Film News

Shrek Forever After was top draw again at the North American box office this weekend as Sex and the City 2 and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time both had smaller than expected openings.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time ruled the international box office this weekend with an estimated gross of $59m. And Sex and the City 2 made a strong international start with big openings in the UK and Germany.

The 4th installment of the animated series surprisingly destroyed its competition this holiday weekend.

Take a look at this new video for the Tom Cruise/Cameron Diaz film.

While lagging in the U.S., "Prince of Persia" conquered the No. 1 spot on the foreign-theatrical circuit on Memorial Day weekend.

Martin Campbell's upcoming DC Comics adaptation details the origins of Hal Jordan's titular hero.

Legendary actor/director dies aged 74

The sixties icon passes away due to complications from prostate cancer.

 

Steve Carell is being courted for the lead role in a remake of Dennis Lambert biopic Of All The Things.

The singer became famous after forging hits ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’, ‘We Built This City’ and ‘Nightshift’, and is the subject of a 2008 documentary also entitled Of All The Things (below), which followed him during a five-date comeback tour at the age of 60.

Warner Bros are now planning on creating a fictional recreation of that tour, and they want Carell to play Lambert.

No word yet how they plan on adapting it into a narrative movie, but we imagine it will either be a comedy vehicle for Carell, or a chance for him to ‘go straight’ and do a little dramatical emoting (a la Jim Carrey).

Source: [Vulture]

Fancy Carell going straight with a drama? Or should he stick with comedy?

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Date Night director Shawn Levy has signed on to direct new comedy The Fight Before Christmas for 20th Century Fox.

Despite the curse of Christmas movies (Christmas With The Cranks, Four Christmases, Fred Claus among many others all turning into total turkeys), Levy must be confident in the pitch made by Due Date’s writer Adam Sztykiel.

Except he’s not letting on what that pitch is, with the studio acting like a kid with a giant present, and refusing to reveal anything about it. All we know is that it’s a “family-centred comedy”.

Fox presumably have faith in Levy to deliver, considering his Date Night and Night At The Museum films have turned into successful money-spinners for them.

Meanwhile, Levy is also setting up shop at DreamWorks to direct Real Steel, about a father and son who take their robot to the Bot Boxing Championship.

Source: [Variety]

Can Levy escape the Christmas movie curse?

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John Cusack’s new espionage thriller Shanghai has finally been given a new trailer, released online today.

Having played ‘ring around the release dates’ with the Weinstein Company last year, the flick is at last getting released over in China, and in the US this September.

Why all the release date drama? Seems Weinstein aren’t entirely sure how to market this WWII team up between Cusack and his 1408 director Mikael Håfström.

Evidently they’ve found a way, this trailer dripping with style even if there are no standout moments that make us guaranteed customers.

It’s being touted as a Casablanca-style international thriller, set in Shanghai the week before the attack on Pearl Harbour.

Cusack is investigating the murder of his friend, which leads him into “a web of conspiracy and lies” that involves Ken Watanabe’s intelligence officer, Chow Yun-Fat’s local gangster and his wife Anna (Gong Li).

So, will it be the new L.A. Confidential? Or B.S. Oriental? Check out the trailer below…

Will you be buying a ticket when this finally gets a UK release?

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Emma Roberts has been recruited to star in slasher sequel Scream 4 by Dimension Films.

The young actress joins returning Ghostface-survivors Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette, and has reportedly bagged the role of Jill.

Ashley Greene was being courted for that role last week, but now it seems that Roberts has beaten her to the honey pot.

“I’m so excited to be part of this ground-breaking franchise,” Roberts told EW. “It’s the perfect opportunity for me to do something completely different than I’ve ever done before.”

Returning director Wes Craven also seems pretty excited, adding: "Emma’s talent, beauty, and range will add immensely to the sophistication, intensity, and fun of the Scream franchise as it returns to the screen once more.”

Shooting on Scream 4 is set to commence on 28 June in Michigan.

Source: [EW]

Is Roberts a good fit for the franchise? Drop us a comment...

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Bruce Willis is in negotiations to head up prison break flick The Tomb for Summit Entertainment.

The vest-donning action man would star as Ray Breslin, a leading authority on structural security.

Having meticulously studied prisons in order to design an inescapable facility, he is framed and banged up in a prison that he himself designed.

Yeah, sounds sort of like TV drama Prison Break to us. Antoine Training Day Fuqua is also in talks to direct the film, which was written by Miles Chapman and has been rewritten by Jason Keller.

According to Deadline, Summit Entertainment want to shove the flick on the fast track, but Willis’ involvement in Kane & Lynch could slow things down.

Still, seems like an interesting ticking time bomb premise for the action star – one that harks back to his Die Hard days, even if it’s not the most original thing we’ve ever heard.

Think this would be a good flick for Willis?

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James McAvoy has signed on to play a young Professor X in the upcoming X-Men: First Class.

The X-prequel, which is being helmed by Kick-Ass’ Matthew Vaughn, will track the formation of the X-Men, and follow the relationship between Xavier and Magneto.

McAvoy’s casting is an undeniable coup for the project, the Glasgow native surely one of the finest young British talents kicking around today. And it’s a relief that Patrick Stewart won’t be taking on the role with a dodgy CGI face-lift.

But who to play MacAvoy’s sparring partner Magneto? Could Vaughn’s favourite Kick-Asser Aaron Johnson be in the pipeline? No word on that character yet.

Filming is set to commence this summer, with the film pegged for release on 3 June 2011.

Bryan Singer, who remains onboard as producer while he directs Jack And The Giant Killer, confirmed that First Class would “probably utilize some of the [planned/announced X-Men Origins:] Magneto story because it deals with a young Magneto”.

Singer added that First Class “might supersede” that movie because this one would look at “that relationship between a young energetic professor and a disenfranchised victim of the Holocaust”.

Source: [Heat Vision]

Is McAvoy a good choice for the role? Drop us a line...

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Gary Coleman, former child actor and star of TV sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes" has passed away aged 42.

The star had been taken to Utah Valley Regional Medical hospital after suffering an intercranial haemmorhage (bleeding in the skull) on Wednesday night.

After making progress, Coleman was kept in hospital for tests, but his condition worsened rapidly on Thursday and the star was placed on life support.

He was pronounced dead at 12:05pm local time (approx 19:05 in the UK).

Gary Coleman was most famous for his role as the precocious Arnold Jackson on US TV sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes" which he starred in from 1978 - 1986, gaining him worldwide fame thanks to his catchphrase 'Watchoo talkin' 'bout Willis?'.

He continued to act into the '90s, making guest appearances on "Married With Children" and "The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air".

He also appeared in big screen comedies such as Dirty Work and Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star.

Coleman suffered from health problems from birth, afflicted by a serious kidney problem that required dialysis and meant he never grew above his now distinctive height of 4'8.

Problems in his personal life often made headlines throughout the 00's, but his loss is sad and unexected at such an early age, and he'll be remembered for the smiles he brought during his 42 years.

Fond memories of Gary Coleman? Leave a comment below.

 

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Ladies ruled at Friday's boxoffice as Warner's release of "Sex and the City 2" danced off with an estimated $13 million in 3,445 North American theaters.

Actor-director Dennis Hopper has died of prostate cancer. The "Blue Velvet" and "Apocalypse Now" star was 74.

Actor Dennis Hopper died Saturday at his home in the Los Angeles beach community of Venice. He was 74.

Ladies ruled at Friday's boxoffice as "Sex and the City 2" danced off with an estimated $13 million in 3,445 North American theaters.

In the latest move by film producers against individual illegal downloaders, Voltage Pictures has filed a copyright infringement action against up to 5,000 people who, the suit says, downloaded pirate copies of the company’s multiple Oscar winner The Hurt Locker.