Facebook Fans To Be Rewarded With Early Screenings Of "The Avengers"

Marvel Studios announced today that “Marvel’s The Avengers” will reward its fans on Facebook for their continued support of the film’s campaign with advance screenings in cities around the world on a first-come-first-served basis. In the U.S. fans will be able to experience the film in stunning IMAX® 3D.

This unprecedented screening event will enable Facebook fans of “Marvel’s The Avengers” in cities that have assembled the most fans on Facebook to win the first access to screenings of the film, weeks before the May 4th release in theatres.   This event will kick off on April 14th at 10 a.m PDT with the top five cities in the U.S. with the most fans on Facebook: Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Houston and Miami.  The next five cities to garner the most Facebook “Marvel’s The Avengers” fans will be awarded an early screening as well – to be announced shortly on Facebook. Fans can rally for their city to be the chosen location for this special opportunity by going to https://www.facebook.com/avengers for details. International fans should visit their local “Marvel’s The Avengers” Facebook page for more details on how to win a screening in their city.

Participating fans are encouraged to celebrate this movie event by coming to their local screenings dressed in their finest Super Hero costumes inspired by “Marvel’s The Avengers” --  the winners of the Best Costume contest will be awarded reserved seats.

“Marvel’s The Avengers”—the Super Hero team up of a lifetime— is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series “The Avengers,” first published in 1963 and a comics institution ever since.

In “Marvel’s The Avengers” the world’s greatest Super Heroes assemble when Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) join S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to protect the world from the dangerous and powerful villain, Loki (Tom Hiddleston).

An exciting event movie, packed with action and spectacular special effects, “Marvel’s The Avengers” is from Marvel Studios in association with Paramount Pictures, produced by Kevin Feige and directed by Joss Whedon from a story by Zak Penn and Joss Whedon with screenplay by Joss Whedon.

“Marvel’s The Avengers” will be released in the U.S. in 3D and IMAX 3D on May 4, 2012.

The Amazing Spider-Man Clips Swing Its Way Online

Cross promotional tie-ins have their little rewards. Case in point: Kellogg is starting up a new deal pimping The Amazing Spider-Man.

Long story short, get some special codes off select Kellogg products and your smart-phone to see early clips. This being the Internet, someone has already done the deed and posted said (brief) scenes online, courtesy of Super Hero Hype:

Spidey, the wise-ass (Not a new concept onscreen if you look back at the 2002 originating film) and whatever that Subway scene is. Again echoing memories of Sam Raimi (The "He's just a kid!" scene in Spider-Man 2 comes to mind).

Heard very troubling things on Marc Webb's reboot but I can't judge it based on these clips, especially the first since Garfield looks like he will be superior to Tobey Maguire in the one-liners department.

Dumb & Dumber 2 Filming This Fall

Money is why the world didn't get Dumb & Dumber 2. Until now. They'll never admit that, of course.

Not so much an issue of payment. None of these guys are hurting but a case where neither Jim Carrey nor the Farrellys are making the kind of coin their names once guaranteed commercially. That doesn't matter to Jeff Daniels since he gets steady work as the always-reliable character actor. If either parties were still hitting em outta the ballpark, confident to say the prospects of Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne's return would be nil. But here we are.

Peter Farrelly confirms to Coming Soon cameras roll this fall on Dumb & Dumber 2:

"We're getting set to shoot 'Dumb and Dumber 2' in September. It’s the first sequel we’ve ever done and we’ve got Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels back."

Can't say the thought of those characters return sends any excitement. We've seen others capitalizing on Dumb & Dumber only to fail (A Saturday morning cartoon and the prequel When Harry Met Lloyd). The near 20 year gap doesn't help.

Ted Red Band Trailer Is Exactly What You Expect From Seth MacFarlane

Seth MacFarlane.

Uttering his name, one has already split people 50/50. The first half who finds his politically-incorrect (Read: easy stereotypes) raunchy, rapid-fire pop culture raddled humor God's gift to comedy. The other half who views that same affinity for referencing movies or TV shows from the last 30 years as comedy writing at its laziest and his using Family Guy as a platform to shove his left-wing views down our collective throats to the point of stopping episodes cold just to get across how much he hates George W. Bush and loves Barack Obama.

No matter your ideology on the man, he's made Fox a lot of money and doesn't show any signs of stopping his signature show or its spin-offs. Since dominating the field of TV animation as much as anyone can (We're all waiting to see how his Flintstones revival series), he's turned his attention to a foreign concept: directing.

Funny or Die has the red-band trailer for Ted, his directorial debut in the live-action comedy arena about a man (Mark Wahlberg) and his relationship with his best friend, his fouled-mouth, among other things, teddy-bear voiced by MacFarlane, and yes he does sound just like Peter Griffin. If you're among that crowd of devout MacFarlane fans, you'll like what you see. For the rest, well, at least you know what you won’t be watching on July 13^th:

Platinum Dunes Frontrunner to Produce New Halloween Film

It may sound like a bad April Fool's joke, but both Bloody-Disgusting and ShockTillYouDrop report that Dimension Films is shopping the producing rights for the next Halloween film to different companies. Not surprisingly, Platinum Dunes (infamous for their remakes of A Nightmare on Elm Street, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Friday the 13th) -- is apparently the frontrunner to add Michael Myers to their collection. The deal hasn't been set in concrete, but a 3D sequel has been ruled out, as well as well as a sequel in the "found footage" style. There's been talks that the film could be a continuation of the Rob Zombie movies, or possibly another remake. 

In any case, Shock claims they've heard rumors about this circulating since early last week (which apparently undermines this being an April Fool's joke) but didn't have concrete information until Bloody Disgusting broke it as an exclusive scoop today.

More as it develops...

Total Recall Trailer

I've been looking forward to this one (Thanks to Coming Soon for embeding via iTunes!) and it doesn't disappoint. The future world Wiseman has created has clear influences but feels like a very tactile mix of gritty futurism and sleek style, great contrast.

I've always loved the concept of Total Recall and the old movie is fun, but seeing it with a proper actor in the lead is going to be interesting as there's a lot can be brought to Quaid's situation from an acting standpoint.

The action looks incredible with the synthetic cops, the hovercar chase and that stunning opening fight scene at Rekal.

Weekend Box Office: March 30 - April 1

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1.  The Hunger Games - $61.1 million

2.  Wrath of the Titans - $34.2 million

3.  Mirror Mirror - $19 million

4.  21 Jump Street - $15 million

5.  The Lorax - $8 million

6.  John Carter - $2 million

7.  Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - $1.2 million

8.  Act of Valor - $1 million

9.  A Thousand Words - $915,000

10.  Journey 2: The Mysterious Island - $835,000

As expected, The Hunger Games easily took the top spot in its second weekend with an estimated $61.1 million.  That's a drop of of almost 60% from last week...but keep in mind that it made over $150 million last weekend, so a big drop was expected, and at this point, nothing to really care about.  The film has earned a domestic total of $251 million in its first ten days.  Overseas, it has earned an addtional $113 million. 

The Hunger Games easily beat out both of this weekend's two new releases, with Wrath of the Titans underwhelming with $34.2 million, nowhere near the $61.2 million that the Clash of the Titans earned in its own opening weekend in 2010.  No surprise, since it didn't appear too many people were begging for a Titans sequel to begin with.  The first of this year's Snow White adaptations, Mirror Mirror, fared even less well, as the $85 million film earned just $19 million.  Not sure if that film will have any effect on the upcoming Snow White as the Huntsman, since the marketing for Mirror Mirror was simply dreadful to begin with.

The holdovers continued to do well:  21 Jump Street made its way closer to the $100 million mark with another $15 million this weekend, and The Lorax did just fine while having to compete with Mirror Mirror for family audiences, as that earned another $8 million. 

In limited release, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen did very well, earning $1.2 million in just 483 theaters.  Bully, the documentary marred the last few weeks in MPAA ratings nonsense, opened in just five theaters and earned $115,000.

I'll refrain from a "my heart will go on" joke as I point out that Titanic will be returning to theaters in glorious 3D form next weekend.  If that wasn't enough of a late 90s flashback, the sequel American Reunion also opens in theaters next week.

Orson Welles' Final TV Interview

If you have heard of Orson Welles' Citizen Kane, you have heard it is one of the greatest films of all-time.  If you have seen Citizen Kane, you know it is one of the greatest films of all-time.

I came across this video over at Collider showing Mr. Orson Welles' giving his final interview on television before tragically passing away mere hours later.

The interview was conducted October 10th, 1985 during a taping of The Merv Griffin Show, just hours before Welles succumbed to a heart attack at his Los Angeles home.  He was 70.

While today's generation probably has never heard of Orson Welles nor knows what the man accomplished in his brilliant career, those who appreciate a true pioneer for the mediums of television, film, theatre, and radio will enjoy this short, just under 10-minute clip.

Rest in peace Mr. Welles.  Rest in peace.

Video courtesy of OpenCulture.com via the Twitter account of director Craig Brewer.

Official "Bel Ami" U.S. Poster

"Belami" is the story of Georges Duroy, who travels through 1890s Paris, from cockroach ridden garrets to opulent salons, using his wits and powers of seduction to rise from poverty to wealth, from a prostitute’s embrace to passionate trysts with wealthy beauties, in a world where politics and media jostle for influence, where sex is power and celebrity an obsession

"Mirror Mirror" Review

Mirror Mirror attempts to revamp and refresh the classic tale of Snow White for a new generation and although it hits some high notes the overall experience isn't going to shatter any box office records. The jokes will be a hit with kids and they'll be able to sit through the film and fantasize about being Snow White for a couple hours, but parents will be searching for ways to surf the web on their smart phones without getting the boot from the theater.

Julia Roberts seems as though she is trying to make the most of her role as the Evil Queen embracing the sarcastic side of the insecure character. You just don't find her believable in the role and her performance spins out of control into a monotony of one liners and flippant remarks. The character's obsession with money and possible wrinkles on her strikingly perfect face makes for a one dimensional villain that not even Julia Roberts can recover from. To think that the striking Roberts is so concerned about her age to be jealous of Snow White will instigate a bevy of eye rolls from the audience.

Lily Collins delivers a loveable performance as the soft but edgy Snow White. She handles the action like a grizzled veteran yet remains graceful while wearing an outrageous costume at the ball. Collins understands her role and seems to be enjoying her place in the classic fairytale. There certainly is a high level of chemistry between Collins and Armie Hammer who plays Prince Alcott of Valencia with a twinkle in his eye. It's good to see Hammer having fun on screen and not being afraid to embarrass himself for some laughs after his serious turns in The Social Network and J. Edgar. Good move by him.

Nathan Lane would have been likeable with less screen time as the Queen's doormat assistant Brighton. His powdered wig alone is enough to annoy you but when he is magically turned into a cockroach for disobeying the Queen you want to step on him to put him out of his misery. Besides Lilly Collins as Snow, the seven dwarves are the best part of this film. Rugged thieves with names that veer far away from the original fairytale, the dwarves were banished from the town and labeled as "uglies" by the Queen before taking in Snow White after she proves her loyalty. The relationship between the Princess and the dwarves provides for the best on screen moments as the Octet connects on multiple levels.

This doesn't look that much like  Tarsem Singh film, more like a Tim Burton movie that went through a plethora of budget cuts. The colors are bold and bright but the set pieces scream "I was filmed on a soundstage!". Outrageous costumes like something out of Max Shreks party in Batman Returns will either make you laugh or raise an eyebrow. One of the amazing instances of action involves the dwarves rapidly scurrying through the woods on acordian like stilts. The fighting sequences and coach robbery while on the stilts feel like they were done using practical effects. Impressive if so.

Mirror Mirror is a film that young kids will enjoy and parents will be at least be able take solace in the fact that their kids enjoyed the experience.