The Big Screen Bulletin 01.16.12: Contraband Captures the Box Office!

Posted by Steve Gustafson on 01.16.2012

News and thoughts on The Avengers being told through Captain America's eyes, Star Trek's sequel getting the green light, the Fantastic Four reboot getting a director, test footage being shot for Deadpool, the most anticipated movies of 2012 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: Eva Longoria battles Stacy Keibler and Sarah Shahi takes on Jessica Alba in Vs, controversy over Hulk Hogan's mustache, Warren Buffet talks Kim Kardashian and is Halle Berry engaged? Plus Aida Yespica 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...Sean Garmer with his The Games 5 & 1! Following up is 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!


QUESTION OF THE WEEK!
Last week I put it out there and asked what were some of your picks for movies you were really looking forward to in 2012. The Great Capt. Smooth answered: "Avengers, Batman, Spidey, and Hobbit." These picks really captured the top 4 that everyone is pumped up about. And with good reason!

What I want to do is shine a little light on some movies OUTSIDE the big ones we've been hearing so much about. They might not be getting the buzz the tentpoles are but I'm looking forward to these just as much, if not more, than some of the others.

Yes, I have them "ranked" but don't put too much weight in that.

10. This is 40
It's Judd Apatow so you know what to expect. But I'm always up for Paul Rudd and this sorta follow up to Knocked Up looks promising.

9. World War Z
I owe former 411mania columnist Rick Tym a huge thank you for turning me on to this book. I've never been a "zombie guy" but I was hooked from the first chapter. The movie is making some changes but I can't wait to see this brought to the big screen.

8. Argo
Easy. Directed by Ben Affleck. Never thought I'd be typing those words!

7. Skyfall
More Bond! Daniel Craig won me over and I've enjoyed the ride so far!

6. Looper
A crazy plot (A killer who works for the mob of the future recognizes one of his targets as his future self.) and great cast (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Paul Dano, Jeff Daniels, and Emily Blunt) make this one to watch!

5. The Master
Paul Thomas Anderson returns with this controversial film thought to be based on Scientology. Shot in 65mm. The film stars Phillip Seymour Hoffman as a man who starts a new faith-based organisation following WWII. Joaquin Phoenix co-stars as a drifter who becomes The Master's right-hand man.

4. Django Unchained
Love him or hate him, everyone wants to see what Quentin Tarantino is going to do next. Add in Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, and Christoph Waltz and it gets even better.

3. The Great Gatsby
Another novel that I love making a return to the big screen. Yes, the cast is awesome, but the pictures I've seen so far have perfectly captured the era.

2. Red Tails
The return of Cuba Gooding, Jr.! Another great plot and cast make it on the list. Add in the sure-to-wow flying stunts and this looks like a sleeper hit.

1. Lincoln
Daniel Day-Lewis always gets the top spot!

My question to you: What are your Top 10 Most Anticipated Movies for 2012...outside the big ones?

VOTE BELOW!


CRAZIEST CASTING RUMOR OF THE WEEK!
Director casting! Variety's Showblitz blog is reporting that Fox is considering Josh Trank as the frontrunner choice to direct their Fantastic Four reboot with Akiva Goldsman developing. No offer has been made and it's not final, but apparently "studio execs expect Trank to land" the gig.

There have been details and rumors off and on about this Fantastic Four reboot, which is supposedly titled Fantastic Four Reborn, but not much else has come out about it other than Fox only has the rights for a limited amount of time.

What do you think of a Fantastic Four reboot?




YOUGOTTABEKIDDINME!
This guy is a chameleon! Check out the picture of Jim Carrey on the set of Burt Wonderstone! The film deals with rival stage magician teams in Las Vegas. The lead character, the titular Wonderstone, is one half of a two-man group who has to rediscover his love of magic after the loss of his partner. This one looks interesting!




Let's get into the REAL news!




Captain America's Vision!
With the forthcoming release of The Avengers this summer, Marvel is poised to be taking one of the biggest gambles in the surge of comic book films over the past decade as they bring together four separate superhero film franchises into one singular epic superhero ensemble. That's a lot of characters sharing the screen and it could easily delve into a cluster-mess. But director Joss Whedon recently talked to Entertainment Weekly and recounted another issue he had to overcome with a pretty damn good solution. Here's what Whedon had to say about his predicament in adapting The Avengers:

"I set out with a very simple problem: There is no reason for these people to be in the same movie. So that's what my movie has to be about. So much of the movie takes place from Steve Rogers' (Chris Evans) perspective, since he's the guy who just woke up and sees this weird ass world. Everyone else has been living in it."

Whedon adds, "You get them in a world, the world of S.H.I.E.L.D., where they fit in. And you say, upfront, these are monsters. These are freaks. These are not you and me, and what are they doing here? How are they human beings?"

Let's make it clear, Captain America isn't the MAIN character but it's a good idea to anchor the audience to a character.




Deadpool Not Dead!
Bleeding Cool have picked up on an interesting conversation between Rob Liefeld and Scott Lobdell at last week's Amazing Arizona Comic Con. Liefeld stated that he's seen some test footage from the Deadpool movie Fox are working on, and that it's eight minutes of R rated "Merc With A Mouth".

They've got a great director on the movie, they've got a great script. I may or may have not seen some sort of test of footage that would blow your mind if you saw it and go holy crap and that's Deadpool in costume. Katana swords, guns, shooting people's faces off and making me laugh. And I may or may not have seen something that looks just like that. And you've got what would amount to the first R Rated X-Men movie. Because that script is R Rated.

They may or may not have wanted to shoot eight minutes to see how it would play. And all I can tell you, it's close. It's closer that it's even been to going, or going Naaah, that's too scary a proposition to make a R Rated Deadpool movie."

Kind of weird his "may or may not have" statement. Tim Miller has signed on to direct the movie, but since that announcement news has been sparse. Ryan Reynolds is still in line to play the character but he hasn't officially signed on yet. At least nothing has officially been announced.

The question is: Do you trust Liefeld?




Act of Valor!
Relativity Media has released a new behind-the-scenes featurette from their new action-thriller Act of Valor. Opening in theaters on February 17, Act of Valor stars a group of active-duty Navy SEALs in a powerful story of contemporary global anti-terrorism. Inspired by true events, the film combines stunning combat sequences, up-to-the minute battlefield technology and heart-pumping emotion for the ultimate action adventure. Roselyn Sanchez, Alex Veadov, Jason Cottle, and ,b>Nester Serrano co-star.




So it Begins!
Paramount Pictures announced that filming has begun for the untitled Star Trek sequel:

Paramount Pictures announced that principal photography has commenced in Los Angeles, CA on the sequel to STAR TREK from director J.J. Abrams. The film will be released on May 17, 2013 in 3D. The 2009 re-launch of the "Star Trek" franchise by Abrams was met with critical acclaim and a worldwide gross of over $385 million at the box office.

Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions present a Bad Robot Production of a J.J. Abrams Film. Returning to their posts on the Enterprise are John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, and Anton Yelchin. They are joined by new cast members Benedict Cumberbatch, Alice Eve, and Peter Weller.

Based upon "Star Trek" created by Gene Roddenberry, the film is produced by J.J. Abrams, Bryan Burk, Damon Lindelof, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci. The script was written by Alex Kurtzman & Robert Orci & Damon Lindelof.

Jeffrey Chernov, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Paul Schwake are the executive producers. The director of photography is Dan Mindel, ASC, BSC. The production designer is Scott Chambliss. The film is edited by Maryann Brandon, A.C.E. and Mary Jo Markey, A.C.E. The costume designer is Michael Kaplan. The music is by Michael Giacchino.

Prepare for rumors and spoilers galore! Are you ready?




A Look at Space Jockey!
A new image from Ridley Scott's Prometheus features yet another lead actor staring off at something off camera, but it changes when you shed a little light on the situation. With a little assistance from Photoshop and the "brighten" function, it appears that those Space Jockeys have made another appearance.

The image was paired with the Los Angeles Times' chat with writer Damon Lindelof who says, "The movie is definitely epic in its scope. One of the filmmakers that we ended up talking about to a fair degree of redundancy was David Lean, who directed Lawrence of Arabia. We wanted to make the movie feel big by having the characters be small in big spaces. That connected to the larger themes we were talking about — that we're all just these little gnats crawling around on our little planet."

Scott referenced the suits in an early interview with Filmophilia. Here is an excerpt from his discussion, "Therefore, who is that, inside that [Space Jockey] suit? That wasn't a skeleton, that was a suit. And if you open up the suit, what do you get inside it? And why were they going, where were they going?"


Check out the photo:




Trailer Talk
Universal Pictures has released a new TV Spot for the action thriller Safe House starring Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farmiga, and Brendan Gleeson.

The film is due out in theaters on February 10, 2012. Washington plays the most dangerous renegade from the CIA, who comes back onto the grid after a decade on the run. When the South African safe house he's remanded to is attacked by mercenaries, a rookie operative (Reynolds) escapes with him. Now, the unlikely allies must stay alive long enough to uncover who wants them dead.

What do you think?






1. Contraband $24.1 million ($24.1 million total)
2. Beauty and the Beast 3D $18.5 million ($189.8 million total)
3. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol $11.5 million ($186.7 million total)
4. Joyful Noise $11.3 million ($11.3 million total)
5. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows $8.4 million ($170.0 million total) Read the review!
6. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo $8.3 million ($88.0 million total) Read the review!
7. The Devil Inside $7.9 million ($46.2 million total) Read the review!
8. Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked $5.8 million ($118.8 million total)
9. War Horse $5.6 million ($65.8 million total)
10. The Iron Lady $5.4 million ($6.0 million total)


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!

* Is Mark Wahlberg a legitimate "star" with the impressive opening numbers from Contraband?

* Which Disney movie will get the 3D treatment re-release next?

* Are you surprised at Joyful Noise quietly opening at 4th with solid numbers?


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 College Movies by Trevor Snyder and Company Catch last weeks edition!
*****Editor's Note: The Best and Worst Movies of 2011 by Chad Webb
*****A Bloody Good Time by Joseph Lee.
*****Two Tivos to Paradise by Al Norton
*****Movie's Fact or Fiction by Ben Piper. This week Todd Vote and Mathew Sforcina debate!


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

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