Dennis Dugan, who has directed Adam Sandler in many films, showed promise when he released Happy Gilmore in 1996. The film was silly and over-the-top funny, but still maintained its grounding in a simple albeit far-fetched premise that worked. It will always be a Sandler classic, a shining cornerstone of his talent and capacity to make audiences laugh. However, Sandler and Dugan do not make films like this anymore. If Grown Ups and I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry were any indication, Dugan and Sandler have proven themselves to be total sellouts. Their films suck in money like a Dyson and spew out senseless, bland shlock.
Jeffrey Katzenberg, Chief Executive at Dreamworks Animation, currently pays out 8% of Dreamworks Animation's film revenues to Paramount, who act as the sole distributor of their films. Katzenberg's 8% deal has just been extended through 2013, but Paramount is demanding a higher percentage of revenue after the end of the fiscal year. In the most ostensible opposition is Katzenberg himself who seeks to lower that amount. It seems that post-2013, DWA(Dreamworks Animation) is set to be up for grabs, but at what cost?
Whoooo! That's the sound that escaped me when Daniel Craig, star of the upcoming David Fincher film The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, announced that the movie will be very much an adult-oriented piece.
According to Deadline, Lionsgate has decided to assist Kevin Smith in distributing his long gestating, scarcely seen film Red State. The film, which has only been shown 15 times in 15 separate theaters is the topic of hot debate, not only for its core story of political and religious extremity, but also for director Smith's behavior regarding the wide release of the film.
We reported back in January that James Cameron is in fact bringing the Avatar story back to the silver screen with two planned sequels. There is some speculation that the majority of the film will take place in the ocean, but that's still unconfirmed. What we do know though is that Cameron intends to release the films back-to-back, in 2014 and 2015. According to First Showing, he will shoot the two films simultaneously (think Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows).
Zombieland helmer Ruben Fleischer gives his upcoming action-comedy 30 Minutes or Less the red band trailer treatment today. The film stars Jesse Eisenberg, Aziz Ansari, Nick Swardson, and Danny McBride playing the same roles they always play: anxious, snappy, incompetent, and cocky (respectively). I love the personalities at play here and am eagerly anticipating the August 12th release date.
Hit Flix tells us that director/actor Ben Affleck is set to direct Harlan Coben's revered french novel Tell No One, presumably after he finishes work on Argo. Chris Terrio, who also penned the script for Argo, will adapt the story for the silver screen. The film was originally conceived in 2002 by Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci for Sony, but never took off due to countless logistical issues with the production. After Sony relinquished the rights to the film, Universal and Warner Brothers soon optioned the book and are now readily preparing the story for multiplexes across the world.
Entertainment Tonight recently released footage of the highly-anticipated film Moneyball, written by The Social Network's Aaron Sorkin and directed by Capote's Bennet Miller. Based on Michael Lewis' bestselling novel Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, the film stars Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Robin Wright, Steven Bishop, Kathryn Morris, Chris Pratt, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman.
Deadline just announced that Paul Greengrass, the critically acclaimed director of United 93, The Bourne Supremacy, and The Bourne Ultimatum, has officially been offered the reigns to the highly topical Richard Phillips story. In 2009, Phillips was captured by Somali Pirates and was held for three days in a small lifeboat before NAVY seals could conduct a successful, yet violent rescue that fortunately left Phillips unharmed. As Captain of the pirated vessel Maersk Alabama, he surrendered himself to spare his the lives of his crew. The script was adapted by scribe Billy Ray from Phillips' book entitled "A Captain’s Story: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea" and Tom Hanks is set to play Phillips.
Recently at E3, Warner Brothers released new gameplay footage of Asylum's highly anticipated sequel, Batman: Arkham City. The footage (which can be found below) depicts Catwoman as a playable character and shows off some gameplay.
