Box Office Update: The Identical Flops

Movie patrons had no faith in the family drama The Identical--Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" won again as expected.

Pamela McClintock of THR:

Faith-based Elvis musical drama The Identical bombed at the North American box office, falling outside the top 10 with $1.91 million. The independent movie cost more than $32 million to make and market.

Identical is playing in 1,956 theaters. If the theater count was rounded up, its debut would mark the third-worst opening of all time for a film playing in 2,000 or more locations, not accounting for inflation.

The weekend after Labor Day is historically the slowest frame of the year for moviegoing, but this year was worse than usual, with revenue tumbling more than 20 percent over last year and continuing the downward trend at the troubled domestic box office. Ticket sales topped out at roughly $63 million, the lowest of any weekend this year.

Marvel and Disney's Guardians of the Galaxy stayed at No. 1 in its sixth weekend, grossing $10.6 million for a domestic total of $294.6 million. Globally, the tentpole has earned $586.2 million, surpassing the first Iron Man ($585 million).

Guardians is the top-grossing film of 2014 so far in North America, eclipsing the $259.8 million earned by fellow Marvel and Disney tentpole Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

The Identical, playing in just under 2,000 theaters and coming in No. 11, failed to enjoy the same success that a spate of faith-based films have enjoyed this year at the box office, including Heaven Is for Real, God's Not Dead and Son of God. Indeed, it could suffer one of the worst openings of all time for a wide release and lost to another faith-friendly film now in its third weekend, When the Game Stands Tall, which came in No. 8 with $3.7 million for a domestic total of $23.5 million.

The musical centers on twin brothers (both played by Blake Rayne, a former Elvis impersonator) who were separated at birth. One, Drexel Hemsley, grows up to become an Elvis-like star, and the other, Ryan Wade, is raised by a strict minister father (Ray Liotta) and mother (Ashley Judd). But Wade goes against the wishes of his conservative parents and seeks out his own musical career.

Dustin Marcellino makes his feature film directorial debut with the PG film, which Freestyle Releasing is distributing for City of Peace Films. The marketing budget for The Identical was just north of the film's $16 million production budget, and the funds were split 50-50 between faith-based efforts and national TV, radio and digital campaigns.

Holding at No. 2 in its fifth weekend was Paramount's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which took in $6.5 million for a North American cume of $174.6 million. Fox's R-rated comedy Let's Be Cops, YA film adaptation If I Stay and The November Man will round out the top five.

Scarlett Johansson's action film Lucy placed No. 10 in North America with $1.94 million as it crossed the $300 million mark worldwide in a major victory for Luc Besson's EuropaCorp. Lucy has grossed $143.7 million domestically and $192.2 million overseas.

Making headlines at the specialty box office was Richard Linklater's Boyhood, which crossed the $20.7 million mark in North America.

Next Up: In the thriller No Good Deed, Terri (Taraji P. Henson) is a devoted wife and mother of two, living an ideal suburban life in Atlanta when Colin (Idris Elba), a charming but dangerous escaped convict, shows up at her door claiming car trouble. Terri offers her phone to help him but soon learns that no good deed goes unpunished as she finds herself fighting for survival when he invades her home and terrorizes her family.

Sam Miller directed the pic using writer Aimee Lagos' script.

The sequel Dolphin Tale 2 swims ashore. The first film is based on a true story inspired by the life of both Winter, and a new baby dolphin named Hope who was rescued by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in 2010.

Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman, Kris Kristofferson The Secret Life of the American Teenager alum Austin Stowell and Nathan Gamble are back for the sequel. The first film's director Charles Martin Smith wrote and directed the follow-up as well. Celebrated surfer Bethany Hamilton, the subject of the biopic "Soul Surfer" appears in the film as well.
   
Atlas Shrugged: Who Is John Galt? cones  out and I ask-Does anyone care?

Louis C.K. Nabs "Trumbo" Role

Comedian and actor Louis C.K. has joined the cast the indie biopic "Trumbo" says ScreenDaily.

The film charts the times of  blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo (former "Breaking Bad" star Bryan Cranston)

Trumbo was a high in-demand screenwriter with films like "Kitty Foyle," "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, "Roman Holiday," "Spartacus," "Exodus" and "Papillon".

He was also a member of the Communist Party USA and refused to give information to Senator Joseph McCarthy's House Un-American Activities Committee. He became part of Hollywood 10, a group of screenwriters blacklisted by the studios.

 C.K. will play screenwriter Arlen Hird, who like Trumbo, fell on hard times after being blacklisted, but refused to compromise on his principles.

Helen Mirren is set to play gossip columnist Hedda Hopper. Peter Mackenzie will play the liberal attorney for the Hollywood 10. Roger Bart is playing Buddy Ross, a producer who works with Trumbo. Elle Fanning  is set to play Trumbo’s daughter while John Goodman will portray producer Frank King. Michael Stuhlbarg is set to play iconic Golden Age actor  Edward G. Robinson, famous for his roles in Little Caesar and Key Largo.The former Jag star David James Elliott has signed on to play big-screen icon John Wayne in the film.

John McNamara wrote the adapted script based on author Bruce Alexander Cook's 1977 book from which Jay Roach will direct.

 Michael London, Janice Williams and McNamara will produce.

Production begins later this month in New Orleans.

2 More "Terminator" Films Get Release Dates

Paramount has dated two sequels to "Terminator: Genisys," the upcoming reboot of the franchise reports Deadline.

Production on 'Genisys' wrapped several weeks ago and it is due to open July 1st 2015. It will be followed by a 2nd Terminator Sequel on May 19th 2017 and a 3rd Terminator Sequel on June 29th 2018.

Due to the closeness of those dates, it's already being speculated that Paramount intends to shoot both sequels back-to-back. That is not confirmed at this time.

Annapura Pictures and Skydance are co-producing the films as well as a proposed tie-in TV series that will be connected to the films.

 No word if Genisys director Alan Taylor will return to call action on the sequels.

Star Wars: Episode VII: Old Rumors Are Confirmed...??!!

Several months ago, a member on the web boards 4Chan posted a number of unconfirmed plot details regarding  J.J. Abrams' "Star Wars: Episode VII" which supposedly came from the second draft of what would become the final script.

 Original Trilogy stars Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker Harrison Ford as Han Solo  and Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Peter Mayhew playing the legendary Wookiee Chewbacca, and Kenny Baker as Astro droid R2 D2 will be back.
 
Franchise creator George Lucas told Bloomberg Businessweek that he begun talks with original stars to have them return to for its new films -- before he had even begun the process of the ultimately $2 billion deal and sale. It's been said that Lucas' actually spent about a year planning the franchise's future before handing the reigns of Lucasfilm over to Disney.

The new cast members also include John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson,Christina Chong and  Max von Sydow as a villain character. 12 Years a Slave Best Supporting Actress Lupita Nyong'o and Game of Thrones co-star Gwendoline Christie have officially been cast in the film as well. Parkour master Pip Andersen and actress Crystal Clarke have joined the sequel--the pair were two of the 37,000 or so hopefuls who attended casting calls across eleven cities. Miltos Yerolemou, who had a small but memorable role as Arya Stark's sword trainer in the first season of "Game of Thrones," has joined the cast of in an undisclosed role reports The BBC. The role is said to be a minor one.

Disney/Lucasfilm haven't revealed any character details at all however, so which of the newcomers is playing which roles is all speculation at this point.

In recent weeks Latino Review claims to have corroborated several bits of information from that original post. Now, they've got a copy of the original post in its entirety up, which includes a few new bits of information for those who may have missed them the first time 'round.

POTENTIAL MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD

Leia is made leader of the Republic after her predecessor's death

Han is a retired veteran of the Republic fleet

Luke hasn't been seen in nearly 30 years

The lead character is Han and Leia's daughter

The other lead is the child of Lando, and either a male or female depending on who is cast

The other lead is a Stormtrooper, also either a male or female depending on who is cast

Dialogue for these two characters is very rough in the second draft

Luke has no known offspring

The Empire still exists in the form of a number of loyal galaxies and are in a state of cold war with the Republic

The Empire is simply referred to as the "Empire," and the Republic is referred to formally only once, as the "Galactic Republic;" no "New" anywhere

There are no Jedi whatsoever, and people still speak as if they are extinct, with Luke being "the last of his kind"

The main antagonists are an older student of the Emperor, and his apprentice

The apprentice takes control of the power dynamic between the two pretty quickly...

The Republic are excavating ruins on a neutral world for a weapon; the world factors into tense negotiations the Empire have had with the Republic, and is referred to as the "Sith Homeworld"

Loredump: In the script, the Sith are a couple thousand years old, founded by an ancestor of Palpatine called Ruin; the apprentice in this film also goes by that name the ruins within the Sith Homeworld are a control station; the planet itself is the weapon

Luke saves the day at the end, but in a bad way; he has changed

If these points are correct, it would seem to confirm earlier reports that Boyega is playing a Stormtrooper, Ridley is playing Han Solo and Princess Leia's daughter, and Clarke is Lando Calrissian's (Billy Dee Williams) daughter.

Making Star Wars also throws in another rumor from the other week, that one character in the film will be a descendant of Count Dooku (Christopher Lee ). They say that was the role that Sherlock and "Star Trek Into Darkness" star Benedict Cumberbatch was linked to for a while that has since been transferred to Christie.

END POTENTIAL SPOILERS

Scottish actor Ian McDiarmid who played Emperor Palpatine attended the recent London Film and Comic Con and confirmed that he would not return to the "Star Wars" universe in the  upcoming trilogy--but he didn't rule out a return in a potential spin-off pre-Return of the Jedi:

"I'm definitely not in [Episode VII]. As you know, he's dead by then. I know, we believe in reincarnation, and holograms… But you know, they are going to take many twists on the story as the years go on, and I guess they may go back to a time - I've got no clue, I'm speaking off the top of my head - when the Emperor ran the universe. And I don't want anyone else to play him, do I?"

In a recent post Latino Review claims that Palpatine is part of the new trilogy after all--though played by another actor...

James Earl Jones, the man behind the voice of Star Wars villain Darth Vader was asked by Variety recently about the possibility of playing the character in more films, perhaps one of the Spin-Off Films for example set before "Return of the Jedi". He said: "Oh no. I've got no illusions that I will or even hankerings to be in them, but I'm very proud to have been part of the original."

Abrams wrote the script with Lawrence Kasdan for the film. Oscar winner Michael Arndt ("Toy Story 3," "Little Miss Sunshine") vacated his job scripting the next film--after disagreements over which characters the film will focus on.

Kasdan ("The Empire Strikes Back," "Raiders of the Lost Ark") and Simon Kinberg ("Sherlock Holmes," "X-Men: Days of Future Past") have reportedly closed deals to pen the final two installments of the new "Star Wars" trilogy. Kasdan and Kinberg are also indeed writing the stand alone/origin Star Wars features. Company CEO Robert A. Iger recently revealed that the studio has three features in the works - not two as previously indicated.  "Godzilla" reboot director Gareth Edwards is going to direct the first of the upcoming Star Wars Spin-Off Films. "Fantastic Four" reboot and "Chronicle" director Josh Trank is officially set to direct the as yet Untitled Number 2 stand alone spin-off film.

The plan is to have each of these films come out in the years when we don't see a new episode of the saga - They would come out in 2016, 2018 and 2020. We still don't know which characters these spin-offs will focus on. Current franchise chief, Kathleen Kennedy spoke to Yahoo about the stand-alone films saying that they will NOT affect the main narrative of the Episodes.

Looking ahead "Looper" and "Brick" writer-director Rian Johnson has inked a deal to both pen and call action on "Star Wars: Episode VIII" as well as write a treatment for "Star Wars: Episode IX".
  
The series MVP composer John Williams is set to score Episode VII, Episode VIII and Episode IX.
  
Kasdan and Kinberg would also join the projects as producers with Kennedy.

There was  a scheduled two-week production hiatus in August to allow for adjustments in the shooting schedule following Ford's recovery from that injury where he  broke his left leg. The injury is also said to have happened during filming on a top secret set rather than on the Millennium Falcon set as was widely reported.

Production is scheduled to take place through September at Pinewood Studio in England. The film has a confirmed release date of December 18, 2015

Review: Chris Esper's "Always a Reason"

The recent suicide death of actor and comedian Robin Williams shocked and saddened the world. It put a spotlight on a very dark subject matter that frankly needs more attention... Chris Esper's latest short film called "Always a Reason" does just that in a very vivid way.

The 3 minute film was submitted to the recently relaunched Project Greenlight for consideration. Sadly though, the film wasn't selected for the top 200, but it is now public and is a must see. If your life has been touched by suicide (as mine has) you will appreciate this film all the more.

It follows a man (Don Tempesta) who has lost everything and contemplates suicide until a phone call makes him think twice.

The short was co-directed and produced by Esper and Tempesta--who also wrote the script The pic co-stars Christian Goodwin.

Given the format restrictions--the film does what it needed to do.The performances are solid. If nothing else, perhaps, the more folks that see "Reason" the conversation can begin again...Bravo

You can watch the film by going here

Be sure to read my review of Esper's short film Still Life and the interview I conducted with him in early January of this year.

Eisenberg And Labeouf Tipped For "Arms And The Dudes"

Jesse Eisenberg and Shia Labeouf  are in talks to star in the real life inspired comedy "Arms And The Dudes" says Deadline.

 The story is based on Guy Lawson's article in Rolling Stone that follows two stoners (Labeouf, Eisenberg), who got a $300 million contract to supply weapons for allies in Afghanistan. Due to their inexperience, they quickly find themselves in danger abroad and in trouble back home.

Jason Smilovic (Lucky Number Slevin) is writing the adapted screenplay from which Todd Phillips will call action.

Phillips. his former The Hangover star Bradley Cooper and Mark Gordon will produce the movie while Bryan Zuriff is executive producing.

Batman v Superman-DOJ: Eisenberg Hiding Lex Look?

A photo has popped up on Twitter of a fan who took a picture with Jesse Eisenberg  which has gone viral. In it Eisenberg sports brown hair that looks like part of a wig to disguise what lies underneath. Speculation is that this look is hide how he will look as Lex Luthor in Zack Snyder's upcoming superhero team-up film "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" :

just met jesse eisenberg from the social network and had a conversation with him cool 💯 pic.twitter.com/6n12xuZNDE
— nicole yioupis (@nyioupis) September 4, 2014

DOJ will see the return of Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent, Ben Affleck will play Bruce Wayne/Batman amid lots of fallout--while Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane are set to reprise their roles as Lois Lane, Perry White and Martha Kent. "Fast Five" star Gal Gadot's playing Wonder Woman.

Batman News has posted a report from the Detroit set about an action sequence being filmed:

"There is filming taking place on a seaside port at night. It seems as if The Batmobile has and will be involved. A chase scene has been filmed that included a lot of stunts. A Batman stunt double was used to film a scene that had Batman standing on the top of a 40+ story crane. Most of this shooting has been stunt double heavy. Also, Lex does have hair (as I mentioned a while back), but not the bright red as some sites are speculating."

How big Gadot's role as WW is, is unknown at this point. Godot beat out Olga Kurylenko and Elodie Yung for the role. Thor: The Dark World" actress is Jaimie Alexander was also linked.

Some time ago there was noise that the production was seeking is a love interest for the Dark Knight in the film. The Type? A woman in their late 20s of any ethnicity. Adding that she be tall and "possess physicality".

The notice DID NOT give a name for the character, which led to speculation that it was anyone from Vicki Vale to Wonder Woman. A leaked casting call had fanboys thinking that the Amazon warrior was in the pic.

A love interest for Bats suggests that he will have a larger part in the film than expected.

Rumors started that reportedly confirmed that Jason Momoa has been cast as Aquaman for both DOJ and "Justice League".  In response Momoa posted a new photo via Instagram that seemed like a response to the chatter that could go either way (though most likely it's a denial) - The pic sees him  holding a pitchfork like a trident, but he's also holding up his middle finger.

Momoa has been linked to Warner Bros' upcoming DC Entertainment plans for a long time but he's been suggested for numerous other roles like Doomsday or Metallo alien hero Martian Manhunter who also happens to like Oreo Cookies. The imposing actor has been asked about the talk several times but has always denied that he's up for a role.

 Ray Fisher is playing the role of Cyborg in the film. Jeremy Irons has been cast as Wayne's butler Alfred Pennyworth.

There were reports that suggested that the chatter about former "Breaking Bad" star Bryan Cranston was playing Lex in the upcoming movie were true were denied by the actor. In fact he and fellow early frontrunner Mark Strong were never offered the role. Tom Hanks was internally discussed but an offer was never made.

Instead, they stuck with a next generation' mandate. We were told that Joaquin Phoenix came up as a contender for Lex. The trade says that he passed.

Latino Review reports that four secondary villains are making an appearance in DOJ: Victor Zsasz Morgan Edge Amanda Waller and David Cain.

According to their sources, the serial killer Zsasz will fight with Affleck's Batman in an early Gotham City-set scene. Edge will be the slimy public relations head of LexCorp who goes toe to toe with Lois Lane on a TV talk show. Cain will meet with Luthor's bodyguard Mercy to set up an assassination. There's also another baddie  that is yet to be cast . In this incarnation Waller's a stern, intimidating senator who sees Superman as a threat and comes up with a counter measure to stop him.

Holly Hunter, Callan Mulvey and Tao Okamoto ("The Wolverine") have joined the cast. Specifics about their new characters are being kept under wraps. Australian actor Mulvey ("Zero Dark Thirty) has  been rumored for the role of an (unnamed) villain in the film for quite some time now....Scoot McNairy ("Argo," "The Rover") has joined the film. Nobody at the studio will confirm the news or reveal what the role is.

 Spanish site El Multicine which claims that "Looper"and "Edge Of Tomorrow" actress Emily Blunt is close to inking a deal for an unspecified role.

Batman on Film also suggests that the character of Commissioner Jim Gordon is in the film, however there's no word on potential casting or confirmation at this time. The character is front and center in Fox Broadcasting's fantastic looking new Fall TV Series prequel Gotham starring  Ben McKenzie, Donal Logue, and Jada Pinkett Smith

More rumors ran recently that Girls co-star Adam Driver was the frontrunner to play the character of Dick Grayson, the post-Robin Nightwing incarnation in the film. The original story mentioned that two other actors are in the mix for the role. Less than 24 hours later "Gossip Girl" and "Easy A" star Penn Badgley and "The Perks of Being A Wallflower" and "We Need To Talk About Kevin" star Ezra Miller were said to be in mix for the part. Driver denied any such talk...With good reason since he was really up for Lex. He turned it down due to scheduling conflicts. Denzel Washington was also among a list potentials for Lex generated by Thinkmcflythink as were Idris Elba and Colin Salmon.

Singer Justin Bieber uploaded a photo on his Instagram account showing him holding up what appeared to be a personalized script for the film with the hashtag "#Robin" but it turned out to be a prop for a Funny or Die skit.

The speedster The Flash is said to be in the script.

Meantime: The star of The CW's popular Arrow TV series Stephen Amell posted a "Justice League" comic image on his official Facebook page.  We already know that Flash (Grant Gustin) showed up there for a few eps before getting his own show this Fall (Watch an extended trailer). Could more of DC Entertainment's "Justice League" be coming to "Arrow"? For now the DC Cinematic Universe will NOT co-exist with the TV heroics...There are rumors about where the films might go as well as the  TV side of things...

"Man Of Steel" writer David S. Goyer was back on the keyboard but now--THR reports that  Chris Terrio, who won an Oscar for writing Affleck's “Argo,” has been hired to write the latest draft of the MOS 2 script. 

Goyer is in the midst of developing several projects including an adaptation of author Neil Gaiman's  popular comic book series Sandman, which he’ll produce with Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Christopher Nolan and Charles Roven return to executive produce the multi-hero film.

Sources say the new movie is going for the tone of the relationship and fight seen in Frank Miller’s 1980s ground-breaking mini-series The Dark Knight Returns.

The DOJ release was delayed a full 10 months for a number of reasons. As a result, the original release date of July 17th 2015 was no longer. The studio then targeted a May 6th 2016 release. They quickly inserted the fantasy Pan into that original slot. The sequel was to go head to head with "Captain America 3" ...Nobody thought that the comic book pics would ultimately share the date--Sure enough DOJ blinked--and will now open on March 25th 2016.

Once DOJ is completed  Snyder will helm the long planned Justice League movie penned by "Argo" scribe Terrio

James McTeigue Charts The "Alien Sleeper Cell"

Heat Vision reports that James McTeigue ("V for Vendetta," "The Raven") is set to direct the sci-fi thriller "Alien Sleeper Cell".

The story brings together "The Bourne Identity" and cable TV's "The Americans" as that of an alien invasion.

Morgan Davis Foehl ("Blackhat") penned the script.

Joe Gatta Jovi Sighvatsson and Adrian Askarieh are producing .

Mission: Impossible 5 Finds Its Bad Guy

British character actor Sean Harris ("The Borgias," "Deliver Us From Evil," "Prometheus") is in talks to play the villain in "Mission: Impossible 5" says Deadline.

Tom Cruise will star again as special operative Ethan Hunt in the sequel. Jeremy Renner is all set to reprise his role of William Brandt from 2011's "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" Simon Pegg also returns as will Ving Rhames .

Rhames was a regular in the first three installments of the film series, but only had cameo in "Protocol". No word on how extensive his role is in this film.

The White Queen star Rebecca Ferguson's character is said to be some sort of assassin. This is reportedly the role Jessica Chastain turned down to scheduling, The role requires months of intense training leading up to and during production. Alec Baldwin will play a high-ranking CIA official who oversees Cruise's division.

There's still no word as to whether Paula Patton will reprise her role from 'Ghost Protocol'.

Christopher McQuarrie ("Jack Reacher") is directing MI #5 from a script by video game scribe Will Staples. Drew Pearce penned the initial script.

The filmmakers behind the action sequel have reportedly closed a deal to film inside the Houses of Parliament in London - the first motion picture to do so. Until this year, filming on the site was forbidden. The Shard and Olympic Stadium are also being scouted as well. This would also mark the film series' return to London since the first film in 1996 Paramount has not confirmed this report. Some filming has also taken place in Morocco.

Cruise, David Ellison and J.J. Abrams are producing.

A Christmas 2015 release being targeted

Jake's Life Will Soon Fall Apart In "Demolition"

ScreenDailly reports that cameras will soon roll on the dramatic comedy Demolition.

Jake Gyllenhaal stars as a young investment banker whose life collapses following the tragic death of his wife. Tearing apart what little he has left trying to figure out where he went wrong, he is rescued by a a pot smoking single mother (Naomi Watts) that he meets during a chance encounter.

Dallas Buyers Club director Jean-Marc Vallée will call action on the pic from a screenplay written by Bryan Sipe (Alpha Mail).

John Malkovich, Lianne Halfon Thad, Trent Luckinbill Molly Smith and Russell Smith will produce the pic.

Jason Reitman and Helen Estabrook are executive producing here.

Production is slated to begin in New York City on September 15th.

The project will be shopped around at the Toronto International Film Festival.

A Trio Of Ladies Will "Live By Night".

Deadline reports that Sienna Miller, Zoe Saldana and Elle Fanning have joined the film adaptation of author Dennis Lehane's novel "Live by Night".

The Boston-set Prohibition-era story centers on Joe Coughlin (Ben Affleck), a man who rebels against his cop father and becomes a career criminal. He soon rises up the mob's ranks as the action moves to Florida and then Cuba. The story also includes rumrunners, femme fatales, betrayals and plenty of sin.

Miller will play the girlfriend of Joe's mobster boss. Saldana is a woman he meets when he becomes involved in organized crime in Tampa. Fanning plays a sheriff’s daughter and aspiring actress who gets into trouble.

Some of the characters also appeared in another Lehane novel - "The Given Day".

Leonardo DiCaprio Rick Yorn and Jennifer Davisson Killoran will produce.

Affleck had originally planned to direct this pic a while back but put aside those plans to play Bruce Wayne in the upcoming "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice".  He's expected to direct the movie immediately after DOJ wraps.

Katniss Rebel Warrior Teaser Poster

The Katniss Rebel Warrior Teaser Poster for the start to the two film adaptation of the last book in author Suzanne Collins' trilogy- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 has debuted exclusively on the official mobile app 'Our Leader the Mockingjay:

Julianne Moore would play District 13 leader Alma Coin. In the book, she is in charge of the mysterious district where heroine  Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) launches her fight against President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and his tyrannical Capitol regime. The pair clash over Katniss' methods and motivations. "Game of Thrones," "Elementary" and "Captain America: The First Avenger" actress Natalie Dormer will play Cressida a film director working in the Capitol who winds up joining the rebellion with her assistant, Messalla, and her cameramen, Castor and Pollux. Australian actress Stef Dawson plays  District 4 victor Annie Cresta and Finnick’s (played by Sam Claflin) love interest. Evan Ross has been cast as Messalla the assistant to Cressida, who is part of the TV crew that follows Katniss and shoots short propaganda films. American Horror Story star Lily Rabe will play Commander Lyme, a District 2 victor of an unknown Hunger Games and one of the leaders in the Rebellion at District 13. All My Children co-star Patina Miller makes her film debut as Commander Paylor the rebel commander of District 8. Wes Chatham and Elden Henson will play Castor and Pollux. As brothers. The duo work on the TV crew that films Katniss, and Pollux also has intimate knowledge of the sewer system beneath the Capitol. Mahershala Ali was cast as Katniss’ protector Boggs. Character actor Robert Knepper will play Antonius said to be  President Snow’s  minister. Fans of the book have noted that there is no character by that name. The only character that has some resemblance to the name is Aurelius, but in the story he is a doctor, not a minister. If that is the case, then it would be the first time that the film has stepped away from the source material.

Josh Hutcherson,Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, and Lenny Kravitz will return.

Multi-award-winning "Game Change" and "The Butler" writer Danny Strong  and Peter Craig adapted the two-part finale.

 Francis Lawrence returns to direct.

Mockingjay Part 1 opens November 21st 2014.

Joachim Trier Sets Off His "Louder Than Bombs"

Gabriel Byrne, Jesse Eisenberg, Isabelle Huppert, Amy Ryan, and David Strathairn are starring in Joachim Trier's English-language debut "Louder Than Bombs" says ScreenDaily.

The story follows Gene (Byrne) and his two sons (Eisenberg, newcomer Devin Druid pictured) struggling to cope with the death of Gene’s wife (Huppert), an internationally celebrated photographer.

Trier and Eskil Vogt ("Reprise") co-wrote the script for this film.

Thomas Robsahm Alexandre Mallet-Guy. Joshua Astrachan, Marc Turtletaub, Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa are producing the movie

Production is underway in New York City.

Efron And De Niro Unite For "Dirty Grandpa"

Zac Efron did a mean Robert De Niro from Taxi Driver in this summer’s comedy hit Neighbors, now THR reports that the duo will share the screen for the comedy "Driving Dick Kelly" aka Dirty Grandpa 

The story follows a young man (Efron) who, just before his wedding, gets tricked by his perverted grandpa (De Niro) to go on a road trip to Florida for spring break. The grandfather, a former U.S. Army General, tries to prove to his grandson that he is about to marry the wrong woman.

Dan Mazer, who co-wrote the scripts for Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat and The Dictator, is directing from a script by John Phillips,

Barry Josephson is producing the film. The project will be shopped around at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Will [SPOILER] Return For "Apes 3"?

"Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" director  Matt Reeves was recently asked by the Chinese news site site M Time (via Bad Ass Digest) about the fate of one of the characters - the ape villain Koba (Toby Kebbell). We saw him fall in the climactic showdown with Caesar (Andy Serkis), but did he actually die?

Reeves said:

"You're one of the few people to ever mention that. That's pretty funny. Because I struggled with... I thought that Toby Kebbell gave such an incredible performance. And I thought he was so powerful and I thought: 'God, you don't find a villain who has got that great a story.' Because as you said, he was not really formed as a villain; he's really a tragic figure. And I thought: 'God, he's amazing; let's leave open the possibility. Let's create the door of a possibility if we find a story that becomes worth telling, that we can go down that path again because I thought the vein was so rich.'"

In fact, he admits that he considered making it much clearer that Koba had survived:

"I actually had been working on a version where you could actually see him survive and I realized that it wasn't...it was Caesar's movie, and it was undercutting the whole idea. It sort of felt cheap. And so as we were mixing, I was like: 'I want to just leave one tiny Easter Egg right at the end. I want to leave open the door just the tiniest crack.'"

That crack was the post-credits blank scene where faint ape-like sounds can be heard moving around amidst all the debris.

The next sequel in the rebooted franchise hits in 2016 

Julia Roberts Poised To Tell "The Secret In Their Eyes"

Julia Roberts is in advanced talks to join the remake of the 2009 Argentinian foreign-language Oscar winner "The Secret in Their Eyes" says ScreenDaily.

Billy Ray, who wrote and directed "Shattered Glass" and "Breach," is reconfiguring the original which will now focus on a former MI5 agent haunted by an unsolved case who discovers a shocking truth about past events.

Chiwetel Ejiofor and Gwyneth Paltrow also star

Mark Johnson and John Ufland will produce the update.

Juan Jose Campanella, who directed the original, will executive produce the new pic.

Production begins in Los Angeles in late October.

Box-Office Preview: Identical results

The faith based film The Identical (reviews) is this weekend's sole wide release--it's probable that  Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" will be tops again...

Twin brothers (played by Blake Rayne) are unknowingly separated at birth; one of them becomes an iconic rock 'n' roll star, while the other struggles to balance his love for music while Ryan Wade struggles to find balance between his love for music and trying to please his evangelist father (Ray Liotta) and his devoted mother (Ashley Judd).

Howard Klausner (“Space Cowboys”) wrote the screenplay from which Dustin Marcellino called the shots--his directorial debut.

Pamela McClintock of THR:

With just one new wide release — the faith-based Elvis drama The Identical — hitting theaters this weekend, it looks like Marvel and Disney's Guardians of the Galaxy will earn its fifth No. 1 at the U.S. box office.

The space opera directed by James Gunn and starring Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana is looking to earn around $9 million to $10 million in its sixth weekend in U.S. theaters. The film has been having a great run in what has been a underwhelming summer, and it became the top-grossing film of 2014 domestically in early August, eclipsing the $259.8 million earned by fellow Marvel and Disney tentpole Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

The film has earned $282.6 million domestically and $555.7 million worldwide as it heads into its sixth weekend in theaters. A sequel has already been announced.

The weekend after Labor Day is an infamously slow weekend, and this year looks to be no exception, with only one new release hitting theaters nationwide.

The Identical is aiming to go after the Christian audience that has propelled several other films into box-office success this year, including Heaven Is for Real, God's Not Dead and Son of God. Opening in around 1,950 theaters, the musical drama looks likely to earn less than $3 million in its U.S. debut unless the religious audience flocks to theaters.

The film stars Blake Rayne as a young man who lives a tough but normal life until he decides to go against the wishes of his minister father (Ray Liotta) and mother (Ashley Judd) and embark on a music career. People start to realize he has the same voice and talent as a famous Elvis Presley-like singer named Drexel “the Dream” Hemsley (also Rayne), which turns out to be the case because they're twins separated at birth.

Dustin Marcellino makes his feature film directorial debut with the PG film, which Freestyle Releasing is distributing.

Cameras Roll On "The Last Witch Hunter"

Production has officially begun on the supernatural action thriller "The Last Witch Hunter" Star Vin Diesel announced the news with a new photo of himself from the film which he posted on his Facebook page.

Post by Vin Diesel.

The story follows one of the last remaining witch hunters (Diesel) on his latest mission - wandering the streets of modern New York City forced to partner with his natural enemy, a female witch ("Game of Thrones" actress Rose Leslie). The two must stop a villainous witch queen from obtaining a relic and unleashing plague upon humanity.

Sir Michael Caine and Elijah Wood also star.

The screenplay was originally penned by Cory Goodman and has since had revisions by D.W. Harper and a polish by Melisa Wallack from which Breck Eisner is gonna call action.

Previously "Wanted" director Timur Bekmambetov was attached to direct and produce but he's no longer a part of the pic.

Diesel, Mark Canton and Bernie Goldmann will produce.

Hunnam & Robbie May Meet At "The Mountain Between Us"

Charlie Hunnam and Margot Robbie are circling the the romantic drama "The Mountain Between Us" says THR.

Based upon the Charles Martin penned novel, the story follows a female writer (Robbie) heading off to get married and a doctor (Hunnam) returning home from a medical conference. After their flight is cancelled, the strangers agree to charter a ride only to see the pilot suffer a heart attack and crash into a desolate snowy mountain. The doctor is an avid climber and he struggles to help get her down from the mountain in harsh weather. 

Michael Fassbender was attached to play the doc but has dropped out of the project

Gerardo Naranjo ("Miss Bala") was initially set to call action. Now Hany Abu-Assad ("Paradise Now") will call action.

J. Mills Goodloe wrote the adapted the script.

Peter Chernin, Dylan Clark David Ready and Jenno Topping will produce the film.

Andrés Muschietti Sees The "Shadow Of The Colossus"

Deadline reports that Argentine filmmaker Andrés Muschietti (Mama) will call the shots on the film adaptation of the Team Ico video game "Shadow Of The Colossus" for the big screen over at Sony Pictures. Josh Trank ("Chronicle") was previously attached to direct.

Set in a mystical and forbidden land, the story follows a hero who wants to raise his beloved from the dead. The price though requires him to kill 16 giant creatures known as the Colossi, and along the way he begins to worry he's been tricked.

"Hanna" scripter Seth Lochhead will pen the adapted script. Justin Marks wrote an earlier draft back when the project was set up in 2009.

Kevin Misher and Barbara Muschietti will produce.

Shia Labeouf Is A "Man Down"

Variety reports that Shia Labeouf, Kate Mara and Gary Oldman are set to star in the psychological thriller "Man Down".

The story follows a haunted Afghanistan War veteran who attempts to come to terms with his past while searching for his family in a post-apocalyptic America.

Dito Montiel ("A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints") will direct from a screenplay by Adam Simon ("Synapse").

Dawn Krantz, Stephen McEveety and Jon Burton will produce.

 Production-is due to start on October 30th in New Orleans.