1. "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs" ($5.6 million)
2. "Surrogates" ($5 million)
3. "Fame" ($3.5 million)
4. "The Informant!" ($2 million)
5. "Pandorum" ($1.6 million)
If the Bruce Willis-starring comic book movie "Surrogates" had one obstacle to overcome this weekend, it was "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs," the Sony Pictures Animation film that reigned supreme over last weekend's box office. Truly, it's a difficult decision for moviegoers -- experience a world filled with robotic analogues that can do and see anything you wish them to, or behold the spectacle of delectable food products raining gloriously upon your face. In the end, it looks like taste buds just barely won the battle. Read more...
If "Dollhouse" has one defining weakness, it comes in the form of Echo, the show's central character played by Eliza Dushku. The problem isn't necessarily in the acting -- though that could be argued -- but more in the fact that, as a character who literally changes personalities from week to week, it's nearly impossible to fully latch onto her plight.
When your show's central conceit focuses on a veritable brothel specializing in the sales of attractive, impressionable human beings, the lack of an accessible main character is a tremendous problem. I think that even the staunchest of Joss Whedon's fans would agree that they've stuck with "Dollhouse" not because it's a particularly riveting television experience, but because there's enough promise for it to eventually become worthwhile.
Thankfully, season two is looking to deliver on that promise. Read more...
Warmoth is out today. So @geminibros is here to steer the great ship Twitter-Wood. [insert requisite grumbling here]. [insert requisite praising of Warmoth's patience and skill in crafting this daily column here].
Today's Twitter-Wood report is light on variety, but with good cause. Bob Saget's new lady-love took the TwitPic prize, though Eliza Dushku followed close behind for shouting out to her "Dollhouse" fans. There's also a mini-update from "Twilight" star Peter Facinelli and a Brett Ratner burn from writer Brian Lynch. The highlight though is an exchange between pals Jason Reitman, Edgar Wright and Diablo Cody. Mr. Wright made some comments about the upcoming John Travolta/Robin Williams-starring family comedy "Old Dogs" and he caught some heat for it. Hilarity, of course, ensues. I'm @geminibros and this is your Twitter-Wood report for September 25, 2009. Read more...
Tonight, fear begins its slow creep across the nation as audiences in select cities finally get to experience the horror that is director Oren Peli's "Paranormal Activity." The is-it-real-or-not scare flick delivers home camera-captured views of a young couple as they are terrified by one or more malevolent spirits. There are clear inspirations tracing back to "The Blair Witch Project," but whether or not "Paranormal" breathes fresh life into the genre remains to be seen.
Still, Peli has accomplished something with his $15,000 project, which was committed to film back in 2006. His "little movie that could" has survived festival rejections, remake plans and a studio split, and is now one of the most buzzed-about releases this year. It's enough to have landed Peli his next project -- "an original, found-video thriller called 'Area 51.'" -- mentioned almost offhandedly in a Los Angeles Times profile. Read more...
I'm torn by today's eBay Prop-Watch pick. It's suspicious: the seller is very up front about there being no certificate of authenticity. On the other hand, it's from "Back to the Future Part II." Perhaps not the best of the "Back to the Future" movies, but definitely the most imaginative of the three.
See, "Back to the Future Part II" jumps around in time far more than either of the other two. We see present-day 1980s, an alternate present in which Biff's possession of a sports almanac from the future leads to a "Mad Max"-like dystopia, the '50s, the Wild West and -- best of all -- the future. A future filled with flying cars and hoverboards, robot waiters and a one-cola world. Pepsi Perfect is apparently the choice of the next generation. Read more...
FROM HOLLYWOOD CRUSH: "New Moon" is still two months away from hitting theaters, "Eclipse" is filming and Summit Entertainment is figuring out who is doing what in "Breaking Dawn" pre-production, but with film rights for Stephenie Meyer's "The Host" being purchased earlier this week, the focus has shifted away momentarily from "The Twilight Saga" and instead to its science fiction cousin.
I've met plenty of "Twilight" fans who still haven't read "The Host," even though its maintained its spot on the New York Times bestsellers list from its debut in May 2008. In many ways, I like it more than "The Twilight Saga" for its intriguing plot and interesting characters. The dynamic relationship between Melanie, a rebel human trying to resist an alien invasion, and Wanda, the alien or Soul who possess her body, is the driving force of the entire novel, and a really intriguing one at that.
Continue reading Just Like 'Twilight,' Stephenie Meyer's 'The Host' Will Hit The Big Screen, But Who Should Star In It?
A couple weeks ago I received an invitation to a midnight screening of “Paranormal Activity” as it came through Boston. Why would I ever want to go see the alleged scariest movie ever during a midnight screening? It wasn’t going to happen. I immediately discarded the idea. I may be a Gore Girl, but I’m still a chicken when it comes to being scared.
And yet somehow this week I found myself being coerced by a friend into joining him during the midnight release. Against my better judgment I agreed to go. As I expected, the instant the lights dimmed I immediately regretted my decision. Read more...
The departure of longtime chairman Dick Cook from Walt Disney Studios is having a ripple effect on the company's planned film slate. Beyond the potentially endangered "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise given Johnny Depp's recent loss of enthusiasm, it appears that Disney is turning around on another project -- namely, "The Diary of Anne Frank."
According to The Wrap, Disney has ceased development on playwright, screenwriter and filmmaker David Mamet's interpretation of "The Diary of Anne Frank," the story of a young Jewish girl's experiences throughout the Holocaust. The report suggests that "Anne Frank" was rejected by Disney for being "too dark," but also because Cook's recent ousting has stalled movement on a vast majority of Disney's projects. Read more...
In just a few short weeks, New Yorkers will get a rare treat. Howard Shore's Oscar-winning score for "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" will be performed live at Radio City Music Hall by more than 300 musicians while the movie plays on a 60-foot screen above them. The performances -- spanning two evenings -- are the centerpiece of a week-long series celebrating the trilogy.
I'm here today to tell you about a cool panel that's happening on October 1 at The Paley Center for Media, located at 25 West 52nd St. MTV's own Kurt Loder will moderate Shore on the Score: The Music of "The Lord of the Rings," featuring Shore, The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films author Doug Adams and actor/musician Billy Boyd, who played the hobbit Pippin in the trilogy. As a special treat, MTV is happy to extend readers an offer to purchase tickets to the event at 50% off. That's a mere $10, a hard-to-resist offer even in these troubled economic times if you're a "Lord of the Rings" fan.
Follow this link for your savings!
A horror movie is made by a young and unknown creator. It is shot on digital video, in a style intentionally giving the impression that the movie’s principal characters are the ones filming, not a director. The characters are played by unknown actors. They’re threatened by a supernatural, largely unseen force. The film plays before small audiences on the festival circuit, gaining praise and infamy with each screening.
If you stop right there, you could be describing either “Paranormal Acivity,” which Paramount is giving a limited release this week, or “The Blair Witch Project.” What remains to be seen is whether or not “Paranormal Acivity” will be the runaway multi-million dollar success that “Blair Witch” was ten years ago. It also remains to be seen if it will be a revitalizing force for its genre in the same way. Read more...