Tag Archives: night-shyamalan

‘The Town’ Snatches Friday Box Office

Posted on September 18, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

The heist thriller kicks off the weekend with over $8 million. By Mawuse Ziegbe Slaine, Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner and Owen Burke in “The Town” Photo: Warner Bros. The Box-Office Top Five #1 “The Town” ($8.4 million) #2 “Easy A” ($6.8 million) #3 “Devil” ($4.9 million) #4 “Resident Evil: Afterlife” ($3 million) #5 “Alpha and Omega” ($2.3 million) Ben Affleck’s bank-robbing thriller “The Town” grabbed the box-office crown Friday night. The film, which takes audiences to the smash-and-grab underworld of director and star Affleck’s hometown of Boston and features Blake Lively, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner and Rebecca Hall, topped the end-of-the-work-week box office with an estimated $8.4 million. In second place is the high-school teen comedy “Easy A,” which features young stars Emma Stone, Amanda Bynes and Penn Badgley , who joins his “Gossip Girl” castmember and off-screen love interest, Lively, in the box-office top five. The flick, about a teen girl who stumbles upon a lucrative hustle faking sex with wannabe schoolyard Lotharios, rang up $6.8 million in ticket sales during its debut Friday on screens. The mind-bending thriller “Devil,” which features the creative touch of filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan , opened in third place. Featuring actors such as Geoffrey Arend and Bokeem Woodbine grappling with an elevator ride that may literally be from hell, the horror pic pulled in an estimated $4.9 million. After owning last week’s box office, the zombie-ridden action flick “Resident Evil: Afterlife,” dropped to fourth place. Milla Jovovich’s latest clash with the undead claimed $3 million at the Friday box office, nudging the total cume of sci-fi franchise’s hit to nearly $37 million. Rounding out the top five is the kid-friendly adventure “Alpha and Omega,” which features voice-over contributions from stars like Christina Ricci, Danny Glover and the late screen legend Dennis Hopper . The animated flick, which revolves around two wolves (voiced by Justin Long and Hayden Panettiere) with very different personalities journeying back toward their natural habitat, film opened with $2.3 million. Check out everything we’ve got “The Town,” “Easy A” and “Devil” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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‘Harry Potter,’ ‘Tron,’ ‘True Grit’ Top Celebs’ Fall Movie Wish List

Posted on September 4, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

‘Look, I’m a ‘Tron’ guy,’ Jack Black confesses of the flick he’s most looking forward to. By Kara Warner Daniel Radcliffe in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1” Photo: Warner Bros. MTV News’ Fall Movie Preview Week has been chock-full of the juiciest exclusive goods any eager moviegoer could hope for. Chills (courtesy of Wes Craven’s “My Soul to Take” ), thrills (thanks to Chris Pine talking about Tony Scott’s “Unstoppable” ) and exclusive stills . There was also some interesting talk about the secrets of onscreen nudity and post-production nipple addition (thanks, “Machete” cast !). In celebration of the upcoming season of highly anticipated films, we’ve compiled a little list of the films the Hollywood set is most anxious to see. “I am a huge Harry Potter nerd,” Chloe Bridges (“Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam”) told us at the premiere of the Disney sequel. “To obnoxious levels, it’s kind of sad, you have no idea, but yeah, I’m very excited for it. Part 1 of ‘The Deathly Hallows’!” ” ‘Tron’ for sure,” director M. Night Shyamalan said of the film he’s most looking forward to. “Because I don’t know what it’s going to be, and that’s so exciting. I know it’s based on the original movie, but I’m starving for original stuff as an audience member,” he said. “Gulliver’s Travels” star Jack Black begged to differ on the “Tron” excitement, however. “Yeah, that one’s not gonna be any good,” he said. “I don’t wanna see that.” And moments later Black changed his tune. Literally. He busted out a few bars of the original “Tron” theme for us. “Look, I’m a ‘Tron’ guy,” Black confessed. “Yeah, I like ‘Tron.’ I played the ‘Tron’ video game when I was a kid. Yeah! I’m in, I’m a nerd.” Black went on to say that he is equally excited for Jeff Bridges’ other fall film, “True Grit.” “Jeff Bridges plus the Coen brothers equals genius,” he said. “If you saw ‘The Big Lebowski,’ you know what I’m sayin.” “Somewhere” director Sophia Coppola also expressed enthusiasm for “True Grit,” as well as Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan.” “I’m excited to see ‘Black Swan,’ and I know the Coen brothers have a movie coming out,” she said. “It’s always fun this time of year to go to the movies because there’s so much to see.” We couldn’t agree more! Related Videos Exclusive Clips From The Fall’s Most Anticipated Films Related Photos Fall Movie 2010 Preview Week: Exclusive Photos

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‘Harry Potter,’ ‘Tron,’ ‘True Grit’ Top Celebs’ Fall Movie Wish List

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Does M. Night’s Short Film with a Half-Naked Penthouse Pet Mark the Start of His Comeback?

Posted on August 26, 2010 by | Leave a comment

Things are looking up for M. Night Shyamalan! He is in the prime of life at age 40 , and despite all critical evidence to the contrary , The Last Airbender has managed a healthy global box-office take of $225 million and counting. His Night Chronicles debut next month with the nifty-looking Devil , and his return to acting alongside Penthouse Pet Ryan Keely and MTV Movies correspondent Josh Horowitz is one of his finest performances to date. No, seriously . And there’s a special cameo! Watch it after the jump.

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Jackson Rathbone Addresses ‘Last Airbender’ Critics: ‘Art Is Subjective’

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

‘The critics in the U.S. … I just don’t think they really like M. Night Shyamalan anymore,’ ‘Twilight’ actor says. By Amy Wilkinson Jackson Rathbone at the 2010 Teen Choice Awards Photo: Mark Sullivan/ WireImage/ Getty Images Though it performed respectably at the box office, grossing nearly $130 million since its July 1 release date, M. Night Shyamalan’s fantasy flick “The Last Airbender” received an icy reception from critics — a reaction that star Jackson Rathbone says is undeserved. “The critics in the U.S. … I just don’t think they really like M. Night Shyamalan anymore,” Rathbone told MTV News while on the blue carpet for the 2010 Teen Choice Awards . “I don’t know why. It’s sad because he’s such an amazing director and an amazing person.”

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Jackson Rathbone Addresses ‘Last Airbender’ Critics: ‘Art Is Subjective’

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The 9 Most Scathing Critical Responses to LeBron James: The Decision

Posted on July 9, 2010 by | Leave a comment

Scathing critiques aren’t just for M. Night Shyamalan anymore ! Regardless of whether or not you follow, like or frankly detest sports, ESPN’ s Thursday night special LeBron James: The Decision made for some pretty audacious television. Which is to say, audaciously terrible . If you always thought watching The Bachelor amounted to a bankruptcy of taste, at least that process has some trashy entertainment value going for it. The ritualistic, commodified probing of James — who announced his free-agency agreement with the Miami Heat — couldn’t have been more cynical or depressing if it tried. But don’t take my word for it. Let’s hear it from the rest of the diverse, aggrieved class that still can’t believe they just saw that.

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‘The Last Airbender’: An Inside Look At Four Cool Creatures

Posted on July 1, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Visual-effects supervisor Pablo Helman describes the challenges of creating these animated characters. By Eric Ditzian Noah Ringer in “The Last Airbender” Photo: Paramount Pictures As fans of the “The Last Airbender” know, the brand-new movie started off as an animated series on Nickelodeon and introduced a slew of fantastical creatures over the course of its three-season run: dragons, flying primates and beasts unlike any ever seen on Earth. The task for filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan in his live-action adaptation was to re-create those beloved creatures in believable ways up on the big screen. For this task, he turned to visual-effects supervisor Pablo Helman and the team at Industrial Light & Magic. Shortly before the film’s Thursday (July 1) release, Helman called up MTV News to walk us through the creation of four of the coolest creatures in “The Last Airbender.” Appa In the world of “Airbender,” there are four nations, each capable of controlling one element: earth, fire, water or air. And then there is Aang, the young boy who is the only one with the potential to control all the elements and bring peace to this war-torn world. Aang’s transportation of choice? A flying bison named Appa. The only problem with digitally creating Appa is that there’s no equivalent to such a creature on our planet. “He has six legs, and that’s a big challenge for us, because how do you take it into reality?” Helman said. “There is no reference for a creature with six legs. Nature doesn’t create those things. It’s very difficult to get six legs to do the right thing. We looked at how elephants walked, which helped. We did some tests and figured out Appa would pretty much move like an elephant.” Momo Another of Aang’s animal pals is Momo, a flying lemur with a serious mischievous streak. As was the case with Appa, Helman and his crew struggled over how to take Momo’s stylized design into the cartoon and transfer the lemur into a realistic creature. “We agonized over the design for many, many months,” he said. “Night was very attuned to the fans. He wanted the fans to see the real stuff that they had in their heads from the cartoon. We made him furry and we kept his mischievous behavior. The kids will love him.” Giant Lizard The Fire Nation is the film’s central aggressor, as they’ve been at war with the other tribes for 100 years. In addition to their ability to manipulate fire, the nation maintains a fleet of warships and a convoy of giant lizards that take their soldiers to war. The lizards are invaluable in the fight, as they can scale great walls with ease. To create these creatures, Helman had to pay special attention to the lizard’s ability to survive in extreme environments. “It’s kind of a hybrid creature,” he said. “They carry the Fire Nation soldiers into battle. These lizards live in very hot environments, which are part of the Fire Nation. But they bring them into very cold environments. So you have to create them in a way that would make sense for them to survive in each environment.” Talking Dragon Throughout his travels, Aang encounters all manner of dreamlike beasts. One of the most memorable is a talking dragon who becomes a sort of spiritual advisor and motivational speaker for the boy in his quest to defeat the nefarious Fire Nation. The dragon is seen in a very tight shot, presenting animators with a difficult task. “All the close-up work is very challenging,” Helman said. “We had a very good reference of a crocodile opening its eye. If you actually look at the rendering we’re doing, it actually has a double eyelid. We had to build the eye paying close attention to geometry, so that the optics reflect and refract the light in a specific way. What is the thing that makes an eye look real? There is a lot of science behind what we’re doing, but also a lot of art.” Check out everything we’ve got on “The Last Airbender.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos ‘The Last Airbender’ Clips MTV Rough Cut: ‘The Last Airbender’ Related Photos ‘The Last Airbender’ Premieres In New York The Powers & Creatures Of ‘The Last Airbender’

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‘The Last Airbender’ Cheat Sheet: Everything You Need To Know

Posted on July 1, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

A fan-friendly primer on how the hugely popular cartoon made it to the big screen. By Kara Warner “The Last Airbender” Photo: Paramount Pictures Based on Nickelodeon’s hit animated series, “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” many thought the film adaptation would never happen. The story revolves around Aang, the last living member of an air-manipulating nomadic tribe, also on his quest to unite the other elemental tribes against the tyranny of the Fire nation. In January 2007, “Sixth Sense” and “Unbreakable” director M. Night Shyamalan was tapped to write, direct and produce the live-action version of the series. Shortly thereafter, MTV News caught up with Shyamalan to find out what inspired him to sign on to the project. He cited the animated series’ “cool fighting scenes” and its supernatural elements. With all systems go and excitement building toward the film’s inevitable casting announcement, when the news finally arrived in late 2008, it created a stir of controversy alleging racist casting choices — mainly for the four main roles of Aang, played by newcomer and taekwondo black belt Noah Ringer; Nicola Peltz as Katara; “Twilight” actor Jackson Rathbone as Sokka; and pop singer Jesse McCartney as Prince Zuko. McCartney eventually had to drop out of filming due to scheduling conflicts and was soon replaced with “Slumdog Millionaire” star Dev Patel . Shyamalan later responded to the criticism in a lengthy interview with Indie Movies Online : “I’m always surprised at the level of misunderstanding, the sensitivities that exist. As an Asian-American, it bothers me when people take all of their passion and rightful indignation about the subject and then misplace it.” Controversy aside, filming was well under way in May 2009, when we got our first look at Dev Patel as the evil and angsty Prince Zuko and newbie Noah Ringer as Aang. The following month, MTV News was invited to visit the Philadelphia set (the largest ever assembled on the East Coast) for an inside look at the production, where we wandered the fantastical lands of the Northern Water Tribe, stood on Commander Zhao’s battleship and chatted with Shyamalan and his castmembers. Patel told us he felt like he’d “been thrown into the deep end. … It’s a real stretch for me. At the start going into it, I was a bit naive, and I thought, ‘This is just going to be a big laugh. I’m playing a cartoon character.’ Then I got on set with everyone and read the script, and M. Night’s in front of me, and there’s a lot of soul-searching to be done.” The first teaser trailer arrived just after our set visit and nearly a year ahead of the film’s release. The footage offered fans a glimpse of Aang in action, practicing his airbending in a circular room surrounded by candlelight. All was quiet on the “Airbender” front until January of this year, when Paramount released two teaser posters , one of Aang and the other of Prince Zuko. The following month, we got a sneak preview of the “Last Airbender” toy line , which was followed closely by a second trailer that aired during the Super Bowl . When our MTV Movie Awards rolled around last month, the trailers started to reveal more detailed action, and we got our hands on and analyzed an exclusive clip that premiered during the live broadcast. And just last week, fans got their first glimpse of Momo, Aang’s flying lemur friend, in one of several TV spots that rolled out around World Cup coverage. Shortly thereafter, MTV added 30 images to our “Last Airbender” gallery . Fans commented that they would buy tickets just to see Appa the Sky Bison. Finally, just days before the film’s release, we caught up with Shyamalan to find out what inspired the film’s impressive fight choreography (hint: Bruce Lee) and “Twilight” and “Airbender” star Jackson Rathbone answered the age-old “who would win in a fight” question: Jasper Hale or Sokka ? Check out everything we’ve got on “The Last Airbender.” For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com . Related Videos ‘The Last Airbender’ Clips MTV Rough Cut: ‘The Last Airbender’ Related Photos The Powers & Creatures Of ‘The Last Airbender’ ‘The Last Airbender’

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‘The Last Airbender’ Cheat Sheet: Everything You Need To Know

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Future R.Pattz Costar: Unbound Captives Filming "Soon"

Posted on June 8, 2010 by | Leave a comment

Nicola Peltz must have a thing for vampires—and Robert Pattinson must be way into movies about olden times. Up-and-comer Peltz stars in M. Night Shyamalan’s new movie, The Last…

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‘Jersey Shore’ Season Two Sneak Peek To Premiere On MTV Movie Awards Pre-Show

Posted on June 2, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Snooki and the gang join MTV News on red carpet for ‘Jersey Shore Blow-Out at the MTV Movie Awards.’ By Jocelyn Vena The “Jersey Shore” cast Photo: Scott Gries/ Picture Group Los Angeles is about to get a lot more Jersey flavor. The entire cast of “Jersey Shore” will appear on the red carpet the MTV Movie Awards pre-show, airing live at 8:00 p.m. ET. During MTV News’ “Jersey Shore Blow-Out at the MTV Movie Awards,” Snooki, Pauly, Jenni, Mike, Angelina, Sammi, Ronnie and Vinny will present the first 10 minutes of “Jersey Shore” season two . The new season, which premieres in full on Thursday, July 29, follows the cast as they leave the chilly winter waters of Seaside Heights and head out on a road trip to Miami. If that sneak peek isn’t enough GTL for you, Snooki as been tapped to be MTV News’ guest correspondent on the red carpet, where she will hobnob with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. The show will also include the premiere of Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull’s new music video “I Like It,” featuring, you guessed it, the entire “Jersey Shore” cast. The song is the first single from the Jersey Shore Soundtrack, out July 20. The soundtrack will include tracks from Lil Jon, LMFAO, Taio Cruz and Akon. LMFAO will be the celebrity DJs on the Movie Awards red carpet. But the red carpet isn’t just about “Jersey Shore.” There will also be exclusive sneak peeks from two of the summer’s most-anticipated flicks: M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Last Airbender” and Michael Cera’s new movie, “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.” Don’t miss the 2010 MTV Movie Awards , airing live from Los Angeles this Sunday, June 6, at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Related Videos ‘Jersey Shore’ Cast Will Be Returning Home! Related Photos ‘Jersey Shore’ Season 2 Shooting In Miami: GTL!

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Jackson Rathbone Says Making ‘Breaking Dawn’ Will Be ‘Amazing Experience’

Posted on May 25, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

‘I find myself working with people I’ve dreamed of working with,’ actor says of director Bill Condon. By Kara Warner Jackson Rathbone Photo: MTV News “Twilight” star Jackson Rathbone can’t believe his luck: Not only is he part of a hugely popular franchise, but he’s been able to work with some of his favorite directors. When MTV caught up with Rathbone, who is in two big summer movies — “Eclipse” and M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Last Airbender” — he revealed he can’t wait to start work on “Breaking Dawn” with Oscar-winner Bill Condon at the helm. “I have not yet had a chance to meet Bill Condon, but I think it’s going to be an amazing experience to work with an Academy Award-winning director of his caliber,” he said. “Getting to work with these incredible directors that I’ve admired, ever since filming “The Last Airbender” with M. Night, even the first “Twilight” with Catherine Hardwicke. I really loved her directorial debut, [which] I think was ‘Thirteen.’ I thought that was incredible, and she co-wrote it with Nikki Reed, who’s a good friend of mine now.” Rathbone said he’s still trying to wrap his mind around it all and just wants to bask in the glow. “I find myself working with people I’ve dreamed of working with. It’s an amazing position to be in,” he said. “It’s a privilege, not a right. … I’m basking in it, loving it, because as an artist, you get those moments, you live ’em up.” As for “Breaking Dawn,” the musician/actor said he knows just as much as we do. Which is not a lot. “They’re keeping ‘Breaking Dawn’ under wraps,” he said. We’re all waiting on a script right now. It’s all up in the air — we don’t even know when we’re going to film.” Check out everything we’ve got on “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” and “The Last Airbender.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com .

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