Box Office

Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese remained kings of the box office as Shutter Island banked another $21 million to bring its total to $75 million. It looks like this just might out-gross The Departed to be the duo’s highest grossing film.

Bruce Willis’ Cop Out was second with a weekend take of $17 million. The film also stars Tracy Morgan and Seann William Scott. Cop Out, as every review and article that I’ve read states, is the first film that Kevin Smith has directed that he didn’t write. I just didn’t want to feel left out on that one!

Horror remake The Crazies was third with an estimated take of $15 million.

Avatar finally crossed the $700 million barrier this weekend. The James Cameron film’s total now stands at $705 million after grossing $12.5 million over the weekend.

Rom-com Valentine’s Day hit $100 million after taking $8 million over the weekend. Never underestimate the power of love. I think there might be a song in there somewhere!

Percy Jackson upped his cumulative gross to $70 million. The century mark is looking difficult, but if foreign grosses are strong you might get to see Pierce Brosnan as a horse’s ass again.

Dear John has now banked almost $72 million, and The Wolfman’s total is hovering at $57 million after making just under $4 million over the weekend.

Dwayne Johnson’s Tooth Fairy has now clocked up $53 million, while Crazy Heart starring Jeff Bridges and Colin Farrell has now managed to score $25 million.

Movie News

1. Fomer Battlestar Galactica star Katee Sackhoff is set to star in the pilot for a new crime drama from Richard Hatem.

According to The Hollywood Reporter:

“The crime drama centers on a beautiful female detective (Sackhoff) who teams with a disgraced ex-cop to solve crimes and untangle the conspiracy that sent him underground.”

So, it’s kind of like The X-Files.

Sackhoff is currently starring in 24, and producers on the show have said that she should be able to star in her own show, if the Jack Bauer series returns for a ninth run.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

2. Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto has signed on to director Tarsem Singh’s War of the Gods.

According to Variety;

“(The) story follows a young warrior Theseus who leads his men into battle with the immortal Greek gods to defeat evil and the powerful elder gods of the Titans in order to save mankind. Pinto will portray Phaedra, an oracle priestess who must join Theseus — played by Henry Cavill (“The Tudors”) — on his quest to prevent the cataclysmic war from erupting.”

The film which starts shooting in April was written by Jason Keller and Christian Gudegast.

Pinto will next be seen in Woody Allen’s You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger which also stars Antonio Banderas (Zorro), Josh Brolin (Jonah Hex), Anthony Hopkins and Naomi Watts.

3. Speaking of Woody Allen – the New York auteur has apparently nabbed Owen Wilson to star in his next, as yet untitled project.

France’s First Lady (and model, singer and actress) Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is also believed to be starring in the film, which like all of Allen’s projects are kept under wraps until the last minute.

I’ll go out on a limb and say there’ll be no CGI and that it won’t be shot in 3D.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

4. The buddy cop genre is something that refuses to die. This weekend’s Cop Out offers an affectionate comedic take on the genre, and there’s now news that Ashton Kutcher and Jamie Foxx are set to star in their own buddy adventure called Streets of Fire (not to be confused with the recent Val Kilmer movie Streets of Blood).

“It’s about a straight arrow Chicago cop with anger issues (Foxx) who teams up with a brash and cocky one (Kutcher), and the two “become anything other than friends.” They stumble into a gang of killers intercepting the city’s drugs, and reluctantly agree to work together on the case, only to find out that the vicious gang is actually made up of dirty cops.”

So far, so generic. However, the Justin Britt-Gibson script was on the 2009 Black List (great unproduced screenplays) so it might add something new.

Source: Pajiba

5. Comic book lovers Nicolas Cage and Ryan Reynolds are set to share the screen as cavemen (well, their voices at least) in The Croods.

The CG animated film is ” a comedy that pits a prehistoric patriarch (Cage) against a forward-thinking outsider (Reynolds).”

According to Variety:

“Cage stars as Crug, who cautiously leads his family beyond his comfort zone after an earthquake destroys their home. While attempting to navigate the dangerous and unfamiliar world, Crug butts heads with Reynolds’ nomad, who charms Crug’s clan — especially his eldest daughter — with his (relatively) modern-minded ways.”

The Croods opens March 30, 2012, in stereoscopic 3D!

Source: Variety

That’s it for now. See you at the movies.

Dreamworks Animation (aka the poor man’s Pixar) has released their animated movie lineup for the next four years. Unsurprisingly there are further entries into tried and tested (at the box office) series’ such as Shrek and Madagascar, a sequel to the surprisingly good Kung Fu Panda, and a few original projects. They plan to produce one or two sequels and an original project every year, all of which will be produced in digital 3D.

March 10, 2010 - How To Train Your Dragon

The son of a Viking chief must capture a dragon in order to mark his passage into manhood and prove his worthiness to the tribe in directors Lorna Cook and David Soren’s adaptation of Cressida Cowell’s popular children’s book.

Gerard Butler, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel, Craig Ferguson, Kristen Wiig, TJ Miller and Christopher Mintz-Plasse are on board to voice the dragon animation. It will be directed by Chris Sanders and Dean Deblois, and produced by Bonnie Arnold.

I’m not sure about the premise (sounds like a very Dreamworks-styled movie), but that cast is bitchin’. I’ll be interested to see Butler voice an animated character: With his Scottish accent and growing reputation, I’m sure Dreamworks isn’t sweating if something happens to Mike Myers…

May 21, 2010 – Shrek Forever After (previously titled Shrek the Fourth)

Nothing is known of the plot for the fourth installment in the successful animated franchise, but original cast members Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas and Eddie Murphy will return to voice the big green ogre, Princess Fiona, Puss in Boots and Donkey, respectively. It will be directed by Mike Mitchell (Deuce Bigalow, Sky High, Surviving Christmas).

I never did catch Shrek the Third, but I hear I’m not missing much. Is it just me or did this series run out of steam long ago?

November 5, 2010 – Oobermind (previously titled Master Mind)

When super villain Oobermind defeats his archrival Metro Man, the world should be his oyster. But instead, Oobermind falls into total despair. It turns out that life without a rival is life without a point for him. So he creates a new superhero rival. Unfortunately, the new hero wants to be a super villain too.

In a highlight of their lineup, Dreamworks has managed to snag Robert Downey Jr. and Tina Fey to provide the voices, with Downey playing the villainous title character and Ben Stiller executive producing. It sounds great and all (with the telling the tale from the perspective of a supervillain for a change) and I don’t know about you, but they had me at Downey Jr… It is written by Alan J. Schoolcraft and Brent Simons.

June 3, 2011 – Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom (previously titled Kung Fu Panda 2)

The sequel to the smash hit Kung Fu Panda continues the adventures of the titled Panda, this time him and his Kung Fu buddies having to go up against a new villain who has a mysterious and powerful weapon that somehow threatens the very existence of the titular martial art. Po the panda will also have to confront his past while fighting along side his Kung Fu buddies.

Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Lucy Liu, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen and David Cross will return to voice the various and lovable Kung Fu characters. It will be the directorial debut of longtime story exec Jennifer Yuh Nelson, instead of being directed by Mark Osborne of the first film.