Well, it’s certainly great to be cast in a hit franchise that producers are itching to see the good times roll on. Scarlett Johansson ‘s portrayal as the Black Widow in Marvel’s The Avengers was one component in a half-dozen super-heroes that has brought in over $1.45 billion since its release in late Spring. With money like that rolling in, no point in jiggering with a winning formula. And to keep the good times going, the producers have offered up a record-breaking paycheck for Johansson to reprise her super-hero role. The Hollywood star has been offered a cool $20 million in order to lure her back in the skin-tight black suit for more flips, punches and acrobatics for future adoring audiences in the franchise’s next installment, according to the New York Post . That is “slightly” more than the $19 million Angelina Jolie reportedly received for her turn in The Tourist If that pans out, that will be quite a pay raise from the current film, which is the biggest of the summer tentpoles so far. According to The Hollywood Reporter in May she made between $4 – 6 million plus bonuses, similar to Samuel L. Jackson, but much less than Robert Downey, Jr.’s reported take (Chris Hemsworth, Chis Evans, Jeremy Renner and Mark Ruffalo made about half that). Last month, Forbes magazine dubbed Kristen Stewart the highest paid actress in Hollywood between her Twilight and Snow White and the Huntsman gigs. The two made her a celestial $34.5 million between May 2011 and May 2012. If Johansson accepts the twenty mill. and adds in another pic for good measure, she could well be on her way in topping Stewart. [Source: NY Post via The Huffington Post ]
Also in Monday afternoon’s round-up of news briefs, Drafthouse Films picks up a lauded film festival circuit doc for U.S. release. James Franco has tapped an Outfest filmmaker to make a ‘Homo-Sex-Art-Film.’ And rounding things out, casting news for a pair of projects. Drafthouse Films Picks Up The Ambassador The dark comic documentary that exposes the corrupt business of selling diplomatic titles to exploit lucrative and limited resources of war-torn third world countries has been picked up by Drafthouse Films, the film distribution label of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. The film by Mad Brugger ( Red Chapel ) was financed by filmmaker Lars von Trier’s production company Zentropa. Around the ‘net… Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh Put on Show for N. Korean Leader Disney did not approve the characters that appeared in a concert attended by North Korea’s new 20-something leader Kim Jong-un at an official event last week. Mickey, Minnie, Pooh and Tigger made appearances and footage from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Dumbo played in the background. Western references in any North Korean event has been unheard of until now and had been strictly forbidden, ABC News reports . Wolverine Sets Japanese Cast Fox’s 2013 summer tentpole starring Hugh Jackman has set additional cast. The studio won’t discuss details but Japanese actors Hiroyiki Sanada ( The Last Samurai ), Hal Yamanouchi ( Sinbad of the Seas 0 and two newcomers Tao Okamoto and Rila Fukushima are set to star in the film. The story is based in Japan, Comingsoon.net reports . James Franco to Collaborate on a “Homo-Sex-Art-Film” The 127 Hours star is joining filmmaker Travis Mathews on a new project. He wrote on his website that that he received an email from Franco’s agent about possibly working together on a ‘homo-sex-art-film’ and that they soon got on the phone and a week later they were in pre-production. The filmmaker’s indie I Want Your Love played Outfest, Vulture reports . Keri Russell to Star in Thriller Dark Skies She will play the lead in the supernatural thriller, written and directed by Scott Stewart. The film has comparatively a modest budget than producers Blumhouse’s earlier Insidious and Paranormal Activity , Deadline reports . Brie Larson Boards Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Don Jon’s Addiction The 21 Jump Street and Rampart star has joined the project which will be Gordon-Levitt’s directorial debut. He will star as a porn-addict trying to be a better person after meeting a widowed older woman, played by Julianne Moore.. Larson will play his sister, Variety reports .
Osar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman has been cast to play Plutarch Heavensbee, Head Gamemaker for The Hunger Games, studio Lionsgate said. Hoffman recently wrapped his gig playing Willy Loman on Broadway in the revival of Death of a Salesman , which earned him a Tony Award nomination. He will next been seen in Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master and indie film A Late Quartet , also starring Catherine Keener and Christopher Walken. The second installment of The Hunger Games franchise is based on Suzanne Collins’ smash hit series of novels that have sold 36 million copies in the U.S. Francis Lawrence will direct the latest pic, which also stars Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Banks, Jena Malone, Woody Harrelson and Stanley Tucci. Lionsgate released its latest synopsis of the film, which it will release November 22nd: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire begins as Katniss Everdeen has returned home safe after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark. Winning means that they must turn around and leave their family and close friends, embarking on a “Victor’s Tour” of the districts. Along the way Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the Capitol is still very much in control as President Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell) – a competition that could change Panem forever. Lionsgate appears to be going all the way with The Hunger Games series, and why not? The first one has made over $404 million in the U.S. alone. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay is likely to follow Catching Fire and a fourth installment may follow.
Osar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman has been cast to play Plutarch Heavensbee, Head Gamemaker for The Hunger Games, studio Lionsgate said. Hoffman recently wrapped his gig playing Willy Loman on Broadway in the revival of Death of a Salesman , which earned him a Tony Award nomination. He will next been seen in Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master and indie film A Late Quartet , also starring Catherine Keener and Christopher Walken. The second installment of The Hunger Games franchise is based on Suzanne Collins’ smash hit series of novels that have sold 36 million copies in the U.S. Francis Lawrence will direct the latest pic, which also stars Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Banks, Jena Malone, Woody Harrelson and Stanley Tucci. Lionsgate released its latest synopsis of the film, which it will release November 22nd: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire begins as Katniss Everdeen has returned home safe after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark. Winning means that they must turn around and leave their family and close friends, embarking on a “Victor’s Tour” of the districts. Along the way Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the Capitol is still very much in control as President Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell) – a competition that could change Panem forever. Lionsgate appears to be going all the way with The Hunger Games series, and why not? The first one has made over $404 million in the U.S. alone. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay is likely to follow Catching Fire and a fourth installment may follow.
Hello! Remember me? Oh. Well, anyway, the world’s longest coffee break has ended, and as I nestle back into my Movieline work station, I hope you don’t mind me asking: What did I miss? No, really: What did I miss? Let’s talk about the last 38 days in movie culture, assuming “movie culture” still exists and isn’t off playing golf with a typewriter and a couple eight-track tapes in some Scottsdale retirement community. For the record, this is not an invitation to fill me in on the details of Tom Cruise’s “divorce” or Lindsay Lohan’s latest bout of “exhaustion,” but rather a helpful space where we can all discuss the good stuff that’s worth catching up with. Assume June in particular didn’t even happen for me and that I’m not going to see The Amazing Spider-Man no matter how highly anyone recommends it. What else is there? I mean, 4-D movie theaters ? Already ? It’s like another world out there.
From ‘The Hobbit’ to ‘Breaking Dawn,’ we list the films we’re most looking forward to at San Diego Comic-Con this week. By Kevin P. Sullivan Martin Freeman in “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Photo: James Fisher/ New Line Productions
For the past few years I’ve had the honor of joining the annual Masters of the Web panel at Comic-Con, a confab of journalists and bloggers from the online film community sharing our experiences in web journalism, troll-taming, geek-baiting, etc. This year I’ll be returning to the panel, joined by a gaggle of fine web masters and mistresses… along with a special guest moderator: Karl Urban , star of Dredd 3-D . (Hit the jump for a chance to snag tickets to a special just-announced Comic-Con Dredd 3-D screening.) The panel has hosted a number of celebrity moderators before; inviting filmmakers like Edgar Wright and Bob Orci to turn the tables on the journalists who’d covered their films — and in some cases, panned them outright — made for interesting conversation, and wasn’t quite as awkward as you’d imagine. Urban, in town to present footage from Dredd 3-D , will get his turn to grill us at the podium this year. (Maybe he’ll wear his Dredd helmet! Can we ask him to do the whole thing in Bones-speak? Oh, the possibilities…) Dredd 3-D , meanwhile, will be unveiled in a special sneak screening on Wednesday at Comic-Con — and Movieline has five pairs of tickets to give away. Am I bribing you with advance tickets so that you’ll come to my panel, even though you’re only beholden to the honor system since the panel happens the day after the screening? Yes. Yes, I am. Don’t make me regret it. The first five people who comment below, promise to come to the Masters of the Web panel on Thursday at Comic-Con, and lay claim to a pair of VIP tickets, will get them. (Make sure to sign in with your email address and full name.) Screening info (more at www.JudgementIsComing.com ): Lionsgate is kicking off San Diego Comic Con 2012 with an Advance Screening of Dredd 3D Presented by Masters of the Web Wednesday, July 11th, 10:00pm Reading Cinemas Gaslamp. 701 5th Ave., San Diego But back to the Masters of the Web. The reason I love being a part of this panel every year, aside from the fact that I know each and every one of the folks joining me up there — friends, peers, competitors, karaoke buddies — is that it gives us the rare chance to take the pulse of the online space, from a behind-the-scenes perspective, as representatives of a relatively young community of writers and editors. The online blogging world has evolved so fast in the past decade alone, not only technically speaking but in terms of audience, engagement, ethics, and the significance of online reporting alongside traditional media, that this once-a-year gathering at the geekiest pop culture event of the year has the potential to touch on vital and interesting conversations, for web “masters” and readers alike. To whom are we most accountable? What tools are most useful to us? How do we acknowledge the looming presence and expectations of studios who give us access to their films (or, you know, arrange for special guest moderators and sneak screenings at special events)? Ahem. Perhaps we’ll touch on issues like those in the panel. Or maybe we’ll hound Urban for Lord of the Rings stories. Who knows? IT COULD GET CRAZY! Plus, attendees at the panel will receive free movie passes courtesy of panel sponsor AMC. See, guys? You get to peek into our lives and get free movies. Win-win! So: Mark your calendars. Thursday. Comic-Con. 4:30-5:30pm. Room 24ABC. Be there. 4:30-5:30 Masters of the Web— The annual gathering of some of the most prominent and influential film pundits on the web discuss the film industry, writing for film online, film fandom, and a whole lot more. Moderated by star of the new Lionsgate film Dredd, Karl Urban (Star Trek, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King), with special surprise cast members from the film. Panelists include Mike Sampson (ScreenCrush.com), Jen Yamato (MovieLine.com), Mali Elfman (ScreenCrave.com), Erik Davis (Movies.com), Steve “Frosty” Weintraub (Collider.com), Grae Drake (Fandango.com), Jenna Busch (Cocktails with Stan Lee), and Edward Douglas (ComingSoon.net), and hosted by John Campea (AMC Theatres). AMC is generously providing free movies passes to all attendees of the panel this year! Room 24ABC Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Like many other feminist moviegoers, I was more than a little disappointed that Pixar’s long-awaited first female protagonist, Brave ’s Merida, is a princess. But what’s striking, even astonishing, about Brave ‘s treatment of princessdom is its historical honesty; even though Merida convinces her parents to abolish the tradition of arranged marriage, the film’s resolution essentially has our heroine accepting that she has to get married and that her nuptials will be used as a bond between rival clans. (Score one for the patriarchy.) Brave can boast some narrative complexity, if not much feminist bona fides, for having Merida occupy the role that real-life princesses have held for most of history — as insurance against war. This gloomy take on the purpose of royal females aligns Brave more closely with HBO’s medieval misery-fest Game of Thrones than with any other Disney princess movie that’s come before. The anti-princess backlash is nothing new. For decades, cultural critics have been decrying princess movies for overvaluing qualities like beauty, passivity, and femininity, not to mention wealth and social privilege. The studios have made some grudging concessions in recent years: heroines still wear crowns, but they also have more guts. The Guardian’s Jaclyn Friedman recently named this new trend of royal female ferociousness the rise of the “Action Princesses,” specifically citing Snow White and the Huntsman and Brave , though Tangled ’s Rapunzel would also qualify. These films, in which princesses are bold, beautiful, and betrothed, serve as a kind of “you can have it all” message for the 14-and-under set. Unlike Tangled , though, which merely offers a pluckier-than-usual heroine, Brave and Snow White and the Huntsman represent a more radical response to the anti-princess backlash. They feature princess protagonists, but offer serious critiques of the institution of princessdom — highlighting in particular its dangers. Nowhere has that been argument been more emphatically made than in Game of Thrones , which could virtually qualify as anti-princessdom propaganda. Virtually all of Daenerys Targaryen’s (Emilia Clarke) troubles, for example, are a result of her royal lineage. Sold to a stranger by her brother as a teenager, the “mother of dragons” gained autonomy in her initially dehumanizing marriage, but remains exiled from her homeland after two seasons for her royal blood. Even more devastating is the plight of Sansa (Sophie Turner), a wannabe princess, who quickly discovers that life as a royal daughter-in-law would be an endless parade of humiliations and empty rituals — even if her would-be hubby weren’t the most evil character ever. Likewise, take Snow White and the Huntsman , in which the fairy-tale princess (Kristen Stewart) is doomed to imprisonment for her claim to the throne. For all these characters, being a princess confers uniqueness, but no privilege; it’s a liability, if not a customized bull’s-eye target. Interestingly, it’s no longer just cultural critics decrying the uniform blah-ness of princess narratives, but the cultural products themselves. By learning how to throw a punch and ride horses into combat, princesses win battles, but lose the war for narrative sophistication. After all, princesses may be less passive these days, but they continue to be morally unassailable. So while Snow White fights her usurping stepmother Ravenna (Charlize Theron) for the throne, the queen successfully launches a campaign to seize the hearts and minds, or at least the attention, of audiences. Ravenna doesn’t steal the movie because the actress playing her chews up the scenery more conspicuously than her younger co-star (though that doesn’t hurt), but because she’s a much more interesting and developed character than the “pure,” virginal Snow White. Not insignificantly, Ravenna gets as much screen time as Snow White, and the tragic nature of her back story rivals her stepdaughter’s; her thirst for power is born from a justified hatred of men in power, and her capture of the crown at the beginning of the film is actually easy to root for. The psychologically damaged and perpetually obsessed nature of Ravenna’s character makes her the female counterpart to the ethically perplexed antiheroes that are the de rigueur protagonists of cable dramas, like Mad Men ’s Don Draper or Breaking Bad ’s Walter White. Snow White and the Huntsman is far from the only example of princess movies receiving the Wicked treatment. Mirror Mirror , for example, tells the same tale from the POV of Queen Julia Roberts, who commandeers the film’s voiceover narration. And the anti-princess take will continue in 2014’s Maleficent , which will star a horned Angelina Jolie as the villainess of Sleeping Beauty . The appeal of these fairy-tale rewrites is, of course, the reorientation of sympathies. For example, the ability to understand, if not necessarily root for, the queen makes clear the audience’s fallacious identification with the princess. After a while, it seems eminently more reasonable to identify with Ravenna than Snow White, since she’s the one who more traditionally follows the hero’s path: a commoner with talent (in this case, beauty) who ventures into a strange land (the bizarro-universe of the aristocracy) and overcomes a weaker antagonist (the lovestruck king) to claim victory. Princess movies will be with us for a time yet, but it’s wonderful to see that even if princesses aren’t growing up, the movies about them certainly are. Now, if only we could convince studios that girls’ lives and experiences matter even if they don’t live in castles… Inkoo Kang is a Boston-based film journalist and regular contributor to BoxOffice Magazine whose work has appeared in Pop Matters and Screen Junkies . She reviews stuff she hates, likes, and hate-likes on her blog THINK-O-VISION .
In Friday afternoon’s round up of news, AMPAS picked a whole slew of new people to join their ranks of Oscar voters (many who were surprisingly not already members). Also there’s highlights of this weekend’s new specialty roll outs. Danny Boyle reaches out to PETA about the Olympics, Cee Lo Green boards Keira Knightley production and Lucky heads to the U.S. Academy Taps 176 to Join Ranks The folks behind the Oscars, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) have named 176 artists and executives to join their ranks. They will be among the eligible people who will vote come Oscar time. The membership to the organization has held steady at under 6,000 since 2003. Among the 176 are Jessica Chastain, Jean Dujardin ( The Artist ), Jonah Hill, Diego Luna ( Y Tu Mama Tambien ), Terrence Malick ( The Tree of Life ), Melissa McCarthy, Matthew McConaughey, Sam Rockwell, Andy Serkis, Octavia Spencer, Nia Vardalos ( My Big Fat Greek Wedding ), Lili Taylor, Kerry Washington, Wong Kar Wai ( In the Mood for Love ) and Michelle Yeoh. The Undershepherd Wins American Black Film Festival The 16th annual event opened with Beasts of the Southern Wild and closed with Raising Izzie . Among the festival’s winners: The Undershepherd , which won Best Narrative Feature and Best Director for Russ Parr. Best Screenplay went to The Last Fall , written and directed by Matthew Cherry, while Keisha Taylor’s Soul Food Junkies took Best Documentary. For more winners and festival highlights, visit their website . Around the ‘net… New This Weekend: Beasts of the Southern Wild , Take This Waltz , Last Ride , Unforgivable A long time in the making, Beasts Of The Southern Wild made a splash at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, taking the top prize and winning one of the top prizes in Cannes, and it’s hitting theaters this week. Australian feature The Last Ride traveled the festival circuit and it picked up a high-profile ally here. Take This Waltz is naturally getting attention courtesy of its star Michelle Williams and director Sarah Polley, while Venice-set Unforgivable is also hoping to ride the media wave to solid box office numbers this weekend, Deadline reports . Danny Boyle Assures PETA Over Olympics Opener 12 horses, three cows, nine geese, two goats and 70 sheep are among the participants at the opening ceremonies of the London Olympics. Danny Boyle has reached out to alleviate concerns about the welfare of animals who will feature in his $42.4M show by promising to remove them from the stadium early and ensure they do not face a grisly end afterwards “Genuine care will be taken of the animals,” he said. The Guardian reports . Cee Lo Green Boards Can a Song Save Your Life? He joins Keira Knightley, Mark Ruffalo, Hailee Stanfied and Catherine Keener in which he’ll play a very successful hip hop star. The film centers on a couple that moves to New York to pursue music. After Levine’s character dumps Knightley’s character, she encounters a down-on-his-luck record producer (Ruffalo) who assembles a ragtag music team to appear on a record with her, including Green’s character Troublegum, Reuters reports . Film Movements Gets Lucky North American rights to South African drama Lucky are going to distributor Film Movement. The story revolves around an orphaned 10 year-old boy named Lucky who makes a promise to make something of himself and heads to the big city., Variety reports .
Today I learned two things. 1) You can never predict SCOTUS and 2) I’m gonna punch the next guy in the eye who calls the Supreme Court of the United States ‘SCOTUS.’ You don’t need to have been swallowed up in the abyss of indifferent bureaucracy to know that our medical system is FUBAR. (Oh, God, enough with the acronyms!) All you need to do is go to the movies. Here are some of cinema’s highlights that have made me want to try chewing cardamom seeds and holding a crystal rather than make that $15 copay. The Hospital (1971), Arthur Hiller, director Writer Paddy Chayefsky was raging against failing institutions before his masterpiece Network . The Hospital stars George C. Scott as a hospital administrator whose personal life and his place of work are in a race to see which more quickly turn to shambles. It’s a movie that will anger up the blood, but worth checking out if for no other reason that to hear the term “zapping” as a euphemism for the sex act. — Critical Care (1997), Sidney Lumet, director Chayefsky’s future collaborator on Network got to take his turn tsk-tsking the medical system with Critical Care . The film is primarily a romantic comedy, but it has more than its share of startlingly frank scenes of how emergency care is weighed against ownership of insurance. For those who thought Drive was the first time Albert Brooks played a murderer, check out the below clip. — The Rainmaker (1997), Francis Ford Coppola ’97 was not a good year to be in the health insurance business. In The Rainmaker , the evil HMO “Great Benefit” don’t just deny Mary Kay Place’s son a necessary bone marrow transplant, they’re big fat jerks about it in a letter. Memo to self: don’t call a grieving mother “stupid, stupid, stupid” when she’s got an idealistic young attorney like Matt Damon on their side. — Saw VI (2009), Some Gross Guy, director We can all send letters of gratitude to John Roberts for not spiking Obamacare. Nobody deserves the fate the insurance company employees got in Saw VI , which explained why Jigsaw started torture-punishing his victims in the first place. (They were tools of the bureaucracy that denied ailing folks’ necessary care.) And the last thing we need is a Saw reboot. — The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005), Cristi Puilu, director Of course, it could be worse. You could live in Romania. This film (presented as a dark comedy in the trailer, but I didn’t do much laughing) is a near 3-hour exercise in frustration. Watch in horror as a dying man is shuffled between selfish neighbors, CYA-pencil pushers and disinterested physicians. It’s a difficult flick, and, unfortunately, a reminder than no amount of government legislation can force people not to be idiots. — Contagion (2011), Steven Soderbergh, director Woah, woah, let’s close this out with a little positivity! Contagion taught us a few things. Number one was STOP TOUCHING YOUR FACE, and number two was that there are some people who are (shock!) employed by the government who will put themselves in harm’s way for the betterment of society. Jennifer Ehle’s CDC character saves the day, while Kate Winslet’s is a martyr. I dunno about you, but every real life doctor I’ve ever spoken to wishes the nightmare of insurance, malpractice, referrals and general mishigoss would just disappear so they can do what they first set out to do: help people. Jordan Hoffman is a regular critic at ScreenCrush , columnist at StarTrek.com and contributor to a great number of your favorite websites. He has produced two independent films and was named IFC’s Ultimate Film Fanatic of the NorthEast. Follow on Twitter at JHoffman6 .
