Though word on the project has been mum for some time now, it appears that Columbia Pictures is still bullish on a sequel to the 2010 spy thriller Salt. Back in June of last year, the studio hired the first film’s scribe, Kurt Wimmer, to start working on a follow-up to the Phillip Noyce-helmed thriller. After reports that star Angelina Jolie wasn’t too keen on the existing script for the sequel and thus had yet to sign on, THR now reports that Becky Johnston has been brought in to reconceive the script.
Johnston is probably best known for penning the 1991 romantic drama The Prince of Tides as well as the 1997 Brad Pitt-starrer Seven Years in Tibet. There’s no firm word on what the follow-up will entail, but the first film involved a CIA officer played by Jolie who discovered that she was actually a Russian sleeper cell agent. Noyce has already declined to return for the sequel, and Jolie’s involvement will hinge on how Johnston’s script turns out. It’s clear, though, that Columbia is keen on getting this follow-up going.
The 37th Annual Saturn Awards were held last night. The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films honored the best in film, television, special effects and more. Inception was the big winner of the night, taking home five awards including Best Science Fiction Film. Other winners in the top categories include Fringe for Best Network Series, Breaking Bad for best Cable Series, Let Me In for Best Horror Film, Alice in Wonderland for Best Fantasy Film and Salt for Best Action/Adventure Film.
Hit the jump to see the full list of winners, and don’t forget to check out Collider’s interviews from the red carpet at the event. We spoke with Brandon Routh, Fringe’s Lance Reddick, and producer Dean Devlin.
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Apparently the world needs more Angelina Jolie action movies. Sony has officially started moving forward with a sequel to last year’s Jolie-starred action flick Salt. Deadline now reports that Sony has set the first film’s screenwriter, Kurt Wimmer, to start working on a script. Jolie is keen to reprise her role from the first flick, though director Phillip Noyce turned down the offer to return.
A follow-up has been rumored since last August, after Salt took in almost $300 million worldwide. While reviews were mixed to positive, one can’t deny Jolie’s international draw (did anyone from America actually see The Tourist?). No word on how soon the sequel will go into production, but we’ll know more once Wimmer turns in his first draft of the screenplay.
“Who is Salt?” The ads for Salt both asked and answered. Salt was obviously the title character of the film Salt, here played by Angelina Jolie, but I guess on an existential level who she is, is still up for grabs. Evelyn Salt is a secret agent, but it turns out that she might be a mole for the Russian government, and that leads her superiors (including Liev Schrieber and Chiwetel Ejiofor) to freaking out, and trying to catch her. But the problem with catching spies is that they are trained to avoid such situations. Phillip Noyce directs this Bourne-riff like the craftsman of action he became in the 90’s. That’s both the film’s greatest strength and weakness. My review of the Blu-ray of Salt follows after the jump.
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Around awards season, I’m always interested by the nominations of guilds or other groups with a specific technical focus. Of course, the Society of Camera Operators found a way to honor The Social Network like everyone else. But Hereafter and Salt, which won’t contend for many awards as complete works, also earned nominations alongside The Town and The Fighter for feature film camera operator of the year.
The nominees in television are similarly eclectic. The final season of 24 missed out on a swan song at the Emmys and the Golden Globes, but is recognized here with House, Bones, Sons of Anarchy, and Raising Hope. Hit the jump for the full list.
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When all of the good box office news is coming from the specialty market, you know that Hollywood is having a rough December. Both Black Swan and The Fighter posted big numbers in limited release while few fans felt the urge to “Return to Narnia” with Fox’s The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The Narnia franchise’s third installment does at least get to claim the “Number One Movie in America” tag for its TV spots over the next few days, however. Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie got The Tourist to second place this weekend, as expected… it is only that number in the total column that could have been bigger.
|
Title |
Weekend |
Total |
| 1 |
Voyage of the Dawn Treader |
$24,500,000 |
$24.5 |
| 2 |
The Tourist |
$17,000,000 |
$17 |
| 3 |
Tangled |
$14,559,000 |
$115.6 |
| 4 |
Harry Potter 7A |
$8,500,000 |
$257.6 |
| 5 |
Unstoppable |
$3,750,000 |
$74.2 |
| 6 |
Black Swan |
$3,300,000 |
$5.6 |
| 7 |
Burlesque |
$3,200,000 |
$32.5 |
| 8 |
Love & Other Drugs |
$3,000,000 |
$27.6 |
| 9 |
Due Date |
$2,545,000 |
$94.8 |
| 10 |
Megamind |
$2,510,000 |
$140.2 |
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Director Phillip Noyce (Salt) is currently in negotiations to direct a time-travel film called Timeless. The flick comes from a spec script written by Bill Kelly, who also wrote the surprisingly great Disney film Enchanted. Deadline reports that the premise involves, “a recently wed man [who] loses his wife and discovers after the fact that she left him a fortune. Haunted by an unresolved issue between himself and his wife, the man invests the money to build a time travel device, just to see her one last time.”
It’s unknown how soon the project will go into production, as Noyce has a rather full schedule at the moment. He recently signed on to direct another spy thriller, Wenceslas Square, and has been preparing an adaptation of Tim Winton’s Dirt Music for some time now with Russell Crowe eyeing the lead. He also has the sequel to this summer’s hit film Salt in the works. Hit the jump for a bit more on the flick.
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If conventional wisdom says that Sylvester Stallone and Julia Roberts are has-beens, than someone clearly forgot to tell their audiences. Both stars are looking like winners today – especially Sylvester Stallone and his oldies action-hero reunion tour, otherwise known as The Expendables.
|
Title |
Weekend |
Total |
| 1 |
The Expendables |
$35,035,000 |
$35 |
| 2 |
Eat Pray Love |
$23,700,000 |
$23.7 |
| 3 |
The Other Guys |
$18,000,000 |
$70.5 |
| 4 |
Inception |
$11,370,000 |
$248.5 |
| 5 |
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World |
$10,525,000 |
$10.5 |
| 6 |
Despicable Me |
$6,760,000 |
$221.5 |
| 7 |
Step Up 3D |
$6,620,000 |
$21.5 |
| 8 |
Salt |
$6,350,000 |
$103.5 |
| 9 |
Dinner for Schmucks |
$6,316,000 |
$58.8 |
| 10 |
Cats & Dogs 2 |
$4,075,000 |
$35.1 |
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It appears (though far from definitively) that we could see sequels for both the Angelina Jolie spy thriller Salt and the blaxploitation spoof Black Dynamite in the near future. According to 24 Frames, all the creatives behind Salt are all up for round two. Writer Kurt Wimmer has a few ideas for the continued adventures of Evelyn Salt. Director Phillip Noyce is on board, though Salt 2 may need to contend with the love story Dirt Music (starring Russell Crowe) and fellow spy thriller Wenceslas Square for a spot on his schedule. Perhaps most importantly, Jolie reportedly said she was “keen” on the idea. (Jolie, of course, has her own scheduling issues with Tim Burton’s Maleficent and the Kay Scarpetta franchise on the docket.) The word on the street is that Sony is waiting to see how Salt performs internationally before it moves forward with a sequel — the film crossed $100 million domestic after four weeks in release.
While promoting the UK release of Black Dynamite, writer/star Michael Jai White revealed that he has started work on a sequel. Read what he had to say after the jump.
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After briefly giving way on Friday for newcomer Dinner For Schmucks, Inception is back on top for a third straight weekend. Once again, Christopher Nolan’s original thriller retained nearly 65% of its grosses from last weekend and is now looking to cross $200 million by midweek. Schmucks placed second with $23.3 million while the weekend’s two other wide releases, Charlie St. Cloud and Cats & Dogs 2: The Revenge of Kitty Galore became the latest disappointments in a summer that has seen little else.
|
Title |
Weekend |
Total |
| 1 |
Inception |
$27,500,000 |
$193.3 |
| 2 |
Dinner for Schmucks |
$23,300,000 |
$23.3 |
| 3 |
Salt |
$19,300,000 |
$70.8 |
| 4 |
Despicable Me |
$15,500,000 |
$190.3 |
| 5 |
Cats & Dogs 2 |
$12,500,000 |
$12.5 |
| 6 |
Charlie St. Cloud |
$12,100,000 |
$12.1 |
| 7 |
Toy Story 3 |
$5,035,000 |
$389.6 |
| 8 |
Grown-Ups |
$4,500,000 |
$150.7 |
| 9 |
Sorcerer’s Apprentice |
$4,320,000 |
$51.8 |
| 10 |
Twilight: Eclipse |
$3,965,000 |
$288.1 |
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In case you find it useful, here are links to the Collider take on anything and everything that went down at Comic-Con on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Here’s Thursday’s coverage…hit the jump for Friday and Saturday:
THURSDAY
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Inception continued to dominate the box office in its second weekend, earning an estimated $43.5 million from its 3,792 locations. That is a loss of only 31% over last weekend; an amazing hold attributable to the great word of mouth and repeat business Inception is inspiring. Angelina Jolie’s spy-thriller Salt placed second with an estimated $36.5 million, making this, arguably, the first week of the summer when two adult-skewing features have led the domestic box office.
|
Title |
Weekend |
Total |
| 1 |
Inception |
$43,500,000 |
$143.7 |
| 2 |
Salt |
$36,500,000 |
$36.5 |
| 3 |
Despicable Me |
$24,100,000 |
$161.7 |
| 4 |
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice |
$9,685,000 |
$42.6 |
| 5 |
Toy Story 3 |
$9,000,000 |
$379.5 |
| 6 |
Ramona & Beezus |
$8,000,000 |
$8 |
| 7 |
Grown-Ups |
$7,600,000 |
$142.4 |
| 8 |
Twilight Saga: Eclipse |
$7,030,000 |
$279.6 |
| 9 |
Last Airbender |
$4,170,000 |
$123.2 |
| 10 |
Predators |
$2,850,000 |
$46.5 |
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Are you unable to attend Comic-Con, instead living vicariously through our wealth of coverage? Heck, even if you’re in San Diego right now, there’s no way you can see everything. In case you find it useful, here are links to the Collider take on anything and everything that went down at the Con on Thursday and Friday.
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
Even with Angelina Jolie popping up everywhere to promote her new spy/thriller Salt, her efforts were not enough to knock Christopher Nolan’s Inception out of the number one spot yesterday. Salt debuted with an estimated $12.7 million from 3,612 locations. That is under the $19 million Jolie brought in on day one for 2008’s Wanted but considering that Tom Cruise, the man who originally passed on the role, took three days last month to bring in a comparable amount for Knight & Day, I’d say Sony has a lot to be happy about this morning. Inception added another $13.3 million to its domestic total on Friday after passing the $100 million mark on Thursday – a remarkable achievement in this year of sequels, 3D and 3D-sequels. The week’s other new release, Ramona & Beezus, came in fifth with an estimated $2.9 million from 2,719 venues – though the Selena Gomez family film could swap places with The Sorcerer’s Apprentice once the official numbers are refined. Check back tomorrow for full coverage of the weekend box office.
|
Title |
Friday |
Total |
| 1 |
Inception |
$13,300,000 |
$113.4 |
| 2 |
Salt |
$12,700,000 |
$12.7 |
| 3 |
Despicable Me |
$7,300,000 |
$144.9 |
| 4 |
Sorcerer’s Apprentice |
$2,900,000 |
$35.8 |
| 5 |
Ramona & Beezus |
$2,900,000 |
$2.9 |
Are you unable to attend Comic-Con, instead living vicariously through our wealth of coverage? Heck, even if you’re in San Diego right now, there’s no way you can see everything. In case you find it useful, here are links to the Collider take on anything and everything that went down at the Con on Thursday.
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