The summer movie season really is right around the corner. How do we know? Because The Avengers is kicking things off just a little earlier than scheduled so it can close the Tribeca Film Festival this month.
Looking to the future, we’ve got quite a few new hot projects to keep an eye on. In the sequel sector there’s the return of Anchorman as well as a new Twins film, Triplets. The Carrie remake took one big step forward this week, locking its leading lady, Chloe Mortez, while Motor City might finally have secured its main man, Gerard Butler.
Back tracking to the here and now, we’ve got new trailers for People Like Us, House at the End of the Street and Safety Not Guaranteed while The Hunger Games continues to own the box office. It’s time to get the details on that and so much more in your weekly Movie News Cheat Sheet.
1. Anchorman 2 Finally Happening: After so many years in the rumor mill, what better way to announce that the Anchorman sequel is really happening than via Ron Burgundy himself? Will Ferrell showed up on Conan as the flute-playing KVWN-TV Channel 4 Evening News anchor and after a little Conan-praising, and criticism too, Ferrell announced, “Paramount pictures and myself, Ronald Joseph Aaron Burgundy, have come to terms on a sequel to Anchorman.” Now for the obligatory sequel question; does anyone really want a second Anchorman movie anymore? Personally, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the film until it had the chance to grow on me, but considering all the chatter about coming back for round two over the past eight years, this announcement is like a triumph and you can’t help but to get excited, even if it’s just a little bit. (via Deadline)
2. Tribeca Film Festival to Wrap with The Avengers: Major studio films have closed the Tribeca Film Festival before, like Speed Racer back in 2008, but this year it’s different. This year The Avengers will bring the festival to a close on Saturday, April 28th. The angle the festival is taking is to use the film to promote the opposite of folks like Ironman, The Hulk and Captain America; Tribeca wants to celebrate the everyday hero – police officers, fire fighters, army members and more – and the festival is extending the opportunity to catch the film to those very people. Marvel Studios’ producer Kevin Feige says, “We all know and love our iconic Super Heroes, but when it really counts, it’s our real-life heroes who save the world every day by making it a better place for all of us.” The choice of wrapping up a festival that typically consists of rather modest films felt a bit off, but with this significance at the heart of the decision, it feels much more like an honorable and appropriate conclusion.
3. Neighborhood Watch Marketing On Hold: Speaking of appropriate decisions, it may not help the film’s marketing effort, but the folks behind the Neighborhood Watch promotional campaign have decided to remove teaser posters and the teaser trailer from movie theaters in Florida as a result of the shooting of Trayvon Martin by a neighborhood watch captain. Via THR, a Fox spokesperson noted, “We are very sensitive to the Trayvon Martin case, but our film is a broad alien-invasion comedy and bears absolutely no relation to the tragic events in Florida.” The studio’s plan now is to shift focus towards the second phase of the marketing effort, which will likely include an official poster that unlike the recently removed teaser poster, will highlight the actors and the comedy rather than a neighborhood watch sign with bullet holes in it.
4. Chloe Moretz is the New Carrie: It looks like Chloe Moretz is adding another big role to her ever-growing resume. As reported by Deadline, MGM, Screen Gems and director Kim Peirce opted to go with Moretz for the lead role in their remake of Carrie. They’ve merely extended Moretz an offer so she’s still in negotiations, but should the deal go through, she’ll reprise the part made iconic by Sissy Spacek back in 1976. Once that’s all said and done, the filmmakers will likely move on to casting the role of Carrie’s mother, a role rumored to be considered by Jodie Foster and Julianne Moore.
5. Juno Temple and Evan Peters for Truck Stop: No, Truck Stop isn’t going to be the next big thing, but there’s certainly a chance Juno Temple and/or Evan Peters might be. As reported by Deadline, the duo just snagged the leading roles in the Tony Aloupis film set in the 1970s about the friendship between a teen with cerebral palsy (Peters) and a runaway with a troubled past (Temple). In case you’re unfamiliar with their work, Peters had a role in Kick-Ass and made a number of television appearances, but most recently made a huge splash playing Tate Langdon on American Horror Story. Temple’s upcoming projects include Lovelace and The Dark Knight Rises, but if you’re looking to get a sense of what she’s capable of, I’d recommend catching Cracks and Dirty Girl, neither of which are the greatest films, but both are very much elevated by Temple’s top-notch work.
6. Twins Becomes Triplets: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito was one thing, but Schwarzenegger, DeVito and Eddie Murphy? According to THR, Universal and Montecito Picture Co. have joined forces to bring us another round of Twins. The 1988 comedy starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito as twins who were separated at birth, but in Triplets, we’ll find out that there was a third piece to the puzzle – Eddie Murphy. Yes, Julius and Vincent discover that they do in fact have a third sibling. While there’s no director or writer on board just yet, Ivan Reitman, the original film’s director, is confirmed to produce. Via THR’s sources, both Schwarzenegger and DeVito are officially attached to star, but Universal and Montecito have yet to confer any creative decisions.
7. Gerard Butler Takes Motor City: Can this guy get any busier? Not only did Coriolanus and Machine Gun Preacher recently hit theaters, but Gerard Butler also has Of Men and Mavericks, Hunter Killer and Playing the Field on the way in addition to a few other films in the works. But there’s still room for more, right? Of course! According to Variety, Butler is in talks to assume the lead role in Motor City, the one recently vacated by both Dominic Cooper and Jake Gyllenhaal. Should Butler sign on the dotted line, he’ll be playing a recently released felon who’s on the hunt for the men who framed him. Albert Hughes will direct the Chad St. John script with Joel Silver on board to produce.
8. D.J. Caruso to Helm Invertigo: Here’s one worth keeping an eye on, Sony Pictures’ Invertigo. The script comes from Ehren Kruger and Bradley Cramp and follows what happens when a satellite crash lands in New York City and creates a “reverse-G vortex,” inverting gravity. According to Deadline, this is a big one on a fast track production. A ton of preparation is needed for this one so unfortunately, there’s a good chance it won’t even go into production until the first quarter of 2013.
9. Trailers: People Like Us, House at the End of the Street, Safety Not Guaranteed: Chris Pine, Olivia Wilde, Elizabeth Banks, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mark Duplass and Jon Favreau. Not enough? Why not check out the group in action in the new trailer for People Like Us, which looks to be something that’ll offer a great deal of heart, but with a lighter touch. On the other hand, there’s nothing light about House and the End of the Street. The material looks intense, but really, what horror film doesn’t? However, this new trailer spices things up quite a bit giving us a relentless look at the film – backwards. You’ve heard about it via the film festival circuit, but now it’s time for you to experience a little Safety Not Guaranteed for yourself. Quirky core story, lots of silly antics, but this film is no joke; with the trailer rocking this honest and fervent a tone, imagine what we’ll get when the full feature arrives.
10. Box Office: Happy Hunger Games yet again. Even after a massive $152.5 million start, The Hunger Games held on strong, losing just under 60% of its opening weekend profits and earning another $61 million. Sure, that number may dwarf Wrath of the Titans’ $34.2 million intake, but Wrath’s $9,647 per theater average is notable high. As for Mirror Mirror, as expected, that one didn’t reach as wide an audience as the filmmakers hoped and it only earned $19 million on its $85 million budget. 21 Jump Street enjoyed another successful weekend, losing only 26.7% of its weekend two profits for another $15 million haul. That brings its domestic grand total to about $93.1 million. Rounding out the top five is another one in it for the long haul, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, which took another $8 million for its fifth weekend out. (via Box Office Mojo)
