07.7.2009 | By Jack Rico |
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and terror, disturbing images, thematic material and language including some sexual references.
Release Date: 2009-01-09
Starring: David S. Goyer
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.theunbornmovie.net/
07.7.2009 | By Mack Chico |
The Hollywood Reporter interviewed actress Cameron Diaz, who has cuban ancestry, about her career and a plethora of things. Here is how it went:
Since her first film role in 1994’s “The Mask” opposite Jim Carrey, Cameron Diaz has been become one of Hollywood’s most successful leading ladies, entertaining audiences in such quirky comedies as 1997’s “My Best Friend’s Wedding” and 1998’s “There’s Something About Mary” and earning street cred in such dramas as 2001’s “Vanilla Sky” and 2002’s “Gangs of New York.” In 2003, Diaz struck salary gold, becoming the third Hollywood actress after Julia Roberts and Reese Witherspoon to receive a $20 million paycheck — for “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle.”
Her latest film, the New Line drama “My Sister’s Keeper,” teams her with Jason Patric, Abigail Breslin and Alec Baldwin in a different kind of role: Portraying a mom who goes to extreme measures to keep her leukemia-stricken daughter alive. Diaz may soon be reunited with Tom Cruise, her “Vanilla Sky” co-star, in James Mangold’s action film “The Wichita Project”; and she’s attached to the Zach Braff-directed comedy “Swingles,” currently in development. Just before receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the native San Diegan spoke with The Hollywood Reporter’s Noela Hueso.
The Hollywood Reporter: You’re known for broad comedies. What brought you to “My Sister’s Keeper”?
Cameron Diaz: It was a story that just touched me. l liked that (my character) Sara wasn’t obvious. I didn’t know exactly where she was coming from at first but then I realized that it was pretty simple to understand: She’s just a woman who’s trying to keep her child alive. We can all relate to that in some way — how far we would go for the ones we love.
THR: Do you see yourself transitioning into more roles like this?
Diaz: I’ve done a number of dramatic films over the years, such as “Gangs of New York” and “Vanilla Sky,” and a slew of smaller films nobody would have seen but that weren’t just comedies. For me, it’s all about rhythm. It’s not something I plan, it’s just questioning “What am I feeling?” Recently, I was feeling that I would love to do something fun and big. I haven’t done an action film in a long time and “The Wichita Project” fits the bill.
THR: How about a musical?
Diaz: I would love to do a musical. I don’t sing very well — honestly I’ve never worked on it — but I believe that if you work on anything hard enough you can get to at least someplace where you can fudge it a little bit!
THR: Do you dance?
Diaz: I do. I love dancing. I’ve never been trained, but choreography is something that comes pretty easily for me. I love musicals. When I was a child, I loved watching films where people were dancing. I loved Fred Astaire.
THR: You’re attached to a number of other projects, too.
Diaz: I have more than usual just because it’s been a year since I worked, so I’m ramped up to see what falls into place first.
THR: You don’t know what’s next?
Diaz: You never really know until you’re on the set. Anything can happen. “The Wichita Project” is definitely in the works. “Swingles” is in development, too. What’s going to be next is always a question of who’s getting (the project) together the quickest.
THR: Do you see yourself becoming a producer or director?
Diaz: No, I don’t really. It’s so much work. I lack the ability to focus for that long. I enjoy my time on a set as an actor. It’s the perfect amount of time for me. Films are a collaboration anyhow, so everyone is always contributing something to a project.
THR: Do you have a dream project you’ve been trying to get off the ground?
Diaz: I haven’t found anything where I’m saying I have to tell this story. I am a meanderer of sorts. I like to move around and see what’s going on over here and see what’s going on over there.
THR: You broke the $20 million salary barrier with “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle.” No actresses are getting that kind of money anymore, yet the guys still are. Are women being hit disproportionately with the salary reductions?
Diaz: I don’t think so. In light of the current economic situation, everybody’s been pulling back on all levels; everyone’s being reactive. The whole country is waiting to see where this is going and how long it’s going to last. From what I know, all the deals are having to change. A good deal isn’t always $20 million up front — but getting a fair deal all the way around is.
THR: Beyond your acting, you have become quite prominent for your environmental activities. Have you been happy so far with the Obama administration’s environmental policies?
Diaz: So far. I know that he’s pushed and pulled from so many different directions, but I think he’s getting some good advice.
THR: What would you like to see him accomplish on the environmental front?
Diaz: Alternative energies — and doing it the right way. Changing an entire industry isn’t an easy feat to accomplish but if we give him enough time to do it, he can set up a great infrastructure to do so.
THR: What do you think about your getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?
Diaz: It will be cool to be under people’s feet. It really is the place where people can understand exactly that actors are not really stars — they don’t exist in the sky, they exist on the ground just like everybody else.
![Spanish film, [REC 2], has new trailer!](https://showbizcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/51c06fbbb66d7.jpg)
07.7.2009 | By Mack Chico |
![Spanish film, [REC 2], has new trailer!](/public/images/upload/news_image_1679.jpg)
[.REC] was an entertainingly supernasty Spanish zombie-rabies flick, about a group of firemen and residents (and a TV crew) quarantined in a block of flats. The American remake, Quarantine, was the same, but a bit slower.
And here’s [.REC] 2, once again directed by Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza. Picking up a few hours after the end of the original, there’s nothing in this trailer that looks terribly different to what we’ve seen before. We’ve got the military rather than the fire department, but other than that…
However, [SPOILER if you haven’t seen the first film] there is scope for exploring that attic, and the frankly mental Catholic Vatican Possession Virus plot thread that was rather altered for the Americanisation. Horror is often best unexplained, but if we’re going back to those flats, we hope we get upstairs sooner rather than later.
The trailer’s tagline is “se acabo la comedia”. Nice!
07.6.2009 | By Mack Chico |
It was a win-win situation at the box office, with “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” raking in record international box office for an animated pic, while “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” became the year’s domestic B.O. champ.
Opening on Wednesday to get the jump on the holiday weekend, 20th Century Fox’s “Ice Age 3” won the five-day sesh with $67.5 million; the “Transformers” sequel took $65 million. The 3-D dinosaurs trampled the world’s box office, with the biggest opening ever for an animated film at $148 million. Worldwide total stands at $215.5 million.
For the three-day weekend sesh, “Ice Age” and “Transformers” raced to a rare tie, with $42.5 million. (The victor will likely be decided when the final numbers come in this ayem.)
“Revenge of the Fallen” lit up the holiday box office frame by becoming the highest-grossing pic of the year, with a domestic cume of $293.5 million in its 12th day in release. The only film to have amassed a higher gross in such a short time is “The Dark Knight.” Worldwide tally for “Transformers 2” is a massive $591 million.
Universal’s Johnny Depp gangster pic “Public Enemies,” which also opened Wednesday, served as solid counterprogramming to the two tentpoles. Period piece, directed by Michael Mann, grossed $41 million in its first five days at the domestic B.O. and $5.3 million from five territories overseas, bringing worldwide cume to $46.3 million.
Distribs and exhibs were expecting a slow holiday Saturday, but the drop was even bigger than expected at 30% or more.
Yet the weekend was still up over the same domestic frame last year as there was something for everyone on the marquee. There had been concern that “Dawn of the Dinosaurs” and “Public Enemies” might get lost in the shadow of “Revenge of the Fallen,” but both came in on the upper end of expectations.
The third “Ice Age” pic’s five-day domestic debut of $67.5 million nearly matched the $68 million opening of the previous installment, “Ice Age: The Meltdown.”
Fox took a calculated risk in opening the threequel in summer. The first two films debuted in March, when there is far less competition, but the third is benefiting from summer vacation.
“Dawn of the Dinosaurs,” opening on 11,652 screens in 101 markets, saw the sixth best international opening of all time behind (“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” tops the list).
“Ice Age 3” likely took a bite out of “Transformers 2” internationally, although the latter still pulled in $55 million for the sesh.
Fox co-prexies of international distribution Paul Hanneman and Tomas Jegeus said “Ice Age 3” played incredibly broadly, fueled by a massive international marketing campaign that included numerous promotion partners.
“We had a great date, and we think we will keep playing and playing. The ‘Ice Age’ franchise has become an institution, and we powered through any disadvantages we had, such as weather,” Hanneman said.
The film scored the biggest international opening ever in numerous territories, led by Russia at $18.9 million, Brazil at $10.3 million and Mexico at $10 million. Other countries included Austria, Chile, Peru and Colombia. In Mexico, the opening was 100% ahead of the “Transformers 2” debut and 81% ahead of “Dark Knight.”
“Dawn of the Dinosaurs” broke the record for the biggest animated opening in several individual territories as well, including France at $11.1 million.
“Ice Age 3’s” worldwide gross was boosted by its 3-D runs, which repped the widest opening to date for a 3-D title, both domestically and abroad. In the U.S. toon played on 1,606 3-D screens. Overseas, the 2,126 3-D screens grossed a combined $51 million, repping 34% of the entire gross, even though the screens comprised only 18% of the entire run.
Fox VP of domestic distribution Bert Livingston said the studio was elated with the overall result.
“I think we are in rarefied air. To be in a virtual tie for the weekend with one of the biggest event films ever is a great start,” Livingston said.
“Ice Age 3” represents a sizable victory for Fox Animation topper Vanessa Morrison.
Meanwhile, Universal was pleased with “Public Enemies,” which overcame concerns that a more serious drama wouldn’t play in summer.
“Everyone questioned whether this film would do good business. It turned out to be a great holiday weekend for fans of adult titles,” said U prexy of worldwide marketing and distribution Adam Fogelson.
The “Public Enemies” opening, the best ever for Mann, is a testament to Depp’s appeal, proving he can open a pic even when not dressed as a pirate.
Among holdovers, Disney’s romantic comedy “The Proposal” ended the weekend with an impressive worldwide gross of $123.7 million. Coming in No. 4 domestically, pic dipped just 31% to an estimated $12.8 million from 3,099 runs; cume is $94.2 million. Overseas, the Sandra Bullock-Ryan Reynolds starrer grossed $4.2 million from 1,753 runs in 15 territories for a cume of $29.5 million.
Warner Bros.’ “The Hangover” jumped the $200 million mark domestically, grossing an estimated $10.5 million from 3,070 theaters for a cume of $204.2 million. Overseas, film grossed $8.7 million from 1,975 screens in 30 markets for a cume of $61.5 million and worldwide tally of $265.7 million. That’s within earshot of the global take for “Wedding Crashers” at $285.2 million.
At the specialty box office, Summit Entertainment’s “The Hurt Locker” secured the best per-location average of any film. The Kathryn Bigelow-directed war drama grossed an estimated $126,000 from nine locations for a per-screen average of $14,000 and cume of $365,000 in its second sesh. Its holding power will be tested when it expands into smaller markets.
Focus Features’ “Away We Go,” from Sam Mendes, ended its fifth sesh with an impressive cume of $6.1 million after posting a weekend gross of $1.1 million from 506 locations.
Sony Pictures Classics’ sci-fi drama “Moon” grossed $300,485 in its fourth weekend from 47 locations, raising its per-screen average to $6,393 with a cume of $982,527.
Sony Classics’ Woody Allen pic “Whatever Works” grossed $1.1 million from 355 locations for the weekend, putting its cume at $2 million in its third frame — an improvement on Allen’s “Cassandra’s Dream” last year.
Miramax’s “Cheri,” directed by Stephen Frears, failed to catch on in its second sesh, with an estimated $388,000 from 140 locations and cume of $1 million. Magnolia’s had more success with docu “Food, Inc.,” which grossed $240,000 from 83 screens for a $1.28 million cume.
Among openers, Magnolia’s “The Girl From Monaco” grossed $90,000 from 21 theaters for a per-location average of $4,286.
07.4.2009 | By Mack Chico |
Rated: PG for some mild rude humor and peril.
Release Date: 2009-07-01
Starring:
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country: USA
Official Website: http://www.laeradelhielo3.com/
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With each release, Pixar explores new themes and ideas. Meanwhile, animation studios like Fox retread tired “franchises” like Ice Age. Never representative of more than mediocrity from a technical or story-based standpoint, the Ice Age series has reached a new nadir with its third entry. Rather than adding an extra dimension to the entertainment, the decision to release Dawn of the Dinosaurs in 3D merely gives the animators an opportunity to be more slipshod in their design and execution. For the most part, the movie plays out like a demo for the video game, careening from one improbable action sequence to the next. I can see how the challenge of mastering some of these puzzles might be fun in an interactive forum, but they’re deadly dull in a movie.
The story has Manny the Mammoth (voice of Ray Romano) and his mate, Ellie (Queen Latifa), about to embark upon parenthood. Diego the Sabertooth Tiger (Denis Leary), feeling he has lost “it,” elects to leave behind the herd and strike out on his own. And Sid the Sloth (John Leguizamo) decides that, like Manny, he wants a family of his own. He achieves this goal not by finding a female and doing it the old fashioned way but by discovering three unhatched dinosaur eggs. Soon, he is being followed by three newly hatched T-Rexes, which is okay until a perturbed mother shows up wondering where her babies are. It turns out that there is a lost world of dinosaurs under the ice and, when Mama T-Rex kidnaps Sid and transports him down there, Manny, Ellie, and Diego follow. They are soon joined by a crazy weasel (Simon Pegg) denizen of the underworld who spends his days and nights hunting the biggest, baddest dinosaur of them all: a gargantuan carnivore called “Rudy.”
In the previous Ice Age movies, the best reasons to watch were related to the misadventures of Scrat the Sabertooth Squirrel, the prehistoric equivalent of Wiley Coyote. In Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Scrat is the only reason to watch.
Very little happens over the course of the film. What passes for a “story” is nothing more than a thinly-veiled excuse to incorporate dinosaurs into the proceedings, presumably because they’re popular with little boys.
The most disappointing thing about Dawn of the Dinosaurs is the movie’s look. Everything in this world is bland and generic. There’s no texture in the foreground and no detail in the background. It’s a small step up from Saturday morning cartoon quality. The excuse, I suppose, is that the “3D experience” compensates, but it also mutes the colors and dims the brightness. Dawn of the Dinosaurs looks awful. If I was one of the CGI animators, I’d be embarrassed to be associated with the film. I have seen amateur filmmakers do better work on their Macs.
Like Madagascar and Shrek (both Dreamworks properties), Ice Age is a brand-name and people will see it for that reason alone. Quality doesn’t come into it. It’s another example of something that offers a passable diversion for kids and a restless 90 minutes for the adults who accompany them. The 3D surcharge is a rip-off: the movie doesn’t do anything with the effect and there are even a few instances when it appears to be improperly applied. The best option is to ignore the existence of Dawn of the Dinosaurs altogether and see Up a second time. A repeat viewing of the Pixar film will be more rewarding than a first viewing of the latest Ice Age entry.
07.2.2009 | By Mack Chico |
Spanish director Fernando Trueba, who won the foreign-language Oscar in 1994 for “Belle Epoque,” is set to helm French-language pic “L’Artiste et son modele.”
From a screenplay by Trueba and Jean-Claude Carriere, who co-authored many late Luis Bunuel‘s films, including “Belle Toujours” and “The Phantom of Liberty,” the comedic drama will topline vet Gallic thesp Jean Rochefort (“The Hairdresser’s Husband”) as a painter of female nudes, and up-and-coming Spanish actress Aida Folch, who first caught notice in Trueba’s 2002 “The Shanghai Spell,” as his model.
Lensing spring/summer 2010, “Artiste” is produced by Cristina Huete for Fernando Trueba P.C., Trueba’s Madrid-based label.
Set in occupied France in 1943, it turns on an ageing hedonist painter and his relationship with beauty and with beautiful women, Huete said. She aims to structure “Artiste” as a co-production with France.
“Artiste” is the third project to come together after Trueba spent much of 2002 to 2007 writing a bevy of feature screenplays.
Trueba’s genre-hopping “The Dancer and the Thief,” from a novel by “Il Postino” writer Antonio Skarmeta, is in post, and looks set to be one of Spain’s big fall bows.
Animation romancer “Chico y Rita,” which is co-directed by Trueba and Javier Mariscal, should be ready for delivery spring 2010. Pic, which is set in the late 40s Cuba and New York jazz scene, is produced with London’s Magic Light Pictures and Mariscal’s Barcelona-based Estudio Mariscal.
07.1.2009 | By Mack Chico |
Javier Bardem, Oscar winner for best actor 2 years ago is a strong candidate to play Khan in the next Star Trek sequel.
Collider caught up with the director and Bad Robot honcho on the red carpet of the Saturn Awards and tried to back Abrams into corners about whether or not he’ll direct part two or walk away from that much responsibility, as well as picking his brain about potential villains.
Abrams is a master of a few things, but his greatest strength may be revealing as much as possible in an interview. Will he direct? “We just started talking about ideas…we’ve just begun this process so it’s so early that it’s insane to, you know – I have no idea,” he tells Collider.
“(B)ut I would say that it’s that kind of feeling that as we’re talking about stories you start to salivate, like ‘oh my God I can’t wait to do that!’ and so that feels good and my guess is that as we continue it will become clearer how we will plan out what will happen.”
So…will he direct? Question dodged. And regarding the villians, which Collider also asked writers Orci and Kurtzman about and were told it could be something very non-traditional, like nature – Abrams was enthusiastic but not very helpful:
“Well, I’m open to anything. We’ve had some really interesting discussions so far but, you know – you have to be open to everything to find the right thing so the answer is sure, I’m open to that. I think in a story it’s important to personify, somehow, what you’re up against so it’s a tricky one to figure out how to, like, fight evil wind!”
Well, that’s a little more informative, but it sounds like a ruse to me. I much prefer the concept Abrams and company spouted off a couple months ago, that Javier Bardem would make a good Khan. Now that…that’s a subject I hope he answers sooner than later.
06.29.2009 | By Ted Faraone |
Rated: R for gangster violence and some language.
Release Date: 2009-07-01
Starring: Ronan Bennett, Ann Biderman
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country: USA
Official Website: http://www.publicenemies.net/
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“Public Enemies†is a romanticized account of the last 15 months of bank robber John Dillinger, America’s first “Public Enemy Number Oneâ€. At 143 minutes, it feels as if one has seen it in real time. Pic, which follows Dillinger from March 1933 to July 1934, when he was killed by G-Men in an ambush leaving Chicago’s Biograph Theater, depends largely on Johnny Depp’s star power as Dillinger. Depp is compelling. Also compelling are Christian Bale as G-Man Melvin Purvis who led the trackdown, and Marion Cotillard (“Piafâ€) as Dillinger’s love interest, Billie Frechette. Making FBI founder J. Edgar Hoover out to be a self-serving careerist is easy, but at least Billy Cudrup attacks the caricature with gusto. His advice to Purvis to follow Italian Fascists and “take the white gloves off†is priceless. Diana Krall does a superb but uncredited “Bye, Bye, Blackbird†in the scene where Dillinger and Frechette meet.
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There is a problem in retelling history on screen. Most already know the ending. Dillinger’s story has been retold in no fewer than five theatrical and TV movies since 1945. In the interest of drama, helmer Michael Mann (who also gets screenwriting credit) and writers Ronan Bennett and Ann Bidermann take liberties with facts and timeline. The doomed romance between Dillinger and Frechette gets as much screen time as the robberies and gunfights – which seem to use as much ammo as the Bosnian war.
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Pic hinges on moments brought to life by key players – mostly Depp and Cotillard. Their scenes together fairly radiate love. Depp delivers a finely nuanced Dillinger (full of loyalty, bravado, charm, even compassion) who is ultimately very sympathetic… for a killer. This is in keeping with the era wherein Dillinger was revered as a sort of Robin Hood by many. Cotillard’s Frechette takes a beating for him under interrogation, the halting of which is a redeeming moment for Purvis. There is a suggestion that the G-Men had help in ambushing Dillinger from Frank Nitti’s (Bill Camp) gang. John Ortiz as Phil D’Andrea, Nitti’s chief bookie provides a clue: The gambling racket, he explains to Dillinger, rakes in more cash in one day than Dillinger stole in his most lucrative bank job. Having Dillinger around can draw attention from the law. Ultimately Dillinger, hiding in plain sight, is ratted out by madam Anna Patzky (Emilie de Ravin) in an effort to stave off deportation to her native Romania, an act which pic ties to Nitti’s gang.
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Tech credits are excellent except for sound recording. Several key lines of dialogue are inaudible. The heavy Midwestern accents don’t help. Period costumes, settings, and props do the trick but for the automobiles. It is doubtful that G-Men drove Pierce Arrows. The make was more likely to be found in the White House garage.
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It would be nice to give filmmakers credit for making Dillinger’s final movie at the Biograph “Manhattan Melodrama,†a gangster flick in which Clark Gable bravely faces execution, but this is one instance where they stuck to facts.
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“Public Enemies,†based on the book by Bryan Burrough (“Public Enemies: America’s Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34”) is rated “R†largely for violence. There is some sexual content and a bit of innuendo.
06.29.2009 | By Mack Chico |
Aside from its whopping five-day domestic tally — the second highest of all time — Paramount’s “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” broke records in several countries overseas, leading to a massive $387.3 million worldwide through Sunday, one of the best global launches ever.
The five-day opening gross of $201.2 million from 4,234 theaters domestically easily eclipsed the $152.4 million earned by “Spider-Man 2,” which previously held the five-day record for a Wednesday launch. And “Transformers 2” nearly matched the best five-day gross of all time: $203.8 million for WB’s “The Dark Knight.”
Overseas, the action tentpole opened to an estimated $162 million, the fourth best international opening of all time, after “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” ($216.3 million), “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” ($193 million) and “Spider-Man 3” ($164.9 million). The sequel’s foreign cume was $186.1 million when factoring in the $24.1 million earned the previous weekend in the U.K. and Japan.
Although the Michael Bay-helmed pic sucked up most of the oxygen at the box office, other pics scored notable numbers. Disney-Pixar’s “Up” surpassed Par’s “Star Trek” to become the year’s highest-grossing title at the domestic B.O. (The film’s cume through Sunday was an estimated $250.2 million, boosted by the added charge for 3-D tickets.)
Warner Bros.’ “The Hangover” passed $200 million at the worldwide B.O. Domestically, it saw $17.2 million from 3,525 for a cume of $183.2 million. Abroad, film earned $10.1 million from 1,250 runs in 29 markets for a cume of $46.2 million and worldwide tally of $229.2 million.
Several specialty titles popped, including Summit Entertainment’s “The Hurt Locker.” Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, the film posted a per-screen average of $36,000 as it opened in four theaters in L.A. and New York, grossing an estimated $144,000.
The weekend’s only wide release besides “Revenge of the Fallen” was Cameron Diaz-Abigail Breslin drama “My Sister’s Keeper.” The film saw modest biz in grossing $12 million from 2,606 runs to come in No. 5 for the weekend.
In other holdover action, Fox’s “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” crossed the $200 million mark internationally as it grossed $5.2 million from 4,000 runs in 62 territories for a foreign cume of $202.3 million and worldwide tally of $365.5 million.
Sony continued to see strong international results for “Terminator Salvation,” which grossed $10.1 million for the sesh from 7,470 theaters in 70 markets for a foreign cume of $193.7 million. Accounting for territories where Sony isn’t distributing, pic’s total foreign gross is $219.5 million.
The romantic comedy “The Proposal,” from the Mouse House, continued to click. The Sandra Bullock-Ryan Reynolds starrer dipped 45% to an estimated $18.5 million from 3,058 runs; cume is $69 million. The pic grossed another $7.2 million overseas for the weekend, putting the worldwide cume at $91.7 million in its first 10 days.
On the domestic front, Focus Features’ dramedy “Away We Go” landed in the No. 10 spot in its fourth week, grossing $1.7 million as it expanded into 495 locations for a per-screen average of $3,390 and cume of $3.4 million.
And Woody Allen’s “Whatever Works,” from Sony Pictures Classics, grossed $386,286 in its second frame for a per-screen average of $11,036 and cume of $765,433.
Miramax’s Michelle Pfeiffer period piece “Cheri” grossed $408,000 as it opened on 76 screens for a per-location average of $5,368.
Not having such a good weekend domestically was Sony’s Jack Black-Michael Cera laffer “Year One,” which tumbled 70% in its second frame to $5.8 million for a domestic cume of $32.3 million.
But the big news, of course, is the “Transformers” sequel, the first tentpole since “Dark Knight” to truly rocket into the B.O. stratosphere.
Paramount co-chair Rob Moore said the pic played to a much broader audience than its predecessor, noting that the first time around, males made up 60% of the audience. This time, that number dropped to 54%.
More important to Moore: Despite negative reviews, more than 90% of those polled as they left theaters said the sequel was as good as, or better than, the first.
“To us, that’s the most compelling data point,” Moore said. “The thing that works so much about this franchise is the level of optimism and fun that’s inherent in it. It transports you to a world that stretches reality but is a ton of fun.”
Par execs were particularly pleased, since the studio pegs the pic’s production and worldwide marketing at $350 million — which the film already surpassed in five days.
In terms of just the three-day weekend, “Transformers 2” grossed $112 million domestically. That, plus the $163 million international opening, makes for a worldwide weekend bow of $274 million, the third best after “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World End” ($356.1 million) and “Spider-Man 3” ($315.9 million).
The international haul was led by China at $21.9 million — the biggest opening of all time for an English-language movie. While it played strongest in Asia, “Revenge of the Fallen” performed ahead of the first film in almost every market, proving that the franchise has taken hold, Paramount prexy of international distribution Andrew Cripps said.
“Transformers,” which Par and DreamWorks debuted over the Fourth of July holiday in 2007, opened to $70.5 million domestically on its way to cuming $319.2 million in North America and $700 million worldwide.
Imax also participated in the “Transformers 2” bounty. The pic played on 169 Imax screens domestically. Five-day opening gross at Imax sites was a record $14.4 million.
The “Transformers” franchise was among the projects that reverted to Paramount after its split with DreamWorks, although Steven Spielberg remained an exec producer on the sequel and DreamWorks’ logo appears at the opening of the pic and in ads.
Adam Goodman, who arrived at Par six months ago from DreamWorks, helped guide both “Transformer” pics. Just days before the “Transformers” sequel opened, Paramount chair-CEO Brad Grey announced that Goodman was being upped to Paramount Film Group prexy as production toppers John Lesher and Brad Weston were exiting the studio.
Grey also lauded Bay’s ability to connect with audiences. He said the entire Par family is “proud to be behind him, and we look forward to our collaboration with him in the future.”
“Transformers 3” is tentatively slotted to open July 1, 2011.
In the meantime, “Revenge of the Fallen” is expected to remain a sizable B.O. force in the coming days, looming over such new fare as 20th Century Fox’s 3-D toon “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs,” which opens Wednesday.
Also opening Wednesday is Universal’s Johnny Depp gangster pic “Public Enemies.”
06.26.2009 | By Mack Chico |
Rated: PG-13 for mature thematic content, some disturbing images, sensuality, language and brief teen drinking.
Release Date: 2009-06-26
Starring: Jeremy Leven, Nick Cassavetes
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Film Genre:
Country: USA
Official Website: http://www.mysisterskeepermovie.com/
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“My Sister’s Keeper” is two straight hours of emotional torture. Melodramatic in its essence and shamelessly exploitative in its purpose.
Based on the best-selling novel by Jodi Picoult, the film tells the story Sara (Cameron Diaz) and Brian (Jason Patric) who live an idyllic life with their young son and daughter. But their family is rocked by sudden, heartbreaking news that forces them to make a difficult and unorthodox choice in order to save their baby girl’s life. The parents’ desperate decision raises both ethical and moral questions and rips away at the foundation of their relationship.
There are so many holes with this movie and so many questions that arise from them, that the crying your eyes out is just one way of expressing your dissatisfaction with it.
There is also the greater question of the ethics of bringing one child into the world simply to help keep another one alive, even though you may be putting that child through enormous amounts of pain and stress as a result–what would happen if that child finally decided that enough was enough and that she wanted to have some say in the matter as well? These are all intriguing questions and a smart movie would have been willing to deal with them in a thoughtful manner.
On the acting front, Cameron Diaz’s acting was stretched beyond its dramatic ability, but Alec Baldwin’s presence, as the attorney engaged by Anna to pursue her case, no matter how brief, invigorated the screen with some life and needed dry humor. Breslin (“Little Miss Sunshine”) acts saintly and not at all real, while Joan Cusack, in an uncomfortably odd cameo, twitches and blinks as a judge with her own private tragedy.
All in all, this film will be appealing to those who have a flare for dramatic and love crying at a whim. Most will just be crying to get their money back.
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