Avatar Will Make A Profit, $500 Million Budget A Joke, Says Fox By Devindra Hardawar/Nov. 23, 2009 11:50 pm EST That’s a ridiculous number. It has actually no relationship to the actual cost of the movie. People keep repeating a number, which was as if you added the cost of building the studio 80 years ago to the cost of Avatar. The movie was quite expensive, there is no question about that....
Batsuit Comparison: The Dark Knight Vs. Batman Begins By Peter Sciretta/June 19, 2007 2:28 pm EST Our friends at ScreenRant have posted an in depth look at the differences between the Batman suits from Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. One of my huge problems with the older costume, was the large bulging neck/shoulder area in the cowl. It’s hard to tell from the angle of the new photo, but it looks like that is one of the many things that has been fixed/changed....
Battlestar Galactica Series Finale - What Did You Think? By Peter Sciretta/March 21, 2009 2:08 am EST Because you asked for it, I’m posting a reader discussion for the final episode of Battlestar Galactica. What did you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments below! Battlestar Galactica Series Finale - What Did You Think? By Peter Sciretta/March 21, 2009 2:08 am EST Because you asked for it, I’m posting a reader discussion for the final episode of Battlestar Galactica....
BDSF: Paul Thomas Anderson’s Cigarettes & Coffee By Peter Sciretta/Dec. 7, 2008 2:58 am EST In a previous edition of Big Directors Small Films, we took a look at Paul Thomas Anderson’s first film, a 1988 short fictional documentary that inspired Boogie Nights titled The Dirk Diggler Story. From there, Paul went on to attend New York University, but quit after only two days of classes. He became a production assistant on a bunch of made for television movies, television game shows and independent film projects....
Boycott Regal Cinemas: Teen Arrested For Recording 20 Second Movie Clip By Peter Sciretta/Aug. 2, 2007 7:12 pm EST A 19 year old girl named Jhannet Sejas was immediately arrested after she recorded a 20 second clip from the movie Transformers that she wanted to show to her little brother. She now faces up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine. According to the Washington Post, Sejas was celebrating her 19th birthday with her boyfriend when two police officers arrived:...
Cameron Crowe’s Deep Tiki Postponed; Iron Man 2’s Production Title By Peter Sciretta/Dec. 12, 2008 2:47 am EST The untitled Cameron Crowe tropical comedy starring Ben Stiller and Reese Witherspoon (read about the plot here) has finally been titled “Deep Tiki”. Lets hope that is just a working production title, because it sounds like a bad direct to dvd comedy. But Witherspoon tells Collider that the production has been postponed from a January start....
Casting Notes: New Comedy Projects For Jessica Alba, Uma Thurman And John C. Reilly By Russ Fischer/Sept. 30, 2009 7:31 am EST Let’s start with the bad news. Jessica Alba is joining the cast of Little Fockers, as “an attractive pharmaceutical rep whose looks wreak havoc on male characters in the story.” The bad news isn’t Alba’s involvement, but that Little Fockers is still being made. But Universal needs a reliable earner, and this, to my great chagrin, probably fits the bill....
Cool Stuff: Tyler Stout’s Spaced Poster By Peter Sciretta/July 24, 2008 1:21 am EST Tyler Stout has created this geekarific poster for the British television series Spaced. The poster was created for a special Alamo Drafthouse event on Sunday. The leftovers will likely sell out at the event itself, so you have 36 or so hours to snap this one up before it is gone forever. The poster features a 3 color design on a 24x36 one-sheet, and is individually numbered....
Could Johnny Depp Be Martin Scorsese’s Sinatra? By Peter Sciretta/May 14, 2009 11:36 am EST Yesterday it was announced that Martin Scorsese finally on board to direct a Frank Sinatra biopic titled Sinatra. Well guess what? The casting rumors have already begun. Nikki Finke claims that Johnny Depp is Universal’s top choice to play old blue eyes. Depp and Scorsese have yet to work together, and this project seems to be a perfect fit....
Diablo Cody On How To Get Whatever You Want For Christmas By Peter Sciretta/Dec. 2, 2007 6:07 pm EST How Do You Get Whatever You Want For Christmas? Answer from screenwriter Diablo Cody after the jump.     Adult Readers Only… This photo of screenwriter Diablo Cody um, “checking Santa’s Lists for him” was taken by Juno director Jason Reitman while on the road promoting the film. Looks like Cody is getting whatever she wants this year for Christmas....
Eddie Murphy’s Richard Pryor Impression By Peter Sciretta/March 3, 2009 3:12 am EST Last week it was reported that Eddie Murphy had been cast as Richard Pryor in the Bill Condon-produced biopic of the famous comedian. What will Eddie Murphy’s Pryor sound like? OWF points us to a video clip from the classic 1988 Raw comedy special (which we haven’t seen in quite a few years) which features Murphy doing an impression of Pryor....
Get Him To The Greek: One Week Earlier By Peter Sciretta/Feb. 8, 2010 2:00 pm EST Universal Pictures has a couple more minor release date changes, including a new date for the Forgetting Sarah Marshall spin-off, Get Him to the Greek. The story, written and directed by Nicolas Stoller, follows a fresh-out-of-college record company intern named Aaron Greenberg (Jonah Hill) who is assigned by his angry record company boss Sergio (Sean “P-Diddy” Combs)to transport an out-of-control rock star named Aldous Snow (Russell Brand, reprising his role from Sarah Marshall) from London to a gig at Los Angeles’ famous Greek Theater....
Guillermo Del Toro Confirms Hobbit 3D Discussions By Peter Sciretta/March 1, 2010 3:40 am EST Last year it was rumored that the Peter Jackson-produced Guillermo del Toro-directed two-film adaptation of The Hobbit would be filmed in 3D. del Toro was quick to deny the claims, stating “we are not talking about 3D, we are NOT writing the screenplay for 3D right now- we are hiring my DoP Guillermo Navarro to shoot the film and we are not discussing 3D with him either or with WETA digital or WB or anyone else....
Indiana Jones In MAD Magazine By Peter Sciretta/April 11, 2008 12:36 pm EST Indiana Jones is featured in the next issue of MAD Magazine (issue #490). The god guys at MAD have sent over a couple scans from the issue including “The Top Secret ‘Indiana Jones’ Memo’ from George Lucas to Steven Spielberg”. Funny stuff. I haven’t read MAD (or Cracked) in years, but I have to admit, I’ve always loved the illustrations....
Jackass 3D In 2010? By Brendon Connelly/Nov. 19, 2009 1:00 pm EST There’s a lot I like about Jackass, particularly the first movie, but I wasn’t entirely sure that we’d ever need or even be able to stomach another film from the guys. Now I hear that this film will be in 3D, however, my mind is racing with excitement at the prospect. Part of what made Jackass possible were mobile, lightweight video cameras, so to shoot in 3D would likely require some custom rigs....
Japanese AVP-R Movie Poster By Peter Sciretta/Nov. 26, 2007 2:37 am EST Proving once again that everything looks cooler in Japanese, Film.ru has an international poster for Alien vs. Predator – Requiem. Check it out after the jump. Â Alien vs. Predator – Requiem hits theaters in the U.S. on December 25th 2007. Japanese AVP-R Movie Poster By Peter Sciretta/Nov. 26, 2007 2:37 am EST Proving once again that everything looks cooler in Japanese, Film....
Jesse Dylan’s Nintendo DS Commercials By Peter Sciretta/Nov. 6, 2008 12:30 am EST Since we gave Brett Ratner such a hard time for his Guitar Hero World Tour television commercials, I thought it might be a good time to point to another Hollywood feature director who is doing it right, or at least better. No, these commercials for the Nintendo DS aren’t on level with Fincher’s Nike advertisement, but I think it shows another director’s take on the whole “celebrities playing video games” concept....
Jon Favreau Talks 3D, IMAX For Iron Man 3 By Russ Fischer/July 30, 2009 11:08 am EST As someone who has yet to be brought into the 3D fold, I’ve felt lucky that Marvel has so far held off on making any of their hero movies in the format. But it has to happen sometime, and during Comic Con Jon Favreau told MTV that he wanted to use 3D for Iron Man 2, but that it didn’t work out, and that he’d like to do it for the next film....
Kung Fu Panda Movie Trailer #2 By Peter Sciretta/May 7, 2008 10:12 pm EST DreamWorks Animation has released the second movie trailer for Kung Fu Panda. I had the chance to catch an unfinished print of this film back in March, and had very low expectations as I’ve never really been impressed by DreamWorks Animated films. So when I say I really enjoyed Kung Fu Panda, that means a lot. What the movie lacks in character design, it makes up for in laughs....
By Peter Sciretta/Nov. 19, 2009 11:00 pm EST Paramount Pictures has hired School of Rock screenwriter Mike White to script Santa Wars, a comedy based on the true story which appeared on This American Life in December 2008. The story, written by Joshuah Bearman, told of two rival factions that developed within a union of professional Santa Clauses, which resulted in a “Santa Claus civil war.” White is best when put in the dark comedy arena, and this might be a perfect fit....
