Quick Weekend B.O.

The top two films at the box office this weekend couldn't be more different -- which might help explain why both had such strong starts. The third film in the Disney Channel's wholesome, wildly popular High School Musical franchise, and the first to hit theaters, had a $42 million debut, and will go on to be at least as wildly profitable as its predecessors. $30.5 million for Saw V is basically in line with its three immediate predecessors, all of which had first weekends between $31 and $33 million. The films' final grosses have been steadily declining since the second film, however, with the most recent entry dropping like a rock and managing only $63 million total. We'll see if that trend continues. I'd say, though, that this debut guarantees a sixth Saw for next Halloween. As Eric wrote yesterday, it is now the most lucrative horror franchise in film history.

The only other new wide release this weekend was Pride & Glory, which New Line more or less dumped. It did a predictably weak $6.3 million, good enough for fifth place.

Oliver Stone's W. took a big hit, as the people who needed to see it apparently saw it last weekend. It dropped nearly 50%, with a $25-28 million finish looking likely. Max Payne held up even worse after last week's strong debut. Meanwhile, two films from the early fall doldrums continue to emerge as success stories: Eagle Eye and Beverly Hills Chihuahua are both still hanging around, and both looking to reach $100 million before all is said and done.

In 20th place, Clint Eastwood's Changeling made a strong limited bow: half a million on fifteen screens, for $33,000 per screen. It goes wide next week. A bit further down, the annual rerelease of Tim Burton's A Nightmare Before Christmas 3-D couldn't do much business, ending up with $372,000 on almost 300 screens.

The full estimates after the jump.

1 - High School Musical 3: Senior Year (Disney) - $42.00 ($11,593) - $42.00
2 - Saw V (Lionsgate) - $30.50 ($9,967) - $30.50
3 - Max Payne (Fox) - $7.6 ($2,248) - $29.66
4 - Beverly Hills Chihuahua (Disney) - $6.91 ($2,168) - $78.14
5 - Pride & Glory (New Line) - $6.33 ($2,447) - $6.33
6 - The Secret Life of Bees (Fox Searchlight) - $5.93 ($3,641) - $19.21
7 - W. (Lionsgate) - $5.33 ($2,600) - $18.75
8 - Eagle Eye (Dreamworks/Paramount) - $5.14 ($2,008) - $87.99
9 - Body of Lies (Warner Bros.) - $4.07 ($1,891) - $30.89
10 - Quarantine (Screen Gems) - $2.55 ($1,145) - $28.77

Hat tip: Box Office Mojo

'Ninja Scroll' gets feature treatment

First it was akira now it's Ninja Scroll, too. Leonardo DiCaprio's production company Appian Way will be producing a live-action adaptation of the classic anime movie for Warner Brothers. Screenwriter Alex Tse, who wrote Zack Snyder's upcoming Watchmen as well as Michael Mann's upcoming Frankie Machine, will be writing the script. No director has been announced yet, but considering Akira picked up a no-name director, I expect Ninja Scroll to probably do the same. At one point, it was rumored that James McTeigue's Ninja Assassin was a Ninja Scroll remake, but that was quickly debunked. Now it's actually happening.

Ninja Scroll is a Japanese action thriller anime written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Yoshiaki Kawajiri. The film was first released in Japan in 1993 and made its way to the US in 1996, where it quickly became one of the most popular anime movies in US history. The anime is set feudal Japan and tells the story of a ninja-for-hire who is forced into fighting an old nemesis who is bent on overthrowing the Japanese government. His nemesis is also the leader of a group of demons each with superhuman powers. In addition to Akira, it's regarded as one of the best anime movies ever made and is just as popular.

One of the biggest questions surrounding this is whether or not all of the violence, gore, sex, and nudity will remain intact in this translation. I'm expecting that Warner Brothers will try to make this PG-13, but then again, it could very well be R. I'm thinking they're waiting to see how Ninja Assassin does in theaters, since that is a very hard R ninja movie. Either way, this is quite an exciting future for anime fans, with Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Cowboy Bebop, and now Ninja Scroll all being converted into live-action Hollywood adaptations. I just hope this trend turns out to be more worthwhile than video game adaptations.

Universal Bringing EA's Army of Two To the Big Screen

The word on the street today is that the next video game movie destined to fail has now gotten the green light and is moving forward. The game is “Army Of Two” and is actually being penned by The Bourne Ultimatum co-writer Scott Z. Burns. The folks over at MovieWeb give us this:

Selling more than “1 million units since it launched in March” game is “a two-player action contest in which a pair of private military contractors fight their way through a web of intrigue. Because people experience the game in pairs, playing two guys who go against the world, Scott and I agreed this format presented an opportunity to make a great buddy film,” Burns stated.

I’m not going to go into all the various reasons I have no faith in these movies yet again, but does this game even have a built in audience? Quite frankly I haven’t even heard of this game until today (keep in mind, while I do play games, I’m not the most up to date gamer by any stretch of the imagination).

Have any of you guys played “Army of Two”. If so, what are your thoughts on it. Think it could (snicker snicker) make a good movie? Give us your thoughts.

For the heck of it, here’s the Army of Two game trailer:

Steven Soderbergh Making 3-D Rock 'n Roll Cleopatra

Variety says that Steven Soderbergh is developing a 3-D live-action rock 'n' roll musical about Cleopatra.

He is courting Catherine Zeta-Jones to play the Egyptian queen and Hugh Jackman to play her lover, Marc Antony.

The $30 million Cleo will be shopped for financing and distribution within the next two weeks. Greg Jacobs is producing with Casey Silver.

The music has been written by the indie rock band Guided by Voices, and the script is by James Greer, a former bass player for the band and an author.

Friday the 13th Teaser

The full new teaser trailer for Friday the 13th is now online and can be watched using the player below or in High Definition QuickTime here. Directed by Marcus Nispel (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), the film stars Amanda Righetti, Jared Padalecki, Jonathan Sadowski, Aaron Yoo, Travis Van Winkle and Odette Yustman. It hits theaters on Friday, February 13th.

New Trailer for The International

Sony recently released an international trailer for The International starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts. I know what you're thinking, that the first trailer was terrible, and this one won't change your mind. You're wrong. I had a good feeling that director Tom Tykwer had something hidden up his sleeves. It just didn't become clear until someone at Sony actually cut a good trailer. No scenes from Ghost Rider, no cheesy graphics, just a real glimpse at what The International is all about. I'm amazed how much of a difference one trailer can make, but that's how it goes in Hollywood. So do yourself a big favor and watch this!

Watch the international trailer for The International:

The International is directed by German filmmaker Tom Tykwer, of Run, Lola, Run and Perfume: The Story of a Murderer previously. The original script was penned by first-time screenwriter Eric Singer. Sony Pictures is releasing The International in theaters everywhere on February 13th, 2009.

First Trailer for Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

Here it is - the first trailer for Underworld: Rise of the Lycans starring Rhona Mitra, Michael Sheen, and Bill Nighy for a third time. For this sequel they've gone back in time, to tell the origin of the centuries-old feud between the the race of aristocratic vampires known as Death Dealers, and their onetime slaves, the Lycans. This looks like the most common and un-entertaining cinematic story I've seen in a while, reminiscent of the Alien vs Predator movies (yes, both of them).

You can also watch the Underworld: Rise of the Lycans trailer in High Definition on Apple

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans is directed by Patrick Tatopoulos, a visual consultant and long-time creature designer who is making his directorial debut. The screenplay and story have numerous writers attached, with Dirk Blackman and Howard McCain (of the upcoming sci-fi flick Outlander) and Danny McBride (of Underworld and Underworld: Evolution) credited as the primary screenwriters. Sony is debuting Underworld: Rise of the Lycans in theaters everywhere on January 23rd, 2009 next year.

Source: FirstShowing.net

Zac Efron Boarding the Black Pearl?

The latest rumor hitting the high seas -- MTV UK reports that Zac Efron has signed on to star in Pirates of the Caribbean 4, for the prime sum of 6 million pounds -- a deal that would also glue him to another HSM sequel. But rumor control is already in the works. MTV, stateside, reports that this all came from The National Enquirer, and that there's no truth to the story. They talked to Efron, who says the rumors aren't true, although he'd definitely be interested. Gee, ya think?

Whoever cooked up this rumor at least thought it out -- Zac might not be interested in more HSM, but I bet he'd agree to more for the chance to star in a huge Disney feature that reaches beyond the teen girls and allows him to act alongside Depp. And from the studio's side, Sparrow's last male rival couldn't hold a torch to Johnny, so I wouldn't be surprised if Disney did it again.

Orlando Bloom might have been one heck of a Legolas, but I just hated him in Pirates. His charisma, or lack thereof, was no match for Depp, and to give Johnny another star that can't give him a run for his money ... that would be a shame. This franchise's best bet: focus on Sparrow with a few co-stars who can rival Depp's charisma and chemistry. Any suggestions?

Amazing New Watchmen Teaser Poster!

The official theatrical Watchmen teaser poster has premiered on Yahoo. The new poster shows the shot from the early few minutes of the movie (and the frames of the comic book itself) when The Comedian (played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is thrown through the window. While he falls to his untimely death, the Happy-face pin with a smidgen of blood flies through the air behind him. It’s probably one of the coolest pieces of footage they have shown yet.

Watchmen is directed by Zack Snyder (of Dawn of the Dead and 300) and written by David Hayter (The Scorpion King, X-Men, X-Men 2) and Alex Tse. The movie arrives in theaters everywhere on March 6th, 2009.

Will.i.am's Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Music Video!

ComingSoon.net had an exclusive first look at Will.i.am's new music video for Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and we pass it on. Opening in conventional theaters and IMAX on November 7. The DreamWorks Animation sequel features the voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Bernie Mac, Sherri Shepherd, Alec Baldwin and Will.i.am.

All the loveable characters are back - Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe and Gloria the hippo, King Julien, Maurice and the penguins. Left marooned on the distant shores of Madagascar, the New Yorkers have hatched a plan so crazy it just might work. With military precision, the penguins have repaired an old crashed plane - sort of. Once aloft, this unlikely crew stays airborne just enough to make it to the wildest place of all - the vast plains of Africa itself - where our zoo-raised crew encounter species of their own kind for the very first time. While discovering their roots, they quickly realize the difference between the concrete jungle and the heart of Africa. Despite long-lost relatives, romantic rivals and scheming hunters, Africa seems like a "crack-a-lackin" great place... but is it better than their Central Park home?

Source: ComingSoon.net

Quantum Of Solace Vids

Sony has done an exceptional job of promoting Quantum of Solace so far, making it one of the most highly anticipated films left this year, and to top all that off we've 8 new exciting video clips, the "Another Way to Die" music video, featuring Jack White and Alicia Keys, and 2 new featurettes featuring with Daniel Craig, director Marc Forster, Gemma Arterton, Jeffrey Wright and Mathieu Amalric! Take a look below...

Quantum of Solace is directed by Marc Forster, of Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland, Stranger Than Fiction, and The Kite Runner previously. The screenplay was penned by both Robert Wade (Die Another Day, Johnny English, Casino Royale) and Paul Haggis (Crash, Million Dollar Baby, Flags of Our Fathers, Casino Royale). This is the 22nd Bond film in the series that first began back in 1962 with Dr. No. Sony Pictures will be releasing Quantum of Solace in theaters on November 14th this year.

Source: Movieweb.com

Quick Weekend B.O.

There were other winners this weekend. $18 million is a good number for an inexpensive actioner like Max Payne, though if you think it underperformed a bit you're probably right. $11.1 million in semi-wide release for The Secret Life of Bees is gold. Beverly Hills Chihuahua continues to do well, approaching $70 million. Even Eagle Eye is still kicking down in fifth place; it'll just miss the $100 million mark.

1 - Max Payne (Fox) - $18.00 ($5,332) - $18.00
2 - Beverly Hills Chihuahua (Disney) - $11.20 ($3,458) - $69.07
3 - The Secret Life of Bees (Fox Searchlight) - $11.05 ($6,945) - $11.05
4 - W. (Lionsgate) - $10.55 ($5,197) - $10.55
5 - Eagle Eye (Dreamworks/Paramount) - $7.34 ($2,208) - $81.34
6 - Body of Lies (Warner Bros.) - $6.88 ($2,535) - $24.48
7 - Quarantine (Screen Gems) - $6.30 ($2,558) - $24.69
8 - Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (Sony) - $3.90 ($1,740) - $26.71
9 - Sex Drive (Summit) - $3.57 ($1,473) - $3.57
10 - Nights in Rodanthe (Warner Bros.) - $2.68 ($1,267) - $36.89

Source: Box Office Mojo

Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster in Pandorum

Pandorum is directed and co-written by German filmmaker Christian Alvart, who just made the leap to Hollywood after directing the 2005 horror flick Antibodies. Starring Dennis Quaid, Ben Foster, and Cam Gigandet, Pandorum is about a pair of crew members aboard a spaceship that wake up with no knowledge of their mission or their identities. Courtesy of this week's Entertainment Weekly, we've got our first look at two rather interesting stills from the film, as well as a poster made to sell it, all adding together as our first introduction to this oddly appealing sci-fi film.

Quaid explains: "There's nobody around, we can't get anybody on the radio. We can't even recall what our mission is." The second photo shows Ben Foster waking up (angrily) in his sleeping chamber. Additionally, we've added a small poster that was created as art to help sell the film, since it just started shooting a few weeks ago. The poster actually says "From the Makers of Resident Evil" (referring to Paul W.S. Anderson as producer) and includes the tagline "You Are All That is Left of Us" at the bottom. The image looks like the spaceship from the film, as far as I can tell so far. Very interesting details so far. What do you think?

Two crewmen awaken from hyper-sleep aboard a spacecraft. None of their equipment is working, and their memories are incomplete. What was their mission? How much time has passed? Where are they? Who are they? As they try to piece things together, they discover they are not alone, and the ship's new inhabitants - tribal warriors carrying crudely made weapons - are moving among them, intent on killing all aboard. As the space travelers unravel the frightening and deadly secrets the ship harbors, they realize the survival of mankind hinges on their actions. They must regain control of the ship before Pandorum takes over.

Actor Cam Gigandet actually talked about the film in an interview with MTV two weeks ago. Apparently it hasn't even start shooting yet, as he was just about to head off to Berlin to start filming at the time. He explains a bit more about the story, saying "they're trying to find a different place to live, basically, and things go horribly wrong. It's about them figuring out the problem." Gigandet also cryptically mentions that it "could be in the future, but it could not be," but I don't really know if that has any play into the actual plot. We'll bring you any more updates we can on Pandorum as soon as hear more - stay tuned!

Source: FirstShowing.net

IMDb Turns 18

Today is the 18th Birthday of the Internet Movie Database. Some of you might be wondering how it is possible for IMDb to be 18 years old when the first web browser wasn’t available until 1991. For that we go to IMDb founder and managing director Col Needham to explain:

On this day in 1990 I published a series of scripts which made lists of credits (collected by a wonderful USENET group called “rec.arts.movies”) searchable. Though the naming was still four years off, the IMDb was, in essence, born. Suffice it to say, however, that since that time IMDb has become more than a list of searchable credits. On top of this bedrock of data we’ve recently added 6,000 full-length feature films and TV episodes which our users can watch for free. We have launched NewsDesk, (which allows news partners to add their news feeds to our site), individual pages for characters, plot synopses, FAQs, parental guides, and many, many more features. We now enjoy the patronage of over 57 million movie and TV lovers each month.

As inaccurate as it can be at times, I don’t know what I would do without IMDB.com. I can barely remember back to the days before I learned about the movie database. You would be forced to visit the local video rental store, or call your movie-trivia-obsessed friend (I think everyone use to have one of these guys) if you wanted to know who starred in a certain film from years past. I think we all take for granted the wonderful resource we now have at the tip of our fingertips (and I mean fingerprints, I’m on IMDb all the time on my iPhone). Congratulations to the entire IMDb team for the milestone.

First Look at Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds

The first image of Brad Pitt from Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds has just arrived online In the film, Pitt plays Lt. Aldo Raine, who leads a group of Jewish-American soldiers during WWII called 'The Basterds'. For these men, their job is to track down and viciously murder Nazis in an attempt to provoke fear in the Third Reich. Basterds is currently in production in Germany, and stars Diane Kruger, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Daniel Brühl, Eli Roth, Samm Levine, B.J. Novak, Til Schweiger, Gedeon Burkhard, Paul Rust, Michael Bacall, Omar Doom, Sylvester Groth, Julie Dreyfus, Jacky Ido, August Diehl, Martin Wuttke, Richard Sammel, Christian Berkel, Sönke Möhring, Michael Fassbender, Mike Myers, Rod Taylor, Denis Menochet and Cloris Leachman.

Obviously they're wasting no time spreading hype for this flick (but will Tarantino have it done in time for Cannes, like he previously said?). What do you think of Pitt? Doesn't he look dashing ...

See a bigger ver. at Cinematical's Gallery: HERE

And here's the synopsis: Inglourious Basterds begins in German-occupied France, where Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent) witnesses the execution of her family at the hand of Nazi Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz). Shosanna narrowly escapes and flees to Paris, where she forges a new identity as the owner and operator of a cinema.

Elsewhere in Europe, Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) organizes a group of Jewish soldiers to engage in targeted acts of retribution. Known to their enemy as "The Basterds," Raine's squad joins German actress and undercover agent Bridget Von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) on a mission to take down the leaders of The Third Reich. Fates converge under a cinema marquee, where Shosanna is poised to carry out a revenge plan of her own...

It's Official - Jason Bourne Back in Action

Trilogies are no longer the big thing in Hollywood. Universal is moving forward with a fourth Jason Bourne movie, tentatively titled Bourne 4. Although this news was confirmed back in September, Variety announces today that Universal has hired a writer and is giving full support to the production in hopes of having it ready by 2010. Interestingly, Universal really did intend to end the series with The Bourne Ultimatum (as we saw with the ending of the film), but after it made $227 million at the box office, they decided to go ahead and make another. Ultimatum writer George Nolfi has been hired to pen the sequel.

The fourth book in the Bourne series was written by Eric Van Lustbader, not Robert Ludlum, and thus the studio has decided to go down their own path choosing a story this time. Producer Frank Marshall said they'll probably take Bourne "down south" to South America in the fourth film, but story details aren't fully finalized. Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass, who directed both Supremacy and Ultimatum, will return again for Bourne 4. Considering The Bourne Ultimatum is still one of my favorite movies from last year, I'm very glad to hear that they're continuing on. Especially because it's the closest thing to becoming a new James Bond style franchise that could go on endlessly

Jovovich Working in the Clock Tower

Resident Evil" franchise star Milla Jovovich is committing herself to another video game adaptation: Clock Tower. The actress will play Alyssa Barron and join Brittany Snow and Alyssa Jayne Hale.

Martin Weisz is bringing this long-mooted project to life for Senator Entertainment and The Weinstein Company.

Eric Poppen's screenplay is said to take its cue from the second installment of the "Clock Tower" series which finds the heroine locked up in a psychiatric hospital trying to escape the curse that has haunted her family for generations.

Shooting begins in November.

Trailer for Will Smith's Seven Pounds

Take a look and let us know what you think?

Watch the new trailer for :

Academy Award nominee Will Smith reunites with the directors and producers of The Pursuit of Happyness for the emotional drama Seven Pounds. In the film, Smith plays Ben Thomas, an IRS agent with a fateful secret who embarks on an extraordinary journey of redemption by forever changing the lives of seven strangers.

Seven Pounds is directed by Italian filmmaker Gabriele Muccino, of One Last Kiss, Remember Me My Love, and The Pursuit of Happyness previously. The original screenplay was penned by newcomer Grant Nieporte. Sony is releasing Seven Pounds in theaters on December 19th this holiday season.

Cameron talks Avatar on CBC

James Cameron made an appearance on the Canadian talk show "The Hour" for a brief interview (you can watch the video below) and obviously talks about how challenging the post-production work is on the film. By the time we get to the December 18th release date next year, he'll have been working in post-production for over two years on Avatar. Not only is that an impressive feat on its own, but Cameron compares it to "trench warfare."

"We finished with the actors…. We're just in this kind of CG hell - trying to create a world from scratch," Cameron explains. "It's like trench warfare. We're working with computer-generated characters that we want to be photorealistic. Its been tough. We've set the bar high. We're just now getting the confidence that it's really going to work." Like Kevin Smith, I really love hearing Cameron talk about almost anything, because he's an absolute genius. Not only is he a great filmmaker, but he's brilliant with cinematic technology, too. While this is obviously grueling work that has "consumed all [his] life," Cameron admits that "its been simultaneously the hardest and the most rewarding film project" he's even worked on.

For the sake of comparison, Cameron throws out this statistic. In Terminator 2, there were 42 CG shots with characters, while in Avatar there are over 1700. They're "of creatures, and characters, and this whole world, an entire alien rainforest and ecosystem." I'm personally very excited for Avatar. But I'm also worried that those who aren't necessarily die-hard James Cameron fans are getting a bit tired of hearing about all this CG content in Avatar over and over. Not only are they concerned that this much CGI might hurt the film, but it's hard to get excited without actually seeing any photos or imagery at all.

Watch the complete interview with James Cameron on "The Hour" below. It's great to watch if you're a Cameron fan, otherwise stick with the quotes we've provided above.

Pirates of the Caribbean 4 Rumors

Terry Rossio, co-screenwriter of the first three "Pirates of the Caribbean" films, has debunked the various rumors that are going around about Pirates of the Caribbean 4. They ranged from Johnny Depp getting $56 million for the fourth movie to Tim Burton directing to Sacha Baron Cohen and Russell Brand co-starring. Rossio writes:

For the record, none of the recent Pirates 4 rumors have any truth, including the so-called record 50 million dollar payday for Depp.

Some pretty funny stuff, though. Sacha Cohen? Tim Burton? Studios are way too protective of their franchises for that sort of thing.

The only thing that has been officially announced so far is that Johnny Depp will return as Captain Jack Sparrow in the fourth film.

World of Warcraft in the Works??

Moviehole’s Gareth Von Kallenbach was at Blizzcon and had a chance to chat to the chaps behind the exceedingly popular ''World of Warcraft'' game, namely Prez Mike Morhaime, about whether or not we will ever see the oft-rumored film version.

They said:

“there are still plans for a World of Warcraft movie” and that “the script is being written but if they say anything more than that they will be shot”.

In other words, it ain't coming anytime soon - but they'd still like to do it.

Though no director has been set for the movie, the film is said to be set a year before the events of the game and fix on an all-new hero.

I'm a huge fan of the series and am incredibly excited to see this finally coming...

Thoughts??

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li Poster and Website

From one beloved Asian franchise to the next. They've already ruined Dragonball, so why not Street Fighter, too? Fox is in some deep shit already (for Dragonball) and I'm sure they're going to have to dig themselves out of this rut, too. We missed this news over the weekend (or maybe I thought the poster was ugly), but I thought I'd throw it out there today. A Japanese poster has been discovered and the official Japanese website for Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li has launched. Don't bother wasting your time on either of these unless you're a big fan or if you want a headache for the rest of the day.

To visit the utterly boring website for the film, head over to streetfighter-movie.gyao.jp or just click the poster below. And other than that, you're more than welcome to look at this painfully ugly poster. Is it me or did they really try and make Canadian actress Kristin Kreuk look a bit too much like Chun-Li, who is of Chinese decent? Oh well, I guess that's what you get when Hollywood tinkers with a foreign franchise!

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li is being directed by ex-cinematographer Andrzej Bartkowiak, of Romeo Must Die, Exit Wounds, Cradle 2 the Grave, and Doom. The script for this was penned by up-and-coming screenwriter Justin Marks, who also penned screenplays for Masters of the Universe and Voltron. Hong Kong fight choreographer Dion Lam, who previously worked on The Matrix Trilogy, Spider-Man 2, and all of Bartkowiak's previous films, is handling the fight sequences. Fox currently has Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li set to arrive in theaters on February 27th, 2009.

Teaser Poster for Pixar's Up

Pixar has chosen to go with a very odd marketing plan for their next film - Up. Instead of running the first teaser trailer in front of their latest release this summer, Wall-E, like they've always done before, they've decided to save it for a more timely debut (I'm guessing on Bolt in November). Additionally, we haven't seen any official media from the film save for the Comic-Con presentation and the very short teaser revealed at that time. Finally the first teaser posted has hit and it's as gorgeous as the other logos and images we've seen for the film, but doesn't add anything new to the mix. Is this going to get people excited? I highly doubt it, but I guess it's a good tease for those who didn't even know Up existed at all.

Pixar's Up is directed Pete Docter, who also directed Monsters, Inc previously in addition to writing the stories for Toy Story and Toy Story 2. The film is co-directed and written by Bob Peterson, who wrote Finding Nemo previously. Disney is planning to debut up in theaters everywhere on May 29th, 2009 next summer. For more information on Up, head over to our first look at the characters and the story.

Max Payne stills

We have more Max Payne stills for you guys to check out today thanks to the good people over at IESB.

For those of you that would like to see all of the full size images that are available - please check out the source article!

Nothing this project has sent my way has hooked me emotionally. I remain skeptical and have low expectations, which actually may play to this films benefit if I see it and it’s good. The shadow of woe hovers above all video game films and we shall see if this one is able to shake the specter loose October 17th.

Live Action Mulan

Xinhua Media Entertainment has announced a $30 million live-action adaptation of Mulan, based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan (the same legend that was adapted into a 1998 Disney animated film). First written about in a 6th century poem, Hua Mulan was a woman who disguised herself as a man to take her elderly father’s place in an all-male army. It is unknown id the poem was based on an actual person or is just an allegory. The Hollywood-China co-production will begin shooting in China this spring.

$30 million is a big chunk of change for a Chinese production. I’m guessing that Xinhua’s Mulan will be a more traditional period costume drama. And I understand that this is an adaptation of the original legend, and not the Disney film that popularized the legend, but is anyone really that interested to see this story retold in live-action? I know I would never be interested in seeing a live-action Snow White. And the only reason Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland seems appealing is his unique sense of style. And even that is a hybrid production. But then again, I also hated the idea of del Toro directing Tarzan.

source: Hollywood Reporter

Centre Stage : Turn it Up poster & Pics

''Center Stage: Turn It Up'' focuses on a naïve but gifted young woman who must overcome her lack of training to achieve her dream of becoming a professional dancer and who ultimately does so in an unlikely way with the help of a hockey player-turned-dancer. The film commences in Australian Cinemas later this month.

Source: Moviehole.net

Ridley Scott to Film The Forever War

Fox 2000 has acquired rights to Joe Haldeman’s 1974 novel "The Forever War," and Ridley Scott is planning to make it into his first science fiction film since he delivered back-to-back classics with "Blade Runner" and "Alien."

Scott intended to follow those films with "The Forever War," but rights complications delayed his plans for more than two decades.

The film will be produced by Scott Free. Vince Gerardis and Ralph Vicinanza will exec produce. Their company, Created By, reps Haldeman and spent the last decade trying to get back the rights.

"I first pursued ‘Forever War’ 25 years ago, and the book has only grown more timely and relevant since," Scott told Daily Variety. "It’s a science-fiction epic, a bit of ‘The Odyssey’ by way of ‘Blade Runner,’ built upon a brilliant, disorienting premise."

Book revolves around a soldier who battles an enemy in deep space for only a few months, only to return home to a planet he doesn’t recognize some 20 years later, Scott said.

"The Forever War" rights were acquired right after publication by f/x titan Richard Edlund, who spent $400,000 of his own money and intended to make the book his directorial debut. The book became an iconic sci-fi title but Edlund, who won two Oscars — including one for visual effects on "Raiders of the Lost Ark" — never got "The Forever War" off the ground. After a Sci Fi Channel miniseries stalled, Scott became interested again and Edlund was ready to make a deal. It took six months to secure all the rights.

Scott Free and Fox 2000’s Elizabeth Gabler and Rodney Ferrell will hire a writer immediately. Scott, whose "Body of Lies" was released Friday, next plans to direct "Nottingham," starring Russell Crowe. He has several other projects percolating that include the thriller "Child 44," for which Richard Price just penned a script, and "Gucci," about the internecine squabbles within the fashion family that led to the murder of Maurizio Gucci. That Fox 2000 pic has a new draft by Charles Randolph.

Here's Dr. Watson on the Sherlock Holmes Set, Too

After getting a look at Robert Downey Jr. and director Guy Ritchie on the Sherlock Holmes set in London, Just Jared now has photos of Jude Law as Dr. Watson filming scenes as well.

You can check out the photos by clicking the image below! You can read more info on the film here.

Ben Kingsley on the Prince of Persia Set

Defamer has posted a photo of Ben Kingsley on the set of Walt Disney Pictures' Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, coming to theaters on May 28, 2010.

In the Mike Newell-directed fantasy adventure based on Ubisoft's popular video game, Jake Gyllenhaal will play Dastan, a young prince in sixth century Persia who must join forces with Tamina (Gemma Arterton), a feisty and exotic princess, to prevent a villainous nobleman (Kingsley) from possessing the Sands of Time, a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world.Prince of Persia is being produced by powerhouse producer Jerry Bruckheimer, directed by Donnie Brasco, Mona Lisa Smile and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire helmer Mike Newell, and written by both Jeffrey Nachmanoff (The Day After Tomorrow) and one of the game's creators, Jordan Mechner. The film was scheduled to start shooting in July in both Morocco and England. Prince of Persia stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, and Alfred Molina.

'Quarantine' seals off top of B.O.

Sony-Screen Gems’ horror thriller "Quarantine" distanced itself from a fresh batch of October wide entries earning $5.4 million Friday off 2,461 engagements.

Despite “Quarantine’s” lead over “Beverly Hills Chihuahua,” which ranked second with $4.5 million, industry estimates figure that the R-rated zombie film might have a hard time keeping Disney’s dog pic down. It’s conceivable that Saturday’s family matinee effect will lift “Chihuahua” to first place by Sunday, placing it ahead of not only “Quarantine,” but another R-rated pic, Warner Bros.’ Leonardo DiCaprio-Russell Crowe actioner “Body of Lies.”

In its second Friday, “Chihuahua” dipped 45% at 3,218 theaters, raising its eight-day cume to $39.5 million. The PG-rated pic inched ahead of “Lies,” which opened in third with $4.4 million from 2,710.

“Lies” marks Crowe’s fourth collaboration with director Ridley Scott after the crime epic “American Gangster” which also starred Denzel Washington. “Gangster” posted the second highest opening day for an R-Rated fall drama last November with $15.9 million.

DreamWorks thriller “Eagle Eye,” distributed by Paramount, continued to chart in the top five in its third Friday. The Shia LaBeouf starrer slotted fourth with $3.2 million on 3,614, off 41% from a week ago, with a total B.O. to date of $62.7 million.

Sony’s Michael Cera-Kat Dennings teen laffer “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” ranked fifth with $2.1 million from 2,421, down 52%, and an eight-day cume of $16.4 million.

Universal’s biopic “The Express” about college football hero Ernie Davis opened in sixth with $1.5 million off 2,808. The Fox-Walden family adventure “City of Ember,” starring Tim Robbins and Bill Murray, trailed Friday’s wide bows, posting $940,000 off 2,022.

Warner Bros.’ Guy Ritchie shoot-em up “RockNRolla” owned the highest theater average among limited fare with $6,053 or $42,372 at seven locales. Since its Wednesday opening “RocknRolla” has racked up $101,300. Mike Leigh’s comedy-drama “Happy-Go-Lucky,” distributed by Miramax, followed with a per theater of $4,646 or $19,000 at four theaters. Sony Classics’ “Rachel Getting Married” saw a 51% uptick in its Friday-to-Friday haul with $116,000 from 26 sites or $4,479 per theater. Rocky Mountain’s Billy Graham biopic “Billy: The Early Years” generated $72,000 at 282 venues.

Source: Variety

Two New French Posters for Soderbergh's Che

We've just stumbled across two beautiful new posters for Steven Soderbergh's Che double feature. We should probably start referring to each film individually, because these posters are already split up. They're both too exquisite to be reduced in size and placed side-by-side, so I'm featuring each of them in full below. I don't think these movies need an introduction anymore... However, I can guarantee that this is only just the beginning in regards to marketing and promotion for Che. Until we get more from the American side of things, feast your eyes on these two beauties.

I am a bit annoyed that they're using the girl, Aleida Guevara (played by Catalina Sandino Moreno), to sell the first film - The Argentine. She is important to Che's life (he eventually marries her), but she only really shows up half-way through the movie (or even later than that, if I can recall correctly). It's not a big problem, but the movie is much less about her and more about everything else Che does during that Cuban revolution in 1956. Also a special thanks to IMPAwards.com for digging these two posters up!

Che is a true life historical epic made up of two individual films (The Argentine and Guerrilla) that chronicles the life of revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara. They're both directed by Steven Soderbergh, of Traffic, The Good German, and the Ocean's Trilogy previously. The screenplays were written by Peter Buchman, of Jurassic Park III and Eragon previously, and are based on Guevara's memoirs. IFC Films is releasing Che and plans to debut it in theaters separately sometime in late 2008 and/or early 2009.

Source: firstshowing.net

Robert Downey Jr as Sherlock Holmes!

We have a few pics to show you today of Robert Downey Jr. in his Sherlock Holmes garb! We get the following pics from Just Jarred:

For more pictures please check out the source.

It’s cool to see Downey decked out as Holmes, these pictures certainly are cause for excitement. It just saddens me that none of the images have him rocking the pipe. But beggars can’t be choosers, and I’m thankful for the pictures that we’ve been able to get. What do you guys thinks of the pics?

P.S. It’s funny to see Sherlock Holmes with a Starbucks cup.

German Day the Earth Stood Still Poster

An international poster for The Day the Earth Stood Still has been unearthed today over on IESB. I can't help myself, I'm a big sci-fi guy, and like the Defiance trailer before it, I'm even more excited by this than any normal person would be. The Day the Earth Stood Still is one of the few remaining films left this year that I'm genuinely very excited to see. And this poster, there's just something about Keanu Reeve's cold, alienating stare that gives me the chills. We won't ever see this up in any theaters in the US, but it's a poster that I might pay good money to see on my own walls. Am I really the only one?

From all the footage that we've seen, including that extended seven-minute trailer that showed in front of "Fringe", I've got to say that I still think this is going to be an amazing remake. I'm not sure how good it'll be, I just know that it'll be very good, potentially a new modern sci-fi classic. This is a project we've been following from the very start and I've become the biggest supporter of it at the end.

The Day the Earth Stood Still is directed by up-and-coming director Scott Derrickson, of only The Exorcism of Emily Rose previously, with a script written by screenwriter David Scarpa, of only The Last Castle previously. There are a lot of fresh creative minds involved in this project who haven't yet had a lot of experience. The film is a remake of Robert Wise's 1951 sci-fi classic of the same name. Fox is releasing the re-imagined The Day the Earth Stood Still on December 12th later this year.

Trailer for Edward Zwick's Defiance

Looking for a World War II movie that looks better than Valkyrie? Here it is. Variety has debuted the second full trailer for Edward Zwick's Defiance, which stars Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, and Jamie Bell as three Polish brothers. I'm a big war movie guy, so these kinds of movies usually excite me more than normal, but I still think this looks absolutely phenomenal. This really looks like it could really compete with Bryan Singer's Valkyrie in terms of production and intensity, but remarkably Paramount is giving it a limited release. After the buzz that this trailer is certain to cause, I'm hoping they change their mind.

I really mean it when I say this looks like a huge sleeper hit, maybe even the best movie of the year. It hasn't been shown to anyone yet, most likely because they've been finishing the effects, but it still has the potential to be amazing. At least what we've seen here (and in the teaser) has looked stunning so far.

Watch the full trailer for Defiance:

You can also watch the Defiance trailer in High Definition on MSN

Defiance is co-written and directed by Edward Zwick, of Legends of the Fall, Courage Under Fire, The Last Samurai, and Blood Diamond previously, and is written by Clayton Frohman, of The Delinquents and Checkered Flag. The film is based on the book of the same name written by Nechama Tec. Paramount Vantage is debuting Defiance in limited theaters starting on December 12th this year.