Producer Mike Will Made It reveals that the OutKast rapper recorded verses for the strip club anthem. By Nadeska Alexis, with reporting by Sway Calloway
Introducing a sneak peek at the first nine minutes of Star Trek Into Darkness in a special IMAX 3-D presentation for press Sunday night, director J.J. Abrams warned of the “doom and gloom” throughout his May 2013 sequel. “There’s a lot of intensity in this, and a little bit of gloom,” he admitted, “but it’s also fun.” In true Abrams fashion, that’s about all he said before he exited the theater, taking the truth about who the heck Benedict Cumberbatch is playing in Star Trek 2 with him. (The first nine minutes will debut in theaters on December 14, attached to select IMAX screenings of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey . Read on for details, speculation, guesstimates, and wild theorizing about what’s in store in Star Trek 2 based on the tease.) What’s revealed in the first nine minutes of Star Trek Into Darkness isn’t so much telling as it is intriguing, moreso for the Trek fans out there who’ll get every little familiar line of dialogue and nod to the O.G. Trek series, of which there are many. But fair warning, Trekkies: Judging from this tease and the footage Paramount has already released, Abrams knows that you’re reading into every little clue — and he’s playing you like a violin. Here’s why: Star Trek Into Darkness opens in a prologue, in a beautifully shot, blue-tinged London, Stardate 2259.55. A couple (Noel Clarke and Nazneen Contractor) wake up and drive their hover car to visit their child in the hospital. We don’t know their names, or hear them speak, but we wonder; could their last name possibly, just possibly, be Singh? Maybe, maybe not. Their sick child is a daughter (strike that, it’s not a young Khan — or is it ??*), bedridden by an unspecified illness. The father is approached by a stranger whose voice we hear first: “I can save her.” It’s Benedict Cumberbatch, and he’s the villain, which we know because the camera closes in until his face fills the IMAX screen as Michael Giacchino’s score swells with tense, ominous notes. Cut to the crew of the Enterprise, who we find in the middle of their latest mission on the Class-M planet Nibiru, where Bones and Kirk are racing through vivid red-tinged forests being chased by members of a chalk-faced, spear-chucking indigenous race. From a cruiser flying in the skies above, Spock drops into an erupting volcano to save the planet as Uhura looks on. Regrouping with the rest of the crew on the Enterprise — which is parked discreetly underwater in the middle of an ocean — Kirk wrestles with a familiar-sounding quandary: Save Spock by taking the Enterprise out of hiding, therefore violating the Prime Directive by exposing the inhabitants of Nibiru to technology they’re not ready for, or sacrifice Spock because, as one character indeed utters, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” Kirk asks what Spock would do if their situations were reversed. “He’d let you die,” Bones replies, and the opening sequence closes with a cliffhanger. More previously seen trailer-y shots close out the nine-minute sneak, with Cumberbatch growling lines like “You think you’re safe? You are not ” and “Is there anything you would not do for your family?” Alas, it doesn’t offer any further details of the hands-on-glass shot that had Trek -watchers a’flutter watching the recently-released Japanese trailer. At this point I’ve heard about a thousand differing theories as to whom exactly Cumberbatch’s villain will turn out to be. My first thought during the nine-minute prologue was Khan, because YOU GUYS THEY QUOTE WRATH OF KHAN , but there’s something about that idea that seems just too easy. I’m leaning toward an amalgam of Gary Mitchell and Khan, an idea so crazy it might just work in this new Abrams era of playing in the Trek sandbox without having to stay within previously established canon. Why not make the ‘Batch some sort of Mitchell-Khan hybrid? Try this on for size: Benemitchell Khanderbatch . Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? It’s worth noting that, while Star Trek Into Darkness was post-converted to 3-D, the 3-D footage went over well. There are a good many close-ups and scenes featuring brilliantly vivid, swirling pieces of debris and lava and even, at one point, a barrage of spears raining down around Kirk and McCoy as they run through the jungle in a sequence that so calls to mind Raiders of the Lost Ark that it’s probably safe to call it homage. *This is completely wild, “What if?” speculation, but how cool would it be if Abrams’ Trek films did introduce Khan — only as a woman? Discuss . Star Trek Into Darkness is in theaters May 17, 2013; look for the nine-minute preview attached to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in select IMAX screenings, full list here . Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
In this week’s Hobnobbing, we wonder if the new format is really worth the five extra bucks. By Amy Wilkinson Jennifer Lawrence in “The Hunger Games” Photo: We interrupt your regularly scheduled Finnick speculation to bring you this special announcement: “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” will light up IMAX theaters come November 2013! (OK, the news broke Wednesday, but I don’t write my column until Thursday.) Anyway, this is big (as in 70 feet tall) news … if you like that sort of thing. While “The Hunger Games” was re-mastered for IMAX screens, director Francis Lawrence intends to shoot entire “Catching Fire” sequences in the larger-than-life format. As my colleague Kevin P. Sullivan noted , this will be only the sixth major studio film to be partially shot in IMAX — news to which my reaction was roughly, “Okie doke…” See, I’ve never really understood the appeal of IMAX. Isn’t it just for people with poor eyesight who need to see things really large? And why should I pay roughly five extra bucks for the privilege? I have good vision! To wit, I’ve never purposely sought out an IMAX screening. One time on vacation in Seattle my friend insisted we see “The Lion King” (nearly a decade after its initial release) in IMAX, and since I didn’t want to be a chump, I went along. I’ve probably been to one IMAX movie since (it wasn’t “Avatar,” by the way, my hometown theater is lame), but I can’t help but wonder if I’m missing something. According to conventional wisdom and my previously mentioned colleague Kevin (who graciously humored my IMAX questions and concerns), the format is considered the height of immersive movie-going technology. (So much more worth the price than 3-D, he says.) Everything’s huge! Everything’s so detailed! Everything else in the theater just disappears! It’s like that guy in the front row wearing the bowler hat festooned with Christmas lights doesn’t exist! Fine, fine. I get it. And I’m willing to give it another try because Katniss and Peeta deserve as much. (It will also give me another ready-made column idea come next Thanksgiving!) And with speculation swirling that the IMAX-friendly filming will likely focus on the nifty new Quarter Quell arena, I’m simultaneously thrilled and sick to my stomach over the idea of being completely immersed in the bloody battle. Nonetheless, let the IMAX Games begin! “Catching Fire” hits theaters November 22, 2013. Are you excited to see “Catching Fire” in IMAX? Or is it much ado about nothing? Sound off in the comments below and tweet me @amymwilk with your thoughts and suggestions for future columns! Earlier “Hunger Games” columns: » “Hunger Games”: Five Things We Learned At Movie Awards » How “Catching Fire” Could Set Taylor Kitsch’s Career Ablaze » “Hunger Games” At The Movie Awards: Dos And Don’ts » “Catching Fire” Countdown: What to Watch While You Wait » Francis Lawrence’s “Catching Fire” To-Do List Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘The Hunger Games’ Related Photos ‘Hunger Games’ World Premiere Red Carpet The Hunger Games
Second film in the series will become the sixth blockbuster to feature IMAX footage when it’s released next November. By Kevin P. Sullivan Jennifer Lawrence in “The Hunger Games” Photo: Lionsgate It shouldn’t come as a surprise that for the second film in the “Hunger Games” series, new director Francis Lawrence wants to make ” Catching Fire ” even bigger than its predecessor. And now we know exactly how big Katniss, Peeta, and Gale will be in the sequel: 70 feet tall. According to an announcement from Lionsgate, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” will feature sequences shot in the IMAX format when it opens in theaters in November of next year. Lionsgate digitally remastered the first ” Hunger Games ” film the IMAX format, but this will be the first time in the series that sequence will be actually shot in the much larger format. The IMAX showings for “The Hunger Games” greatly contributed to that film’s huge box-office presence, which is nearing the $650 million mark in global ticket sales, thanks in part to higher ticket prices, and should remain a factor when the movie opens in China later this month. “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” will only be the sixth blockbuster to feature IMAX footage. Christopher Nolan began the trend when he shot roughly a half an hour of his Batman sequel, “The Dark Knight” on 70mm IMAX film. The follow-up to that film, “The Dark Knight Rises,” is said to contain close to an hour of IMAX footage. Most recently, Brad Bird filmed key action set pieces for “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” in the larger format. “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” opens in theaters on November 23, 2013. Check out everything we’ve got on “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.” For young Hollywood news, fashion and “Twilight” updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com . Related Photos The Hunger Games ‘Hunger Games’ Character Posters
Also in Monday afternoon’s round up of news. Tribeca Institute names its recipients for its $150K Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund, Liza Burnett Fefferman and Heath Shapiro take up exec positions at RADiUS-TWC, Wally Pfister to spearhead Kodak chats at Los Angeles Film Festival, Universal COO begins his road to retirement and Sony eyes Tonka toys. Liza Burnett Fefferman and Heath Shapiro Join Radius Fefferman was named EVP of Publicity, while Shaprio will serve as VP of Marketing and Distribution. Their new roles are effective immediately at RADiUS-TWC. The distributor’s co-presidents announced the hires and they will report to them directly. Previously Shapiro served as the VP of national sales for Independent Distribution Partners, while Fefferman spent five years as Senior Vice President, Publicity at Samuel Goldwyn Films and ATO Pictures via their partnership in IDP Independent Distribution Partners. Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund Names 2012 Grantees Now in its fifth year, provides finishing funds, year-round support and guidance to domestic and international documentary filmmakers with feature-length films highlighting and humanizing issues of social importance from around the world. Projects that will collectively receive $100K are: E-Team (Directors Katy Chevigny & Ross Kauffman), God Loves Uganda (Director Roger Ross Williams), First to Fall (Director Rachel Anderson), Mercy Mercy (Director Katrine W Kjaer), Two Children of the Red Mosque (Director Hemal Trivedi). Projects receiving $50K in funding for the 2012 Spotlighting Women Documentary Award are: Alias Ruby Blade (Director Alex Meillier), Stargazing – working title (Director Berit Madsen), The Supreme Price (Director Joanna Lipper). Wally Pfister to Spearhead Kodak Focus at LA Film Festival Director-cinematographer Wally Pfister will headline the annual Kodak Focus program at this year’s Los Angeles Film Festival. The conversation will spotlight Pfister’s artistic and technical accomplishments by screening scenes from three of his films – Insomnia, Laurel Canyon and Inception. Kodak Focus takes place on June 23 at 1 p.m. at the Regal Cinemas at L.A. Live. The seminar is free with a festival ticket. Around the ‘net… Marilyn Monroe Estate Threatens to Sue over Hologram A concert featuring a holographic of the late screen legend is the focus of possible legal action by her estate. Digicon Media has rights to a “virtual Marilyn” and plans to feature the star in “concerts,” but it received a cease and desist order from the estate, THR reports . Universal Vice Chairman & COO Begins Move to Retirement Rick Finklestein will transition out of his roles at the studio as he heads to retirement in two years. He’ll continue to work with head Ron Meyer on special projects before calling it quits, Deadline reports . Sony to Make Tonka Toys Animated Movie Sony Pictures is developing an animated film based on the 65 year-old toy truck brand. Sony Pictures Animation and Happy Madison Productions will produce with Hasbro, Deadline reports . Warner Bros. Turning to Guinness Book of World Records The studio is looking to turn some record-breaking into movies. The Office writer Danny Chun will write a script but details are under wraps, Complex reports .
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