Mark Wahlberg

Weekend Box Office – CONTRABAND Scores $24.1 Million; THE DEVIL INSIDE Gets Exorcised

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: January 15th, 2012 at 9:02 am

Even with Saturday’s family trade and higher ticket prices, Disney’s 3D re-issue of Beauty and the Beast could not catch Contraband this weekend. From its 2,863 locations Universal’s R-rated drama took in an estimated $24.1 million – a figure well above early expectations for the Mark Wahlberg vehicle.  The other BIG news is the changing fortunes of last weekend’s number one film, The Devil Inside.  Estimates have taken the film from number six – down to number eleven – and back up to number seven all within an hour.  We’re hoping to get it right this with this one but, keep in mind, it’s all estimates until Monday morning…

	Title	Weekend	Total
1	Contraband	$24,100,000	$24.1
2	Beauty and the Beast 3D	$18,490,000	$18.4
3	Mission: Impossible 4	$11,500,000	$186.7
4	Joyful Noise	$11,345,000	$11.3
5	Sherlock Holmes 2	$8,410,000	$170
6	The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo	$6,800,000	$87.9
7	The Devil Inside	$7,900,000	$46.2
8	Alvin and the Chipmunks 3	$5,800,000	$118.7
9	War Horse	$5,600,000	$65.7
10	The Iron Lady	$5,386,000	$5.9

TOP 5: New STAR WARS Live-Action Series Details, CONTRABAND, WARM BODIES, Cinemath, Our TCA Winter Press Tour Coverage

by Jason Barr    Posted: January 14th, 2012 at 11:35 am

I have to say that I can’t wait to check out Steven Soderbergh‘s actioner Haywire. Everything I’ve seen from it thus far has looked great and the positivity pouring out from early reviews only supports my belief that the entire pic will deliver. Whether it be the stellar cast, the proclaimed breakout performance from Gina Carano, or Soderbergh’s top-notch action sequences, I fully expect to be talking about Haywire right here again next week in a little “Before & After” discussion. In the meantime…

…This week’s “Top 5″ brings you some new details regarding the long-gestating Star Wars live-action television series, Contraband interviews with Mark Wahlberg, Giovanni Ribisi, and more, the first official images from Jonathan Levine‘s (50/50) Warm Bodies, a “Cinemath” feature that analyzes the 2011 box office, and all of our coverage from the 2011 Television Critics Association (TCA) Winter Press Tour. Hit the jump for brief recaps and links to each.

Mark Wahlberg Talks CONTRABAND, New England Patriots, THE FIGHTER Sequel, THREE MISSISSIPPI, ENTOURAGE Movie, TED, More

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: January 12th, 2012 at 4:19 pm

Opening tomorrow is director Baltasar Kormákur’s crime thriller Contraband. Set in the world of international smuggling, the film stars Mark Wahlberg as a man trying to escape his days as a criminal. When his brother-in-law (Caleb Landry Jones) botches a deal, Wahlberg’s character must settle his brother-in-law’s debt in order to keep him safe from a drug boss (Giovanni Ribisi).  The film also stars Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, J.K. Simmons, and Diego Luna.

Last week I was able to get on the phone with Wahlberg for an exclusive interview.  During our wide ranging conversation, we talked about the New England Patriots playoff chances (we’re both from New England), how he got involved in Contraband, the action scenes, how he prepares for his roles, and what it was like to film on a real ship.  In addition, with Wahlberg involved in so many other projects, he talked about The Fighter sequel, the Entourage movie, working with Adam McKay and Will Ferrell again in Three Mississippi, The Departed sequel, Michael Bay‘s Pain and Gain, Seth MacFarlane‘s Ted, the untitled Basketball movie with Justin Bieber, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to read or listen to the interview.

CONTRABAND Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 12th, 2012 at 2:43 pm

There are so many ways to steal something, but when it comes to the big score, movies have kept their focus on elaborate heists.  How are the criminals going to break into the vault?  How will they escape?  Couldn’t they put all of this effort into a job that doesn’t risk going to jail?  These questions aside, the basic point remains: steal what you want and don’t get caught.  But there are so many other ways to accomplish that.  Baltasar Kormákur‘s Contraband is a fresh take on the theft genre (unless you’ve seen the original version, the 2008 Icelandic film Reykjavik-Rotterdam) by turning the attention to smuggling.  However, the movie always feels torn between what’s safe and familiar and what’s daring and inventive.

Director Baltasar Kormákur CONTRABAND Interview

by Heather Warburton    Posted: January 9th, 2012 at 5:37 pm

Set in New Orleans, Contraband is Mark Whalberg’s new thriller about smuggling on container ships. He plays a blue-collar family man who’s sworn off his former life of crime, until his brother-in-law botches a drug deal and needs his help in order to repay the debt. Whalberg agrees to do one last job, running contraband from Panama on a container ship. Kate Beckinsale plays Whalberg’s wife, Ben Foster his best friend and business partner, and Giovanni Ribisi plays a New Orleans drug runner.

A remake of the Icelandic film Reykjavík-Rotterdam (2008), Contraband is directed by Baltasar Kormákur, who played the lead character in the original. At the press conference in New York, Kormákur spoke to a room of journalists about how the project came together, the choice of cinematographer Barry Ackroyd (The Hurt Locker), and his thoughts on the film’s moral ambiguity. Hit the jump for the interview.

5 Movie Clips and 16 Images from CONTRABAND

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 7th, 2012 at 5:11 pm

We’ve been provided with five clips and sixteen images from director Baltasar Kormákur’s crime thriller Contraband. The film is set in the world of international smuggling and stars Mark Wahlberg as a man trying to escape his days as a criminal. When his brother-in-law (Caleb Landry Jones) botches a deal, Wahlberg’s character must settle his brother-in-law’s debt in order to keep him safe from a drug boss (Giovanni Ribisi).  The film also stars Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, J.K. Simmons, and Diego Luna.

Hit the jump to check out the clips and images.  Contraband opens January 13th, 2012.

Mark Wahlberg Talks Seth MacFarlane’s TED and Untitled Basketball Movie with Justin Bieber

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 7th, 2012 at 11:12 am

The other day, we brought you updates from Mark Wahlberg on a sequel to The Fighter, the Entourage movie, and Michael Bay’s Pain and Gain.  As noted at the time, Wahlberg is a very busy guy. As such, during his interview with Steve regarding his upcoming crime thriller Contraband, the actor/producer talked extensively about a number of projects.  Today we’re bringing you what he had to say about starring in Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane’s feature directorial debut Ted, and his basketball movie starring Justin Bieber (including a fantastically awesome title for the latter).  Hit the jump to see what Wahlberg had to say about the two projects.

Exclusive: Mark Wahlberg Talks THE FIGHTER Sequel and ENTOURAGE Movie; Says He’s Still Considering Michael Bay’s PAIN AND GAIN

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 5th, 2012 at 5:29 pm

Mark Wahlberg is a very busy guy.  In addition to acting, Wahlberg has become increasingly involved in producing not only feature films, but a handful of original series as well.  With Wahlberg’s new crime thriller Contraband opening next week, earlier today Steve got the chance to speak with the hard-working actor.  While we’ll have the full interview up next week, we wanted to share what Wahlberg had to say regarding The Fighter sequel, the Entourage movie, and Michael Bay’s small-budget dark comedy Pain and Gain.

While it was previously reported that Wahlberg had passed on Pain and Gain, the actor revealed that he’s still very much considering the project and he’s currently waiting on a new draft of the script.  Hit the jump to see what Wahlberg had to say concerning all the projects.

5 Clips from CONTRABAND Starring Mark Wahlberg

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: December 19th, 2011 at 7:03 pm

We’ve been provided with five clips from the crime thriller Contraband. The film is set in the world of international smuggling and stars Mark Wahlberg as a man trying to escape his days as a criminal. When his brother-in-law (Caleb Landry Jones) botches a deal, Wahlberg’s character must settle his brother-in-law’s debt in order to keep him safe from a drug boss (Giovanni Ribisi).

Hit the jump to check out the clips.  The film also stars Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, J.K. Simmons, and Diego Luna.  Contraband opens January 13th, 2012.

Dwayne Johnson and Mark Wahlberg Circling Michael Bay’s True-Story Dark Comedy PAIN AND GAIN [Updated]

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 5th, 2011 at 1:40 pm

Having wrapped on his Transformers trilogy (although who knows if he’ll be lured back), director Michael Bay has turned his focus to the dark comedy Pain and Gain.  The story is based on a 1999 Miami New Times article about two bodybuilders who got caught up in an extortion ring and a kidnapping scheme that went terribly wrong.  In October, Bay said of the film, “It’s a very quick shoot and quite funny.”  Pain and Gain has been one of Bay’s passion projects for the past decade and carries a reported budget of only $20 million (the word “only” is used because of Bay; few other directors would get that adjective in front of their budget).

According to Variety, Dwayne Johnson and Mark Wahlberg are circling the lead roles, although their participation will depend on scheduling.  Hit the jump for more. [We've updated the story after the jump]

Mark Wahlberg, Marion Cotillard, and Zoe Saldana Circling Guillaume Canet’s BLOOD TIES

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 2nd, 2011 at 8:28 am

Mark Wahlberg, Marion Cotillard, and Zoe Saldana may star in French actor Guillaume Canet‘s English-language directorial debut, Blood Ties.  According to The Playlist, the film is a remake of 2008′s Les Liens Du Sang, which Canet starred in but did not direct.  The story is set in the 1970s and centers on “two brothers, one a cop, the other a criminal fresh out of the joint.”  Wahlberg’s The Yards and We Own the Night writer-director James Gray is working on the script with Canet, and now Screen Daily reports that Wahlberg is circling the role of the cop (for those keeping track, this would be the fifth time Wahlberg has played a cop.  There’s no word yet on whom Cotillard (who is also Canet’s partner) or Saldana would play, and Canet may co-star as well.

Canet is probably best known to American audiences for his 2006 thriller Tell No One (Ben Affleck is set to direct the US remake), but he’s also directed the Cesar-nominated Mon Idole and Little White Lies.  Gray’s next film, a period drama tentatively titled Low Life and starring Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Renner, and Cotillard is set to start shooting in January.  Hit the jump to check out a trailer for Les Liens Du Sang.

New Posters for ARTHUR CHRISTMAS, THE GREY, CONTRABAND, and THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 3D

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 19th, 2011 at 10:25 am

New posters have been released for the family holiday flick Arthur Christmas (click here for Steve’s recent footage recap/interview), the men-vs-wolves survival thriller The Grey, the crime drama Contraband, and the horror sequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D.  Today’s a busy day so let me just break down the respective posters: bad puns, Neeson’s mug sells tickets, Wahlberg is fake scratching an itch so he can show off his sweet new moneybelt, and slightly better pun.

Hit the jump to check out the posters.  Arthur Christmas opens November 23rd, The Grey opens January 27th, Contraband opens January 13th, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D opens October 5, 2012.

CONTRABAND Director to Reteam with Mark Wahlberg for 2 GUNS

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: October 3rd, 2011 at 2:14 pm

It appears that Mark Wahlberg and director Baltasar Kormakur got along quite well while making the action pic Contraband, as the helmer is in negotiations to take over directing duties on Universal’s action pic 2 Guns which has Wahlberg attached to star. David O. Russell wrote the latest draft of the script, based on Steven Grant’s graphic novel, and was poised to direct before he dropped out. Now Variety reports that Universal has their sights set on Kormakur to take the reins. The plot centers on a DEA agent and an undercover naval intelligence officer who unknowingly investigate each other as each is stealing money from the mob. Russell previously described the project as a romantic western, but there’s no word on what alterations have been made since his exit. The graphic novel skews towards a more Ocean’s Eleven-style caper, but the tone could go either way. Hit the jump to read a synopsis of the graphic novel.

New Trailer and Images for CONTRABAND Starring Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, and Giovanni Ribisi

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: September 29th, 2011 at 10:44 am

The trailer for Contraband has gone online and I have no idea what differentiates it from other Mark Wahlberg crime movies.  He’s either a cop or a good-guy criminal and in this movie he’s the latter.  He plays a former smuggler who’s called back into the game when his brother-in-law (X-Men: First Class‘ Caleb Landry Jones) steals from the wrong gangster (Giovanni Ribisi with a bizarre, distracting accent).  Wahlberg then puts together a team of crooks (including characters played by Ben Foster and Lukas Haas) and it looks a little like The Italian Job with smuggling and cool duct tape masks.  Hopefully, the film will have something to make it stand apart from other movies where Wahlberg plays a frantic, hard-nosed character.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and a number of new images.  The film also stars Kate Beckinsale, J.K. Simmons, and Diego Luna.  Contraband opens January 13, 2012.

Bradley Cooper Leaves THE CROW Remake; Mark Wahlberg and Channing Tatum Emerge as Possible Replacements

by Jason Barr    Posted: August 15th, 2011 at 7:04 pm

Scheduling conflicts have reportedly forced Bradley Cooper to leave director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s (28 Weeks Later) remake of The Crow. Cooper had previously been in negotiations to reprise the late Brandon Lee’s turn as iconic gothic character Eric Draven. However, it looks as if his involvement in David O. Russell’s Silver Linings and Legendary Pictures’ Paradise Lost has cramped his schedule to the point that he has exited Relativity’s reboot of James O’Barr’s 1990s comic.

With Cooper off of the grid, it’s being reported that Mark Wahlberg and Channing Tatum have stepped up to the plate as potential candidates for the part. You may remember that Wahlberg was offered the role of Draven back in October 2010, when Stephen Norrington was attached to direct the remake. That offer never gained much traction and, before long, Norrington had moved on as well. As for Tatum, this is the first time his name has been associated with the role and, in all honesty, I’m hoping it is the last. Hit the jump for a little more on the potential candidates and the project as a whole.

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