A Message From Me...

It's hard to believe that this blog crossed the 7 year mark in 2012! I owe whatever success the site has achieved to you--My loyal readers. Without your support and generosity...Let's just say you guys mean a lot to me and I can't thank you enough...

Don't forget that some exciting things are on tap for 2013--including a big announcement that will surely shock some of you while delighting others...

Looking Forward To Superman: Man of Steel In June

2013 is also gonna be a big year for Nobody Gets Out Alive director Jason Christopher and producer Deven Lobascio as their latest effort--will be released to the masses via stores, Redbox, Amazon.com, etc. on 2/26/13 You can pre-order the DVD And please go LIKE the new Facebook Page to help spread the word! I could not be more excited for them!

Remember you can follow me @TheLastReel on Twitter, The still a work in progress but it's up and running Facebook page!! I need more followers on Twitter in order have a "Following Limit" lifted. Right now I am prevented from following anyone until my ratio improves. Thanks for your help and understanding,,,

In case you were curious here are the 20 Top Grossing Movies of 2012...

HAPPY NEW YEAR! BE SAFE! MAY YOU BE GRANTED HAPPINESS AND GOOD HEALTH!

Thanks again folks!

Holiday Box Office Update: It's All About The Journey

The first pic in the Hobbit film series--"An Unexpected Journey" wins the final weekend of 2012. Director Quentin Tarantino's controversial revenge slave western Django Unchained takes the second spot from Tom Hooper's adaptation of Les Miserables.

Pamela McClintock of THR:

Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey stayed at No. 1 in its third weekend with $32.9 million, while Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained easily pulled ahead of Les Miserables to take the No. 2 spot at the domestic box office.

The trio of films have dominated the Christmas season. Hobbit, which opened Dec. 14, has now grossed $222.7 million in North America and north of $600 globally.

Django, from The Weinstein Co., took in $30.7 million over the weekend for a six-day total of $64 million. Universal's Les Mis, directed by Tom Hooper, posted weekend earnings of $28 million for a six-day domestic total of $67.4 million and a worldwide haul of $116.2 million.

Both films have outpaced expectations since debuting Christmas Day and, along with other movies, should see a nice boost on Monday and Tuesday (New Year's Day).

Starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz and Leonardo DiCaprio, Django is playing better to women than expected, with females making up 44 percent of the audience. African-Americans also are flocking to the movie -- about a slave who is freed by a bounty hunter -- making up an estimated 30 percent of the audience.

The film adaptation of the hit stage musical, Les Mis features an ensemble cast led by Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe and Amanda Seyfried. Les Mis has outperformed expectations at the North American box office, scoring the top opening day for a musical and the second-best Christmas Day opening of all time.

Moviegoing surged on the final weekend of the year, capping a record-breaking year for ticket sales in North America. Revenues will hit $10.8 billion on Monday, eclipsing the $10.6 billion earned in 2009 and up 5.8 percent over last year's revenue tally of $10.2 billion.

Attendance also made something of a recovery, with an estimated 1.36 billion people going to the movies in 2012, up 6 percent over last-year's 16-year low of 1.28 billion people.

The Christmas season itself brought mixed results for Hollywood. Unusually crowded, there were eight nationwide releases between Dec. 19 and Dec. 25, leaving little room for error.

Family comedy Parental Guidance -- starring Billy Crystal, Bette Midler and Marisa Tomei -- has held steady at No. 4 since debuting Christmas Day, exceeding expectations. From 20th Century Fox, the $20 million movie took in $14.8 million for the weekend for a six-day total of $29.6 million.

Tom Cruise's Jack Reacher has been relatively soft since opening Dec. 21, considering Cruise's star status. The Paramount pic grossed $14 million in its second weekend for a domestic total of $44.7 million and coming in No. 5. Reacher cost $60 million to produce.

Universal's This Is 40, from Judd Apatow, has disappointed, grossing $13.2 million over the weekend for a gross of $37.1 million. The R-rated comedy opened Dec. 21.

Barbra Streisand-Seth Rogen comedy The Guilt Trip and Disney's rerelease of Pixar's Monsters, Inc., both opening Dec. 19, are considered D.O.A.

Guilt Trip grossed $6.7 million for the weekend for a domestic total of $21.1 million. Monsters, Inc. took in $6.3 million for a total of $18.5 million.

The specialty box office also had its holiday winners and losers.

Matt Damon-John Krasinski drama Promised Land, opening Dec. 28 in 25 locations, posted weekend earnings of $190,150 million for a disappointing location average of $7,606. The Focus Features movie reunites Damon with Good Will Hunting director Gus Van Sant.

Focus is hoping the film's performance improves once the crowded holiday frame is over. On Jan. 4, Promised Land will be playing nationwide in 1,500 locations.

Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty continued to impress in its New York City and Los Angeles runs. The Sony movie earned $315,000 from five theaters for a impressive location average of $63,000 and a stellar cume of $1.4 million. The movie expands nationwide on Jan. 11

Here are the full results for the weekend at domestic box office:

1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, 3/4,100, New Line/MGM, $32.9 million, $222.7 million.

2. Django Unchained, 1/3010, The Weinstein Co., $30.7 million, $64 million.

3. Les Miserables, 1/2,814, Universal, $28 million, $67.4 million.

4. Parental Guidance, 1/3,367, 20th Century Fox, $14.8 million, $29.6 million.

5. Jack Reacher, 2/3,352, Paramount, $14 million, $44.7 million.

6. This Is 40, 2/2,914, Universal, $13.2 million, $37.1 million.

7. Lincoln, 8/1,996, DreamWorks/Disney, $7.5 million, $132.3 million.

8. The Guilt Trip, 2/2,431, Paramount, $6.7 million, $21.1 million.

9. Monsters, Inc., 2/2,618, Disney/Pixar, $6.3 million, $18.5 million.

10. Rise of the Guardians, Paramount/DreamWorks Animation, $4.9 million, $90.2 million

Next: 2013 rings in with Texas Chainsaw 3D--and I groan...

Promises To Keep--TLR In 2013

As 2012 draws to a close, I wanted to let my readers know about a few events that will take place in the coming months on the site:

1. I will be covering the release of Nobody Gets Out Alive director Jason Christopher's latest effort--It will be released via stores, Redbox, Amazon.com, etc. on 2/26/13 You can pre-order the DVD And please go LIKE the new Facebook Page to help spread the word!

2. I will be interviewing Gut director/writer Elias! The logistics are being worked out on the when but given my reaction to the film--that should be a fun chat.....

3. Look for extensive coverage of J.J. Abrams’ "Star Trek Into Darkness" through its May 17th release.

4. Zack Snyder's big budget reboot Superman: Man of Steel will also get lots of space devoted to it as well. MOS flies into theaters June 14th 2013.

5. The Last Reel Show will be back on the Net's Blog Talk Radio at some point...

Once all of that happens TLR will change...Wait!! What Was That? Change? How? Why?!!! All in good time friends...This has been a long time coming but I am not quite ready to discuss with you yet things of a very personal nature...Stay Tuned....

 In the meantine follow me @TheLastReel on Twitter, The still a work in progress but it's up and running Facebook page and remember A BIG announcement is coming soon!!

"Hong Kong Phooey" & "Marvin" Test Footage

In 2010 Eddie Murphy was slated to lend his voice for the live action/CG animated big screen adaptation of the 1970's Hanna-Barbera animated series "Hong Kong Phooey"

The story follows “a mild-mannered dog named Penry stumbles into a mystic ceremony and is accidentally granted mystic powers, including the ability to walk, talk, and do kung fu. Under the tutelage of his kung fu master, Penry dons a costume and becomes Hong Kong Phooey, and with the help of his trusting sidekick Spot the cat cleans up a rogues gallery of wacky criminals..."

In the original TV series, the character was voiced by the great Scatman Crothers.

Direct to video helmer Alex Zamm (Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts , Tooth Fairy 2 ) was set to direct the film from "Family Guy" producer David A. Goodman's script.

Broderick Johnson Andrew Kosove Jay Stern and Brett Ratner were co-producing.

At the same time Warner Bros was in the midst of doing a live-action/CG-animated hybrid film adaptation of the Looney Tunes cartoon "Marvin the Martian"

Both projects are now DOA...Zamm has posted animation test footage for both pics.

Jake Short is the human boy with Marvin



Clearly of the two--I think Marvin would make a better film.

Lincoln Review: "Buzzards' Guts, Man!"

I recently took time out of a busy holiday week to see Steven Spielberg's awards contending Lincoln biopic with a trio of young family members...

The picture focuses on the last 4 months of the life of the 16th President of  United States Abraham Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) and the great work he did in those early months of 1865 to pass the Thirteenth Amendment before his assassination in mid-April. It also tracks Lincoln's life inside the The White House with his family while historic events bubble up around him. His wife Mary Todd Lincoln, (Sally Field), his elder son Robert Todd Lincoln (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who wants to join the battlefields of the Civil War much to the dismay of his parents, and Tad (Gulliver McGrath) who idolizes his father.

Based on the best-selling book, Team of Rivals: by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, the adapted screenplay was penned by award winning writer Tony Kushner.

With a running time of 2hrs and 30 minutes and whole chunks of the film devoted to procedural politics of the day--rather than make the standard birth to death biopic--Spielberg ran the risk of losing his audience. Fortunately for the audience though Spielberg surrounded himself with a great ensemble of actors that for the most part make even the most banal and wordy scenes soar. We are engaged the entire time. Here's where my trio of young companions come in---and why I  mentioned them at the outset--A few times I looked over at each of them and you know what? They were fully engrossed in the narrative. In fact, one of the twenty-somethings got so caught up in the film--I caught him leaning forward in his seat--invested in the outcome of a critical sequence!

Daniel Day Lewis doesn't just play Lincoln. He inhabits him, Mind, Body, and Spirit. Of course I never met the real Lincoln but Day-Lewis plays him the way I imagined he was when I studied him in school. An eloquent speaker who presided over a divided nation, faced opposition from within his own party and the Democrats. Day-Lewis also nails that cold icy stare that the President showed off in a few photos that exist.

Tommy Lee Jones gives a stellar performance as well as Thaddeus Stevens, a Republican leader from Pennsylvania who was a staunch supporter of abolishing slavery and critical to writing the legislation  for the Civil War. Jones seemed to really relish playing this role--Even providing some levity--taking down his detractors in the Congress. James Spader also has a glint in his eye while trying to secure votes. Field's screen time, though limited, is affecting especially for a party greeting and when she pleads with her husband not to send Robert off to war.

The entire cast shines even those that have the smallest of roles. My only real nit pick here is that I was hoping to see more of JGL as Robert opposite his Mother and Father.

Spielberg regulars: Music score master John Williams, Director of Photography Janusz Kaminski, Editor Michael Kahn. Production Designer Rick Carter, and Costumer Joanna Johnston give the film sturdy support.

 Lincoln doesn't need to give all the details of the man's life for you to understand what made him tick--Spielberg provides enough details for you to get it.  A triumph. Making the political process worth watching...

Oscar should smile on Lincoln.

Trek 2: Finding The Right Balance

In a lengthy interview over at Collider co-writer Damon Lindelof discussed the tone of J.J. Abrams’ sequel "Star Trek Into Darkness" after the trailers and the images hint at a very dark conflict...

In the new film the Enterprise crew will face off with Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch's baddie "John Harrison" who might just be a version of Khan Noonien Singh in the film. Or is it perhaps Gary Mitchell instead? Someone else. All involved are still saying Harrison is the name of Cumby's character. I say hogwash--If that's the truth why the secrecy?

I digress...

Lindelof on the film's tone:

"We've been talking about this a lot and I think that certainly the marketing materials and the title of the movie are selling this idea of a darker Trek, but hopefully especially for the people who have seen the first nine minutes- a totally dark Trek is not Trek. And I think that one of the things that the best iterations of Trek, whether it was episodes show or the movies that were highly successful, is that they were able to find a blend of those two things where the stakes were monumentally life or death but there were still moments of great humor."

But how much of that "great humor" will Into Darkness include? Lindelof says that while comedy will be there, it certainly won't be as funny as one particular past Trek film.

"Did we want to do The Voyage Home? That is largely a comedic, fish out of water movie. No pun intended, a whale out of water movie. With strong comedy elements, but the stakes were saving the future, but the mechanics of the movies was that there was a lot of funny. No, we wanted to do a very serious movie. But when you look at the first movie you go, O.K. the opening of the movie is that Kirk's father dies and then the next sequence of events is basically a run up to Vulcan being destroyed and the fundamental aftermath of Vulcan being destroyed. All of that stuff seems pretty dark to me and so I don't feel like the first movie was necessarily light and frothy and I don't feel that this movie abberates significantly from the first movie in terms of its own level of self-importance. It's still Trek."

How do you strike the balance between humor and drama?--Lindelof says it's all about character.

"I think that the ways that the characters relate to each other, even in times of immense stress can be humorous because several of them, particularly Bones, use humor as a coping mechanism for dealing with those immense stresses. There were multiple times where we thought of something funny for someone to say and we were like that's just not going to play in this moment. And then the actor would say let me try it and see if I can sell it. And we're in the editing process now, so some of those jokes will live and some of them will die and some of them will be available on the Blu-ray and DVD. Finding the balance has been important for us. I don't think anybody wants to see a dour Star Trek movie."

Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin John Cho and Bruce Greenwood have all returned to the Final Frontier in their respective roles as Kirk Spock Uhura Dr. McCoy Scotty Chekov Sulu and Admiral Pike.

The Supporting Cast Includes Alice Eve as Carol Marcus. Nazneen Contractor who will play the wife of Noel Clarke’s family man character And former "Robocop" star Peter Weller as well as actor/stuntman Joseph Gatt. Original "A Nightmare on Elm Street" star Heather Langenkamp has a small part in the film as well.

Leonard Nimoy's return as Spock Prime following his larger cameo from "Star Trek" '09 had been walked back yet not fully denied...Klingons will be making an appearance in the Star Trek sequel as will their homeworld. The adversaries were left on the cutting room of the last pic.

Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Lindelof wrote the script for director Abrams.

The sequel will be produced by Abrams, Kurtzman, Orci, Lindelof, Bryan Burk, and David Ellison.

The film will be released May 17, 2013 in 3D and IMAX.

See Zombie Angst In "Wam Bodies" Extended Peek

Summit Entertainment has released the first 4 minutes of its zombie rom-com Warm Bodies

Based upon the book by Isaac Marion it's Twilight meets Shaun of the Dead during the zombie apcocalypse love story follows “an existentially-tormented zombie named R (Nicholas Hoult) that begins an unlikely friendship with the human girlfriend (Teresa Palmer) of one of his victims. The blossoming relationship starts a chain reaction that will transform him, his fellow zombies and maybe the whole lifeless world.”

Analeigh Tipton would play Nora, Palmer's best friend, who struggles with her budding emotions.  Dave Franco would play Perry Kelvin, Palmer's boyfriend, who helps leads the human resistance. Cory Hardrict is set to play Kevin, one of Palmer's dorky friends who serves as right-hand man to villain General Grigio (John Malkovich) Rob Corddry co stars as M, the only other zombie like R.

The film was directed by Jonathan Levine, who also penned the adapted script.

Bruna Papandrea David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman produced the film.

The film is set to open Feb. 1st.

This really looks good---seeming like it will be on par with the aforementioned Shaun or Zombieland--which are both genre favorites of mine....Cool.

RDJ On Iron Man 3

Speaking recently with Nuts UK, RDJ. talked a little more about the tone of Shane Black's "Iron Man 3"

"I think Shane has gone for a dark feel in this movie. It's a lot grittier and goes back to its comic-book roots. It's shaped into a really special movie - and Shane as been instrument [sic] in that."

The story is based on the popular six-issue mini series "Extremis" by Warren Ellis--The plot involves the spread of a virus through nanobots. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) will battle Ben Kingsley (as the Mandarin) and Guy Pearce's characters. Drew Pearce adapted the story into a script.

When asked about Kingsley's villain The Mandarin, he said: "I always think there's something more terrifying about a villain who's a genius, as opposed to just relying on strength or ability. We all know what a fantastic actor Ben Kingsley is, and he pulls off the evil genius with real terrifying results"

Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Jon Favreau Rebecca Hall James Badge Dale Ashley Hamilton William Sadler and Chinese star Wang Xueqi co-star.

The film hits May 3rd 2013

RIP Charles Durning (1923-2012)

Charles Durning, an iconic character actor and war hero, died on Christmas Eve in New York of natural causes. He was 89.

As an ex-pro boxer, World War II veteran, dance instructor Durning didn't get in front of the cameras until age 40. Durning got his start in guest appearances in early 1960's TV shows. He scored minor roles over the next decade until he really got noticed by film fans as the sneering, corrupt cop "Lt. Snyder" in the multi award winning hit The Sting. Durning was equally entertaining in the Billy Wilder production of The Front Page, he supported screen tough guy Charles Bronson in the suspenseful western Breakheart Pass and as "Spermwhale Whalen" in the story of unorthodox police behavior in The Choirboys. He starred a police lieutenant in "Dog Day Afternoon".

I loived Durning as "Doc Hopper" in The Muppet Movie growing up, He was a feisty football coach in North Dallas Forty, a highly strung police officer berating maverick cop Burt Reynolds in Sharky's Machine and a dancing Governor (with Reynolds once more) in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, He was great as Dustin Hoffman's would-be suitor in the comedy "Tootsie."

Durning continued a regular on screen association with Reynolds  appearing in several more features and as "Dr. Harlan Elldridge" in the highly popular TV series "Evening Shade" . Durning was always in demand on television and has guest starred in "Everybody Loves Raymond" ,"Monk" and "Rescue Me", He has appeared in the role of "Santa Claus" in five different telemovies--- It Nearly Wasn't Christmas, Mrs. Santa Claus, Elmo Saves Christmas, Mr. St. Nick and A Boyfriend for Christmas.

Read More About The 'King of Character Actors'

Rest Easy and Enjoy Those Frogs Legs...

Holiday Box Office Update: Sing Le`Miz & Django Bells

Today Santa delivers a trio of new films to the cineplex: Director Quentin Tarantino's controversial revenge slave western Django Unchained (reviews); Director Tom Hooper's adaptation of Les Miserables (reviews); Bette Midler and Billy Crystal offer up some Parental Guidance (reviews) in their new comedy.

I know one person who will not be seeing Django.

Look for updates of the box office through New Year's Day @TheLastReel on Twitter, The still a work in progress but it's up and running Facebook page and on TLR Itself. A BIG announcement is coming soon...Stay Tuned!!

RIP Jack Klugman (1922-2012)

Jack Klugman, best known for his role on the 70's TV version of The Odd Couple, has died. He was 90. He was the last surviving "Juror" from one of the best films ever  made 12 Angry Men from 1957.

As a film character actor, Klugman was the epitome of the everyman. He also played a medical examiner on TV's "Quincy M.E." He also starred in several episodes of the original Twilight Zone TV series as well.

One of my favorites always...Rest easy sir

Read more about his life here

Trek 2: Empire Mag Goes Into Darkness

The new issue of Empire Magazine features a peek inside J.J. Abrams’ sequel "Star Trek Into Darkness" The article features quotes from Abrams and the cast brand new stills from the film...The issue also features two covers...

In the new film the Enterprise crew will face off with Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch's baddie "John Harrison" who might just be a version of Khan Noonien Singh in the film. Or is it perhaps Gary Mitchell instead? Someone else. All involved are still saying Harrison is the name of Cumby's character. I say hogwash--If that's the truth why the secrecy?...And why tell us early on that the big bad was someone we know from Trek lore?

Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin John Cho and Bruce Greenwood have all returned to the Final Frontier in their respective roles as Kirk Spock Uhura Dr. McCoy Scotty Chekov Sulu and Admiral Pike. The Supporting Cast Includes Alice Eve as Carol Marcus. Nazneen Contractor who will play the wife of Noel Clarke’s family man character And former "Robocop" star Peter Weller as well as actor/stuntman Joseph Gatt. Original "A Nightmare on Elm Street" star Heather Langenkamp has a small part in the film as well. Leonard Nimoy's return as Spock Prime following his larger cameo from "Star Trek" '09 had been walked back yet not fully denied...Klingons will be making an appearance in the Star Trek sequel as will their homeworld. The adversaries were left on the cutting room of the last pic.

Abrams on Harrison:

 

He was within Starfleet and has now turned against the organization and is hell-bent on revenge. He’s responsible for a very violent, horrific attack in London and then one in the States. He believes he and others were wronged and is focused on destruction. He’s an incredibly brilliant strategist who is aware of various truths that Kirk is not privy to.

 

Cumberbatch adds:

 

He’s sort of superhuman, pretty much unbeatable. Brainy and brawny. He manipulates situations. He’s incarcerated when Kirk is talking to him and yet he still gets Kirk to do his work for him. He pushes him into a corner where the only route to salvation is cooperation. There is a real Hannibal Lecter quality to him.

 

Pine chimes in:

 

He is Kirk’s shadow of death, his Achilles’ heel. He is just a big mirror reflecting all of Kirk’s insecurities back at him. He is just as intelligent and logical as Spock, but is also one very bad motherf—er.

 

The article also says Harrison is a "Starfleet officer turned Galactic terrorist" as well as an "ex-Starfleet employee."

 

 

 

Kirk is "forced into a rash decision that breaks a critical Starfleet command, puts his crew in danger and costs him his captain’s chair." The mission to capture Harrison is described as a chance for Kirk to "rectify his mistake"

 

 

 

The sequel will feature dozens of new sets/locations, including Kirk’s apartment.

 

Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof wrote the script for director Abrams.

The sequel will be produced by Abrams, Kurtzman, Orci, Lindelof, Bryan Burk, and David Ellison.

The film will be released May 17, 2013 in 3D and IMAX.

The Place Beyond The Pines Peek

The first trailer for the dramatic thriller The Place Beyond the Pines is here....

The film will see Ryan Gosling play a pro motorcycle rider who turns to bank robberies to support his newborn son when he crosses paths with Bradley Cooper’s cop.

Eva Mendes and Rose Byrne play the wives of Gosling and Cooper Ray Liotta and Dane DeHaan co-star.

Blue Valentine writer-director Derek Cianfrance called axtion from a script he co-wrote with Ben Coccio.

Sidney Kimmel, Lynette Howell, Alex Orlovsky, and Jamie Patricof produced the pic due in theaters March 27, 2013.

Jay's Holidaze: Gremlins

Nobody Gets Out Alive director Jason Christopher gets warm and fuzzy when discussing Joe Dante’s classic Gremlins--that is unless you make a mistake and feed him after midnight....

Chris Columbus has made a ton of movies. So many that he already has one movie on my Christmas movie list. GREMLINS is the second that he wrote.

Billy gets a little odd fuzzy warm creature for a present, named Gizmo. Although, there are three rules that you must follow! Never expose him to bright light, never get him wet wet, and MOST IMPORTANTLY never feed it after midnight! Of course, something goes wrong and Gizmo spawns a ton of evil Gremlins--including Stripe! So Billy and the hot Kate Beringer played by Phoebe Cates.

All right I’m going to drift off for a second, Phoebe Cates was so hot back in the day. Actually, I saw a recent picture of her, she’s still hot for her age. Fast Times At Ridgemont High? I don’t blame Judge Reinhold…I woulda been all for getting caught in the bathroom. She’s so hot!

Anyway – the two pa;s have to stop all the gremlins before destroying the town, completely. Can we go back to talking about how hot Phoebe Cates is now?...

Watching this movie when you’re older, you'll realize this isn’t a kid’s movie. If you haven’t seen this movie since you were a kid, re watch it, it’s not family orientated. People just get murdered.... What the hell?

All in all though the movie is awesome! The sequel wasn’t as good as the first one but it’s still good! I have two more movies I’m going to talk about…stay tuned!

--Jay

Nobody Gets Out Alive (still Punishment overseas). will be released via stores, Redbox, Amazon.com, etc. on 2/26/13---please go LIKE the new Facebook Page and help spread the word!

Stewart Ready For "Huntsman 2"

Kristen Stewart has confirmed to ET Online that she will be returning for the upcoming sequel
"Snow White and the Huntsman 2"

"I'm so excited about it, it's crazy. I'm not allowed [to talk about it]. The other day I said that there was a strong possibility that we're going to make a sequel, and that's very true, but everyone was like, 'Whoa, stop talking about it.' So no, I'm totally not allowed to talk about it."

Murray Gets "Left Behind" After The Rapture

Chad Michael Murray is in talks to join the cast of the first film in a proposed new trilogy of of motion pictures based on Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins's Christian-themed "Left Behind" novel series says Deadline,

The sixteen book series is set in the aftermath of The Rapture, the Christian event in which that religion's true believers are transported to heaven. What remains of the world is shattered and chaotic, and from these ashes rises a Romanian politician promising to restore stability - a politician who is actually the Antichrist.

Murray would play journalist Cameron “Buck” Williams in the movie.

Nicolas Cage is set to star for legendary stunt coordinator Vic Armstrong who is going to direct

Three faith-based films in the series were released between 2000 and 2005--Starring Kirk Cameron. Made for just $4 million each, the films had initial bursts of business but in the end were both critical and financial flops, since even its fan base had issues with the films since they veered away from the book's plots

This version increases the budget to $15 million and is expected to be more along the lines of a classic disaster film with the action following survivors in the hours after The Rapture.

Paul Lalonde will produce the action thriller with Michael Walker, and co-write the script with John Patus, who worked on the final entry 2005s Left Behind: World at War.

Production on the first film would kick off next Spring in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Sturgess, Levi, & ? Up For Star-Lord

It's reportedly down to either Jim Sturgess, Zachary Levi ("Chuck")  and an unnamed third actor to star as Peter Quill (aka Star-Lord) in James Gunn's Marvel superhero movie "Guardians Of The Galaxy"says Variety.

The Guardians of the Galaxy comic book follows a US pilot who ends up in space during a universal conflict, then is forced to go on the run with a band of futuristic alien ex-cons.

The character is an interplanetary policeman and the Guardians leader who is born of a human mother and alien father

Levi plays Fandral in the upcoming "Thor: The Dark World" and did not appear on a short list of five actors named last month as potential casting for the part. The third actor meanwhile is expected to be screen tested after the holidays.

Marvel reportedly was also testing Joel Edgerton, Jack Huston, Lee Pace and Eddie Redmayne The studio was also said to be interested in Garrett Hedlund, James Marsden and Sullivan Stapleton.

Screenwriter Chris McCoy was recently hired to rewrite the Nicole Perlman’s original script.

The film arrives August 1, 2014

Holiday Box Office Update: #1 Beyond Tom's Reach

The first pic in the Hobbit film series--"An Unexpected Journey" proved unstoppable even against industry faves like Monsters Inc 3-D; Barbra Streisand in The Guilt Trip Paul Rudd in This Is 40 and Tom Cruise as "Jack Reacher"

Gregg Kilday of THR:

While The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey held onto the box office ring this weekend, North American moviegoers didn’t exactly rush to open the new films entering under Hollywood’s pre-Christmas tree. Jack Reacher, the Tom Cruise action movie, opened in the second slot to an estimated $15.6 million, while Judd Apatow’s latest comedy This Is 40 bowed in third place with $12 million. The Guilt Trip, the mother-son comedy starring Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen, lagged behind in the sixth spot with a tepid $5.39 million.

Launching with an exclusive release in just five theaters, Zero Dark Thirty, Kathryn Bigelow’s controversial film about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, racked up big numbers, collecting $410,000 for a per-theater average of $82,000.

While the final weekend before Christmas is traditionally slow as movies compete with holiday preparations, the box office is expected to pick up on Christmas Day, and for the new films that could mean stronger-than-usual holds which could boost their ultimate domestic grosses.

Hobbit, as it entered its second weekend, easily claimed the top position. The Warner’s release, which is playing in a combination of 4,100 2D, 3D and Imax locations, grossed $36.7 million, dropping 57 percent from its opening weekend as it cumulative domestic gross rose to $149.9 million.

Reacher, based on Lee Child’s popular book series, appealed to older males as it carved out a position at the box office, earning an A- Cinemascore. The PG-13 rated Paramount release, written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, and produced by the studio and Skydance Productions at a cost of $60 million, opened in 3,352 theaters in line with such other Cruise entries as 2002’s Collateral Damage (which bowed to $15.1 million and went on to gross $40 million domestically) and 2008’s Valkyrie (which opened on a Christmas Day, grossing $21.02 million in first weekend, with an eventual take of $83.1 million.)

“I think the movie found a sweet spot,” said Megan Colligan, Paramount president of domestic marketing and distribution. “It’s has the action hero quality that older men love and has a great opportunity to bring in teenage boys as the audience expands.”

By contrast, 40, which stars Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann, was playing to older females. Universal compared the performance of the R-rated domestic comedy, which earned $12 million in 2,913 locations, to such pre-Christmas December bows as 2000’s Family Man and Miss Congeniality, which both opened to $10 million.

“I knew if we could get $10 million, and we did better than that, then the box office for the movie would just get better and better after Christmas Day,” Nikki Rocco, Universal distribution president, said.

Trip, a PG-13 comedy directed by Anne Fletcher, has a tougher road ahead of it. The movie did open on Wednesday, which siphoned some business away from its $5.4 million weekend as it played in 2,431 locations, and its cumulative gross now stands at $7.4 million.

On Christmas Day: Santa delivers Director Quentin Tarantino's controversial revenge slave western Django Unchained; Director Tom Hooper's adaptation of Les Miserables; Bette Midler and Billy Crystal offer up some Parental Guidance in their new comedy

Jay's Holidaze: Black Christmas (1974)

The way I feel about Richard Donner's Superman is the same way that Nobody Gets Out Alive director Jason Christopher feels about the original 1974 version of Black Christmas--Both pics hold very special meaning for each of us...

I’ve said it before and dammit I’ll say it again and again and again! The following is not only my favorite holiday movie but my favorite horror movie, and probably one of my favorite movies of all time. I love this movie! In 1974

Director Bob Clarke released this little movie that has not only scared audiences but influenced plenty of filmmakers to pursue and create their own  films. A Christmas movie that didn’t leave you feeling so merry.

A lot of people always ask why I’m so obsessed with this movie. I have a few fair answers to that question! My Dad took me to Best Buy and I’ve always heard of this movie, just could never get a copy of it. BUT that day! A Sunday, December 15th, when Jason was just 16 years old – Critical Mass had recently released the first DVD of Black Christmas. This was the only thing I wanted for my birthday; thankfully, my pops bought me this movie. I went home and this is what I spent my day. I watched this movie and at this point I’ve seen all the classics, Halloween, Friday The 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street. I even saw the newer flicks – the 90’s horror ones, like Scream.

The movie plays and once it finishes I HOP out of my bed and close my closet doors. That’s the first thing. At this point it’s time for bed with school in the morning. I’m laying in bed, the Christmas lights are on. The mood is set here. I’m laying in the darkness, freaking the hell out! What if this killer comes and gets me? Who the hell was Billy?! At least Olivia Hussey was super hot. I thought all night long about how much this movie scared the crap out of me and how much I LOVED this movie at the same time. Then I started thinking – wait. Scream came after, they had phone calls. Halloween, Michael Myers stalking girls…I was connecting the dots of all of these movies and my mind was racing. Black Christmas started all of these things for the directors I knew of the day. Who the hell was this Bob Clarke guy?

A few years before I turned sixteen. I saw Porky’s – the hilarious outrageous comedy, that yet again was ahead of its time and I would say without that flick there wouldn’t be a Superbad or movies in that genre. Now, the ultimate of all ultimate Christmas movies, A Christmas Story – I saw this movie too! Where am I getting with all of this? Porky’s and A Christmas Story – I’ve seen. What I didn’t realize in the billing block under “directed by” was the same name, Bob Clarke. No way. The same man who made everyone’s favorite Christmas movie, the same man who broke ground for raunchy comedy, was the same guy who set the pace for great slasher flicks as well!

Black Christmas was really the last horror movie to ever scare me. I was completely afraid and motivated ever since. Don’t get me wrong though; movies like Audition scared the hell out of me and made me look at chicks differently when you go on a date with them.But Black Christmas opened my eyes to more old school horror flicks that are with me to this day.

Black Christmas is about a girls sorority getting phone calls from an anonymous caller, summing up that he wants to do bad things to them, kill them, or telling the killer’s past. Jess (Hussey) is pregnant and wants an abortion, which drives her boyfriend crazy, and he becomes our red herring. Lt. Fuller (John Saxon) is now assigned to track down the calls up to its grisly surprise.

If you haven’t seen the ORIGINAL Black Christmas please go check it out! People will be like, “What’s your favorite scary movie?” I’ll reply, “Oh, without a doubt, Black Christmas!” They look at me with twelve heads, “That movie sucks!” I stare at them, “No, no, no, no, you’re thinking of the remake.” Then they realize it was a remake and I send them off on their way to go do some homework!

-Jay

Nobody Gets Out Alive (still Punishment overseas). will be released via stores, Redbox, Amazon.com, etc. on 2/26/13---please go LIKE the new Facebook Page and help spread the word!

Must Watch: A Homemade Man Of Steel Trailer

This is both very cool and funny at the same time...DustFilmsOriginals has created a shot for shot homemade version of the most recent trailer for Zack Snyder's big budget reboot Superman: Man of Steel.

Here's the real thing...



And now the homemade version...



I particularly enjoyed seeing Supes running on the beach and the school bus rescue....

Bravo!

Lindelof Not Working On Prometheus 2

Director Ridley Scott's sci-fi epic "Prometheus" was one of the year's most controversial films--with folks debating its merits rather fiercely. I for one really enjoyed almost everything about it

Jon Spaihts wrote an earliy script draft that was a direct "Alien" prequel. When former "Lost" show runner Damon Lindelof  took over he made major changes which turned it into almost a standalone film with refences to what came before peppered throughout. As a result he took much of the flak from the film's detractors.

Lindelof now tells Collider that he will not be returning to work on Prometheus 2.

He says:

"I am not. Ridley and I talked at great length during the story process of the first movie about what subsequent movies would be if Prometheus were to be successful. And I think that the movie ended in a very specific way that hinted at, or strongly implied that there were going to be continuing adventures worthy of writing stories. What those stories would be would not necessarily usurp or transcend the Alien franchise as we saw it because we know that the Nostromo hasn’t come along yet. So the idea was to set up a universe that… Is it a prequel? Okay. If that’s what we want to call it, sure. But the sequel to this movie is not Alien. The sequel to this movie is this other thing.The thing about Prometheus was it was a rewrite. Jon Spaihts wrote a script and I rewrote it. And still it was a year of my life that I spent on Prometheus, kind of all in. The idea of building a sequel to it—from the ground up this time—with Ridley is tremendously exciting.But at the same time, I was like, 'Well that’s probably going to be two years of my life.' I can’t do what J.J. [Abrams] does. I don’t have the capability. I’m usually very single-minded creatively. I can only be working on one thing at a time. So I said to him, 'I really don’t think I could start working on this movie until I do this other stuff. And I don’t know when the other stuff is going to be done.' And he was like, 'Well, okay, it’s not like I asked you anyways.' He and I are on excellent terms and it was a dream come true to work with him. But much to the delight of all the fanboys, I don’t see myself being involved in Prometheus-er."

First Pic: Mad Max Fury Road

AICN has posted the first photo from "Mad Max: Fury Road"--the reboot of the Mad Max franchise. Tom Hardy will star as post-apocalyptic drifter Max Rockatansky made famous first by Mel Gibson. The photo was signed by Hardy and given to one of the crew.

The plot sees Max get caught up with a group of people fleeing across the Wasteland in a War Rig driven by the Imperator Furiosa. This movie is an account of the Road War which follows. It is based on the Word Burgers of the History Men and eyewitness accounts of those who survived.

Aussies Megan Gale John Howard, Angus Sampson and Gillian Jones join Nicholas Hoult, Riley Keough, Charlize Theron Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Adelaide Clemens also star. Aussie Supermodel Abbey Lee Kershaw will make her acting debut in the pic.

After a series of financial and weather related delays filming wrapped recently in Namibia.

Box Office Update: Trip Is Lost Dark Is Strong

Holiday week at the cineplex kicked off on Wednesday with Monsters Inc (reviews) back in business--this time in 3-D; Barbra Streisand takes Seth Rogen on The Guilt Trip (reviews); The hunt begins in Zero Dark Thirty (reviews) as the controversial film bows for a limited run. While today: Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann discover This Is 40 (reviews); Like it or not--Tom Cruise is "Jack Reacher" (reviews) Go inside the stage show of Cirque du Soleil with Worlds Away 3-D (reviews)

Pamela McClintock of THR:

Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen's road-trip comedy The Guilt Trip debuted to an unimpressive $1.1 million at the North American box office on Wednesday as Streisand returned to the big screen in a lead role for the first time since The Mirror Has Two Faces in 1996.

From Paramount and David Ellison's Skydance Productions, Guilt Trip came in No. 2 behind Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which took in $6.3 million for a six-day domestic cume of $106.5 million.

Wednesday's biggest headline was Kathryn Bigelow's controversial Osama bin Laden pic Zero Dark Thirty, which opened to a record-breaking $124,848 in five theaters in New York and Los Angeles, the top showing of all time for a limited release debuting on Wednesday outside of The Lion King. Sony is distributing the critically acclaimed film domestically.

Zero Dark Thirty, which expands nationwide Jan. 11, was No. 1 in all five theaters, including ACM Century City and the ArcLight Hollywood.

The third new movie opening Wednesday was Disney and Pixar's 3D rerelease of Monsters, Inc., which debuted to $777,000 to come in No. 4. With all kids out of school as of Friday, traffic is expected to pick up.

Paramount was anticipating a slow start for Guilt Trip, which is expected to post a five-day debut of $7 million to $8.5 million.

Normally, that would spell death for a studio film, but year-end holiday titles often see unusually high multiples because of people being off of work and out of school. The week between Christmas and New Year's Day is particularly strong. Conversely, films opening the weekend before Christmas don't generally score huge openings because people are distracted by shopping and other preparations.

In 2007, Warner Bros.' comedy P.S. I Love You opened to $6.5 million over the Dec. 21-23 weekend. The film cumed $53.7 million, an eight multiple; usually, a three or four multiple is considered good.

Box-office observers are waiting for the weekend before making any final pronouncements about Guilt Trip, but the comedy is facing several key challenges. Directed by Anne Fletcher, it only received a B- CinemaScore.

And two more studio comedies have yet to open -- Universal's R-rated This Is 40, directed by Judd Apatow and opening Friday, and Fox's Christmas Day entry Parental Guidance, rated PG. Guilt Trip is rated PG-13.

Paramount has two more films opening Friday: the Tom Cruise starrer Jack Reacher and Andrew Adamson's Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away, executive produced by James Cameron.

And opening opposite Parental Guidance Christmas Day are Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained and Universal's Les Miserables, directed by Tom Hooper.

With eight nationwide releases between Dec. 19 and Dec. 25, the 2012 year-end holidays are the most crowded ever at the box office.