The Morning Roundup: Holiday B.O. Report, New Scorsese, Public Enemies Pics, Your Film at Sundance
Written by: Phoebe Raven, CC2K Staff Writer
After the long weekend we have not only the B.O. report, but also winners of the British Indie Film Fest, talk of a new Scorsese film, pics of Depp/Bale as Public Enemies, the 100 greatest movie characters and a grand opportunity for aspiring film makers.
The Thanksgiving weekend was long, there's a lot of catching up to do. Hope your stomach isn't still full from all that turkey so you can digest all these news.
The holiday box office has officially begun, now that Thanksgiving is over and fittingly enough the Reese Witherspoon/Vince Vaughn vehicle Four Christmases topped the weekend box office. Last week's number one, Twilight, only came in second this time. And the runner-up also lost a rank, Bolt placed third this weekend.
The epic Australia only placed fifth. Given the high expectations for the film, you could call that a bomb.
Btw, James Bond and his Quantum of Solace are still dominating the overseas box office, for the fifth week in a row. How come he is lagging in America?
While America was busy eating turkey, the British Independent Film Festival handed out its awards. And yes, this means I have to pimp out the word for Danny Boyle again, because his film Slumdog Millionaire won him the top two prizes: Best Indie Film and Best Director. The other highly decorated film was Steve McQueen's Hunger, which not only garnered him a Best New Director award, but also saw its star, German-born Michael Fassbender, win for Best Actor. Cinematographer Sean Bobbitt also took home an award for the film. For more winners go here.
If because of all the turkey and stuffing you didn't check the googly-web (as Craig Ferguson calls it) this weekend, you were better off for it, because the SAG strike seems to be getting even closer. Now they have launched a PR offensive to support their cause and both sides of the argument are blaming each other for the situation getting out of hand. Read more about the debacle and the PR measures here.
News from the gaming world: Media mogul Sumner Redstone has sold his shares of Midway Games Inc. to a company led by private investor Mark Thomas. Redstone and his holding company apparently have debts of $1.6 billion and needed some cash to pay it off.
The latest on films to come our way shortly:
Martin Scorsese is apparently directing the little talked-about movie The Falcon's Tale. It's about a guy, who is in prison, is approached by the FBI and then investigates in there. Sounds like stuff Scorsese would do.
Empire Magazine has a first look at the new Johnny Depp/Christian Bale thriller Public Enemies. Nothing revolutionary, but hey, we take what we can get of those two. Cropped versions of the pictures below, go here for the full glory.
Latino Review got a first look at the draft of the new Beverly Hills Cop script. Seems the studio loves it, but Eddie Murphy doesn't. Oh, and Bret Ratner went to work again and named the project Beverly Hills Cop 2009. I am already annoyed.
Seems the only thing to do about the crappy state of movies these days is to make one yourself and Darren Aronofksy (The Wrestler) wants to test your chops. He wants you to submit a short film and the winner will be screened at Sundance and receive DVD distribution. Watch the video below or go to www.youtube.com/projectdirect for more information and the rules.
Remember the HBO series Rome? Remember it fondly, like many others? You can rejoice, there are plans of a theatrical wrap-up to the beloved show. While Rome's star Kevin McKidd has moved on to starring on Grey's Anatomy, I am sure he will leave that sinking ship gladly to return to glory. Especially after HBO admitted that axing the show was probably a mistake. Damn right!
Also remember that list of the supposedly "100 Greatest Movies of All Time" Empire Magazine published a few weeks ago? Now they are following it up with the "100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time". See the top 25 at the end of this roundup.
And a side note from the German TV market: Vodafone is looking to buy Kabel Deutschland, Germany's number one cable group. Globalisierung, wir sind dabei!
Empire's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time:
1. Tyler Durden (Fight Club)
2. Darth Vader (Star Wars trilogy)
3. The Joker (The Dark Knight)
4. Han Solo (Star Wars trilogy)
5. Hannibal Lecter (Silence of the Lambs)
6. Indiana Jones
7. The Dude (The Big Lebowski)
8. Captain Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Carribean trilogy)
9. Ellen Ripley (Alien quadrology)
10. Vito Corleone (The Godfather)
11. James Bond
12. John McClane (Die Hard)
13. Gollum (The Lord of the Rings trilogy)
14. The Terminator
15. Ferris Bueller (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off)
16. Neo (The Matrix trilogy)
17. Hans Gruber (Die Hard)
18. Travis Bickle (Taxi Driver)
19. Jules Winnfield (Pulp Fiction)
20. Forrest Gump (Forrest Gump)
21. Michael Corleone (The Godfather)
22. Ellis “Red” Redding (The Shawshank Redemption)
23. Harry Callahan (Dirty Harry)
24. Ash (Evil Dead)
25. Yoda (The Empire Strikes Back)
For the complete list go here.
And some new trailers:
The Ugly Truth (starring the drool-worthy Gerard Butler)
He's Just Not That Into You
What Doesn't Kill You