While the Cheat Sheet is normally packed with the usual suspects – The Hunger Games, The Dark Knight Rises and Twilight, just to name a few – this time around, we’ve got some rather unique stories to share.
Unfortunately for Howard Stern, he’s part of the bunch as a hole in his team led to the leaking of Super 8. Another punch to the gut also goes out to 3D technology, as a recent study proves the extra dimension does nothing to enhance a story, rather only offers the potential for discomfort.
On the brighter side, Kenny Ortega snagged a dream of a gig, as he’s been recruited to direct the Dirty Dancing reboot, the remake of the very beloved film he choreographed. A whole slew of famous voices were hired to join the roster for the fourth Ice Age film. Hopefully they don’t all expect their names to make the poster, otherwise we’ve got a one-sheet full of text on the way.
Sure, there’s a bunch of fresh material in the mix this week, but did you really think we’d get through seven days without hearing anything from Twilight or The Hunger Games? Of course not and fans should be psyched about that because it means we get to welcome a slew of new images including a cover shot of Bella and Edward and a look at Katniss and Peeta trying to stay alive in the arena.
As the day comes to a close, let’s get to it. Read on to learn about some must-knows in the film news world in this week’s Movie News Cheat Sheet.
1. Howard Stern’s Super 8 Oops: A major no-no in the film-reporting world? Sharing your advanced screeners. According to Deadline, Sirius XM’s Howard Stern didn’t just pass his copy of Super 8 to a family member or friend; his DVD landed in the hands of a bootlegger. Paramount Pictures watermarked the film with the studio logo and “H Stern,” so when the movie popped up on content-thieving websites, the culprit was quite obvious. However, as Deadline points out in their article, Stern getting paid to leak the film is absolutely absurd, regardless of the fun Sternfannetwork.com is having with their “over/under” contest. No, I don’t know him personally, but after listening to his show for years and knowing of his relationship with JJ Abrams, deliberately violating that trust is impossible. The show’s got a substantial staff, so there’s always the chance the disc just fell into a less noble employee’s hands. Sadly, regardless of who the culprit is, it’s Stern who takes the hit for this transgression.
2. The Hunger Games Roundup: For a film with such vast visual potential, it’s a wonder why Lionsgate keeps releasing rather unexceptional stills. Regardless, this is The Hunger Games we’re talking about, so just about anything will get the fans riled up, including myself. The best of the bunch is a shot of Gale (Liam Hemsworth) standing amongst some District 12 men during the Reaping. The other two images are solo shots of Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and Katniss (Lawrence), both of which come from the mid-Hunger Games portion of the film, as they look rather bruised and battered. Of the two, the shot of Katniss is a bit more telling as it reveals more of her in-arena getup. The one disappointing omission? The orange backpack. It seems trivial, but, in the book, an item that’s incredibly valuable is also equally as dangerous, as the bright orange color could be a dead giveaway when our heroine tries to lay low. In other Hunger Games news, Lionsgate officially announced the release date of the sequel, Catching Fire, November 22nd, 2013. Now that’s going to be a very happy birthday for yours truly.
3. 3D Makes You Sick: I have yet to see a 3D movie where the extra dimension enhances the experience and now Fox News justifies my lack of enthusiasm for the technology with some scientific evidence. According to the report, “Moviegoers who watch 3-D films do not experience more intense emotional reactions or a greater sense of “being there” than those who watch 2-D movies.” What the study did find is that in addition to the higher ticket price, 3D movies also tack on the risk of discomfort. “Compared with 2-D movie watchers, 3-D movie-watchers were about three times more likely to have eyestrain, headache or trouble with vision, the study showed.” Sadly I doubt this report will have any effect on the industry’s push towards bigger and better 3D, but perhaps it suggests that eventually, folks will realize they’ve hit a wall and switch gears to focus on a presentation method that really does enhance the moviegoing experience, IMAX. (via CinemaBlend)
4. Kenny Ortega to Helm Dirty Dancing Reboot: Who better to direct the Dirty Dancing remake than the man who choreographed the original? As reported by Deadline and confirmed by Lionsgate, Kenny Ortega will direct the film and produce alongside Debra Martin Chase. Lionsgate is also in talks with Eleanor Bergstein who wrote and produced the 1987 movie to potentially join in in some sort of “producorial capacity.” The Lionsgate press release calls the production, “a celebration of one of the most beloved movies of all time,” and notes, “the remake will incorporate classic songs from the 1960s, hits from the original film and brand new compositions.” Ortega said, “The opportunity to direct Dirty Dancing is like returning home for me,” and, “I can’t wait to begin the process of discovering the next breakout triple-threats.” Speculation is already abound on who’ll snag the coveted lead roles, many suggesting Justin Timberlake, Derek Hough or Zac Efron for Johnny Castle and Lea Michele, Emma Stone or Mila Kunis for Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman.
5. Ice Age 4 Gets the Voices of Aziz Ansari, Nicki Minaj and More: Forget the fact that Ice Age has become a more and more rotten franchise over the years, via Rotten Tomatoes, the series still has no trouble pulling in a massive amount of cash at the box office, the third film earning $886.7 million worldwide. Naturally, round four is on the horizon and regardless of whether or not directors Steven Martino and Mike Thurmeier have plans to up the quality, they are clearly adamant about upping the star power. In addition to franchise vets Ray Romano, Queen Latifah, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Sean William Scott and Josh Peck, they’re adding Jennifer Lopez, Keke Palmer, Jeremy Renner, Wanda Sykes, Aziz Ansari, Drake, Joy Behar, Nicki Minaj, Nick Frost, JB Smoove, Heather Morris, Josh Gad, Alan Tudyk, Kunal Nayyar and Alain Chabat to the roster. The famous voice assault will commence on July 13th, 2012. (via Variety)
6. Mike Myers Is A Go For Austin Powers 4: Poor Mike Myers. Does he really have nothing better to do? Okay, so he hasn’t been up to much more than voicing Shrek and having a tiny role in Inglourious Basterds, but if he’s looking to put his live-action solo career back on the mend from The Love Guru, this is not the way. Regardless, HitFix confirmed that Myers is officially locked for a fourth Austin Powers movie. The only way this plan makes sense is from a financial standpoint. While 1997’s International Man of Mystery only went on to earn $67.7 million worldwide on a $16.5 million budget, 1999’s The Spy Who Shagged Me upped the intake to $312 million. Then, in 2002, Goldmember snagged $296.7 million worldwide. However, over a decade later, I’m betting most have entirely lost their tolerance for Austin Powers’ shameless gross-out humor, especially after The Love Guru’s dismal showing.
7. Disney Says Goodbye to The Lone Ranger, For Now: Originally, the word was that The Lone Ranger was a total loss due to budgetary concerns, however, Variety is reporting the $200 million+ budget just needs a little trimming. Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer are in the process of reworking some numbers so that Armie Hammer can suit up as the Lone Ranger, with Johnny Depp’s Tonto by his side. During a recent investor meeting, Robert Iger addressed the hefty production costs of Disney films in general explaining, ”We feel we’re better off by reducing the size of the slate and making films that are bigger and increasingly more risky.” At this point, who knows if Lone Ranger’s October start date still stands, but I wouldn’t bet on it or the film’s December 21st, 2012 release, for that matter.
8. Breaking Dawn to Grace the Cover of EW: Sure, we’re still a few months away from the release of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1, but Edward and Bella (Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart) are invading Entertainment Weekly this week, headlining the magazine’s Fall Movie Preview. The duo gets the cover treatment and reveals some Breaking Dawn secrets inside. Pattinson even jokes about Edward saying, “Look, there are a lot of moments when Edward sort of acts like a p—y.” Stewart chimes in, “You can quote him on that!” Pattinson continues to jest even when talking about the emotional wedding scene. He pokes fun at Stewart saying, “I could see her getting sort of emotionally affected by it and I almost didn’t want to stay at the end of the aisle.” He adds, “I wanted to go down and say, ‘Stop being ridiculous’ [laughs].” Check out the full piece when the brand new edition of Entertainment Weekly hits stand on August 19th.
9. Trailers: Star Wars Blu-Ray, A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas, We Need to Talk About Kevin: VHS tapes wearing out yet? It’s just about time to toss aside the old format, and perhaps even your DVDs for that matter, and embrace the brand new Blu-Ray, Star Wars: The Complete Saga. Not only does the new trailer rock the news that the set comes with all six films and 40 hours of special features, but it gives us a peek at some never before seen footage, too. Also prepping for a big return is our favorite pot-smoking, White Castle-loving duo, Harold and Kumar. The boys are back in the first trailer for their upcoming film A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas and while the piece says little to nothing about the plot, it does suggest they’ll be up to their usual antics – getting high, hanging out with Neil Patrick Harris and much more. On a disturbingly more true-to-life level, we’ve got the trailer for Lynne Ramsay’s We Need to Talk About Kevin. The film stars Tilda Swinton as Eva, a woman with some major issues that also ends up with a psycho for a son. After catching Ezra Miller in some more fun-loving roles in films like Every Day, Beware the Gonzo and City Island, it’s quite a shock to see him do a complete 180 and come to life as the incredibly creepy Kevin.
10. Box Office: While I’m thrilled to report that The Help exceeded expectations, snagging $25.5 million with a stellar $10,073 per theater average, a piece of me is quite disappointed that it left Final Destination 5 in the third position. While the battle for the top spot was expected to be between the franchise’s fifth installment and second-weeker, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, it was The Help that nearly edged out Apes. However, even after a 49.8% drop, Apes still accumulated another $27.5 million, putting it ahead of The Help by about $2 million. Final Destination earned $18.4 million, making it the third highest opening film of the franchise, putting it right between Final Destination 3’s $19.2 million and Final Destination 2’s $16 million. The Smurfs held on strong yet again, dropping just 34.8% and earning another $13.5 million while 30 Minutes or Less wrapped up the top five with a lackluster $13 million debut. (via Box Office Mojo)
