New Avengers Set Photos Shed Some Light.

Posted on March 27, 2012 by jlmicek

Here’s a batch of set photos from “The Avengers” that feature director Joss Whedon deep in conference with his superheroic charges. The movie drops May 4.

(h/t HeyUGuys)

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Hayley Atwell On a Return for Peggy Carter; Scarlett Johansson in Iron Man 3?

Posted on March 26, 2012 by jlmicek

And here’s some superheroine news to get your Monday morning going.

Comely Brit Hayley Atwell, who won fans’ hearts as British agent Peggy Carter in last summer’s “Captain America” has some thoughts on how her character and the still-youthful Steve Rogers might be reunited in the films.

“I don’t know, obviously he can stand the test of time. Peggy can’t. She’s either long dead by now or in her eighties. I would love for them to have some kind of bitter-sweet reunion in an old people’s home. He’s obviously looking forward to something fabulous and she doesn’t really have her own teeth any more! It would be bitter-sweet. I’m rooting for that. I’m hoping something like that happens.”

“It was amazing, it was so big. It was a $150 million production. It was bigger than anything I’ve ever seen before. So walking onto set every day was almost like walking onto an adventure land, like Disney land. The set and the props were so big. Beautiful. Chris was great fun, he’s very talented, a good musician, a good singer, good dancer – really annoying!”

Here’s some video:

And with “The Avengers” just weeks away, there’s apparent confirmation thatScarlett Johansson’s deadly Natasha Romanoff might make her return in “Iron Man 3.”

Citing a report by Feature Film Casting, ComicBookMovie reports that, “along with the call for extras and a few (previously known) details on the movie, they reckon Johansson’s return as Black Widow is a done deal. They also report that Don Cheadle will be back as Rhodey, and Gwyneth Paltrow will once again appear as Pepper Potts.”

Posted in action, Casting News, Comic Book movies, Film News, Iron Man 3 casting news, Sequel-Itis, Superhero Cinema | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

New “Snow White and the Huntsman” TV Spot Debuts.

Posted on March 26, 2012 by jlmicek

Where Tarsem Singh’s “Mirror, Mirror,” plays the enduring fairy tale for laughs. there’s nothing remotely funny, it seems, about the swords-and-sorcery reimagining from director Rupert Sanders.

Like the “Dark Shadows” trailer, the trailer for the new Kristen Stewart vehicle made its bow during last night’s “Mad Men” premiere, guaranteeing the maximum number of eyeballs and a raised eyebrow from my wife — always a good sign. Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth also star.

Here’s the clip:

Vodpod videos no longer available.

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Weekend Box Office: “Hunger Games” Scarfs Up $155 Million On Opening.

Posted on March 26, 2012 by jlmicek

OK. So this one shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. “The Hunger Games” ruled the box office roost this weekend, taking in a truly insane $155 million, propelling a 111 percent increase in ticket sales over the weekend before.

Anyone who doesn’t think this won’t end up a Harry Potter-style, cash-gobbling franchise has another thing coming. It’s probably only a matter of time before the amusement park rides open.

From BoxOfficeMojo, here’s the weekend, by the numbers:

1 N The Hunger Games LGF $155,000,000 – 4,137 – $37,467 $155,000,000 $78 1
2 1 21 Jump Street Sony $21,300,000 -41.3% 3,121 – $6,825 $71,051,000 $42 2
3 2 Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax Uni. $13,100,000 -42.5% 3,677 -92 $3,563 $177,300,000 $70 4
4 3 John Carter BV $5,014,000 -63.1% 3,212 -537 $1,561 $62,347,000 $250 3
5 5 Act of Valor Rela. $2,062,000 -44.8% 2,216 -549 $931 $65,942,000 $12 5
6 4 Project X WB $1,950,000 -51.8% 2,065 -857 $944 $51,752,000 – 4
7 6 A Thousand Words P/DW $1,925,000 -47.0% 1,787 -108 $1,077 $14,926,000 $40 3
8 N October Baby (2012) Gold. $1,718,000 – 390 – $4,405 $1,718,000 – 1
9 7 Safe House Uni. $1,400,000 -48.5% 1,330 -590 $1,053 $122,600,000 $85 7
10 8 Journey 2: The Mysterious Island WB $1,373,000 -42.5% 1,340 -595 $1,025 $97,155,000 $79 7

Meanwhile, the New York Times takes a look at World Wrestling Entertainment’s adventures in the movie biz.

The global brand has its hands in a pair of action films, “The Day,” and “No One Lives.” It even managed to convince Hugh Jackman to participate in a recent episode of its weekly “Monday Night Raw” series.

Here’s the nut graf:

“With 13 pay-cable events each year, six television broadcasts a week, a line of Mattel action figures and various other properties, WWE has the kind of marketing clout that should be able to give its film projects — previously dominated by mediocre vehicles for fading wrestlers — the juice they need to be commercial. Successful. Maybe even respectable.

“To some degree we’re under a microscope,” Mr. Luisi said of WWE Studios, “because people are scratching their heads a little bit and saying, ‘What exactly are they up to here?’ ”

He likens the wrestling powerhouse to the Walt Disney Company, smiling as if to acknowledge the incongruities. “We have a very iconic brand; we have a core of fervent fans; we have motion-picture production, television productions, live events, consumer products, digital and social media,” he said before adding: “It’s certainly a brand very different from the Disney brand, and we are TV-PG. But we’re a family brand at the heart. You wouldn’t think of it that way. But you wouldn’t expect to see the Muppets on ‘Monday Night Raw,’ and there they were.”

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New “Dark Shadows” Trailer Is A Hoot.

Posted on March 26, 2012 by jlmicek

OK: I’ll give it a chance. I saw the new “Dark Shadows” trailer during the season premiere of “Mad Men” last night. It looks like a fun little romp:

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments. The movie debuts in May.

Posted in comedy, Film Bits, Horror, Spoiler-itis, Trailer Trash | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

New “Cosmopolis” Trailer Is All Kinds Of Deep.

Posted on March 25, 2012 by jlmicek

After all, how often do you have a trailer where the protagonist begs his lover to shoot him through the heart?

Directed by David Cronenberg, The Guardian reports that the film is:

“Cronenberg’s adaptation of the Don DeLillo novel about a young billionaire’s trip across New York. En route to get his hair cut, jaundiced, woozy Eric Packer (Pattinson) stares from the windows of his limo at a landscape in free-fall; a whirling diorama of threat and paranoia, threaded with images of presidents, assassins, ex-wives and rioters. Judging from the trailer, Cronenberg has cooked up a film that’s worlds away from the heavy, cerebral back-and-forths of A Dangerous Method and more akin to Gaspar Noe’s Enter the Void – strobing titles, desperate antics and all. It looks good. If Pattinson is looking to put some clear blue water between himself and those Twilight pictures, he could hardly have opted for a better choice than this.”

Read the full story here.

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Simon Pegg Plays It Cryptic On “Star Trek” Sequel.

Posted on March 25, 2012 by jlmicek

The star, who plays Mr. Scott in J.J. Abrams’ latest installment of the venerable sci-fi franchise isn’t saying much about to TotalFilm about the second movie, which is filming now:

“Naturally, Pegg played it cryptic when we mined him for info. When we asked for the entire plot of Star Trek 2, he responded, “It’s all about space.”

And the final frontier? “Yep – it’s about the final frontier. And the one before it. I know it’s boring, but one thing JJ installed in all of us is the importance of giving the audience everything they can get from the experience itself.

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Jennifer Lawrence In “The House at the End of the Street.”

Posted on March 25, 2012 by jlmicek

She might be Katniss Everdeen, the ferocious heroine of “The Hunger Games” to most filmgoers this weekend, but actress Jennifer Lawrence has another project coming out soon: “The House at the End of the Street,” directed by Mark Tonderai.

From Entertainment Weekly: here’s a first look at the movie:

Here’s what Tonderai has to say about the movie:

“She’s a high school kid, about 17, and they’ve just moved into this new area,” Tonderai says. “Her father was in a rock band and was never around. The mother, in the early part of her life, was always out on the road with her husband taking drugs and getting drunk. When she cleaned up and they got divorced, she was always out working. Suddenly, she thinks she wants to engage and be a parent, but at this point her daughter is becoming a woman and has been left to herself for a long time. She rejects these overtures of motherly love.”

Part of the story is about the damage bad families can cause. “I wanted to talk about how a parent’s love can help us or hinder us in becoming the people we are,” the filmmaker says. “It’s very much about a girl who’s becoming a woman, but her mother still feels she can do an audit on her life. The daughter is rebelling against that. She’s the petulant daughter, and [Shue] is the mother who doesn’t understand.”

The movie opens Sept. 21.

Read the full story here.

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Go Behind The Scenes In New “American Reunion” Feaurette.

Posted on March 25, 2012 by jlmicek

What is presumably the final installment of the long-running “American Pie” franchise opens April 6, reuniting most of the original cast. Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Alyson Hannigan, Tara Reid and Eugene Levy star.

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A Truly Crazy Amount Of New “Avengers” Images.

Posted on March 25, 2012 by jlmicek

Here’s one way to start your Sunday morning: The folks at Brit film site HeyUGuys have posted a truly crazy amount of new images from Joss Whedon’s hugely anticipated superteam flick. I’ve reposted just a few. But you should really click through and see the full assortment.

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