Screen Rant » rock of ages

‘Jack the Giant Killer’ Delayed Until Spring 2013

Sandy Schaefer — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:01:30 +0000

Yet another fairy tale-based project has vacated its 2012 release date, less than two weeks after Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters was pushed back to 2013. The latest fantastical adventure to abandon ship is the Bryan Singer-directed Jack the Giant Killer, which will now be released in spring of 2013, rather than Summer 2012.

The Warner Bros.-backed fantasy flick’s delay has partially affected two of the studio’s other upcoming films: the Jukebox musical, Rock of Ages, which has been bumped back slightly, to take Jack‘s previous spot – and the Medieval tale re-imagining, Arthur & Lancelot, a still-in-development project that has (unofficially) been shelved, for the time being.

Jack the Giant Killer was originally supposed to hit every kind of screen out there (re: 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D) on June 15th of ...

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‘Rock of Ages’ Trailer: Don’t Stop Believin’ in Tom Cruise

Kofi Outlaw — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:48:12 +0000

The revival of the movie musical is not dead yet – The Muppets sang their way through their big comeback film this past Thanksgiving, and next summer, the speakers in a theater near you will be thumping to the familiar rock n roll music that has pretty much defined all-American youth since the 1970s, thanks to the movie adaptation of the hit Broadway production, Rock of Ages.

Today we have the Rock of Ages trailer to share, and it features more famous faces and famous tunes than a Hollywood karaoke bar.

Check out the synopsis for Rock of Ages below, and then the trailer and poster:

Set in 1987 Los Angeles, Drew and Sherrie are two young people chasing their dreams in the big city. When they meet, it’s love ...

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Mary J. Blige Talks ‘Rock Of Ages’ & ‘The Help’

Roth Cornet — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 14:00:19 +0000

We recently had the opportunity to speak with the incomparable Mary J. Blige at a roundtable discussion in Los Angeles about the original song she wrote for Disney’s upcoming adaptation of the bestselling (and much beloved) Kathryn Stockett novel, The Help.

Blige was inspired to write the song “The Living Proof” when she saw a screening of the film and felt a personal connection to the character of Aibileen Clark, whose circumstances in some ways reminded her of her aunt — who had been a maid.

In the course of the conversation, Blige gave some details about her upcoming role in the film adaptation of the rock-musical, Rock of Ages. We have details on Blige’s character in the film below.

First, take a look at the synopsis for The Help and featurette on Blige’s original song below:

Based on one of the most talked about ...

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Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: June 19th, 2011

Niall Browne — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 17:23:45 +0000

This week:

Get ready for Masters of the Web featuring our own Vic Holtreman; Tom Cruise rocks out with his..er… shirt off in Rock of Ages; there’s change ahead for John Travolta’s Gotti biopic; Green Lantern is in the red but Ryan Reynolds talks Deadpool and Kate Winslet as well as Josh Brolin join Jason Reitman’s Labor Day.

Box Office

It’s not easy being green and for Warner Bros, it’s not easy starting a new superhero franchise. Sure, they successfully rebooted the Batman series, and they’ve got a new Superman film off the ground, but in recent years the studio has struggled to get films like The Flash and Justice League out of development hell – not to mention the recent Wonder Woman TV debacle. Meanwhile, Marvel characters have been flourishing on the big screen, with X-Men, Thor and Captain America all kicking butt this summer. ...

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First Look at Russell Brand and Alec Baldwin in ‘Rock of Ages’

Rob Frappier — Tue, 31 May 2011 23:06:09 +0000

Rock of Ages, the film adaptation of the popular Broadway musical, has attracted some impressive Hollywood talent. The movie, which tells a love story set to the music of Styx, Journey, and other 1980s rock staples, includes Tom Cruise, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Russell Brand, and Alec Baldwin, among other Hollywood A-Listers.

Given the somewhat risky nature of modern movie musicals, why would so many big names join the film? I can’t say for sure, but one good guess is that it’s just a ton of fun. At least, it looks that way based on a recent set image from director Adam Shankman.

This morning, Shankman tweeted a picture of Russell Brand and Alex Baldwin on set and in costume as ...

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Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: May 15th, 2011

Niall Browne — Sun, 15 May 2011 19:29:13 +0000

This weekend:

Thor hammers the competition again; Judd Apatow is always the Bridesmaid and never the bride; Alec Baldwin is unsure if he wants to Rock; David O’Russell and Mark Wahlberg have a Silver Lining; Safety Not Guaranteed for time-travel; The Hoff takes a bite out of Piranha 3DD and Colin Firth and Emily Blunt want your life.

Box Office

Thor retained the top spot at the box office taking in an estimated $34.5 million – down less than 50% from last weekend’s debut (which indicates very good word of mouth). The 3D Marvel comic book adaptation has now grossed an impressive $119 million in the U.S. so far, a figure which bodes well for next year’s The Avengers.

Judd Apatow’s latest production Bridesmaids opened in second place with an impressive ...

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Sam Claflin to Become Prince Charming; Malin Akerman in ‘Rock of Ages’

Sandy Schaefer — Wed, 04 May 2011 23:30:41 +0000

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides hasn’t even arrived in theaters and yet ~~Orlando Bloom’s replacement~~ star Sam Claflin is already reaping the benefits. The young actor is now in negotiations to play Prince Charming in Universal’s fairy tale retelling Snow White and the Huntsman.

Malin Akerman is keeping busy as well and is the latest addition to Adam Shankman’s star-studded musical adaptation, Rock of Ages. The Watchmen actress will star in the film as a journalist that ends up getting cozy (and then some) with an aging rock star played by Tom Cruise.

Claflin is also on-board to star in Warner Bros.’ new fantasy literary adaptation, The Seventh Son, in the future as well. Variety, however, is reporting that production on the latter has been rescheduled to ...

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Catherine Zeta-Jones Cast As A Villain In ‘Rock of Ages’

Sandy Schaefer — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 19:33:17 +0000

Adam Shankman (Hairspray) has encountered little difficulty in gathering together big name talents to star in his screen adaptation of the ’80s glam rock musical, Rock of Ages. The film already counts Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, and musical artist Mary J. Blige as members of its cast.

The cast for the song & dance picture just became a whole lot prettier: Catherine Zeta-Jones is now signed on to fill a villainous role that was created specifically for the Rock of Ages movie.

THR has the scoop on Zeta-Jones joining Rock of Ages, with Shankman describing her character in the film as follows:

“It’s a character that we only really came to in the last month… [She's like] if Tipper Gore and Anita Bryant had a love ...

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Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: April 17th, 2011

Niall Browne — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 18:57:23 +0000

This week:

The box office travels to Rio, while we Scream again; Russell Brand sings Rock of Ages; Pesci gets Gotti; The Dark Tower gets a new writer; Galifianakis may have a hangover but he won’t R.I.P; Franco attends Jump Street – but will Johnny Depp? Trumbull may have Silent Running but he’ll be moving at 60 fps and Hallelujah – there’s finally a Jeff Buckley biopic.

Box Office

Rio was the box office champion over the weekend after grossing an estimated $40 million. The animated film which features the vocal talents of Anne Hathaway, Jesse Eisenberg, Tracy Morgan, will.i.am, Jamie Foxx and George Lopez surpassed predictions to again show that animated films are big at the box office. This could be the start of a new animated franchise for 20th Century Fox, giving the studio a steady income for the next few years.

Speaking of franchises, the Weinsteins dusted off the
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‘Jack the Giant Killer’ & ‘Rock of Ages’ Snag Release Dates

Sandy Schaefer — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 15:58:35 +0000

Summer 2012 is already pretty jam-packed for the comic book crowd, what with The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, Superman: Man of Steel and The Amazing Spider-Man already prepped to hit theaters. Now New Line/Warner Bros. have slated two more films – neither of which involves costumed vigilantes, sadly – for release during the season: Jack the Giant Killer and Rock of Ages.

The former is director Bryan Singer’s re-fashioning of the classic fairy tale “Jack and the Beanstalk”, while the latter is Hairspray filmmaker Adam Shankman’s cinematic adaptation of a hit Broadway musical.

Rock of Ages is now scheduled to arrive in theaters next summer on June 1st, where it will compete against Judd Apatow’s as-yet untitled Knocked Up spinoff. The humorous musical will star Tom Cruise as ...

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Alec Baldwin, Mary J. Blige, & Julianne Hough Join ‘Rock of Ages’

Sandy Schaefer — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 15:26:29 +0000

Adam Shankman’s new Broadway musical adaptation Rock of Ages will begin filming in a matter of months, and now has both Tom Cruise as well as Alec Baldwin as cast members. Russell Brand is reportedly still circling the project, and may sign on in the near future as well.

Also starring in the ’80s jukebox song-and-dance flick are the likes of the “Queen of Hip-Hop Soul,” Mary J. Blige, and actress Julianne Hough – the latter of whom will be appearing in the upcoming Footloose remake as well.

Shankman tweeted that all the previously-named talents (sans Brand) are officially starring in Rock of Ages, and indicated that more significant casting news would be soon to come. The role of the film’s protagonist, wannabe rock star Drew Bowie (get the reference?), is ...

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Tom Cruise Officially In For ‘Rock of Ages’

Sandy Schaefer — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 15:15:28 +0000

Director Adam Shankman was mingling with reporters on the red carpet at last night’s 83rd Annual Academy Awards ceremony and took the chance to confirm that Tom Cruise is officially onboard for his Rock of Ages adaptation, several months after the A-lister was originally approached to appear in the musical pic.

Cruise’s involvement with Rock of Ages was assumed to be an all but done deal a few weeks back, but now his set-in-stone status should only help to attract other potential big names that’ve been circling the ’80s jukebox musical.

Shankman spoke with Access Hollywood just last week about Cruise’s feverish research and preparation for the role of aging and arrogant “rock n’ roll god” Stacee Jaxx in Rock of Ages; the film may also feature the talents of Russell Brand ...

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Russell Brand May Return To Singing In ‘Rock of Ages’

Sandy Schaefer — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 14:58:52 +0000

Russell Brand played the randy, often intoxicated superstar Aldous Snow in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and last year’s Get Him To The Greek successfully enough, and now Katy Perry’s hubby may return to the music scene in the upcoming Rock of Ages adaptation.

Hairspray filmmaker Adam Shankman looks to begin production soon on his latest stage musical-turned-movie, which has already attracted the attention of three big names – potential leading man Tom Cruise being the most notable, of course.

A hit on Broadway, the comedically-inclined Rock of Ages tells the tale of a world-famous ’80s rock club called The Bourbon that is in danger of being shut down and destroyed by selfish land developers. Deadline says that Little Miss Sunshine and Toy Story 3 scriber Michael Arndt has refashioned Chris D’Arienzo’s original ...

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Cruise, Baldwin and Paltrow Circling ‘Rock of Ages’

Sandy Schaefer — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 17:37:57 +0000

Adam Shankman hit it big with his movie-turned Broadway musical-turned movie Hairspray and hopes to repeat that act with his cinematic adaptation of Rock of Ages, a stage musical that does for 80s rock what Mamma Mia! did for ABBA tunes – so to speak.

Word has it that Tom Cruise is on the verge of signing on for Shankman’s latest musical, which could also star the likes of Alec Baldwin and Gwyneth Paltrow – alongside the film’s only official cast member so far, musical artist and Precious songwriter, Mary J. Blige.

Rock of Ages is a successful Broadway stage rock musical that could be referred to as the anti-Rent, since the former is lighter in tone and deals with far less serious subject matter. The show’s plot revolves around a world-famous rock ...

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Adam Shankman Signs on to Direct ‘Rock of Ages’

Rob Frappier — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:32:26 +0000

According to Variety, director Adam Shankman has signed on to direct and choreograph the film adaptation of the Tony-award nominated Broadway play, Rock of Ages. If you’re unfamiliar with Rock of Ages, here’s a brief summary of the movie from Variety:

The musical tells the story of a couple that meets at the Sunset Strip club Rock of Ages, falls in love and tries to stay together amid the rough and tumble rock lifestyle. The cast finds reasons to belt out 80s rock anthems made popular by Journey, Twisted Sister, Joan Jett, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar and other MTV generation staples.

With his experience directing music videos and musicals (including 2007′s surprise hit Hairspray), Adam Shankman should be the perfect person to bring the project to fruition. Describing the film as “Mamma Mia!” for dudes,” Shankman said bringing ...

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