In addition to a few first look images that Warner Bros. recently released in anticipation of its upcoming 2014 slate of films, the studio has also unveiled an extensive list of official synopses, providing a closer look at some highly anticipated features. Briefly:
- Transcendence – The feature directorial debut of Christopher Nolan’s longtime cinematographer Wally Pfister stars Johnny Depp, Paul Bettany, and Rebecca Hall and opens April 18th.
- Godzilla – The action redo stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, and Bryan Cranston and opens on May 16th.
- Blended – The African safari-set romantic comedy stars Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore and opens on May 23rd.
- Jersey Boys – Director Clint Eastwood’s musical adaptation stars Christopher Walken and opens on June 20th.
- Tammy – The Melissa McCarthy/Susan Sarandon comedy opens on July 2nd.
- This Is Where I Leave You – Director Shawn Levy’s star-studded dramatic comedy opens September 12th.
- The Hobbit: There and Back Again – The final chapter in Peter Jackson’s trilogy opens December 17th.
Hit the jump to read the full synopses for the aforementioned films and a few more.
All official synopses courtesy of Warner Bros. Some credits are not final and are subject to change.
TRANSCENDENCE In theaters and IMAX on April 18
(Alcon Entertainment)
Director: Wally Pfister
Writer: Jack Paglen
Producers: Andrew A. Kosove, Broderick Johnson, David Valdes, Kate Cohen, Marisa Polvino, Annie Marter, Aaron Ryder
Executive Producers: Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas
Cast: Johnny Depp Paul Bettany, Rebecca Hall, Kate Mara, Cillian Murphy, Clifton Collins, Jr., Morgan Freeman
Sci-Fi Thriller. Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) is the foremost researcher in the field of Artificial Intelligence, working to create a sentient machine that combines the collective intelligence of everything ever known with the full range of human emotions. His highly controversial experiments have made him famous, but they have also made him the prime target of anti-technology extremists who will do whatever it takes to stop him. However, in their attempt to destroy Will, they inadvertently become the catalyst for him to succeed—to be a participant in his own transcendence. For his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) and best friend Max Waters (Paul Bettany), both fellow researchers, the question is not if they can…but if they should. Their worst fears are realized as Will’s thirst for knowledge evolves into a seemingly omnipresent quest for power, to what end is unknown. The only thing that is becoming terrifyingly clear is there may be no way to stop him.
GODZILLA In 3D and 2D in select theaters
and IMAX on May 16
(Warner Bros. Pictures/Legendary Pictures)
Director: Gareth Edwards
Writers: Screenplay by Max Borenstein
Story by David Callaham
Based on the character “Godzilla” owned and created by TOHO CO., LTD.
Producers: Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, Mary Parent, Brian Rogers
Executive Producers: Patricia Whitcher, Alex Garcia, Yoshimitsu Banno, Kenji Okuhira
Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche,
Sally Hawkins, David Strathairn, Bryan Cranston
Sci-Fi Action Adventure. An epic rebirth to Toho's iconic Godzilla, this spectacular adventure pits the world's most famous monster against malevolent creatures who, bolstered by humanity's scientific arrogance, threaten our very existence.
BLENDED In theaters on May 23
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
Director: Frank Coraci
Writers: Written by Ivan Menchell & Clare Sera
Producers: Mike Karz, Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo
Executive Producers: Barry Bernardi, Josie Rosen, Tim Herlihy, Allen Covert, Steven Koren
Cast: Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Kevin Nealon, Terry Crews, Joel McHale, Abdoulaye Ngom, Jessica Lowe, Braxton Beckham, Bella Thorne, Kyle Red Silverstein, Emma Fuhrmann, Alyvia Alyn Lind
Romantic Comedy. After a disastrous blind date, single parents Lauren and Jim agree on only one thing: they never want to see each other again. But when they each sign up separately for a fabulous family vacation with their kids, they are all stuck sharing a suite at a luxurious African safari resort for a week in “Blended,” the third comedy collaboration between stars Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.
JERSEY BOYS In theaters on June 20
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
Director: Clint Eastwood
Writers: Screenplay by Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice
Based on the stage play “Jersey Boys: The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons” directed for the stage by Des McAnuff, Book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, Song music by Bob Gaudio and lyrics by Bob Crewe
Producers: Clint Eastwood, Graham King, Robert Lorenz
Executive Producers: Franki Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tim Moore, Tim Headington,
Brett Ratner, James Packer
Cast: John Lloyd Young, Erich Bergen, Vincent Piazza, Michael Lomenda, Christopher Walken
Musical. Clint Eastwood’s big screen version of the Tony Award-winning musical tells the story of the four young men from the wrong side of the tracks in New Jersey who came together to form the iconic `60s rock group The Four Seasons. Their trials and triumphs are accompanied by the hit songs that influenced a generation, and are now being embraced by a new generation of fans through the stage musical.
TAMMY In theaters on July 2
(New Line Cinema)
Director: Ben Falcone
Writers: Written by Melissa McCarthy & Ben Falcone
Producers: Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Melissa McCarthy
Executive Producers: Rob Cowan, Ben Falcone, Chris Henchy, Kevin Messick
Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Susan Sarandon, Allison Janney, Gary Cole, Mark Duplass, Toni Collette, Nat Faxon, Dan Aykroyd, Kathy Bates
Comedy. Tammy (Melissa McCarthy) is having a bad day. She’s totaled her clunker car, gotten fired from her thankless job at a greasy burger joint, and instead of finding comfort at home, finds her husband getting comfortable with the neighbor in her own house. It’s time to take her boom box and book it. The bad news is she’s broke and without wheels. The worse news is her grandma, Pearl (Susan Sarandon), is her only option—with a car, cash, and an itch to see Niagara Falls. Not exactly the escape Tammy had in mind. But on the road, with grandma riding shot gun, it may be just what Tammy needs.
INTO THE STORM In theaters on August 8
(New Line Cinema/Village Roadshow Pictures)
Director: Steven Quale
Writer: John Swetnam
Producer: Todd Garner
Executive Producers: Toby Emmerich, Richard Brener, Walter Hamada, Dave Neustadter, Mark McNair, Jeremy Stein, Bruce Berman
Cast: Richard Armitage, Sarah Wayne Callies, Matt Walsh, Alycia Debnam-Carey,
Arlen Escarpeta, Max Deacon, Nathan Kress, Jeremy Sumpter, Kyle Davis,
Jon Reep, Scott Lawrence
Action Thriller. In the span of a single day, the town of Silverton is ravaged by an unprecedented onslaught of tornadoes. The entire town is at the mercy of the erratic and deadly cyclones, even as storm trackers predict the worst is yet to come. Most people seek shelter, while others run towards the vortex, testing how far a storm chaser will go for that once-in-a-lifetime shot. Told through the eyes and lenses of professional storm chasers, thrill-seeking amateurs, and courageous townspeople, “Into the Storm” throws you directly into the eye of the storm to experience Mother Nature at her most extreme.
THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU In theaters on September 12
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
Director: Shawn Levy
Writer: Screenplay by Jonathan Tropper Based on the novel “This is Where I Leave You” by Jonathan Tropper
Producer: Paula Weinstein, Shawn Levy, Jeffrey Levine
Executive Producers: Mary McLaglen, Jonathan Tropper
Cast: Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Adam Driver, Rose Byrne, Corey Stoll, Kathryn Hahn, Abigail Spencer, Dax Shepard, Jane Fonda
Dramatic Comedy. When their father passes away, four grown siblings, bruised and banged up by their respective adult lives, are forced to return to their childhood home and live under the same roof together for a week, along with their over-sharing mother and an assortment of spouses, exes and might-have-beens. Confronting their history and the frayed states of their relationships among the people who know and love them best, they ultimately reconnect in hysterical and emotionally affecting ways amid the chaos, humor, heartache and redemption that only families can provide—driving us insane even as they remind us of our truest, and often best, selves.
THE HOBBIT: In High Frame Rate 3D (HFR 3D),
THERE AND BACK AGAIN other 3D and 2D formats, and IMAX
in select theaters on December 17
(New Line Cinema/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures)
Director: Peter Jackson
Writers: Screenplay by Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson & Guillermo del Toro
Based on the Novel by J.R.R. Tolkien
Producers: Carolynne Cunningham, Zane Weiner, Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson
Exec Producers: Alan Horn, Toby Emmerich, Ken Kamins, Carolyn Blackwood
Cast: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, Stephen Fry, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Ken Stott, James Nesbitt, and Orlando Bloom. Also starring (in alphabetical order) John Bell, Manu Bennett, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Billy Connolly, Ryan Gage, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Lawrence Makoare, Sylvester McCoy, Graham McTavish, Dean O’Gorman, Mikael Persbrandt, Aidan Turner
Fantasy Adventure. “The Hobbit: There and Back Again” is the epic conclusion to Peter Jackson’s trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. The film concludes the adventure of the title character Bilbo Baggins, who joins the Wizard Gandalf and thirteen Dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield, on an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor.