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'The Dark Tower' Tops Lowest Weekend of Summer 2017 Yet
20 hours ago | Box Office Mojo | See recent BoxOfficeMojo.com news »
Sony's The Dark Tower topped the softest weekend at the domestic box office since early April, opening with less than $20 million. Among other new releases, Aviron's Kidnap had a modest showing, squeaking above $10 million, while Annapurna's Detroit was unable to take off in its nationwide expansion. Overall, with the top twelve films grossing $111.5 million makes this the lowest grossing weekend of the summer season and sixth lowest of the year as the 2017 summer movie season is currently down ~10% compared to 2016. At #1, Sony's release of The Dark Tower, a long-awaited adaptation of the Stephen King sci-fi/fantasy series, delivered an estimated $19.5 million from 3,451 locations. It's a disappointing debut for the $60 million production, which is expected to kick-off a multi-platform franchise with co-financier Mrc currently developing a television series. That being said, this is the second largest opening weekend ever for a King adaptation, behind the $20.6 million debut for 2007's 1408, which went »
- Brad Brevet <mail@boxofficemojo.com>
The ‘Despicable Me’ Movies Are Now The Highest Grossing Animated Films Ever
2 hours ago | The Hollywood News | See recent The Hollywood News news »
The Despicable Me movies have become the highest grossing animated movies in film history, worldwide. The series spans four films – the three Despicable Me movies, and the 2015 spin-off Minions.
Its current $3.528 billion global haul narrowly beats Shrek‘s $3.51 billion, though that franchise spans five movies, the four Shrek movies and the Puss In Boots spin-off.
Despicable Me 3 is still packing in audiences across the world, and added another $22 million to its total after the weekend. Its total global figure now sits at $879 million – from a reported $80 million budget. It is second in the hierarchy of Dm movies at the box-office, about $100 million behind the first sequel, though spin-off Minions is the most popular with $1.1 billion in total worldwide box-office sales.
Needless to say, a sequel to that movie is currently in the works.
The post The ‘Despicable Me’ Movies Are Now The Highest Grossing Animated Films Ever appeared first on The Hollywood News. »
- Paul Heath
Locarno: Todd Haynes to Direct Velvet Underground Documentary (Exclusive)
2 hours ago | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »
Locarno, Switzerland — From “Velvet Goldmine” to the Velvet Underground.
Todd Haynes, director of acclaimed U.S. independent milestones – “Far From Heaven,” “Carol” are just two – is teaming with Christine Vachon at Killer Films, the producer of all his films, as well as David Blackman and Universal Music Group to direct his first documentary, on the Velvet Underground, one of the most seminal rock groups in history.
Haynes also remarked that he is preparing a limited TV series with Amazon about “an intensely important figure of immense historical and cultural influence.”
The American director-screenwriter and producer confirmed the Velvet Underground docu feature at the Locarno Festival, where he will receive the Pardo d’onore Manor for career achievement, 26 years after the Swiss festival selected his debut feature, “Poison,” in competition, helping to launch the career of one of the U.S.’s most laureled indie filmmakers.
The confirmation of the documentary comes 50 years after the release of “Velvet Underground »
- John Hopewell
‘Dunkirk’ A Dynamo As Epic Crosses $300M In Worldwide Box Office
5 August 2017 11:04 AM, PDT | Deadline | See recent Deadline news »
Continuing its global mission, Christopher Nolan’s WWII epic Dunkirk has sailed across the $300M mark at worldwide turnstiles. The Warner Bros release is, as of today, at $127M domestic and growing, while it has exceeded $173M at the international box office. Full weekend cumes will be updated tomorrow. The glowingly-reviewed interwoven story of the rescue of over 300K soldiers from the beaches of Dunkerque, France is on track to place No. 2 in its 3rd North American… »
James Gunn on 'Guardians 3' and Marvel's Cosmic Plans
5 August 2017 9:00 AM, PDT | The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News | See recent The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News news »
There's no rest for the captain of one of Marvel's biggest franchises.
Just months after the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, writer-director James Gunn is hard at work penning Guardians Vol. 3, while also helping Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige plot out the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's cosmic properties.
“Those scripts are already in the works. Kevin and I talk about it all the time, we just had a meeting today. Discussing what is the next iteration of cosmic characters and where are the characters that’ve we’ve already created going to go in the next »
- Byron Burton
Sublime Enlists Oscar-Winning Director for Band Documentary
5 August 2017 9:00 AM, PDT | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »
Beloved Southern California rock-reggae group Sublime, whose lead singer Bradley Nowell died of a drug overdose in 1996, is teaming up with Oscar-winning director Bill Guttentag for a full-length documentary on the band. Guttentag will write and direct. He’ll also produce along with attorney Peter Paterno, Sublime managers Dave Kaplan and Scott Seine (Dkm/Surfdog), and Nayeema Raza.
The film has the full cooperation of the Nowell estate and is targeting a theatrical release in 2018, with production set to start imminently. In addition, the doc will delve deep into the band’s archives with never-before-seen footage and rare recordings.
Sublime, founded in 1988 by Eric Wilson, Bud Gaugh and Nowell, released its debut album, “40oz. to Freedom,” in 1992 on its own label, Skunk Records. Later signing with major label McA, they became a Kroq favorite, which drove hit singles like “What I Got,” “Santeria »
- Variety Staff
Voltage Pictures Lawyer Renounces ‘Unethical’ BitTorrent Copyright Suits
4 August 2017 6:27 PM, PDT | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »
An attorney who filed dozens of BitTorrent copyright cases on behalf of Voltage Pictures and Millennium Films has renounced the practice, saying he was duped into participating in unethical copyright “trolling.”
James S. Davis filed suit against his former legal partner and his former clients in San Diego Superior Court in July. In the complaint, he says that he was recruited into the BitTorrent litigation by a former law school classmate, Carl Crowell, who told him he had a “good litigation business opportunity.”
Crowell, based in Salem, Ore., has filed hundreds of copyright infringement lawsuits against users of torrent sites. Crowell typically files against “John Doe” defendants who are identified solely by their IP address. He then obtains a court order forcing the internet service provider to identify the subscriber. He then demands a settlement — usually about $7,500. Though some defendants allege that someone else was using their IP address, it is often cheaper to settle than to »
- Gene Maddaus
Lithuanian film picks up two prizes at Locarno Festival First Look Awards
just now | ScreenDaily | See recent ScreenDaily news »
Seventh edition of Locarno’s showcase of works in progress dedicated to films from the three Baltic states.
Lithuanian filmmaker Vytautas Puidokas’ El Padre Medico was the big winner at this year’s first look awards at the Locarno Festival (Aug 2-12), picking up Kaiju Cinema D/ffusion’s $5899.93 (€5,000) award for the production of key art design as well as $3539 (€3,000) worth of DCPs and international promotional measures offered by Baltic View and Noir Lumiere.
The co-production between Lithuania’s Ironcat and Dansu Films with Brazilian production house Lente Viva Films tells the story of A. F. Bendoraitis who lived in the Amazonian jungle in the early 1960s under the false identity of a European missionary, philanthropist and doctor.
The Le Film Francais award of $6,492 (€5,500) worth of advertising went to the Estonian first feature The Little Comrade by Moonika Siimets, produced by Amrion’s Riina Sildos “for its great storytelling, international appeal, the great performance »
- screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
Venice Film Festival adds John Woo's 'Manhunt'
5 minutes ago | ScreenDaily | See recent ScreenDaily news »
Crime thriller remake will be presented Out of Competition.
The Venice International Film Festival has rounded off the programme of its 74th edition with three world premieres.
John Woo’s Zhuibu (Manhunt) will be presented Out of Competition and marks the director’s return to crime thrillers such as The Killer and Hardboiled.
The film is a remake of a Japanese classic, telling the story of a Chinese man who is framed for murder in Japan who has to dodge a manhunt and the attacks of mysterious killers as he tries to clear his name.
Woo received the Golden Lion for Career Achievement in Venice in 2010.
Venice will also host the world premieres of Andrea Segre’s L’ordine Delle Cose in Special Screenings and Marco di Castri, Paolo Favaro and Daniele Pianciola’s documentary L’Enigma Di Jean Rouch A Torino - Cronaca Di Un Film Raté in competitive section Venezia Classici - Documentaries.
The 74th Venice »
- ian.sandwell@screendaily.com (Ian Sandwell)
Venice Film Festival Adds Trio Including John Woo Thriller ‘Manhunt’
1 hour ago | Deadline | See recent Deadline news »
Venice Film Festival chief Alberto Barbera has added a trio of titles to the program for the 74th edition which begins later this month. World premiering out of competition is John Woo’s Manhunt, while L’Ordine Delle Cose by Andrea Segre will have a Special Screening and Italian documentary The Enigma Of Jean Rouch In Turin will screen in the Venice Classics section. Woo’s Manhunt (Zhuibu) marks the Hong Kong master’s return to the crime thriller genre. The film is a… »
John Woo’s ‘Manhunt’ to World Premiere at Venice Film Festival
2 hours ago | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »
Top Hong Kong filmmaker John Woo’s hotly anticipated thriller “Manhunt” will world premiere out-of-competition at the upcoming 74th Venice Film Festival.
The film is about a prosecutor, played by award-winning Chinese actor Zhang Hanyu, who is framed for robbery, rape and multiple murders and sets out on a difficult solo mission to clear his name. Japanese heartthrob actor and singer Masaharu Fukuyama plays the detective chasing Zhang’s character.
The film, which is a remake of a 1976 Japanese classic action movie, is produced by Hong Kong’s Media Asia.
“Manhunt” marks Woo’s return to the the police thriller genre that made him famous in Hong Kong with “The Killer” and “Hardboiled” before he relocated to Hollywood in the 1990s, where he shot studio blockbusters such as “Mission: Impossible II,” “Face/Off” and “Windtalkers.” Woo recently returned to Asia, directing epics including “Red Cliff” and “The Crossing” and also executive producing a remake of cult hit »
- Nick Vivarelli
Italy’s Alice Rohrwacher Shooting ‘Lazzaro Felice,’ Match Factory Takes World Sales (Exclusive)
3 hours ago | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »
Locarno, Switzerland – Italian director Alice Rohrwacher (“The Wonders”) has started principal photography on “Lazzaro Felice,” about a man living on the margins of society who travels through time. The film’s European A-list ensemble cast comprises Sergi Lopez (“Pan’s Labyrinth”) of Spain and Alba Rohrwacher (“I Am Love”) and Nicoletta Braschi (“Life Is Beautiful”) of Italy.
Germany’s The Match Factory will be selling “Lazzaro” internationally outside Italy.
Cameras started rolling Monday in the central Italian countryside near Civita di Bagnoregio, a scenic ancient village perched on an eroding tufa rock plateau.
Rohrwacher is collaborating with her regular director of photography, Helene Louvart, who is also known for work with auteurs such as Wim Wenders, Agnes Varda and Claire Denis.
The director wrote the screenplay last year while she was the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Jaeger-LeCoultre’s filmmaker in residence. Details of the story are being kept under wraps beyond the fact that it »
- Nick Vivarelli
Has Wonder Woman opened the floodgates for female action heroes?
3 hours ago | The Guardian - Film News | See recent The Guardian - Film News news »
The release of Charlize Theron spy movie Atomic Blonde is the first test of whether we are heading into a new era of kick-ass equality
If Jean-Luc Godard really meant it when he said “All you need to make a movie is a girl and a gun”, how come he never made a movie with just a girl and a gun? Vivre Sa Vie might just about scrape through, but Godard basically took it as read that there would be a guy in the mix.
Hollywood, on the other hand, has started to take Godard’s maxim literally. We have had countless “girl and gun” movies recently, and virtually none have stuck. It’s as though the studios looked at Bourne, Bond, John Wick and all the other franchised-up action heroes and all had the same bright idea: “Make the hero a woman!” Often that becomes a woman wearing next to nothing, »
- Steve Rose
Pimpaka Towira named Singapore festival's programming head
3 hours ago | ScreenDaily | See recent ScreenDaily news »
Towira directed One Night Husband and The Island Funeral.
Thai pioneering female filmmaker Pimpaka Towira has been appointed programme director of the Singapore International Film Festival (Sgiff).
Joining her as new programme consultants are Anderson Le, programme director of Hawaii International Film Festival, Kong Rithdee, Bangkok Post’s film critic and arts editor, and Kuo Ming-jung, programme director of Taipei Film Festival.
Pimpaka takes over from Zhang Wenjie who served as festival director from 2014-2016 since the festival was relaunched in 2014 after a two-year hiatus. Yuni Hadi remains as executive director, along with former Singapore Film Commission assistant director Ang Hwee Sim as general manager.
Pimpaka has her career rooted in both filmmaking and festival programming. She was programme director for Bangkok Film Festival in 2001 before it was rebranded by Tourism Authority of Thailand as the Bangkok International Film Festival. She assumed the same role for the latter festival in 2008 and 2009. More recently, she programmed »
- screenasia@yahoo.com (Silvia Wong)
'Happy Valley' director Neasa Hardiman receives Irish Film Board Funding
4 hours ago | ScreenDaily | See recent ScreenDaily news »
Other recipients include Lenny Abrahamson, Tomm Moore and Jim Sheridan.
A forthcoming film from BAFTA winner Neasa Hardiman and upcoming projects from Oscar nominees Lenny Abrahamson, Tomm Moore and Jim Sheridan are among those being supported by the Irish Film Board in its latest round of funding decisions.
Levels of production funding have significantly increased this quarter, indicating that the Irish film industry is gearing up for a buoyant production period.
Hardiman, a co-bafta winner this year for her work on Happy Valley, has written and will direct Sea Fever, described as “a very smart monster movie” by production company Fantastic Films.
€700,000 in Ifb production funding was awarded to the film, which centres on a female protagonist, a gifted marine biology student who, along with her crew, encounter a large and dangerous mysterious sea creature. Epic is handling international sales.
Fantastic Films were also awarded €750,000 in production funding for Vivarium, a sci-fi »
Korea Box Office: ‘Taxi Driver’ Revs up Third Biggest Opening of All Time
4 hours ago | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »
Opening on Wednesday, “A Taxi Driver” debuted on top of the South Korean box office. With top Korean actor Song Kang-ho and German star Thomas Kretschmann, the Showbox release earned $30.7 million from 4.36 million admissions over five days. That is the third highest opening score of all time, behind “Roaring Currents” and “Train to Busan” in admissions terms.
Based on real events, “Taxi Driver” is the story of a Korean taxi driver who becomes involved in a German journalist’s reporting of the Gwangju Pro-Democracy Movement in 1980. The film is directed by Jang Hun.
Previous winner, Cj Entertainment’s “The Battleship Island” slipped to second with a 73% weekly decline. The Ryoo Seung-wan-directed movie earned $5.08 million between Friday and Sunday for a total of $41.4 million after two weekends. Upi’s “Despicable Me 3” slipped to third, earning $3.68 million between Friday and Sunday. The animated feature has earned a cumulative $17.0 million since its Jul. 26 release. »
- Sonia Kil
We May Not See More Of The Guardians Of The Galaxy 3000 Team As Quickly As We Hoped
6 hours ago | cinemablend.com | See recent Cinema Blend news »
From the beginning, Marvel Studios has used post-credits sequences to tease elements of the future. An important distinction, however, is that some are for short-term plans, and others are for long-term. »
Locarno: ‘Good Manners’ Creators on Latino Genre, Walt Disney, Fairy Tales
6 hours ago | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »
Locarno, Switzerland — Grounded in an only-half fantasy Sao Paulo of Pharaonic high-rises tower rearing into the sky, gigantic malls and aseptic homes, but awash with the palette of fantasy, Locarno International Competition player “Good Manners” is a step-up in production values and ambition for Juliana Rojas and Marco Dutra, co-directors of Cannes Un Certain Regard contender “Hard Labor.” It turns on Clara, a penniless and lonely nurse hired as a nanny for Ana, a wealthy, pregnant young woman. But something is clearly wrong with the unborn child, especially on nights of full moon. A film that builds into a tragically truncated coming of age story, a dark werewolf fairy tale, laced by reflections on class and race in modern-day Brazil, “Good Manners” is above all perhaps a tribute to the enduring near supernatural power of maternal love. Rojas and Dutra’s second joint-feature, “Good Manners” is produced by Brazil’s Dezenove Som e Imagens, and »
- John Hopewell
Rushlake Media, Juno Films partner on 'A Campaign Of Their Own'
6 hours ago | ScreenDaily | See recent ScreenDaily news »
Exclusive: Bernie Sanders documentary to screen in Locarno on Tuesday.
Philipp Hoffmann’s Rushlake Media and Elizabeth Sheldon’s Juno Films have partnered on their first co-acquisition, taking A Campaign Of Their Own ahead of a screening in Locarno this week.
Rushlake Media has come on board to handle world sales, while Juno will distribute in North America and Australia.
Lionel Rupp directed A Campaign Of Their Own, which examines the 2016 Us presidential campaign and the aftermath through the eyes of activist Jonathan Katz.
Michael David Mitchell produced and co-wrote the film, which follows Katz as he rallies behind the primary campaign of Democrat hopeful Bernie Sanders and questions the nomination process once Sanders concedes the nomination to Hillary Clinton.
A Campaign Of Their Own is a Zooscope Production with the support of Cinéforom and Loterie Romande and the support of Swiss Films.
The documentary screens on Tuesday in Locarno’s Panorama Suisse section for Swiss films that »
- jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
Get Out's Jason Blum: 'Australia has exported some of the great genre film-makers of our time'
6 hours ago | The Guardian - Film News | See recent The Guardian - Film News news »
His production house has become one of Hollywood’s biggest success stories – but Jason Blum predicts the future of genre film-making is in Australia
Australia has produced some of the best genre film-makers in the world, says Jason Blum. And he would know, given the company he founded back in 2000 has been responsible for some of the biggest genre successes of the past 15 years.
Blumhouse Productions had one of the most significant commercial and critical hits of the year so far with Jordan Peele’s directorial debut Get Out – a film Blum nurtured through development, and produced. In the horror sphere, it’s estimated his projects have earned over $5bn at the international box office with franchises such as Paranormal Activity, Insidious and The Purge – a figure that doesn’t factor in lucrative home entertainment profits, a slow but consistent earner for genre films. And that’s to say nothing »
- Maria Lee Lewis
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