Kevin Smith has mentioned that his next film Hit Somebody would be his last before retiring. Currently in Canada touring Red State, he told the audience at the post film Q&A in Montreal that he'll make the film, about a tough hockey player whose dream is to score just one goal, a two parter. According to Hour Community, the split will happen when the film's main character Buddy (Nicholas Braun) makes it into the NHL. The first part will focus on his childhood. The cast is almost official and includes Braun, Kyle Gallner, Michael Angarano and possibly Colin Hanks, John Goodman, Stephen Root and Melissa Leo.
Last Monday, Disney added dates for two new Marvel films for 2014 and it's rumored that one of those films could possibly be Runaways. It's a project that Marvel has had for some time now. It's based on the comic of the same name which follows five LA teenagers who form their own super-team after they discover their parents are members of a big supervillan team called The Pride. The project was starting to take off last year, but in the past few months, it's been slowing down. Drew Pearce, screenwriter of Runaways, says it was because of The Avengers, which was a very high priorty for Marvel Studios. Pearce wrote the screenplay and Peter Sollett (Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist) was set to direct last year before it was put on hold. Pearce also said at an screenwriter panel during Empire Magazine's Big Screen Festival in the United Kingdom,"Basically, 'The Avengers' came along and everything else at Marvel got put on hold for a year. But the script is there, we’re good go. It’s kind of like [being] at the airport when you’re waiting for your slot to take off with Marvel, and we’re hoping we get a slot next year. Fingers crossed. They’re very happy with it, so hopefully it happens."
While I'm on the subject of projects, and stay with me on this, Mike Myers has signed on for a fourth Austin Powers movie. At least for now. HitFix reports that he's “signed, sealed, delivered” for a fourth film in the spy comedy series that's been on hiatus since Goldmember in 2002. When I say "at least for now", I mean that this isn't the first time this news has gone about. There have been many rumors involving a fourth film for countless years. It really intensified in 2008 when The Love Guru, Myers' last "comedy" (Yes, that's in quotes. They can call it a comedy, but not me) tanked both critically and commercially. I think at this point, after that film three years ago and a decade of Shrek movies, it seems like the right choice for Myers. I always thought the Austin Powers films were funny and if this news is official and true, hopefully it's as good as the others.
And now for the weekend box office. Rise of the Planet of the Apes dominated again fending off four new nationwide releases, packing $27.8 million and descending 50 percent. The film brought in a domestic total of $105.2 million in ten days, tracking ahead of fellow Fox reboot/prequel X-Men: First Class, which took $98 million in ten days. The Help picked up $26 million, bringing its domestic total up to $35.9 million, since it opened on Wednesday. It exceeded the debuts of two female-driven book adaptations in the last two Augusts: Julie & Julia ($20 million) and Eat, Pray, Love ($23.1 million). Disney's exit polling indicated that 74 percent of the audience was female and 60 percent was age 35 and over.
In third place, Final Destination 5 opened with $18 million, which is lower than its predecessors, particulary The Final Destination, which debuted with $27.4 million two years ago. 75 percent of the gross came from 3D presentations, which makes it the highest 3D share of the summer. According to distributor Warner Bros., 54 percent of the audience was male and evenly split between those over and under 25 years old. Fourth place went to The Smurfs and it collected $13.7 million, bringing its domestic total to $101.7 million and rounding out the top five is Sony's new release 30 Minutes or Less. It brought in $13.3 million, which was a far cry from Zombieland's $24.7 million (Both these films were directed by Ruben Fleischer and they star Jesse Eisenberg). Sony's exit polling showed 58 percent of the audience was male and 69 percent was under 25 years old. The movies ranked through numbers 6 to 9 were Cowboys & Aliens, Harry Potter 7: Part 2, Captain America, Crazy, Stupid, Love. and The Change-Up.
Glee: The 3D Concert Movie, the other new release, couldn't even crack the top 10, landing in 11th place with $5.9 million. That was much worse than Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience's $12.5 million among other comparable titles. Now, to be completely personal, I called this one. I didn't think it would land in 11th place, but I knew it wasn't to do well either. Fox marketed it for what it was: a movie for the hardcore fans, also known as "Gleeks" and that came off as dumb and redundant for casual viewers (like me) who could watch the television show without paying a cent. According to Fox's exit polling, 79 percent of the audience was female and 66 percent was under 25 years old.
Finally, Disney will release Muppets: The Green Album on August 23rd. It features musical artists like OK Go, Weezer, Andrew Bird, My Morning Jacket and The Fray covering the songs of The Muppets. Luckily, you don't have to wait till next week. NPR has a "First Listen' of the album in its entirety. I just listened to it now and it's a fun, weird, sensational album. Just click this link here and enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment