The Big Screen Bulletin 12.07.09: Box Office Showdown Edition

Posted by Steve Gustafson on 12.07.2009

Will we be seeing another Terminator movie in our lifetime and will McG be involved? Peter Jackson speaks on The Hobbit while Brad Pitt gets ready for Moneyball. Plus, box office results and analyst, Top 10 trailers of the week, and Part One of the Top 30 Movies to See in 2010! All this and more!

Monday means a brand new Big Screen Bulletin. Did you catch my Hollywood 5 & 1 this week? I listed my Top 10 Hottest Female Celebrity Chefs and it created quite a debate. Well, not really a debate. Really just an excuse to run sexy pictures!

December is moving right along and I'm already thinking about 2010! What a year it's looking to be. Now, every year around this time we seem to be inundated with LISTS! Best of..., Worse of..., etc. And with it being the end of the decade the list potential is doubled. Well, the Bulletin will be no different. I'll be running a few features, looking back and looking forward when it comes to movies. First up (and over the next three weeks), I'll be sharing with you my

30 Movies to Watch in...




So let's jump right into part one of three!

30. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I
In an effort to squeeze every last dollar from this franchise, they have split this movie into two parts. The second will follow in July 2011. If you are a fan, this will be for you. If you're not, this won't change things. I still haven't gotten into Mr. Potter, but I'm trying.

29. Legion
The Old Testament God RETURNS! A fallen angel is humanity's only defense against a horde of destroying angels, carrying out the Big Guy's wishes to destroy everyone on Earth. I smell some kind of "message" in this movie. I just don't know what it is.

28. Shrek Forever After
Face it. We are going to keep getting sequels till they stop making money. Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and all of the others are back to drop plenty of "cool" pop-culture references on us. Word is they learned from the third movie and this one will return to the spirit of the first two.

27. The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Nicolas Cage is going to have a busy 2010. But that's not who got my attention. Set in the present day and co-starring Monica Bellucci, this movie is going after all you magic lovers. I'll use this to get my fill of Bellucci.

26. Salt
Angelina Jolie in an ‘agent on the run' thriller? I'm game. I believe this is the project Tom Cruise passed up, so props to the people who switched it up and let Jolie take a go at it.

25. A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas
My only question: Is Neil Patrick Harris in this?

24. Jonah Hex
I was a fan of the comic growing up and from the pictures leaked so far, this looks solid.

23. The Losers
Another comic book adaptation! More secret-agents than superheroes, the success of this movie will fall on how it's marketed.

22. Grown Ups
It's a Saturday Night Live cast reunion! When a group of old high school friends catch up at their old basketball coach's funeral, laughs and introspection occur! Add in Salma Hayek and Steve Buscemi...I'm there!

21. The Book of Eli
Denzel Washington with a sword. I'm feeling the trailer and even thought the "end of the world" flicks are getting overdone, this looks alright by me!

Check back next week for Part 2!


Before we get started, I wanted to share this with you. It brought a smile to my face and thought it would be fun to pass this along. Star Wars fans will love it, as will hip hop fans. Thanks to Slashfilm.com for this.

Star Wars Gangsta Rap: Chronicles

Atom.com: Funny Videos | Atom Originals | Star Wars Gangsta Rap

Third Week is the Charm!
1. The Blind Side $20,440,000 ($129,264,000)
2. The Twilight Saga: New Moon $15,704,000 ($255,639,000) Read the review!
3. Brothers $9,700,000 ($9,700,000)
4. A Christmas Carol $7,520,000 ($115,006,000)
5. Old Dogs $6,901,000 ($33,934,000)
6. Armored $6,600,000 ($6,600,000)
7. 2012 $6,600,000 ($148,787,000) Read the review!
8. Ninja Assassin $5,030,000 ($29,790,000) Read the review!
9. Planet 51 $4,300,000 ($33,966,000) Read the review!
10. Everybody's Fine $4,027,000 ($4,027,000)

The Blind Side built up a strong word-of-mouth following and overcame New Moon to take the top spot this past weekend. The football-themed drama brought its total to $100.2 million in ten days. That makes it the fastest sports movie on record to cross the $100 million mark. Not bad for a movie with limited marketing and the questionable drawing power of Sandra Bullock. I guess she answered a lot of questions. The vampire fans have done their job and New Moon took second place. Critically approved Brothers came in third, and it will be interesting to see how this does in the coming weeks.

Old Dogs lapped up $16.9 million while Ninja Assassin struck with $13.3 million. Both movies have done OK in comparison to expectations and previous movie performances of similar type. Among other holdovers, 2012 and Precious slipped and A Christmas Carol had the biggest increase among nationwide holdovers, up 28 percent to $15.8 million for a $104.9 million total in 24 days. It's strong sales are due in part to IMAX sales but watch that to go away once Avatar opens up. Debuting in limited release, The Princess and the Frog made a $786,190 splash at just two sites ($1.2 million in five days), but they were high-priced, specialty venues and not necessarily indicative of the Disney animated feature's prospects when it enters nationwide release on Dec. 11. The Road had a larger sampling at 111 sites and grossed an unremarkable $1.5 million ($2 million in five days).

The 30 Second Soapbox!

Believe it or not, December is shaping up to be a HUGE month for Hollywood. Not only are big director names like Cameron and Jackson releasing movies, but we'll be inundated with a number of Oscar contenders. With films like Invictus, The Lovely Bones, Avatar, Nine, Sherlock Holmes, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus...you have a lot of heavy hitters right there. While I believe The Lovely Bones will do well on opening weekend, I question it's long term success. Avatar is going to amaze audiences, but I question how they've marketed this movie to the "general audiences". Yes, it's going to look gorgeous on the big screen, but will it be too "different" for repeat views? My money is on Sherlock Holmes. Built in awareness. Popular stars. Action and adventure. That's MY pick for the big holiday winner. What's yours?

The OFFICIAL News Bulletin

Halcyon Holding Group, which announced it was contemplating a sale of its rights to Terminator after filing for Chapter 11 protection last August as a result of a dispute with a lender, released the following statement:

"When Halcyon announced the bidding process for the Terminator franchise last month, we indicated that in addition to an outright sale of the property, we would also consider other strategic options, including a recapitalization of the company. Over the past few weeks Halcyon and its professionals have engaged in in-depth discussions and negotiations with numerous serious potential buyers, including several major movie studios. In addition, a number of attractive refinancing alternatives have also been presented. In order to maximize the value of a transaction for all of the company's creditors and stakeholders, we are fully analyzing all these options. As a result, we will not be committing to a 'stalking horse' bid at this time. Nonetheless, given the significant positive interest in the Terminator franchise, we expect to be in a position to announce a successful sale or recapitalization no later than February 1, 2010."

Despite this pending sale, Terminator Salvation director McG thinks he's still directing the fifth and sixth Terminator movies.

To the average moviegoer this is confusing. While it's clear it's the company who owns the rights that is in trouble, most fans only hear the words Chapter 11, for sale, and bidding process. Not words to inspire confidence. While the latest movie didn't blow the lid off any records, the franchise itself is well known and still has an incredible amount of potential (I.E. Plenty of movie to be made!) Bottomline, Terminator movies WILL BE MADE! Be it through Halcyon or whomever buys the rights.

As far as McG is concerned: While I'm not a fan of his directing, I'm willing to see his "vision" through this second trilogy. To bring in a new director would open the door to confusing storylines...wait a minute. This is the Terminator. Confusing storylines are its bread-n-butter! Ditch McG and bring in Neil Blomkamp!





The Hobbit film might not begin filming until mid-summer 2010, but Peter Jackson has now gone on record saying that he still plans to release the first part of The Hobbit in December 2011 and the second in December 2012. Speaking with Collider, Jackson stated the following:

"Nothing has changed as far as I am concerned. Somebody wrote something on the internet and a lot of nonsense happened. You don't want to believe everything you read on the internet. We were due to deliver the scripts and be shooting sometime around April and now I think I said in an interview we were shooting in June. And somehow people are now saying the film is delayed. As far as I am aware, they are not delayed at all. I am not even sure when we are going to start shooting…we are delivering the scripts just after Christmas they'll be finished and we'll be shooting as soon as we possibly can. But you need a certain amount of time to finish the pre-production."

With what Jackson wants to put on-screen, this is a tight deadline. And I'm still not convinced the story of The Hobbit has enough plot meat to supply two movies.





Amy Pascal, co-chair of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Disney's Anne Sweeney both were named the most powerful women in entertainment, heading the Hollywood Reporter's annual "Power 100" list. Chat show host Oprah Winfrey, who came first a year ago, dropped to the No. 2 spot, while CBS TV entertainment president Nancy Tellem came in third. "It's fitting that these two remarkable women, who have dominated the top spots for several years running, now wield so much influence that we couldn't distinguish first and second," said Elizabeth Guider, editor-in-chief of entertainment industry daily, The Hollywood Reporter. She said the shared first place "bodes well for the growing influence of women in entertainment." Pascal's Sony Pictures Entertainment has enjoyed a record year with global ticket sales of $3.4 billion, so far, fueled by hits such as disaster film 2012, thriller Angels and Demons and the Michael Jackson concert movie This Is It. Sweeney is co-chair of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney's ABC Television Group, responsible for Disney's global entertainment and news television properties where she has overseen international hits like Desperate Housewives and Disney Channel's Hannah Montana starring Miley Cyrus. Newcomers to the list include chat show host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres at No. 7 and actress Meryl Streep.

The Top 10 in the Women in Entertainment Power 100 list are:

1.Amy Pascal, Sony Pictures Entertainment co-chair
Anne Sweeny, Disney Media Networks co-chair
2.Oprah Winfrey, Harpo Inc. chairman
3.Nancy Tellem, CBS Network Television Entertainment Group President.
4. Bonnie Hammer, president NBC Universal Cable Entertainment and Universal Cable Productions.
5. Donna Langley, co-chairman Universal Pictures.
6. Stacey Snider, co-chairman and CEO, Dreamworks
7. Dana Walden, chairman 20th Century Fox Television
8. Nina Tassler, president, CBS Entertainment.
9. Angela Bromstad, president, Primetime Entertainment NBC and Universal Media Studios.
10. Sue Kroll, president of worldwide marketing Warner Bros. Pictures.

A telling (and positive) sign of the power woman are holding in Hollywood. While it's still dominated by men, just look at the Top 10 here and note the positions they hold. Now, I know by reporting this I open it up for some...less than flattering comments below, but it's the sign of the times!





Bennett Miller is in negotiations to direct Columbia's Moneyball, the on-again, off-again baseball drama starring Brad Pitt as Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A's who rewrote the unwritten rulebook of baseball. The move comes after Columbia, the actor and the producers, Michael De Luca, Scott Rudin and Rachael Horovitz, met with directors in recent weeks to get the movie back on track after pulling the plug on a Steven Soderbergh-directed iteration in June. The movie began its rehabilitation with when Aaron Sorkin was brought on to write a draft, drawing on Steve Zaillian's earlier take. The project is based upon the best-selling book by Michael Lewis. Stan Chervin wrote the first draft of the script.

Did you get all that? All I know is this: I read the book and it was interesting. I heard about the movie being made and shrugged my shoulders. When Brad Pitt was attached, THEN I took notice and it became something I wouldn't mind seeing. But the back and forth on this project is frustrating and makes it something that could become a mess and ruin the project before it even comes out. Let's wait and see.

QUICK BITS...of News! Since it was first announced that a new film about Red Sonja was in development in 2006 people have been calling it a remake when it will have nothing to do with the 1985 commercial and critical flop staring Brigitte Nelson and Arnold Schwarzenegger. This film is based on the Dynamite Entertainment comics and will most likely be based on issues 9-12..........Jack Black is developing a Jason Micallef pitch about Cryptozoology for Universal-based Illumination Entertainment. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but Cryptozoology is the study of mythic and legendary creatures such as Bigfoot, the Yeti and the Loch Ness Monster..........Variety has confirmed that Taylor Lautner has signed to play the title role in Paramount's Max Steel, based on Mattel's action figure toy line. The 17-year-old would play a 19-year-old extreme sports junkie recruited by a secret agency after an accident infects his body with nanobots, making him superhuman.

DVD Pick of the Week!

Public Enemies - While it wasn't the smash hit everyone thought it would be, I'm hoping this ages well on DVD and will a semi-classic we can watch over and over. Then again, I've been wrong before. Shawn Lealos reviewed it here.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - As it's been noted, I'm not a fan of Harry Potter books or movies. But that doesn't mean I'm anti-Potter. I fully accept some things aren't meant for me. And I'm OK with it. Jeffrey Harris reviewed the movie here.

Julie & Julia - Here's something for the ladies out there. This got mixed reviews but if you're looking for last minute presents, you could do worse than gifting this on that special someone.

The Dog Who Saved Christmas - Hey, who doesn't love a sappy, heavy handed Christmas story this time of the year?

Lost: The Complete Fifth Season - If you haven't fallen under the spell of the island, then I don't think you're going to start know. All I can say is don't let Ben Piper know you're not a fan! Speaking of Lost, I wonder what former 411mania staffer, Rick Tym is up to?

Rescue Me: Season 5, Volume 2 - All I'll say about this series is, if you're not watching it, you should be. Stop being stubborn and find the time.

Are you a fan of 411mania on Facebook? Keep up-to-date on news and contests! Don't forget to participate in our message boards! There is a section for everyone!

You can't go a day without hearing the latest comic book news or rumor. I'll be rounding up the up-to-the-minute comic book gossip in one spot, for you to peruse and debate.





The Good News! A Marvel theme park is coming! Most of Marvel's superheroes will have their own individual attractions including: the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, the X-Men, Silver Surfer, and Spider-man. According to a a recent post of Brady MacDonald of the L.A Times "Off-site testing has already begun on three of the planned attractions: "Flying with Spidey," "Fantasticar," and "X-Men: Danger Room". Here is the concept art for the park, created by Chimera Designs:





The Bad News! It's going to be in Dubai (United Arab Emirates). The park is a joint venture between the Al Ahli Group and Marvel Entertainment. It will supposedly cost around $1 billion to construct, and is scheduled to open in 2012. Start saving your money.





"...look, I had a great time with Superman, but I probably know as much as you do about it. It's in development, and I am contractually meant to do a second one."

Kevin Spacey on whether he'll reprise the role of Lex Luthor in a sequel to Superman Returns or not.

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Based on the Movie Trailer Top 10

The Top 10 Trailers of the Week! Rankings will be based on popularity, feedback/reaction, and content. Once a movie opens, the trailer is no longer in contention for the Top 10. Release dates are for the US.

Trailer News: Word around Tinseltown was that we would get our first glimpse of Airbender on Christmas but Frank Ox squashed that saying, "Not enough ILM shots finished, so LAST AIRBENDER trailer will not debut until Feb." The rumor is the first official trailer wont be shown till Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Just missing out on the Top 10 is Extraordinary Measures (January 22, 2010), Leap Year (January 8, 2010), and Salt(July 23, 2010)

10. Brooklyn's Finest(March 5, 2010) - Richard Gere, Ethan Hawke, Don Cheadle, and Wesley Snipes make for an intriguing cast.

9. Date Night(April 9, 2010) - Buzz has picked up for this romantic comedy.

8. Clash of the Titans (March 26, 2010) - Clash holds steady in the bottom half, but as more pictures comes out, will it excite the internet or draw ire?

7. Nine (December 25, 2009) - As the release date approaches, this musical is drawing attention from those curious about the singing ability of Daniel Day Lewis.

6. Green Zone (March 12, 2010) - Matt Damon's reputation keeps this one in play. People have accepted him as an action star and are eagerly awaiting this one.

5. Alice in Wonderland (March 5, 2010) - Tim Burton's wild and wacky film stays in the mix with it's imagery and classic story of Alice.

4. Kick Ass (April 16, 2010) - The new poster and pictures just published help boost this comic book movie up in the ratings.

3. Lovely Bones (December 25, 2009) - Christmas day is looking to be HUGE and Lovely Bones is looking to be a contender.

2. Sherlock Holmes (December 25, 2010) - I know when a trailer makes an impact when my mom asks me about it. Expect this to do very well!

1. Avatar (December 18, 2009) - Jim Cameron's epic will not be stopped! As the advertising gears up for it's release expect more coverage on television and magazine covers. NEW FEATURETTE

Other Stuff to Read...On 11mania!

The 411 Movies Top 5 Television Christmas Specials by Trevor Snyder
411 Fact Or Fiction Movies/TV by Ben Piper This week Jake Chambers and Jeffrey Harris debate!
The UBS Evening Television & Movie News by George H. Sirois For more info on his book go to http://excelsior2010.blogspot.com/.
Around the World in 24 Frames: The Great Films of the 2000's: Part Two by Len Archibald Great list, great films, great writing!
411 Movies Roundtable: December 2009 by Owain J. Brimfield

If you have some down time and are looking for a great place for great fun, check out Tiger Flash Games!



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As always, "THANK YOU!" to John Meehan for providing my new banner! Make sure you're reading his MeeThinks Friday FreeThinks. Next week I'll have Part 2 of the Top 30 Movies of 2010 AND my Top 10 Worst Movies of the 2000s!

That's all the time I have, I'll see you next week! Make sure you check out Jeremy Thomas and the Hush Hush News Report and Mike Gorman's Babes, Bombs, & Blockbusters tomorrow so you don't miss the latest in movie news and opinions!