It’s Sunday so that can only mean one thing - The Weekend Movie News Wrap Up!
This week:
John Landis robs with graves with Burke and Hare; Spielberg and Will Smith eye Oldboy; Tom Hanks doesn’t take The Road To Purgatory; we can expect another 30 Days of Night and Carpenter and Cage think that it’s a Riot that they are no longer Scared Straight. Also there is the usual Box Office break down.
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Box Office
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa ruled the weekend with an estimated $60 million, beating its predecessor which managed to make $47 million back in 2005. Man, family movies are making so much money these days (like when have they never?).
The runner-up spot goes to Role Models starring Seann William Scott and Paul Rudd. The film was predicted to gross around $11 million over the weekend, but instead it should make somewhere between $17-19 million. Kevin Smith must be very angry! Speaking of Kevin Smith Zach and Miri Make A Porno banked another $6.5 million for a $20 million total.
Meanwhile the Zac Efron starring High School Musical 3: Senior Year managed to gross another $9 million bringing its total to $75 million. It looks like $100 million is definitely in range. Clint Eastwood’s Changeling should manage another $7-8 million, while Soul Men starring Samuel L. Jackson and the late Bernie Mac tanked with a $6 million weekend. It looks like people are getting tired of seeing Jackson on the big screen. If the man likes working so much then I’m sure that there’s a TV series he could do.
Quantum of Solace now has a worldwide tally of $130 million after one week. The film is beating the opening of Casino Royale in most countries and although the reviews might not be as positive as Royale (except yours truly) the shorter running time should help the final gross be equal to if not better that film. Quantum of Solace opens in the US next weekend.
Movie News
1. Director John Landis will return to the big screen with Burke and Hare. The master of horror will direct the black comedy about the legendary grave robbers. The film should begin shooting this spring in Edinburgh, London and at Ealing Studios.
This material sounds perfect for Landis who helmed such goulish classics and An American Werewolf in London and …er… The Stupids.
Source: Variety
2. Steven Spielberg and Will Smith are “in early discussions” to direct and star in a remake of hit Korean film Oldboy.
According to Variety :
“In the 2003 Korean original, a man gets kidnapped and held in a shabby cell for 15 years without explanation. Suddenly, he’s released and given money, a cell phone and clothes and is set on a path to discover who destroyed his life so he can take revenge.”
The original is a pretty cool little film, with a very un-hollywood ending so it’ll be interesting to see if the “Kings of Sentimentality and Commercialism” will make any changes.
Source: Variety
3. A sequel is in the works to the 2002 Tom Hanks film Road to Perdition. The film was based on a graphic novel by Max Allan Collins, and the story was continued in two sequel books; The Road to Paradise and The Road to Purgatory.
Collins will adapt and direct The Road to Purgatory, which according to Variety:
“will follow the character of Michael Sullivan Jr. — the son in “Perdition” — as he returns home from WWII and vows to avenge the murder of his father. He is ultimately led to Frank Nitti, whom he is urged to kill on the orders of Al Capone.”
The $20 million budgeted film will be independently produced as DreamWorks and Paramount passed on a sequel to the $100 million grossing film that also starred Paul Newman and Daniel Craig.
Hanks will not return.
Source: Variety
4. Another non superhero based comic book sequel is in the works. Vampire flick 30 Days of Night is getting a follow-up. The original starred Josh Hartnett as sheriff of an Alskan town which is descended upon by vampires.
Will Hartnett return? Maybe, the guy needs a hit.
Source: Shock Till You Drop
5. Back in August we told you about Scared Straight - the team-up of John Carpenter and Nicolas Cage. Well, the film has a new title, the less comical Riot and a new teaser poster.
Not a whole lot - but at least this film is moving ahead.
More when we get it.
Source: Coming Soon
That’s it for now. See you at he movies
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2 Comments
Spielberg making Oldboy? You got to be kidding!
That movie is mad and grotesque and brilliant. Like you said, how will Hollywood handle the ending. No way will it keep to the original.
One thing for sure, Smith won’t be eating an actual live squid.
The subtitled director’s commentary on that scene sums it up: “It looked like it was trying to grab his nose. And I couldn’t stop laughing.” You’d not find Spielberg admitting to that, I’d imagine. Not in public, anyway. There’ll probably be a ten-minute featurette on the DVD about how hellishly difficult it was to CGI the tentacles. Or the motif will be just be bloody-raw steak or Smith stuffing his face with burgers.
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