Terrence Howard joins a slew of stars in a cop caper. Also in Friday’s round-up of news, the weekend is not shaping up to be a kind one for Playing for Keeps at the box office; James Marsden is strolling toward a Walk of Shame with Elizabeth Banks; Hyde Park On Hudson, In Our Nature and California Solo are among the weekend’s Specialty Release newcomers; and Rubberneck & Redflag head to theaters via Tribeca Film.
Terrence Howard Joins Chain Gang in Prisoners
Also starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Melissa Leo, Viola Davis, Maria Bello and Paul Dano, the film follows a small-town carpenter (Jackman) whose daughter and her best friend are abducted. The cops cannot find them and he takes the law into his own hands. In the process, he comes into contact with a detective (Gyllenhaal) who oozes confidence, Deadline reports.
Weekend Box Office Preview: Playing for Keeps Likely a Flop
Gerard Butler’s soccer romantic comedy Playing for Keeps with Jessica Biel, Uma Thurman, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Dennis Quaid may only open in the $6 million range, THR reports.
James Marsden Strolling a Walk of Shame
Marsden will join Steven Brill’s Walk of Shame with Elizabeth Banks. Banks plays a news anchor who has a wild night out and is locked out on the street without money, phone, ID etc and has a series of misadventures while winding a path to the most important job interview of her life, TOH reports.
Specialty Release Preview: Hyde Park on Hudson, In Our Nature, California Solo & More
Oscar hopeful Hyde Park on Hudson with Bill Murray as Franklin Delano Roosevelt is this weekend’s highest profile debut in the specialty market. There’s also In Our Nature with…
Michael Haneke’s Amour swept the European Film Awards over the weekend, picking up four big wins including best European film and best director. The Cannes Palme d’Or winner also won two acting awards for its principal stars, Emanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant. The film, which centers on an elderly couple whose lives change when the woman has an attack, will open in the U.S. December 19th via Sony Pictures Classics.
Winners were chosen by the 2,700 members of the European Film Academy. The ceremony took place over the weekend in Malta.
EUROPEAN FILM 2012:
Amour
France / Germany / Austria, 127 min
Written & directed by Michael Haneke
produced by Margaret Menegoz, Stefan Arndt, Veit Heiduschka & Michael Katz
EUROPEAN DIRECTOR 2012:
Michael Haneke for Amour
EUROPEAN ACTRESS 2012:
Emmanuelle Riva in Amour
EUROPEAN ACTOR 2012:
Jean-Louis Trintignant in Amour
EUROPEAN SCREENWRITER 2012:
Tobias Lindholm & Thomas Vinterberg for Jagten (The Hunt)
CARLO DI PALMA EUROPEAN CINEMATOGRAPHER AWARD 2012:
Sean Bobbitt for Shame
EUROPEAN EDITOR 2012:
Joe Walker for Shame
EUROPEAN PRODUCTION DESIGNER 2012:
Maria Djurkovic for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
EUROPEAN COMPOSER 2012:
Alberto Iglesias for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
EUROPEAN DISCOVERY 2012 – Prix FIPRESCI:
Kauwboy by Boudewijn Koole (The Netherlands)
EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY DOCUMENTARY 2012:
Hiver Nomade (Winter Nomads) by Manuel von Stürler (Switzerland)
EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY ANIMATED FEATURE FILM 2012:
Alois Nebel by Tomáš Luňák (Czech Republic / Germany / Slovakia)
EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY SHORT FILM 2012:
Superman, Spiderman Or Batman by Tudor Giurgiu, Romania
EUROPEAN CO-PRODUCTION AWARD 2012…
Also in Friday’s news round-up, the studio suits are jubilant on Skyfall’s box office prospects; Ted passes a b.o. milestone and a quick look at the weekend’s new Specialty Releases including Silver Linings Playbook and Anna Karenina.
Helen Hunt to Receive Palm Springs Film Festival Fete
The possible Oscar contender will receive the Spotlight Award at the 24th Palm Springs International Film Festival on January 5th. In The Sessions, Hunt plays a therapist who helps a 38-year-old man, who has lived most of his life in an iron lung, lose his virginity for the first time, THR reports.
Jane Goldman to Write Pinocchio for Robert Downey Jr.
Tim Burton will direct the pic which has been in the works for months. Goldman’s hire will likely bring the “courtship” to a close. The story revolves around the children’s classic. Downey will play Geppetto, the woodcarver who creates the puppet who wants to become a real boy, THR reports.
Skyfall to Exceed $800M Worldwide
MGM expects the latest James Bond to be the highest grossing film in the franchise of all time. Additionally, the Blu-ray package, Bond 50: The Complete 22 Films Collection was a “tremendous success at retail,” Deadline reports.
Ted Crosses $500 Million Mark
The R-rated comedy is Universal’s highest rated film of 2012, crossing the $500 million mark worldwide, beating Todd Phillips’ The Hangover which took in $467.4 million, THR reports.
Specialty Preview: Anna Karenina, Silver Linings Playbook, Price Check, Mea Culpa Maxima
More Oscar contenders are lined up at the specialty gate this weekend, most notably The Weinstein Company’s Silver Linings Playbook,, whose strategy has evolved in the run-up to Friday’s launch. The title will start with a handful of bookings before expanding gradually into…
Also in Monday’s early round-up of news briefs: Cloud Atlas may have had a slow start in North America, but it is possibly proving to be a big hit overseas; The Weinstein Company is grabbing a thriller starring Chris Evans, Jamie Bell and Octavia Spencer for theaters; And Chasing Ice tops out the Specialty Box Office over the weekend.
The Weinstein Company Nabs Bong Joon Ho’s Snowpiercer
The thriller stars Chris Evans, Song Kang-ho, John Hurt, Ed Harris, Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell, Octavia Spencer, Ewen Bremner and Alison Pill and set in the future. After a failed experiment to stop global warming, an Ice Age kills off all life on the planet except for the inhabitants of the Snowpiercer, a train that travels around the globe and is powered by a sacred perpetual-motion engine. A class system evolves on the train but a revolution brews. TWC picked up rights in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Around the ‘net…
Dorothy’s Oz Dress Goes for $480K
Judy Garland wore the blue gingham when she was whisked away by a tornado landing her in Oz with her dog Toto. The wholesome frock was mismatched with a sparkling pair of ruby-red slippers which caught the eire of that wicked old witch. The dress sold for $480,000 at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills this weekend. Also selling, Steve McQueen’s racing jacket ($50K) and a prop watch worn by John Belushi in The Blues Brothers ($15K), Deadline reports.
James McAvoy Eyes WikiLeaks Pic
The Last King of Scotland director wil join Benedict Cumberbatch in the untitled project about the website that released classified information online. Cumberbatch will play WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange while McAvoy is in talks…
