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Judge Orders VidAngel to Shut Down
5 minutes ago
A judge on Monday dealt a severe blow to VidAngel, ordering the family-friendly streaming service to shut down pending a copyright infringement trial.
VidAngel offers customers the ability to “rent” movies online, and to screen out various types of offensive material. VidAngel does this without agreements with content producers. Instead, the company purchases DVDs and uses software to defeat copy-protection measures. It allows users to filter out nudity, violence, and other objectionable material.
Several major studios — Disney, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. — filed suit in June, accusing VidAngel of violating their copyrights. On Monday, Judge Andre Birotte granted the studios’ request for an injunction, finding there is a strong likelihood that they will prevail on the merits at trial. In the ruling, Birotte slapped down each of VidAngel’s arguments for its own legality.
“VidAngel has not offered any evidence that the Plaintiffs have either explicitly or implicitly authorized »
- Gene Maddaus
Harry Knowles’ Annual Butt-Numb-a-Thon Teases ‘Logan,’ ‘A Cure for Wellness’
49 minutes ago
Shortly before 9:30 p.m. Saturday at the cathedral of cinema known as the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas, Harry Knowles asked his congregation to rise and swear an oath. No, the irrepressibly zealous film critic, website editor, and ecumenical movie geek was not requiring his acolytes to pledge their undying loyalty to him. Rather, he was insisting they publicly swear not to prematurely reveal on social media any significant plot details of “A Cure for Wellness,” the upcoming 20th Century Fox release having its world premiere at Butt-Numb-a-Thon, Knowles’ annual 24-hour-plus cavalcade of new, classic, and (sometimes justifiably) obscure motion pictures.
Director Gore Verbinski and lead player Dane DeHaan were on-hand to monitor audience reaction for “Wellness,” which is set to open theatrically Feb. 17, and to savor Knowles’ characteristically hyperbolic description of their film — a twisty and creepy thriller about strange doings at a health spa near the Swiss »
- Joe Leydon
‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Swings to Social Media Heights With First Trailer
2 hours ago
Sony-Marvel’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming” dominated social media buzz last week with an impressive 612,000 new conversations, according to media-measurement firm comScore and its PreAct service.
The figure represented a nearly four-fold increase over the previous week, when “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” led with 159,000 conversations. Sony’s sixth Spider-Man movie, which sees Tom Holland replacing Andrew Garfield as the lead, released domestic and international trailers and an official image on Dec. 9, preceded by a trailer announcement video.
The new conversations number is the highest recorded by PreAct since the weeks before Disney-Marvel’s “Captain America: Civil War” opened in early May. PreAct reported 749,129 new conversations in the April 25-May 1 week. “Spider-Man: Homecoming” will open on July 7.
“Rogue One,” starring Felicity Jones and Diego Luna, also scored impressive numbers with more than 201,000 new conversations. The first spinoff of the new Star Wars franchise, which opens Dec. 16 amid sky-high expectations, has generated »
- Dave McNary
Patrick Wilson Cast as ‘Aquaman’ Villain Opposite Jason Momoa
4 hours ago
Patrick Wilson has been tapped to play Orm, the evil half-brother of Aquaman, in Warner Bros.’ adaptation of the popular DC comic staring Jason Momoa.
Amber Heard also stars as Mera, Aquaman’s love interest. James Wan is directing the superhero film with Peter Safran producing. Deborah Snyder, Zack Snyder, and Rob Cowan are executive producing.
Warner Bros. declined to comment on the casting.
The studio said last year that the title character would be caught between a surface world constantly ravaging the sea and the undersea Atlanteans, who are ready to lash out in revolt. Aquaman is based on the DC Comics character who’s the king of Atlantis, a half-human and half-Atlantean named Arthur Curry. He was first introduced in the early 1940s.
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‘Aquaman’: First Photo Released of Jason Momoa as DC Superhero
In the comics, Orm a.k.a. Ocean Master is Aquaman’s human »
- Justin Kroll
‘Hobo With a Shotgun’ Director Jason Eisener Set for Thriller With Wes Ball (Exclusive)
5 hours ago
“Hobo With a Shotgun” Director Jason Eisener will direct an untitled thriller for Fox with Wes Ball’s Oddball Entertainment, Joe Hartwick, Jr., and Jeremy Platt’s Plattform producing.
The film is inspired by Eisener’s “One Last Dive” short film, which he directed and co-wrote with Rob Cotterill and John Davies. The short centered on a diver investigating an underwater crime scene but remaining details about the feature film have yet to be released. Besides directing Rutger Hauer in 2011’s “Hobo with a Shotgun,” Eisener’s credits include “V/H/S 2” and “The ABCs of Death.”
Lewaa Nasserdeen (“The Real O’Neals,” “The Goldbergs”) is writing the script. Jason Young is overseeing the project for the studio.
The “One Last Dive” feature joins a number of projects on Oddball’s current development slate, which includes the family-adventure “In Search of Humans” and “Ruin” (based on Ball’s short film »
- Dave McNary
‘Moonlight’ Named Top Film by African American Film Critics
5 hours ago
Coming-of-age drama “Moonlight” has won the top movie award from the African American Film Critics Association.
The A24 film also won awards for best director for Barry Jenkins and best supporting actor for Mahershala Ali. “Straight Outta Compton” won the group’s best picture award last year during an awards season that was criticized for its lack of recognition for African American actors and projects, particularly by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
“Our members had a plethora of outstanding movies, documentaries, and TV shows to choose from this year,” said Aafca co-founder Shawn Edwards. “It was an exceptional year in terms of the quantity and quality of films about the black experience. And while this by no means solves the diversity issue in the film industry, it was definitely refreshing to have such a wide range of exceptional work to choose from to honor and celebrate with our approval. »
- Dave McNary
Margot Robbie’s Tonya Harding Biopic ‘I, Tonya’ Gets Distribution
6 hours ago
Miramax has bought U.S. distribution rights to Margot Robbie’s upcoming comedy “I, Tonya,” which will center on Tonya Harding’s 1994 attack on rival figure skater Nancy Kerrigan.
Craig Gillespie (“Lars and the Real Girl”) is directing. Robbie, who broke out in “Suicide Squad” this summer, will also produce along with Tom Ackerley through their Lucky Chap producing company with Bryan Unkeless and Steven Rogers, who also wrote the screenplay.
Len Blavatnik and Aviv Giladi will executive produce for AI Film, which is financing the project. AI came on to the project in October.
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Craig Gillespie to Direct Tonya Harding Biopic Starring Margot Robbie (Exclusive)
Rosanne Korenberg will oversee the project for Miramax. Rogers’ script was named to the 2016 Black List on Monday.
“The script is unbelievable,” Robbie said in a statement. “It’s unlike anything I’ve read before and I know Craig’s approach with the »
- Dave McNary
George Takei on New ‘Star Trek’ Gay Character: ‘It’s the Way It Should’ve Been Done’
8 hours ago
George Takei is thrilled that the upcoming series “Star Trek: Discovery” will feature an openly gay character.
“I’m eager to see him,” Takei said of Anthony Rapp, who will portray a gay Starfleet science officer on the upcoming CBS All Access spin-off.
Takei, who is openly gay, talked about Lgbt characters in the “Trek” universe at Saturday’s Unforgettable Gala, honoring Asians in entertainment, where he was presented with the Icon Award.
In the latest franchise film, “Star Trek Beyond,” it is revealed that the character he originated — Hikaru Sulu — is gay. Takei had mixed feelings about the announcement because it departed from creator Gene Roddenberry’s original vision.
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‘Star Trek: Discovery’: Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp Join Michelle Yeoh in Cast
“When I was informed they were making Sulu gay, I said, ‘It’s wonderful that they can deal with the gay issue. But honor Gene. It’s not about me. »
- Lawrence Yee
McG’s ‘The Babysitter’ Moves to Netflix From New Line (Exclusive)
8 hours ago
McG’s “The Babysitter” has moved from New Line Cinema to Netflix after Boies/Schiller Film Group acquired rights from the studio.
Boies/Schiller and McG’s Wonderland Sound and Vision co-financed the movie, which has already wrapped filming. New Line had acquired the spec in 2015 after a heated bidding war quickly put the pic in production.
“The Babysitter” had been awaiting a release date, but given the crowded slate of New Line’s existing commitments, the studio, working closely with Zack Schiller and McG, decided to sell the film to Boies/Schiller and Wonderland instead.
Sources were unable to disclose a price, but said it was in the high-seven to low-eight-figure range.
Brian Duffield penned the original script, with McG directing.
McG and Mary Viola are producing with David Boies, Zack Schiller, Steven Bello, Duffield, and James McGough serving as exec producers. Devin Andre and Jimmy Warden are co-producers. »
- Justin Kroll
Jim Parsons on ‘Big Bang Theory,’ ‘Hidden Figures’ and Typecasting
9 hours ago
Four-time Emmy winner Jim Parsons will grace the big screen this year in Theodore Melfi’s “Hidden Figures,” about a trio of mathematicians (Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe) working at Nasa in the late 1960s. Parsons, best known for playing Dr. Sheldon Cooper on “the Big Bang Theory, plays another genius in the film — an engineer who resists working with Henson’s character.
You seem to find yourself in great ensembles, from “The Normal Heart” to “The Big Bang Theory” and this. Do you seek that out?
Maybe subconsciously. I do find again and again that the most rewarding things for me have strong ensembles. “Hidden Figures” reminds me a lot of doing “Normal Heart,” in a way. Part of it is that they’re both based on true stories and hugely important moments in human history. And part of it is feeling the job of being »
- Jenelle Riley
2016 Black List Scripts Announced
9 hours ago
The 2016 version of the Black List — an annual ranking of the best unproduced screenplays in Hollywood — began arriving Monday.
One of the first script announced was Flint Wainess’ “Linda and Monica,” described as the true story of Monica Lewinsky and Linda Tripp and their relationship. Mindy Kaling made the list with her “Untitled Late Night Comedy” script as did “The Imitation Game” screenwriter Graham Moore with “The Last Days of Night,” a story on the legal battle between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse.
Dan Gilroy, who received an Oscar nomination for “Nightcrawler,” made the list with “The Inner City.”
The annual lineup consists of the year’s best unproduced scripts in Hollywood as voted on by more than 250 studio execs. Previous alumni of the list include “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Argo,” “The King’s Speech,” “Foxcatcher,” “Whiplash” and “The Imitation Game.”
Stars such as Peter Dinklage, David Benioff, Armie Hammer, Eva Longoria »
- Dave McNary
Golden Globes: Major Studios Shut Out of Drama Best Picture Category
9 hours ago
Monday’s Golden Globe announcement made one note on this particular Oscar season strikingly clear: The major studios are getting outmatched.
Specifically in the drama motion picture category, the field is populated with smaller distributors for the first time in over a decade. You have to go back to 2005 to find a slate of nominees in the category that didn’t include one of the industry’s legacy companies: Disney, Warner Bros, Fox, Sony, Paramount and Universal.
This year’s nominated distributors are Lionsgate (“Hacksaw Ridge”), CBS Films (“Hell or High Water”), the Weinstein Co. (“Lion”), Amazon/Roadside Attractions (“Manchester by the Sea”) and A24 (“Moonlight”).
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74th Golden Globes Nominations: The Full List
Fox and Paramount were represented in the comedy/musical category with “Deadpool” and “Florence Foster Jenkins,” but commercial plays from big studios often find purchase in that field. And even that feels like a low sampling coming off last year, »
- Kristopher Tapley
Chris Evans Ranked Best Actor for the Buck for Second Straight Year
10 hours ago
The annual Forbes list of the top 10 Best Actor for the Buck in Hollywood ranks Chris Evans in the top spot for the second year in a row.
To compile the list, Forbes’ analysts examined the last three significant movies (released on at least 2,000 screens) the actor was in prior to June 2016, then calculated the operating income of those films and then divided that by the star’s estimated pay for those films to come up with a number for final return on investment.
By that model, Evans returned $135.80 at the box office for every $1 he was paid. He starred as Steve Rogers/Captain America in the blockbusters “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” and “Captain America: Civil War.”
Chris Pratt finished second on the list with a $125.40 return for every $1 paid, thanks to his roles in “Jurassic World” and “Guardians of the Galaxy.”
Scarlett Johansson was »
- Dave McNary
AMC Theatres Brings Back ‘The Right Stuff’ to Honor John Glenn
10 hours ago
AMC Theatres is bringing back “The Right Stuff” to honor John Glenn, the pioneering astronaut and U.S. senator who died last week at the age of 95.
The Oscar-winning drama will screen at 95 locations, including major markets like New York and Los Angeles, as well as smaller locations such as South Bend, Ind.
“The Right Stuff” follows Glenn and pioneering astronauts such as Gordon “Gordo” Cooper, Virgil “Gus” Grissom, and Alan Shepard, as it recounts Nasa’s Mercury space exploration efforts of the 1960’s. Philip Kaufman directed the film, which adapts Tom Wolfe’s acclaimed non-fiction book of the same name. Ed Harris played Glenn.
Related
‘Hidden Figures’ Cast Reflects on Racial Divides, John Glenn at Screening
Participating AMC locations will show the movie on Monday at 7 p.m., and Tuesday and Wednesday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
In a statement, AMC CEO Adam Aron said, “John Glenn was »
- Brent Lang
Golden Globes Nominations: 25 Biggest Snubs and Surprises
10 hours ago
Tom Hanks isn’t a Golden Globe nominee, but Simon Helberg is. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association always throws a few curveballs in announcing its top picks for the best in movies and television, and Monday morning’s announcement was no exception.
No Tom Hanks for “Sully.” You couldn’t locate “Finding Dory” in the best-animated race. Martin Scorsese’s “Silence” lived up to its name, by getting ignored. And Taraji P. Henson was snubbed twice — for the upcoming movie “Hidden Figures” and Fox TV series “Empire.”
But overall, the 2017 Golden Globe nominations unfolded pretty much as expected. On the movie side, “La La Land” led with seven nominations, followed closely by “Moonlight” (six) and “Manchester by the Sea” (five). On the TV side, “The People v. O.J. Simpson” continued its trophy streak, with five nominations, and “The Night Manager” got four.
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Golden Globe Nominations: ‘La La Land’ Tops 2017 Nods, »
- Ramin Setoodeh and Debra Birnbaum
Japan Box Office: ‘Monster Strike,’ ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Dispute Top Spot
11 hours ago
Tokyo – Warner’s animation “Monster Strike The Movie Hajimari no Basho e” (translation: Monster Strike The Movie: To the Place of the Beginning) bowed atop the Japanese box office for the weekend of Dec. 10-11.
Based on a popular game app, the film earned $3.8 million on 390,000 admissions. Boosted by game tie-ins that have drawn fans to theaters, the film is expected to reach the $15 million mark.
According to Japanese box office rankings, which are counted by admissions, Warner’s “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” slipped to number two on 380,000 admissions. In gross terms “Beasts” was the weekend winner with $4.9 million. And after only 19 days on release the film had boosted its cumulative total to $35 million – the fastest pace by a live-action movie this year.
Warner also claimed the number six spot with the local horror-thriller “Museum.”
This week also saw the release by Toei of the latest feature »
- Mark Schilling
Golden Globes Recognize Actual Comedies and Musicals With Nominations
11 hours ago
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is always full of surprises, but there was at least one pleasant one this morning: when it came to the comedy/musical category for the Golden Globes, they actually nominated comedies and musicals. If that sounds like a no-brainer, consider last year’s winners: “The Martian” took best picture while its star Matt Damon took best actor. Best actress in a comedy/musical went to Jennifer Lawrence of “Joy.”
Every year, the Golden Globes endure criticism when it comes to the film comedy category: why even bother breaking the categories into drama and musical/comedy when so many films end up blurring the lines? (This was perhaps most noticeable in 2010 when the Globes nominated “The Tourist,” along with stars Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie, as a comedy.) But this year, they actually chose to do something about it, nominating two genuine musicals (“La La Land »
- Jenelle Riley
Golden Globes: Ryan Reynolds, Tom Hiddleston, Mandy Moore Among First-Time Nominees
11 hours ago
Monday morning’s Golden Globe nominations announcement was wonderful news for a slew of artists who were recognized by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for the first time.
Major film acting contenders like Lily Collins (“Rules Don’t Apply”), Joel Edgerton and co-star Ruth Negga (“Loving”), Isabelle Huppert (“Elle”), Ryan Reynolds (“Deadpool”), and Hailee Steinfeld (“The Edge of Seventeen”) were all welcomed into the club this year.
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Golden Globes: The HFPA Surprises (Again), Carving Its Own Path Through Awards Season
They were joined by supporting contenders Mahershala Ali and Naomie Harris (“Moonlight”), Simon Helberg (“Florence Foster Jenkins”), Dev Patel (“Lion”), and Aaron Taylor-Johnson (“Nocturnal Animals”).
Directors who landed their first notices include Damien Chazelle (“La La Land”), Tom Ford (“Nocturnal Animals”), and Barry Jenkins (“Moonlight”), while in the music realm, artists such as Iggy Pop (“Gold”) and Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Moana”) can now call themselves Golden Globe nominees.
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Golden Globes 2017: ‘Westworld, »
- Kristopher Tapley
Mel Gibson Scores First Golden Globe Nominations Since 2001 With ‘Hacksaw Ridge’
11 hours ago
Mel Gibson is back in Hollywood’s awards race with three Golden Globe nominations for World War II drama “Hacksaw Ridge” for best director, best drama and best actor for Andrew Garfield.
The trio of nominations comes a decade after Gibson was arrested in 2006 for drunk driving and was caught on tape making anti-Semitic remarks to his arresting officer. He subsequently apologized following his arrest but was shunned during the awards season that year for his film “Apocalypto” and had not directed another movie until taking on “Hacksaw Ridge” in 2014.
“Hacksaw Ridge” centers on the story of Desmond T. Doss, the only conscientious objector to ever be awarded a congressional Medal of Honor for heroism. Portrayed by Garfield, Doss was a Seventh-day Adventist who became a medic while adhering to his religious convictions of not carrying a weapon. He saved 75 men during the Battle of Okinawa in World War II. »
- Dave McNary
Golden Globes: The HFPA Surprises (Again), Carving Its Own Path Through Awards Season
12 hours ago
Nominations for the 74th annual Golden Globe Awards have been unveiled, and as ever, members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. have their own ideas about the film awards race.
Let’s start with an early category announced Monday morning, best supporting actor. It wasn’t Michael Shannon that got the tip, on a wave of goodwill after last year’s “99 Homes” with perhaps the most lauded performance from “Nocturnal Animals,” but rather, co-star Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the film’s twisted antagonist. Another surprise–with Hugh Grant out of the running in favor of lead placement, his “Florence Foster Jenkins” co-star Simon Helberg found purchase with the group instead.
Jonah Hill in comedy actor for “War Dogs,” Tom Ford as a dual nominee in director and screenplay for “Nocturnal Animals,” Iggy Pop’s title track for “Gold” — yes, the HFPA and their singular taste made for another interesting announcement. And »
- Kristopher Tapley
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