Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: October 26, 2008

This week:

The A-Team doesn’t come together; Ripley’s Believe it or Not gets a director; Steven Soderbergh has Cleopatra coming at ya; Crispin Glover teams with Tim Burton and McG gets into the spy business with Dead Spy Running .

Box Office

The world economy may be in crisis, but the box office is still going strong. Claiming the number one spot with ease is High School Musical 3. It’s no surprise really considering the built in audience and the amazing number of tickets that were booked in advance by Effronettes. The tween musical should bank about $50 million by Monday morning.

Saw V claimed the runner-up position with a $30 million gross. It’s amazing that people still come back to this franchise. I have to say that I haven’t watched any of the films past the original. With Halloween on the way, this should hold up next weekend, then drop like a stone.

Colin Farrell and Edward Norton had a flaccid opening with Pride and Glory. Now there was a sentence that I never thought that I’d write…ever! The cop pic should gross an estimated $6-7 million over the weekend.

Clint Eastwood’s Changeling should make around $500,000 from 15 locations. The Angelina Jolie starrer is being tipped as potential Oscar bait. Having said that – the film looks like a bad television movie. I’d save my money and go see the new Dirty Harry film… sorry, I mean Gran Torino. Oliver Stone’s W should pocket another $5 million, but I feel that the end is near. The film will probably have to wait for a few years to be rediscovered, or at the very least end up in an Oliver Stone “Presidents” triple pack beside JFK and Nixon.

Movie News

1. Poor 20^th Century Fox. The studio hasn’t had a decent hit all year and now it looks like they’ve lost one of next years major tent pole films. John Singleton has quit The A-Team and Fox still can’t get a script that works. That means no cast and no director – this will now open on June 2010 a year later than previously planned. That’s one plan that’s not coming together!

Don’t feel sad for the studio though, they have a stellar line up that includes Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel, Tooth Fairy, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.

Kill me now, please!

Source: Variety

2. Jim Carrey’s long in development hell Ripley’s Believe it or Not may finally be made. Believe it or not. Chris Columbus is in negotiations with Paramount to helm the film. Tim Burton had been in the frame to direct at one point, but I guess Paramount wanted the film to be flat and mediocre.

Believe it or Not: Carrey’s next film is called I Love You Phillip Morris, while Colubmus’ is titled I Love You, Beth Cooper. Coincidence? I think so.

3. Steven Soderbergh is developing a 3D live-action rock ‘n’ roll musical about Cleopatra entitled Cleo. No really.

The Ocean’s director is trying to get Catherine Zeta Jones to play the titular queen, while he wants Hugh Jackman to play Mark Antony (not the JLo one). The $30 million film is currently being shopped around Hollywood.

You gotta love those crazy ideas that Soderbergh has – this is even crazier than the Liberace movie that is in development with Zeta Jones’s other half Michael Douglas.

Source: Variety

4. Crispin Glover has signed on to play the Knave of Hearts in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. The cast includes Anne Hathaway and Burton regulars Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter.

The last thing that I saw Glover in was the terrible Charlie’s Angels, but I do have Beowulf sitting on my “to watch pile” so my opinion of him may improve.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

5. Speaking of Charlie’s Angels, Mc G will direct and produce Dead Spy Running for Warner Bros. The film will be based on the forthcoming book by Jon Stock, which follows the exploits of a newly trained spy. McG is currently working on a little low budget film that has no expectations at all. The film is Terminator: Salvation.

Source: Variety

That’s it for this week. See you at the movies.