ABC’s Denver affiliate has acquired and released the first image of James Holmes, the 24-year-old suspect in the shooting attack that left 12 dead and 50 injured this morning at an Aurora, Colorado, multiplex. Local police, meanwhile, have encountered a series of booby traps complicating their investigation of Holmes’s apartment. As a result, authorities are taking significant precautions as they proceed: Police say the apartment of the suspect in a mass shooting at a Denver area movie theater is booby trapped, so they’ve evacuated five surrounding buildings. Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates says bomb technicians are determining how to disarm flammable or explosive material in the third-floor apartment. “We could be here for hours or we could be here for days,” said Oates. Oates says pictures from inside the apartment are fairly disturbing and the devices look to be sophisticated. Developing… Oh, and for the record: James Holmes is not “Jim Holmes” from the Colorado Tea Party. Nice one, GMA .
Any re-hash of Beetlejuice will have to include Michael Keaton, Tim Burton who directed the 1988 original that also starred Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara has said. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter writer Seth Grahame-Smith, who is currently penning a script for the Beetlejuice sequel said in May that he’s spoken with both Burton and Keaton about the proposed follow-up. In Beetlejuice , Keaton played the ghost in the film, which went on to gross nearly $74 million in the U.S. and cost about $13 million at the time to make. “I think he would be willing to do it. He would have to be [in] it,” Tim Burton told MTV News at Comic-Con where he was promoting his new stop-motion pic “Frankenweenie.” “He was great as that character. I think it’s a way to unleash your inner whatever. I bet you he would get right back into it.” Continuing, Burton added, “I’m finishing this, and then I need to [revisit ‘Beetlejuice 2’].” Grahame-Smith told a crowd in Austin, TX back in May via Aint It Cool News “It’s one of the things I’m producing at Warner Bros and it’s one of the things I’m supposed to write…I met with Michael Keaton and Tim Burton about it and they said the same thing, ‘if you come up with a story that’s worthy of us actually doing this for real and not something that’s about cashing in or forcing a reboot down someone’s throats, then we’ll think about it.” He also said he has his own restrictions for proceeding with the possible second Beetlejuice : “If it’s not something we all get super-excited about then why do it…” He said he told the studio it “can’t be a reboot or remake.” The project would have to be in his words, “a straight, pure sequel. If it’s 27 years after the first movie, then 27 years will have transpired in the next movie.” An animated Beetlejuice series ran from 1989 to 1992 first on ABC and then Fox, loosely based on the 1988 film that Burton developed and executive produced. [Source: MTV News , Aint It Cool News via http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/news/a394412/tim-burton-michael-keaton-would-need-to-be-in-beetlejuice-2.html]
It’s hard to imagine most folks will be eager to rush into cinemas this weekend following the tragedy out of Aurora, Colorado, even those who’ve been anticipating the release of The Dark Knight Rises for months. While Matt Patches over at Hollywood.com thoughtfully wonders if audiences will return swiftly to theaters, The Wrap reports that Warner Bros. are themselves scrambling to figure out how to balance their multi-million dollar Dark Knight Rises roll-out campaign with common decency and empathy for the victims, their families, and a shaken nation. It’s not that audiences might recoil from Batman, presuming some direct link between the comics or the character somehow incited suspect James Holmes to allegedly pre-meditate his attack on the dozens of men, women, and children at Aurora’s Century 16, despite unconfirmed reports that he may have had hair dyed in the style of The Joker; violence in media doesn’t “make” people kill, though access to guns and combat paraphernalia helps sick people do terrible things. And though fanboy ire this week had reached alarming levels with the hate-speech and death threats lobbied at critics of The Dark Knight Rises , any true Bat-fan knows that the DC hero not only fights to protect lives, he’s staunchly anti-gun. (A scene in TDKR highlights this.) So let’s not even start to blame the movies for what happened in Aurora. Besides: When tragedy strikes niche communities , it reminds us that we’re not so divided after all. Fandom is what made the Aurora victims sitting ducks for the gun man, who burst through the packed theater’s emergency exit doors just minutes after the film had begun. These were people who had anticipated TDKR so much many of them likely bought tickets in advance, wanting to be among the first to see the film. The shooter seemed to be preying on fans, not representing them, though his motives have yet to be revealed. Writing in The New Yorker, Anthony Lane proposes doing away with midnight movies for fear of copycats, though his secondary reason somewhat condescendingly critiques the practice of the midnight screening altogether: “…those screenings, starting when most people are in bed, often have a crazed and hallucinated air, which is all part of the game to those who enjoy them — anyone who has driven to a theatre to fetch teen-aged Harry Potter devotees, as they wander out in costume at three o’clock in the morning, can attest to that weary delirium — but which, right now, seems volatile, ominous, and redundant. Theaters around the country will be beefing up security this weekend, with police in NYC and elsewhere promising increased presences at TDKR screenings. But whether or not more officers and metal detectors and other security measures are enacted going forward, the fact remains that this was a lone gunman who entered through an emergency door and shot dozens of people in cold blood. How much can security help, except to encourage moviegoers to head to the multiplex, to not live in fear of tragedy striking again? Variety’s Josh Dickey reports ( via Twitter ) that WB is not considering pulling screenings, and given the financial investment and massive 4,400-theater release plans it’s hard to imagine they would. Cancelling a celebratory press event in Paris is one thing; letting audiences decide if they’re ready to head into theaters, with the unshakable specter of Aurora lingering in the hearts and minds of just about everyone, is another. Just a starting point for discussion, but sound off below as we keep the families and victims of Aurora in our thoughts. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
George Lucas Makes An Impact With Red Tails George Lucas is all the way down with the brown… George Lucas believes his big-budget movie “Red Tails” about the famed Tuskegee Airmen moved the ball forward for films starring or created by African-Americans in Hollywood, but didn’t change the game. “It had an affect on a lot of kids and adults. Now it’s the one thing that everyone comes up to me and says ‘thank you’ for. I’m proud of that,” he told us at the Fostering a Legacy benefit Saturday evening in East Hampton for singer Ne-Yo’s Compound Foundation, which supports kids in foster care. Lucas, who has three adopted children, was honored at the benefit for his positive impact on young adults. The movie, which took Lucas more than 20 years to bring to theaters and was produced with $58 million of his own money, raked in $50 million at theaters, surpassing Hollywood’s expectations. “We didn’t get to a point when they said, ‘Oh let’s just do black movies.’ But every time you poke ’em, it makes an effect.” said Lucas, who attended the benefit with girlfriend Mellody Hobson. The director announced his retirement earlier this year to focus on making smaller “hobby films,” but told us it will also leave more time for Hobson. Awww, how sweet. Are y’all feelin them as a couple? Source
Kim Kardashian says she still believes in love . And that’s a good thing. Because a Kanye West insider claims this rapper is totally smitten with the personality-free reality star – and truly is thinking marriage! “I really think this girl is the one, and Kanye may step his game up and put a ring on it,” the Kanye source tells Hollywood Life. This isn’t the first time an anonymous mole has gushed over West’s feelings and plans for Kardashian. Previous reports said Kanye even hopes to impregnante Kim in the near future. Shudder . “They’re bonded,” the Hollywood Life source concludes. “They’re just enjoying each other’s time, and he’s spoiling the sh-t out of her. He [lavishes] her with clothes and jewelry and sh-t, and he doesn’t even have to. He just wants her to feel appreciated and wants her to know how much he’s digging her.”
When you’re bringing in millions of dollars, making sure that your taxes are paid should be priority No.1 , but it seems like just about everybody in the game fails to take heed of Uncle Sam’s wrath. Earlier today Lauryn Hill pleaded guilty to charges stemming from her failure to pay taxes on 1.6 million in earnings… Continue
Amazing Goal Balotelli vs Germany – All Goals & Highlights 28-6-2012 (His first goal) (His second… to put the Germans away) Super Mario is our boy, despite only going out with white women: Italy extended their remarkable stranglehold on Germany when two superb first-half goals by Mario Balotelli gave them a 2-1 win in an excellent Euro 2012 semi-final and a place in the final against Spain. Balotelli connected with a curling Antonio Cassano cross to head the opener after 20 minutes then ran on to a long Riccardo Montolivo pass before lashing in an unstoppable second after 36 as the Italians took full advantage of some loose defending. Three times champions Germany, who had never beaten Italy in their seven previous major tournament meetings, rallied late in the game and Mesut Ozil converted a penalty in added time after Federico Balzaretti had handled in the area but it came too late. Germany had earlier gone close when Gianluigi Buffon touched a Marco Reus free kick onto the bar after 62 minutes and had a deflected Mats Hummels shot cleared off the line in the early stages. But Italy grew in confidence and could have added a third goal when Claudio Marchisio twice shot just wide. The final against holders and world champions Spain in Kiev is a rematch of the teams’ group meeting that finished 1-1. youtube Source
