The Big Screen Bulletin 03.22.10: Alice in Wonderland is Still Queen!

Posted by Steve Gustafson on 03.22.2010

Christopher Nolan talks Inception! Is Captain America finally cast or just another rumor? Alan Horn makes a big announcement about 3D and DC Comics! Who's going to be a Bond girl? Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides news! Plus, the Predators trailer, box office results, DVD news, and more!

Welcome back to the Big Screen Bulletin! My name is Steve Gustafson and we've got a ton of movie news to cover this week, so let's get it started! Real quick, I'm part of the management team for hip hop artist John Public. He just released a new mixtape and I'm spreading the word. Hit me up at [e-mail] for the free download. If you're not sure, just ask for a free sample and I'll shoot you over a couple of tracks to peruse with your ear.

My other column, Hollywood 5 & 1, has a new sister! The Music 5 & 1 by Adam Hill. Check it out and support the 5 & 1 franchise!

So what else do I do around these parts? Let's take a look at all things Steve:
Saturday & Sunday: The Hollywood 5 & 1. Gossip and hot women.
Monday: Big Screen Bulletin. Did you miss last week? Check it out here!

My FINAL COLUMN: The Silicon Valley 10 & 1. Top 10 Movies That Should Have Video Games! Was I serious? Was I turfing it? Does anyone care?


Do movie critics take themselves too serious? Do we take their opinions too personally? Shouldn't movies be fun? Well, none of that has anything to do with...

A place where I can review films that fall off the beaten path. Am I being serious? That's up to you. This week I share my thoughts on Digital Playground's...



Fly Girls is another example that Digital Playground has found the winning formula for comedic adult films. With such entries as Cheerleaders, Babysitters, and Nurses, the have brought back the long forgotten storyline back to the forefront. And some mainstream comedy films could take a lesson or two because the laughs they induce come from a solid understanding of humor, great timing, and a cast that knows not to take themselves too serious.

This movie packs a lot in, but keeps things pretty balanced throughout. The plot focuses on several big-name adult film stars, playing themselves, believing that they are filming a "reality porn" style movie on an airplane. Going "method" acting they board the plane, thinking that the craft has been outfitted with hidden cameras and everyone who is on board is either an extra or fellow cast member. Problems arise they the real pilot gets too excited and drops out of the picture. Where does that leave our professional bunch? In for a bumpy ride! Having to think fast, they take control and, with the help of a kind janitor, try to land safely. An entertaining subplot revolves around the real flight attendants, who are held for questioning, and the interplay with the airport head of security.

Robby D., who has been on roll in the "vocation" series so far, returns to the directors chair and this is among one of the best one yet. Not only does Robby make an over-the-top scenario work, but the camera angles put you right into the film and shoots the stars in a way that's engaging and fun.

In a cast this size you run the risk of losing the audience. Fortunately, that doesn't happen and not only do you get the best of the Digital Playground line-up, some of the biggest names in the free market turn up to add a little something to the festivities. On the guy side of things, the always rock steady Evan Stone more than carries his weight in the comedy department. Also standing out is Ben English as the head of security, and Marco Banderas as the janitor. With the girls, there is no weak link to be found. Jesse Jane again proves she's the biggest star out there and her natural bubbly personality shines throughout. Lisa Ann, Nikki Benz and Diamond Foxxx play the real flight attendants and have a great chemistry with one another. With a cast that has Katsuni, Janie Summers, Sasha Grey, and Jenna Haze, there's something here for everyone. But I have to make exception for Riley Steele. Already one of the fastest rising stars out, she stands out and shows she's one to watch.

While it doesn't have the same quotability as Airplane, Fly Girls flies over a number of recent comedies and the ride it provides makes you wish the real airlines were as enjoyable.


If you're new to the Bulletin, I've classified the news by a symbol in front of the news segment. That way, if you're looking for certain information, just look for the logo. Easy enough to decipher but to ease your reading pleasure I've provided a legend for you. I've included the "legend" below.

Let's dive into the weekend!

Still Queen at the Box Office!

1. Alice in Wonderland $34,500,000 (-45.0%) ($265,800,000) Read the review!
2. Diary of a Wimpy Kid $21,800,000 (-) ($21,800,000)
3. The Bounty Hunter $21,000,000 (-) ($21,000,000)
4. Repo Men $6,151,000 (- ) ($6,151,000) Read the review!
5. She's Out of My League $6,015,000 (-38.5%) ($19,954,000) Read the review!
6. Green Zone $5,963,000 (-58.3%) ($24,702,000) Read the review!
7. Shutter Island $4,755,000 (-41.6%) ($115,770,000) Read the review!
8. Avatar $4,000,000 (-38.7%) ($736,881,000) Read the review!
9. Our Family Wedding $3,800,000 (-50.2%) ($13,668,000) Read the review!
10. Remember Me $3,300,000 (-59.2%) ($13,900,000) Read the review!
11. The Ghost Writer $2,100,000 (+71.4%) ($6,800,000)
12. Brooklyn's Finest $1,679,000 (-62.5%) ($24,859,000) Read the review!


This weekend had a little something for everyone; from family and kids to teens and action. And the results show that audiences came out in healthy droves. Still, 3 weeks! Alice in Wonderland took in an estimated $34.5 million at the box office this weekend. Coming in second with impressive results was Diary of a Wimpy Kid, earning $21.8 million and a solid $7,085 average at 3,077 screens. I smell a sequel in the works for this $15 million budgeted kids picture. On the other end of expectations, despite the presence of Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler, The Bounty Hunter failed to capture a huge audience and settled for third place with $21 million. Look for this to drop next week as reviews and word of mouth have been poor.

Then there's Repo Men. Starring Jude Law and Forest Whitaker, it had a dismal opening with a mere $6 million. Miguel Sapochnik's futuristic action thriller cost $32 million budget and looks to join Green Zone on the list of Universal's misses at the box office.

Next week has some interesting competitors entering the ring with How to Train Your Dragon, Greenberg, Chloe, and Hot Tub Time Machine.

YAWN Captain America Casting Rumor #2312: It's being reported that Chris Evans has been "offered" the role. Evans has to first accept it and deals have to be made, but it sounds like Channing Tatum may have passed on the role if Evans has been offered it instead. It was reported that the new "shortlist" for Captain had been trimmed down to three actors: Evans, Tatum, and Gossip Girl's Sebastian Stan. I should make a graph for my excitement over this movie. I've been as high as "Totally Wicked Awesome" and now I'm at "Piss off Steve Rogers." And a quick look at several message boards and media outlets tells me I'm not alone. Lock it up Marvel! And do better at rumor control! All this nonsense could have been avoided with a simple: "We are currently looking at a number of actors. No decisions have been made yet." Done.


Lots of news coming out of the ShoWest industry convention. Warner Brothers made an impression with their annual presentation looking at their line-up for this year. They shared some Clash of the Titans 3D footage and new footage from Chris Nolan's Inception and the final two Harry Potter movies. The presentation was moderated by Warner Bros President Alan Horn who revealed that all of their upcoming tentpole movies would be in 3D. No one should be shocked by this news. With the phenomenal success of Avatar and the huge reception Alice in Wonderland has received, this is a no-brainer. Everyone has been watching the to see how 3D would be viewed by the audience-goers, and the results have been better then projected. With movie theaters charging an extra $3.50 to $5.00 for a ticket, that's more money for the studios so it looks like it's full steam ahead!

With Marvel's plan of putting individual super hero films out only to bring them all together for one mega movie that will be 'The Avengers, Horn also revealed that starting in 2012, each summer will have at least one feature film based on a DC Comics heroes. So right now we're looking at Batman, Superman, and Green Lantern. The Flash and Wonder Woman franchises are in various stages of talk, but don't be surprised if they try to slip another one in there. Aquaman? Martian Manhunter? Green Arrow? Captain Atom? I smell a Casting Quarterback coming up! Get your suggestions in NOW!


If you don't want to know about the Inception trailer...STOP READING NOW! ShoWest 2010 has come and gone but left us plenty to chew on. Christopher Nolan's Inception, the enigmatic project that's been shrouded in mystery even after the debut of the first trailer, got some attention at the conference. Nolan took the stage and after thanking exhibitors for helping with the success of The Dark Knight, Nolan introduced some exclusive footage by saying that he couldn't promise that it would explain everything the film is about, but what he explained that it was "an action film told in a grand scale by a character played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who runs a team of people who have access to a technology that allows them to enter people's minds through their dreams." Which is what everyone has been able to piece together from what little we have to go on. He described dreams as both intimate and infinite experiences that will allow one to go any place, so they went to six different countries to shoot it, and that he wanted to create an immersive experience similar to the ones he treasured when he was a child while watching the James Bond movies and Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The footage started with Leo cocking a gun and his voiceover saying, "There's one thing you should know about me. An inception is an idea that's like a virus, it's highly contagious. The small seed of an idea can grow to define or destroy you." What follows are eerie visuals with people floating and the ethereal string chords build, as we see Leo sitting at a table in an ornately adorned room explaining to Ken Watanabe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt what they do: "In the dream state, your consciousness defenses lower...It makes your thoughts vulnerable to theft, called extraction. So you can actually train your subconscious to defend itself from the most skilled extractor." Watanabe asks how he knows that to which Leo replies, "Because I AM the best extractor." It then gets into a mission with some interaction between the three characters talking about it with Leo telling them that they won't just need a good thief, but a forger. Throughout, shots of Marion Cotillard and Cillian Murphy and in one scene, Leonardo yells at Joseph Gordon-Levitt about him not being prepared to take a job, and we see some action as the field agents. Some of the more striking visuals are those on snowy mountains with lots of agents driving around on snowmobiles. Another voiceover says something to the effect of, "Dreams feel real while we're in them, it's only when we wake up that we realize we're actually strangling," although reports differ on the exact wording. Leo tells someone, "We specialize in a very specific type of security, subconscious security." "You talking about dreams?" he's asked in return. After the tagline of "Your Mind is the Scene of the Crime" comes on screen, Michael Caine's character appears, who seems to be a recruiter for Leo's team. He tells Ellen Page's character, "If you have a couple months, Mr. Cartwright has a job he would like to discuss with you." Ellen Page asks, "Are you work placement?" And then some of the crazy visuals of buildings falling over and crumbling into water similar to the first trailer, and it ends with Leo saying, "Not exactly."

So where does that leave us? Right back at where we started. If anything, I'm even more excited for this film. We have a cast of solidly exceptional actors in a creative landscape under the watchful eye of Christopher Nolan. Buckle your seat belts.


Warner Bros. Pictures released a couple of clips from director Louis Leterrier's Clash of the Titans, opening in 3D and 2D theaters this week. Take a look below. I'll be honest, when I first heard about the plans for a remake I was skeptical. The 80s "classic" that I grew up with had that cheesy charm and my expectations that they would be able to capture that were low. But as we saw little peeks here and there, it started to grow on me. The trailers only added to that and it's climbed my list of movies to see. Enjoy the clip!


Clash of the Titans Exclusive Clip

Trailer Park Movies | MySpace Video




BangShowbiz is reporting that Freida Pinto, the Indian actress who starred in Slumdog Millionaire, has landed a role as one of the Bond Girls in the upcoming Bond 23 due in 2011. The last bit of news that was reported on the Bond sequel was that Oscar winning director Sam Mendes was on-board to at least "consult" and hopefully direct this newest movie, but nothing was moving forward until MGM found a buyer. On top of the Pinto news, the article also mentions that actress Olivia Wilde "has been approached" to play a role as another Bond girl as well. In what role, no idea, but they both clean up nicely and would be a good fit in the James Bond universe.


In February, we learned that both Ian McShane and Penelope Cruz were joining Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. McShane was reported to be playing the villain Blackbeard, but it wasn't clear which role Cruz would take on. In talking with MTV, producer Jerry Bruckheimer revealed that Cruz is playing Blackbeard's daughter. "She's the daughter of the bad guy," he said. You can expect "a little romance between Captain Jack and the new character that Penelope plays." He said "She brings a lot of humor to it. And the fact that she's so feisty." Bruckheimer added that Blackbeard is "the nastiest pirate ever." The producer also confirmed that Geoffrey Rush, who played Barbossa in the first three Pirates films, is indeed returning. As for more roles to be cast, Bruckheimer said they they are "Looking for some new kids to be in it, we're testing right now." Asked how different this film will be, he said "we're going to take a whole new direction," but he did mention that "it is a continuation of what you saw last time, he's in search for the Fountain of Youth." The Rob Marshall-directed film is scheduled to start filming in June for a May 20, 2011 release. I'm not a fan of the Pirates series. The first one was OK, but the other two were...WOOF. But I'm willing to give this one a fair shake. Hopefully it plays more to the things that worked and stays away from cramming too much at the audience.


Joss Whedon's Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, the musical superhero comedy that debuted online a few years ago, was only 42-minutes long but became an instant classic. It starred Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day, and Neil Patrick Harris, but reaction from fans made it a huge success. It's no surprise that there's now a sequel in development that may become a feature film. MTV talked with Neil Patrick Harris recently about the rumors of this upcoming Dr. Horrible sequel. NPH says, "Apparently they're making a Dr. Horrible sequel, a feature film I hope…I hope they cast me in it…We'll see." He goes on to say he's not sure how big it might be. "I don't know what scale, they're talking all options, because they made the first Dr. Horrible in five days on no budget at all…You don't want to make the feature film be an $80 million giant movie, because it defeats the purpose of what the first film was made to be, but then again you don't want it to be so low brow that it's not worth paying money to see as a movie.....I don't think it will be on the internet, I think it will probably be a film," is all NPH says. Thumbs up for this one! If you're not up on Dr. Horrible, get a small sample below.




SPOILER ALERT That's Mickey Rourke for ya. Comic Book Movie uncovered an interview with him in the May 2010 issue of Total Film, where he seems to reveal the ending of Iron Man 2 or maybe his character, Whiplash. Here's what Rourke revealed:
"Well, the only thing I can tell you is that they had decided to kill me and we did film it with Gwyneth Paltrow. And then they came to New Mexico and re-shot it and now it's left up in the air…"
Mickey loves doing this kind of stuff. Reveal something then twist it to make you think something else. Take it for what you will.


On Saturday, 20th Century Fox released the first trailer Predators at the South by Southwest Film Festival. Opening in theaters on July 7, the Nimrod Antal-directed and Robert Rodriguez-produced sci-fi action-adventure stars Adrien Brody, Laurence Fishburne, Topher Grace, Alice Braga, Danny Trejo, Walton Goggins, Oleg Taktarov, Mahershalalhashbaz Ali and Louiz Ozawa.

Brody plays Royce, a mercenary who reluctantly leads a group of elite warriors who come to realize they've been brought together on an alien planet...as prey. With the exception of a disgraced physician, they are all cold-blooded killers...mercenaries, Yakuza, convicts, death squad members...human "predators" that are now being systemically hunted and eliminated by a new breed of alien Predators.

More Predators Videos

Quick Bits..........From Cinemablend: "Duhamel says he met with Michael Bay yesterday and the Transformers 3 script is now complete. They're preparing to start filming it this summer." I would like to add to this rumor by saying most of the pages in the script just have the word EXPLOSIONS on them while others just say ROBOTS..........The Platinum Dunes banner, now partnered with Paramount, and producers Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form, have been involved in several remakes recently with reboots of Friday the 13th and next month's A Nightmare on Elm Street, and it looks like another remake is getting tossed into the mix, as Deadline reports they are developing a remake of the 1987 horror comedy Monster Squad with Rob Cohen set to direct and produce. This gets a shoulder shurg from me..........


Man, talk about timing! Sandra Bullock is going through a media blitz, and it happens to coincide with the release of her Oscar winning performance in The Blind Side. Will that help or hinder sales? I can't see any downside, so expect healthy sales. A movie that a lot of people may have heard about but never had a chance to see is The Fantastic Mr. Fox. It should find a strong audience in the DVD market. George Clooney and the cast of Men Who Stare at Goats delivered an entertaining flick while the timely Brothers touched audiences but it remains to be seen if it's something people want to watch over and over.

Oh my stars and garters...The African Queen has arrived! Easily one of the most anticpated DVD releases in quite sometime, do yourself a favor and pick this up to see what all the (deserved) hype is about.

What do the symbols mean by the story? Here you go:



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!

Are you following 411mania on Twitter?

http://www.twitter.com/411mania
http://www.twitter.com/411wrestling
http://www.twitter.com/411moviestv
http://www.twitter.com/411music
http://www.twitter.com/411games
http://www.twitter.com/411mma

http://www.twitter.com/stevethegoose
Follow me for random bits, news RT's, and updates!

Other Stuff to Read...On 411mania!

*****The 411 Movies Top 5 SNL Hosts We Want to See by Trevor Snyder.
*****Ten Deep: The Top Ten Fight Scenes by Mike Gorman
*****Furious on Film Movie News: About Alice Edition by Arnold Furious.
*****Around the World in 24 Frames: Nosferatu by Len Archibald
*****411 Fact or Fiction Movies/TV by Ben Piper This week Bryan Kristopowitz and Matthew Motiuk debate!


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



Remember to bookmark 411Mania.com or, even better, set it as your browser's homepage, so you can get your pop-culture news and views fresh and hot whenever you want them, only from 411Mania.com.

"THANK YOU!" to John Meehan for providing my banner! Make sure you're reading his MeeThinks Friday FreeThinks.

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 tomorrow so you don't miss the latest in movie news and opinions! See you next week!