Also in Tuesday morning’s news round-up: Osama Bin Laden raid pic Seal Team Six is a big Nat Geo hit; Cate Blanchett heads to Middle East jury duty; And Imodgen Poots eyes a Zac Efron romantic comedy. Stars Campaign For Barack Obama at Election Finale Jay-Z, Natalie Portman, Anne Hathaway, Eva Longoria, Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal, Jon Hamm and Jennifer Westfeldt, Chris Rock, Samuel L. Jackson and many other stars have been lending their support to President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign, Yahoo and US report . Anheuser-Busch Not So Thrilled By Flight “Anheuser-Busch InBev, maker of Budweiser, has asked Paramount to remove the beer from its hit film Flight , which centers on an alcoholic pilot who guzzles alcohol and takes drugs both before and after he prevents a malfunctioning jetliner from crashing,” THR reports . Seal Team Six Lures 2.7M to Nat Geo The number gave the National Geographic Channel its top broadcast of the year. The Weinstein Company backed project recalls the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden, Deadline reports . Cate Blanchett To Head Dubai Film Festival Jury She will head the jury that will pick the winner of the Dubai International Film Festival’s IWC Schaffhausen Filmmaker script award, which carries a $100K cash prize. The award, which began earlier this year, is intended to help the winning filmmaker transfer their vision to the screen. IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss watchmaker, THR reports . Imogen Poots Eyes Are We Officially Dating? She will star opposite Zac Efron in the romantic comedy about three male friends in New York who make a pact to stay single as each of them begin to fall in love. The project is being sold at the American Film Market, currently underway, Deadline reports .
, Indiana Jones , what do you do when going from being raised on a walnut ranch to launching some of the biggest movie franchises of all time spanning decades and then selling your film company for billions to Disney? Well, one might try making “little personal films” for one. George Lucas ratcheted up headlines and a bit of shock and awe last week when the announcement came in he sold his Lucasfilm to Disney for $4.05 billion. He said that a recent film he executive produced had a tough time getting on the big screen and that his next pursuits will be even tougher. “I barely got Red Tails into theaters,” he is quoted saying on BBC while speaking to reporters in NYC. “The ones I’m working on now will never get into theaters.” Lucas will continue at the company he founded as a creative consultant, but overall control is going to Kathleen Kennedy who produced Jurassic Park and War Horse . “I’ve turned it over to a wonderful producer, Kathy Kennedy, and I’ve known her for years,” he said. “She’s more than capable of taking it and making it better than I did.” He added, “It’s very sad. It’s 40 years of work and it’s been my life, but I’m ready to move on to bigger and better things.” [ Source: BBC ]
Skyfall packed some punch at the British box office, becoming the biggest U.K. weekend for any James Bond film. The film is the 23rd putting for 007 and the debonaire spy displayed his ticket selling prowess, taking in £20.1 million ($32.36 million) after opening Friday at 587 theaters in the U.K. and Ireland. “We are absolutely overwhelmed with the reaction to Skyfall this weekend,” producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said in a statement. “It is particularly thrilling as the UK is home to James Bond and it being the 50th anniversary year.” Still, Bond did not quite match the magic of fellow Brit Harry Potter. The final installment of the boy wizard’s saga, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 charmed audiences to the tune of £23 million ($36.865 million) in its first weekend. James Bond is the longest-running film franchise ever. The film was also number one in 24 other overseas markets and is due to open the U.S. November 9th. Starring Daniel Craig, Dame Judi Dench and Javier Bardem, Skyfall marked Sam Mendes’ James Bond debut. It is also Craig’s third turn as 007, following box office successes for Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace He will do at least two more 007 features. THR (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/hugo-scribe-john-logan-james-bond-383477) reported last week that one of Skyfall ‘s co-writers, John Logan, has begun to tackle the script for a two-part original Bond story, not based on the series’ original author, Iam Fleming. [ Sources: Reuters , BBC , The Guardian ]
Eli Roth is going off the grid. For the cannibal pic The Green Inferno , Roth tells Movieline he’s taking a small crew to a remote village up the Amazon River that has “no electricity, no running water, nothing.” Producers recruited many of the 200 native villagers to play extras in the horror film by screening the cult film Cannibal Holocaust . It was the first movie they’d seen in their lives, Roth remarked. “They thought it was a comedy!” Roth was newly arrived from a South American prepping trip for the film when he spoke with Movieline Wednesday in Los Angeles about his work producing RZA’s The Man With The Iron Fists . The Green Inferno marks his first feature since Hostel: Part II , but then Roth’s been busy with a number of projects in the past few years, from acting in and directing a short for Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds , producing films for folks like RZA, Ti West ( The Sacrament ), and Nicolás López ( Aftershock , which Roth also starred in), and directing an episode of Hemlock Grove for Netflix, among other projects. (As if there wasn’t enough stacked on his plate, he also recently opened his Goretorium attraction in Las Vegas.) For The Green Inferno , the tale of ” naive do-gooders ” who run into cannibals when their plane crashes in the jungle (co-written by Roth with Aftershock scribe Guillermo Amoedo), Roth is taking a page out of the Werner Herzog playbook by venturing deep into the Amazon for what he excitedly refers to as “as adventure.” “The location that we found is truly spectacular,” he said. “It’s so far up the Amazon, no one has ever shot there. The last person anywhere near there was Werner Herzog for Aguirre, the Wrath of God .” The village is so remote, in fact, that Roth says locals had never seen a film before. “We said, ‘Can we shoot here?’ and talked to them, and our producers said ‘We have to explain to them what a movie is. They’ve never seen a television,'” Roth recalled. “So we brought a generator and set up a television. I thought they were going to show them E.T. or The Wizard of Oz , but they showed them Cannibal Holocaust to see how much they could handle.” 1980’s Cannibal Holocaust saw director Ruggero Deodato brought up on obscenity and murder charges when authorities at the time believed the graphic human violence depicted onscreen was real. How did Roth’s new acquaintances react? “The villagers thought it was the funniest thing they’d ever seen.” Roth found that his new cast members’ unfamiliarity with film technology was an unpredictable benefit. “Because none of them have ever owned a camera or had any photographs of themselves and no conception of what television or movies are, they’re so natural and relaxed. They’re amazing. They’re not even conscious of what [the camera] is doing to them. I have a whole village full of kids that are funny as hell that will have cameras all over and not even think twice about it. They don’t get nervous, nothing.” Deodato himself drew criticism for depicting actual animal deaths onscreen, but another controversial film of the era shot on location with locals, the Italian slavery pic Goodbye Uncle Tom ( a reference point for Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming Django Unchained ), came under fire for hypocritically exploiting the Haitian actors in its cast. Perhaps a stretch, but I asked Roth about the ethics of tapping an entire village to play natives, using the Goodbye Uncle Tom lesson as exploitation cinema’s most notorious example. ” Goodbye Uncle Tom is a pretty brutal movie about slavery where you show corks being pulled out of guys’ asses and babies being hosed down,” he answered, giving it some thought. “No, because we’re giving these people a boat,” Roth explained. “They have no contact with the outside world and we’re giving them a motorboat — that’s the deal. And we’re giving them medical supplies and school supplies, so they’re ecstatic. The one thing they need is a boat. They were like, ‘This will literally change our lives.'” Roth begins filming The Green Inferno in two weeks. Stay tuned for our full interview for The Man With The Iron Fists , out November 2. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Also in Thursday morning’s round-up of news briefs, Cloud Atlas is being criticized for using “Yellow Face” for white actors. New York salutes the late Andrew Sarris. And an Amy Winehouse play based on her life heads to the stage. Deal Closed for Tom Cruise-Attached Script Our Name is Adam In the pic, Cruise will play an astronaut who travels back in time and works with his younger self. Paramount Pictures acquired the T.S. Nowlin script with Skydance Productions on board as partner, Deadline reports . Al Pacino Making Bank in Broadway Pay Package for Glengarry Glen Rosss Pacino is receiving a minimum of $125K per week and is entitled to 5% of the profits for the 10-week run of David Mamet’s drama now in previews. Pacino plays washed-up huckster Shelley Levene in the play, Deadline reports . Cloud Atlas Slammed for non-Asian Actors and ‘Yellow Face’ Makeup The feature by Andy and Lana Wachowski and Tom Twyker is based on the 2005 David Mitchell novel, which weaves together six story-lines, connecting them through use of the same actors for multiple roles. In one storyline focused in the year 2144 in South Korea, multiple white male actors are given prosthetic makeup to appear Asian. The Media Action Network for Asian Americans blasted the move, THR reports . Film World Salutes Andrew Sarris Top figures in the New York film community feted film critic Andrew Sarris who died in June at 83. He is credited for championing “auteur” theory in America. The tribute took place Wednesday at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center, TOH reports . Amy Winehouse Theater Play to Open in Denmark A play based on the late singer’s life will feature music from her two studio albums, Frank and Back to Black . It will be based on material from interviews, speeches, concerts, newspapers, letters and songs. A Winehouse spokesperson said the family has nothing to do with the production, BBC reports .
Marvel hero Hank Pym AKA Ant-Man will get his shot at the big screen in 2015, Disney announced today as they updated their slate of upcoming films. Also revealed: You’ll be able to see Iron Man 3 and Thor 2 in 3-D. Yawn . Let’s hear more about Ant-Man ! I’ll be honest: Even after Disney/Marvel unveiled the Ant-Man logo card at Comic-Con alongside the likes of Iron Man 3 , Thor: The Dark World , and Guardians of the Galaxy I had my doubts that Edgar Wright’s long-gestating superhero pic would make it to the screen in my lifetime. Now that it’s got a release date — albeit one in 2015, which is only three years away but feels like the distant future (seriously, how are we almost to the year 2015?!) — it finally feels like Ant-Man is happening. Also announced in Disney’s press release were dates for the Phineas and Ferb movie (moved up from 2014 to July 28, 2013), Saving Mr. Banks (December 20, 2013), DisneyNature’s Bears (April 18, 2014), “Disney Animation Untitled” (November 7, 2014) and “Pixar Animation Untitled” (November 25, 2015). Ant-Man , meanwhile, is slated to hit theaters on November 6, 2015. And while it’s unlikely since it came from an entirely different character who inherited the Ant-Man legacy (I know, I know), I’m holding out hope for a few scenes like this, because LOL.
The world sat on stitches as the Cold War raged. Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev met in Iceland as the world glared. Would the world order of two superpowers on the brink end after decades of a nuclear arms race come to a close? Would a Communist and a Republican actually come to an understanding? Could Mikhail and Ronnie get along? If Nancy and Raisa were any indication, that would be a – no! The meeting that might have ended the U.S.-Soviet standoff is of course heading to the big screen and Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz will portray Gorbachev in Reykjavik . Production will begin in March on the meeting that riveted the world in the Icelandic capital. The high stakes meeting pitted two men who had control of enough nuclear bombs to destroy the world many times over. Waltz will star opposite Michael Douglas who will play the U.S. President in the film spearheaded by Mike Newell, according to BBC and THR . “I feel very fortunate to have two such masters to portray the men who brought about the end of the third great war of the 20 Century. Reagan and Gorbachev were two of the most significant politicians and individuals of their times,” said Newell. “I’m very excited to see how each of these great actors gets to grips with their role as the history-changing giants we remember them to have been.” Written by Kevin Hood ( Becoming Jane ) the story recounts the summit which was viewed as a last chance to avoid a nuclear Armageddon. “This is a moment in history where two world leaders with fundamentally opposing beliefs held the future of the world in their hands”, said Headline Pictures president Stewart Mackinnon, a project producer. “They controlled nuclear arsenals which had the capability to destroy the world many times over but despite this, put the needs of humanity before their ideology and agreed to end the nuclear arms race. Informed by deeply-held private beliefs Reagan and Gorbachev reached an understanding that we can still draw lessons from today.” “The film will offer the viewer a unique look into two larger than life figures – Reagan and Gorbachev – who served as the catalysts for one of the most defining moments in our history, the end of the cold war,” said Ridley Scott whose Scott Free Productions will also produce. Waltz will next be seen in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained , while Douglas most recently portrayed flamboyant pianist Liberace in Behind the Candelabra with Matt Damon. [ Sources: BBC and THR ]
Wednesday 12th September my life completely changed in seconds. I found out Justin would be coming to the UK again and due to being on holiday at the time the tickets came on sale for the book signing I had no hope left what so ever but still wanted to travel down to London to even get a glimpse of my idol . M y 2 friends and I had a sleepover and was getting extremely excited about London, we were staring at all the Bieber posters thinking we could actually meet our Idol tomorrow and we had no idea whatsoever about it. The next day finally arrived. We woke at 5:30am and hurried to get dressed and then went to the train station. The day was turning out to be a total disaster, we missed our train and I had all sorts of visions in my mind rushing around like crazy, I felt so confused right now I didn’t even know what was going on.We were travelling all this way just to get glimpse of our idol and that might not even happen. London is such a big city and we had no idea what hotel he was staying at? where he was going to go? and also we had no tickets for the book signing? We got to London finding his hotel. We screamed the whole place down and ran as quick as we could to find our self outside the building Justin was in, he’s usually like thousands of miles away the other side of the world but this time he was meters away . We then waited patiently for around 2 hours. Then we met Dan Kanter who was lovely we definitely know this is Justin’s hotel now and we also gave Dan a present which was a UK guitar key ring, he thanked us and told us it was cool . Then suddenly OMG. I saw some hot guy with a sexy swag walk walking towards us. Who’s that jk lol and guess what? I realize that its Justin. My head was not on earth right now, it was on dream land, all feelings shot through me like electricity, I had a rush of excitement strike over me. Some girls run towards him. My heart was beating and my eyes were shooting out love hearts how amazing he looked. I ran towards him and he smiled at me, which made my heart melt like lava and then I went ”Can I have a hug please Justin?” and he sweetly spoke “As long as you get behind the barrier I’ll come and give you a hug.” Then everyone over crowded him and paparazzi’s surrounded him, he ran inside the hotel again, that was it I was shouting at the top of my voice “STAY CALM AND GET BEHIND THE BARRIER!!” It felt like deja vu he began to walk out the hotel once again coming towards us, my hands shaking trying to control my self, I get the camera ready to see that he looks up at me before getting a picture with a another fan, that’s it I’m going to pass out. His eyes staring into mine as he walked towards me, he put his hand onto my back and grabbed hold of it. He did the peace sign but I didn’t fit that onto the photo. I ran to the end of the barrier and stood there in complete shock, staring at Justin and taking every possible second in that I could and realizing the boy of my dreams is right in front of my eyes. Alfredo was in front of me and he asked if I wanted a picture whilst talking to him, he’s lovely and also we gave him Oreo’s as gift. Then as I looked up Justin ran to his car everyone touching him and going crazy as security pushed me over and getting tripped up in front of him was embarrassing lol. We ran for our life after him in his car he watched us through the blacked out window as I waved bye to him. We freaked out screaming the whole of London town down it was crazy, I cannot believe that Justin happened, I’ve just met my idol and the boy who made it possible.Then we found out the next destination Justin would be at and stormed there to BBC live lounge. We waited for hours and seen him get into the car and head off to the book signing. We then seen Kenny and I explained we didn’t have wristbands and he told us to meet him there. So we headed there and got in the first taxi we seen and got out to find hundreds of fans at this “secret location” we had no chance I began to think. I was very grateful to meet him hours before so I weren’t interested if I didn’t get in but I’d be extremely happy if we did and I might as well give it a shot. We then seen Justin’s car and all fans acted crazy, the whole place was bouncing, the building was shaking and everyone was chanting and singing Justin , a fan got pinned to the floor trying to run after his car, completely mental it felt as if I was apart of a movie!! We then seen Kenny, he whipped out some wristbands giving one to my friend Matthew (Boy Belieber) and I literally was to glued to Kenny’s stomach everyone went wild, Kenny was screaming at the security attacking him to come inside for his safety, next minute he gave one to my friend Ellie and then gave one to me I freaked out to realize someone took it out of my hand, that’s it I was hysterically crying all over the place, paparazzi’s surrounded me taking pictures of me, I couldn’t help my self, I was crying my eyes out to all my friends. I begged the security and she said there’s nothing she could do about it, it was Kenny’s choice not hers. I felt so much pain inside me that someone heartless would break my dreams like that. After begging the security man he then told me I could go into the venue with my friend as a guardian! OMG. WHAT THE HELL!? I ‘d be meeting Justin again twice in one day! We all were getting hyped talking about Justin after waiting a hour we got into the building where Justin was at and believe was blasting and all disco lights were flashing, it was amazing all Beliebers singing together as a family it was seriously adorable. It was now 7:29pm and Die in your arms came on to find that it was our turn to go and meet Justin. I began walking up the stairs and my legs acting like jelly. Behind the black curtain Justin was there and seconds later there he was perfectly smiling on the table. My heart beating extremely fast and my head spinning in all directions. I felt physically sick. Nerves whirling around down my spine and in my stomach. He stopped for a second and Justin’s eyes followed me upwards from the table and he looked up at me and his warm soft smile welcoming me. He spoke softly ”Hey!” my palms of my hands were so hot right now.”Hey Justin, I’m the girl who gave you the purple believe wristband in London last time and you wore it” His smile widened as his eyes sparkled at me. ”OH MY GOD REALLY?!” his face looked shocked ”Thank you so much, I remember you!?” I mumbled ”Justin thank you so much, it means a lot” I smiled so much at him I looked like a douche how much I was smiling. His eyes staring at me and he never went off me until I left the room, looking behind me seeing him one last time. Y’all have to believe in your self no matter how negative you feel because I’m telling you something I had no clue I was going to meet him, you’ve got to have the dedication and the determination to believe in your self. Justin is seriously the most flawless and unreal idol ever. Photos seriously don’t do him justice cause he’s so much impeccable in person. His eyes are unreal and his skin his delicate and everything about him is immaculate, unblemished basically he’s perfect. -Michka @LustinForJustin Here is the original post: Wednesday 12th September my life completely changed in seconds….
According to Detective Superintendent Reg Bevan, of Dyfed-Powys police, 46-year-old Mark Bridger, is a resident of the Machynlleth area and is known by April Jones #39;s family. “It’s very early stages. He is clearly a local man, it’s a small community, I wouldn’t like to speculate further, but I may have some more information later on.” Don’t want to speculate. Sky News named him. The BBC passed it on as fact. Speculation will be rife. “We are still pursuing all lines of inquiry with a view
If you thought that the Beatles have been so pored over that there couldn’t possibly be anything new to see, hear or read about them, guess again. The former Fab Four’s business concern, Apple Corps has granted the BBC TV arts series Arena unseen footage of the band. Arena has cut this footage to make a short for its Arena Hotel online project with the digital-arts website The Space. Arena Hotel debuted the short exclusively on Tuesday. A spokesman for The Space says the footage was shot during the making of a documentary about the Beatles 1967 Magical Mystery Tour film and features the band on “a coach trip to a classic British fish-and-chip shop, en route to Newquay, the final destination of the tour.” You can watch it here , but also be sure to check out Movieline’s gallery of stills from the footage , along with shots of the band performing “I Am The Walrus” and “Your Mother Should Know.” (Really, she should.) Magical Mystery Tour was first broadcast by the Beeb on Boxing Day in 1967. At the time, the trippy film confused stodgy audiences and critics, but appreciation of the groundbreaking production has appreciated considerably since then. (That said, Magical Mystery Tour has been broadcast only one other time,on BBC Two in 1979.) The music to the film got a much better reception (and a Grammy nomination), although Rolling Stone magazine’s review of the album in January 1968 consisted of a single quote from John Lennon: “There are only about 100 people in the world who understand our music.” MOVIELINE GALLERY: UNSEEN ‘MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR’ ERA PHOTOS OF THE BEATLES Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
