LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the producers of 'Chicago' and 'Hairspray' as well as NBC's musical series 'Smash,' have signed a development deal with Universal Television and NBC Universal International that will give the companies a first look at series and specials created by the pair for U.S. and international markets.
Universal Television produces 'Smash,' which will go into its second season after a shakeup that included the departure of series creator Theresa Rebeck.
'Universal Television is thrilled to be continuing and expanding our partnership with Craig and Neil,' executive vice president Bela Bajaria said. 'The incredible creativity, vision and intelligence that they bring to all their projects - on television, in film and on Broadway - is exactly what the future of Universal Television is all about. 'Smash' is only the beginning; we look forward to collaborating with them on many exciting projects going forward.'
'We are so excited to be reunited with our longtime collaborator, Bela Bajaria, and to be creating event television for Universal Television, our home for 'Smash' and the upcoming live broadcast of 'The Sound of Music,'' Zadan and Meron added.]
'The Sound of Music' is slated as a holiday special for NBC.
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Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Actor Cuba Gooding sought after New Orleans bar incident
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - New Orleans police issued an arrest warrant for Cuba Gooding Jr on Tuesday after the actor allegedly pushed a bartender twice during a dispute at a bar in the city's renowned French Quarter.
New Orleans police said the incident happened early on Tuesday morning at a bar on raucous Bourbon Street. A female bartender told police that Gooding became agitated when customers recognized him and asked him to take photos with them.
Gooding allegedly pushed the bartender when she asked him to calm down. She asked him to leave and he pushed her again, a police statement said.
Gooding had not been arrested by early afternoon on Tuesday, police spokeswoman Hilal Williams said.
The actor was in New Orleans shooting a new movie, 'The Butler,' starring Liam Neeson, the New Orleans Film Commission said.
Gooding won a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of an arrogant but loyal professional football player in the 1996 movie 'Jerry Maguire.'
(Reporting By Greg McCune; Editing by Kenneth Barry)
This article is brought to you by NISSAN ALTIMA.
New Orleans police said the incident happened early on Tuesday morning at a bar on raucous Bourbon Street. A female bartender told police that Gooding became agitated when customers recognized him and asked him to take photos with them.
Gooding allegedly pushed the bartender when she asked him to calm down. She asked him to leave and he pushed her again, a police statement said.
Gooding had not been arrested by early afternoon on Tuesday, police spokeswoman Hilal Williams said.
The actor was in New Orleans shooting a new movie, 'The Butler,' starring Liam Neeson, the New Orleans Film Commission said.
Gooding won a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of an arrogant but loyal professional football player in the 1996 movie 'Jerry Maguire.'
(Reporting By Greg McCune; Editing by Kenneth Barry)
This article is brought to you by NISSAN ALTIMA.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Romney misses out on Ron Jeremy endorsement
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Mitt Romney had better ditch that trip to Poland and head back to the United States posthaste to shore up his teetering adult film star base. The presumptive Republican nominee just lost Ron Jeremy's endorsement, and with it the support of millions of Americans who turn to the porn legend for political guidance.
Jeremy, whose more than 2,000 adult film credits clearly make him an expert on presidential politics and the American electorate, told the Boston Herald this week that he will be casting his vote for Barack Obama.
Forget George Clooney and Sarah Jessica Parker, POTUS may have found a new favorite celebrity surrogate.
Despite his decision to back the current White House occupant, Jeremy (porn name: 'The Hedgehog') did have some nice things to say about Romney, calling him a 'good man.'
'I think the fact that he's such an amazing father proves a lot,' Jeremy said. 'I give him a lot of credit. He's raised some good sons. When a man is a really, really good father, that's very important.'
Jeremy was in town to promote Ron de Jeremy, a line of rum that its makers credit with being a harmoniously balanced orchestra of oak, fruit and spices.
This news article is brought to you by PARENTING KIDS - where latest news are our top priority.
Jeremy, whose more than 2,000 adult film credits clearly make him an expert on presidential politics and the American electorate, told the Boston Herald this week that he will be casting his vote for Barack Obama.
Forget George Clooney and Sarah Jessica Parker, POTUS may have found a new favorite celebrity surrogate.
Despite his decision to back the current White House occupant, Jeremy (porn name: 'The Hedgehog') did have some nice things to say about Romney, calling him a 'good man.'
'I think the fact that he's such an amazing father proves a lot,' Jeremy said. 'I give him a lot of credit. He's raised some good sons. When a man is a really, really good father, that's very important.'
Jeremy was in town to promote Ron de Jeremy, a line of rum that its makers credit with being a harmoniously balanced orchestra of oak, fruit and spices.
This news article is brought to you by PARENTING KIDS - where latest news are our top priority.
"Hobbit" movie adaptation to be a trilogy
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Peter Jackson's film adaptation of 'The Hobbit' will be split into three movies, the director and the studios behind the venture said on Monday.
Jackson said that given the richness of the story -- which is set 60 years before 'The Lord of The Rings' -- he decided after wrapping up shooting recently in New Zealand that what was originally planned as two movies would now be a trilogy.
'I'm delighted that New Line, MGM and Warner Bros. are equally enthusiastic about bringing fans this expansive tale across three films,' Jackson said in a statement.
'It has been an unexpected journey indeed, and in the words of Professor Tolkien himself, 'a tale that grew in the telling',' Jackson said in a statement on his Facebook site.
'The Hobbit,' written by J.R.R. Tolkien, is the prequel to the British author's epic fantasy 'The Lord of the Rings,' which Jackson made into three Oscar-winning films about 10 years ago.
A spokesman for New Line said the third 'Hobbit' film would be released in the summer of 2014. The first two 'Hobbit' movies, starring British actor Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, have already been announced for release in December 2012 and December 2013.
'It is only at the end of a shoot that you finally get the chance to sit down and have a look at the film you have made,' Jackson said on his Facebook page.
'We know how much of the story of Bilbo Baggins, the Wizard Gandalf, the Dwarves of Erebor, the rise of the Necromancer, and the Battle of Dol Guldur will remain untold if we do not take this chance,' he added.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Christine Kearney and Dale Hudson)
This news article is brought to you by MOVIE CRITIC NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Jackson said that given the richness of the story -- which is set 60 years before 'The Lord of The Rings' -- he decided after wrapping up shooting recently in New Zealand that what was originally planned as two movies would now be a trilogy.
'I'm delighted that New Line, MGM and Warner Bros. are equally enthusiastic about bringing fans this expansive tale across three films,' Jackson said in a statement.
'It has been an unexpected journey indeed, and in the words of Professor Tolkien himself, 'a tale that grew in the telling',' Jackson said in a statement on his Facebook site.
'The Hobbit,' written by J.R.R. Tolkien, is the prequel to the British author's epic fantasy 'The Lord of the Rings,' which Jackson made into three Oscar-winning films about 10 years ago.
A spokesman for New Line said the third 'Hobbit' film would be released in the summer of 2014. The first two 'Hobbit' movies, starring British actor Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, have already been announced for release in December 2012 and December 2013.
'It is only at the end of a shoot that you finally get the chance to sit down and have a look at the film you have made,' Jackson said on his Facebook page.
'We know how much of the story of Bilbo Baggins, the Wizard Gandalf, the Dwarves of Erebor, the rise of the Necromancer, and the Battle of Dol Guldur will remain untold if we do not take this chance,' he added.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Christine Kearney and Dale Hudson)
This news article is brought to you by MOVIE CRITIC NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
"Dark Knight Rises" wins sluggish weekend box office
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Batman movie 'The Dark Knight Rises' earned $64.1 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters during its second weekend, topping box office charts in a sluggish overall market facing Olympic television coverage and the impact of the Colorado shooting.
The finale in director Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy starring Christian Bale added $122.1 million from international markets and has pulled in $248.2 million overseas since its July 20 debut, distributor Warner Bros. said.
Add in cumulative ticket sales of $289 million in domestic markets - the United States and Canada - and the global haul now stands at $537 million for the film that cost its backers some $250 million to make and tens of millions more to market.
Sales in U.S. and Canadian theaters dropped 60 percent from its debut weekend, a bigger decline than predecessor 'The Dark Knight' or other recent superhero films.
In 2008, 'Dark Knight' fell 53 percent during its second weekend to earn $75 million domestically, according to Hollywood.com Box Office. This year, summer smash 'The Avengers' slipped 50 percent in the weekend following its opening in May, and June release 'The Amazing Spider-Man' declined 44 percent.
While 'Dark Knight Rises' ranks as one of the year's highest-grossing movies, sales are weaker than pre-release forecasts after the opening was overshadowed by the killing of 12 moviegoers at a midnight screening in Aurora, Colorado.
Through Sunday, total 'Dark Knight Rises' sales in North America ran behind 'Dark Knight,' which hauled in $313.8 million domestically through its first two weekends.
IMPACT OF OLYMPICS, SHOOTING
Warner Bros. officials declined to discuss box office and its relation to the shooting for the second week, but industry watchers said the turnout for the Batman film and other movies likely suffered from some moviegoer reluctance after the massacre, as well as Friday's start to the London Olympics.
'It's been a double dose of things,' said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Hollywood.com Box Office. 'The Olympics has been dominating media coverage lately and probably kept a lot of people home Friday night, and then there's the Aurora shooting.'
He noted that lackluster reviews for this weekend's new features likely further dampened theater attendance but predicted that next weekend will see a resurgence.
'There will be a bit more distance from the Aurora shooting, the Olympics will become routine, and there's some really exciting films coming out,' Dergarabedian said, mentioning upcoming 'Total Recall' and 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days.'
Overall domestic ticket sales for the weekend came in 25 percent lower than the same weekend one year ago, according to Hollywood.com Box Office.
The No. 2 spot belonged to animated children's movie 'Ice Age: Continental Drift,' with $13.3 million. It beat out comedy 'The Watch' and dance movie 'Step Up Revolution,' both of which made their theater debuts this weekend.
'The Watch' came in third, earning $13 million at domestic theaters. The film stars Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill as men who start a neighborhood watch group to battle aliens. The movie earned largely negative reviews, with just 14 percent of critics praising the film on website Rotten Tomatoes.
'The Watch' also was affected by real-life events. In May, 20th Century Fox changed the movie's title from 'Neighborhood Watch' to distance it from the fatal shooting of black teenager Trayvon Martin by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in Florida.
Ahead of the weekend, Fox saw the $68 million production pulling in $13 million to $15 million.
'We didn't really know what to expect,' said executive vice president for domestic distribution at Fox Chris Aronson, speaking on the box office climate, post-shooting. 'It's a wild-card weekend for sure.'
Aronson said he 'hopes for a bounceback in the overall marketplace,' which he predicted would benefit all films.
'Step Up Revolution' finished in fourth place with $11.8 million domestically. The movie about a group of flash-mob dancers in Miami is the fourth in a franchise that has grossed more than $400 million around the world. Its distributor had forecast a domestic opening in the low- to mid-teens.
Comedy 'Ted' rounded out the top five with $7.4 million.
'Step Up Revolution' was released by a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment. 'The Watch' and 'Ice Age' were released by 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp. Sony Corp's movie division distributed 'Spider-Man.'
(Reporting By Lisa Richwine and Andrea Burzynski; editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Mohammad Zargham)
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The finale in director Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy starring Christian Bale added $122.1 million from international markets and has pulled in $248.2 million overseas since its July 20 debut, distributor Warner Bros. said.
Add in cumulative ticket sales of $289 million in domestic markets - the United States and Canada - and the global haul now stands at $537 million for the film that cost its backers some $250 million to make and tens of millions more to market.
Sales in U.S. and Canadian theaters dropped 60 percent from its debut weekend, a bigger decline than predecessor 'The Dark Knight' or other recent superhero films.
In 2008, 'Dark Knight' fell 53 percent during its second weekend to earn $75 million domestically, according to Hollywood.com Box Office. This year, summer smash 'The Avengers' slipped 50 percent in the weekend following its opening in May, and June release 'The Amazing Spider-Man' declined 44 percent.
While 'Dark Knight Rises' ranks as one of the year's highest-grossing movies, sales are weaker than pre-release forecasts after the opening was overshadowed by the killing of 12 moviegoers at a midnight screening in Aurora, Colorado.
Through Sunday, total 'Dark Knight Rises' sales in North America ran behind 'Dark Knight,' which hauled in $313.8 million domestically through its first two weekends.
IMPACT OF OLYMPICS, SHOOTING
Warner Bros. officials declined to discuss box office and its relation to the shooting for the second week, but industry watchers said the turnout for the Batman film and other movies likely suffered from some moviegoer reluctance after the massacre, as well as Friday's start to the London Olympics.
'It's been a double dose of things,' said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Hollywood.com Box Office. 'The Olympics has been dominating media coverage lately and probably kept a lot of people home Friday night, and then there's the Aurora shooting.'
He noted that lackluster reviews for this weekend's new features likely further dampened theater attendance but predicted that next weekend will see a resurgence.
'There will be a bit more distance from the Aurora shooting, the Olympics will become routine, and there's some really exciting films coming out,' Dergarabedian said, mentioning upcoming 'Total Recall' and 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days.'
Overall domestic ticket sales for the weekend came in 25 percent lower than the same weekend one year ago, according to Hollywood.com Box Office.
The No. 2 spot belonged to animated children's movie 'Ice Age: Continental Drift,' with $13.3 million. It beat out comedy 'The Watch' and dance movie 'Step Up Revolution,' both of which made their theater debuts this weekend.
'The Watch' came in third, earning $13 million at domestic theaters. The film stars Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill as men who start a neighborhood watch group to battle aliens. The movie earned largely negative reviews, with just 14 percent of critics praising the film on website Rotten Tomatoes.
'The Watch' also was affected by real-life events. In May, 20th Century Fox changed the movie's title from 'Neighborhood Watch' to distance it from the fatal shooting of black teenager Trayvon Martin by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in Florida.
Ahead of the weekend, Fox saw the $68 million production pulling in $13 million to $15 million.
'We didn't really know what to expect,' said executive vice president for domestic distribution at Fox Chris Aronson, speaking on the box office climate, post-shooting. 'It's a wild-card weekend for sure.'
Aronson said he 'hopes for a bounceback in the overall marketplace,' which he predicted would benefit all films.
'Step Up Revolution' finished in fourth place with $11.8 million domestically. The movie about a group of flash-mob dancers in Miami is the fourth in a franchise that has grossed more than $400 million around the world. Its distributor had forecast a domestic opening in the low- to mid-teens.
Comedy 'Ted' rounded out the top five with $7.4 million.
'Step Up Revolution' was released by a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment. 'The Watch' and 'Ice Age' were released by 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp. Sony Corp's movie division distributed 'Spider-Man.'
(Reporting By Lisa Richwine and Andrea Burzynski; editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Mohammad Zargham)
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Thursday, July 26, 2012
Director Todd Solondz looks for lightness in new "Dark Horse"
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Director Todd Solondz made his way onto Hollywood's movie map with 'Welcome to the Dollhouse,' his 1995 independent film about a shy, relentlessly bullied 7th-grade girl that won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize for best drama.
Since then, the New Jersey-born Solondz has explored even darker subject matter - including murder, suicide, rape, child molestation and abortion - in such films as 'Happiness,' 'Storytelling,' 'Palindromes' and 'Life During Wartime.'
As dark as the topics may be, Solondz has always injected his peculiar sense of humor into the stories and, with the exception of 'Palindromes,' his movies have been well-reviewed.
Now comes 'Dark Horse, which tells of Abe (Jordan Gelber), an overweight man-child in his 30s still living with his parents (Mia Farrow, Christopher Walken) who romances Miranda (Selma Blair), a depressed young woman who also lives at home.
The film, which has earned good reviews in limited release, opened June 8 in New York and has been touring through cities such as Chicago and San Francisco. It opens in Los Angeles on Friday and upcoming cities include Washington, DC, and Dallas. Solondz spoke with Reuters about his latest movie.
Q: You're often accused of being cruel and perverse to your characters - how do you plead?
A: 'Those are the nice things people have called me. I am human and I don't really relish people saying bad things about me, but I understand that my movies always generate an ambivalent response. I wish I had a stronger character and was indifferent to all the criticism. That'd make life much easier. But I'm not.'
Q: So describe this film for readers who might be unfamiliar with your past work?
A: 'I set out to make a boy-meets-girl story, and it seems I ended with an alternative take on the whole arrested development genre that Judd Apatow made famous with 'The 40 Year Old Virgin' and other films of that sort.'
Q: It plays like a comedy but isn't, is it?
A: 'I'd call it a very sad comedy - maybe my saddest. Each time I think I've made my saddest one yet, I always surprise myself. I'm moved by it, and that's what I hope to achieve.'
Q: And what were the key themes you wanted to explore through your main character, Abe?
A: 'He collects all these toys and is into videogames and his bedroom's decorated like he's still in junior high-school. He's an emblem of that phenomenon where one stops owning a collection to find that it owns oneself. So it's that sort of pathology that develops, and what interested me most was the way he clings to all the hopes and dreams of his youth. He lives a kind of death in life. And I think that obsession with the irretrievability of youth is very much a phenomenon in all secular, prosperous, consumerist democracies, where grown men have collections like Abe's and are very worshipful of things. You seldom see this phenomenon in women. So his drug addiction is toy collecting, and in some sense it staves off a sense of mortality. Maybe in women it's all the cosmetic work.'
Q: What did Jordan and Selma bring to their roles?
A: 'I saw Jordan in a play and he's been in shows like 'Boardwalk Empire.' He struck me as the perfect actor for the part. In fact, he himself would tell you that he's 70 percent his character. And I'd worked with Selma in 'Storytelling,' and I saw this as a portrait of that same character 10 years later. I loved putting together such a visually mismatched pair and showing that they could in fact find a connection with each other. It may be tenuous, but it's a real one. And I loved the challenge of making it believable.'
Q: And Mia and Christopher as Abe's parents. Any surprises?
A: 'I felt very lucky to get them both. Mia's a total delight to work with - very funny, very smart, a great storyteller, and a real pro on the set. I was somewhat in awe that she'd work on my film for hardly any money. And Chris was very eager to play this very ordinary, conservative businessman. He said it was very different from the roles he usually gets offered, as it was a recognizable human being. And he's got such a powerful, iconic face.'
Q: Abe drives a huge yellow Hummer. How symbolic was that?
A: 'It obviously relates to his inner image of himself, and on another level, it's another big toy in his collection. It just seemed like the perfect car for him to drive.
Q: At one point Abe says, 'Face the truth, we're all horrible people!' Do you believe that?
A: 'Just because a character says something doesn't mean that I believe it (laughs). Abe has this somewhat cynical philosophy - a juvenile one as well - but I think the film gradually undermines this, as there is a tenderness and affection for these characters.
(Reporting By Bob Tourtellotte; editing by M.D. Golan)
This news article is brought to you by GOING GREEN NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Since then, the New Jersey-born Solondz has explored even darker subject matter - including murder, suicide, rape, child molestation and abortion - in such films as 'Happiness,' 'Storytelling,' 'Palindromes' and 'Life During Wartime.'
As dark as the topics may be, Solondz has always injected his peculiar sense of humor into the stories and, with the exception of 'Palindromes,' his movies have been well-reviewed.
Now comes 'Dark Horse, which tells of Abe (Jordan Gelber), an overweight man-child in his 30s still living with his parents (Mia Farrow, Christopher Walken) who romances Miranda (Selma Blair), a depressed young woman who also lives at home.
The film, which has earned good reviews in limited release, opened June 8 in New York and has been touring through cities such as Chicago and San Francisco. It opens in Los Angeles on Friday and upcoming cities include Washington, DC, and Dallas. Solondz spoke with Reuters about his latest movie.
Q: You're often accused of being cruel and perverse to your characters - how do you plead?
A: 'Those are the nice things people have called me. I am human and I don't really relish people saying bad things about me, but I understand that my movies always generate an ambivalent response. I wish I had a stronger character and was indifferent to all the criticism. That'd make life much easier. But I'm not.'
Q: So describe this film for readers who might be unfamiliar with your past work?
A: 'I set out to make a boy-meets-girl story, and it seems I ended with an alternative take on the whole arrested development genre that Judd Apatow made famous with 'The 40 Year Old Virgin' and other films of that sort.'
Q: It plays like a comedy but isn't, is it?
A: 'I'd call it a very sad comedy - maybe my saddest. Each time I think I've made my saddest one yet, I always surprise myself. I'm moved by it, and that's what I hope to achieve.'
Q: And what were the key themes you wanted to explore through your main character, Abe?
A: 'He collects all these toys and is into videogames and his bedroom's decorated like he's still in junior high-school. He's an emblem of that phenomenon where one stops owning a collection to find that it owns oneself. So it's that sort of pathology that develops, and what interested me most was the way he clings to all the hopes and dreams of his youth. He lives a kind of death in life. And I think that obsession with the irretrievability of youth is very much a phenomenon in all secular, prosperous, consumerist democracies, where grown men have collections like Abe's and are very worshipful of things. You seldom see this phenomenon in women. So his drug addiction is toy collecting, and in some sense it staves off a sense of mortality. Maybe in women it's all the cosmetic work.'
Q: What did Jordan and Selma bring to their roles?
A: 'I saw Jordan in a play and he's been in shows like 'Boardwalk Empire.' He struck me as the perfect actor for the part. In fact, he himself would tell you that he's 70 percent his character. And I'd worked with Selma in 'Storytelling,' and I saw this as a portrait of that same character 10 years later. I loved putting together such a visually mismatched pair and showing that they could in fact find a connection with each other. It may be tenuous, but it's a real one. And I loved the challenge of making it believable.'
Q: And Mia and Christopher as Abe's parents. Any surprises?
A: 'I felt very lucky to get them both. Mia's a total delight to work with - very funny, very smart, a great storyteller, and a real pro on the set. I was somewhat in awe that she'd work on my film for hardly any money. And Chris was very eager to play this very ordinary, conservative businessman. He said it was very different from the roles he usually gets offered, as it was a recognizable human being. And he's got such a powerful, iconic face.'
Q: Abe drives a huge yellow Hummer. How symbolic was that?
A: 'It obviously relates to his inner image of himself, and on another level, it's another big toy in his collection. It just seemed like the perfect car for him to drive.
Q: At one point Abe says, 'Face the truth, we're all horrible people!' Do you believe that?
A: 'Just because a character says something doesn't mean that I believe it (laughs). Abe has this somewhat cynical philosophy - a juvenile one as well - but I think the film gradually undermines this, as there is a tenderness and affection for these characters.
(Reporting By Bob Tourtellotte; editing by M.D. Golan)
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Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Actor Christian Bale visits Colorado shooting victims
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Christian Bale, the actor behind the Batman mask in 'The Dark Knight Rises,' visited victims of last week's movie theater shooting as they recovered at an Aurora, Colorado, hospital on Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the facility said.
Emily Crowley, spokeswoman for the Medical Center of Aurora, confirmed that the movie star was at the hospital Tuesday afternoon but did not give any details.
Bill Voloch, interim president of the medical center, told The Denver Post newspaper that Bale spent about 2.5 hours at the hospital, where he met with five people still being treated for their injuries. Two others victims came from a different facility to meet Bale, Voloch said.
A picture of Bale posing in the hospital next to a young man, identified by the Denver Post as victim Carey Rottman, was posted on the newspaper's website and on Twitter.
A spokeswoman for the actor was not immediately available to comment or provide further details.
Bale also met with doctors, police, paramedics and other first responders to the massacre that resulted when a gunman burst into a movie theater in Aurora, a suburb of Denver, and opened fire on the audience at a midnight screening of 'The Dark Knight Rises,' killing 12 people and injuring 58 more.
Bale also spent time with Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, the Denver Post reported.
(Reporting by Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz and Lisa Shumaker)
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Emily Crowley, spokeswoman for the Medical Center of Aurora, confirmed that the movie star was at the hospital Tuesday afternoon but did not give any details.
Bill Voloch, interim president of the medical center, told The Denver Post newspaper that Bale spent about 2.5 hours at the hospital, where he met with five people still being treated for their injuries. Two others victims came from a different facility to meet Bale, Voloch said.
A picture of Bale posing in the hospital next to a young man, identified by the Denver Post as victim Carey Rottman, was posted on the newspaper's website and on Twitter.
A spokeswoman for the actor was not immediately available to comment or provide further details.
Bale also met with doctors, police, paramedics and other first responders to the massacre that resulted when a gunman burst into a movie theater in Aurora, a suburb of Denver, and opened fire on the audience at a midnight screening of 'The Dark Knight Rises,' killing 12 people and injuring 58 more.
Bale also spent time with Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, the Denver Post reported.
(Reporting by Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz and Lisa Shumaker)
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Monday, July 23, 2012
"Dark Knight Rises" earns $160.8 million in debut
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Warner Bros said on Monday 'The Dark Knight Rises' took in $160.8 million at U.S. and Canadian box offices over the weekend, which is lower than industry estimates for the debut that felt the impact of last week's movie theater massacre in Colorado.
'Dark Knight Rises' also opened in 17 international markets with $88 million in ticket sales to put its global total at just under $250 million for its debut. Warner Bros, a unit of Time Warner Inc, made no initial comment beyond simply releasing the figures. The movie cost around $250 million to make and tens of millions more to promote and market.
Before a gunman killed 12 people and wounded 58 at a midnight screening of the movie early on Friday in a Denver suburb, 'Dark Knight Rises' had been forecast by some box office watchers to bring in anywhere from $170 million to $198 million.
The alleged shooter, James Eagan Holmes, 24, made his first court appearance in Colorado on Monday, one day after President Barack Obama visited the scene to grieve with the victims' families. Criminal charges are expected to be filed next week.
Despite ticket sales coming in lower than the range of estimates, the movie's U.S. and Canadian box office debut remains among Hollywood's biggest openings ever, and the film appears poised to be a financial success.
The $160.8 million ranks it No. 3 on the list of top 3-day opening weekends behind No. 1 'The Avengers' at $207 million and No. 2 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part II,' which earned $169 million. 'Dark Knight Rises' beat the debut of its 2008 predecessor 'The Dark Knight,' which opened with $158 million on its way to a total domestic haul of $533 million.
The 2008 'Dark Knight' pulled in $468 million overseas, putting its global haul above $1 billion. The movie's performance overseas will not be clear until it opens in more countries.
Box office watchers said it was hard to guess how much the movie might have made in the United States and Canada if the massacre had not happened.
'Before the weekend, I figured it would earn around $170 million, and the fact it still earned over $160 million in the wake of the tragedy is very impressive,' said Paul Dergarabedian of Hollywood.com Box Office. 'Never did I think it could earn over $200 million or challenge 'The Avengers' which was 3D.'
Indeed, even before the weekend, some analysts had expected it would be difficult for 'Dark Knight Rises' to reach the lofty heights others had predicted because it did not open in a 3D version, for which theaters charge higher ticket prices.
Elsewhere in U.S. and Canadian theaters, 'Ice Age: Continental Drift' in 3D took in $20.4 million in its second week in theaters to rank No. 2 on ticket charts. Its domestic total now stands at $88 million. 'The Amazing Spider-Man,' also in 3D, was No. 3 with $10.8 million, which elevated its total to $228 million after roughly three weeks in theaters.
(Reporting by Bob Tourtellotte and Lisa Richwine; editing by Bernard Orr and Mohammad Zargham)
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'Dark Knight Rises' also opened in 17 international markets with $88 million in ticket sales to put its global total at just under $250 million for its debut. Warner Bros, a unit of Time Warner Inc, made no initial comment beyond simply releasing the figures. The movie cost around $250 million to make and tens of millions more to promote and market.
Before a gunman killed 12 people and wounded 58 at a midnight screening of the movie early on Friday in a Denver suburb, 'Dark Knight Rises' had been forecast by some box office watchers to bring in anywhere from $170 million to $198 million.
The alleged shooter, James Eagan Holmes, 24, made his first court appearance in Colorado on Monday, one day after President Barack Obama visited the scene to grieve with the victims' families. Criminal charges are expected to be filed next week.
Despite ticket sales coming in lower than the range of estimates, the movie's U.S. and Canadian box office debut remains among Hollywood's biggest openings ever, and the film appears poised to be a financial success.
The $160.8 million ranks it No. 3 on the list of top 3-day opening weekends behind No. 1 'The Avengers' at $207 million and No. 2 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part II,' which earned $169 million. 'Dark Knight Rises' beat the debut of its 2008 predecessor 'The Dark Knight,' which opened with $158 million on its way to a total domestic haul of $533 million.
The 2008 'Dark Knight' pulled in $468 million overseas, putting its global haul above $1 billion. The movie's performance overseas will not be clear until it opens in more countries.
Box office watchers said it was hard to guess how much the movie might have made in the United States and Canada if the massacre had not happened.
'Before the weekend, I figured it would earn around $170 million, and the fact it still earned over $160 million in the wake of the tragedy is very impressive,' said Paul Dergarabedian of Hollywood.com Box Office. 'Never did I think it could earn over $200 million or challenge 'The Avengers' which was 3D.'
Indeed, even before the weekend, some analysts had expected it would be difficult for 'Dark Knight Rises' to reach the lofty heights others had predicted because it did not open in a 3D version, for which theaters charge higher ticket prices.
Elsewhere in U.S. and Canadian theaters, 'Ice Age: Continental Drift' in 3D took in $20.4 million in its second week in theaters to rank No. 2 on ticket charts. Its domestic total now stands at $88 million. 'The Amazing Spider-Man,' also in 3D, was No. 3 with $10.8 million, which elevated its total to $228 million after roughly three weeks in theaters.
(Reporting by Bob Tourtellotte and Lisa Richwine; editing by Bernard Orr and Mohammad Zargham)
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Drama meets daily life in Palestinian film
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Brazen and in broad daylight, 'Israeli infantry' plunge deep into the West Bank Palestinian capital of Ramallah, hoisting a flag atop a makeshift checkpoint.
A motley crowd of children, veiled ladies and young men in jeans chant defiantly in the summer sun at the soldiers clad in olive drab and facing them with rifles. A clash looms.
'Cut!' Director Rashid Masharawi steps into the fray, his cargo shorts and straw sun hat breaking the illusion created by the actors and production company at the set of feature-length film 'Palestine Stereo'.
'No. like this!' he corrects a soldier-actor poised to throw his tear gas bomb under-handed and chides the crowd for not reeling back with enough force.
'Fast! And everybody in a different direction!' barked an assistant at this street corner turned movie set.
With a budget of $1.5 million, Palestine Stereo is set to be one of the most expensive films yet produced by Palestinians, and aims to transcend stale news reports and use art to convey the mindset of a people steeped in 45 years of Israeli occupation.
'It's the story of every Palestinian, loving this land, but pressured into thinking about leaving it. At the same time it's not all sadness. There's hope, a love story, and thoughts for the future,' said Masharawi, who was raised in a Gaza refugee camp.
Palestinian cinema has experienced a renaissance in the last decade and a broadening global reach.
Masharawi's last film, 'Leila's Birthday' was screened in film festivals from Toronto to Tokyo in 2008. Another dark comedy 'Divine Intervention,' was nominated for Cannes' Palme d'Or in 2002 and 'Paradise Now' in 2005 explored the psychology of suicide bombers to international acclaim.
'Maybe it won't change any minds, but it can at least show our daily lives to a different audience, hopefully through cinemas in France, Germany, and elsewhere.'
The tale follows two brothers, shocked by a deadly Israeli raid on their refugee camp home into thinking about emigrating. Scrounging up the cash needed for their flight by working as audio engineers, they are exposed to the full pageant of West Bank life, in which fact and film overlap uncannily.
They bungle the sound system at a stale VIP photo-op in a local hotel, a familiar scene in Palestinian politics, and are shown providing speakers at a real-life solidarity march for hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails at Ramallah's Red Cross headquarters.
LIFETIME OF EXPERIENCE
But the most pervasive hassle for Palestinians, Israeli checkpoints, barriers, and screening defined not only the day's filming, as the brothers are depicted trying to spirit their equipment to Jerusalem through the melee, but also impact the film's production.
'We were stopped with our equipment by the Israelis for four hours at a checkpoint on the road from the North,' producer Abed al Salam Abu Askar, who helped organize the film through his fledgling company CinePal Films, told Reuters.
Smiling, he waves off a wayward Jerusalem taxi, the driver mistaking the elaborate set for the road back to the holy city.
'Our foreign staff had to tell the airport that they were just visiting Israel,' he said, as Israeli passport authorities routinely interrogate and restrict visitors to the Palestinian territories.
Despite the obstacles, the project demonstrates the increasing potential of the Palestinian film industry, albeit one that still depends on foreign help and personal connections.
Cinetelefilms, a prominent Tunisian production firm, along with the Gaza Media Center and the Ramallah-based Palestinian Investment Fund helped underwrite the film, while post-production will take place in Italy ahead of a release set for next year.
Though around three or four Palestinian films are produced for international release each year, according to Abu Askar, production still depends on foreign know-how and local institutions for cinema are scant.
Extras have been recruited from a local refugee camp, and police cordons for the film site down to the guns and helmets of the 'Israeli soldiers' were on loan from the Palestinian Authority.
Shoving aside with bizarre ease the roadblocks, which look like thick concrete cubes but are made of painted plywood, Aid Safi of Ramallah's al-Ama'ari camp aims his weapon with a laugh, acutely aware of the irony of his Israeli military uniform.
'We know their behavior: the way they shout, the way they move. From our experience, we've known it our whole lives,' he said.
Insisting on speaking Hebrew to stay in character, Hassan al-Haridi said: 'We even know how their language. I learned it in an Israeli prison. Three years I was there.'
(Reporting By Noah Browning, editing by Paul Caasciato)
This news article is brought to you by GADGETS NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
A motley crowd of children, veiled ladies and young men in jeans chant defiantly in the summer sun at the soldiers clad in olive drab and facing them with rifles. A clash looms.
'Cut!' Director Rashid Masharawi steps into the fray, his cargo shorts and straw sun hat breaking the illusion created by the actors and production company at the set of feature-length film 'Palestine Stereo'.
'No. like this!' he corrects a soldier-actor poised to throw his tear gas bomb under-handed and chides the crowd for not reeling back with enough force.
'Fast! And everybody in a different direction!' barked an assistant at this street corner turned movie set.
With a budget of $1.5 million, Palestine Stereo is set to be one of the most expensive films yet produced by Palestinians, and aims to transcend stale news reports and use art to convey the mindset of a people steeped in 45 years of Israeli occupation.
'It's the story of every Palestinian, loving this land, but pressured into thinking about leaving it. At the same time it's not all sadness. There's hope, a love story, and thoughts for the future,' said Masharawi, who was raised in a Gaza refugee camp.
Palestinian cinema has experienced a renaissance in the last decade and a broadening global reach.
Masharawi's last film, 'Leila's Birthday' was screened in film festivals from Toronto to Tokyo in 2008. Another dark comedy 'Divine Intervention,' was nominated for Cannes' Palme d'Or in 2002 and 'Paradise Now' in 2005 explored the psychology of suicide bombers to international acclaim.
'Maybe it won't change any minds, but it can at least show our daily lives to a different audience, hopefully through cinemas in France, Germany, and elsewhere.'
The tale follows two brothers, shocked by a deadly Israeli raid on their refugee camp home into thinking about emigrating. Scrounging up the cash needed for their flight by working as audio engineers, they are exposed to the full pageant of West Bank life, in which fact and film overlap uncannily.
They bungle the sound system at a stale VIP photo-op in a local hotel, a familiar scene in Palestinian politics, and are shown providing speakers at a real-life solidarity march for hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails at Ramallah's Red Cross headquarters.
LIFETIME OF EXPERIENCE
But the most pervasive hassle for Palestinians, Israeli checkpoints, barriers, and screening defined not only the day's filming, as the brothers are depicted trying to spirit their equipment to Jerusalem through the melee, but also impact the film's production.
'We were stopped with our equipment by the Israelis for four hours at a checkpoint on the road from the North,' producer Abed al Salam Abu Askar, who helped organize the film through his fledgling company CinePal Films, told Reuters.
Smiling, he waves off a wayward Jerusalem taxi, the driver mistaking the elaborate set for the road back to the holy city.
'Our foreign staff had to tell the airport that they were just visiting Israel,' he said, as Israeli passport authorities routinely interrogate and restrict visitors to the Palestinian territories.
Despite the obstacles, the project demonstrates the increasing potential of the Palestinian film industry, albeit one that still depends on foreign help and personal connections.
Cinetelefilms, a prominent Tunisian production firm, along with the Gaza Media Center and the Ramallah-based Palestinian Investment Fund helped underwrite the film, while post-production will take place in Italy ahead of a release set for next year.
Though around three or four Palestinian films are produced for international release each year, according to Abu Askar, production still depends on foreign know-how and local institutions for cinema are scant.
Extras have been recruited from a local refugee camp, and police cordons for the film site down to the guns and helmets of the 'Israeli soldiers' were on loan from the Palestinian Authority.
Shoving aside with bizarre ease the roadblocks, which look like thick concrete cubes but are made of painted plywood, Aid Safi of Ramallah's al-Ama'ari camp aims his weapon with a laugh, acutely aware of the irony of his Israeli military uniform.
'We know their behavior: the way they shout, the way they move. From our experience, we've known it our whole lives,' he said.
Insisting on speaking Hebrew to stay in character, Hassan al-Haridi said: 'We even know how their language. I learned it in an Israeli prison. Three years I was there.'
(Reporting By Noah Browning, editing by Paul Caasciato)
This news article is brought to you by GADGETS NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
"Dark Knight" sales below forecasts after shooting
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - 'The Dark Knight Rises' recorded strong ticket sales in its opening weekend, but well below forecasts given by many in Hollywood, as some moviegoers appeared to have stayed away after a shooting rampage at a midnight showing of the film on Friday.
The film grossed an estimated $162 million in showings through Sunday in U.S. and Canadian movie theaters, according to studio estimates from people with knowledge of the data. That was lower than the $173 million that had been projected on Saturday based on Friday receipts.
'The Dark Knight Rises' was one of the most-anticipated films of the year before a gunman opened fire on moviegoers in Aurora, Colorado, early Friday, killing 12 and wounding 58 more.
Before the shooting, box office forecasters had predicted sales in a range of $170 million to $198 million from Friday through Sunday, just shy of the record $207 million set by superhero movie 'The Avengers' in May.
A spokeswoman for Warner Brothers, which produced 'Dark Knight,' had no comment.
Fox's animated family movie 'Ice Age: Continental Drift,' which grossed $44.6 million last week and was the top-selling film, had a larger-than-anticipated 51 percent drop for its second week. It grossed $21 million, box office sources said.
'The Amazing Spider-Man,' which opened with near-record sales on July 3, collected $10.5 million over the weekend. The film, produced by Sony Pictures Entertainment, had passed $217 million in domestic sales on Thursday, according to Box Office Mojo.
Universal Pictures' raucous comedy 'Ted,' about a man and his foul-mouthed teddy bear, notched $10.1 million at the box office. Disney's animated film 'Brave' grossed $5.8 million.
Official figures were not released by movie studios for the first time box office watchers could remember, as the companies withheld weekend results in deference for the shooting victims. Full results are expected on Monday.
'The cable news networks were wall-to-wall with the shooting, so it had some shock value that will keep people away,' former Columbia Pictures marketing chief Peter Sealey said. 'But it will be short-term. This movie will play for five or six weeks and still do great business.'
After the shooting, theaters tightened security, and Warner Bros. scaled back promotional plans, canceling a Paris premiere and appearances by the cast and crew in Mexico and Japan.
A representative for 20th Century Fox, which released 'Ice Age,' was not available for comment, and a spokesman for Sony Pictures, which is behind 'Spider-Man,' declined to comment.
'Dark Knight Rises' is the third and final film in a popular Batman series starring Christian Bale as the crime-fighting hero and directed by Christopher Nolan. Warner Bros. spent $250 million to produce it, plus tens of millions on marketing.
On Friday, the studio said showings just after midnight had grossed $30.6 million in the North American (U.S. and Canadian) market. Warner Bros. later said it would not release any updated sales figures until Monday.
'The Dark Knight' took in $158 million domestically over its debut weekend in July 2008, a record at the time. It went on to ring up sales of more than $1 billion around the world.
(Editing by Dale Hudson)
This news article is brought to you by WOMEN'S BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
The film grossed an estimated $162 million in showings through Sunday in U.S. and Canadian movie theaters, according to studio estimates from people with knowledge of the data. That was lower than the $173 million that had been projected on Saturday based on Friday receipts.
'The Dark Knight Rises' was one of the most-anticipated films of the year before a gunman opened fire on moviegoers in Aurora, Colorado, early Friday, killing 12 and wounding 58 more.
Before the shooting, box office forecasters had predicted sales in a range of $170 million to $198 million from Friday through Sunday, just shy of the record $207 million set by superhero movie 'The Avengers' in May.
A spokeswoman for Warner Brothers, which produced 'Dark Knight,' had no comment.
Fox's animated family movie 'Ice Age: Continental Drift,' which grossed $44.6 million last week and was the top-selling film, had a larger-than-anticipated 51 percent drop for its second week. It grossed $21 million, box office sources said.
'The Amazing Spider-Man,' which opened with near-record sales on July 3, collected $10.5 million over the weekend. The film, produced by Sony Pictures Entertainment, had passed $217 million in domestic sales on Thursday, according to Box Office Mojo.
Universal Pictures' raucous comedy 'Ted,' about a man and his foul-mouthed teddy bear, notched $10.1 million at the box office. Disney's animated film 'Brave' grossed $5.8 million.
Official figures were not released by movie studios for the first time box office watchers could remember, as the companies withheld weekend results in deference for the shooting victims. Full results are expected on Monday.
'The cable news networks were wall-to-wall with the shooting, so it had some shock value that will keep people away,' former Columbia Pictures marketing chief Peter Sealey said. 'But it will be short-term. This movie will play for five or six weeks and still do great business.'
After the shooting, theaters tightened security, and Warner Bros. scaled back promotional plans, canceling a Paris premiere and appearances by the cast and crew in Mexico and Japan.
A representative for 20th Century Fox, which released 'Ice Age,' was not available for comment, and a spokesman for Sony Pictures, which is behind 'Spider-Man,' declined to comment.
'Dark Knight Rises' is the third and final film in a popular Batman series starring Christian Bale as the crime-fighting hero and directed by Christopher Nolan. Warner Bros. spent $250 million to produce it, plus tens of millions on marketing.
On Friday, the studio said showings just after midnight had grossed $30.6 million in the North American (U.S. and Canadian) market. Warner Bros. later said it would not release any updated sales figures until Monday.
'The Dark Knight' took in $158 million domestically over its debut weekend in July 2008, a record at the time. It went on to ring up sales of more than $1 billion around the world.
(Editing by Dale Hudson)
This news article is brought to you by WOMEN'S BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
U.S. shooting quiets Hollywood, slows "Dark Knight" box office
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood studios will not release box-offices figures on Sunday after the fatal gun rampage at a midnight showing for the Batman movie 'The Dark Knight Rises,' which made less money than some industry insiders projected.
The film grossed $74 million on Friday in the United States and Canada and is seen generating $173 million by the end of the weekend, people with knowledge of industry figures said on Saturday.
Official figures were not released by the distributor, Warner Bros. For the first time box office watchers could remember, Hollywood's other major film studios decided not to release weekend ticket sales figures on Saturday.
'We're joining our colleagues at Warner Bros and not reporting grosses during this period of mourning,' Sony Pictures said in a statement.
Hollywood.com Box Office, which reports the weekend figures, said it was not sure if it would publish its list this week.
A Warner Brothers spokeswoman did not return calls seeking comment on Friday night numbers.
'Dark Knight Rises' was one of the most-anticipated films of the year before a gunman opened fire on moviegoers at a midnight screening in Aurora, Colorado, early Friday, killing 12 people and wounding 58 more.
Ahead of the debut, box office forecasters predicted opening weekend sales in a range of $170 million to $198 million from Friday through Sunday, just shy of the record $207 million set by superhero movie 'The Avengers' in May.
'The cable news networks were wall-to-wall with the shooting, so it had some shock value that will keep people away,' former Columbia Pictures marketing chief Peter Sealey said. 'But it will be short term. This movie will play for five or six weeks and still do great business.'
Since many people bought tickets in advance, they likely decided to put aside any fears and see the film, said Paul Dergarabedian, head of Hollywood.com Box Office.
After the shooting, theaters tightened security, and Warner Bros. scaled back promotional plans, canceling a Paris premiere and appearances by the cast and crew in Mexico and Japan.
Ronn Torossian, chief executive of New York-based 5W Public Relations, which is not involved with the movie's release, said it was smart for the studios to stay quiet in the days after such a horrific event. He said he expected the marketing for upcoming, violent films like 'The Expendables' to tweak their advertising. But by September, if not earlier, that will change.
'This will affect marketing movies in the short-term,' he said. '(But) the media has a very short memory, and it's something that in the long run will not affect' film promotion.
LONE KILLER, NO COPYCAT
Outside theaters across the country, where police maintained tight security on Saturday, ticket lines were mostly filled and fans seemed little concerned about a copycat shooting.
'It doesn't make me nervous. It's an isolated incident,' said Charles Song, 31, at the Arclight cinema in Hollywood. 'I don't think it's going to spur any copycats. It's just one crazy lunatic that went off.'
But the event does seem to have changed the thinking of some moviegoers, perhaps families, who might have planned to attend, and other films may be feeling the impact.
Animated family film 'Ice Age: Continental Drift,' which grossed $44.6 million last week and was the top-selling film, had a larger-than-anticipated 51 percent drop for its second week. It sold $6.5 million on Friday and is projected to collect $23 million for the weekend, box office sources said.
'The Amazing Spider-Man,' which opened with near record sales on July 3, sold $6.5 million worth of tickets and is estimated to hit $11.5 million this weekend. The film, produced by Sony Pictures Entertainment, has passed $217 million in domestic sales on Thursday, according to Box Office Mojo.
A representative for 20th Century Fox, which released 'Ice Age,' was not available for comment, and a spokesman for Sony Pictures, which is behind 'Spider-Man,' declined comment.
'Dark Knight Rises' is the third and final film in a popular Batman series starring Christian Bale as the crime-fighting hero and directed by Christopher Nolan. Warner Bros. spent $250 million to produce it, plus tens of millions more on marketing.
On Friday, the studio said showings just after midnight had grossed $30.6 million in the North American (U.S. and Canadian) market. Warner Bros. later said it would not release any updated sales figures until Monday.
'The Dark Knight' took in $158 million domestically over its debut weekend in July 2008, a record at the time. It went on to ring up sales of more than $1 billion around the world.
(Additional reporting by Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by Eric Beech and Stacey Joyce)
This news article is brought to you by ECONOMY BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
The film grossed $74 million on Friday in the United States and Canada and is seen generating $173 million by the end of the weekend, people with knowledge of industry figures said on Saturday.
Official figures were not released by the distributor, Warner Bros. For the first time box office watchers could remember, Hollywood's other major film studios decided not to release weekend ticket sales figures on Saturday.
'We're joining our colleagues at Warner Bros and not reporting grosses during this period of mourning,' Sony Pictures said in a statement.
Hollywood.com Box Office, which reports the weekend figures, said it was not sure if it would publish its list this week.
A Warner Brothers spokeswoman did not return calls seeking comment on Friday night numbers.
'Dark Knight Rises' was one of the most-anticipated films of the year before a gunman opened fire on moviegoers at a midnight screening in Aurora, Colorado, early Friday, killing 12 people and wounding 58 more.
Ahead of the debut, box office forecasters predicted opening weekend sales in a range of $170 million to $198 million from Friday through Sunday, just shy of the record $207 million set by superhero movie 'The Avengers' in May.
'The cable news networks were wall-to-wall with the shooting, so it had some shock value that will keep people away,' former Columbia Pictures marketing chief Peter Sealey said. 'But it will be short term. This movie will play for five or six weeks and still do great business.'
Since many people bought tickets in advance, they likely decided to put aside any fears and see the film, said Paul Dergarabedian, head of Hollywood.com Box Office.
After the shooting, theaters tightened security, and Warner Bros. scaled back promotional plans, canceling a Paris premiere and appearances by the cast and crew in Mexico and Japan.
Ronn Torossian, chief executive of New York-based 5W Public Relations, which is not involved with the movie's release, said it was smart for the studios to stay quiet in the days after such a horrific event. He said he expected the marketing for upcoming, violent films like 'The Expendables' to tweak their advertising. But by September, if not earlier, that will change.
'This will affect marketing movies in the short-term,' he said. '(But) the media has a very short memory, and it's something that in the long run will not affect' film promotion.
LONE KILLER, NO COPYCAT
Outside theaters across the country, where police maintained tight security on Saturday, ticket lines were mostly filled and fans seemed little concerned about a copycat shooting.
'It doesn't make me nervous. It's an isolated incident,' said Charles Song, 31, at the Arclight cinema in Hollywood. 'I don't think it's going to spur any copycats. It's just one crazy lunatic that went off.'
But the event does seem to have changed the thinking of some moviegoers, perhaps families, who might have planned to attend, and other films may be feeling the impact.
Animated family film 'Ice Age: Continental Drift,' which grossed $44.6 million last week and was the top-selling film, had a larger-than-anticipated 51 percent drop for its second week. It sold $6.5 million on Friday and is projected to collect $23 million for the weekend, box office sources said.
'The Amazing Spider-Man,' which opened with near record sales on July 3, sold $6.5 million worth of tickets and is estimated to hit $11.5 million this weekend. The film, produced by Sony Pictures Entertainment, has passed $217 million in domestic sales on Thursday, according to Box Office Mojo.
A representative for 20th Century Fox, which released 'Ice Age,' was not available for comment, and a spokesman for Sony Pictures, which is behind 'Spider-Man,' declined comment.
'Dark Knight Rises' is the third and final film in a popular Batman series starring Christian Bale as the crime-fighting hero and directed by Christopher Nolan. Warner Bros. spent $250 million to produce it, plus tens of millions more on marketing.
On Friday, the studio said showings just after midnight had grossed $30.6 million in the North American (U.S. and Canadian) market. Warner Bros. later said it would not release any updated sales figures until Monday.
'The Dark Knight' took in $158 million domestically over its debut weekend in July 2008, a record at the time. It went on to ring up sales of more than $1 billion around the world.
(Additional reporting by Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by Eric Beech and Stacey Joyce)
This news article is brought to you by ECONOMY BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
Friday, July 20, 2012
"Dark Knight Rises" ends Batman franchise for Warner
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The release of Warner Bros.' movie 'The Dark Knight Rises' brings to an end one of Hollywood's most enduring franchises, as the studio searches to find a new one capable of matching Batman's box office success.
Forecasts for opening weekend ticket sales were thrown into doubt after a shooting in Colorado on Friday at a midnight screening of the film. Twelve people were killed.
Warner Bros. said in a statement that the studio was 'deeply saddened' by the incident and extended sympathy to the families of the victims.
New York City planned to deploy police officers at screenings of the film, and theaters nationwide began reviewing and tightening security.
Hollywood box office watchers said the movie industry had never faced a situation like this. 'This is a tragic and unprecedented event,' said Paul Dergarabedian, box office watcher for Hollywood.com.
The Time Warner-owned studio has been Hollywood's King of Franchises for years. Over the last decade it generated worldwide ticket sales of $12 billion from its 'Lord of the Rings,' 'Batman,' and 'Harry Potter' films.
Eight of the 20 highest-grossing films of all time come from one of those franchises, according to website Box Office Mojo.
'The Dark Knight Rises' will be the last of the Batman series that began in 2005, director Christopher Nolan said.
'Harry Potter,' Warner Bros.'s biggest franchise, ended last summer with the largest of eight films, 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2,' which generated $1.3 billion worldwide.
Franchise films are especially important to studios because they use the big-budget movies to ramp up revenue by creating theme park rides and TV shows and selling toys and memorabilia.
Warner Bros. is counting on a pair of 'Hobbit' movies to rekindle the magic of 'Lord of the Rings.' The first installment is due in December.
A reboot of the 'Superman' franchise is also scheduled for next summer with 'Man of Steel,' made by 'Dark Knight' producer Legendary Pictures. Nolan, one of Hollywood's hottest directors, is a producer on that movie.
The films could pave the way for Warner to unite Batman, Superman and other characters from its DC Comics stable in a 'Justice League' movie, said Gitesh Pandya, editor of website Box Office Guru.
That would follow the strategy that brought staggering success to Walt Disney Co with 'The Avengers,' a movie that brought together a handful of Marvel superheroes and generated nearly $1.5 billion in worldwide sales.
One problem for Warner Bros. is that not every DC Comics character has been a phenomenal hit, Pandya said.
Last summer's 'Green Lantern' did not work very well, he said, grossing $219.8 million. Some industry watchers said the movie cost $200 million to produce, though Warner has disputed that figure. Studios receive about half of box office sales.
The 2006 'Superman Returns' also disappointed, Pandya said.
The aim is to create another series like Batman, which won critical acclaim, fan devotion and $1.4 billion in ticket sales for 'Batman Begins' in 2005 and 2008's 'The Dark Knight.'
'The Dark Knight' grabbed $158 million in the United States and Canada on its opening weekend in 2008, a record at the time and still the highest debut for a movie that was not boosted by higher-priced 3D tickets.
Opening weekend ticket sales for 'Dark Knight Rises,' which cost $250 million to produce, had been expected to at least match the last Batman film, according to box office forecasters, and possibly reach as high as $198 million, just shy of the $207 million record set by 'Avengers' in May, some industry analysts said.
Beyond superheroes and the 'Hobbit,' Warner intends to bring 'The Hangover 3' to theaters next summer, the next installment in the adult comedy series that has grossed $1 billion.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Ronald Grover, Michael Perry and Bernadette Baum)
This news article is brought to you by MUSIC UNITED 1 - where latest news are our top priority.
Forecasts for opening weekend ticket sales were thrown into doubt after a shooting in Colorado on Friday at a midnight screening of the film. Twelve people were killed.
Warner Bros. said in a statement that the studio was 'deeply saddened' by the incident and extended sympathy to the families of the victims.
New York City planned to deploy police officers at screenings of the film, and theaters nationwide began reviewing and tightening security.
Hollywood box office watchers said the movie industry had never faced a situation like this. 'This is a tragic and unprecedented event,' said Paul Dergarabedian, box office watcher for Hollywood.com.
The Time Warner-owned studio has been Hollywood's King of Franchises for years. Over the last decade it generated worldwide ticket sales of $12 billion from its 'Lord of the Rings,' 'Batman,' and 'Harry Potter' films.
Eight of the 20 highest-grossing films of all time come from one of those franchises, according to website Box Office Mojo.
'The Dark Knight Rises' will be the last of the Batman series that began in 2005, director Christopher Nolan said.
'Harry Potter,' Warner Bros.'s biggest franchise, ended last summer with the largest of eight films, 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2,' which generated $1.3 billion worldwide.
Franchise films are especially important to studios because they use the big-budget movies to ramp up revenue by creating theme park rides and TV shows and selling toys and memorabilia.
Warner Bros. is counting on a pair of 'Hobbit' movies to rekindle the magic of 'Lord of the Rings.' The first installment is due in December.
A reboot of the 'Superman' franchise is also scheduled for next summer with 'Man of Steel,' made by 'Dark Knight' producer Legendary Pictures. Nolan, one of Hollywood's hottest directors, is a producer on that movie.
The films could pave the way for Warner to unite Batman, Superman and other characters from its DC Comics stable in a 'Justice League' movie, said Gitesh Pandya, editor of website Box Office Guru.
That would follow the strategy that brought staggering success to Walt Disney Co with 'The Avengers,' a movie that brought together a handful of Marvel superheroes and generated nearly $1.5 billion in worldwide sales.
One problem for Warner Bros. is that not every DC Comics character has been a phenomenal hit, Pandya said.
Last summer's 'Green Lantern' did not work very well, he said, grossing $219.8 million. Some industry watchers said the movie cost $200 million to produce, though Warner has disputed that figure. Studios receive about half of box office sales.
The 2006 'Superman Returns' also disappointed, Pandya said.
The aim is to create another series like Batman, which won critical acclaim, fan devotion and $1.4 billion in ticket sales for 'Batman Begins' in 2005 and 2008's 'The Dark Knight.'
'The Dark Knight' grabbed $158 million in the United States and Canada on its opening weekend in 2008, a record at the time and still the highest debut for a movie that was not boosted by higher-priced 3D tickets.
Opening weekend ticket sales for 'Dark Knight Rises,' which cost $250 million to produce, had been expected to at least match the last Batman film, according to box office forecasters, and possibly reach as high as $198 million, just shy of the $207 million record set by 'Avengers' in May, some industry analysts said.
Beyond superheroes and the 'Hobbit,' Warner intends to bring 'The Hangover 3' to theaters next summer, the next installment in the adult comedy series that has grossed $1 billion.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Ronald Grover, Michael Perry and Bernadette Baum)
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As Batman franchise ends, Warner seeks new superhero
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The release of Warner Bros.' movie 'The Dark Knight Rises' brings to an end one of Hollywood's most enduring franchises, as the studio searches to find a new one capable of matching Batman's box office success.
Forecasts for opening weekend ticket sales were thrown into doubt following a Colorado shooting on Friday at a midnight screening of the film in which 12 people were killed.
In New York, police planned to deploy officers at screenings of the film throughout the city 'as a precaution against copycats,' Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said in a statement. The Paris premiere of the film was canceled.
Warner Bros. said in a statement the studio was 'deeply saddened' by the incident and extended sympathy to families of the victims.
The Time Warner-owned studio has been Hollywood's King of Franchises for years. Over the last decade it generated worldwide ticket sales of $12 billion from its 'Lord of the Rings,' 'Batman,' and 'Harry Potter' films.
Eight of the 20 highest-grossing films of all time come from one of those franchises, according to website Box Office Mojo.
'The Dark Knight Rises' will be the last of the Batman series that began in 2005, director Christopher Nolan said.
'Harry Potter,' Warner Bros.'s biggest franchise, ended last summer with the largest of eight films, 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2,' which generated $1.3 billion worldwide.
Franchise films are especially important to studios, amplifying their revenue by using the big-budget movies to create theme park rides, sell toys and spawn TV shows.
Warner Bros. is counting on a pair of 'Hobbit' movies to rekindle the magic of 'Lord of the Rings.' The first installment hits theaters in December.
A reboot of the 'Superman' franchise is also scheduled for next summer - 'Man of Steel,' made by 'Dark Knight' producer, Legendary Pictures. Nolan, one of Hollywood's hottest directors, is a producer on that film.
The films could pave the way for Warner to unite Batman, Superman and other characters from its DC Comics stable in a 'Justice League' movie, said Gitesh Pandya, editor of website Box Office Guru.
That would follow the strategy that brought staggering success to Walt Disney Co with 'The Avengers,' a movie that brought together a handful of Marvel superheroes and generated nearly $1.5 billion in worldwide sales.
One problem for Warner Bros. is that not every DC Comics character has been a phenomenal hit, Pandya said.
Last summer's 'Green Lantern' didn't work very well, he said, grossing $219.8 million. Some industry watchers said the movie cost $200 million to produce, though Warner has disputed that figure. Studios receive about half of box office sales.
The 2006 'Superman Returns' also disappointed, Pandya said.
The aim is to create another series like Batman, which won critical acclaim, fan devotion and $1.4 billion in ticket sales for 'Batman Begins' in 2005 and 2008's 'The Dark Knight.'
'The Dark Knight' grabbed $158 million in the United States and Canada on its opening weekend in 2008, a record at the time and still the highest debut for a movie that wasn't boosted by higher-priced 3D tickets.
Opening weekend ticket sales for 'Dark Knight Rises,' which cost $250 million to produce, had been expected to at least match the last Batman film, according to box office forecasters, and possibly reach as high as $198 million, just shy of the $207 million record set by 'Avengers' in May, some industry analysts say.
That was before the midnight showing Friday in Colorado erupted in violence, when a masked gunman in Aurora, a suburb of Denver, opened fire on an unsuspecting audience, killing 12 people and wounding dozens of others.
Beyond superheroes and the 'Hobbit,' Warner also intends to bring 'The Hangover 3' to theaters next summer, the next installment in the adult comedy series that has grossed $1 billion.
'We are well on the road to quite a number of franchises,' said Dan Fellman, president of theatrical distribution for Warner Bros. 'We are in great shape.'
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Ronald Grover, Michael Perry and Bernadette Baum)
This news article is brought to you by ADVANCED DATING ADVICE - where latest news are our top priority.
Forecasts for opening weekend ticket sales were thrown into doubt following a Colorado shooting on Friday at a midnight screening of the film in which 12 people were killed.
In New York, police planned to deploy officers at screenings of the film throughout the city 'as a precaution against copycats,' Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said in a statement. The Paris premiere of the film was canceled.
Warner Bros. said in a statement the studio was 'deeply saddened' by the incident and extended sympathy to families of the victims.
The Time Warner-owned studio has been Hollywood's King of Franchises for years. Over the last decade it generated worldwide ticket sales of $12 billion from its 'Lord of the Rings,' 'Batman,' and 'Harry Potter' films.
Eight of the 20 highest-grossing films of all time come from one of those franchises, according to website Box Office Mojo.
'The Dark Knight Rises' will be the last of the Batman series that began in 2005, director Christopher Nolan said.
'Harry Potter,' Warner Bros.'s biggest franchise, ended last summer with the largest of eight films, 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2,' which generated $1.3 billion worldwide.
Franchise films are especially important to studios, amplifying their revenue by using the big-budget movies to create theme park rides, sell toys and spawn TV shows.
Warner Bros. is counting on a pair of 'Hobbit' movies to rekindle the magic of 'Lord of the Rings.' The first installment hits theaters in December.
A reboot of the 'Superman' franchise is also scheduled for next summer - 'Man of Steel,' made by 'Dark Knight' producer, Legendary Pictures. Nolan, one of Hollywood's hottest directors, is a producer on that film.
The films could pave the way for Warner to unite Batman, Superman and other characters from its DC Comics stable in a 'Justice League' movie, said Gitesh Pandya, editor of website Box Office Guru.
That would follow the strategy that brought staggering success to Walt Disney Co with 'The Avengers,' a movie that brought together a handful of Marvel superheroes and generated nearly $1.5 billion in worldwide sales.
One problem for Warner Bros. is that not every DC Comics character has been a phenomenal hit, Pandya said.
Last summer's 'Green Lantern' didn't work very well, he said, grossing $219.8 million. Some industry watchers said the movie cost $200 million to produce, though Warner has disputed that figure. Studios receive about half of box office sales.
The 2006 'Superman Returns' also disappointed, Pandya said.
The aim is to create another series like Batman, which won critical acclaim, fan devotion and $1.4 billion in ticket sales for 'Batman Begins' in 2005 and 2008's 'The Dark Knight.'
'The Dark Knight' grabbed $158 million in the United States and Canada on its opening weekend in 2008, a record at the time and still the highest debut for a movie that wasn't boosted by higher-priced 3D tickets.
Opening weekend ticket sales for 'Dark Knight Rises,' which cost $250 million to produce, had been expected to at least match the last Batman film, according to box office forecasters, and possibly reach as high as $198 million, just shy of the $207 million record set by 'Avengers' in May, some industry analysts say.
That was before the midnight showing Friday in Colorado erupted in violence, when a masked gunman in Aurora, a suburb of Denver, opened fire on an unsuspecting audience, killing 12 people and wounding dozens of others.
Beyond superheroes and the 'Hobbit,' Warner also intends to bring 'The Hangover 3' to theaters next summer, the next installment in the adult comedy series that has grossed $1 billion.
'We are well on the road to quite a number of franchises,' said Dan Fellman, president of theatrical distribution for Warner Bros. 'We are in great shape.'
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Ronald Grover, Michael Perry and Bernadette Baum)
This news article is brought to you by ADVANCED DATING ADVICE - where latest news are our top priority.
After Batman, Warner Bros. hunts for next super hero
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The release of Warner Bros.' movie 'The Dark Knight Rises' brings to an end one of Hollywood's most enduring franchises, as the studio searches to find a new one capable of matching Batman's box office success.
Forecasts for opening weekend ticket sales were thrown into doubt following a Colorado shooting on Friday at a midnight screening of the film in which 12 people were killed.
In New York, police planned to deploy officers at screenings of the film throughout the city 'as a precaution against copycats,' Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said in a statement. The Paris premiere of the film was canceled.
Warner Bros. said in a statement the studio was 'deeply saddened' by the incident and extended sympathy to families of the victims.
The Time Warner-owned studio has been Hollywood's King of Franchises for years. Over the last decade it generated worldwide ticket sales of $12 billion from its 'Lord of the Rings,' 'Batman,' and 'Harry Potter' films.
Eight of the 20 highest-grossing films of all time come from one of those franchises, according to website Box Office Mojo.
'The Dark Knight Rises' will be the last of the Batman series that began in 2005, director Christopher Nolan said.
'Harry Potter,' Warner Bros' biggest franchise, ended last summer with the largest of eight films, 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2,' which generated $1.3 billion worldwide.
Franchise films are especially important to studios, amplifying their revenue by using the big-budget movies to create theme park rides, sell toys and spawn TV shows.
Warner Bros. is counting on a pair of 'Hobbit' movies to rekindle the magic of 'Lord of the Rings.' The first installment hits theaters in December.
A reboot of the 'Superman' franchise is also scheduled for next summer - 'Man of Steel,' made by 'Dark Knight' producer, Legendary Pictures. Nolan, one of Hollywood's hottest directors, is a producer on that film.
The films could pave the way for Warner to unite Batman, Superman and other characters from its DC Comics stable in a 'Justice League' movie, said Gitesh Pandya, editor of website Box Office Guru.
That would follow the strategy that brought staggering success to Walt Disney Co with 'The Avengers,' a movie that brought together a handful of Marvel superheroes and generated nearly $1.5 billion in worldwide sales.
One problem for Warner Bros. is that not every DC Comics character has been a phenomenal hit, Pandya said.
Last summer's 'Green Lantern' didn't work very well, he said, grossing $219.8 million. Some industry watchers said the movie cost $200 million to produce, though Warner has disputed that figure. Studios receive about half of box office sales.
The 2006 'Superman Returns' also disappointed, Pandya said.
The aim is to create another series like Batman, which won critical acclaim, fan devotion and $1.4 billion in ticket sales for 'Batman Begins' in 2005 and 2008's 'The Dark Knight.'
'The Dark Knight' grabbed $158 million in the United States and Canada on its opening weekend in 2008, a record at the time and still the highest debut for a movie that wasn't boosted by higher-priced 3D tickets.
Opening weekend ticket sales for 'Dark Knight Rises,' which cost $250 million to produce, had been expected to at least match the last Batman film, according to box office forecasters, and possibly reach as high as $198 million, just shy of the $207 million record set by 'Avengers' in May, some industry analysts say.
That was before the midnight showing Friday in Colorado erupted in violence, when a masked gunman in Aurora, a suburb of Denver, opened fire on an unsuspecting audience, killing 12 people and wounding dozens of others.
Beyond superheroes and the 'Hobbit,' Warner also intends to bring 'The Hangover 3' to theaters next summer, the next installment in the adult comedy series that has grossed $1 billion.
'We are well on the road to quite a number of franchises,' said Dan Fellman, president of theatrical distribution for Warner Bros. 'We are in great shape.'
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Ronald Grover, Michael Perry and Bernadette Baum)
This news article is brought to you by TECHNOLOGY NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Forecasts for opening weekend ticket sales were thrown into doubt following a Colorado shooting on Friday at a midnight screening of the film in which 12 people were killed.
In New York, police planned to deploy officers at screenings of the film throughout the city 'as a precaution against copycats,' Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said in a statement. The Paris premiere of the film was canceled.
Warner Bros. said in a statement the studio was 'deeply saddened' by the incident and extended sympathy to families of the victims.
The Time Warner-owned studio has been Hollywood's King of Franchises for years. Over the last decade it generated worldwide ticket sales of $12 billion from its 'Lord of the Rings,' 'Batman,' and 'Harry Potter' films.
Eight of the 20 highest-grossing films of all time come from one of those franchises, according to website Box Office Mojo.
'The Dark Knight Rises' will be the last of the Batman series that began in 2005, director Christopher Nolan said.
'Harry Potter,' Warner Bros' biggest franchise, ended last summer with the largest of eight films, 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2,' which generated $1.3 billion worldwide.
Franchise films are especially important to studios, amplifying their revenue by using the big-budget movies to create theme park rides, sell toys and spawn TV shows.
Warner Bros. is counting on a pair of 'Hobbit' movies to rekindle the magic of 'Lord of the Rings.' The first installment hits theaters in December.
A reboot of the 'Superman' franchise is also scheduled for next summer - 'Man of Steel,' made by 'Dark Knight' producer, Legendary Pictures. Nolan, one of Hollywood's hottest directors, is a producer on that film.
The films could pave the way for Warner to unite Batman, Superman and other characters from its DC Comics stable in a 'Justice League' movie, said Gitesh Pandya, editor of website Box Office Guru.
That would follow the strategy that brought staggering success to Walt Disney Co with 'The Avengers,' a movie that brought together a handful of Marvel superheroes and generated nearly $1.5 billion in worldwide sales.
One problem for Warner Bros. is that not every DC Comics character has been a phenomenal hit, Pandya said.
Last summer's 'Green Lantern' didn't work very well, he said, grossing $219.8 million. Some industry watchers said the movie cost $200 million to produce, though Warner has disputed that figure. Studios receive about half of box office sales.
The 2006 'Superman Returns' also disappointed, Pandya said.
The aim is to create another series like Batman, which won critical acclaim, fan devotion and $1.4 billion in ticket sales for 'Batman Begins' in 2005 and 2008's 'The Dark Knight.'
'The Dark Knight' grabbed $158 million in the United States and Canada on its opening weekend in 2008, a record at the time and still the highest debut for a movie that wasn't boosted by higher-priced 3D tickets.
Opening weekend ticket sales for 'Dark Knight Rises,' which cost $250 million to produce, had been expected to at least match the last Batman film, according to box office forecasters, and possibly reach as high as $198 million, just shy of the $207 million record set by 'Avengers' in May, some industry analysts say.
That was before the midnight showing Friday in Colorado erupted in violence, when a masked gunman in Aurora, a suburb of Denver, opened fire on an unsuspecting audience, killing 12 people and wounding dozens of others.
Beyond superheroes and the 'Hobbit,' Warner also intends to bring 'The Hangover 3' to theaters next summer, the next installment in the adult comedy series that has grossed $1 billion.
'We are well on the road to quite a number of franchises,' said Dan Fellman, president of theatrical distribution for Warner Bros. 'We are in great shape.'
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Ronald Grover, Michael Perry and Bernadette Baum)
This news article is brought to you by TECHNOLOGY NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Katie Holmes gets back to work on Broadway
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Katie Holmes is returning to star on Broadway for the first time in four years starring in a new play, 'Dead Accounts,' set to open this fall, Broadway producers said on Thursday.
Holmes, who earlier this month reached a high profile divorce settlement with actor Tom Cruise, will star in Theresa Rebeck's new comedy, representatives for the show said in a statement.
Holmes, 33, will portray the role of Lorna in the five-character play that tackles 'issues of corporate greed, small town values and whether or not your family will always welcome you back ... with no questions asked,' the statement said.
The play will be directed by Tony Award winner Jack O'Brien.
Holmes made her Broadway debut in the 2008 production of Arthur Miller's 'All My Sons.'
(Reporting By Christine Kearney, editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
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Holmes, who earlier this month reached a high profile divorce settlement with actor Tom Cruise, will star in Theresa Rebeck's new comedy, representatives for the show said in a statement.
Holmes, 33, will portray the role of Lorna in the five-character play that tackles 'issues of corporate greed, small town values and whether or not your family will always welcome you back ... with no questions asked,' the statement said.
The play will be directed by Tony Award winner Jack O'Brien.
Holmes made her Broadway debut in the 2008 production of Arthur Miller's 'All My Sons.'
(Reporting By Christine Kearney, editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
This news article is brought to you by TAXES BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Actor Gordon-Levitt changes masks for "Dark Knight Rises"
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Joseph Gordon-Levitt has come a long way from his television days playing a disguised extraterrestrial stranded on Earth, harnessing a chameleon-like ability to inhabit a variety of roles in independent films and big-budget blockbusters.
The actor, who gained fame on TV show '3rd Rock From the Sun,' portrays Gotham police officer John Blake in Friday's 'The Dark Knight Rises,' the eagerly anticipated final installment of director Christopher Nolan's 'Batman' trilogy.
While details about the film plot have been kept closely guarded, the actor told Reuters in a recent interview that fans can expect 'a really excellent movie and a real ending' for the trio of Nolan's movies about the crime-fighting superhero.
'Sometimes they call something a trilogy, and it's not really a trilogy, it's another sequel to make money. But this really is a great ending, there's a beginning, a middle and an end,' Gordon-Levitt said about Nolan's Batman movies.
Gordon-Levitt plays idealistic rookie cop Blake who becomes Commissioner Gordon's protégé. As trouble is unleashed on Gotham by the villain Bane, Blake becomes a key figure in joining Batman to save the city.
Following 'Dark Knight,' fans see Gordon-Levitt in several films over the next few months, including adrenaline-laced thriller 'Premium Rush' in August and opposite Bruce Willis in sci-fi time travel thriller 'Looper' in September, which reunited him with 'Brick' director Rian Johnson.
'(Rian) wrote the part for me, and I've never had somebody write a part for me. That was an honor,' Gordon-Levitt said.
In 'Looper,' both Gordon-Levitt and Willis play the same mob hitman called Joe, hired to kill targets through time travel. Gordon-Levitt took to the challenge of becoming Willis both physically and mentally, watching the 'Die Hard' star's old movies, listening to his voice and spending time with him.
'My favorite part of acting is becoming something other than myself, and most of my favorite actors are the chameleons, the ones who disappear into their roles. You don't see the actor on screen, you see the character,' Gordon-Levitt said, citing Gary Oldman, Meryl Streep and Daniel Day-Lewis as influences.
Director Johnson told Reuters that Gordon-Levitt put in a lot of 'legwork and heavy lifting' to research and embody his characters thoroughly so that audiences don't feel like he is simply putting up an imitation.
FROM '3RD ROCK' TO BLOCKBUSTERS
Gordon-Levitt, 31, a native of Los Angeles, has spent most of his life in front of a camera, appearing on television regularly since the early 1990s and landing a lead role on NBC's alien comedy '3rd Rock' alongside John Lithgow.
The actor's transition to movies began with a breakout role in 1999 teen comedy '10 Things I Hate About You.' Since then, he has worked non-stop across a variety of film genres, from 2004's gritty, low-budget drama 'Brick' to playing a hopeless romantic in 2009 romantic comedy '(500) Days Of Summer.' He broke into blockbusters with Stephen Sommers' 'G.I. Joe: The Rise Of The Cobra' in 2009, and in Nolan's 'Inception' in 2010.
'The reason he's been successful at it is that he applies the same criteria to big movies as he does to small movies, he's not just looking to break in and hop on board the latest big franchise, he chooses stories and filmmakers he's interested in,' said Johnson, who is close friends with the actor.
Gordon-Levitt's range is wide. He portrayed a cancer sufferer in last year's comedy '50/50' and will be a bike messenger in the upcoming 'Premium Rush,' as well as Abraham Lincoln's son opposite Daniel Day-Lewis in Steven Spielberg's 'Lincoln.'
'I have an eclectic taste in the movies that I watch as well as the movies I'm inspired to want to work on. Variety is what keeps things interesting,' the actor said. 'I do work a whole lot and that's what I love to do, I'm very lucky to have a job that I love and that's pretty much what I do with my time.'
Gordon-Levitt makes his directorial debut in 'Don Jon's Addiction,' exploring porn addiction, due in theaters next year starring Scarlett Johansson and Julianne Moore.
He also is heavily involved with his production company hitRECord, an online community of creative individuals who work on projects, including 'The Tiny Book Of Tiny Stories,' with volume 2 due out in November.
'There's plenty of people who don't have access to participate in the traditional entertainment industry and are great artists all the same, so hitRECord is a way for me to work with those people,' said the actor.
(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte; Desking by Andrew Hay)
This news article is brought to you by RELATIONSHIPS ADVICE 201 - where latest news are our top priority.
The actor, who gained fame on TV show '3rd Rock From the Sun,' portrays Gotham police officer John Blake in Friday's 'The Dark Knight Rises,' the eagerly anticipated final installment of director Christopher Nolan's 'Batman' trilogy.
While details about the film plot have been kept closely guarded, the actor told Reuters in a recent interview that fans can expect 'a really excellent movie and a real ending' for the trio of Nolan's movies about the crime-fighting superhero.
'Sometimes they call something a trilogy, and it's not really a trilogy, it's another sequel to make money. But this really is a great ending, there's a beginning, a middle and an end,' Gordon-Levitt said about Nolan's Batman movies.
Gordon-Levitt plays idealistic rookie cop Blake who becomes Commissioner Gordon's protégé. As trouble is unleashed on Gotham by the villain Bane, Blake becomes a key figure in joining Batman to save the city.
Following 'Dark Knight,' fans see Gordon-Levitt in several films over the next few months, including adrenaline-laced thriller 'Premium Rush' in August and opposite Bruce Willis in sci-fi time travel thriller 'Looper' in September, which reunited him with 'Brick' director Rian Johnson.
'(Rian) wrote the part for me, and I've never had somebody write a part for me. That was an honor,' Gordon-Levitt said.
In 'Looper,' both Gordon-Levitt and Willis play the same mob hitman called Joe, hired to kill targets through time travel. Gordon-Levitt took to the challenge of becoming Willis both physically and mentally, watching the 'Die Hard' star's old movies, listening to his voice and spending time with him.
'My favorite part of acting is becoming something other than myself, and most of my favorite actors are the chameleons, the ones who disappear into their roles. You don't see the actor on screen, you see the character,' Gordon-Levitt said, citing Gary Oldman, Meryl Streep and Daniel Day-Lewis as influences.
Director Johnson told Reuters that Gordon-Levitt put in a lot of 'legwork and heavy lifting' to research and embody his characters thoroughly so that audiences don't feel like he is simply putting up an imitation.
FROM '3RD ROCK' TO BLOCKBUSTERS
Gordon-Levitt, 31, a native of Los Angeles, has spent most of his life in front of a camera, appearing on television regularly since the early 1990s and landing a lead role on NBC's alien comedy '3rd Rock' alongside John Lithgow.
The actor's transition to movies began with a breakout role in 1999 teen comedy '10 Things I Hate About You.' Since then, he has worked non-stop across a variety of film genres, from 2004's gritty, low-budget drama 'Brick' to playing a hopeless romantic in 2009 romantic comedy '(500) Days Of Summer.' He broke into blockbusters with Stephen Sommers' 'G.I. Joe: The Rise Of The Cobra' in 2009, and in Nolan's 'Inception' in 2010.
'The reason he's been successful at it is that he applies the same criteria to big movies as he does to small movies, he's not just looking to break in and hop on board the latest big franchise, he chooses stories and filmmakers he's interested in,' said Johnson, who is close friends with the actor.
Gordon-Levitt's range is wide. He portrayed a cancer sufferer in last year's comedy '50/50' and will be a bike messenger in the upcoming 'Premium Rush,' as well as Abraham Lincoln's son opposite Daniel Day-Lewis in Steven Spielberg's 'Lincoln.'
'I have an eclectic taste in the movies that I watch as well as the movies I'm inspired to want to work on. Variety is what keeps things interesting,' the actor said. 'I do work a whole lot and that's what I love to do, I'm very lucky to have a job that I love and that's pretty much what I do with my time.'
Gordon-Levitt makes his directorial debut in 'Don Jon's Addiction,' exploring porn addiction, due in theaters next year starring Scarlett Johansson and Julianne Moore.
He also is heavily involved with his production company hitRECord, an online community of creative individuals who work on projects, including 'The Tiny Book Of Tiny Stories,' with volume 2 due out in November.
'There's plenty of people who don't have access to participate in the traditional entertainment industry and are great artists all the same, so hitRECord is a way for me to work with those people,' said the actor.
(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte; Desking by Andrew Hay)
This news article is brought to you by RELATIONSHIPS ADVICE 201 - where latest news are our top priority.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Halle Berry suffers minor head injury on Los Angeles set
(Reuters) - Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry suffered a minor head injury while shooting a fight sequence for a movie in Los Angeles on Tuesday night and was treated at a hospital and released, her publicist said on Wednesday.
'She checked out healthy and was released. She'll continue production as planned,' publicist Meredith O'Sullivan said in an email.
Berry, 45, is shooting 'The Hive,' a thriller directed by Brad Anderson and also starring Abigail Breslin.
An ambulance took Berry from the set in central Los Angeles to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and the set was shut down, the celebrity news website X17 reported. A hospital spokeswoman declined to say if Berry was treated there.
Barry hit her head on lights on the set of the 2004 film 'Catwoman' but was not seriously injured, according to IMDb.com, a movie database.
She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for the 2001 film 'Monster's Ball.'
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Vicki Allen)
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'She checked out healthy and was released. She'll continue production as planned,' publicist Meredith O'Sullivan said in an email.
Berry, 45, is shooting 'The Hive,' a thriller directed by Brad Anderson and also starring Abigail Breslin.
An ambulance took Berry from the set in central Los Angeles to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and the set was shut down, the celebrity news website X17 reported. A hospital spokeswoman declined to say if Berry was treated there.
Barry hit her head on lights on the set of the 2004 film 'Catwoman' but was not seriously injured, according to IMDb.com, a movie database.
She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for the 2001 film 'Monster's Ball.'
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Vicki Allen)
This news article is brought to you by RELATIONSHIPS ADVICE 201 - where latest news are our top priority.
Tom Cruise visits daughter after Holmes split
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tom Cruise visited his daughter Suri in New York City on Tuesday for the first time since his high-profile divorce from her mother, actress Katie Holmes, People magazine reported.
The 50-year-old Hollywood star was photographed holding his 6-year-old daughter on a New York street as she wraps one arm around the 'Mission: Impossible' star's neck and in the other, clutches a stuffed animal toy. The picture was posted on People's website.
Cruise was filming his latest movie in Iceland back in June when Holmes, 33, filed for a divorce, surprising the Hollywood superstar. Since then, he has returned to the United States and the pair have settled issues including custody of Suri. Celebrity watchers have eagerly awaited the day when Cruise would reunite with his daughter.
Separately on Monday night, Holmes and Suri were involved in a minor car accident with a sanitation truck in New York but were not hurt, a police source said.
Holmes was in a Mercedes with their daughter when a New York City Sanitation truck hit the car, the source said.
A New York Police Department spokesman said an accident involving a Mercedes and a truck occurred around 9:30 p.m. EDT on Monday (0130 GMT on Tuesday) but said he could not name the passengers. A separate source speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed Holmes and her daughter were in the car.
There were no injuries and no criminal charges were expected, police said.
Representatives for Holmes could not immediately be reached.
(Reporting by Joseph O'Leary and Christine Kearney; Editing by Paul Simao, Bob Tourtellotte and M.D. Golan)
This news article is brought to you by ANIMALS AND PETS - where latest news are our top priority.
The 50-year-old Hollywood star was photographed holding his 6-year-old daughter on a New York street as she wraps one arm around the 'Mission: Impossible' star's neck and in the other, clutches a stuffed animal toy. The picture was posted on People's website.
Cruise was filming his latest movie in Iceland back in June when Holmes, 33, filed for a divorce, surprising the Hollywood superstar. Since then, he has returned to the United States and the pair have settled issues including custody of Suri. Celebrity watchers have eagerly awaited the day when Cruise would reunite with his daughter.
Separately on Monday night, Holmes and Suri were involved in a minor car accident with a sanitation truck in New York but were not hurt, a police source said.
Holmes was in a Mercedes with their daughter when a New York City Sanitation truck hit the car, the source said.
A New York Police Department spokesman said an accident involving a Mercedes and a truck occurred around 9:30 p.m. EDT on Monday (0130 GMT on Tuesday) but said he could not name the passengers. A separate source speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed Holmes and her daughter were in the car.
There were no injuries and no criminal charges were expected, police said.
Representatives for Holmes could not immediately be reached.
(Reporting by Joseph O'Leary and Christine Kearney; Editing by Paul Simao, Bob Tourtellotte and M.D. Golan)
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Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Actor Christian Bale reflects on years as 'Dark Knight'
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Dark Knight rises in movie theaters this Friday on the wings of huge anticipation for the final film of director Christopher Nolan's 'Batman' trilogy, but there is one man who remains calm in the face of the media hype, Batman actor Christian Bale.
Bale slips into the bat costume of Gotham City's crime-fighting superhero for the last time in 'The Dark Knight Rises,' which like its predecessors has received strong early reviews.
Chosen by British director Nolan for his franchise reboot, which soared with 2005's 'Batman Begins,' Bale's stone-faced portrayal of conflicted billionaire Bruce Wayne, a.k.a. Batman, was key to the movie's success.
The follow-up, 2008's 'The Dark Knight,' solidified Bale's status as a leading actor, and 'Dark Knight Rises' will be his swan song in the role.
'I'm real proud of having achieved what we had set out to do,' he told reporters at a news conference promoting the film. 'It was a very important moment for me. It was an important character.
'It's the only time I've ever played a character three times in a row and the movies themselves have changed my life and changed my career.'
Both movies earned praise from fans and critics alike. The first raked-in $372 million at box offices worldwide, and the second an eye-popping $1 billion. Bale went on to numerous other parts and eventually nabbed an Oscar for his role as a drug-addicted ex-boxer in 'The Fighter.'
When shooting of the 'Dark Knight Rises' was done, Bale told reporters, he wanted time alone to think about the past seven years.
'I just went down and sat in a room and realized this is it,' said Bale of the time the cameras stopped rolling. 'I sat in that moment with the realization that we're done.'
'Dark Knight Rises' picks up eight years after 'Dark Knight.' The caped crusader has disappeared from public view and is a fugitive thought to be responsible for the death of Gotham City D.A. Harvey Dent. The man behind the mask, Bruce Wayne, has become a recluse and is rarely seen in public.
But both are forced out of hiding when cat burglar Selina Kyle, played by Anne Hathaway, arrives in Gotham and a masked terrorist named Bane, played by Tom Hardy, shows up to take over the city. Batman comes out of hiding to stop them.
TWISTS AND TURNS
With many twists in a complex story, revealing more requires a spoiler alert. Suffice it to say that critics - not the easiest to please with superhero movies - are mostly happy.
The movie scored an 83 percent positive rating from seven early reviews on film website moviereviewintelligence.com. Time magazine's Richard Corliss called it 'a film of grand ambitions and epic achievement.'
Reprising their roles are Michael Caine as Alfred the butler, Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox. Newcomers include Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Hardy, all three of whom worked with Nolan on his 2010 Oscar winner, 'Inception.'
Also new to the group is Hathaway, who essentially takes on the role of Catwoman, though that comic character's name is never directly referenced in the film.
'I loved that the focus was on who she was as Selina ... and she didn't change when she put on the suit - it was just kind of her uniform,' Hathaway said of her character.
The actress said she had to get into fighting shape for the action scenes and that being in such good physical condition gave her a strong mental attitude that made it a 'complete transformation' for her in the role.
While the Batman series has had its share of villains, including 'Dark Knight's' The Joker, which earned actor Heath Ledger a posthumous best supporting actor Oscar, this final installment sees Batman meet his match in Bane.
Bale calls him 'the first adversary of Batman that you know can probably whip his butt, which we've never seen before.'
When Nolan called Hardy to offer him the role, he said he had to explain both the good and bad aspects of playing the tough guy behind a mask.
'The good news is I have a terrific part for you,' Nolan recalled telling him. 'The bad news is, your face is going to be completely covered for the whole film and you're going to have to (convey) this character through just your eyes and voice.'
Now that it's all over, Nolan said he had no idea what his next movie would be. Like Bale, he needs some time to reflect.
'I'm going to go on a holiday and just relax and (enjoy) not knowing what I'm going to do next,' he said.
(This story corrects name of film in fourth paragraph)
(Reporting By Zorianna Kit; editing by Todd Eastham)
Bale slips into the bat costume of Gotham City's crime-fighting superhero for the last time in 'The Dark Knight Rises,' which like its predecessors has received strong early reviews.
Chosen by British director Nolan for his franchise reboot, which soared with 2005's 'Batman Begins,' Bale's stone-faced portrayal of conflicted billionaire Bruce Wayne, a.k.a. Batman, was key to the movie's success.
The follow-up, 2008's 'The Dark Knight,' solidified Bale's status as a leading actor, and 'Dark Knight Rises' will be his swan song in the role.
'I'm real proud of having achieved what we had set out to do,' he told reporters at a news conference promoting the film. 'It was a very important moment for me. It was an important character.
'It's the only time I've ever played a character three times in a row and the movies themselves have changed my life and changed my career.'
Both movies earned praise from fans and critics alike. The first raked-in $372 million at box offices worldwide, and the second an eye-popping $1 billion. Bale went on to numerous other parts and eventually nabbed an Oscar for his role as a drug-addicted ex-boxer in 'The Fighter.'
When shooting of the 'Dark Knight Rises' was done, Bale told reporters, he wanted time alone to think about the past seven years.
'I just went down and sat in a room and realized this is it,' said Bale of the time the cameras stopped rolling. 'I sat in that moment with the realization that we're done.'
'Dark Knight Rises' picks up eight years after 'Dark Knight.' The caped crusader has disappeared from public view and is a fugitive thought to be responsible for the death of Gotham City D.A. Harvey Dent. The man behind the mask, Bruce Wayne, has become a recluse and is rarely seen in public.
But both are forced out of hiding when cat burglar Selina Kyle, played by Anne Hathaway, arrives in Gotham and a masked terrorist named Bane, played by Tom Hardy, shows up to take over the city. Batman comes out of hiding to stop them.
TWISTS AND TURNS
With many twists in a complex story, revealing more requires a spoiler alert. Suffice it to say that critics - not the easiest to please with superhero movies - are mostly happy.
The movie scored an 83 percent positive rating from seven early reviews on film website moviereviewintelligence.com. Time magazine's Richard Corliss called it 'a film of grand ambitions and epic achievement.'
Reprising their roles are Michael Caine as Alfred the butler, Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox. Newcomers include Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Hardy, all three of whom worked with Nolan on his 2010 Oscar winner, 'Inception.'
Also new to the group is Hathaway, who essentially takes on the role of Catwoman, though that comic character's name is never directly referenced in the film.
'I loved that the focus was on who she was as Selina ... and she didn't change when she put on the suit - it was just kind of her uniform,' Hathaway said of her character.
The actress said she had to get into fighting shape for the action scenes and that being in such good physical condition gave her a strong mental attitude that made it a 'complete transformation' for her in the role.
While the Batman series has had its share of villains, including 'Dark Knight's' The Joker, which earned actor Heath Ledger a posthumous best supporting actor Oscar, this final installment sees Batman meet his match in Bane.
Bale calls him 'the first adversary of Batman that you know can probably whip his butt, which we've never seen before.'
When Nolan called Hardy to offer him the role, he said he had to explain both the good and bad aspects of playing the tough guy behind a mask.
'The good news is I have a terrific part for you,' Nolan recalled telling him. 'The bad news is, your face is going to be completely covered for the whole film and you're going to have to (convey) this character through just your eyes and voice.'
Now that it's all over, Nolan said he had no idea what his next movie would be. Like Bale, he needs some time to reflect.
'I'm going to go on a holiday and just relax and (enjoy) not knowing what I'm going to do next,' he said.
(This story corrects name of film in fourth paragraph)
(Reporting By Zorianna Kit; editing by Todd Eastham)
Monday, July 16, 2012
Actress Uma Thurman gives birth to girl: manager
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Uma Thurman, star of movies such as 'Kill Bill' and 'Pulp Fiction,' has given birth to her third child, a girl, the actress' manager confirmed on Monday.
'Mom and baby are doing well!' Jason Weinberg, Thurman's manager, said in a statement. Weinberg did not reveal any other details, but celebrity news publication Us Weekly said the baby was born on Sunday.
The baby is Thurman's first child with partner financier Arpad Busson. Thurman has a 14-year-old daughter, Maya, and a 10-year-old son, Levon, with her ex-husband, actor Ethan Hawke.
Thurman, 42, and Busson, 49, have been dating on and off since 2007, including a brief engagement. The couple reunited earlier this year and Thurman announced she was expecting their child in February.
The actress most recently appeared on the hit musical television show, 'Smash.'
(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Paul Simao)
This news article is brought to you by GLAMOROUS FASHION NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
'Mom and baby are doing well!' Jason Weinberg, Thurman's manager, said in a statement. Weinberg did not reveal any other details, but celebrity news publication Us Weekly said the baby was born on Sunday.
The baby is Thurman's first child with partner financier Arpad Busson. Thurman has a 14-year-old daughter, Maya, and a 10-year-old son, Levon, with her ex-husband, actor Ethan Hawke.
Thurman, 42, and Busson, 49, have been dating on and off since 2007, including a brief engagement. The couple reunited earlier this year and Thurman announced she was expecting their child in February.
The actress most recently appeared on the hit musical television show, 'Smash.'
(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Paul Simao)
This news article is brought to you by GLAMOROUS FASHION NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Oscar-winning actress Celeste Holm dies, age 95
(Reuters) - Stage and film actress Celeste Holm, who won an Oscar for her role in the 1947 movie 'Gentleman's Agreement,' has died at home in New York City, age 95, according to reports citing her niece.
Niece Amy Phillips told television news network CNN Holm had been admitted to a New York City hospital last week, but her husband took her home this past Friday.
'She passed peacefully in her home in her own bed with her husband and friends and family nearby,' Phillips told CNN.
Holm was born and raised in New York City and began performing as a teenager in school plays and later in college before taking up acting as a profession.
Her first major Broadway role came in a 1940 revival of 'The Time of Your Life,' co-starring fellow newcomer Gene Kelly, and by 1943 she had earned wide recognition portraying Ado Annie in Rodgers & Hammerstein's 'Oklahoma!'.
Like many theater actors, Holm went to Hollywood where she won the role in director Elia Kazan's tale of anti-semitism, 'Gentleman's Agreement,' that won her the best supporting actress Oscar.
She went on to work on several movies including 1950's 'All About Eve,' and returned to her first love, Broadway. Over the years, Holm mastered the stage and screen, and worked in numerous television series of the 1970s and 1980s, including 'Fantasy Island,' 'Falcon Crest' and 'Archie Bunker's Place.'
(Reporting By Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by Sandra Maler)
This news article is brought to you by SPACE AND ASTRONOMY NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Niece Amy Phillips told television news network CNN Holm had been admitted to a New York City hospital last week, but her husband took her home this past Friday.
'She passed peacefully in her home in her own bed with her husband and friends and family nearby,' Phillips told CNN.
Holm was born and raised in New York City and began performing as a teenager in school plays and later in college before taking up acting as a profession.
Her first major Broadway role came in a 1940 revival of 'The Time of Your Life,' co-starring fellow newcomer Gene Kelly, and by 1943 she had earned wide recognition portraying Ado Annie in Rodgers & Hammerstein's 'Oklahoma!'.
Like many theater actors, Holm went to Hollywood where she won the role in director Elia Kazan's tale of anti-semitism, 'Gentleman's Agreement,' that won her the best supporting actress Oscar.
She went on to work on several movies including 1950's 'All About Eve,' and returned to her first love, Broadway. Over the years, Holm mastered the stage and screen, and worked in numerous television series of the 1970s and 1980s, including 'Fantasy Island,' 'Falcon Crest' and 'Archie Bunker's Place.'
(Reporting By Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by Sandra Maler)
This news article is brought to you by SPACE AND ASTRONOMY NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Tarantino unlocks "Django's" chains at Comic-Con
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Director Quentin Tarantino unlocked the secrets of his upcoming action flick 'Django Unchained' at Comic-Con on Saturday with explosive clips of the slave revenge movie, which takes place in the pre-Civil War U.S. South.
The director entered the pop culture convention's main hall in his trademark quirky sunglasses and a fedora, and was given a raucous welcome by some 7,000 audience members, some of who waited overnight to hear him speak.
'Django Unchained,' due in theaters this coming December, is the latest from the maker of 'Kill Bill' and 'Pulp Fiction,' who was joined in a panel by actors Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Kerry Washington, Don Johnson and Walter Groggins.
Until Saturday, little was known about the film and no footage had been seen in public. Tarantino said he still had one last week of shooting. He revealed that Jonah Hill is playing a racist and confirmed Sacha Baron Cohen will not be appearing.
The story follows Django (Foxx), a black slave freed by a rebel dentist-turned-bounty hunter, Dr. King Schultz (Waltz). The pair embark on a bloody bounty hunting expedition to rescue Django's captured slave wife, Broomhilda (Washington).
Fans were treated to an eight-minute promotional film reel showing scenes of Foxx and Waltz taking down villains, including Johnson and Leonardo DiCaprio. The gritty footage featured the director's trademark violence fused with sharp humor and Western music.
'One of the fun things was to take the Western genre that we know so well and place it in the Antebellum South and put a black character in the middle of it. Do the Western clichés, but do them in the South,' said Tarantino.
In a twist from his villainous part in Tarantino's 'Inglorious Basterds,' Waltz plays a complex good guy opposite Hollywood hero DiCaprio, who plays evil plantation owner Calvin Candie. Waltz told reporters prior to the panel that Tarantino had written the role with DiCaprio in mind.
In the convention hall, Foxx talked about his experiences with racism when he grew up in Texas and explained how he used his past to tap Django's emotions.
Washington is the latest actress to join Tarantino's roster of talent in strong female roles, including Uma Thurman and Diane Kruger. But she puts a royal black twist on her Broomhilda character. 'She is the princess who is rescued from the tower and particularly for a black woman, that's not really an experience that we've had historically,' said Washington, who learned to speak German for the role.
From the look at the film clips, Tarantino adds a touch of love, too, as the human tale of a man attempting to recapture his woman is a central thread in the story.
'So much of the institution of slavery was about breaking up families and not making it possible to have healthy marriages, so the idea that in this world of slavery, that love could conquer this evil institution and that a man could rescue his wife outside the chains of slavery, I thought that was so beautiful and important,' Washington said.
(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy; editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Todd Eastham)
This article is brought to you by FREE PERSONALS.
The director entered the pop culture convention's main hall in his trademark quirky sunglasses and a fedora, and was given a raucous welcome by some 7,000 audience members, some of who waited overnight to hear him speak.
'Django Unchained,' due in theaters this coming December, is the latest from the maker of 'Kill Bill' and 'Pulp Fiction,' who was joined in a panel by actors Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Kerry Washington, Don Johnson and Walter Groggins.
Until Saturday, little was known about the film and no footage had been seen in public. Tarantino said he still had one last week of shooting. He revealed that Jonah Hill is playing a racist and confirmed Sacha Baron Cohen will not be appearing.
The story follows Django (Foxx), a black slave freed by a rebel dentist-turned-bounty hunter, Dr. King Schultz (Waltz). The pair embark on a bloody bounty hunting expedition to rescue Django's captured slave wife, Broomhilda (Washington).
Fans were treated to an eight-minute promotional film reel showing scenes of Foxx and Waltz taking down villains, including Johnson and Leonardo DiCaprio. The gritty footage featured the director's trademark violence fused with sharp humor and Western music.
'One of the fun things was to take the Western genre that we know so well and place it in the Antebellum South and put a black character in the middle of it. Do the Western clichés, but do them in the South,' said Tarantino.
In a twist from his villainous part in Tarantino's 'Inglorious Basterds,' Waltz plays a complex good guy opposite Hollywood hero DiCaprio, who plays evil plantation owner Calvin Candie. Waltz told reporters prior to the panel that Tarantino had written the role with DiCaprio in mind.
In the convention hall, Foxx talked about his experiences with racism when he grew up in Texas and explained how he used his past to tap Django's emotions.
Washington is the latest actress to join Tarantino's roster of talent in strong female roles, including Uma Thurman and Diane Kruger. But she puts a royal black twist on her Broomhilda character. 'She is the princess who is rescued from the tower and particularly for a black woman, that's not really an experience that we've had historically,' said Washington, who learned to speak German for the role.
From the look at the film clips, Tarantino adds a touch of love, too, as the human tale of a man attempting to recapture his woman is a central thread in the story.
'So much of the institution of slavery was about breaking up families and not making it possible to have healthy marriages, so the idea that in this world of slavery, that love could conquer this evil institution and that a man could rescue his wife outside the chains of slavery, I thought that was so beautiful and important,' Washington said.
(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy; editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Todd Eastham)
This article is brought to you by FREE PERSONALS.
Film producer Richard D. Zanuck dies at age 77
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Veteran Hollywood executive Richard D. Zanuck, the prolific producer behind the blockbuster shark thriller 'Jaws,' the best-picture Oscar-winner 'Driving Miss Daisy' and a string of Tim Burton fantasies, died on Friday of a heart attack at age 77.
Zanuck, son of famed 20th Century Fox chieftain Darryl F. Zanuck, who was named by his father at age 28 as Fox's head of production, making him Hollywood's then youngest-ever studio boss, died at his home in Beverly Hills, a spokesman said.
No further details were immediately available about the circumstances of his death.
Zanuck, who spent the bulk of his career as an independent producer, earned numerous awards during more than 50 years in filmmaking.
Among his accolades were the Academy Award he shared with his wife and collaborator, Lili Fini Zanuck, for their work on 'Driving Miss Daisy,' and the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his work with longtime associate David Brown.
Steven Spielberg, with whom Zanuck collaborated on 'Jaws,' called the producer 'a cornerstone of our industry, both in name and in deed.'
'In 1974, Dick Zanuck and I sat in a boat off Martha's Vineyard and watched the mechanical shark sink to the bottom of the sea,' Spielberg recalled in a statement. 'Dick turned to me and smiled. 'Gee, I sure hope that's not a sign.''
That moment of wry humor proved to be far from prophetic, as 'Jaws,' the tale of a great white shark that terrorizes a small New England beach town, became one of the biggest hits of its era and helped launch Spielberg's career as a director.
Born in Los Angeles, Zanuck, whose mother was actress Virginia Fox, joined his father as a story and production assistant on two 20th Century Fox films, 'Island in the Sun' and 'The Sun Also Rises.'
He debuted as a full-fledged producer at age 24 on 1959 feature film 'Compulsion,' which starred Orson Welles. Four years later, he was placed in charge of production at his father's studio.
During his eight-year tenure there, the studio cranked out a series of critical and commercial successes, 'The Sound of Music,' 'Patton' and 'The French Connection,' all of which won best film Oscars. Other Fox hits from that period include the original 'Planet of the Apes' series, the Paul Newman and Robert Redford western 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' and the Korean War satire 'M*A*S*H.'
HOLLYWOOD HITS AND MISSES
But a handful of big-screen musical flops 'greenlighted' for production by Zanuck, among them 'Doctor Dolittle,' 'Hello Dolly' and 'Star,' cost the studio dearly and ultimately led to his ouster in 1970 by his father.
From there, Zanuck and Brown moved briefly to Warner Bros., where they oversaw the making of the religious thriller 'The Exorcist' and Mel Brooks' parody western, 'Blazing Saddles' before starting their own production company.
It was the Zanuck/Brown label that made Spielberg's 1974 film directorial debut, 'The Sugarland Express,' and his 1975 blockbuster 'Jaws,' which earned Oscars for film editing, score and sound.
Other Zanuck/Brown successes included 'The Sting,' a Depression-era tale of grifters that reunited Newman and Redford and won seven Academy Awards, including best picture; courtroom drama 'The Verdict,' which earned five Oscar nominations, and 'Cocoon,' which won Oscars for best supporting Oscar (Don Ameche) and visual effects.
Zanuck earned his greatest personal filmmaking accolade for the first movie produced under his own Zanuck Company label, the 1989 film 'Driving Miss Daisy,' about the relationship of a stubborn old Jewish woman (Jessica Tandy) and her black chauffeur (Morgan Freeman) in the American South.
The film earned four Oscars, including best actress for Tandy and best picture for Zanuck and his wife.
The latter stretch of Zanuck's career was marked by a close collaboration with director Tim Burton, starting with a 2001 remake of 'Planet of the Apes,' released by 20th Century Fox.
Others included the 2005 hit 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,' the critically acclaimed 2007 musical 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street' and the 2010 success 'Alice in Wonderland,' all starring Johnny Depp.
The last film of Zanuck's career ended up being his sixth collaboration with Burton, the critical and commercial bomb 'Dark Shadows,' also starring Depp and based on the 1960s television series about lovelorn vampire.
In addition to his wife, Zanuck is survived by his sons Harrison and Dean, and nine grandchildren.
(Editing by Peter Cooney)
This news article is brought to you by ADVANCED DATING ADVICE - where latest news are our top priority.
Zanuck, son of famed 20th Century Fox chieftain Darryl F. Zanuck, who was named by his father at age 28 as Fox's head of production, making him Hollywood's then youngest-ever studio boss, died at his home in Beverly Hills, a spokesman said.
No further details were immediately available about the circumstances of his death.
Zanuck, who spent the bulk of his career as an independent producer, earned numerous awards during more than 50 years in filmmaking.
Among his accolades were the Academy Award he shared with his wife and collaborator, Lili Fini Zanuck, for their work on 'Driving Miss Daisy,' and the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his work with longtime associate David Brown.
Steven Spielberg, with whom Zanuck collaborated on 'Jaws,' called the producer 'a cornerstone of our industry, both in name and in deed.'
'In 1974, Dick Zanuck and I sat in a boat off Martha's Vineyard and watched the mechanical shark sink to the bottom of the sea,' Spielberg recalled in a statement. 'Dick turned to me and smiled. 'Gee, I sure hope that's not a sign.''
That moment of wry humor proved to be far from prophetic, as 'Jaws,' the tale of a great white shark that terrorizes a small New England beach town, became one of the biggest hits of its era and helped launch Spielberg's career as a director.
Born in Los Angeles, Zanuck, whose mother was actress Virginia Fox, joined his father as a story and production assistant on two 20th Century Fox films, 'Island in the Sun' and 'The Sun Also Rises.'
He debuted as a full-fledged producer at age 24 on 1959 feature film 'Compulsion,' which starred Orson Welles. Four years later, he was placed in charge of production at his father's studio.
During his eight-year tenure there, the studio cranked out a series of critical and commercial successes, 'The Sound of Music,' 'Patton' and 'The French Connection,' all of which won best film Oscars. Other Fox hits from that period include the original 'Planet of the Apes' series, the Paul Newman and Robert Redford western 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' and the Korean War satire 'M*A*S*H.'
HOLLYWOOD HITS AND MISSES
But a handful of big-screen musical flops 'greenlighted' for production by Zanuck, among them 'Doctor Dolittle,' 'Hello Dolly' and 'Star,' cost the studio dearly and ultimately led to his ouster in 1970 by his father.
From there, Zanuck and Brown moved briefly to Warner Bros., where they oversaw the making of the religious thriller 'The Exorcist' and Mel Brooks' parody western, 'Blazing Saddles' before starting their own production company.
It was the Zanuck/Brown label that made Spielberg's 1974 film directorial debut, 'The Sugarland Express,' and his 1975 blockbuster 'Jaws,' which earned Oscars for film editing, score and sound.
Other Zanuck/Brown successes included 'The Sting,' a Depression-era tale of grifters that reunited Newman and Redford and won seven Academy Awards, including best picture; courtroom drama 'The Verdict,' which earned five Oscar nominations, and 'Cocoon,' which won Oscars for best supporting Oscar (Don Ameche) and visual effects.
Zanuck earned his greatest personal filmmaking accolade for the first movie produced under his own Zanuck Company label, the 1989 film 'Driving Miss Daisy,' about the relationship of a stubborn old Jewish woman (Jessica Tandy) and her black chauffeur (Morgan Freeman) in the American South.
The film earned four Oscars, including best actress for Tandy and best picture for Zanuck and his wife.
The latter stretch of Zanuck's career was marked by a close collaboration with director Tim Burton, starting with a 2001 remake of 'Planet of the Apes,' released by 20th Century Fox.
Others included the 2005 hit 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,' the critically acclaimed 2007 musical 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street' and the 2010 success 'Alice in Wonderland,' all starring Johnny Depp.
The last film of Zanuck's career ended up being his sixth collaboration with Burton, the critical and commercial bomb 'Dark Shadows,' also starring Depp and based on the 1960s television series about lovelorn vampire.
In addition to his wife, Zanuck is survived by his sons Harrison and Dean, and nine grandchildren.
(Editing by Peter Cooney)
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Friday, July 13, 2012
Film producer Richard D. Zanuck dies, age 77
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood movie producer Richard D. Zanuck, whose films include Oscar winner 'Driving Miss Daisy,' died on Friday of a heart attack, his spokesman said in a statement. He was 77.
'Richard D. Zanuck, one of the film industry's most progressive and distinguished leaders died today (Friday, July 13th) of a heart attack in Los Angeles at age 77,' spokesman Jeff Sanderson said in a statement.
Zanuck, the son of early Hollywood mogul Darryl Zanuck, earned numerous awards over more than 50 years of making movies, and he ran the 20th Century Fox film studio at a time when it cranked out hits such as 'The Sound of Music,' 'Patton' and 'The French Connection,' which all went on to win best film Oscars.
As a producer with business partner David Brown, he helped usher into theaters hits such as 'Jaws,' 'The Sting' and 'Cocoon.'
Zanuck continued to be active in Hollywood throughout his life, working recently on movie 'Dark Shadows,' which starred Johnny Depp and was directed by Tim Burton.
He is survived by his wife Lili Fini Zanuck, sons Harrison and Dean, and nine grandchildren.
(Reporting By Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by Bernard Orr)
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'Richard D. Zanuck, one of the film industry's most progressive and distinguished leaders died today (Friday, July 13th) of a heart attack in Los Angeles at age 77,' spokesman Jeff Sanderson said in a statement.
Zanuck, the son of early Hollywood mogul Darryl Zanuck, earned numerous awards over more than 50 years of making movies, and he ran the 20th Century Fox film studio at a time when it cranked out hits such as 'The Sound of Music,' 'Patton' and 'The French Connection,' which all went on to win best film Oscars.
As a producer with business partner David Brown, he helped usher into theaters hits such as 'Jaws,' 'The Sting' and 'Cocoon.'
Zanuck continued to be active in Hollywood throughout his life, working recently on movie 'Dark Shadows,' which starred Johnny Depp and was directed by Tim Burton.
He is survived by his wife Lili Fini Zanuck, sons Harrison and Dean, and nine grandchildren.
(Reporting By Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by Bernard Orr)
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Thursday, July 12, 2012
Sigourney Weaver turns political animal for new TV show
NEW YORK (Reuters) - In new TV series 'Political Animals,' Secretary of State Elaine Barrish Hammond, who has just lost a presidential bid, laments that the country just doesn't adore her as much as her womanizing husband and former President.
If that sounds like current Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, actress Sigourney Weaver, who portrays Elaine, disagrees.
The similarities between the real-life politician and the TV one are clear in the frothy series premiering July 15 on the USA Network, yet Weaver swears she did not have Clinton in mind. She points to other women she has met, mostly those in non-profit work, upon which she based the character.
'I admire Mrs. Clinton immensely, (but) I don't know anything about her except the little bit we are allowed to know. I never think of her when I am playing this part,' Weaver told Reuters in a recent interview.
The 62-year-old actress said 'Political Animals,' a soapy dramatization of sex, greed and politics in the White House, is based on many families who have lived there - not just the Clintons. She noted that while Elaine's ex-husband, Bud Hammond, 'had been a successful president, not unlike Bill Clinton,' her character 'was first lady, then became a governor, then ran for president, failed, then became secretary of state.'
'Some of the details are similar to the Clintons, but in fact, if you talk to the creator, he has been a real political junkie for most of his life, and he is fascinated by all these families who have been in the White House,' she said.
Creator Greg Berlanti gives the show's pilot a light tone, setting it apart from more serious, recent political TV dramas such as 'Game Change' about Sarah Palin.
SOAPY WHITE HOUSE
In the pilot episode, Elaine divorces her husband, tries to help her gay son with finances while he battles drug addiction and chastises a Russian foreign minister for patting her bottom during a press conference.
Elaine offers a steely image in public, but lets her guard down in private, showing disappointment she wasn't popular enough to secure the presidential nomination.
'The country loves you Bud. They will always love you, but it's me they have mixed feelings about, ' she tells her husband at the start of the first episode. Two years later, however, she has earned a measure of popularity as a hardworking Secretary of State - much like Hillary Clinton.
Weaver, who has a history of playing strong women, most notably as Ripley in the four 'Alien' space films, said that to prepare for the role she read former Secretary of State Albright's 2009 memoir, 'Read My Pins,' about global politics.
She also leaned heavily on her views of women she met in the non-profit sector more than any real-life political figures.
The miniseries reaches audiences following other political shows centered on female characters during the current U.S. presidential election year, including HBO comedy series 'Veep,' featuring Julia Louis-Dreyfuss as a U.S. vice president and HBO movie 'Game Change,' which starred Julianne Moore as conservative firebrand Sarah Palin.
'It's more enticing to watch fake politics on television than real politics because real politics is difficult to watch. Everything is even more dysfunctional than my own family,' Weaver said with a smile.
Elaine is the type of fearless female that real-life Washington needs more of, said Weaver, who believes women are more likely to cross the political aisle and 'get down to work.'
'Women naturally roll up their sleeves,' she said. 'They support each other on both sides of the aisle. It's a much more collaborative, team-building kind of inclusiveness about their work, and I feel like we need that kind of energy in the Washington politics-as-usual.'
A Democrat with a businessman father she described as 'a Nelson Rockefeller Republican,' the actress is worried about the current trend of partisanship and what she sees as the common person being left behind in today's economic policies.
'What politicians have to be talking about is the needs of real people. To me, as long as the Republicans are the champions of big business, that can't happen. Because the common man is being left out of all of this. And this trickle-down idea is fallacy,' she said.
(Reporting By Christine Kearney Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Eric Walsh)
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If that sounds like current Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, actress Sigourney Weaver, who portrays Elaine, disagrees.
The similarities between the real-life politician and the TV one are clear in the frothy series premiering July 15 on the USA Network, yet Weaver swears she did not have Clinton in mind. She points to other women she has met, mostly those in non-profit work, upon which she based the character.
'I admire Mrs. Clinton immensely, (but) I don't know anything about her except the little bit we are allowed to know. I never think of her when I am playing this part,' Weaver told Reuters in a recent interview.
The 62-year-old actress said 'Political Animals,' a soapy dramatization of sex, greed and politics in the White House, is based on many families who have lived there - not just the Clintons. She noted that while Elaine's ex-husband, Bud Hammond, 'had been a successful president, not unlike Bill Clinton,' her character 'was first lady, then became a governor, then ran for president, failed, then became secretary of state.'
'Some of the details are similar to the Clintons, but in fact, if you talk to the creator, he has been a real political junkie for most of his life, and he is fascinated by all these families who have been in the White House,' she said.
Creator Greg Berlanti gives the show's pilot a light tone, setting it apart from more serious, recent political TV dramas such as 'Game Change' about Sarah Palin.
SOAPY WHITE HOUSE
In the pilot episode, Elaine divorces her husband, tries to help her gay son with finances while he battles drug addiction and chastises a Russian foreign minister for patting her bottom during a press conference.
Elaine offers a steely image in public, but lets her guard down in private, showing disappointment she wasn't popular enough to secure the presidential nomination.
'The country loves you Bud. They will always love you, but it's me they have mixed feelings about, ' she tells her husband at the start of the first episode. Two years later, however, she has earned a measure of popularity as a hardworking Secretary of State - much like Hillary Clinton.
Weaver, who has a history of playing strong women, most notably as Ripley in the four 'Alien' space films, said that to prepare for the role she read former Secretary of State Albright's 2009 memoir, 'Read My Pins,' about global politics.
She also leaned heavily on her views of women she met in the non-profit sector more than any real-life political figures.
The miniseries reaches audiences following other political shows centered on female characters during the current U.S. presidential election year, including HBO comedy series 'Veep,' featuring Julia Louis-Dreyfuss as a U.S. vice president and HBO movie 'Game Change,' which starred Julianne Moore as conservative firebrand Sarah Palin.
'It's more enticing to watch fake politics on television than real politics because real politics is difficult to watch. Everything is even more dysfunctional than my own family,' Weaver said with a smile.
Elaine is the type of fearless female that real-life Washington needs more of, said Weaver, who believes women are more likely to cross the political aisle and 'get down to work.'
'Women naturally roll up their sleeves,' she said. 'They support each other on both sides of the aisle. It's a much more collaborative, team-building kind of inclusiveness about their work, and I feel like we need that kind of energy in the Washington politics-as-usual.'
A Democrat with a businessman father she described as 'a Nelson Rockefeller Republican,' the actress is worried about the current trend of partisanship and what she sees as the common person being left behind in today's economic policies.
'What politicians have to be talking about is the needs of real people. To me, as long as the Republicans are the champions of big business, that can't happen. Because the common man is being left out of all of this. And this trickle-down idea is fallacy,' she said.
(Reporting By Christine Kearney Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Eric Walsh)
This news article is brought to you by RECONNECTING - where latest news are our top priority.
The Dark Knight Rises: Christopher Nolan Says Tom Hardy's Bane Has 'A Little Bit Of Darth Vader'
When Nolan decided that Bane - an almost unstoppable juggernaut known in the comic books for breaking Batman's back - would be the movie's villain, the director looked to actor Tom Hardy, who he previously worked with on 'Inception.'
PLAY IT NOW: The Dark Knight Rises - Behind The Scenes
'When we chose Bane as the antagonist and I thought about asking a great actor to cover his face up for the whole [movie] -- you could just see his eyes and just hear his voice -- I knew immediately that Tom would be up for that,' the director told Access Hollywood at the press junket for 'The Dark Knight Rises.'
Nolan said there is a touch of one of cinema's best villains (from a galaxy far, far away) in Hardy's Bane.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Tom Hardy: On & Off The Screen
'[He's] something you've never seen before. It's a little bit of Darth Vader, a little bit of this, little bit of that... It's very unique and that's what you get with great actors like Tom Hardy, he's not just going to go through the motions, he's going to try and craft a character that really makes sense for him. He has really gone in through the roots of the character and approached the evil,' the director explained.
Hardy's unique take on the fanboy bad guy favorite also required a massive physical transformation for the 34-year-old British actor.
'He had to make himself huge for the role. He learned how to do all of this fighting with Christian Bale, both of them wearing these crazy outfits where they could barely breathe. In Tom's case, with this mask over his face, very tough to breathe, very hot, working in some very challenging environments,' Nolan told Access. 'There was a lot of preparation that went into it, and it really shows on screen.'
VIEW THE PHOTOS: The Sexy Ladies Of Sci-Fi
'The Dark Knight Rises' hits theaters on July 20.
-- Jesse Spero
VIEW THE PHOTOS: The Dark Knight Rises - Behind The Scenes!
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