It looks like Clint Eastwood is facing another empty space, but this time the repercussions could hit the wallet. Beyoncé Knowles has quit his forthcoming remake of A Star is Born – and it’s even for the second time. The musical take on the well-known tale has been made three times by Hollywood. The superstar singer and actor is thought to have ended her involvement in the production due to delays in setting a start date for the film. The pic still lacks a male lead despite a three year search that has sailed through the names of a slew of top stars including Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp, Will Smith, Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman, Robert Downey Jr., Eminem, Christian Bale, Jon Hamm and Bradley Cooper, according to The Guardian. This is not the first time Knowles took her leave from A Star is Born . She actually came back on board when Eastwood was named director in January last year after departing over production delays prior to the announcement. Eastwood hopes to pattern the latest Star in the vein of the 1976 version, which starred Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson, which moved the story from the film biz to the music industry. The original version filmed in 1937 starred Fredric March and Janet Gaynor as an aging Hollywood actor who takes the young budding star under his tutelage. James Mason and Judy Garland took on A Star is Born in 1954. Speculation has now turned to jazz musician Esperanza Spalding as a replacement, but Warner Bros. wants to lock down a male lead before moving on with finding Beyoncé’s replacement. Bradley Cooper was the latest in the long line of male contenders to surface as the eventual choice. One of music’s most recognizable stars, Beyoncé made a box office splash with 2006’s Dreamgirls , which took in almost $155 million worldwide. Her starring role in thriller Obsessed took in a cool $73.83 million domestically in 2009, but not all has been box office gold. Cadillac Records bombed with only $8.1 million domestically. [Sources: Variety , The Guardian , Box Office Mojo ]
Uwe Boll is coming! Uwe Boll is coming! And what better platform could there be for his latest opus, Bailout: The Age of Greed , than an indie film festival that will also see the world premiere of a loving 2k restoration of the infamously so-bad-it’s-good Manos: The Hands of Fate ? LA’s New Beverly Cinema will play host to the Teutonic Terror this December as the enfant terrible of bad movies brings Bailout: The Age of Greed — a Wall Street thriller, naturally — to premiere at the 2012 Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival . Bailout: The Age of Greed “looks at the effects of Wall Street’s 2008 financial crisis on an average American pushed to the brink when he loses his savings and decides to take revenge.” (You might say he goes… Postal .) Dominic Purcell, Edward Furlong, Erin Karpluk, John Heard, Keith David, Michael Pare, Clint Howard, Natassia Malthe, Michael Eklund and Eric Roberts star in the film, and according to a press release they’ll all be in attendance alongside Boll at the December 3 North American premiere. I’m guessing the “entire cast and crew” won’t be there, but expect to see as many human beings as will fit on the dais of the Quentin Tarantino-associated institution. The following day on December 4 the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival will play host to another, perhaps more culturally relevant cinematic experience: The debut of a digital restoration of 1966’s Manos: The Hands of Fate , whose cult status was sealed by MST3K (see below). A Q&A will follow with Ben Solovey, the mastermind behind the 2k digital facelift, who guarantees it to be the “best print ever screened.” The best presentation of one of the worst films of all time! HRIFF is held Dec 3-10th 2012 in Los Angeles, CA and will feature over 70 films in this year’s program. For more information head here .
Shamone! Spike Lee’s Bad 25 will air on ABC Nationwide Thanksgiving Day Via IndieWire Following its Venice Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival screenings, Spike Lee’s Michael Jackson documentary, made in collaboration with the estate of Michael Jackson and Sony Music, titled Bad 25, is already scheduled to air on ABC on Thanksgiving Day, in November. However, before that, as reported this morning, the feature documentary will be released theatrically for 1 week, beginning October 19, but, unfortunately, only in New York, and Los Angeles. If you live in the area here is where you can check it out in theaters early. New York: Oct. 19 to 26 at AMC Loews Theater; 66 Third Ave. Los Angeles: Oct. 26 to Nov. 2 at Chinese 6 Theaters; 6801 Hollywood Blvd. The rest of the USA will have to wait about another month, to see it on ABC on Thanksgiving night (November 22). Bad 25 shares fresh insights into the King of Pop’s creative vision that resulted in his landmark Bad album, marking its 25th anniversary this year. “This will be a very special Thanksgiving for all families to enjoy the genius of Michael Jackson… Big thanks to ABC for allowing people to witness the making of Michael Jackson’s ‘BAD’ album. Shamon,” said Spike Lee in a statement. The film promises rare and never-before-seen footage, and the first ever in-depth, behind-the-scenes film project to chronicle a Michael Jackson album and tour. Included will be numerous interviews conducted by Spike Lee, including Jackson’s confidants, choreographers, musicians and collaborators. This better be good Spike, you can’t fawk around with “The King Of Pop”. That said, we will be glued to the TV with “the itis” Thanksgiving night! Peep the trailer below.
Shamone! Spike Lee’s Bad 25 will air on ABC Nationwide Thanksgiving Day Via IndieWire Following its Venice Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival screenings, Spike Lee’s Michael Jackson documentary, made in collaboration with the estate of Michael Jackson and Sony Music, titled Bad 25, is already scheduled to air on ABC on Thanksgiving Day, in November. However, before that, as reported this morning, the feature documentary will be released theatrically for 1 week, beginning October 19, but, unfortunately, only in New York, and Los Angeles. If you live in the area here is where you can check it out in theaters early. New York: Oct. 19 to 26 at AMC Loews Theater; 66 Third Ave. Los Angeles: Oct. 26 to Nov. 2 at Chinese 6 Theaters; 6801 Hollywood Blvd. The rest of the USA will have to wait about another month, to see it on ABC on Thanksgiving night (November 22). Bad 25 shares fresh insights into the King of Pop’s creative vision that resulted in his landmark Bad album, marking its 25th anniversary this year. “This will be a very special Thanksgiving for all families to enjoy the genius of Michael Jackson… Big thanks to ABC for allowing people to witness the making of Michael Jackson’s ‘BAD’ album. Shamon,” said Spike Lee in a statement. The film promises rare and never-before-seen footage, and the first ever in-depth, behind-the-scenes film project to chronicle a Michael Jackson album and tour. Included will be numerous interviews conducted by Spike Lee, including Jackson’s confidants, choreographers, musicians and collaborators. This better be good Spike, you can’t fawk around with “The King Of Pop”. That said, we will be glued to the TV with “the itis” Thanksgiving night! Peep the trailer below.
To be honest, I came up with this idea before I actually saw Argo on Tuesday night, but now that I have seen Ben Affleck’ s gripping, well-directed film, I can’t let it go. When I learned about the plot of the movie — in which a CIA agent (Affleck), a Hollywood make-up artist ( John Goodman ) and a movie producer (the wonderful Alan Arkin ) — gin up a fake movie to rescue a group of diplomats trapped in Iran during the hostage crisis — it struck me that Argo was the inverse or the flip side of another fake movie that got a lot of press this past summer: Innocence of Muslims . Argo is about the power of film harnessed for humane reasons — specifically, to extract American diplomats who would have probably faced grisly, public executions had they been caught after slipping out of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran when it was taken over by militants in 1979. Innocence of Muslims is about the dark side of that equation. It’s the power of film — still potent even when the so-called movie is little more than a collection of half-assed scenes cobbled together and thrown on YouTube — misused to incite violence and stoke mistrust and anger between Muslim nations and the United States. Argo , which is based on a true story, is about saving lives. Innocence of Muslims was linked to violent attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Libya on Sept. 11 that left four Americans dead, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. When I saw George Clooney, who is one of Argo ‘s producers, at a private screening and dinner for the film at the Time Warner Center on Tuesday night, I ran my idea by him. Was there any lesson, I asked, to be learned from the controversy and the tragedy that Innocence of Muslims provoked? I’m not a big fan of asking celebrities their opinions about international or national affairs, but I’ve come to admire Clooney’s political activism and his understanding of the way the world really works, as well as his humanitarian spirit. (In March, he was arrested outside the Sudanese embassy in Washington for protesting the country’s blockage of food and aid to its own starving people.) After listening to my take on Argo and Innocence of Muslims , Clooney suggested that I was making a bit of a leap, but he did answer my question. For one thing, he said, “I’m not quite sure that those diplomats did die as a result of that movie. It seems more like that was a coordinated effort by Al Qaeda” to make a statement on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. soil. But getting to the root of my question, Clooney told me: “Freedom of speech means you have to allow idiots to speak, and that’s the unfortunate thing.” “This guy clearly wanted to create problems,” he continued referring to Nakoula Basseley , the Egyptian immigrant who appears to have masterminded the making of Innocence of Muslims . Clooney added that he saw part of the YouTube video: “It made me mad and I’m not Muslim,” he said. “It made me mad for the quality of film that it was, more than anything. But the simple truth is that in order to make [democracy] work, the idiots get to have their say, too. And that’s unfortunate.” I agree. What do you think? Please let me know in the comments section below. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
“This has been a journey for me that’s unlike nothing I’ve done before. It’s been a real ride and it’s still unfinished.” So said Steven Spielberg Monday night as he introduced the New York Film Festival ‘s “Surprise Screening,” Lincoln , though most everyone in the jammed unruly line(s) getting into the Alice Tully Hall all but knew the film starring Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln and Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln, would be the ‘surprise.’ The general consensus about the film is that it is a serious contender for Oscar glory, though with the likes of Day-Lewis and a stunning performance by Tommy Lee Jones as radical Republican Congressional leader Thaddeus Stevens, as well as a script by Tony Kushner and director Spielberg, how could it not be? The powers that be at DreamWorks and Touchstone were careful that no footage or anything of a digital nature would escape the 1000-plus seat theater. Everyone had to check anything that so much had an on/off button (through a quick scan through the crowd, one could see a few cameras/iPhones at the end of the screening). The film’s official world premiere will take place as the closing night gala of the upcoming AFI Fest in Los Angeles. The movie opens with a rain-soaked hand-to-hand battle between north and south. The gruesome scene is reminiscent of Spielberg’s past war battles in all its tragic detail. But that is the only war scene in the two-hour-plus pic (there was confusion at the screening exactly how long it was in its current state). “I already did Saving Private Ryan ,” joked Spielberg following the screening. The bulk of the film centers on the period after Lincoln’s re-election in 1864 in the months leading up to his death in April of the following year, when he struggled to get the 13th Amendment passed by the House of Representatives. The Amendment abolished slavery once and for all in the United States. Though he had ordered the Emancipation Proclamation earlier, Lincoln feared the provision would only be held up as a “war power” and would become redundant after the war’s end — meaning, those legally freed would be immediately sent back into servitude. “When Steven [Spielberg] and I started talking about doing this, we knew we’d only do part of [Lincoln’s] administration — not all of it,” said Oscar-nominated screenwriter Tony Kushner. “The whole thing got delayed during the writers’ strike, so I didn’t do anything with it — but I did think about it.” Kushner initially wrote a 500-page screenplay but then whittled it down to 100 pages after suggesting that Spielberg particularly look at the political drama that lead up to the passage of the 13th Amendment, which plays out like a 19th century political drama. Day-Lewis channels the steely determined sage of a still young country on the brink of disintegrating. Spielberg and Day-Lewis relied on historical documents to pattern the 16th President’s voice which goes against stereotype for a national patriarch who is known to have been a great orator. “Research talks about his high shrill voice,” said Spielberg. “I think we’d be criticized if we did it the way he’s heard by Disney’s Epcot Center with a low-tenored voice.” Tommy Lee Jones will undoubtedly get an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for portraying the sharp-tongued Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, who spearheaded equal rights against a venomous opposition in the House. He argues spectacularly against a pack of Democrats who vehemently oppose the 13th Amendment, fearing its passage would portend future implications — namely the vote and equal rights. Spielberg pointed out the historical fact that the Republicans were considered the “progressive” party of the day while the Democrats were generally in favor of the status quo, though some did cross party lines in a case of political brinksmanship — which is at the center of this film argues to pass the 13th. Authenticity played a central role in crafting Lincoln , and the looks of the day as portrayed in the film sometimes came off as comical. The costumes are something phenomenal, especially those worn by David Strathairn, who plays Secretary of State William Seward, and Sally Fields as Mrs. Lincoln, who argues at moments to chuckles from the audience (but yes, Mrs. Lincoln did wear those massive poofy dresses). “We used Lincoln’s own watch in the movie,” said Spielberg. “The watch ticking in the movie is Lincoln’s own watch. It was wound for the first time in 50 years. There was a high bar to reach and we brought that to Richmond where we shot the movie.” “This was one of the most pleasant experiences [filming] I’ve ever had,” he added. “Daniel Day-Lewis is a consummate artist and that marriage with Tony [Kushner’s] words was momentous.” [ Photo by Godlis/Film Society of Lincoln Center ] Follow Brian Brooks on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Paul Schrader and Bret Easton Ellis ‘s indie L.A. noir The Canyons has been a curious project to track — who’s the more random star, comeback queen Lindsay Lohan or porn stud James Deen? — but a new teaser trailer offers an unexpectedly compelling preview of the film, retro-exploitation style. The tongue-in-cheek spirit works well here, even if it does make The Canyons look like one of Tarantino and Rodriguez’s fake Grindhouse trailers. Here’s hoping the actual film has this sort of knowing edge. With teaser lines introducing “a HUGE new talent” in Deen it has to, right? It is worth noting that this trailer offers no dialogue; Deen’s screen presence, shall we say, has been proven in his chosen field but his acting chops here have yet to be seen. Side note: I once overheard strangers talking excitedly about seeing Deen in this movie while waiting in line at a semi-terrible L.A. club, so The Canyons ‘ social media outreach must be working. On Facebook last week director Schrader shared an update after screening The Canyons for Lohan : “Showed LL the film tonight. She saw and she understood. What a wonderful moment for her. Some tears, some hard words, some kisses but that’s life in Lindsayland. Sometimes the movie gods smile. Sometimes you get lucky. LL and I got lucky.” Synopsis (via The Canyons on Facebook): THE CANYONS is a contemporary L.A. noir from director Paul Schrader, writer Bret Easton Ellis, and producer Braxton Pope about the dangers of sexual obsession and ambition, both personally and professionally, among a group of young people in their 20’s and how one chance meeting connected to the past unravels all of their lives, resulting in deceit, paranoia, cruel mind games and ultimately violence. [ The Canyons via The Playlist ] Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Taken 2 exploded in its opening with $50 million and a spectacular per screen average of $13,657 in wide release. The film had one of the biggest October openings ever, showing momentum that should propel it in the coming weeks. Last weekend’s box office topper, Hotel Transylvania , held strong in its second weekend, landing second in the box office ranking. Frankenweenie , meanwhile, failed to appeal to large numbers of theater-goers, only placing fifth on the box office chart in a wide open. 1. Taken 2 Gross: $50 million Screens: 3,661 (PSA: $13,657) Week: 1 Taken 2 dominated the weekend with one of October’s best openings in box office history. By contrast, the first Taken cashed in at $24.71 million in 2009 when it opened in 3,183 theaters. Not bad, and the performance helped propel the overall box office to another stellar weekend after six weeks in the doldrums, which ended last weekend spearheaded by Hotel Transylvania and Looper . Estimates had Taken 2 coming in around the mid-30 million range, but it far exceeded that low-ball figure. Taken 2 ‘s stellar result is outpaced by Paranormal Activity 3 , which took in just over $52.56 million on October 21, 2011. 2. Hotel Transylvania (3-D, animation) Gross: $26.3 million (Cume: $75,958,532) Screens: 3,352 (PSA: $7,846) Week: 2 (Change: – 38%) Last weekend’s top earner held strong in its second weekend with a decline of only about 36 – 38 per cent according to estimates. The Sony animation title added just three additional screens for its second round and its nearly $76 million cume means the title will easily match its estimated $85 million budget this week. 3. Pitch Perfect Gross: $14,736,400 (Cume: $21,582,608) Screens: 2,770 (PSA: $5,320) Week: 2 (Change: +186%) The title added 2,435 screens in its second weekend and the result was a move up the box office chart to third from its first frame at number six last week and a 186 per cent jump in revenue. Bring It On ($17.4 million) and Footloose , which opened one year ago at nearly $15.6 million suprassed Pitch Perfect . But its domestic total already surpasses its estimated $17 million production budget and it should make it to $50 million domestically. 4. Looper Gross: $12.2 million (Cume $40,300,651) Screens: 2,993 (PSA: $4,076) Week: 2 (Change: – 41%) Last week’s strong number 2 opener hell to fourth place with a 41 per cent drop in its box office after adding one more location. The title has already more than matched its $30 million production budget and will likely see northward of $70 – 80 million before it’s all said and done. 5. Frankenweenie Gross: $11.5 million Screens: 3,005 (PSA: $3,827) Week: 1 Ouch! Tim Burton’s latest stop motion pic has not caught audience attention the lead up and marketing campaigns might have suggested. His previous stop motion pic, Corpse Bride opened in much more limited release, so comparisons are a bit difficult. But that title bowed in only 5 theaters with a $77,633 average, but it went on to a $53,359,111 domestic cume in 2005 and $19.1 million in its initial wide expansion. 6. End of Watch Gross: $4 million (Cume: $32,845,946) Screens: 2,370 (PSA: $2,370) Week: 3 (Change: – 48%) The Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena cop drama tumbled 48% after losing 410 theaters in its third weekend. Still, the film has done very well considering its $7 million budget, though it may struggle to reach $50 million. 7. Trouble With the Curve Gross: $3,870,000 (Cume: $29,709,823) Screens: 3,003 (PSA: $1,289) Week: 3 (Change: – 46%) Last week’s fourth placed film landed at 7th in its third round. It’s per screen average also tumbled from last week’s $2,320 even as the title shed 209 theaters. 8. House at the End of the Street Gross: $3,698,000 (Cume: $27,531,144) Screens: 2,720 (PSA: $1,360) Week: 3 (Change: – 48%) House at the End of the Street ranked fifth in its second frame last week and placed 8th over the weekend after it lost 363 theaters vs one week previously. Its cume should top $30 million in the next week, tripling the thriller’s production budget. 9. The Master Gross: $1.84 million (Cume: $12,315,329) Screens: 864 (PSA: $2,130) Week: 4 (Change: – 31%) The big Oscar contender added only 8 theaters over last week following its huge theater jump two weeks ago. When it opened with a massive $147,262 per screen average in the second weekend of September following its Venice and Toronto premieres it seemed the sky was the limit, though it appears to have arrived more or less back to earth. 10. Finding Nemo (3-D, animation) Gross: $1,555,000 (Cume: $38,969,000) Screens: 1,746 (PSA: $890) Week: 4 (Change: -61%) Likely the final stand of the re-release’s life in the top 10. The second round of Finding Nemo will be hard pressed to reach half the $94 million cume that The Lion King re-release last year. [ Sources: Rentrak , Box Office Mojo ]
Also in Monday morning’s round-up of news briefs: Bradley Cooper is to receive a Hollywood award. CNN is launching a unit for documentary distribution and The Paperboy scores in the specialty box office over the weekend. Osama Bin Laden Raid Film Seal Team Six To Air 48 Hours Before Election Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden is the first high-profile dramatisation of the attack on the al-Qaida leader’s Pakistan hide-out. The incident, in May 2011, was widely regarded as a coup for the Obama administration, following former President Bush’s failed seven-year attempt to catch Bin Laden “dead or alive.” Produced by the Weinstein Company, the film will be broadcast on the National Geographic Channel on Sunday November 4th, The Guardian reports . Christian Bale Returns to David O. Russell FBI and Con Artists Film David O. Russell took over the project that was at first titled American Bullshit from Ben Affleck. Bradley Cooper and Christian Bale were attached to star, but then Jeremy Renner signed on to replace Bale and Amy Adams joined the cast. But now Bale is back and the project is untitled. It is based on a true story about an infamous con artist (Bale) and his partner/love interest (Adams) who are working with a federal agent (Cooper) to take on dirty politicians and mobsters, Vulture reports . Bradley Cooper to Receive Hollywood Film Awards Honors Cooper will be feted by the awards for his role in David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook . He will receive the “Hollywood Actor Award” at the 16th annual Hollywood Film Awards at its gala taking place October 22nd, THR reports . CNN Launches Unit to Acquire Documentary Films for Theaters and Television CNN Films will secure feature-length documentaries to air on CNN and CNN International as well as for theatrical distribution. The move is part of a wider strategy to acquire original non-fiction content to complement CNN’s news programs. Girl Rising , a film which inspired a global action campaign to promote girls’ education, will air in spring 2013, Deadline reports . Specialty Box Office: Paperboy Strong in Debut; House I Live In , Wuthering Heights , The Oranges Fair Lee Daniels’ The Paperboy lead the pack of specialty newcomers with a solid $110,033 at 11 locations and an average of $10,003. That gives the Oscar-nominated director a respectable first showing for his follow-up to his lauded 2009 film Precious, although it falls short of spectacular. Even so, it bested the weekend’s other new titles in limited release. Only Abramorama’s House I Live In came close with a $9,827 average in 2 theaters, Deadline reports .
