More stuff for me and stuff for you:
All weekend, it looked like a box office draw between Cowboys & Aliens and The Smurfs. Now, the excellent Box Office Mojo has the final results and the cowboys versus alien action flick has won the 7/29-7/31/2011 box office race (in North America, at least). Still, the fact that a movie based on a half-forgotten 1980s, Saturday morning cartoon did so well has had some scratching their heads. Me? I'm kinda surprised.
Also, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 has crossed the $1 billion mark worldwide. It is also the highest grossing Potter flick in North America.
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Film School Rejects reports on Marvel Studios' gradual movement towards a film based around their Doctor Strange character.
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Alexendre Aja's career will continue to be defined by remaking low-budget horror movies from the 70s and 80s.
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J.J. Abrams talks to The Guardian about how he got together with Steven Spielberg for Super 8.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Harry Potter 8 Becomes Ninth Film to Gross a Billion Dollars in Worldwide Box Office
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” Crosses $1 Billion Threshold
The last is now first, as the finale becomes the top-grossing title in the film series.
BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Continuing its record-breaking run, Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” has surpassed $1 billion at the worldwide box office, becoming the first in the series—and just the ninth film in cinema history—to reach that benchmark. The announcement was made today by Warner Bros. Pictures President of Domestic Distribution, Dan Fellman, and President of International Distribution, Veronika Kwan-Rubinek.
Adding to the records already achieved, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” tied the record for the fastest climb to $1 billion. The finale of the blockbuster motion picture franchise crossed the billion dollar mark on Sunday, July 31, only its 17th day in release in North America, as well as most international markets. The film has now earned an estimated $318.46 million domestically and an estimated $690 million on the international side for a worldwide total to date of approximately $1.008 billion, already making it, globally, the top-grossing film in Warner Bros. Pictures’ history.
Dan Fellman stated, “What’s truly astounding is that these kinds of numbers are being achieved so early in the film’s release. The movie’s excellent reviews, outstanding word-of-mouth and repeat business will ensure that Harry Potter will be charming moviegoers for months to come.”
Veronika Kwan-Rubinek remarked, “To say that the global response to the film has been extraordinary would be an understatement. We are so proud that this last film in the series has not only reached such heights but has reached them in record time. It is now Warner Bros.’ most successful release ever, and there is still plenty more to come.”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” is the final adventure in the Harry Potter film series. In the epic finale, the battle between the good and evil forces of the wizarding world escalates into an all-out war. The stakes have never been higher and no one is safe. But it is Harry Potter who may be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice as he draws closer to the climactic showdown with Lord Voldemort. It all ends here.
Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson reprise their roles as Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The film’s ensemble cast also includes Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Tom Felton, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Ciarán Hinds, John Hurt, Jason Isaacs, Matthew Lewis, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, David Thewlis, Julie Walters and Bonnie Wright.
The film was directed by David Yates, and produced by David Heyman, David Barron and J.K. Rowling. Steve Kloves adapted the screenplay, based on the novel by J.K. Rowling. Lionel Wigram is the executive producer.
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” is the first Harry Potter film to be released in both 3D and 2D. Concurrently with its nationwide theatrical distribution, the film is being released in select IMAX® theatres. The film is being distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. It has been rated PG-13 for some sequences of intense action violence and frightening images.
http://www.harrypotter.com/
The last is now first, as the finale becomes the top-grossing title in the film series.
BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Continuing its record-breaking run, Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” has surpassed $1 billion at the worldwide box office, becoming the first in the series—and just the ninth film in cinema history—to reach that benchmark. The announcement was made today by Warner Bros. Pictures President of Domestic Distribution, Dan Fellman, and President of International Distribution, Veronika Kwan-Rubinek.
Adding to the records already achieved, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” tied the record for the fastest climb to $1 billion. The finale of the blockbuster motion picture franchise crossed the billion dollar mark on Sunday, July 31, only its 17th day in release in North America, as well as most international markets. The film has now earned an estimated $318.46 million domestically and an estimated $690 million on the international side for a worldwide total to date of approximately $1.008 billion, already making it, globally, the top-grossing film in Warner Bros. Pictures’ history.
Dan Fellman stated, “What’s truly astounding is that these kinds of numbers are being achieved so early in the film’s release. The movie’s excellent reviews, outstanding word-of-mouth and repeat business will ensure that Harry Potter will be charming moviegoers for months to come.”
Veronika Kwan-Rubinek remarked, “To say that the global response to the film has been extraordinary would be an understatement. We are so proud that this last film in the series has not only reached such heights but has reached them in record time. It is now Warner Bros.’ most successful release ever, and there is still plenty more to come.”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” is the final adventure in the Harry Potter film series. In the epic finale, the battle between the good and evil forces of the wizarding world escalates into an all-out war. The stakes have never been higher and no one is safe. But it is Harry Potter who may be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice as he draws closer to the climactic showdown with Lord Voldemort. It all ends here.
Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson reprise their roles as Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The film’s ensemble cast also includes Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Tom Felton, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Ciarán Hinds, John Hurt, Jason Isaacs, Matthew Lewis, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, David Thewlis, Julie Walters and Bonnie Wright.
The film was directed by David Yates, and produced by David Heyman, David Barron and J.K. Rowling. Steve Kloves adapted the screenplay, based on the novel by J.K. Rowling. Lionel Wigram is the executive producer.
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” is the first Harry Potter film to be released in both 3D and 2D. Concurrently with its nationwide theatrical distribution, the film is being released in select IMAX® theatres. The film is being distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. It has been rated PG-13 for some sequences of intense action violence and frightening images.
http://www.harrypotter.com/
Review: "Venus" Visits Falling in Love (Happy B'day, Peter O'Toole)
Venus (2006)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UK
Running time: 94 minutes (1 hour, 34 minutes)
MPAA – R for language, some sexual content, and brief nudity
DIRECTOR: Roger Michell
WRITER: Hanif Kureishi
PRODUCER: Kevin Loader
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Haris Zambarloukos (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Nic Gaster
2007 Academy Award nomination
DRAMA with elements of comedy and romance
Starring: Peter O’Toole, Jodie Whittaker, Leslie Phillips, Richard Griffiths, and Venessa Redgrave
In Roger Michell’s film, Venus, a kind of dark romantic comedy, Maurice Russell (Peter O’Toole), a veteran stage and screen actor, finds the end of his life turned topsy-turvy when he meets Jessie (Jodie Whittaker), a relative of his dear, long-time friend, Ian (Leslie Phillips). Suddenly, Maurice’s mind is inundated and beleaguered by thoughts and feelings of lust upon which his body can no longer react. Jessie finds the old man’s charm and exuberance off-putting because she sees him as decrepit, but is soon dealing with complimentary feelings towards him that only confuse her more.
Two things make Venus memorable. First is Peter O’Toole’s Oscar-nominated performance as an old, old man who becomes aware of his heart rediscovering how painfully intense falling in love can be. Lust has also reared its insistent head, and O’Toole makes that evident in every physical nuance of his performance.
The second element that makes this film is Hanif Kureishi’s script. Kureishi received an Oscar nomination two decades ago for My Beautiful Laundrette, and like that film, Venus deals in unvarnished real folks. Even Maurice, the elegant (and once handsome) actor of both stage and screen, is broken and riddled with imperfections. Kureishi doesn’t pretty up Maurice’s desire for Jesse, nor does idealize the relationship between Maurice and “Venus,” as Maurice calls Jesse.
Director Roger Michell (Persuasion, Notting Hill) recognizes what is complex and troubling in these characters, and the complexity of their relationships with one another. He keeps the viewer guessing with this dark comedy, a romantic drama that doesn’t dabble in the warmth and silliness of many film romances. There is a lot of unease here, and desire, love, and lust is raw and not pretty. In Venus, that may actually be a beautiful thing.
7 of 10
B+
NOTES:
2007 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Peter O’Toole)
2007 BAFTA Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (Peter O’Toole) and “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” (Leslie Phillips)
2007 Golden Globe: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture-Drama” (Peter O’Toole)
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Monday, August 1, 2011
Lucasfilm Announces "Red Tails" for January 12 2012
Lucasfilm’s Red Tails Will Take Flight on January 20, 2012
Twentieth Century Fox to Release Epic Action Story Inspired by the Heroic Tuskegee Airmen
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A high-flying action epic inspired by the heroic exploits of the first all African-American aerial combat unit, the Lucasfilm Ltd. production of Red Tails will launch on January 20, 2012, released by Twentieth Century Fox. Produced by Rick McCallum and Charles Floyd Johnson, the gripping WWII actioner is directed by Anthony Hemingway (“Treme,” “The Wire,” “Battlestar Galactica”).
“I am humbled and honored to direct the story of the Tuskegee Airmen – heroes who have paved the way so others could have the opportunity to pursue their dreams,” said Hemingway. “To be selected by George Lucas and Rick to direct this film was more than my wildest dreams come true. It’s been a blessing to work with them, along with the amazingly talented artists at Industrial Light & Magic. I’ve grown a lot on many levels from this experience. As director, I had the fortune to work with a highly skilled crew from the Czech Republic, U.K. and the U.S., along with a remarkably talented group of actors. The resonant beauty, strength and dedication of our heroes is reflected in the powerful ensemble cast.”
Red Tails stars Oscar® winner Cuba Gooding Jr. (Jerry Maguire), Oscar nominee Terrence Howard (Crash), Emmy® winner Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”), Nate Parker (The Secret Life of Bees, The Great Debaters), David Oyelowo (The Last King of Scotland, Rise of the Planet of the Apes), Tristan Wilds (“90210”), Grammy® Award winner Cliff Smith aka Method Man (“The Wire”), Kevin Phillips (Pride), Rick Otto (“The Wire”), Lee Tergesen (Monster), Andre Royo (“Heroes”), Grammy-Award winner Ne-Yo (Stomp the Yard), Elijah Kelley (Hairspray), Marcus T. Paulk (Take the Lead), Leslie Odom Jr. (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Michael B. Jordan (“Friday Night Lights,” Chronicle) and Daniela Ruah (“NCIS”).
“I've wanted to do this film for a great many years,” said George Lucas, executive producer of Red Tails. “So it is especially gratifying to see it all come together. It has been a real pleasure to work with Anthony and the extraordinary cast on a project that we all passionately believe in. The Tuskegee Airmen were such superb pilots that it was essential for us to create visual effects that would live up to their heroism and put audiences in the cockpit with them. They were only in their early 20s when they performed these amazing feats,” Lucas added. “They became the best of the best—the top guns. It is an honor to bring to the screen a story inspired by their heroics.”
SYNOPSIS:
1944. As the war in Europe continues to take its toll on Allied forces, the Pentagon brass has no recourse but to consider unorthodox options – including the untried and untested African-American pilots of the experimental Tuskegee training program. Just as the young Tuskegee men are on the brink of being shut down and shipped back home, they are given the ultimate chance to show their courage. Against all the odds, with something to prove and everything to lose, these intrepid young airmen take to the skies to fight for their country – and the fate of the free world.
About Fox Filmed Entertainment
One of the world’s largest producers and distributors of motion pictures, Fox Filmed Entertainment produces, acquires and distributes motion pictures throughout the world. These motion pictures are produced or acquired by the following units of FFE: Twentieth Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox Animation and Fox International Productions. Twentieth Century Fox International is a unit of Fox Filmed Entertainment, a segment of Fox Entertainment Group.
About Lucasfilm Ltd.
Lucasfilm Ltd. is one of the world's leading film and entertainment companies. Founded by George Lucas in 1971, it is a privately held, fully integrated entertainment company. In addition to its motion-picture and television production operations, the company's global activities include Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound, serving the digital needs of the entertainment industry for visual effects and audio post-production; LucasArts, a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software worldwide; Lucas Licensing, which manages the global merchandising activities for Lucasfilm's entertainment properties; and Lucasfilm Animation, which produces cutting-edge digital entertainment. Additionally, Lucas Online creates Internet-based content for Lucasfilm's entertainment properties and businesses. Lucasfilm Ltd. is headquartered in northern California.
Lucasfilm, the Lucasfilm logo, Red Tails and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. TM & © 2011 Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners.
Review: "Seven Beauties" is Fine Cinema (Happy B'day, Giancarlo Giannini)
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 37 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux
Seven Beauties (1975)
Pasqualino Settebellezze – original Italian title
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Italy
Running time: 115 minutes (1 hour, 55 minutes)
MPAA – R
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Lina Wertmüller
PRODUCERS: Arrigo Colombo and Lina Wertmüller
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Tonino Delli Colli
EDITOR: Franco Fraticelli
COMPOSER: Enzo Jannacci
Academy Award nominee
COMEDY/DRAMA/WAR
Starring: Giancarlo Giannini, Fernando Rey, Shirley Stoler, Elena Fiore, Piero Di Iorio, Enzo Vitale, Roberto Herlitzka, Lucio Amelio, and Ermelinda De Felice
In Pasqualino Settebellezze or (by its English title) Seven Beauties, Pasqualino Frafusco (Giancarlo Giannini) is a small time crook and hood wannabe who lives in Naples with his mother and seven sisters. As the movie begins, Pasqualino and a fellow soldier (Piero Di Iorio) are lost behind enemy lines, somewhere in Germany, during World War II. German soldiers eventually capture the duo, and they are interned in some kind of prisoner camp (which may also double as a concentration camp for Jews).
Because he has by his own estimation always been a ladies man, Pasqualino decides on a plan to woo an evil female German commandant (Shirley Stoler) in an attempt to save his life, a plan that of course goes horribly awry. Pasqualino’s camp trials are interspersed with scenes from his life in Naples and the time he spent in a mental institution for killing a man who he believed had insulted him and his family by turning one of Pasqualino’s sisters into a prostitute.
Seven Beauties earned Lina Wertmüller the first Oscar® nomination for a woman as Best Director. The film is part satirical and part farce, and it’s also a tragicomic drama that focuses on the soul of a common man. Giannini also earned a Best Actor nomination for his performance as a man who sells his body to the Germans and ends up loosing his soul or, at the very least, his spirit to them. Giannini’s performance is one of the great comic masterpieces, but many people may miss this because of the film’s darker tones. Pasqualino is a womanizing clown who thinks he has the world by the balls until the horrors of war and the internment camp show him how brutal people can be to one another. He thought he knew, but his imprisonments really show him how ugly dog eat dog can be.
Seven Beauties might be one of the best films about internment camps, except for the fact that it’s not really about that. Still, the film makes a salient point about the evil, greediness, and selfishness at the core of the human soul. If the film has a fault (and it’s a minor one), it’s that Wertmüller’s script glosses over the impact of Pasqualino’s mother and sisters on him and his character. Otherwise, this is an example of the great cinema Italy has given the world.
8 of 10
A
NOTES:
1977 Academy Awards: 4 nominations: “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (Giancarlo Giannini), “Best Director” (Lina Wertmüller), “Best Foreign Language Film” (Italy), and “Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen” (Lina Wertmüller)
1977 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Foreign Film” (Italy)
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An August Occasion for Negromancer
Welcome to Negromancer, the rebirth of my former movie review website as a movie review and movie news blog. I’m Leroy Douresseaux, and I also blog at http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/ and write for the Comic Book Bin (http://www.comicbookbin.com/).
All images and text appearing on this blog are © copyright and/or trademark their respective owners.
This month, let us remember
All images and text appearing on this blog are © copyright and/or trademark their respective owners.
This month, let us remember
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Negromancer News Bits and Bites July 31 2011 - Weekend Edition
News for me and news for y'all:
A Dark Knight Rises News Alert! Total Film has found several set pictures of Tom Hardy in one of his Bane costumes.
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They're rioting in the streets. Lawd! Two theatre chains, Regal and AMC, have cancelled showings of the documentary, Electric Daisy Carnival Experience, after violence erupted at the Hollywood premiere earlier this week. The documentary is about the Electric Daisy Carnival, an annual electronic music festival or rave.
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The New York Times has a short article on Steven Spielberg's busy year, which will end with two films he has directed, Tintin and War Horse.
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At the recently concluded 2011 Comic-Con International in San Diego, Francis Ford Coppola talked about his 3D film, Twixt. Reuters has the story and an interview.
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Over at the excellent Box Office Mojo, Brandon Gray puts a beatdown on the lies being told by supporters of the Sarah Palin clownumentary... I mean documentary and propaganda puff piece, The Undefeated.
A Dark Knight Rises News Alert! Total Film has found several set pictures of Tom Hardy in one of his Bane costumes.
_________________________
They're rioting in the streets. Lawd! Two theatre chains, Regal and AMC, have cancelled showings of the documentary, Electric Daisy Carnival Experience, after violence erupted at the Hollywood premiere earlier this week. The documentary is about the Electric Daisy Carnival, an annual electronic music festival or rave.
______________________
The New York Times has a short article on Steven Spielberg's busy year, which will end with two films he has directed, Tintin and War Horse.
______________________
At the recently concluded 2011 Comic-Con International in San Diego, Francis Ford Coppola talked about his 3D film, Twixt. Reuters has the story and an interview.
______________________
Over at the excellent Box Office Mojo, Brandon Gray puts a beatdown on the lies being told by supporters of the Sarah Palin clownumentary... I mean documentary and propaganda puff piece, The Undefeated.
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