ShoWest

CinemaCon Video Blog: Reaction to the THOR, CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER, and SUPER 8 Footage

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: March 29th, 2011 at 1:07 am

On Monday night at CinemaCon (formerly ShoWest), Paramount, DreamWorks and Marvel world premiered a lot of footage from their 2011 slate to attendees.  Thankfully, I was in the Coliseum theater so I got to watch 20 minutes from Kenneth Branagh’s Thor, almost 20 minutes from Joe Johnston’s Captain America: The First Avenger, 22 minutes from J.J. Abrams Super 8, a number of scenes from Kung Fu Panda 2, and 15 minutes from Puss in Boots.  While all of the footage looked great, the footage from Thor and Captain America made me wish both movies were coming out next week.  Trust me, all you haters that have been writing Thor doesn’t look good, you’re all going to eat some humble pie once you see the movie.  Also, while I’m not one of those folks who thinks Super 8 is the greatest gift to cinema in 2011, I will admit the footage looked very impressive and I think it could be this generations Stand By Me.  I’m excited to see the finished film.

Anyway, while we’ve been asked not to reveal anything specific from what we saw tonight, I recorded a video blog with Peter from /Film and Alex from FirstShowing and we recapped what we got to see and our thoughts on all the footage.  Hit the jump to check it out, and look for a lot more from CinemaCon tomorrow.

CinemaCon 2011: New Posters and Standees Including FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS and HARRY POTTER

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: March 27th, 2011 at 4:15 pm

CinemaCon (formerly ShoWest) begins tomorrow in Las Vegas.  If you haven’t heard of CinemaCon, it’s a convention for theater owners and operators to see what’s new in their industry and be wined and dined by the Hollywood Studios.  It’s essentially Comic-Con for people that make big decisions in the movie industry.

In the coming days I’ll be watching tons of footage from many upcoming movies and I’ll try and report what I see. Occasionally they ask us not to say anything, but whenever I can, you can expect video blogs and written reports.  Until then, I managed to snap pictures of the movie posters, standee’s, and escalator artwork that’s on display at the Convention.  Included are new posters for Friends With Benefits, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, Larry Crowne and After.  I’ve also got pictures of new banners including Super 8, Captain America: The First Avenger, One Day, Warrior, Bad Teacher, and a DreamWorks one that includes The Help, Fright Night, Real Steel and War Horse.  Hit the jump to check them out.

Director Zack Snyder and Producer Debbie Snyder Interview LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS – They Also Talk SUCKER PUNCH, 3D, and More

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: March 29th, 2010 at 8:43 pm

At this year’s ShoWest, I was able to participate in a roundtable interview with director Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) and his producing partner (and wife) Debbie Snyder for their upcoming animated movie Legend of the Guardians.  The movie is being done by the same company that did Happy Feet and it’s based on the Guardians of Ga’Hoole children’s novels.  If you haven’t seen the awesome trailer, watch it here.

During the interview they talked about why they wanted to make the movie, how they’ve been working on it since before Watchmen, how many “Zack Snyder shots” can we expect, how they did the 3D, and, of course, we also talked about his next live-action movie Sucker Punch and what can fans expect at Comic-Con.  Hint: our first look at Sucker Punch!

If you’re a fan of Zack Snyder, you’ll love the interview.  As always, I’ve provided both the transcript and the audio of the interview.

Director Todd Phillips Interview DUE DATE and THE HANGOVER 2

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: March 28th, 2010 at 10:39 pm

At this year’s ShoWest, I was able to participate in a great roundtable interview with director Todd Phillips as he was there to promote his upcoming comedy Due Date.  The film stars Robert Downey Jr. as a father trying to rush back across the country to make it to his wife’s birth and Zach Galifianakis as an aspiring actor who becomes Downey’s traveling companion.  The movie has been described as Trains, Planes, and Automobiles meets The Hangover and it co-stars Jamie Foxx, Michelle Monaghan, Alan Arkin, and is slated to hit theaters on November 5, 2010.  I saw some of the film at ShoWest and it looked awesome.  You can read my thoughts here.

During the interview, Phillips talked about how the project came together, how much is scripted versus improv, how he came up with the masturbating dog, what’s up with The Hangover 2, his relationship with Warner Bros. and so much more.  It’s a great interview and one worth checking out.  Hit the jump to read the transcript or listen to the audio.

Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas Interview INCEPTION – They Talk 3D, What Kind of Cameras They Used, Pre-Viz, WB, and a Lot More!

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: March 25th, 2010 at 9:53 pm

At this year’s ShoWest in Las Vegas, I got to participate in a roundtable interview with writer/director Christopher Nolan and producer Emma Thomas for their upcoming Warner Bros. movie Inception as a reporter for our partners at Omelete.  While Inception has been shrouded in mystery, at ShoWest, Nolan finally unveiled some of the movie to theater owners and I got to see the footage.

While I still don’t know that much about Inception, the footage revealed Leonardo DiCaprio plays someone who can go into your dreams and steal information.  He also works with others that can do the same thing.  Since many of you might not want to know more than that…just know the footage looked incredible and the film is going to be huge.  For more than that, here’s my full write-up.

Anyway, during the interview Nolan and Thomas talked about trying to keep the film a mystery while still having to promote it.  They also talked about where the idea came from, his relationship with Warner Bros., what kind of cameras he shot with (IMAX, anamorphic 35mm, 65mm, and VistaVision), what does he think of 3D, how much does he pre-viz, and so much more.  If you’re a fan of Chris Nolan, it’s a fantastic interview and one you have to read:

Zach Galifianakis Video Interview Backstage at ShoWest – Talks HANGOVER, SNL, Shaving on Live TV, and a Lot More

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: March 24th, 2010 at 5:39 pm

Before last week’s ShoWest closing ceremony, Zach Galifianakis came into the press room to answer a number of questions from local and international reporters.  If you’re a fan of this very funny comedian, you’re definitely going to want to watch this interview as part of it plays like a stand-up show.  He talks about why comedians don’t get recognized by the Academy Awards, filming The Hangover in Vegas and what’s up with The Hangover 2, where did the inspiration come from to shave his beard off on Saturday Night Live, what is he working on this year, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to check it out:

Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis and Director Todd Phillips ShoWest Video Interview DUE DATE

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: March 21st, 2010 at 12:57 pm

If you’re a fan of Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis and Director Todd Phillips, you really should watch the red carpet video interview I did at ShoWest.  That’s because I started off by complimenting Galifianakis on doing such an awesome job hosting Saturday Night Live last week and then Robert Downey Jr. starting quoting the episode!  After that, when they were asked if their comedy Due Date is trying to  top The Hangover, Downey Jr. gave an awesome answer that had everyone laughing.  Trust me, watch this interview.  I promise you’ll laugh.

Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer ShoWest Video Interview – The Stars of BEASTLY Talk Backstage in the Media Room

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: March 21st, 2010 at 8:11 am

Before Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer (the two stars of Beastly) won their ShoWest Awards for Male and Female Stars of Tomorrow, they came into the media room and answered some questions from the press.  While the questions asked bordered on some of the dumbest I have ever heard in a media room, I know Vanessa Hudgens has a lot of fans from the High School Musical series so I figured you’d still like to see the interview.  Hit the jump to check it out:

Sam Worthington ShoWest Video Interview

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: March 21st, 2010 at 7:30 am

On the final night of ShoWest, Sam Worthington (Avatar, Clash of the Titans, Terminator Salvation) came into the media room to answer some questions before accepting his ShoWest Male Star of the Year Award.  While he didn’t address any of his upcoming projects besides saying he is going to have to learn how to do some region specific accents, I figured some of you might like to see what he had to say.  Hit the jump to check his interview out:

AVATAR Producer Jon Landau ShoWest Video Interview – Talks AVATAR DVD/Blu-ray, AVATAR 2, Deleted Scenes, 3D

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: March 21st, 2010 at 7:15 am

On the final day of ShoWest, Avatar producer Jon Landau talked to the press about the upcoming Avatar DVD/Blu-ray, what’s the status of Avatar 2, the re-release of Avatar in theaters, deleted scenes being put back into the movie, and 3D.

The main points were:

• They are focusing on the special edition Blu-ray as the place for deleted scenes to go back into the movie.  They don’t want 5 or 10 second clips. They want to find entire scenes to put back in.
• Said they are only going to make Avatar 2 if Cameron writes a script they are happy with.
• Nothing is certain about an Avatar re-release in theaters.
• Not sure what they are doing next.

Hit the jump for the video:

Josh Duhamel Talks LIFE AS WE KNOW IT and Says He’s Read the TRANSFORMERS 3 Script at Showest 2010

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: March 19th, 2010 at 8:46 am

Before yesterday’s Warner Bros. Showest presentation, I got to speak with a ton of people on the red carpet.  One of them was Josh Duhamel.  As one of the leads in director Greg Berlanti’s Life as We Know it (alongside Katherine Heigl), Duhamel was there to promote the movie to theater owners.

But since Duhamel is also in the Transformers franchise, I asked him if he’s heard anything about the third installment and he told me he read the script for Transformers 3 in director Michael Bay’s office two days ago! He said he liked it a lot and it’s different than people expect but he can’t say anything specific or Bay will have his balls.  This confirms his character is back in the third film.  Hit the jump to watch the interview.

Warner Bros. Hits a Home Run At Showest – World Premiered Footage from HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, INCEPTION, DUE DATE, More

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: March 18th, 2010 at 9:01 pm

While most of the major studios didn’t do a full Showest presentation, Warner Bros. showed up and punched everyone else in the face with a cup of awesome.  Not only did they bring a ton of stars and filmmakers, they premiered footage from Christopher Nolan’s Inception, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Due Date, Clash of the Titans in 3D, Sex and the City 2, Life as We Know it, and Alan Horn also announced we’d be getting another Final Destination movie.

Quite simply…they knocked it out of the park and showed everyone else how it’s done.  This might explain why they’re the biggest studio in Hollywood and they’re making the best movies.

But while I could go on and on about 2009 and their huge hits like The Hangover, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, The Blind Side or Sherlock Holmes, let’s get to what happened today.  For that…hit the jump.

Collider Attends the World Premiere of THE KARATE KID Remake at Showest – Video Blog Recap Here

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: March 17th, 2010 at 6:31 pm

Just an hour ago I got out of the world premiere of The Karate Kid remake at Showest.  Starring Jaden Smith as the new kid that needs training and Jackie Chan as the Mr. Miyagi character,  the movie is Sony’s big release this June.  While I didn’t think the movie needed to be remade, I’ll admit to getting excited for the film based on the last trailer.  So did the film work?  Is it a waste of time? Hit the jump for an answer.

First Movie Poster for Rodrigo Garcia’s MOTHER AND CHILD Starring Naomi Watts, Samuel L. Jackson, Annette Bening

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: March 17th, 2010 at 6:14 pm

While walking through Showest tonight, I noticed the first poster for Rodrigo Garcia’s Mother and Child.  The movie premiered at this year’s Sundance Film festival to good reviews and Sony Pictures Classics is releases the film May 7 in New York and Los Angeles.  The movie stars Naomi Watts, Annette Bening, Kerry Washington, Jimmy Smits, and Samuel L. Jackson and it tells the story of three women – a physical therapist, the daughter she gave up at birth three decades ago, and an African American woman seeking to adopt a child of her own – and how they intersect in surprising ways.  Hit the jump to check out the poster.

THE KARATE KID Showest Display – Check it Out Before it’s Open to the Public

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: March 17th, 2010 at 11:18 am

Last night while walking around Showest at 2am, I walked by the Le Theatre De Arts at the Paris Hotel while Sony was setting up their display for the world premiere of The Karate Kid.  The studio is premiering the film for movie theater owners and operators in a few hours.  While most studios show a poster or two outside the theater before you walk in, Sony spent some serious money and time getting the outside ready.  I’m going to the premiere, so expect a video blog recap later today.  Until then, check out the images after the jump.  Also, since they don’t allow cameras inside the theater, this will probably be your only way to see these images.

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