Now that we’ve hit June, has the summer haze kicked in yet? You may not want to go back to school to plow through the last few weeks before vacation or miss out on a beautiful day, sitting in the office, but at least we’ve got a slew of movie news hot topics to help you pass the time.
The MTV Movie Awards will undoubtedly be a hot topic and we’ve got the full rundown of winners to ensure you’re in the know. But I’ll give you a hint – Hunger Games! In other Hunger Games news, casting for Catching Fire is currently underway and Finnick Odair rumors are running rampant.
Meanwhile, George Lucas announces that he’s hanging up his hat, astronauts get to watch The Avengers in space, Independence Day is getting the 3D treatment and so much more.
Are you read for it? Here comes your weekly Movie News Cheat Sheet.
1. The Avengers Goes to Space: The Avengers has made $552.7 million domestically and $802.5 internationally, but what about universally? Okay, I doubt they’re charging, but the movie is really showing out of this world. Via Cinema Blend, Marvel and Disney plan to screen The Avengers at the International Space Station. The studios send the film to NASA Mission Control in Houston and then the team there digitally beams it 220 miles away to the six crew members stationed there working on Expedition 31 as well as 2 NASA astronauts, one person from the European Space Agency and three Russian Cosmonauts.
2. Release Date Update: Get ready for a bunch of release date news and changes. Steven Spielberg’s Robopocalypse is being delayed a year, moving from its July 3, 2013 spot to April 25, 2014. Lone Ranger is taking that July 3, 2013 slot in exchange for its original May 31, 2012 release date, putting it up against Despicable Me 2 and Independence Day 3D instead of having May 31st all to itself – at this point at least. Both the X-Men sequel and the Rise of the Planet of the Apes sequel, now called Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, set opening days, the former arriving on July 18, 2014 and the latter on May 23, 2014. Thor 2 is due to arrive a week earlier than expected, jumping up from November 15, 2013 to November 8, 2013. (via Box Office Mojo)
3. ID4 Goes 3D: Did you catch that? Independence Day is set to make its 3D debut on July 3, 2013, the day before the holiday. How appropriate is that? According to 3D TV, the same company that did the 3D conversion on Titanic will get the job done on the 1996 release while director Roland Emmerich will supervise the process. After the 3D version of the $817 million grossing megahit arrives in theaters, it’ll celebrate a 3D Blu-ray release later in the year.
4. That’s a Wrap for George Lucas: As reported in the new edition of Empire Magazine, George Lucas is calling it quits. While chatting with the movie mogul about his post-Red Tails plans, Lucas admitted, “I’m moving away from the company, I’m moving away from all my businesses, I’m finishing all my obligations and I’m going to retire to my garage with my saw and hammer and build hobby movies. I’ve always wanted to make movies that were more experimental in nature, and not have to worry about them showing in movie theatres.” And apparently this retirement announcement is no joke. Lucas revealed that he is brining Academy Award nominated producer Kathleen Kennedy on to be the co-chair of his company, Lucasfilm.
5. The Fight for Finnick: We’ve been a bit all over the place on the casting Finnick Odair venture. First E! Online reported the hunt for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’s heartthrob from District 4 was down to Armie Hammer, Taylor Kitsch and Garrett Hedlund, but then Zap2it shot back claiming there are actually no front runners. However, the next bit of news that flooded the web was from Hollywood Life claiming that Hammer was out, but Hedlund and Kitsch were still in. Is your head spinning yet? Shortly after that news broke, Kitsch himself told the LA Times that he is not taking the coveted Catching Fire role. Disappointed? Director Francis Lawrence might not be. As reported by Lainey Gossip, Lawrence wants Hammer for the part. And then, if that’s not enough for you, just today, word got out via The Hob that Teen Wolf’s Colton Haynes read for the role. So what should you believe at this point? While it’s likely true that most if not all of the names mentioned here are in the running, being “in the running” could still mean anything from a mere name being tossed around at a meeting to an actual top choice. The conclusion? No decisions have been made and take any unofficial report with a grain of salt.
6. Epic Loads Up Its Voice Cast: 20th Century Fox’s Epic is getting a, well, epic voice cast. In a press release the studio announced that the animated 3D CG action-adventure comedy about a teenage girl who’s magically transported to a secret universe will feature the voices of Beyonce Knowles, Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Knoxville, Aziz Ansari, Pitbull, Jason Sudeikis, Steven Tyler, Blaker Anderson and Judah Friedlander to voice the characters. The press release does list the names of each of the characters, but doesn’t go into detail on how they fit into the story. However, I’d like to bet Seyfried’s Mary Katherine might be that teenager girl and perhaps Beyonce’s Queen Tara is a leader in this battle between good and evil deep in the forest. Epic is due out in theaters on May 24, 2013.
7. The Wachowskis Get Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis: Details on the Wachowskis’ latest have arrived! According to Vulture, Jupiter Ascending involves a universe in which, “human beings are just the Cro-Magnons, or even the Australopithecines, of what beings can ultimately go on to become in the galaxy.” You get it, right? Okay, maybe these details from Vulture’s source might help – Jupiter Ascending features an unlikely heroine, a recent Russian immigrant who scrubs toilets to make a living. Turns out, she actually shares the same perfect genetic makeup as the Queen of the Universe and, therefore, can threaten her rule. A little better now, right? That Russian immigrant is set to be played by Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum will step in as a bounty hunter that specializes in targeting “the evolved-being type.” Check out the full article over at Vulture to get the full rundown on the Jupiter Ascending plot.
8. MTV Movie Awards Recap: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 may have stolen the Movie of the Year golden popcorn, but The Hunger Games still accumulated quite the number of statues. Josh Hutcherson snagged the Best Male Performance honor while Jennifer Lawrence was awarded the golden popcorn for Best Female Performance. On top of that, the duo plus Alexander Ludwig also won the award for Best Fight and Elizabeth Banks won for Best On-Screen Transformation. A particularly well-deserved award went to Shailene Woodley when her work in The Descendants was named Best Breakthrough Performance. On top of the Movie of the Year, as usual, Breaking Dawn – Part 1 earned Best Kiss while Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 posted a win for Best Cast. Jennifer Aniston walked off with the Best On-Screen Dirtbag statue for Horrible Bosses while LMFAO took home the award for Best Music for “Party Rock Anthem” as featured in 21 Jump Street. Check out the full list of winners right here.
9. Trailers: Les Miserables, House at the End of the Street, The Bourne Legacy: While I’m not fawning over the big screen adaptation like all of you Les Miserables fans out there, there’s no denying that Anne Hathaway has a downright beautiful voice. This film’s very first trailer plays to Hathaway’s renditions of “I Dreamed a Dream” and while the visuals are quite stunning, it’s the raw tune that’ll stay with you. On a wholly different note, we’ve got the second trailer for the Jennifer Lawrence-starrer House at the End of the Street and it’s pretty vicious. While the first trailer used that neat rewind trick, this one is far more straightforward, offering up many more plot details and raising intrigue big time. Last up is the first full trailer for The Bourne Legacy, which, naturally runs through far more of the plot than that first teaser, opening up the film to a wider audience, perhaps even those who have yet to catch all of the other films in the franchise.
10. Box Office: Mirror Mirror may have had the stronger reviews, but Snow White and the Huntsman has the stronger cash flow. The latter trumped the former’s $18.1 million opening with an impressive $56.3 million haul. Men in Black 3 held on relatively strong, losing 46.3% of its opening profits for a $29.3 million second weekend out. The Avengers dropped 44.7%, but still gets to enjoy another $20.3 million whileBattleship continues to sink, dropping a whopping 56.5% and taking only $4.8 million for its third weekend out. The Dictator took a rather tough hit as well, losing 49.1% of its week two profits for $4.7 million in week three. (via Box Office Mojo)
