Author: Edward

“The Dark Knight,” the sixth in Warner Brothers’ franchise of “Batman” movies, set a record with three-day ticket sales of $155.3 million over the weekend.

By Warner’s estimate, the film outstripped opening-weekend ticket sales of last year’s “Spider-Man 3,” which took $151.1 million for Sony Pictures and was the previous record holder. “The Dark Knight” also set a one-day box office record with $66.4 million on opening day, Warner Bros. head of distribution Dan Fellman said Saturday, breaking another Spider-man 3 record.

“The Dark Knight” began with a record $18.5 million from midnight screenings, topping the previous high of $16.9 million for “Star Wars: Episode III : The Revenge of the Sith.”

“We’ve really never seen anything like this,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. “The death of a fine actor taken in his prime, a legendary performance, and a movie that lives up to all the hype. That all combined to create these record-breaking numbers.”

“It’s a combination of things. Certainly, that’s a great part of it, but I think this movie’s gross was partly because of the reviews it received and the incredible buzz and word of mouth that preceded it with our early screenings,” Fellman said. “And the success and quality of the last one, `Batman Begins,’ delivered by Chris Nolan just set the tone for the opening of this movie.”

The Dark Knight went on to set 5 more records including:

 1 – LARGEST NUMBER OF OPENING THEATRES WITH 4,366 (MORE THAN THE 4,362 DEBUT THEATRES OF PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END IN 2007).

2 – BIGGEST IMAX MIDNIGHT PREVIEWS SET AN NEW RECORD WITH $640,000 (INCLUDED IN THE $18.489 MILLION PREVIEW NUMBER).

3 – BIGGEST OPENING WEEKEND GROSS FOR AN IMAX RELEASE IN BOX OFFICE HISTORY WITH $6,214,061 MILLION IN 94 THEATRES WITH $66,107 PER THEATRE. (BESTS THE $4.7 MILLION SET BY SPIDER-MAN 3 IN 2007.) IMAX SHOWING AT FULL CAPACITY $1.9 MILLION ON SATURDAY ALONE.

4 – BIGGEST OPENING WEEKEND OF 2008 WITH $151.340 (BEATS INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL’S $101.137 MILLION FROM MAY 23-25, 2008)

5 – BIGGEST JULY OPENING EVER (BEATS PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST’S $135,634,554 ON JULY 7, 2006).

Including a solid $27.6 million for the musical “Mamma Mia!” from Universal, the weekend’s top 12 films took in about $249.6 million, according to the box office consultant Media By Numbers. That lifted the domestic box office total for the year so far to $5.36 billion.

That is still down about 1 percent from last year, and the number of theatergoers is down 3.7 percent. But the weekend performance gave studios and theater owners alike reason to take heart, as it proved that even a familiar franchise like the “Batman” series can still bring surprises.

“It just took on a life of its own,” said Dan Fellman, Warner’s president for theatrical distribution. “You never expect anything like this.”

Unusual excitement began to build weeks ago around “The Dark Knight,” much of it fed by anticipation of a performance as the villainous Joker by Heath Ledger, the Australian actor who died in January.

Theaters began adding midnight and early morning screenings of the film, as fans scooped up advance tickets from the online ticket services Fandango.com and Movietickets.com. At sellout shows around the country, audiences, including more than a few viewers who came made up to resemble Ledger’s Joker, pushed Friday ticket sales to an estimated $66.4 million, including an extraordinary $18.5 million from the midnight showings.

That the film’s opening took on an event status that previous “Batman” movies never quite achieved apparently owed something to its strong presence in the outsized Imax format.

The film, directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale, was filmed partly using Imax cameras, and opened on nearly 100 Imax screens in the United States. That meant a boost at the box office because Imax tickets cost an average of $12.80, about 75 percent more than the overall average ticket price of $7.08, as estimated by Media By Numbers.

The summer box office thus far had been solid, but hardly spectacular, with tickets for the season up slightly at $2.76 billion, thanks to price inflation, and attendance down about 2 percent. Films like “Iron Man” from Paramount Pictures and Marvel Studios, and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” from Paramount and LucasFilm, topped the $300 million mark.

But “Hancock,” an off-center superhero movie from Sony Pictures and the star Will Smith, came up short of last year’s “Transformers” over the July Fourth holiday, and several pictures, including “Meet Dave” from Eddie Murphy and 20th Century Fox fell flat.

Fox suffered another embarrassment with “Space Chimps,” an animated film that took in just $7.4 million and debuted seventh at the box office this weekend.

A strong opening like that of “The Dark Knight” tends to drive future ticket sales, as viewers find their appetites piqued. In this case, a future beneficiary may be “Terminator Salvation,” a Warner action film scheduled to open next May: The movie’s trailer was attached to “The Dark Knight,” putting it in front of a particularly eager audience.

The box office take for “Mamma Mia!,” which starred Meryl Streep, was almost identical to that on the equivalent weekend last year by “Hairspray,” a New Line Cinema musical that took in $27.5 million in first-weekend sales and went on to make $118.9 million.

Other top-performing films this weekend included “Hancock,” with $14 million (for a total of $191.5 million); “Journey to the Center of the Earth” from Warner, with $11.9 million (a total of $43.1)million; “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” from Universal, with $10 million ($56.4 million total); and “Wall-E” from the Walt Disney Company with $9.8 million ($182.5 million total).

For all the record-setting, the weekend’s performance has also underscored how much harder studios have been working for their hits in recent years.

In 1989, “Batman,” with a budget of $35 million, opened to $40.5 million and went on to take in more than $251 million at the domestic box office.

“The Dark Knight,” by contrast, cost over $180 million. Given the pattern of contemporary blockbusters, the film appears unlikely to match the performance of its predecessor, whose domestic box office sales would be on the order of $450 million if adjusted to reflect ticket price inflation.

Today’s blockbusters films tend to open bigger, and disappear more quickly, than those of the past. “Spider-Man 3” took in about 45 percent of its $336.5 million in total sales on its opening weekend, and “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” took in 37 percent of its $309.4 million on the first weekend last year.

“Batman,” by contrast, will likely take only 16 percent of sales from its opening weekend.

Mr. Fellman said he believed “The Dark Knight” would continue to outpace “Spider-Man 3” in coming days, thanks to a midsummer date when school is out. “Spider-Man 3” was released in early May and had to fight harder for midweek business.

By the week’s end, Mr. Fellman said, “The Dark Knight” is likely to take in more than the $205 million in total domestic ticket sales for its immediate predecessor, “Batman Begins,” in 2005.

Sources:

The Huffington Post

The NY Times

Deadline Hollywood

#1 The Dark Knight from Waner Bros. steamrolls into the #1 spot this weekend bringing in $155.3 million from 4366 theaters and setting at least 5 box office records in the process. Dark Knight cost $180 million.

#2 Mamma Mia! from Universal debuts in the #2 spot taking in $27.6 million from 2976 theaters. Mamma Mia! cost roughly $52 million to make.

#3 Hancock from Sony holds its own dropping only one spot to #3 this weekend pulling in $33 million, thats down 56.4% from last week. Hancock showed in 3965 theaters, down 189. Hancock’s 3 week total is $191.5 million. Hancock cost roughly $150 million.

#4 Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D from New Line drops one this week to the #3 position taking $11.9 million, down 43.3%, bringing its total so far to $43 million. Journey showed in 2830 theaters, thats up 19 over last week, and cost roughly $60 million to make.

#5 Hellboy II: The Golden Army from Universal tumbles to the #5 spot bringing in $10 million for the weekend, thats down 70% from last week, bringing its 2 week total to $56.4 million. Hellboy II: The Golden Army showed in 3212 theaters, up 8, and cost roughly $85 million.

#6 Wall-E from Disney and Pixar drops to the #6 position this weekend bringing in $9.8 million, thats a 47% drop from last week, bringing it total earnings to $182.4 million. Wall-E showed in 3310 theaters, down 539 from last week and cost roughly $180 million to make.

#7 Space Chimps from Fox debuts in a disappointingly low #7 position this weekend. Chimps showed 2511 theaters and cost $37 million.

Rounding out the top 10 are:

#8 Wanted: Weekend Gross: $5,097,000 million, down 57.5% / Theaters: 2,433 down 724 / Gross:$123,347,000 / Budget: $75 million.

#9 Get Smart: Weekend Gross: $4,085,000 down 43% / Theaters: 2135 down 951 / Gross $119,569,000 / Budget: $80 million.

#10 Kung Fu Panda: Weekend Gross: $1,750,000 down 60.3% / Theaters: 1505 down 1199 / Gross $206,506,000 / Budget: $130 million.

A note on “Gross”: On average, studios will earn approximately 55 percent of the final gross.

Sources:
Box Office Mojo

Tuesday July 15

Asylum: Rated R. A group of beautiful coeds discover that their dorm was once a mental hospital where unspeakable experiments were performed by a deranged physician trying to “cure” troubled teens. But now the mad doctor’s ghost is back to continue his torturous work…and he’s running out of patients! Sarah Roemer (Disturbia) and Travis Van Winkle (Transformers) star in this spine-tingling thriller from the director of Final Destination 2 and Cellular. MGM

Friday, July 18th

The Dark Knight: Rated PG-13. The follow-up to the action hit “Batman Begins,” “The Dark Knight” reunites director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale, who reprises the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne. In the new film, Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the city streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as The Joker. Warner Bros. Pictures

Mamma Mia!: Rated PG-13. Meryl Streep will play the rebellious single mother of a bride-to-be who never met her father. The daughter invites three likely paternal candidates to her wedding, and the ensuing conflict triggers the performance of 22 Abba hits including “Dancing Queen,” “Take a Chance on Me” and “The Winner Takes It All.” Based on the crowd-pleasing musical that has played in 130 cities around the world and has grossed $1.6 billion since its 1999 opening. Universal Pictures

Space Chimps: Rated G. “Space Chimps” is a comedy adventure about two NASA chimps that are sent to a galaxy far, far away. One chimp has ‘The Right Stuff,’ and the other, a good natured goofball, has ‘The Wrong Stuff.’ The two chimps find themselves on a strange, uncharted planet, where they embark on a fantastical journey to save its inhabitants from a tyrannical leader. Barry Sonnenfeld will produce animated laffer. 20th Century Fox

Mad Detective: Rated: UNRATED. A rookie cop teaming up with a former officer to hunt down a serial killer. Milky Way Image Company

Transsiberian: Rated: R. “Transsiberian” revolves around an American couple, Roy (Harrelson) and Jessie (Mortimer), who travel on the famed Trans-Siberian train from China to Moscow. They soon encounter another couple, Abby (Mara) and her boyfriend, Carlos (Noriega), and what seems to be a simple train journey turns into a chase full of deception and murder. Filmax Animation

Falling For Grace: Rated: PG-13. Grace Tang is an ambitious Wall Street banker determined to work her way up the ladder of life and out of working-class Chinatown. Mistaken at an opera soiree as the heiress of a famous Hong Kong fashion dynasty, Grace is suddenly swept into the inner circle of Manhattan’s elite and ushered into the arms of New York’s most eligible bachelor. What follows is a whirlwind of romance and white lies, as Grace carefully negotiates her personal ties to Chinatown and the politics of Wall Street and high society. Canal Street Pictures

The Doorman: Rated: UNRATED. In “The Doorman,” a film crew has set out to make an insiders guide to the legendary New York City club scene with its most famous gatekeeper, Trevor W., “starring” as their host. Trevor has the power. He knows people. But more importantly (as Trevor points out), he knows people who know him. After mysteriously losing his job, Trevor fails to inform the film crew following him. He struggles to keep up appearances in front of the camera while his glamorous, jet-set “celebrity” lifestyle goes into an abrupt and awkward tailspin. Gigantic Pictures

Felon: Rated: R. A family man convicted of killing an intruder must cope with life afterward in the violent penal system. Stage 6 (Sony)

Take: Rated: R. The lives of two strangers – a struggling mother and a gambling addict – meet in tragedy. Years pass, and they must come to terms with themselves, and one another. Liberation Entertainment

A Very British Gangster: Rated: UNRATED. A Very British Gangster is a documentary about Dominic Noonan, a notorious leader of a powerful Blighty organized crime family who was openly gay and championed the working class. Anywhere Road Entertainment

Lou Reed’s Berlin: Rated: UNRATED. Lou Reed’s 2006 live concert performance of his 1973 concept album “Berlin”, filmed over five nights at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn, New York. Third Rail Releasing

Danny DeVito is set to direct Oscar-nominated “Atonement” actress Saoirse Ronan, Morgan Freeman and Pierce Brosnan in the family adventure “The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle.” The 19th century tale of a young girl who joins in a shipboard rebellion.

“Hancock” led the foreign box office for a second weekend, earning $70.4 million from 67 markets, according to data issued Monday. The Will Smith superhero comedy opened at No. 1 in 12 foreign markets, including Russia ($11.4 million), France ($9.9 million), and Mexico ($4.6 million). After two weekends, the U.K. has contributed $33.4 million, Germany $24.2 million and Korea $14.7 million. Its foreign total rose to $180.6 million.

Talk of Heath Ledger’s Oscar chances are apparently getting out of porportion. Leonard Maltin, film critic for TV program “Entertainment Tonight.”  had this to say: “All this Oscar talk is a phenomenon of the Internet age that I like to call ‘a wish-fulfillment rumor.’ If people say it often enough, they think it will happen. That’s not to say it might not happen,” he said, citing a “great performance” by Ledger. “But I assure you that the people who are spreading all this are neither Oscar voters nor (Hollywood) movers and shakers.”

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 video game console will soon be streaming thousands of movies over the Internet straight to your TV. A deal announced between Microsoft and Netflix has opened the way for subscribers to stream 10,000 movies and TV shows to Xbox consoles for viewing on television sets. The program will begin in two months. While Xbox has had movies and shows available for download before, the range has never been so comprehensive. The $50 a year Xbox gold membership, will be required for the new service.

Writer and director J.J. Abrams says his upcoming Star Trek movie will focus on the relationship between Kirk and Spock. At a Television Critics Association panel, Abrams said: “We never saw how Kirk and Spock became so connected, and this movie [reveals that].”

Warner Bros. Pictures is adapting the Capcom  video game Lost Planet for the big screen. The game revolves around an expedition to an ice planet that harbors an energy source with the potential to save mankind. Capcom is also developing all new film versions of the Street Fighter and Onimusha games.

According to Variety, Universal Pictures has resigned Wanted’s Marc Platt for five years. And one of the producer’s first tasks will be to get a Wanted sequel up and running. Platt said that the creative team is still working on the challenge of continuing the movie’s story, considering most of the principal characters – including Angelina Jolie – ended the original in no position for an encore. The film was however designed as a potential franchise and it is still performing strongly worldwide, having grossed $192.6 million to date. “The writers are at work already, and those creative discussions are taking place,” said Platt.

Michael Bay the blockbuster film director and producer spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the “Friday the 13th” remake due out Friday, March 13, 2009. “You’re just not going to believe the first 12 minutes!” He added: “I haven’t seen the director’s cut because he’s still cutting, but I know this one will really be scary,” Bay says. “It’s also funny, as well. It’s a fun college adventure that goes awry. It’s not a movie I would ever show my mom! We don’t make these for our mothers; we make these for the fans out there.”

The develoment of “Scream 4” has been confirmed via press release. Here are excerpts from the release: In a move that enhances its slate of theatrical motion pictures, Showtime Networks Inc. has entered into an exclusive seven-year film distribution arrangement with The Weinstein Company (TWC). The joint announcement was made today by Matthew C. Blank, Chairman and CEO of Showtime Networks and Bob and Harvey Weinstein, Co-Chairmen of TWC. The new output deal is effective with TWC’s 2009 release schedule and includes such highly anticipated films as “Nine,” directed by Rob Marshall (“Chicago“) and featuring an all-star cast including Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench and Sophia Loren, and Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglorious Bastards.” Additional titles included from TWC are the remake of David Cronenberg’s “Scanners,” re-starting the “Scream” franchise with “Scream 4,” and “Piranha 3D.” This deal furthers the relationship between Showtime Networks and TWC’s Dimension Films which began in 1997 with SHOWTIME airing “Mimic,” and “Scream 2.” “Dimension Films has enjoyed an outstanding relationship with Showtime and we are glad to be re-united with Matt Blank,” added Bob Weinstein. “We are excited to build upon our past success with this new partnership and our upcoming slate.”  

Kate Hudson has joined the cast of Rob Marshall’s “Nine,” starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Marion Cotillard. The movie is scheduled to begin lensing Oct. 10 in Britain. Hudson last starred opposite Matthew McConaughey in “Fool’s Gold.”

Reggie Lee (“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”) has booked a role in Sam Raimi’s “Drag Me to Hell,” starring Justin Long. Lee will next be seen in “Tropic Thunder.”

Sources:

MovieWeb.com
BombayNews.net
Reel Movie News.com
Esplatter.com
Variety

The L A Times reports that Spike Jonze’s adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are has apparently been removed from the Warner Bros. release schedule. Scripted by Dave Eggars, Wild Things, which finished principle photography in the second half of 2006, has been under steady assault since its reportedly abysmal research screening in December of last year in which children are said to have walked out on the movie in tears.

Wild Things is a potentially dark material to begin with and no doubt poses a challenge to Jonze to walk the line between childhood wonder and childhood fear of monsters.

One of the problems may be the star Max Records whose portrayal of the movie’s lead, also named Max, appears to be being perceived as mean spirited rather than likable and mischievous.

Re-shoots have also been an issue with some of the originally live action shoots having to be converted to CGI.

Rumors have been swarming about impending doom for Where The Wild Things Are but Warner chief Alan Horn has shown strong support for Jonze and the project in an interview with Patrick Goldstein of The Big Picture Blog. He denied all rumours that Jonze has been taken off the picture saying: “We’ve given him more money and, even more importantly, more time for him to work on the film,” Horn said. “We’d like to find a common ground that represents Spike’s vision but still offers a film that really delivers for a broad-based audience. We obviously still have a challenge on our hands. But I wouldn’t call it a problem, simply a challenge. No one wants to turn this into a bland, sanitized studio movie. This is a very special piece of material and we’re just trying to get it right.”

Horn went on to say: “We try to take a few shots,” he said. “Sometimes they work, and sometimes they don’t. The jury is still out on this one. But we remain confident that Spike is going to figure things out and at the end of the day we’ll have an artistically compelling movie.”

Sources:

LA Times

The Big Picture Blog

Slate has an excellent review of the George Carlin 8 DVD box set retrospective George Carlin: All My Stuff. All My Stuff is 800 minutes of Carlin’s HBO greatness spanning the width of his 40 year career, from the ’77 performance at USC to 2005 and “Life Worth Losing”. Slate says that All My Stuff offers “a window on how his routine adapted across the decades.” The article goes on to describe Carlin’s early observational style of comedy “his expertise, he says, lies in “reminding you of things you already know but forgot to laugh at the first time they happened.” George Carlin: All My Stuff is available from Amazon. The Slate article gives a great summary of the DVDs and an interesting insight into the man.

Sources:
Slate
Amazon

SAG (the Screen Actors Guild) has been given until Aug. 15 to accept the studios most recent offer or any changes from there on will not be retroactive. Against strong protest from SAG, AFTRA (the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) has accepted a similar offer the studios that is retroactive to July 1. SAG has still not called for a strike vote.

Variety confirms that Robert Downey Jr has committed to Guy Ritchie’s take on Sherlock Holmes. Anthony Peckham’s script is based on a mixture of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic tales and the Lionel Wigram comic book adaptation. Ritchie turned in a polish of the latest draft. The project, which is set to begin production in October, is trying to race ahead of the Judd Apatow project, a comedy based on the same property and starring Sacha Baron Cohen and Will Ferrel.

/Film reports John Favreau has officially signed on for Iron Man 2.

Chud reveals that Quentin Tarantino’s film Inglorious Basterds sees a crack team of Jewish soldiers going into France on a mission to get revenge on the Nazis, they’re given a quota of 100 Nazi scalps. Its being called a “Jewsploitation” movie and is part of the post-Munich Tough Jew zeitgeist (which also brought us Zohan).

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney and Scott Rudin are coming together for ” Synchronicity“, a comedy about syncronized swimming. The project will center on male synchronized swimmers and follow in the steps of sports comedies from the likes of Will Ferrell and Ben Stiller. Marty Scott and Toni Kotite will write the screenplay.

Alcon Entertainment has picked up first look rights to Ian Shorr’s thriller, “Substitution“. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Steve Crystal came up with the story with Shorr. The project follows an emotional high school senior who unwittingly becomes embroiled in a murder plot orchestrated by his substitute teacher.

According to Variety, Participant Media is developing the eco-horror tale The Colony, based on a pitch by Stacy Title and Jonathan Penner. Steven Schneider of Room 101 and Vertigo Entertainment’s Doug Davison and Roy Lee are producing. No production date has been set.

Entertainment Weekly Reports that David Fincher will be tackling “Metal Hurlant” (“Heavy Metal” in the US), but not with Paramount, who has passed on making the second movie adaptaion of the seminal scifi and fantasy rag.

Disney is developing a dance comedy inspired by the professional squad that performs at every Chicago Bulls home game. The project, tentatively titled “The Matadors,” will be directed by Anne Fletcher, a one-time Laker Girl who went on to become a choreographer before making her feature filmmaking debut with “Step Up.”

Variety reports HBO has greenlit the pilot “Fat Sells,” which is set in the world of the $46 billion herbal weight loss industry. Forest Whitaker is attached to exec produce, along with 25/7 topper Dave Broome, exec producer on “The Biggest Loser.” The project will center on the head of a weight loss behemoth (and his family) and how his life starts to unravel when the FDA begins investigating the company’s claims.

Columbia Pictures has acquired “Mythological Veterinarian,” a comic pitch that will be scripted by Andrew Kurtzman and produced by Jimmy Miller. Laffer is about a modern-day veterinarian who’s recruited by a secret society that watches over the world’s mythological creatures. Principal Entertainment’s Danny Sherman will be exec producer.

Sources:
Variety
/Film
CHUD
THR
MovieWeb

Friday, July 11th

Hellboy II: The Golden Army: PG-13. The sequel to the 2003 movie based on Mike Mignola’s Dark Horse comic character. Ron Perlman returns to the title role as Hellboy, a humanoid creature born in the flames of Hell and brought to Earth as an infant. Raised in secret, the adolescent “HB” becomes an agent for the secret Bureau for Paranormal Research and Development (BPRD), a covert government agency which serves as the planet’s defense against otherworldly evil. Selma Blair will also reprise the role of Liz Sherman, a pyrokinetic human who is HB’s colleague and love interest. Universal Pictures

Journey to the Center of the Earth: PG. When a group of kids find Jules Verne’s original manuscript for his book “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” they discover that he actually took the trip himself, and using the manuscript as a map, they follow his course into the earth’s core. Warner Bros. Pictures

Meet Dave: PG. Seeking a way to save their doomed world, a crew of tiny, human-looking aliens arrives on earth in the perfect disguise–a spaceship shaped like an ordinary man. 20th Century Fox

Harold: PG-13. “Harold” revolves around the title character, a premature balding young teen trying to adapt to a new high school. Gooding Jr. plays a school janitor who befriends and helps him through merciless teasing. City Lights Pictures

August: R. August centers on two brothers fighting to keep their start-up company afloat on Wall Street during August 2001, a month before the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Original Media

Garden Party: UNRATED. A series of chance encounters in LA. At the center of the story is 15-year-old April (Willa Holland). She is running from one bad situation into another, hoping to find an answer that doesn’t involve taking off her clothes. As April navigates Los Angeles, she falls in with a group of confused kids struggling to chase their dreams. The black widow at the center of this web is a sexy, pot-dealing realtor named Sally St. Clair (Vinessa Shaw). Anyone who gets too close falls victim to her kinky entanglements. For some it goes bad, for other worse. Roadside Attractions

Eight Miles High: UNRATED. Achim Bornhak’s movie focuses on the restless life of super-model Uschi Obermaier, the icon of the 1968 peace movement in Germany and groupie. At the age of 16, Uschi is bored by her job in a photo lab, but soon becomes the “it girl” of Munich’s club scene. When she gets to know Rainer Langhans, they move to Berlin and live in “Kommune 1”, the first politically-motivated commune in Germany. While the other occupants claim she isn’t political enough, Uschi just wants to have fun, works as fashion model and leads international music stars into temptation. Dokument Films

The Stone Angel: R. Based on the best-selling novel by Margaret Laurence, The Stone Angel is the story of feisty firecracker Hagar Shipley (Christine Horne, Oscar Winner Ellen Burstyn). Her passionate heart has always ruled her head and her choices have put her at odds with family and friends. With her life nearly behind her, she sets out in search of a way to reconcile herself to her turbulent past. Through her reflections we come to know a passionate and rebellious young bride, her love for her two sons, the freedoms she claimed, and the joys she denied herself. Vivendi Entertainment

Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired: UNRATED. Marina Zenovich’s film is an extensive exploration of the circumstances that led up to, and the circus that followed, Polanski’s conviction for having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. A thrilling examination of a trial that became the prototype for innumerable Hollywood courtroom scandals to follow, “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired” becomes a brilliant discourse on the attraction/repulsion that defines celebrity culture in contemporary America. THINKFilm

Sources:

Movieweb.com

According to the Telegraph actor and producer Robert De Niro has spoken out firmly against a threatened strike by film and television actors at a film festival in the Czech Republic Saturday.

“I do not think it is good time to be striking now,” he is quoted as saying during a press conference at the Karlovy Vary film festival. “I personally think it is not a good idea to strike.” He continued, “All the trade unions are affected by the strike, with the economy as it is at this time, it does not seem to be a great idea,” “The issues could be resolved in a few years and, whatever the result is, can be set retroactively,” the Oscar-winning actor said.

The Screen Actors’ Guild, the primary union for TV and film actors, is expected to respond Monday to the latest offer from industry heads following the expiration of the previous three-year contract between the two sides.

On a more political note, De Niro gave solid support for the Democratic Party’s de-facto presidential nominee, Barack Obama.

“I do feel very strongly that he should be president and I feel that he will. He is a real hope for the country and our relationship with people around the rest of the world, because we have had a bad past seven-eight years. It is very important that someone like him becomes the president,” he said.

De Niro, who turns 65 in August, is a guest of honour at Karlovy Vary, Central Europe’s biggest film festival, and was awarded a “Crystal Globe” for his contribution to cinema on Friday night.

Actors Christopher Lee and Danny Glover will also see prizes at the festival where 220 films and documentaries are due to be screened during its nine-day run ending July 12.

Sources:

The Telegraph
Hollywood.com