Archive for May, 2012

‘Game of Thrones’ to get extended 65-minute season finale

Tuesday, May 29th, 2012

Game of Thrones season two will conclude with an extended finale, HBO has confirmed.

Season ender ‘Valar Morghulis’ will run for 64 minutes, according to HBOWatch.

Most Game of Thrones episodes run to around 54 to 55 minutes in length, meaning that the finale will include 10 minutes of additional material.

The episode – written by David Benioff and DB Weiss – will air on June 3 in the US and will be broadcast the following day on Sky Atlantic in the UK.

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‘Men in Black 3’ tops US box office

Sunday, May 27th, 2012
Men In Black 3 trailer still

Men in Black 3 has debuted at number one at the US box office this weekend.

The latest addition to the Men in Black franchise managed to rake in $18 million its opening night, with a total weekend gross of $55 million.

Starring Will Smith and Josh Brolin, the comedy was able to break the three-week first place streak of The Avengers, which came in second with $36.9 million. Its current total earnings to date are $513 million.

Making far less are Battlefield in third place with $10.8 million and Sacha Baron Cohen’s The Dictator in fourth place, earning $9.6 million.

Controversial horror movie Chernobyl Diaries made its debut this weekend at number five, grossing $8 million.

Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows dropped two spots from last week with $7.5 million, coming in at number six.

Rounding out the top ten are The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel at number eight with $6.3 million, The Hunger Games at number nine with $2.7 million and Steve Harvey’s surprise hit Think Like a Man at number ten with $1.4 million.

The US box office top ten in full (studio estimates):

1. (-) Men in Black 3 – $55,000,000
2. (1) The Avengers – $36,987,000
3. (2) Battleship – $10,800,000
4. (3) The Dictator – $9,600,000
5. (-) Chernobyl Diaries – $8,000,000
6. (4) Dark Shadows – $7,515,000
7. (5) What to Expect When You’re Expecting – $7,150,000
8. (6) The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – $6,350,000
9. (7) The Hunger Games The Hunger Games – $2,750,000
10. (8) Think Like a Man – $1,400,000

‘The Exorcist’ to be remade as TV series

Thursday, May 24th, 2012

The Exorcist is set to be remade as a 10-part TV series.

Sean Durkin, director and writer of Martha Marcy May Marlene, will oversee the adaptation of William Peter Blatty’s novel and its famous 1973 big-screen version, according to Vulture.

The Excorcist series will however stray slightly from previous versions of the story, focusing instead on the events leading up to a demonic possession and how it affects the victim’s loved ones.

It is not know if original characters like Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair) and her mother Chris (Ellen Burstyn) will be featured in the show, but Father Damien Karras – the performer of the exorcism played by Jason Miller in the film – is expected to appear.

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‘Sanctuary’ axed by Syfy

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012

Sanctuary has been cancelled by Syfy, it has been confirmed.

The sci-fi drama – following an organisation that tracks powerful figures known as ‘Abnormals’ – ran for four seasons on the cable network.

Amanda Tapping (Dr Helen Magnus) confirmed the show’s axing on Twitter, writing: “To all the fans of Sanctuary we love and adore you. Thank you for the love and support. Now to the long dark tea time of my soul.”

Series stars Robin Dunne (Will) and Robert Lawrenson (Declan) also took to the social networking site, with Dunne thanking viewers for their “love and support” and Lawrenson expressing a “huge thank you to the phenomenal Sanctuary fans, cast, crew & producers for a wonderful run”.

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‘The Avengers’ tops the US box office for third week

Sunday, May 20th, 2012

The Avengers has topped the US box office for the third week in a row.

Battleship, starring Taylor Kitsch, Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgard and Rihanna, came in second place with $25 million, followed by Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest comedy The Dictator in third place with $17 million.

The ensemble movie What to Expect When You’re Expecting, featuring Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Matthew Morrison and Elizabeth Banks, debuted in fifth place with $10 million.

Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows completed the top five movies, taking in $12 million for fourth place.

Jennifer Lawrence’s The Hunger Games continued to hold a place on the top ten list as it collected $3 million over the weekend, landing in seventh place.

The US box office top ten in full (studio estimates):
1. (1) The Avengers – $55,057,000
2. (-) Battleship – $25,300,000
3. (-) The Dictator – $17,415,000
4. (2) Dark Shadows – $12,770,000
5. (-) What to Expect When You’re Expecting – $10,500,000
6. (8) The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – $3,250,000
7. (4) The Hunger Games The Hunger Games – $3,000,000
8. (3) Think Like a Man – $2,700,000
9. (5) The Lucky One – $1,765,000
10. (7) The Pirates! Band of Misfits – $1,450,000

‘Vegas’ trailer: Dennis Quaid, Michael Chiklis in CBS drama

Wednesday, May 16th, 2012

CBS has revealed a trailer for new drama Vegas.

The fall series will tell the true story of Las Vegas Sheriff Ralph Lamb, played by Dennis Quaid.

Set in the 1960s, the show will chronicle Lamb’s face-off with Chicago gangster Johnny Savino (Michael Chiklis) and his mob.

Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix), Jason O’Mara (Terra Nova) and Taylor Handley (The OC) will also star in the show.

Devised by Goodfellas writer Nicholas Pileggi, Vegas will air on Tuesdays at 10pm after NCIS: Los Angeles.

Sam Neill joins Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Tomb

Monday, May 14th, 2012

Sam Neill has been added to the star-studded cast of new thriller The Tomb.

The Alcatraz actor is set to appear alongside Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The Tomb centres on Ray Breslin (Stallone), an expert in high security prisons who is himself placed in a high-tech jail facility after being framed for a crime.

Schwarzenegger stars as Emil Rottmayer, “a complex inmate”, while Neill is set to play prison doctor Emil Kaikev.

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‘The Avengers’ scores more box-office records in second weekend

Sunday, May 13th, 2012

The Avengers easily held on to the top of this weekend’s US box office chart.

The superhero blockbuster took in a further $103.2 million in its second weekend, and has scored a host of other box office records in the process.

It now holds the best-ever second weekend tally ahead of Avatar‘s $75.6m, while also beating The Dark Knight‘s best second weekend hold for a movie that opened to more than $120m.

It is also the fastest movie to reach the $300m and $350m marks, while also holding the highest eight-day, nine-day, and ten-day gross amounts. It is currently 18th in the all-time domestic US chart.

Johnny Depp and Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows entered in second place, but was still nowhere near The Avengers, with takings of $28.81m.

Think Like a Man and The Hunger Games each dropped a spot to three and four respectively, while The Lucky One held steady at five.

Dame Judi Dench’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel climbed eight places to this week’s eighth position with takings of $2.65m.

Eva Mendes drama Girl in Progress is the only other new entry at ten with $1.35m.

The US box office top ten in full (studio estimates):
1. (1) The Avengers – $103,163,000
2. (-) Dark Shadows – $28,805,000
3. (2) Think Like a Man – $6,300,000
4. (3) The Hunger Games – $4,400,000
5. (5) The Lucky One – $4,055,000
6. (4) The Pirates! Band of Misfits – $3,200,000
7. (6) The Five-Year Engagement – $3,100,000
8. (16) The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – $2,650,000
9. (9) Chimpanzee – $1,624,000
10. (-) Girl in Progress – $1,350,000

‘Game of Thrones’ is ‘most-pirated show of 2012’

Thursday, May 10th, 2012
Game Of Thrones S02E03: Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke)

Game of Thrones is reportedly the most-pirated TV show of 2012.

The HBO fantasy drama has been illegally downloaded more times than any other show, according to BitTorrent-tracking and analysis firm Big Champagne.

“It certainly appears to be the most pirated show of the year [so far],” senior media analyst John Robinson told Forbes.

“The fact that it’s consistently at the top of the Pirate Bay’s top 100 TV shows chart seems like a pretty in-your-face leading indicator of the huge volume at which this is being shared.”

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Kiefer Sutherland’s ‘Touch’ renewed by Fox

Thursday, May 10th, 2012

Touch is believed to have been renewed for a second season.

The Kiefer Sutherland drama, which has enjoyed a recent ratings revival in the US, has been recommissioned by broadcaster Fox, reports Deadline.

The publication also reports that the chances of renewals for both Alcatraz and Bones spinoff The Finder have declined.

Touch stars Sutherland as Martin Bohm, a former journalist who is trying to figure out messages that his mute son Jake (David Mazouz) is passing on using numbers.

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