The Big Screen Bulletin 12.05.11: Twilight Takes Another Bite Out of the Box Office!

Posted by Steve Gustafson on 12.05.2011

News and thoughts about fan reaction to concept art of the Lizard from The Amazing Spider-Man, a movie about Chris Benoit being in the works, Benicio Del Toro's latest Star Trek 2 casting rumors, Starship Troopers getting rebooted, the first look at Sam Worthington in Wrath of Titans and more!

Welcome to the Big Screen Bulletin! My name is Steve Gustafson and this is where we hit the big movie news from the weekend and anything else going on in the world of Hollywood!

Get your celebrity and hot girl fix with the ORIGINAL The Hollywood 5 & 1! Not for the faint of heart! This week: Kate Upton takes on Rhian Sugden and Leilani Dowding battles Miranda Kerr in Vs, Kourtney Kardashian uses her pregnancy to distract from family problems, Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries trade words, Courtney Love wants to help Lindsay Lohan, Emily Scott is your "& 1" Model of the Week and more!

Do you enjoy the 5 & 1 format? Of course you do! Check this out. First up is the NEWEST member to the 5 & 1 club...Stewart Lange with his The MMA 5 & 1! Next is The Music 5 & 1 by Jeremy Thomas. Bringing up the rear is The Wrestling 5 & 1 by Greg De Marco. Check it out!

This week I participated in the awesome Fact or Fiction by Ben Piper! Great questions that sparked some good debate! I had the pleasure of being paired with Jeffrey Harris, who always brings the goods! Check it out!


Before I jump into things I wanted to write a quick something for a very worthy charity that has been started by Raven Alexis. I only met Raven briefly at the AVN Red Carpet this past January. She was on crutches and I commented that not many other stars would have done the carpet and she laughed. We spoke for a few minutes and she had a really great attitude and spirit.

Several months later it came out that Raven was taking a break from the industry to deal with advanced metastatic cancer. I don't want to put the focus on that though. It's the strength and example she's setting now that I want to write about. Her Twitter (Updated by her and her man, Dirt Junior) and Tumblr (http://ravenalexisxxx.tumblr.com/) have become a rich source of inspiration as she documents her journey. Raven and her family have started the "Toys Fighting Cancer" Toy Drive and will be donating these toys to Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA.

I took this from her Tumblr:

Our "Toys Fighting Cancer" toy drive is over halfway to our goal! We have received over $2,500 in toys, cash, and credit card donations. We want to thank everyone that has donated from the bottom of our hearts! It means so much to Raven!

We encourage everyone as you watch NFL today, or spend time with your family, please take some time to think about those not so fortunate this holiday season. For some people like Raven, their Christmas will be spent being poked with needles, undergoing chemotherapy, in a dark, dreary hospital room, or wondering if it will be the last Christmas they ever celebrate.

Especially for children, having cancer is incredibly scary, and hospitals, for most of us, are places that we hate! Please think of all these beautiful little kids that are so desperately ill. If you have any resources to spare, even if it's just sending a card for the kids, it is so appreciated!

To buy toys directly for the kids: http://amzn.to/virsr0

To donate via credit card: http://fundly.com/toysfightingcancer#

We will be delivering the toys to Mattel Children's Hospital on the weekend of the 16th/17th most likely, so please get your donations in by the 15th!

Thanks to everyone that has helped! Any individuals or companies that would like to inquire as to how to help further, please email [e-mail]

If you're looking for some way to give or help this season, this is the perfect opportunity to do so.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK!
The headline to this story made me do a double take. SRG Films has announced their plans to adapt the Matthew Randazzo book Ring of Hell: The Story of Chris Benoit and the Fall of the Pro Wrestling Industry into a big-screen biopic entitled Crossface.

Crossface, a biographical thriller, delves into the pressures WWE superstar Chris Benoit faced throughout his wrestling career as the combination of drug-use, depression, and head trauma became increasingly impossible for him to handle. The true story made headline news in 2007 when Chris murdered his wife and young son before taking his own life.

SRG Films head Dale Alexander Carnegie is producing the film, while William Morris Endeavor (WME) is on board to package the project. Former Weinstein Company staffer, Sarah Coulter, turned in the first draft of the script in mid-October. SRG Films, currently in talks with directors and actors, plans to begin filming in the fall of 2012.

My question to you: What are your thoughts on this project? While the small segment of wrestling fans will be passionate about this, how will mainstream audiences react?



VOTE BELOW!


CRAZIEST CASTING RUMOR OF THE WEEK!
Sometimes it pays to confirm! Over the weekend everyone was rushing to report news from Latino Review that Benicio Del Toro would be playing Khan in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek sequel, but apparently HitFix spoke to J.J. for confirmation and heard back simply: "Not true."

Not. True.

Originally, El Mayimbe from Latino Review wrote that: "I'm tracking a Latin bad guy role in an upcoming studio movie [and]... Del Toro is playing none other than... Khan Noonien Singh! Expect rebuttals and denials."

Not true.




YOUGOTTABEKIDDINME!
This doesn't fall under "Movie News" but this was too good to pass up. NBC's remake of The Munsters doesn't start filming until February, but the website Bloody-Disgusting is reporting some...crazy plot points!

Information Courtesy of bloody-disgusting.com, thanks to paulromcbm:

The pilot episode, which is to be directed by Bryan Singer - who also was behind the camera for the "House" pilot, Superman Returns and X-Men - will focus on 10-year-old Eddie Munster who is unaware that he's a werewolf, and that his family is composed of terrifying creatures. The madness begins when a baby bear attacks a scouting trip, only it turns out that this "bear" is actually Eddie transformed into a werewolf. Eddie is unaware of his metamorphosis and it forces the family to move in order to protect the family secret. The coming of age story gets weirder as he fights against his family when he learns of a shocker: they're a family of flesh-eaters!

A few other random character notes: Lily Munster has an eating disorder and eats suicide victims. Grandpa Munster is a 600-year-old shapeshifter, and Marilyn Munster was adopted when her mother tried to eat her as a baby.

What do you think about all that?




Let's get into the REAL news!




Behold! The Lizard!
While the picture came out last week, over the weekend many took to the internet to discuss The Lizard concept art for The Amazing Spider-Man! Some even questioning the authenticity. The Marc Webb-directed film features the Lizard, played by Rhys Ifans, who will be causing Spidey problems.

The Amazing Spider-Man will be released in 3D on July 3, 2012. The film stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, Martin Sheen, and Sally Field.

What are your thoughts on the Lizard?




The Busiest Man in Hollywood!
How many movies does this guy have going on? Bourne Legacy, Mission Impossible, The Avengers... It's not like he's doing small project either. These are all big time! Now Entertainment Weekly has a first look at Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton as Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. Coming to theaters on March 2nd, the film also stars Famke Janssen, Peter Stormare, and Derek Mears.

The movie takes place 15 years after the siblings' incident at the gingerbread house. Arterton explains: "You see a series of flashbacks with their experience of killing that first witch, which is brilliant... The heart of it is that these kids grow up to be bloodthirsty witch hunters." She added that, while the film is a bit tongue in cheek, "it's also very, very dark, and bloodthirsty and there's a lot of cursing. It's kind of got a [Quentin] Tarantino feel, really." So what are the characters like in the movie? "Gretel is much more in tune with her spiritual side. Hansel is a typical action hero, cheeky, funny, a womanizer. She's much more of a thinker, intense, internal and bit more open-minded than he is."

Not sure how this will turn out but with Renner in the mix, it's worth a look.




Total Remake!
No shocker here! With the Total Recall remake coming out next year, producer Neal Moritz is next turning his attention to a reboot of Paul Verhoeven's 1997 sci-fi film Starship Troopers, which was loosely based on the novel by Robert A. Heinlein.

Vulture has the news, saying that Thor and X-Men: First Class screenwriters Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz have come on board to write the script. Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Denise Richards, Jake Busey, Neil Patrick Harris, Patrick Muldoon, and Michael Ironside starred in the original, in which Earth is at war with a race of giant alien insects. The film earned $121.2 million in theaters worldwide.

I've reported in the past they they were bringing this franchise back in animated form but it's no surprise that they'll be looking to put a new spin on this. The original has a cult following and will be an easy sell to audiences.




When Titans Wrath!
The new issue of Entertainment Weekly also gave us this first look at Sam Worthington in the sequel Wrath of the Titans, coming to 3D and 2D theaters on March 30th. Ralph Fiennes, Liam Neeson, Danny Huston, Edgar Ramirez, Bill Nighy, Toby Kebbell, and Rosamund Pike co-star in the Jonathan Liebesman-directed fantasy action adventure. The first film, Clash of the Titans, earned $493.2 million worldwide in 2010.

Here's what we can expect: A decade after his heroic defeat of the monstrous Kraken, Perseus—the demigod son of Zeus—is attempting to live a quieter life as a village fisherman and the sole parent to his 10-year old son, Helius.

Meanwhile, a struggle for supremacy rages between the gods and the Titans. Dangerously weakened by humanity's lack of devotion, the gods are losing control of the imprisoned Titans and their ferocious leader, Kronos, father of the long-ruling brothers Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon. The triumvirate had overthrown their powerful father long ago, leaving him to rot in the gloomy abyss of Tartarus, a dungeon that lies deep within the cavernous underworld.

Perseus cannot ignore his true calling when Hades, along with Zeus' godly son, Ares (Ramírez), switch loyalty and make a deal with Kronos to capture Zeus. The Titans' strength grows stronger as Zeus' remaining godly powers are siphoned, and hell is unleashed on earth.

Enlisting the help of the warrior Queen Andromeda (Pike), Poseidon's demigod son, Argenor (Kebbell), and fallen god Hephaestus (Nighy), Perseus bravely embarks on a treacherous quest into the underworld to rescue Zeus, overthrow the Titans and save mankind.

Interested?




With a Twist!
This should clear up any confusion! Thanks to a tip from SlashFilm, the new film from M. Night Shyamalan, a sci-fi thriller first titled One Thousand A.E. set to star father/son Will & Jaden Smith, is now being referred to as simply After Earth. The new title comes from tweets written by writer Gary Whitta (@garywhitta) and Shyamalan, who recently joined Twitter (@MNightShyamalan) as well. "9 weeks out from shooting After Earth," he wrote the other day.

Mystery solved. For now.




Trailer Talk
Double trailer day! The Red Band trailer for Tim & Eric's Billion Dollar Movie is now online! A spin-off of Cartoon Network's Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, the comedy stars Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim, Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, John C. Reilly, Robert Loggia, Jeff Goldblum, Will Forte, William Atherton, and Erica Durance.

In the film, Tim and Eric are given a billion dollars to make a movie, but squander every dime...and the sinister Schlaaang corporation is pissed. Their lives at stake, the guys skip town in search of a way to pay the money back. When they happen upon a chance to rehabilitate a bankrupt mall full of vagrants, bizarre stores and a man-eating wolf that stalks the food court, they see dollar signs - a billion of them.

Tim & Eric's Billion Dollar Movie will be available on VOD on January 27, 2012 and in theatres starting March 2, 2012.

What do you think?

More Tim %26 Erics Billion Dollar Movie Videos

Next, filmmaker Andrew Stanton gives us John Carter! A sweeping action-adventure set on the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars). John Carter is based on a classic novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The film tells the story of war-weary, former military captain John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), who is inexplicably transported to Mars where he becomes reluctantly embroiled in a conflict of epic proportions amongst the inhabitants of the planet, including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and the captivating Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). In a world on the brink of collapse, Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands. The film releases March 9 2012.

Is it me or does the arena scenes look familiar?






1. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 $16.9 million ($247.3 million total)
2. The Muppets $11.2 million ($56.1 million total) Read the review!
3. Hugo $7.6 million ($25.2 million total) Read the review!
4. Arthur Christmas $7.4 million ($25.9 million total) Read the review!
5. Happy Feet Two $6.0 million ($51.8 million total)
6. Jack & Jill $5.5 million ($64.3 million total)
7. The Descendants $5.2 million ($18.1 million total)
8. Immortals $4.4 million ($75.6 million total)
9. Tower Heist $4.1 million ($70.8 million total)
10. Puss in Boots $3.1 million ($139.5 million total) Read the review!

Box Office Survey!
Instead of me just repeating what you can see, how about we ask some questions about the weekend box office? Answer in the comments and NO CHEATING!

* Does Twilight's success make your blood boil?

* Will we be seeing more Muppet movies in the future?

* What has been the best kid movie so far this season?


Before I say GOODBYE!
I would be remiss if I didn't mention some of the other OUTSTANDING articles on www.411mania.com. You would be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't peep around the site. I always get my daily habit of reading. Here's a small sample!

*****Top 5 Favorite Muppet Moments by Trevor Snyder and Company Catch last weeks edition!
*****Ten Deep: The Top Ten Sci-Fi Births by Mike Gorman
*****A Bloody Good Time by Joseph Lee.
*****Two Tivos to Paradise by Al Norton
*****Fact or Fiction by Ben Piper This week: Steve Gustafson and Jeffrey Harris debate! Hey! That's me!


Playboy has been kind enough to release me on the lovely Playmates. Here's some interviews to keep you entertained!

Miss January
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Miss July
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Miss October
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Miss December

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That's all the time I have, I'll see you next week!