LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The Labor Day weekend is shaping up as one of the summer's softest at the box office, but it doesn't lack for variety.
Moviegoers will be choosing from a film about the anti-Christ, Shia LaBeouf as a bootlegger, Sly Stallone's bad-ass geezers, an anti-Obama documentary, and a toddler-targeting cartoon that posted one of the worst debuts in history.
Lionsgate's exorcism thriller 'Possession' will cast out two-time champ and studio stablemate 'Expendables 2' from the top of the weekend box office, industry analysts say, and do in the Weinstein Company's new prohibition tale 'Lawless,' too.
But it will be close, and should the frontrunners falter, the right-wing documentary '2016: Obama's America' might pull off another shocker and steal the top spot. All of those films are pegged to finish in the $10-million to $13-million range over the four days, and any could claim the top spot.
It's safe to say that the animated 'Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure,' which bowed on 1,500 screens Wednesday with a $40 per-screen average, won't be in that mix.
In something of a victory lap, Disney is putting Marvel's 'The Avengers' back in 1,700 theaters. Its worldwide gross is nearly $1.5 billion, with about $618 million of that coming from North America.
Horrormeister Sam Raimi produced the PG-13-rated 'Possession,' which will open on 2,816 screens. Ole Bornedal ('Nightwatch') directs Kyra Sedgwick, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Matisyahu.
Lionsgate has had success with its formula of slotting a low-budget horror film into a weekend with little direct competition. The strategy worked in 2010 with 'The Last Exorcism,' a movie made for less than $2 million that opened to $20 million and wound up with $41 million.
Lionsgate said Thursday that 'Possession' is tracking most strongly with young women, Hispanics and African Americans, typically strong demographics for supernatural-themed horror films.
The critics haven't been kind. Just 27 percent of the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes were positive, and MetaCritic gives it a 43 rating.
The Weinstein Company has the R-rated 'Lawless' on 2,888 screens, making it the weekend's widest opener. The period crime drama, which was in competition at this year's Cannes Film Festival, took in $1.1 million in its first day of release on Wednesday.
Tom Hardy and Jessica Chastain star along with LaBeouf, under the direction of John Hillcoat ('The Road'). Rocker Nick Cave wrote the screenplay and composed the film's score, which includes several new songs. Gary Oldman, Mia Wasikowska and Guy Pearce co-star.
The critics are okay with it. Fifty-eight percent of the notices on Movie Review Intelligence and 66 percent on those on Rotten Tomatoes are positive, and it has a 57 MetaCritic rating.
Rocky Mountain Pictures will look to capitalize on the momentum provided by the Republican National Convention as it expands its documentary '2016: Obama's America' into 1,740 theaters.
The documentary has done steady business during the week since stunning Hollywood with its $6.2 million haul last weekend, during which it posted the best per-screen average of any film in wide release.
Produced for roughly $2.1 million, the film - with its catchphrase, 'Love Him. Hate Him. You Don't Know Him' - has made $12.4 million since its release nearly eight weeks ago and has surpassed 'Bully' as the year's top-earning documentary.
Based on conservative author Dinesh D'Souza's book, 'The Roots of Obama's Rage,' the documentary purports to show what the nation will be like should President Obama be re-elected and includes an interview with the president's half-brother, George Obama.
The G-rated 'Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure' has a shot at recording one of the worst wide-opening weekends ever. Last year's 'Creature' set the standard when it averaged $217 on 1,507 screens. 'Oogieloves' is scheduled to be on 2,160 screens.
'Oogieloves' is the brainchild of first-time filmmaker and marketing whiz Kenn Viselmann, who helped bring 'The Teletubbies' and 'Thomas the Tank Engine' to American TV. The independently distributed film is intended to be interactive for toddlers, who are prompted by the film's characters to shout, dance and make rhymes during the movie.
Cloris Leachman, Toni Braxton, Christopher Lloyd, Cary Elwes and Chazz Palminteri appear in or do voice work in the film.
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Friday, August 31, 2012
Rising star Efron sees film career at crossroads
VENICE (Reuters) - Zac Efron says his movie career is at a crossroads, and the former Disney teen idol is tempted more by less pay and hard graft than blockbusters and big bucks.
The 24-year-old, who became a household name in 'High School Musical', was in Venice on Friday for the world premiere of 'At Any Price', set in the cut-throat world of agriculture in which he plays Dean and Dennis Quaid his father Henry.
Efron's appearance on the Lido island across the water from the Canal City drew crowds of screaming girls begging for his autograph, and came a few months after he walked the red carpet in Cannes with another small-budget drama 'The Paperboy'.
Directed by Ramin Bahrani, At Any Price blends family drama with a searing attack on big business and chasing profits whatever the cost, as farmers in Iowa cut corners and cook the books in order to fulfil the mantra 'Expand or Die'.
'All I have, really, is the ability to look back at my elders and the people that I really respect in this industry, the actors that have been here before and really made an impact ... and I put myself in their shoes,' Efron said.
'I sort of stand here with, say, two roads in front of me,' he told reporters after a press screening of the film and ahead of its red carpet premiere at a glitzy evening gala.
'One (is) the easy path ... towards money and the other one being towards playing more interesting roles that I don't have all the answers to, or going with Ramin into the cornfields for a couple of weeks.
'It seems like the choice that I respect more. I'm following my gut here and this is what I want to be doing, you know. I'm hungry for it.'
Efron is one of several rising Hollywood stars in Venice this year, along with Selena Gomez ('Spring Breakers') and Shia LaBeouf ('The Company You Keep').
Venice organizers are hoping that young blood will help compensate for the lack of A-listers appearing at the world's oldest film festival this year.
For director Bahrani, At Any Price contains important themes of corporate greed and economic desperation that are being felt the world over.
'I don't want to say what the moral of the film is. I don't know,' he said.
'I wanted to ask questions, like what happens when you value expansion more than your community, more than yourself? ... Where have we gone in a world (where) the people who profited the most have gotten away with it and are dancing on top of everybody else?'
He likened Efron to more established actors like Johnny Depp, Tom Cruise and Paul Newman.
While some critics may argue such comparisons are premature, early reviews of the film have singled out Quaid and Efron for their performances.
'Continuing to distance himself from his origins as a pretty-boy teen idol, he (Efron) brings an intense, brooding stillness to the screen here, simmering with the frustrations of small-town entrapment,' wrote the Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney.
(Editing by Steve Addison)
This news article is brought to you by INTERNET NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
The 24-year-old, who became a household name in 'High School Musical', was in Venice on Friday for the world premiere of 'At Any Price', set in the cut-throat world of agriculture in which he plays Dean and Dennis Quaid his father Henry.
Efron's appearance on the Lido island across the water from the Canal City drew crowds of screaming girls begging for his autograph, and came a few months after he walked the red carpet in Cannes with another small-budget drama 'The Paperboy'.
Directed by Ramin Bahrani, At Any Price blends family drama with a searing attack on big business and chasing profits whatever the cost, as farmers in Iowa cut corners and cook the books in order to fulfil the mantra 'Expand or Die'.
'All I have, really, is the ability to look back at my elders and the people that I really respect in this industry, the actors that have been here before and really made an impact ... and I put myself in their shoes,' Efron said.
'I sort of stand here with, say, two roads in front of me,' he told reporters after a press screening of the film and ahead of its red carpet premiere at a glitzy evening gala.
'One (is) the easy path ... towards money and the other one being towards playing more interesting roles that I don't have all the answers to, or going with Ramin into the cornfields for a couple of weeks.
'It seems like the choice that I respect more. I'm following my gut here and this is what I want to be doing, you know. I'm hungry for it.'
Efron is one of several rising Hollywood stars in Venice this year, along with Selena Gomez ('Spring Breakers') and Shia LaBeouf ('The Company You Keep').
Venice organizers are hoping that young blood will help compensate for the lack of A-listers appearing at the world's oldest film festival this year.
For director Bahrani, At Any Price contains important themes of corporate greed and economic desperation that are being felt the world over.
'I don't want to say what the moral of the film is. I don't know,' he said.
'I wanted to ask questions, like what happens when you value expansion more than your community, more than yourself? ... Where have we gone in a world (where) the people who profited the most have gotten away with it and are dancing on top of everybody else?'
He likened Efron to more established actors like Johnny Depp, Tom Cruise and Paul Newman.
While some critics may argue such comparisons are premature, early reviews of the film have singled out Quaid and Efron for their performances.
'Continuing to distance himself from his origins as a pretty-boy teen idol, he (Efron) brings an intense, brooding stillness to the screen here, simmering with the frustrations of small-town entrapment,' wrote the Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney.
(Editing by Steve Addison)
This news article is brought to you by INTERNET NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Lee brings Michael Jackson "Bad" magic to big screen
VENICE (Reuters) - Spike Lee's film about the making of Michael Jackson's 1987 album 'Bad' may border on hagiography at times, but live footage and the singer's attention to detail when at the peak of his powers are a reminder of why he remains the 'King of Pop'.
The two-hour documentary called 'Bad 25', which has its world premiere at the Venice film festival on Friday, is a familiar mix of talking heads - choreographers, producers and stars - and film of concerts, rehearsals and music videos.
Released to coincide with the 25th anniversary of Jackson's acclaimed follow-up to 'Thriller', Lee provides few surprises for Jackson aficionados, but paints a picture of a genius at work who cared about every step of the production process.
'I think that it was too many years we've ... concentrated on stuff about Michael Jackson that had nothing to do with the music,' Lee told reporters, 25 years to the day after Bad hit the shelves.
The documentary, which Lee called his 'love letter' to Jackson, has the backing both of the singer's estate and his record label, giving Lee access to many of the key players in the making of what is regarded as a milestone album.
'It was a chance to really dig into his creative process,' he added.
'We all are blessed with the final work, but it's rare that you get to see how something is put together. We just see the final product. We don't see the blood, sweat and tears, all the work that goes into how the masters work.'
Among the novelties is footage taken by Jackson himself, using a handheld camera, of Siedah Garrett singing 'Man in the Mirror', the song she co-wrote for the star, a cappella save for an off-camera clicking of fingers laying down the beat.
There are also small yet enlightening insights and hints as to Jackson's true character, be it his interest in women, competitive spirit, professional drive or obsession over the smallest riff and dance step.
Garrett, for example, recalls how Jackson playfully threw popcorn at her as she tried to record 'I Just Can't Stop Loving You', earning her, but not Jackson, a sharp rebuke from the onlooking producer Quincy Jones.
'NOT OF THIS WORLD'
Sheryl Crow said she was often asked whether Jackson became aroused when they performed a raunchy rendition of the song on his record-breaking 'Bad' tour. She did not provide an answer.
Actress Tatiana Thumbtzen speculated that mint on the singer's breath suggested he may have been prepared for a kiss at the end of the 'The Way You Make Me Feel' video, despite strict instructions only to embrace the singer.
Lawyer John Branca, who administers Jackson's estate following his death aged 50 in 2009, recalled a meeting Jackson arranged with his arch-rival Prince.
'It was not a happy meeting,' he said, adding Prince had brought along a 'voodoo box' which Jackson feared meant he was trying to cast a spell on him.
That rivalry was part of a competitive streak in Jackson that drove him to try to top the sensational success of his 1982 album 'Thriller', still the best-selling album of all time, with Bad five years later.
He even scrawled '100,000,000' on his mirror to remind him of his target. While industry estimates vary widely, Thriller is estimated to have sold between 60-110 million copies worldwide, while Bad went on to sell 30-45 million.
Nothing, it seemed, was too trival. In one sequence, Jackson comically re-enacts exactly how he wants two animated characters who feature in a commercial to behave.
On a more serious level, Lee explores how Jackson's Afro-American roots were important to him, despite his gradually transforming facial features that made him appear more Caucasian.
Several interviewees could not contain their tears as they remembered when they heard of Jackson's passing, and several voiced their conviction at the time that it was not true.
Crow was among those who struggled to explain Jackson's talent. 'The molecules changed in the room,' she said of his presence. 'He changed the molecules.'
Near the end of Bad 25 there is a memorable live performance of 'Man in the Mirror', after which Jackson holds his hands aloft to form the shape of a cross.
'Michael's not here to answer that. I cannot say he's trying to be Jesus Christ,' Lee said in answer to a reporter's question.
'I'm not going to say that Michael was saying he was Jesus Christ, but you look at that performance - he's somewhere else. That's one of the greatest performances ever. You see the way Michael's singing that song, he is not of this world.'
(Editing by Steve Addison)
This article is brought to you by EMPLOYEE VACATION CALENDAR.
The two-hour documentary called 'Bad 25', which has its world premiere at the Venice film festival on Friday, is a familiar mix of talking heads - choreographers, producers and stars - and film of concerts, rehearsals and music videos.
Released to coincide with the 25th anniversary of Jackson's acclaimed follow-up to 'Thriller', Lee provides few surprises for Jackson aficionados, but paints a picture of a genius at work who cared about every step of the production process.
'I think that it was too many years we've ... concentrated on stuff about Michael Jackson that had nothing to do with the music,' Lee told reporters, 25 years to the day after Bad hit the shelves.
The documentary, which Lee called his 'love letter' to Jackson, has the backing both of the singer's estate and his record label, giving Lee access to many of the key players in the making of what is regarded as a milestone album.
'It was a chance to really dig into his creative process,' he added.
'We all are blessed with the final work, but it's rare that you get to see how something is put together. We just see the final product. We don't see the blood, sweat and tears, all the work that goes into how the masters work.'
Among the novelties is footage taken by Jackson himself, using a handheld camera, of Siedah Garrett singing 'Man in the Mirror', the song she co-wrote for the star, a cappella save for an off-camera clicking of fingers laying down the beat.
There are also small yet enlightening insights and hints as to Jackson's true character, be it his interest in women, competitive spirit, professional drive or obsession over the smallest riff and dance step.
Garrett, for example, recalls how Jackson playfully threw popcorn at her as she tried to record 'I Just Can't Stop Loving You', earning her, but not Jackson, a sharp rebuke from the onlooking producer Quincy Jones.
'NOT OF THIS WORLD'
Sheryl Crow said she was often asked whether Jackson became aroused when they performed a raunchy rendition of the song on his record-breaking 'Bad' tour. She did not provide an answer.
Actress Tatiana Thumbtzen speculated that mint on the singer's breath suggested he may have been prepared for a kiss at the end of the 'The Way You Make Me Feel' video, despite strict instructions only to embrace the singer.
Lawyer John Branca, who administers Jackson's estate following his death aged 50 in 2009, recalled a meeting Jackson arranged with his arch-rival Prince.
'It was not a happy meeting,' he said, adding Prince had brought along a 'voodoo box' which Jackson feared meant he was trying to cast a spell on him.
That rivalry was part of a competitive streak in Jackson that drove him to try to top the sensational success of his 1982 album 'Thriller', still the best-selling album of all time, with Bad five years later.
He even scrawled '100,000,000' on his mirror to remind him of his target. While industry estimates vary widely, Thriller is estimated to have sold between 60-110 million copies worldwide, while Bad went on to sell 30-45 million.
Nothing, it seemed, was too trival. In one sequence, Jackson comically re-enacts exactly how he wants two animated characters who feature in a commercial to behave.
On a more serious level, Lee explores how Jackson's Afro-American roots were important to him, despite his gradually transforming facial features that made him appear more Caucasian.
Several interviewees could not contain their tears as they remembered when they heard of Jackson's passing, and several voiced their conviction at the time that it was not true.
Crow was among those who struggled to explain Jackson's talent. 'The molecules changed in the room,' she said of his presence. 'He changed the molecules.'
Near the end of Bad 25 there is a memorable live performance of 'Man in the Mirror', after which Jackson holds his hands aloft to form the shape of a cross.
'Michael's not here to answer that. I cannot say he's trying to be Jesus Christ,' Lee said in answer to a reporter's question.
'I'm not going to say that Michael was saying he was Jesus Christ, but you look at that performance - he's somewhere else. That's one of the greatest performances ever. You see the way Michael's singing that song, he is not of this world.'
(Editing by Steve Addison)
This article is brought to you by EMPLOYEE VACATION CALENDAR.
Shia LaBeouf shifts movie gears, goes "Lawless"
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - After a string of big-budget Hollywood flicks like the 'Transformers' and 'Indiana Jones' franchise films, actor Shia LaBeouf is downsizing his career and taking on new, dramatic challenges in movies such as 'Lawless'.
The film, which opened Wednesday to mixed reviews, is based on author Matt Bondurant's 'The Wettest County in the World,' a fictional account of his family in Prohibition-era Virginia, and LaBeouf said the tale touched him due to his own upbringing.
'In terms of the character's emotions, the things he goes through, where he winds up, what he's dealing with, the family elements, the alpha male fight, it was all things that resonate with me heavily,' LaBeouf told Reuters.
'Lawless' tells of the bootlegging Bondurant brothers, played in the film by Jason Clarke, Tom Hardy and LaBeouf. When Special Deputy Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce) arrives from Chicago, he threatens the brothers' moonshine business.
Complicating matters are shifting family dynamics in which LaBeouf's character Jack, the youngest Bondurant, wants to prove to his older brothers he can run the business.
Against their wishes, Jack starts his own bootlegging operation, deals with a big city gangster (Gary Oldman) and flaunts his new, expensive suits and cars, hoping to impress a girl in town played by Mia Wasikowska.
For Jack, his older brothers are at times frustrating - one is an alcoholic suffering post traumatic stress following World War I and the other puts on an air of invincibility.
In real life, LaBeouf's own father is a Vietnam veteran who struggled with alcohol abuse, and the actor said the family dynamics in the film 'touched on a lot of aspects of my life'.
'Even as an only child, who grew up with a father who's very alpha male, who I was competitive with, who was a criminal...I looked at (the script) and thought, man, I could really bring these moments to light.'
The movie opened ahead of the long Labor Day holiday weekend in the United States, and has earned a 58.3 percent positive rating among reviews scored by moviereviewintelligence.com.
USA Today critic Claudia Puig wrote that the film had 'anachronistic moments, stilted dialogue and formulaic characters (that) hamper this intermittently involving tale.'
LABEOUF'S DRAMATIC TURN
After starring in films that were big on special effects but low on character, such as the blockbuster 'Transformers' flicks, the 26-year-old LaBeouf will likely see many more thoughtful, critical looks at his work in dramatic roles.
He has taken roles in a string of lower-profile movies, starting with 'Lawless' and including upcoming 'The Company You Keep' and 'The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman'.
LaBeouf, who began acting as a teenager, said the change in direction was a factor of his current age and stage in life. He is growing up, maturing and moving away from special effects-filled flicks with robots and computer generated images.
'Ask an 18-year-old what he wants to do: 'You want to do 'Transformers' or (a movie with Danish avant garde filmmaker) Lars von Trier?' He's shipping out for 'Transformers,'' said LaBeouf. 'Ask a 26-year-old what he wants to do - 'Transformers' or Lars Von Trier - he's shipping out for Von Trier.'
True to his statement, LaBeouf is currently in Germany shooting Von Trier's 'The Nymphomaniac' also starring Charlotte Gainsbourg and Stellan Skarsgard.
'The movie is about the intricacies of love and sex, what they both mean and can you remove one from the other,' said LaBeouf. 'It's just asking a lot of big questions.'
He recently told MTV that the script for 'Nymphomanic' requires him to perform real sex acts. It comes on the heels of his nude appearance in a music video for folk band Sigur Ros, and he recently admitted taking the hallucinogen LSD to prepare for his role in 'Charlie Countryman'.
'My sensibilities are changing as I'm changing,' he said.
(Reporting By Zorianna Kit; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Andrew Hay)
This news article is brought to you by SPACE AND ASTRONOMY NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
The film, which opened Wednesday to mixed reviews, is based on author Matt Bondurant's 'The Wettest County in the World,' a fictional account of his family in Prohibition-era Virginia, and LaBeouf said the tale touched him due to his own upbringing.
'In terms of the character's emotions, the things he goes through, where he winds up, what he's dealing with, the family elements, the alpha male fight, it was all things that resonate with me heavily,' LaBeouf told Reuters.
'Lawless' tells of the bootlegging Bondurant brothers, played in the film by Jason Clarke, Tom Hardy and LaBeouf. When Special Deputy Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce) arrives from Chicago, he threatens the brothers' moonshine business.
Complicating matters are shifting family dynamics in which LaBeouf's character Jack, the youngest Bondurant, wants to prove to his older brothers he can run the business.
Against their wishes, Jack starts his own bootlegging operation, deals with a big city gangster (Gary Oldman) and flaunts his new, expensive suits and cars, hoping to impress a girl in town played by Mia Wasikowska.
For Jack, his older brothers are at times frustrating - one is an alcoholic suffering post traumatic stress following World War I and the other puts on an air of invincibility.
In real life, LaBeouf's own father is a Vietnam veteran who struggled with alcohol abuse, and the actor said the family dynamics in the film 'touched on a lot of aspects of my life'.
'Even as an only child, who grew up with a father who's very alpha male, who I was competitive with, who was a criminal...I looked at (the script) and thought, man, I could really bring these moments to light.'
The movie opened ahead of the long Labor Day holiday weekend in the United States, and has earned a 58.3 percent positive rating among reviews scored by moviereviewintelligence.com.
USA Today critic Claudia Puig wrote that the film had 'anachronistic moments, stilted dialogue and formulaic characters (that) hamper this intermittently involving tale.'
LABEOUF'S DRAMATIC TURN
After starring in films that were big on special effects but low on character, such as the blockbuster 'Transformers' flicks, the 26-year-old LaBeouf will likely see many more thoughtful, critical looks at his work in dramatic roles.
He has taken roles in a string of lower-profile movies, starting with 'Lawless' and including upcoming 'The Company You Keep' and 'The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman'.
LaBeouf, who began acting as a teenager, said the change in direction was a factor of his current age and stage in life. He is growing up, maturing and moving away from special effects-filled flicks with robots and computer generated images.
'Ask an 18-year-old what he wants to do: 'You want to do 'Transformers' or (a movie with Danish avant garde filmmaker) Lars von Trier?' He's shipping out for 'Transformers,'' said LaBeouf. 'Ask a 26-year-old what he wants to do - 'Transformers' or Lars Von Trier - he's shipping out for Von Trier.'
True to his statement, LaBeouf is currently in Germany shooting Von Trier's 'The Nymphomaniac' also starring Charlotte Gainsbourg and Stellan Skarsgard.
'The movie is about the intricacies of love and sex, what they both mean and can you remove one from the other,' said LaBeouf. 'It's just asking a lot of big questions.'
He recently told MTV that the script for 'Nymphomanic' requires him to perform real sex acts. It comes on the heels of his nude appearance in a music video for folk band Sigur Ros, and he recently admitted taking the hallucinogen LSD to prepare for his role in 'Charlie Countryman'.
'My sensibilities are changing as I'm changing,' he said.
(Reporting By Zorianna Kit; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Andrew Hay)
This news article is brought to you by SPACE AND ASTRONOMY NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Photo library can license Marilyn Monroe images, court rules
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court has upheld the right of a Marilyn Monroe photo library to license images of the film star taken by a celebrity photographer who was one of her business partners.
Milton H. Greene Archives Inc. has been in a long-running court battle with Anna Strasberg, widow of Monroe's acting coach, Lee Strasberg, and her licensing agent CMG Worldwide, which have controlled use of Monroe's image for years.
In a ruling on Thursday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in California backed a lower court decision that allowed Greene Archives to license its images of Monroe.
Greene was a fashion and celebrity photographer who became friends with Monroe during a photo shoot, and the two formed a film production company. At one point, Monroe lived with Greene and his family at their Connecticut farmhouse, where he produced several photographs of the star. Greene died in 1985.
The legal battle over Greene's images hinged on where Monroe was living at the time of her death on August 5, 1962. The court ruled Monroe resided in New York and therefore she did not have the posthumous right of publicity based on the state's law.
'Because no such right exists under New York law, Monroe LLC did not inherit it ... and cannot enforce it against Milton Greene or others similarly situated,' Judge Kim McClane Wardlaw wrote for the court.
An attorney for Strasberg had no comment, and an attorney for Milton H. Greene Archives could not immediately be reached.
Interest in Monroe remains high. She is the subject of NBC television drama 'Smash,' a story about the making of a Broadway musical about the blonde bombshell, and last year's film, 'My Week with Marilyn.' Several books about her were released around the anniversary of her death.
Wardlaw wrote that the lengthy dispute over Monroe's persona 'has ended in exactly the way that Monroe herself predicted more that 50 years ago,' pointing to Monroe's quote: 'I knew I belonged to the public and to the world, not because I was talented or even beautiful, but because I had never belonged to anything or anyone else.'
(Reporting By Lisa Richwine; Editing by Kenneth Barry)
This news article is brought to you by TAXES BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
Milton H. Greene Archives Inc. has been in a long-running court battle with Anna Strasberg, widow of Monroe's acting coach, Lee Strasberg, and her licensing agent CMG Worldwide, which have controlled use of Monroe's image for years.
In a ruling on Thursday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in California backed a lower court decision that allowed Greene Archives to license its images of Monroe.
Greene was a fashion and celebrity photographer who became friends with Monroe during a photo shoot, and the two formed a film production company. At one point, Monroe lived with Greene and his family at their Connecticut farmhouse, where he produced several photographs of the star. Greene died in 1985.
The legal battle over Greene's images hinged on where Monroe was living at the time of her death on August 5, 1962. The court ruled Monroe resided in New York and therefore she did not have the posthumous right of publicity based on the state's law.
'Because no such right exists under New York law, Monroe LLC did not inherit it ... and cannot enforce it against Milton Greene or others similarly situated,' Judge Kim McClane Wardlaw wrote for the court.
An attorney for Strasberg had no comment, and an attorney for Milton H. Greene Archives could not immediately be reached.
Interest in Monroe remains high. She is the subject of NBC television drama 'Smash,' a story about the making of a Broadway musical about the blonde bombshell, and last year's film, 'My Week with Marilyn.' Several books about her were released around the anniversary of her death.
Wardlaw wrote that the lengthy dispute over Monroe's persona 'has ended in exactly the way that Monroe herself predicted more that 50 years ago,' pointing to Monroe's quote: 'I knew I belonged to the public and to the world, not because I was talented or even beautiful, but because I had never belonged to anything or anyone else.'
(Reporting By Lisa Richwine; Editing by Kenneth Barry)
This news article is brought to you by TAXES BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
"Lawless" debuts to $1.1 million for Weinstein Co
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Getting a head start on the holiday weekend, the Weinstein Company's bootlegger drama 'Lawless' opened with $1.1 million Wednesday.
The R-rated drama, which debuted in 2,565 theaters, is looking at a six-day total of between $10 million and $12 million over the Labor Day weekend.
Shia LeBeouf, Tom Hardy and Jessica Chastain star, and John Hillcoat ('The Road') directs.
Weinstein Co. acquired the Prohibition tale in 2011. It was in competition at Cannes earlier this year.
Rocker Nick Cave wrote the screenplay and composed the film's score, which includes several new songs sung by, among others, Emmylou Harris and Ralph Stanley. Gary Oldman, Mia Wasikowska and Guy Pearce co-star.
This article is brought to you by ALTIMA.
The R-rated drama, which debuted in 2,565 theaters, is looking at a six-day total of between $10 million and $12 million over the Labor Day weekend.
Shia LeBeouf, Tom Hardy and Jessica Chastain star, and John Hillcoat ('The Road') directs.
Weinstein Co. acquired the Prohibition tale in 2011. It was in competition at Cannes earlier this year.
Rocker Nick Cave wrote the screenplay and composed the film's score, which includes several new songs sung by, among others, Emmylou Harris and Ralph Stanley. Gary Oldman, Mia Wasikowska and Guy Pearce co-star.
This article is brought to you by ALTIMA.
"Great Expectations" rounds off London film festival
LONDON (Reuters) - An all-star film adaptation of Dickens' classic novel 'Great Expectations' will round off the London film festival this year, marking the 200th anniversary of the author's birth, organizers said on Thursday.
Starring Ralph Fiennes as Magwitch and Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham, the film will see Jeremy Irvine play Pip, an orphan who is catapulted out of poverty and transformed into a gentleman by a mysterious benefactor.
Directed by Mike Newell and scripted by 'One Day' author David Nicholls, the film will make its European premiere at the festival on October 21, before hitting British theatres on November 30.
Both Fiennes and Bonham Carter, whose partner Tim Burton will kick off the festival with his animated film 'Frankenweenie', are expected to attend.
'I'm proud that our new version of Great Expectations should be presented this year, the bi-centenary of Dickens' birth,' said Newell, who directed 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'.
'I've tried to make a film that is true to the theatrical vividness, energetic characters and high color that he is loved for, while mining the deep seams of emotional cruelty and madness that underlie one of Dickens' darkest-shadowed stories,' Newell said.
This year's British Film Institute (BFI) London film festival runs from October 10-21, and the full lineup will be announced on September 5.
(Reporting by Alice Baghdjian; Editing by Steve Addison)
This article is brought to you by ONLINE DATING.
Starring Ralph Fiennes as Magwitch and Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham, the film will see Jeremy Irvine play Pip, an orphan who is catapulted out of poverty and transformed into a gentleman by a mysterious benefactor.
Directed by Mike Newell and scripted by 'One Day' author David Nicholls, the film will make its European premiere at the festival on October 21, before hitting British theatres on November 30.
Both Fiennes and Bonham Carter, whose partner Tim Burton will kick off the festival with his animated film 'Frankenweenie', are expected to attend.
'I'm proud that our new version of Great Expectations should be presented this year, the bi-centenary of Dickens' birth,' said Newell, who directed 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'.
'I've tried to make a film that is true to the theatrical vividness, energetic characters and high color that he is loved for, while mining the deep seams of emotional cruelty and madness that underlie one of Dickens' darkest-shadowed stories,' Newell said.
This year's British Film Institute (BFI) London film festival runs from October 10-21, and the full lineup will be announced on September 5.
(Reporting by Alice Baghdjian; Editing by Steve Addison)
This article is brought to you by ONLINE DATING.
Thrills, chills, dramatic films dominate fall season
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Fall brings colder weather across the Northern Hemisphere and Hollywood's major studios will usher into theaters cool action thrillers, chilly horror movies and some dramatic Oscar hopefuls looking for a head start on awards season.
From new James Bond flick 'Skyfall' to another scary 'Paranormal' installment and the long-awaited Paul Thomas Anderson Scientology drama, 'The Master,' there is plenty for cinephiles to dissect in the season, which begins after this weekend's U.S. Labor Day holiday and runs roughly to Thanksgiving.
The pace of movies is slower than the U.S. summer when the studios bring out blockbusters like 'The Avengers' and 'The Dark Knight Rises' weekly. But don't let the pace fool you; fall 2012 is neither short on quality nor quantity, experts say.
'Early fall can often be a little bit of a lull at the movies, but it can also be a time when real quality films can take advantage of a quiet marketplace and really stand out,' Entertainment Weekly writer Dave Karger said.
The season kicks into high gear on September 21, with Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena playing Los Angeles police battling a ruthless drug cartel in 'End of Watch,' from writer/director David Ayer.
Ayer, whose previous LA cop flick, 'Training Day,' earned Denzel Washington a best actor Oscar, said the film shows 'what it's like to work the streets in a way very few films have ever shown,' pulling back the curtain on the cops' lives, personal and professional.
'It's not your typical Hollywood movie. It's very grounded, very real - almost a pseudo documentary. You'll walk out of this movie wanting to hug a cop,' he said.
Guns continue to blaze on September 28 when Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt play the same person - only 30-years apart - in the time-travel flick 'Looper' about assassins killing targets sent back from the future.
Liam Neeson is back as the CIA-trained, overly protective father in 'Taken 2' (October 5) when the kidnappers who swiped his daughter in the first 'Taken' movie return for revenge.
The best-selling Alex Cross crime novels get a reboot with Tyler Perry taking the lead role previously inhabited by Morgan Freeman in 'Alex Cross' (Oct 19). This time, the detective psychologist takes on a hitman played by Matthew Fox.
On October 12, crime takes a comedic edge in 'Seven Psychopaths,' about a screenwriter (Colin Farrell) who gets involved in the Los Angeles underworld when his dog-snatching friend (Sam Rockwell) makes the mistake of kidnapping a Shih Tzu belonging to a crime boss (Woody Harrelson).
The season ends with a bang as the highly anticipated 'Skyfall' comes out on November 9, amid a celebration of 50 years of Bond movies. This time around, Daniel Craig takes his third turn as 007 with Oscar-winning filmmaker Sam Mendes at the helm of the movie and Javier Bardem as the villain, Silva.
HALLOWEEN HAUNTS & OSCAR BAIT
Fall is long on horror as the studios play to fears ahead of Halloween. On September 21, Jennifer Lawrence finds herself haunted in 'The House at the End of the Street.' On October 5, a ghostly entity threatens Ethan Hawke and his family in 'Sinister.'
If that's not enough haunted house-themed flicks, the hugely popular franchise 'Paranormal Activity 4' returns on October 19.
For family frights, animated 'Hotel Transylvania' (September 28) stars Adam Sandler as a hotelier to non-humans whose world turns upside down when an overexcited human shows up. And Tim Burton brings his usual ghoulish charm to the screen with the stop-motion animated 'Frankenweenie' (October 5) about a young boy who resurrects his late dog, Sparky. Arf!
Then, there is the Oscar race. In recent years, as Academy Award organizers moved their top film honors up by a month, to February from late March, the studios have been bringing more award hopefuls to theaters in September and October.
Paul Thomas Anderson's 'The Master' is creating Oscar buzz prior to its September 14 release. Set in the 1950s, the movie tells of a damaged alcoholic (Joaquin Phoenix) who is taken under wing by a charismatic leader (Philip Seymour Hoffman) of a spiritual movement not unlike the controversial Church of Scientology.
Also getting attention is 'Argo' (October 12), directed by and starring Ben Affleck. Based on real events, the movie shows a CIA specialist's mission to free six U.S. diplomats in 1979 Iran by posing as a filmmaker and putting them among his bogus crew.
Actor John Hawkes gives a tour-de-force performance in 'The Sessions' (October 26) playing a 38-year-old man who, having spent most of his life in an iron lung, decides to hire a therapeutic sex surrogate (Helen Hunt) to lose his virginity.
But Hawkes will see Oscar competition from Daniel Day Lewis starring as Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg's biopic, 'Lincoln' (November 9).
Fans of the filmmaking Wachowski siblings (Lana and Andy of 'The Matrix' movies) will try to wrap their heads around 'Cloud Atlas' (October 26), starring Tom Hanks and Halle Berry in different roles throughout six interwoven tales.
''Cloud Atlas' is the complete wild card,' said Entertainment Weekly's Karger. 'A two and a half-plus hour movie by the Wachowskis that looks so bizarre. It's probably going to be one of the most polarizing movies of the season.'
Finally, there is sport-themed documentary 'The Other Dream Team' (September 28), chronicling members of the 1992 Lithuanian Olympic basketball team as they go from life behind the Iron Curtain to newfound independence - with financial assistance from the Grateful Dead.
(Reporting By Zorianna Kit; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
(This story corrects names in the fifth and 21st paragraphs and the release date in the final paragraph)
From new James Bond flick 'Skyfall' to another scary 'Paranormal' installment and the long-awaited Paul Thomas Anderson Scientology drama, 'The Master,' there is plenty for cinephiles to dissect in the season, which begins after this weekend's U.S. Labor Day holiday and runs roughly to Thanksgiving.
The pace of movies is slower than the U.S. summer when the studios bring out blockbusters like 'The Avengers' and 'The Dark Knight Rises' weekly. But don't let the pace fool you; fall 2012 is neither short on quality nor quantity, experts say.
'Early fall can often be a little bit of a lull at the movies, but it can also be a time when real quality films can take advantage of a quiet marketplace and really stand out,' Entertainment Weekly writer Dave Karger said.
The season kicks into high gear on September 21, with Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena playing Los Angeles police battling a ruthless drug cartel in 'End of Watch,' from writer/director David Ayer.
Ayer, whose previous LA cop flick, 'Training Day,' earned Denzel Washington a best actor Oscar, said the film shows 'what it's like to work the streets in a way very few films have ever shown,' pulling back the curtain on the cops' lives, personal and professional.
'It's not your typical Hollywood movie. It's very grounded, very real - almost a pseudo documentary. You'll walk out of this movie wanting to hug a cop,' he said.
Guns continue to blaze on September 28 when Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt play the same person - only 30-years apart - in the time-travel flick 'Looper' about assassins killing targets sent back from the future.
Liam Neeson is back as the CIA-trained, overly protective father in 'Taken 2' (October 5) when the kidnappers who swiped his daughter in the first 'Taken' movie return for revenge.
The best-selling Alex Cross crime novels get a reboot with Tyler Perry taking the lead role previously inhabited by Morgan Freeman in 'Alex Cross' (Oct 19). This time, the detective psychologist takes on a hitman played by Matthew Fox.
On October 12, crime takes a comedic edge in 'Seven Psychopaths,' about a screenwriter (Colin Farrell) who gets involved in the Los Angeles underworld when his dog-snatching friend (Sam Rockwell) makes the mistake of kidnapping a Shih Tzu belonging to a crime boss (Woody Harrelson).
The season ends with a bang as the highly anticipated 'Skyfall' comes out on November 9, amid a celebration of 50 years of Bond movies. This time around, Daniel Craig takes his third turn as 007 with Oscar-winning filmmaker Sam Mendes at the helm of the movie and Javier Bardem as the villain, Silva.
HALLOWEEN HAUNTS & OSCAR BAIT
Fall is long on horror as the studios play to fears ahead of Halloween. On September 21, Jennifer Lawrence finds herself haunted in 'The House at the End of the Street.' On October 5, a ghostly entity threatens Ethan Hawke and his family in 'Sinister.'
If that's not enough haunted house-themed flicks, the hugely popular franchise 'Paranormal Activity 4' returns on October 19.
For family frights, animated 'Hotel Transylvania' (September 28) stars Adam Sandler as a hotelier to non-humans whose world turns upside down when an overexcited human shows up. And Tim Burton brings his usual ghoulish charm to the screen with the stop-motion animated 'Frankenweenie' (October 5) about a young boy who resurrects his late dog, Sparky. Arf!
Then, there is the Oscar race. In recent years, as Academy Award organizers moved their top film honors up by a month, to February from late March, the studios have been bringing more award hopefuls to theaters in September and October.
Paul Thomas Anderson's 'The Master' is creating Oscar buzz prior to its September 14 release. Set in the 1950s, the movie tells of a damaged alcoholic (Joaquin Phoenix) who is taken under wing by a charismatic leader (Philip Seymour Hoffman) of a spiritual movement not unlike the controversial Church of Scientology.
Also getting attention is 'Argo' (October 12), directed by and starring Ben Affleck. Based on real events, the movie shows a CIA specialist's mission to free six U.S. diplomats in 1979 Iran by posing as a filmmaker and putting them among his bogus crew.
Actor John Hawkes gives a tour-de-force performance in 'The Sessions' (October 26) playing a 38-year-old man who, having spent most of his life in an iron lung, decides to hire a therapeutic sex surrogate (Helen Hunt) to lose his virginity.
But Hawkes will see Oscar competition from Daniel Day Lewis starring as Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg's biopic, 'Lincoln' (November 9).
Fans of the filmmaking Wachowski siblings (Lana and Andy of 'The Matrix' movies) will try to wrap their heads around 'Cloud Atlas' (October 26), starring Tom Hanks and Halle Berry in different roles throughout six interwoven tales.
''Cloud Atlas' is the complete wild card,' said Entertainment Weekly's Karger. 'A two and a half-plus hour movie by the Wachowskis that looks so bizarre. It's probably going to be one of the most polarizing movies of the season.'
Finally, there is sport-themed documentary 'The Other Dream Team' (September 28), chronicling members of the 1992 Lithuanian Olympic basketball team as they go from life behind the Iron Curtain to newfound independence - with financial assistance from the Grateful Dead.
(Reporting By Zorianna Kit; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
(This story corrects names in the fifth and 21st paragraphs and the release date in the final paragraph)
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Venice opens with 9/11 film, aims to build bridges
VENICE, Italy (Reuters) - The Venice film festival opens on Wednesday with 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist', based on a novel of the same name which traces a young Pakistani's journey from Wall Street high flyer to suspected Islamist radical targeted by American intelligence.
The adaptation of Mohsin Hamid's 2007 novel was directed by Mira Nair, an Indian who lives in New York where she said attitudes towards her and others from Asia quickly changed following the 9/11 attacks.
'Suddenly it became a place where people who look like us became 'the other' and that was painful, and that was also part of the inspiration to make this film,' she told reporters after a press screening of the movie.
'It was a very complicated and painful time,' added Nair, who won the Golden Lion for best picture at the Venice film festival in 2001 with 'Monsoon Wedding.'
The film-maker said she felt well placed to portray the story of Changez, a young Pakistani played by British actor Riz Ahmed who is tipped for the top in the world of high finance before the events of September 2001 turn his world upside down.
Ostracized and drawing suspicion at every turn, he returns to Pakistan to teach in Lahore. There he is approached by a radical Islamist cell that wants him to join its violent campaign against Western interests.
Ahmed, who also starred in the controversial suicide bomber comedy 'Four Lions', said he shared some of Changez's frustrations. 'We are to some extent defined by the labels that are slung around our neck,' he told a news conference.
In a tense interview with an American reporter (Liev Schreiber) that runs throughout the two-hour movie, the viewer is left to guess what path Changez chooses and what, ultimately, the motives of both men are.
Nair told reporters ahead of the evening red carpet premiere which marks the opening of the festival: 'We all know there has been an enormous schism between East and West in this last decade. I sought to bring some sense of bridge-making, some sense of healing, basically some sense of communication.'
Nair has said she took as her starting point the 1966 movie 'The Battle of Algiers', acclaimed for its even-handed treatment of the Algerian war in the 1950s.
LACK OF STARS?
The Reluctant Fundamentalist, which also stars Kate Hudson and Kiefer Sutherland, kicks off the world's oldest film festival, this year celebrating its 80th anniversary.
Alberto Barbera takes over as artistic director after the departure of Marco Mueller, and he will have his work cut out to ensure that Venice remains one of the top three film festivals in the world amid growing competition from Toronto and beyond.
The competition lineup of 18 movies has won early praise from critics, and Venice has also launched a small market where producers and distributors can buy and sell titles and so make the notoriously expensive trip more commercially attractive.
'I think all of us at the Biennale (festival) were aware of the fact that you change or die because the competition with other festivals is too strong,' Barbera told Reuters.
The lack of A-list stars this year is a concern among some festival goers, although Barbera will hope that a new generation of up-and-coming acting talent, including Zac Efron and Selena Gomez, provides the kind of buzz on which festivals thrive.
The older generation will be represented by Robert Redford and Julie Christie, while Rachel McAdams, Philip Seymour Hoffman and the unpredictable Joaquin Phoenix also are expected.
One of the most talked-about movies over the next 11 days is likely to be 'The Master,' Paul Thomas Anderson's story about a religious cult bearing similarities to Scientology.
The 'There Will Be Blood' director has said the role of Lancaster Dodd, played by Hoffman, was partly inspired by L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology.
Elsewhere, there will be plenty of on-screen sex with Brian De Palma's revenge thriller 'Passion' working up an early head of steam through a racy trailer featuring McAdams and Noomi Rapace.
Terrence Malick, back on the European festival circuit a year after 'The Tree of Life' won the Palme d'Or in Cannes, presents 'To the Wonder,' which has been given a film rating restricting it to adults due to scenes of nudity and sex.
Also in a slimmed-down main competition of 18 films is Marco Bellocchio's 'Bella Addormentata' about Eluana Englaro, a woman left in a vegetative state by a car crash, who was at the center of a lengthy right-to-die case that divided opinion in Italy.
(Editing by Steve Addison)
This news article is brought to you by FREE ROMANTIC DATING SITE BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
The adaptation of Mohsin Hamid's 2007 novel was directed by Mira Nair, an Indian who lives in New York where she said attitudes towards her and others from Asia quickly changed following the 9/11 attacks.
'Suddenly it became a place where people who look like us became 'the other' and that was painful, and that was also part of the inspiration to make this film,' she told reporters after a press screening of the movie.
'It was a very complicated and painful time,' added Nair, who won the Golden Lion for best picture at the Venice film festival in 2001 with 'Monsoon Wedding.'
The film-maker said she felt well placed to portray the story of Changez, a young Pakistani played by British actor Riz Ahmed who is tipped for the top in the world of high finance before the events of September 2001 turn his world upside down.
Ostracized and drawing suspicion at every turn, he returns to Pakistan to teach in Lahore. There he is approached by a radical Islamist cell that wants him to join its violent campaign against Western interests.
Ahmed, who also starred in the controversial suicide bomber comedy 'Four Lions', said he shared some of Changez's frustrations. 'We are to some extent defined by the labels that are slung around our neck,' he told a news conference.
In a tense interview with an American reporter (Liev Schreiber) that runs throughout the two-hour movie, the viewer is left to guess what path Changez chooses and what, ultimately, the motives of both men are.
Nair told reporters ahead of the evening red carpet premiere which marks the opening of the festival: 'We all know there has been an enormous schism between East and West in this last decade. I sought to bring some sense of bridge-making, some sense of healing, basically some sense of communication.'
Nair has said she took as her starting point the 1966 movie 'The Battle of Algiers', acclaimed for its even-handed treatment of the Algerian war in the 1950s.
LACK OF STARS?
The Reluctant Fundamentalist, which also stars Kate Hudson and Kiefer Sutherland, kicks off the world's oldest film festival, this year celebrating its 80th anniversary.
Alberto Barbera takes over as artistic director after the departure of Marco Mueller, and he will have his work cut out to ensure that Venice remains one of the top three film festivals in the world amid growing competition from Toronto and beyond.
The competition lineup of 18 movies has won early praise from critics, and Venice has also launched a small market where producers and distributors can buy and sell titles and so make the notoriously expensive trip more commercially attractive.
'I think all of us at the Biennale (festival) were aware of the fact that you change or die because the competition with other festivals is too strong,' Barbera told Reuters.
The lack of A-list stars this year is a concern among some festival goers, although Barbera will hope that a new generation of up-and-coming acting talent, including Zac Efron and Selena Gomez, provides the kind of buzz on which festivals thrive.
The older generation will be represented by Robert Redford and Julie Christie, while Rachel McAdams, Philip Seymour Hoffman and the unpredictable Joaquin Phoenix also are expected.
One of the most talked-about movies over the next 11 days is likely to be 'The Master,' Paul Thomas Anderson's story about a religious cult bearing similarities to Scientology.
The 'There Will Be Blood' director has said the role of Lancaster Dodd, played by Hoffman, was partly inspired by L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology.
Elsewhere, there will be plenty of on-screen sex with Brian De Palma's revenge thriller 'Passion' working up an early head of steam through a racy trailer featuring McAdams and Noomi Rapace.
Terrence Malick, back on the European festival circuit a year after 'The Tree of Life' won the Palme d'Or in Cannes, presents 'To the Wonder,' which has been given a film rating restricting it to adults due to scenes of nudity and sex.
Also in a slimmed-down main competition of 18 films is Marco Bellocchio's 'Bella Addormentata' about Eluana Englaro, a woman left in a vegetative state by a car crash, who was at the center of a lengthy right-to-die case that divided opinion in Italy.
(Editing by Steve Addison)
This news article is brought to you by FREE ROMANTIC DATING SITE BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
A Minute With: Sam Raimi's truly haunting "Possession"
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Film director and producer Sam Raimi, for the first time in a long career of spooking audiences with his horror films, has turned to real-life events for supernatural thriller 'The Possession,' opening in the United States on Friday.
Raimi, whose credits range from directing 2002's 'Spider-Man' to producing horror flicks such as 'The Grudge' and 'The Grudge 2,' produces 'The Possession.' The movie, directed by Ole Bornedal, is inspired by a newspaper account of a family that fights a demon known as a Dibbuk in ancient Yiddish folklore.
The spirit, which resides in a Dibbuk box, is said to possesses the bodies of people with the intention of devouring them. In 'The Possession,' the Dibbuk enters the body of a young woman and her parents must figure out how to stop it.
Raimi spoke with Reuters about his new movie.
Q: Is it true that you got the idea for this film from a story you read in the Los Angeles Times?
A: 'Yes, my partner and I read the article entitled 'A jinx in a box?' by Leslie Gornstein about this Dibbuk box that brought horror to anyone in possession of it. Then I researched more online and thought that this could be a great script. There were so many stories of different people and their experiences. We decided to focus on one family that encountered the box. This newly divorced couple and how they have to put aside any animosity to overcome this evil. That fascinated me.'
Q: I read that Ole Bornedal went a few unconventional routes during filming -- using real moths in one pivotal scene and casting reggae artist Matisyahu. Did you support the decisions?
A: 'Yes, absolutely. He (Matisyahu) is not just an unusual choice for shock value, I think he's really right for the film and his performance was exceptionally true and original. Ole wanted to update the traditional view of the wise, old rabbi and Matisyahu goes against all expectations. Yet you believe in his faith and he made the idea of an exorcist new to me.'
Q: As your first horror film based on actual events, was there anything more creepy about making 'The Possession'?
A: 'It was really spooky to work on! This, however, also presented a whole set of problems unto itself.'
Q: Such as?
A: 'We had to secure a lot of rights to the original L.A. Times article, to the various people involved. When you're writing a screenplay based on real events, there are times when there isn't a good dramatic structure and that's what happened here...So, we ended up dropping some of the actual events to drive the story forward and that's why it's based on actual events. Thankfully, we had fantastic writers in Juliet Snowden and Stiles White. They really created these original characters that you connect with.'
Q: What makes a good horror film in your opinion?
A: 'The needs of a horror film are the same needs as in any dramatic film. The audience has to connect. You have to have a solid main character that you can really understand and relate to. You have to know what they want. There has to be a set of believable obstacles that you watch them overcome, and there has to be an interesting resolution.'
Q: You've focused alot on horror films throughout your career. Why?
A: 'It's funny. I never liked horror films as a kid! I was a coward and they scared me (he laughs). But, at the time that I was a youngster trying to break into the business there was no indie (independent film) scene. There was no Sundance Channel. The only way to break in at that time was to make a horror film for a couple hundred grand. I literally started in horror just to break into the business!'
Q: Do you have a favorite from your body of work?
A: 'I don't actually. They're like children to me. I love them all equally.'
Q: What's new on the Sam Raimi front?
A: 'I'm currently working on a new supernatural story with my brother Ivan. We've just finished the treatment but I can't tell you anything about it just yet.'
(Editing By Bob Tourtellotte and David Gregorio)
This news article is brought to you by PARENTING KIDS - where latest news are our top priority.
Raimi, whose credits range from directing 2002's 'Spider-Man' to producing horror flicks such as 'The Grudge' and 'The Grudge 2,' produces 'The Possession.' The movie, directed by Ole Bornedal, is inspired by a newspaper account of a family that fights a demon known as a Dibbuk in ancient Yiddish folklore.
The spirit, which resides in a Dibbuk box, is said to possesses the bodies of people with the intention of devouring them. In 'The Possession,' the Dibbuk enters the body of a young woman and her parents must figure out how to stop it.
Raimi spoke with Reuters about his new movie.
Q: Is it true that you got the idea for this film from a story you read in the Los Angeles Times?
A: 'Yes, my partner and I read the article entitled 'A jinx in a box?' by Leslie Gornstein about this Dibbuk box that brought horror to anyone in possession of it. Then I researched more online and thought that this could be a great script. There were so many stories of different people and their experiences. We decided to focus on one family that encountered the box. This newly divorced couple and how they have to put aside any animosity to overcome this evil. That fascinated me.'
Q: I read that Ole Bornedal went a few unconventional routes during filming -- using real moths in one pivotal scene and casting reggae artist Matisyahu. Did you support the decisions?
A: 'Yes, absolutely. He (Matisyahu) is not just an unusual choice for shock value, I think he's really right for the film and his performance was exceptionally true and original. Ole wanted to update the traditional view of the wise, old rabbi and Matisyahu goes against all expectations. Yet you believe in his faith and he made the idea of an exorcist new to me.'
Q: As your first horror film based on actual events, was there anything more creepy about making 'The Possession'?
A: 'It was really spooky to work on! This, however, also presented a whole set of problems unto itself.'
Q: Such as?
A: 'We had to secure a lot of rights to the original L.A. Times article, to the various people involved. When you're writing a screenplay based on real events, there are times when there isn't a good dramatic structure and that's what happened here...So, we ended up dropping some of the actual events to drive the story forward and that's why it's based on actual events. Thankfully, we had fantastic writers in Juliet Snowden and Stiles White. They really created these original characters that you connect with.'
Q: What makes a good horror film in your opinion?
A: 'The needs of a horror film are the same needs as in any dramatic film. The audience has to connect. You have to have a solid main character that you can really understand and relate to. You have to know what they want. There has to be a set of believable obstacles that you watch them overcome, and there has to be an interesting resolution.'
Q: You've focused alot on horror films throughout your career. Why?
A: 'It's funny. I never liked horror films as a kid! I was a coward and they scared me (he laughs). But, at the time that I was a youngster trying to break into the business there was no indie (independent film) scene. There was no Sundance Channel. The only way to break in at that time was to make a horror film for a couple hundred grand. I literally started in horror just to break into the business!'
Q: Do you have a favorite from your body of work?
A: 'I don't actually. They're like children to me. I love them all equally.'
Q: What's new on the Sam Raimi front?
A: 'I'm currently working on a new supernatural story with my brother Ivan. We've just finished the treatment but I can't tell you anything about it just yet.'
(Editing By Bob Tourtellotte and David Gregorio)
This news article is brought to you by PARENTING KIDS - where latest news are our top priority.
Religion, 9/11 grab spotlight as Venice film fest opens
VENICE (Reuters) - Politics, religion and personal crisis combine in 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist,' the opening movie at this year's Venice film festival, which examines what the 9/11 attacks mean for a young Asian man destined for a bright future on Wall Street.
Based on the novel by Pakistan-born writer Mohsin Hamid, it is directed by Indian Mira Nair, one of a large number of female filmmakers in Venice this year and a winner of the festival's coveted Golden Lion for best film with 2001's 'Monsoon Wedding.'
'The Reluctant Fundamentalist,' which has its red carpet world premiere on Wednesday to launch the 2012 festival, is not eligible for awards because it screens outside the competition.
But organizers are hoping its themes of faith, alienation and radicalism will provide a provocative start to 11 days of films, interviews, press conferences, photo shoots and late-night parties on the Lido island, which is part of Venice.
''The Reluctant Fundamentalist' gave me the platform to create a dialogue between the subcontinent and the West, over a schism that becomes more and more pronounced each day,' Nair said of her new film.
She called it 'a story about conflicting ideologies, instead of competing fists, where perception and suspicion have the power to determine life or death.'
Venice, the world's oldest film festival, celebrates its 80th anniversary this year and welcomes back artistic director Alberto Barbera for another stint at the helm.
He takes over from the respected outgoing director Marco Mueller, and will have his work cut out to ensure that Venice remains one of the top three film festivals in the world amid growing competition from Toronto and beyond.
His competition lineup of 18 movies has won early praise from critics, and Venice has launched a small market to make the notoriously expensive trip to Venice more commercially attractive to movie studio bosses.
'I think all of us at the Biennale (festival) were aware of the fact that you change or die because the competition with other festivals is too strong,' Barbera told Reuters. 'They invested a lot in the last decade to renovate the structure of the festival, the scope of the festival and make sure Venice remained the same as it was 20 years ago.'
LACK OF STARS?
The lack of A-list stars this year is a concern among some festivalgoers, although Barbera will hope that a new generation of up-and-coming acting talent, including Zac Efron, Shia LaBeouf and Selena Gomez, provides the kind of buzz on which festivals thrive.
The older generation will be represented by Robert Redford and Julie Christie, while Rachel McAdams, Philip Seymour Hoffman and the unpredictable Joaquin Phoenix also are expected.
One of the most talked-about movies this year is likely to be 'The Master,' Paul Thomas Anderson's story about a religious cult bearing similarities to Scientology.
The 'There Will Be Blood' director has said the role of Lancaster Dodd, played by Hoffman, was partly inspired by L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology.
The movie's distributor, The Weinstein Company, features a news report on its website calling 'The Master' a 'Scientology-tinged religious drama'.
Yet both Anderson and company chief Harvey Weinstein have played down parallels with the self-described religion that counts Tom Cruise and John Travolta among its followers but has been cast by opponents as a cult that harasses people who seek to quit and coerces followers to think like they do.
Elsewhere, there will be plenty of on-screen sex with Brian De Palma's revenge thriller 'Passion' working up an early head of steam through a racy trailer featuring McAdams and Noomi Rapace.
Terrence Malick, back on the European festival circuit a year after 'The Tree of Life' won the Palme d'Or in Cannes, presents 'To the Wonder,' which has been given a film rating restricting it to adults due to scenes of nudity and sex.
Also in a slimmed-down main competition of 18 films is Marco Bellocchio's 'Bella Addormentata' about Eluana Englaro, a woman left in a vegetative state by a car crash, who was at the center of a lengthy right-to-die case that divided opinion in Italy.
'Collateral' director Michael Mann leads the jury that decides who wins the Golden Lion. Last year the prize went to 'Faust' by Russia's Alexander Sokurov.
Out of competition, Redford arrives with political action thriller 'The Company You Keep,' while Saudi Arabia's Haifaa al-Mansour says her movie 'Wadjda,' in the 'Orizzonti' section, is the first feature to be shot entirely in the Kingdom.
(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
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Based on the novel by Pakistan-born writer Mohsin Hamid, it is directed by Indian Mira Nair, one of a large number of female filmmakers in Venice this year and a winner of the festival's coveted Golden Lion for best film with 2001's 'Monsoon Wedding.'
'The Reluctant Fundamentalist,' which has its red carpet world premiere on Wednesday to launch the 2012 festival, is not eligible for awards because it screens outside the competition.
But organizers are hoping its themes of faith, alienation and radicalism will provide a provocative start to 11 days of films, interviews, press conferences, photo shoots and late-night parties on the Lido island, which is part of Venice.
''The Reluctant Fundamentalist' gave me the platform to create a dialogue between the subcontinent and the West, over a schism that becomes more and more pronounced each day,' Nair said of her new film.
She called it 'a story about conflicting ideologies, instead of competing fists, where perception and suspicion have the power to determine life or death.'
Venice, the world's oldest film festival, celebrates its 80th anniversary this year and welcomes back artistic director Alberto Barbera for another stint at the helm.
He takes over from the respected outgoing director Marco Mueller, and will have his work cut out to ensure that Venice remains one of the top three film festivals in the world amid growing competition from Toronto and beyond.
His competition lineup of 18 movies has won early praise from critics, and Venice has launched a small market to make the notoriously expensive trip to Venice more commercially attractive to movie studio bosses.
'I think all of us at the Biennale (festival) were aware of the fact that you change or die because the competition with other festivals is too strong,' Barbera told Reuters. 'They invested a lot in the last decade to renovate the structure of the festival, the scope of the festival and make sure Venice remained the same as it was 20 years ago.'
LACK OF STARS?
The lack of A-list stars this year is a concern among some festivalgoers, although Barbera will hope that a new generation of up-and-coming acting talent, including Zac Efron, Shia LaBeouf and Selena Gomez, provides the kind of buzz on which festivals thrive.
The older generation will be represented by Robert Redford and Julie Christie, while Rachel McAdams, Philip Seymour Hoffman and the unpredictable Joaquin Phoenix also are expected.
One of the most talked-about movies this year is likely to be 'The Master,' Paul Thomas Anderson's story about a religious cult bearing similarities to Scientology.
The 'There Will Be Blood' director has said the role of Lancaster Dodd, played by Hoffman, was partly inspired by L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology.
The movie's distributor, The Weinstein Company, features a news report on its website calling 'The Master' a 'Scientology-tinged religious drama'.
Yet both Anderson and company chief Harvey Weinstein have played down parallels with the self-described religion that counts Tom Cruise and John Travolta among its followers but has been cast by opponents as a cult that harasses people who seek to quit and coerces followers to think like they do.
Elsewhere, there will be plenty of on-screen sex with Brian De Palma's revenge thriller 'Passion' working up an early head of steam through a racy trailer featuring McAdams and Noomi Rapace.
Terrence Malick, back on the European festival circuit a year after 'The Tree of Life' won the Palme d'Or in Cannes, presents 'To the Wonder,' which has been given a film rating restricting it to adults due to scenes of nudity and sex.
Also in a slimmed-down main competition of 18 films is Marco Bellocchio's 'Bella Addormentata' about Eluana Englaro, a woman left in a vegetative state by a car crash, who was at the center of a lengthy right-to-die case that divided opinion in Italy.
'Collateral' director Michael Mann leads the jury that decides who wins the Golden Lion. Last year the prize went to 'Faust' by Russia's Alexander Sokurov.
Out of competition, Redford arrives with political action thriller 'The Company You Keep,' while Saudi Arabia's Haifaa al-Mansour says her movie 'Wadjda,' in the 'Orizzonti' section, is the first feature to be shot entirely in the Kingdom.
(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
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Tuesday, August 28, 2012
"Amazing Spider-Man" beats up "Dark Knight Rises" in China
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Spider-Man can beat up Batman - at least in the China.
In a head-to-head showdown there Monday, 'Amazing Spider-Man' debuted to $5.4 million, while 'Dark Knight Rises' made $4.5 million in its bow.
Sony's 'Amazing Spider-Man' was on 2,515 locations, many of them 3D, and benefited from the premium pricing and its running time, which is shorter than 'Dark Knight Rises' and allowed more showings. The China debut pushed 'Amazing Spider-Man' past the $700 million mark in worldwide grosses.
It was the best non-3D opening in China ever for Warner Bros., topping all the Harry Potter films except for the 3D finale and 'Inception,' which took in $1.7 million in 2010. 'Dark Knight Rises' was in 2,400 sites. Imax screens brought in $516,000.
The double booking is in part an attempt by China Film Group, which oversees movie distribution in that country, to limit the impact of U.S. films on the domestic box office. Warner Bros. tried unsuccessfully to negotiate for another release date.
This is the second high-profile showdown of the summer between American films in China. In late July, Fox's 'Ice Age: Continental Drift' swamped Universal's 'The Lorax' in a battle of animated family films.
The fourth 'Ice Age' film grossed $15.7 million, while 'The Lorax' took in only $964,000. 'Ice Age' was in 3,500 theaters, compared with just 1,060 for 'The Lorax.'
China is near the end of the overseas road for both 'Amazing Spider-Man' and 'Dark Knight Rises.'
'Amazing Spider-Man' has taken in $439 million abroad since opening on July 3 and has a worldwide gross of $703 million.
That's below the total rung up by the previous films in the franchise, but it still has to be seen as a successful reboot for a series that has taken in $3.1 billion since the original bowed in 2002.
'Dark Knight,' which will open in Italy on Wednesday, has made $524 million overseas. Coupled with its $422.3 million domestic total, its worldwide gross is $946.3 million.
'Dark Knight Rises' is on pace to become the second film this year and the 13th film ever to pass the $1 billion mark in worldwide grosses.
Disney and Marvel's 'The Avengers' joined the club earlier this summer and is No. 3 with $1.49 billion. It is behind two James Cameron movies, 2001's 'Titanic' at $2.18 billion and 2009's 'Avatar,' at $2.78 billion.
In April, 'Titanic 3D' posted the biggest box-office opening ever in China, with a $58 million weekend. That topped the previous high set last year, when 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' opened to $55 million.
Fox's Ridley Scott-directed science-fiction movie 'Prometheus' is set to open in China on September 3.
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In a head-to-head showdown there Monday, 'Amazing Spider-Man' debuted to $5.4 million, while 'Dark Knight Rises' made $4.5 million in its bow.
Sony's 'Amazing Spider-Man' was on 2,515 locations, many of them 3D, and benefited from the premium pricing and its running time, which is shorter than 'Dark Knight Rises' and allowed more showings. The China debut pushed 'Amazing Spider-Man' past the $700 million mark in worldwide grosses.
It was the best non-3D opening in China ever for Warner Bros., topping all the Harry Potter films except for the 3D finale and 'Inception,' which took in $1.7 million in 2010. 'Dark Knight Rises' was in 2,400 sites. Imax screens brought in $516,000.
The double booking is in part an attempt by China Film Group, which oversees movie distribution in that country, to limit the impact of U.S. films on the domestic box office. Warner Bros. tried unsuccessfully to negotiate for another release date.
This is the second high-profile showdown of the summer between American films in China. In late July, Fox's 'Ice Age: Continental Drift' swamped Universal's 'The Lorax' in a battle of animated family films.
The fourth 'Ice Age' film grossed $15.7 million, while 'The Lorax' took in only $964,000. 'Ice Age' was in 3,500 theaters, compared with just 1,060 for 'The Lorax.'
China is near the end of the overseas road for both 'Amazing Spider-Man' and 'Dark Knight Rises.'
'Amazing Spider-Man' has taken in $439 million abroad since opening on July 3 and has a worldwide gross of $703 million.
That's below the total rung up by the previous films in the franchise, but it still has to be seen as a successful reboot for a series that has taken in $3.1 billion since the original bowed in 2002.
'Dark Knight,' which will open in Italy on Wednesday, has made $524 million overseas. Coupled with its $422.3 million domestic total, its worldwide gross is $946.3 million.
'Dark Knight Rises' is on pace to become the second film this year and the 13th film ever to pass the $1 billion mark in worldwide grosses.
Disney and Marvel's 'The Avengers' joined the club earlier this summer and is No. 3 with $1.49 billion. It is behind two James Cameron movies, 2001's 'Titanic' at $2.18 billion and 2009's 'Avatar,' at $2.78 billion.
In April, 'Titanic 3D' posted the biggest box-office opening ever in China, with a $58 million weekend. That topped the previous high set last year, when 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' opened to $55 million.
Fox's Ridley Scott-directed science-fiction movie 'Prometheus' is set to open in China on September 3.
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Josh Holloway in talks to join cast of "Ten"
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Josh Holloway is in negotiations to join the cast of David Ayer's action-thriller 'Ten.' He would join Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sam Worthington in the film, which is being produced by QED International and distributed in the U.S. by Open Road.
The film is loosely based in the Agatha Christie novel 'Ten Little Indians.' Skip Woods ('Swordfish,' 'The A-Team') wrote the adaptation, which follows a task force that robs a drug cartel. Holloway would play one of the members of the cartel.
The film will also star Malin Akerman, Terrence Howard, Mireille Enos, Joe Manganiello, Olivia Williams, Max Martini and Dawn Olivieri.
QED is producing with Roth Films, and Albert Ruddy. The film is due to start shooting in October.
Holloway's recent films include 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' and Robert Luketic's thriller 'Paranoia.'
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The film is loosely based in the Agatha Christie novel 'Ten Little Indians.' Skip Woods ('Swordfish,' 'The A-Team') wrote the adaptation, which follows a task force that robs a drug cartel. Holloway would play one of the members of the cartel.
The film will also star Malin Akerman, Terrence Howard, Mireille Enos, Joe Manganiello, Olivia Williams, Max Martini and Dawn Olivieri.
QED is producing with Roth Films, and Albert Ruddy. The film is due to start shooting in October.
Holloway's recent films include 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' and Robert Luketic's thriller 'Paranoia.'
This news article is brought to you by SPACE AND ASTRONOMY NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Summer movie misfires drag on 2012 U.S., Canadian box office
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Strong performances from superheroes and a talking teddy bear won't save the summer box office.
'The Avengers' brought in big bucks on the big screen, and raunchy comedy 'Ted' broke out as a surprise hit. But alongside the summer successes came a number of flops. After six consecutive increases, summer ticket sales in the United States and Canada are running 5 percent behind last year's record, according to the box office division of Hollywood.com.
The recent slide dragged down a year that raced to a fast start and had studio executives salivating over the prospects of even bigger bonanza during the summer, a season that accounts for 40 percent of yearly box office.
This year, it was a summer of extremes. Big blockbusters such as the Batman film 'The Dark Knight Rises' performed well while films such as the Adam Sandler comedy 'That's My Boy' did not match industry expectations.
Despite the summer results, studio executives stressed, domestic box office sales since January are higher than at the same point a year ago.
Summer sales suffered from competition from the Olympics, which drew record TV ratings, and nervousness after a mass killing at a 'Dark Knight Rises' premiere in Colorado, studio executives and industry analysts said.
Domestic receipts for 'Dark Knight Rises' reached $422 million through Sunday, making it the year's No. 2 film behind 'Avengers.' 'It's a strong result given the circumstances,' said Jeff Goldstein, executive vice president of theatrical distribution for Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc.
But with just one summer movie weekend remaining, overall domestic sales will fail to pull even with last year's $4.4 billion record, according to Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box office division of Hollywood.com. As of Sunday, the summer tally stood at $4.0 billion. The last time summer sales decreased from one year to the next was from 2004 to 2005.
'We have seen most films weaker than expected,' said Tony Wible, industry analyst for Janney Montgomery Scott. 'A fewer number of films accounted for the upside.'
Early in the year, movies such as Universal's Denzel Washington thriller 'Safe House' and Sony's Channing Tatum romance 'The Vow' blew past their modest forecasts. 'The Hunger Games,' from Lions Gate Entertainment, exploded as Hollywood's next big franchise.
Through April 30, North American (U.S. and Canadian) sales towered 14 percent above year-earlier levels, according to Hollywood.com.
The summer movie season, measured by Hollywood from May through Labor Day in September, kicked off with a record-breaking $207 million opening weekend for Walt Disney Co's superhero mash-up 'Avengers.'
But after a string of films like Universal's big-budget 'Battleship' and Warner Bros.' horror film 'Dark Shadows' failed to meet industry forecasts, domestic year-to-date sales were just 4 percent above 2011 at $7.4 billion, Hollywood.com figures show.
So far this summer, 11 movies have sold more than $100 million worth of tickets, below the 18 that reached that mark last summer.
Still, Hollywood is encouraged by the summer's big hits and the year-to-date gains. 'Right now, the industry as a whole is up. That's a positive,' said Nikki Rocco, president of domestic distribution for Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.
Some well-known franchises performed as well as expected, including Sony's 'The Amazing Spider-Man,' and Disney's Pixar studio added another movie, 'Brave,' to its stable of hit films. And there was the annual summer surprise: Universal's 'Ted,' the $50 million story of a foul-mouthed, pot-smoking teddy bear, pulled in a surprising $215 million at domestic theaters.
Hollywood was less successful remaking older offerings. Sony's sci-fi remake 'Total Recall' bombed while Johnny Depp failed to lure theater goers to 'Dark Shadows,' a loose remake of the 1960s soap opera.
Studios also struggled to replicate last year's success with adult comedies such as 'Bridesmaids' and 'Bad Teacher.' Fox's 'The Watch,' with heavyweights Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill, fell flat. Adam Sandler had his weakest opening weekend in 16 years with 'That's My Boy.'
'You can't just count on blockbuster superheroes and action movies alone,' said Hollywood.com's Dergarabedian. Studios also need comedies and adult dramas to post record summer results, he said.
Hollywood often says box office swings are based simply on the appeal of films. This summer, moviegoers may have become more discerning when deciding where to spend their entertainment dollars, executives said.
'I don't think you can fool audiences,' Universal's Rocco said. 'They are savvy, and expectations are high.'
Many films are sailing past the weaker domestic box office with huge performances overseas. Animated sequel 'Ice Age: Continental Drift' from 20th Century Fox hauled in $665 million from international markets, four times the $154 million in the United States and Canada.
'Battleship' grabbed $237 million abroad, compared with $65 million in the domestic market.
Executives are optimistic the year will finish strong with big holiday releases such as the finale in the 'Twilight' vampire series, James Bond movie 'Skyfall' and fantasy 'The Hobbit,' the first in a trilogy set 60 years before the 'Lord of the Rings' blockbuster movies.
When Hollywood looks back on 2012, 'I think everyone is going to be quite pleased with the success,' said Rory Bruer, president of distribution at Sony's film studio. 'It's turning out to be one of our biggest years ever, both domestically and internationally.'
(Reporting By Lisa Richwine; Edited by Ronald Grover and Steve Orlofsky)
This news article is brought to you by RELATIONSHIPS ADVICE 201 - where latest news are our top priority.
'The Avengers' brought in big bucks on the big screen, and raunchy comedy 'Ted' broke out as a surprise hit. But alongside the summer successes came a number of flops. After six consecutive increases, summer ticket sales in the United States and Canada are running 5 percent behind last year's record, according to the box office division of Hollywood.com.
The recent slide dragged down a year that raced to a fast start and had studio executives salivating over the prospects of even bigger bonanza during the summer, a season that accounts for 40 percent of yearly box office.
This year, it was a summer of extremes. Big blockbusters such as the Batman film 'The Dark Knight Rises' performed well while films such as the Adam Sandler comedy 'That's My Boy' did not match industry expectations.
Despite the summer results, studio executives stressed, domestic box office sales since January are higher than at the same point a year ago.
Summer sales suffered from competition from the Olympics, which drew record TV ratings, and nervousness after a mass killing at a 'Dark Knight Rises' premiere in Colorado, studio executives and industry analysts said.
Domestic receipts for 'Dark Knight Rises' reached $422 million through Sunday, making it the year's No. 2 film behind 'Avengers.' 'It's a strong result given the circumstances,' said Jeff Goldstein, executive vice president of theatrical distribution for Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc.
But with just one summer movie weekend remaining, overall domestic sales will fail to pull even with last year's $4.4 billion record, according to Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box office division of Hollywood.com. As of Sunday, the summer tally stood at $4.0 billion. The last time summer sales decreased from one year to the next was from 2004 to 2005.
'We have seen most films weaker than expected,' said Tony Wible, industry analyst for Janney Montgomery Scott. 'A fewer number of films accounted for the upside.'
Early in the year, movies such as Universal's Denzel Washington thriller 'Safe House' and Sony's Channing Tatum romance 'The Vow' blew past their modest forecasts. 'The Hunger Games,' from Lions Gate Entertainment, exploded as Hollywood's next big franchise.
Through April 30, North American (U.S. and Canadian) sales towered 14 percent above year-earlier levels, according to Hollywood.com.
The summer movie season, measured by Hollywood from May through Labor Day in September, kicked off with a record-breaking $207 million opening weekend for Walt Disney Co's superhero mash-up 'Avengers.'
But after a string of films like Universal's big-budget 'Battleship' and Warner Bros.' horror film 'Dark Shadows' failed to meet industry forecasts, domestic year-to-date sales were just 4 percent above 2011 at $7.4 billion, Hollywood.com figures show.
So far this summer, 11 movies have sold more than $100 million worth of tickets, below the 18 that reached that mark last summer.
Still, Hollywood is encouraged by the summer's big hits and the year-to-date gains. 'Right now, the industry as a whole is up. That's a positive,' said Nikki Rocco, president of domestic distribution for Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.
Some well-known franchises performed as well as expected, including Sony's 'The Amazing Spider-Man,' and Disney's Pixar studio added another movie, 'Brave,' to its stable of hit films. And there was the annual summer surprise: Universal's 'Ted,' the $50 million story of a foul-mouthed, pot-smoking teddy bear, pulled in a surprising $215 million at domestic theaters.
Hollywood was less successful remaking older offerings. Sony's sci-fi remake 'Total Recall' bombed while Johnny Depp failed to lure theater goers to 'Dark Shadows,' a loose remake of the 1960s soap opera.
Studios also struggled to replicate last year's success with adult comedies such as 'Bridesmaids' and 'Bad Teacher.' Fox's 'The Watch,' with heavyweights Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill, fell flat. Adam Sandler had his weakest opening weekend in 16 years with 'That's My Boy.'
'You can't just count on blockbuster superheroes and action movies alone,' said Hollywood.com's Dergarabedian. Studios also need comedies and adult dramas to post record summer results, he said.
Hollywood often says box office swings are based simply on the appeal of films. This summer, moviegoers may have become more discerning when deciding where to spend their entertainment dollars, executives said.
'I don't think you can fool audiences,' Universal's Rocco said. 'They are savvy, and expectations are high.'
Many films are sailing past the weaker domestic box office with huge performances overseas. Animated sequel 'Ice Age: Continental Drift' from 20th Century Fox hauled in $665 million from international markets, four times the $154 million in the United States and Canada.
'Battleship' grabbed $237 million abroad, compared with $65 million in the domestic market.
Executives are optimistic the year will finish strong with big holiday releases such as the finale in the 'Twilight' vampire series, James Bond movie 'Skyfall' and fantasy 'The Hobbit,' the first in a trilogy set 60 years before the 'Lord of the Rings' blockbuster movies.
When Hollywood looks back on 2012, 'I think everyone is going to be quite pleased with the success,' said Rory Bruer, president of distribution at Sony's film studio. 'It's turning out to be one of our biggest years ever, both domestically and internationally.'
(Reporting By Lisa Richwine; Edited by Ronald Grover and Steve Orlofsky)
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Kristin Chenoweth to co-host "Anderson Live" premiere
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Kristin Chenoweth will serve as the first co-host when Anderson Cooper's revamped daytime talk show returns September 10 for a second season, the show said Monday.
Chenoweth, who recently had to put a guest-starring run on CBS's 'The Good Wife' on hold due to injuries she sustained while filming the political drama, will be followed by guest co-hosts including Goldie Hawn, Kelly Osbourne, Cyndi Lauper, Howie Mandel, Erin Andrews, D.L. Hughley and Kellie Pickler.
Co-hosts are something new for Cooper's talk show, which is undergoing a number of changes from its first season. The show also gets a name change to 'Anderson Live,' from the previous 'Anderson,' and it will tape in front of a live audience in a new venue, moving from Lincoln Center to the CBS Broadcast Center in New York.
Celebrity guests for the upcoming season include Richard Gere, Beyoncé, Jake Gyllenhaal, Claire Danes, Meg Ryan, Ben Affleck, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Kerry Washington, Kelsey Grammer, Carol Burnett and Stephen Colbert.
'We've got a lot of fun, great things planned for the new season,' Cooper said of the changes. 'I am really excited to be joined by daily co-hosts and look forward to switching to a live format, which allows us more freedom to cover topical issues as well as connect more with the viewer at home.'
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Chenoweth, who recently had to put a guest-starring run on CBS's 'The Good Wife' on hold due to injuries she sustained while filming the political drama, will be followed by guest co-hosts including Goldie Hawn, Kelly Osbourne, Cyndi Lauper, Howie Mandel, Erin Andrews, D.L. Hughley and Kellie Pickler.
Co-hosts are something new for Cooper's talk show, which is undergoing a number of changes from its first season. The show also gets a name change to 'Anderson Live,' from the previous 'Anderson,' and it will tape in front of a live audience in a new venue, moving from Lincoln Center to the CBS Broadcast Center in New York.
Celebrity guests for the upcoming season include Richard Gere, Beyoncé, Jake Gyllenhaal, Claire Danes, Meg Ryan, Ben Affleck, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Kerry Washington, Kelsey Grammer, Carol Burnett and Stephen Colbert.
'We've got a lot of fun, great things planned for the new season,' Cooper said of the changes. 'I am really excited to be joined by daily co-hosts and look forward to switching to a live format, which allows us more freedom to cover topical issues as well as connect more with the viewer at home.'
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Saturday, August 25, 2012
Cameron Crowe moving forward with "Beautiful Boy"
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - 'Beautiful Boy,' a long-gestating film adaptation of David Sheff's New York Times best-seller 'Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction,' is moving forward, an individual close to the project told TheWrap.
Crowe is looking to direct the film after he completes an untitled romantic comedy set up last month at Sony.
Crowe's script is a 'meditation' on both 'Beautiful Boy' and the related memoir written by Sheff's son, Nic Sheff, about his own experience on drugs, 'Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines.'
Paramount optioned the rights to both books in 2008, the year they were published, and had first considered Steven Zaillian to write the script for producer Plan B. Plan B is now producing with New Regency. Paramount is no longer involved.
'Beautiful Boy' refers to the song John Lennon wrote for his son Sean in 1980. David Sheff was inspired to have his own family after conducting the last major interview with Lennon before he was assassinated in New York in 1980.
Crowe also has been asked to work on an adaptation of Michael Chabon's novel 'Telegraph Avenue' for HBO, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap. The novel is set in Berkeley and takes place during the Bush/Kelly elections.
Last month, TheWrap reported that Sony had acquired Crowe's untitled romantic comedy, with Emma Stone attached to play the lead. Crowe is planning to shoot the film in Hawaii and is looking for a male lead. Scott Rudin is producing.
'Beautiful Boy' and 'Tweak' were published by Houghton Mifflin Co. 'Beautiful Boy' chronicles Nic Sheff's descent into methamphetamine abuse as a teenager from the perspective of his father.
Crowe last directed 2011's 'We Bought a Zoo.' The 'Almost Famous' filmmaker co-wrote 'Zoo' with 'Devil Wears Prada' writer Aline Brosh McKenna.
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Crowe is looking to direct the film after he completes an untitled romantic comedy set up last month at Sony.
Crowe's script is a 'meditation' on both 'Beautiful Boy' and the related memoir written by Sheff's son, Nic Sheff, about his own experience on drugs, 'Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines.'
Paramount optioned the rights to both books in 2008, the year they were published, and had first considered Steven Zaillian to write the script for producer Plan B. Plan B is now producing with New Regency. Paramount is no longer involved.
'Beautiful Boy' refers to the song John Lennon wrote for his son Sean in 1980. David Sheff was inspired to have his own family after conducting the last major interview with Lennon before he was assassinated in New York in 1980.
Crowe also has been asked to work on an adaptation of Michael Chabon's novel 'Telegraph Avenue' for HBO, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap. The novel is set in Berkeley and takes place during the Bush/Kelly elections.
Last month, TheWrap reported that Sony had acquired Crowe's untitled romantic comedy, with Emma Stone attached to play the lead. Crowe is planning to shoot the film in Hawaii and is looking for a male lead. Scott Rudin is producing.
'Beautiful Boy' and 'Tweak' were published by Houghton Mifflin Co. 'Beautiful Boy' chronicles Nic Sheff's descent into methamphetamine abuse as a teenager from the perspective of his father.
Crowe last directed 2011's 'We Bought a Zoo.' The 'Almost Famous' filmmaker co-wrote 'Zoo' with 'Devil Wears Prada' writer Aline Brosh McKenna.
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Friday, August 24, 2012
No motive in film director Tony Scott's suicide note
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Film director Tony Scott was buried on Friday at a Los Angeles cemetery as local media reported that the suicide note he left behind contained no mention of why the 'Top Gun' maker would take his own life.
The Los Angeles Times said on Friday that the note, along with other letters left by Scott before he jumped from a Los Angeles bridge this week, did not mention health problems.
The Times cited law enforcement sources as saying officials may never determine the reason behind Scott's suicide.
Scott, 68, the brother of Oscar-winning director Ridley Scott, had recently completed a film and seemed to be in good health when he parked his car on a suspension bridge over Los Angeles harbor, climbed a fence to get to the edge and leapt off, plunging nearly 200 feet into the water below.
Los Angeles County coroners said reports that he might have had brain cancer were wrong. An autopsy was performed and a final cause of death may not come for weeks, pending toxicology and other tests results.
Scott enjoyed a good reputation in the film and television industry, having produced TV shows and made movies such as 'Days of Thunder' and 'Crimson Tide.'
(Reporting By Zorianna Kit; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Xavier Briand)
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The Los Angeles Times said on Friday that the note, along with other letters left by Scott before he jumped from a Los Angeles bridge this week, did not mention health problems.
The Times cited law enforcement sources as saying officials may never determine the reason behind Scott's suicide.
Scott, 68, the brother of Oscar-winning director Ridley Scott, had recently completed a film and seemed to be in good health when he parked his car on a suspension bridge over Los Angeles harbor, climbed a fence to get to the edge and leapt off, plunging nearly 200 feet into the water below.
Los Angeles County coroners said reports that he might have had brain cancer were wrong. An autopsy was performed and a final cause of death may not come for weeks, pending toxicology and other tests results.
Scott enjoyed a good reputation in the film and television industry, having produced TV shows and made movies such as 'Days of Thunder' and 'Crimson Tide.'
(Reporting By Zorianna Kit; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Xavier Briand)
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Thursday, August 23, 2012
"Expendables 2" poised to repeat at box office
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The dog days have arrived at the summer box office.
There are no new superheroes, sequels or kids films. The weekend's two widest openers - Sony's 'Premium Rush' and 'Hit and Run' from Open Road - are not expected to mount a challenge for the top spot. There's even a chance that a documentary, '2016 Obama's America,' will crack the top ten.
Last week's No. 1 film, 'Expendables 2' will keep the top spot with around $14 million, industry analysts say.
After that, it will be a scramble between 'Bourne Legacy,' which is in its third week, the two new wide openers and 'ParaNorman' for the next several slots. All are projected to be in the $10 million range for the three days.
'Hit and Run,' which opened Wednesday to $625,000, is expected to gross around $8 million. Dax Shepherd's comedy cost $2 million excluding marketing costs.
'Premium Rush,' which Sony is rolling out on 2,100 screens, is an intriguing offering. The plot couldn't be much simpler: A bicycle messenger, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is chased around New York City by a dirty cop who wants an envelope that the messenger is carrying.
It's directed by David Koepp, who teamed with John Kamps on the screenplay. Koepp is best known as the writer behind a number of blockbusters, including 'Jurassic Park,' 'Mission Impossible' and 'Spider-Man.' He's also a part of the writing team on Paramount's upcoming and still untitled Jack Ryan project starring Chris Pine and Keira Knightly.
'Premium Rush,' however, has more in common with another film written by Koepp, 2002's 'Panic Room.' In that one, directed by David Fincher, Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart star as a mother and daughter who take refuge in a safe room during a break-in.
For Gordon-Levitt, coming off his 'Dark Knight Rises' supporting role, 'Premium Rush' provides an opportunity to establish himself as a box office force. Michael Shannon, Dania Ramirez and Jamie Chung co-star.
Tom Ortenberg's Open Road is opening the romantic action comedy 'Hit and Run' on 2,700 screens, making it the weekend's widest opener.
Dax Shepard (TV's 'Parenthood'), Kristen Bell, Bradley Cooper, Kristin Chenoweth and Beau Bridges star in the Primate Pictures production. It tells the tale of Charlie Bronson (Shepard), a nice guy with a questionable past who risks everything when he busts out of the witness protection program to deliver his fiancée (Kristen Bell) to Los Angeles to seize a once-in-a-lifetime job opportunity.
Shephard wrote the screenplay and shares directing duties with David Palmer. This is the second collaboration for the duo, who also co-directed 2010's 'Brother's Justice.'
The weekend's other wide opener is 'Apparition,' a PG-13 thriller from Warner Bros.
Todd Lincoln wrote it and makes his feature directorial debut with the film, in which a couple is haunted by a supernatural presence that is unleashed during a college experiment.
It stars Ashley Greene ('Twilight'), Sebastian Stan ('Captain America: The First Avenger') and Tom Felton ('Harry Potter').
Warner Bros. has it in roughly 800 locations.
A wildcard in the weekend mix is the anti-Barack Obama documentary, '2016: Obama's America.' It's based on a book by conservative author Dinesh D'Souza, 'The Roots of Obama's Rage.'
Rocky Mountain Pictures is aggressively expanding the film, which purports to detail what will happen should the president be elected to a second term, into 1,075 theaters.
That's a big jump from the 169 theaters it played in last week, when it brought in $1.2 million, a $7,393 per-screen average.
The timing is right, with the Republican National Convention opening Monday in Tampa, Fla. Advance ticket sales were brisk according to online ticket broker Fandango, which reported that the documentary was outselling 'The Expendables 2' on Wednesday.
This news article is brought to you by RELATIONSHIPS ADVICE - where latest news are our top priority.
There are no new superheroes, sequels or kids films. The weekend's two widest openers - Sony's 'Premium Rush' and 'Hit and Run' from Open Road - are not expected to mount a challenge for the top spot. There's even a chance that a documentary, '2016 Obama's America,' will crack the top ten.
Last week's No. 1 film, 'Expendables 2' will keep the top spot with around $14 million, industry analysts say.
After that, it will be a scramble between 'Bourne Legacy,' which is in its third week, the two new wide openers and 'ParaNorman' for the next several slots. All are projected to be in the $10 million range for the three days.
'Hit and Run,' which opened Wednesday to $625,000, is expected to gross around $8 million. Dax Shepherd's comedy cost $2 million excluding marketing costs.
'Premium Rush,' which Sony is rolling out on 2,100 screens, is an intriguing offering. The plot couldn't be much simpler: A bicycle messenger, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is chased around New York City by a dirty cop who wants an envelope that the messenger is carrying.
It's directed by David Koepp, who teamed with John Kamps on the screenplay. Koepp is best known as the writer behind a number of blockbusters, including 'Jurassic Park,' 'Mission Impossible' and 'Spider-Man.' He's also a part of the writing team on Paramount's upcoming and still untitled Jack Ryan project starring Chris Pine and Keira Knightly.
'Premium Rush,' however, has more in common with another film written by Koepp, 2002's 'Panic Room.' In that one, directed by David Fincher, Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart star as a mother and daughter who take refuge in a safe room during a break-in.
For Gordon-Levitt, coming off his 'Dark Knight Rises' supporting role, 'Premium Rush' provides an opportunity to establish himself as a box office force. Michael Shannon, Dania Ramirez and Jamie Chung co-star.
Tom Ortenberg's Open Road is opening the romantic action comedy 'Hit and Run' on 2,700 screens, making it the weekend's widest opener.
Dax Shepard (TV's 'Parenthood'), Kristen Bell, Bradley Cooper, Kristin Chenoweth and Beau Bridges star in the Primate Pictures production. It tells the tale of Charlie Bronson (Shepard), a nice guy with a questionable past who risks everything when he busts out of the witness protection program to deliver his fiancée (Kristen Bell) to Los Angeles to seize a once-in-a-lifetime job opportunity.
Shephard wrote the screenplay and shares directing duties with David Palmer. This is the second collaboration for the duo, who also co-directed 2010's 'Brother's Justice.'
The weekend's other wide opener is 'Apparition,' a PG-13 thriller from Warner Bros.
Todd Lincoln wrote it and makes his feature directorial debut with the film, in which a couple is haunted by a supernatural presence that is unleashed during a college experiment.
It stars Ashley Greene ('Twilight'), Sebastian Stan ('Captain America: The First Avenger') and Tom Felton ('Harry Potter').
Warner Bros. has it in roughly 800 locations.
A wildcard in the weekend mix is the anti-Barack Obama documentary, '2016: Obama's America.' It's based on a book by conservative author Dinesh D'Souza, 'The Roots of Obama's Rage.'
Rocky Mountain Pictures is aggressively expanding the film, which purports to detail what will happen should the president be elected to a second term, into 1,075 theaters.
That's a big jump from the 169 theaters it played in last week, when it brought in $1.2 million, a $7,393 per-screen average.
The timing is right, with the Republican National Convention opening Monday in Tampa, Fla. Advance ticket sales were brisk according to online ticket broker Fandango, which reported that the documentary was outselling 'The Expendables 2' on Wednesday.
This news article is brought to you by RELATIONSHIPS ADVICE - where latest news are our top priority.
Film "Sparkle" recalls a time when Detroit shined
DETROIT (Reuters) - A two-story house on West Grand Boulevard was once a music-makers' paradise, but is now a monument - a museum, really - to a colorful city that, behind new movie 'Sparkle', is recalling its past with renewed pride.
The home of Motown Records, which became known as Hitsville USA during the record label's 1960s heyday, looked like many others on its block. But behind its walls, business was anything but usual, and 'Sparkle' seems to have captured the magic of the times, city residents told Reuters in recent interviews.
Young men and women, some barely out of their teens, wrote and recorded songs that were the driving force in building the multimillion-dollar label that launched the careers of Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and The Supremes, among many others, giving Detroit an identity around the globe.
Last weekend's release of updated 1976 musical drama 'Sparkle' brought a wave of nostalgia to die-hard fans of the Motown Sound and Detroiters excited to see their city reflected positively on screen after years of struggle, including an auto industry that had fallen on tough times.
The movie features characters who hark back to a special era, plus cultural landmarks such as Baker's Keyboard Lounge and Cliff Bell's nightclub, which are still in operation today.
Life-long Detroiter Blanche Ussery, who saw 'Sparkle' with her family, noted a few omissions and minor inaccuracies, but said the story mostly captured the spirit of the city.
'I thought it was pretty much reminiscent of the times,' Ussery said.
Strikingly accurate, she said, was the courtship between 'Sparkle' co-stars Jordin Sparks and Derek Luke, which brought to mind a simpler time in Detroit. Luke's character pursued Sparks' protagonist at church, much like Ussery's husband sought her at People's Community parish, where they eventually married.
Cameo appearances in the film like that of Universal Motown recording artist and Detroit resident Kem, whose soulful love songs often pay homage to original Motown talents, also gave the movie an air of familiarity.
MUSIC STARS, EVERYDAY PEOPLE
Joe Spencer, a restaurateur and retired Detroit TV executive who earned writing credits on albums by Edwin Starr, singer of 1970 hit 'War', and girl group The Marvelettes, who scored with 'Please Mr. Postman', recalled the mood at Hitsville in its heyday. It was not unusual to find Diana Ross rehearsing in one area while singer William 'Smokey' Robinson listened to unreleased songs down the hall.
'Here you were in the same place with some of the world's greatest songwriters and hitmakers, and they were everyday people, too,' Spencer said.
Dorothy Simpson, who opened Simpson's Record Shop in 1966, said she largely owes the success of her still-operating store to Motown. Teenagers who pined for the latest single by The Temptations, Marvin Gaye or Martha & The Vandellas regularly filed into line in front of Simpson's cash register.
'We had them just about every day,' Simpson says of the young customers. 'That's what got us started, Motown.'
Motown Museum CEO Allen Rawls, who auditioned for the label as a teen, said the company's legacy still shines decades after Detroit itself began an economic decline. The city's population - now just over 700,000 - is about half what it was in 1970.
Brazelton's Florist and James H. Cole Funeral Home are among the Motown Museum's few neighbors still serving a community that survived a deadly 1967 urban rebellion, a drug epidemic, and years of joblessness.
It's a tribute to the music - and to Detroit - that people who speak little English tour Motown, and 'if a song comes on, they know every word', said Rawls.
The label eventually became property of Universal Music after founder Berry Gordy sold the company in 1972, having already moved the headquarters to Los Angeles.
'When they left, I think it created a big hole in Detroit's soul - and not just the music,' Spencer said, noting the 'social pride' the city felt as a breeding ground for music stars.
Michelle McKinney, an archives staffer at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, said Motown also was a soundtrack for the real lives of fans like her. She was almost an adult when she discovered the songs that her mother had banned from their home, calling them 'sinful'.
'The music helped me recognize what love was, so I really owe Motown a debt of gratitude,' McKinney said.
Motown also helped Detroiters become socially conscious, and some of the museum's exhibits link song lyrics to struggles for civil rights being waged throughout America in the 1960s.
'It made us a community,' said McKinney. 'We had our own movie stars and singing stars. We had some people to be proud of, from Detroit. They were our royalty.'
(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Dale Hudson)
The home of Motown Records, which became known as Hitsville USA during the record label's 1960s heyday, looked like many others on its block. But behind its walls, business was anything but usual, and 'Sparkle' seems to have captured the magic of the times, city residents told Reuters in recent interviews.
Young men and women, some barely out of their teens, wrote and recorded songs that were the driving force in building the multimillion-dollar label that launched the careers of Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and The Supremes, among many others, giving Detroit an identity around the globe.
Last weekend's release of updated 1976 musical drama 'Sparkle' brought a wave of nostalgia to die-hard fans of the Motown Sound and Detroiters excited to see their city reflected positively on screen after years of struggle, including an auto industry that had fallen on tough times.
The movie features characters who hark back to a special era, plus cultural landmarks such as Baker's Keyboard Lounge and Cliff Bell's nightclub, which are still in operation today.
Life-long Detroiter Blanche Ussery, who saw 'Sparkle' with her family, noted a few omissions and minor inaccuracies, but said the story mostly captured the spirit of the city.
'I thought it was pretty much reminiscent of the times,' Ussery said.
Strikingly accurate, she said, was the courtship between 'Sparkle' co-stars Jordin Sparks and Derek Luke, which brought to mind a simpler time in Detroit. Luke's character pursued Sparks' protagonist at church, much like Ussery's husband sought her at People's Community parish, where they eventually married.
Cameo appearances in the film like that of Universal Motown recording artist and Detroit resident Kem, whose soulful love songs often pay homage to original Motown talents, also gave the movie an air of familiarity.
MUSIC STARS, EVERYDAY PEOPLE
Joe Spencer, a restaurateur and retired Detroit TV executive who earned writing credits on albums by Edwin Starr, singer of 1970 hit 'War', and girl group The Marvelettes, who scored with 'Please Mr. Postman', recalled the mood at Hitsville in its heyday. It was not unusual to find Diana Ross rehearsing in one area while singer William 'Smokey' Robinson listened to unreleased songs down the hall.
'Here you were in the same place with some of the world's greatest songwriters and hitmakers, and they were everyday people, too,' Spencer said.
Dorothy Simpson, who opened Simpson's Record Shop in 1966, said she largely owes the success of her still-operating store to Motown. Teenagers who pined for the latest single by The Temptations, Marvin Gaye or Martha & The Vandellas regularly filed into line in front of Simpson's cash register.
'We had them just about every day,' Simpson says of the young customers. 'That's what got us started, Motown.'
Motown Museum CEO Allen Rawls, who auditioned for the label as a teen, said the company's legacy still shines decades after Detroit itself began an economic decline. The city's population - now just over 700,000 - is about half what it was in 1970.
Brazelton's Florist and James H. Cole Funeral Home are among the Motown Museum's few neighbors still serving a community that survived a deadly 1967 urban rebellion, a drug epidemic, and years of joblessness.
It's a tribute to the music - and to Detroit - that people who speak little English tour Motown, and 'if a song comes on, they know every word', said Rawls.
The label eventually became property of Universal Music after founder Berry Gordy sold the company in 1972, having already moved the headquarters to Los Angeles.
'When they left, I think it created a big hole in Detroit's soul - and not just the music,' Spencer said, noting the 'social pride' the city felt as a breeding ground for music stars.
Michelle McKinney, an archives staffer at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, said Motown also was a soundtrack for the real lives of fans like her. She was almost an adult when she discovered the songs that her mother had banned from their home, calling them 'sinful'.
'The music helped me recognize what love was, so I really owe Motown a debt of gratitude,' McKinney said.
Motown also helped Detroiters become socially conscious, and some of the museum's exhibits link song lyrics to struggles for civil rights being waged throughout America in the 1960s.
'It made us a community,' said McKinney. 'We had our own movie stars and singing stars. We had some people to be proud of, from Detroit. They were our royalty.'
(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Dale Hudson)
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Jolie, Pitt daughter to make film debut as young princess
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - She is only four-years-old but Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, daughter of actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, will soon follow in the footsteps of her famous parents, appearing in Disney movie 'Malificent,' the studio said on Wednesday.
The movie is expected to hit theaters in March 2014 with Jolie playing villain Malificent from animated classic 'Sleeping Beauty.' Vivienne will portray a young version of Princess Aurora who is cursed to sleep until awoken by kiss from a handsome prince.
'Angelina Jolie's daughter Vivienne will play a minor role as the child version of Princess Aurora opposite her mother in 'Maleficent,' Disney said in a statement. 'The live-action film explores the origins of Disney's most iconic villain, Maleficent, and what led her to curse Princess Aurora.'
No further details were available.
Vivienne Jolie-Pitt is the twin sister to brother Knox Leon. They were born in a hospital in Nice, France, on July 12, 2008.
(Reporting By Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
This news article is brought to you by MUSIC UNITED 1 - where latest news are our top priority.
The movie is expected to hit theaters in March 2014 with Jolie playing villain Malificent from animated classic 'Sleeping Beauty.' Vivienne will portray a young version of Princess Aurora who is cursed to sleep until awoken by kiss from a handsome prince.
'Angelina Jolie's daughter Vivienne will play a minor role as the child version of Princess Aurora opposite her mother in 'Maleficent,' Disney said in a statement. 'The live-action film explores the origins of Disney's most iconic villain, Maleficent, and what led her to curse Princess Aurora.'
No further details were available.
Vivienne Jolie-Pitt is the twin sister to brother Knox Leon. They were born in a hospital in Nice, France, on July 12, 2008.
(Reporting By Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
This news article is brought to you by MUSIC UNITED 1 - where latest news are our top priority.
Mila Kunis signs on for Paul Haggis' "Third Person"
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Mila Kunis is joining the cast of the Oscar-winning director-writer Paul Haggis's drama 'Third Person,' with James Franco and Casey Affleck in negotiations to join the film.
'Third Person,' which has a budget of $28 million, is heading for a mid-October start date and is being produced and financed by Corsan Films.
Set in Rome, New York and Paris, where the film will shoot, 'Third Person' features three interlocking love stories.
Previously announced cast members include Liam Neeson, who plays a journalist, and Olivia Wilde, who plays a New York gossip columnist.
Corsan founder Paul Breuls is producing with Haggis and his producing partner, Michael Nozik. Haggis will direct from his own script. CAA is co-representing domestic rights with Paradigm. Corsan is handling international rights.
Breuls and his president of sales, Pascal Borno, have brought a number of high-profile films to the marketplace recently and are heading to the Toronto International Film Festival next month with a strong slate.
Recent announcements include 'Killing Season' from director Mark Steven Johnson, with Robert De Niro and John Travolta; 'Emperor,' an epic adventure from Lee Tamahori, which Corsan is financing and producing; Roland Joffe's time travel film 'Singularity,' which stars Josh Hartnett; and the Chet Baker biopic 'The Prince of Cool' which Breuls is set to direct.
Breuls founded Corsan as a film production and financing company in 1989 in Antwerp, the Belgian city known for producing some of the country's more outlandish fashion designers, including Martin Margiela and Bernhard Wilhelm.
In 2003, he created the Corsan Tax Fund, which finances all of the company's films, and added Corsan World Sales in 2008. Haggis and Nozik's production company Hwy 61 recently announced it was moving forward on a number of other projects, including a father-son apartheid project to be produced with Olympus Pictures, and written and directed by Mukunda Michael Dewil.
Kunis is repped by CAA.
This news article is brought to you by SEXUAL HEALTH NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
'Third Person,' which has a budget of $28 million, is heading for a mid-October start date and is being produced and financed by Corsan Films.
Set in Rome, New York and Paris, where the film will shoot, 'Third Person' features three interlocking love stories.
Previously announced cast members include Liam Neeson, who plays a journalist, and Olivia Wilde, who plays a New York gossip columnist.
Corsan founder Paul Breuls is producing with Haggis and his producing partner, Michael Nozik. Haggis will direct from his own script. CAA is co-representing domestic rights with Paradigm. Corsan is handling international rights.
Breuls and his president of sales, Pascal Borno, have brought a number of high-profile films to the marketplace recently and are heading to the Toronto International Film Festival next month with a strong slate.
Recent announcements include 'Killing Season' from director Mark Steven Johnson, with Robert De Niro and John Travolta; 'Emperor,' an epic adventure from Lee Tamahori, which Corsan is financing and producing; Roland Joffe's time travel film 'Singularity,' which stars Josh Hartnett; and the Chet Baker biopic 'The Prince of Cool' which Breuls is set to direct.
Breuls founded Corsan as a film production and financing company in 1989 in Antwerp, the Belgian city known for producing some of the country's more outlandish fashion designers, including Martin Margiela and Bernhard Wilhelm.
In 2003, he created the Corsan Tax Fund, which finances all of the company's films, and added Corsan World Sales in 2008. Haggis and Nozik's production company Hwy 61 recently announced it was moving forward on a number of other projects, including a father-son apartheid project to be produced with Olympus Pictures, and written and directed by Mukunda Michael Dewil.
Kunis is repped by CAA.
This news article is brought to you by SEXUAL HEALTH NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
A Minute With: Keanu Reeves going digital with 'Side By Side'
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Keanu Reeves' latest film, 'Side By Side,' has no car chases, explosions or slow-motion bullets like those in 'The Matrix.' But for fans of cinema, it has something even more valuable - an inside look at digital technology's impact on traditional film.
The 98-minute documentary is co-produced by Reeves, who also acts as interviewer, and directed by Chris Kenneally and it features a who's who of Hollywood heavyweights discussing their views on making movies through film or digital means.
Filmmakers interviewed include James Cameron, David Fincher, David Lynch, George Lucas, Danny Boyle, Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan and Steven Soderbergh
'Side By Side' opened in Los Angeles on August 17, hits New York August 31 and plays around the United States in weeks to come. It is available nationwide on video-on-demand Wednesday.
Reeves recently spoke to Reuters about the movie.
Q: Where did the idea for 'Side by Side' come from?
A: 'A couple of years ago I was working on this film, 'Henry's Crime,' which I also produced, and I was talking with Chris Kenneally about all the new digital technology and all the changes in the industry. We were sitting in the post-production suite trying to match the photochemical image with the digital image, side by side, and it just hit me - film is going away, and we should document this whole evolution. So Chris and I gradually put a team together to make the documentary.'
Q: The film features interviews with some 70 top filmmakers, directors of photography and other experts. How did you pull all that together?
A: 'It wasn't easy and it took almost a year to film everyone. We began at the 2010 Camera Image festival in Poland and got a bunch of (cinematographers) there, including all these greats I'd worked with, such as Vittorio Storaro, Michael Chapman and Michael Balhaus. That was our start, and then word-of-mouth spread, and I began contacting some of the directors I'd worked with over the past 25 years. So that history together obviously helped get some of the big names on board and we just started building momentum. We ended up getting nearly 150 people and then we had to cut it down for the final movie.'
Q: Did anyone turn you down?
A: 'We got nearly everyone we wanted, although of course some people were unavailable or didn't want to be interviewed, for whatever reason.'
Q: Who was the hardest person to get hold of?
A: 'Chris Nolan, because his schedule on 'The Dark Knight Rises' was so crazy. It took a long time to set that one up.
Q: Nolan's always been an outspoken champion of film as opposed to digital. Is it true you appealed to his anti-digital sentiments by writing him an old-fashioned letter?
A: 'Yes, I actually wrote to him on an old-fashioned typewriter. I think he got a kick out of that and we finally shot him in his trailer on the Batman set in LA.'
Q: You also managed to get 'Matrix' directors, the Wachowskis. That was quite a coup as they haven't done an interview in over a decade.
A: 'Well, we've stayed friends since 'The Matrix' films and they were lovely. I felt honored that they wanted to be a part of this. And I think they add so much to this documentary and may surprise a lot of people with their views. Although they pioneered so many digital techniques in the 'Matrix' films, they have this big love for film and the look of film.
Q: Any other highlights?
A: 'Talking to George Lucas was pretty special. The sheer impact that he's had on digital cinema is just so amazing, and I learned so much. I mean, I wasn't familiar with his development of the EditDroid which then turned into the Avid but we all know about ILM and THX and his work with digital cameras. He's a true maverick and pioneer of where we are today. He's done it all.
Q: Having made the documentary, how do you feel about the future of physical film? Is it dead?
A: 'I think it is. Even Chris Nolan admits that film, if not dead, is now on life support, and it's just going to become more and more difficult to even get film. Personally I'm a big film fan and it's sad to see it go but the future is digital.'
Q: You're also behind the camera again directing your first big feature, a kung fu adventure titled 'Man of Tai Chi,' and shooting it in China. Did you go digital?
A: (Laughs) 'We did. I developed this project for five years and we're shooting on location in Beijing and Hong Kong. I'm having a great time directing and I definitely plan to do it again.'
(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Bill Trott)
The 98-minute documentary is co-produced by Reeves, who also acts as interviewer, and directed by Chris Kenneally and it features a who's who of Hollywood heavyweights discussing their views on making movies through film or digital means.
Filmmakers interviewed include James Cameron, David Fincher, David Lynch, George Lucas, Danny Boyle, Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan and Steven Soderbergh
'Side By Side' opened in Los Angeles on August 17, hits New York August 31 and plays around the United States in weeks to come. It is available nationwide on video-on-demand Wednesday.
Reeves recently spoke to Reuters about the movie.
Q: Where did the idea for 'Side by Side' come from?
A: 'A couple of years ago I was working on this film, 'Henry's Crime,' which I also produced, and I was talking with Chris Kenneally about all the new digital technology and all the changes in the industry. We were sitting in the post-production suite trying to match the photochemical image with the digital image, side by side, and it just hit me - film is going away, and we should document this whole evolution. So Chris and I gradually put a team together to make the documentary.'
Q: The film features interviews with some 70 top filmmakers, directors of photography and other experts. How did you pull all that together?
A: 'It wasn't easy and it took almost a year to film everyone. We began at the 2010 Camera Image festival in Poland and got a bunch of (cinematographers) there, including all these greats I'd worked with, such as Vittorio Storaro, Michael Chapman and Michael Balhaus. That was our start, and then word-of-mouth spread, and I began contacting some of the directors I'd worked with over the past 25 years. So that history together obviously helped get some of the big names on board and we just started building momentum. We ended up getting nearly 150 people and then we had to cut it down for the final movie.'
Q: Did anyone turn you down?
A: 'We got nearly everyone we wanted, although of course some people were unavailable or didn't want to be interviewed, for whatever reason.'
Q: Who was the hardest person to get hold of?
A: 'Chris Nolan, because his schedule on 'The Dark Knight Rises' was so crazy. It took a long time to set that one up.
Q: Nolan's always been an outspoken champion of film as opposed to digital. Is it true you appealed to his anti-digital sentiments by writing him an old-fashioned letter?
A: 'Yes, I actually wrote to him on an old-fashioned typewriter. I think he got a kick out of that and we finally shot him in his trailer on the Batman set in LA.'
Q: You also managed to get 'Matrix' directors, the Wachowskis. That was quite a coup as they haven't done an interview in over a decade.
A: 'Well, we've stayed friends since 'The Matrix' films and they were lovely. I felt honored that they wanted to be a part of this. And I think they add so much to this documentary and may surprise a lot of people with their views. Although they pioneered so many digital techniques in the 'Matrix' films, they have this big love for film and the look of film.
Q: Any other highlights?
A: 'Talking to George Lucas was pretty special. The sheer impact that he's had on digital cinema is just so amazing, and I learned so much. I mean, I wasn't familiar with his development of the EditDroid which then turned into the Avid but we all know about ILM and THX and his work with digital cameras. He's a true maverick and pioneer of where we are today. He's done it all.
Q: Having made the documentary, how do you feel about the future of physical film? Is it dead?
A: 'I think it is. Even Chris Nolan admits that film, if not dead, is now on life support, and it's just going to become more and more difficult to even get film. Personally I'm a big film fan and it's sad to see it go but the future is digital.'
Q: You're also behind the camera again directing your first big feature, a kung fu adventure titled 'Man of Tai Chi,' and shooting it in China. Did you go digital?
A: (Laughs) 'We did. I developed this project for five years and we're shooting on location in Beijing and Hong Kong. I'm having a great time directing and I definitely plan to do it again.'
(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Bill Trott)
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Ryan Seacrest gives other people jobs
NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Apparently, there are a few jobs that Ryan Seacrest doesn't do.
The 'American Idol' and 'On Air With Ryan Seacrest' host, E! News managing editor and anchor, and head of Ryan Seacrest Productions is giving jobs to other people that he could, no doubt, just as easily perform single-handedly. RSP is responsible for 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians,' its E! spin-offs, and 'Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution,' among other shows.
Who will do the jobs that Seacrest, improbably, does not?
First, there's Nina Wass, a producer of more than 500 episodes and twenty network pilots. As RSP's new executive vice president of scripted programming, she will help the company further expand into scripted television.
Heather Schuster, meanwhile, is RSP's new senior vice president of development. She joins the company from Reveille/Shine, where she was SVP of creative affairs and an executive producer.
But wait. There are other jobs that Seacrest is not, as of this writing, doing himself.
One of them, RSP vice president of development, belongs to Joseph Ferraro, who was previously vice president of programming at OWN. Also, Gordon Cassidy, who has worked as a development consultant with Seacrest's company, is joining it full time as vice president of current programming.
Seacrest has also allowed three producers to make shows with RSP, rather than creating them himself with a mere snap of his fingers.
The company has signed an overall deal with Emmy-winner Eric Lange, an 18-year film and television veteran whose credits include 'The Deadliest Catch.' It has made another overall deal with Dan and Ben Newmark, who recently sold a comedy to TBS.
Finally, Noah Oppenheim has signed on as a consultant with RSP after working as a senior producer of 'Today,' a show that Seacrest does not single-handedly write, anchor and produce. (Though he is a correspondent for it.)
This news article is brought to you by TAXES BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
The 'American Idol' and 'On Air With Ryan Seacrest' host, E! News managing editor and anchor, and head of Ryan Seacrest Productions is giving jobs to other people that he could, no doubt, just as easily perform single-handedly. RSP is responsible for 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians,' its E! spin-offs, and 'Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution,' among other shows.
Who will do the jobs that Seacrest, improbably, does not?
First, there's Nina Wass, a producer of more than 500 episodes and twenty network pilots. As RSP's new executive vice president of scripted programming, she will help the company further expand into scripted television.
Heather Schuster, meanwhile, is RSP's new senior vice president of development. She joins the company from Reveille/Shine, where she was SVP of creative affairs and an executive producer.
But wait. There are other jobs that Seacrest is not, as of this writing, doing himself.
One of them, RSP vice president of development, belongs to Joseph Ferraro, who was previously vice president of programming at OWN. Also, Gordon Cassidy, who has worked as a development consultant with Seacrest's company, is joining it full time as vice president of current programming.
Seacrest has also allowed three producers to make shows with RSP, rather than creating them himself with a mere snap of his fingers.
The company has signed an overall deal with Emmy-winner Eric Lange, an 18-year film and television veteran whose credits include 'The Deadliest Catch.' It has made another overall deal with Dan and Ben Newmark, who recently sold a comedy to TBS.
Finally, Noah Oppenheim has signed on as a consultant with RSP after working as a senior producer of 'Today,' a show that Seacrest does not single-handedly write, anchor and produce. (Though he is a correspondent for it.)
This news article is brought to you by TAXES BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Clues sought in suicide of film director Tony Scott
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Investigators sought clues on Monday to what prompted British-born filmmaker Tony Scott to take his own life in Los Angeles, while much of Hollywood focused on an unconfirmed news report that he was suffering from brain cancer.
Scott, director of such blockbuster films as 'Top Gun' and 'Beverly Hills Cop II,' jumped to his death on Sunday from a suspension bridge over Los Angeles Harbor, leaving behind a suicide note in his office and a list in his car of people to contact, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said.
Medical examiners were scheduled on Monday to perform an autopsy on Scott's body, which was recovered from the harbor nearly three hours after he jumped in, Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter said.
Results of the exam will likely be kept confidential until toxicology and other tests are completed, he said.
Winter said he could not confirm an ABC News report that said the filmmaker, the younger brother of fellow director and three-time Oscar nominee Ridley Scott, had inoperable brain cancer. The report cited an unidentified source close to Scott.
Asked whether the suicide note found by friends in Scott's office or any other writings referred to an illness, Winter said, 'not to my knowledge.' Authorities have not disclosed the content of the note.
He also said investigators had no theories about what led Scott, who was 68, to take his own life.
A spokeswoman for Scott confirmed his death on Sunday night and asked that the media respect his family's privacy.
Members of the film industry expressed shock at the death of one of Hollywood's most prolific and bankable producer-directors with reactions from Tom Cruise, Ron Howard and others.
Cruise, who shot to stardom in Scott's 'Top Gun' in 1986, described him as 'my dear friend' and said in a statement: 'I will really miss him. He was a creative visionary whose mark on film is immeasurable.
'No more Tony Scott movies. Tragic day,' Ron Howard, the Oscar-winning director behind 'A Beautiful Mind,' said in a Twitter message. Actor Samuel L. Jackson tweeted that he was 'taking a moment to reflect on Tony Scott's life & work.'
Gene Hackman, who starred in Scott's 'Enemy of the State' and 'Crimson Tide', remembered him as 'always sensitive to the needs of an actor. We've lost a wonderful, creative talent.'
Scott was seen parking his car on the Vincent Thomas Bridge and leaping into the water at about 12:30 p.m. local time (1930 GMT) on Sunday, according to Lieutenant Joe Bale, a watch commander for the coroner's office.
Bale said the body was recovered from the harbor shortly before 3 p.m. (2200 GMT) and subsequently identified as being that of the filmmaker.
MAN IN THE RED CAP
Scott, frequently seen behind the camera in his signature faded red baseball cap, directed more than two dozen movies and television shows and produced nearly 50 titles.
He built a reputation for muscular but stylish high-octane thrillers that showcased some of Hollywood's biggest stars in a body of work that dated to the 1980s and established him as one of the most successful action directors in the business.
Two of his biggest hits were the 1986 fighter jet adventure 'Top Gun,' which starred Tom Cruise as a hot-shot pilot, and the 1987 Eddie Murphy comedy 'Beverly Hills Cop II.'
Other directing credits include the 1990 racing drama 'Days of Thunder,' which also featured Cruise; the 1995 submarine thriller 'Crimson Tide,' co-starring Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman; and the 1998 spy thriller 'Enemy of the State,' which paired Hackman and Will Smith.
Washington became Scott's most frequent star, appearing in four other films including a 2009 remake of subway hostage thriller 'The Taking of the Pelham 1 2 3,' co-starring John Travolta, and the 2010 runaway-train blockbuster, 'Unstoppable.'
He got his start making TV commercials for his older brother's London-based production company, Ridley Scott Associates, and moved into movies for television and film.
His feature directorial debut, 1983 vampire movie 'The Hunger' starring British rocker David Bowie and French actress Catherine Deneuve, was a flop that later became a cult favorite. Scott bounced back three years later with 'Top Gun.'
The brothers later formed a film company, Scott Free Productions, that made many of their films and TV shows.
The two were executive producers of two successful prime-time television dramas, 'Numb3rs,' which ran on CBS from 2005 to 2010, and 'The Good Wife,' which is still running on CBS.
Filmmaker Richard Kelly, who wrote the screenplay for Scott's 2005 film 'Domino,' joined the thousands of online tributes on Monday.
'Working with Tony Scott was like a glorious road trip to Vegas on desert back roads, a wild man behind the wheel, grinning,' Kelly said.
Kevin Costner, who worked with Scott on 1990 movie 'Revenge' said: 'Tony was one of the good guys. He was a man's man who lived life as hard and as full as anyone I've ever met, but there was always a sweetness to his toughness.'
Actor Val Kilmer, who appeared in both 'Top Gun' and the 1993 film 'True Romance,' called Scott 'the kindest film director I ever worked for,' and U.S. film critic Roger Ebert called him 'an inspired craftsman.'
Scott is survived by his third wife, Donna, with whom he had two children.
(Additional reporting by Mike Collett-White in London and Jill Serjeant in Los Angeles; Editing by Vicki Allen and Doina Chiacu)
This news article is brought to you by GLAMOROUS FASHION NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Scott, director of such blockbuster films as 'Top Gun' and 'Beverly Hills Cop II,' jumped to his death on Sunday from a suspension bridge over Los Angeles Harbor, leaving behind a suicide note in his office and a list in his car of people to contact, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said.
Medical examiners were scheduled on Monday to perform an autopsy on Scott's body, which was recovered from the harbor nearly three hours after he jumped in, Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter said.
Results of the exam will likely be kept confidential until toxicology and other tests are completed, he said.
Winter said he could not confirm an ABC News report that said the filmmaker, the younger brother of fellow director and three-time Oscar nominee Ridley Scott, had inoperable brain cancer. The report cited an unidentified source close to Scott.
Asked whether the suicide note found by friends in Scott's office or any other writings referred to an illness, Winter said, 'not to my knowledge.' Authorities have not disclosed the content of the note.
He also said investigators had no theories about what led Scott, who was 68, to take his own life.
A spokeswoman for Scott confirmed his death on Sunday night and asked that the media respect his family's privacy.
Members of the film industry expressed shock at the death of one of Hollywood's most prolific and bankable producer-directors with reactions from Tom Cruise, Ron Howard and others.
Cruise, who shot to stardom in Scott's 'Top Gun' in 1986, described him as 'my dear friend' and said in a statement: 'I will really miss him. He was a creative visionary whose mark on film is immeasurable.
'No more Tony Scott movies. Tragic day,' Ron Howard, the Oscar-winning director behind 'A Beautiful Mind,' said in a Twitter message. Actor Samuel L. Jackson tweeted that he was 'taking a moment to reflect on Tony Scott's life & work.'
Gene Hackman, who starred in Scott's 'Enemy of the State' and 'Crimson Tide', remembered him as 'always sensitive to the needs of an actor. We've lost a wonderful, creative talent.'
Scott was seen parking his car on the Vincent Thomas Bridge and leaping into the water at about 12:30 p.m. local time (1930 GMT) on Sunday, according to Lieutenant Joe Bale, a watch commander for the coroner's office.
Bale said the body was recovered from the harbor shortly before 3 p.m. (2200 GMT) and subsequently identified as being that of the filmmaker.
MAN IN THE RED CAP
Scott, frequently seen behind the camera in his signature faded red baseball cap, directed more than two dozen movies and television shows and produced nearly 50 titles.
He built a reputation for muscular but stylish high-octane thrillers that showcased some of Hollywood's biggest stars in a body of work that dated to the 1980s and established him as one of the most successful action directors in the business.
Two of his biggest hits were the 1986 fighter jet adventure 'Top Gun,' which starred Tom Cruise as a hot-shot pilot, and the 1987 Eddie Murphy comedy 'Beverly Hills Cop II.'
Other directing credits include the 1990 racing drama 'Days of Thunder,' which also featured Cruise; the 1995 submarine thriller 'Crimson Tide,' co-starring Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman; and the 1998 spy thriller 'Enemy of the State,' which paired Hackman and Will Smith.
Washington became Scott's most frequent star, appearing in four other films including a 2009 remake of subway hostage thriller 'The Taking of the Pelham 1 2 3,' co-starring John Travolta, and the 2010 runaway-train blockbuster, 'Unstoppable.'
He got his start making TV commercials for his older brother's London-based production company, Ridley Scott Associates, and moved into movies for television and film.
His feature directorial debut, 1983 vampire movie 'The Hunger' starring British rocker David Bowie and French actress Catherine Deneuve, was a flop that later became a cult favorite. Scott bounced back three years later with 'Top Gun.'
The brothers later formed a film company, Scott Free Productions, that made many of their films and TV shows.
The two were executive producers of two successful prime-time television dramas, 'Numb3rs,' which ran on CBS from 2005 to 2010, and 'The Good Wife,' which is still running on CBS.
Filmmaker Richard Kelly, who wrote the screenplay for Scott's 2005 film 'Domino,' joined the thousands of online tributes on Monday.
'Working with Tony Scott was like a glorious road trip to Vegas on desert back roads, a wild man behind the wheel, grinning,' Kelly said.
Kevin Costner, who worked with Scott on 1990 movie 'Revenge' said: 'Tony was one of the good guys. He was a man's man who lived life as hard and as full as anyone I've ever met, but there was always a sweetness to his toughness.'
Actor Val Kilmer, who appeared in both 'Top Gun' and the 1993 film 'True Romance,' called Scott 'the kindest film director I ever worked for,' and U.S. film critic Roger Ebert called him 'an inspired craftsman.'
Scott is survived by his third wife, Donna, with whom he had two children.
(Additional reporting by Mike Collett-White in London and Jill Serjeant in Los Angeles; Editing by Vicki Allen and Doina Chiacu)
This news article is brought to you by GLAMOROUS FASHION NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
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