“‘People learn through storytelling, and our partnership with [ CSI creator] Anthony Zuiker in the production of Cybergeddon allows us to reach new audiences in a fresh way,’ said Sally Jenkins, Vice President, Worldwide Consumer Marketing at Symantec. ‘Through entertainment and dramatization, Cybergeddon will illuminate the serious issue of how our constantly connected lives can be vulnerable to cybercrime, breaches of online privacy and theft.'” [ Yahoo! ] [Photo: Shutterstock ]
Some years from now, after the dust around the megabudget John Carter debacle settles, and the heads that do wind up rolling in its aftermath come to rest, some expert arbiter of Hollywood travails will survey the carnage and write the definitive tale of what went wrong with Disney and director Andrew Stanton’s sci-fi gamble. And you know what? I’d bet $10 right here and now that the real story won’t deviate much from the one depicted in this no-budget animated retelling. If there’s any justice in the world, Disney’s special-edition DVD/Blu-ray of John Carter will showcase this video among its special features — not so unlike The Battle Over Citizen Kane accompanies its own classic subject. This is history! [ NMA ] Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Despite Newt Gingrich and Michelle Obama finding rare common ground over their distaste for Robert De Niro’s recent “white First Lady” gag , the actor and occasional king of comedy did not back down in a statement released Tuesday : “My remarks, although spoken with satirical jest, were not meant to offend or embarrass anyone —- especially the First Lady.” Oy. So much for the impossible De Niro robocall dream , I guess. [ TPM ]
I try my best to be up to date with today’s hottest pieces of ass, whether they’re from the movies or television or just hanging onto some rich dude’s arm, but I had to look up this Beth Behrs chick. Apparently she’s on the show 2 Broke Girls , which I’ve obviously never seen, but she looks pretty damn good in a bikini. I did find it a little strange that Google’s auto search kept trying to point me towards ‘Beth Behrs Feet’…. Perverts.
So sorry to have missed this: Noted Newt Gingrich supporter Chuck Norris last week attempted to shore up his candidate’s standing ahead of presidential primaries in Southern states including Mississippi and Alabama, contributing his own riff on the automated telecommunications scourge known as the robocall. As you likely know, Gingrich lost. Hell, we all lost. “As my wife Jean and I watched the GOP debate and went to the website,” Norris begins, “we were trying to decide which of the candidates would be best to do head-to-head combat with President Obama. Now, I didn’t say ‘hand-to-hand combat,’ even though I think they would win there too.” Ah, yes, the hoary old “My candidate can beat up your candidate” meme. Classy. And useless, apparently: Despite Norris’s endorsement and repeated promises that Gingrich would repeal Obama’s health-care law and get gas prices down to $2.50 per gallon, Republicans largely went for Gingrich foil Rick Santorum. Lesson? Don’t bring a Norris to a God-fight . [via Filmdrunk ] Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Let’s talk Turkey! Ahem. Literally: The country’s CNN outpost brings viewers worldwide this heartwarming story of a teenager in Adana who reportedly sneaked into a railyard where the cast and crew of Skyfall had taken up production of a fight sequence. The young man was caught, queried and removed from the set — but not before smuggling out footage of James Bond slugging it out atop a train. Yaşasın! Honestly, from Ain’t it Cool News’s ” discovery ” of the wholly Turkish-language video to the more professional B-roll footage backing up İbrahim Ali Özden’s well-placed amateur camerawork to a major news network’s earnest interest in some 17-year-old who crashed a movie shoot, I’m not ready to believe this leak wasn’t entirely contrived by Sony’s super-savvy marketing team as the latest crumb in the Skyfall viral campaign. Still! James Bond fighting on a train, etc. etc. Perhaps needless to say, spoilers follow — as does a 30-second ad just ahead of the news story. I can only hope you are fortunate enough to get the Turkish Head and Shoulders spot that I was subjected to, which is roughly 100 times more entertaining than Skyfall will ever be. Bu video Adobe Flash Player’ın son sürümünü gerektirmektedir. [ CNN Turkey via AICN ] Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
With Lionsgate’s big screen adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ teen-centric sci-fi survival-adventure The Hunger Games hitting screens this week, it’s kind of impossible not to draw comparisons to that other YA juggernaut series, which concludes its billion-dollar run on pop culture this fall. So how does The Hunger Games measure up to Twilight ? Some spoilers follow. THE BOOKS Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight , first published in 2005, spawned a total of four books (and one spin-off novella) that were adapted into five movies ( Breaking Dawn Part 2 hits screens this November), with over 116 million copies in print. Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games , first published in 2008, spawned a total of three books set to be adapted into four movies, with over 26 million copies in print. Advantage: Twilight THE HEROINE Twilight : Bella Swan is a 17-year-old girl who moves to gloomy Forks, Washington and falls in love with a vampire. Unassuming and average, she finds her inner strength after four novels’ worth of being imperiled by embracing her destiny and starting a family. Hunger Games : Katniss Everdeen is a 16-year-old girl who lives in gloomy District 12 in the fascist future world of Panem and must fight for her life in a televised battle royale. A skilled huntress, she finds her inner heroine after three novels’ worth of being a pawn in the Capitol’s games by embracing her destiny and becoming a symbol of the resistance. Advantage: Hunger Games SUPER POWERS (AND SUPER WEAKNESSES) Twilight : Left at the mercies of other people’s protection, Bella’s the lame duck for most of the saga, until she discovers that her secret power is, literally, the ability to protect her loved ones. Seriously. Meanwhile, her love for Edward keeps threatening to ruin everything – prom, her sex life, the future of all vampirekind. Hunger Games : Empowered at an early age thanks to her father’s untimely death, Katniss is the provider in her family for most of her life, until she enters the Games and discovers that compassion for others, and the newfound ability to trust in Peeta, is the key to survival. Her only weakness, it could be said, is that her personal drive to survive is so strong she has trouble seeing the big picture, and her place in it. Advantage: Hunger Games THE LOVE TRIANGLE Twilight : Bella must choose between two suitors – Edward Cullen, the sparkly vampire, and Jacob Black, her werewolf BFF. Heated tent scenes, make-out sessions, and torrid glances ensue. Hunger Games : Katniss must choose between two suitors – Peeta, the golden baker’s son (and her fellow Tribute in the Hunger Games), and Gale, her earthy BFF. Play-acted cave scenes, tender kisses, and internal struggles ensue – that is, when Katniss isn’t busy, you know, fighting for her life. Advantage: Twilight THE THEMES Twilight : Love, lust, abstinence, teen pregnancy, motherhood, sexuality vs. sin. Hunger Games : Fighting injustice, taking a stand, trusting others, personal responsibility. Advantage: Hunger Games. THE ONSCREEN PG-13 ACTION Twilight : Speed-ramped vampire running, bad wirework, CG werewolf-vampire melees, non-gory limb-shattering/ripping/beheadings, and one vivid, suggestive C-section by vampire scene. Hunger Games : Training exercises, arrow-shooting, hand-to-hand combat, bladed weapons, Tracker Jacker (i.e. hallucination-inducing poison bee) attacks, and one vivid, suggestive shaky-cam Cornucopia melee. Advantage: Hunger Games FILM PEDIGREE Twilight : Installments directed by Catherine Hardwicke ( Twilight ), Chris Weitz ( New Moon ), David Slade ( Eclipse ), and Oscar-winner Bill Condon ( Breaking Dawn Parts 1 & 2 ). Top Rotten Tomatoes score: Eclipse , at 49%. Hunger Games : The Hunger Games directed by Oscar-nominee Gary Ross, who is set to direct the next sequel, Catching Fire . Current Rotten Tomatoes score: 100% (with 17 reviews in). Advantage: Hunger Games — Seems like The Hunger Games has the edge over Twilight by most of the above criteria, stemming from its more complex and stirring lead character, story, and themes. That said, Twilight fandom outpaces Hunger Games fandom by the millions, circulation-wise. Will solid critical reviews and stellar pre-release ticket sales help bump The Hunger Games to Twilight -level box office returns — and convince non-fans to give it a shot? Sound off below, Movieliners!
With Lionsgate’s big screen adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ teen-centric sci-fi survival-adventure The Hunger Games hitting screens this week, it’s kind of impossible not to draw comparisons to that other YA juggernaut series, which concludes its billion-dollar run on pop culture this fall. So how does The Hunger Games measure up to Twilight ? Some spoilers follow. THE BOOKS Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight , first published in 2005, spawned a total of four books (and one spin-off novella) that were adapted into five movies ( Breaking Dawn Part 2 hits screens this November), with over 116 million copies in print. Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games , first published in 2008, spawned a total of three books set to be adapted into four movies, with over 26 million copies in print. Advantage: Twilight THE HEROINE Twilight : Bella Swan is a 17-year-old girl who moves to gloomy Forks, Washington and falls in love with a vampire. Unassuming and average, she finds her inner strength after four novels’ worth of being imperiled by embracing her destiny and starting a family. Hunger Games : Katniss Everdeen is a 16-year-old girl who lives in gloomy District 12 in the fascist future world of Panem and must fight for her life in a televised battle royale. A skilled huntress, she finds her inner heroine after three novels’ worth of being a pawn in the Capitol’s games by embracing her destiny and becoming a symbol of the resistance. Advantage: Hunger Games SUPER POWERS (AND SUPER WEAKNESSES) Twilight : Left at the mercies of other people’s protection, Bella’s the lame duck for most of the saga, until she discovers that her secret power is, literally, the ability to protect her loved ones. Seriously. Meanwhile, her love for Edward keeps threatening to ruin everything – prom, her sex life, the future of all vampirekind. Hunger Games : Empowered at an early age thanks to her father’s untimely death, Katniss is the provider in her family for most of her life, until she enters the Games and discovers that compassion for others, and the newfound ability to trust in Peeta, is the key to survival. Her only weakness, it could be said, is that her personal drive to survive is so strong she has trouble seeing the big picture, and her place in it. Advantage: Hunger Games THE LOVE TRIANGLE Twilight : Bella must choose between two suitors – Edward Cullen, the sparkly vampire, and Jacob Black, her werewolf BFF. Heated tent scenes, make-out sessions, and torrid glances ensue. Hunger Games : Katniss must choose between two suitors – Peeta, the golden baker’s son (and her fellow Tribute in the Hunger Games), and Gale, her earthy BFF. Play-acted cave scenes, tender kisses, and internal struggles ensue – that is, when Katniss isn’t busy, you know, fighting for her life. Advantage: Twilight THE THEMES Twilight : Love, lust, abstinence, teen pregnancy, motherhood, sexuality vs. sin. Hunger Games : Fighting injustice, taking a stand, trusting others, personal responsibility. Advantage: Hunger Games. THE ONSCREEN PG-13 ACTION Twilight : Speed-ramped vampire running, bad wirework, CG werewolf-vampire melees, non-gory limb-shattering/ripping/beheadings, and one vivid, suggestive C-section by vampire scene. Hunger Games : Training exercises, arrow-shooting, hand-to-hand combat, bladed weapons, Tracker Jacker (i.e. hallucination-inducing poison bee) attacks, and one vivid, suggestive shaky-cam Cornucopia melee. Advantage: Hunger Games FILM PEDIGREE Twilight : Installments directed by Catherine Hardwicke ( Twilight ), Chris Weitz ( New Moon ), David Slade ( Eclipse ), and Oscar-winner Bill Condon ( Breaking Dawn Parts 1 & 2 ). Top Rotten Tomatoes score: Eclipse , at 49%. Hunger Games : The Hunger Games directed by Oscar-nominee Gary Ross, who is set to direct the next sequel, Catching Fire . Current Rotten Tomatoes score: 100% (with 17 reviews in). Advantage: Hunger Games — Seems like The Hunger Games has the edge over Twilight by most of the above criteria, stemming from its more complex and stirring lead character, story, and themes. That said, Twilight fandom outpaces Hunger Games fandom by the millions, circulation-wise. Will solid critical reviews and stellar pre-release ticket sales help bump The Hunger Games to Twilight -level box office returns — and convince non-fans to give it a shot? Sound off below, Movieliners!
Biggest . Bust . Ever : “In light of the theatrical performance of John Carter ($184 million global box office), we expect the film to generate an operating loss of approximately $200 million during our second fiscal quarter ending March 31. As a result, our current expectation is that the Studio segment will have an operating loss of between $80 and $120 million for the second quarter. As we look forward to the second half of the year, we are excited about the upcoming releases of The Avengers and Brave , which we believe have tremendous potential to drive value for the Studio and the rest of the company.” [Disney via Deadline ]
It may be indicative of Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders’ fearlessness – or his newness, this being his feature debut – that, after presenting much-anticipated footage to fans yesterday at WonderCon, he nonchalantly dropped the vivid phrase “dwarf gangbangs” into a discussion about his dark (and yes, likely PG-13) allegorical fairytale actioner. (Now that’s how you get the attention of a certain demographic.) For the record, there are no such scenarios in June’s action-packed SWATH , but there were many more revelations and key insights to be had into Sanders’ take on the age-old tale, which stars Twilight ’s Kristen Stewart and debuts two months after that other Snow White movie dances into theaters. Sanders spoke with journalists Saturday at WonderCon, where Stewart made a surprise appearance at the SWATH panel. Herewith, find a Movieline 9 rundown of highlights from his wide-ranging thoughts on ths film, its dark elements, Stewart’s non- Twilight career, Tarsem’s Mirror, Mirror , and more. ON MAKING HIS FEATURE DEBUT WITH A BIG-BUDGET STUDIO TENTPOLE “I couldn’t get a small film, ironically,”said Sanders, who made his name directing shorts and commercials, most notably for Halo 3 . “It’s much harder to get a small film off the ground than it is to get a big film off the ground, but the high stakes gamble on the roulette table is that if it doesn’t fall on your color you’re in a small prison in Burbank for the rest of your moviemaking days. Hopefully, that won’t happen.” His first experience in a studio feature gig was, he says, surprisingly hands-off. “It was a high stakes risk both for myself and for the studio, who very kindly wrote a very large check to get it done, and they weren’t there whipping me into line which was great. I was really expecting to be shuttered in but they trusted what we were doing and they let us go, which is all you can really ask for on a shoot with a studio.” As for the once-in-progress big screen adaptation of Halo , which stalled a few years back? “No one called me!” SANDERS HAS NEVER SEEN TWILIGHT The director was impressed with Stewart on the strengths of her other films, dating back to Panic Room , and says it’s her other work that will help her eventually overcome audience’s dominant association of her with Twilight . “I saw her first in Panic Room and I saw her again in Into the Wild ,” he recalled. “I loved her in The Runaways , I loved her in Welcome to the Rileys . I think she’s going to be incredible in On the Road . “She’s a great actor and people just go ‘ Twilight girl, Twilight girl,’ which is testament to her. She’s kept this interesting pipeline of projects going on the side so she’s not just going to be that girl forevermore. She’s a great actor and she’s made incredibly shrewd decisions for someone who’s half my age. I’d never seen the Twilight s so I didn’t really care that much. I met her, I really got on with her, she’s a great actor, she was right for the character. That’s it. It’s as simple as that for me.” ON KRISTEN STEWART VS. BELLA SWAN Sanders knows his film and his star will be fighting to counteract the specter of Twilight . “I think what I realized is that she’s such a good actor that everyone thinks she’s Bella Swan. They believe that that’s her, and obviously an actor is playing a role – she is nothing like Bella.” “She was there as I was writing stuff, we would have conversations seeing through her eyes, we really worked hard on developing that character together and I was just amazed at her talent. She’s incredibly good at her craft. She’s incredibly instinctive, she’s incredibly intuitive. She will overcome fear like no one I’ve met when it comes to it. She didn’t really want to ride a horse – she had a bad horse-riding accident as a kid – when you’re riding fast on a horse with 200 other soldiers on horses riding behind you, through surf on a beach… that’s terrifying.” THE PREVAILING DARKNESS OF SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN , OR: EVERYBODY HURTS What Sanders believes grounds his fantasy fairytale is that all of his characters share a common tragic element — even Charlize Theron ‘s evil queen. “This queen took over a kingdom, she’s someone who’s suffered a lot of loss,” he explained. “She lost a family, she lost a tribe. She found her way into this kingdom like a Trojan horse, she moves from kingdom to kingdom hollowing them out from the inside, like a siren who attracts people to her beauty.” That sense of loss trickles down through SWATH , affecting every character’s journey. “The dwarfs lost everything; they were down in the mines, they’re noble gold miners who see light in the darkness and that’s why they were always the gold miners. When they came up from the mines the world was black and then they lost all the other people in their race. The Huntsman lost a wife. Snow White lost a kingdom, she lost both her parents and she lost the love of the people. So everyone’s dealing with loss in very different ways.”
