Archive for July, 2011

Harrison Ford ‘wants Indiana Jones to die’

Saturday, July 16th, 2011
Harrison Ford at the German premiere of 'Morning Glory' in Berlin

Harrison Ford has said that he would like Indiana Jones to die one day.

The actor also revealed that he wanted his iconic Star Wars character Han Solo to be killed off at the end of Return of the Jedi.

“I always want my characters to die,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “I though Han Solo should have died at the end of the last Star Warsmovie, just because it seemed right for the character.”

Ford also commented on rumours of a fifth instalment in the Indiana Jones series, following on from the 2008 film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

“I’d be happy to make another Indiana Jones movie, but at this point it’s all just rumours,” he added.

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‘Bad Santa’ trilogy is ‘in the works’

Friday, July 15th, 2011
Billy Bob Thornton

A Bad Santa sequel is said to be in the works.

Producers on the original movie, in addition to its two studios Dimension Films and Miramax, have contracted various writers to begin working on a follow-up to the 2003 comedy, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The studios also allegedly hope that by hiring a number of different writers, they will be able to pick their favourite script or potentially develop two new films to complete a Bad Santa trilogy.

Bad Santa stars Billy Bob Thornton as a conman that poses as Santa Claus to rob a department store.

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‘Sherlock Holmes 2’ was easy decision, says Guy Ritchie

Tuesday, July 12th, 2011
Sherlock Holmes 2

Guy Ritchie has declared that it was an “easy choice” to direct a Sherlock Holmes sequel.

The Snatch director told USA Today that although he is normally against making sequels, he “couldn’t help” joining forces with Robert Downey Jr (Holmes) and Jude Law (John Watson) again.

“I can’t help myself. They wanted this to be a franchise, which, in my mind, needs at least two movies,” he joked. “But I really liked working with the team on the first movie, so this was an easy choice.”

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows will see the famous detective pitted against his nemesis James Moriarty, played by Jared Harris.

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‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon’ keeps US box office lead

Monday, July 11th, 2011
Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Transformers: Dark of the Moon has remained at the top of the US box office for the second weekend in a row.

The Michael Bay-directed epic took $47 million this weekend, bringing its overall domestic total to $261 million.

The Paramount Pictures action feature has now surpassed The Hangover Part II as the year’s highest grossing film so far.

R-rated comedy Horrible Bosses lands in second place taking $28 million, while the Kevin James-led family comedy Zookeeper opened to a disappointing $21 million.

Pixar sequel Cars 2 took $15.2 million, while Bad Teacher rounded out the top five with $9 million.

This week’s US box office top ten in full (studio estimates):
1. (1) Transformers: Dark of the Moon – $47,000,000
2. (-) Horrible Bosses – $28,100,000
3. (-) Zookeeper – $21,000,000
4. (2) Cars 2 – $15,209,000
5. (3) Bad Teacher – $9,000,000
6. (4) Larry Crowne – $6,264,000
7. (6) Super 8 – $4,825,000
8. (5) Monte Carlo – $3,800,000
9. (7) Green Lantern – $3,125,000
10. (8) Mr. Popper’s Penguins – $2,850,000

‘West Side Story’ Coming to Blu-ray

Saturday, July 9th, 2011

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment will bring time-honored musical ‘West Side Story’ to Blu-ray Disc Nov. 15 (order date Sept. 7), commemorating the film’s 50th anniversary.

A spin on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story (1961) is set against the backdrop of gang warfare in the 1950s in New York, with Jets member Tony (Richard Beymer, The Longest Day) falling for Maria (Natalie Wood, Splendor in the Grass), the sister of the rival Sharks’ leader.

Bonus material includes brand-new featurettes “Pow! The Dances of West Side Story” and “A Place for Us: West Side Story’s Legacy,” a song-specific commentary by lyricist Stephen Sondheim, storyboards and more.

The West Side Story: 50th Anniversary Edition comes in a limited-edition four-disc boxed set with a two-disc Blu-ray, a remastered DVD, a tribute CD, a photo book and other collectible memorabilia. The film also will be released as a two-disc collector’s edition Blu-ray.

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‘Pirates of the Caribbean 4’ sails past $1 billion in global ticket sales

Tuesday, July 5th, 2011
Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides has become the eighth movie to gross more than $1 billion (£620m) worldwide.

The fourth instalment of the adventure films, starring Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane, has currently made approximately $1.009bn (£626m).

An estimated $234.2m (£145m) has come from domestic sales at the US box office, with an extra $774.7m (£480m) earned internationally, according to Box Office Mojo.

On Stranger Tides is also the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie to reach the landmark total after Dead Man’s Chest, which finished with a total of $1.066bn (£661m).

‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon’ breaks US box office records

Sunday, July 3rd, 2011
Transformers gaming contest

Michael Bay and Shia LaBeouf’s final entry in the Transformers film franchise has topped the US box office in its opening weekend.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon has taken an estimated $97.4 million so far, and is expected to break the current domestic four-day record for the Fourth of July weekend held by Spider-Man 2.

Last week’s box office-topping Pixar sequel Cars 2 falls to second place this weekend, taking $25.1 million, followed by Cameron Diaz’s latest comedy Bad Teacher with $14.1 million.

The Tom Hanks-directed Larry Crowne, starring the Castaway actor opposite Julia Roberts, opened with a disappointing $13 million, while romantic comedy Monte Carlo rounded out the top five with $7.6 million.

This week’s US box office top ten in full (studio estimates):
1. (-) Transformers: Dark of the Moon – $97,400,000
2. (1) Cars 2 – $25,110,000
3. (2) Bad Teacher – $14,100,000
4. (-) Larry Crowne – $13,000,000
5. (-) Monte Carlo – $7,600,000
6. (4) Super 8 – $7,500,000
7. (3) Green Lantern – $6,270,000
8. (5) Mr. Popper’s Penguins – $5,100,000
9. (8) Bridesmaids – $3,520,000
10. (10) Midnight in Paris – $3,438,000

Christopher Nolan working on new thriller

Saturday, July 2nd, 2011
Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan is reportedly planning to begin work on a new supernatural-themed thriller next year.

According to Deadline, the Inception director will produce the project for Warner Bros through his company Syncopy.

Nolan has tapped regular TV director and writer Keith Gordon to helm the project, following his work on dramas such as Dexter and The Killing.

The project is said to be based on a currently-unknown novel, and will be a basic thriller but with definite supernatural undertones.

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‘Twilight Zone’ creator Rod Serling biopic announced

Friday, July 1st, 2011
'The Twilight Zone' creator Rod Serling

A biopic of The Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling has been announced.

Andrew Meieran’s Bureau of Moving Pictures has acquired the rights to produce a movie about Serling’s life. Wall Street co-writer Stanley Weiser will pen the screenplay. Meieran will produce along with Serling’s widow Carol.

Serling was a prolific screenwriter, novelist and television producer, who was once a paratrooper in the US army during WWII.

He went on to work in radio, eventually creating and presenting the CBS series The Twilight Zone. He also co-wrote the script for 1968’s Planet of the Apes.

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‘RED’ producer reveals sequel details

Friday, July 1st, 2011
Still from the movie 'Red', starring Bruce Willis and Helen Mirren

RED producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura has outlined his plans for a follow-up to the comic book adaptation.

The Warner Bros exec revealed that a script has been completed for the sequel and discussions on its development have taken place.

“We’re trying to put it together,” he told MTV. “We just got a script and it’s really good. We’re all just now discussing how to put it all back together again.”

Bonaventura went on to say that he hopes to reunite the main cast of the original, which includes Helen Mirren, Bruce Willis, John Malkovich and Morgan Freeman. He also revealed that new characters will join the roster.

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