Matt Damon's 'Elysium' Role Was First Offered to Eminem

Eminem playing a futuristic anti-hero who takes desperate measures to save himself and restore justice to the world?
If director Neill Blomkamp had his way, the notorious rapper and "8 Mile" star would have been the leading man in the upcoming sci-fi drama "Elysium," instead of current headliner Matt Damon.
In a recent interview, Blomkamp, who wrote and directed the low-budget smash "District 9," revealed he originally envisioned his follow-up, "Elysium," as a low-budget project — much like his aforementioned breakthrough hit. He hoped to cast Ninja, a rapper with the South African hip-hop group Die Antwoord, as the protagonist Max De Costa. When Ninja said no to the project, Blomkamp began negotiating with major studios for the movie, and he moved onto another rapper-as-actor for the De Costa role: Eminem.
In the story, set in the year 2154, Earth is a crowded, chaotic, disease-ridden slum while the wealthy and privileged live in the orbiting city of Elysium. Elysium citizens have access to heath care unavailable to the desperate people below on Earth. When De Costa finds he has cancer, he sets out to invade Elysium and liberate the advanced treatments for himself and those like him.
Blomkamp discussed the project with the Detroit-born rapper, and according to the director, the artist sometimes known as Slim Shady was interested, but he had one major condition: He wanted the movie to be shot in Detroit. Blomkamp and TriStar Pictures were unable to bring the shoot to Michigan, and Eminem bowed out, with Matt Damon finally taking over the role.
Throughout his career, Damon has shown his ego is not an issue when it comes to taking work. While many of Hollywood's A-list leading men tend to shy away from supporting roles and from accepting, ahem, sloppy seconds or even thirds (from much less experienced rapper-actors, mind you), the "Bourne" series star focuses on his enthusiasm for the work itself. His passion for "Behind the Candelabra" caused him rearrange his schedule for what he deemed his "dream role." Made-for-HBO, it wasn't even a major studio release, and he shared top billing with Michael Douglas. Indeed, Damon indicated during a panel at last year's Comic-Con that he felt equally passionate about "Elysium" and moved heaven and earth to make room in his busy schedule for the role.
Back to Eminem: Would he have been a good choice for "Elysium"? It's not hard at all to imagine him in the project if you give it some thought. If "8 Mile" was a very different story, it also showed Eminem could play a man struggling against long odds to change his life. It's also worth noting that Eminem's close-cropped haircut is not at all far from the shaved head Damon sports in the movie, and he wouldn't be adverse to the tattoos De Costa sports given that he already has plenty of ink.
Having grown up in Detroit, Eminem already knows something about living in a crumbling urban environment where those who can afford it have already moved on. And he certainly has the cocky attitude and streetwise nature of a guy who is willing to fight for what he believes in and isn't about to take no for an answer. Eminem is certainly one of the more intriguing "What If?" casting possibilities of recent months, especially since he still hasn't made a follow-up to "8 Mile," one of the strongest debut performances of the Aughts. If Eminem had been willing to leave Michigan for a few months, it's possible that "Elysium" could have made him the major screen star "8 Mile" suggested he could become.

Johnny Depp Returns to the Rabbit Hole With 'Alice in Wonderland 2'

It looks like Johnny Depp is finding safe harbor by returning to the world of Lewis Carroll ... whether his pal Tim Burton is coming or not.
Curiouser and curiouser! Hot on the heels of some bad press claiming he's just not the A-list star he used to be upon the failure of "The Lone Ranger" (and "Dark Shadows" before it) at the box office, Depp is in final negotiations to reprise his role as the Mad Hatter in "Alice in Wonderland 2," the sequel to Disney's 2010 mega-hit directed by Depp's frequent collaborator Burton.
The news proves that Depp and Disney are still the best of friends, despite "The Lone Ranger" to date scoring a mere $71 million at the domestic box office after 12 days of release. The would-be blockbuster, which cost around $250 million to produce, will need major international numbers to even break even — though the film has only rustled up $48 million in foreign box office so far.

On the other hand, an "Alice in Wonderland" sequel seems like a sure thing. The original film, which opened in March 2010, cost around $200 million, but managed to earn a worldwide box office take of over $1 billion, despite lukewarm reviews (it holds a 51 percent average rating on Rotten Tomatoes). Tim Burton declining to return to the director's chair will probably have little to no effect on the sequel's potential — it could be argued that audiences dig the brand, not necessarily the specific filmmakers, and it will be interesting to see what "The Muppets" director James Bobin does with such a huge (and expensive) playground as Wonderland.
That's not all that's going on with Depp and Disney. The star has signed a new multi-year first-look deal with the studio to develop projects he can produce there (though interestingly enough, Deadline reports that deal was closed this past March and not recently). And it's still full steam ahead for "Pirates of the Caribbean 5" (another safe harbor for the Depp-Disney duo), which is planned for a Summer 2015 release under the direction of "Kon-Tiki" filmmakers Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg (classy!).
Johnny Depp's possibly fading star has been the subject of much scrutiny ever since "The Lone Ranger" failed to win the Fourth of July moviegoing weekend, especially as it seems like the film is going to bomb all around the world rather than just domestically (both "Dark Shadows" and "The Tourist" ended up doing well in foreign markets). Ultimately, though, audiences probably aren't blaming Depp for "The Lone Ranger" bombing ... and neither is Hollywood.
"Depp is a star as well as a rare talent, so there is no doubt he can sustain a few misfires," Exhibitor Relations box office analyst Jeff Bock recently told us. "And before anyone writes him off, remember, he'll be donning Jack Sparrow duds again for 'Pirates 5,' it will gross a billion dollars, and everyone will forget about that dead crow on his head."
Add to that: Depp is still scoring lead roles in high-profile projects, even beyond the world of Disney blockbusters. Last week he signed on to star in the crime drama "Mortdecai," director David Koepp's screen adaptation of the three-part series of books by Kyril Bonfiglioli, and he's currently filming "The Dark Knight" cinematographer Wally Pfister's highly anticipated (but predictably hush-hush) directorial debut, "Transcendence," due in theaters in April 2014.
Really, even with a few box office duds on his resume, who wouldn't want to work with Johnny Depp? "Any producer would kill to have Johnny Depp in any movie," Edward Bass, producer of 2006 biopic "Bobby" and the 2012 Jessica Chastain film "Tar," told us! "There's nothing he doesn't do great. He has the ability to be a movie star on one side and still be an artist on the other, and that's what makes him different."

Still, it's probably a good thing that Depp has projects like "Mortdecai" and "Transcendence" on the horizon to balance out cash grabs like "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Alice in Wonderland' sequels ... because as much as the public still loves him, they arguably love him a little less than they did, say, ten years ago, at least when it comes to Jack Sparrow.
"When 'Pirates' first opened, Johnny Depp's portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow seemed fresh and exciting," writes Box Office Mojo analyst Ray Subers. "After a decade of playing similarly wacky characters, his portrayal of Tonto in 'The Lone Ranger' just felt like more of the same."
No release date has been set for "Alice in Wonderland 2," though we can't imagine it will hit theaters any earlier than 2016.

Adam Sandler Movie Edged Out In Debut

"Despicable Me 2" edged the Adam Sandler comedy "Grown Ups 2" at the domestic box office this weekend, while the surge some predicted for Guillermo del Toro's "Pacific Rim" never quite materialized -- making it the latest big-budget beast to come crashing down this summer.
A big Saturday turnout lifted the animated kids film from Universal and Illumination Entertainment to an estimated $44.7 million in its second week. It passed the $200 million mark Saturday at the domestic box office, just the fourth animated film to do it in that timeframe, and its global haul is now nearly $475 million.
"Grown Ups 2" had led the pack after a terrific $16.5 million opening day Friday, but the family crowd began turning the tide for the minions of "Despicable Me 2" on Saturday -- and Sony's PG-13-rated comedy wound up at $42.5 million. That's better than the 2010 debut's $40 million open, and that film went on to take in $270 million worldwide, best-ever for a Sandler movie.

Del Toro's giant robots-vs.-monsters 3D epic was running second after Friday but lost some steam and finished the weekend with an estimated $38.3 million. That just under where the analysts had the $180 million tentpole movie landing, after weeks of soft pre-release tracking.
Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros. had hoped the film's "A-" CinemaScore and strong reviews -- it was at 72 percent positive on Rotten Tomatoes -- would drive word-of-mouth so that it could play beyond its core audience of young boys and Del Toro fans. But Saturday's haul was about 13 percent down from Friday's, which were swelled by $3.6 million.
The fanboys turned out in force, particularly for 3D showings and at Imax, which accounted for a whopping 19 percent of the grosses. The crowd was predictably young (67 percent under 35) and male 61 percent).

"Three weeks ago we were looking at $25 million-$30 million, so we've come a long way and this gives us something to build on," said Warner Bros. head of distribution Dan Fellman. "We have great reviews, a strong CinemaScore and strong word of mouth. Our job now is to take that and expand it beyond that fanboy base over the next weeks."
Warner Bros is counting on a big international performance from "Pacific Rim," which should get a boost from Del Toro's significant international following. It's off to a decent start with $53 million in 38 markets this weekend.
 "Pacific Rim" is the third box-office misfire for a big-budget tentpole in as many weeks, coming on the heels of last weekend's disappointing debut of Disney's $225 million "Lone Ranger" and Sony's "White House Down" the week before that.
A big part of that is the intense competition this summer, which is filled with $100 million-plus would-be blockbusters. The overall box office remains healthy -- summer is running about 13 percent ahead of 2012 -- and the weekend's numbers continued that trend. Overall business was up nearly 30 percent over last year's comparable weekend, when "Ice Age: Continental Drift" opened to $46 million.
Critics loathed "Grown Ups 2" – it has a 7 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes – but moviegoers gave it a "B" CinemaScore and the solid debut underscored the disconnect between reviewers and Sandler fans.
The audiences were young, with 54% under 25, and surprisingly female at 53 percent, suggesting it was drawing families.
The strong showing -- particularly since it was competing with the R-rated Melissa McCarthy-Sandra Bullock comedy "The Heat" -- signals a box-office turnaround for Sandler.
He voiced Dracula in Sony's surprising animated hit "Hotel Transylvania," but his last two live-action efforts – "Jack and Jill" and "That's My Boy" – have disappointed. The latter film was R-rated and a bid by Sandler to broaden his youthful base, but it came up short. Reteamed with Kevin James, Chris Rock and David Spade, the PG-13-rated sequel -- made for $80 million -- was right in his wheelhouse.
                                          Weekend         Total
1. Despicable Me 2              $44,754,000    $229,237,000
2. Grown Ups 2                    $42,500,000    $42,500,000
3. Pacific Rim                      $38,300,000    $38,300,000
4. The Heat                          $14,000,000    $112,363,000  
5. The Lone Ranger              $11,140,000    $71,101,000  
6. Monsters University           $10,621,000    $237,760,000  
7. World War Z                     $9,430,000    $177,087,000  
8. White House Down            $6,150,000    $62,963,000  
9. Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain $5,000,000    $26,378,000
10.Man of Steel                     $4,825,000    $280,995,000  

Cryptic Vin Diesel 'Avengers' Photo

It's hard to tell which character in the sprawling Marvel Universe might be the perfect fit for Vin Diesel. There are so many fast and furious heroes to go around ... not to mention villains, too.
The "Riddick" star first teased his possible involvement with an upcoming Marvel project on June 26 with a post on his Facebook page that has since been removed (probably at the request of super-secretive Marvel execs):
"Marvel has requested a meeting ... no idea what for ... haha, you probably know better than me."
We didn't, but we were certainly intrigued. Diesel has now posted a tantalizing follow-up, which includes a pic of the star next to poster-sized cover art of a back issue of "The Avengers":
"Marvel meeting today ... Only the people in the room can tell you what was discussed ... P.s. Thanks to Our page, for pushing to make it happen ... you know I get tunnel vision with my work ... and after that meeting today ... wow!"
At this point it's probably safe to assume that Vin Diesel will be joining the ever-growing cinematic Marvel Universe, joining an A-list collective cast that includes Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner and many more. So who might the man best known to audiences worldwide as street racer/mega-heist mastermind Dominic Toretto in the "Fast and Furious" series be playing?

We probably shouldn't ignore the details of the pic that Diesel posted yesterday, as it features a character that might not seem very Diesel-esque at first glance but starts to become a little more Vin-like the more you think about it. The back issue of "The Avengers" on display urges readers to "See the new Giant-Man," which is a sometimes-alias of size-shifting Dr. Hank Pym, otherwise known as Ant-Man ... and "Shaun of the Dead" director Edgar Wright just so happens to be prepping a stand-alone "Ant-Man" movie for November 2015.
Vin Diesel as a brilliant scientist who develops a suit that allows him to shrink to the size of an insect ... and, later, enlarge to the size of a giant? It's so crazy, it just might work!

Diesel's larger-than-life persona (and body) would fit right in with the over-the-top theatrics (and characters) of "Guardians of the Galaxy," the final Marvel Phase Two movie (August 1, 2014) before the "Avengers" sequel. Diesel could possibly be up for Thanos, the villain character teased at the end of "Marvel's The Avengers" and who is rumored to be the big baddie in "Guardians." He could also play Groot, the talking tree-thing, or even Rocket Raccoon, the trigger-happy, uh, raccoon.
Actually, let's go back to that posted pic. Maybe the clue isn't so much the image of Hank Pym but rather the issue of "The Avengers." Could Diesel be appearing in "Marvel's The Avengers 2"? We doubt he's up for Quicksilver (a personal favorite of writer-director Joss Whedon), but maybe he's up for an unnamed villain role in May 2015's Marvel mash-up?

There are Marvel projects further down the pipeline that seem less likely to include Diesel. Rumor has it that Phase Three (the films that will be released post-"Avengers 2") will include a "Doctor Strange" movie, and Diesel doesn't exactly give off an "elitist stage magician" vibe. The title role in a possible "Black Panther" film is certainly a possibility as well. But again, Diesel who is "of ambiguous ethnicity" (his words) doesn't quite seem like the top contender to play an African character from the fictional African nation of Wakanda.
Say, there's going to be a Marvel panel at the San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday, July 20. Might an official announcement be imminent? Diesel will already be down there for "Riddick," after all. We'll be there to find out!

"Lone Ranger" Has A Disastrous Debut

The mega-budget "The Lone Ranger" went down in a cloud of a dust in its box-office debut over the July 4 weekend, saddling the studio with a "John Carter"-sized disaster.
Over the five-day holiday weekend, the masked rider will have brought in around $49 million. That's about $20 million under analysts' projections and nearly $90 million behind the total of the No. 1 movie, Universal and Illumination Entertainment's animated family film "Despicable Me 2."
Worse, the $29.4 million three-day Friday-Sunday total for the $225 million adaptation of the classic radio and TV show, with Armie Hammer as the title character and Johnny Depp as Tonto, was weaker than that of last year's bomb "John Carter."
Also read: 'Despicable Me 2' Snaps Up Record $140M in U.S., Nears $300M at Worldwide Box Office

That $250-million sci-fi adventure opened to $30.1 million, topped out at $73 million at the domestic box office and Disney wound up with a $200 million write down.
It's hard to imagine Disney executives aren't questioning the decision they made last summer to restart production on the Western after having shut it down when the budget began spiraling out of control.
"The Lone Ranger" marks the second consecutive major box-office misfire for Depp, who starred in last summer's "Dark Shadows." That send-up of a 1960s TV vampire soap cost $150 million to produce and topped out at $80 million. It opened to a mere $29 million -- and "The Lone Ranger" did worse than that.

With Depp and the "Pirates of the Caribbean team of producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski on board, Disney had hoped "The Lone Ranger" could do for Westerns what that $3.7 billion four-film franchise had done for pirate movies.
That's clearly not in the cards now. And to recoup that huge production budget – and the cost of a major marketing campaign – it would have to overperform abroad. Even with Depp, one of the world's most bankable box-office stars, that's an extremely long shot because Westerns don't normally play strongly overseas.
"The frustrating part for us," Disney's head of distribution Dave Hollis told TheWrap Sunday, "is that we had all the ingredients here. You take a classic franchise, team the world's most successful producer, an award-winning director and the biggest movie star in the world and you think your chances of success are pretty good. But we just didn't make it work."

And the belly-flop means it ranks with the biggest Western bombs of all time, such as "Wild, Wild West." That was the 1999 Will Smith-Kevin Kline horse opera that opened to $27 million despite its $190 million budget, huge for that era.
But "The Lone Ranger" was always facing an uphill ride. The top debut ever for a live-action Western belongs to 2011's "Cowboys & Aliens" and that was just $36 million; with its $163 million budget, even that lost major money.
Disney's marketing team knew all that and tried to position the film as an action epic rather than a Western based on a 50-year-old radio program. "They're on horses, but it's really an action film," was how one Disney executive characterized it early on in the campaign.
The audience skewed very much older – roughly 68 percent was over 25 years of age, and 24 percent was over 50, suggesting the problem was with the source material. Simply, young audiences weren't interested in seeing a cowboy story, no matter who was in or made it.
Still, the limp "Ranger" showing wasn't a total surprise. The critics hated it (24 percent positive on Rotten Tomatoes) and took the PG-13 film to task for being overly violent, which couldn't have helped draw family crowds. Social-media signs and presale figures leading up to its opening were bleak, and "Despicable Me 2" was a juggernaut.
                                                  Weekend            Total          
1. Despicable Me                     $82,518,000      $142,076,000  
2. The Lone Ranger                   $29,432,000     $48,936,000  
3. The Heat                               $25,000,000      $86,398,000  
4. Monsters University               $19,590,000      $216,127,000  
5. World War Z                         $18,200,000     $158,758,000  
6. White House Down               $13,500,000      $50,478,000  
7. Man of Steel                          $11,415,000     $271,206,000  
8. Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain    $10,100,000     $17,460,000  
9. This is the End                        $5,800,000       $85,554,000  
10.Now You See Me                   $2,770,000     $110,415,000

Kerry Washington Secretly Weds NFL Star Nnamdi Asomugha

Kerry Washington definitely knows how to keep a secret.
The "Scandal" star, 36, quietly married San Francisco 49ers cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha on June 24 in Blaine County, Idaho. While the remote location was sure to keep the paparazzi away, was it really necessary when no one even knew they were a couple in the first place?

According to TerezOwens.com, who first reported the nuptial news on Tuesday, Asomugha and Washington have been dating since last summer.
A 2003 graduate of UC Berkeley, Asomugha, 31, played for the Oakland Raiders for eight seasons and the Philadelphia Eagles for two before signing with the 49ers in April. (Though he's bounced around a bit when it comes to committing to a football team, it seems he wasn't afraid to commit to Kerry!) He's also dabbled in acting, with guest-starring gigs on "Friday Night Lights," "The Game," "Leverage," and "Kroll Show."
Another thing Asomugha and the stylish "Django Unchained" actress have in common? Giving back. The political activists are both involved in various philanthropic efforts. Asomugha has participated in the Clinton Global Initiative every year since 2009, while Washington addressed the crowd at the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

This marks the first marriage for both. Washington was previously engaged to longtime boyfriend David Moscow (better known as the kid who turns into Tom Hanks in the 1988 flick "Big"), but called the wedding off in 2007. Since then, she's kept everyone in the dark about her personal life — but gave a little clue on Twitter Tuesday that she could be headed off on a honeymoon.
"Ok. Logging off! See u in a few weeks! SO excited 4 all u UK #Gladiators about 2 experience Season 2! Spread the word! July 4th @More4Tweets," she posted.

The Truth about Robert Pattinson and Riley Keough

Is Robert Pattinson dating Riley Keough?
The Internet exploded with speculation this week that the "Twilight" heartthrob has moved on from ex-girlfriend Kristen Stewart with Keough — Elvis's granddaughter and a friend of Kristen's, no less.

The rumors first started after X17 got their hands on pictures of Pattinson, 27, on Sunday, driving around his neighborhood of Los Feliz, California, with a mystery woman. A number of outlets then identified her as Keough, who starred in "The Runaways" with Stewart.

However, sources close to Keough, 24, insist to omg! that the woman in the car is definitely not her. Don't believe us? A rep for Keough went on record on Wednesday to deny romance rumors.
“Riley isn’t dating Rob,” a rep for the "Mad Max: Fury Road" star told JustJared.com. “And I can confirm that Riley was not photographed at all this weekend.”

Keough and Rob are friends … but through Kristen. The "Magic Mike" actress was even on hand to celebrate Stewart's 23rd birthday on April 9.

Box Office Report: 'White House Down' Flops; 'The Heat' Soars With $40 Million Opening

Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock's The Heat ended up having all the fire power at the North American box office as their new R-rated comedy crushed Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx's big-budget tentpole White House Down.

From 20th Century Fox, The Heat opened to a rousing $40 million, marking another major win for McCarthy and her Bridesmaids director Paul Feig. The pic marks McCarthy and Feig's best opening to date -- as well as Bullock's.

Conversely, director Roland Emmerich's White House Down debuted to a dismal $25.7 million. The action pic cost a pricey $150 million to produce and marks the second Sony summer tentpole to flop after Will Smith's After Earth.

Disney and Pixar's Monsters University stayed at No. 1 in its second weekend, declining a slim 44 percent to $46.2 million and pushing its domestic total to $171 million. The toon has jumped the $300 million mark after earning another $44.2 million overseas from 37 territories for an international total of $129.3 million.

Monsters University wasn't the only 3D animated film making headlines. Overseas, Universal's Despicable Me 2 broke records as it opened in six countries, scoring $41.5 million for the weekend for an early international total of $50 million from seven territories (it opened in Australia last weekend.) The sequel opens Tuesday in North America, where it is expected to be just as much of a monster.

Despicable 2 opened No. 1 in the U.K., France, French Switzerland, Netherlands and Belgium, and was second only to Man of Steel in Sweden and Australia. In the U.K. and Ireland (considered one market), the toon opened to $15.7 million -- the top opening ever for a Universal film, as well as being the top opening of 2013. Including last week's previews, the U.K. total is an outstanding $23.3 million.

In North America, The Heat came in No. 2, followed by Paramount holdover World War Z, which held well, falling 48 percent to roughly $30 million. The Brad Pitt zombie tentpole has now earned $124 million domestically.

Heading into the weekend, The Heat and White House Down were each tracking to bow in the $30 million range. And on Friday night, each film earned an A- CinemaScore from moviegoers.

The Heat, costing Fox a modest $43 million to produce, provided a needed respite for younger and older women weary of action fare stars (females made up 67 percent of the audience). In the film, Bullock stars as a strict FBI agent who is forced to team up with McCarthy's rough-around-the-edges Boston street cop.

To date, McCarthy's top opening at the domestic box office is Identity Thief, which debuted earlier this year to $34.6 million. Bridesmaids grossed $26.2 million in its domestic debut in May 2011. The film, whose ensemble cast also included Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph, became a female-friendly comedy hit and has gone on to gross $288.4 million to date worldwide.

White House Down will turn into a financial headache for Sony unless it does exceedingly well overseas. The A- CinemaScore is a good sign in terms of strong word-of-mouth, but simply not enough moviegoers turned out. In the film, the president of the United States (Foxx) and a wannabe Secret Service agent (Tatum) team up after the White House is invaded by terrorists and the U.S. Capitol destroyed.

One problem -- White House Down comes out just three months after FilmDistrict's White House-under-siege film Olympus Has Fallen played in theaters. Another is a glut of male-skewing action films in the market, including World War Z and Man of Steel.

White House Down is the lowest opening for an Emmerich-directed tentpole in recent times. In summer 2004, The Day After Tomorrow debuted to $68.7 million. Independence Day -- which also featured the destruction of the White House -- opened to $50.2 million in July 1996.

Sony believes the film will have strong legs based on the A- CinemaScore. Also, plenty of females turned out (49 percent).

"We couldn't be more proud or supportive of the film Roland, Channing and Jamie created. This weekend's launch is just the beginning. While White House Down opened in a few smaller countries this weekend, it will not begin to open in major overseas territories until mid-July and it will continue to roll out overseas well into the fall," said a Sony spokesman.

On a brighter note, Sony's innovative end-of-the-world comedy This Is the End continued to prosper, grossing $8.7 million in its third weekend for a North American total of $74.7 million.

Among other weekend highlights, Warner Bros. and Legendary's Man of Steel jumped the $500 million mark globally.

Paramount Sets ‘Terminator’ Relaunch For June 26, 2015

Paramount has confirmed the long in the works deal to cofinance and distribute the reboot of James Cameron’s Terminator franchise creation. Highbrow picture maker Megan Ellison spent over $20 million for the rights in 2011, and the project didn’t go very far. Things finally started percolating when Megan Ellison and her Annapurna Pictures joined forces with brother David Ellison, whose Skydance Productions has a deal with Paramount and makes popcorn movies. Avatar’s Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier have been working on the script for months. Arnold Schwarzenegger returns as the title character and the hope is to get at least two movies done before North American copyright reverts back to Cameron, who might want a fortune or might want to retire the franchise. Here’s the announcement:

Skydance Productions, Annapurna Pictures and Paramount Pictures have jointly announced they will partner on a rebooted “TERMINATOR” movie, to be released by Paramount Pictures on June 26, 2015.
The first in a stand-alone trilogy, “TERMINATOR” will be produced by Megan Ellison of Annapurna and David Ellison of Skydance. Dana Goldberg and Paul Schwake of Skydance will serve as executive producers. Laeta Kalorgridis (“Avatar,” “Shutter Island”) and Patrick Lussier (“Drive Angry”) are attached to write the screenplay.
Launched in 1984 with star Arnold Schwarzenegger as the title character, “TERMINATOR” spanned 3 subsequent films, which have earned over $1 billion at the worldwide box office.
David Ellison most recently executive produced, along with his partners at Paramount, “World War Z,” “Star Trek Into Darkness,” “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” and “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol”. A 5th installment of in the “Mission: Impossible” franchise is in active development, along with a 3rd film in the “G.I. Joe” franchise, among other films.
Megan Ellison most recently produced the Academy Award®-nominated “Zero Dark Thirty,” “The Master” and executive produced “Spring Breakers” via her Annapurna Pictures banner and has David O. Russell’s “American Hustle,” Spike Jonze’s “Her,” and Bennett Miller’s “Foxcatcher” set for release later this year.

Liam Neeson Enters Exclusive $20 Million Club With 'Taken 3'

Liam Neeson is being paid handsomely for his particular set of skills.
First of all, yes, there is going to be a third installment in the "Taken" franchise — which was most definitely inevitable, even though Neeson himself laughed off the possibility a few months ago with "That's just bad parenting" (which is true, but it also makes for good movie-making). Second of all — and this is definitely something of a surprise — Neeson himself will be joining the $20 million club for reprising his role as former CIA operative and dad, Bryan Mills.

The veteran actor (and former boxer) has opted for high octane action roles over the past several years, which has coined the playful term of "Neesploitation" — and made him one of the most bankable stars in the business. Oscar-nominated for his dramatic role in Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List," Neeson went on to score a handful of sword-wielding (or lightsaber-wielding) swashbuckling roles in "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" (1999), "Batman Begins" (2005) and "Kingdom of Heaven" (2005) before embracing more B-movie material like "Taken" (2009), "The A-Team" (2010), and "Unknown" (2011). Even director Joe Carnahan's moody, Malick-esque survival tale "The Grey" (2012) was marketed as a movie in which Liam Neeson took on a bunch of vicious wolves in bad weather.

Now, with "Taken 3," Neeson is apparently a full-blown A-list movie star — and he's got the zeroes on his paycheck to prove it. The $20 Million Club in Hollywood has had a few distinguished members over the years, though it's certainly a club from which it's pretty easy to lose one's membership, depending on how long audiences actually, you know, go to see your movies. Members of the club have included Neeson's ex-lover Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio, Angelina Jolie, Reese Witherspoon, Tom Hanks, Jim Carrey, and Mel Gibson. Stars like Kristen Stewart, Brad Pitt, Robert Downey Jr., and Johnny Depp can currently demand even more than that.
However, the $20 million club isn't what it used to be. Several stars have taken considerable pay cuts in order for certain films to actually get made. Profitable films with no-name casts like "Paranormal Activity" have also given studios more leverage in negotiating lower paychecks — after all, if they can make money with a movie starring a bunch of unknowns, what do they need movie stars for?

Fans should be pleased with Liam Neeson receiving a $20 million paycheck under any circumstances. Ever since the untimely 2009 death of his wife Natasha Richardson, Neeson has been a bit of a workaholic — and the more physical the roles, the better. He has a charm and humbleness that makes him one of Hollywood's most likable stars, and there's something truly cathartic about watching him punch out every single person in France as he frantically searches for his daughter — Neeson provides "audience participation" cinema like no one else as you can't help but root for him as he goes about his seemingly insurmountable tasks and comes out the other side with only a few cuts and bruises.
"Taken" has become a sure-thing action franchise. The original 2009 film, which cost only $5 million more than what Neeson is getting paid for the third film, grossed $376 million worldwide. Last year's "Taken 2" cost $45 million and scored $226 million.
"Taken 3" will commence production in March 2014 from a script by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. No director or supporting cast has been announced, though Deadline speculates that "Taken 2" director Olivier Megaton will be back for more, as will Neeson's co-stars Maggie Grace and Famke Janssen.

The Rock Works Out Like a Demi-God for 'Hercules' Role

Diplomatic Security Services agent who isn't beyond picking up a suspect and slamming him into the ceiling if it'll get some answers. Johnson's workout regimen for that film might have very well involved picking up grown men and throwing them across the room, as he barely seemed to be straining at all ... nor did it seem like he was receiving too much of a special effects assist.

(Photo : The Rock's training chests)

Now, Dwayne Johnson looks to be taking his astonishing physique even further as he takes on another crazy diet and workout regimen for his upcoming role as ... well, the son of a god. Johnson will be playing the title role in "Hercules: The Thracian Wars," a fantastical action-adventure directed by Brett Ratner ("X-Men: The Last Stand") based on the Greek myth of the mighty muscle man born of the immortal Zeus and the mortal Alcmene.
A series of photos that Johnson himself provided via Twitter show him hard at work to become Hercules. One pic shows him grimacing (we're sure it's just for show) as he pulls down weighted cables to work his upper arm muscles. The medium shot reveals that Johnson will be just as muscular than he was in "Pain & Gain" though perhaps not as, well, wide — his stomach and chest appear to be more toned than they were in Bay's film, giving him more of an athlete's physique than a hardcore bodybuilder's. It's just as well, too —Hercules will no doubt be involved in a lot more actual fight scenes than the hapless Paul Doyle.
The man's arms are still ridiculous, though. Another pic features a close-up of Johnson's deltoid, complete with fake scars as he's transformed into Hercules in the makeup room. It's about the size of Texas. This pic is also interesting as it gives a glimpse of the long-haired wig that Johnson will be wearing in the film — after all, you've got to get those dramatic shots of hair blowing in the wind, as Brad Pitt recently showed us in "World War Z."

Another pic takes us back to the gym and shows off Johnson's leg, which appears like it could kick a football to the moon (interestingly enough, the legs are Johnson's personal favorite body part, according to AllStarWorkouts.com). Really, how do the other gym members feel whenever The Rock is around? Do they wonder why they even bother?
It's not all about hitting the exercise equipment, though. You've got to eat a lot to get that big, and by "a lot" we mean at least seven meals a day. That's right — the rest of us barely eat three, and Dwayne Johnson eats seven. He even took a pic of the inside of his refrigerator, which reveals a series of seven pre-packaged meals on each shelf.
Believe it or not, Johnson would probably be eating seven meals a day even if he weren't preparing to play Hercules. According to AllStarWorkouts.com, eating seven times is just another part of his everyday workout: "The Rock eats seven times a day. His crazy diet is about getting enough protein to aid lean muscle growth. The key to the Rock Diet is that he consumes a lot of protein, fibrous carbs, and starchy vegetables. Nutrition is everything. The reason The Rock eats this way, is because it helps him lose weight and gain muscle." Diet AND exercise, people.

And here's an idea of what might be in six of those seven containers in the fridge:
Meal 1: 10 scrambled egg whites, 3 servings cream of rice or 1 cup oatmeal, 3 rice cakes, 24oz water
Meal 2: 6oz skinless grilled chicken breast, 1 cup grits, 6oz yams, 1 cup of steamed asparagus, 24oz water
Meal 3: 6oz tuna, 1 cup brown rice, 1 sliced cucumber, 24oz water
Meal 4: 6oz perch fillet, 1 cup barley, 6oz baked potato, 1 cup steamed green beans, 24oz water
Meal 5: 6oz pork tenderloin, 1 cup brown rice, 6oz sweet potato, 1 cup peas, 24oz water
Meal 6: 10 scrambled egg whites, 3 servings cream of rice or 1 cup oatmeal, 24oz water
And the seventh? Apparently that's between The Rock and his stomach.

You might also be wondering about that bottle of fish oil. According to Wiki Answers, fish oil contains Omega 3, an essential fatty acid that your normal American diet is almost devoid of. It supports heart health, joint health and brain health, including promoting memory retention, cognitive skills and supporting good moods! In addition fish oil helps to promote immune health and supports healthy eyes, skin and hair.
All essential elements in becoming the son of Zeus.
"Hercules: The Thracian Wars" will commence with walking amongst us puny mortals in theaters on July 25, 2014.

'Mad Men' Season Finale: Don's a Free Man

Well, "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner promised nobody would die in tonight's Season 6 finale… but he didn't promise that everyone's career would survive.
Consummate ad man Don Draper got his hat handed to him by the other partners at SC&P, who informed him he's taking an involuntary leave of absence from the firm — effective immediately. Citing "questionable behavior" (and following a crash-and-burn pitch with Hershey's), Jim Cutler and the others impassively told Don he'll be taking several months off, with no return date. Joan wore black; Roger could only shrug.

And they weren't the only ones to cut Don loose tonight: Megan also walked out on her husband after a plan to move to California, and give their marriage a second chance, fell through. (Never mind that it fell through because Don actually did something decent and selfless for once.) So now Don has no place to work, and no one to come home to.

But strangely enough, we think this will be good for Don: He's free of a job that doesn't excite him much anymore, he's free of a wife he didn't really love, and he's free of the lies he's been carrying around nearly all his life — which came spilling out when he ripped off the Don Draper mask and (awkwardly, painfully) revealed his Dick Whitman backstory to the executives at Hershey's.
Trudy told Pete that he's "free of everything," but she could've been talking about Don, too. He was freed from a literal prison tonight; maybe he's finally been freed of an emotional one as well. He's beaten up, he's on the mat… but he is free.

It'll be interesting to see how an untethered Don comes back for "Mad Men's" seventh and final season. Maybe he'll come back as Dick Whitman, and start living authentically for the first time in a long time. Or maybe he'll fall into someone else's bed and start the vicious cycle of indulgence and regret all over again. We're rooting for the former, if only to see Don find a shred of happiness and contentment before the show signs off for good. (Speaking of which, can we please get Jon Hamm an Emmy for playing Don Draper before it's too late?)

'Monsters U' Scares Up $82M to Hold Off Brad Pitt's 'World War Z' at the Box Office

The "Monsters U" opening is the 14th consecutive No. 1 debut for Pixar, and is the storied animation unit's second-largest debut weekend ever, behind only the $110 million rung up by "Toy Story 3" in 2010.
Paramount's "World War Z" took in a surprising $66 million in its first three days – about $15 million over analysts' projections – to finish a strong second and cap a remarkable turnaround.

The $190 million-budgeted action thriller was plagued with cost-overruns and expensive re-shoots, including an 11th-hour decision to cook up a new ending. Just two months ago, it was tracking to open at $35 million, but the studio mounted a massive marketing campaign behind it, and days before its debut, analysts had revised their projections up to $50 million.
Last week's No. 1 movie, "Man of Steel," was third with $41.2 million. The top three films dominated the action, taking in a combined $209 million. Thats roughly 82 percent of the overall box office, which was up 43 percent from last year, when another Disney-Pixar production, "Brave," led the way with $66 million.

Sony's raunchy comedy, "This is the End," was fourth with $13 million and Summit Entertainment's magic-themed heist thriller "Now You See Me" was fifth with nearly $8 million.
The "Monsters U" audience predictably skewed young, with 60 percent under 25 years of age, and was 56 percent women.  It received an "A" CinemaScore from first-night audiences at its 4,004 theaters (2,907 of which were 3D), and that strong word of mouth contributed to the big turnout on Saturday and Sunday.

Billy Crystal and John Goodman return as Mike and Sully in this prequel to Disney's 2001 "Monsters Inc.," which opened to $62 million and went on to bring in $290 million domestically. Dan Scanlon is the director and wrote the screenplay with Daniel Gerson and Robert L. Baird.
"World War Z" is the biggest box-office opening ever for Pitt, topping the $50.3 million debut of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" in 2005. He stars as a United Nations worker battling a global zombie pandemic in this adaptation of Max Brooks' bestseller, directed by Marc Forster. It received a "B+" CinemaScore from audiences in 3,607 theaters.
"World War Z" bounced back spectacularly from where it was in April. That's when screenwriter Damon Lindelof revealed in a Vanity Fair interview that he'd been called in to write a new ending after the original was scrapped. The thriller also suffered rampant production snafus and budget overruns at its far-flung foreign locations.

That set off a storm of bad buzz, most of which was countered by good reviews (80 percent positive on Rotten Tomatoes), a barrage of TV ads and a series of highly publicized personal appearances by Pitt. Now, in the wake of the film's success, Paramount said Sunday that a sequel is likely.
The studios head of distribution Don Harris said that the actor's efforts went a long way toward erasing any early negativity consumers might have had surrounding the film.
"He went everywhere on behalf of this movie and he worked hard," Harris said. "He was proud of what he did to make this movie the best that it could be, and I think he wanted people to know that."
Pitt's presences no doubt helped the film play broadly, with the crowd at 51 percent women -- high for an action movie, especially with zombies -- and 33 percent under the age of 25.
Pitt's Plan B produced the film, which was co-financed by Skydance Productions, in association with Hemisphere Media Capital and GK Films.
Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures' "Man of Steel" raised its domestic total to $210 million. It had a strong Saturday and wound up down 65 percent from its $116 million debut last weekend.
Seth Rogen's R-rated comedy "This Is The End" held well for Sony in its second week, dropping just 37 percent from its opening weekend. It has now taken in nearly $58 million, impressive given its $32 million production budget.
"Now You See Me" is on its way to $100 million. It fell off just 29 percent from last week and its domestic total is now $94.2 million.

See Ashton Kutcher Do Steve Jobs’ Greatest Hits

He started Apple Computers at age 21. He was forced out of the company at 30. He was brought back when he was 42, and he spent the last decade-and-a-half of his life revitalizing the corporation he founded and revolutionizing communication worldwide.

Steve Jobs' life had a lot of drama to try to pack into one movie, and making it feel real is a lot to ask of any actor. From the moment it was announced that Ashton Kutcher would be playing him in the biopic, "Jobs," it was obvious that the 35-year-old actor looked the part. But would the guy known for broad comedies like "Dude, Where's My Car?" have the dramatic chops to play one of the most influential figures in modern history?

Now you can judge for yourself. The long-awaited first trailer for "Jobs" just premiered exclusively here on Yahoo! Movies, and with it comes assurance that Ashton Kutcher indeed looks to do just fine in the role of Steve Jobs, the college dropout who went on to mastermind the computer you might be reading this on and the phone that might be in your pocket. You get glimpses of Kutcher's performance during the highs and lows over the course of five decades.

In rather impressive downloading speed we see Steve chuck his post-high school studies, get laid, become mesmerized (and INSPIRED!) by his pal Steve Wozniak's (Josh Gad) toying with "a computer terminal that hooks up to the TV for the display" and co-found Apple, Inc., where he commences with "trying to start a war with IBM" ... an endeavor that involves enraging both early Apple investor Arthur Rock (the always welcome J.K. Simmons) and the rather ominous John Sculley (Matthew Modine), another investor who became CEO of the company after the board outed Jobs in 1983.

If the trailer is any indication, "Jobs" is a particularly abbreviated and fractured biopic; indeed, ten years go by in about a second and a half of screen time as Jobs is back at Apple seemingly right after he got kicked out of it. This impression is certainly in sync with the first round of reviews that came out of this year's Sundance Film Festival, the general consensus being that "Jobs" is a reasonably entertaining but ultimately too simplistic a portrait of a very complex man to truly resonate, a movie that "can't get a handle on how to portray its subject," according to IndieWire.

However, a lot of those reviews also praise Kutcher's performance, with Steve Jobs being a role into which the actor "disappears," according to CNET. Kutcher's fine work is certainly on display in the trailer as he impressively captures not only the passion (and notorious temper) of the remarkable entrepreneur but also his distinctive physical traits and speech patterns. Kutcher also seems to be aware of some of the meta-humor in the script and in turn has some fun with it; his "We've got to make the small things unforgettable" is especially amusing as it comes from the man who will soon become known for making our computers and gadgets ever so smaller (and smaller ...) in size.

Kutcher even brings a little more dramatic weight to Jobs' famous "Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels" speech from the classic Apple "Think Different" ads. The actor delivers this moving mantra to thinking and acting outside the box with grave conviction, whereas Jobs himself sounded a bit lighter and more playful (you can hear his original here).

Ultimately, the trailer does succeed in making us interested in finally seeing this already much-discussed film, which was originally supposed to hit theaters on April 19 in celebration of Apple's 37th anniversary. "Jobs" instead will be closing the summer with a release date of August 16.