New Tron: Legacy Trailer

The CG/digital botox on Jeff Bridges still looks wonky, but it's thankfully not there too much in this latest Tron: Legacy trailer. Wisely, this new one focuses on story – in this case, the father/son relationship between Garrett Hedlund's Sam, our protagonist, and Bridges as dear old Dad Kevin Flynn from the original Tron. You've got to care about your leads and be involved in the story or all the visual eye-candy in the world will equal dick.

But I suppose that's the problem here. I don't give a shit if Sam and Daddy ever reunite, based on this trailer. Just not getting a chill up my leg on this massive Tron resurgence on Disney's part. Whole thing just seems odd to me.

What Conan Will Say Tonight On..."Conan"

Here is a sneak peak on Conan's opening monologue premiering tonight on TBS at 11pm Eastern

Thank you.  Thank you and welcome to my 2nd Annual first show.t

Yes, I know what you guys are thinking, “Hey, it’s the guy from Twitter.”

Welcome to my new show, “Conan.”  People ask me why I named the show “Conan.”  I did it so I’d be harder to replace.

This is an exciting night.  I’m glad to be on cable.  The truth is, I’ve dreamed of being a talk show host on basic cable ever since I was 46.

And things are going well already.  I’m happy to report that we’re already #1 in TBS’s key demographic --- people who can’t afford HBO.
I’m going to be honest:  It’s not easy doing a late-night show on a channel without a lot of money and that viewers have trouble finding.  So that’s why I left NBC.

But the weird thing is this:  I put myself and my staff through a lot because I refused to go on at midnight.  So I get this job at eleven.  Then, yesterday, Daylight Savings Time ended --- so right now it’s basically midnight.  In fact, it’s 12:05.

A lot’s happened in the news since I went off the air --- and I was hoping I could cover it all in one joke.  But then I realized that’s like trying to keep an Icelandic volcano from wearing Lady Gaga’s meat dress while a trapped Chilean miner cleans up the BP oil spill…Brett Favre’s penis.

We're Going Back Update

Back to the Future fans have been partying like it's 1985 in Southern California this week as part of the We're Going Back 25th Anniversary celebration.  Since the event kicked off on Friday (November 5th - the day Doc came up with the idea for flux capacitor, which is of course what makes time travel possible), events have included tours of sites from the movies, appearances by cast and crew members from all three films, hoverboarding lessons (or at least some reasonable facsimile of it), a Battle of the Bands, and even a re-enactment of the infamous parking lot scene at the Twin/Lone Pine mall.   

Especially great was an auction of Back to the Future props hosted by Profiles in History on Saturday.  The auction items, which included everything from a complete replica of the DeLorean to one of Marty McFly's self-lacing Nikes, raised more than $247,000 for Team Fox, Michael J. Fox's foundation for Parkinson's research.

The We're Going Back celebration wraps up this Friday night with an (what else?) Enchantment Under the Sea, which is being held at the same location as the dance scene from the first film.  Even if you can't attend, you can follow the madness on their Facebook page.

"Jane Eyre" Movie Poster

Based on Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel, the romantic drama stars Mia Wasikowska (“Alice in Wonderland”) and Michael Fassbender (“Inglourious Basterds”) in the lead roles. In the story, Jane Eyre flees Thornfield House, where she works as a governess for wealthy Edward Rochester. The isolated and imposing residence – and Mr. Rochester’s coldness – have sorely tested the young woman’s resilience, forged years earlier when she was orphaned. As Jane reflects upon her past and recovers her natural curiosity, she will return to Mr. Rochester – and the terrible secret that he is hiding…

"Kung Fu Panda 2" Poster & Teaser Trailer

Po is now living his dream as The Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, The Furious Five - Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey. But Po's new life of awesomeness is threatened by the emergence of a formidable villain, who plans to use a secret, unstoppable weapon to conquer China and destroy kung fu. It is up to Po and The Furious Five to journey across China to face this threat and vanquish it. But how can Po stop a weapon that can stop kung fu? He must look to his past and uncover the secrets of his mysterious origins; only then will he be able to unlock the strength he needs to succeed.

Walking Dead Renewed for Season 2

Better hang on to those zombie guts-splattered raincoats:  after only two episodes, AMC has renewed The Walking Dead for a second season. 

The zombie apocalypse horror series has been breaking ratings records for AMC since its premiere on Halloween.  The first episode drew 5.3 million viewers, and the second episode dropped only 11%, drawing 4.7 million viewers.  The show has also done well overseas, scoring big ratings in Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

"The Dead has spread!" exclaimed AMC president Charlie Collier.  Apparently it has...and the end of the world hasn't been this disgustingly enjoyable in a long time.

The Franco Ultimatum

He's such an odd duck with his choices (saying that in a complimentary fashion!) there's no telling what James Franco will do next.

Right now, he's riding the high waves of Danny Boyle's 127 Hours. But then turn around and headline Caesar: Rise of the Apes, a property quality notwithstanding is highly likely to belly-flop next June, and the fantasy comedy Your Highness which will probably fare better. What's next after that? Who the Hell knows for certain with him. But the offers (or rumors of such offers) are pouring in.

Production Weekly says Franco is rumored to be up for the Clash of the Titans sequel few care about (outside Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures) Wrath of the Titans.

Of greater interest is Showbiz 411 saying he's being eyed by Tony Gilroy for the Jason Bourne-less, fourth Jason Bourne movie The Bourne Legacy. Correction: nothing was specifically stated to imply Franco was up for the August 2012 blockbuster. He merely attended the 127 Hours premiere which Franco happened to appear in.

Connecting-the-dots logic does work. But...not seeing the connections here, kiddos. For all we know, Gilroy just wanted to see a good movie that night. Besides, I always pegged the new guy as some European actor like Henry Cavill.

Morgan Freeman Up for Akira

You've heard the story often.

A genre film needs an accomplished actor to add a weight of class to the project. When the filmmakers pin-point said actor, they're offered one of two options: either a bunch of money upfront or a smaller paycheck in favor of a piece of the box-office. In most of those cases, they say, "Just give me the damn money right now!" thinking nothing will become of the silly little movie they're doing. Until the movie becomes a smash and egg gets thrown in their face for passing up what would be a gold-mine.

Something tells me Morgan Freeman knows that story by heart. How many big productions, especially comic-related, has he shown up in the past decade? The Oscar-winner has appeared in two Batman films (soon to be three, that is), Bruce Almighty, The Sum of All Fears, Wanted and the still-in-theatres hit Red to name a few.

Bloody-Disgusting says another could soon be added to that list: the Hugh Brothers' Akira adaptation. He's said to be circling the role of the Colonel. This comes hot off the heels of a /film scoop that Zac Efron has been offered the lead of teenage biker, Kaneda – presumably to be renamed for American audiences. "Kenneth?" Sounds a bit too Jack McBrayer for my tastes.

My Movie Moan co-host Ed Hocken said off-air how if done properly the audience would be throwing up by the third act (Check out the anime to know what he’s talking about!) and that the subject matter was better suited for David Cronenberg. Plus, it'd so damn expensive to pull off.

Don't see the pros for Warner Brothers to be moving forward on this.

Joe Manganiello Hearts Superman

No need to mention those John Cena/Dwayne Johnson rumors. None of us here need a degree in "No shit, Sherlock!" to know this is bullshit.

On the other hand, Joe Manganiello has been telling anyone with a set of ears since late spring how badly he wants to play Superman for Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan. While I don't doubt his sincerity, surely he knows the best route is telling his agent and making a bee-line to Warner Brothers, Legendary Pictures and Snyder/Nolan's camp instead of telling everyone out loud. That rarely (if ever) works.

According to True-Blood.net, Manganiello once again revealed his desire to hang on a wire harness for hours on end as the Man of Steel at a convention this past weekend. He, however, added a bombshell – he's actually met with the filmmakers this time. Interesting, but again why blab about any of this out loud before the studio's had a chance to announce the decision themselves (or via the websites of their choosing to "break" the story)?

Not too long after word spread of his candidacy, he clarified the matter on Twitter with these remarks:

"Just to be clear... as of today, I am not 'negotiating' to play SuperMan"

"...but keep your fingers crossed and thanks for the wishful thinking!"

I think he'd be fine, personally, and seems like a nice enough guy. As much as I think Armie Hammer was blowing smoke, Manganiello does fit the "35-40" type they're supposedly gunning for. My hunch is he was given the call privately he didn't get the gig and trying to drum up fan support.

Weekend Box Office: November 5-7

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1. Megamind - $47.6 million

2. Due Date - $33.5 million

3. For Colored Girls - $20.1 million

4. Red - $8.8 million

5. Saw 3D - $8.2 million

6. Paranormal Activity 2 - $7.2 million

7. Jackass 3D - $5 million

8. Hereafter - $4 million

9. Secretariat - $4 million

10. The Social Network - $3.6 million

After somewhat underperforming on Friday with just $12.5 million, Dreamworks Animation's Megamind picked up speed over the rest of the weekend to easily take the top spot, earning $47.6 million.  That's better than the opening weekend of How To Train Your Dragon earlier this year, but below the opening of this summer's Despicable Me.  However, both films went on to gross more than $200 million, so that bodes well for Megamind as long as the audiences keep coming.

The Robert Downey Jr/Zack Galifianakis road-trip comedy Due Date also had a great weekend, opening with $33.5 million, which is the highest opening for an R-rated comedy in November.  The Cinemascore rating from audiences was a not-great B-, so it will be interesting to see if Due Date has the same legs as The Hangover did. 

It was also a good weekend for Tyler Perry (when isn't it a good weekend for Tyler Perry?).  For Colored Girls, his screen adaptation of the play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow is Enuf, earned $20.1 million.  It's low for a Tyler Perry film, but still a solid opening.  In all, it was a terrific weekend for all three of the big new releases.

And it's still good to be Red.  The action comedy dropped only 17% from last week to earn another $8.8 million, bringing its total to an impressive $71 million.  Saw 3D took its expected plummet from last week's big opening, dropping 63% to earn just $8.2 million.  The thrill seems to have worn off for Paranormal Activity 2 as well, which dropped another 55% to earn just $7.2 million (although with a budget estimated at just $3 million, that movie is a big hit). 

Not much noise from the rest of the top 10, just the usual holdovers from the previous week.  It's worth noting that Danny Boyle's 127 Hours grossed an incredible $266,000 from just 4 theaters, so apparently it's not making everyone puke. 

Next weekend will see some interesting competition, as action thrillers Skyline and Unstoppable face off, and the Harrison Ford/Diane Keaton comedy Morning Glory arrives in theaters.