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TOP 5: UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING Interviews, HAYWIRE Interviews, Recent Films/Retro Posters, Live-Action RUGRATS Trailer, Sundance 2012 Coverage

by Jason Barr    Posted: January 21st, 2012 at 1:17 pm

In last week’s “Top 5″ I spent the opening paragraph musing about my anticipation for Steven Soderbergh‘s Haywire. I also promised the readers a quick “Before & After” discussion this week which would address whether or not the pic lived up to my expectations. Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but said discussion will have to be postponed. I know, I know, I’m disappointed too. Fear not, though, I’m slated to check out the film tonight which means that I’ll be able to deliver on my promise, albeit a week late. In the meantime…

…This week’s “Top 5″ installment brings you interviews with the cast of Underworld: Awakening and the aforementioned Haywire, a gallery of recent films in retro poster form, an ultra-disturbing Rugrats live-action trailer, and all of our Sundance 2012 coverage to date. Hit the jump for a brief recap and link to each.

“Movies from an Alternate Universe”: What If Recent Films Had Been Made Decades Earlier?

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 17th, 2012 at 8:07 am

Classic films are getting remade left and right, but what if it went the other way?  What if our original films of recent years were thrown back to an earlier era?  Who would star?  Who would direct?  What would the poster look like?  Artist Peter Stults ran with that idea and came up with some wonderfully creative and thoughtful posters based on recent movies.  I’m not sure if I see Leonard Nimoy as John McClane, but I can absolutely see James Dean starring in a 1950s version of Drive.

Hit the jump to check out some of the posters.

Weekend Box Office – SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS Leads with $40 Million; ALVIN 3 Gets CHIPWRECKED; MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 4 Starts Strong

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: December 18th, 2011 at 9:06 am

Looks like holiday cheer was not enough to pull the box office out of its recent slump.  Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows came out on top with $40 million from 3,703 locations while Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked claimed second with $23.5 million from 3,723.  Needless to say, neither sequel was able to meet the expectations their predecessors set on Christmas weekend back in 2009.  Meanwhile, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, took in $13 million from just 425 locations – making Tom Cruise the big winner of this weekend’s box office derby.  It’s like a little Christmas miracle.

	Title	Weekend	Total
1	Sherlock Holmes 2	$40,020,000	$40
2	Alvin & the Chipmunks 3	$23,500,000	$23.5
3	Mission: Impossible 4	$13,000,000	$13
4	New Year’s Eve	$7,420,000	$24.8
5	The Sitter	$4,400,000	$17.7
6	Breaking Dawn Part 1	$4,300,000	$266.4
7	Young Adult	$3,650,000	$4
8	Hugo	$3,625,000	$39
9	Arthur Christmas	$3,600,000	$38.5
10	The Muppets	$3,454,000	$70.9

CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 3 Made $1 Billion in 16 Days

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: December 12th, 2011 at 8:52 am

It’s no secret that people like video games, but boy do we love a good shooter. Activision has announced that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has crossed the $1 billion mark in a mere 16 days. Yes, $1 billion. This beats the previous record set in 2009 by Avatar, which hit the $1 billion mark in 17 days, solidifying MW3 as the game that everybody is playing. For comparison in the gaming world, it took Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 over two months to hit the $1 billion mark.

It’s important to note that MW3 is available on all platforms and each copy costs $60, with the “Hardened” edition retailing for $100, so that’s considerably more than the average movie ticket price (ie. less people bought MW3 than saw Avatar). However, $1 billion is still an incredibly impressive number and signifies the growing nature of the gamer market. Aiding in MW3’s success is the fact that it appeals to a wide range of gamers and features an extensive multiplayer experience that extends the game’s “I’m not bored with this yet”-ness (though I’ve recently fallen down the rabbit hole that is Skyrim). Hit the jump to read the full press release.

Disney to Add AVATAR Attractions to Theme Parks

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: September 20th, 2011 at 12:16 pm

Did you ever wonder what it would be like form a lifelong telepathic bond with a flying creature only to ditch it for a bigger and more powerful flying creature?  Now you can!  Variety reports that Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide will create themed lands based on James Cameron’s Avatar.  The first theme land will be built at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom park in Orlando, Florida.  Cameron, Jon Landau and their Lightstorm Entertainment group will serve as creative consultants on the projects and will work with Disney’s “Imagineers” to oversee the design and development of the different theme lands.  I look forward to “Cramped Trailer with Giant Tanning Beds”-Land.

Construction on the theme lands is scheduled to begin in 2013.  As Cameron preps for two Avatar sequels (set for Christmas 2014 and 2015), Imagineers will use the entire trilogy to create the various theme lands.  No word yet if one of the parks will offer full-body painting or if the gift shops will sell sex ponytails.

Sigourney Weaver Talks AVATAR Sequels and GHOSTBUSTERS 3

by Christina Radish    Posted: September 17th, 2011 at 10:12 am

At this weekend’s press day for Abduction, Collider was able to speak with Sigourney Weaver, who plays Dr. Geri Bennett in the film. Bennett is a 30-year CIA operative and therapist to Nathan Harper (Taylor Lautner), a teenager who realizes that his entire life is a lie after a team of trained killers tracks him down, leaving him with no one to trust.

But, since that film doesn’t open until September 23^rd, we’ll hold what she had to say about it until closer to the release date. In the meantime, we did get a chance to have her update the status of the Avatar sequels, which she will return for, and Ghostbusters 3, which hinges on Bill Murray’s involvement. Weaver did say that, although she hasn’t read a Ghostbusters script, she did ask Ivan Reitman to have her character’s son grow up to be a Ghostbuster and he agreed. Check out what she had to say after the jump.

Sam Worthington Talks THE DEBT, CLASH OF THE TITANS 2, AVATAR Sequels and More

by Christina Radish    Posted: August 29th, 2011 at 8:32 pm

In the dramatic thriller The Debt, based on the Israeli film Ha-Hov, actor Sam Worthington plays David, a Mossad secret agent in the 1960′s who set out on a mission, with fellow agents Stephan (Marton Csokas) and Rachel (Jessica Chastain), to track down a Nazi war criminal. But, not everything goes as planned and, 30 years later, they all must face the truth.

At the film’s press day, Sam Worthington talked about how the director’s take on the material is what drew him to the project, how he enjoyed the Krav Maga training for the role, and how he balanced his performance with his co-stars. He also talked about how he’s not surprised that there’s a sequel for Clash of the Titans since it made a lot of money, how this one is a very different film, how he’s playing a surf photographer in Drift, and that he’d love to do multiple sequels for Avatar to keep working with Jim Cameron. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Sam Worthington Talks AVATAR Sequels, WRATH OF THE TITANS and DRIFT

by Christina Radish    Posted: August 13th, 2011 at 10:09 am

At the press day for the espionage thriller The Debt – about three Mossad secret agents who track down a Nazi war criminal in East Berlin in 1966, only to have the mission not turn out as planned – actor Sam Worthington gave brief updates on Clash of the Titans 2 and the development of the Avatar sequels. He also talked about his next role, as a surf photographer in Drift, which will film in Australia.

While we’ll run the portion of the interview about The Debt closer to that film’s August 31^st release date, hit the jump for what he had to say about his other projects:

Weekend Box Office – RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Rises Above Expectations with $54 Million

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: August 7th, 2011 at 9:48 am

Looks like summer 2011 had one more blockbuster left after all.  Cowboys and Aliens may have been a late-July disappointment but, so far, Fox’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes is performing more like a June release than your typical August afterthought.  Surpassing all early projections, the sci-fi vehicle took in an estimated $54 million from 3,648 locations for an easy number one at the US box office.

	Title	Weekend	Total
1	Rise of the Planet of the Apes	$54,000,000	$54
2	The Smurfs	$21,000,000	$76.2
3	Cowboys and Aliens	$15,748,000	$67.3
4	The Change-Up	$13,500,000	$13.5
5	Captain America	$13,000,000	$143.1
6	Harry Potter 7b	$12,160,000	$342.8
7	Crazy, Stupid, Love	$12,100,000	$42.1
8	Friends with Benefits	$4,700,000	$48.5
9	Horrible Bosses	$4,620,000	$105.1
10	Transformers 3	$3,015,000	$344.1

James Cameron Talks About the AVATAR Series Arc and the Frustration of Converting TITANIC to 3D

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: June 21st, 2011 at 8:11 pm

James Cameron and wife Suzy Amis were recently honored for their philanthropy at the Covenant House Gala in Los Angeles.  It has something to do with homeless youths, but more importantly, the event provided an opportunity to put a microphone to Cameron and ask him about the Avatar sequels and the 3D conversion in the works for Titanic.  Let’s start with Avatar:

“We’re shooting two films back-to-back, so I’m writing two scripts, not one, which will complete a free-film story arc — not really a trilogy, but just an overall character arc so I’m pretty excited about that.”

I first read this as a declaration, “Oh, we have no intention of stopping at Avatar 3.”  An alternate interpretation: Cameron’s current plans for the property end with Avatar 3, but the three movies are not necessarily linked by an arced plot structure centered on the characters we already know.  Instead, each movie is a chapter in Stories from Pandora.  Conveniently, the two interpretations are not mutually exclusive.  Surely more will be revealed in the years leading up to the release of Avatar 2 (December 2014) and Avatar 3 (December 2015).  In the meantime, Cameron has more to say after the jump.

James Cameron Says AVATAR 2 & AVATAR 3 Will Be Shot Together; Expects Most of the Cast to Return

by Jason Barr    Posted: January 24th, 2011 at 12:28 pm

Back in October, we reported that James Cameron’s Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 were looking at Christmas 2014/2015 release dates respectively.  At that time, though, we weren’t sure if the plan was to shoot the films back-to-back or if Cameron/Fox were going to sit back and count the profits from Avatar 2 (which will require a considerable amount of time, I’m sure) before lensing the third.  Today, though, Cameron has confirmed that the projects will be shot at the same time.  In a recent interview, the writer/director/producer said:

“I am in the process of writing the next two Avatar films now. We are planning to shoot them together and post them together, and we will probably release them not quite back to back, but about a year apart. Christmas ’14 and ’15 is the current plan.”

For more on what Cameron had to say about the returning cast members and potential Avatar charity work, hit the jump.

Stephen Lang Interview TERRA NOVA; Plus an Update on CONAN THE BARBARIAN

by Christina Radish    Posted: January 11th, 2011 at 9:46 pm

The new Fox television series Terra Nova is an epic family adventure that, as part of an experiment to save the human race, follows an ordinary family on an incredibly journey back in time to prehistoric Earth. In the year 2149, the world is dying and the planet is overdeveloped and overcrowded, with the majority of plant and animal life extinct. The only hope for the future survival of mankind is in the distant past, so when scientists unexpectedly discover a fracture in time, they construct a portal into primeval history and attempt to resettle humanity in the past, for a second chance at rebuilding civilization.

During the Fox Television portion of the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, show star Stephen Lang talked about playing Commander Nathanial Taylor, the charismatic and heroic first pioneer and leader of the settlement, how he’s a flawed man with righteous intentions and working with all of the special effects. He also talked about his experience as the very evil Khalar Zym in Conan The Barbarian (due out in theaters on August 19^th) and the impact of Avatar on his life. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Weekend Box Office – TRUE GRIT Scores First Place with $15 Million; SEASON OF THE WITCH Opens in Third

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: January 9th, 2011 at 10:10 am

January suffered another down weekend, with estimated grosses for the top ten films down almost 56% over this weekend in 2010.  Paramount had reason to celebrate, as True Grit outdrew Little Fockers in the weekend race for the first time.  Season of the Witch, 2011’s first new title, struggled while Sony/SG’s Country Strong did modest business in its first expanded nationwide run.

	Title	Weekend	Total
1	True Grit	$15,000,000	$110.4
2	Little Fockers	$13,800,000	$124
3	Season of the Witch	$10,700,000	$10.7
4	Tron Legacy	$9,803,000	$147.9
5	Black Swan	$8,400,000	$61.4
6	Country Strong	$7,300,000	$7.4
7	The Fighter	$7,000,000	$57.8
8	The King’s Speech	$6,811,000	$33.2
9	Yogi Bear	$6,810,000	$75.6
10	Tangled	$5,200,000	$175.8

New Year’s Box Office – LITTLE FOCKERS Edges Out TRUE GRIT For Number One with $26.3 Million

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: January 2nd, 2011 at 10:26 am

Though it’s a brand new year, we’ll be left cleaning up after 2010 for weeks to come.  After falling to second place on New Year’s Eve, Little Fockers managed to edge past True Grit to retain the box office crown for a second weekend in a row. All hail the king. Overall, 2010 will end up only slightly behind 2009’s record with over $10 billion in profits – due largely to early successes like Avatar and Alice and Wonderland, of course.  Nothing in the ass-end of the past year is even coming close to those titles in terms of dollars or attendance.

	Title	Weekend	Total
1	Little Fockers	$26,300,000	$103.2
2	True Grit	$24,500,000	$86.8
3	Tron Legacy	$18,300,000	$130.8
4	Yogi Bear	$13,000,000	$66.1
5	Narnia 3	$10,500,000	$87.1
6	Tangled	$10,008,000	$168
7	The Fighter	$10,000,000	$46.3
8	Gulliver’s Travels	$9,100,000	$27.2
9	Black Swan	$8,500,000	$47.4
10	The King’s Speech	$7,600,000	$22.8

2010′s Most Pirated Movies; AVATAR Takes Top Prize

by Kevin Panasiewicz    Posted: December 22nd, 2010 at 10:35 am

Writer/director James Cameron’s Avatar has added yet another milestone to its belt this year.  After becoming the highest grossing flick ever (close to a whopping $2.8 billion take worldwide) as well as becoming the best selling Blu-ray in the short history of the technology, Avatar has been named 2010’s most popular film torrent.  With 16,580,000 downloads, the film effortlessly topples last year’s ‘winner’ Star Trek with its measly 11 million illegal downloads.

Unlike its other records, however, I doubt the Fox marketing team will be clamoring to throw this one onto all the special edition DVD and Blu-ray covers coming our way in the future. Interestingly enough, one of Cameron’s principal selling points for 3D was that it would prove to be a surefire method for eliminating piracy…oops. Hit the jump for more details and the full list.

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