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Monday, February 8
We just recently got an augmented reality map of the rising Harry Potter theme park at Universal Orlando. And just yesterday a commercial for the park got its official debut at the Super Bowl. Now (via The Leaky Cauldron) we have a less scripted peek at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in the form of a set of more than sixty photos taken during a recent helicopter tour over the Islands of Adventure.
The point of view in the pictures is a bit higher up than in the earlier broom's-eye views, and the ongoing construction activity isn't edited out, so you can get a better idea how far along the project is. Pretty close to done from the look of things. A good look at Hogwarts castle from various points of view, along with some shots of the roller coasters, store fronts, Hogsmeade, and Hagrid's Hut. Some of the wider angle shots also give a better sense of how Harry Potter's world is going to fit into the rest of the park, and the Florida landscape.
Posted 2/8/2010 by Bill
Related: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
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A new series of candid photos from the set of director Jimmy Hayward's Jonah Hex reshoots have surfaced online. While the photos don't reveal anything new about the movie's plot or characters, they do provide a complete 360°-view of Megan Fox's leather-and-lace ensemble, and there are a couple nice shots of title star Josh Brolin in full costume and makeup.
Jonah Hex went into production back in April 2009 and principal photography had been wrapped for months when it was announced that additional casting was needed to complete a series of reshoots. Warner Bros. brought in Francis Lawrence, director of Constantine, another Warner Bros. property based on a DC Comics title, as a consultant to Hayward during the reshoots.
Next Showing: Jonah Hex opens June 18
Posted 2/8/2010 by BrentJS
Related: Megan Fox | Josh Brolin | Jonah Hex | Jimmy Hayward | Francis Lawrence
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If you got excited about the recent rumor that an all-new Gremlins movie was being developed for release in stereoscopic 3-D, then prepare to be disappointed. It now appears that "Gremlins 3-D" is far less of a sure thing than 3-D–centric MarketSaw reported it to be several weeks ago.
While out promoting his new movie, Percy Jackson and the Oympians: The Lightning Thief, director Chris Columbus, who wrote the original Gremlins for producer Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, was asked to comment on the rumor, and he told ComingSoon that he didn't know anything about a new movie being developed.
I spoke to Steven Spielberg a couple days ago and said, "You know, I've been reading on the internet about this Gremlins 3-D," and no one's approached him either, so I don't know if that's really true.
Columbus added that "it would be fun to go back and revisit" the property, but that using CGI to animate the gremlins would not do the little guys justice.
Something like Gremlins, which is a movie I really like, I think it's impossible to recreate in a CGI environment. I think it will inevitably lose some of its charm. Those are edgy Muppets in a sense and you don't want to lose that sense of anarchy that those gremlins had, because behind the scenes are 25 puppeteers making them to come to life.
Posted 2/8/2010 by BrentJS
Related: Gremlins | Gremlins 2: The New Batch
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Director Joe Johnston must have been dying to talk about his next project, Marvel Studios' The First Avenger: Captain America, because information about the movie has been pouring out of him lately. Johnston spoke at length about the movie over the weekend, explaining that he aims to cast an "unknown" American actor in the title role (sorry, Sam Worthington), divulging how he plans to incorporate the character's colorful costume into the gritty WWII setting, and revealing the news that the Red Skull will be the major villain.
As tantalizing as those bits and pieces of information may be to comic book movie fans, the latest news trumps them all. Devin Faraci of CHUD has reported that Captain America (Cap) will not be the only costumed adventurer in the movie. Faraci claims that he spoke with Johnston at the press day for The Wolfman and was told that Cap's wartime allies, The Invaders, would be appearing "in the entire second half" of the movie.
For the uninitiated, The Invaders were an international coalition of superheroes that banded together to stop the Nazi threat during WWII. The roster of the Cap-led team changed over the years, but the primary members were: Cap's young protégé, Bucky (aka The Winter Soldier, current bearer of the Captain America mantle in the Marvel Comics series); the fiery duo of the Human Torch and Toro; Cap's British counterpart, Union Jack; and the Lord of Atlantis, Namor, the Sub-Mariner.
The news of The Invaders' appearance is significant to comic book movie fans because it will be the largest collection of Marvel superheroes in a single movie since 2006's X-Men Origins: The Last Stand. Even more important, it will be an opportunity to showcase Cap's ability to lead other superpowered heroes into battle, something that he will undoubtedly be called on to do when all of Marvel Studios' heroes gather in The Avengers movie, due in 2012.
Next Showing: The First Avenger: Captain America opens July 22, 2011
Posted 2/8/2010 by BrentJS
Related: Joe Johnston | First Avenger: Captain America | The Avengers
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G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra was recently nominated for 6 Razzie awards, which are the flipside of the Academy Awards and celebrate the worst movies of the year. G.I. Joe was second in nominations only to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Land of the Lost, which led with 7 total nominations apiece. When New York Magazine asked G.I. Joe star Channing Tatum his feelings about the Razzie awards, Tatum's reaction was an odd sort of pride.
Whoa. Cool. Did G.I. Joe win any? Was I nominated for Worst Actor?
Tatum was not nominated, however, his co-stars, Sienna Miller and Marlon Wayans were both nominated for Supporting Actress and Actor Razzies respectively. Tatum doesn't think that Wayans will be crushed by the nomination.
Marlon's Razzie for Little Man is his most prized trophy. I kid you not. He's probably thrilled. Besides, when you do a movie like [G.I. Joe], you aren't trying to break any ground. You just want kids and grown-ups who remember the cartoon to go see it, love it, and have a good time watching shit get blown up. And we did good business anyway. There is talk of a sequel. I know they hired a writer, so I'm crossing fingers.
In fact two screenwriters have been hired — Zombieland's Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick were recently tasked with writing the sequel.
Posted 2/8/2010 by Ryan
Related: Channing Tatum | Marlon Wayans | G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra | G.I. Joe 2
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Sunday, February 7
| Title | Weekend | Total | Analysis |
| Dear John | $32.4M | $32.4M | Sappy romance is what it takes to finally oust Avatar from #1 spot. |
| Avatar | $23.6M | $630.1M | #1 streak ends at 7 weekends. Far short of Titanic's amazing 15 in a row. |
| From Paris With Love | $8.1M | $8.1M | Anemic opening for Travolta action pic. |
| Edge of Darkness | $7.0M | $29.1M | Big Week 2 drop-off barely keeps Mel Gibson revenge flick in Top 5. |
| Tooth Fairy | $6.5M | $34.3M | Enough families attend "The Rock" flick to put movie on path to profitability ($48M budget). |
Posted 2/7/2010 by reelz
Related: Avatar | Dear John
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The Saints' lead didn't last long. Indianapolis came and took it back. But not to be outdone, New Orleans narrows the score to 17-16 although The Colts are ahead. 10 minutes into the 4th quarter and Indianapolis has the ball — and take it within field goal range. No goal! The Saints march the ball down field and Jeremy Shockey makes the TD! Saints lead again 24-17!
Five minutes left in the game and now that we're wrapping up; here's a little horror movie that saw air earlier. The Crazies is about a lawman (Timothy Olyphant), his wife (Radha Mitchell), and two companions fight to make it out of town alive after an unknown toxin turns ordinary citizens into bloodthirsty lunatics.
Tracy Porter for the New Orleans Saints intercepts a Payton Manning pass and runs it in 74 yards for the score. With the extra point it becomes 31-17 Saints! With only 3 minutes left, The Colts get it all the way down to the goal line but can't convert. That's all she wrote. Saints win!
Posted 2/7/2010 by Jim
Related: Radha Mitchell | Timothy Olyphant | The Crazies