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‘Totall Recall’ to be recalled once more!

By Mack Chico

2009/02/26 at 12:00am

Movies

‘Totall Recall’ to be recalled once more!

02.26.2009 | By Mack Chico |

“Total Recall” is returning to Hollywood… sans Arnold Schwarzenneger.

Neal H. Moritz and his Original Films banner are in final negotiations to develop and produce for Columbia a contemporary version of “Total Recall,” the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi action movie directed by Paul Verhoeven.

The original, based on the Philip K. Dick story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale,” follows a man haunted by a recurring dream of journeying to Mars who buys a literal dream vacation from a company called Rekall Inc., which sells implanted memories. The man comes to believe he is a secret agent and ends up on a Martian colony, where he fights to overthrow a despotic ruler controlling the production of air.

The movie explores one of Dick’s favorite topics, reality vs. delusion, as audiences never knew whether or not the story was a dream. Either way, the movie grossed a very real $261 million worldwide.

Carolco was behind the original movie, which was distributed by TriStar. Dimension picked up the rights for a reported $3.15 million with the aim of developing a sequel. Columbia secured the rights from Miramax, which retained them when Harvey and Bob Weinstein left to start their own company.

Calling Dick’s story “prescient,” Moritz said he hoped the advancements in technology and state-of-the-art visual effects can help tell the “Recall” story in a fresh way.

Toby Jaffe is overseeing on behalf of Original Film. Matt Tolmach and Sam Dickerman oversee for Columbia.

‘Button,’ ‘Knight’ win at the ADG awards

By Mack Chico

2009/02/16 at 12:00am

Movies

‘Button,’ ‘Knight’ win at the ADG awards

02.16.2009 | By Mack Chico |

Production designers on “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight” and “Slumdog Millionaire” drew honors in various feature-film categories of the Art Directors Guild Awards on Saturday.

The ADG held its annual awards gala at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, presenting awards in film, television and commercial categories.
“Button” was selected for best production design in a period film, “Knight” for a fantasy pic and “Slumdog” for a contemporary movie.

George Lucas received an honorary award for outstanding contributions to cinematic imagery, and Paul Sylbert (“The Prince of Tides”) was honored with lifetime-achievement laurels. Bryan Cranston, star of the AMC television series “Breaking Bad,” hosted the awards.

Feature Film

Period film

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Production designer: Donald Graham Burt

Fantasy film

“The Dark Knight”
Production designer: Nathan Crowley

Contemporary film

“Slumdog Millionaire”
Production designer: Mark Digby

Television

Single-camera TV series

“Mad Men”
Episode 211: “The Jet Set”
Production designer: Dan Bishop

Multicamera TV series

“Little Britain U.S.A.”
Episode 4
Production designers: Greg Grande and Michael Wylie

TV movie or miniseries

“John Adams”
Production designer: Gemma Jackson

Episode of a half-hour single-camera TV series

“Weeds”
Episode 4006: “Excellent Treasures”
Production designer: Joseph P. Lucky

Awards show, variety, music or nonfiction program

80th Annual Academy Awards
Production designer: Roy Christopher

Commercials

Farmers Insurance
“Drowned Circus”
Production designer: Chris Gorak

Victoria’s Secret
“Holiday”
Production designer: Jeffrey Beecroft

By Jack Rico

2009/02/11 at 12:00am

Movies

There’s a ‘Chipmunk’ sequel??

02.11.2009 | By Jack Rico |

Alvin, Simon, Theodore and … Chuck?

Zachary Levi, star of the NBC action comedy series “Chuck,” has been cast opposite the computer-generated singing rodents of “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.”

Betty Thomas is directing the follow-up to Fox 2000 and Regency’s 2007 hit “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” which grossed $217 million in North America. Ross Bagdasarian Jr. and Janice Karman are producing, Karen Rosenfelt is executive producing, and Erin Siminoff is overseeing for Fox 2000.

Levi will play the cousin of Jason Lee’s character and gets tangled up with the tiny animated threesome. Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney again will provide the chipmunks’ voices.

Also new to the franchise will be the Chipmunks’ rivals, the Chipettes — Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor — who were introduced in the 1980s animated TV series.

Levi, repped by Endeavor and Hyler Management, also has appeared in “Big Momma’s House 2” and “Shades of Ray.”

Mickey Rourke says yes to ‘Broken Horses’

By Mack Chico

2009/01/30 at 12:00am

Movies

Mickey Rourke says yes to ‘Broken Horses’

01.30.2009 | By Mack Chico |

Oscar nominee Mickey Rourke will star in Indian writer-director Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Hollywood debut, the gangster caper “Broken Horses,” the director said Friday.

Co-produced by Mumbai-based Reliance Big Pictures, “Horses,” which will shoot in New Mexico and New York, is part of a multipicture deal between Chopra and the Indian studio.

It also marks RBG’s first Hollywood effort since its parent company, Reliance Entertainment, funded DreamWorks’ exit from Paramount for $550 million.

Mark Johnson (“Chronicles of Narnia”) will executive produce the film, which is based on an original story by Chopra. It’s being turned into a screenplay by Indian writer Abhijat Joshi and script consultant Jason Richman (“Bangkok Dangerous”).

In a statement Friday, Chopra said that he met Rourke in Los Angeles after a special screening of “The Wrestler,” the film that earned him an Oscar nomination as well as the best actor prize at last month’s Golden Globes.

“I was bowled over by his performance,” Chopra said. “Both of us had an instant connect when we met in Los Angeles. He was my first choice and was finalized even before he won the Golden Globe. It’s great to have him on board for one of the key roles in the film. Mickey deserves all the acclaim he is getting, and I hope he wins the Oscar as well.”

Chopra is one of India’s best-known filmmakers, from his breakthrough feature as a director, 1989’s “Parinda” (Bird), to such recent producing successes as the comedy caper “Lage Raho Munnabhai” (Keep Going Munnabhai).

Chopra’s 1979 film “An Encounter With Faces” was nominated for an Oscar in the nonfiction short category.

By Jack Rico

2009/01/21 at 12:00am

Movies

‘2012’ gets hit with a major delay

01.21.2009 | By Jack Rico |

In a move designed to maximize playability, Sony is delaying the release of Roland Emmerich‘s sci-fi action pic “2012” from July 10 to Nov. 13, two weekends before the lucrative Thanksgiving session.

“We’ve had such success with the James Bond films in November that we wanted a big tentpole film in that slot this year,” Sony distribution president Rory Bruer said Tuesday. “We’ve got so many films in the summer that this is the perfect answer to that.”

The 007 film “Quantum of Solace” unspooled amid light competition over the comparable frame last year to gross $67.5 million, en route to a franchise-topping $167 million domestically.

This time around, the studio has slotted its tentpole against two wide openers — Warner Bros.’ caper pic “Sherlock Holmes,” starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, and Fox’s Dwayne Johnson comedy “The Tooth Fairy.” It wasn’t clear whether the arrival of “2012” would prompt the departure of either of those pics for clearer pastures.

Sony execs said “2012” could have been completed by its summer date, though the new date will add some extra time for the effects-laden production. The studio’s remaining films set for release this summer include “The Taking of Pelham 123,” an action pic starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta; “The Year One,” a comedy toplined by Jack Black and Michael Cera; “Julie and Julia,” a drama featuring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams; “District 9,” a sci-fi movie with Jason Cope and Sharlto Copley; and “Mardi Gras,” a comedy starring Nicholas D’Agosto and Josh Gad.

By Jack Rico

2009/01/16 at 12:00am

Movies

Finally! Watchmen will be seen in March

01.16.2009 | By Jack Rico |

Warner Bros. and Fox have resolved their dispute over “Watchmen,” with the studios scheduled to present a settlement to Judge Gary Feess this morning and request that the case be dismissed.

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but the deal is said to involve a sizable cash payment to Fox and a percentage of the film’s boxoffice grosses; Fox will not be a co-distributor on the film, nor will it co-own the “Watchmen” property, but it will share in revenue derived from it. The studios released a joint statement last night.

“Warner Bros. acknowledges that Fox acted in good faith in bringing its claims, which were asserted prior to the start of principal photography,” the statement read. “Fox acknowledges that Warner Bros. acted in good faith defending against those claims.”

Fox sued Warners in February, claiming copyright infringement based on agreements the studio had with producer Larry Gordon. Feess ruled Dec. 24 that Gordon did not secure proper rights to “Watchmen” from Fox before shopping the project and setting it up at Warners.

Feess’ decision prompted settlement talks to heat up because Warners faced the prospect of an injunction stopping its March 6 release of the $130 million comic book adaptation.

Gordon is not a party to the case, but Warners is said to be after the producer and his attorneys to reimburse the studio for costs of the settlement. During the litigation, Gordon’s then-attorney admitted that he negotiated the producer’s 1994 separation from Fox without knowing about a 1991 agreement on which Fox based its lawsuit.

The showdown between studios became particularly nasty during recent weeks, with Gordon and the film’s other producer, Lloyd Levin, lashing out at Fox for making a claim on the film.

But with the dispute settled, the statement took a positive tone: “Warner Bros. and Fox, like all ‘Watchmen’ fans, look forward with great anticipation to this film’s March 6 release in theaters.”

‘Gran Torino’ pulls an upset at box office!

By Mack Chico

2009/01/12 at 12:00am

Movies

‘Gran Torino’ pulls an upset at box office!

01.12.2009 | By Mack Chico |

Warner Bros. sped to the top of the domestic boxoffice this weekend, as Clint Eastwood’s urban drama “Gran Torino” registered an estimated $29 million with a turbocharged expansion into wide release.

Fox’s opening salvo with the romantic comedy “Bride Wars” captured second place with $21.5 million, while Universal’s supernatural thriller “The Unborn” delivered $21.1 million in third. The three top debutantes outpaced expectations in a weekend so robust as to blow away any concern that economic hard times might discourage moviegoing.

Sony’s urban drama “Not Easily Broken” bowed less dramatically, but with just 724 runs even its ninth-place showing of $5.6 million amounted to a solid showing.

Industrywide, the first weekend of the 2009 boxoffice year marked a 4% improvement over the same frame last year with $146 million in collective grosses, according to Nielsen EDI data.

The specialty market also was ebullient.

Paramount Vantage added 97 playdates for a total of 135 for its Leonardo DiCaprio-Kate Winslet starrer “Revolutionary Road” and grossed $1.4 million. That represented an impressive $10,666 per engagement and boosted its cume to $3.2 million.

Fox Searchlight added 42 locations for a total of 60 for its Mickey Rourke vehicle “The Wrestler” and grossed $873,900, or an auspicious $14,565 per site, for a $2.8 million cume.

The Weinstein Co.’s Winslet-toplined drama “The Reader” added 109 theaters for a total of 507 to gross $1.4 million, or a so-so $2,666 per venue, for a $5.5 million cume.

Overture added 10 playdates for a total of 16 for its romantic comedy “Last Chance Harvey,” starring Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson, and registered $151,058, or a solid $9,441 per engagement, as its cume reached $541,212.

And Sony Pictures Classics’ animated drama “Waltz With Bashir” added three locations for a total of eight and grossed $80,889, or a pleasing $10,111, with a cume of $363,859.

Then there was the situation with IFC Films’ Benicio Del Toro starrer “Che.”

As planned, the distributor began distributing the Ernesto “Che” Guevara biopic in two parts following three weeks of bicoastal exclusives for the entire four-hour-plus epic. But it reported grosses for the two parts jointly.

The Steven Soderbergh-helmed pics grossed a combined $37,546, or $7,509 per theater, as cume hit $293,641. IFC programmed theaters with the separate films christened “Che, Part I” and “Che, Part II,” abandoning the festival-circuit titles of “The Argentine” and “The Guerrilla.”

In another twist, “Che” will expand Friday into solo runs in nine additional markets, where theaters will program both parts together for one weekend before splitting the film into two parts in each venue. “Che” will continue to play in two parts in New York and Los Angeles.

“We wanted to give people the opportunity to see the same ‘road show’ presentation that we had so much success with in New York and L.A.,” IFC distribution president Mark Boxer said.

By Mack Chico

2009/01/09 at 12:00am

Movies

Mickey Rourke could be in ‘Iron Man 2’

01.9.2009 | By Mack Chico |

Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell are in talks to star as the villains in “Iron Man 2,” being directed by Jon Favreau.

Marvel has been keeping a very tight lid on the script for the sequel, being written by Justin Theroux, but it is known that Rourke would play a tattooed Russian heavy named Ivan who becomes Whiplash, a man with deadly, technologically enhanced coils.

Rockwell would play Justin Hammer, a multibillionaire businessman and a rival of industrialist Anthony Stark, AKA Iron Man, being played by a returning Robert Downey Jr.

Rourke and Rockwell would be joining a cast that also includes the returning Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle, who is replacing Terrence Howard, making for one eclectically cast summer blockbuster.

Another part — one for Stark’s assistant Natasha — is still open.

The project is eyeing a spring start in Manhattan Beach. Paramount will release the movie May 7, 2010.

Rourke, repped by ICM, is making the best of the accolades he is receiving for his heart-wrenching turn in “The Wrestler.” On top of this big-budget movie, the actor, who will next be seen in “The Informers,” just joined the cast of “The Expendables,” an action movie starring Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li, Jason Statham and Dolph Lundgren.

If Rockwell’s deal makes, it would mark a rare studio appearance for the actor, who is best known for his indie dramas. Gersh-repped Rockwell recently starred as a sex-addicted con man in “Choke” and an estranged husband in “Snow Angels.” He can currently be seen in the political drama “Frost/Nixon.”