Your Highness

97 Original Scores Up for Oscar; DRIVE and ATTACK THE BLOCK Ruled Ineligible

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: December 23rd, 2011 at 12:04 pm

As the 84th Academy Awards move closer, we’re starting to get a better sense of how things will pan out. We recently shared the 39 songs that will contend for the Best Original Song category, and now the Academy has announced the 97 original scores eligible for the Best Original Score award. AMPAS is notoriously picky when it comes to eligibility in this category, and as we feared the scores for both Drive and Attack the Block have been deemed ineligible. Also disappointing is the ineligibility of Alexandre Desplat’s mesmerizing score for The Tree of Life.

While it’s upsetting to see some of the year’s best work side-lined, there’s plenty to be happy about. I was a huge fan of Howard Shore’s work in Hugo and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, as well as The Chemical Brothers’ brilliant work in the criminally underseen Hanna. Hit the jump for the full list, as well as who I think will make the cut.

Weekend Box Office – NEW YEAR’S EVE Underwhelms with $13.7 Million Debut

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: December 11th, 2011 at 8:59 am

New Year’s Eve is the new number one movie in America; but with one of the lowest first-place debuts of the year, Warner Brothers may not feel like toasting their success.  The studio’s follow-up to last year’s Valentine’s Day estimated just $13.7 million from 3,505 locations, or 76% lower than its predecessor’s first weekend total.

	Title	Weekend	Total
1	New Year’s Eve	$13,705,000	$13.7
2	The Sitter	$10,000,000	$10
3	Breaking Dawn Part 1	$7,900,000	$259.4
4	The Muppets	$7,070,000	$65.8
5	Arthur Christmas	$6,600,000	$33.4
6	Hugo	$6,125,000	$33.4
7	The Descendants	$4,385,000	$23.6
8	Happy Feet Two	$3,750,000	$56.8
9	Jack and Jill	$3,200,000	$68.6
10	Immortals	$2,442,000	$79.8

YOUR HIGHNESS DVD Review

by Gil Kellerman    Posted: August 15th, 2011 at 6:09 am

Your Highness, set in the medieval days of knights, dragons and sorcerers tells the story of two brothers.  Fabious (James Franco) is the quintessential debonair prince, prone to victory in innumerable death-defying quests and feats.  His brother Thadeous (Danny McBride) is an out-of-shape, lazy slob who excels at toking herb and chasing sheep.  But when Fabious’ bride-to-be Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel) is kidnapped by the evil wizard Leezar (Justin Theroux), Fabious sets out on a mission to rescue her.  And by order of their father (Charles Dance), Thadeous is told he must help his brother on his quest.  My review of the DVD after the jump.

Weekend Box Office – RIO Breaks 2011′s Box Office Losing Streak with $40 Million Debut

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: April 17th, 2011 at 9:51 am

Woo-hoo.  Folks, it looks like 2011 has indeed soared to its first big weekend win in months on the wings of Fox’s Rio.  The 3D animated toon rose from the ashes of a lower than expected Friday figure to earn an estimated $40 million for the three day frame.  Unfortunately, there was not a lot of love left over for Wes Craven’s Scream 4 but, no matter!  The weekend should still end up ahead of last year by approximately 12%.

	Title	Weekend	Total
1	Rio	$40,000,000	$40
2	Scream	$19,300,000	$19.3
3	Hop	$11,160,000	$82.6
4	Soul Surfer	$7,400,000	$19.9
5	Hanna	$7,327,000	$23.3
6	Arthur	$6,940,000	$22.3
7	Insidious	$6,857,000	$35.9
8	Source Code	$6,300,000	$36.9
9	The Conspirator	$3,924,000	$3.9
10	Your Highness	$3,895,000	$15.9

Weekend Box Office – HOP Holds at Number One with $21.7 Million

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: April 10th, 2011 at 9:18 am

Four new releases hit theatres this weekend, including one that was marketed to within an inch of its life.  Still, year-to-year grosses will be down once again by almost 10% and it was a holdover that took the number one title.  Universal’s Hop earned an estimated $21.7 million to put it on top of the US box office for the second week in a row.

	Title	Weekend	Total
1	Hop	$21,700,000	$68.1
2	Arthur	$12,600,000	$12.6
3	Hanna	$12,300,000	$12.3
4	Soul Surfer	$11,100,000	$11.1
5	Insidious	$8,740,000	$27
6	Your Highness	$9,500,000	$9.5
7	Source Code	$9,050,000	$28.6
8	Limitless	$5,690,000	$64.3
9	Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2	$4,885,000	$45.4
10	The Lincoln Lawyer	$4,600,000	$46.4

Friday Box Office – Russell Brand in HOP Beats Russell Brand in ARTHUR

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: April 9th, 2011 at 9:20 am

It looks like a good news/bad news kind of morning for Russell Brand.  The good news is that his voice-only role in last weekend’s number one film Hop will give Brand a second weekend on top of the US box office.  The bad news?  Warner Brothers’ highly-promoted Arthur redux – the film in which he actually gets his face on film – wasn’t particularly aided by the comedian’s recent PR blitz.  The widest of this weekend’s four new releases, Arthur earned an estimated $4.5 million to Hop’s $5.5 million.  Arthur’s mediocre showing was counterbalanced by two Friday overachievers.  Focus features’ Hanna took in an estimated $4.2 million while Sony’s inspirational shark-attack biopic Soul Surfer earned $3.7 million in 2,214 locations.  That just leaves us with Universal’s Your Highness.  How this R-rated comedy from David Gordon Green and Danny McBride wound up nearly tied on a Friday night with a movie about a one-armed surfer is beyond me.  Details and analysis tomorrow.

	Title	Friday	Total
1	Hop	$5,500,000	$51.9
2	Arthur	$4,500,000	$4.5
3	Hanna	$4,200,000	$4.2
4	Your Highness	$3,800,000	$3.8
5	Soul Surfer	$3,700,000	$3.7

Justin Theroux Talks YOUR HIGHNESS, ZOOLANDER 2 and The F*ckening

by Christina Radish    Posted: April 9th, 2011 at 7:13 am

In the new raunchy comedy Your Highness, actor Justin Theroux plays Leezar, the medieval wizard with less than stellar magical prowess. When Leezar kidnaps Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel), the fiancée of the Kingdom of Mourne’s crown prince Fabious (James Franco), in order to impregnate her with a dragon, the lazy Thadeous (Danny McBride) must join his brother in an epic quest to save the fair maiden before Leezar can fulfill the ancient prophecy.

At the film’s press day, Justin Theroux talked about going all-out to play the films over-the-top villain, collaborating with director David Gordon Green and actor/screenwriter Danny McBride on the creation of this character, and finding the vulnerability and insecurity in Leezar. He also talked about his own career as a screenwriter and gave an update on the status of Zoolander 2, for which he and Ben Stiller just completed a draft of the script. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

YOUR HIGHNESS Review

by Bill Graham    Posted: April 8th, 2011 at 8:38 am

Your Highness plays like an adolescent’s adventure through every sword and sorcery staple possible, and for some, that’s exactly what they want. Rife with penis jokes, pot smoking, foul language, and other giggle-inducing gags, director David Gordon Green and his ensemble cast are comfortable with maintaining that course throughout the entire film. This is a hard-R adventure comedy that falters in its attempts at grand set pieces but succeeds at making you laugh. Of course, how much you laugh all depends on what you like in your comedies. If you feel like this might be the film for you, hit the jump for my full review.

Danny McBride and James Franco Interview YOUR HIGHNESS

by Christina Radish    Posted: April 7th, 2011 at 8:18 pm

In the medieval raunchy comedy Your Highness, actors Danny McBride and James Franco play brothers in the Kingdom of Mourne. Thadeous (McBride) has spent his life in the shadow of his older brother Fabious (Franco), just trying to stay completely out of harm’s way while the hero heir to the thrown goes off on quests to conquer evil. But, when Fabious’ fiancée Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel) is kidnapped by the power-hungry wizard Leezar (Justin Theroux), Thadeous must step up and help his brother and show, for the first time, that he is worthy of his family name. On their quest, they are joined by the mysterious warrior princess Isabel (Natalie Portman), who also has the goal of revenge on Leezar, and they team up to stop the ancient prophecy that will allow Leezar to impregnate Belladonna with a dragon.

At the film’s press day, co-stars Danny McBride (who also wrote the film) and James Franco talked about the challenge of selling this idea to a major studio, their surprise that they were ever allowed to make the film, improvising on set to keep everyone on their toes, and how game Academy Award winner Natalie Portman was, when it came to the raunchy humor. James also talked about why he wanted to sign on for Oz: The Great and Powerful, with director Sam Raimi. Check out what they had to say after the jump:

Now Showing: April 8th, 2011 – ARTHUR, HANNA, SOUL SURFER, YOUR HIGHNESS and More

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: April 7th, 2011 at 7:10 pm

Last weekend featured the live-action/animated comedy Hop as 2011’s highest grossing debut so far. Will Russell Brand strike gold two weeks in a row when his remake of Arthur hits the screens this weekend? Perhaps a new contender will take the box office crown. It could be the assassin-centric suspense thriller Hanna, or the uplifting tale of a shark attack survivor in Soul Surfer. But my money’s on the raunchy fantasy comedy Your Highness, starring Danny McBride, James Franco and Natalie Portman.

Hit the jump for synopses and trailers for these headliners as well as our coverage on such limited releases as Ceremony, Henry’s Crime and Meek’s Cutoff.

Director David Gordon Green Interview YOUR HIGHNESS

by Christina Radish    Posted: April 6th, 2011 at 3:40 pm

The idea behind Your Highness apparently started as a joke between film school friends David Gordon Green and Danny McBride, with neither one of them thinking it would ever make it to the big screen. Now, not only is it hitting the big screen, but it’s doing so with some hilarious laughs, big effects and a stellar cast.

Your Highness is a comedy adventure set in a time when handsome knights would rescue fair damsels, slay dragons and conquer evil. While Fabious (James Franco) is off doing just that, his younger brother Thadeous (Danny McBride) has become accustomed to spending his life slacking off. But, when Fabious’ fiancee, Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel), gets kidnapped by the evil wizard Leezar (Justin Theroux), so that he can impregnate her with a dragon, Thadeous must join Fabious in his quest to rescue her. When they cross paths with the mysterious Isabel (Natalie Portman), they realize that they have quite similar goals and they team up to take down Leezar before he can fulfill an ancient prophecy.

At the film’s press day, director David Gordon Green talked about his “anything goes” approach to the film, how generous he found the MPAA in their ratings decision, scenes that will be added to the DVD/Blu-ray, and what directors have inspired him. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

YOUR HIGHNESS at The Alamo Drafthouse (with THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER and KRULL)

by Scott Wampler    Posted: April 5th, 2011 at 12:10 pm

Universal’s Your Highness hits theaters this Friday, and in preparation for the film’s release, the studio teamed up with Austin’s Alamo Drafthouse theater to present a one-night-only triple feature.  The event was designed to showcase Your Highness along with a few of the films that had inspired David Gordon Green’s film:  namely The Sword and The Sorcerer and Krull.  It had been years since most of the crowd had seen either of these films, and while it probably goes without saying that neither have held up as well as some other fantasy films from the late 70′s/early 80′s, I can confidently report that– when combined with the awesomeness that is Your Highness and no small amount of beer– they helped deliver one hell of an evening for the assembled audience.  Want to know more, including what director David Gordon Green and stars Justin Theroux and Danny McBride had to say about their love letter to the sword-and-sorcery genre?  Meet me after the jump, folks.

YOUR HIGHNESS Red Carpet Premiere at UCSB, Plus Max’s Thoughts on the Film

by Max Lichtig    Posted: April 4th, 2011 at 7:00 am

There’s always something special about a large group of students uniting under a single cause, even if it holds no political motivation (sigh…we’ll never live up to the standards of Egyptian youth). Over the past two months, I, along with roughly 15,000 other students from the University of California Santa Barbara, rallied together to vote for the red carpet premiere of David Gordon Green’s Your Highness to come to our campus. In a tight competition against universities from all across the country, we were able to come out on top and receive a red carpet treatment with the Highness cast in attendance. Though Natalie Portman could not make it to the event (I guess there’s something about being pregnant that dissuades women from travelling), the pre-party was surely a sight to see. Universal went big and decked out one of the biggest spaces on our campus with Your Highness posters, banners, caterers dressed in medieval attire (serving chicken legs, no less), buglers, and a minotaur with an oversized package. Students that were able to snag tickets before they sold out were treated to a screening of the film. Luckily, I was one of those students.

Hit the jump to check out pictures of the event as well as my thoughts on the film.

7 Clips for YOUR HIGHNESS Starring Danny McBride and James Franco

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: March 26th, 2011 at 7:41 pm

Universal has released 7 clips for their upcoming hard-R comedy Your Highness.  The film stars Danny McBride as a lazy prince who is forced to go on a quest with his brother (James Franco) to rescue his brother’s fiancée (Zooey Deschanel) from an evil wizard (Justin Theroux).  I haven’t seen the film yet but I’ve heard it’s hilarious and that folks are amazed with what director David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express) and writers McBride and Ben Best (Eastbound & Down) got away with.

Hit the jump to check out the clips.  The film also stars Natalie Portman, Rasmus Hardiker, Toby Jones, Charles Dance, and Damian Lewis.  Your Highness opens April 8th.

New Red-Band Trailer for YOUR HIGHNESS

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: March 23rd, 2011 at 10:52 am

Universal has released a new red-band trailer for David Gordon Green’s Your Highness.  While it’s not as long as the previous red-band trailer, almost all of the footage is new and there are many great jokes to be had.  Rather than recite them to you, you should just hit jump and check out the not-safe-for-work trailer even if you are at work.  Live dangerously.

Your Highness stars Danny McBride, James Franco, Zooey Deschanel, and Natalie Portman.  It opens April 8th.

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