables 2 -$3,030,000
7. (4) The Words – $2,880,000
8. (6) The Bourne Legacy – $2,875,000
9. (7) The Odd Life of Timothy Green – $2,511,000
10. (8) The Campaign – $2,405,000

‘300’ sequel subtitled ‘Rise of an Empire’

Thursday, September 13th, 2012
Leonidas (Gerard Butler) from '300'

300‘s upcoming sequel is to be subtitled Rise of an Empire, Warner Bros has confirmed.

Noam Murro’s follow-up was previously in development as 300: The Battle of Artemisia, but has now undergone a name change.

Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green and Lena Headey will lead the cast of 300: Rise of an Empire, which follows Zack Snyder’s 2006 original.

Hans Matheson, Rodrigo Santoro, Igal Naor, Callan Mulvey, Jack O’Connell and Andrew Tiernan make up the supporting cast.

300: Rise of an Empire will reportedly centre on Greek general Themistocles, who lead Athens against Persian forces in a battle that took place around the events of the first film.

300: Rise of an Empire is scheduled for release on August 2, 2013.

‘The Possession’ tops US box office for second week

Monday, September 10th, 2012

The Possession has won the top spot in the US box office for the second week in a row.

Starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyra Sedgwick, the horror film led a dismal fall weekend, bringing in $9.5 million and raising its total gross to $33.3 million.

Lawless, Shia LaBeouf’s 1920s crime drama, managed to hold on to its place at number two, earning $6 million.

Bradley Cooper’s latest drama The Words made just $5 million in ticket sales, debuting at third place, while The Expendables 2 dropped one place to number four with $4.75 million.

Rounding out the top ten are political comedy The Campaign at number eight with $3.5 million, The Dark Knight Rises with an additional $3 million to its $437 million total gross at number nine, and the documentary 2016: Obama’s America at ten with $3 million.

This is the lowest-grossing weekend at the US box office since 2008, with no film managing to break the $10 million mark.

The US box office top ten:
1. (1) The Possession – $9,500,000
2. (2) Lawless – $6,002,000
3. (-) The Words – $5,000,000
4. (3) The Expendables 2 – $4,750,000
5. (4) The Bourne Legacy – $4,000,000
6. (5) ParaNorman -$3,830,000
7. (6) The Odd Life of Timothy Green – $5,880,000
8. (8) The Campaign – $3,530,000
9. (7) The Dark Knight Rises – $3,285,000
10. (9) 2016: Obama’s America – $3,281,000

Christian Bale flies 4-year-old cancer patient to Disneyland

Sunday, September 9th, 2012

Christian Bale has flown a 4-year-old cancer sufferer to meet with him and his family at Disneyland.

The Dark Knight Rises star flew Jayden Barber and his entire family to Los Angeles for a lunch at Disneyland’s Club 33 earlier this week.

The boy’s mother Charlene Barber posted photos of the actor with her son on a specially-created group called ‘Lighting the Batsignal for Jayden‘.

She wrote: “The entire interaction was like old friends having lunch. Jayden did not get starstruck but was well aware of who we were with!

“They talked movies and superheroes and he was genuinely happy to hear about everything Jayden wanted to tell him. Christian, his wife and daughter are three of the most beautiful people we have ever met! Christian made these arrangements for us personally and ensured we were treated like royalty.

“I don’t have even one negative thing to say about them. I can tell you that they were just as impressed w Jayden as Jayden was w them :)”

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‘The Green Mile’ star Michael Clarke Duncan dies

Monday, September 3rd, 2012

Michael Clarke Duncan has died, aged 54.

The Green Mile actor passed away this morning (September 3) in a Los Angeles hospital, TMZ reports.

A rep for the star said that he never fully recovered from the heart attack he suffered on July 13.

Duncan’s fiancĂ©e, Apprentice star Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth, was with him in the hospital room where he was being treated. She left for a short period of time and when she returned, he had passed away.

“[Omarosa] is grateful for all of your prayers and asks for privacy at this time. Celebrations of his life, both private and public, will be announced at a later date,” Duncan’s rep said.

Duncan was nominated for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ at the Academy Awards for his portrayal of John Coffey in The Green Mile. He also starred in Armageddon, The Whole Nine Yards, Planet of the Apes, Sin City and Daredevil.

He worked as a bodyguard for celebrities such as Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, LL Cool J and Notorious B.I.G. before his acting career took off.