The Movie Analyst » Snippets

Vin Diesel back again as Riddick

Suraj — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 12:58:25 +0000

Vin Diesel is all set to step into his famous anti-hero role as Riddick for Universal Pictures and Lionsgate. He also plans to turn producer for this project.

David Twohy, writer and director of Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick will be directing this movie for which he also pens down the screenplay. Grapevine has it that the movie will not be anything like the previous edition of Chronicles and will be more along a Pitch Black like dark character-driven storyline.

It is also known that production won’t begin until Diesel is done with Fast Five, the fifth movie in The Fast & The Furious franchise.

Penelope Cruz to star in Pirates of the Carribean 4

Suraj — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 05:53:27 +0000

According to reports from Heat Vision, Penelope Cruz is in talks with Disney Pictures to star in the Pirates franchise’s fourth edition, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. This will bring together Cruz and her Blow co-star Johnny Depp.

It is known that Depp will continue to play the role of Captain Jack Sparrow who sets off on a quest to find the Fountain of Youth. Previous reports say that Cruz’s character will be “Sparrow’s foil and equal in many ways”.

The fourth Pirates movie will be helmed by director Rob Marshall of Nine fame and is all set for a May 2011 release with shooting to begin this Summer at Hawaii.

Fourth Spiderman movie officially goes 3D

Suraj — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:06:55 +0000

The word is out Spidey fans! According to a statement by the distributor, the Spider-Man reboot by Sony has officially gone 3D. The new movie from the franchise is set for a worldwide release on July 3rd 2012.

The movie which is still untitled will go into production later this year and director Marc Webb who gave us 500 Days of Summer will be directing the much awaited reboot with screenplay by James Vanderbilt. Avi Arad and Laura Ziskin will be producing the movie.

The month of July in 2012 will see two big releases – one being the Spidey reboot and the other being the sequel to the most critical reboot hit of the year Star Trek.

Disney/Pixar delays Cars 2 release

Suraj — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 04:25:38 +0000

Disney/Pixar is the latest addition to a list featuring Screen Gems and Universal who have tinkered with their movie release dates. Bob Iger, CEO of Walt Disney Company, has formally stated that the much awaited Disney/Pixar sequel to the hit movie Cars, that was originally set to hit the screens on June 24th 2011 has been delayed by six months and will release sometime in December.

Having come out with the news during Disney’s first quarter financial call, Cars 2 will now occupy the release date previously occupied by Disney’s The Bear and The Bow. So with these two movies set for close releases, it is quite obvious that one of the two will be shifted to an early 2012 release.

The sequel Cars 2 features Lightning McQueen and Mater competing in a race that tracks the whole world.

Twilight and Harry Potter stars to act together

Suraj — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:48:51 +0000

According to reports, Ashley Greene who plays the vampire Alice Cullen in the Twilight saga and Tom Felton of Harry Potter fame will star together in the horror flick, The Apparition directed by Todd Lincoln.

Felton known for his role as Draco Malfoy in the Potter franchise, will be playing the role of an expert dealing with the supernatural in the movie.

The story based on true events, is about the haunting of a young couple by a supernatural being which gets accidentally unleashed when a college experiment goes haywire.

Production work started this week and the movie has raised expectations with both Twilight and Harry Potter stars coming together for the first time.

“Dear John” dethrones “Avatar”

Suraj — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:50:44 +0000

When many thought it would be Edge of Darkness or Wolfman that would do it, a rom-com Dear John is the movie which has replaced James Cameron’s 3D epic Avatar that saw a seven week unchallenged streak in the box office.

Dear John exceeded expectations when it made a collection of $32.4 million in it’s weekend opening in North America. This put an end to Avatar’s rule in the box office. With a weekend collection of $23.6 million, Cameron’s epic saga has hauled $2.2 billion globally of which $630 million is from the US.

At the Santa Barbara Film Festival, Cameron was asked about the upcoming sequel to Avatar. And his reply was, “I definitely have a story arc in mind for the second film and even on a very vague base for a third film. That doesn’t mean we’ll do a third film – it doesn’t mean we’ll stop at a third film. We’ll just have to see where it goes.”

But this doesn’t necessarily have to be Cameron’s next release. So we just need to do what we are used to doing…. Wait and watch!

Screen Gems and Universal revamp their release dates

Suraj — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:36:12 +0000

With a barrage of movies coming up this year and the following year, Screen Gems has changed the release dates of 5 of it’s movies and Universal has shifted the release date of it’s much expected Repo Men.

Repo Men

Director: Miguel Sapochnik

Cast: Jude Law, Forest Whitaker

Previous Release date: April 2nd 2010

New Release date: March 19th 2010

Reason cited: To avoid competition with Clash of the Titans.

The Kids Are All Right

Director: Lisa Cholodenko

Cast: Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson, Mark Ruffalo

Previous Release date: January 25th 2010

New Release date: July 7th 2010

Priest

Director: Scott Stewart

Cast: Paul Bettany, Cam Gigandet, Maggie Q, Karl Urban, Christopher Plummer

Previous Release date: August 20th 2010

New Release date: January 14th 2011

Reason cited: The film will now be a Digital 3D release.

Takers

Director: John Luessenhop

Cast: Zoe Saldana, Hayden Christensen, Chris Brown, Paul Walker, Matt Dillon, Jay Hernandez, Michael Ealy

Previous Release date: May 14th 2010

New Release date: August 20th 2010

Reason cited: Priest’s move to 2011 spurred this change.

The Roommate

Director: Christian E. Christiansen

Cast: Cam Gigandet, Minka Kelly, Billy Zane, Denneel Harris

Previous Release date: September 17th 2010

New Release date: February 4th 2011

Easy A

Director: Will Gluck

Cast: Emma Stone, Amanda Bynes, Cam Gigandet, Lisa Kudrow, Stanley Tucci, Thomas Haden Church, Malcolm McDowell

Previous Release date: Was not announced.

New Release date: September 17th 2010

Reason cited: Release in place of The Roommate.

Cowboys & Aliens

Director: Jon Favreau

Cast: Olivia Wilde, Daniel Craig, Jon Favreau (Voice rendering)

Official Release date: July 29th 2011

Underworld IV

Director: Unconfirmed

Cast: Len Wiseman, Kate Beckinsale

Previous Release date: January 14th 2011

New Release date: September 23rd 2010

Reason cited: It will not be in Digital 3D as it was previously slated to be.

Battleship

Director: Peter Berg

Cast: Taylor Lautner (confirmed to star as Stretch Armstrong)

Previous Release date: July 2011

New Release date: May 25th 2012

Reason cited: According to a press release, the reason behind the delay is to “give it the time and resources to thoroughly realize its huge-scale ambitions.”

Russell Crowe front-runner for “A Star Is Born” remake?

Suraj — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 15:17:46 +0000

According to news reports by the LA Times, State of Play star Russell Crowe is the front-runner for the lead role in the Warner Bros. remake of “A Star Is Born”.

It is known that the offer has not yet been made and Crowe would very well sign up for this project if a formal offer is made. Crowe would play the role of an alcoholic musician who tutors an up and coming female star and is also involved in a romantic relationship with her.

The latest unconfirmed additions to this project are screen-writer Will Fetters and director Nick Cassavetes of The Notebook fame.

This is the fourth time the film is being remade. Previous editions having released in 1937 with Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, 1954 with Judy Garland and James Mason, and 1976 with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie break up!

Suraj — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 17:50:20 +0000

I just came across this news just as I was about to hit the bed. I seem to have been struck by instant insomnia — or is it just a dream?

Reports have started surfacing that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have signed a $330 million split deal! This development was brought to light by News of the World!

Though Pitt and Jolie are not legally married, they have taken “legal steps to dissolve their union including how to divide their fortune and who gets custody of their six kids.” From what it looks like, tabloids have it that the children will be under joint custody but will grow up full time under Jolie’s care.

“The contract was like a tailor-made version of a pre-nuptial agreement except for an unmarried couple’s split,” the source to NOTW says. “It seemed clear they want the world to know they’ll both play a part in the upbringing of the children.”

With calls to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s reps not being returned at the moment, it is quite hard to pass judgments on the genuineness of the alleged reports.

Are these reports true? Or are they just another example of how a piece of phony tabloid information can change the way the world functions when it comes to celebrity couples? Well, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Kim Kardashian’s avid stalker

Suraj — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 02:33:09 +0000

Reggie Bush, the New Orleans Saints star is seriously worried about Dennis Shaun Bowman who purportedly has decided to spend the rest of his life trying to hook up with Bush’s celebrity girlfriend Kim Kardashian. Bush has reportedly hired a brigade of bodyguards who accompany her where she goes to ensure her protection from her avid stalker.

Though Kim has never seen Bowman, she says that he moved from Georgia to L.A to be with her, following which Kim obtained a restraining order against Bowman which requires him to stay 500 yards clear of Kim. As stated in the legal documents, Bowman has been spotted at all public appearances by Kim in Joker face paint and it is known that he is said to have even threatened Reggie Bush.

Now that’s what we call an ardent stalker!