Archive for the ‘News Items’ Category

‘Despicable Me’ claims top spot at US box office

Monday, July 12th, 2010
Steve Carrell at the Despicable Me premiere

Despicable Me has debuted at the top of the US box office.

The animated feature, starring Steve Carrell as the lead voice, earned more than $60 million over the weekend.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse slipped to second place with $33 million, while the sci-fi action thriller Predators debuted at number three with $25 million, followed by Toy Story 3 and The Last Airbender.

Finally, The A-Team drops to number nine with $1.8 million and Cyrus takes the tenth spot with $1.3 million.

The US box office top ten in full:

1. (-) Despicable Me – $60,117,000
2. (1) The Twilight Saga: Eclipse – $33,400,000
3. (-) Predators – $25,300,000
4. (3) Toy Story 3 – $22,000,000
5. (2) The Last Airbender – $17,150,000
6. (4) Grown Ups – $16,400,000
7. (5) Knight & Day – $7,850,000
8. (6) The Karate Kid – $5,700,000
9. (7) The A-Team – $1,800,000
10. (11) Cyrus – $1,375,000

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Disney sells Miramax Films for $650M

Saturday, July 10th, 2010

Disney has sold Miramax Films to construction executive Ronald Tutor and Colony Capital.

The sale includes rights to the Miramax name and its 611-movie library, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The label sold for approximately $650 million (£431 million).

Disney put the former New York-based company up for sale earlier this year after folding it into its parent studio in Burbank.

Films produced under the Miramax label include There Will Be Blood, The Cider House Rules and Pulp Fiction.

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Celador wins $269m ‘Millionaire’ verdict

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010
Chris Tarrant Who Wants To Be A Millionaire

Celador has been awarded $269m (£177m) in damages after a US court ruled in its favour in a legal wrangle with Disney over the US version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?.

A jury in Riverside, CA today found Disney in breach of an agreement which entitled Celador to 50% of the profits from the gameshow’s syndication in the US.

The British production firm won both its claims relating to breach of contract and fair dealing against Disney’s ABC, Buena Vista Television and Valleycrest businesses.

Judge Virginia Phillips ordered Disney to pay Celador $260.2m in network licence fee damages, along with just over $9m in costs relating to lost merchandising revenue, reports The Wrap.

However, the US firm has already signalled its intention to appeal against the ruling.

“We believe this verdict is fundamentally wrong and will aggressively seek to have it reversed,” said Disney in a statement.

Celador, which launched the Chris Tarrant-fronted Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? on British TV in 1998, agreed for ABC to bring the format to the US in 1999.

However, the company later claimed that Disney had failed to appropriately share out the profits from the show, leading to a six-year legal battle.

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Lindsay Lohan sentenced to 90 days in jail

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010
Lindsay Lohan wears slouchy boots to hide her scram ankle bracelet  as she shops in Beverly Hills

Lindsay Lohan has been sentenced to 90 days in prison for violating the terms of her probation.

The actress appeared in a Los Angeles court on Tuesday to answer charges that she broke the conditions of her bail by failing to attend mandatory alcohol education classes.

Judge Marsha Revel said that she noticed multiple violations stemming from 2007, when Lohan accepted a plea bargain in her DUI case, and would not accept excuses for Lohan’s lack of compliance, reports TMZ.

She ruled that the 23-year-old must surrender herself on July 20 to begin the three-month jail sentence.

Lohan broke down in tears at the verdict, telling the jury that she “did the best [she] could”.

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‘Iron Man 2’ tops bloopers chart

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010
Iron Man 2

The sequel to Iron Man is the most mistake-filled film of the year, according to a list compiled by Movie Mistakes.

The website reveals that the superhero movie, which stars Robert Downey Jr, contains a total of 45 mistakes, including props that change location during a scene and errors during fight sequences.

Shutter Island, Martin Scorsese’s thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was second in the chart, containing 34 bloopers.

Kick-Ass and Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland are also in the list, with 15 and 12 errors respectively.

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Stallone’s ‘Expendables’ cut for UK release

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010
The Expendables

Sylvester Stallone’s upcoming movie The Expendables has been censored for its UK release.

According to the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification), two seconds of the action-drama have been cut from the film in order for it to obtain a 15 certificate.

Distributor Lionsgate had been presented with the option of releasing the film as an 18, but instead chose to remove a shot of “a hero sadistically twisting a knife into a guard’s neck” to secure the 15 rating.

The movies stars Stallone as the leader of a group of mercenaries on a mission to overthrow a South American dictator. Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis are also among the cast.

The Expendables will open in the UK on August 20.

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‘Eclipse’ debuts with $160m at US box office

Sunday, July 4th, 2010
Twilight Saga: Eclipse - Bella, Edward and Jacob

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse has debuted at the top of the US box office.

The third instalment of the vampire series, starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, grossed $69 million alone during the holiday weekend, and has claimed over $160 million since its release five days ago.

Debuting in second place is The Last Airbender with $40 million, making it the highest-grossing opening for M. Night Shyamalan in years.

Toy Story 3 remains strong in third place with $30 million, followed by Grown Ups and Knight & Day.

Finally, making the most impressive jump on the chart is Jonah Hill’s comedy Cyrus, rising from 20 to number ten.

The US box office top ten in full:
1. (-) The Twilight Saga: Eclipse – $69,000,000
2. (-) The Last Airbender – $40,650,000
3. (1) Toy Story 3 – $30,174,000
4. (2) Grown Ups – $18,500,000
5. (3) Knight & Day – $10,200,000
6. (4) The Karate Kid – $8,000,000
7. (5) The A-Team – $3,025,000
8. (6) Get Him To The Greek – $1,185,000
9. (7) Shrek Forever After – $799,000
10. (20) Cyrus – $770,000

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Andrew Garfield to play Spider-Man

Friday, July 2nd, 2010
Andrew Garfield

Andrew Garfield has been slated to play Peter Parker in the upcoming Spider-Man film.

Sony Pictures announced on Thursday that the 27-year-old, who is relatively unknown in the acting world, will fill the title role in the upcoming Mark Webb production.

“Though his name may be new to many, those who know this young actor’s work understand his extraordinary talents,” Webb said.

“He has a rare combination of intelligence, wit and humanity. Mark my words, you will love Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker.”

Producer Avi Arad added: “I’m incredibly excited about Andrew Garfield. In the Spider-Man tradition, we were looking for a smart, sensitive, and cool new Peter Parker who can inspire us and make us laugh, cry, and cheer.

“We believe we have found the perfect choice to take on this role and lead us into the future.”

Garfield will succeed Tobey Maguire, who portrayed Parker in the first three films.

Spider-Man will be shot in 3D and is scheduled for a July 2012 release.

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Serkis joins ‘Planet of the Apes’ prequel

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010
160x120 - The Cottage - Andy Serkis

Andy Serkis has joined Rise of the Apes, the prequel to the classic 1968 film Planet of the Apes.

The ‘Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll’ actor will play Caesar, the test subject ape who leads the revolt against the humans.

The role was originally played by Roddy McDowell in 1972’s Conquest of the Planet of the Apes.

James Franco, Frida Pinto and John Lithgow have all been confirmed for the project, which is scheduled for release on June 24, 2011.

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‘Back To The Future’ confirmed for Blu-ray

Monday, June 28th, 2010
Michael J. Fox in Back To The Future

The Back To The Future trilogy will debut on Blu-ray on October 25, Universal Pictures International Entertainment has announced.

The movies, which see Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd cross 130 years in a time-travelling DeLorean, will be newly restored for the worldwide release and include more than two hours of new bonus features.

The discs will feature a six-part retrospective documentary made up of new interviews with stars Fox, Lloyd, Lea Thompson and filmmakers Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale, Neil Canton and Steven Spielberg.

Included are new feature commentary tracks from Gale and Canton, Q&A commentaries with Zemeckis and Gale, a Fox Q&A, 16 deleted scenes and a storyboard sequence showing the original scripted ending for the first movie, where Marty McFly climbs into a fridge at a nuclear test facility hoping that the explosion will send him back to 1985.

In addition, Universal’s interactive U-Control feature will let viewers watch extras – such as trivia tracks, storyboard comparisons and a ‘setups & payoffs’ feature – without leaving the movie.

The Blu-ray release has been dubbed the ‘Back To The Future 25th Anniversary Trilogy’.

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