Taylor Hackford's "Parker" Starring Jason Statham

Jason Statham and Jennifer Lopez team up to get their cut in the crime thriller, PARKER, based on the series of bestselling novels by Donald E. Westlake.

Parker (Jason Statham) is a professional thief who lives by a personal code of ethics: Don’t steal from people who can’t afford it and don’t hurt people who don’t deserve it.  But on his latest heist, his crew double crosses him, steals his stash, and leaves him for dead.

Determined to make sure they regret it, Parker tracks them to PalmBeach, playground of the rich and famous, where the crew is planning their biggest heist ever.  Donning the disguise of a rich Texan, Parker takes on an unlikely partner, Leslie (Jennifer Lopez), a savvy insider, who’s short on cash, but big on looks, smarts and ambition.  Together, they devise a plan to hijack the score, take everyone down and get away clean.

PARKER is directed by Academy Award nominee Taylor Hackford (“Ray”) and also stars Michael Chiklis, Wendell Pierce (HBO’s “The Wire”) and Academy Award nominee Nick Nolte.

IGN

"Lincoln" AMC Theater Presents A Conversation With Steven Spielberg & Daniel Day-Lewis Live On Yahoo!

DreamWorks Pictures announced today that AMC Theatres will be presenting A Conversation with Steven Spielberg and Daniel Day-Lewis Live only on Yahoo! following a special screening of Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” on Wednesday, October 10 at the AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 in New York City. The event, which starts at 7:00 p.m. (ET), features a live Q&A session with director Steven Spielberg and Daniel Day-Lewis following the presentation of the film.

This event gives film fans a unique opportunity to engage in a live question and answer discussion with Steven Spielberg and Academy Award® winner Daniel Day-Lewis, who portrays President Lincoln, by submitting questions via Twitter using the hashtag #Lincolnmovie. The screening will start simultaneously in nine other cities—Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Boston, Washington DC, Seattle, Miami, Atlanta, Houston—and audiences in those cities will view the Q&A live via satellite after the film and will be able to text questions to the moderator. The Q&A will stream live on Yahoo! Movies at: http://www.movies.yahoo.com/lincoln-live.

Spielberg directs two-time Academy Award® winner Daniel Day-Lewis in “Lincoln,” a revealing drama that focuses on the 16th President’s tumultuous final months in office. In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Lincoln pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country and abolish slavery. With the moral courage and fierce determination to succeed, his choices during this critical moment will change the fate of generations to come.

Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook and Tommy Lee Jones, “Lincoln” is produced by Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, with a screenplay by Tony Kushner, based in part on the book “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln” by Doris Kearns Goodwin. The DreamWorks Pictures/Twentieth Century Fox film, in association with Participant Media, releases in U.S. theaters exclusive on November 9, 2012, with expansion on November 16, 2012.

Freestyle Digital Media Acquires N. American Rights To "Amphibious"

Freestyle Digital Media has acquired all North American rights to AMPHIBIOUS, a tongue-in-cheek creature feature directed by Brian Yuzna (“Beyond Re-Animator”). The film, which was produced by Yuzna and San Fu Maltha (“Iron Sky,” “Black Book”), and stars Michael Paré (“The Lincoln Lawyer”), Janna Fassaert (“Couple’s Retreat”) and Verdi Solaiman (“The Raid: Redemption”), is slated for VOD and multiple platform release on October 9^th with a DVD release to follow shortly after.
 
AMPHIBIOUS: CREATURE OF THE DEEP tells the tale of a marine biologist, Skylar Shane (Fassaert), who hires an expat charter boat captain, Jack Bowman (Paré), to help her find prehistoric life form samples in the north Sumatran Sea.  After she takes in an orphaned boy (Solaiman), strange occurrences happen on board the ship, including the death of some local smugglers by an unknown entity. Skylar and Jack then have to band together to defeat the evil creature that has emerged from the deep. 
 
The deal was negotiated by FDM’s CEO Susan Jackson and Thierry Wase-Bailey, Managing Director of Celsius Entertainment and its genre label Fahrenheit Pictures.  
 
“Everyone loves a fun, creature feature!” said Susan Jackson, President of Freestyle Digital Media. ”This is a great genre film and a perfect serving for the enormous fan base hungry for this type of movie.”

Duh - Of Course Matt Reeves is Directing Dawn of the Planet of the Apes!

Only an act of God would prevent Matt Reeves from directing Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. According to "TOLDJA," the Almighty didn't intervene and the Cloverfield helmer will take over for the departing Rupert Wyatt.

His hiring was a foregone conclusion after leaving The Twilight Zone at Warner Brothers (a highly contended gig) and inking a deal setting him up with 20^th Century Fox, the same studio of inmates running the Apes asylum.

Is he a good fit? Well, his J.J. Abrams-produced found-footage, creature-feature is a divider. But Let Me In, a remake to the great, foreign-language favorite managed to not piss off its fan-base (rightfully) predisposed to hate it. He's the perfect studio-friendly filmmaker for the job. There's talent but he knows how to play ball within that structure.

Seth MacFarlane "Boldly" Picked as Next Oscar Host

Seth MacFarlane is hosting the Oscars.

You read correct. The Academy made the official announcement this morning. Much as they've experimented with hosts to (mostly) failing results, this news brings back those "Huh?" memories of the Anne Hathaway/James Franco pairing two years ago.

You'll hear the term "Bold" tossed around. Only due to the Family Guy mastermind's trademark humor. Thing is MacFarlane is a classic song-and-dance comedian, the filth and random pop-culture gags notwithstanding. He's cut from the same cloth as long-time favorite Billy Crystal. And this move further proves how out of touch and unwillingness to change with the times the Academy is. We're still talking about a celebrity sporting a tuxedo in an auditorium full of celebrities yuking up how awesome it is to be a celebrity and award one another. This time by a guy talking in funny voices.

Edgar Wright's "The World's End" Begins Production

Working Title Films and Big Talk Productions have commenced filming on The World’s End, the third installment of Edgar Wright’s trilogy of comedies, following the successes Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007).  The new movie is filming in the U.K. As with the first two movies in the trilogy, Universal Pictures International (UPI) will distribute The World’s End internationally and Focus Features will distribute it in North America.

As with the two earlier pictures, Mr. Wright co-wrote the script with Simon Pegg, who will once again star alongside Nick Frost. Joining the team are actors Martin Freeman (Shaun of the Dead, The Hobbit), Paddy Considine (Hot Fuzz, The Bourne Ultimatum), Eddie Marsan (Sherlock Holmes), and Rosamund Pike (Jack Reacher).

The World’s End also marks Mr. Wright’s third movie with Working Title and Big Talk, following Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz; The World’s End is produced by Nira Park of Big Talk and Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner. The film will be executive-produced by James Biddle, Mr. Wright, Mr. Pegg, Mr. Frost, and Liza Chasin.

Mr. Wright is also reteaming with such creative collaborators as director of photography Bill Pope, production designer Marcus Rowland, hair and make-up designer Jane Walker, editor Paul Machliss, stunt coordinator Bradley Allen, and VFX Double Negative. Guy Speranza is the film’s costume designer.

In The World’s End, 20 years after attempting an epic pub crawl, five childhood friends reunite when one of them becomes hellbent on trying the drinking marathon again. They are convinced to stage an encore by mate Gary King (Simon Pegg), a 40-year-old man trapped at the cigarette end of his teens, who drags his reluctant pals to their hometown and once again attempts to reach the fabled pub – The World’s End.  As they attempt to reconcile the past and present, they realize the real struggle is for the future, not just theirs but humankind’s. Reaching The World’s End is the least of their worries.

Working Title Films, co-chaired by Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner since 1992, is one of the world’s leading film production companies. Founded in 1983, Working Title has made nearly 100 films that have grossed over $5 billion worldwide. Its films have won six Academy Awards, 30 BAFTA Awards, and prizes at the Cannes and Berlin International Film Festivals. Working Title’s 2012/2013 slate also includes Les Misérables, directed by Tom Hooper and starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, and Anne Hathaway; John Crowley’s Closed Circuit, starring Eric Bana and Rebecca Hall; Hossein Amini’s The Two Faces of January, starring Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst, and Oscar Isaac; Dan Mazer’s I Give It a Year, starring Rose Byrne and Rafe Spall; the telefilm Mary and Martha, directed by Phillip Noyce and written by Richard Curtis, starring Hilary Swank and Brenda Blethyn; Ron Howard’s Rush, starring Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl; and Joe Wright’s epic love story Anna Karenina, starring Keira Knightley, Jude Law, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

Big Talk’s credits include all of Edgar Wright’s films to date: Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and Greg Mottola’s Paul, written by and starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost with Kristen Wiig. Most recently Big Talk developed and produced Joe Cornish’s debut feature Attack the Block, which was released to critical acclaim in 2011, winning all four Audience Awards at Sitges, SXSW, the LAFF, and Fantasia International Film Festival. Next up for Big Talk is the black comedy Sightseers, directed by Kill List’s Ben Wheatley. The film had its world premiere at Cannes with a Special Screening in the Directors’ Fortnight section. It will have a Gala Screening at the London Film Festival, and will be released in the U.K. in November. Big Talk is currently in production on Cuban Fury, a dance comedy starring Nick Frost, Chris O’Dowd, and Rashida Jones, directed by James Griffiths; and Jeremy Lovering’s psychological thriller In Fear.

Universal Pictures International and Focus Features are part of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. Comcast Corporation owns a controlling 51% interest in NBCUniversal, with GE holding a 49% stake.

Magnolia Pictures Attains US Rights To Terrence Malick’s "To The Wonder"

The Wagner/Cuban Company’s Magnolia Pictures announced today that they have acquired US rights to Terrence Malick’s TO THE WONDER, which bowed at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month. Starring Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Rachel McAdams and Javier Bardem, this stunningly beautiful film reunites the acclaimed filmmaker with producers Sarah Green and Nicolas Gonda, as well as cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki who all collaborated with him on Tree of Life and The New World. The film was executive produced by Glen Basner of FilmNation, and  Jason Krigsfeld and Joseph Krigsfeld of Brothers K Productions.

TO THE WONDER tells the story of Marina (Kurylenko) and Neil (Affleck), who meet in France and move to Oklahoma to start a life together, where problems soon arise. While Marina makes the acquaintance of a priest and fellow exile (Bardem), who is struggling with his vocation, Neil renews a relationship with a childhood sweetheart, Jane (McAdams). Bold and lyrical, the film is a moving, gorgeously shot exploration of love in its many forms.

“It is an honor and a dream come true to be working with Terrence Malick, one of our greatest living filmmakers,” said Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles. “TO THE WONDER is a romantic, haunting and beautiful film that will be endlessly rewarding for movie lovers.”

"We are excited to partner with Magnolia for the release of TO THE WONDER," said producers Nicolas Gonda and Sarah Green.  "Magnolia has become a destination for the work of some of the world's most innovative and talented directors, and we are proud to align with this forward-thinking team."

The deal was negotiated by Magnolia SVP of Acquisitions Dori Begley, with CAA on behalf of the filmmakers. Distribution legal for the filmmakers was provided by Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz. Magnolia plans a 2013 theatrical release for the film.

"The Details" Official Poster

After ten years of marriage, Jeff and Nealy Lang (Tobey Maguire and Elizabeth Banks) have an idyllic suburban home… and a relationship on the skids.  But, when a family of hungry raccoons ransacks their perfectly manicured backyard, Jeff becomes single-mindedly obsessed with eradicating the pests by any means necessary. Soon the relentless rodents aren’t merely uprooting the lawn, but also overturning the Langs’ entire bourgeois existence, as the man-versus-beast battle leads into an absurd mess of infidelity, extortion, organ donation and other assorted mayhem.  Devilish throughout, THE DETAILS also stars Laura Linney in a stand-out performance as the Langs’ eccentric neighbor, Lila.  Ray Liotta, Dennis Haysbert and Kerry Washington round out the cast in this darkly funny meditation on marital malaise.

Weekend Box Office: September 28-30

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1.  Hotel Transylvania - $43 million

2.  Looper - $21.2 million

3.  End of Watch - $8 million

4.  Trouble With the Curve - $7.5 million

5.  House at the End of the Street - $7.1 million

6.  Pitch Perfect - $5.2 million

7.  Finding Nemo 3D - $4 million

8.  Resident Evil: Retribution - $3 million

9.  The Master - $2.74 million

10.  Won't Back Down - $2.7 million

This weekend provided the jolt the box office sorely needed as Hotel Transylvania, the animated monster mash featuring the voices of Adam Sandler and friends opened to an awesome $43 million - the highest September opening of all time.  Naturally, it had the added benefit of 3D pricing, but with an A- Cinemascore and Halloween still a few weeks away, this one should continue to do well for awhile.

It was also good news for Looper, the sci-fi actioner starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, which opened with a solid $21.2 million.  The film opened to great reviews and grosses actually went up as the weekend progressed, meaning word-of-mouth on this one is good as well.

Now, Pitch Perfect may look like a miss, since it opened in sixth place behind movies that went barely noticed a week ago.  But that film, about a high school acapella competition (and looks like it might be worth it just for Rebel Wilson), opened in only 335 theaters and actually earned a higher per-screen average than anything else in the top ten.  It opens wide next weekend.

There's no good way to spin the opening weekend for Won't Back Down, which crashed and burned with only $2.7 million in wide release.  The film, which ran into some controversy over the ongoing charter schools issue, didn't score with critics or audiences.

In limited release, The Perks of Being a Wallflower did very well, opening with $1.1 million in just 102 theaters.

Next weekend brings a Halloween movie face-off, as Tim Burton's Frankenweenie tries to fend off the second weekend of Hotel Transylvania.  Liam Neeson returns to do his badass thing some more in Taken 2, and limited release we have both V/H/S and Butter.

Also on Wednesday, select theaters will be having screenings of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, presented by Fathom Events, to celebrate the film's 30th Anniversary and upcoming blu-ray release.  That one's always worth seeing on the big screen, so click here for showtimes if you'd like to check it out.

Mediocrity Reigns - Marc Webb Directing Amazing Spider-Man Sequel

Fascinated how anyone with taste says they preferred The Amazing Spider-Man to Spider-Man 1, 2 or, yes even 3. You may not like where Sam Raimi took the web-slinger or how he did it (Revisionist history speaking or not), but you felt a specific voice heard and style in play. Marc Webb's re-launch was the embodiment of cynical, made-by-committee filmmaking.

But one can't place the blame on Webb. Sure he knew what he was getting into. Maybe he had great, game-changing ideas for Spidey onscreen when first offered the franchise circa late 2009. But it was clear in the final results. We got a product directed by a gun-for-hire following the orders of his masters. That's why the controversy of Webb's not-returning, stemming from (500) Days of Summer and a pre-existing option at 20^th Century Fox, was in truth a non-controversy.

One that's ceased to be according to Variety. Sony and Fox made peace, allowing Webb to direct The Spectacular Spider-Man (or whatever the title ultimately is). Unless Webb gets free reign on the sequel, it won't matter since he's still gonna have Avi Arad and whatever not-yet-fired Sony executive on his ass. Hopefully they'll stick to their guns and not jettison crucial plotlines come May 2014.