Warner Bros. Pictures Over the Billion-Dollar Mark in Domestic Box Office... Again

Warner Bros. Pictures Crosses Billion-Dollar Mark at the Domestic Box Office

WB Remains the Only Studio in History to Surpass $1 Billion Domestically for 14 Consecutive Years

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On Monday, August 4, Warner Bros. Pictures became the only film studio in history to earn more than $1 billion at the domestic box office for 14 years in a row. In fact, the division has crossed the billion-dollar mark for 15 of the past 16 years. The announcement was made today by Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. Pictures’ President of Domestic Distribution.

The studio passed the billion-dollar threshold thanks to a huge first quarter, featuring the box office success of New Line Cinema’s and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures’ “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” the second in Peter Jackson’s Trilogy, which opened in late 2013 but which enjoyed substantial returns in the first quarter of this year. 2014 continued to build with Warner Bros. Pictures’, Village Roadshow Pictures’ and LEGO® System A/S’s blockbuster animated feature “The LEGO Movie”—which was the #1 movie for the first half of 2014—and “300: Rise of an Empire,” the heavy-hitting follow up to Zack Snyder’s groundbreaking “300,” from Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures. Summer started with a bang thanks to the monster hit “Godzilla,” from Warner Bros. and Legendary, IMAX®’s largest opening this year, followed by Doug Liman’s action thriller from Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow, “Edge of Tomorrow,” starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, and one-of-a-kind comedy from Melissa McCarthy as New Line’s “Tammy.”

In making the announcement, Fellman said, “This is a proud day for our studio. To cross such an extraordinary milestone once again is a direct reflection of the high standards and incredible efforts of the dedicated and creative individuals at work here, both on and off the screen. We still have an exciting roster of films yet to open this calendar year and, together with the talented teams bringing them to the theater, we look forward to continued success.”

Still to come in 2014 from Warner Bros. Pictures are: New Line Cinema’s and Village Roadshow Pictures’ “Into the Storm,” opening this week; New Line’s and MGM’s “If I Stay”; Alcon Entertainment’s “Dolphin Tale 2”; the dramatic comedy ensemble of “This Is Where I Leave You,” starring Jason Bateman, Tina Fey and Jane Fonda; “Annabelle,” another chapter in New Line’s highly successful “The Conjuring”; Alcon’s, Imagine Entertainment’s and Black Label Media’s tale of the Lost Boys of the Sudan, “The Good Lie,” starring Reese Witherspoon; David Dobkin’s “The Judge,” starring Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall in tour-de-force performances, from Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow; New Line’s sequel to the hit comedy “Horrible Bosses,” “Horrible Bosses 2,” reuniting the stars from the original, including Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day; “Inherent Vice,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s “surf noir” adaptation of author Thomas Pynchon’s cult favorite novel; and from New Line and MGM, the much-anticipated finale to Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit” Trilogy, “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.”

Richard Linklater's "School of Rock" to Become Nickelodeon TV Series

Nickelodeon and Paramount Television Team up on New Live-Action, Musical Comedy Series School of Rock

Network Orders 13 Episodes of Series Based on 2003 Hit Film

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Viacom Inc.’s (NASDAQ:VIAB and VIA) Nickelodeon, the number-one entertainment brand for kids, and Paramount Television divisions are teaming up for the first time to produce the new live-action, musical-comedy series School of Rock, based on the 2003 hit film from Paramount Pictures.

    “With Dewey’s outrageous personality and rock star sensibilities taking center stage, School of Rock will be an irresistibly fun show for the whole family.”

Nickelodeon has ordered 13 episodes of the series, which is scheduled to begin production this fall and premiere in the spring of 2015. Casting for the series will be announced shortly. School of Rock will follow the adventures and misadventures of Dewey Finn, a down-on-his-luck rocker who poses as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school as he teaches his eccentric, unconventional and overachieving students to play and love rock ‘n’ roll.

“We are thrilled our first foray into kids programming will be a straight-to-series order with our Viacom partners at Nickelodeon,” said Amy Powell, President, Paramount Television. “With Dewey’s outrageous personality and rock star sensibilities taking center stage, School of Rock will be an irresistibly fun show for the whole family.”

“School of Rock is one of those great movies that always felt quintessentially Nickelodeon in its tone and humor, and we jumped at the opportunity to partner with Paramount Television and bring it to life as a TV series,” said Russell Hicks, President, Content and Development, Nickelodeon. “Once again, kids will be able to laugh and rock!”

School of Rock will be written by Jim and Steve Armogida (Crash & Bernstein, My Family), who will also serve as executive producers and show runners. The movie’s director Richard Linklater and producer Scott Rudin will executive produce the television series.

About Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon, now in its 35th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, and feature films. Nickelodeon’s U.S. television network is seen in almost 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 19 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA).

About Paramount Television
Paramount Television develops and finances a wide range of creative television programming across all media platforms. Paramount Television is part of Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment. PPC is a division of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), a global content company with premier television, film and digital entertainment brands.

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Review: "Son of Batman" Has a Star in Batman's Son

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 37 (of 2014) by Leroy Douresseaux

Son of Batman (2013) – straight-to-video
Running minutes: 74 minutes (1 hour, 14 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for stylized violence including bloody images, and some suggestive material |
DIRECTOR:  Ethan Spaulding
WRITERS:  Joe R. Lansdale; from a story by James Robinson (based on the comic books written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Andy Kubert; and based on Batman created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger)
EDITOR:  Christopher D. Lozinski
COMPOSER:  Frederik Weidmann
ANIMATION STUDIO:  The AnswerStudio

ANIMATION/SUPERHERO/ACTION

Starring:  (voices) Jason O’Mara, Stuart Allen, Thomas Gibson, Morena Baccarin, Dee Bradley Baker, Xander Berkeley, Giancarlo Esposito, Sean Maher, David McCallum, Diane Michelle, Fred Tatasciore, Bruce Thomas, Kari Wahlgren, and Andrea Romano

Son of Batman is a 2014 direct-to-video superhero animated film from Warner Bros. Animation.  Starring DC Comics’ favorite dark knight detective, Batman, this is also the 19th feature in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line.

Son of Batman is based on the 2006 comic book story arc, “Batman and Son,” by Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert (published in Batman #655 to 658).  In Son of Batman the movie, Batman learns that he has fathered a child who is now an unruly pre-teen boy with a strong desire to ruthlessly kill his enemies.

Son of Batman opens in the secret mountain fortress of The League of Assassins.  There, Ra’s al Ghul (Giancarlo Esposito) and his daughter, Talia (Morena Baccarin), train the members of the league (who seem to be mostly ninja) in the art of terrorism and killing.  Without warning, Slade Wilson a/k/a Deathstroke (Thomas Gibson) leads an attack on the fortress.  Deathstroke, Ra’s al Ghul’s once chosen successor, has returned for revenge, and he succeeds in killing Ra’s.

Talia realizes that Deathstroke’s next target is her son, Damian (Stuart Allen), so she spirits the boy away to Gotham City.  There, she introduces him to his father, Bruce Wayne/Batman (Jason O’Mara), and leaves the boy in Bruce’s care.  However, Bruce Wayne and his loyal friend/butler, Alfred Pennyworth (David McCallum), soon learn that Damian is violent, disobedient, and unmanageable.

Damian is determined to find Deathstroke in order to avenge his grandfather, Ra’s, so it is up to Batman to help his son before he makes things worse or gets himself killed.  Dick Grayson/Nightwing (Sean Maher), who was once Batman’s original sidekick, Robin, returns to help Batman control his kid.

I find Son of Batman to be rather entertaining, mostly because of the character of Damian Wayne.  He’s a delightful, lovable brat, and his penchant for killing and maiming is scandalous in an appealing way rather than being edgy in a troubling way (although I guess that even a murderous fictional child should be troubling).  I wish Son of Batman had even more of the son of Batman; in fact, I wouldn’t mind watching a movie built around Damian Wayne.

The other characters are good, but, other than Batman, there aren’t enough of them.  Deathstroke, a most excellent villain, really exists at the periphery of the film’s story.  There also should have been more scenes depicting the obvious rivalry between Dick Grayson/Nightwing, Batman’s first “son,” and Damian, Batman’s “blood” son.  And Talia is a seriously messed up bitch; the movie needed more of her.

It is obvious that 74 minutes of runtime is not long enough for all the characters and subplots in Son of Batman.  This movie would be better if it were longer and little uncut.

7 of 10
B+

Wednesday, July 30, 2014


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites for July 27 to August 2, 2014 - Update #14

NEWS:

From RadarOnline:  Friends are supposedly warning Charlize Theron against marrying fellow actor, Sean Penn.

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From BusinessInsider:  Woody Allen won't cast black actors in his movies?  The famed actor responds.

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From UPI:  Emma Stone joins Joaquin Phoenix for Woody Allen's next film, an untitled murder mystery set on a college campus.

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From TheVillageVoice:  A review of the James Brown biopic, Get on Up.

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From CinemaBlend:  Tarantino's "The Hateful Eight" gets a teaser poster; plus, more info on the film.

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From Yahoo:  7 new Avengers photos from the "Age of Ultron."

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From Deadline:  Quentin Tarantino is moving ahead with his planned Western film, "The Hateful Eight."

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From YahooGMA:  Freddie Prinze, Jr. on working with Kiefer Sutherland.  The former thinks the latter is unprofessional.

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From THR:  Lucy, starring Scarlett Johannson, leads the July 25th to 27th, 2014 weekend box office.


COMIC BOOKS - Movies, TV, and Comics:

From BusinessInsider:  Tom Hiddleston's email to Joss Whedon about Whedon's script for Marvel's The Avengers.

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From TheVillageVoice:  A "slight praise" review of Guardians of the Galaxy.

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From YahooFinance:  Guardians of the Galaxy's end-credits scene leaked; it apparently features Howard the Duck and The Collector (Benecio del Toro).

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From CinemaBlend:  Stereotyping almost derailed "Guardians of the Galaxy."

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From CinemaBlend:  Wesley Snipes wants "Blade 4."

LEROY SAYS: Although the original films were produced by New Line Cinema, the rights have reverted to Marvel.  I don't know if Blade is even on Marvel's radar.  I think if they relaunch that they will go with a new actor playing the character.  I want Snipes, of course, but I just have this feeling that Marvel will go in a different direction.

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From CinemaBlend:  Purported photos from set of "Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice."

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From Stack:  "Avengers 2's" Quicksilver will be different from X-Men: Days of Future Past's Quicksilver.

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From THR:  Here are the details about Marvel Comics' new Star Wars comic books, as the company takes over the license.  Dark Horse Comics previously held the license for about 23 years or so.


TRAILERS:

Official trailer for new Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb.

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Official trailer for new SpongeBob SquarePants movie.

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New trailer for Chris Nolan's Interstellar.

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New trailer for The Maze Runner.


OBITS:

From Variety:  Make-up maestro, Dick Smith, has died at the age of 92.  He won an Oscar (with Paul LeBlanc) for his work on Best Picture winner, Amadeus (1984).  His other work includes The Godfather, The Exorcist, Scanners, and Death Becomes Her.  If you wonder why Smith only won one Oscar, the Academy Award for Makeup was not created until 1981.  Rick Baker, who has won an Oscar seven of the 11 times he has been nominated, was a protege of Smith's.  Negromancer sends condolences to Smith's family and friends.


MISC.

From Politico:  Nick Hanauer says the pitchforks are coming.  Remember, he had an insane economic plan?

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An August (2014 Negromancer) Event

Welcome to August 2014!  Welcome to Negromancer 2.0.  This is the rebirth of Negromancer, the former movie review website as a new movie review and movie news site.  Thanks for stopping by.

All images and text appearing on this blog are © copyright and/or trademark their respective owners.

Oscar-Winning "Forest Gump" Celebrates 20th Anniversary in IMAX

FORREST GUMP CELEBRATES 20TH ANNIVERSARY WITH EXCLUSIVE ONE-WEEK IMAX® RELEASE ON SEPT. 5

IMAX Corporation (NYSE:IMAX; TSX:IMX), Paramount Pictures, a division of Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB), and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment today announced that Robert Zemeckis’ Academy Award® Best Picture-winning Forrest Gump will get an exclusive one-week IMAX® re-release, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the film’s original theatrical release in 1994. The film will be digitally re-mastered for the immersive IMAX® format and released domestically by Paramount Pictures in IMAX® theatres starting September 5.

Forrest Gump, which won six Academy Awards including Best Actor (Tom Hanks) and Best Director, will also receive a special Diamond Luxe Blu-ray release from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment September 30. The Diamond Luxe edition features a new sleek and durable collector-style packaging, with a state-of-the-art sophisticated design.

“As a ground-breaking achievement in both cinematography and visual effects for its time, Forrest Gump has become a modern American movie classic,” said Greg Foster, Senior Executive Vice President, IMAX Corp. and CEO of IMAX Entertainment. “We’re thrilled to once again collaborate with our longtime friends and partners Bob Zemeckis, Tom Hanks and Paramount. This film deserves a platform like The IMAX Experience® to help make its 20th anniversary one to remember.”

“On behalf of the entire Forrest Gump family, it is with great pleasure and pride that we bring Forrest Gump back to the big screen using the latest technology for the ultimate IMAX experience,” said producer Wendy Finerman.

Originally released in theaters by Paramount Pictures, Forrest Gump stars Hanks in the title role, a man who — despite his sub-normal IQ — led an extraordinary life, with a ringside seat to many of the most memorable events of the second half of the 20th century. The award-winning film went on to gross more than $675 million at the global box office, of which nearly $330 million came from North America, making it the highest-grossing film of all time when it was released in 1994.

The film also stars Robin Wright, Sally Field and Gary Sinise in his Oscar-nominated role as the cantankerous Lieutenant Dan.

The IMAX release of Forrest Gump will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® with proprietary IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images, coupled with IMAX’s customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio, create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

About Paramount Pictures Corporation
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. Paramount controls a collection of some of the most powerful brands in filmed entertainment, including Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films, and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Home Media Distribution, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., and Paramount Studio Group.

About Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) brings together Warner Bros. Entertainment’s home video, digital distribution and interactive entertainment businesses in order to maximize current and next-generation distribution scenarios. An industry leader since its inception, WBHE oversees the global distribution of content through packaged goods (Blu-ray Disc and DVD) and digital media in the form of electronic sell-through and video-on-demand via cable, satellite, online and mobile channels, and is a significant developer and publisher for console and online video game titles worldwide. WBHE distributes its product through third party retail partners and licensees, as well as directly to consumers through WBShop.com and WBUltra.

About IMAX Corporation
IMAX, an innovator in entertainment technology, combines proprietary software, architecture and equipment to create experiences that take you beyond the edge of your seat to a world you've never imagined. Top filmmakers and studios are utilizing IMAX theatres to connect with audiences in extraordinary ways, and, as such, IMAX's network is among the most important and successful theatrical distribution platforms for major event films around the globe.

IMAX is headquartered in New York, Toronto and Los Angeles, with offices
in London, Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing. As of March 31, 2014, there were 840 IMAX theatres (707 commercial multiplexes, 18 commercial destinations and 115 institutions) in 57 countries.

IMAX®, IMAX® 3D, IMAX DMR®, Experience It In IMAX®, An IMAX 3D Experience®, The IMAX Experience®, IMAX Is Believing® and IMAX nXos® are trademarks of IMAX Corporation. More information about the Company can be found at www.imax.com. You may also connect with IMAX on Facebook (www.facebook.com/imax), Twitter (www.twitter.com/imax) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/imaxmovies).

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First Poster for Quentin Tarantino's "The Hateful Eight" Debuts

This poster, according to sources online, is supposed to debut in Empire magazine.  The film is due late 2015.  Tarantino will shoot it in 70-millimeter Super CinemaScope, which I think was used for films like Ben-Hur and Lawrence of Arabia.   Negromancer will keep you updated.