“TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON” CROSSES $1 BILLION WORLDWIDE
HOLLYWOOD, CA (August 3, 2011) – Worldwide box office receipts for TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON, have hit $1 billion, Paramount Pictures announced today. To date, the third installment of the hit Transformers franchise, and the first shot in 3-D, has grossed $338 million in U.S. (through Monday) and $663 million internationally (through Tuesday).
“TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON is the first billion dollar grossing movie in the history of Paramount Pictures, marking a substantial milestone in the 99 year life of this legendary studio," said Brad Grey, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Paramount Pictures. “We are grateful for the extraordinary work of Michael Bay and his film-making team, executive producer Steven Spielberg, and everyone at Paramount around the globe who played a part in helping make this latest TRANSFORMERS one of the 10 highest grossing films worldwide of all time".
Earlier this summer, Paramount was the first studio to reach $1 billion in domestic grosses, aided by the $180.7 million opening of TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON over the July 4th holiday. This is the fifth year in a row that Paramount has reached the milestone before any other studio. Paramount Pictures International crossed the $2 billion mark on July 30th, making it the first for any studio this year to reach the benchmark. The studio has had six consecutive movies earning over $100 million at the domestic box office in 2011.
TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON is directed by Michael Bay, written by Ehren Kruger and produced by Don Murphy & Tom DeSanto, Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Ian Bryce. The executive producers are Steven Spielberg, Michael Bay, Brian Goldner and Mark Vahradian. When a mysterious event from Earth’s past erupts into the present day it threatens to bring a war to Earth so big that the Transformers alone will not be able to save us. The movie stars Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, Tyrese Gibson, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Patrick Dempsey, Kevin Dunn, Julie White with John Malkovich and Frances McDormand. © 2011 Paramount Pictures Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
HASBRO, TRANSFORMERS and all related characters are trademarks of Hasbro. © 2011 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved.
For more information, go to http://www.transformersmovie.com/
ABOUT PARAMOUNT PICTURES CORPORATION
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. The company's labels include Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Digital Entertainment, Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., Paramount Studio Group and Paramount Television & Digital Distribution.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Review: "Police Academy" is Still Really Funny (Thanks for the Movie Memories, Bubba Smith)
Police Academy (1984)
Running time: 96 minutes (1 hour, 36 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR: Hugh Wilson
WRITERS: Neal Israel and Pat Proft and Hugh Wilson; story by Neal Israel and Pat Proft
PRODUCER: Paul Maslansky
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Michael D. Margulies
EDITORS: Robert Brown and Zach Staenberg
COMEDY
Starring: Steve Guttenberg, Kim Cattrall, G.W. Bailey, Bubba Smith, Donovan Scott, George Gaynes, Andrew Rubin, David Graf, Leslie Easterbrook, Michael Winslow, Bruce Mahler, Ted Ross, Scott Thompson, Brant Van Hoffman, and Marion Ramsey
Police Academy is a comedy film that debuted in early Spring 1984 and went on to become a box office smash hit. The film also spawned six sequels, an animated television series, and a short-lived live action TV series.
The movie takes place in an unnamed city. The newly-elected mayor decides that the Police Academy will now be open to any and all applicants regardless of height, weight, sex, intelligence, etc, and the floodgates of oddities and eccentrics bursts open. The story focuses on a group of good-hearted, but incompetent misfits led by Cadet Carey Mahoney (Steve Guttenberg), a prankster who was forced to join the Academy to avoid jail time. The instructors, in particular Lt. Thaddeus Harris (G.W. Bailey), are not going to put up with Mahoney’s pranks, and Harris is also determined to get rid of any cadet who wouldn’t have made it into the Academy under the old rules. However, Mahoney is determined not to let Lt. Harris get his way, so he leads his misfit friends into proving that they can protect and serve.
The 1984 R-rated Police Academy spawned a slew of PG-rated sequels, and while some of them are funny, the original is still the best. Over two decades later, the first film is still as funny today as it was then, and I have to admit to laughing hard and often while watching this. Basically, Police Academy was the Anchorman and Dodgeball of its day. The script doesn’t let you know the characters, although the jokes and humor are almost entirely character based. There isn’t a whole lot of comedy based on the setting (except for a gay bar); these characters could be played for jokes even if they weren’t at a Police Academy (in fact, future films often moved them outside the Academy).
Co-writer/director Hugh Wilson and fellow writers Neal Israel and Pat Proft (both known for writing movies that send-up or spoof just about anything) keep the often juvenile humor coming, and most of it works. Also, one cannot over emphasize how important the affable and likeable Steve Guttenberg playing the smart-assed/wise guy/jokester was to making this franchise’s early films work so well.
Police Academy – still going strong over a quarter-century later, and I think I’ll watch it again to remember Bubba Smith as Cadet Moses Hightower.
6 of 10
B
Thursday, August 04, 2011
----------------------
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
"Scarface" Returns to Theatres for One Night Only - August 31st
Presented by NCM Fathom and Universal Studios Home Entertainment in More Than 475 Select Movie Theaters Nationwide on August 31
Special Event Includes the Debut of Exclusive Featurette Showcasing the Pop Culture Phenomenon That Redefined the Gangster Genre
Centennial, Colo. – August 1, 2011 – Blasting onto the silver screen with the intensity of its original release nearly 30 years ago, the pop culture phenomenon Scarface, starring Al Pacino and directed by Brian De Palma, returns to movie theaters in a one-night Fathom event on Wednesday, August 31 at 7:30 p.m. local time. Presented by NCM Fathom and Universal Studios Home Entertainment, audiences nationwide will get the opportunity to experience one of the most influential gangster classics ever made like never before — with all-new restored high-definition picture and enhanced audio. Fans who attend this special event will also get an exclusive look at a 20-minute special feature that showcases interviews with popular filmmakers and talent expressing how this epic feature redefined the gangster genre, leaving an enduring influence on cinema.
Tickets for the Scarface Special Event (http://www.fathomevents.com/classics/event/scarface.aspx?utm_source=PR_Scarface&utm_medium=Press_release_Scarface&utm_campaign=PR_Scarface) are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com. For a complete list of theater locations and prices, visit the NCM Fathom website (theaters and participants are subject to change). TheScarface Special Event will appear in more than 475 select movie theaters across the country via the new digital cinema projection systems.
“Almost 30 years after its initial release, Scarface remains iconic and stirs passionate responses from audiences around the world,” said Dan Diamond, vice president of NCM Fathom. “Now, fans can experience Scarfacelike never before in theaters with spectacularly updated visual and sound quality, and never-before-seen elements in an historic, one-night event.”
Scarface is a 1983 American crime drama and masterful collaboration between acclaimed director Brian DePalma and Academy Award®-winning screenwriter Oliver Stone. Produced by Martin Bregman, Academy Award® winner Al Pacino stars as Tony Montana, a Cuban immigrant who finds wealth, power and passion beyond his wildest dreams…at a price he never imagined. Scarface was nominated for three Golden Globe® Awards (including Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Original Score), and was named one of the Top 10 Gangster Films of All Time by the American Film Institute.
This one-night, in-theater event celebrates the first-ever Blu-rayTM release of Scarface on September 6 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Fans of Scarface will enjoy the restored high-definition picture and 7.1 audio plus see exclusive new bonus content that reveals the film’s iconic legacy as one of the greatest crime sagas of all time. For a limited time only, the Scarface Special Limited Edition Blu-rayTM comes with collectible SteelBookTM packaging, 10 exclusive art cards, a digital copy of the film and a DVD of the original 1932Scarface, making it a must-own addition to every film fan’s library. And, for the ultimate collector and cigar enthusiast, an elegantly hand-crafted Scarface-themed humidor will also be made available in an exclusive, never-before-available, limited edition.
About National CineMedia (NCM)
http://www.nationalcinemedia.com/content/pdf/National_CineMedia_NCM_Media_Networks_Background_Fact_Sheet.pdf operates NCM Media Networks, a leading integrated media company reaching U.S. consumers in movie theaters, online and throughmobile technology. NCM Cinema Network (http://www.nationalcinemedia.com/cinema-network) and NCM Fathom (http://www.nationalcinemedia.com/ncm-fathom) present cinema advertising and events across the nation’s largest digital in-theater network, comprised of theaters owned by AMC Entertainment Inc., Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK), Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC) and other leading regional theater circuits. NCM’s theater advertising network covers 170 Designated Market Areas® (49 of the top 50) and includes approximately 17,200 screens (16,100 digital). During 2010, over 680 million patrons attended movies shown in theaters currently included in NCM’s network (including Consolidated Theatres, Rave Cinemas, Coming Attractions and Digiplex Destinations). The NCM Fathom Events (http://www.nationalcinemedia.com/content/files/Fathom_Backgrounder(1).pdf) broadcast network is comprised of over 600 locations in 163 Designated Market Areas® (all of the top 50). The NCM Interactive Network (http://www.nationalcinemedia.com/interactive-network) offers 360-degree integrated marketing opportunities in combination with cinema, encompassing 43 entertainment-related websites, online widgets and mobile applications. National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: NCMI) owns a 48.6% interest in and is themanaging member of National CineMedia LLC. For more information, visit www.nationalcinemedia.com or http://www.ncm.com/ or http://www.fathomevents.com/.
About Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Universal Studios Home Entertainment is a unit of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios. Universal Studios is a part of NBCUniversal , one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group and world-renowned theme parks. Comcast Corporation owns a controlling 51% interest in NBCUniversal, with GE holding a 49% stake.
Negromancer News MEGA ALERT - Laurence Fishburne Cast in Superman Movie
Entertainment Weekly has a hot exclusive! In an article posted last night, EW announced that Laurence Fishburne has been cast as "Perry White" in the upcoming Superman film reboot, Man of Steel, which is due in theatres June 14, 2013.
Perry White is the Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Planet, the newspaper where both Clark Kent/Superman and Lois Lane are ace reporters. Christopher Nolan is producing Man of Steel with Zack Snyder directing from a David Goyer script. The film is supposed to begin shooting this fall.
Perry White is the Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Planet, the newspaper where both Clark Kent/Superman and Lois Lane are ace reporters. Christopher Nolan is producing Man of Steel with Zack Snyder directing from a David Goyer script. The film is supposed to begin shooting this fall.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Negromancer News Bit and Bites for August 2 2011
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.
____________________________
Film School Rejects reports on Marvel Studios' gradual movement towards a film based around their Doctor Strange character.
____________________________
Alexendre Aja's career will continue to be defined by remaking low-budget horror movies from the 70s and 80s.
____________________________
J.J. Abrams talks to The Guardian about how he got together with Steven Spielberg for Super 8.
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.
____________________________
Film School Rejects reports on Marvel Studios' gradual movement towards a film based around their Doctor Strange character.
____________________________
Alexendre Aja's career will continue to be defined by remaking low-budget horror movies from the 70s and 80s.
____________________________
J.J. Abrams talks to The Guardian about how he got together with Steven Spielberg for Super 8.
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/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)