Yikes : “[T]he Motion Picture Association’s claims of $58 billion in actual US economic losses and 373,000 lost jobs came from this press release . These numbers originated at a think tank called the ‘Institute for Policy Innovation’ – an organization that Businessweek once profiled in an article called ‘ Op-Eds for Sale .’ In it, an IPI analyst freely admitted to taking payoffs from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff in exchange for writing ‘op-ed pieces boosting the lobbyist’s clients.’ The IPI’s president supported this behavior, saying it was neither wrong nor unethical, and dismissing those who apply ‘a naïve purity standard’ to the business of writing op-eds. This doesn’t necessarily mean that MPAA lobbyists paid the IPI to conjure up these numbers. But whatever their genesis, they’re not easy figures to support.” [ TED Blog via The Dish ]
In addition to announcing their Tribeca closing night bow , Marvel recently unveiled the full track listing for their upcoming Avengers companion album, comprised of “music from and inspired by” the May 4 superhero flick. Among the hot bands of today yesterday contributing future hits to the soundtrack? Soundgarden! Papa Roach! Bush! And the kicker: Evanescence. Now, I know these major recording artists have been around since their respective heydays in the ’90s and ’00s, but really, Avengers ? I haven’t had this kind of knee-jerk reaction to a movie soundtrack since I revisited the abomination that was the soundtrack to 1998’s Godzilla . Well, who am I kidding. I was guilty of buying that awful Godzilla album back in my misguided youth. (From BMG! It was too easy! FORGIVE ME !) Even then I knew it was terrible, and that was in the actual ’90s. I’d love to hear Joss Whedon ‘s explanation for the assemblage of rock bands and millennial metal outfits gathered here. (A standalone score will also be released with Alan Silvestri’s music from the film.) Is there a throwback sentiment at work in this selection, a parallel musical commentary on pop culture’s constant re-imagining and resuscitation of things from the past, bands we loved when we were kids? Is it simply that the ’90s are the new ’80s, or that Whedon listened to a lot of Canadian rock while making Iron Man and the Hulk and Thor and Captain America and Black Widow — oh, and you too, Hawkeye — tangle with evil spaceships ? (Fourth theory: Whedon is paying homage to the difficulties of keeping a band/team of superheroes together by bringing reunited/re-jiggered line-ups like Bush and Soundgarden onboard in a stroke of brilliant thematic confluence. Who else would know better how hard it is to balance egos and personalities for the greater good?) Now, it’s possible that “Live to Rise” by Soundgarden may put them back on the map, or that Evanescence’s “A New Way to Bleed” will do for The Avengers what that one other Evanescence song did for the Elektra soundtrack. Still, I call no fairsies: International retailers get a bonus track by Kasabian. The more that I stare at this track list, the more I’m convinced it’s just another way to bring a certain demographic in to see The Avengers . Whedon and Marvel already have the geek quotient hooked, and they’ll get a mainstream audience by default. Will this bring the former grunge girls and boys and current emo-rock listeners in droves? The Avengers is in theaters May 4; the Avengers Assemble -inspired album will be available May 1. And, look: If you can convince me that any of these above bands are actually worth listening to these days, my ears are open. [via @Avengers ] Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
The first trailer for Sacha Baron Cohen ‘s The Dictator had Megan Fox and Kardashian jokes, but those pop culture touchstones have been replaced by Anna Faris and terrorism gags in the new, longer trailer. An upgrade? Eh, sure. Maybe. Or not: Faris’s brunette pixie ‘do does make her look particularly adorable, but juxtaposed with her natural poise Cohen comes off as a poor man’s Adam Sandler . Like, hammy Zohan-lite Sandler. Here’s why Cohen’s Dictator schtick hasn’t really worked thus far, from the film footage that’s been released: When Cohen is 100 percent in character — clueless, masking any hint of self-awareness, as he was best in Borat or while Kim Jong-illing Ryan Seacrest recently at the Oscars — he absolutely slays. That unapologetic ignorance is key, and that’s how The Dictator seems to start out. But throw in those rom-com cliches and the lessons in humility and/or humanity that will surely come once Admiral General Aladeen falls for Faris’s hippie love interest, redeems himself, etc. (as the trailers suggest he will) and he’s instantly less interesting. Is it too late to cut together a version of The Dictator made entirely of Obama footage, Aladeen at the Wadiya Olympics, and scenes of Cohen frightening bigoted Americans with his terrifying “otherness?” Because that’s the movie I want after seeing all this learning lessons BS. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
It has come to this for “unaccompanied” teenagers desperate to see the unrated Bully : “An AMC spokesman said it will indeed allow that, but only if the child presents a signed permission slip from a parent, either via a form letter made available by the theater or an improvised note on a standard piece of paper. The move is an apparent attempt to support the film — AMC executive Gerry Lopez has two teenagers and has been vocal about its importance — while still paying deference to the Motion Picture Assn. of America and its ratings system.” Related: Is Harvey Weinstein just recycling tricks from his Kids playbook ? [ LAT ]
This just in at ML HQ: Esteemed Mad Men creator and occasional director Matthew Weiner will make his feature filmmaking debut with You Are Here , to co-star Owen Wilson and Zach Galifianakis in a “funny, charming, and deeply honest film about who we were, who we are, and discovering the power to embrace life, no matter how much you screw it up.” There is also a road trip! And possibly Amy Poehler! Read on for full details from producer Gilbert Films. ========= LOS ANGELES, March 28 — Gilbert Films announced today that their next theatrical film project, YOU ARE HERE, will start production in May 2012 in North Carolina. The film, written and to be directed by Matthew Weiner (creator of Emmy and Golden Globe winning series MAD MEN, writer/executive producer of THE SOPRANOS) will star Owen Wilson (MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, WEDDING CRASHERS) and Zach Galifianakis (THE HANGOVER, DUE DATE). Discussions are underway for Amy Poehler (PARKS & RECREATION) to co-star. Weiner will be making his big screen debut after having directed numerous episodes of the award-winning MAD MEN through its five years of production. Gary Gilbert, Scott Hornbacher, and Jordan Horowitz will produce. Lionsgate is handling international sales. Local weatherman and freewheeling bachelor Steve Dallas (Wilson) and bi-polar man-child Ben (Galafinakis) are childhood best friends who embark on a road trip home after Ben discovers that his estranged father has passed away. Once there, Ben is shocked to learn that his eccentric father had big plans for him and he’s inherited a whole lot more than his father’s money. As Ben struggles with his new responsibilities, his friendship with Steve is tested by the complications of his inheritance, his sister Terry’s (Poehler) ambition, and Steve’s desire to be with his father’s beautiful young widow Angela. YOU ARE HERE is a funny, charming, and deeply honest film about who we were, who we are, and discovering the power to embrace life, no matter how much you screw it up. “This movie has been my passion for eight years and to see it come together with Owen and Zach and Amy is a dream come true,” said Weiner. “I can’t wait to get started because the movie is about everything I care about and I’m tired of reading it out loud to my friends.” Noted Gilbert: “We are thrilled to finally bring this project to the screen. Matt is one of the brightest creative minds in television, and we are confident that this project will solidify the same reputation for him in the world of narrative film.” ###
“If you show a woman’s mammary glands, if it’s done poorly, it instantly takes away from the comedic element of the scene. It’s too jarring. But [my husband] Chris [Pratt] and I were pitching around a character, a Hollywood-mess character on the red carpet at the opening of a movie. She’s talking to these journalists and she’s wasted. One boob is completely out, and she’s talking on and on, like, [Faris slurs] ‘I’m so excited to be here.’ If you held it long enough and kept it going, just the one boob, it would be so funny.” [ BlackBook ]
After begging and pleading with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan community to please, please not engage in preemptive flame warfare over the rumors and vagaries surrounding the reboot of their beloved franchise, I now recognize the futility of my attempts at diplomacy. This comes after the film’s attached director Jonathan Liebesman — also of this week’s Wrath of the Titans and last year’s eminently regarded ( ahem ) Battle: Los Angeles — only complicated matters with his comments about the kerfuffle. And then there’s the movie’s reported name change. Liebesman toed the company line at last weekend’s Titans junket, urging TMNT devotees to calm down about producer Michael Bay’s proposed alien-turtle-ooze influence — which apparently “comes straight from the series.” I can’t believe I just wrote that, or this: “Look, it’s so funny — if everyone was such a die-hard fan, they would know that the TCRI canisters where the ooze comes from. That is alien ooze. Now I’m not saying what Michael said is exactly what the movie is, because we’re sitting in a room now figuring everything out. So we don’t know, but we are like Michael said: we’re expanding it, and the expansion will be true to the mythology. I promise you: fans will love it.” Even if those fans are to take Liebesman at his word, there’s also this reported nugget that no doubt have them soiling their Donatello jammies: Bleeding Cool has verified that the working title of the upcoming Paramount-Nickelodeon Turtle movie from producer Michael Bay and director Jonathan Libesman is going by the working title of Ninja Turtles . We know all too well where the “Mutant” bit went, but now it seems we’re also losing “Teenage.” We haven’t been able to get a definite statement as to why this title change is occurring, and our sources are not 100% clear on whether or not the Turtles will indeed be adolescents. One of our sources has said: “It seems to be driven by marketing. Think of John Carter and how Disney wouldn’t allow for a title with either ‘Princess’ or ‘Mars.'” Whatever. See you at the refugee camp! I hope they have wi-fi. [ Collider , Bleeding Cool via AICN ] Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Run, little deer! Run from the sultry, nubile vampire on your bushy tail! Taylor Lautner may attempt to fool you into thinking she’s normal, but you can see past that in her swift stride and blood-red, undead gaze. She’s right around that tree, little deer! Run for your life! Also: “We’re the same temperature now”? Run, Robert Pattinson! Run to Cosmopolis ! Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Lionsgate needed it, and Lionsgate got it: The beleaguered studio’s Hunger Games gamble paid off in record-shattering fashion over the weekend, milking smart social-media strategy with old-fashioned saturation marketing — not to mention an honest-to-goodness good film — on the way to $155 million in three days. $155 million . As in the third biggest opening ever . You weekend receipts are here. 1. The Hunger Games Gross: $155,000,000 (new) Screens: 4,137 (PSA $37,467) Weeks: 1 And let’s not forget the nearly $60 million pulled in abroad, bringing the first adaptation of Suzanne Collins’s dystopian bestsellers to an early $215 million tally overall. I have a few things to say about this a little later in the day, but for now let’s just tip our caps and/or stew jealously at the volume of the numbers here — the third-largest opening ever behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and The Dark Knight and the runaway biggest opening for a non-sequel. All that’s left now is to predict the week-two drop. 55 percent? 60 percent? Less? Take your best shot in the comments. 2. 21 Jump Street Gross: $21,300,000 ($71,051,000) Screens: 3,121 (PSA $6,825) Weeks: 2 (Change: -41.3%) In other, vastly secondary but still-intriguing box-office news, how about 21 Jump Street holding on with a decent week-two score against outrageous competition? Watch them wind up counterprogramming sequels against Hunger Games films through at least 2016. 3. Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax Gross: $13,100,000 ($177,300,000) Screens: 3,677 (PSA: $3,563) Weeks: 4 (Change: -42.5%) Another solid week. Now pinch your nose, because… 4. John Carter Gross: $5,014,000 ($62,347,000) Screens: 3,212 (PSA $1,561) Weeks: 3 (Change: -63.1%) Money hemorrhaging aside, I had every confidence after week one that Disney could muscle this to $100 million in the States. At this rate, however — I mean, a 63 percent drop ? Even against Hunger Games that’s outrageous — John Carter will be lucky to make it to $90 million. On the bright side, Disney is doing nearly triple the business overseas, enough to make $325 million overall a possibility. Feel free to bet on that while you’re at it. 5. Act of Valor Gross: $2,062,000 ($65,942,000) Screens: 2,922 (PSA $931) Weeks: 5 (Change: -44.8%) I went back a couple years before essentially losing interest in the previous film to finish in the weekend top five with a PSA under $1,000. It’s rare! Congrats to Relativity as well, I guess. [Figures via Box Office Mojo ] Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
I told them to quit with all the sex scenes , but noooo : “Not to mention any names, but one actor came on me during the take. I had to surreptitiously wipe myself off with the sheet. Fortunately, I liked the guy. I found it a little flattering and a little creepy. We never talked about it, so I can’t tell you if it was Method acting on his part or if he just found me pretty, but I suspect I’m not the only actress who’s had this experience. But I can tell you that twenty years later, when I run into him, my first thought is, There’s the guy that had on-camera sex with my abdomen .” [ Vulture ] [Photo via Shutterstock ]
