Saints Finds An Angel

Production has begun on Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day-Troy Duffy's sequel to his '99 indie cult hit...and one of my favorite actresses has landed a part in the film .

Julie Benzh as officially joined the cast as Unis Bloom, Paul Smecker’s (Willem Dafoe's character in the original movie) protege says The Hollywood Reporter

Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus reprise their roles as crusading fraternal twins Connor and Murphy MacManus, who seek revenge on the tough Boston underworld...

I love the first flick and now with Benz officially on board I really can't wait to see the '09 follow-up...

Scripture

Director Sam Mendes tells the gang at Empire Online that progress on the "Preacher" movie is moving very slowly.

"I’d love to make Preacher. But there’s no script. I’ve gotta find a script. I’ve just got to get it written" says Mendes.

The controversial 66-issue comic book series follows a pugilistic Texas preacher who becomes imbued with supernatural power, teams with his amateur assassin ex-girlfriend and an Irish vampire, and sets off to track down God while dodging the Saint of Killers.

Mendes' plans for the property...

"There's so much of it you couldn't possibly fit it all into one movie. It's just about what you keep and what you leave out, and how you structure the story. But just to have that toy set again, being able to paint on a big canvas and to say ‘I am gonna do crazy crane shots and massive action sequences again because I want to,’ it's exciting."

Risky Business

Despite Variety's recent report, Josh Brolin denied that he's playing Jonah Hex for sure...

In an interview this weekend with Collider:

"I don’t know what I’m going to do. I don’t know. It’s a very good time. It’s a very good time and I don’t want to slight anybody and I don’t want to insult anybody, but the fact of the matter is with more decisions comes a little more pressure. For me, I just try and find that thing that really resonates."

"There’s one thing that Tony Scott's doing that I love and that I really want to do, and trying to find the timing and all that." He refused though to release any further details on that project.

"I think Jonah Hex is a really, really interesting story. I think it would be risky also, which I like, and I don’t know if it’s the thing to do."

Isn't acting all about risk? This doesn't make much sense--Brolin likes risk but isn't sure he should take it--Playing W didn't slight anyone?

Kill-Shot

Casey Affleck and Jessica Alba will team up for a western thriller--The Killer Inside Me according to The Hollywood Reporter.





Based on the book by Jim Thompson the story follows a West Texas sheriff (Affleck) and his downward spiral from a boring small-town cop into a ruthless, sociopathic murderer. Alba plays a prostitute.

The book was previously made into a film in 1976.

Michael Winterbottom will call action on the new version.

Will this western afford Affleck another Oscar nomination.... And Alba as a Lady of The Evening...!!

A mid-January start date is expected

Standing Watch

Garth Franklin of Dark Horizons posted an extensive article about Zack Snyder's March 6th big screen adaptation of the comic masterpiece Watchmen...



...Snyder spent a few hours [last Thursday] afternoon both talking about and presenting footage from the project that's been dominating not only his but many a fanboy's dreams for the past few months - "Watchmen".

Already presented in Los Angeles and New York earlier in the month, the half-hour preview consisted of three separate segments with material ranging from the extraordinary to the interesting - there's no doubt the ambitious film promises a very loyal adaptation of Alan Moore's definitive graphic novel.

For those unfamiliar with the property, the comic is set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes (only one of which has real superpowers) are part of the fabric of everyday society and the US-Soviet Cold War is closer than ever to an all-out nuclear Armageddon. When one of his former colleagues named The Comedian is murdered, the washed-up vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting legion, he glimpses a wide-ranging and disturbing conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future.

...What's the final runtime?

"I'm hoping 2 hours 42 minutes, with credits."

That theatrical version however is just one of three versions of the film planned for the eventual DVD & Blu-ray release. There's also a three hour director's cut of the film with "the scenes all fleshed out", and the 'Black Freighter' version which will combine that Director's Cut with the 'Black Freighter' short film that will clock in at three-and-a-half hours. How the Black Freighter version will be incorporated and packaged is still undecided...

"For me 'Black Freighter' needs its own box, it's packaged with like cool props from the movie and supplemental material. It's like this big thing you put on your shelf and go 'that's f**king Black Freighter' you know."

The two action scenes shown in the footage he says are among the very few action sequences in the film. The Comedian fight, originally just three panels in the comic, was extended in the film for character reasons - "I wanted to show what he's capable of...he doesn't really even touch his attacker once, but you see that if he was against a normal guy he could beat the crap out of him". His favorite scene is the inter cutting of Dr. Manhattan's interview and Nite-Owl's brutal alley fight which he's made very intense and graphic - "the point is to show consequence - the first punch the guy gets a compound fracture of the arm, blood sprays and you go 'woooh this is not a comic book movie'."




WARNING: If you choose to read the full feature at the DH site BEWARE SPOILERS...

And let's hope that the pesky lawsuit gets resolved before the release date...

King Of The Jungle

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa wins the weekend at the box office as expected...

Pamela McClintock of Variety:

There was no escaping the strength of DreamWorks Animation and Paramount’s “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” as it bowed domestically to an estimated $63.5 million to give Jeffrey Katzenberg’s shop a new film franchise.

Playing in 4,056 theaters, “Madagascar 2” narrowly scored the best opening of the year for a family toon, as well as the seventh best bow of all time. In terms of this year, Disney-Pixar’s “WALL-E” opened to $63 million in June, while DWA’s “Kung Fu Panda” bowed to $60.2 million in May.

But the biggest surprise of the weekend was the over-performance of Universal’s Seann William Scott-Paul Rudd laffer “Role Models,” which grossed an estimated $19.3 million from 2,792 runs. Most, including U, though the R-rated raunchy comedy would gross between $10 million and $12 million.

Weekend’s other new wide release, “Soul Men,” was the odd man out. The MGM/Dimension Films comedy, starring Samuel L. Jackson and the late Bernie Mac, under performed in grossing an estimated $5.6 million from 2,044 runs to come in No. 6 for the sesh.

Among new specialty releases, Miramax’s holocaust drama “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,” based on John Boyne’s book, posted a per screen average of $15,000 in grossing an estimated $225,000 from17 theaters. .

Thanks to “Madagascar 2,” the domestic box office was up more than 30% from the same weekend last year.

“Madagascar” further cements the successful relationship between DreamWorks Animation and Paramount. Toon marks the fifth Paramount release of the year that has opened north of $40 million, a first for any studios, according to Par.

“Madagascar 2’s” theater count is the widest ever for a post-Labor Day bow.

Directed by David Wain, “Role Models” caught Hollywood by surprise, considering the overabundance of R-rated laffers.

“Role Models” did nearly double the business that the Weinstein Co.’s “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” did when debuting at the domestic box office the previous weekend. The R-rated “Zack and Mir” dipped 35% over the weekend to an estimated $6.5 million from 2,735 for a cume of $21 million. “Zack and Miri” came in No. 5.

Coming in third at the box office after “Madagascar 2” and “Role Models” was Disney’s powerhouse “High School Musical 3: Senior Year.” Musical dipped 39% in its third frame to an estimated $9.3 million for a cume of

Universal’s “Changeling,” directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Angelina Jolie, came in No. 4, declining just 22% to an estimated $7.3 million from 1,855 for a cume of $20.6 million in its third frame...

Meanwhile--Quantum Of Solace rocks foreign box office

Bond pic grosses $106.5 million overseas...

Joshua Rich of EW:

We ain't lion: The animated sequel won the weekend with a huge $63.5 million haul...

Frankly--I am more impressed over the showing of Role Models Besting the opening last week of the adult comedy Zack & Miri Make a Porno--wow!

To Want For Nothing

Wanted co-writer Chris Morgan told MTV that he is ready to pen the sequel...

The studio is apparently in the final stages of negotiating a deal with comics creator Mark Millar for a sequel that will continue the adventures of Wes (James McAvoy) that began in the first film.



A really quick review of film #1:

As a pure mindless action piece the original works way better than expected--thanks to McAvoy who sells it through and through...Angelina Jolie is wasted here but as always looks great holding a gun!!--Despite bearing little to the work that inspired it--I look forward to the follow up...

The sequel's story is said to going to be more global. The film does not have a set release date yet.

Later today-The Chicago Bears take on unbeaten Tennessee Titans as inconsistent back-up QB Grossman says: 'I would be shocked not to' start Sunday against Titans and an injured Kyle Orton...

Yikes!

Fantastic 4

ItsJustSomeRandomGuy is back with another Marvel/DC franchise adventure...Here are the first 4 videos in the series--complete with the usual plethora of cinema references...

Macy's Parade

Milla Jovovich takes on the part of an alcoholic former stripper in the coming-of-age comedy "Keep Coming Back" says Variety.

The story sees a young man with a sheltered upbringing join an Alcoholics Anonymous group in order to seduce the woman of his dreams (Jovovich).

Actor William H. Macy makes his directorial debut on the project which features a script by Will Aldis Macy alo has a part in the film.

Happy that Macy gets to try out the big chair...

Shooting gets underway in Georgia early next year.

Loser's Choice

Sylvain White has been tapped to call action on a film adaptation of the DC /Vertigo comic book "The Losers" according to THR .

The story follows a highly trained and eclectic Special Ops team that is set up, betrayed and left for dead. They decide to find who sold them out and why, righting wrongs they encounter along the way.

Peter Berg-who was also at one time going to direct-and James Vanderbilt adapted the material

Tim Story was also previously attached to direct at one point.

This is White's first go at an action flick but as the helmer of the DTV I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer he has some experience with genre type flicks

Shooting gets underway in early 2009.

Getting Life

Justin Long & Josh Charles (pictured right) are joining the cast of the psychological thriller After.Life says The Hollywood Reporter.

Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo's tale finds Christina Ricci caught between life and death, while calling on a seemingly benign funeral director (Liam Neeson) .

Long will play her boyfriend, Paul, who becomes increasingly suspicious of foul play. Charles is set for the role as Paul's friend.

Shooting begins on Tuesday in New York

Long is certainly piling on the film projects--while Charles has been seen on the small screen of late...Loved him in TV's "Sports Night" in the late 90's

Good Old Boys

Steven Spielberg and Will Smith may collaborate on a remake of the hugely popular 2003 Korean action hit "Oldboy" reports Variety.

The original flick sees a man get kidnapped and is imprisoned for 15 years without explanation.

Suddenly, he's released, given money, a cell phone and clothes and sets out to discover who destroyed his life so that he can take revenge.

Smith would play the kidnapped man. Spielberg is looking for a writer to adapt. The film will probably get underway once Spielberg finishes his directorial duties on the first "Tintin" film.



The pair worked together on the Men in Black films as star/producer....But if Spielberg calls action here...Great things are in the offing

New Heights

Universal Pictures has landed the screen rights to turn the award-winning Broadway musical "In the Heights" into a feature film says Variety.



The musical takes place over three days in the upper Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights. , where a bodega owner (played by the show's creator Lin-Manuel Miranda) inherits his late grandmother's lottery winnings and plans to close his store and retire on a beach in the Dominican Republic.

As he prepares to bid farewell , he suddenly realizes that his neighbors are his real family, and he's torn about leaving.

Miranda is expected to reprise his role in the film and produce the screen adaptation. Quiara Alegría Hudes, who wrote the book for the show, will also adapt the script.

Animal Crackers

This weekend--The animals are on the loose again in the CG animated sequel Madagascar: Escape 2Africa (reviews) as it looks to take the top spot; Samuel L. Jackson and the late Bernie Mac are Soul Men (reviews); While Seann William Scott and Paul Rudd--who also co-wrote the script--are Role Models (reviews)...



Pamela McClintock of Variety:

DreamWorks Animation and Paramount open "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" in theaters today in what’s expected to be a strong start to the holiday season.

Toon, which bows in 4,056 runs, should score the best opening since summer. A pair of comedies also open nationwide: Universal’s R-rated "Role Models," from writer-director David Wain, and MGM/Dimension’s "Soul Men," starring Samuel L. Jackson and the late Bernie Mac. "Role Models" opens in 2,791 runs; "Soul Men," 2,044.

On the specialty side, Miramax opens Holocaust drama "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," based on John Boyne’s book, in 17 theaters in eight markets. Pic has done well in some international territories, led by Israel and Spain, but it could be a tougher sell in North America. Foreign cume is $18.8 million.

In marketing "Striped Pajamas," Miramax has targeted faith-based groups and Jewish orgs, both for the film’s uplifting storyline and historical references.

Also opening in limited runs is Darren Lynn Bousman’s Paris Hilton-Paul Sorvino starrer "Repo! The Genetic Opera," which Lionsgate takes out in eight theaters.

Most of the attention, however, will go to "Escape 2 Africa," which many predict will open between $50 million and $60 million, although Par noted that two recent kidpics, "Alvin and the Chipmunks" and "Horton Hears a Who" opened to $44 million and $45 million, respectively.

The first "Madagascar" opened to $47.2 million over Memorial Day weekend in 2005 on its way to cuming $193.6 million domestically and $339 million overseas. "Escape 2 Africa" got off to a stellar start at the international box office last weekend when debuting in Russia and Ukraine.

Studio distributors expect the domestic box office to be especially strong over the next few frames. Next weekend, Sony and MGM open James Bond installment "Quantum of Solace." On Nov. 21, Disney opens family pic "Bolt," while Summit Entertainment goes out with "Twilight." A pack of films opens over the long Thanksgiving weekend, including 20th Century Fox’s epic "Australia."

This weekend, "Role Models" is the favored No. 2 film. Raunchy comedy will likely dampen traffic for the Weinstein Co.’s R-rated comedy "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," which heads into its second sesh. Last weekend "Zack and Miri" opened to $10 million, a gross "Role Models" is expected to match.

How well "Soul Men" performs depends upon whether it crosses over beyond African-American auds. Comedy is one of Mac’s final film projects. Mac also has one of the voice roles in "Escape 2 Africa." "Soul Men" and "Role Models" could end up in a close race ...

Joshua Rich of EW thinks:

Animated sequel is a shoo-in for a box office win, but, opposite ''Role Models'' and ''Soul Men,'' how big will it be?


Reviews for Madagascar 2 and Role Models are surprisingly strong but cuddly animals always have the edge...

Next Week James Bond's latest and .shortest film in the series--Quantum Of Solace (coming in at 106 minutes just ahead of 1962's Dr. No ) arrives in the states... along with the theatrical trailer for a certain sci-fi reboot...!!

Spry Sly

The powerhouse action trio of Sylvester Stallone. Jason Statham and Jet Li are in final negotiations to play the team of mercenaries in "The Expendables" says Variety

The plot has the team ordered to infiltrate a South American country and overthrow its ruthless dictator to liberate the population. Their team is "expendable," hired to do jobs that no one else can or will.

Stallone will pull triple duty to direct from his original screenplay. This and another "Rambo" sequel will serve as his two-picture deal with the studio.

Li & Statham previous teamed on 2001's "The One" and 2007's War

Shooting begins in February.



Li and Stratham can kick butt all day long and Stallone shows no sign of slowing down--Here's hoping though his script keeps the contrived dialogue down to a minimum.

With Child

Annette Bening and Naomi Watts are topping Rodrigo García character drama "Mother and Child" reports Variety.

Through overlapping stories the movie follows a woman who gave up her daughter 35 years ago and an African-American woman who is looking to adopt.

Kerry Washington and Shareeka Epps also star.

Garcia's done some great work on HBO's In Treatment series...

Filming on this begins in Los Angeles in the first part of '09.

Games Of Chance

Brian Presley (pictured) and Taraji P. Henson will star in the drama Once Fallen for Ash Adams says The Hollywood Reporter.

The story centers on a father and son struggling with loyalty, family and prison.

Ed Harris and Amy Madigan also star

Shooting is currently underway in Los Angeles.

Travelon' Man

Jack Black will star in a re-imagining of Jonathan Swift's classic story Gulliver's Travels says Variety.



The film centers on free-spirited travel writer Lemuel Gulliver (Black) on assignment in the Bermuda Triangle-who suddenly finds himself a giant among men when he washes ashore on the hidden island of Lilliput, home to a population of tiny, people.

Rob Letterman will direct. Nicholas Stoller is reworking a script by Joe Stillman.

Shooting begins in March...

RIP Michael Crichton (1942-2008)

Best selling author, screenwriter and sometime director Michael Crichton died yesterday in Los Angeles after a battle with cancer, he was 66.

Along with penning both fiction and non-fiction works, Crichton wrote and directed several motion pictures including 1973's robot sci-fi flick"Westworld," He put his skills as a medical doctor to good use for 1978's "Coma," and then there's 1981's "Looker " and 1984's "Runaway ,and the very underrated "The First Great Train Robbery " in 1979.

He also co-wrote the screenplay for "Twister" and created the long-running drama series "ER" ".

He remains most well-known however for his best-selling cautionary-themed techno-thriller novels which have sold 150 million copies worldwide

It was the mid-90's however that saw a true flood of Crichton lit-adaptations hit the market place thanks to the success of his best work "Jurassic Park " which Steven Spielberg adapted in 1993. Though it remains the most recognizable and successful film version of his work..

The 2 teamed again for"The Lost World: Jurassic Park"

Read the AP tribute

Fallen Over

It's official..

Director Michael Bay reports that principal photography for the sequel "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" has wrapped...



I would think star Shia LaBeouf is especially glad it's all done considering how accident prone he seemed to be during the shoot...

About A Boy

Paramount Pictures and Plan B Productions® landed the film rights to Paul Pope's upcoming graphic novel "Battling Boy" reports Variety.

The tale centers on the son of a god or superhero who comes down from the top of a mountain at his father's request in order to rid a giant city of monsters




The search is on for a writer to adapt the book which will hit stores in Spring 2010.

Pope put himself in the map with Batman: Year One Hundred

Since Brad Pitt owns Plan B might he star?

X-Rays

Ray Winstone and Ray Liotta (pictured) have joined the cast of "13," an English-language remake of the 2005 French psychological thriller "13 Tzameti " according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Here's the story--a young man (Sam Riley) who stumbles into an underground competition where the wealthy gamble on human beings in a Russian Roulette-like competition.

Winstone will play a competitor who has been sprung from a mental institution to participate, while Liotta will play a cop on the trail of the illegal game.

The already cast Mickey Rourke plays a convict in a Mexican prison who is sold into the competition.

50 Cent is an employee assigned to escort Rourke's character.

Jason Statham plays a wealthy British man who bets on the competition and has a peculiar interest in one of the competitors.



Géla Babluani who wrote and directed the original flick, adapapted the new script and will direct the 2010 release which starts filming November 20th in New York City.

Pilot Program

Troy Garity (pictured), Jacob Vargas and Jason Gray-Stanford will play a trio of Navy fighter pilots in Mario Van Peebles- directed action-thriller "Kerosene Cowboys " according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The story is based on characters from the 2007 novel "Kerosene Cowboys: Manning the Spare:," by Randy Arrington .

Adam Prince is adapting the script.



The cast is shaping up nicely for this flick--with talent from top to bottom...

Beauties And The Beast

Rob Schneider, Jenna Dewan and Brianne Davis are all set to star in the comedy "Virgin on Bourbon Street" according to Variety.

The premise surrounds a night of debauchery that threatens the university career of a sexually abstinent woman student.

Clare Kilner calls action when shooting begins this week in Detroit.

It's amazing that someone as talent deprived as Schneider is still able to find work in Hollywood

Soldier's Duty

Jackie Chan has started work on a Chinese Qin Dynasty-set road movie with the working title "Junior Soldiers" says Variety.

Chan will pull triple duty for the project as star writer and producer, which focuses on three people and a horse.

Sheng Ding will direct and shooting is expected to begin early next year.

"Lip" Service

The little kid from Jerry Maguire Jonathan Lipnicki is growing up fast...He will headline the psychological thriller "The Other Side of Innocence" says The Hollywood Reporter.

Now a senior in High School (Sigh, I feel old!), Lipnicki would star as a troubled young man who becomes romantically involved with the unhappy daughter of a chief detective while a serial killer is threatening their town.

Robert Redlin ("After Dark, My Sweet") wrote the screenplay

Devorah Cutler is in line to direct.

Needless to say--Ir will be interesting to watch Lipnicki's career as he moves into more adult roles....

N'yuk Yuks

MGM is in the process of re-acquiring the film rights to The Three Stooges from Warner Bros. says Variety.



The comedy trio was seen in shorts and features in the 30's and it's hopef to fast-track Peter and Bobby Farrelly's most recent screenplay which provides for a family-friendly origin story of sorts for Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard.

The new $45 million contemporary-day feature consists of four 20-minute shorts, the same as the slapstick pioneers' most common format in the 1920s and '30s. The first establishes the trio as seven-year-old castoffs who terrorize the nun-run orphanage that takes them in.

The Farrellys are attached to direct and co-produce the film.

A PG or PG-13 rating is expected and hoped for.

The release date of November 20th 2009 has already been set, though no-one is yet attached to star.

A nation-wide search will be conducted to find someone to play Curly.

I have been a Stooge fan for most of my life--and despite the comedic instincts of the Farrelly bros--the project has a tough road to hoe nonetheless. The Stooges are irreplaceable...

The trio's life story was told in the 2000 telefilm The Three Stooges produced by Mel Gibson.

Helping Hand

The Office co-star Jenna Fischer will star in the indie hybrid "A Little Help" according to Variety.

The story sees a recently widowed single mom reunite with an old flame -- her sister's husband.

"The King of Queens" co-creator Michael J. Weithorn wrote the screenplay and will make his feature directorial debut on the film

TKOQ was a great program that always made me laugh--Weithotn's talent goes back even further as a writer on "Family Ties"

Shooting gets underway in January in Georgia.

Tourist Spot

Charlize Theron is negotiating to star The Tourist says Variety.



A remake of 2005 French thriller "Anthony Zimmer"..

Theron will play a female INTERPOL agent who uses an American tourist in an attempt to flush out an elusive criminal with whom she once had an affair.

Bharat Nalluri calls the shots on Julian Fellowes script which is being polished by Christopher McQuarrie.

Tom Cruise also stars.

Theron can play it all And it seems as though this role may require a full range of her talent.

Production is expected to begin by March.

Single Double

Nicholas Hoult and Ginnifer Goodwin have joined the cast of Tom Ford's first film "A Single Man" says The Hollywood Reporter.



It's an adaptation of Christopher Isherwood's 1964 book of the same name.



Goodwin will play Mrs. Strunk, a suburban mom who doesn't share her husband's dislike of their neighbor, a gay professor (Colin Firth)

Hoult will play Kenny, a sexually ambiguous grad student who shows an interest in the professor.

The film focuses on a day in the life of the professor after his long-term partner (Matthew Goode) dies in a car crash.

Ford adapted the script with David Scearce.

Hoult and Goodwin are well known for provocative television roles. Both seem well suited for this flick.

Production starts this week in Los Angeles.

On The Road Again

This is interesting...

The Road to Perdition creator Max Allan Collins has been tapped to write and direct two sequels to the 2002 film adaptation of his great book say the folks at Cinematical.

The first sequel, "Road to Purgatory", will follow an older version of Michael Sullivan, Jr. (played by a young Tyler Hoechlin in the original) who has returned from World War II with a new determination to avenge the murder of his dad (Tom Hanks).

His journey leads him to Frank Nitti, whom he is urged to kill on the orders of Al Capone.

A second sequel, entitled "Road to Paradise", will follow Sullivan's story after those events.

Of course I'm waiting for "official" particulars here...But with Collins support I'm behind the notion and I love what Sam Mendes started in '02--Let's see what happens.

All About The Benjamin's

Nicole Sperling of Entertainment Weekly has written an article explaining what might have happened between actor Terrence Howard and the producers of Iron Man 2--causing him to be replaced by Don Cheadle...

Some sources say the change was due to Howard's difficult behavior on the set of the first flick.

It seems Jon Favreau had to cut and reshoot many of his scenes during production.

Others claim that switch was all about money.

Howard was the first actor signed to the film and the highest paid - and so when the film came together it was too late to renegotiate his deal.

So when Favreau and Justin Theroux sat down to flesh out the sequel, the Rhodes character had been minimized and so the studio went to the actor's agents with a new, drastically reduced offer...but one matching the offer that supporting cast members were paid for the first movie--an estimated 50-80 percent pay cut from Howard's paycheck for the first film--and the new amount rejected.

It's pretty amazing to think that Howard got more moolah on #1 than headliner Robert Downey Jr....

Divine Calling

Universal Pictures has won the bidding war for EA Video Games upcoming "Dante's Inferno" video game franchise reports Variety.

Strike Entertainment's Eric Newman and Marc Abraham will produce with EA. Game creator Jonathan Knight will be closely involved in the development of the film.

Both the game and movie are a journey through the depths of hell, based on Dante Alighieri literary classic Divine Comedy".



Visually the film should look great...Video games are tough to adapt on the big screen though--see the recent Max Payne and my point is made.

School Still Rules

High School Musical 3: Senior Year held on to the top spot at the cineplex...

Pamela McClintock of Variety:

Disney's "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" enjoyed a massive rebound from Halloween to place No. 1 at the North American box office for the second weekend in a row, pushing its worldwide total to an estimated $146.8 million in just 10 days.

The domestic box office was flattened on Friday by Halloween, but picked up the pace on Saturday.

"HSM" saw a surge of nearly 400% on Saturday to end its second sesh with an estimated gross of $15 million from 3,626 locations for a domestic cume of $61.8 million, according to Rentrak. Overseas, the film grossed $25.9 million in its second sesh for a cume of $85 million.

Coming in No. 2 domestically was the Weinstein Co.'s "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," debuting to an estimated $10.7 million from 2,735 locations. Directed by Kevin Smith, pic stars Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks.

Lionsgate's "Saw V" came in third in its second frame, grossing an estimated $10.1 million from 3,084 runs.

Clint Eastwood's "Changeling," from Universal, grossed a noteworthy $9.4 million from 1,850 as it went nationwide to place No. 4. Drama posted a per location average of $5,085, the best of any film in the top 10 chart. Pic opened the previous weekend in a limited run.

Both Lionsgate and Universal said the Weinstein Co. was being too aggressive in their Sunday estimate. They predicted that the race between "Zack and Miri," "Saw" and "Changeling" could end much closer once official numbers are reported on Monday.

Like "HSM," the three films all saw sizeable Saturday bumps from Friday.

Halloween falling on a Friday never bodes well for the domestic box office, and this year was no exception. Ticket sales were down by more than 35% from the same frame a year ago, when "American Gangster" and "Bee Movie" both opened...

Joshua Rich of EW:

As Halloween scared off most moviegoers, the tween musical to put a knife into ''Zack'' and ''Molly''

Meanwhile--Quantum Of Solace opens BIG in the U.K....

Batting Third?

Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan has finally returned after a well deserved vacation,--and The Los Angeles Times was lucky enough to snag him an extensive three-part interview with him--this past week:

In the first part they ask him the questions that every one wants to know since TDK took off.

'Knight' stands with a $528 million domestic take and just shy of $1 billion international total. Nolan joked about such abstract numbers:

"There's something liberating in knowing that my next film, whatever it is, isn't going to make as much money [laughter]. I don't have to try for years."

Will he back for the third Bat-flick in the current incarnation?

"There are two things to be said. One is the emphasis on story. What's the story? Is there a story that's going to keep me emotionally invested for the couple of years that it will take to make another one? That's the overriding question. On a more superficial level, I have to ask the question: How many good third movies in a franchise can people name? [Laughs.] At the same time, in taking on the second one, we had the challenge of trying to make a great second movie and there haven't been too many of those either. It's all about the story really. If the story is there, everything is possible."



What kind of film would he like to do next?

"After "Batman Begins," I certainly felt like taking on something smaller, but one of the things I got such a thrill from on "The Dark Knight" was shooting on IMAX and creating that massive scale and achieving that larger-than-life quality. So that's a lot of fun. I'm drawn in both directions now. So maybe what I need to do next is a very intimate, small story that happens to be photographed on a ridiculously large scale. Or vice versa [laughs]."

I certainly hopes Nolan comes back...The ending he sets for TDK begs for his involvement in #3...I can't imagine anyone else calling action--The way he laughed when answering--his thrill over IMAX are all positive signals in my opinion that Nolan will return...The studio would be crazy to let him go...Stay tuned...

Meanwhile--Nolan revisits and analyzes his favorite scene in TDK and why his Batman doesn't play well with others...

-After a Bye week-The Chicago Bears are back in action against the 0-7 Detroit Lions

And while at first glance you might think "easy win" I agree with the Sports Network that the Bears Can't Afford to Look Past Winless Lions...

Red Son Of Krypton

Comic book creator Mark Millar continues to champion his pitch for the next "Superman flick"--this time revealing the arc's basic plot...

He says that he and a 'big-Hollywood action director' will shortly be making a formal presentation to Warner Bros

Chatting with Empire Online Millar says his ambitious eight-hour screen story "will follow the entire life of Kal-El."

Millar says the plan will be one saga in three parts, each film released a year apart.

"It's gonna be like Michael Corleone in the The Godfather films, the entire story from beginning to end, you see where he starts, how he becomes who he becomes, and where that takes him."

He adds:

"I want to start on Krypton, a thousand years ago, and end with Superman alone on Planet Earth, the last being left on the planet, as the yellow sun turns red and starts to supernova, and he loses his powers."

Uh, this has got to be one of the worst ideas for a trilogy of films--grand yes but how excitig is it going to be to go back 1,000 years on Krypton...And then our sun turing red at the end and Supes losing his powers ...Graphic novel-wise it would work as a special event perhaps but Yikes...Batman is the dark hero not Superman..And SR already gave us a brooding hero at times...



"Superman Returns" sequel, star Brandon Routh isn't too keen on the darker tone idea either -telling IESB:

"I don't think Superman should ever be dark and brooding, that's not is nature...I don't know how much darker you want to make it necessarily. You make the stakes higher, you make the villain darker, I think that's a way to do it. But I don't think Superman himself needs to be darker"...

I agree with Routh's take on this...