Goldman Joins X-Men: First Class

First was the good news that X-Men: First Class was definitely happening.  Then there was the even better news that Matthew Vaughn would be directing the movie and that Bryan Singer would be returning to the X-franchise as an executive producer.

Then the not-so-good (or at least worriesome) news was that the movie is expected to be released on June 3, 2011.  Which doesn't seem to leave a whole lot of time to get something as big as a new X-Men movie done without it, you know...not being very good.

Well the creative team behind the new X-Men prequel are certainly not wasting any time.  SuperheroHype is reporting that in addition to Thor co-writers Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz, Jane Goldman is now also working on some script re-writes.  Goldman has also co-wrote Vaughn's previous films Stardust and Kick-Ass, which she also co-produced.

The news came via Goldman's husband Jonathan Ross' Twitter page, which first caused some confusion when he referred to the film as X-Men 4.  He clarified in a later tweet that it is X-Men: First Class that she is working on, but that it's just "referred to as X-Men 4 around the house."

While I'm apprehensive about such a tight release schedule, I'm still not climbing out on the ledge over it yet, considering who is involved in the project this time.  I'm guessing we're going to see a lot of updates about this film in the next few weeks.

JJ Abrams’ Super 8 Teaser Trailer

The teaser trailer for writer/director J.J. Abrams' Super 8, which hit theaters with Iron Man 2 this weekend, is now officially online.

Steven Spielberg is producing the Paramount Pictures film, which starts shooting this fall for a summer 2011 release.

Judge Dredd being sold at cannes?

 

According to Deadline:

Andrew Macdonald’s DNA Films has made a deal with India-based Reliance Big Entertainment and IM Global to finance Judge Dredd, a 3D film that was scripted by Alex Garland, and will be directed by Pete Travis, best known for Vantage Point and Omagh. The film will be shopped at (Cannes Film Festival) by IM Global, in the first collaboration since Reliance bought a majority stake in Stuart Ford's foreign sales company.

While Judge Dredd is perhaps best remembered for the forgettable 1995 action film that starred Sylvester Stallone, Macdonald went back to the franchise’s DNA to completely overhaul the film and bring it back to its origins as the UK comic created by John Wagner and illustrated by Carlos Ezquerra. Dredd is set in a futuristic world filled with violence, and the character is empowered to act as judge, jury and executioner.

The budget's under $50 million, I'm told. This is the kind of project that you would normally find at a studio. This one looked like it would be done under DNA's deal at Fox, but that deal's going away, and Fox let this one loose.

Dredd is a law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner. Dredd and his fellow Judges are empowered to arrest, sentence and even execute criminals on the spot.

The last time I actually saw the 95' Dredd with Stalone, was in 95'. I couldn't tell you whether it actually sucked or not, but I can tell you that the story does sound very cool. With the right casting and a decent story, this could be a very cool franchise.

Artwork for Disney's Star Wars Weekends

One of the best parts of visiting Walt Disney World in late May-early June is being there for the Star Wars Weekends at Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park.  Located right near the classic Star Tours ride, the event is a celebration of all things Star Wars, including parades, games, collector exclusives, meet-and-greets with various actors from the films, lightsaber lessons for the kids (which now runs year-round), and the rare opportunity to see Goofy dressed as Darth Vader.

The other fun part of Star Wars Weekends are the terrific ads they put together to advertise the event.  I have a few from past years, but these are some of the funniest I've seen.  Check out this year's collection by John McCall and Matt Stewart:

 

You can check out the rest here, where you'll find an ad of Darth Maul getting his face painted, and a wind-blown Chewie exiting the Aerosmith Rockin' Rollercoaster.

Star Wars Weekends will run every weekend starting May 21 through June 13.  This is also the last year to ride the original version of Star Tours, which is scheduled to close in August for a long-overdue update and will re-open sometime next year, presumably in time for next year's Star Wars Weekends.

Favreau Talks Iron Man 3

Now that Iron Man 2 has officially been released world wide, you can expect Favreau and Co. to be pimping it out, to ensure its success in the coming weeks.

Jon Favreau recently talked to MTV and said that The Mandarin, one of Iron Man's most stereotypical and popular villains, will finally show up in Iron Man 3:

At this point I'm going to take anything Favreau or any of the other cast and/ or Marvel have to say about an Iron Man sequel with a grain of salt. of course they're going to tell us that Mandarin is the villain, or we can expect it to hit theatres in 2014 or so. They are doing their jobs, pimping out their newest release.

I don't doubt we'll see Iron Man at the very least make an appearance in The Avengers, but I'm not expecting much more then that. I would go as far as to say that Iron Man 2 will be Iron Man's swan song. I think after Robert Downey Jr. finishes his appearance in The Avengers and Favreau his duties as producer, that's the last we'll see of them, as far as this franchise goes anyways.

For now though we still have Iron Man 2 to enjoy! You can check out my review HERE, or Mike's HERE.

Box Office Actuals May 7 - 9

 

As expected Iron Man 2 was the biggest opening this weekend, but not coming in with 133 million like originally estimated, its actual domestic take was 128 million, 30 million short of what The Dark Knight did in 2008. Also the other obvious change this weekend, was the %72 drop that the Nightmare remake took from last weekend, still coming in at the number 2 spot (probably for the last time) it managed to make an additional 9.1 million, bringing it's 10 day total to 48.4 million, very close to the 50 million I expected it to reach by today.

Next weekend Robin Hood is the widest new release hitting theaters, although it's unlikely it will take the number one spot away from Iron Man. Also opening next weekend in limited release are Letters to Juliet and Just Wright. A Nightmare On Elm Street can expect to limp on from here on out, it's not likely it will land higher then 4th or maybe 5th next weekend and less from there on out.

1. Iron Man 2 (Marvel/Paramount) - $128.1 million  

2. A Nightmare on Elm Street (New Line/WB) - $9.1 million

3. How to Train Your Dragon (DreamWorks Animation/Paramount) - $6.6 millio

4. Date Night (20th Century Fox) - $5.4 million

5. The Back-up Plan (CBS Films) - $5 million

6. Furry Vengeance (Summit) - $4.4 million

7. Clash of the Titans (Warner Bros.) - $2.5 million

8. Death at a Funeral (Sony/Screen Gems) - $2.3 million

9. Babies (Focus Features) - $2.1 million

10. The Losers (Warner Bros.) - $1.8 million

Check back to TMT on Wednesday for my predictions for this coming weekend, and to see how I did this week you can check out my predictions HERE.

Will Captain America be 3D?

 

Iron Man 2 just opened this weekend to the tune of 133 million domestic at the box office. Some people are now arguing it could have topped the The Dark Knight' record of 158 million, had it been released in 3D, although I doubt it.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige admitted he and his team had considered converting the superhero sequel into 3-D after seeing the success of "Avatar" and "Alice in Wonderland." Given the extensive demands of post-production on "Iron Man 2," however, they concluded there simply wasn't enough time. "We couldn't have turned over a version of the movie 10 or 20 weeks earlier for 3-D conversion without undermining the quality," he said. "We used all the time we had for mixing and editing and discovering the right tone."

In regards to Marvel using the current hollywood trend of 3D in the future, Feige said "The team has been doing a lot of research into 3-D processes, and we're looking at it on future films when we have the time," he said. "We will be doing it at some point."

With Thor already in production, it would have to be converted to 3D in post, but Captain America and The Avengers could be filmed using 3D cameras. If I had to guess, I'd say Avengers is the more likely of the two to get the 3D treatment.

New Trailer 'Inception'

Opening in conventional and IMAX theaters on July 16, the film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger and Michael Caine.

In the film, Dom Cobb (DiCaprio) is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb's rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible—inception. Instead of the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists have to pull off the reverse: their task is not to steal an idea but to plant one. If they succeed, it could be the perfect crime. But no amount of careful planning or expertise can prepare the team for the dangerous enemy that seems to predict their every move. An enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming. This summer, your mind is the scene of the crime.

 

Wow, this looks amazing! I get the feeling that even with the synopsis, the trailers, the TV spots, and everything we've heard so far, we still don't know really know what Inception is actually about.

Check back to TMT in July for our official review.

Peter Sarsgaard's Look In Green Lantern!

Sky Showbiz has this snapshot of Peter Sarsgaard as villain Hector Hammond in Green Lantern. Hammond is a pathologist and son of a senator who is seen as a disappointment in his father's (Tim Robbins) eyes. He becomes infused with psychic powers when he discovers a meteor.

He's not in costume here, and this probably isn't the finished look, but you get an idea of just how nasty he'll look come June 2011.

Weekend Box Office: May 7-9

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1. Iron Man 2:  $133.6 million

2. A Nightmare on Elm Street:  $9.1 million

3. How to Train Your Dragon:  $6.7 million

4. Date Night:  $5.3 million

5. The Back-Up Plan:  $4.3 million

6. Furry Vengeance:  $4 million

7. Clash of the Titans: $2.3 million

8. Death at a Funeral: $2.1 million

9. The Losers:  $1.8 million

10. Babies: $1.5 million

Well, this weekend's winner was certainly a no-brainer.  While it didn't demolish The Dark Knight's opening weekend record as early tracking suggested, Iron Man 2 still managed to soar right past the original film's $98 million opening weekend take with an excellent $133.6 million.  Combined with its international box office, where the movie opened last week, its combined worldwide total already stands at $327 million.

The IMAX screenings (which is where I saw it, and want to see it again) did well, accounting for 8% of the weekend's box office.  Even better, the sequel earned an "A" Cinemascore rating from theatergoers, which bodes well for repeat business and another strong showing next weekend.  This should make Marvel and their new owners at The Walt Disney company very happy indeed, although I can't imagine anyone involved with Robin Hood (which opens next weekend) is as thrilled about this news. 

In other non-shocking news, the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street crashed and burned in its second weekend, falling a whopping 72% with just $9.1 million.  Its total now stands at $48 million, which is well over its reported $35 million budget, so at this point I think it's done everything it was meant to do at the box office by now anyway.

How to Train Your Dragon continued to do well, dropping only 36% despite losing its IMAX screens to Iron Man 2, hanging in at the #3 spot with another $6.7 million this weekend and crossing the $200 million mark domestically.

Romantic comedies rounded out the top 5, with Date Night and The Back-Up Plan coming in with $5.3 and $4.3 million, respectively. 

The weekend's other new release (in celebration of Mother's Day, naturally), was the documentary Babies, which follows a year of the lives of four mothers in different parts of the world with their newborns.  Opening in only 534, it managed to take the 10th spot this weekend with $1.5 million.

So the summer movie season seems to getting off to a great start.  Now let's see if the rest of this month's big releases can keep up.