Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: November 30, 2008

Hope you had a good Thanksgiving. This weekend the news wrap up features:

What hit the top of the box office; Oldboy gets a scriptwriter; Genesis: Apes is real; there will be a New Moon in March and Hugh Jackman discusses the end of Wolverine.

Box Office

The box office was dominated by Four Christmases over the Thanksgiving weekend. The Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon film should bank about $46 million over the five day weekend. Ho Ho Ho!

Last week’s number one film - Twilight dropped one place this week, but should manage another $40 million over the five days.

Animated Disney effort Bolt should bark up another $35 million over the weekend, while Quantum of Solace should manage another $30 million over the five days.

Baz Lurhmann’s 3 hour epic Australia underperformed with a five day weekend take of just $20 million. The Hugh Jackman - Nicole Kidman film cost $140 million to produce, and it’ll need amazing word of mouth if it’s going to be profitable.

Transporter 3 starring Jason Statham should manage about $18 million over the five days ensuring that he will keep making modestly budgeted and modestly successful action pics.

Movie News

1. Mark Protosevich will write Steven Spielberg’s adaptation/remake of Oldboy.

Protosevich wrote the original script for Will Smith starrer I Am Legend (which is supposed to be fantastic) and an unmade Batman 5 called Batman Triumphant (back in the Schumacher days) that featured the Scarecrow.

Will this version of Oldboy be any good?

Who knows, but I am intrigued to see how it turns out.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

2. We told you before that an odd prequel/origin story to the original Planet of The Apes was in development at Fox titled Genesis: Apes, but that it might never see the light of day. However it now looks like things are moving along at a relatively nice pace.

Tom Rothman recently spoke about the film on the Fox Move Channel. The executive said this:

“We are very close at Fox on a new Apes script- this one a kind of prequel story before the first story, with a return to the social thematics that mark the first one, but with an entirely contemporary setting - Earth 2009.”

Source: CHUD

3. New Moon - the sequel to smash hit film Twilight is set to go before cameras this coming March.

Kristen Stewart has revealed that the film will shoot (partly) in Italy:

“A lot of the book takes place in Italy, and I think we’re going to get to go to Italy, which is so cool. For a while there, they were like, Oh, we don’t know if we have the money, but now I think we may have the money!”

A pay rise and a Holiday - it’s nice work if you can get it.

Source: Shock Til You Drop

4. Aussie superstar Hugh Jackman has recently discussed de-clawing Wolverine if the character’s solo feature underperforms at the box office.

Speaking to Moviehole; Jackman said:

”If it’s clear to us on May second or third that that’s gone, then I’ll walk away happily. I’m not going to flog something - or flog a dead horse, or try and make movies that people don’t really want to go and see. I have no interest in that. Even no matter how much I love the character. So there are many prerequisites”.

He also said that a return to the character would depend on the right script:

“There’s a few story lines that are running my head which I think would be really cool, but unless the script is right, then I just don’t see the point in doing it. I’m probably at the point in my career where I don’t need it. And the last thing I want to do is just to push it on people, if it doesn’t warrant a full feature movie.”

I’m sure a $20 million pay day might help too.

Source: Moviehole

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

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