The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present a new 70mm print of the 1960 historical drama “Spartacus” for the final screening in its series “The Last 70mm Film Festival” on Monday, August 13, at 7 p.m. at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The evening also will welcome actor and producer Kirk Douglas, who played the title character in the film, and Pete Hammond as moderator for the onstage discussion.
Based on the novel by Howard Fast, the film tells the story of the historical figure Spartacus, a slave-turned-gladiator who leads a rebellion against the Romans, going head to head with Crassus, played by Sir Laurence Olivier. The film won four Academy Awards®, including Actor in a Supporting Role (Peter Ustinov), Color Art Direction (Alexander Golitzen, Eric Orbom; Set Decoration: Russell A. Gausman, Julia Heron), Color Cinematography (Russell Metty), and Color Costume Design (Valles, Bill Thomas). It also received nominations for Film Editing (Robert Lawrence) and Music – Music score of a dramatic or comedy picture (Alex North).
Tickets for “Spartacus” are now sold out. A standby line will form on the day of the event, and standby numbers will be assigned starting at approximately 5:30 p.m. Any available tickets will be distributed shortly before the program begins. Ticket holders should plan to arrive at least 15 minutes before the start of the event to ensure a seat in the theater. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For the latest pre-show details call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org.
Watch the new trailer for Universal Pictures’ comedy THIS IS 40 (via Yahoo Movies). Get ready for a big slice of reality.
Writer/director/producer Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Funny People) brings audiences THIS IS 40, an original comedy that expands upon the story of Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) from the blockbuster hit KNOCKED UP as we see first-hand how they are dealing with their current state of life.
Starring Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, John Lithgow, Megan Fox, Iris Apatow, Maude Apatow, Melissa McCarthy, Robert Smigel, Charlene Yi and Albert Brooks, THIS IS 40 will be in theaters Christmas 2012.
Lionsgate® and the filmmakers of THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE are pleased to announce that Meta Golding has been cast in the role of Enobaria in the much anticipated film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ worldwide smash hit novel Catching Fire. A former career tribute from District 2, Enobaria is known for the particularly brutal, disturbing way in which she came to win The Hunger Games.
Golding is known to television audiences from series regular and guest starring roles on “CSI,” “Criminal Minds,” “House,” and “Cold Case” and will also be seen in the upcoming independent film The Chicago 8.
THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE begins as Katniss Everdeen has returned home safe after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark. Winning means that they must turn around and leave their family and close friends, embarking on a “Victor’s Tour” of the districts. Along the way Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the Capitol is still very much in control as President Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell) – a competition that could change Panem forever.
THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE will be directed by Francis Lawrence, and produced by Nina Jacobson’s Color Force in tandem with producer Jon Kilik. The novel on which the film is based is the second in a trilogy that has sold more than 50 million books in print and digital in the U.S. alone.
Lionsgate will release THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE on November 22, 2013.
Check out EW.com for the first look at Daniel Day Lewis in the title role of LINCOLN directed by Steven Spielberg. It has been over 60 years since an actor was Oscar nominated for his role as the 16th President (Raymond Massey for ABE LINCOLN IN ILLINOIS, 1940) and only 10 pairs of male actors have been nominated for playing the same character or historical figure. Expect Lewis to join that list when the Academy Awards nominations for Best Actor are announced next year.
Based on the best-selling book, Team of Rivals, by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, the screenplay has been written by the Pulitzer Prize winner, Tony Award winner, and Academy Award nominated writer Tony Kushner. It will be produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Steven Spielberg.
LINCOLN focuses on the last four months of the president’s ’s life and the political strategizing he undertook at the close of the Civil War to ensure that slavery would be forever outlawed. “Our movie is really about a working leader who must make tough decisions and get things done in the face of overwhelming opposition,” Spielberg says.
The film features David Strathairn, Jared Harris, Jackie Earle Haley, Gulliver McGrath,Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones.
LINCOLN is a DreamWorks, Twentieth Century Fox, Participant Media production opening in limited release November 9, expanding November 16, 2012.
WAMG was at the World Premiere of Focus Features’ ParaNorman at Universal City Walk Sunday, August 5, 2012 with Leslie Mann, Anna Kendrick, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Jeff Garlin, among others… and we’ve got photos from the red carpet!
*All photographs are property WE ARE MOVIE GEEKS
PARANORMAN voice actors Kodi Smit-McPhee, Anna Kendrick, Leslie Mann, Tempestt Bledsoe, Tucker Albrizzi, Jeff Garlin, Jodelle Ferland; moviemakers Sam Fell (director), Chris Butler (director/screenwriter), and Travis Knight (producer/lead animator); other guests include Aasha Davis, Amy Brenneman, Bella Thorne, Billy Unger, Breckin Meyer, Cimorelli, Daphne Blunt, Dave Foley, Dee Rees, Dylan Riley Snyder, Emma Kenney, Ernie Hudson, Gilles Marini, Holly Marie Combs, Judd Apatow, Justine Ezarik,Katherine McNamara, Kevin Misher, Lorene Scafaria, Ming-Na, Olivia Holt, Ricki Lake, Rob Morrow, Samantha Mumba, Sanaa Hamri, Shane Acker, Sierra McCormick, Taylor Armstrong, Taylor Spreitler, Teala Dunn, Tia Carrere, Tom Sizemore, Wayne Brady and many more!
ParaNorman is set in the town of Blithe Hollow, whose locals profit from mining the town’s history as the site, 300 years ago, of a famous witch hunt. 11-year-old Norman Babcock (voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee of Let Me In and The Road) spends much of his days appreciating the finer points of scary movies and studying ghost lore. In fact, Norman is gifted with the ability to see and speak with the dead, such as his beloved grandmother (Elaine Stritch). Most days, he prefers their company to that of his flustered father (Jeff Garlin), spacey mother (Leslie Mann), and deeply superficial older sister Courtney (Anna Kendrick). At middle school, Norman dodges bullying Alvin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), confides in the impressionable Neil (Tucker Albrizzi), and tries to tune out his blowhard teacher Mrs. Henscher (Alex Borstein).
Norman is unexpectedly contacted by his odd uncle Prenderghast (John Goodman), who floors him with the revelation that a centuries-old witch’s curse is real and is about to come true, and that only Norman will be able to stop it from going into overdrive and harming the townspeople. Once a septet of zombies – led by The Judge (Bernard Hill) – suddenly rises from their graves, Norman finds himself caught in a wild race against time alongside Courtney, Alvin, Neil, and Neil’s musclebound older brother Mitch (Casey Affleck) as Sheriff Hooper (Tempestt Bledsoe) chases them all. Worse, the town is up in arms and taking up arms. Norman bravely summons up all that makes a hero – courage and compassion – as he finds his paranormal activities pushed to their otherworldly limits.
Get a first look at Gerard Butler, Jessica Biel and Catherine Zeta-Jones in PLAYING FOR KEEPS, a romantic comedy about a charming, down-on-his luck former soccer star (Butler) who returns home to put his life back together. Looking for a way to rebuild his relationship with his son, he gets roped into coaching the boy’s soccer team. But his attempts to finally become an “adult” are met with hilarious challenges from the attractive “soccer moms” who pursue him at every turn. PLAYING FOR KEEPS is directed by Gabriele Muccino, the director of “The Pursuit of Happyness.”
Also starring Dennis Quaid, Uma Thurman and Judy Greer, PLAYING FOR KEEPS opens in theaters on December 7th, 2012.
Universal Pictures announced today that the studio has reached the $1 billion mark at the domestic box office, three months earlier than at any time in history. The previous record was set during the weekend of November 7, 2008 with films that included Mamma Mia!, The Incredible Hulk, Wanted and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. This will be the seventh time Universal has reached this milestone. With five films yet to be released in 2012, the studio is on track to have its highest-grossing year ever at the domestic box office, a record also set in 2008.
Universal’s 2012 success at the North American box office has been fueled by a strong slate of films including five that became No. 1 (Contraband, Safe House, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, Snow White and the Huntsman and Ted), two that grossed more than $200 million (Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax at $214 million and Ted at $203.6 million*) and two that grossed more than $100 million (Safe House at $126.4 million and Snow White and the Huntsman at $153.8 million*). Universal is one of only two studios so far this year to have two films that have grossed more than $200 million domestically. Currently, Universal has four of the 15 top grossing films of the year, more than any other studio.
Other Facts of Note:
Universal and Illumination Entertainment’s Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax was the highest opening for an animated film in 2012 ($70.2 million) and the highest-opening film for Universal this year.
As the breakout comedy hit of the summer, Ted set a new record for the highest opening for an original R-rated comedy in history ($54.4 million) and is well on its way to becoming one of the all-time highest-grossing R-rated comedies ever.
The studio’s February hit Safe House was Denzel Washington’s second biggest opening of his career and his second highest-grossing film ever.
Universal Pictures International passed $1 billion at the overseas box office on July 17, also setting a new studio record.
This week, Universal will release the next chapter in the studio’s hugely popular espionage franchise, The Bourne Legacy. In October comes the new out-loud comedy Pitch Perfect, and the action-thriller The Man With the Iron Fists arrives in November. Universal will close out 2012 with two films in December:Les Miserables, the motion-picture adaptation of the global stage sensation seen by more than 60 million people in 42 countries and in 21 languages around the world, and This Is 40, the latest comedy from writer/director Judd Apatow.
Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures have moved the release date of “The Great Gatsby” to Summer 2013. The announcement was made today by Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution, and Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, President of International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.
In making the announcement, Fellman stated, “Based on what we’ve seen, Baz Luhrmann’s incredible work is all we anticipated and so much more. It truly brings Fitzgerald’s American classic to life in a completely immersive, visually stunning and exciting way. We think moviegoers of all ages are going to embrace it, and it makes sense to ensure this unique film reaches the largest audience possible.”
Kwan Vandenberg confirmed, “Baz is known for being innovative, but with this film he has done something completely unexpected—making it in 3D—while capturing the emotion, the intimacy, the power and the spectacle of the time. The responses we’ve had to some of the early sneak peeks have been phenomenal, and we think ‘The Great Gatsby’ will be the perfect summer movie around the world.”
From the uniquely imaginative mind of writer/producer/director Baz Luhrmann comes the new big screen adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. The filmmaker has created his own distinctive visual interpretation of the classic story, bringing the period to life in a way that has never been seen before, in a film starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role.
“The Great Gatsby” follows Fitzgerald-like, would-be writer Nick Carraway as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz, bootleg kings, and sky-rocketing stocks. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby, and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy, and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan. It is thus that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. As Nick bears witness, within and without of the world he inhabits, he pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy, and holds a mirror to our own modern times and struggles.
Academy Award® nominee DiCaprio (“J. Edgar,” “Aviator”) plays Jay Gatsby, with Tobey Maguire starring as Nick Carraway; Oscar® nominee Carey Mulligan (“An Education”) and Joel Edgerton as Daisy and Tom Buchanan; Isla Fisher and Jason Clarke as Myrtle and George Wilson; and newcomer Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker. Indian film legend Amitabh Bachchan will play the role of Meyer Wolfsheim.
Oscar® nominee Luhrmann (“Moulin Rouge!”) directs the film in 3D from a screenplay co-written with frequent collaborator Craig Pearce, based on Fitzgerald’s book. Luhrmann produces, along with Catherine Martin, Academy Award® winner Douglas Wick (“Gladiator”), Lucy Fisher and Catherine Knapman. The executive producers are Academy Award® winner Barrie M. Osborne (“Lord of the Rings – Return of the King”) and Bruce Berman.
Two-time Academy Award®-winning production and costume designer Catherine Martin (“Moulin Rouge!”) designs as well as produces. The editors are Matt Villa, Jason Ballantine and Jonathan Redmond, and the director of photography is Simon Duggan. The music is by Craig Armstrong.
Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, in association with A&E Television, a Bazmark/Red Wagon Entertainment Production, a Film by Baz Luhrmann, “The Great Gatsby.” Opening Summer 2013, the film will be distributed in IMAX® 3D, 3D and 2D by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.
For a decade, an elite team of intelligence and military operatives, working in secret across the globe, devoted themselves to a single goal: to find and eliminate Osama bin Laden. ZERO DARK THIRTY reunites the Oscar® winning team of director-producer Kathryn Bigelow and writer-producer Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker) for the story of history’s greatest manhunt for the world’s most dangerous man. Check out the first images (via EW) and trailer for the film starring Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Ehle, Chris Pratt, Kyle Chandler, Édgar Ramírez, Frank Grillo, Mark Duplass and Mark Strong.
In May 2011 Columbia Pictures announced that they had acquired United States distribution rights to the movie. Bigelow and Boal have been developing the project since 2008 and plan to incorporate recent events into the film. The two are producing the project, along with Annapurna Picture’s Megan Ellison, and executive producer, Greg Shapiro.
Kathryn Bigelow won Academy Awards® for directing and producing her most recent feature film, The Hurt Locker, a look at an elite Explosive Ordinance Disposal squad in Iraq. The film starred Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty, and won a total of six Oscars®, including Best Picture. Bigelow’s other films include Near Dark, Point Break, Strange Days, The Weight of Water, and K-19: The Widowmaker.
Mark Boal won the Academy Award® for his original screenplay for The Hurt Locker. He also won an Oscar® for producing the Best Picture winner. As an investigative reporter, he has written for such national publications as Rolling Stone, The Village Voice, Brill’s Content, Mother Jones, and Playboy. In 2003, he wrote Death and Dishonor, the true story of a military veteran who goes searching for his missing son, which later became the basis for Paul Haggis’s follow up to Crash, In the Valley of Elah, released by Warner Bros. in 2007. Boal collaborated with Paul Haggis on the script and shares a co-story credit on the film.
Films about the Great Emancipator have seemingly become all the rage as of late. The R rated ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER hit theaters in June to a dismal box office reception, Steven Spielberg’s LINCOLN will be released November 9 with Daniel Day-Lewis playing the 16th President and Terrence Malick’s film about Lincoln, THE GREEN BLADE RISES, was recently announced.
Not to be lost in the fray, check out these new photos from the upcoming movie SAVING LINCOLN. Directed by Salvador Litvak and starring Tom Amandes, Lea Coco, Penelope Ann Miller, and Bruce Davison, SAVING LINCOLN tells a unique tale in a unique way: using actual Civil War era photographs as locations, the film explores Lincoln’s fiery trial as Commander-in-Chief through the eyes of his closest friend and protector – U.S. Marshal Ward Hill Lamon. Production on the film wrapped July 12th.
In the process, SAVING LINCOLN officially introduces a new cinematic style to the industry: CineCollage. Developed by director Salvador Litvak, the new filmmaking technique allowed a sprawling period piece to be made on an indie budget (a full description of CineCollage is included below). While various types of layered images have been used in other films, this is the first time CineCollage, or “cinematic collage,” will be employed for every scene in a feature film, and the first time that the technique has been branded in an official capacity.
About the production process, Litvak said: “We had a huge story to tell, and we were determined to tell it. During our research, we dug into the enormous trove of Civil War photography in the Library of Congress, and I visualized scenes taking place in those locations. In the wake of movies like ‘Sin City’ and ‘300,’ I realized we could use the photos to replace physical sets. Of course, the process was far more complex and time-consuming than I imagined, but thanks to an extremely creative and passionate team, we were able to make SAVING LINCOLN a reality. Further possibilities for CineCollage are unlimited, particularly for subjects that can exploit well-photographed periods and locations.”
Based on detailed research by Litvak and writing partner Nina Davidovich Litvak, SAVING LINCOLN follows Abraham Lincoln’s journey from country lawyer to conflicted Commander-in-Chief, as recounted by his self-appointed bodyguard, Marshal Lamon. Lamon halted many attempts on President Lincoln’s life, but he was not present at Ford’s Theater the night Lincoln was shot. To understand why, one must hear his tale. SAVING LINCOLN stars Tom Amandes (as President Lincoln), Lea Coco (as Ward Hill Lamon), Penelope Ann Miller (as Mary Todd Lincoln), Creed Bratton (as Senator Charles Sumner), Saidah Arrika Ekulona (as Elizabeth Keckly), and Bruce Davison (as William H. Seward).
CineCollage, by definition, uses existing images as a backdrop to create a cinematic collage. The process combines off-the-shelf visual effects tools with techniques borrowed from theater, animation, and photography. A typical scene contains live-action elements – including principal actors, tiled layers of extras, furniture and props – all shot on a green screen stage, as well as multiple layers of location and architectural elements culled from period photography. The layers are composited together to create a stylized look that works hand in hand with the story’s narrative structure: in this case, Marshal Lamon’s very personal recollection of his friend, Abraham Lincoln.
SAVING LINCOLN is directed by Salvador Litvak, written by Nina Davidovich Litvak and Salvador Litvak, produced by Reuben Lim, and executive produced by Horatio C. Kemeny. The film stars Tom Amandes, Lea Coco, Penelope Ann Miller, Creed Bratton, Saidah Arrika Ekulona, and Bruce Davison, with songs performed by American roots-rocker Dave Alvin.
