Well, it’s certainly great to be cast in a hit franchise that producers are itching to see the good times roll on. Scarlett Johansson ‘s portrayal as the Black Widow in Marvel’s The Avengers was one component in a half-dozen super-heroes that has brought in over $1.45 billion since its release in late Spring. With money like that rolling in, no point in jiggering with a winning formula. And to keep the good times going, the producers have offered up a record-breaking paycheck for Johansson to reprise her super-hero role. The Hollywood star has been offered a cool $20 million in order to lure her back in the skin-tight black suit for more flips, punches and acrobatics for future adoring audiences in the franchise’s next installment, according to the New York Post . That is “slightly” more than the $19 million Angelina Jolie reportedly received for her turn in The Tourist If that pans out, that will be quite a pay raise from the current film, which is the biggest of the summer tentpoles so far. According to The Hollywood Reporter in May she made between $4 – 6 million plus bonuses, similar to Samuel L. Jackson, but much less than Robert Downey, Jr.’s reported take (Chris Hemsworth, Chis Evans, Jeremy Renner and Mark Ruffalo made about half that). Last month, Forbes magazine dubbed Kristen Stewart the highest paid actress in Hollywood between her Twilight and Snow White and the Huntsman gigs. The two made her a celestial $34.5 million between May 2011 and May 2012. If Johansson accepts the twenty mill. and adds in another pic for good measure, she could well be on her way in topping Stewart. [Source: NY Post via The Huffington Post ]
Avengers fans, fear not! You’ll find no spoilers for this Friday’s big tentpole herein. Just know this: You’re going to want to stay through the end credits for the expected post-credits bonus scenes that Marvel Studios are known to slide into their films, because The Avengers reportedly contains not one, but two of ’em. Looks like Robert Downey Jr. wasn’t lying about filming the day after the premiere! (Wait, does that mean Joss led us all astray?) Oh, fine. If you can’t stand the not knowing, bang it here for details. [@ thefilmcynic , SuperheroHype ]
Facebook.com – Become a Fan! Twitter.com – Follow Us! Robert Downey Jr. was spotted headed to that Coldplay concert at the Hollywood Bowl tonight. Looks like Iron Man has a soft spot for Brit rock, and is embarrassed to admit it.
The Avengers dominated the world this weekend. On the big screen, that is. In real life, the stars of this blockbuster – which premieres in the U.S. on May 4 – were at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, posing on the red carpet and hyping up a project that really needs no hype. So let’s focus on their fashion instead! Below, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) squares off against Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), as the actors put away their weapons and strike a post on the red carpet. Who wore his suit better? That’s for you to decide:
It’s hard to say whether Sound of My Voice is a wholly bogus and pretentious indie enterprise or a weirdly compelling bit of low-budget storytelling. Probably it’s a little of both – this is the kind of picture that may often make you snort audibly, even as you’re wondering how the heck it’s going to resolve itself. And ultimately, even if the payoff isn’t quite what it should be, the picture leaves a faint chill in its wake. You probably won’t feel totally shafted for sticking with it – maybe just a little punk’d. Snuggly couple Peter (Christopher Denham) and Lorna (Nicole Vicius) have set out to make a documentary about cults, hoping to infiltrate one mysterious group in particular. The gang’s meeting place is a top-secret basement location; the faithful are ferried to and fro in a van, but they’re not allowed to see where they’re going. Once the loyal subjects have gathered, decked out in aggressively peaceful looking white yoga clothes, a mysterious creature appears in their midst. Her name is Maggie — she’s played by indie darling Brit Marling , who also co-wrote the script – and she greets her followers while hooked up to an oxygen supply. You see, Maggie is a refugee from the future – 2054, to be exact – and she’s come back to show the human beings she loves how to prepare for what lies ahead. To do this, she wears white leggings and swaths her long blond tresses in a white scarf. Because she’s allergic to modern food, she grows her own fruit in the basement. Also, she’s wearing massively chipped dark nail polish, the kind of WTF touch that makes you stop and wonder – WTF? Actually, Sound of My Voice relies heavily on just that kind of WTF-ness. Is Maggie a con artist, a master manipulator, as Peter and Lorna at first believe her to be? But when she appears to have read bits of Peter’s past as if they were tealeaves, doubt begins to creep in, driving the couple apart. Maggie certainly knows how to challenge her followers, urging them to eat apples tainted with something that causes them to throw up (the fruit is a metaphor for logic, you see) and serving them a post-fast repast straight out of Fear Factor (I won’t tell you what it consists of, but she seems to carry a supply of it around in a baggie). There’s also lots of sharing and hugging, Esalen-style, as Maggie probes the psyches of those in her midst, testing them to see if they’re worthy of the wisdom she’s carrying around in her futuristic noggin. Director Zal Batmanglij – also Marling’s co-writer — doesn’t attempt too many fancy tricks, other than dividing his movie into convenient, bite-sized chapters. He and Marling infuse the story with just enough slackerish suspense: You may not care much about the rather aimless lead characters, but you do want to know what this Maggie shaman is all about. That’s partly thanks to Marling’s off-kilter charisma, which appears to be equal parts nerd-girl intensity and beach-babe shrug. Marling garnered heaps of attention last year for Another Earth , a movie she both cowrote and starred in, and it’s clear to see she knows how to do a lot with a little. The question of whether it’s enough depends on your expectations, and it’s possible that people have taken Marling too seriously too soon, which in turn has led her to take herself too seriously. She certainly digs right into this enigmatic role, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find her weirdly fascinating, with her heavy eyebrows and serene, pillowy half-smile. Still, a bit of skepticism is a good thing when dealing with either cults or alleged wunderkinds. At one point in Sound of My Voice , Maggie’s followers urge her to sing a song from the future, and she obliges, reluctantly, with an a capella version of a sweet little ditty about life changing all around us. A guy named Lem is banished from the circle forever after he points out that, far from being a song from the future, the tune Maggie just warbled is actually a Cranberries hit from the ’90s. Lem just may be the hero of the movie. Similarly, the jury is still out on just what it is, exactly, Marling is trying to sell us. Follow Stephanie Zacharek on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Marvel and Disney’s The Avengers is set to close out the 11th Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday night, but the blockbuster has already started cashing in abroad, where it’s an early hit with audiences. The superhero blockbuster featuring Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson opened in 10 markets this week, earning a total of $17.1 million internationally. The haul included opening-day records in New Zealand and Taiwan, as well as new marks for a Disney release in Australia and Italy. As Bloomberg notes, the studio could use the hit after its recent $200 million loss on John Carter . [ Bloomberg ]
Superhero movie, due Stateside in early May, is already breaking records in foreign markets. By Kevin P. Sullivan Chris Evans as Captain America In “The Avengers” Photo: Walt Disney Studios The Avengers have already started to assemble overseas, and early box-office reports are spelling very good things for Marvel’s tentpole. The superhero movie that brings together Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and the Hulk has reportedly made $12.5 million in a handful of foreign markets and is already breaking records, according to The Hollywood Reporter. In Australia, ” The Avengers ” has already banked $7 million, a total that has only been beaten by ” Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 ,” which earned $8 million during its Down Under debut. The foreign rollout has proven lucrative elsewhere, too, as France added $3 million to the total. Early tracking estimated that “The Avengers” could make more than $150 million during its early May opening weekend in the U.S. That would put the film in the same class as “Spider-Man 3,” “The Hunger Games,” “The Dark Knight” and “Deathly Hallows, Part 2.” This could potentially mean the biggest debut for a Marvel Studios movie yet. ” Iron Man 2 ” currently holds that honor. The Robert Downey Jr. sequel opened to $128 million back in 2010. That’s followed by the first ” Iron Man ” at $98 million. “The Avengers” has the added advantage of higher ticket prices. The film is playing both in 3-D and in IMAX 3-D, so each individual ticket will add more to the final total. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2” saw a large bump in its record-breaking run thanks in part to higher prices attached to 3-D showings. Check out everything we’ve got on “The Avengers.” For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com . Related Videos Talk Nerdy Assemble Yourself For ‘Avengers’ Sneak Peeks
Facebook.com – Become a Fan! Twitter.com – Follow Us! Robert Downey Jr. arrived looking very Tony Stark-ish at the Avengers Premiere today in Hollywood. Robert even brought a SHIELD security team along with him ! ‘The Avengers’ opens May 4!
This just in from the Avengers press conference in Beverly Hills, where Robert Downey Jr. may or may not be messing with the assembled press a la Tony Stark: “We are shooting one more scene [for The Avengers ]… tonight. Not kidding.” Aaand with that mysterious cliffhanger, Downey and his fellow superheroes exited the stage. What does it mean? UPDATE : Joss Whedon reacts: “He’s Robert, of course he’s kidding.” Well, it was fun while it lasted. And Downey did promise that nothing after his first answer would be sincere. Stay tuned for Movieline’s full report from the Avengers junket!
I’m getting my gun license….and I love gun culture…seriously…I just think shit is a perfect balance of Americana and fucking red neck and rock and roll and I want to be a part of it….I love the idea of shooting things in the desert…and I love when I see hot bitches…dressed the way I’d expect them to be dressed to fill my gun culture fantasies….That’s why I’m posting this Abby Brothers photoshoot for Smug Magazine #5….but I’m also doing it cuz she’s showing her tits…and tits always need to be celebrated when bitch is willing to show them…even if they are small and mainly just nipple….especially when I’m in love. I’ve posted her NAKED BEFORE …..and now I need to go figure out how to have sex with her…. This shit makes me want to go shoot….this bitch with my dick….I’m in love. Here’s the ass…
