Well, I guess it’s only a matter of time until “Taken 3” hits this list. But until the Mills family suffers through another vicious kidnapping scheme, we’ve got a nice assortment of more immediate movie news to sort through.
Marvel is gearing up for “Captain America: The Winter Solider,” and, of course, the Captain can’t get back to work without a leading lady. The studio’s narrowed it down to five options, in addition to a certain Black Widow. In franchise land over at Summit, we’ve got the final poster for “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2,” and while it isn’t all that bad, for a promo grand finale, it is underwhelming.
Looking for more? Maybe a little something about “Beasts of the Southern Wild’s” SAG-AFTRA troubles or what Daniel Radcliffe looks like with horns? You can check out all that and more in your weekly Movie News Cheat Sheet.
1. Entertainment Weekly Cast Reunions: The Reunions Issue is back! In Entertainment Weekly’s third annual entry we’ll get to see the gangs from “Melrose Place,” “Arrested Development,” “E.T,” “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” and more back together again. The new edition doesn’t hit stands until Friday the 12th, but you can check out some bonus portraits of the casts right here and get a look at the four different covers for issue by clicking here.
2. Warner Bros. to Celebrate 90th Anniversary: With its 90th anniversary approaching, Warner Bros. has some big plans in the works. As reported by THR, studio chairman Barry Meyer unveiled a 90th anniversary logo and a slew of DVD and Blu-ray collections due out in 2013. Warner Bros. took the time to restore some classics including “The Wizard of Oz,” which is getting the 3D treatment for a disc release and a theatrical one, too. You can also look forward to a 40-film Clint Eastwood collection and several 20-film ones for Best Picture winners, thrillers, comedies, romances and musicals. The article also notes a massive 100-film DVD and 50-film Blu-ray collection will be in the mix as well.
3. Emilia Clarke, Teresa Palmer, Alison Brie in the Running for Captain America’s Heart: Sorry Peggy Carter, but now that Captain America is a modern man, he’s going to have his eyes on ladies his age. As reported by Deadline, Marvel Studios is on the hunt for a leading lady for “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and has narrowed down its options to five hot, rising stars – Emilia Clarke, Jessica Brown Findlay, Teresa Palmer, Imogen Poots and Alison Brie. Apparently the studio is also looping Scarlett Johansson into the film as Black Widow, a perk of having actors sign multi-picture deals.
4. Harry Potter Has Horns!: There’s been quite a bit of talk about Daniel Radcliffe’s next project “Horns,” and how the piece will require him to play a guy who wakes up with horns literally protruding from his forehead. Now, thanks to EW, no more speculation; you can see exactly what Radcliffe will look like when he swaps his Potter scar for Ig’s horns. They look as real as one might imagine horns to be, but the image is a lot to digest and the film itself will need to be enthralling to the max so we’re not left ogling the off beat adornment, rather than appreciating the story.
5. No SAG Nods For “Beasts of the Southern Wild:” And so we have our first snag for Sundance 2012’s golden child, “Beasts of the Southern Wild.” As reported by THR, the production didn’t abide by the terms of SAG-AFTRA’s Low Budget Feature Agreement so stars Quvenzhané Wallis and Dwight Henry are not eligible for SAG Awards nor will the cast qualify for the ensemble award. Director Benh Zeitlin made the choice to use non-union actors due to financial restraints and stands by his decision explaining, “Against all logic and planning, two incredible first-time actors won the lead roles in ‘Beasts.'” Fox Searchlight and the international distributors could pay the duo the additional funds to get the OK from the union, but THR suggests that it’s unlikely they will for the sake of the nominations, especially when the film could enjoy a strong performance at the Academy Awards.
6. Final “Twilight Saga” Poster – EVER: Summit is certainly milking the final installment of “The Twilight Saga” for all it’s worth. Rather than just unveiling the final poster for “Breaking Dawn – Part 2,” the studio revealed it piece-by-piece, distributing sections of the image throughout the day. After all that work, the grand finale was quite underwhelming. The image features our leading trio running with family and friends in tow. Minus the fact that the design suggests the final installment will have some action rather than just schmaltzy romantic drama, the poster completely misses the opportunity to bank on the whole gang coming together. The background folks featured in this poster aren’t all that familiar and are quite tough to make out at all. Had the creators gone the “Harry Potter” route and delivered something along the lines of “The Deathly Hallows: Part 2’s” heroes poster, Edward, Bella and Jacob could have still had the spotlight, while far more appealingly including other key players in the background.
7. David O. Russell Gets Cooper, Renner, Adams and Bale: Apparently there’s something about David O. Russell that makes actors want to come back for more. Russell has recruited his “The Fighter” stars, Christian Bale and Amy Adams, as well as “Silver Linings Playbook’s” Bradley Cooper to star in his upcoming untitled production based on the true story of a con artist forced to work with a federal agent to bring down other con artists, mobsters and politicians. Bale is set to play the con artist, Adams will be his wife and Cooper will fill the shoes of the agent. Jeremy Renner is also joining the cast as the beloved mayor of Camden, New Jersey. Production is due to kick off in mid-February with hopes of a 2013 release. (via Coming Soon)
8. Michael Bay to Give Found Footage a Go: We tend to associate found footage with the opportunity to make a feature film at a lesser cost, but now a guy whose films tend to come with a hefty price tag is putting the technique to use, Michael Bay. According to THR, Paramount went for “Almanac,” which will mark Dean Israelite’s directorial debut with Platinum Dunes producing. Apparently the project is top secret, so other than the film being of the found footage genre, we don’t know much, but the studio does plan to move quickly with it, so additional details could surface soon.
9. Trailers: “The Lone Ranger,” “Movie 43,” “Tarzan:” The trailer for the highly anticipated “The Lone Ranger” has arrived and while its edgy vibe comes as a nice surprise, nothing suggests that the production was worth all of that fuss. “Movie 43,” on the other hand, looks to be well worth each and every big name in the cast. Even with just two minutes and 29 seconds, the film’s first trailer successfully squeezes in the large majority of its über famous cast, conveys just enough plot details to let you appreciate each scenario and tosses in a number of hilarious gags. We wrap up this section with the teaser for the motion capture film “Tarzan.” Oy. Fingers crossed this thing was released prematurely because this animation looks more like preliminary concept art than state of the art digital animation.
10. Box Office: And the domestic box office is taken yet again. “Taken 2” opened big with $50 million and an impressive $13,657 per theater average, putting the film well into the green in just one weekend. “Hotel Transylvania” held on strong, dropping just 38.1% for a $26.3 million second weekend out. “Pitch Perfect” enjoyed a 185.5% boost thanks to an additional 2,435 theaters and took a solid $14.7 million to the bank. “Looper” stayed strong as well, losing just 41.4% of its opening weekend earnings for another $12.2 million the second time around. Sadly “Frankenweenie” is the only film in the top five to have a rough weekend. Tim Burton’s latest posted a subpar $3,827 per theater with a weekend one total of just $11.5 million. (via Box Office Mojo)
